Elvenpath by Neferlue

Title: Elvenpath

Author: Neferlue

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Season 4, and the Eddings’ Elenium/Tamuli Series’. Set after the Tamuli and after Divide and Conquer.

Season: 4 ish

Genre: Crossover, Romance, AU/Reality,

Summary: SG-1 go through the gate, there’s an energy spike, and they end up in the world of the Elenium/Tamuli (Eddings). Set after the Tamuli ends. While trying to figure out how to get home, certain people start to re-evaluate how they feel about certain things….

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything, TPTB do. Any characters not belonging to either Eddings or the Stargate world, I do own, unless they are references. And yes, I have taken some liberties with the characters, but they need coaxing! Song copyright to Nightwish.

Author’s Note: This idea hit me while listening to Elvenpath, and the Sparhawk reference came up, as I looked at my Stargate screenback… and click! The idea just came together. For David and Leigh Eddings, the best Fantasy authors ever in my opinion, and the people who taught me to speak High Style, as well as challenge my teachers with questions like “What does it mean when it’s said in here that ‘Silk’s depredations were broadly ecumenical?’”. R.I.P. Your work lives on! (And there’s no ant people or Garion either!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the sheltering shade of the forest
Calling calming silence
Accompanied only by the full moon
The howling of a night wolf
And the path under my bare feet...
...The Elvenpath

Hearing music from the deepest forest
Songs as a seduction of sirens
The elf-folk is calling me
Tapio, Bear-king, Ruler of the forest
Mielikki, Bluecloak, Healer of the ill and sad
Open the gate and let me follow the uncarven path

-Chorus-
The way to the lands
Where as a hero I stand
The path where Beauty met the Beast
Elvenpath
It's the honesty of these worlds
Ruled by magic and mighty swords
That makes my soul long for the past
Elvenpath

The moonwitch took me to a ride on a broomstick
Introduced me to her old friend home gnome
Told me to keep the sauna warm for him
At the grove I met the rest - the folk of my fantasies
Bilbo, Sparhawk, goblins and pixies
Snowman, Willow, trolls and the seven dwarves
The path goes forever on

-Chorus-

Long ago
In the early years of the Second Age
Great elven smiths forged rings of power

As I return to my room
And as sleep takes me by my hand
Madrigals from the woods
Carry me to neverland
In this spellbound night
The world's an elvish sight
In this spellbound night
The world's an elvish sight

But then
The Dark Lord learned the craft of ringmaking
And made the master ring

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

General George Hammond watched as the final chevron on the Stargate locked into place, and the kawoosh settled back into the glowing and undulating blue puddle. He looked down at the team waiting below him. “SG-1, you have a go.”
Colonel O’Neill tossed off a wave, as he and his team, stepped through the ‘gate, disappearing into the blue puddle of the event horizon.

“Sir!”
Hammond turned to Walter, who had a confused expression on his face. “There’s an energy spike, I-”
The ‘gate shut off.
“I don’t know what happened, Sir. Everything checked out fine, until...”
“Did they make it to the other side?”
Walter tapped at his keyboard a few times. “I don’t know, Sir. There’s no way to tell.”
“I want some answers, and I want them soon!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SG-1 tumbled to the ground near some woods. As they sat up, they looked around, and saw no Stargate. “What the…” Jack O’Neill breathed.
“No Stargate.” Daniel Jackson said. “How is this possible?”
Everyone turned to look at Samantha Carter. “Why are you all looking at me? I have no clue either!”

Looking around, they saw a building nearby, clearly illuminated in the light of a full moon.
“Perhaps we should go see if the inhabitants of this place know anything.” Teal’c suggested.
“Good idea Teal’c. Ok, move out, and be careful. For all we know, they could be hostile.” O’Neill stated. His team nodded, as they made their way to the blocky looking building.

As they got closer, they saw it had steep walls, and… a drawbridge? This was looking a bit… weird. They could also see what looked like a large city nearby, also walled. As they stood around, two people on horseback approached. One was wearing black armour, with a shield in one hand, the other appeared to be wearing clothes more suited to a peasant.

“Hey!” O’Neill called out as they got closer.
“Who’s there?” The man on horseback demanded, his hand reaching under his cloak.
“We mean you no harm! We’re just a... little lost.” Daniel called out.
The two men rode closer, and they could see the one in armour’s shield had a design on it, a hawk grasping a spear in its talons. Teal’c drew a breath.

“Forgive my asking, but are you at all familiar with the name of ‘Sparhawk’?” Teal’c asked.
“And why would you want to know, neighbour?”
“Because your shield bears the crest of the house of Sparhawk.”
“You recognise it?” Carter asked.
“Yes. I have read about it.”
“Where?”
“In some books I have been reading as of late. Sparhawk is responsible for the death of two evil gods. Once using a jewel known as Bhelliom, the second as it’s champion, where he was given the powers of a God. He is also known as Anakha.”
“How do you know the name “Anakha”?” The man with the shield demanded, his hand now viewable on the hilt of a silver-bound sword.
“As I said, I have read about it. In a series of books.”

Daniel stepped in at this point. “As I said, we mean you no harm. We’re a little lost. Um, do you know what happened to the Stargate, by any chance?”
He received a blank look. The peasant looked at the man with him, and said, “I think this is one of those things we need to speak with Sephrenia about.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “Sparhawk, use your eyes. I don’t think they belong here. And Sephrenia and Aphrael might know what to do. I may only be a peasant, but I can still see what’s in front of me.”
“Khalad, will you ever lose your class prejudices?”
“Not anytime soon, My Lord, if I have anything to do with it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A short while later, in a tower room with a large fire going in a fireplace with a tea kettle bubbling away over it, SG-1 were sitting in chairs talking with Sephrenia. Sephrenia was a tiny woman, with long dark hair in a white robe. She had a sort of serene perfection about her. An auburn haired man sat by her side, also in a white robe, but with the bearing of a warrior.

After hearing their tale, Sephrenia pursed her lips. “I think we need to talk to Aphrael about this.” She finally said. “This sort of magic is far beyond me. In fact, I can barely comprehend it. The only conclusion I can come to is you are from another world. Aphrael may know how to send you back.” Her voice had a slight lilt to it.

“Who’s ‘Aphrael’?” Daniel asked. “Are they your leader, or something?”
“Aphrael is a goddess.”
Everyone turned to look at Teal’c.
“Well, seein’ as you know so much about this place, why don’t you tell us all about it, then?” O’Neill drawled.
“Very well. Aphrael is the child goddess of Styricum. Sephrenia is her high priestess, and if I am not mistaken, you are Vanion, her husband, and former preceptor of the Pandion Knights, of whom’s chapterhouse we are now sitting in.” He inclined his head towards the auburn haired man.
The man nodded.
“Former preceptor?”
“He…retired… and Sparhawk took over the position.”
“Somedays I wish I hadn’t.” Sparhawk muttered under his breath.
“But he barely looks over twenty!”
“Sephrenia herself is close to one thousand years old, O’Neill. Also, the Bhelliom restored his youth to him, as a parting gift.”

O’Neill opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of a flute. “What the?”
Sephrenia smiled a mysterious smile. “I think you had better open the door, dear one,” she said to Sparhawk.
Almost automatically, it seemed, Sparhawk got up and opened the door. A small child was standing just outside it, playing a set of many chambered pipes. The two guards just outside the door seemed oblivious to her presence. She lowered her pipes and smiled at Sparhawk, reaching up her arms to him. He picked her up, kissed her on the cheek and brought her inside.

“This is Aphrael.”

Aphrael grinned impishly at everyone, before blowing a little trill on her pipes. As Sparhawk sat down again, she walked over and climbed in his lap.

“This is a goddess? She looks like a child!” O’Neill exclaimed.
“She only appears as a child, O’Neill,” Teal’c corrected. “It has something to do with her love of hugs and kisses, if I recall correctly.”
Aphrael grinned at him and nodded.
O’Neill cleared his throat. “So, we’ve been told you might be able to help us get home?”

Aphrael climbed off of Sparhawk’s lap, and pursed her lips. “I can’t say for certain. All Sephrenia said is that I was needed here. I can tell you’re from another world, but I don’t know which.”
O’Neill raised an eyebrow.
“Aphrael and Sephrenia are linked, O’Neill.” Teal’c informed him.
“So, tell me, exactly, what happened? How did you get here?”

It was Carter who spoke up. “We use a device called a ‘Stargate’ to travel, almost instantaneously, via a wormhole in space.”

Aphrael looked interested. “A wormhole? What a silly way of describing such travel. I take it, it folds space and time to form this ‘wormhole’?”
“Yes. See, the Stargate is linked to other Stargates, and when you dial an address set by constellations in the sky to determine to point to which you want to travel, if another Stargate is in existence, it will accept the wormhole as incoming, and open it.”
“The constellations are reference points?”
“Yes. Six give the location, the seventh is the point of origin.”

Aphrael turned to look at Sparhawk. “See, I told you there were other races. I see these people are more intelligent than you are.”
Sparhawk looked offended at that comment, but chose not to reply.

Aphrael started to pace. “I haven’t heard of planets with these ‘Stargates, as you call them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I’ll have to do some research. Sparhawk, you need to go to the palace. Danae will be a bit sick for a while while I find out what I can. Make sure Mother doesn’t get too worried.” She pursed her lips again. “Make sure Talen stays too. I like him, and he can keep Mother occupied for a bit while Mirtai is away.”

Teal’c turned to the rest of SG-1. “Danae is one of Aphrael’s incarnations. The daughter of Queen Ehlana and Sparhawk.”
“Sparhawk is the King?”
Sparhawk sighed. “My title is ‘Prince Consort’. One which I still don’t like. I prefer my ‘Sir’”
Daniel looked interested. “It seems this culture is similar to medieval Earth. Knights in armour, for one thing, and it seems that the royal structure is similar to many of those on Earth, even today.”
“Yeah Danny-boy, have a field day. Maybe you’ll learn another language while you’re here.”
Daniel turned to Sparhawk. “Are there any other languages spoken here?”
“Apart from Elene? Yes. Sephrenia here is a Styric. There are also other languages, including one called ‘Tamul.’ Zemoch isn’t too pretty though.”
“Can I learn any of these languages?”

Sephrenia turned to Vanion. “Styric is a difficult language to learn. Some people haven’t quite grasped the written language yet.”
“I’m willing to try.”
O’Neill sighed.

Sparhawk stood from his chair. “I need to get back to the palace. You’re welcome to stay here if you wish. I’ll get some accommodation set up, though I will warn you, they aren’t too comfortable. I can also get you some robes to wear for the meantime. Your clothing and weapons are quite out of place here. Let’s not announce your presence just yet. We’ll see what Aphrael can find out in the meantime. We’ll have to wait a while, I’m guessing. I think we could all use a good night’s rest, it is a bit late. I can see by your bearings you are warriors- feel free to use our training grounds if you wish.” He paused. “I should head back to the palace now, before Ehlana gets too annoyed. Khalad, would you find Kalten, and get him to help? He’s here at the moment, apparently he had an argument with Alean and is letting her cool down a bit before returning to the palace.”
“What if he’s asleep?”
“So?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kalten was a tall blond man, and he was none too happy to be woken up. He grumbled a bit, but did as Khalad asked, mumbling about Sparhawk under his breath. When he found out what was happening, however, his interest piqued. “You’re not from around here?”
“No, we’re from another world.”
“I thought all aliens were different?”
“Not all are as different as you’d think. I take it you’ve met aliens before?”
Kalten looked at Daniel. “Not that we were allowed to see.”
He stopped outside a door. “These four rooms are yours,” he said, gesturing to three other doors. “I’ll go fetch you some blankets.” He turned and headed off with Khalad behind him.

O’Neill turned to Teal’c. “So, what’s the deal here?”
“We are in the Pandion chapterhouse, at Cimmura I would surmise.” He frowned slightly. “I am surprised to find out that Sephrenia and Vanion are here. I thought they stayed in Sarsos after the events of the Tamuli.”
“So, what’s this ‘Elene’ and ‘Styric’ thing that was mentioned earlier?”
“They are two separate peoples, Daniel Jackson. Much like on your planet. Elenes and Styrics generally do not intermarry, in fact, there is often tension between the two races. Of course, there are exceptions.”
“Like?”
“Vanion and Sephrenia. Their relationship is highly frowned upon in certain circles. The Church Knights are allies of the Styrics however, as the Styrics tutor them in magic.”
“Church Knights?”
“There are four orders. The Pandions, the Cyrinics, the Genidians, and the Alciones. Each are from different kingdoms. They are, in essence, armoured monks.”

“Hang on, you said that relationships between Styrics and Elenes were frowned upon. Why doesn’t anyone here seem to care about Vanion and Sephrenia?” Carter asked.
“Anyone with eyes could see how they felt about one another. People chose not to interfere. Sephrenia is the former tutor to the Pandions.”
“So, basically, they’re in a forbidden relationship?”
“In essence, yes.”
“Wow.”

They were interrupted by the return of Khalad and Kalten, Kalten holding four broadswords, and Khalad some blankets. Kalten apologized in advance for the beds, and offered them some wine, which everyone declined.
“Tomorrow, we’ll put you in some more presentable clothes, and take you to the palace,” Kalten explained. “Ehlana may want to meet you, and from what I’ve gathered, Sparhawk may be a bit busy. Also, I should get back to my wife.”
Khalad suppressed a smile. “Beds that bad, or do you think she may have cooled down a bit now you’ve had some time apart?”
“Actually, it’s the food. The beds I can handle. Anyway, I need to apologize. I just wish this pregnancy would be over and done with.”
“Patience, My Lord.”
“Khalad, would you stop that? You’re as bad as your father was.”
“Some traits breed true.”
Kalten snorted and turned around. “I’m heading back to bed. Feel free to wake me when you need something else done you can handle.”
“Of course, My Lord.”
Kalten walked off.

Khalad handed them their blankets, as well as a broadsword each. “We can dress you in some men’s clothing” he told Carter. “I’m guessing you might not want to be unarmed, seeing as you carry a weapon.”
“Thank you.”
“Try and get some rest. I’ll take you to the palace in the morning. It might take a while to find some clothes, so you might be up early. It will also give me a chance to give Talen the messages from our mothers.” He rolled his eyes. “One mother was bad enough, but now we have two. Most of what they have to say isn’t that important, but I’ve missed him anyway.” He paused. “Feel free to move around. I’d suggest some sleep, but the refectory is downstairs if you can’t sleep and want something to eat.”

With that, he bade them a goodnight, and walked off. SG-1 put their packs and the robes and swords they had been given and met up in O’Neill’s room. They talked for a while about their situation, thinking of possible explanations, but coming up with nothing. After a while, they bade each other goodnight, and headed to their individual rooms. Daniel fell asleep quite quickly, as did Teal’c, but Carter and O’Neill lay awake thinking on one thing: A forbidden relationship that had worked. And how they felt about each other. And if it would be worth the risks.

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Author's Notes: A little longer, a little weirder, and still... more time! This kept bugging me and bugging me... the chapter would not finish! But here it is. Complete with... pantyhose!!!! Please, please please review!

The next morning was quite interesting. Sam felt quite at home in a t shirt and her pants under the robe she had been given the night before, Teal’c seemed quite at home, and Daniel didn’t seem too perturbed. Sam wondered if his time on Abydos had accustomed him to wearing robes. Jack, however…

“It’s a freaking dress! How am I supposed to move in this thing? It tangles in my legs!”

Everyone looked amused. “You get used to it, Sir,” Carter replied, suppressing a smile.
“Yeah, well… It sucks.”
“I don’t know, Jack, the breeze is kinda nice.”
Jack shot Daniel a look. “You know something Danny-boy? Sometimes you really make me wonder about your sanity.”

Daniel was interrupted in his reply, by Sparhawk showing up, in full black armour with his sword around his waist, and accompanied by Khalad, and a slightly grumpy looking Kalten.
“Good morning.” Sparhawk greeted everyone. They all said ‘Good morning’ back, except Teal’c, who simply inclined his head.
“You know how to put the swords on?” Khalad asked.
Everyone looked a bit blank.

Khalad sighed. “Here.” He walked up, and buckled the sword belt of each person in turn.
“Put your hoods up.” He instructed. Everyone put their hoods up. “We have some horses waiting for you downstairs, but figured you might want to eat first. We haven’t been able to find you any clothes, but we can find some at the palace.”

“What about our weapons?” O’Neill asked.
“You can leave them in my room.” Sparhawk replied. “It’s always guarded, and I can lock the door. They’ll be safe there.”
O’Neill merely grunted in response, but let Khalad take their weapons.

“Lets head down for a nice, plain breakfast, shall we?” Kalten asked.
“Is food always your priority?”
“No. Just most of the time.”
Sparhawk turned to SG-1. “When we were ever on a long trip, we used Kalten’s stomach to gauge the time of day.”
“I’m a big man. I need to eat a lot.” Kalten defended himself.
“Then, by no means, lead the way. I wouldn’t want you to waste away in front of my eyes.”
“Sometimes you’re too smart for your own good, you know that, Sparhawk?”
“So you’ve told me. Repeatedly.”
“Because it’s true.”

SG-1 followed Sparhawk and Kalten to the refectory, listening to their banter. They were obviously very good friends and knew each other quite well. Sam leaned over to Teal’c. “It’s like listening to the colonel and Daniel, but with the roles reversed, isn’t it?”
Teal’c nodded his agreement, with a slight smile.

The meal in the refectory, as Kalten had said, was quite plain. After they had finished, they all rose and filed out of the room, to the stables outside, breaking off from a line filing elsewhere in the building.
“Who’d you put in charge of the sermons?” Kalten asked.
“Berit. He’s devout enough.”
“That’s God’s own truth. Remember him walking around with his eyes closed to avoid looking at Elysoun?”
“He got over it. I had to step in.”
“You stepped in?”
“I figured it was time he got some education. Apparently she was a good teacher.”
“Do you reckon her kid really was Sarabian’s?”
“Yes. Apparently there was some potion she took. She never took it with Sarabian.”
“That explains a lot.”

Sparhawk stopped at the stables. “These horses are for you.” He gestured at four horses saddled in the yard. He walked up to a large, ugly roan, with a long face, and flat, vicious eyes. “Hello Faran.” The horse stared back at him.
Sparhawk turned to the stable keeper. “Did he give you much trouble?”
“No more than usual. Tried to step on my foot and bite me, but I’ve learned how to bribe him. He’s not too serious about it anymore.”
“Good to hear.” He mounted up. “Shall we head out?”

Everyone mounted on their horses, as the stable keeper opened the gate. Sparhawk led the way, Faran prancing. “Stop that.” He told the horse. Faran flicked his ears, and ignored him. “You big old fool.”

The ride to the palace was uneventful. Everyone seemed to recognise Sparhawk, and stepped aside for him and his companions. Even the gate guards let them pass without a word, though one did smile and wave to Sparhawk.

At the palace stables, they all dismounted, and Sparhawk gave specific instructions to the keeper there about Faran. He looked apprehensively at the horse. Sparhawk turned to Faran. “Go with this man. No biting him, pinning him to the side of your stall, kicking him, or stepping on his feet. Understood?”
Faran stared back, then snorted. “Good. I’ll see you alter.” He laid one hand on his neck, then turned to his companions. “Let’s go see the Queen.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Queen Ehlana was seated on a couch, wearing a pale blue satin dress with her pale blonde hair cascading down over one shoulder, and a discreet tiara in her hair. Her posture was regal, and it was quite obvious she had positioned her gown to accentuate that. On her lap was her daughter, Danae, who was sleeping.

“So these are the visitors.” She said as they entered.
Sparhawk walked over and kissed her, being careful not to disturb Danae. “Are Vanion and Sephrenia here?”
She nodded. “They’ve gone to get some tea. I offered to have some sent up, but I think Sephrenia wanted to check on Alean. She’s not too far off now.”
“Speaking of which, Kalten accompanied us. He headed off to see her as soon as we got here.”
“Oh good. Oh, from what Sephrenia told me yesterday, Alean could go into labour any day now. Kalten really shouldn’t run off like that. He could miss out if he does.”
“You know Kalten.”

Ehlana shifted slightly. “Now, I want to meet these strangers. Sephrenia says they’re from another world.”
“Yes dear.”
Everyone threw back their hoods.
“This is Samantha Carter, Jack O’Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c.”
“Teal’c. What a strange name.” Ehlana pursed her lips. “I’d say we should pass him off as half Atan. Not many people know much about the Atans, except not to cross them, so that should avoid any questions. You other three could pass as Elenes.” She thought for a moment. “You’re friends we met on our trip to see Sarabian, coming to visit.”

“Is all this really necessary, dear?”
“Palace gossip, dear. If we have a story, no one will know any different.” She frowned again. “What’s that mark on your forehead?” She asked Teal’c.
“It was given to me upon my ascension as First Prime.”
“So a status symbol?”
He nodded.
“Good, we’ll pass you off as a commander then.”

She looked at the other three. “How long have you two been together?” She asked Carter and O’Neill.
O’Neill started coughing, and Carter went bright red. “We’re uh, we’re not actually together.”
“Oh. You acted like you were. I apologize.” Again, she pursed her lips. “Would you be offended if I passed you off as a married couple? Women travelling in the company of men are sometimes looked down upon. You could be a Count and a Countess.”
Carter and O’Neill looked at each other. O’Neill shrugged. “Why not? It’s your story.”
“Oh good!” She looked at Daniel. “A margrave, I think. Margrave Daniel. It suits you.” Daniel looked a little flustered, but nodded.
“Good. Now, we’ve got the stories set out for court, I don’t think we have much to worry about.”

At that moment, Sephrenia entered the room, unannounced. “Alean’s in labour, Ehlana. She just had her first contraction. She asked me to come get you.”

Immediately, Ehlana sat up. “She is?” She woke up Danae, who yawned. “Alean’s in labour, dear. I have to go see her. Stay with your father.”
Danae yawned again, and nodded. “Yes, Mother.”
Ehlana left the room.

Shortly after the door had closed behind Ehlana, Sparhawk turned to Danae. “You didn’t happen to have anything to do with this, did you?”
“Sparhawk, why do you always assume I have a hand in everything? Alean’s been out of sorts more the last few days because her body was preparing for labour. It’s a complicated process.”

Sparhawk let that pass.

“Any news yet?” O’Neill asked, a bit uncomfortable speaking to this child this way.
“Yes, as a matter of fact. It seems you have caused a rift between your world and ours.” She pursed her lips. “How much do you understand about dimensions?”

Three people turned to face Carter. She shrugged. “I’m an astrophysicist. And we’ve been to alternate dimensions, but they’ve always been alternates of our own.”

“Alright. You caused a dimensional rift between our universe, and that of your own. We’re not parallel to yours, however. We’re quite different.” Aphrael went on with a detailed description of what had happened, with Carter occasionally interjecting for clarification.

When they had finished the discussion, O’Neill turned to Carter. “Care to translate?”
“Yes, Sir. We’ve created a rift between this dimension, and this world, which is a completely different dimension. Aphrael said she went through the rift, and saw our world. Apparently, the rift can’t be closed.”
“Can we go back home?”
“Yes, Sir, but it’s going to take some time.”
“How much time?”
Aphrael shrugged. “I need some help from the others. I can’t say for certain. Just stay here, I’ll sort it all out.”

Teal’c suddenly asked a question. “I am most curious to know: It is said that you altered Ehlana’s destiny to make her able to have children, though she is still infertile, and you had a lot of trouble overcoming that. Could you not repair the damage done by the poison?”
“No. The Elene God wouldn’t let me. Apparently I was meddling enough as it was.”
Carter looked thoughtful. “If only we could see if there’s something we could do with our technology. Perhaps the healing device might work.”

Danae suddenly looked hopeful. “Maybe we can arrange that.” She turned to Carter and O’Neill. “When I went through the rift, I learned a bit about where you were from. I don’t understand why the two of you won’t get together.”
“Well, there’s regulations against that, for one thing.”
She snorted. “And you think there wasn’t with Vanion and Sephrenia? They were together a long time before anyone cared to notice. I overheard a conversation between a woman named Janet and another woman named Shari. Apparently they thought it was so sad the two of you couldn’t be together. Shari said anyone with eyes could see how you felt about each other.”

O’Neill cleared his throat. “Could we talk about something else?
“Of course. The weather, maybe?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was much later. They had spent the hours since Aphrael’s revelation talking about all sorts of different things. Comparing cultures, Aphrael had started to teach Daniel Styric, and Sparhawk and O’Neill had swapped war stories. All of a sudden, the door opened, and Ehlana rushed into her husband’s arms. “It’s a girl! Alean had a girl! Oh, you should come her, she’s just beautiful!” She looked around at everyone in the room, her face and grey eyes alight. “You should all come see her. Alean would love to meet you all.”

A bit bemused, SG-1 followed the excited Queen out of the room and to the room where Alean had just given birth. A petite woman was lying in a bed, holding a tiny bundle in her arms. She raised her face as they entered, and they saw she was a very pretty doe-eyed young woman. Her face was radiant as she looked down at her child. Kalten sat beside her, with the proud father crossed with confusion look on his face. Jack recognized the look.

“Have you chosen a name, yet?” Ehlana asked.
“We’re thinking on one. We’d like to name her after Aphrael, but Aphrael is, well, you know, and Flute isn’t appropriate.” She blushed.

“Tualatora” Sparhawk supplied. Both looked at him, puzzled. “The Styric word for ‘flute’ is ‘tualatora’.”
Kalten and Alean looked down at their little girl “It’s perfect.” Alean breathed. O’Neill looked over at Danae. She was smiling.
He looked at the rest of his team. Teal’c was actually beaming, of course, he had a son himself, so he’d understand the feeling. Daniel and Carter both had identical looks on their faces. Happy and smiling, but slightly wistful. He could understand Daniel, but Carter… Maybe she wanted children of her own someday? He shook his head, and focused back on the child, who had opened her eyes, and was looking up at her mother. Then, she opened her mouth and started to cry. He remembered that sound all too well. “Maybe we should give her some privacy” He murmured to his team. They all nodded and left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was much later that night. They had all been given rooms to stay in at the palace, the VIP rooms, judging from the décor. To keep up the illusion Ehlana had decided to create, Carter and O’Neill had been given the same rooms. Carter had immediately began looking at all the rooms, whereas O’Neill had just sat on a couch, his head in his hands.

“Sir?”

He looked up to see Carter looking down at him. “Yes, Carter?”
“There’s only one bed.”
Head, meet hands again.
“But there’s an upside.”
He looked up again.
“It’s huge. We won’t have to worry about being all cramped in.”
“Oh, well, that’s just peachy.”
Carter took a deep breath. Here we go.
“We should probably get some sleep, Sir. It’s been a long day.”
“Ok, first off… I think you should just call me ‘Jack’. It might look strange, and we need to keep up Ehlana’s illusion, don’t we?”
She smiled. “Whatever you say, Jack. Anyway, I’m going to climb in. I need some sleep. Have a good night, Jack.”
“Night Sam.” He mumbled from between his hands. He wondered if he was getting a headache.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the next morning. Jack woke to find Sam curled against him, his legs entangled in hers. He wondered if that’s what had woken him, until he heard a noise. Beside him, Sam stirred. “Uhhmm…”
“Carter.” He whispered. No response, other than her snuggling back down.
“Carter!” She came awake with a bit of a start. “Wha…? Oh, sorry Si- Jack.”
“Someone’s in here.”

Carter untangled herself from him, and got up. “It’s probably a maid or something. I’ll go check.”
Jack also got up. “I’ll come with you.”

Out in the main area, they saw a woman placing some boxes on a table, along with a platter that his nostrils told him was breakfast. She turned quickly upon hearing them, and cast her eyes down. “I’m sorry, My Lord, My Lady. I didn’t mean to wake you. The Queen told me to bring these to you” She gestured to the boxes. “And also some breakfast.”
“Thank you…” Jack left it hanging.
“Sarana. I’m one of the Queen’s maids.” Her eyes were still downcast.
“Thank you, Sarana. It’s much appreciated.”
“Is there anything else you need, My Lord?”
‘A way home?’ He thought. Instead he said, “No, thank you. We’ll be fine.”
Sarana curtsied. “My Lord, My Lady.” She turned and left the room.

Sam and Jack headed to the table. Lifting the lid on the platter, they saw bread, bacon, butter, sausages, jam, and other things associated with breakfast. “No coffee.” Carter pointed out, sounding slightly disappointed.
“I think there’s some in the ration packs. And anyway, there’s some tea here, maybe that’ll satisfy your caffeine cravings.”
She chuckled.

After they’d eaten more than was really good for them, they opened the boxes from Ehlana. Each had a note inside, saying it was to help them fit in more. In Sam’s box was a beautiful light blue dress, similar to the one Ehlana had been wearing the day before. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” She exclaimed. The fabric was a fine satin, with ribbons, and layers that swished when she moved it. Definitely an improvement on the Shavadai dress. Included were matching shoes.

Jack’s box contained tights and a weird looking top, along with soft leather boots. He held up the tights. “What the…?”

Carter looked over and laughed. “Oh, doublet and hose. Of course. At least they’re black and silver.”

“How the hell do these go on? Seriously,” He said, catching her look. “They look like panty hose.”
“I’ll help you. It takes a while to get the knack of them. Oh, I hope you aren’t wearing boxers. If so, they’ll have to go.” She said the last line with a slight wince.
“I brought briefs. I’ll go get them.”

As he headed to their room he thought that getting Carter to help him would definitely be better than having her laugh at hearing him try to put those damn things on. Thankfully, their packs had been brought to them the night before, so they had them on them. He grabbed the set of briefs, and turned around. Carter was standing behind him.

“The bed’s the easiest place to put them on on.” She explained.
“Well, can I have some privacy to change my underwear?”
“Of course.” She turned around. When he had stripped down and changed into only his briefs, he told her to turn around. At least he’d get a laugh from her embarrassment.

She turned bright red as she looked him up and down. “Ok, um, well, sit down on the edge of the, um, bed.” She stammered slightly.
He sat.
“Now, you roll them up like so.” She scrunched them up until the toes were up near the crotch. “Hold out your leg.”
He poked a leg out. She placed one side of the hose onto his foot and moved it up to his knee. “Now the other one.” She repeated the motion on the other leg. “Now stand up.”
He stood.
“Now, you pull them up like normal jeans, but just, more… stretchy.”
“Thanks Carter, that’s really descriptive.”
“Sam.” She corrected.
“What? Oh, right.” He did as she’d instructed noting as he did so what she meant by ‘stretchy’.

“How on earth do you women handle these things?”
“I prefer ones with suspenders. Just above the knee and held in place. And of course, they make you feel a little bit sexier.”
“You wear that with your dress uniform?”
“Of course.”
‘Oh God,’ He thought. ‘She’s actually enjoying this.’
“Ok, I think the doublet is pretty easy. Now, if I can have a little privacy to get into this dress…”
“Of course.” He said, noting she’d brought it in. He pulled the doublet over his head, and looked at Sam. “How do I look?”
“Like something out of Robin Hood.”
“Thanks.”

He turned and left the room, feeling a little ridiculous as he pulled on the leather boots on the couch out in the main room. He could hear what sounded like the sounds of struggle, then, “Jack, can I have some help?”
He grinned. Payback time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After helping Sam into her dress, they decided to go see Danae and Ehlana. Opening the door, they found Daniel and Teal’c also leaving their rooms, similarly attired. He couldn’t say anything for Teal’c, but Daniel looked a bit mussed. Jack nearly laughed out loud imagining Daniel trying to get his hose on. Daniel’s attire was blue, with a similar flecking to his own of red, instead of silver, and Teal’c’s was green with the same silver flecking.

“Nice outfits, huh?” He asked his team. They all laughed, a bit nervously. “Let’s go see Ehlana and Danae.”

They wandered down the corridor until they found a maid. “Excuse me,” Sam asked. “But could you direct us to the Queen’s rooms, please?”
“Of course, My Lady. Follow me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ehlana was sitting on a couch in her rooms, Danae on her lap, talking with both her daughter, and Sparhawk. She smiled when she saw them. “Come in.”

The maid excused herself, and closed the door behind her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Very well. The beds were very comfortable.”
Ehlana suddenly stood. “Oh, how silly of me. I forgot to send the cloaks.” She grabbed four boxes off a table off to one side, and opening each handed one to the person it was meant for.
“Thank you.” They all said.

“Father,” Danae said. “Don’t you think we need to do something about Sam’s hair?”
“Like what?”
“Maybe make it longer? It looks a bit strange short.”
“How do you expect me to do that?”
“Maaaagic.” She wiggled her fingers at him.
He laughed. “You didn’t ask her first.”
Danae turned to Sam. “Is it ok to make your hair long? It looks a bit strange short, and I think if it was long it would look a lot better.”

Sam thought on it. She could always cut when they got back to base, she decided. “Ok, sure.”

Sparhawk began to speak in Styric, waving his fingers as he did so. Sam felt her hair suddenly start to grow, until it reached her waist. “Long enough?” He asked his daughter. “I think so. It looks good long.” She added, with a smile.

Daniel leaned in to whisper in Sam’s ear “He just gave a formal request to Aphrael. I think that’s what Styric magic is. A request to Aphrael.”
To Daniel’s surprise, he heard Aphrael’s voice in his ear. “There’s one thousand of us.”
He shuddered at the thought of remembering all their names.

They talked for a while about various things, until Ehlana excused herself. “I’m going to check on Alean. Would you like to come, Danae?”
“Yes, Mother, but I want to ask father something first. I know the way.”
“I love you.” Ehlana said, as she swept her daughter up for a hug and a kiss.

After Ehlana had left the room, Danae’s expression turned serious. “I’ve spoken to the others. They’ve agreed to help me get you home. But there’s one thing. The only safe way we’ve found is two-way. At least we can visit each other. And I’ve done some more research, and found out how to dial, as you say, from your end, and ours. But we’ll need some time. We have to get everything ready.”

She then turned to Sam and Jack. “I need to talk to you two. Alone. Now.” She pointed to a door. “In there.”

She walked into the room, and Sam and Jack followed. Daniel and Teal’c looked at Sparhawk. He shrugged. “She’s playing matchmaker. Leave her be, she knows what she’s doing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once in the room, which turned out to be Danae’s bedroom, she turned to face them. “We need to talk.”
She took a breath. “Shari was right. Anyone with eyes can see how you feel about each other. Vanion and Sephrenia were the same. It’s ok. If other people say it isn’t ok to be together, then be together behind their backs. Vanion and Sephrenia did.” She frowned slightly “Of course, they didn’t hide it so well. Vanion kept slipping up. But anyway, do you get what I’m saying?”
“Yes.” Jack answered.
“Yes.” Sam answered.
“Good, than it’s all settled!” Aphrael grinned, and held up her arms to Jack for a hug.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She’s playing matchmaker?” Daniel exclaimed. “On those two? Oh God.” He groaned.
“I concur, Daniel Jackson.”
“What’s the matter?” Sparhawk asked.
“Oh, nothing much. Just that those two have been fighting themselves for a while now.” ‘I just hope I win the pool.’ Daniel thought.

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Author's Notes: Finally going home.... but with a twist. Feedback would be really really appreciated, each chapter I write is like a marathon as I do it in one sitting. :)

Chapter Three.

Jack picked up Danae for a hug. She just had that… something… about her, that he could not resist. He was slightly startled when she whispered in his ear. “I have to go to Mother. I’ll leave you two to talk.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, slipped out of his embrace, grinned at Sam, and left the room.

“Sir?”
“She wants us to talk.”
“Oh.”
Jack fiddled uncomfortably. “So…”
“Um…”
Jack scratched his chin. “What do you say?”
Sam looked sharply at Jack. “You want to try this?”
“Well… yeah. But only if you do. I mean, it’s risky, but…”
“If Vanion and Sephrenia could manage… and they were in more danger than we are.”
“I guess if we kept it off base…”
“I could handle that.” A pause.
“Are you sure about this, Sir?”
“Dammit, I couldn’t leave you behind because of how much I care about you. It’s hard… keeping my distance. Sometimes…” He trailed off.
“I feel the same way.”

Jack fiddled again. “So, I guess we’re decided?”
“I’d say so.”
“Good. Now I can finally do this.” He stepped forward, drawing her into his arms, and kissing her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking along the corridors of the palace, Danae/Aphrael grinned to herself. Sometimes being a Goddess had its advantages….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was later that day. Sam and Jack had made their decision, and both seemed happier for it. Daniel was hiding a slight grin, and Teal’c’s eyebrow was slightly up. Daniel was happy that when they got home, he had a sizable amount of money waiting for him in the SGC pool as to when Jack and Sam would hook up. Sparhawk was just sitting on a couch with a rather bland expression on his face.

The door opened, and Ehlana walked into the room, holding Danae. “I wanted to let you all know there’s going to be a banquet tonight, held in honour of both you, and Tora.” She announced. “I’ll be announcing you all as being of the Tamul Empire, nobody here knows much about the Tamuls, so you can make up some story about meeting us at Emperor Sarabian’s court.” She paused. “The clothes you’re wearing should be fine, but I’ll find a new dress for you, Sam. In fact, you’re about my size, I’ll lend you one of mine.”

Ehlana put her daughter down, who ran to her father and climbed onto his lap. She went into another room, where sounds of rummaging and various ‘hmmm’s’ could be heard.

Sparhawk leaned in to whisper in his daughter’s ear. “I take it your matchmaking went according to plan?”
“Of course, Father. Why do you ask?”
“They haven’t stopped staring at each other the whole time you’ve been gone. It’s getting a bit sickening.”
“You and Mother aren’t much different, Father.”

Sparhawk actually blushed.
“Are you blushing, Father?”
Sparhawk chose not to respond.

After a few more noises, Ehlana returned, holding a deep blue gown. “What do you think, Danae? Think this one will suit?”
“It’s perfect, Mother.”
“I thought so. Come here, Sam, I’ll help you put it on. The banquet’s starting in an hour and we still have to do your hair.”
Sam stifled a groan as she followed the Queen into her bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once in the Queen’s bedroom, Ehlana helped her out of her pale blue gown. “You can keep that.” She said. “You need something to wear around the palace. I have a few others if you want them. A girl needs some variety.”

She helped her into the deep blue gown, and Sam was surprised how well it fit her. And how good it felt. She was directed over to a dresser, where Ehlana started fiddling with her now long hair. Sam decided to ask her some questions.

“Your daughter is very beautiful.”
Ehlana beamed. “Thank you. She’s certainly a wonderful child.” Her eyes glazed over for a few moments. “I’m told you’ve met Flute.”
“Yes.” Sam answered. “At the chapterhouse.”
“Have you… noticed any similarities… between her and… Danae?”

Sam turned to face the Queen. “What are you saying?”
Ehlana bit her lip. “I’ve never spoken to anyone of this before. I don’t want to sound silly or anything, but… Sometimes, I don’t think Danae really is a normal child.”
“You think she’s Flute?”
Ehlana nodded.
“How long have you suspected?”
“A long time now. They’re just so similar. At first I just told myself it was just the fact they were both little girls, but…” Again Ehlana bit her lip. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I love her. But I do wonder. Danae’s 8 now. I fell pregnant on our wedding night. And in 8 years I’ve never fallen pregnant since. Sometimes… I wonder if the Darestim did something. And Flute… Flute didn’t want us to be without…” Her voice trailed off, and Sam saw tears in her eyes. It was in that moment, she knew she had to tell her.

“I know the answer.”
Ehlana looked at her, hopefully. “And?”
Sam took a deep breath. “Danae is Flute.” Ehlana bowed her head. “From what I understand, the poison you were given made you infertile. Flute loved both of you too much to let you go childless, and the kingdom needed an heir. So she chose to be born as your child. Apparently there were some problems, she had a hard time from what I’ve gathered.”

Sam lifted the Queen’s chin. “Don’t be saddened by this. There are people on my world who can never have children. They try all sorts of treatments, and some of them never can conceive. Some of them lose children over and over. You’ve been given a wonderful gift.” She took another breath. “And Flute thinks there may be a way for our world’s technology help you to fall pregnant. Have another child. Maybe even more. We don’t know. But know this: You have the greatest gift you could ever want. You have a child. She may not be like every other child, but she’s yours. And she loves you, very very much. Sparhawk knows. They’re worried about how you’d look at yourself if you knew.”

Ehlana drew her into a hug. “Thank you. Thank you for… erasing my doubts.”
“You’re welcome.” Sam replied, hugging the Queen back. She realized how strong this woman was, and she admired that strength. To have that strength and courage… Not many people did.

Ehlana suddenly sniffed. “We need to get your hair done, and here I am, crying and talking about myself. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok, Ehlana.” Sam paused, and smiled. “It’s what friends are for.”
Ehlana smiled back, and drew her into another hug. Two strong women, from two different cultures, that had somehow bonded. And started to form a friendship that would last a very long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what seemed an eternity to everyone out in the main room, Sam and Ehlana emerged from the bedroom. Jack’s jaw nearly hit the floor. She was beautiful! Ehlana’s dress fit her perfectly, her hair framed her face whilst being done up elaborately with braids interlaced with pearls, and she was wearing jewellery, most likely Ehlana’s, that made her look almost like a queen herself. Daniel, always prepared, took out a camera, and snapped a picture. This was too good to miss. Teal’c bowed his head. “You look very well, Major Carter… Samantha.” He corrected himself.
“Thank you, Teal’c.”

She crossed the room to where Jack stood. “I take it you like what you see, Jack?”
Slowly, his lips curled into a smile, as his hand reached around her waist of its own volition. “Yes.”
“Good.”
He couldn’t help it. He leaned down, and kissed her. And again, Daniel took a picture. Neither of them noticed.

Sparhawk cleared his throat. “We should head over to the banquet now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the banquet hall, SG-1 were pacing nervously. Except Teal’c, who remained as stoic as always. “Calm down.” Ehlana told them
“They will not ‘calm down’, Ehlana.” Teal’c replied. “Rather, they will calm up.” He looked at Jack. Jack didn’t even notice him. Sparhawk actually smiled.

The herald cleared his throat for what seemed the hundredth time. He’d announced Alean and Kalten, along with Tora, what seemed like half the kingdom, and now it appeared to be their turn.
“Queen Ehlana and Prince Sparhawk.”
Ehlana straightened, and put her hand on Sparhawk’s arm. “You’re next.” She whispered to SG-1, as she allowed Sparhawk to lead her onto the landing and down the steps.
“And I now have the honour of presenting the Queen’s personal guests. From the kingdom of the Tamuli, The Count Jack and Countess Samantha.”
Jack followed the lead of Sparhawk, and led Sam out onto the landing.
“The Margrave Daniel.”
Daniel followed Sam and Jack, his camera hidden in his doublet.
“And Commander Teal’c, of Atan.”
Teal’c stoically walked out after Daniel, following his teammates to where Ehlana was gesturing to them from her table.
Slowly, they made their way over, and took their seats.

The herald announced that the banquet was now to begin, as servants came out to put food on their tables.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The banquet seemed to last forever. After they had eaten five courses, they were expected to dance, and mingle with the court. Many people, seeing an ear to the Queen, beelined for SG-1. SG-1, however, gave no indication of passing favours, and after numerous discussions involving the weather, what the Tamul court was like, and other, boring diplomatic small talk, Sam pretended to have a headache, and asked the Queen’s permission to retire.

Ehlana gave her a sympathetic look, and played along, saying she would send someone to check in on her later, and excused her and Jack. Teal’c also excused himself, pleading some excuse that he needed to rest himself, as he needed to train early the next morning. Daniel seemed to be having the time of his life, chatting away merrily to a very old man with sharp, twinkling eyes. Seeing that his companions were retiring, the old man turned to Daniel. “I too, also feel the need to retire. I’m not as young as I used to be.” He chuckled.
“My Lord Lenda, I think you’ll outlive us all.” Daniel replied with a smile.

Again the old man chuckled. “Somedays, I do wonder. Could you do an old man a favour, and give your strong young arm to me to lean on? Sometimes my footsteps falter, and it’s nice to have someone to catch me.”
Smiling, Daniel took the old man’s arm, and together they left the room, chatting away merrily.

Ehlana turned to Sparhawk and smiled. “It seems Daniel has found a new friend.”
Sparhawk watched them leaving. “I’m just glad it’s Lenda. The two have a lot in common. And Lenda’s a good man.”
“That he is.” She looked archly at her husband. “Shall we retire too?”
Looking down at his wife, Sparhawk smiled. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the next morning. Sam and Jack woke up slowly, the maid who left breakfast not even disturbing them. As they rose, the noticed they weren’t wearing very many clothes, and blushed slightly. However, Ehlana had been prepared, and two dressing gowns were waiting for them at the end of the bed. Sam felt a slight pang, hoping that when they could get home, they could help Ehlana. She was such an amazing woman.

There was a knock at the door. “Come in.” Jack called. It was Danae. “Hello Danae.”
“Hello Jack. I wanted to let you know, we’re nearly finished with getting you home. I sent my cousin Telaria to get the final information we need, as well as to install what you call a ‘program’ on your system. I’ll show you how to work it when we get there.” Her bow like little mouth suddenly turned down into a frown. “I just see one problem. How do we tell Mother? About the tests?”

Sam took a deep breath. “She already knows. She asked me about it last night. She’s had her suspicions for quite a while.”

Danae looked stunned. “She did?” How did she take it? What does she know?”
“She knows you’re Flute, she guessed that a long time ago, and she’d already guessed about the Darestim. She didn’t want to seem silly, but I think she needed to talk to someone who might know the answers. One thing that had worried her, was only having one child in 8 years.”

Danae looked hopeful. “She doesn’t think of herself any differently?”
Sam looked right into Danae’s ageless eyes. “I told her of all the people on my world who couldn’t have children, and what a gift you had given her. If we can’t help her, she’ll always be thankful to you for giving her, well, you.”

Danae rushed into Sam’s arms. “So she’s alright with it?”
Sam smiled. “From her reaction, I’d say so. She’s a very strong woman.”
“She is. Sparhawk made certain of that when he raised her.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “He raised her?”
“It was her father’s idea to place her in his care. He shaped her, moulded her, and made her into a woman of steel. Then she decided she wanted to marry him, and nothing on earth could stop that.”

Jack seemed stunned.
“She’s 26, Jack. Sparhawk married her at 18. It’s a little complicated, but I’m sure Teal’c could explain it. Anyway, I need to go have a talk with Mother. I’ll let you know when we’re ready. Hopefully Telaria doesn’t take too long. She has a habit of getting distracted now and then.” And then Danae left the room.

Sam turned to Jack. “What do you want to do?”
A slow smile spread across Jack’s lips as he looked at Sam, in her dressing gown, her long hair dishevelled. “I have some ideas.” He walked over and locked the door.”
“Like?”
“Feel up to some fun?”

Sam hesitated. “I haven’t got any, well, birth control.”
Jack shrugged. “So? There’s ways around that that are just as fun. How about I show you? There’s a zero chance you’ll fall in.” He winked at her, and she laughed. “Why not?”

And they headed to the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A short while later, Daniel and Teal’c stopped outside Jack and Sam’s door. Just as Daniel raised his hand to knock, they heard a noise. A very suspicious noise. Daniel turned to Teal’c. “I think we better leave them to it.”
The Jaffa raised an eyebrow. “Agreed. How about we go and train in the courtyard instead? I feel in need of some exercise.”
“Sounds good, Teal’c.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day passed quietly, everyone doing their own thing, until Danae called a meeting. When everyone was in the royal apartments, she stood and spoke. “Seeing as my secrets out, I don’t have to hide anymore. We can send you home tomorrow. And we’re coming with you.”

Everyone in the room smiled, excited. “Hopefully, your technology can help Mother.” Danae looked over at her mother, who was smiling broadly at her. “I’d really love to have siblings again.”

Ehlana held out her arms to her daughter, and buried her face in her hair. “Thank you.” She whispered to her. “Thank you for everything. For being you.” Danae looked up at her mother and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Mother.”
“I love you too… Aphrael.”

Danae touched her mother’s face briefly, then stood again. “We’ll leave at first light. Your belongings from the chapterhouse will be waiting. I’d suggest everyone get some sleep.”

As everyone rose, she walked up to Daniel. “I have a gift for you.” She touched her fingers to his face, and smiled. “Call on me, whenever you need my help.” He looked slightly baffled, then comprehension dawned. “The rift.”
Danae nodded. “It’ll work through the rift.”
Daniel’s smile could have lit the darkest room at whatever had just passed between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dawn. Everyone moved with that muffled sound everyone makes as the sun is still rising. Dressed in their court clothes, they left the palace, Ehlana leaving instructions with a maid that she was going part of the way to see her friends goodbye, and that she didn’t know how long she’d be.

They moved out slowly at first, but as they neared the city gates, picked up pace, until they reached the chapterhouse of the Pandions. Vanion and Sephrenia were waiting for them there. They moved off into the woods near the chapterhouse, until they reached a clearing, where all of SG-1 stood agape. A Stargate stood in the middle of the clearing, complete with its pedestal and steps, and even a DHD.

Danae turned to everyone. “Grab your things.” She announced. “I’m dialling now.”

SG-1 grabbed their packs, slinging them over their shoulders, and putting on their weapons. The gate opened, and Jack sent through the IDC code. He then pressed down on his walkie talkie. “General, are you there?”

“Yes, Colonel, what happened?”
“We’re not sure, but, we’re coming home. And we’re bringing some dignitaries. Have Frasier meet us in the Gateroom.”
“Understood, Colonel. You are cleared for travel.”

Jack turned to those around him. “Shall we go?”

Everyone walked up the steps, and through the puddle of the Stargate, it taking them through to their world. He only hoped there were no bugs….

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End Notes: So, anyone guess what Aphrael gave to Daniel?

Author's Notes: Well, here's Chapter Four. This will be the last chapter, with only an epilogue to follow. Yes, it's short, but I decided to split the epilogue and this chapter into two separate chapters instead of one. Please, feel free to review!

It was an interesting sight, to say the least, when SG-1 emerged from the ‘gate, behind them, five others. Jack, Daniel and Teal’c were all wearing what looked like medieval style gear, and Carter… Carter was wearing a beautiful blue satin dress that showed off her figure, and complemented her eyes. The eyes of all the SF’s in the room were on her.

Hammond turned his eyes to the other five people. One was a tall man with black hair, another, a younger man with auburn hair and beard, standing quite close to a small dark haired women in a white robe. The last two were a blonde woman also in a blue dress similar to Carters, with a tiara in her hair, and a child about eight. Something about her seemed familiar to Hammond, but he shrugged it off.

Turning to the mic, he pressed down the button before speaking into it. “Welcome back, SG-1. Would you like to change before debriefing, or shall we debrief now?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I’d love to get changed first, Sir.” O’Neill replied. He gestured to their guests. “But first, I think some introductions are in order. And we should find them some quarters too.”

“Very well, Colonel.”

O’Neill gestured to the tall, dark haired man. “This is Sir Sparhawk.” Hammond felt a shock of recognition at the name. It couldn’t be…

O’Neill gestured to the blonde woman. “This is Queen Ehlana, Sparhawk’s wife, and their daughter, Princess Danae.” Ehlana gestured and Danae grinned impishly.

“Sir Vanion, and the Lady Sephrenia, High Priestess of Aphrael.” O’Neill introduced the last two people.

“I think we need to have a chat, Colonel. I know these names. And I don’t see how it’s possible.”

“I’ve learned as of late, General, nothing is impossible.” He shot a quick glance over at Carter, who bowed her head slightly with a slight blush.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, SG-1 along with their guests, and Dr. Frasier were seated at the briefing room table, relating their tale to Hammond. Somehow, Hammond wasn’t too surprised to find out Danae was a Goddess, but remembering his reaction to their names…

“And that’s it, Sir.” O'Neill finished. “Except, we want to see if we can help Ehlana.”

“And how would we do that?” Hammond had an eyebrow raised.

“Aphrael said her ovaries were damaged by the poison. That’s why she can’t have any more kids. Aphrael could get around it, being a Goddess and all, but…”

“Sir, we think the healing device may work,” Carter piped up. “But we need Dr. Frasier to look her over first to be certain.”

Hammond seemed lost in thought for a moment, before answering. “Doctor?”
“I see no harm in it. I can start right away if everyone’s OK with that.” She looked around the table. No one spoke out.

Hammond stood. “Well, I think it’s settled. Your Majest- Ehlana- if you would accompany Dr. Frasier.”

Everyone else stood. “Of course, General. May my husband and daughter accompany me?”
“Of course.”

O’Neill turned to Vanion and Sephrenia. “Would you like a tour?”
“That would be nice.” Sephrenia replied, her beautiful lilt evident.
“Then, if you’ll follow me…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they met up with Ehlana next, she was sitting on the edge of a bed in the infirmary, her face radiant, as was that of her husband and daughter.

“It worked.” Carter said, a grin crossing her face. “Aphrael confirmed it. All damage done by the poison has been reversed. Ehlana can have another child. A number of children, if she wants to.”

“That’s great news, Carter. I think we need to go out to celebrate.”
“Sir?”
“They showed us their world, let’s show them ours. I say O’Malley’s. They have a good steak there.”
“Shall I go clear that with General Hammond?”
“Ask him to come along. He looks like he could use a night out.”
Carter laughed softly. “Whatever you say, Sir.” She smiled, as she left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, they all gathered at O’Malley’s. Hammond had thought it was a great idea to celebrate, and O’Neill secretly thought he was just a little bit clucky. They had a great dinner, each party relating amusing stories. Teal’c had the whole table in stitches when he recounted the tale of O’Neill being busted playing golf through the Stargate during the time loop, the highlight being his impression of O’Neill’s ‘In the middle of my backswing?!’

All too soon, the night was over, and the party returned to the base. The guests had been set up in VIP quarters, and everyone else slept in their quarters on base. It had been a very good night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, SG-1 was on downtime, showing their guests their world. They took them to the zoo, an amusement park, shopping, various dinners, and showed them the sights of their world. Teal’c insisted on watching the whole Star Wars trilogy in one night, to a few groans from his team mates, but with various nibblies like popcorn and chips, they weren’t too unhappy. O’Neill insisted on watching The Wizard of Oz, and it turned into a whole night of movies, which fascinated their guests.

All too soon, however, it was over, and their guests had to return home. They gathered in the control room, where General Hammond presented Sparhawk with an IDC, and showed him how to use it. Aphrael had put in her own dialling program, so getting to their world wouldn’t be a problem, and Aphrael could send them back any time she wanted to.

Ehlana told them to visit any time they wanted to, and thanked them all for a wonderful time, and for everything they had done, for her, and for her friends. A place would always be welcome for them in Cimmura.

With tears in all their eyes, they walked towards the engaged Stargate, turning to wave goodbye as each stepped through. Aphrael stepped through last. She turned, and gave her impish grin. “Thank you” was all she said, as she stepped through.

To everyone’s surprise, the sound of pipes could be heard in the control room, and both Daniel and Teal’c had a mysterious smile on each of their faces.

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End Notes: Please, please, please review! I love reviews! And any flames will be put to use lighting my cigarettes :P

Author's Notes: The final chapter is here. If you have enjoyed reading this story, have any criticisms, comments, advice, feel free to use the little box at the bottom. I love reviews of any kind. And remember, if you want to flame me... I'm a smoker ;P

I also wish to dedicate this chapter to two friends of mine, Nova and Soul. And to their two unborn daughters. Hopefully, they arrive soon :)

It was ten months since their goodbyes had been said to their friends in the other reality. Nothing had been heard from them, but Daniel said things were going well. After some wrangling, they’d managed to find out that he was in contact with Aphrael, and could actually do Styric magic. This was evidenced when he created a bunch of red roses out of thin air for Janet before asking her on a date. Blushing, she had accepted, and the two were now quite an item on the base. A few of the female staff looked a bit downcast at this. Surprisingly, Hammond won the pool on when the two would become a couple.

Jack and Sam had also become quite an item. And, the base being what it was, news spread. Hammond congratulated them, saying that no one would hear anything from him. Regulations be damned, those two cared too much for each other anyway.
Both Daniel and Teal’c won the pool, surprisingly, but probably not so, as they did have some inside information. To Sam and Jack’s surprise, no one seemed to care about their relationship, though they did primarily keep it off base. Aphrael had been right. People will turn a blind eye when their loyalty is stronger to them than something else.

Life was settling back into some form of normality, as normal as the SGC can be, anyway, when they got a bit of a surprise. Klaxons blared through the base, and the announcement “Unauthorised Offworld Activation” came over the bases PA.

Walter turned to Hammond who stood behind him. “It’s Sparhawk’s IDC, Sir.”
“Open the iris.”

The iris was opened, and a few minutes later, an interesting party stepped through. Sparhawk was there, of course, as was Danae, and a heavily pregnant Ehlana. Vanion and Sephrenia had also come along, but with three unfamiliar women and Khalad.

Sparhawk stepped down the ramp first, as the wormhole disengaged. “Hello again, my friends,” he said, shaking SG-1’s hands in turn. He then turned to General Hammond. “We hope you don’t mind, but Ehlana wanted to have her baby here. After all, it was your help that made it possible. As far as anyone knows, Ehlana’s visiting Aslade and Elys here in Demos, and isn’t to be disturbed. Lenda can handle everything anyway.”

“No, that’s fine.” General Hammond said, beaming. Everyone knew what he was like with children. “I’ll escort you to the infirmary, and Dr. Frasier can take a look over you. Let’s see how everything’s going, shall we?”

Ehlana ran up, grinning and hugged everyone. “It’s so good to see you again!” She exclaimed, hugging even Hammond. “Oh, I nearly forgot.” She said. Turning to the three women with her, she introduced them. First, was a tall woman, taller even than Teal’c, but with similarly coloured skin. “This is Mirtai. Atana Mirtai.” Mirtai inclined her head.
Next was a plump woman, Aslade, who was also introduced as Khalad’s mother, though apparently both her, and the slim woman beside her introduced as Elys, were considered his ‘mothers’. And Khalad was introduced to those that didn’t know him.

Once the introductions were made, Ehlana was whisked off to the infirmary, Aslade Elys, Sephrenia, Sparhawk and Danae trailing after her. Mirtai looked at all of them, her eyes lingering on Teal’c. “I have heard a lot about you all,” she said. Her accent was slightly musical. “I have looked forward to meeting you all.”

Vanion chuckled. “You should have heard her when we said we wanted to come here to have the baby. She seemed torn between telling Ehlana to stay, and coming to meet you.”

Mirtai shot him a cool look, and his expression changed. Khalad tried to hide a grin. “I’d rephrase that, if I were you, My Lord.” He said. “Unless you’re feeling up to a challenge.”

Mirtai looked at both of them steadily. “Speaking of challenges, I think maybe both of you need to practise your skills in combat.”

Both men squirmed. Teal’c spoke up, his eyes bright. “I would be honoured if you would spar with me. I have not had a good challenge in a while.” He added, looking slyly at O’Neill.

“I would be honoured to test my skills against yours. Where shall we go?”

With a slight smile, Teal’c gestured for her to follow him, as he left the room.

Both Vanion and Khalad sighed with relief. “I’m glad we got out of that one,” Khalad said. “Last time she decided to ‘educate’ me, it took weeks for the bruises to heal.”
“You’re getting soft, Khalad.”
“I didn’t see you coming off any better, Vanion.”
“I’m older than you.”
“Not since Bhelliom stepped in.”
“Older’s older, Khalad.”
“You know, Kalten says the same thing. Are you sure the two of you aren’t more alike than you think?”

Vanion winced. “Please don’t ever say that again. The thought makes me shudder.”
“Why? There’s nothing wrong with him.”
“Just that he’s as dense as a brick.”
“He brought Sephrenia back around. He’s not as dense as everyone thinks.”

The rest of SG-1 stood watching this exchange with slight smiles. It reminded them of how much they had missed these people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that Ehlana was not too far from giving birth, a few days at most. Apparently, her body was showing signs of labour. All they had to do was wait.

It was a few days later when Ehlana went into labour. Sitting on a bed in the infirmary, with various monitors on her, both for her and the baby, she was attended to by Sephrenia, Aslade and Elys, as well as Dr. Frasier. Sparhawk paced the whole time in her room. Mirtai stood guard.

After what seemed to everyone waiting outside to be forever, a baby’s cry could be heard. Everyone jumped to their feet. However, there was more to come. Within minutes, a second cry could be heard.
“Twins!” Daniel, Jack and Sam cried out in unison. Vanion was beaming. Even Teal’c was smiling. Khalad was wiping tears from his face. Mirtai came out to say they could all come in.

Ehlana was sitting on her bed, holding two little girls. Both had a smattering of dark hair, and, surprisingly, grey eyes.

Dr. Frasier walked towards them. “I’m proud to announce Queen Ehlana has given birth to twin girls. Identical.” Her eyes were misty. Daniel put his arm around her shoulders and looked at the rest of his team. His family.

He turned to the other family present. They were clustered around Ehlana, smiling, crying, and hugging her and both little girls. Aphrael suddenly burst into song, her voice sounding like pipes. It was a song of joy. All present were transfixed by it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was much later. Ehlana had fed both her girls, and had rested after giving birth. She smiled as SG-1 came into the infirmary. Her bed was surrounded by flowers, most gifts from the members of the SGC, and the smell of them permeated through the whole infirmary. Some people had even given her helium balloons, which had fascinated Ehlana, until it had been explained. But she still loved how they floated in the air.

“We named the girls.” Ehlana said softly, looking at the crib where her girls slept. “The one with the purple band on her wrist is Samantha. We named her after you, as you made this possible through the use of your technology. The other, with the pink band, we named Sephrenia.”

Sam’s eyes welled with tears. “Thank you. I’m honoured.”
“Thank you. You made this possible. Danae is bouncing around quite happily. She’s excited to have siblings again.”

Sam stepped forward and hugged the Queen. “I have a lot to thank you for. Most notably, Jack. And the opportunity for us to be together.”

Ehlana smiled. “Then I guess we should just thank each other.”
“I think that works.”

Both women laughed. And both knew that they would be friends for a very long time, even though their visits may be hard to arrange.

And all because of a rift that made something that should not have been, reality. Sam had been interested to know what had caused the rift, but after some thinking, decided some mystery was worth it. After all, some things just need that element of magic to them. And this… this was magic.

Her and Jack. Daniel and Janet. Ehlana, Sparhawk, Danae, the twins, Vanion, Sephrenia, Tora, Kalten, Alean, Khalad, Mirtai… all of it was magic.

At least to her.

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