~It’s been a while
Since I could look at myself straight
And it’s been a while since I said I’m sorry
And it’s been a while since I’ve seen the way candles light your face
And it’s been a while but I can still remember just the way you taste~
It’s been a while- Stained
The feeling of the crisp, cold air surprised Sam and she shivered as her feet met the ground. Last time they’d been here it was summer and the climate had been rather warm, but now the ground was covered with a light snow, blinding her with the sudden brightness from the sun’s reflection on the white surface.
“I should have chosen another set…” The colonel muttered as he looked down at his green BDU’s. The probe hadn't indicated any snow, meaning that it probably fell while they were getting ready. Looking for her sunglasses in her jacket, Sam smiled slightly as she put them on. When she looked up again, the colonel was staring at her. Not knowing what to do under his intense gaze, she looked away, but she was well aware of the reason he had been looking at her that way…It had been a long while since she had actually smiled at something he’d said. It was probably a step in the right direction, Sam mused.
“Now what?” The colonel asked to no one in particular, but it’s Daniel who answered.
“Now I think we should go find the Woodmen.”
“There is no need.” Said an accented voice from their right. Sam turned, startled, her hands ready on the P90.
A tall man emerged from the woods, covered with a heavy green cape, and his hands raised in defense. Walking closer until he stood a few feet ahead of SG-1, he observed each of the members closely. Sam hadn’t noticed at first but he had the most amazing green eyes, and a noble, but thin face covered with a rather charming stubble. She was so caught up in her observation that she jumped slightly when Amalia gasped and put a hand over her mouth, which also drew the Woodman’s attention to her. For a moment he seemed as disconcerted as Amalia. Sam threw a look at Daniel, but the archeologist was too busy trying to understand what was going on to return her questioning glare.
“We believed you dead…” Amalia whispered softly, but the Woodman seemed to be as good at hiding his feelings as...another man Sam knew, and his face was now totally deprived of any emotion.
“I am Idan.” He said at last, resting his glare on each one of the team members. Teal’c crossed the distance in two steps and shook Idan’s hand. “It is good to see you again, Teal’c.” Idan said and smiled, carefully avoiding Amalia, who looked just as if she’d been hit by a truck. And from that moment the colonel took matter into his own hands.
“I’m Colonel Jack O’Neill, this is Carter, Daniel and…Amalia, although you two seem to know each other…” The invitation to explain was subtle, but Idan and Amalia obviously chose to decline it willingly and remained silent. “I understand you need our help?” The colonel asked as he realized neither of them was going to explain.
Idan seemed to snap back to reality and looked at the colonel in the eye. “Yes. If you will come with me, I will explain everything.” With a vague wave of his hand, the colonel invited him to do just that. Idan turned around, and SG-1 followed him into the woods.
Before Daniel could say anything, Amalia ran at Idan’s side and they argued quietly for a while.
“You know how they know each other?” Sam whispered to Daniel but he shook his head no, his eyes riveted on the couple ahead of them.
“I have no idea.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“I will, but not right now.” He replied with a false smile. “She looks upset enough without having me giving her the jealous boyfriend act.” With a smile she placed a hand on his shoulder, and only when someone tapped her shoulder did she realize they’d stopped walking. There were in a small meadow, surrounded by high trees, from which all the leaves had fallen, leaving them with an expression of death and nakedness.
When she finally turned around, the colonel was indicating with a finger her to look up. With a curious frown, she did as he asked, and noticed cabins high in the branches of the trees. A perfect hiding place if no one cared to look up. When he tapped her shoulder again, Sam tried to fight the annoyance from her voice.
“What?” It got out harsher than she’d intended, but the colonel seemed to ignore her tone and pointed towards one cabin in particular. It’s only then that Sam saw what he wanted her to see.
A woman stood on a little suspended bridge relating two cabins, and when she waved in a solemn gesture, Sam finally recognized her.
Karrigan.
Sam forced a smile to her lips as she waved in return, her actions the complete opposite of her feelings. Oh Karrigan wasn’t a bad person, well on the contrary, but there were some, let’s say, circumstances Sam didn’t want to repeat at all, like translating Karrigan’s and the colonel’s courtship. That had been rough…
While Karrigan moved and found a way down, Sam took the opportunity to throw a look at the colonel. He was standing right beside her, but his eyes were directed downwards, as if his boots were the most beautiful view he could find. Sam couldn’t blame him, really, he’d had enough trouble trying to avoid getting married to Karrigan the last time, he probably really didn’t feel like going through all that again. And she didn’t either, if she was honest with herself.
Turning back her attention to the people around her, Sam realized Idan was already explaining to Daniel and Teal’c the reason he had called them here. Although Daniel looked rather…tense, he was listening patiently, and Sam knew that under his stoic posture, Teal’c was actually excited at the thought of some action. He must have been the one to teach Idan to speak English, she suddenly realized. Taking a step in their direction, she stopped when strong fingers gently grabbed her elbow and with a tug made her turn around.
The colonel was standing in front of her, closer than she’d expected. Instinctively she took a step back. Seeing her reaction, the colonel frowned, then slowly and reluctantly, it seemed, let go of her arm. He was obviously uncomfortable and Sam didn’t like that a bit. Taking a breath, he looked up at her face again and finally opened his mouth to say what seemed so hard to say.
“Carter, I want you to promise me something…” He whispered as his hand came to rest strongly on her arm. The heat from his hand made Sam shiver and her mind was screaming at her that her own reaction to a simple touch was dangerous. Way too dangerous, and she just had to get a goddamn grip! She tried to take a step back, this was definitely too close for her own taste, but the fingers on her arm tightened their grip and, with a little shake, made her look up into his face again. She had no choice but to look into his eyes, the sole place that actually spoke to her when he didn’t say a word.
His eyes were shining with intensity and she could feel his whole body solid and tense with the words he was about to speak. She couldn't help but succomb and listen, really listen, to what he wanted to say “Promise me that…”
“Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter!” A female voice announced from their side and the colonel jumped slightly at the too-well known voice. He let go of Sam’s arm without a look and turned to face the newcomer.
“Karrigan.” He replied flatly.
Still swayed by the intensity of deep brown eyes looking down at her, Sam took a few seconds to come down to reality. “Karrigan,” she acknowledged finally, “how are you? I’m kind of surprised to find you here.” Sam was well aware she was making small talk, and all the more in English, but according to the look on his face, the colonel was happy not to have to say anything just yet.
“Yes,” Karrigan replied as her scrutinizing eyes moved from Sam to the colonel, surprising both with her English “a lot has changed since you were here.” She hadn’t changed much from Sam’s point of view, she was maybe a tad taller, and the features of her face more defined, but her eyes were still cold and her mouth determined. She wondered for a moment how she had learned their language. From Idan, probably, or maybe even from themselves, without them realizing it.
“So it seems.” The colonel spoke, drawing Sam out of her contemplation.
“Colonel O’Neill,” Karrigan turned to him, “I am happy to meet with you again. I hope this time it will be under more pleasant circumstances.”
“Let’s hope so.” He seemed calm but the sarcasm Sam detected in his voice told her all that she needed of his apprehension.
“Jack!” Daniel called suddenly, “Idan invites us in, we should go…” He said as he walked backwards to follow Idan and still be able to look in their direction.
“Alright, let’s go.”
And the conversation with Karrigan was over.
For the moment.
******
As they all sat around Idan’s table in one of those ‘cabins-in-the-tree’, Jack was cursing mentally. He’d have preferred being stuck in a room with thirty Jaffas to sitting there, on that particular planet, with Carter on one side and Karrigan on the other. And from what he could tell, Teal’c was actually the only one who seemed happy to be there and meet with his fellas woodmen again. Carter was tense, Daniel was looking down at his hands on the table without saying a word, Amalia seemed to be as disconcerted as she was when she’d seen Idan for the first time and Jack was…well, less than enthusiastic.
“I have called you because I require your help.” Idan spoke at last, resting his forearms on the table and joining his hands together. “However you are in no way obligated to help.”
“Gee thanks…” Jack muttered sarcastically, letting his bad mood reflect in his tone.
“But,” Idan went on, ignoring the comment, “I will not lie to you by admitting that without your help, my plan may not succeed.”
“No pressure…” Jack heard Carter comment and for a moment he didn’t feel as bad. At least he wasn’t alone in thinking this was a very bad idea. Plus Carter had just used sarcasm, his most useful defense mechanism, which was something he secretly felt very proud of. He would have smiled if Daniel hadn’t intervened the way he did.
“So what do you need our help for?” His tone was harsh and impatient and Jack couldn’t help the surprise he felt at the sudden change of personality. What had he put in his coffee this morning? Jack felt the need to excuse his friend so he leaned on the table and looked at Idan.
“What he means is, what do you need our help for, Idan?”
Idan took a deep breath and sat more fully into his chair, searching for the right words. “As you all must know from your previous journey here, the difference between the rich and the poor is intolerable. The rich are few but very rich, and the poor are numerous, haunting the streets for something to eat and clean clothes to wear. What we want is for those people to live under better conditions, and be represented in a government that would take the poors’ opinion into consideration before taking decisions. We need to eat Colonel, and that need is very hard to fulfill when no one cares. Hunger makes the people angry.”
“French Revolution…” Daniel muttered from where he sat, his eyes leaving the sight of his hands for the first time.
“Sounds like Mission Impossible III to me…” Jack replied, leaning against the back of the chair and ruffling his hair. It was great to have ideals, but Jack had listened just enough during history class to know that no one had ever succeeded in making a perfectly democratic or egalitarian government. It was always a matter of power, no matter how the leaders claimed otherwise.
“The French succeeded, for a short period of time, yes, but it is possible.” Daniel argued, his eyes suddenly coming back to life. "And if you forget about the Terror and all the killing that went on during the aftermath of the Revolution..."Jack stopped the flow with a raised hand and turned to Idan, deciding to consider every aspect before taking any decisions.
“Just out of curiosity, how do you intend to make that happen?”
His eyes shining with excitement, Idan smiled ruefully. “Many people are on my side Colonel O’Neill. Some are very influent, but as I have said before, your help would be even a greater advantage.”
“How? There’s only four of us, we can’t take down a whole army.”
“And I do not ask you to. All I want is advice, and, if you accept, weaponry would also be greatly useful.”
Biting the interior of his cheek, Jack considered the options. He could decide to help Idan to make his world a better place for the big majority of its inhabitants, or he could just pack and go home, leaving them to fight on their own, and be in time to watch the next game as if nothing of this ever happened…
“I say we risk it Jack.” Daniel said suddenly. “That is if you’re asking for opinions here. All they need is a little nudge to hit the right track. And you and I both have seen how the people in the city live. If we can help, I say we do it. Besides, it’d give us a great opportunity to see, to live a Revolution of this scale up close!”
“I agree with Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c stated calmly without giving more explanations. Jack turned to Carter, catching Amalia’s agreeing nod on the way.
“Carter?”
Biting her lip, she was obviously trying to find the right way to voice her opinion, but in the end seemed to give up. “It’s your call sir.” Was all she said, not helping at all. Jack would have liked it better if she’d just said out loud her objections. He wouldn’t have been alone then. Looking at each of the faces around the table, Jack met Karrigan’s eyes, but she was as still as a statue, with her eyes fixed on him and waiting for his decision.
“Alright.” He said at last. “What do we do?”
*****
It went beyond Idan's expectations that the people from Earth, known as SG-1, were willing to help him in his crazy adventure. They offered him support, strength and a new angle concerning revolutions and war. After all, it seemed that they had much more experience than Idan and his people, and he really needed such wisdom to plan everything carefully and, most importantly, to succeed.
Daniel Jackson had a great knowledge of all the revolutions that had made the history of his world, therefore he knew the strength and weakness of each of them. Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill both had a strong military mind that would be useful in battle, and Teal'c had the twinkling eyes of a man who desired nothing but freedom for his friends, and Idan was honored to be among those friends.
"Is this where you've been for all those years Idan?" The soft voice startled Idan and he turned quickly, his hand automatically finding the sword at his waist. Amalia was standing in the doorway, a dark cape now covering her shoulders. Idan snorted at the irony, she had come here with the warmth of Earth's fabrics, and now she was wearing one of the cold capes they wore here?
She entered more fully into his cabin and sat at his side, observing him with scrutinizing eyes.
"Yes I have." He answered at last, rubbing his hands above the fire in order to bring them some warmth. "I see you have made friends with the people of Earth also." His tone was harsher than he had intended it to be, but he had to know why she had flown away when he was fighting for freedom at the risk of his own life. He had got no news about her in years, but he had figured she was happy and safe with the alchemists. So what had changed her mind?
Why did she follow SG-1 the first time?
"I have. Surely you must have heard about Daniel becoming an alchemist the last time they were here…" She trailed off, leaving Idan to make his own assumptions. And assumptions he made, ones he was rather uncomfortable with.
"Yes, but I did not…I mean I would not have thought that you…" He stopped, angry for letting himself get upset. After all Amalia was free to make whatever she wanted of her life, and he did not have any right to interfere in her choices. Risking a look, he watched her face, her brown eyes that, in the firelight looked so much like her mother's that it took his breath away. She had become a beautiful woman and she looked…happy. Earth seemed to agree with her. "For what it's worth, I am glad you found Daniel. He seems like a nice man, and if he makes you happy, then I am too."
Never leaving the fire from her gaze, she smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you find I made the right choice by leaving." Idan knew she had chosen her words carefully, bating him to admit that he did not actually think it was the right choice. He decided to be caught in the bate rather than lying.
"I honestly do not know if it is the right choice Amalia," he looked at her, "the easy way is often the coward's way." She flashed him an angry look. "However, I will not stand in your way. If this is what you want, I have no say in the matter, you know that."
Amalia glared at him, her anger clear in her eyes and the thin line of her mouth. "You think it was coward of me to follow the man I love?"
Just as Idan was about to reply, a strong whistle coming from further in the woods attracted his attention and he frowned, recognizing the signal. He paled worriedly as panic made its quick way to his stomach,
"Oh no…”He breathed. “They've found us."
*******
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