I realize it's been over 2 years since I posted this fanfic. (Did you catch my hints?) And I realize that the only way for me to call myself a writer of any shape or form, is to, well, write. I have two unfinished stories (well, two that I care about right now), and one novel in need of a serious edit. So, if I can finish this story, move on to the next one, then I can maybe flex these unused muscles and one day soon be able to edit/re-write my novel and be happy with it. I was inspired to get back to this by my sunshiny friend Sarah, who has gotten back to something creative she had left behind (and which I had no idea about)—she motivated me to get back to something creative which I love.
So, here is the all the story which I have posted on here so far (figured it would be easier for you than going and hunting for each part). AND, Part 6 (which is brand new to you) is posted at the end. As always, constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated. I have some notes already, but anything YOU can add will help this become a polished piece of work, even if the only light of day it will see is here and fanfiction.net. ^_^ Enjoy!
***
(Author's Note:
This fanfic takes place sometime during Season 7 of the show–just in
case anyone didn't want any spoilers. Not that they're huge. Well,
maybe.... You've been warned.)
Dream Giver
(a Stargate SG-1 FanFic)
Part 1
The
preliminary survey had barely touched on the woodland they now
encountered. Having earlier watched it through a tiny view screen with
muted colors showing through a grainy picture, the party of four now
stood in awe as a noonday sun streamed down through the leaves of large,
lush trees and warmed them.
“I could get used to this,” the
leader quipped as he swiped his cap off and scratched his gray-haired
head for a moment before adjusting his cap back on his head.
“It
is beautiful, Sir,” the blonde-haired woman smiled with a warmth given
to someone that was a good friend, and not just a superior.
“Indeed,” the large, black man nodded, the golden symbol on his forehead gleaming softly in the rays of the sun.
The
brown-haired, bespectacled man nodded as he made his way down the steps
of the landing. “It appears as if this is a place of worship, or some
sort of shrine.” He pointed to several containers filled with exotic
flowers placed carefully around the area. His forehead crinkled as he
pushed his glasses up his nose. “But I don’t see any writings, so I—”
“Hey!” the leader called out playfully. “We’ll have time for that later, first we need to—”
“Sir?” the woman called out calmly, but with a hint of chiding as her gaze landed on two figures peeking out from behind a tree.
The rest of the group followed the woman’s gaze.
“Oh, hey,” the leader blinked. “Hey there!” he called out cheerfully. “Come on out.”
“We will not harm you,” the large man said stoically.
The woman grimaced as she looked at the large man and merely shook her head with a soft laugh.
The
figures came out from the shadows and walked toward the group slowly.
They were young women, both with pale hair, light eyes and slender
figures. Though their features were distinct, one might have thought
them to be sisters. Their simple dresses of a silken material, floated
behind them as they came close. Warm smiles touched their faces as they
were now near enough for greeting.
The taller one spoke. “We thought it possible, but no one has ever come through the Chapa’ai before.”
The brown-haired man jumped a little and made his way to right in front of the women. “Chapa’ai. You know this word?”
The
young women gasped softly as their eyes went hugely round. Huge smiles
then began to spread across their faces. They crossed their hands
lightly over their lips and gave a bow of their heads.
The
shorter one spoke, with an uneven, young voice as she looked back up at
the brown-haired man. “We never thought we would ever get to see you!
There are many that believe you do not exist.” She almost seemed to
giggle, and the taller one put a hand on her shoulder.
“We,
however, are not of that belief,” the taller and seemingly older one
said calmly, with a hint of delight, as she pointed to the flowers. “We
are of a group that believed one day we would see you.”
The brown-haired man blinked as his eyes narrowed. “You’ve been expecting me?”
The older woman merely smiled and then turned to the younger one. “You must tell the others! I will lead them shortly.”
The younger woman nodded, gave another strange bow and took off running.
The rest of the party looked on in disbelief.
“Wait a second!” the leader called out. “You want us to go with you?”
The young woman turned to him and smiled softly. “Is that not the reason you came?”
The
leader’s mouth opened as if he was about to speak, then he shrugged and
nodded. “Yeah, sure, okay, but first I’d like to know what’s going on?”
“I do not understand.”
The leader narrowed the gap between himself and the brown-haired man. “Why do you think you’ve been expecting him?”
The young woman smiled beatifically. “Because he is the Dream Giver.”
Part 2
The
SG-1 team all looked at one another, perhaps trying to see if anyone
else in the group understood what this young woman had just said.
“Dream Giver?” Major Samantha Carter asked, brows furrowed.
The young woman smiled widely as she nodded and continued looking at Daniel Jackson.
Teal’c quirked an eyebrow, his lips twitching just a moment. “What is this ‘Dream Giver’?”
The young woman didn’t blink an eye as she answered. “The one who gives dreams, of course.”
“Oh, of course!” Colonel Jack O’Neill let out quickly and then pursed his lips together.
Blue eyes narrowing in thought, Daniel finally let out slowly, “One who gives dreams to whom?”
She
blinked. “You do not know?” She didn’t give Daniel a chance to answer
as she smiled softly. “Of course, you do not know her name. She said
names were never given, that’s why she called you the Dream Giver. It
was the only way she knew you.”
“She?” Daniel’s glasses slid a little off of his nose as he looked at the woman.
The woman smiled widely, almost beaming, and stood straighter. “Yes, my sister, Elpis.”
Sam blinked. “You mean the girl that just ran off?”
The
woman laughed delightedly. “Oh, no. That was my youngest sister, Hebe. I
am Daphnis. My oldest sister, Elpis is the one of dreams.”
“Uhm,”
Jack called out, “Daphnis, could you please excuse us for a moment?” He
gestured to his teammates to follow him off a ways.
She merely nodded and backed off herself.
Once gathered, Jack began to whisper. “Okay, who here thinks these people are nuts?” He raised his hand and looked around.
Sam
chuckled softly. “Well, Sir, to be honest, this isn’t the first time
the local female population has become enamored of Daniel.”
Jack gave a wry grin.
Daniel’s mouth dropped open, a hurt expression crossing his face. “Sam? Humor? Really?”
She shrugged and tried to contain a large grin.
He scowled. “So suddenly this is all my fault?”
“Major
Carter’s comment is valid, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c said calmly, though a
touch of a raised eyebrow also confirmed his mirth.
Daniel threw up his hands and sighed.
Jack
patted Daniel on the back. “It’s okay, Daniel. Really.” He then looked
around to the rest of them. “Seriously, though, what do we think?”
“They appear to be harmless,” Teal’c spoke first.
“But why do they think that Daniel’s this Dream Giver, and not any one of us?” Sam’s brows furrowed.
Jack
nodded. “Good question, Carter.” He looked toward Daphnis and waved her
over. She nodded and walked toward them. “Daphnis, why is it that you
think Daniel here is the Dream Giver? Couldn’t it just as easily be one
of us? We all did come through the Chapa’ai.”
She blinked at looked at Daniel. “Daniel? That is your name?”
Daniel nodded.
She smiled softly and then turned to Jack. “We know Daniel is the Dream Giver, because we know his face.”
“What!” both Daniel and Jack questioned in disbelief.
Daphnis’ face fell a little. “Perhaps it is better that I take you to my father and the others. He is the leader of our clan.”
“Yes!” Jack nodded. “Take us to your leader.” He grinned widely.
“Sir,” Sam chided lightly.
“Oh, come on Carter, you know it’s fun to say!”
She merely shook her head with a boys-will-be-boys smile on her lips.
Daphnis blinked, nodded, and began to lead them through a path in the forest toward her home.
Part 3
After
a few miles, the group emerged from the forest onto a wide plain with
deep green grasses and majestic mountains in the far distance soaring
into powder-puff clouds and azure skies. Several bloom-bearing trees
lined paths into the prosperous village with wood and stone homes, with
the peaks of more decorative stone and marble buildings showing the
heart of the town.
A soft breeze caressed around them, rustling leaves and carrying the sweet scent of spring.
“Wow!” breathed out Jack.
Sam smiled as she inhaled deeply. “I think I could get used to this too, Sir.”
Daphnis smiled widely as she looked at them. “It is beautiful, is it not?”
Daniel raked a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t mind retiring here,” he chuckled softly.
Daphnis’ eyes grew round in surprise. “You would wish to stay with us, Dream Giver?” she exclaimed with hope.
His
smile fell a little, softening as he looked at her after calling him by
the title apparently bestowed upon him. “Well,” he began, but was cut
off as a small group of people emerged from a nearby building, making
their way quickly toward SG-1.
A tall, older man with a large
girth and sparse, darker blond hairs on his head led the group comprised
of quite a few young girls who looked like Daphnis and her sister Hebe,
as well as a few young men with similar light blond hair and eyes of
varying degrees of blue.
Daphnis stepped out to greet him with
the now-familiar bow of the hands over the lips. “Abaris, we have
visitors.” She smiled gently at him, and turned to Jack. “Colonel
O’Neill, this is the Abaris of our clan. He is our leader,” and with a
hint of pride added, “and my father.”
Jack held out his hand and,
after bowing to him, the Abaris took Jack’s hand hesitantly, unsure of
what to do until Jack started pumping it.
The Abaris laughed, his
darker blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well met, travelers!” His
eyes scanned the SG team, and stopped on Daniel. He gave a quick glance
to Jack, recognizing him as leader. “And these must be your companions?”
After
the quick introductions, the Abaris stepped toward Daniel, his eyes
intent. He whispered softly to himself: “It seems true.” He then blinked
and smiled gently, addressing Daniel. “My daughter Daphnis has told you
whom we believe you to be?”
Daniel’s brow furrowed and nodded.
“She mentioned it briefly, but, I must tell you, I don’t really
understand what’s going on. Could you maybe explain more about this
Dream Giver?”
The Abaris pursed his lips briefly, then sighed.
“Perhaps it is better if I take you to Elpis. She will be able to tell
us if you are truly him. I sent Hebe on ahead to let her know.”
Spreading his arm out, he began walking away from the village. “Please
come.”
As they walked, the Abaris talked about their village and
home, about Elpis being with other young women, picking fruit in a
nearby field. The SG-1 team asked varying questions about the climate,
their enemies, if any, in addition to information regarding medicines
and herbs.
Daniel, normally very talkative with inhabitants of
any new world they encountered, curious to find out their history,
lagged in silence behind the group. Samantha caught Jack’s eye and
motioned him to Daniel, who fell behind, in step with the archeologist.
“So, Daniel, what’s an ‘Abaris’?”
Daniel blinked several times, then looked at Jack. “Uhm, Abaris was a priest of Apollo.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he murmured, “Apollo.”
Daniel
sighed. “Apollo, the Greek god of the Sun? Also medicine, archery, and
music. And also the god of—” he broke off as he noticed Jack yawning.
“Anyway, Apollo gave Abaris a golden arrow which was supposed to cure
diseases and even spoke oracles.”
Jack scratched under his cap. “The arrow spoke?”
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack. “Yes, Jack, the arrow spoke,”
he quipped sarcastically, but quickly resumed the lecture. “And, it
also rendered him invisible and allowed him to ride through the sky.”
Jack chuckled. “Must have been a big arrow.”
“Indeed,” quipped Teal’c, who had joined them while Sam continued talking with the Abaris.
Jack grinned at Teal’c, then motioned in the direction of the Abaris. “So…?”
Daniel
shrugged. “From what I gather, the clans or villages of this world have
leaders who call themselves ‘Abaris’, though they aren’t necessarily
priests, from what I can tell, as I didn’t see any symbols of any
particular pantheon. And, since Daphnis didn’t give us his actual name,
it would seem that if his name is known, he is usually addressed only by
his title.”
“Ah.”
“Although,” continued Daniel, now
seeming more like his usual self, “all of the names we have encountered
so far have been from Ancient Greece. Names of gods or goddesses, or
those associated with them. But they don’t really look
like ancient Greeks, do they?” He pushed his glasses back up the bridge
of his nose. “Actually, if I had to put a race to them, I would say
perhaps Nordic.” He shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. “Very
strange.”
“I’ll say,” said Jack, as they caught up to the Abaris,
who was being approached by a group of women, some holding baskets of
fruit, all with the same fair skin, hair and eyes—except for one.
Hebe
had her arms linked with a woman of olive skin, whose long brown hair
curled softly, hints of red glinting in the sun. Tilted eyes of
emerald-green laced with lashes so dark it almost seemed as if they were
rimmed in kohl contrasted with the smattering of light freckles across
her nose. The women quickly made their way toward the newcomers, bowing
to the Abaris, though the one with tan skin gave him a warm embrace.
The Abaris held the woman and they looked into each other’s eyes.
“Is it true?” her melodic voice asked him.
He merely turned, and the group behind him parted, leaving a path to Daniel. “My daughter, Elpis.”
Her
eyes went round and her lips parted as she stood the distance, looking
at Daniel. She swallowed softly and licked her lips, approaching him
cautiously. Her eyes began to glisten as her lips gathered into a wide
smile, a dimple dancing into one cheek as she stopped before him. Her
eyes darted over him, trying to absorb every detail.
Daniel shifted on his feet, watching this woman, until his eyes caught hers and held them. He spoke gently. “I’m Daniel.”
Elpis
stared intently into Daniel’s blue eyes, and then her smile faded, the
unshed tears of happiness now falling down her cheeks in sadness.
“You—you do not know me.”
He winced slightly at her tears and shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry,” he breathed softly.
Her
face fell and she nodded lightly, before turning and walking back to
her father. “By your leave, Abaris.” She gave a quick bow and left
hurriedly toward the village, with the calls out to her by her father
quickening her pace even more.
The Abaris sighed deeply and
turned to Daniel and the other members of his team. “Please forgive my
daughter’s behavior. Seeing that you were not the Dream Giver has upset
her. I assure you, she is usually the most cordial of many of my
people.” He frowned slightly as he watched her form disappear over the
rise.
“But Fath—uhm, Abaris,” Daphnis spoke up, “Elpis didn’t say
that he was not the Dream Giver. All we know is that Daniel did not
recognize her.”
Hebe lit up. “It is true, Abaris. He does look like the drawings!”
A few more murmurs of assent rippled through the small crowd.
The
Abaris nodded. “Very true, my people. Very true.” He turned to SG-1.
“Regardless of whether you are the Dream Giver or not, we never let
visitors go without a meal. Please join us, friends. And perhaps we will
settle this soon.”
Part 4
Shortly
before updating Stargate Command on the situation, the team discovered
that their radios weren’t working. After some quick diagnostics by Sam,
they concluded that something near the village was causing
electromagnetic interference. Once in proximity to the Stargate their
radios seemed to work fine. Clear that there was no danger, they settled
in for a meal in one of the common buildings, along with a few of the
town elders, the Abaris, and a few of his eldest children—with a
noticeably absent Elpis.
“So is it just me,” Jack murmured to the
others at the dinner table as the meal was ending, “or is ‘one of these
things not like the other’?” His eyes rolled a little, his last words
trailing in a sing-song voice.
The Abaris looked in SG-1’s direction and called out to them, down the long table. “What was that you said, Colonel?”
Jack looked around at his team, but Daniel jumped in before the question could be answered.
“Abaris,
one of your daughters mentioned drawings. Could I see them, possibly?”
He looked around at the team. “It might help us understand a little bit
more about what you believe me to be.”
“Of course, Daniel. They are housed in our simple museum but one building over.”
The
Abaris led SG-1 next door, and they made their way through large rooms
housing paintings and drawings, with a few stone sculptures and
artifacts dug up through the years. Normally Daniel would have been
interested in these, but he held close to the Abaris, intent upon seeing
these drawings that supposedly depicted him.
“After the first
drawings, we had many people attempt to copy the likeness, and so we put
the small collection of the best likenesses in this small room.” He
stepped into a side room, leading them to a main wall that stood in the
middle of the room. Hung cautiously without frames and drawn on
rough-hewn, canvas-like pages, were striking likenesses of Daniel.
Daniel
stared at the images. Logically, he knew this couldn’t be possible.
There was no way that some woman he didn’t even know, light years away
from home, could possibly know him, much less what he looked like. But
in front of these images his heart told him differently. Soon after they
were mentioned as existing, he knew it had to be true. Her warm emerald
eyes had held recognition, and he knew that it was his lack that caused
her to turn away. She knew him. But how?
“It is indeed puzzling, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c answered.
Daniel did a double-take and looked at Teal’c, finally realizing that he had spoken his question out loud.
Jack
tapped on the wall, near the pictures. “Well, the clothes are
different,” he said, trying to be helpful in pointing out discrepancies.
In
the portraits it was hard to distinguish, but in the few full-bodied
images, the Daniel in the pictures was shown wearing clothing similar to
the locals of this town.
“And the glasses are missing,” Sam pointed out.
Daniel crinkled his nose and merely nodded.
“Who drew these,” she asked, turning to the Abaris.
“These were the first, and were drawn by Elpis herself.” He smiled. “She is quite talented.”
Almost
as if he hadn’t heard the previous few comments, Daniel turned to them,
eyes wide and throwing his hands out to the drawings. “Besides the fact
that someone had a dream that had someone that looks like me in them,
and they put that likeness to paper, why the shrine at the Stargate? Why
the copies of the initial likeness? Why a whole
wing dedicated to this Dream Giver! What makes him more than a dream?”
Sam, Jack and Teal’c looked at each other, then to the Abaris. With drooping brows, the Abaris looked softly at Daniel.
“While we call you, uh,
him,”
he said, pointing to the drawings, “the Dream Giver, it is only because
he always appeared in dreams. Elpis claims that he spoke with her,
almost as if he were with her. He helped her guide our village. He
helped explain cures to simple ailments, helped us with ways of going
about our daily lives in this village, and taught us how to guard
against any who would come to us through the Chapa’ai. It was as if he
were our protector.”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped, and he closed
his eyes briefly, running both hands through his hair. “I need some
air,” he murmured, making his way through the simple maze of halls and
rooms.
Stepping outside, he let his eyelids slide to close and
took a deep breath of the cool evening air, exposing his face to the
sky. Slowly opening his eyes, his peripheral vision caught the last
vestiges of light on one side, giving way to the inky night sky, which
gently took twinkling stars into its embrace. He blinked. He was used to
unfamiliar stars after traveling to so many planets, but he was
surprised as he looked at these. These seemed vaguely familiar. He shook
his head, took another deep breath, and started walking slowly around
the village. Very few people were out—most could be heard in their
homes, enjoying their evening meal.
Almost to the edge of the
town, he was about to turn around and go back, when he heard singing. It
was hard to make out at first, amidst the gentle coo of birds settling
down for the night, and the evening sounds of crickets and cicadas
floating through the night air. He walked toward one of the larger homes
on the outskirts of the village, the song becoming louder, and clearer.
He knew that song! Well, perhaps not the words—those eluded him—but the
melody was quite familiar. The house sat right before a downhill slope,
and at the back a large garden was surrounded by a stone half wall,
with an impressive wrought-iron gate. In the middle of the garden, built
up on more stone, was a gazebo that looked out to the plain and the
mountains beyond. And in the gazebo, upon a marble bench and surrounded
by ensconced candles, sat Elpis singing the hauntingly intimate tune.
He
watched her from beyond the gate, transfixed upon her gentle song,
filled with a heartbreaking hope, sung in a clear soprano. His breath
caught as her face turned slightly toward him and he saw tears on her
cheeks glistening in the candlelight’s glow. His jaw clenched slightly
as he watched her sorrow from the shadows. In the darkness he whispered,
“Who are you?”
Her fingers wiped at her tears as her song trailed off.
Daniel paused for a moment and turned silently to go.
“I am Elpis,” her voice chided softly, gently carried to him.
He turned back to the gate, sure that she didn’t mean to speak to him.
“But
the question is,” she continued, as she rose and approached the gate,
flickers of candlelight catching the green in her eyes like fireflies,
“who are you?”
Part 5
“I . . . don’t think I
am what you believe me to be, Elpis.” Daniel paused. “If I may call you,
Elpis?” He paused again. “But then, I don’t know what else I would call
you.”
She smiled softly at him through the gate. “You never used
my name before, though I always suspected you knew it. It sounds nice
when you speak it.” Her smile widened. “Hope.” She looked away briefly,
as if recalling a memory, her eyes drifting closed dreamily. “The few
times you addressed me, you referred to me as ‘Hope.’ But the weight
given was not just the meaning. It felt like it could carry the
universe.” Her eyes opened, and the darkened orbs stared at Daniel.
He looked at her, tilting his head slightly. “Haven’t you ever heard of the origin?”
She
shook her head slightly, a few stray strands of hair catching a dance
on the night wind. “All anyone knows around here is the meaning. There
have been rumors of there being a story of origin, but it has been lost
these many years.” She opened the gate to him. “Would you tell it to
me?”
“Uhm,” he looked back, as if wondering if he should return
to his team, but knew they wouldn’t leave without him, and turned back
to Elpis, curious to know more of this woman who had dreamt and given
his likeness. “Sure.”
She led him to the gazebo, under more light, and they sat on the bench on which she had been earlier.
The
story of Pandora’s Box was short and simple to tell, but, he couldn’t
help himself in expanding on the usual tale, finding an apt audience in
Elpis. He found himself going off on several tangents as Elpis asked
about other gods and goddesses mentioned in the tale. She laughed
melodically as she caught names that were those belonging to friends or
family, interested to know if they knew who they had been named after.
She
had drawn up her legs onto the bench, crossing them under each other,
with her arms resting on them, as she leaned into him, caught up in the
last part of his telling.
“The lid was shut before that which was
at the bottom could get out. And while the evils of mankind ran rampant
throughout the world, one thing remained,” Daniel’s voice dropped
softly, entreating Elpis to the end of his tale.
Her eyes round and lips parted slightly, she breathed out, “Hope.”
He
smiled gently and nodded, blue eyes twinkling softly in the candle’s
light and from the enjoyment he had in sharing his knowledge of history
and mythology with a willing listener. “Also known as ‘Elpis.”
Her mouth widened into a winsome smile and she laughed in joy. “Such a wonderful story, Dream Giver!”
Daniel’s smile faded slightly. “Elpis, you can just call me Daniel.”
She
glanced down, smiling at his correction and gently catching her lower
lip under a few teeth for a moment. Her eyes slid up to meet his. “And
what does
your name mean, Daniel?”
“God is my judge.”
She more fully looked at him, her back straightening and her head tilting slightly, brows lightly furrowed. “Which god?”
He
shook his head slightly. “It comes from a religious book we have on my
planet called the Bible. In that book, there is only one God. Daniel is
in one of the stories.”
“And these stories are different than the ones you told me about, with Pandora?”
“Yes, quite! Actually, our planet is rich with stories, histories and mythologies.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, Daniel, I would love to hear them all!”
He
laughed out loud. “It might take a lifetime.” He then looked around.
“Besides, it’s getting late, and I’m sure my friends are probably
wanting to go back home.”
Almost as if summoned, one of Elpis’
youngest sisters, whom Daniel had not met before, came running from the
home into the garden. “Elpis! The visitors are wishing to leave, but
they cannot find—” she stopped, eyes widening, in front of Elpis and
Daniel. “The Dream Giver!”
Elpis unfolded herself from the bench
and stood, her face calmly collected. “Cyrene, your manners?” she chided
with a stern warmth, different from the child-like wonder she had
exposed to Daniel earlier.
The girl’s eyes went wider, as she placed her hands over her lips and gave a deep, though unsteady, bow to Daniel.
“Daniel,
this is my sister, Cyrene. And,” Elpis glanced at Daniel briefly,
pursing her lips, and then looking back to her sister, “Cyrene, he
wishes to be called Daniel.”
Daniel smiled warmly and held his
hand out to the girl, which she took briefly, the barely-lit area
showing her lightly-blushed cheeks. She then squeaked out, “Your friends
are looking for you, Daniel.”
“Thank you,” he nodded as he
stood. “I figured they would probably be looking for me, seeing as I
didn’t let them know where I was going.”
“Cyrene, please let the visitors know that Daniel has been found and will be along shortly.”
The young girl gave a hasty bow and ran out of the garden, disappearing around a corner of the house.
“You seem almost like a mother to her, rather than a sister,” Daniel said cautiously.
Elpis
sighed, her face softening. “The burden of being the eldest sister.
Especially since our mother died shortly after Cyrene was born.”
“I’m sorry. I had thought perhaps that was the case, but didn’t want to ask.”
She
turned to him, lips curved down, and spoke softly. “You thought because
you already knew. In my dreams I told you much about this, only letting
you share in the knowledge of the obligation I feel in caring for my
brothers and sisters.”
“Elpis, I—”
“I know, Daniel. You do
not think you are my Dream Giver.” She then smiled gently. “But over
some time ago, you became part of my life. And until you stopped
visiting, I believed it would always be that way. You, watching over me
and the people of this planet. Do you at least acknowledge that I
believe you are?”
His eyes narrowed at something she had said.
“Yo, Danny boy!” Jack’s calling out from the gate broke into Daniel’s thoughts. “Time to go home.”
Jack
was waving him over, with a patient Sam and stoic Teal’c next to him,
along with the Abaris. “Let’s go! I don’t wanna miss
The Simpsons.”
“I believe, O’Neill, that it is a re-run tonight.”
Jack shrugged as Daniel and Elpis approached. “Eh. They’re still funny, though.”
Elpis whispered to Daniel. “Who are the Simpsons?”
Daniel laughed lightly and rolled his eyes. “It’s a story of sorts, with moving pictures.”
Her eyes widened in wonder. “Moving pictures?”
But
before he could explain more, the Abaris had opened the gate to ease
them out, and Jack quipped. “So, kids, what were you doing over there?”
He arched an eyebrow, gesturing toward the gazebo.
“Jack, we were discussing some ancient Greek myths. Elpis wanted to know the origin of her name, and so I told her.”
“Ah,”
Jack intoned sarcastically, turning to Sam, “a great way to a girl’s
heart, discussing dusty, old stories.” Sam chuckled softly.
Daniel sighed in exasperation.
“Will you be returning soon?” Elpis asked softly, addressing the whole group, but her eyes focused on Daniel.
The Abaris turned to O’Neill, in questioning, as well.
“Yeah, I suppose. We still need to get this whole ‘Dream Giver’ thing cleared up.”
Saying casual goodbyes, the group turned to leave, when Elpis caught Daniel by calling out to him.
“Daniel, do you believe
I believe?”
He nodded. “I do,” he said softly. And he truly did.
A beatific smile crossed her face, and she then placed her hands familiarly, not over her lips, but over her heart, and bowed.
They
left her like that, walking some way toward the Stargate, accompanied
by the Abaris, before Teal’c asked, “Abaris, your daughter’s farewell
was different than what I have noticed your people to use. Does its use
have a meaning?”
The Abaris nodded, but took a few moments to
respond. “The normal greeting and farewell is the hands lightly over the
lips, with a bow of the head, or even a deeper bow. It means that what
your lips speak is truth. Or, that it is to be perceived as truth. You
see, we value honesty most highly here.” He then paused, glancing toward
Daniel. “But with the hands over the heart…it is only used between
intimates and rarely seen in public. It means that the
heart speaks truth.”
The
last few words the Abaris had spoken stayed with Daniel for a long
time, even when the Abaris left them to continue on alone to the
Stargate and they had made their way through, back home. Even until he
was finally able to drift off to sleep that night, wondering if and how
he was connected to the one whose heart spoke truth.
NEW! Part 6
The debrief in the morning had gone normally, with General
Hammond’s probing questions over the people, the planet, and the supposition of
Daniel being connected with them somehow. All in the team had agreed that the
drawings had been as close to Daniel as to ascertain that it was almost
positively him. It was even ventured as possible that maybe more duplicate
androids of themselves were running around, but Jack’s idea was quickly
dismissed, as Elpis was certain that Daniel and herself had only met in
dreams—beside the fact that, as far as they knew, all doubles of themselves
were no longer alive.
Over an early lunch, Daniel sat in a corner, his fork
twirling absentmindedly in his mashed potatoes, as he thought over the previous
day’s events, as well as the early-morning meeting.
“May I sit with you, Daniel Jackson?” Teal’c loomed over the
seated Daniel, who gave him a brief nod.
They sat in silence for awhile, Teal’c eating and Daniel
frowning at his food.
Finished with his meal, Teal’c leaned in across the table,
and spoke in a low voice. “Not long ago, when your visions helped my son and
Bra’tac, I told you how your appearance in my dream helped me live when Bra’tac
and I had to sustain ourselves on one
symbiote because of the injuries we sustained during the ambush of Kresh'tar .”
Daniel dropped his fork, his blue eyes looking at Teal’c in
earnest.
“As an ascended being, Daniel Jackson, you were able to
appear to me in my dreams, and even influence me. Could it not be possible that
you appeared in this woman’s dreams, as well?”
Daniel sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Maybe,
Teal’c, but the only memories of being ascended that I’ve been able to remember
are those of Rya’c and Bra’tac. And we aren’t even sure of the time frame in
which Elpis had her dreams with me in them.”
“Actually, Daniel,” Sam said, having approached quietly,
with Jack in tow, “I think we may have a better grasp of it.” They slid in next
to Daniel and Teal’c and Sam continued. “While you were talking to Elpis, we
asked the Abaris when Elpis began having her dreams. The time he mentioned was
fairly abstract to us, but he was able to provide a crude representation of a
calendar, with the cycle of their moon. After converting their time to coincide
by ours, using a variant, I was able to determine that—”
“You were all higher-plane and the like at the time,” Jack
interrupted.
“Sir!” Sam’s eyebrows shot up.
He grinned and shrugged. “Sorry, Carter, but you were taking
a darn long time.”
“So I was ascended at the time,” Daniel breathed out slowly.
Sam’s lips thinned a little in compassion and nodded to
Daniel. “The good news is, it probably was
you who visited Elpis in her dreams. The question is: why?”
Jack quirked an eyebrow. “Does it really matter? I mean,
while Daniel was ascended he did a lot of watching, and I know he helped out
some, at least with moral support, eh Danny boy?” He winked at Daniel. “So,
what’s one more person? What’s special about her, besides being a little sweet
on Daniel?”
“Sir,” Sam pursed her lips, chiding Jack.
Daniel frowned slightly at them. “Guys, I just think there’s
more to this. More to her.”
Teal’c inclined his head slightly. “Elpis is like an orchid
among wildflowers. Clearly she is not natural-born to these people.”
Jack slapped the table with the palm of his hand. “Thank you!”
“Colonel?” Sam turned to Jack.
“I’ve been trying
to bring up the fact that Elpis looks nothing
like the rest of her people. But nobody was picking up on it.”
Sam frowned. “Uhm, Sir, it’s pretty obvious.”
Jack pouted, and Sam laughed softly at him.
Chewing on his lip lightly, Daniel looked at them. “Then I
think we need to find out who Elpis is, and why, as an ascended being, I would
have visited her.”
“I think the easiest way to start is with a medical exam,”
Sam’s eyebrows shot up in questioning to the group. “We might be able to
determine her ancestry by her DNA.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll talk to Hammond about bringing Elpis here.”
“No!” Daniel shouted, then blinked slowly, as if a little confused
at his vehemence.
“Daniel, are you okay?” Sam leaned into him, her eyebrows knit
in concern.
He shrugged, raking fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I’m
fine. I just got this feeling that it’s not a good idea to bring Elpis here.”
“Why not?” Jack raised an eyebrow.
Daniel shrugged again, glancing down for a moment. “Honestly,
I don’t know.”
“Daniel Jackson, Dr. Fraiser and the medical staff are more
than capable to perform the tests necessary to ascertain Elpis’ origins. They
have helped many people, including all of us here, on more than one occasion.”
Teal’c said, trying to comfort Daniel.
Sam smiled reassuringly. “Teal’c’s right, Daniel. We can
only gain so much from taking a sample of blood or DNA from off-world. It’ll be
more effective to have her here.”
Daniel’s blue eyes looked to every one of his teammates,
pausing a moment at their insistent gazes and then finally sighing. “Okay, you’re
right. And it makes sense. We’ll bring her here.”
Teal’c nodded, Jack grinned and muttered an “excellent”, and
Sam smiled softly as she put a hand on Daniel’s.
“She’ll be fine, Daniel. We won’t let anything happen to
her.”
His lips tightened into a smile as he nodded, hoping that
the feeling of anxiety he had deep down wouldn’t betray him to his friends.
[Part 7 coming the First Friday in December!]
