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Chapter Text

It was still dark out, street lights illuminated the softly falling snow. Occasionally, a gust of wind would come along, whipping the dry snow up into patches in the air.

“I know how you feel.” The young woman whispered, setting her head on the rim of her steering wheel as another cluster of snow hit her windshield. She slowly gripped the wheel, her keys in her right hand, and pushed her body back against the seat. With her left hand still on the wheel, she inserted the key in the ignition and turned, praying the car would start.

Neither the car nor the woman were used to the cold Colorado weather, but the engine caught and the car purred to life. She released the brake and put the car into gear. Slowly, the car crept out of its spot and merged onto the mostly deserted road.

After she was well on her way, the woman muttered to herself. “What the hell am I doing here?”

Of course, the question was rhetorical, not that there was anyone there to answer, but she already knew the answer. After 4 years of college and 3.5 getting her doctorate in linguistics, she had accepted the one non-teaching job she was offered, a job with the United States Air Force.

“What the hell does the Air Force need with a linguist who specializes in ancient languages?” Now, that question had her stumped. But what was more confusing was what did NORAD’s Deep Space program need with a speaker of dead languages?

“Code writing…. Code breaking…. Hell, for all I know, they want me to talk to aliens.” The woman pushed some of her mocha brown hair behind her right ear and let out a short laugh. “Well, I’ll find out soon enough.”

Not that she was told much more than her unique skills would be very useful in the work that was being done. And even the job offer came out of nowhere. Dr. Brown, one of the professors on her doctoral board, approached her and told her the Air Force was looking for someone with knowledge of dead languages, asking if she was interested. She leapt at the chance, anything to escape the teaching tract. Next thing she knew, she was translating a document written in a variation of ancient Sumerian. Once she had returned the translation, in less than twelve hours, she had a job.

Now, here she was, turning into the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. With her window rolled down, she smiled at the guard, at least she hoped it was a smile, and handed him her ID.

“Hello, my name is….”

*****

“…Dr. Mariah Gray.”

“Have you actually met her?”

“No, just spoke with her briefly on the phone after she completed the translation. She finished it in record time.”

“Was Landry okay with your choice, Jackson?”

“He thought she was a little young, but with Dr. Brown’s and my vote of approval, he signed off on it.”

“Why are you hiring her anyway?”

Dr. Daniel Jackson stopped and turned, looking at his companion in disbelief. “Mitchell, if you haven’t noticed, we’ve been a little busy trying to find a way to stop the Ori. And the stacks of translations on my desk seem to be growing exponentially. So, I told the General I needed some help and he agreed.”

Colonel Cameron Mitchell stared at Daniel. “When does she get here?”

“She should be in the conference room right now.” Daniel started walking again, quicker than before.

“Well, let’s not keep the lady waiting.” 

*****

Mariah hated waiting. Lack of patience was her greatest character flaw, but it made her a damn good translator, since she hated waiting to find out what things said. Dr. Gray was a small woman, standing five foot four without heels and weighing roughly 130 pounds. Her shoulder length mocha brown hair hung loosely around her face, a face that appeared years younger than her 25 years. People always said her small oval glasses made her look younger, but Mariah always thought it was because of her pale white skin. However, looks were known to be deceiving and she more than made up for her youthful appearance with her sharp mind and quick wit.

She was pacing up and down the empty conference room, the heels of her black ankle boots making dull thuds on the carpeted floor. Mariah paused, wiping her hands on the front of her tailored black pants. She unbuttoned the single button on her hip length black dress jacket and tugged on the bottom of her white blouse, smoothing out the wrinkles.

She contemplated the insignia on the wall. “I wonder what SGC stands for?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, Dr. Gray.”

Mariah turned, the rich warm voice flowed over her and she stood there, staring at the two men who had appeared at the other end of the room.

Damn, he’s just as good looking as his photos. But I wonder who this other hunk is. Mariah thought, a bright smiled lighting up her face. She stretched out her hand as she approached them. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Dr. Jackson.”

Both men seemed slightly taken back, but Daniel quickly recovered and grasped her hand. “The pleasure’s mine, Dr. Gray.” He turned to the man next to him, making introductions. “This is Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell.”

Cam extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Doctor.” He paused, letting go of her hand, and added. “If you don’t mind me asking, doc, how old are you?”

“Mitchell….” Daniel said warily.

The woman simply smiled again. “First off, Colonel, please call me, Mariah. Secondly, while I may look like I’m in my teens, I assure you I’m 25.”

“Good to know.” He smiled back at her. “And just call me, Cam.”

All three jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat and they turned to see General Landry standing at the head of the table. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get down to business. Dr. Gray, I’m General Landry, the head of this facility.” Dr. Gray moved hastily to the General’s side, shaking hands briefly before taking the chair on his right. Daniel and Mitchell took the two seats across from her. The General looked at them. “Colonel, what’s your reason for being here?”

“I thought since Mariah will be working with a member of my team that I should be present, sir.”

“Fine, as long as Drs. Jackson and Gray have no issues with that.”

“No, sir.” Daniel responded.

Landry turned to Mariah. She looked perplexed. “Dr. Gray?”

Mariah looked him in the eyes. “No issues, but General, why am I here might be a better question. I have-.”

He cut her off. “In due time, Doctor. First, please read and sign this.” The General slid the stack of papers in front of him over to her and took a pen from his shirt pocket.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“A nondisclosure agreement.”

Mariah skimmed the documents, quickly moving through the pages. After a few minutes, she took the pen to sign and date them. She looked up and met Daniel’s confused eyes. “I’m a speed reader.” She paused and turned back to Landry. “May I ask my questions now, sir?”

He grinned at her. “Impatience, good quality to have in my opinion. However, let’s give you a little background, then you may ask all the questions you like.”

“You may regret that.”

“Never, Doctor.” General Landry cleared his throat and began. “You are sitting in a Top Secret Military facility known as Stargate Command….”

After 30 minutes, the group sat in silence. The three men were staring at the young woman, waiting for a reaction. Her head was bent, apparently deep in thought. Then her shoulders started to shake. She was laughing.

“I assure you, Dr. Gray, I’m quite serious about what I just told you.” The General looked quite taken aback by her reaction.

“No, General, I believe you. It’s just…. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you….” Another bright smile lit up her face and another involuntary chuckle escaped her.

Daniel looked intrigued. “Do tell. This sounds interesting.”

Looking into his blue eyes, Mariah was surprised at the warmth and mischief in them. It’s unfair for such a handsome man to have eyes like his. Then he smiled to encourage her to share.

“When I was driving over here, I was trying to figure out what the Air Force needed with a linguist. I thought about code making and breaking. Then I thought maybe you wanted me to talk to aliens.” She looked at Landry, breaking her connection with Dr. Jackson. “I’m glad I was right. Where do I sign up?”

“Good to know you have such an open mind, Mariah.” Cameron said. “You need that in this place.”

“Hey, anything is better than teaching. Plus, I can help my country, hell, help the world.”

“Well.” Landry interjected. “If Dr. Jackson has no issues, we’ll start getting you settled right away.” He stood, followed quickly by Jackson and Mitchell. “Gentlemen, please give Dr. Gray the tour and help her get situated.” He turned, looking at the young woman, who had yet to rise. “Doctor, welcome aboard.”

“Please, call me, Mariah, sir.” She firmly shook hands with him. “And thank you for the opportunity.”

“You earned it.” And with that, the General left.

The linguist stood, grabbing her satchel off the floor and swung it on to her shoulder. She looked around the room. “One of my escorts took my coat.”

“We’ll find it later.” Cam walked around the table and lightly gripped her arm. “Welcome to the team, Mariah. Now, let’s show you around.” 

*****

Daniel was avoiding his office. He just knew if he went in there it would not be pretty. Dr. Mariah Gray had been at the SGC for two months and everybody loved her. She was friendly and warm and did her work well. After such a short time, she’d already made a huge dent in the backlog of translations. He was feeling a little un-needed, though Mariah never made him feel that way. She was always eager for his help and advice. Her face always lit up when he came in and….

I’m not going there. Daniel continued to pace and wiped a hand down his face.

That’s how Teal’c found him a few minutes later. The Jaffa smiled. Everyone on the base knew about Daniel Jackson’s problem except Daniel. Even Mariah knew, but she was being very kind about it. Colonel Mitchell, though, was milking the situation for all its worth.

“Daniel Jackson, Mariah has been looking for you. I believe she finished the translation you were awaiting. She is in your office.” Teal’c smiled again when the archeologist stopped pacing and looked up at him with worried eyes. The Jaffa added. “Colonel Mitchel is also waiting there for you.

That got a reaction. “Thanks, Teal’c.” Daniel shouted over his shoulder as he took off down the hall. 

When Daniel reached his office, he heard Colonel Mitchell’s voice speaking with great excitement, followed by Dr. Gray’s hearty laughter. He frowned. Upon entering the room, he saw Mariah, sitting on one of the stools around the center work table. Cam was leaning on the table beside her.

Mariah was smiling at the Colonel while he animatedly told her a story from his early Air Force days. The pair must’ve heard Dr. Jackson enter the room because Cam stopped speaking mid-sentence and turned towards the door.

“Hey, Jackson! I was just telling Mar about this great joke I played on one of my old squadron buddies.”

Daniel looked at Mariah. The smile on her face seemed to have grown. I wonder if the story or I caused that. He mused.

“He was really cruel to this guy, Daniel. You wouldn’t believe it.”

“Oh, I think I would.” He turned to Cam. “Teal’c said you needed to see me.”

Cam pushed away from the table. “Yeah, General Landry moved our briefing up to 1500 hours.” Daniel nodded at him. “Good. Well, I better be going. Gotta spar with T.” The Colonel moved to the door, but turned, walking backwards, and pointed at Mariah. “Don’t forget. 1700 hours.”

“I won’t.” The young woman made a shooing gesture. “Now, git. I have work to do.” The Colonel gave her a quick salute and sprinted off.

Mariah turned back to Daniel and stopped herself from laughing at the deepening frown on his face. She considered letting him wonder, in the hopes that it would spur him into action, however, she wasn’t that cruel. 

“Cam’s taking me to the shooting range to get qualified. The General’s considering sending me out with one of the teams and wants me to be able to defend myself.” The frown didn’t go away. She changed the subject. “I finished the translation you wanted.”

“Oh?” Now he simply had a questioning look on his face.

“It’s just some vague references to the Ori by one of the Alterans…, I mean, Ancients.”

He smiled. “You can call them, Alterans, since that was the name of their race.” Daniel moved to her side, leaning over the papers sitting in front of her. “So nothing of interest?”

“Not really. Stuff you already learned about them.” Mariah turned back to her companion, their shoulders brushing. Mariah looked up at him, contemplating his handsome face and warm blue eyes for probably the millionth time. “However, now that I’ve been working with the language of the Ancients more, it reminds me of some texts I saw at the British Museum. Would it be okay if I contacted my friend there and see if he could send them to me?”

After a few seconds, Daniel answered. “Sure, they might be useful.” He shook himself and strode away from her. He had gotten lost in her eyes. Turning back towards her, he returned to the previous topic. “Why did Landry suddenly decide to add you to one of the teams?” Seeing his statement might be taken as criticism, he hastily added. “Not that you wouldn’t do great on one of the SG teams, just seems sudden.”

“Well, he thought I might be able to help translate some of the Ancient ruins the teams keep running across.” She stood. “It would mainly be uninhabited worlds.”

“I think it would be good for you.”

“So do I.”

With that, the conversation died away and the two stood staring at each other. One waiting, the other nervous as hell.

Come on, already. The thought fluttered between them. And finally, the tension broke.

“Mariah, I was wondering if you’d be interested in going to this Native American art exhibit in Denver with me this weekend.” The words came out in a rush, but Daniel seemed relieved after having asked.

She smiled. “I’d love to. Just tell me when and where.”

He smiled back. “I’ll pick you up Saturday at 9am, if that’s okay?”

“Perfect.”

“Ahem.” A third voice broke the moment.

Dr. Gray turned and saw Vala standing in the doorway. She turned red with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Vala. I lost track of time.”

The raven-haired woman smiled at the pair. “Perfectly all right, Mariah. It was worth it to see Daniel finally getting his head out of the clouds.”

“What?” Daniel exclaimed. The linguist smiled at her friends in turn.

“Though, it does mean I lost the betting pool. But oh well.” Vala grabbed the other woman’s arm and guided her from the room. “We better go.”

As the two women walked away, Jackson yelled after them. “What bet? And with who?” His only answer was laughter.

*****

That smile is infectious. It should be patented. Daniel smiled at Mariah. She’s definitely nervous, but that smile hides it pretty well. Dr. Jackson was sitting at the work area in his office, Mariah standing beside him in a standard green uniform and a TAC vest. She was going on her first off-world mission.

“I’m not sure I can do this.” The smile wavered.

“You’ll be fine. Colonel Hart will take good care of you.”

“I know he will. Jerry’s great. But what if I do something stupid?” The smile disappeared this time.

Daniel leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. It had been five weeks since they went on their first date and Teal’c won the base betting pool. They were taking things slow while they got to know each other outside work. Neither one wanted to rush and ruin the friendship they had. Plus, they worked together and a bad break-up could make things uncomfortable for both of them. Going slow was fine with Jackson, since he had learned all her bravado was an act. She was super shy in private.

Mariah sighed. “You don’t play fair.” She whispered.

“With that smile, how can I?” He stood and hugged her. “Come on. It’s an uninhabited world with one set of ruins. Everything will be fine. You have your camera?” Daniel opened her pack, which was laying on the table.

“Baker has it. Jerry thought it would be a good job for him.” She took her pack from him, zipped it up and slung it on her back.

Before Daniel could respond, a voice came over the loud speakers. “Dr. Mariah Gray, please report to the Gate Room.”

A weak smile appeared on her face. “Showtime.”

Daniel cupped her face with one of his hands, his thumb rubbing her cheek. Mariah’s eyes closed and she turned her face to kiss his palm. She turned and they walked in silence to the Gate Room.

Once there, they were greeted by General Landry, Teal’c and four armed men. Mariah sighed again and looked at the Gate, the dialing sequence had already started. One of the armed men approached her, grinning.

“Ready to go, doc?”

“It’s Mariah, Jerry. And I’m as ready as I can be.”

“You can’t go without this.” Mitchell’s voice washed over the group as he strode into the room. In his hand, he carried a holstered 9mm. handgun. He moved to clip it onto her belt on her right side. “Thought you could leave without it, huh?”

“Well, I thought since there were no people….” She trailed off as the Gate engaged.

“You never go off world unarmed.” Cam turned to his fellow colonel. “Don’t let anything happen to her, Hart.”

“No worries, Mitchell. What could happen?”

*****

It was a little while later when the Gate suddenly sprung to life. Sgt. Harriman jumped in his chair. No teams were due back for hours. General Landry hurried down the stairs from his office as the alarms started to blare, Colonel Carter joining them from elsewhere.

“Walter?”

“Unscheduled off-work activation, sir.” The blue event horizon leapt out at them, as armed marines moved into position before the Gate. “No teams are due back, sir.”

“Close the iris.” The metal shield closed over the blue puddle.

Sam sat down beside Walter, typing quickly into the system. “Receiving IDC. It’s SG-10, sir, and we have audio.”

“Let’s hear it, Colonel, and open the iris. That’s Colonel Hart’s team.”

A disembodied voice filled the control room while the iris slid back. “This is Sgt. Park of SG-10. We need a medical team to meet us in the Gate Room.”

“What happened, Sergeant?” General Landry barked while Carter called for the medical team.

“I don’t know, sir. Colonel Hart ordered me stay at the Gate while everyone else headed to the ruins, sir.” The voice paused. “Here they are now.” Another pause. “We’re coming through.”

A few seconds later, four people walked through the gate. In Colonel Hart’s arms, he carried the lifeless body of Dr. Gray.

“Walter, get Mitchell and Jackson to meet us in the infirmary, ASAP.” The General and Colonel Carter hurried down to the Gate Room, just as the medical team arrived.

*****

Daniel sprinted down the halls of the SGC, dodging people as best he could. All he knew was there had been an unscheduled Gate activation and he and Cam needed to get to the infirmary immediately.

Please don’t be her. He thought, but he knew it had to be, why else would they call him down here. He was breathless when he reached the infirmary. He saw SG-10 milling around and his heart sank.

The archeologist blurted out. “What happened?” He strode forward, nearing the bed Dr. Lam hovered by anxiously.

Landry turned to Hart. “The Colonel was about to tell us.”

“It would be easier to show you, sir.”

Lieutenant Baker came forward holding out the video camera he had used during the mission. Daniel moved alongside Mariah’s bed. She looked small and pale. Sam was already standing on the other side of her, watching her friend closely. Dr. Lam faded into the background, ready to answer any questions.

“What’s going on?” Cam asked, before taking in the situation and the atmosphere of the room. He moved to Jackson’s side, gripping his shoulder.

Carter spoke to both of them. “There doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her, physically. She’s just unconscious. Carolyn’s going to run some blood tests. She’s strong, Daniel. She’ll pull through.”

“SG-1 and SG-10, let’s move to the conference room and review the mission tape. We need to let the doctors and nurses do their work.”

“I’ll be back soon.” Daniel whispered as he gripped Mariah’s hand. Then he turned and left with his team.

The procession to the conference room was a somber one. Lt. Baker and Sgt. Park were missing, having gone ahead to set up the video for the debriefing. Upon entering the conference room, Vala ushered Daniel to a chair, taking the seat next to him. Sam took the seat on his other side, while Cam and Teal’c stood behind them.

From the head of the table, General Landry spoke. “Colonel Hart, whenever you’re ready.”

Colonel Jerry Hart stood beside the TV set and looked at his team who were standing on the other side of it from him. “When we reached the planet, I ordered Sgt. Park to remain at the Gate. Mariah, I mean Dr. Gray, Lt. Baker, Sgt. Rhodes and I headed to the ruins, about a fifteen minute walk from the Gate. I ordered Rhodes to secure the perimeter and Baker and Dr. Gray started working.” Hart nodded at Lt. Baker.

The TV sprang to life. The first images were of columns covered in Ancient script.

Mariah’s voice was then heard. “Make sure you get all the writing, Baker. I want everything, just in case Daniel wants to see it.”

“Yes, doc.”

“Why do you all insist on calling me, doc?”

“Because it annoys you.” Jerry’s voice added. The footage swung around and caught the Colonel approaching the ruins. “When are you going to start on the table altar thing?”

The camera panned over to Mariah. Behind her was a table-like structure covered by a pavilion. “Just about to, sir. Wanted to get the columns done first.” Baker said while the camera followed the linguist as she approached the table.

“Don’t touch it.” Hart warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” There was amusement in Mariah’s voice. “Says something in relation to storage.” She paused. “This is a strange variation of Ancient.” Baker moved closer with the camera.

“Can you translate it?” Hart asked.

“Not sure. Damn…. I wish Daniel was here.”

“You’ll get it, doc.”

“I hope so, Baker.” Mariah’s hand brushed the table and it lit up. “Oops….” She turned to look at the Colonel who was still off camera, a smile hinting on her face.

“Mariah….” He warned. “Damn it, Cam’s going to kill me if you get yourself hurt.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him or you, for that matter. Besides….” She added. “I was curious. Curiosity never hurt anyone.”

“Except the cat….” He trailed off.

Mariah smiled for real this time. “You know what this means though.” She paused, but got no answer. “There must be a power source, which could mean….”

“A ZPM.”

Dr. Gray turned back to the table. “Let me see if there’s some reference to the power source.” She moved along the table top, not touching it. “Another reference to storage….”

She continued down, not seeing a bit of rubble on the ground. Mariah stumbled, putting her right hand down on the Ancient device. White electricity engulfed her, stiffening her body.

“Mariah!!” Colonel Hart shouted before he rushed into view. As quickly as it started, the assault ended and Mariah fell back where Jerry was waiting to catch her. He slowly lowered her to the ground and checked her pulse. A look of relief appeared on his face. “She’s alive.” He hit his radio. “Rhodes, get back here now. Park, dial the Gate and get a medical team to meet us when we get back.” The Colonel scooped up the linguist and yelled at the camera. “Turn that thing off.”

The camera feed cut off and Hart turned back to those assembled around the table. He met Mitchell’s eyes. Cam spoke to him. “There wasn’t anything you could’ve done, Jerry. It was an accident.”

“Yeah, an accident….” Daniel muttered and turned to Landry. “Sir, permission to go back to the planet and find out what happened?”

If Hank was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Dr. Jackson, I understand that you’re upset, but-.”

“Sir, I think we should.” The leader of SG-1 interrupted his CO. “Daniel’s probably the only one who can translate it and you can call us back if there’s any change in Mariah’s condition.”

The General sighed. This was not what they needed right now, but he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it if he didn’t let them go. “Fine, permission granted, but make it fast. Don’t forget about our more immediate problems.”

Daniel smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“Gear up, SG-1 and SG-10. You leave in 30 minutes.”

*****

“Did anybody get the number of the bus that hit me?” Mariah groaned as she slowly raised her left hand to rub her head. The grip on her right hand tightened. Her eyes opened slowly, the light worsening her already horrid headache.

“Mariah?” Daniel’s worried voice flowed over her.

“Who else would it be?” She snapped, then she took in the archeologist’s worried face. “Sorry…. My head is killing me. What happened?”

“The table zapped you.” He answered quickly. “How do you feel beyond the headache?” He stood from his chair and perched himself on the edge of her bed.

“Death warmed over would be welcome right now. Is everybody else okay?”

“Yes, you’re the only one. Do you want me to get Dr. Lam?” Daniel started to stand, but she gripped his hand tighter. He stopped and resumed his seat. “Okay, not just yet.”

Mariah reached up and grabbed Jackson’s shirt front, pulling him down into a deep kiss. “I feel much better.”

“Well, that seems obvious.” Cam stated, pulling the privacy curtain aside. Daniel turned bright red. “Don’t worry, Jackson, I won’t tell too many people about you being seduced in the infirmary. Does the doc know you’re awake?”

“I do now.” Carolyn Lam came around the curtain.

“Damn it, Cam. You ruined my escape plan.” Mitchell held back a laugh, while the doctor fussed over her unwilling patient.

“Colonel Mitchell, Dr. Jackson, if you wouldn’t mind, I need to examine her.”

“Come on, Jackson. Let’s leave before the complaining starts.”

*****

“But, sir-.”

“My decision is final, Doctor. You will not leave this base until we know exactly what that Ancient altar did to you.”

Her head dropped on to her arm which she had resting on the table. Mariah was frustrated. “General, I’ve been out of the infirmary for a week, plus the week I was in there. Nothing about my behavior has changed, nor my physical person. It was most likely the dead ZPM that zapped me. I really thin-.”

“The ZPM isn’t dead.” Colonel Carter interjected. “It’s malfunctioning.”

Dr. Gray pointed at Sam, “See, malfunctioning. It must have zapped me. Really, sir, I don’t think there should be any issues with me going home.

General Landry had to smile. He gave her credit for her determination if nothing else. “I’m sorry. Dr. Gray, you will remain on this base until I say otherwise.” He rose from his seat at the table. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some things that need my attention.” And he left the room.

Sam, who had risen to salute her CO as he left, went to the linguist’s side and pulled her up out of her chair. “Come on, Mariah. There’s no use in moping. Landry isn’t going to change his mind, no matter your argument.”

The young woman shuffled alongside her friend as they exited the conference room and entered the maze of corridors that made up the SGC. She was going stir-crazy and everyone knew it. SG-1, sans Colonel Carter, had left on a mission three days earlier and were expected back anytime. Carter stayed behind to continue her tests on the faulty ZPM and to keep the linguist company. Daniel wanted to stay, but his skills and knowledge were necessary for the success of the mission.

The two women wandered aimlessly through the halls, one seeking escape, the other supporting her friend. As they neared Jackson’s office, Sgt. Siler waved to them. Sam drew her friend to a halt.

“A box just arrived for you, Mariah.” Siler tried to sound cheerful, hoping the linguist’s mood would improve. “The return address was the British Museum.”

This got a reaction, an actual smile. “Finally. I didn’t think they’d ever get here. Thanks, Siler.” She hurried down the hall and into Daniel’s office.

When Sam reached her, she was just opening the box and pulling out several heavy tomes. “What’s all this?”

“Manuscripts from a friend at the British Museum. I think they may be written in Ancient.” Mariah looked apologetically at Carter. “I really appreciate you keeping me company, Sam, but I think I’m going to work on translating these, if you don’t mind.”

A smile formed on the Colonel’s face. “No worries. I’ll just head back to my lab and continue my tests on the ZPM. Still can’t figure out what’s wrong….” She trailed off. “I’ll see you later.” And she left.

Two hours later and the linguist was well into the first book. It was nice to have something to distract her mind. Suddenly, two strong hands grasped her shoulders and began to knead the tense, abused muscles. Her head fell forward. This was just what she needed. 

“If you stop, I’ll kill you.”

“If I don’t stop, someone else will kill me.” Colonel Mitchell let his hands fall to his sides and leaned against the counter beside his friend. “Whatcha reading?”

She lifted her head and looked at the book in front of her. She flipped back a few pages. “I think it’s an Alteran fairytale.” She paused. “Where’s Daniel? And how long have you been back? I expected him to start hovering again as soon as he returned.”

“Seeing Sam about some artifact he picked up and about 15 minutes.” He looked at the clock. “I better be going. Have fun with your fairytales and I’ll finish the shoulder rub some other time.”

Mariah smiled at Cam as he left and shouted after him. “I’ll hold you to that.” She returned to her reading. It seemed like only seconds had gone by, when in fact it was closer to twenty minutes, when she once again felt someone touch her. This time a strong male hand slipped under the hem of her t-shirt and brushed the small of her back right above the waistband of her jeans. This touch had a different effect on the young doctor. Her head fell back, resting against the strong chest of Dr. Jackson. Her eyes closed. He may have been annoying her with his attentions before he left, but she had missed him.

When the hand left her back, Dr. Gray felt a moment of loss, quickly followed by a tingling sensation as Daniel kissed her softly. She broke the contact for a moment, swung around on her stool and pulled him forward into a deep kiss. When they parted, their foreheads rested against one another and they enjoyed the intimacy of the moment.

“I missed you.” The whisper hung between them. The words felt by both of them.

“How’d the mission go?” Mariah asked, drawing back first.

The archeologist grabbed her right hand, playing with her ring. “Not exactly as planned, but no one got hurt, which is the most important thing. We got a bit more intel, but nothing earth-shattering.” He peered over her shoulder. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, these are the books from the British Museum. They finally came.” She swung back around, letting Daniel keep her hand. “This one appears to be a fairytale. It’s kind of vague, though.” Mariah changed the subject back to the mission. “What news did you get about the Ori?”

“Just that the Priors are planning something and-.” Dr. Jackson was cut off by blaring sirens and flashing red lights. He dropped the linguist’s hand and strode out of the room, shouting over his shoulder. “Stay here.”

Dr. Gray didn’t think so. She made for the door, but paused. Going back to the counter, she scooped up the book and sprinted after Daniel. She wasn’t about to be left out.

*****

When Daniel reached the Control Room, the General and the rest of SG-1 were already there. Carter was frantically typing away on the Gate computer, she didn’t look happy.

“Sam…?” There was definite worry in Cam’s voice.

She turned to them. “The iris won’t close. There’s nothing in the system preventing it. It has to be an external force stopping it.”

The Gate sprang to life, just as Mariah reached the room. Jackson glared at her. “I told you to stay in the office.”

“Daniel, now’s not the time.” Mariah pointed at the Gate. “Look!”

Two Priors stepped through the event horizon, their staffs glowing. SG-1 and Landry hurried down to the Gate Room to face off with their visitors. Knowing any orders he gave her would be ignored, Mitchell simply said. “Mar…, be careful.” And he was gone.

Dr. Gray watched while a dialogue started between the two opposing groups. She caught snippets of the conversation and a sense of déjà vu swept over her. It was familiar somehow and her gaze fell to the book she held against her chest.

“Oh my.” She murmured, then she flipped the tome open, searching for the right passage. When she found it, a blast of light filled the Gate Room, knocking all the SGC personnel off their feet and the Priors began to intone passages from the book of Origin. Dr. Gray hurried down to the Gate Room. Her friends were just rising to their feet when she got there.

Mariah began to read. Her voice weak at first, barely audible over the Priors, but it slowly gained strength. “…and the followers of the false One will speak of their greatness, but one shall stand against them. Truth will fall from her lips and they will be powerless against it. They will strike at her, but the power of their wickedness will fall harmlessly before her….”

Colonel Mitchell started forward, when a blast flew from the two Priors’ staffs. Mariah paused in her reading, ducking her head, but the blow was deflected before it reached her. Teal’c placed a restraining hand on Cam’s arm and they watched as the linguist continued her recitation. Then everything changed.

Her eyes glowed white and the book rose from her hands. Ancient words fell from her lips as she read unseeing of the tome before her. With arms raised and palms facing the Priors, she stepped forward to the Gate ramp, her voice yelling the words she spoke. The Priors seemed to be fighting an invisible force, but inch by inch, they were driven back toward the blue mouth of the Gate. As they fell through the event horizon, the Gate disconnected and the linguist fell silent. Her arms lowered under the book and it rested itself upon them. She pulled the tome to her chest.

“Mariah?” Daniel’s voice was filled with worry.

She turned to him. Her eyes flashed white once more and she collapsed halfway up the ramp.

*****

“I’m never getting off this base, am I?” The words were filled with pain and brought the buzz of noise in the room to a halt.

“At the rate you’re going, Mar, it isn’t very likely.” Mitchell approached her left side while he spoke and she saw him grinning when she cracked open her eyes.

Her headache was back with a vengeance and the lights in the infirmary were way too bright. Mariah tried to draw her right arm across her eyes, but found someone held it in a vise grip. Her left arm would have to do. “Could we maybe dim the lights in here or get me some sunglasses? Or even knock me unconscious again?” The joke didn’t get a response, not even a peep.

“What’s the last thing you remember, Doctor?” The General asked, his concern evident.

The linguist thought for a moment, before answering. “Going down into the Gate Room and reading from the book. Oh, and those guys taking a shot at me. Then nothing.”

“How’d you know what to do?” This time Sam was speaking.

“As things were happening, it seemed like I’d seen them before. It was because I had literally just read and pictured them in my mind.” Mariah smiled and removed her arm from over her eyes. Dr. Lam had just upped her pain meds. She looked at the hovering crowd. “Good thing those books came today, huh?”

“Yes, a very good thing, Dr. Gray. We’ll leave you to rest now.” General Landry stated, then the members of SG-1 filed out with goodbyes and words of encouragement. “And just so you know, you were correct. You won’t be leaving the base until we know exactly what happened to you.” And with that, the General departed.

That left two people by Mariah’s bed. Carolyn quickly took her leave. “If you need anything Mariah, I’ll be at my desk.”

“Thank you.” Mariah turned and looked at her companion and the hold he had on her hand. His concern was evident. “I’m fine, Daniel. Please sit down before you fall down.” She tugged on his hand and he sank onto the edge of the bed.

Dr. Jackson had been panic-stricken when Mariah had collapsed. And during the three hours she was unconscious in the bed. The doctor assured him she was fine, just exhausted from the energy her stunt had taken. Vala tried to get him to leave her side to get some rest himself, but he refused to go. So what if he hadn’t slept in two days, he wanted, no, needed to be there when Mariah woke up. He brushed a hair off of her face and smiled at her. It was wonderful to see her awake, but he was so tired all of a sudden. 

The linguist must have noticed the fatigue enter his face as the adrenaline wore off. She scooted over in the bed and pulled him down to lay beside her. And before he could protest, he was fast asleep.

It was several hours later, when the archeologist awoke, staring into Mariah’s sleeping face. He kissed her lightly on the nose. She stirred a bit, but did not awaken. Dr. Jackson slowly moved to get up, not wanting to disturb his sleeping…. What did he call her? She meant more to him than just a mere girlfriend. He cared about her on a number of levels, or at least it felt that way. They needed to sit down and quantify their relationship after things settled down. He felt hands on his back and arm, helping him to rise.

Once sitting on the edge of the bed, Daniel looked into the face of his friend and team leader, Colonel Mitchell. “How long have you been here?” Daniel whispered.

“Not long, just about 20 minutes. My shift just started.”

“Shift?”

We were taking turns, 2 hour shifts. Sam went first since she actually slept recently, then T, then Vala and now me. The doc has something to tell Mar once she’s up.”

Daniel looked quizzically at Cam. “Did she find something?”

“Sort of…. She can’t be sure because she never ran the test on Mariah’s blood before.”

“What test?” Mariah’s voice floated over the two men and Jackson twisted in his perch to look at her.

The Colonel stood from his chair. “Good to see you awake again. Let me get the doctor.”

“Wait, Cam.” Mariah reached out a hand to stop him while she struggled to sit up. Daniel quickly helped her, raising the head of the bed so she could lean back against it. “Just tell me, please.”

“It would be better if Carolyn explained.” The Colonel said, uneasy about being the one to tell her.

“Please….”

“Okay….” He moved back to the edge of the bed and looked her square in the eyes. “Dr. Lam ran some tests on your blood. As you know, you have the Ancient gene.” Mariah nodded at him. “They never really bothered verifying the strength of your gene since General O’Neill and Major Sheppard have extremely strong genes. Well, she checked on it and your gene is almost four times stronger than O’Neill’s.”

“What??” Jackson almost shouted, rising from the bed, a restraining hand from Mariah stopped him.

The linguist looked at Cam more intensely. “What does that mean?”

“The medical staff is baffled. You’re basically, almost an Ancient. You definitely acted like one during the episode in the Gate Room. They are trying to figure out if your gene has always been this strong or if it happened because of the incident with the altar or reading from the book. General Landry wants every test possible run on you.”

“Just great.”

The archeologist wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her towards him. He placed a kiss on her temple. “We’ll figure this out, Mariah, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m not worried. I’m leaving.” With that, Mariah threw back the sheets and swung her legs over the left side of the bed, pulling the leads and tubes from her body as she did. She was slightly unsteady on her feet. Mitchell rounded the bed quickly and steadied her. She looked down. “Need shoes first.”

“And maybe a cane. You’re a bit like a drunken sailor, right now.” Mitchell joked.

Daniel chuckled, as well, and added. “How far do you think you’re going to get in scrubs and no shoes?” Both men were laughing at her, while she glared.

A disembodied voice added. “Not very far, considering I’d have every member of base personnel waiting to stop you.” Hank stepped out of the shadows and smiled at the trio. “If you wouldn’t mind hopping back into bed, Dr. Gray, we’ll discuss our course of action.”

Mariah gave a sigh of resignation and allowed her two less-than-valiant knights in shining armor to help her back into bed, while a couple of nurses worked on reconnecting her to the machines.

*****

General Landry looked at the solemn group sitting around the conference room table. SG-1 knew this was a serious situation and were treating it as such. Mariah Gray had become a possible weapon against the Ori, having easily defeated, not one, but two Priors. True, she might not be able to control her new abilities, but they might have to chance it in order to save their lives and all the other lives at risk throughout the Milky Way. Dr. Lam was currently putting her through a barrage of tests to see if she had any control over her budding powers. And the amazing thing was, the linguist was complying without complaint. 

“Sir, do you really believe Mariah would stand a chance against an actual Ori or even against Adria? They’ve wiped out entire worlds of people.” Vala was concerned too much faith was being placed on an unsure thing.

Colonel Carter added her opinion. “General, Vala’s right. While Mariah was able to stop those two Priors without incident, facing off against an Ori would be suicide.”

“Colonel, I understand your concern for your friend, but at this point, we’re running out of options. And we are no closer to finding Merlin’s weapon.” The General’s words had a resigned note to them.

“I must agree with the General.” Teal’c stated. “Mariah is now a great weapon to be used against our enemies.”

“T, I’m sorry to say this, but Mar is not a weapon. She’s a frightened girl, who has no idea what happened to her. And we can’t just throw her at the Ori expecting her to survive, let alone destroy them.” Mitchell was irate about the way Mariah was being treated.

That left one person at the table who had not spoken up. Landry turned to Daniel. “Dr. Jackson?”

The archeologist raised his eyes from staring at his tightly folded hands on the table. He knew what Mariah would want to do and knew what he wanted would not change her mind. His gaze fell on each of his teammates in turn, their worry and concern evident. He locked eyes with the General. “In the end, sir, what I say doesn’t matter. It depends on what Mariah wants to do.” He broke eye contact. “We all know Mariah will do whatever she thinks is best, unless she’s directly ordered otherwise. I may not want anything to happen to her, but we should let Mariah decide.

The room seemed to deflate at that point. Outrage and justifications didn’t seem to matter much now. They all knew the decision had never been and never would be theirs. They could convey what they wanted to Dr. Gray, but she would make the decision she thought was best for her.

“Quite right, Dr. Jackson.” Landry stated, clearing his throat. “Once Dr. Lam finishes with her tests and we have the results, I’ll sit down with Dr. Gray and discuss the options we have. For now, let’s continue with our normal duties and pray everything turns out for the best.” With that, he rose and went into his office, closing the door.

SG-1 sat at the table, none of them sure what to say or do. Suddenly Daniel stood. “I’m going to go work on those books from the British Museum.” He quickly left.

“Well.” Sam started, rising. “I need to get back to the ZPM. Maybe it’ll be of some use.”

“I’ll help.” Vala added, following Carter from the room.

Cam turned to the Jaffa warrior, once the ladies had left. “That just leaves us.”

“Indeed.”

“Up for some sparring, T?”

“It would seem that there is little left for us to do.” Teal’c rose and Mitchell followed suit.

The Colonel slapped his teammate on the shoulder. “Hey, for all we know, we may still get a fight out of this.” 

*****

There wasn’t a word to describe how she truly felt. Exhaustion paled in comparison. Not only that, but her body was one huge ache. Parts of her body she didn’t even know had muscles hurt. But she had a plan, a whole bottle of aspirin and sleep, lots and lots of sleep. Find Daniel first. Mariah needed a little emotional comfort before she gave into physical comforts. That was why the linguist was headed through the maze of corridors, past her temporary quarters to Daniel’s office.

Dr. Gray paused in the doorway of the office and stared at the object of her search. Daniel was sitting at the central table, his back to the door, hunched over one of the hefty Ancient tomes. Stealthily, the young woman walked up behind him and slid her hands over his shoulders, wrapping her arms around his neck. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent while she soaked in his warmth.

Dr. Jackson shrugged his shoulders, attempting to break the embrace. Mariah stepped back, shaken to the core by his actions. “Uh, hi, Daniel…. Making any progress with the books?” Her voice wavered.

“Some….” He left his answer lingering between them.

“Could you use some help?” Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“No, I’m fine. I’m sure you have more important things to be doing.” His tone was cold, devoid of its normal warmth.

“Uh, sure…. I’ll leave you to it….” Mariah turned quickly, almost ramming into Colonel Mitchell, tears blinding her. “Sorry…, Cam….” She bolted out into the corridor.

Cameron looked at his friend, as she scurried around the oncoming base personnel, then was gone around a corner. He turned back to the office. He had witnessed the whole scene and while he understood why it happened, he couldn’t believe Jackson’s cruelty.

“Jackson, what’s the matter with you?” Mitchell shouted at his teammate, who turned with a jerk, unaware anyone else had entered the room.

“What?” Daniel seemed confused.

The Colonel let his anger show. “Mariah just left in tears, you idiot!”

The archeologist bowed his head. “I didn’t mean to upset her. I just can’t….”

“Can’t lose her? I know. But if you keep acting like this, not only will you lose her, but you’ll drive her to do something stupid and she’ll hate you.” He took a seat next to his friend. “Talk to her. She came here to see you before she even got some rest. She wanted to be comforted and all she got was hurt.”

“Damn it.” Raising his head, Daniel stood, slamming his hand down on the work space, upsetting his coffee mug, the rich liquid soaking into the translation he had written out. He didn’t seem to care. Combing his hand through his hair, he strode away from Cam, then paused, trying to find the right words. “Everyone… and I do mean everyone, I have ever shown even an iota of feeling for has been taken away from me. My parents, Sha’re, Sarah, the list goes on. Hell….” Daniel turned back to face his team leader. “Even Nick, though through his own choice. I don’t know if I can take it again.” He bowed his head. “Best to just end it now.”

Silence hung between the two. Their thoughts almost seemed to thicken the air and would have choked them if they were any more tangible. One attempting to accept the hand fate dealt him, the other so angry he was tempted to physically hurt the man he called friend.

“Bullshit.”

A pause. “…Excuse me?”

“You heard me, bullshit.” Mitchell rose, walked up to the other man and gripped both his shoulders like a vise. “What happened in the past happened. Accept and move on.” When Daniel started to interrupt, he was silenced with a look. “What you’re doing now is your choice and is not only hurting one of the sweetest ladies either of us has ever met, but it’s tearing you apart, which will hurt the whole damn team.” Cam released Daniel and stepped back to lean against the table. “Lord knows, I’m no relationship expert. I’m just a dumb country boy, but Mariah cares about you and the work you’re both doing. She jumped in with her eyes wide open, accepting everyone, you included. She even gets along with Vala. Who’d a thunk it? That is one special woman. And she chose you, out of all the people here.” The Colonel straightened up and walked right up to Daniel, face-to-face, eye-to eye. “She thought you chose her back, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Do you think that’s right?”

Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Do you care about her?”

“Yes….” It was a whisper.

“Do you want to be with her and make her happy?”

“Yes….”

“Good. Want some help finding her?” A nod. Cam smiled and turned towards the door, a hand on his shoulder stopping him. “What?” He said looking back at the archeologist.

“Thank you.” The two men walked from the room together. “Where’d you learn to talk like that?”

A smile appeared on Mitchell’s face. “My grandmother was a wonder at the guilt trip, plus I’m friends with two amazing linguists.”

“Your grandmother must’ve been a hell of a lady.” Pausing a minute, he continued. “Do you think Mariah will forgive me?”

“After some groveling, most likely.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“You better or I might decide to move in.”

“Over my dead body….”

*****

After two hours, they were ready to pull their hair out. After leaving Daniel’s office, the two men checked Mariah’s room and when they didn’t find her, they found the rest of SG-1 to start searching any place the linguist might have sought refuge. At the one hour mark with no luck, they recruited SG-10, Sgt. Siler and a few others to help. At the two hour mark, their concern was mounting and they pulled back to the archeologist’s office to regroup. Jackson was about to have a coronary and Cam ordered all checkpoints to contact him if Dr. Gray was seen. SG-1 agreed it was best to not involve General Landry in the search, since that would bring additional issues down on the young woman’s head. But at this point, they were faced with no other choice.

With SG-10 and some others still on the look-out, they knew they needed a new plan. Daniel was pacing the length of his office, while his teammates looked on, clearly worried.

“I believe we must inform General Landry of what has occurred.” Teal’c stated, his stoic face tinted with worry.

“It’s not like she left the base and he can’t court-martial her, right?” Vala spoke to the group, but she was ignored.

Sam brushed a hand through her blond locks. “Let’s go about this logically. We’ve checked her quarters, all the storage rooms, the armory, the Mess, the infirmary, the locker room and the gym. Where does that leave us?”

“Nowhere.” Jackson hissed, his frustration mounting.

“Danny, we’ll find her.”

“Find who, Colonel, if I may ask?” The General voice interjected, causing the group to jump.

Holding a hand to her chest, Vala spoke. “Could you please not do that, sir?”

“I do apologize, Vala. However, no one has answered my question.”

SG-1 stared at the base Commander with something akin to doe-eyes, completely at a loss for words. Colonels Carter and Mitchell tried several times, but neither had a good explanation. Daniel turned away from the others. Vala tried to say something, but a look from Teal’c stopped her.

A smile tugged at Hank’s mouth, but he controlled himself. “And where’s Dr. Gray?” No response. “I assume she’s who you’re looking for.” Silence. “You should’ve let me know the minute she went missing.” Nothing. “I could’ve saved you some time.” Tension filled the air. “Mariah’s asleep on the couch in the conference room and has been for the last…, oh 90 minutes.”

“What??” Cam was confused, but stopped Dr. Jackson from bolting from the room.

The smile finally broke free, followed by a soft chuckle at the antics of the SGC’s premiere team. Hank quickly got serious. “When I found her, she was extremely upset. I couldn’t understand much of what she was saying. Once I calmed her some, I went into my office to get some tissues. She was sleep by the time I got back.”

“Sir, why didn’t you let us or, at least, Daniel know?” Carter was curious.

“She was exhausted, Colonel, both mentally and physically. I thought sleep was more important.” The General locked eyes with Dr. Jackson. “Also, from what I was able to understand, she didn’t have any desire to see our resident archeologist.”

Shame filled Daniel’s face and he paced to the far end of the room. At that moment, Teal’c rose from his chair. “I will attend to Mariah.” And before anyone could protest, the Jaffa was gone.

Landry and Mitchell shared a look and a chuckle. Oh, to be a fly on the wall…. Indeed. 

*****

The conference room was shrouded in darkness, though some light spilled in from the window to the Gate room and from the General’s office. The dark blue loveseat was nestled under one of the windows and curled up on it was a small lump, covered in a blanket. The huge Jaffa crossed the room, making no sound, years of warrior training serving him well in not disturbing the sleeping form. He knelt slowly by the couch, looking intently at the young face of SG-1’s newest unofficial member. He brushed several strands of brown hair from her face, eliciting a soft murmur from the linguist.

Teal’c lightly lifted one of Mariah’s hands. “Mariah, please awaken. I need to speak with you.” The words were nothing but a whisper, but their firmness penetrated the fog of sleep.

A shake of her head and her eyes slowly opened, a smiling gracing her lips. “Hi, Teal’c.” Then realization dawned and panic set in.

Tightening his hold on her hand, he placed his other hand on her shoulder, stopping her attempt to scurry from her resting place. “Remain calm. There is no one here, but us two. Daniel Jackson is greatly shamed and remains in his office with the rest of SG-1.”

Mariah sat up and with the Jaffa’s help, scooted back to lean against the arm of the sofa. She stifled a yawn. “Then why are you here?”

“To speak on Daniel Jackson’s behalf.”

“And what does he have to say?”

“That he is an idiot.”

With huge eyes, Mariah looked at her friend and laughed. “Teal’c, I’ve never heard you speak like that. I thought you respected Daniel.”

“I do, very much so. But for all the knowledge he has, Daniel Jackson is unfamiliar with loving relationships. And the few he has had have ended badly for him. He cares very deeply for you.”

“Then why? How could he be so... so...?”

“Cruel?” She nodded. “To save himself from the pain he feels is coming.”

“But this isn’t his fault or anyone else’s, just mine. If only I hadn’t touched that stupid altar, none of this would‘ve happened. Hell, if I never joined the SGC, Daniel wouldn’t have any idea who I was and could’ve been happy.” Tears started to trail down Mariah’s cheeks and she ducked her head. She whispered. “I would’ve been a great teacher.” There was no joy in her words.

“Indeed….” Teal’s stated, lifting her chin up and locking eyes with her. “However, where would that have left Daniel Jackson? You have brought great joy into his life and the lives of all that have met you. I must say, you have reminded me of all the innocents we fight for.” A smile and a blush fought through the sorrow. “You have brought hope back to Daniel Jackson. All of SG-1 thanks you for this. He does not deserve a second chance, yet I believe you will give it to him.”

Mariah nodded and wiped her cheeks. “I must look a fright.” She pulled out her hair tie and patted her hair down.

“You look lovely.”

A real blush colored the linguist’s face. She rose with Teal’c’s help. No forward motion, doubt still plagued her. “You sure?” A sideways glance assaulted the warrior.

A bow and a cocked head was returned. The linguist started forward, Teal’c falling in behind her. “Though I believe he is expecting to have to beg.”

“Good…. And bribes better be offered.” Mariah giggled.

“Indeed. I believe they should be required.”

The pair maneuvered through the corridors of the SGC. A few people stopped the young woman to ensure she was all right. She promised them she was, that the stress of the last few days had gotten to her. It was only a partial fib. The rumor mill on base was horrible and didn’t need any additional fodder. After the first half dozen people stopped her, frustration was setting in and Teal’c took action. 

Stepping in front of his petite friend, he cut a swath through the personnel and Mariah hurried after him. Soon, they were in the hallway outside Daniel’s office and could hear an animated conversation going on between Vala and Cam. The Jaffa turned to find Mariah a few yards down the hall. Her feet felt like cement and her heart was racing, fearing another rejection. Offering his hand to her, he silently coaxed the linguist down the hall. 

Once her hand was firmly in his, they walked into the room, halting the chatter instantly. Teal’c released her hand and with a look, Mitchell and Carter hustled Vala from the room. Dr. Jackson didn’t seem to notice, he only cared about one thing. With her anchor gone, nervousness overtook the young woman and her hands were suddenly very interesting. The normally eloquent Jackson had no idea where to start and this woman he adored looked ready to bolt.

“Mariah… I’m… I’m sorry.”

“That’s it?” Her head shot up and brown eyes blazed.

He stumbled forward. “I… I… oh, crap….”

“Thanks, Danny. I think that about sums it up.” Mariah turned, ready to storm out, when a hand on her arm stopped her. How this man infuriated her.

“Hell.” He swung her around and pulled her to him. Blue met brown; determination facing surprise. A hand cupped her face, fingers delving into her mocha tresses. Dipping his mouth to hers, Daniel brushed a kiss to Mariah’s lips, then pushed forward deepening the contact. The kiss was an exploration, a rediscovery and a promise. No words were needed, everything that needed to be said was conveyed with lips, mouth, tongue and hands. She raised her hands to his chest to push him away, but instead moved them up to cradle the back of his head, keeping him close. The archeologist slid the hand not in her hair around her waist, securing her against him. After more than a few minutes, they broke for air, but just barely.

A whisper fell from Mariah’s lips. “Wow….”

“Glad you liked it.” Daniel smiled, kissing her right eyelid.

“You’re getting off easy, mister. I should demand groveling and gifts.”

Cupping the back of her head, he looked her straight in the eyes. “I’m more sorry than I can put into words. I treated you horribly and deserve whatever you see fit. Nothing can excuse what I did. My only explanation is that I’ve had bad luck in any relationship I attempt to have, save the ones I have with the people on this base. You know about my family and Sha’re.” She nodded. “I couldn’t go through that again, no person could expect me to. But I forgot that it wasn’t my decision alone to make. I should’ve told you what I was feeling. I hope you’ll let me heal the harm I’ve done. I care for you very deeply, Mariah. Please give me this chance.” He gazed at her.

Closing her eyes to think, Mariah gathered her courage. “I understand, Daniel, and I can forgive you. I think I’m falling in love with you, but after all of this, I don’t-.” She was cut off by two fingers over her lips.

“Shhh…. It’ll come and I know your hesitance is because of what happened earlier. Let me win back your faith in me and I’ll do anything I can to fix this.”

Dr. Gray pulled back, but not enough to break his hold on her. “Anything?” He nodded, smiling. “I’ll have to think on that. On-demand massages comes to mind, but all I want now is to sleep. Teal’c interrupted some much needed rest.” She paused. “Also, need some aspirin. Make that lots of aspirin. Everything hurts.”

“I have some in my desk.” Dr. Jackson broke contact with her, hurrying to his desk. Once he found the bottle, he rejoined her, snatching up her hand. “Ready?”

“Yeah….” She stated hesitantly, when they began walking towards the elevators to take them to her temporary quarters. “Daniel?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you hold me while I sleep? It would make me feel better.” A wary look entered her eyes.

All he did was smile. “I’d be honored.”

It seemed like an eternity passed, when it only took them a few minutes to travel the few floors and down the hall to her room. Mariah darted in, kicking off her shoes and grabbing the bottle of pain killers, and bolted into the bathroom. Daniel wasn’t sure what to. He closed the door, locking it, and took a seat to pull off his boots. Placing them by the door, he rid himself of his outer shirt, belt and the contents of his pockets. At this point, Mariah reentered the room. She was nervous, her trust in Daniel dimmed by recent events. Clad in boxers and an oversized shirt, she scurried over to the bed, throwing back the covers and without looking at him, crawled in, leaving him plenty of room to join her. 

The archeologist hesitated, but took a deep breath. He would do anything she asked and was thrilled by this chance, he didn’t want to scare her off. Laying down beside her, Daniel flipped off the lights and lightly wrapped his arms around her. But for Mariah, it was all or nothing. She snuggled back against him and pulled his arms tighter. He submitted without any further hesitation, breathing in the sweet scent that was all her. 

With a contented sigh, Daniel placed a soft kiss behind her left ear. “Good night, Mariah.”

Happiness tinged her words. “Good night, Daniel. Sweet dreams.” 

*****

Wakefulness came slowly. Disorientation followed. Realization next and finally, contentedness. During the night, Mariah had turned over and now was nestled against Daniel’s side and chest, he having fallen onto his back. Her right arm was sprawled over his chest and their right legs were intertwined. Soft breaths tickled his neck and chest. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he released a sigh. To think he almost gave all of this up, out of fear. This was what they were fighting for: human happiness and all the good things life had to offer. The members of the SGC had as much right as the next person to a little slice of happiness. And Dr. Jackson would enjoy every second he was given. Even if the fates took her away, though he would fight that with his dying breathe, he would savor every moment, every memory of her.

She brushed her hand across his chest. The change in Daniel’s breathing must have disrupted Mariah’s sleep, or so he thought. A soft moan escaped the young woman and he realized she was having a nightmare. Putting a hand to her cheek, Dr. Jackson attempted to soothe her, but it didn’t seem to work. Another moan poured forth.

“Mariah, wake up, honey.” He shook her slightly. It had the desired effect. Eyes fluttered open. Daniel smiled at her. “You all right?”

“Think so….” She yawned, covering her mouth, then Daniel’s hand, which was still on her cheek. “Why?”

“You were moaning.”

“I was?” A nod answered her. “I don’t remember.” She thought a moment. “Probably a bad dream.” A smile lit up her face. “Good morning, by the way.” She rose slightly, planning to place a light kiss on his lips, but he wanted more.

Jackson shifted his hand to the back of her head and drew her forward. His kiss was full of all the promises he made the night before and his hopes for the future. When he finally let her draw back, he smiled at her sigh. “Good morning.” He added. “Feeling better?”

“Whoever invented Aspirin should be given a sainthood.” Mariah propped herself up on her left elbow, her right hand doodling on his chest. “I’m still a little sore and achy, but a good long sleep was really what I needed.” She looked up from her drawing and met his eyes. “How are you?”

Still smiling, he answered. “Best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.” He paused. “We should probably put in an appearance though. Can’t stay here all day.”

“You just want coffee.”

“True.” He grabbed her right hand, planting a kiss on the palm. “However, we need to get through those Ancient tomes, too. And Dr. Lam may have some test results for you.”

Snatching her hand back, she rolled away from him and out of the bed. “Spoilsport.” She grumbled. “For that, I get the bathroom first.” She heard him chuckle as she closed and locked the bathroom door.

Dr. Gray wasn’t really mad, she just needed a minute alone to think. Her sleep had been deep and very restful, but images were flashing in her mind and Daniel’s comment made her think they might be the cause of her moaning. She didn’t usually dream and these images seemed more real, almost like a movie playing in her head. Best to not mention them just yet. They would think she was going crazy on top of everything else. Mariah quickly brushed her teeth and went through the rest of her morning routine, changing back into her clothes from the previous day. After securing her hair up in a ponytail, she reached for her glasses and realized something.

She yanked open the door, ready to charge out, only to run right into a wall of flesh. “Jesus, Daniel. Give a girl some warning.”

“What’s the hurry?” At this point, a smile seemed to be glued on Dr. Jackson’s face.

“I don’t seem to need these anymore.” She held up her glasses.

The smile drooped. “Since when?”

“Not sure. I’ve been thinking back. I don’t think I’ve worn them since at least the books got here. Before that, I’m not sure….” She set the glasses down on the bedside table and rubbed her temples. This was not a good way to start the day.

Daniel stilled her hands and held them to his chest. “We’ll tell Carolyn and work from there, ok?” He got a nod. “Give me a minute and we’ll go down to the infirmary.” Another nod.

The forlorn young woman wandered into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Once he was sure she was okay and wouldn’t bolt, Daniel closed the bathroom door. Turning on the tap, he splashed cold water on his face to wake up. Coffee was going to have to wait. Something about Mariah was changing. Part was unknown, the rest a reaction to the unknown. Her confidence was wavering. And Daniel was going to need everyone’s help to restore it. Mariah needed to fight and who better to show her how than SG-1. No matter what happened, she needed to remember who she was. Infirmary first, pep talk after.

Daniel finished in the bathroom, reentering the main room. She hadn’t moved. Replacing his belt, shirt and pocket paraphernalia, he quickly donned his glasses and sat down to replace his boots. No movement. He grabbed her shoes and walked over to stand in front of her. Mariah took her shoes without a word, slipped them on and rose. Her fight was all gone.

This cannot go on. Daniel thought. He grabbed her hand when she started forward and pulled her back. She turned to look at him, confused. Dr. Jackson dipped his head, kissing her. At first no response, then a spark and a moan. She hooked her arms under his shoulders and moved into his embrace. There was still some fire and passion left in her.

“Thank you.” She uttered when they broke apart.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s go see the doctor and get started on those books.” Daniel’s smile was back. She knew what he was up to and was going to try. That was all he could ask for.

*****

When they arrived in the infirmary, Daniel and Mariah weren’t surprised to find General Landry and Colonel Mitchell already there. They were speaking with Dr. Lam and smiled when the couple approached them.

“Dr. Gray, how are you feeling?” Landry asked, concern lacing his words.

The linguist gave him a weak smile. “I was good until I realized I didn’t need my glasses anymore.” This got an immediate reaction out of Carolyn. She rushed to the young woman’s side.

Ushering her to a bed, the physician started to examine her. “Any other physical changes?”

“Not that I’ve noticed.” She submitted to the cursory exam without complaint.

The three men followed them over to the bed and watched the exam. Mitchell circled to the other side of the bed and tugged on Mariah’s ponytail. “Your hair is getting a little long, Mar. How long since you got it cut?”

“Right before all this started, so like a month ago….” She reached back and removed her hair tie. Her hair cascaded down her back. “Where does it end?”

Cam stuck his finger on her mid to lower back. “Right there.”

Mariah hung her head. “It should be just below my shoulders… so my hair grew like 4 inches overnight…. This morning keeps getting better and better.

“You all need to step out.” Dr. Lam pointed at the three men. “I need to do a full exam. See if there’s anything else.” She shooed them out, called over a nurse and pulled the privacy curtain around the bed.

Changing into a gown, Mariah allowed herself to be fully examined from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet. Beyond her eyes and the hair growth, only one additional thing was found, a tattoo in the middle of her back. Ancient words permanently written on her skin. The doctor showed her patient a photo of the tattoo, which she translated. Dr. Gray begged the other women to keep the translation to herself since it appeared to have no bearing on the other changes. Carolyn agreed to not share the meaning, but she would need to disclose what she found to the General. Mariah nodded her head sadly. She redressed while Dr. Lam went to speak to the men and joined them after a few minutes.

Daniel put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so….” She smiled up at him, trying to stay strong while her life continued to spiral out of control.

The General looked at her sternly, though there was a touch of kindness there as well. “Dr. Gray, Mariah, I’m going to allow you to keep the meaning behind the tattoo secret, for now, but at a certain point, you may need to share with us. For now, I’d like you, Dr. Jackson and Colonel Mitchell to come with me. We need to discuss our plans going forward. You have some tough decisions ahead of you. Just know, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”

She nodded at him and slowly, they all walked out of the infirmary, each thinking of what the future might hold. Dr. Gray knew she should tell them about her weird ‘movie-like’ dream, but so much had happened over the last couple of days. If she shared one more thing with them, she might just come apart at the seams. She wanted to see what these ‘plans’ she had to choose from were first. She’d share with them eventually, she was sure. Mariah just hoped she could survive what laid ahead.

Chapter Text

“I yield. Just let me lay here and die.” Mariah groaned from her place on the floor.

Teal’c came to stand over her. “You must not give up, Mariah. You are improving.”

“My bruises have bruises.” She sat up and glared when laughter came from across the gym. “You do NOT have permission to laugh at me after you almost dislocated my knee yesterday.”

“Oh, come on, Mar. It wasn’t that bad. You didn’t even get a bruise.” Mitchell ambled over to the pair.

“I did later. Daniel helped me ice it last night.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.” He had the decency to blush.

The linguist looked at the two men. “I don’t think this is going to work. I’m not coordinated enough to fight. I was a distance runner in high school. I dreaded whenever they wanted me to do the relay. I always dropped the baton.” She struggled to her feet, batting aside their attempts to help her up.

Cam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, once she was standing. “I thought the same thing when the Sodan were trying to make me a better fighter. You just need to give it a little time.” He was really trying to cheer her up.

“Indeed.” Teal’c voiced his agreement. “It took me many hours a day for many years to enter the Jaffa ranks and even longer to become First Prime. You should not give up so quickly.”

Mariah groaned. They weren’t listening to her. “We don’t have that kind of time. The Ori are destroying worlds as we speak and gathering followers. You guys have been whacking me with sticks for almost a week and dumping me on my ass at least once a session. Teal’c, you’re just being nice when you say I’m improving, because it’s obvious to everyone, but especially me, that I’m not. Time to give up on making me a fighter. What’s Plan B?” Mariah was rubbing her sore neck, ignoring all the other places that ached. Everyone was pinning their hopes on her and she didn’t want to disappoint them. 

“I believe you need to rest. We will begin our ‘Plan B’ tomorrow. You must be in the proper frame of mind to meditate.” Teal’c put the practice staffs away.

“Meditate? Really? That’s our second avenue of attack here? I’m going to mantra the Ori to death.” She sighed and shrugged off Cam’s arm. “Just shoot me now. I tried meditation once. I fell asleep.” Mariah grabbed a towel off the bench and wiped her face.

The Jaffa smiled at her as he approached. “The practice of Kelno’reem is very much like sleep. However, we will start first with simple meditation, before we try the deeper meditation of Kelno’reem.”

“Wonderful.” Her sarcasm level was on high and she sighed when Teal’s raised an eyebrow at her. “Sorry. I’m sore and tired, plus very sweaty. I’m going to go clean up. I’ll see you both later.”

The linguist waved at the two men and walked out of the gym. This whole endeavor was frustrating. A week ago, after finding out about her eyes, hair and new tattoo, she had a very trying conversation with General Landry, which Daniel and Cam witnessed. Landry left the decision making up to her, but she could see he wanted her to try to be the weapon they needed against the Ori. She wasn’t so sure she was the best person to be a weapon. She was a pacifist for the most part, even working for the military. Yet, she could understand what they were after. The Ori were enslaving people throughout the Milky Way and if people didn’t become followers of Origin, planets were being wiped out for defiance, either by the Ori plague or aerial bombardments. It was kill or be killed. She wasn’t sure she could do it though.

Based on this pressure, she agreed to learn how to fight, omitting her lack of coordination and her general clumsiness. The General was pleased when she agreed, but Mitchell and Jackson weren’t. After the meeting, they tried to tell her she should only do this if she really wanted to, but she also felt like she had no choice. She easily defeated two Priors without batting an eye, though with no knowledge regarding how she did it. Maybe her fighting skills would come naturally, too, or at least, that was her thought a week ago. Now she knew she had no fighter’s instinct or natural ability, plus her body was one big bruise.

The last week had been tough on her between the combat training sessions and working on translating the Ancient tomes. She had very little time to herself. Daniel was with her every step of the way, supporting her and comforting her as needed. He spent his nights holding her close and her dreams were full of strange visions of things she didn’t understand. Her ‘dreams’ were becoming more vivid and more intense, but she still hadn’t shared them with anyone. Maybe meditation would give her the insight she needed into them.

Mariah pushed all of this from her mind when she reached her temporary quarters. She locked the door, stripped and headed into the bathroom for a hot, hot shower. The water beat down on her, easing the ache she felt down to her bones. Too soon and reluctantly, she got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, heading back out into her quarters. She jumped back in surprise.

“Damn it, Daniel. You scared me.” She gripped the towel tighter around her.

He stood and smirked at her. “Sorry. I wanted to check on you. Cam came by after your session and said you ended your combat training.”

“Yeah…. My body couldn’t take any more. Neither could my spirit. It was very humbling the amount of times I landed on the ground.” She headed to the dresser to pull out some clean clothes.

He chuckled. “They’re both very skilled fighters. If anyone can teach you, it would be them.”

“Well, apparently, I’m unteachable.” She headed back to the bathroom, but Dr. Jackson stepped into her path. “What?” She looked up at him.

“How are you doing? Honestly.”

She hung her head. “I’m a little disappointed I’m such a bad fighter, but at the same time, happy I’m horrible. Fighting is not my thing.” She smiled up at him. “And at least with meditation, I may get a nap in.” He chuckled along with her. “Now, let me get changed and we can go work on the tomes some more.”

“Sure.” He moved out of her way and added. “Any chance I can see the tattoo?”

“Nope.” She walked into the bathroom and shut the door before he could say anything further. It was the fifth time he’d asked and she could only assume he would keep asking until she let him see it. The tattoo disturbed her a bit, since she wasn’t the kind of person that liked them. They were okay on other people and she had seen some impressive ones on the base, but she never felt inclined to get one. Now she had one against her will. It was a simple tattoo in the traditional Ancient script. Three little words in blue ink right in the middle of her back, one on top of the other. She shook her head and reminded herself they were unimportant and had nothing to do with her powers. She dressed and exited the bathroom again.

Dr. Jackson was waiting for her when she exited and pulled her into his arms for a deep, gentle kiss. She happily kissed him back. Mariah pulled back first and smiled brightly at him. He kissed her nose and spoke to her. “I’m going to keep asking.”

“And I’m going to keep refusing.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the door. “Come on, we have work to do.”

*****

“You must try to not fall asleep this time.”

“I didn’t mean to the first two times.” The linguist sighed. ‘Plan B’ wasn’t turning out very well.

Her first meditation session with Teal’c ended in failure very quickly. She sat down and began to listen to him guiding her through the process. She was out like a light in about 10 minutes and the Jaffa warrior allowed her to fall over, waking herself brutally. He chided her, but quickly released her. The second session went better and Mariah really thought she was getting the hang of it. She was focusing on her inner turmoil and trying to brush them away like grains of sand. She didn’t fall asleep until the 30 minute mark and actually got a little nap in before Teal’c noticed. She was pretty sure he pushed her over that time. Honestly, she thought she was getting the hang of it. 

The key thing to remember was that meditation was different for everyone and what worked for one person wouldn’t necessarily work for the next. The grains of sand thing was good imagery for her. All her troubles were just grains of sand and she could brush them away and clear her mind of worry. She started the breathing exercise Teal’c had taught her. She centered herself and focused on her breathing and slowing down her heart rate. Mariah’s eyes slid closed and she just breathed for a few minutes. Then she began to focus on her unease and discomfort, each was just a grain of sand and she brushed them away. She felt herself calming and becoming more focused, her senses sharpening. Then something odd happened.

*Hello, Child.*

That voice was most definitely in her head, but it wasn’t the strangest thing that had happened to her in recent weeks, so she went with it.

*Hello…. Um… who are you?*

A gentle laugh washed over her. *I am your Ancestor and I am greatly pleased to finally meet you. I have been alone for many years.*

*Sorry to hear that, but how exactly am I hearing you? And how are you even here?* Her confusion was evident in her words.

*My consciousness has been uploaded into you.*

*Excuse me?*

The voice laughed again. *The altar you touched allowed my consciousness to enter you. The power cell contained me for many centuries, ever since I descended.*

*You’re an Ascended Ancient?*

*Yes, and you are my descendant. You were guided to that planet at that time so you could be my vessel.*

*Okay, hold up. Start at the beginning, please.*

Mariah really seemed to amuse the voice since she laughed again. *Almost ten thousand years ago, when I and my people returned to Earth, I started to follow the path to Ascension. I achieved my goal as did Moros, the man you know as Merlin. Moros and several others saw the threat that the Ori were and Moros made the choice to descend. He worked many years to create a weapon to stop them. The issue that arose was how to power and protect the device from the people it was meant to effect. He determined that the power of an Ascended being would be enough. I volunteered. Once the weapon was finished and hidden, he created the containment chamber in the power cell and I allowed myself to be trapped within it. I have remained there, waiting for one of my children’s children to come and touch the platform.*

*So, I got picked?*

*Several of my descendants were guided on this path, but you must have been the one the Others determined had the best chance to succeed. Now, I must prepare you.*

*Prepare me for what?*

*For what is to come. I will not survive what must be done and there is a chance that neither will you.*

*No…. I don’t want to die. I have my whole life ahead of me.*

*In the end, it is your choice. But if you do not act, the Ori will destroy everything you love. They will never stop until they control the universe itself.*

This couldn’t be happening. She’d finally found a place where she fit in with people who cared about her. She couldn’t die now…. But if she didn’t, everyone on Earth would either die or become a slave to the Ori. Some choice…. *All right. What do I need to do?*

*You are very brave, Child. But we have time still. You must come to terms with what you must do, before we go forward. Do not tell your friends. They will only try to stop you. But know this, now that we have connected, the power cell, which you call a ZPM, will function. It will provide additional protections for Earth and all you hold dear.*

*I get a bonus for agreeing…. Great.*

*This reward is small compared with what you must do, just know this path will be much easier than the first you tried. I was greatly amused by your attempts to learn to fight.*

*That’s why I’m here, to amuse you.* Mariah could faintly hear voices calling to her beyond the haze of her meditative state. The feeling of a hand on her arm pulled her from her comfort. *I need to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can so we can start figuring out what I need to do.*

*Goodbye, Child.*

The linguist was groggy when she came out of the meditative state. Her eyes slowly opened and she was greeted by the sight of Dr. Lam and Daniel kneeling in front of her, while Cam and Teal’c looked on from above. The physician was holding her wrist, taking her pulse, while the archeologist held her other hand in both of his. He looked very worried.

“There she is.” He smiled at her.

“Why’s everyone here?”

“You have been meditating for more than two hours, Mariah. I could not wake you. I called Dr. Lam for assistance. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Mitchell overheard the radio call and joined us.” The Jaffa spoke plainly, but he was obviously concerned.

She smiled at everyone. “I finally got the hang of this meditation thing and didn’t fall asleep. SCORE!” Everyone chuckled, but she narrowed her eyes at Carolyn. “I’m not going to the infirmary before you ask. I’m fine. Plus, I have work to do.” She pulled her limbs back and scrambled to her feet. “I actually feel great.”

“Mariah, honey, I think you should let the doctor take a look at you.” Jackson all but whispered to her.

She cupped his face. “I’m good. I promise. I just want to get to work on more of the tomes. I’ll allow you to supervise me for the rest of the day, just to allay your worries.”

“Okay.” Daniel covered her hands with his, smiled and grabbed one of her hands when she released him.

Dr. Lam sighed. “Fine.” She stood. “But if this happens again, you get to have a lovely stay with me in the infirmary. No ifs, ands or buts about it.”

“Sure thing, Carolyn.” She turned and smiled at Cam and Teal’c. “I’m fine, really. Stop with the frowning, you’ll get wrinkles.” They both gave her half smiles when she walked out of the room with Dr. Jackson.

Dr. Gray was trying her best to put on a brave face and pushed their worries away as best she could. She needed to be strong, not just for them, but for herself. If she was going to die at the end of this, Mariah wanted them to have happy memories of her to look back on. They were all so brave, going up against unbelievable odds on an almost weekly basis, it seemed. It was hard, but she was going to try to be brave like them. If only to save all of their lives.

*****

The next few days were the best in Mariah’s recent memory. She spent every waking moment she could with her friends. She asked Vala to teach her how to pick pockets and it turned out she was able to use her clumsiness to her advantage. The two women drove Daniel and Cam crazy with their antics. The linguist also let Sam tell her all about the science behind the ZPMs and the blonde woman was overjoyed the malfunctioning ZPM started to magically work. Dr. Gray did her best to not fall asleep or mention why the ZPM began to work.

Since she didn’t want to be hit with sticks anymore, she joined Cam in trying to teach Teal’c more about pop culture, by binge-watching some of her favorite TV shows. Also, they held a team movie night which was great fun for all involved. General Landry kindly gave the linguist permission to go on a (supervised) outdoor run with Mitchell and the Jaffa warrior. She knew it may very well be the last time she felt the sun’s warmth. Her time with Daniel was very different than the rest. They worked together in quiet companionship translating the books they got from the British Museum. Her Ancestor explained during her second successful meditation session that the tomes were Merlin’s instruction manuals for what would need to be done to stop the Ori. After all, he still had his Ascended powers at the time they were written and could divine at least one possible future.

Beyond working on the translations together, Dr. Jackson and Mariah spent time alone in her temporary quarters. It felt a little like high school to her, making out with her boyfriend in her bedroom, praying her parents (or in this case their coworkers) didn’t catch them. She needed the human connection to remind her of why she was doing this and to allow her to have some good memories of her own at the end.

Her second successful meditation session was very interesting. Mariah learned all about the weapon, its creation and how it worked. It was a little beyond her, but she did her best to pay attention and to not get lost in her head so much that Dr. Lam was called again to verify she was all right. She got through the session without raising any suspicions or at least she hoped not. Teal’c had given her a funny look right before she left.

Today, she was going to meditate with Teal’c again and she had an inkling that it might be the last time. The Ori were becoming bolder in their attacks and allied worlds were feeling the pressure. General Landry and the IOA were becoming worried and had held numerous meetings. She knew that she was probably at least one of the topics of conversation, but the Oversight people were leaving her alone, for now.

“Are you ready to begin, Mariah?”

“Yeah, Teal’c.” She was sitting across from him, cross-legged, on the floor of his quarters and she let her eyes slide shut, while she listened to him breathe.

It would seem she was really getting the hang of it, because before she knew it, her breathing was even and her heart rate had fallen. She felt the connection happen just as she heard the voice inside her head again.

*Hello, Child.*

*Hi…. What’s on the agenda for this session?*

The voice laughed at her. *You speak so plainly. It is quite invigorating. We have just a couple of items to discuss, but now I must ask you, do you have any questions for me?*

The linguist thought for a moment and landed on a very silly thing to ask. *What’s with fixing my eye sight, growing my hair and giving me a tattoo? Not having to wear glasses any more is great, but I keep trying to eat my hair. I have to put it up in a ponytail all the time to avoid that.*

*The healing of your eyes and the length of your hair are residuals of my presence in you. My eye sight was perfect and I grew my hair long. My husband quite liked my long hair, though I, myself, kept it gathered up and away so it would not bother me.* There was a wistful quality to her Ancestor’s voice. It would seem she had fond memories of her life and her husband.

*And the tattoo?*

*I do not know. It is not my doing. I would say it is one of Merlin’s jests or perhaps those that guided you to me have marked you for their own purposes.*

Mariah sighed. Not much of an answer. *Thank you for telling me what you could.*

*You are most welcome, Child. Anything further you wish to ask of me?*

*No…. I assume this is the last of these sessions we’ll have.* She tried to keep the fear out of her words.

*You are most intuitive. Yes, it is, Child, at least until the weapon is in use. I will tell you the location of the weapon as well as the trials you must pass to reach it. But before this, you must tell me, will you do what is needed to stop the Ori and their wickedness?*

*Yes….*

A wave of calm spread over Dr. Gray and she felt at peace. She listened to her Ancestor. The weapon was on a planet known of by very few and the people there were guardians of it. She would need to say the right things to them and they would do whatever she wished. The tests and trails she needed to go through were extensive and some required two people, so she would need help. It was very simple in the end, the plan to stop the Ori. And the time to act had come much quicker than she imagined it would.

*Do you understand all that I have told you?*

*Yes…. But how am I going to get through the Gate? Everyone here will try to stop me and I don’t want to hurt them in order to accomplish this.*

The voice sighed. *I know, Child. First, you must take the chance to say your goodbyes, then simply think, Sleep, and those around you will fall into a slumber until you are gone. All but the one you have picked to go with you.*

*Sounds easy enough.* She started to pull herself out of the trance, but stopped and asked one more thing. *You’ll be with me until the end, right?*

*I will be with you for as long as I can. Once you have the weapon, I will be closer to your consciousness and we will be able to communicate more freely. I will guide you until the last moment and protect you. I thank you for what you are about to do.*

Mariah took a deep breath and began to exit her trance. Her heart rate increased and soon she could hear the noises and things around her. She slid her eyes open and smiled at Teal’c, who was sitting across from her. His eyes opened and he smiled back.

“Did you reach a meditative state?”

“I think so….” She hated lying to him and she was pretty sure he knew she wasn’t telling the truth, but he hadn’t called her on it yet. “I didn’t fall asleep so I’m counting it as a win.”

“Indeed.” He unfolded his legs and gracefully rose from the floor. The Jaffa offered her a hand and pulled her up onto her feet. Nothing was said as she was pulled into his arms for a hug. It lasted just a few moments and she savored the connection. It was as much of a goodbye as she would get with him. “I am glad you have allowed me to help you with this.”

She blushed. “I’m just happy it is working out better than the sparring. At least I have less bruises.” He raised an eyebrow at her. She ducked her head. “Well, I should go find Daniel and get back to work on those Ancient tomes. Bye, Teal’c.”

“Goodbye, Mariah.”

The linguist scurried from his quarters. She would miss his calming presence and his sage advice. Dark thoughts filled her mind, but she pushed them aside and hurried to the elevator to head down to Daniel’s office. This goodbye would be the hardest of them all.

*****

“Do you wanna see my tattoo?”

Dr. Jackson’s head popped up and he stared at Mariah, who was standing in the doorway to his office. “What?”

“I asked, do you want to see my tattoo?” She smiled shyly at him. “It’s not the best pick-up line, but I thought it would appeal to you.”

He rose and approached her, taking her into his arms. “You don’t need to pick me up since you’ve already got me.” He looked her in the eyes, studying her. “Why this sudden change of heart about the tattoo?”

“The constant asking was starting to get on my nerves and I thought I’d just bite the bullet. Plus, I think I’m ready to take the next step with you.” She fought not to blush, but failed as she bowed her head, clearly embarrassed at being so forward with him.

He pressed a kiss to her temple and chuckled. “We really should be working on translating these books.”

“Play hooky with me… for a little afternoon delight.” That comment got the archeologist blushing and she let out a little laugh. She met his eyes and reached up to give him a searing kiss. His arms tightened around her as he kissed her back.

“Sure…. Let’s play hooky.” He let her go and grabbed her hand, heading out the door of his office. They slowly made their way to her temporary quarters and entered together.

Mariah was nervous and let go of his hand to kick off her shoes. She popped into the bathroom and closed the door. Leaning on the counter, she took a couple of calming breaths and looked up at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t like she hadn’t had sex before, but the couple had been taken things slow for weeks. This was a big step forward and the last that she would get with him. She wanted it to be special. Splashing water of her face and drying off, she stripped down to her bra and panties (thank God, they were a nice set) and let her hair down. Another deep breath and she opened the door, leaning against the jamb.

Daniel gaped at her for a minute from his seat on the bed. He had already removed his boots, socks, BDU shirt, belt and all his pocket contents. He rose when she walked over to him slowly. Just as she reached him, she turned around and swept her hair out of the way. “You did want to see my tattoo, right?”

She felt his fingers tracing the Ancient letters that were on her back and fought not to tremble at the feather light touch on her skin. He shifted the clasp of her bra out of the way so he could see it all, then boldly unclasped it. She held the front of her bra in place while he continued to touch the letters. 

“Any idea what the significance of the three words is?” Jackson asked when he stepped closer, running his fingers up and down her back, from her neck to her waist.

“Nope….” The linguist gasped. He was driving her crazy. Then his fingers were gone, but before she could complain, his bare chest was against her bare back and his hands landed on her hips, as he dropped a kiss on her neck. Mariah groaned.

“Thank you for showing me.”

“You’re welcome.” She took a deep breath and turned herself around, her bra falling free as her arms wrapped around his waist. Pushing herself up, dragging skin against skin, she gave him a hungry kiss. She smiled into the kiss when he groaned this time.

He quickly divested her of her last piece of clothing while she finished undressing him, their mouths staying connected the entire time. They took careful steps together over to the bed and fell on to it. His lips moved down to her neck and she allowed herself to get lost in the sensations he was causing. This would be her hardest goodbye, but the most memorable. She pushed thoughts of the plan away and opted to just enjoy her last real memory of Earth and the man she was falling in love with. 

*****

Mariah climbed out of bed as gently and quietly as she could. Not that there was any chance of Daniel waking. After they made love and basked in the afterglow, he had fallen into a deep sleep. A sleep he would only awaken from once she was gone. She dressed simply in jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes, leaving all her personal items behind. She’d have no use for them anymore. With a kiss to his lips and forehead, she slipped from her on-base quarters.

As she walked down the hall, the SGC personnel she passed collapsed to the floor, falling into the same deep sleep as Dr. Jackson. She made her way to the Gate Room and stood at the bottom of the ramp, staring at the metal ring. It could very well be the last time she ever stood there and gazed upon it. Twenty or thirty minutes went by, then someone joined her.

“Mar?”

“Hey, Cam.”

He came and stood next to her. “What’s going on?” He seemed nervous and confused.

“It’s time for me to go.”

“Go where?”

“To gather the weapon.”

Mitchell gave her a funny look. “You know where the weapon is?”

“Yes, and I need your help to get to it. Will you come with me?” She looked over at him.

“Of course. Let’s wake my team and we’ll all go.”

“Sorry, no. Everyone below the 11^th floor is asleep and will stay like that until I’ve gone through the Gate. Only you can come with me.”

“Mar….”

“Please, Cam. I need your help and only yours to get to it. The others wouldn’t let me go, but I have to go for this to work.”

He was torn. Getting the weapon had been the main goal of his team for months and now he had the chance to get it. He knew what he needed to do. “Okay. Just the two of us. Everyone here will be okay, right?”

She smiled over at him. “Yes. As soon as I pass through the Gate, they’ll wake up.” She patted his arm. “Gear up. I’ll dial our first stop.”

“First stop?”

“Trust me, okay?”

“Of course. Do you need me to get you anything?” He started towards the door.

Dr. Gray shook her head. “No, I have everything I need already.” Her eyes flashed white and she waved her hand towards the Gate. The event horizon materialized out of nowhere and the Colonel gaped at her. “Chop, chop, Cam. We have places to go.”

*****

They had done it. They had found the weapon. Dr. Gray was happy she asked Cam to accompany her. She hadn’t really given him much choice, but the tricks and traps to get to the weapon called for two people and the Colonel was someone she trusted. 

After he agreed to her proposition, she had ‘dialed’ the world where all of this started for her, then they gated to the world they needed to visit. She hadn’t wanted any record of where they went in the dialing computer or on the security feeds at the SGC. Mariah couldn’t have them following her. Once they had arrived on the planet, Calterra, she led Mitchell to the village where she spoke to the villagers for a few minutes. They were given a guide and taken to the sacred ruins. Their guide would not enter the compound, but that didn’t matter. Mariah knew the way.

The pair entered the compound, Cam trailing behind her. He was keeping a careful eye on her. She found the secret entrance to the actual facility and the challenges began. There were mind games and physical tests. All were passed without issue since her Ancestor had already told her what to do. Then they had the weapon and exited the facility, meeting back up with their guide. Mariah let Mitchell hold the weapon all the way back to the village. She once again spoke to the villagers and they headed back to the Gate.

“I can’t believe we found the weapon.” The Colonel was like a kid in a candy story, with a huge smile plastered on his face. “Jackson’s going to be jealous.” 

She chuckled beside him. Before they knew it, they reached the DHD and the Gate. Mariah moved to stand in front of her friend, taking the weapon from his hands and setting it on the ground beside her. She smiled up at him. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, Mar. This will help the whole galaxy. I couldn’t really say no.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“What now?”

She didn’t speak as she moved forward into his personal space. Mitchell’s arms automatically went around her. The linguist reached up with both hands and pulled his head down towards hers, their lips meeting. Their kiss was filled with passion, love and a touch of sorrow. She pulled back first and looked up at him.

His arms stayed around her and he smiled down at her. “Wow. That was a hell of a kiss. And I’m not complaining, because I’ve wanted to do that since I met you, but why?”

She touched his cheek. “Because I wanted to…. Before I said goodbye.”

“Goodbye? What are you talking about?” He started to tighten his arms around her. “Where are you going?”

Dr. Gray gave him a soft smile. “Goodbye, Cam.” Tears fell down her cheeks as she stroked his face. Then he slowly collapsed to the ground. She picked up the weapon and began to dial. Her Ancestor spoke to her.

*I know you are hurt, but this is the way it must be.*

“I know.”

*We will only have one chance for our plan to succeed. You must go.*

The Gate connected and she looked back. Two villagers were coming to tend to Colonel Mitchell. She gave them a sad smile and headed through the Gate.

When she came out on the other side, she was on Celestis, the Ori homeworld. She walked forward and a man came towards her. It was the Doci and he was greatly displeased.

“How did you come to be here? You must leave. You are an affront to the Ori.” He struck at her, but a protective bubble had formed around her.

“Sorry, buddy. No can do. Let your bosses know, if they want me gone, they’ll have to come and do it themselves. Instead of some lackey.” Mariah set the weapon on the ground beside her and waited. Soon balls of light started to beat down on her, but the bubble protected here from being hurt.

*Stand strong, Child. I will protect you. Wait a few moments more.*

The linguist was worried. There were a lot of balls of light and they seemed very angry. The bubble was shaking more and more with each strike. “As long as you’re sure.” She waited. More lights came, more Ori, trying to stop her or, at the very least, get to the weapon. She watched while the Doci began to chant, reciting lines from the book of Origin.

*Now, Child.*

Given the signal, Mariah squatted down by the machine and hit the buttons in the correct order to activate it. It clicked a few times and began to hum. She stood, watching as a tiny vortex started to form just outside the bubble and it grew. The balls of light began to be drawn to it, getting sucked in and disappearing. The lights continued to strike at her as more and more fell into the vortex.

The Doci looked at the vortex and watched while the creatures he believed to be gods disappeared into it. “How is this possible?”

“It’s because they aren’t gods. Just power-hungry narcissists who use and hurt people for their own amusement.”

“No…. It can’t be….” As his faith wavered so did the power the Ori had over him. His skin began to regain its color and the whiteness of his eyes turned to blue. Soon, he was just a man again.

Mariah pointed to the Gate behind her. “You need to leave now. If you stay, you’ll die with them… and me.”

The former Doci was scared and confused. “Where will I go?”

“Anywhere but here.” She raised her hand to the Gate and her eyes flashed white. An event horizon formed. “Go. It’s a safe place. The people there will help you.”

He stood there and looked at her. “I am sorry and thank you.” He ran to the Gate and disappeared. 

Her eyes flashed again and returned to their normal color, as the Gate disconnected. She turned back to watch the attacking Ori and the vortex that would be their doom.

*You have done a good thing, Child, saving a man, whose only fault was believing in the wrong cause.*

“I hope he makes something of his life.”

Suddenly, the attacks stopped when the Ori realized that they could not stop her or the weapon. They tried to escape, but they couldn’t. They continued to fall as more and more came, but there was no escape for any of them.

“What will happen to the Priors and Adria, the Orici?”

*With the death of the Ori, the Priors will be just men again. They will be able to return to their homes, theirs worlds, if they still exist, and live their lives.*

“And Adria?”

*For her, the loss will be great. She will lose the power the Ori gave to her and the connection she has to them, but she will remember it all. Adria will be just a woman, who has lost much. I am unsure if she will survive.*

The linguist didn’t respond and continued to watch the death of a species. She hoped Adria did survive and the SGC found her. Maybe being reconnected with Vala would help her to cope with the loss of her other parent. The former space pirate was much kinder and empathetic than people gave her credit for. Dr. Gray would miss her and all her friends, but especially Daniel and Cam.

The last of the Ori were being sucked into the vortex that the weapon had created, right when the planet on which she stood started to crumble. With the loss of its creators, Celestis, itself, started to disappear, as well. The protective bubble her Ancestor’s powers had created around her and the weapon stopped the linguist from falling. Soon the planet was gone and the weapon started to sputter. The vortex disappeared and Mariah was floating in space. She heard the voice in her head again.

*Child, I am sorry. I have done all I can for you. The protection I am providing you will die with the weapon and you will be alone once more. I cannot save you.*

“Thank you. I knew what would happen when I agreed to your plan. Thank you for your sacrifice.” Dr. Gray whispered the words into space. The voice was getting weaker and the bubble began to falter.

*As I thank you for yours….*

The voice trailed off and the bubble disappeared. Mariah felt the cold first, then the vacuum of space stole her very breath away. It hurt so much and her eyes slid closed. She felt nothing more.

*****

Suddenly, there was warmth all around her, but her eyes were so heavy. Mariah shook her head and fought to open them. Finally, she did and what she saw greatly confused her. All around her was white and warmth. She looked down and saw her body, intact, but clothed in strange robes. She didn’t understand. She should be dead and this definitely wasn’t heaven.

“No, this is not heaven, Dr. Gray. It is more a waiting room for those who have a choice to make.” A warm voice spoke from behind her. It was full of delight and mirth.

She swung around and saw a tall man standing a few feet away from her. He was dressed in pants and a shirt made out of a similar material as the robes she wore. He had his hands behind his back and was smiling kindly at her. His eyes were filled with laughter. “Why aren’t I dead?”

“Because we saved you.”

“Who’s we?”

“I and the Others.”

“That’s kinda vague.” Mariah shook her head again. “Who are you?”

“I am Janus.”

“I know that name. You’re the great inventor. You came from Atlantis to Earth.”

“That I did.” He took a step closer to her. “We would like to thank you for what you have done and what you were willing to do.”

“Why?”

“Because you did what we could not.”

“You could’ve if you really wanted to.”

He laughed. “If only that was true.”

“How did you save me? My Ancestor told me no Ascended could be anywhere near the weapon after it was activated.”

He smiled. “This is true, but once the weapon stopped working and you were exposed to space, we could act. We chose to save you and now you have a choice of your own to make.”

Talking to Janus was like trying to get blood out of a stone, but the linguist would go along with it, for now. “What choice?”

“To join us, I and the Others, or to return to your life.”

“Ascension isn’t for me. I want to go home.”

His smile turned a little sad. “I had a feeling that would be your choice. But I must warn you, the journey ahead will not be an easy one.”

“What does that mean?”

He took a couple more steps forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. His touch calmed the panic she was feeling. “Your path is no longer on Earth. You will need to go far from home to find the place where you belong. This journey will be filled with pain and heartache. However, you will find your place and will become a force to be reckoned with.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your Ancestor may be gone, but she has left parts of herself behind in you. Some which you are already aware of, others that you cannot begin to comprehend. Normally, we would wipe your memory of your time with us and take away all the gifts and powers you have received, but we owe you too much to do that. Do you truly wish to return?”

Mariah was unsure, but she didn’t think she could handle living on a higher plane of existence. “Yes, I want to go home.”

He smiled kindly at her again and slowly turned her around. There was a Stargate standing there with a golden pool in the middle. It was a sight to behold. “Step through and you shall return to Earth, though some time has passed since you left. It took us time to save you and heal your wounds.”

She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a smile of her own. “Thank you.” Then she walked away, stepping through the Gate.

*****

Alarms started to blare in the Control Room of the SGC and startled Sgt. Harriman from his review of the system logs. He looked up and saw the Gate was active. He started to check his computer. He hadn’t heard it dial, then he noticed it, the event horizon wasn’t blue, it was a beautiful gold. He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone coming down the stairs. It was General Landry and Colonel Carter.

“What’s going on, Walter?”

“The Gate just connected, sir. I never heard it dial and the event horizon is strange.”

Hank looked at it and was baffled. “Close the Iris.”

“I’ve tired, sir. It isn’t responding.”

“Colonel.” The General barked.

Sam sat down at the other computer and started to check the system. “It won’t close, sir. The system shows no issues, but it won’t activate.”

“Sir, look.” Walter stood from his chair and pointed at the Gate. 

A figure had just come through the wormhole, dressed in jeans and a uniform shirt. Seeing all the guns pointed at her, she raised her hands. She looked up at the Control Room and smiled. “Hey, everybody. Did you miss me?” Dr. Mariah Gray had returned, but boy, did she have some explaining to do.

Chapter Text

The last two days had been hard to say the least and at this point, Mariah didn’t think things could get any worse. As soon as she walked back through the Gate, she’d been taken into custody by the MPs and escorted to the infirmary. Dr. Lam had been happy to see her, but quickly became serious as she started a battery of tests. While the linguist was waiting for confirmation she was who she said she was, Daniel came in with Vala trailing behind him.

He was nervous and unable to meet her eyes. He said he was glad to see her, but he didn’t act like it. When she tried to give him a hug, he stepped away from her. The conversation that followed was painful to hear. It seemed two months had passed since she disappeared and he had been heartbroken by her disappearance. In his sorrow, Vala comforted him, rarely leaving his side. That comfort and closeness morphed into love and they were now in their own budding relationship. She was shattered, but she put on a brave face and told him she was happy he was happy. Then he smiled at her and before she could react, Vala had her in a tight hug. They stayed for a few minutes chatting with her, before they happily left, hand-in-hand.

Mariah laid back and tried her best not to cry.

Once her identity was confirmed, she was taken to an interview room. General Landry and two IOA members sat across from her at a small table. There was a large mirror on one of the walls. It was obviously a two-way mirror. She only had a second to ponder who was on the other side when the questions started. The meeting went on for hours and eventually, she realized this wasn’t an interview, but an interrogation. But she did her best to answer everything as truthfully as she could.

Exhaustion was the only thing she felt when it was over and she was left alone in the room while the three men went outside to talk. Dr. Gray was tired and wanted to rest. General Landry came back in right before she could lay her head down on the table. He told her she would be escorted to temporary quarters and food would be brought to her. Then he was gone. She went with the MPs.

Ignoring the food, she fell into bed and slept fitfully. Banging on her door awoke her the next morning. She was being summoned to General Landry’s office without an MP escort. She was tempted to smile, but any thoughts of that were quashed by the conversation that followed. It quickly became apparent that Landry was angry with her about what she had done. He started laying down ground rules for her continued employment within the Stargate Program. Her only options were working at the SGC, Area 51 or in Atlantis (who they had recently regained contact with and saved from something called the Wraith). Her family had been informed she was MIA and presumed dead and there were no plans to tell them differently. Any inkling of the powers the Others mentioned was to be brought to the IOA’s and his attention immediately. And the list went on.

Finally, after two hours, she was free to go and now she was shuffling through the halls. She had lost a lot through her selfless action. It almost didn’t seem fair.

“Hey, Mar.”

The linguist smiled a tired smile when she heard the familiar voice behind her. She turned. “Hey, Cam.”

Mitchell gave her a half smile and stopped a couple feet away from her. “Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?”

“Sure.” She followed him while they slowly worked their way to his office. Once inside, he shut the door and leaned against it, looking her over. Without really thinking, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I missed you, Cam.”

He patted her back lightly and removed her arms from around him. “Um… I missed you, too.” He didn’t sound like he meant it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Have a seat.” He motioned to one of the guest chairs while he moved to stand behind his tiny desk.

“I’d rather stand.” She studied her friend. He was nervous.

“Right.” He bowed his head, took a deep breath, and looked up at her. “We can’t do this.”

She was confused. “Do what?”

“Be involved.”

“Involved? Okay, why not?”

“Because it would hurt Daniel.”

“What does Daniel have to do with anything?”

“He’s my teammate and friend and if we started seeing each other, it would crush him.” He looked down at the floor.

“Crush him? Really?” Then she got it. “All right, okay. I completely understand.”

The Colonel’s head snapped up. “You do?”

“Of course. Team first, right?”

“Right.” He smiled brightly at her. “I knew you’d understand.” He came back around the desk and gave her a fast hug. “Thanks for understanding, Mar.”

“Of course, Colonel.” She went to the door and opened it. “Well, I have lots to do, lots to catch up on.”

“Yeah, right, of course.” He completely missed the use of his rank. “I’ll see you around. Maybe we can hang out once you’ve had some time to settle back in. Bye, Mar.”

“We’ll see.” She walked out the door, closing it behind her. Setting a hand on it wistfully, she whispered. “Goodbye, Cam.”

There was only one thing left to do. Well, two things, really. First, she needed to do her best to not break down into tears in the middle of the hallway and second, she needed to find Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Maybe the Atlantis expedition was in need of a linguist. 

The End?