Epilogue: Four Years Later

14 March 2014 — Earth: SGC — 13:50 hours

 

The marines rushed into the ‘gate room in full battle gear, guns aimed at the iris.  As soon as they were set, the titanium diaphragm spun open, revealing the event horizon.  Staff blasts ripped through the gate room as Vala Jackson fell into view.  Right behind her came Sergeant O’Connell hauling Daniel in a fireman’s carry.  Then the rest SG-24 stumbled through, several of them helping others.  Last came Mitchell and Teal’c firing frantically back through the wormhole.

 

“Close the iris!!” Cam yelled and the blockade slid closed.

 

“We need medics, NOW!” Teal’c shouted.

 

O’Connell gently laid a quivering Daniel down on the ramp.  He had several fresh bruises and a deep cut just under one ear.  With eyes wide in terror he cowered at the end of the ramp clutching Aisling.  She looked as spooked as anyone had ever seen her.  Tail puffed up, hissing and spiting, she was also bleeding from a wound on her side.

 

The medics rushed in with gurneys to begin shunting the wounded off to the infirmary.  Two medics attempted to lift the whimpering Jackson onto one of the beds when the archeologist started fighting and howling incoherently.  It took two more airmen to hold him down long enough for Doctor Lam to inject him with a sedative.  After the medicine began to work, they were able to get him on the gurney.  An orderly gently picked up Aisling and placed her on Daniel’s chest.  When the two came together, both settled down enough to get them to the medical wing.

 

General Landry walked in and up to his flagship commander for a quick sitrep.  Cam was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting.  He had blood running down his arm but refused to leave with the medics.  Vala was sitting at the end of the ramp, shaking and in shock as she cradled something in her hands.

 

“What the hell happened?”  Landry asked.

 

“We had to scram out of there fast, sir,” Cam said in between heavy gasps.

 

“I could tell that much for myself, son.  What in god’s name happened to Dr. Jackson?”

 

Landry then saw what was lying in Vala’s hands— the broken pieces of the torque that Daniel had worn for the last few years.  She looked up at the General, then disintegrated into tears.  More medical personnel came in to take the distraught woman to the infirmary.

 

“There were monks on P82-331, and they took exception to DanielJackson being in their temple, reading their sacred text,” Teal’c said.  “And apparently the presence of a feline in their holy place also seemed to enraged the priest.”

 

The remaining member of SG-24, O’Connell, shook his head and asked, “Didn’t our intel on the planet came back as uninhabited?  There wasn’t supposed to be anyone still using the place.  I mean, the only reason the Colonel and Teal’c were there was to help us set up camp.”

 

“This mission was one General O’Neill gave the green light too, O’Connell.  I was only made aware of the OP when I returned from personal leave,” Landry said.

 

Mitchell rubbed a grubby hand over his face and continued, “Anyway, Jackson was inside, doin’ his rubbings and scribbling, happy as a clam.  Vala was documenting the outside of the building, SG-24 was setting up camp outside, me and Teal’c were doin’ a quick parameter check.  When we heard the commotion, I looked over to see Daniel puking by the entrance, then he just sorta disappeared.”

 

“From my vantage point I could observe two men pulling DanielJackson into the temple by his feet.  As ValaJackson ran to help him, the door was slammed shut,” Teal’c added.

 

Mitchell continued, “By the time we got the door opened… ‘bout eight guys in dresses had Jackson on the ground beating the shit outta him.  I got no idea where the hell they even came from!  One of ’em had the busted torque in one hand, and Aisling by the throat in the other.”

 

Teal’c picked up the report, “The priest dropped them when we shot above their heads and they all disappeared into hidden passages, but— the damage was done.  What has happened to DanielJackson with the destruction of his torque… I do not know.  The consequences were never told to us, and he was too traumatized to say anything.”

 

With a few deep breaths Cam continued, “We grabbed him and the cat and booked outta there.  Half way to the ‘gate, a swarm of crazy monks appeared outta nowhere chasing after us with old Jaffa weapons.  And then Jackson tried to get away from us, kicking and screaming nonsense––  He was scared to death— of us!”  Cam then looked at Teal’c and said, “Like he didn’t know us!  Not even his own wife!”

 

“DanielJackson could not be calmed down.  I was forced to zat him just to get him to the Stargate.”

 

General Landry pinched the bridge of his nose, “Okay.  Well… the rest of you get checked out and meet me for a debrief in one hour.”

 

As the General left, Cam slapped Teal’c on the shoulder and said, “Come on, T… let’s go see how Daniel is doing.”

 

“And ValaJackson as well.”

 

***

 

Date: Unknown — Planet Designation: P2X-3YZ  — Time: Unknown

 

Daniel opened his eyes to see something he thought never to see again— the stone cavern of Tir Na n’Óg.  Taking a tentative step forward he spotted Ta’om sitting with Dagda at a table.  But the happiness that he remembered was nowhere to be felt.  A chill— the type you get when you walk into a morgue, crawled up his spine.

 

His attention was then drawn to a hazy vision of Vala sitting beside a bed in the SGC infirmary.  She was petting Aisling and holding… his hand.  How could that be?  Daniel’s gaze then went to the table beside her and he reached for his neck merely to have the questing fingers feel only flesh.

 

His torque was gone.

 

“No,” he whispered and looked back towards the two fairy folk.  Face stricken, he ran to the table, “Please… brother,” he cried, “no… don’t do this…”

 

Ta’om shook his head sadly, “I am sorry, Master Daniel, there is nothing we can do.”

 

“But… but… IT’S YOUR MAGIC!!  You can change it… fix it… can’t you?”

 

“I am very sorry,” was all the slight man said.

 

“Ta’om, brother… I, I have a son now.  He needs me, le do thoil[i]…” Daniel was begging, tears escaping his eyes.

 

“The magic cannot be undone, dear one,” Dagda told the man.

 

Daniel fell to his knees.  For all these past years and countless missions he had managed to keep his end of the Tuatha’s gift pact.  Even when the Imbas Forosnai was almost too much to bare.  When thieves from the Lucian Alliance tried to cut the torque from his neck, he fought them tooth and nail until Vala and Aisling managed to find and rescue him.  Now… now all was lost.

 

But I must warn you, you may never take it off.  If it comes off, even by accident, the gifts that we bestow on you will flee and leave you broken and quite mad.

 

The words seared his mind like a staff blast, he crumpled to the floor and wept.  Daniel felt a hand on his head and looked up to see the same woman who had given him the torque.  Her masked face impassive as always, yet he felt sympathy from her.  She took his head in her long fingered hands and looked deeply into his cerulean eyes for what seemed like an eternity.  Suddenly, Daniel fell back onto the floor, unconscious.  When he woke, he was being held by Ta’om.

 

“My son,” said the father of all Tuatha as he kneeled beside them, “the Gift has given you a great blessing.  Because you have the blood of the Tuatha, you may stay here, with your kin and live forever— or you can go back.  If you decide to go back, you will forfeit ever being able to return, as your father once did.”

 

Shaking his head Jackson answered quickly, “There is no choice, Father, I will not leave Vala or my son.  I have to go home.”

 

All three of the fairy folk surrounded the man.  A blinding light enveloped all of them, filling the archeologist with warmth.

 

“We cannot undo the magic, but we can sometimes go around the edge.  Be steadfast and all will be well,” Dagda told him with a smile. “Blessed be, Daniel of the Tuatha.”

 

The world around him began to fade and Daniel panicked, “Wait… what’s going to happen?”

 

***

 

16 March 2014 — Earth: SGC — 23:10 hours

 

Waking from a confusing dream, Daniel screamed out and tried to kick off the blankets that were twisted around him.  Vala leaped up, as Aisling tried to get out of the way of his thrashing.

 

“Shhh, shhhhh, my Moswen,” she said as she laid her warm hands on his face, drawing his attention.  “It’s okay, darling.  We are back at the SGC.  There’s nothing to be afraid of now.”

 

She smiled warmly at him.  Daniel’s eyes were wide with confusion.

 

“Daniel?” she asked, fear in her voice.

 

“What the hell happened?”

 

Vala looked at him with concern.  Taking his hand she asked, “Don’t you remember?  The monks… on the planet where we were setting up a dig?”

 

Closing his eyes, brows creased, he tried to recall what she was talking about.

 

“Last thing I remember was you arguing with me about the validity of being in a cave with no treasure.  How do you know the name Moswen?  And what’s with the cat?”

 

The color drained from her face.  “Daniel, what day is it?”

 

Cocking an eyebrow, he said, “The forth of August 2008.  Why?”

 

Vala’s head dropped to the bed and her shoulders trembled.

 

“What’s going on?  Why are you crying?”

 

His wife sat up, pulling Aisling onto her lap, petting the soft fur.  With a long sigh, she said, “It’s March 16, 2014, Daniel.  We were on P82-331 to start an archeological dig when some very unpleasant monks attacked you.  I know the name Moswen because you told me the story about how you broke your leg as a little kid and that was what your Egyptian friends called you.  The cat is Aisling and she belongs to you and you to her.  She was a gift from the Tuatha Dé Danann.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Vala braced herself, knowing that if he believed he was back in 2008, he may not accept what she was going to tell him.

 

“Daniel, we’ve been married for almost five years and we have a son, Teigue.  He’s four years old and smart as whip.”

 

The incredulous expression on his face, spoke volumes.  Daniel opened his mouth, shut it, then opened again, “Am I being punked?”

 

“No, love.  Our anniversary is October 31, 2009 and Tei’s birthday is the 18th of June 2010.  Please try to remember,” she pleaded.

 

Shaking his head, he laid back to processes everything.  Aisling jumped from Vala’s lap onto his bed and took her customary place on his chest.  Daniel began to absent-mindedly pet her.  He wasn’t ready to take what he’d been told as fact yet, but having the cat and Vala with him felt right… like he was home.  He only hoped that if everything was the truth, he would remember quickly.

 

Turning to look at the beautiful woman that annoyed him so much, and smiled softly.  “Sounds like you have quite a tale to tell, Vala.”

 

***

 

16 April 2015 — Earth  — 16:00 hours

 

Sam knocked on the door and shifted the presents she held in her arms as she waited.  The door opened and a harried Vala grinned at the visitor.

 

“Oh, Samantha!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around the blonde woman, “Come in!”

 

Slightly out of breath, Carter walked in only to be almost bowled over by a rambunctious five year old.

 

“Auntie Sam!!” the boy squealed with glee.

 

“Hey there, Teigue, how’s my big boy?” she asked the child.

 

“5 by 5, General!” he answered with a very good salute.

 

Sam saluted back, “And how’s swim class? Are you learning a lot?”

 

“Yes, Ma’am.  And I’m gonna be on a swimming team soon too.  ‘cept I don’t really like the name— ‘The Guppies.’  It’s lame.  I wanted it to be the Sharks, but coach said he hated that hockey team ‘nd wouldn’t ever name somethin’ after them.  Oh, and in school today, we are starting to learn ‘bout the Milky Way.  I told my teacher that I knew a real life astro… astro…fisk-a-sist.  She said that I could ask you to come and talk to my class sometime soon,”  Teigue told her with all the excitement only a child could exude.

 

“Wow!  You’re wearing me out, Tei!” she said as she handed him one of the packages that she was carrying.  “This is for you, young man.  A little bird told me you were interested in space.”

 

Teigue took it with a breathless thanks and ripped off the wrapping.  Inside was a model of the solar system that glowed in the dark.  With a joyful laugh, the boy hugged her again and ran to his room.

 

“He’ll be staring at that for hours, Sam.  Thank you,” Vala said.  “I wasn’t sure about letting him be moved into first grade at his age, but he seems to love it.  He’s much happier in that class, even though he’s so much smaller than the rest.  His father said it was the same for him.”

 

“Speaking of which, I have something for Daniel too,” she said holding up a small box.

 

As the two women made their way further into the house, “How are you and Daniel doing?  Has he remembered anything yet?”

 

With a sigh she said, “No.  All of his life before the cave-in is crystal clear, but the last six years are totally gone.  Some days, all I want to do is find this Tir Na n’Óg place and commit genocide on the fairy folk.”

 

“He doesn’t even recall going there?”

 

Shaking her head, Vala said, “Nope.  Occasionally I’ve seen him sitting, just looking at his legs, as if he’s imagining being without them.  And he’ll stay in his office and read his journals for hours.  But it’s the lost look that has settled on his face, that just tares at my heart.”

 

“You’ll get him back, Vala.  I’m sure of it,” Sam told her and gave another hug to her friend.  “It’s only been a year.  I just wish I could be around more often, but I agreed to the promotion and The George Hammond command before any of this happened.”

 

“It’s okay, Sam.  Some of this has been kinda fun.  It’s like getting to know each other all over again.  I’m just not sure it’s the same feelings that he had before.  Almost like he’s playing along for the sake of Tei.  I know he loves his son, but I’m not sure that his love extends to me,” Vala said as her eyes began to tear-up.

 

As they walked into the family room, Daniel was sitting on the floor with books opened to various pages surrounding him.  Sam recognized all of them as being the very books that they had all studied on Irish folklore.  Laying beside him, as always, was Aisling, sleeping in the sun.

 

Looking up, he smiled.  Standing to embrace his friend he said, “Hey, Sam.  I didn’t know you were due back in this neck of the woods.”

 

“Hello, Daniel,” she said as she hugged him back, “I brought you a present.”

 

“A present?” he said as they all sat down.  Aisling leaped into his lap and sniffed at the box as Tei curled up beside him to see what he had.  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of  receiving this gift, hmmm?”

 

“Just something I hope will help you remember,” Sam said.

 

Daniel opened the box to find photographs of his and Vala’s wedding.  As he slowly went through them, his eyes became bright with emotion.  When he saw a photo of Vala holding a newborn Teigue, himself holding Vala and Aisling, all sitting on the bed in the infirmary, he couldn’t hold back the soft sob.  Putting the box down, he pulled Vala and his son into a hug.

 

Squirming out of the embrace, Tei reached inside the box and pulled out something that glisten under the last photo.  Holding it up, the adults gasped in surprise.  In his small hand was the mended torque.

 

“Sam?  Did you…” Vala whispered.

 

“No,” she answered totally bewildered.  “I don’t know where it came from.”

 

Daniel reached out to take if from his son’s hands, asking “Can I see that, Tei?”

 

As soon as Daniel’s fingers grasped the metal, Aisling placed a paw on his arm, and images raced through his mind.  Letting out a gasp, his head fell back against the couch.

 

“DANIEL!” Vala screamed and shook him.

 

A few moments later, he opened his eyes and turned to his wife, astonishment on his face.

 

“I remember.”

 

~Fin~