Daniel & Adrienne #74 - The Fields of Hetep and Iaru

“It is ready?” Daniel asked as the lights around him dissipated, John Sheppard nodding in the affirmative. 

“Yeah, according to Rodney it is, but Daniel, we haven’t flown this thing in years, I haven’t flown this thing in years, especially not with a Rodney rebuilt chair,” John replied, apprehensive, his head throbbing in advance for what was to come. 

“John, I have full faith in you,” the archaeologist answered, turning his attention to the scientist grumbling from the control panel, John Sheppard crossing his field of vision as he powered down to begin his task. 

“Rodney?” he tried to be polite as Rodney McKay was clearly annoyed and the last thing Daniel wanted was a fight because after everything he was prepared to give it. 

“Yes,” the scientist in question answered smartly. 

“Are we at full power?”

“Have been for a while now; any other obvious questions you care to ask?” he replied smugly, not taking his gaze from the control panel.

Hearing his wife in his head, ordering him to behave, Daniel rolled eyes, turning, heading back for Atlantis main office, pulling up view screen and calling Sam. 

Ad would be so proud, Daniel mused internally, activating the call system on the touch screen, not one electronic failure in response. 

“Everything is place?” she asked, Daniel noting that she had already completed her task, that is if you could even arrogantly think of assigning the General a task to complete, the unofficial royal couple of the Ktaenam at her side, their expressions grim.

“Yeah, looks good so far, provided that Homer isn’t lying to us again,” he replied, Sam raising her eyebrows as she cocked her head lightly from side to side.

“Vala, and, well, Teal’c assure us that’s not the case,” she answered after a pause, Daniel getting the message loud and clear. 

He only hoped that...

Taking a breath, he nodded, understanding. 

“I just wish Rodney had more time to get the weapons system tested before we try this,” he admitted, standing to pull the door closed behind him lest Rodney hear and come storming in his direction, shouting his agreement. That had essentially been his argument all morning.

“There’s no time. Homer sent the transmission three days ago. If what he told Teal’c was correct, then we are only talking a few more days, maybe even hours with the tech he’s got.” 

He knew, his stomach sinking. 

“What else do you need?” Sam interrupted his train of thought, Daniel walking over to grab his bag, tossing it over his shoulder. 

“For you to make sure that my wife doesn’t do anything stupid,” he requested, scanning the office to see if he left any belongings behind, peeking back up at Sam again, “and Nicky. Intelligent or not he’s not emotionally ready for this, for any of this.”

“I agree. I’ll head down there myself, you just let me know when you need us,” Sam was standing, despite it all trying not to smile. 

“I will,” he answered, quickly ending the transmission, trying to ignore the shimmer at his back. 

“Daniel I do not believe that you have considered what is in front of you,” Oma stated calmly, as always, Daniel trying his best to control his irritation. She hadn’t left his side since he had stormed into the infirmary after Homer was taken into custody, a tedious silent presence. He didn’t know what was worse, the presence itself or the silence, but standing here now when there were things he needed to do, repeating that same cryptic phrase that had haunted him for years now wasn’t a help; it was a royal pain in the ass. 

“Oma can you please, for once, speak plain English, what does that even MEAN?” he growled through gritted teeth, maybe more harshly than he should, she had helped him get Adrienne back, or had she, she acted as if he had some sort of power to do it himself, but there was no time to think about that right now...

“At times we need to pause and -” she maintained that same tone, Daniel started to retort when there was an alarm at his ear, the communicator Rodney had issued him buzzing to life.

“Sir we have the address you have requested ready to dial,” the cadet informed him, they were all cadets here, this whole base was almost entirely staffed by children...

“Thank you,” he said, heading for the door, leaving the Ancient being behind. 

“Daniel, heed my words,” she cautioned, not following this time, remaining behind in the Atlantis main office.

 “Noted,” he muttered as he pulled the door closed behind him.

*****

Carson Beckett scanned the read-out, sighing as he glanced back at Jennifer Keller and over to the monitor, Carolyn Lam standing there, arms crossed, awaiting his reply. 

“It’s there, isn’t it?” she asked, Carson nodding in agreement. 

“It is, just like he said it would be. I can’t believe we missed it,” he was beating himself up she knew, her dark eyes peering closer to the screen. 

“It’s organic Carson, I don’t think any of us would have found it without a specific location and make-up,” Carolyn assured him, the Atlantis doctor shrugging. 

“Carson, I’m gonna get the operating theatre set up so we can remove it, see what it is,” Jennifer offered, looking as discouraged herself as she slipped around the corner to set up in the adjacent theatre. 

“Glad he didn’t want to ta be cremated, we’d be outta luck then,” the Scot quipped, Carolyn agreeing from the other side. 

“Keep me posted. Sam called down and she says that you guys are, well, just be careful,” she offered with a smile, Carson chuckling. 

“We will lass, I personally don’t have intention of dying again.” 

******

“Are you gonna stop him?” Jack asked into the receiver, trapped at his desk, waiting for the call from the President where he was going to have to explain how a mole and assassin were just allowed to walk into the SGC. They were blaming Mitchell and Jonas right away, but Jack understood why the pair did what they did. He himself would have let the man in, if not for any other reason than to have someone else to question. 

Speaking of...

“No, Jack. I think it’ll work, Anubis really doesn’t know that much and we’re just lucky that Homer had a guilty conscious,” his wife defended in his ear, Jack knowing what words were coming next.

“See my point,” she continued “he’s a natural and always has been.” 

Stop making arguments that I have to agree with honey...

“Jack?” 

“No, I hear you and I get it. Who are you sending up to the Odyssey and Daedalus to hold the shields?” he now inquired as he opened the door to the stairwell, heading down to lock-up to see if he old buddy had any answers. Hell, he’d sent the man a steak just last week, he owed Jack something. 

“I’ve got Cam on the Odyssey and I’m leaving Carvel in charge of the Daedalus,” she replied quickly, that decision apparently having been made as well. 

“Sounds good,” he stopped at the door, taking a breath, cursing the choice of taking the stairs. 

“Jack?” she asked, the general clearing his throat, hoping not to earn himself another ‘you had better get yourself back into shape lecture’, “Do you think he’s gonna survive this?” 

Did he? 

Because of all of the stupid ideas that Daniel ever had, this had to rank up there pretty damn high. 

“According to Addy’s count I think he has two lives left,” he joked, always a joke, better a joke. 

“Just wanted to make sure you were thinking that too.” 

*****

“Now don’t yammer on so much, your mom is tired Nicky, she, well, she just...” Vala was at a loss for words as she tried to explain to the little mini-Jackson, his own set of dark cajun eyes glaring right at her, that he needed to act like a child for once. 

“Came back from the dead. Aunt Vala, I’m not stupid. First Dad wants nothing to do with me, then he comes to hug and kiss me and tell me that he has something to do and will be back, in fact, both my parents are pretty bad at hiding things,” he replied in a way that was, as always, so out of character for those chubby cheeks and that innocent face.  Vala frowned at him, unable to think of anything else to say as he giggled, the tiny tinkling of his voice making her smile. 

“I’m not gonna go in there and start asking Mom was it was like to be dead and other creepy things like that, don’t worry,” he assured her, a grin this time, Daniel’s grin, making Vala purse her lips and shake her head. 

“Besides,” he added before she could reply, “Stephen King has taught me all about that anyway. Him and Dean Koontz. Good stuff.” 

Addy junior, Vala thought, turning the corner and entering the ajar door on the infirmary. 

“Nicky! My little ewok!!” Adrienne was shouting before Vala could even see her over the boy’s head, the first time she had heard her friends voice in, well, three days, making her tear up herself. Sniffing in, Vala walked a little faster, the bundle in her arms trying to make a swan dive for his mother. 

“We need to talk about that mom, and the Nicky too,” he said, doing just as Vala asked, not bringing up that Addy had been dead, cold and dead, Vala had come down herself when Ronon and Nicky were sleeping, she had been gone but she was sitting up now, sitting up, slight rose in her pale cheeks and...

“Vala, mon ami, stop, I’m fine, really.” 

Damn Adrienne, reading her damn face. 

She was only supposed to read Daniel’s.

“And you were worried about me,” Nicky teased, just what she needed to bring her back from her near break-down. 

Daniel junior too, she thought, condescending smile and all. 

“Were you good?” the Cajun redirected her attention to the baby, at least the attention of her eyes, her left hand reaching out for her dear loyal friend, clasping her fingers lightly. 

“It wouldn’t benefit me to be bad. It’d cause you undue stress,” he answered smartly, breaking into a grin, “and if I’m ‘good’ Uncle Ronon gets me ice cream, so yeah, no sweat mom.” Adrienne couldn’t help but laugh, this time tears in her eyes as she squeezed the boy so tightly, enough that he let out a gasp, his mom pulling away. 

“I missed you,” he said, kissing her and looking down, as if being intelligent made loving your mom wrong. 

“Me too buddy. So no more Nicky?” she asked, the small child beaming, nodding his head emphatically. 

“I like Nicholas better, just, well, Nicky seems like a, well, mobster’s name,” he was cautious, Adrienne erupting into riotous laughter. 

“You are JUST like your father,” she choked out. 

“Where’s Daniel?” Vala now asked, noting his absence, having assumed that when he told her hours earlier that there was something he needed to do that he meant he needed to see Addy, but he was nowhere to be found. Adrienne shrugged. 

“He said trust him, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” she answered with resolve, turning to talk to the boy again. Vala was about to inquire further, scold Addy for just letting him go when she felt buzzing in her pocket, her phone dancing in its temporary compartment. Stepping aside quietly, she slipped it from her pants, her eyes widening at the message. 

Get Ronon and I need you to help arm the cadets. 

Anubis is coming. 

Daniel’s going to attack him first. 

“Damn Daniel,” she muttered under her breath, slipping away to call Ronon.

*****

Teal’c felt like a fool, standing here at the council, begging again for help for his Taur’i friends. It was help that he assured them, had assured Daniel that they would give, but as he stood here, the decimated group staring down at him he knew his answer before it was even uttered. 

“We have allowed many of our warriors already to serve with the Taur’i and Yat’Yir has decimated our numbers. We cannot afford to send more than we already have.” 

Teal’c was looking right at the president however, not whichever councilman was speaking,  hoping she would speak, take his side, see what Ishta has seen but she didn’t move a muscle. 

“Anubis is a greater threat to us now. He is using a precarious mix of desperation and technology and he does not wish to simply control Earth as before. He wishes to destroy it,” Teal’c added, looking at NyctalNyctal directly. 

“That is of no concern to us. The Taur’i have proven ineffective in destroying the system lords and have fallen in their promise to aide us in the development of our government,” the man spoke, Kel’Ry if Teal’c remembered, fatally loyal whatever he had aligned himself to. 

“And what of the Jaffa cadets?” Teal’c had to ask, Kel’Ry shaking his head.

“They made their choice.” 

There was no speaking to any of them, no more hoping she could read his eyes, Teal’c stepping forward and addressing the president directly. 

“Nyctal,” he skipped the formalities, frowns in his direction as he continued, “the Taur’i helped liberate the women of your planet. Free you from oppression. Surely you believe that warrants aiding them in avoiding the destruction of their world.” 

She didn’t say a word. 

Crushed, Teal’c turned away, walking directly toward the gate. There was no getting through to them, that much was obvious. 

He, Ry’ac and the cadets were on their own. 

*****

“Teyla, I’m just gettin’ ready to activate the ship, but I want you here first,” John was trying not to plead into the monitor as he watched Teyla, standing stoically, no intention at all of moving. 

“I have explained this before John. I will do what I feel is best to protect Torrin. If Daniel is turning on Atlantis base to launch an attack on Anubis it only makes sense that Atlantis base is no longer our safest option.” 

Ok, he thought, she has a point. 

“But Teyla it’s just a plan, not a full on attack. If he’s right there’s not gonna be much of a fight. We’ll be behind everything to just end it,” John tried to clarify even though Teyla had been in the same briefing, a rushed meeting where Daniel had rambled on for about ten minutes without taking a breath before tearing away again to do god knew what.

“A plan that involves shooting and getting shot out,” she really didn’t need to point out anything else, hell, John knew that Addy would even be trying to find a place for Nicky, away from anything related to Stargate operations but he just couldn’t let her win. 

Not this time. 

“Then, as a favor to me, because you trust in our friendship, come.” She was still however shaking her head. 

“John, why are you adamant that you refuse to heed my wishes?” she asked as John glanced back at the chair, sighing. 

“Because I can’t keep you safe if I’m up in space and I’d like to get both of you back to Kanaan in one piece,” his eyes said as well as his words. Teyla couldn’t help but smile. 

“Torrin! Pack some toys. We need to head out for a while!” she shouted back behind her, her eyes peeking back to the viewscreen. 

“Happy?” 

“Very, I’ll have you sent over in about an hour,” John replied. Teyla didn’t have another word to say, terminating the communication. Relieved, John walked over to the chair, taking a seat and leaning back, waiting for the signal to activate.

*****

She didn’t like turbulence one little bit, bouncing around in that death capsule but driving the sixteen hours to get here in Buddy’s truck was out of the question. She should have been thankful for the distraction, her mind since that phone call from Daniel littered with despair, despair that she just hadn’t been able to outwardly show with tears. Daniel was a good man, a great father, but he also had a career and she didn’t know what was to become of Nicky.  

“Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seat-belts. In approximately fifteen minutes we will begin our descent,” the intercom warned, Barbara Verdin shaking her head. 

Like I eva took da damn ding off...

She did however, return the tray table back to position, reaching to stuff her purse under the seat, all of the instructions she had been given at the start of this mess, the reality of it all hitting her. 

Adrienne was gone. 

That sweet shy little girl, who’d been so rough around the edges, who’d been through so much in her young life, more than anyone had deserved had finally gotten her big break in life. 

And lost it all. 

Wiping the tiny bit of moisture that was seeming to finally make an appearance, Barbara barely noticed as the plane jolted to a landing on the runway. 

*****

It was too quiet, and Adrienne was starting to wish that she hadn’t sent Vala and Nicky, correction, Nicholas, away. Her son had tried to play it off but despite the fact that he could and was carrying on a conversation with her like he was grown, he was also six months old and his mom knew that face. He was hungry, and with a few teeth now and his father’s appetite, he needed a lot more than a glass of formula and some mushed bananas. She wasn’t going anywhere, IV’s still sunk deep into her arm, so why should Nicky, dammit, Nicholas go hungry. 

The problem was that no one had come back. 

Granted, Adrienne Rowan Jackson had known her dear, sweet husband for only three years or so, but she knew him better than anyone else and to say trust me and then not come back for hours meant he was up to no good. 

She started to ask Carolyn if she knew what was going on, the doctor racing around the infirmary, but she had the grumpy look on her face that Adrienne knew to avoid. There was Cassie but Adrienne always felt like she was pulling the ‘I’m kinda sorta but not really your step-mom so don’t say no to me’ a little too much lately when she wanted to avoid Carolyn’s scolding, so she pushed away that option. Besides, Cassie hadn’t been seen for hours.

She needed a better plan. 

Adrienne was just about to try and execute said better plan, her phone lying beside her on the roll-away table, when exactly what she needed raced through the front door, rushing over to Carolyn. 

“Dr. Lam, my father wants to know if you have any extra Tretonin in storage,” Ry’ac  was shouting before he reached her, making Adrienne’s head pop up in interest. 

Why did they need extra Tretonin? 

“Yes, of course, but not as much as I’d like,” she replied, ushering him to the freezer without hesitation. 

Wish I could get vitamin shots that easily, Adrienne thought, straining to listen. 

“We will not need as much as father wanted. The council has refused to provide aid and Bra’tac says they have sent Ishta back to Hak’ytl against her will,” the young Jaffa explained, Carolyn sighing out before stepping into the storage area. 

Aid for what?

She heard uttering from the cooler, muttering that she couldn’t understand, nearly falling from the bed to eavesdrop. Ry’ac, of course, didn’t say anything else, nodding his head in agreement and adding an “I wish,” at the end of something. 

“That’s all I have in here,” the archaeologist peered over when she heard Carolyn’s voice again, the doctor handing over a very small box to her friend’s son. 

“Stay here, I think I have some more down the hall. Cassie’s got her hands full with, well, anyway, just listen for the phone,” she requested, closing the door behind her and stepping for the front doors, leaving Adrienne alone in the infirmary with Ry’ac. 

Showtime. 

“Ry’ac,” Adrienne coughed out weakly, faking exhaustion once she was assured that Carolyn was safely out of earshot. The doctor had heard her joking with Vala earlier, comparing lives and deaths with Daniel’s record so she would see right through the act, but Ry’ac? 

“Adrienne, my father said you had, well,” he stammered as he looked over at her, unsure as to what else he could say...

“Risen from the dead,” Adrienne cringed at her joke, quickly remembering that Ry’ac would have no idea what she was talking about anyway, his shrug indicating the she was correct, “can you get me a glass of water?” Nodding, the Jaffa rushed to the sink, grabbing a disposable cup from a stack to fulfill her request. Adrienne took the moment as the liquid filled the cup to think how she could word this just right so it wouldn’t look like she was snooping because the way that everyone was speaking so cryptically she knew that something had to be going on that she was supposed to be left out of. 

“Here,” he offered as he rushed over, Adrienne making sure that her securing of the cup was as dramatic as possible, Daniel’s voice rolling through head telling her how bad she sucked at acting. 

“Thanks,” she whispered, taking a long slow sip.

“How are you feeling?” he now asked, taking a seat in the nearby chair while Adrienne finished, passing him the cup back carefully. 

“Good just weak,” she replied, pausing and breathing in, “I hope everything’s ok.” It was worth a try, and she was certain that she looked sincere enough. 

“Father hopes so and the Tretonin should aid in keeping the Jaffa in the fight,” he started, Adrienne trying not to smile. He thinks I know, perfect, she thought, smiling in agreement. 

“I’m sure that Carolyn has something on hand,” Adrienne offered, her heart racing as her brain started to put together the pieces, that she needed to trust Daniel and there was going to be a fight, “when do you leave?”

“According to Doctor Jackson Anubis could arrive any time now and he requests that father have us in position and ready for the assault,” he answered, Adrienne’s face turning white. 

“Attack?” the words escaped her before she even realized that she blew her cover, Ry’ac’s face giving it all away. 

“Were you not aware?” he was backing away from Adrienne as Carolyn re-entered the room walking over a larger box. 

“This is all we have but I can get Cassie and a few of the nurses to start a new batch,” she offered, Ry’ac taking the box, but not without a quick glance at Adrienne. 

“Thank you Dr. Lam. Father or I will let you know if anything additional is needed,” Ry’ac muttered before making his escape, fearful of Dr. Lam’s reaction once she realized he had apparently told the other Dr. Jackson something he shouldn’t have. Carolyn, however, didn’t say a word, walking away from Adrienne’s bedside and back to her office. 

“Carolyn?” the Cajun called out, the requested stopping in her tracks, dropping her head. 

“He said not to tell you,” she answered before she turned around, Adrienne already frowning. 

“He knows better.” 

“I told him you weren’t stupid.” 

Carolyn was now facing her, a clear expression of concern on her face. 

“Carolyn, what’s going on?” Adrienne asked, trying to read the doctor who finally sighed, taking a step forward. 

“He says that Anubis is coming Addy. Homer, he was sent here, to kill Woolsey to send us into chaos and to kill you to destroy Daniel. After you, well, died, he sent a transmission to Anubis, letting him know that he had completed his task. He claims that Anubis is coming, thinks we are without leadership, in chaos,” Carolyn explained what she remembered from the briefing, Daniel rambling as fast as he could while she had watched her phone, waiting for Cassie to message her that Adrienne was awake. 

“Wait,” Adrienne sat forward more, her face in a panic, “he’s coming here. I can’t stay here Carolyn, I can’t, I need to get Nicky and get out of here,” she was insisting, but Carolyn shook her head, holding the larger and stronger woman down by the shoulders. 

“No, Addy, you need to lie down. For some reason he wants Atlantis,” she argued, Adrienne relaxing back only to frown in confusion. 

“Atlantis?” 

Carolyn nodded. 

“The last time he wanted to dialing sequence to the Pegasus Galaxy, but according to Homer he wants Atlantis since it was an Ancient city and battle station all in one. What he plans to do with it though, not even Homer knows,” she added, looking down at her hands, not sure what else to say.

“Carolyn, where’s Daniel?” Adrienne tried to remain calm, taking in a breath as she awaited her answer, the doctor glancing at her watch. 

“By now, he is taking off from San Francisco Bay. Adrienne, Daniel’s gonna fly Atlantis out of Earth’s orbit and attack Anubis from behind.” 

*****

He felt that the best way to ensure that he didn’t get shot, or worse, turned into a pig, was if he went through the gate, his hands up, voodoo doll clenched in his left. Taking that very position before he stepped through the wormhole, Daniel sucked in a breath, hoping that not only would the witch woman keep her promise to help when they needed but that she could do what he asked. 

The ripple, the suck, the pop to the other side, and it was the humidity that alerted Daniel to the fact that he was exactly where he needed to be. Screwing his eyes closed, Daniel opened them slowly to the sound of shuffling, a voice clearing his throat. 

“Who be ya?” the thick Cajun accent emanating from the man in front of him, a man he did not recognize, Daniel quickly passing the rag doll forward. 

“I need to speak to Laja. It’s urgent,” he requested, the man taking a moment to gaze at the object in the visitor’s hand, his eyes widening as it registered what he was looking at. 

“Folla me,” was all he replied, ushering Daniel to the village. 

*****

The Pentagon seemed to be much bigger in real life than it had on television, Barbara Verdin stopping for a moment take in the sight in front of her before walking on to the front door. That had been hard enough to find, the sides of the building looking all the same from where the cab had dropped her off, but she had spotted a security guard at the memorial who had kindly led her to the entrance. 

Opening the door, Barbara’s first thought was not only how did she get here,  but how had Addy gotten here, because educated or not, there was no way these people needed an archaeologist, let alone two. She knew that Addy had worked here with Daniel before they were together, but she had never met the man before her job here, so Barbara knew it wasn’t her dear niece moving to be with a man. Not that she would have minded, it was about time Addy settled down and with someone as good as Daniel, but she knew that was not the case. 

This was not a museum, she had not been teaching and her niece had most certainly not been doing any kind of translation and analysis of artifacts taken from war zones like she had been claiming. 

So what HAD she been doing here?

And was whatever she had been doing what caused her death?

“Ma’am, can I help you?” a young man at her side asked, Aunt Barbara realizing that she had stepped through the front doors and was standing in a large lobby, a flourish of activity all around her. 

“I’m ‘ere ta meet wit General O’Neill,” she spoke as clearly as she could, hoping the poor dear could understand her accent. 

“O’Neill ma’am?” he clarified, Barbara noting the look on his face. Why did he seem so shocked that she was here asking for Daniel and Addy’s boss? Did Daniel tell her to ask for the wrong person? She had that letter in her purse if she needed...

“Yes, General O’Neill. I be needin’ ta speak wit ‘er immediately. I gots an access pass,” she hoped she wasn’t rude in her reply, as she dug around in her purse, presenting the letter the general had faxed to Rae’s work. Nodding, the young man reaching for her arm to lead her to a large desk in the center of the lobby, indicating with his head that she should sit in a seat among a huge row of chairs over to the side. 

“Ma’am,” the man, who she just now noticed was in a military uniform and not a suit, “if you take a seat over there I’ll call down to her office.” He had a handsome and kind face, making her forget for a brief second that she was here to help transport her niece’s body back home to have her buried, or at least help Daniel with arrangements since he claimed that she wanted to be cremated. Sniffling, a tear escaping her eye at the thought, Barbara Verdin sat waiting for Samantha O’Neill to escort her to the morgue.

***** 

Adrienne had done as Carolyn asked, sitting, trying not to panic, trying not to demand that someone call her idiot husband and ask him when exactly he had become Captain Picard. 

Until the sirens started...

At that point, Adrienne was done. 

She knew Nicholas was safe with Vala, in fact she no longer thought it odd that she trusted the woman so much, but if this was gonna be it, if Anubis was coming to tear them all down in a blaze of glory, Adrienne wasn’t gonna just sit in the infirmary like a good girl. 

A peek over at her captor, the Cajun could see that Carolyn Lam and Cassie Frasier were busy, preparing for casualties, preparing for war, all the more reason she needed out of there. There were no vitals so to speak, Adrienne was conscious and well, resurrected for lack of a better word, but there was this problem of an IV drip, Carolyn insisting that she was badly dehydrated. 

“I am such a gah damn wuss,” she hissed at herself, swallowing strong before looking at her left arm, the tape holding the needle in place enough to make her cringe, hearing Daniel’s voice in her head mocking about tattoo needles. Taking a breath she counted off in French in her head, three, two, one, ripping the tape from her inner elbow. 

“Aborde!” she swore, Carolyn’s head darting up and over, glaring in her direction. 

“Addy, are you ok?” she asked but remained at the counter, supplies littered in front of her. 

“Yeah, just choked on my water,” she lied, reaching quickly for the cup only to see the doctor turn away, not paying any attention. 

“Just let me know if you need to go to the restroom. You still have the IV in you and between what you are drinking and what you are getting your body is gonna want to go soon,” Carolyn added over her shoulder, Adrienne’s heart calming. 

Not for long, she thought, reaching for said IV taking a second deep breath and counting off yet again. Gritting her teeth, Adrienne willed herself not to scream, biting her lip instead at the feeling of a pinch of pain and then relief as the metal slid out of her arm. 

“Now to get out of here,” she whispered, peeking over her shoulder again at the doctors, neither of them paying any attention to here as the sirens sounded again.

“Attention all personnel, any team members ordered to Atlantis base need to report to the jumper bay to be beamed over,” Walter’s voice commanded, Adrienne freezing as her legs had begun to slowly creep over the side. In the past she would have dashed right there, found a way onto that base, ship, whatever, and stormed right into the bridge to scream at him, but now she had a son...

“All Jaffa cadets are to report to the bay as well to board your vessels,” Walter continued Adrienne frowning. She helped Teal’c train those very cadets from time to time, there were eight of them, only eight, a whopping eight plus Teal’c himself, Ry’ac and maybe Bra’tac, she wasn’t sure. So, to the best of her count that was ten, ten Jaffa at the most. 

She threw her other leg over peeling away the blanket as she peeked at Carolyn, her world spinning for a moment, dizzy, forgetting that she had been lying here for at least four days now, well lying period as days one through three she spent playing Daniel. She was wiped out, but she couldn’t just sit here, her husband launching a full scale attack from behind on a base that was fully charged but not even tested or completely manned, her friends in the tiniest army she had imagined aiding in the assault. 

She had to get out of here. She had to find Nicholas, make sure he was safe and then help. She had to help, this wasn’t just her life, this was the life of billions of people and maybe she could help just a tiny bit to make a difference. 

Personnel ran past the open doors, Adrienne glancing up to see them dash by. 

“Alright Addy, you can do this,” she coached, leaning forward to exit the bed only the go crumbling to the floor. 

“Merde!” she spat at she hit the ground, her chin only inches from the tile floor. She paused, waiting for a moment, knowing that Carolyn would be right there, yelling at her, but there was nothing, a quick glance backward proving the doctors were still busy. 

“I can now see why he loves you so. You act very much as my sister did,” a voice said in front of Adrienne, a voice that despite the Cajun having no picture in a folder, no audio recording, nothing, she knew exactly who was the speaker. 

“Skaara, right? Ya think ya can ‘elp get me out of ‘ere?” 

The handsome young man, clean features forever frozen by the miracle of ascension, simply smiled, his glowing body standing reaching out his hand. 

“You must hurry, she will soon notice your absence,” he urged, Adrienne gritting her teeth, willing her athletic form to stand, years of being in shape overcoming days of death. Squeezing his hand, a strange presence of there and not there, it was odd, he was corporeal but he wasn’t but he was so very strong, pulling her upright when he shouldn’t have been able to. He was around the corner before she could get there herself, Adrienne limping as fast as she could, to find him waiting on the other side. 

“Come, we must hurry,” he urged, directing her to the stairs, the hallway eerily quiet, “we will not be alone for long.” 

Nodding she lumbered on, that hand reaching for her again, clasping her fingers, so warm but not, so human and real but not, pulling her to the door. 

“Why are you here? Why are you helping me?” she asked, following him carefully into the stairway, the door closing behind them. 

“Because Anubis cannot win. He cannot destroy your galaxy, he cannot destroy others. He cannot and my brother needs all of the help he can get,” he explained, guiding her now up the flight of stairs. 

“You shug have excellent timing,” she answered, trailing behind him. 

*****

A sigh escaping her lips, hopefully as rude as she intended, Barbara Verdin looked at the clock. It had been over an hour, sixty seven minutes to be exact with not even one person coming to check on her. That had been strange, since everyone seemed to be bending over backwards to help her before, but now she sat alone. The building seemed to have a lot of activity today Barbara wasn’t sure if that was normal or not, after all, this was the building where the United States made sure that they were prepared to keep us safe. 

Which again begged the question: WHY did Addy work here?

Curious and very annoyed, Barbara Verdin stood from her chair, shoving her book of crosswords back into her purse.

“If I be knowing Addy, she’da been in da basement, sortin’ tru sum boxes ah ole rock. I dink I be findin’ Daniel dere,” she declared to herself, scanning the room for elevators. There they were, to her left across the main lobby, normal elevators like any normal office building. She took a step forward, frowning, pausing to reach into her gigantic purse yet again and pull out the letter from that O’Neill woman, smoothing it between her fingers. 

There was the Air Force logo at the top, again, Barbara unsure as to why an Air Force official had been overseeing Daniel and Addy’s work, a woman’s elegant signature at the bottom with an asterix and the word “Urgent” on the side. She knew that urgent was the kind woman’s way of saying ‘She’s here to help bury her niece’ but it was just something about the letter itself that made Barbara feel confident as she stepped into the elevators, flashing the paper to the young man waiting there as he opened his mouth to question. 

“Ya be seeing dat name,” she declared pointing to the letter in question, “ya be seeing da word ‘urgent’,” she asked, the young man nodding. 

“Righ,” the Cajun continued, “ya be helping me get ta where I need to be.” 

*****

“Dat be righ bigga den I be used ta,” Laja stood beside Daniel at the bridge of Atlantis, looking out the view panel. 

“We shouldn’t need it for long, just long enough for it to appear to a scanner that the base is here, for him to initiate the attack and drop his guard,” Daniel replied, staring out himself, the false base glimmering only slightly, just enough to show up on scanners but still hidden in the fog one of Rodney’s machines had managed to create. 

“Ya jus gotta understand dat it drain me ta do dis and dere be nah much elsa ah cahn do,” she added, her good eye looking up at Daniel to see if he understood, and he was nodding, still looking’ ahead. 

“I understand,” he answered, his eyes finally moving to the panels where read-outs were coming from Cam, no sign yet of Anubis, making Daniel worry that he had reacted prematurely, out of anger over Adrienne, but now was not the time for self-doubt. 

“Where be ya wife?” she now asked, Daniel finally looking at her, realizing that he hadn’t done so since she had arrived on the ship, wondering too how she knew they were married, but then again this was Laja, she always knew everything. 

“It’s gud she dinna die; she be good for ya and da little one,” she kept talking, Daniel sighing out. 

“She’s safe, and so is my son,” he assured her, the witch woman waiting a moment before nodding. 

“She be safe fo sho, she be safe,” Laja assured, Daniel hoping that she was right. 

*****

“Who’d have thought that dyin’ would take so much out of you,” Adrienne joked, Skaara stopping at landing to glare at her. 

“Sheesh, Daniel told me what ya used ta do ta ‘im, lighten up a bit,” she added, joining him at the platform, taking a deep breath, that look still on his face. 

“We have very little time, we must insure that your son is safe,” Skaara answered, opening the door to the platform and stepping through, once again leaving Adrienne behind. 

“What daya mean ‘very little time’, is Anubis close?” she was running now, starting to feel better, dashing up the stairs where the glowing from was heading down the hall to Vala’a quarters. 

“Anubis has arrived, but that is not why we must hurry. They do not want us here, but Oma refuses to listen,” he continued, Adrienne putting the pieces together in her head. ‘They’ were very same Ancients who were angry that Daniel was ascended, the same Ancients that ignored Anubis the first time, condemning Oma to the fate of fighting him for eternity while blasting her husband back down with no memories. They must have sent help this time, help that was apparently on a very short leash but it was help she was gonna take nonetheless. After all, Skaara had to be the reason that no one was hunting her down, that she had been allowed climb the back stairs in a hospital gown. 

“He’s with Vala, but I’m sure you knew that,” the Cajun shouted ahead as Skaara turned the corner, heading in the right direction of course. She’d expected the door opened and Vala swearing at this stranger, but by the time Adrienne arrived he was waiting patiently at the door. 

“Oma says your friend can be abrasive,” he presented his hands in front of himself, Adrienne reaching out to knock. 

“Abrasive, what a nice way of putting it,” she chuckled, the door swinging open in front of her, Ronon’s face peering from behind it. 

“Why in the hell are you up?” Vala was shouting from behind, Ronon stepping back to allow their guests in, pausing to stare at her ascended Abydonyian tagalong, his hand reaching indistinctly for his weapon. 

“Because she’s stubborn like dad,” her son chimed in from the corner, Adrienne glaring at the small child. 

“No, because your stubborn dad has decided to take on Anubis with a semi-operational base and ten Jaffa,” she explained thinking maybe she should have shielded her son from that information, but he didn’t seem upset, just frowned like his father did so well. 

“That doesn’t seem to be very wise,” Nicholas said with a shrug, “we probably ought to help him.” 

“He speaks like an adult,” Skaara was muttering, shaking his head and looking at Adrienne, “Oma did not say...”  

“Yeah, yeah and probably best we pretend we didn’t hear that,” the Cajun answered her companion quickly, looking back at her son and friends, “I’ve got an idea, maybe, but I needed to come here first. I need to get a few things but Vala, I wanted to talk with you...” 

“About...” she led, Adrienne frowning as she reached for her arm, jerking Vala to the corner of the room. 

“This might get bad,” she hissed, Vala rolling her eyes at the obvious. 

“Ok, fine, it’s gonna be bad, but I can’t go into this without knowing...” she started to choke up, breathing in to compose herself, “Vala I need to ask you something, huge, and you can say no but you’re like the sister I never had and...” she paused, taking a look over at her son who was trying to act like he wasn’t eavesdropping, but he was her child, of course he was eavesdropping...

“Vala, if anything happens to me or Daniel, I want you to take Nicky, ugh, Nicholas. If Anubis, if anything happens here, I want you to take my son and run, get the hell off this planet, keep him safe, and make sure he knows how much Daniel and I love him...” tears were streaming down her face, she was sure, Vala reaching out to hug her. 

“That’s not a request Addy; it’s what I’d planned to do anyway,” she whispered, squeezing tightly and pulling away. Nodding, Adrienne waked over to Nicholas, kneeling down and reaching out for his hand, taking it into her own. 

“Good luck mom,” he said, so mature, so amazing, Adrienne fighting back tears. 

“Thanks shug,” she whispered, wondering what she was going to say, what she could say when the child smiled brightly, speaking for her. 

“I’ll behave, I’ll listen to Aunt Vala, I won’t be mouthy, and I’ll mind my manners,” he started, squeezing her hand this time, “just try to keep you and Dad in one piece.” 

Reaching out to hug him again, whispering an ‘I love you’ into his ear, Adrienne hugged her son tightly, standing, adjusting the gown before turning to Skaara. 

“So, let’s get some help,” she declared, heading for the door to go to her quarters. 

*****

“Sir, we have Hataks on radar, heading for the bay,” the cadet announced from the console, Daniel racing to his side. 

“How many?” he asked, his eyes darting across the images. 

“Several, at least a dozen, headed for the weapons systems just as Homer said they would,” the man answered. A look at the screen confirmed his words, making Daniel’s stomach flip. 

He would take them out and storm the base, getting everything he needed to invade Pegasus, the gate, codes, coordinates and the base itself. Of all of the scenarios that Sam and Woolsey had anticipated as they fought the Wraith, having someone use Earth to allow them access to the power vacuum that had been created in Pegasus was not one that they had thought of. It made sense though, in hindsight, if Anubis wanted to make his mark in the universe despite his weakened state, that he would want to go there, play savior, be a god, where he could raise himself an army of loyals. 

“Alert Teal’c,” Daniel ordered, thinking to himself that his small fleet of Jaffa fighters was sorely outnumbered, knowing at the same time that he had no choice. 

“Yes sir.” 

Lips pursued, Daniel turned to head back to the office, skipping steps in his haste, heading straight for the laptop. 

“We heard,” Sam answered before her face even flickered on the screen. 

“Tell Medan that any time now would be nice,” he replied, Sam nodding and picking up her desk phone. 

“Stay safe,” she instructed, reaching her finger forward to end the transmission. 

Part one of his plan in place, Daniel raced out of the office and for elevators, to check on John and Laja, who had decided to sit with him, something about his ability to control the city helping her maintain the illusion. She had struggled, he was asking a lot of her, he knew, but Anubis needed to think he had won, he needed to arrive to take his prize so Daniel could make his next move. 

*****

“Ma’am,” she heard behind her, turning to see that woman, Ktuyo, Amuro’s assistant, standing here, “the Jaffa have begun to attack.” 

Anubis wasn’t sure why but the woman’s voice grated his/her nerves. She missed Homer, he had been a good and loyal assistant, even more so that he had maintained his cover so long while still keeping his mission objective. She wished she could have been there, watching Daniel Jackson fall apart as his wife died, as her heart stopped, and she took her final breath. It made her jealous to think that Homer might have seen that in his stead, but she had just decided to ask him about it once he had his assistant back, his family safely on board to provide that extra collateral that he needed. 

“Excellent. Have the Lucians ready. Once I am on base the timing of their attack will be crucial,” she replied, standing to adjust her uniformed body. She didn’t know why the Taur’i insisted on wearing the horribly uncomfortable garments, but then again there were many things about the people of Earth that she would never understand. 

“Ma’am, Amuro still thinks it is a bad idea that you’re going by yourself,” the woman added, nasally, that was what the Taur’i would have called her voice, nasal. Turning to face her guest, those green and yellow eyes glaring, Anubis took a step forward carefully, scowling. 

“Are you questioning me?” she warned more than asked, the woman quickly shaking her head. 

“No ma’am,” she answered, eyes on the ground, where they should be, not looking at her, questioning her. Striding confidentially to the door, Anubis used her eyes to guide the woman ahead, her manner considerably less confident. 

I think I’ll kill this bitch when I’m done with her, she thought, slowly. 

Smiling at the thought, her lips curling slightly, Anubis walked down the hallway to the lab, herself ready for her own part in the plan. 

*****

Daniel wanted to look away as he saw the Jaffa ship go hurdling toward the ocean, so far away on the view screen that he didn’t know if it was their own or one of Anubis’ but it was a life lost just the same. It sickened him, watching the battle unfold, the few forces he had, Cam on the Odyssey, Cavel on the Daedalus and the ten Ha’tak ships desperately trying to keep the fleet from entering Earth’s atmosphere on their drive to San Francisco Bay. The few that did make it through looked as though they had succumbed to Teal’c excellent aim, but again, Daniel didn’t want to surmise, he just wanted everything to be over. 

The decoy was holding, Laja chanting some strange cajun mess that wasn’t any kind of bastardized French that he knew, seated as John’s feet as he kept the city cloaked and still.   He hated sitting here, waiting, more than anything, but he had seen no indication whatsoever that a battle cruiser was near, no indication of anything other than this initial attack. 

“Sir, there are some ships heading this way, look to be motherships,” the cadet reported, Davidson his name was, Richard Davidson, Daniel leaning to view his screen. He was correct, there seemed to be some rather large ships heading their way, just as he had hoped and expected. 

Here we go Daniel...

“Scan then, all of them, anything you can get. I need readouts of each life form sent to Rodney immediately so he can determine which ship is carrying Anubis.”

“Yes sir,” Davidson replied, starting to scan as Daniel returned his eyes to the battle. Another ship was going down, one of theirs he could tell. It was in worse shape than Teal’c’s small fleet but there was no point of impact this time, no smoke, the ship just going down. Curious, Daniel leaned forward to the screen when he felt warmth behind him and an aura of a glow, a blue glow, making him spin on his heels to gaze behind him. 

“He is going be angry when he wakes up, so I suggest you secure him at once,” Shamira said with a smile, a Jaffa at her feet. Daniel grinned, the Kaetanam coming up with a much better idea than he had, taking away the pilots rather than the weapons from the ships, preventing further causalities. 

“Can you take them straight to lock-up?” Daniel asked, the small woman nodding. 

“Of course,” and with that she was gone, Daniel turning back to the monitor to see more ships plummeting into the bay. 

“We’re winning,” he said before he could control his words, a broad smile across his face. 

*****

It was the only thing that he was unsure of; would the pirated tech work as well as Amuro guaranteed? 

It would have been better to have obtained an Asgard vessel, but Anubis had learned through various channels that most of the ships had been destroyed or given to the Taur’i, who had locked them into the basements of their facilities, protecting them from the very pirates he was using. 

The ship cut through the atmosphere, fast as a deathglider should, Anubis’ eyes on the target, the manufactured yellow pupils glimmering in excitement. At her left hand was a small pouch, the only thing more she needed to do before making this plan a reality, taking the Taur’i out of the equation forever. Fortunately the ship was small enough and there was a quaint area nearby commemorating some of the people of Earth being killed by others, the space in such a way that she would be able to lightly balance the ship in the beams, cloaked and walk around as if she was a member of personnel admiring the garden before going to work. 

Target in sights she accelerated, trying to control the smile as it spread across her face. 

*****

“Ay-dree-en, you do not know what you face,” Skaara was no longer leading, but trailing, and had been since Adrienne left her quarters. He kept saying that, insisting that she and even more so, Daniel, didn’t know what they were doing but hadn’t really offered an alternative. 

“I know, Skaara, I know, that’s why I’m gonna get more help, because we NEED to get more help,” she spat back, breathing in deeply to counteract the exhaustion her body was feeling despite the overdrive of adrenaline pushing her onward. 

Skaara, however, only shrugged, but maintained the rapid pace. 

“So, I’ll get Ishta and the Jaffa, if all of the Jaffa help maybe the ones who have joined up with Anubis will change their minds or at least turn tail and run,” she reasoned, hearing nothing behind her. 

“Lots of help you are,” she shouted over her shoulder, starting to feel her husband’s frustration at dealing with ascended beings in general.

“Oma says you should take your place by Dan’yell’s side,” was all he answered, shouting ahead to the Cajun as she raced forward, not stopping for a moment.

“Right, but he needs more than a handful of people. In case you and Oma didn’t notice, it’s us against an army!” 

“But you should join my brother, Ay-dree-en, Oma says...” he continued to argue, the very frustrated and recently back from the dead woman finally stopping in her tracks, glaring at him with deadly cajun eyes. 

“Look, is dere sumtin specific dat I’m supposed ta do, cuz now be a right good time ta tell me,” she hissed in near full blown Cajun. Taking a breath that he didn’t need, Skaara opened his mouth, Adrienne happy to finally be getting something out of the Ancient that wasn’t total bullshit when there was a shimmer behind him, Adrienne ignoring her follower. 

And there she was, an Ancient that she knew, one that she hoped would actually be willing to help. 

“Hell yeah, now we’re talking. Please tell me you have more answers.” 

But the woman she thought was her friend, well maybe not this version, but someone who surely she believed she would be able to trust were she ever to meet her in this timeline, looked straight past her like she wasn’t even there, her chocolate brown eyes locked on Skaara.

"You need to desist this, Skaara. The others have been patient with you until now, but our patience is waning."

“Leesia, I have said nothing but they cannot do this without aid. Many lives will be lost, in this world and many others. They need to know...” 

“You cannot interfere. You cannot say anything. You will not be warned again!” she answered so curtly, in a way that Adrienne never expected, disappearing as quickly as she had arrived.

“I am sorry Ay-dree-en, I can say no more; we are being judged,” the Abydonian apologized, lowering his gaze as Adrienne stood in shocked silence of what she had just witnessed. 

“Of course we are,” Adrienne replied, still baffled, somewhat sad that that woman, her friend, yes in an alternate reality but still, had brushed her away like she was nothing, so cold and heartless, “Let’s try blinking. One blink yes and two blinks no, does that work?” 

Not speaking, just as Leesia had warned, Skaara stared at her blankly, blinking once.

“Ok, guess I’ve gotta work with what I’ve got. Let’s go,” she ordered, continuing her advance, her insides still torn.

Daniel, she thought, he must have been the difference, made that woman, the Leesia that she knew and oddly missed, the person she called her friend.  Her husband now again in her thoughts she marched onward, heading for the gate.

*****

Sam was at the main screen in the observation room watching the turn in the battle, the Furlings’ alternate plan working better than Daniel’s original idea. Various reports were being sent, and it seemed that they currently had anywhere from twenty to thirty rebel Jaffa in custody, better than they could have imagined. 

All was not lost. 

She was just about to leave the observation room, head to her office to call Jack, give him an update that he could then report to the president, giving the White House a better idea of at what state of alert in which they needed to be, when there was a knock at her door. 

“General O’Neill,” a young man said from the doorway, not one of her staff members but one of the Pentagon guards, one of the elevator guards, making Sam frown in confusion. 

“Yes,” she answered, I don’t have time for this, who in the hell is stirring up shit now...

I’ve been married to Jack for too long.

“You have a visitor. An urgent visitor,” he explained flatly, Sam shaking her head. If this was Woolsey’s replacement, now, during this, she might just discover where the end of her infinite patience lay. 

“Who?” she still wasn’t moving when the young man was shoved nearly to the floor, a rotund woman who could have been a stand-in for Kathy Bates, short brown hair, round face, but tall, like a football player, came barreling around him. 

“Ya be Samanta O’Neill? I be sittin’ anh waitin’ ‘ere fa ‘ours! Where be Daniel ahn when can I see Addy??”

She HAD been married to Jack to long....

“Shit,” the words escaped her lips, Barbara Verdin slamming her fists to her sides.

“Shit wha? I undastand dat she be dyin’ ahn no body round ‘ere seem ta be carin’. I canna fine Daniel, he not be takin’ my calls, so I ahsk again, shit wha?” 

Cajun accent or not, Sam could just tell by the way that she was talking this woman wasn’t an idiot, panic in her gut as she realized that they hadn’t called Adrienne’s aunt to stop her from coming. There had been no time, really, Adrienne’s waking up was about the hour her aunt would have been in the skies making her way here, but Sam had sent no one to the airport to meet her. Daniel really hadn’t been in any shape to do anything, yet here she was, letting him lead a fight that was still going on according to the monitors behind her. 

“Be I speakin’?” she continued to shout, cajun eyes, wow, that was where Adrienne got that from, blaring across the room at her. 

“Mrs. Verdin, I am so sorry, please, come take a seat in my office...” Sam started, reaching out to lead the very upset woman to the only room not in view of the Stargate when there were footsteps behind her, more excited Cajun echoing in her ear. 

“Walter, I need ya ta dial up Hak’ytl, I gotta get Indy sum ‘elp!” 

Guess I don’t have to figure out how to tell her...

“Addy!!?!” 

“Aunt Barb!?!” 

Why is Adrienne not in the infirmary?

“Addy!!” the woman burst into tears pushing past the general now, nearly knocking over Adrienne as she took her into her arms, the younger woman standing there with a look of complete and total shock on her face.

“Addy, Daniel called, he be sayin’ ya ‘eart gave out, he say dat we loss ya, but ya ‘ere, Addy ya be ‘ere,” she was sobbing, Adrienne now crying too, hugging her back. 

“No Aunt Barbara, it’s a long story, I don’t have time to tell ya righ now, I gotta ‘elp Daniel, but, Sam!” Adrienne was shouting around her aunt, holding her shoulders, the woman wiping her face as she finally started to look around, her eyes locking on the gate through the observation room glass. 

“Addy, what be dat?” 

Where is Jack when I need a clever ‘What in the hell is happening right now?’ comment...

“Aunt Barbara, dat, well, I’ll explain, later, but I ‘ave to go, Sam, I ‘ave ta go,” Adrienne was frantic Sam could tell, why she didn’t know, the battle was going fine, Daniel sent a signal the final fleet was coming, they were gonna have Anubis.

Why was she here?

Sam saw her answer in that very second, Skaara, that sweet boy from Abydoys, Daniel’s brother-in-law trailing in behind Adrienne. 

That was all the assurance she needed. 

“Dial it up Walter,” Sam ordered, reaching again for Barbara Verdin, “Mrs. Verdin, Adrienne has to go now, but would you like to see Nicky?” 

That changed her expression, as if for a moment the woman had forgotten the child existed. 

“He’s with Vala and Ronon,” Adrienne filled in, Sam starting to usher their guest away when Barbara pulled from her grasp, dashing back over to Adrienne. 

“I always knew ya be special Addy,” she whispered in her ear, kissing her niece’s cheek, “be careful, whereeva ya gotta go.” 

Sam watched her friend well up a second time, sucking in tears as the chevrons began to lock into place; the general thinking now was a good time to get Barbara out of here.

*****

She had to admit she was pleased with the strength of this body as well, having always thought of woman as the weaker sex. This body had been chosen for a specific purpose, to ease the people of the Pegasus Galaxy into trusting him, because a woman could be a mother and not just a savior. 

That was what Anubis wanted to be. 

The Wraith were still a disorganized mess, he had learned from his intelligence, the defeat by the Taur’i something that they had not easily recovered from. They were a disorganized mess that were simply waiting for a savior, someone with the scientific knowledge who could help ease their hunger as human supply ran low and convince them to come here where there would be plenty. 

Two galaxies for the price of one, and he didn’t have to lift a finger. 

There was sound again, another cadet, but even as she reached out it hit her and she pulled back. 

Not that one. 

Too many here were ‘not that one’. 

Darting around the corner, Anubis reached in the pocket of the black BDU’s, checking on the needle to make sure it was still there. He had only to go down this hall and then up one flight of stairs, General Jonathan O’Neill in his office, fielding calls from the president and other useless Tau’i leaders. 

Then she would do what she came for, walk right out of here and deal with Daniel Jackson. 

Shouldn’t be too hard to make him kill himself, Homer said he had withdrawn completely, Samantha Carter O’Neill keeping him on a suicide watch. Then Anubis would be rid of the good Dr. Jackson.

The baby, on the other hand, she might keep around to experiment on as he was, apparently, some sort of anomaly. 

Assured that the man had passed, Anubis swept herself back around the corner, heading for the stairs, the end in sight. 

*****

“Daniel, when we are at our strongest is when we are really at our most vulnerable,” Oma warned from behind as Daniel stood on the bridge watching the Jaffa attack fail. 

“I’m not taking any of this for granted, we’re still not sure if this is it,” he responded indignantly; annoyed she was accusing him of hubris at a time like this. 

“There is much of Anubis that you do not understand,” she added, Daniel looking ahead. 

“I’m sure of that,” he answered honestly, his blue eyes locked on the images of the fleet headed this way, one of those ships protecting the only being he was really after. 

“Daniel, what you must understand about Anubis is that he cannot...” she started, a glow emanating all around them as a voice spoke over Oma’s soft words. 

“YOU WERE WARNED.” 

Daniel whipped around to see what was happening, that voice oddly familiar, just as Oma disappeared from the room as she had never been here at all....

*****

“Skaara, her village is up here, but we’re gonna have to run,” Adrienne was shouting over her shoulder, peering back when he didn’t answer, thinking this didn’t exactly warrant a blink. 

But he was gone, and she was alone, at the gate, miles of terrain in front of her. There was no time to think, Daniel was in danger, her family and world were in peril. 

Taking a breath, Adrienne Jackson ran as fast as her weak body would allow.

*****

Cam felt considerably confident in the weapons systems of the Odyssey, Carvel seeming to have the same level of comfort when it came to the Daedalus. The Lucian fleet was moving in faster, none of the ships really seeming to take the lead, just powering forward in a line of metal and intimidation. 

“Colonel Mitchell?” he heard Cavel over the intercom, Cam reaching to punch the button as his eyes still stayed on the screen. 

“Yea buddy, looking good on your end still?” he asked, his eyes now floating to check Naquada levels for the canons. 

“I believe so but their flight pattern has shifted slightly, a few degrees east,” the commander noted, Cam checking his monitors again. They had moved, ever so slightly, yet still in a line, still headed straight for Earth, on a course bound for the fake Atlantis that Daniel’s voodoo woman was projecting on the waters of the bay. His friend and the city, meanwhile, were tucked safely behind the moon, Cam and Cavel leading the defense of Earth. 

He was about to tell Cavel to keep an eye on it, to watch to see if there was any more movement when the entire fleet shifted in front of his face, not just a few degrees east, but due east, on a course right past them, on a course straight for Washington. 

“All hands, prepare to change course, they are going to attack the SGC!” 

*****

Daniel was still standing in shock having watched Oma being ripped from this realm and ripped from this existence when the alarm sounded, Davidson’s voice echoing over the loud speakers. 

“Personnel to battle stations and prepare for attack!” he ordered, Daniel running down the small stairs to see why they were being alerted. 

“Attack? Did the cloak fail?” or did the Ancients decide to interfere in the wrong damn way, his irrational mind continued, but Lieutenant Davidson was shaking his head. 

“No sir, the Lucian fleet is headed for the Pentagon,” he responded, clicking his communicator to  convey the message again as Daniel leaned toward the screen. 

“Adrienne,” the word escaping his lips as he pushed Davidson aside, trying to scan the base, rambling as we went along, running his eyes through the layout of the Pentagon.

“Ad, where are you, Nicky, we need to get them off world, and Cassie, somebody find Cassie, get my family off that base,” he was shouting, the Lieutenant pushing forward to obey the orders. 

“Yes sir, we can beam aboard Dr. Jackson and Dr. Frasier sir, but we don’t have the sequence for your son,”  Davidson apologized, Daniel standing, waving his hands. 

“No, he wouldn’t be in the system. Stupid damn protocol; can you beam based on Adrienne’s DNA. Scan the base for anyone that has her DNA, that should bring up she and Nicholas and then beam Cassie up afterwards,” he rambled, the young man nodding. 

“Yes sir,” he responded, typing frantically as Daniel watched the Lucian ships soar in the direction of his family, his job and his home. 

“Come on, have you got them yet?!” he hissed, his heart racing, please, I can’t lose her again...

“Got ‘em. Two with Dr. Jackson’s DNA and Dr. Frasier from the system database, where would you like me to send them?” the young man asked, Daniel breathing a sigh of relief. 

“Here, now, just hurry,” he spat, looking ahead to the gate and the space there.

Eyes on the screen, Davidson tapped a few more things into the screen, three columns of light appearing and Daniel almost hit the floor in relief at the sight of it. 

The columns clearing, it now being safe to advance, Daniel raced down the steps to them stopping dead in his tracks. 

“Daniel dis nah be nah translatin’ or diggin’. Dis be madness ahn I wanna know where we are!” 

There was Nicky and Cassie, but the source of the voice was clearly NOT his wife. 

At that moment he remembered that he had forgotten to call Aunt Barbara. 

*****

“Where are you going?” Ronon yelled as he chased Vala down the stairwell to the basement.

“Addy’s aunt took Nicky and I’m pretty damn sure that was Daniel beaming them out of here. I’m not planning on sitting around waitin’ to get blown up!” she shouted back, racing down the stairs. 

“Fair, where then?” he was catching up only because she had made it to the door, stopping to look back at him. 

“I’m gonna help Cam on the Odyssey,” she answered quickly, Ronon nodding in agreement. 

“Ok, let’s go,” he said, Vala making a face. 

“Let’s? Aren’t you headed to Atlantis?” she asked, the Sateadan shaking his head. 

“No, I’m going with you,” he replied plainly. 

“Why?” 

“Cuz I love you,” he answered like she was an idiot, he said it, he said it again, like it was nothing, like he was proud of that fact...

She didn’t know what to say, and didn’t want to be like Daniel and Addy, their cliché obnoxious declarations of love. 

Instead, she grabbed his hand, pulling him through the door behind her. 

****

Ishta looked up at the ruckus coming through the front flap, her look-outs shouting that the Taur’i had arrived and her first thought was Teal’c, running out of the main tent and through the village in the direction of the gate. She was right at the outskirts of town when she saw a staff weapon lifted into the air, a weapon held by a ghost. The Jaffa’s heart stopped, it had to be a hallucination, but as it got closer, screaming her name, out of breath, sweating, Ishta knew it wasn’t her imagination. 

It was a miracle. 

“AdrienneJackson!” she screamed once her brain caught up with the rest of her senses, running to meeting the archaeologist as she fell to her knees. The warrior reached down to help the woman back to her feet, Adrienne standing with difficulty but standing, her dark eyes filled with panic. 

“Ishta, you have to help. Anubis is here, he’s attacking, and all we have are the two cruisers and the Jaffa cadets. And Daniel, he’s on Atlantis and he has some insane idea that I only know part of and he needs help, we need the Jaffa Ishta, we need you, please,” Adrienne stammered, Ishta still unable to believe she was here.  She had seen the woman’s lifeless body with her own two eyes but she was here and still rambling about there being only ten Jaffa ships against at least a hundred... 

“And Teal’c?” she asked the only other thing she could think about, Adrienne nodding her head as she took a breath. 

“Fine, when I left I still heard his name being called in the observation room but Ishta Daniel’s hiding Atlantis. He doesn’t want to fire until they can fire on Anubis, until then we have a dozen ships holding that fucker’s entire fleet at bay.”

A dozen when you left AdrienneJackson, she thought, how many now...

“It is not I that refuses to assist. It is the council,” she explained, hanging her head in shame, as she had never listened to a higher authority before but here she was, hiding on this planet, sitting in silence and waiting, walking out being all she could think to do. 

What had this mess done to her? 

“But the president, isn’t it Nyctal? She’s one of you?” Adrienne asked, standing on her own now, her breathing better as Ishta nodded. 

“That she is.” 

“Is she here?” the Cajun followed up immediately. 

“Yes,” Ishta answered without hesitation since it was not worth lying, the president herself having walked out of the council as well, effectively playing neutral, refusing to be a part of their isolationist nonsense but also refusing to be a part of this Anubis mess, following Ishta here. Ishta wanted to help Teal’c and Ry’ac, they were as much her family now, but she hadn’t had the courage, doing as she was told and waiting. 

Adrienne didn’t say a word, forcing her way past, running again to the village. 

Still spinning Ishta followed, because Adrienne was alive, and dead people don’t return to the realm of the living without reason.

*****

“Do you understand?” she asked the gray-haired man on the floor, his chocolate brown eyes gazing up at her in total acceptance. 

“Yes,” he replied, the beautiful woman granting him a smile in return.  Turning to walk to the end of the ramp, stepping over that pesky gate operator of theirs, Walter the general had called him before he knocked him out, she stood at the end of the metal platform waiting. General O’Neill rose, standing at the main breaker box, his hands making quick work of the manual override, the iris pulling into its case, the portal open awaiting the summoning of the wormhole. 

“It is important that you wait fifteen minutes, is that clear? Fifteen, no more, no less and then destroy the gate mechanism,” she clarified one final time, her pawn nodding. 

“Yes ma’am,” Jack uttered, his voice emotionless and robotic, the red mark at his neck the reason why, as the nano memory device worked its way into his cerebral cortex, creating within him a memory of a universe ruled by Anubis, one in which Daniel had never returned to Earth, his ascended spirit destroyed trying to fight, the Ancients bowing down to the old evil as well, a world where Sam was not his wife and he was in charge of making sure that Earth obeyed its God’s every command. 

Right now, that very god was commanding him to destroy everything he had known for nearly twenty years. 

“Thank you for you years of service,” she murmured smoothly, her captive nodding in pleasure at being recognized for actions that had never happened. 

“Dial Langara,” she ordered, Jack springing into action to do as he was told, the wormhole forming in moments. 

*****

“Where’s Adrienne?” Daniel didn’t even answer his aunt-in-law, the angry cajun woman setting his son on the floor to march up to him, shoving her finger into his face. 

“Where be Addy? She left da boy ta come ahn save ya ahn ya donna even know where she be!?!?” Barbara was screaming and Daniel couldn’t blame her but his brain was going a mile a minute, updates from the battle behind him as the Jaffa and Lucians had figured out the ploy of the Ktaenam, shouts of various personnel reporting small bodies falling through Earth’s atmosphere. 

“Sir, the Daedalus has taken a direct hit, Cavel says his shield can’t hold much longer!” Davidson was yelling, he was a good kid, hell they were all good kids, good people, this wasn’t fair, they hadn’t expected the Lucian fleet to be so powerful and where was Anubis but....

Where was Adrienne?

It was a failure, more screaming echoing around his head, and a small voice, some very tiny voice, making Daniel look over to see his son across the bridge, crawling toward a panel, yelling ‘Dad’ as he pulled himself up. 

“Nicky!” Barbara was now looking at the child as well in shock, he must have been playing his biological age, but there was determination in his son’s face as that tiny body struggled to pull up. 

“Dad, dammit, I can’t stand. Dad, the gate, it’s activating, look!” he was shouting Daniel looking behind himself as Cassie grabbed Barbara, pulling her out of the way to safety, the Atlantis Stargate bursting to life right in front of him. 

“Dad, it’s Mom!! It’s her call sign!!” Nicholas added, reading the view screen, his six month old was reading the view screen, Daniel turning to see the event horizon stabilize and his wife, staff weapon in hand, come running through. 

“Back up, we got ships comin’!!” she screamed, Daniel racing to the control panel to open the floor doors, the screech of Ha’tak’s screaming through the portal. 

“Davidson, they don’t know where they are, turn on the guide lights!” Daniel shouted, the young man leaping to action, ordering the rest of the bridge crew to flip on the lights, ships flying in and down, thankfully down, the first few nearly colliding. 

Scores of them poured through the gate, ship after ship, he had no idea where they were coming from when suddenly two figures were running through after, Nyctal and Ishta, pausing as the gate came to a close behind them, eyeing their surroundings with curiosity. 

“Mom!” his child was screaming again, Adrienne racing to the seat that the boy was desperately balancing himself on, scooping him into her arms. 

“Mom, the Lucians, they’re attacking the base, Dad beamed us up here but not Aunt Vala, I don’t know where she is, or Aunt Sam or anybody, but you’re ok!” the boy shouted, wrapping chubby arms around his mother’s neck. Adrienne cupped his head with her hand, holding him against her as she rushed over to Daniel, throwing her free arm around his neck. 

“Ja-wer? How? What happened?” he asked, not only his wife but the Jaffa women standing before him, of which the president responded first. 

“While it is impossible for any people to act as the force of peace in all of the universe, it is wrong to turn a blind eye to the suffering of our brothers, no matter our own problems,” Nyctal replied, Ishta nodding her head. 

“One cannot deny that it is a sign when a dead woman lives again to fight,” Ishta added with a smile, Adrienne shrugging. 

“I just went and cried a whole lot, swore some in Cajun and when they realized you and Oma brought me back, that seemed to be good enough to persuade them,” his wife answered as she let go, stepping back to adjust her son in her arms, Nyctal stepping forward. 

“DanielJackson we need access to a command center to organize our ships,” she requested, Daniel throwing his arms into the air, indicating that she follow when he stopped dead in his tracks, looking at his wife, a realization washing over him.

“Ad, what did you dial? Specifically, where were you dialing to?” Adrienne had seen the code to Atlantis, but he knew she had never committed it to memory, why would she, and the ships seems disoriented as they came through...

“Home,” she answered, “I dialed home.” 

Daniel’s heart again began to pound in his chest. If Adrienne had dialed home she should be at the SGC not here, which meant that...

With broad strides Daniel raced to the office, jerking open the laptop to cue up the system to call home, call Sam, call anyone hoping there would be an answer. 

There was none. 

They’ve taken command.

No longer was it time to hide, Daniel tucking the laptop under his arm, shouting for Adrienne to meet him downstairs once she could organize the chaos on the bridge, the archaeologist racing to John and the main power center. 

It was time to fight. 

*****

Sam heard the commotion from the infirmary where she was helping Carolyn with casualties of the blasts, only cuts and scrapes fortunately so far when alarms sounded, alarms she had installed shortly after becoming the head of the SGC. 

“The gate,” Carolyn filled in what Sam was thinking, knowing the sounds as well as the general froze for a moment, shaking her head and reaching for her phone. Dialing, she put it to her ear, waiting, Carolyn’s dark eyes on her before she hung up, shaking her head. 

“No answer, I’ve got to - “ she started, the doctor interrupting her. 

“Go!” the doctor ordered, Sam tearing down the hall. 

*****

“Laja, drop the mirage and John, take us into the fleet,” Daniel ordered, storming into the room. The voodoo woman opened her eyes, breaking her meditation, a few muttered words in French before she stood, nodding slowly. 

“It be done,” she answered, John adjusting in the seat to glance over at Daniel. 

“Did ya find him?” the colonel asked, Daniel shaking his head. 

“No, but he, they, someone’s put the Earth gate out of commission and we need to get down there and find out who,” he explained, Adrienne dashing in the room with their son in her arms, poor Aunt Barbara trailing behind. 

“Sha, I sent Cassie down to help Carson, that Davidson is getting the bridge back under control and Nyctal is set up in the main office. Ishta is monitoring the battle and I asked her to report to you if anything changes,” Adrienne said as Daniel opened the lid of the laptop, his fingers dialing up Earth a second time. 

“Dammit,” he swore, dialing a different room, the infirmary, hoping to get a hold of someone before he had John fire anything anywhere. The communication system buzzed and beeped, Daniel wondering for a moment if they were too far from Earth now to get a signal even though they had spoken before. He was about to give up, just have John take them into the atmosphere, when there was a face on the screen, Carolyn’s, a look on it that Daniel didn’t want her to explain. 

“Daniel, we’re under attack,” she said, solemnly, her eyes behind her, not focusing on him. 

“I know, we’re headed your way,” Daniel replied, a shout from behind Carolyn making her abandon the conversation, Daniel peering closer to the screen to see Sam in the background, leaning over a bed, over someone. 

“He’s not breathing!” the general shrieked, Daniel watching helplessly as Carolyn moved out of his way, to see Jack, his friend, a man who might as well have been his brother lying there, Carolyn Lam frantically doing CPR, Sam in tears. 

“Get me some paddles over here, I’ve removed the nanobyte, this shouldn’t be happening!!” the doctor was screaming, an orderly running the paddles over to him. 

“Carolyn, what’s going on?” Daniel hesitated to ask as she tried to save Jack’s life, the doctor shouting over her shoulder as she charged the paddles. 

“Carson sent down a read out on Woolsey, it’s aNyctal nanobyte, an injection, some sort of mind control, back up people!!!” she shouted, placing the pads on the general’s chest, Jack O’Neill jolting upward. 

“He’s controlling people’s minds Daniel, or trying to,” she struggled to explain over Sam’s pleading for a Jack to wake up, to please please wake up...

“Why?” Daniel asked, Adrienne peering over his shoulder, tears in her eyes but trying to keep it together for Nicky, who clearly understood what was going on. 

“I don’t know, but whatever it is hasn’t been tested well for humans, strokes out the brain after a few commands,” she rubbed the paddles together again, leaning forward, “clear!” she screamed, Sam yelling at Jack, daring him to die.

“We’re coming Carolyn, we’re coming right now....” 

“Sir!” a voice shouted in his ear, “the gate is activating.” 

“John, take us to Earth, now, the SGC, beam me down as soon as we are close enough,” Daniel started to command again, that voice in his ear yelling again making him halt his words. 

“Sir, there’s a woman, coming through, she, uh, stop, right there, you are not authorized for entry....” 

The communication ended.

“Davidson!!” Daniel shouted frantically, the computer leaving his hands as Adrienne took it, the call to Carolyn disconnecting suddenly, “DAVIDSON!!” 

“Hello Daniel. It is done and your reign in the universe has ended. This was meant to be ruled by the gods, by a god, and not by the likes of you.” 

It was him. The voice now echoing in his ear was female, as Homer said it would be, a seductive raspy voice that Daniel could tell was meant to torment anyone who heard. 

“Anubis,” Daniel whispered, the voice on the other end laughing. 

“You say that as if it would be anyone else. Always a step behind Dr. Jackson, and see where it has gotten you. How fares the little one with his mother absent?” 

Daniel was about to respond, tell Anubis that he failed, when the words registered in his head. 

Anubis thought Adrienne was dead. 

If Anubis thought Adrienne was dead, what else did he think, what else did he not know...

“I’m waiting Daniel. We have many things to discuss,” the voice added, the communicator clicking dead, leaving Daniel staring at the group. 

He didn’t know...

And why wasn’t he down here; why didn’t he just come down here to finish Daniel off?

Why had he sent Homer to kill Adrienne and not Nicky?

Why had he injected Woolsey and Jack with mind-controlling nanobytes; why not just blast in here and blow up the entire operation himself?

See what is in front of you...

They were the words Kasuf had spoken to him so long ago, words that had been repeated that he never understood. 

‘See what is in front of you’ wasn’t just about Adrienne and finding true happiness for the first time in his life; it was the key to everything. 

His time at the SGC had changed his entire existence, but while it had provided him what he could never imagine, it also took away some of his original curious nature and open-mindedness as the years passed by. Now, Daniel was always looking for anterior motives, hidden messages, when what Kasuf was trying to tell him was that all he had to do was stop and see what was staring him in the face, to once again be the person that he always had been inside. 

Curious, thoughtful...

Have you seen my notes on Ptolemic Cults of Egypt?

The memory came back to him, the notes he had lost on that stage at Tulane University, notes he had been crawling around on the floor for when Adrienne had been brought to him from the back of the room...

...you have to write really long boring papers

And he had, this one in particular not being anything he cared about writing or speaking about, he wanted to translate, to solve a puzzle, he could have cared less about what some Greek writer said about Egyptian burial practices...

Until now.

“Beam me in,” he ordered John, Adrienne stepping forward, Nicky in her arms as she shook her head. 

“What are you talking about Daniel, that’s what he wants you to do!” she was shouting, Daniel looking past her and right at John, repeating his order. 

“Beam me in.” 

“Absolutely not!” Adrienne shot at the colonel who seemed afraid to do anything but sit there and stare at the both of them.

“Adrienne, I know how to end this. Beam me in John.” It was then that he looked back at his wife who was crying, shaking, her aunt taking the child from her arms.

“Daniel, I can’t lose you, please,” she begged, reaching for him, holding on to him tightly, refusing to let go, “Sha, this is insane, you can’t face him.”

“Ja-wer, I’m not gonna face him; this isn’t Star Wars,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her softly as she relaxed, taking a breath to compose herself. 

“What are you gonna do?” she asked, backing away but not letting go. 

“Dad?” Nicky was asking now, Aunt Barbara holding him despite the child’s extended arms, Daniel shaking his head. 

“It’s alright, come here. John’s gonna beam me onto the bridge...” 

“But Dad, he’s gonna kill you,” the child interrupted, Daniel smiling at him softly. 

“Nicholas, listen to me. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but if something does, I need you,” he was honest with the boy, he had to be honest with the child, he deserved that, “Your mom is gonna need you. Do you understand?” 

“Of course I do,” the child replied nodding, “but..” 

“No buts,” Daniel stopped him, letting his eyes dart to Barbara, who seemed to be tearing up herself, so lost and confused, “I’m counting on you.” 

“Yes sir,” Nicholas replied, his face furrowed, he really does look like me Daniel couldn’t help but think, straightening his back to turn and face Adrienne. He took a step forward, reaching a hand to her cheek, pulling her close as if no one else was in the room.

“Ja-wer, you’ve made life worth living,” he began, Adrienne shaking her head and pulling away.

“Daniel, stop, this is a good bye,” she argued, but he simply reached out, grabbing her arms with his hands to hold her still. 

“Just listen to me. I never expected anyone like you, I never could have, but here you are and not just that but you’ve given me Nicholas and you’ve given me my life back. I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to put a stop to this. I want to live this life with you.” 

“I know,” she whispered, a tear streaming slowly down her pale cheek. 

“Adrienne, no matter what happens please know this. You are my soul, my spirit and there is nothing in the universe more precious to me than your love,” and he kissed her softly, hoping she knew he had never spoken truer words. 

“John,” he said as he stepped back, no more painful what-ifs running through his mind, “now.” 

Right before the light beams formed, Daniel jumped forward, grabbing at Adrienne’s hand. 

*****

Sam stood at the side of the bed, alarms raging all around her as Carolyn Lam tried desperately to beat life into her husband's chest. 

“God please, save him, please...” she prayed, hoping that someone would hear her plea...

*****

Teal’c watched the Hak’ytl dart their ships through the skies of Washington, in and out, knowing that this must be a sight to the people below. He’d made sure to fire over enemy ships so that they would crash into the Potomac to avoid as many causalities as possible, but he knew at least one had gone crashing into the Pentagon. 

There were two now, to his right, making a beeline straight for the White House, Teal’c turning his ship to try to cut them off before they arrived. 

“I have them Father,” he heard on his communicator, a ship darting in front of him Ry’ac, in and out of the clouds heading right toward the combatant ships. Teal’c flew left, intending to cover his son from the opposite when shots came from underneath, a blast hitting Ry’ac’s ship dead center. 

Teal’c watched in horror as his son’s vessel began to fall out of the sky...

*****

“The dark circles do nothing to accent those amazing blue eyes Dr. Jackson, your wife should have told you that,” Anubis sneered as the beams of light flittered away, Daniel frowning. 

“No smart retort? No challenge in reply. Did the little useless human mean so very much to you that you’re completely torn apart that she’s gone?” the taunting continued, the woman pacing the floor, green and yellow eyes darting up at him every so often as she strode back and forth. 

“Well, if you’re not gonna say anything why did you come?” 

Daniel, however, continued to remain silent, his hands pulled behind his back as he stood straight and still. 

“Fine, play your game, it doesn’t matter anymore. So, here’s my proposal to you. If you do it now, slit your throat, use one of their zats,” she said, pointing to the unconscious bridge crew, “if you end it now, then I will leave this planet and no one else has to die. Only you.”

Daniel Jackson didn’t move. 

“If, on the other hand, I am forced to do it myself, then, well, I plan on enjoying the bounty that is Earth before resuming the rest of my plans,” she sneered, finally getting a reaction out of Daniel, on that she hadn’t expected. 

“You can’t. You can’t kill me,” he stated with a smirk on his face, Anubis stopping in her tracks to stare him down. 

“You can’t kill anybody. Hurt, yes, have others do you bidding, fine, but Anubis, Ienpw, Inpu, Anpu, Anup, Wip, whatever you really are called, you cannot kill anyone. YOU can only judge,” Daniel replied, the woman laughing at his statement. 

“Dr. Jackson you know that’s a story,” she retorted but Daniel was shaking his head before she could even finish.

“No, it’s not. Nothing is really a story, all myth is based in some sort of reality, you just have to see it. If I had died, which I did, twice, I should have been judged, by you! But Oma prevented that, the Ancients prevented that which is why I think you’re so hell bent on tearing me down. But it’s not just me either, you lack the power to take any lives directly, so without underlings and followers, you ‘e nothing, unless you can judge that person evil,” Daniel explained, remembered his paper, that stupid paper he had found so very boring as the entire text by Apuleius had talked about the cult of Anubis and how specific their rituals were. 

Because unless a person was evil, Anubis couldn't do a thing, and even if they were, he had to turn them over to Ammit. 

He was just a scary figure, a jackal, but neutered and as Daniel stood in front he knew that there was nothing he could do, especially right now...

“That’s why you can’t kill me yourself; I’ve done nothing wrong,” the archaeologist explained, still holding in place, “You’ve never attacked me directly when I was in human form, and even when I was ascended you were only pushing me away despite all of your power. You can’t hurt me.”

“That is an arrogant statement,” she spat in reply.

“No, arrogant would be to say that I’m such a wonderful person that has never sinned that you can’t touch me, that there is no calling of Ammit of whatever form it’s using now, but I’m not gonna say that. Not only have I sinned, I’ve royally screwed up most of my life, but I refuse to wallow in it or make excuses. The fact is that I try the best I can to do what is right and try to make up for it when I screw up and so does Adrienne; that’s why you couldn’t kill her either. You had to get Homer to do it, but it wasn’t right, she hadn’t done anything wrong to warrant judgment,” Daniel paused, only to let Anubis react, a look of shock spreading across her face. 

“You failed, Adrienne’s alive and so are many of your army. We haven’t killed anyone that we could avoid killing, you’ve failed. See, for this to work in your favor, for you to be able to take control of something like this city, you need for someone to lose the judgement, because you cannot simply take it away...” 

“You’re creating a scenario in which you win without having to lift a finger,” she laughed, sauntering up to him, those eyes of her spellbinding, “Life’s not that easy my old friend.”

“No, it isn’t, especially mine, so hear my confession and then you can decide if I’m to be cast to Ammit. Anubis, god of judgment, I have been a poor soul in my life. I’ve lied, I’ve cheated, I’ve stolen, I’ve committed adultery, I’ve killed men and women in the heat of battle, I’ve hurt the ones I’ve loved and I’ve failed to protect them. I’ve resented my friends, my wife, even my child at times, and I’ve even committed murder.” 

She had been smiling the entire time until the last word, cocking her head in curiosity at the final statement. 

“Murder? Cold-blooded murder? You are full of surprises Dr. Jackson,” she slowed her approach, licking her lips as Daniel pulled his hands from behind his back. 

“Yes murder and that’s probably enough to make me crocodile food, but I’ve got a life to live. Anubis, I’d like you to meet Eric. He doesn’t like when people invade his space,” Daniel replied, pointing his wife’s staff weapon at the woman’s chest. 

With a flick of his finger the end opened, the head roaring to life and without hesitation Daniel fired, the blast blowing a hole into the clone body’s chest. There was a look of shock on her face and for a moment Daniel thought he may have been wrong, that referencing a myth that even he thought was a story was too much of a stretch, until she began to crumble to the ground, no glow, no one to help her ascend this time, and too weak to do it herself, just dead. 

Swallowing, Daniel walked over to where the body lay, examining it, pointing the weapon at her head.

“And if in some insane reality you can still come back please remember my words,” he warned as the head to the weapon opened a second time, “Don’t fuck with my family.” 

A second shot rang through the bridge.