Disclaimer: I don't own 'Stargate: SG-1' or any of the related characters; you should know the drill by now

Feedback: I'd appreciate it, believe me

Child of the Ancients

Four years ago…

On a higher plane of being, transcending most of the conventional limitations of the physical form, two beings stood, facing each other- or at least, as much as two people could be said to 'face' each other when they existed as pure energy.

There was silence for a moment, and then one of them- the male one- spoke.

"Thanks," he said simply, as he looked at the other being- this one female- standing before him. His tone was fairly neutral, but the woman understood that he was thankful to her for what she had done, and that was enough.

She simply wished that she did not have to do what came next.

"You are welcome," she replied, 'nodding'- for lack of a better term- at him, before she looked critically at him. "You realise that there will be consequences for what you tried to do."

"Yeah, and trust me, I'm prepared to accept them; at least I actually tried to do something," the man retorted, glaring at her. "You know I could never understand these rules; why have all this power if you can't do anything with it?"

The woman simply stood there, silent, until the man sighed.

"OK, let's move past the part where you explain about the non-interference rule, and answer the question of the hour; what happens to me now?"

The woman began to speak again, but the man stopped her. "If you're going to say we can keep this from the Others and go back to the way things were, I can't do that; it's not who I am. All this standing by and watching everything going on back home, it's…"

He paused, as though trying to find the right term to use, but could only find one word that fit the bill. "It's wrong."

The woman nodded in acknowledgement of his statement.

"I understand," she said, a trace of regret in her voice. "You cannot put your mortal life into the proper context as of yet-"

"What 'context' is there?" the man retorted, as he looked back at the woman. "You know as well as I do that I can't let it go… not so long as she's there."

As he stopped talking, he looked down at whatever passed for the floor on this level of existence, and sighed. "Even if she doesn't remember what happened between us… I love her."

"I know," the woman said, nodding at him as she moved closer, placing a 'hand' on his 'shoulder' as she looked down with him. "Which is why I can offer you an alternative."

He looked over at her once again, a new light of hope in his eyes.

"Which is?" he asked.

"You become human once more," the woman explained. "Your body shall be restored to you, and you can return to the mortal plane, to live your life as you see fit."

There was a brief pause, and the man spoke again.

"What's the catch?" he said, looking critically at the woman. "I mean, obviously there must be one; I don't think these 'Others' would let me off that easily for breaking the rules."

The woman nodded. "Your memory of your time with us would be taken from you, as well as your memory of your corporal life," she said, as she looked at him. "I will do what I can to allow you to retain the memory of your life prior to Ascension- you shall be able to relearn your prior knowledge in time- but it can only occur when something has taken place to prompt its return."

"You mean… I'll only remember it when I come across a reminder of my past?" he said, looking at her with an almost neutral expression. "I mean, I'll start remembering who Sam, Jack and Teal'c are when I meet them, but I won't remember them on my own?"

"Exactly," the woman replied simply.

"But… I'd forget everything about being up here?" he asked, looking back at her with a newfound earnestness. "Everything?"

The woman felt she could understand his fears. While there were many impersonal things she was sure he wanted to remember- the fate of two of his friends and allies, held captive by their enemies and forced to work as slaves doubtless preyed on his conscience- but there was something more personal she knew he wished to remember.

He had done something that no other had ever done, but she had kept it secret from the Others so far, and she would continue to do so.

She had to.

"The information will be retained in your subconscious, but I would not recommend you attempt to access it unless you only seek a specific piece of knowledge; it would be dangerous for knowledge of this scale to be made available to a human mind," she said, as she removed her hand from his shoulder and waved it slightly. As she did so, a small ball of energy- smaller than either of them, but seemingly growing all the while- appeared beside them, moving slightly every so often as the two of them watched.

"And… him?" the man asked, indicating the ball, sounding like he was ready to start crying. "Will I remember…?"

The woman shook her head.

"Not immediately," she said, regret evident in her voice. "But be assured; there shall soon come a time when you shall be reunited with him once more. He has a great part to play in your world, and you must help him take the path that will guide him in that direction."

"How… how soon?" the man asked, as he looked anxiously between the small ball and the woman, who smiled reassuringly at him.

"Only a few years at best," she said reassuringly. "Believe me, the events that will bring him to you will take place; the exact date is uncertain, but the confrontation itself will happen."

The man just nodded slightly as he stared at the ball before him, a faint smile on his 'lips' as he reached out to tenderly, briefly, touch the ball.

"I'll see you someday…" he whispered to the ball, so low that the woman could barely hear him. "I promise."

He stood there for a moment longer, and then sighed and stood back.

"I'm ready," he said, as he looked at the woman before sighing awkward. "I'm… well, I'm sorry, Oma. I know I've disappointed you."

"A flower rises from the earth, blooms in the warmth of summer, then fades and returns to the earth when winter arrives. One cannot be disappointed when the flower is gone, for that is the way it must be. All things must be true to their nature."

"Yeah," the man said, chuckling slightly. "I know what you mean."

For a moment, the two of them stood facing each other, and then the energy that formed the 'body' of the male gathered together and hurtled downwards, leaving the woman alone, staring at the ever-growing energy ball before her.

"Come along, little one," she said, as she reached out to take the ball to her. "Your time is near, and your home must be made ready for you."

And, with those words, Oma Desala, the Ascended Ancient who had served as a mentor to Doctor Daniel Jackson of SG-1 for the past year, vanished from the higher plane that was the natural home of the Ascended, taking with her something that, in the not-too-distant future, would play a crucial role in the history of the galaxy itself.