Chapter 8

SG-1 stood at the foot of the gate ramp, listening as Chief Harriman called out the locking of the chevrons.

"I still can't believe you two went through that entire escapade, having all the fun, while Vala and I were stuck on that stinky ship for three days."

"Fun?" Sam echoed incredulously. "Cam, were you even listening at the debriefing? Those three days were about the least fun of my entire life!"

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "Be glad you were not with us, Colonel Mitchell."

"Yeah, well, at least you would have had some backup," Cam groused.

Sam turned to Vala. "You've been awfully quiet the last few hours. Are you okay?"

The black haired woman turned to Sam, her eyes serious. "What you went through is nothing to be made light of, Samantha. I can't imagine how you are dealing with it so well. I certainly wouldn't be so calm."

Sam glanced at Teal'c. "I had a lot of help, believe me."

Vala gave her a quick one armed hug. "Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Vala. Me too," Sam said, hugging her back.

"Chevron seven, locked!" came Harriman's voice over the intercom, and the wormhole engaged, kawooshing out of the ring with its characteristic brightness and splendor.

Blast doors to their right opened, and General Landry entered, accompanied by two Tok'ra and a small black haired, green eyed girl, dressed in a simple white shift that only seemed to accentuate her beauty. The two Tok'ra headed toward the ramp, but Cali/Sepha walked over to Sam and Teal'c, holding her arms out.

Sam knelt and embraced the girl, holding her tight. When she let go, she looked into the emerald eyes.

"Thank you," Sepha said, tears sparkling on her cheeks. "How can I ever repay you for your kindness?"

Sam glanced down, surprised at the moisture gathering in her own eyes. "Sepha, the first time I saw you, I swore to myself that we would find some way to get you out of there. As it turned out, you were the one who helped us. So I think we're pretty much even."

Sepha grinned and nodded, then went to Teal'c. The big jaffa knelt and wrapped her in a hug that completely engulfed her small frame.

"Be well, little one," he said, releasing her.

Sepha smiled up at him and repeated her thanks before walking back to the Tok'ra waiting on the ramp. She dipped her head and her eyes flashed as Cali raised it. "Thank you, my friends, from the bottom of my heart. I will never forget you."

With that, she turned and walked up the ramp. Pausing and looking back at the edge of the event horizon, she raised her hand once more, then disappeared.

Teal'c sat on the floor of his quarters, staring into the flame of the candle and ignoring the ache in his still healing leg. Shadows danced and wavered over concrete walls and he could smell the light fragrance being emitted by the candle as it burned, but he ignored all of it. He was meditating, or more accurately, he was trying to meditate, but was having trouble clearing his mind.

A soft knock provided a welcome excuse to abandon the exercise. "Come."

Light entered from the hallway as Carter opened the door halfway and peeked in. "Hi. Am I interrupting?"

"No, please enter."

She came sat down opposite him, crossing her legs and staring into the small flame for a while. Then, "You can really meditate using just this tiny little thing?" she asked.

"I can. But I have had many years of practice, Colonel Carter."

"Oh, we're back to titles are we?"

He quirked a brow at her. "Would you prefer I use your given name at all times?"

She shrugged. "Sure, unless you feel it's inappropriate in a given situation. I don't call you by your rank all the time."

"I do not have a rank."

"And if you did?"

He smiled, enjoying the banter. "I would ask it only if the situation warranted the formality."

"There, you see?" She grinned, then looked back at the flame, suddenly awkward.

"How are Cali and Sepha faring?" Teal'c asked to break the silence.

"Great! The Tok'ra have adopted Cali as their new queen and are treating her like royalty. Sepha sent a message back inviting us to a banquet in our honor." She smiled a little. "Cali added a little bit about how the Tok'ra are pushing to begin increasing their numbers, but that she is determined to wait until she is sure Sepha is mature enough to deal with the whole mating thing. Evidently they're talking about entering negotiations with the human population of P5C-422 to develop a mutually beneficial host program."

Teal'c nodded his satisfaction. "Teams of jaffa have been sent to Cali's planet to offer freedom to the remaining guards. SG-11 and SG-12 have been deployed to assist the native people with food and medical supplies. In time, the Ayans will repopulate the planet and their culture will once again be allowed to thrive and grow."

"Ayans?"

"Yes. Evidently the name of the planet is Aya."

"Ah."

Sam just sat looking at him for a moment, then dropped her gaze to her hands. "Teal'c, there are couple of other reasons why I came to talk to you." She took a deep breath. "I wanted, needed, to ask you something, but I understand if you don't want to speak of it."

Teal'c's stomach clenched. He knew what was coming.

"Back on the planet," Carter went on, oblivious to his trepidation, "there were several moments where you looked at me in a certain way or said something that could be interpreted as, um, well, you know."

"I do."

"And so, well, I was wondering if anything happened during those years on the Odyssey that would change our relationship. Anything I should know about."

And there it was. She had asked him the very question he had sworn to himself he would never ever answer. To anyone. But his time with her on Aya had brought his feelings very close to the surface, and he had struggled to keep them hidden.

He sighed. "Samantha, the six of us were alone on that ship for a very long time. Events occurred that might never have taken place outside of that enclosed environment. That is why I have not spoken of it. My doing so would only serve to plant thoughts and set into motions actions that may or may not occur in this timeline. I prefer to allow such things to progress on their own."

He looked into her eyes and he knew she knew. She saw his vague answer for what it was, but she nodded and let it go. Then she took a deep breath. "The other reason I'm here is to tell you the news. I'm being reassigned to the Pegasus galaxy as Commander of Atlantis." She bit her lip, watching for his reaction.

Teal'c's eyebrows shot up and he forced a pleased expression onto his face. "Congratulations, C—Samantha. I cannot think of anyone more suited to the task."

She gave a small smile. "Thanks Teal'c. Anyway, I'm not leaving for a few days, and the team wants to spend the time camping together. You want to come?"

Teal'c almost panicked, though he was careful not to show it. Spending a weekend with her out in the wilderness, even if the rest of the group was present, would only serve to fuel what he desperately needed to bury. "I think not. But rest assured I will be here to say goodbye."

"I thought you might say that." She rose and walked to the door. "Take care of yourself, Teal'c."

He nodded his head to her. "And you, Samantha."

He watched as she opened the door and turned back to look at him, a sad smile on her face. Then she was gone. He sat for a time, staring into the flame of the candle and attempting once more to quiet his mind. Then inspiration struck and he blew out the flame and closed his eyes to listen for the thunder of a waterfall.

End

That's all folks!! I really hope you liked this fic. If you did, please press that little blue-purple button down there and let me know. If you didn't, press it anyway and let me know what could have been better.

Again, a HUGE thank you to Skydiver, Tracy and especially Roonie for the awesome beta work. Roonie spent a lot of time on this for me, making excellent points regarding characterizations, sentence structures and the like. Thank you!!