"Carden," Daniel clasped the warrior's forearm
after he stepped off the Stargate dais on Breaghah.
"Welcome, Daniel. And Colonel O'Neill. It is good
to see you well."Carden gave them a tight smile and then began walking
with them towards the village.
"How is Ahearne?" Jack asked. Daniel walked just
behind the other two.
"He grieves, but he heals." Carden stopped. "You
must know, Colonel. Kaie was ever a strong-willed child. Nealla told
her father how the boy
disobeyed you."
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
"Welcome. Welcome back." Some of the villagers
surrounded them as theycrossed the small bridge into the village.
Daniel touched Jack's arm when Jack paused looking
down into the water.
"Okay?"
Jack met his eyes and smiled. "Yes."
A figure emerged from one of the small houses.
Ahearne had aged, his reddish hair and beard now sprinkled with gray,
lines bracketing his mouth.
"Colonel O'Neill." Ahearne bowed his head and
clasped Jack's arm.
"Ahearne."
Donal made a shooing motion that had the rest of
the villagers scattering as Ahearne beckoned Daniel and Jack inside his
home.
They sat at a wooden table; Donal offering them
some ale.
"You are well." Ahearne raised his mug to Jack.
"Your injuries have healed?"
"Yes," Jack nodded. "And you, Ahearne. How are
you?"
The chieftain held his mug between his hands and
stared into its depths. "I am a man who has lost his son, O'Neill.
There are times I hear laughter and think it is him."
"And times you see a child running and begin to
call out his name without thinking," Jack continued.
Ahearne looked up, surprise crossing his face.
"Yes. Yes that happens. You know this?"
"I had a son. Charlie. He died in an accident when
he was only a little older than Kaie."
Ahearne turned to Donal, "Leave us."
"Jack." Daniel stood. "Ahearne. I will take my
leave also."
"Daniel?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"This is a talk the two of you need to have
alone," Daniel bent to say in a soft voice. "Father to father."
Daniel stood blinking in the summer sunlight as he
exited Ahearne's home. He could smell woodsmoke on his clothes and told
himself that was causing the burning sensation in his eyes. He saw
Donal and Carden motion for him to join them as they played some sort
of game. Daniel walked to them, smiling and sitting on the stool Donal
pulled out.
"It is a good thing for them to talk," Carden said.
"Yes, Carden. It is a very good thing," Daniel
agreed. "Now, will you explain the rules of this game?"
Carden nodded and handed Daniel a small pebble as
he began to explain the markings on the table.
"This is where you found us?" Jack walked to the
edge of the stream, his boots crunching on the gravel.
"Yes." Daniel closed his eyes, the image of Jack
curled around Kaie's body still easily recalled. "You were holding him.
You didn’t want to let him go."
"I don't remember." Jack shook his head. "I
remember hiking up to Kaie's secret place. I remember Kaie standing on
the rocks and yelling at Nealla to go for help. That's all, Daniel."
"Janet said you're probably never going to
remember anything else," Daniel said, thinking that perhaps it was a
blessing.
"Nealla. I didn't see Nealla." Jack and Ahearne
had spoken far into the night.
"Aithne told me she's been sent to her aunt in
another village for fostering."
"So he's lost two children." Jack picked up a
stone and threw it into the water.
"Ahearne believes that he can keep her safe, I
think." Daniel moved closer and touched Jack's elbow. "You ready to
keep going?"
Jack gave a last look to the calm waters and
turned to face Daniel. "Yeah."
Daniel recognized the look of determination on
Jack's face. He'd seen when Jack had been hit with a staff blast and
SG-1 forced to run and hide in the woods for hours before making it
back to the Stargate. Suffering from pain and blood loss, Jack was
stoic, not making a sound as they made their way through the forest.
Daniel remembered looking at Sam and thinking they weren't going to
survive when Jack had grabbed his arm in a bruising grip and told him
to believe because he sure as hell wasn't ready to die now. It was the
same look Jack wore yesterday before they stepped through the Gate. Jaw
set, eyes forward, steel in his spine.
Taking the lead, Daniel led the way up the
mountain side path. They heard the waterfall long before they saw it.
Daniel couldn't even remember what it looked like, his own memory of
that day a jumble of fear, running over the paths, and following
Carden's back.
This was a pilgrimage of sorts. To honor Kaie's
memory, to face the fears Jack had developed. Jack wasn't back to his
usual self yet, buthe was healing. The trip to Breaghah had been Jack's
idea, his first trip through the Stargate since the accident.
"It is beautiful," Jack shouted over the sound of
rushing water as he came up beside Daniel. "Kaie said it was Nealla's
favorite place."
Daniel took off his glasses to wipe the spray from
them and looked at Jack. He was smiling a sad 'lost in a memory' smile.
Glasses back on, Daniel looked at the waterfall himself and realized
that it was miracle that Jack had survived. He wondered if the higher
volume of water due to the spring melt had contributed to that
survival, pushing Jack and Kaie away from the rocks at the bottom. It
wasn't particularly high as waterfalls went, perhaps fifteen to twenty
feet. Above them, at the brink, the stream narrowed between high
banks, the water tumbling over rocks, the spray forming a rainbow in
the sunlight. He tried to imagine Jack and Kaie being swept down the
river, Jack searching for a way to save them, reaching out for
overhanging branches, boulders, anything to keep them from being swept
over and hearing the sound of rushing water growing louder and louder.
It was no wonder that there were still times that Jack couldn’t bear
the sound of the shower, the sound memory buried deep in his
subconscious.
Jack put his arm over Daniel's shoulders, leaning
close to speak in his ear. "Let's keep going."
Daniel nodded and pointed to a path that veered
them away from the water and deeper into the forest.
They hiked in silence, the roar of water becoming
distant, the sounds of native birds and rustling leaves taking its'
place.
"I remember this," Jack said once when they came
to a small meadow and without thought took the lead.
It didn't take them long to reach Kaie's secret
place from the meadow.
"He was so excited, Daniel." Jack smiled. "He
wanted to show me the fish." Jack walked to the water's edge and then
stepped out on a boulder.
"The water was a lot higher then." Daniel stepped
up beside him, looking at the stream.
"Snow melt," Jack said. He crouched down, looking
into the shallows. "See them, Daniel?" He pointed.
Daniel saw a silvery flash as a fish swam away
from their shadows. He nodded.
They stood there a while longer watching the fish.
Jack stepped back, hopping off the rock onto the bank, watching as
Daniel did the same.
Jack knelt by his pack, pulling something out of
it.
"This was Charlie's," Jack said as he held the toy
fishing rod. "He used to love to pretend to fish. I thought that
maybe…" He propped it against a tree.
"I think Kaie would have liked it very much,
Jack." Daniel rubbed a circle on Jack's back.
"Yeah." Jack rubbed at his forehead. Daniel was
unable to see his eyes, hidden as they were by his sunglasses. "Yeah,
that's what I thought.
"A bright shining star." Jack tilted his head
back, looking up through the trees.
"What?" Daniel looked up unable to see anything
but patches of brilliant blue summer sky.
"Ahearne said it last night. A bright shining star
fallen to earth too soon. He said that was Kaie."
"Charlie too," Daniel offered.
"Both of them," Jack whispered. "My bright shining
star." He touched the tree, rubbing his hand on the rough bark
before turning to Daniel and taking off his sunglasses.
Daniel wasn't surprised to see Jack's lashes were
wet and he smiled as Jack smiled at him.
"We have as much time as you need, Jack."
"I'm ready." Jack lifted his pack and then patted
Daniel's face lightly.
"Ready? To go home?" Daniel grabbed his own pack.
Jack nodded. "To start living again, Daniel. To be
alive." He turned away and began taking off down the path at breakneck
speed. "Come on, Dannyboy. What are you waiting for? We have a whole
universe to explore."
Daniel touched the fishing rod once and smiled.
Jack's back was already disappearing over the small rise. "Hey, wait
up." Daniel began to jog. "You're not going it alone."
Jack was waiting for him as he caught up. "Oh, I
know, Daniel. I know." He laughed. "I love you, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel smiled back. "Love you too, Jack."
"Then I guess we belong together," Jack grinned
and began walking at a slower pace.
"I guess you're right," Daniel said as they walked
down the mountain together side by side.