Author's Note: Well, here it is, the end of this fanfic and the What You Already Know series. A very big thank you to all of you have faithfully followed me on this long journey. At the end of the epilogue you'll find some facts and figures on this very long tale.
EPILOGUE
Jack, Janet, and the three members of SG-1 waved to Cassie a final time as she passed through the airport security checkpoint and then disappeared into the crowd. Janet wiped away a tear from her face, feeling Jack's arm go around her. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her.
"So, Teal'c," Jack said as they all headed back through the airport to the exit. "Are you heading back to you-know-where?"
"I am, O'Neill. There is still much to be done. Talks have begun regarding our new government and the leaders we will appoint."
The general nodded. "I gotta ask you . . . are we going to lose you at the SGC?"
"I have yet to make my decisions on what path I will choose to take, O'Neill. My people are at last free, a goal that has been most dear to my heart, and I wish to take part in the journey that lies ahead of us. Yet, after so many years, all that I have here has also become dear to me. The decision to leave would not be made easily."
"Well, you know what I want," Jack said. "I want you to stay. But, if you decide to leave, I want you to know that you'll always have a home with us."
"Thank you, O'Neill."
They'd all come in Daniel's SUV, it being the car with the most room. The archeologist first dropped Jack and Janet off at her place, which was where Jack's car was, the general having gone there early to help with getting the nervous Cassie settled down and ready to go. Daniel and Sam then took Teal'c to the base. Back at Daniel's house, the couple fixed lunch.
"So, I guess we should start discussing the wedding date," Daniel said.
"Yes, we probably should."
He looked at Sam, grinning. "So, long engagement or short?"
She appeared to ponder the question for a while, then they both said at the same time, "Short." They laughed.
"How short?" Daniel asked.
"Hmm. Well, spring would be nice since we could have an outdoor wedding, but that's too far away."
Daniel's eyes twinkled. "Well, we are still having some nice days now."
Sam laughed a bit. "As much as it appeals to me to marry you in the next week or so, I don't think that will work out. Don't forget that there is more than one off-world guest who will be attending." Sam's gaze widened a bit. "Oh! We haven't told Catherine yet! I completely forgot."
"Well, let's come up with a date, then we'll call her. Hey, maybe I can ask a favor from Oma, and she can give us some warm weather for the wedding. She is Mother Nature, after all."
"And she does owe you one for helping her deal with Anubis."
"Just what I was thinking."
The lovers laughed again.
"I suppose we should give ourselves enough time to actually plan the thing," Sam decided. "So . . . around three or four months?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. That would put it in December or January."
They got a calendar and took a look at the dates, discussing which one they thought would work best. They agreed that it should be after Christmas, but they wanted to make it easy for Cassie to attend, so they decided to make it on Saturday, January 1st, New Year's Day, that date having the added benefit that all of the civilians and a greater number of the military personnel on base would have the day off.
"Hopefully, not too many people will have hangovers from the New Year's Eve parties," Daniel remarked.
"Yes, well, I think that you and I will be skipping the parties that New Year's Eve."
They got on the phone and called Catherine. The woman was almost speechless with joy when they told her the news. In fact, she started crying right there on the phone.
"You have made me so happy," she said. "I only wish that Ernest was still alive to share my happiness."
"Us too, Catherine," Daniel said softly. "We've got a lot of other happy news as well, but it would be best to tell you most of it in person. Maybe we can come for a visit one of these days."
"That would be lovely."
"There is one thing we can tell you now, though."
They told the woman about Jack and Janet, which delighted the woman all over again.
"Please given them my congratulations," she said.
"We will."
Daniel and Sam chatted with the woman a bit longer, then said goodbye. Daniel's refrigerator had not been stocked with fresh food since his return, so Sam decided to go do some grocery shopping for both him and herself.
"Although I don't know why I bother to stock food at my place," she said. "I'm here three-quarters of the week."
"Yes, the neighbors probably think we're already married. Do you want me to come with you?"
"Nope, you can get busy pulling some of those things out of the fridge that no longer bear much resemblance to food."
Daniel made a face. "Thanks for leaving that job to me."
Sam gave him a quick kiss. "Hey, it is your refrigerator."
Daniel pulled her to him. "For now. But, soon, it'll be both of ours."
Giving him another kiss, Sam went off to the store. With a sigh, Daniel headed for the kitchen.
He never arrived at his destination.
In the next instant, Daniel found himself not in his house, but in a place that looked exactly like Abydos. Shocked, he turned around and saw something that both stunned and delighted him. Before him stood a great crowd of Abydonians, Skaara and Kasuf standing at the front. The elder of the two smiled.
"My good son. It is with great joy that I greet you."
Daniel came forward. Unsure if he could touch them, he hesitated, so it was Skaara and his father who covered the remaining distance, wrapping Daniel in a big hug.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Daniel said.
"We would have come to you long ago," Skaara said, "but the Others would not let us."
"So why now?"
"Because much has changed."
"You are now great in the eyes of many of the Ascended," Kasuf said. "You, a human, has lifted himself up to a place above all of their kind and can do so again by wishing it so."
"Then I can ascend again."
"Yes. You have the power to cross that barrier again, become one of us. There are some who would wish you to do so now and remain." Kasuf smiled. "But we who know you best know that it is not your time to be with us. That day will come, but not for many years." The man laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Good Son, I must tell you that I rejoice in your upcoming union with the golden-haired woman whom you love. Sha're would be most pleased."
Daniel's chest tightened. "Thank you, Good Father. It means a lot to me that you feel that way. I wish that you could be at the wedding."
"We will be, my brother," Skaara said with a smile.
"There is something you must know, Good Son," Kasuf said, "but we will let another tell you." He nodded his head to the right. Daniel turned to see Oma walking toward him.
"Hello, Daniel," she said with a smile.
"What is Kasuf talking about?"
"I once told you that you must be the teacher instead of the student."
"I remember. I didn't know what you meant."
"You have taught your lessons well."
"Um . . . I have?"
"For many eons of time, the Ascended have lived under the rule that we must not interfere with the lives of those who are not ascended. The reasons for that rule are many. Some you have already guessed, others remain hidden from you. Among the reasons was the fear that, if we allowed ourselves to use our power to change things, in time, the power would lead us down the path of darkness. We had good reason to fear this." Oma touched his cheek very much like she did on that first day they met so long ago. "But then you came, Daniel, a human whose spirit was pure and good, who could find enlightenment and be one of us if he only understood that he was worthy. I helped guide you that day you first ascended, but you could have found your way to us without my help if you had but known it was possible and felt in your heart that you were deserving of it. You were not meant to remain one of us then. Your destiny was to take another path, a greater one."
Oma smiled at him. "During this time that you have had your power, we have watched you, seen your struggles, your triumphs and failures. We witnessed how the power did not corrupt you, that you remained true to the goodness within you. A lesson we learned. And then you found the ultimate power that dwelled inside you and became greater than us. You used that power to destroy a great evil. Yet, even in that act, you showed mercy to ones whom you had reason to hate and did not kill them. You then turned your power upon another evil, and, again, you chose to preserve life instead of taking it. Another lesson was learned. You could have chosen to remain Ascended and used your power to do anything your heart desired. You were right that we could not have stopped you unless all of us acted as one. You could have made yourself a god in the eyes of many, had all the riches of the universe. Yet, instead, you chose to lower yourself back to a mortal human for the sake of love and because you had the wisdom to know yourself truly. And a third lesson we learned."
"Oma, what are you saying?" Daniel asked.
"You have been our teacher, Daniel. You have shown us that power does not always corrupt, not even absolute power. Most of us, though they understood the lesson, will continue as before, for, even though they see the truth you placed before us, their minds are set upon their present path. But others, those who already questioned the way of things, are finding new courage to seek another path for the Ascended. None of us will be silent any longer, keeping our thoughts in secret."
Daniel felt something inside him tighten. "Oma, are you talking about a rebellion?"
"Rebellion is an act of defiance, to defy that which is. Some rebellions are small things, whereas others can change the course of history. I cannot say what your lessons will lead to, only that you have shown some of us that we need not fear the path that we have long looked at but that most of us have not tread upon."
Behind Oma, other figures began appearing, first, by twos and threes, then by dozens. Among them Daniel recognized the faces of Shifu and Orlin. Soon, Daniel could no longer hope to keep count. His mind reeling, he watched as they all inclined their heads, a gesture of acknowledgment and approval.
Oma smiled again. "Farewell for now, Daniel. There will come a time when we will meet again."
Before Daniel could say anything, he found himself back in his house.
When Sam returned, she found Daniel sitting on the couch, staring at nothing, a dazed look on his face.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting beside him. He told her what happened.
"Holy Hannah," was Sam's response. "Do you really think that Oma was saying there was going to be a rebellion among the Ascended?"
"I don't know. Maybe it won't actually come to that. I hope not. A war between the Ascended would be a really bad thing."
"You're not kidding!"
"It could be that more of them are going to begin doing what Oma does, help people to reach ascension. And perhaps they'll start helping us 'lowers' in other ways, too. Nothing big, nothing that would affect an entire civilization, just little things. If a large enough number of them start doing that, what are the other Ascended going to do about it? They couldn't punish them all."
"No, I guess they couldn't." Sam smiled. "So, how does it feel to know that you were the teacher for such a prestigious class?"
"Overwhelming. I have to wonder what it's going to lead to." Daniel turned to her. "Sam, there are some things that Kasuf said that I've been thinking about. First of all, he confirmed that I can ascend again."
"He did? Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. I had a feeling that you could. It made sense that if you could do it once, you could do it again."
"Yes, but I have to wonder. How many times could a human body ascend, then descend before there was a problem? No one has ever ascended more than twice, and I don't think anyone besides me has descendedtwice. If I did ascended again, would I be all right when I came back? Every time I descend, I'm basically recreating my body from a . . . a genetic blueprint in my mind. There has to be a limit to how many times I could do that before something went wrong."
"I suppose you're right. Since no one's ever done it before, we can't know what the ramifications would be to multiple ascensions and descensions."
Daniel nodded. "And there's the flip side of the coin, too. I can't say that if I attempted to ascended again, I wouldn't screw up and not make it all the way, get stuck halfway like what happened to Anubis."
That made Sam shudder.
"So, I think that it would be best if we thought of it as an option only under extreme circumstances," Daniel said, "when there really is no other choice."
Sam nodded. "I agree."
Daniel took her hand. "There is something else Kasuf said. He told me that it was not yet my time to be one of them permanently. He said that day would come, but not for many years." He looked into her eyes. "Sam, as a human, I'm not ageless. I'll grow old just like the rest of us, and there will come a day when I'll die. When that time comes, I won't hold off until it's too late. I will ascend," he caressed her cheek, "and I'll bring you with me. Then we'll have forever together."
Sam smiled. "Forever."
Whistling a happy tune, Jack walked out of the house and looked up at the blue sky. Ah, another beautiful morning in sunny Colorado Springs.
Jack had good reason to be happy. Last night, he and Janet had their first date, and it had been fantastic. They'd talked for hours, something Jack had never thought he'd enjoy. He'd learned a lot of things about the SGC's chief medical officer that he'd never have guessed, such as the delightful fact that she enjoyed fishing and camping. She also didn't mind sports, and Jack figured that he could turn her into a hockey fan with just a little effort.
The general got into his car and stuck the key in the ignition, but when he turned it, nothing happened; the car didn't start. Frowning, he tried again with the same results. Did he have a dead battery? His mood no longer quite so cheerful, Jack pulled the hood release and got out. As he lifted the hood, his jaw dropped.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "Oh, this is too much!"
Striding angrily back indoors, he went to the phone and called the police, staring out his kitchen window fiercely.
The moment the call connected, he barked into the receiver, "Yes, I'd like to report a . . . stolen. . . ."
Jack's voice faded into silence, his wandering gaze having fallen upon something in his backyard. Eyes widening, he gaped at the sight before him.
"Uhhhh . . . never mind," he said into the phone, then hung up.
Jack went out into his backyard, eyes remaining upon something he'd never in a million years have imagined he'd see. There, sitting nestled high up in one of the boughs of his oak tree, was the missing engine from his jeep. There could be only one explanation for this. Daniel had at last gotten his revenge.
"I am so going to get you for this, Daniel!"
A moment later, General Jack O'Neill began to laugh. He laughed until his sides ached, until tears came to his eyes. Still laughing, he went back in the house, thinking that life couldn't get much better than it was right now. The Replicators and the Goa'uld were gone, two of his best friends would soon be marrying, the Asgard had been saved from extinction, and the Wraith would soon no longer be a problem. On top of all that, Jack had taken the first step in what he hoped would be a new life with a woman he'd fallen completely in love with. Yes, it was a glorious day indeed.
Jack grinned wickedly. "But your ass is still toast, Daniel."
THE END
Watch for the upcoming sequel "What You Do Not Know".
For those of you who are interested, the total length of this series is over 700,000 words (over 598,000 for the Gen version). The Ship version is around 240,000 words longer than War and Peace, making it half again as long as that novel's approximately 460,000 words. On the world's longest novels list in Wikipedia (which includes multi-volume stories), the Ship version would rank No. 10 for novels written in the Latin or Cyrillic alphabets (Gen version would be No. 14). I do not know how complete that list is, and, of course, it does not include other fan fiction novels. There are likely other fics out there somewhere that are even longer than this series.
Thanks again to all my readers.
Maureen Thayer
