CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It was early the following morning when SG-1 began their journey back down the cliff. When they came to the ruins, Daniel quite naturally hesitated, thinking that he'd much rather be exploring them than going swimming and sunbathing, especially since it would be without a swimsuit. Sam had to do a bit of gentle urging to get him to move on.
They found a stairway down to the ocean at the other end of the cave. It ended on a short stretch of beach. Sam walked up to the water and tested the temperature.
"How is it?" Daniel asked.
"A lot warmer than I expected."
The archeologist nodded. "Based upon the foliage in the area, we appear to be in a semi-tropic zone."
"I wish we had scuba gear," Cam remarked. "There could be some coral reefs out there."
"Come on. Let's go swimming!" Vala exclaimed.
"I think it's still just a bit too cool for that," Daniel responded. He pointed off to the left. "It looks like there are some tide pools over there. I'm going to go take a look."
The others joined him and studied the creatures living in the pools of water. Some looked very much like what you'd see on Earth, while others were totally alien. They did not attempt to touch any of the creatures, not knowing if any of them were poisonous.
Afterwards, they walked to where a narrow section of the beach extended around a small promontory. At high tide, the little strip of sand would disappear, as would around half of the rest of the beach. Arriving at the other side of the promontory, they got a good look at more of the coastline, which extended for as far as the eye could see.
"Yep, I could definitely spend some quality vacation time here," Cam commented. He turned around. "Come on. Let's go back. It's starting to get warm, and I'm ready for a swim."
Vala was the first to strip down to her underwear once they got back to the other section of beach, followed by Cameron.
"Um, I'm just going to sit for a while," Daniel said. He went to a driftwood log and took a seat on it.
"Shy, Daniel?" Vala asked teasingly.
"I'm just not in the mood to swim right now."
Understanding how he felt, Sam sat beside him.
Vala turned her attention to Teal'c. "What about you, Muscles?"
"I will remain here for the present time."
Vala shook her head. "Suit yourself." She then turned and ran off into the surf. Cam looked at his other teammates, shrugged, then joined Vala at a bit more sedate pace.
Daniel watched the two for a while, then looked at the woman sitting beside him. "You don't have to stay with me, you know."
"I know. To be honest, I'm a little uncomfortable about playing in the ocean in my underwear."
"Sam, you're beautiful. You have nothing to be ashamed of showing."
The blonde-haired woman stared back at him. "Neither do you."
Daniel's gaze dropped to the sand between his feet. "I've just never been comfortable about showing my body."
"Why?"
"After my parents died, I was a pretty shy and insecure kid, and I guess, deep down inside, a part of me is still that way, at least about some things."
Sam linked her arm with his. "You have no reason to be, Daniel." She smiled. "Speaking as someone who knows more than anyone else, you are a real hunk."
That made Daniel blush slightly. "You're biased."
"Daniel, when you came back from ascension the second time, and I saw you in nothing but that flag Jack gave you, it felt like my temperature went up five degrees."
Shocked, the archeologist stared at her. "It did?"
"Oh, you'd better believe it, and I certainly wasn't biased back then."
"Wow. So, you, um. . . ."
"Got turned on? Oh, yeah. Needless to say, I was shocked and ashamed to feel that way, which is why I kept my eyes glued to the table most of the time."
Daniel was now grinning. "Any more confessions you'd like to make?"
"Maybe when we're alone together." She gave him a quick kiss, then got to her feet and held out her hand. "Come on. I'll do it if you will."
Daniel looked up at her, then took her hand and rose to his feet. "Deal," he said, grateful for the fact that he was not wearing light-colored boxers, which, when wet, would have shown way more than his modesty would allow. He'd noticed that Mitchell had on black boxers and wondered if the pilot had chosen to wear them this morning for the same reason.
They undressed and joined Cam and Vala, the latter of which grinned when she saw them. After a bit of coaxing, Teal'c joined them as well. He did not remain in the waves, however, striking out into the water with a powerful stroke instead. After a moment, the other male members of the team did likewise as the women looked on. They went out around fifty yards before turning around and coming back. Teal'c kept right on going.
Daniel was the first one to rise out of the water, and Vala couldn't help but stare, her eyes drawn to his crotch and what the drenched blue cotton revealed.
"Oh, my," she murmured. "Samantha, you are a very lucky woman."
"Yes, I am, and you don't know the half of it."
Surprised that the astrophysicist had said that, Vala stared at her. "Oh, really. So he's great in bed?"
Sam knew that she shouldn't reply, that Daniel would be horrified if she said anything, but she just couldn't stop herself from saying, "Oh, yeah."
Any response Vala would have had to that was curtailed by the arrival of the two men. They turned to watch Teal'c, as did the woman. The Jaffa was now barely visible out on the water.
"How far is he going to go?" Cam wondered aloud.
The question was answered a moment later when the tiny figure stopped, then slowly began growing closer. The others got out of the water and waited for him on the beach.
"Enjoy your little swim?" Cameron asked once Teal'c had joined them.
"Indeed. I would have preferred to go farther, but, as I am unfamiliar with these waters and do not know what large sea creatures may reside in them, I decided that it would be unwise to venture into deeper water."
The five teammates went to the log Daniel and Sam had sat upon. They found a couple more and dragged them over so that they would all have a place to sit.
"Have you got any plans for your next leave?" Cam asked Daniel and Sam. "We're all due for some leave time."
The two scientists looked at each other.
"We haven't really discussed it," Daniel replied.
"My plans are to go with Cameron someplace where we will be completely alone and can spend our days and nights in bed," Vala declared, which embarrassed the man sitting beside her.
"You know, Vala. You don't have to announce stuff like that to the whole world," he complained.
"I did not announce it to the whole world, Cameron, just to our teammates, who are all perfectly aware that we are having sex."
Daniel caught the pilot's eyes. "I can't tell you how glad I am that it's you in this position and not me."
Not appreciating his remark, Vala said, "I will have you know, Daniel, that I am not the only woman who talks about such things. In fact—"
"Vala?" Sam quickly interrupted, knowing exactly what the other woman was about to reveal.
"Yes?"
"That's enough." The warning glare she gave the woman said the rest of what she was thinking. The former Goa'uld host saw the wisdom in silence and chose not to continue her statement.
Not daring to meet Daniel's eyes, Sam looked at the ocean again, cursing herself for her earlier confession about his prowess in bed. She should have known that it would come back to bite her in the butt.
Once his shorts were dry enough, Daniel put his pants and T-shirt back on, not intending to go in the water again. Sam did likewise, followed by Teal'c, Cam, and, lastly, Vala.
After a while, the sun got hot enough that the teammates moved to a shady spot beneath an overhang.
"It's going to be a hot climb back up to the top," Cam observed.
"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "I'm thinking of heading back up now. I want to examine the ruins some more and take some videos."
"But we've hardly been down here any time at all," Vala complained.
"Vala, in case you've forgotten, this is supposed to be a mission, not a vacation, and the point of the mission is those ruins and trying to figure out who built them."
Sam nodded. "Daniel's right. We shouldn't be goofing off."
Cam began wiping the sand from his feet. "They're both right." He slipped his socks on, then reached for his boots.
As all her other teammates did likewise, Vala pouted for a while, then put her own shoes and socks on.
The climb back up was not pleasant, the heat becoming even more noticeable, only the ocean breeze making it bearable. By the time they got to the ruins, they were all very grateful for the shade it afforded.
"It's definitely hotter than yesterday," Sam said.
"Well, the good news is that it appears to be spring where we're going on our next mission," Daniel stated.
The archeologist resumed his search of the ruins, taking videos and looking for something that would tell him if the ones who constructed the buildings were descendants of people from Earth or an alien race. He was inside one of the structures that appeared to have been a residence when he struck pay dirt. He was so excited that he let out a shout, which brought the others running. They found him staring at the remains of a ceramic pot, which bore a beautiful black and white design.
"This is incredible," he said, seemingly unaware of the presence of the others. "I-I knew there was a chance, but to actually confirm it. . . . We need to bring a team of archeologists here. This is one of the most important archeological finds we've ever made!"
"Jackson!" Cam shouted, finally breaking the spell. Startled, Daniel looked up.
"What are you blabbering about?" the pilot asked.
"This pot! The design of the artwork is unmistakable."
"You know who built this place?" Sam asked, not having seen him this excited in a long time.
"Yes! It was the Anasazi!"
Surprised, Cam stared at the pot. "Really? Okay, so now I understand why you're so excited."
"Who are the Anasazi?" Vala asked.
It was Daniel who answered. "They were an ancient tribe of Native Americans who lived in the areas of southern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southwestern Colorado. Their culture dated at least as far back as the first century A.D., though some believe it goes back much farther, as far as 1500 B.C.. The most well-known remains of their civilization are in Colorado at Mesa Verde. For some reason, the entire civilization abandoned their homes around 1300 A.D. and apparently migrated to other areas. There are several theories about the reason, including worsening climate conditions, depleted soil, population explosion, rival tribes, or perhaps a combination of more than one of those things. But what if it was something else?"
"Like what?" Cam asked.
"The Goa'uld. What if they came and began taking people? The others might have fled in order to escape the raids. We know that the Gou'ald were still taking people from Earth at that time. The Mongol descendants we found on Simarka prove that." Daniel waved his hand around. "This could solve a mystery that has been left unanswered for decades!"
The leader of SG-1 studied the archeologist, never having seen the man this excited before. "No, Jackson, you are not going to spend the next month exploring this place."
"But don't you realize how important this is?"
"Yes, I do, and I agree that the SGC should send some people, but you are not going to be one of them. We are not an archeological team; we are a first contact team. That means we go to new places, see what's there, meet and greet anybody who happens to be around, then go on to the next mission. Well, that is except when we're fighting Goa'uld, or Ori, or some other bad guy."
Daniel was pretty ticked off and was about to say something when it occurred to him that joining an archeological team he knew would be here much longer than a month would mean that he'd rarely see Sam, and she was far more important to him than any dig could ever be, even one as historically significant as this one.
"All right. I won't ask to join the team, but not because of what you said," he told the pilot. He then looked at Sam, and she suddenly knew the reason he was giving up something that, a few months ago, he'd have just about sold body parts to be a part of. It made her really understand how important she was to him.
Cam looked up at the position of the sun. "We're going to have to get going in another couple of hours. I want to get back to the gate well before dark." He turned back to Daniel. "So, go on and have a little more fun. I'm going to find the coolest place I can and relax."
Daniel spent the two hours looking for more pottery, Sam at his side.
"It's nice to see you this excited on a mission," she said. "It's been a long time."
Daniel glanced at her. "Yes, I guess it has been. I kind of lost the air of excitement over the years, what with Sha're's death and everything else."
"I know why you gave into Cam. It means a lot to me that you'd give up something like this for me."
Daniel turned to her fully. "Sam, I love you, more than anyone or anything in my life. I would love to be part of a dig like this, but if it would mean that I wouldn't see you for days or weeks at a time, there is no contest."
Tears stinging her eyes, Sam stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I am so lucky to have you," she whispered. That made her remember her earlier conversation with Vala. "And, tonight, I am going to show you my appreciation."
Daniel began to smile. "Well, in that case, maybe we should head for home right now."
They both laughed and resumed their search.
By the time SG-1 left the ruins, the couple had found three more samples of pottery. The treasures were carefully wrapped and stowed in Daniel's, Sam's and Teal'c's backpacks. Then they began the long trek back up the cliff. Even Teal'c was drenched in sweat by the time they reached the top.
Cam mopped the sweat from his brow. "Now I need another dip in that ocean. Better yet, a long, cool shower."
They made their way to the Stargate and gated home.
"Welcome back, SG-1," Landry greeted from the control room. "Find anything interesting?"
Cam glanced at Daniel with a smile. "Oh, I'd say so, sir."
"Very well, then. Go on and get cleaned up and get your post-mission exams. Briefing in an hour."
Landry was quite surprised when he learned what Daniel had discovered and agreed that it was important enough to send an archeological team to the ruins.
"You aren't going to request to join them, are you?" he asked the archeologist.
"No, sir."
"Well, that's good. We need your skills here."
That night, after Sam had shown her "appreciation" to Daniel, the lovers lay quietly in bed.
"Everything's changed so much," Sam remarked. "Just a few months ago, we were all neck-deep in the fight against the Ori and their followers. Our lives revolved around fighting, and death and destruction. Yet look at us now."
"I know what you mean. Back then, I could never have imagined that I could be this happy." Daniel looked down at her. "I would never have dared to hope that I would someday be lying with you in my arms like this."
Sam smiled and gave him a tender kiss. "You make me happy, too, Daniel, happier than I've ever been. For the first time in a long time I have something to look forward to every day. I really have only one regret."
"What's that?"
"That I didn't pull my head out of my butt years ago. If I had, you and I may have been together all this time, since you realized that you loved me."
Her statement made a question come to Daniel's mind, but he chose not to speak it. How would things have been different if she hadn't fallen in love with Jack? Would she have come to see him in that way instead?
Putting those questions out of his mind, Daniel said, "What matters is what we have now, Sam."
She nodded. "You're right. It is. And I can't wait to see what's yet to come."
"Me too."
With a contented sigh, the lovers closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.
"Any possibility for some exciting revelations about the origins of the people we're going to meet on this mission?" Cameron asked Daniel as SG-1 stood waiting in the gate room.
"I suppose it's possible. You never know."
"Well, I'll just be happy if they don't attempt to skewer us on the ends of spears. That would really ruin the good mood we're all in from our last mission."
Just then, the gate activated. After a wish for good luck from Landry, they stepped through. They came out the other side to the sight of several men pointing spears at them.
"You know, I was just joking about the spears," Cam muttered as he raised his P-90.
Daniel held up is hands and took a slow step forward. "It's all right. We come in peace."
The men all looked at each other in confusion. One of them then turned back to Daniel and spoke. The problem was that none of them could understand what he said.
"Why can't we understand him?" Cam asked. "I thought the Stargate was supposed to take care of that."
"Um, sometimes, it doesn't work," Daniel replied. "The language sounded familiar, perhaps a derivation of one of the Celtic languages."
"Can you speak it?"
"I don't know yet. I am familiar with several of the forms still in use today, such as Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, as well as Manx, which is a mostly extinct language. All I can do is try."
Daniel turned back to the armed natives. Slowly, he began talking in Gaelic and immediately got a reaction. The man who had spoken before replied, but Daniel only understood about half of the words.
"Well, I was right," he told his teammates, "but the language has changed a lot from its roots. I can understand part of it, but communication is going to be limited until I get a better handle on this derivation."
"Well, just as long as they understand the peaceful explorer bit," Cam said.
After a difficult few minutes, Daniel did manage to convey that he and his teammates meant no harm. The spears were lowered, and all the members of SG-1 relaxed. They descended the dais.
One of the natives said something, addressing Daniel.
"What did he say?" Vala asked.
"Um, something about a festival. I think he wants to know if we've come to take part in it."
The dark-haired woman smiled. "A party? Ooh, goodie. I love parties. What are they celebrating?"
Daniel talked with the natives and managed to understand enough to answer Vala's question.
"It's some kind of spring festival. That makes sense. Three of the most important celebrations of the ancient Celtic people revolved around spring or happened in that season: Imbolc, Alban Eiler, and Beltane. They all had to do with fertility, rebirth and the beginning of new life."
"Well, then, sure," Cam said. "Tell them we're happy to join the party."
Daniel conveyed the pilot's words to the natives, who all smiled brightly. They looked at the two women and smiled even wider.
"Why are they looking at us like that?" Vala asked. "They don't practice some kind of weird ritual, do they, like perhaps sacrificing virgins?"
"Why should you worry if they do?" Cam responded with an amused smile. "It's not like you'd qualify."
Vala gave him a glare. "Well, they don't know that."
"Don't worry, Vala," Daniel said. "I seriously doubt that any sacrifices of women will be going on, virgins or otherwise."
As the team entered the village, they could easily see that a big celebration was going on. There were colorful streamers, garlands of flowers and other decorations everywhere. People were dancing and singing, children playing happily in the streets.
"It sort of makes me think of Mardi Gras, minus the garish costumes and booze," Cam remarked. Then he saw two laughing men drinking something that looked like beer. "Okay. Just minus the garish costumes."
Winding their way through the crowd, SG-1 made it to the center of the village, where something like a gazebo had been set up, which was just about groaning beneath the weight of flowers and other decorations. Within the gazebo was an elderly man whose elaborate headdress told Daniel that he was a person of importance, perhaps the village leader or something on the order of a druid.
The team reached the gazebo. When the old man spotted them, a look of surprise, then one of concern came over his face. Daniel haltingly told him that they were there in peace. The man's gaze went to all the members of the team one by one, then asked the same thing that the guys at the gate did. Daniel replied that they'd be honored to join the festivities. Upon hearing those words, the elderly man's entire demeanor changed, a welcoming smile lighting his face. He introduced himself as Luan, who was apparently both a religious leader and the leader of the village. He excitedly babbled about all the things that were going on, but Daniel barely understood any of it, only enough to confirm that it was, indeed, a festival of spring. He also learned that it happened only once per year.
"How long does this festival last?" he asked.
"Six days it goes. Today is the last day. You have only just arrived in time. But no matter! You honor us with your request to join. Oh, yes! A great honor that you would come so far to do this."
"Then you know that we are not from this world?"
Luan nodded enthusiastically. "We saw the metal thing that came through days ago. We feared it at first, but it did no harm. We watched as it moved about, then disappeared back through the ring of water and light."
Daniel gave a nod. Because of the high cost of MALPs, the SGC programmed most of the ones used for planetary exploration to dial the gate so that they could come back through on their own instead of being left there until a team came through. Before opening the iris and allowing a MALP to return to Earth, the SGC would take all precautions possible to make sure that it did not come back with anything it shouldn't – such as a bomb or invasion force. Only when a situation warranted doing so was a MALP left on a planet for later retrieval.
Luan continued speaking. "Our legends speak of a time when gods and other men came through the ring, so we thought that perhaps someone was coming. The legends say that some of the ones who came through were cruel and evil, so I placed a guard there." He smiled again. "But you are friends, not enemies, so you are welcome. Please. Partake of the feast. Sing and dance. When the sun is high in the sky, the ceremony will begin."
Daniel was going to ask him what kind of ceremony, but someone walked up to the man with news about some problem with a musical instrument. Luan excused himself and went off with the man.
"What was that all about?" Cam asked.
Daniel filled them in on the conversation. By the end of it, Vala was smiling.
"Well, we wouldn't want to insult our hosts by refusing to partake of all that food, drink and merriment, now would we."
Cam stared at her. "Vala. . . ."
Knowing what he was going to say, Vala didn't let him finish. "Now, Cameron. What harm would it do to join these people in the fun? They are having such a good time. Besides, you had Daniel tell them that we'd be happy to join the party."
"That was for the benefit of maintaining peace and good will. I didn't mean that we would actually get involved in the festivities."
Vala frowned. "Spoilsport."
SG-1's leader turned to Daniel. "I kind of doubt that we're going to learn much from these people while they're all partying. Should we come back in a couple of days?"
Daniel shook his head. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Luan was very honored by our presence and would likely be insulted if we skipped out on the festival. It ends today, so I'd suggest that we stay at least until after the ceremony he talked about is over, then make some excuse that we have to get home and ask if we can return in a couple of days."
"All right. We need to let the general know what's going on and that we won't be back until late this afternoon."
After filling Landry in on the situation, the five teammates wandered about the village. The cheerful, friendly mood of the place made them relax. Daniel talked to quite a few people, partly in his efforts to learn more of the language.
Cam's gaze moved about. "I have to say that I've never seen a happier bunch of people. They really take this whole spring thing to heart."
Daniel gave a nod. "The religion of the ancient Celtic people was nature-based, so spring, with its new growth and the time for planting crops, was of great significance. I suspect that, here, the three spring celebrations were eventually combined into one."
"A single big party? Well, I do have to hand it to them. They certainly are putting their all into it."
"It's interesting, though, how their religion has apparently changed from their origins, specifically their belief in deities. I'm guessing that the Goa'uld had something to do with that."
SG-1 did end up partaking of some of the food, mainly because people kept handing them things. As for the drink, they sampled some fruit juices, but anything that was suspected of being alcoholic was off-limits.
As noon approached, SG-1 returned to the center of the village. Several men and women were being arranged in a circle in the order of boy, girl, boy, girl. The women wore circlets of flowers on their heads, whereas the men wore a garland around their necks. Behind each pairing of man and woman stood a lone person, and at the feet of the pair was a pot filled with soil.
At that moment, Luan saw the team and hurried forward.
"Come, come! It is time! Oh, what a blessed day!"
Daniel, Sam, Cam and Vala were added to the circle of guys and girls, with Teal'c placed behind them. Luan handed circlets to Sam and Vala and garlands to Daniel and Cam for them to wear, then pots were placed before them.
Seeing the way the pilot was staring at the garland in his hands, Daniel murmured, "Just pretend you're in Hawaii, and it's a lei."
Cam sighed and reluctantly donned the garland.
Luan went to the center of the circle where a boy around ten years old stood beside a small altar upon which was a tray with six small bowls of what looked like seeds.
Luan raised his arms, lifted his face toward the sky, and began to speak. Daniel listened to the words, managing to make out around two-thirds of them.
"What's he saying?" Cam asked the linguist.
"From what I can understand, he's petitioning their gods to bless all of us, something about long life, happiness and fruitfulness."
"Well, that's nice," Vala remarked.
After the prayer was finished, the boy picked up the tray and walked with Luan to one of the pairs of men and women and spoke a few words to them. The man and woman each lifted a hand and cupped them together. The elderly man took a seed from one of the bowls and placed it in their cupped hands, saying something to them as he did so. He then repeated the process five more times, taking one seed from each of the other bowls. He picked up the pot that was at the feet of the couple. The man and woman planted the seeds in it and took the pot from Luan, who then spoke briefly to the woman standing behind them.
The elderly man turned from the couple and walked to the one at the opposite side of the circle, where he repeated the ritual. He then crossed the circle again to the pair standing to the right of the first one. This time, Daniel was able to understand a little of what Luan said to the couple, and he began to suspect the nature of the ceremony.
"I think I know what this is about," he told his teammates in a low voice. "These are all romantic couples, probably newly married, and he's blessing their unions."
"He thinks that we're a couple pairs of newlyweds?" Sam asked.
"Or perhaps engaged."
"What about Teal'c?" Cam questioned.
"I don't know. I didn't quite catch what he said."
"Okay, so he got it right that we're couples, although I'm curious about how he knew who was with whom. But we're neither engaged nor married, so this whole thing doesn't apply to us."
"That is true, but I realize now that when we told him we'd be happy to join the celebrations, he assumed that the four of us were couples who'd come here specifically for this." Daniel looked at Cameron. "It's not going to hurt to just go through with it. It wouldn't be a good idea to pull out now."
Shortly after that, Luan got to SG-1, standing before Daniel and Sam first.
"Lift your hands so that you may receive the blessings of the gods," the elderly man instructed. Daniel and Sam did so, copying the actions of the previous couples.
Luan took a seed from one of the bowls and put it in Daniel's and Sam's joined hands. "May your union be blessed with fertility, passion, vigor, strength, and courage," he said. He then took a seed from a different bowl and gave it to them. "May you be blessed with love, romance, unity, honor, and happiness in your union." A third seed was placed in their hands. "May you find together tranquility, patience, devotion, and sincerity." With the fourth seed his wish was for them to be blessed with energy, prosperity and longevity. The fifth seed was for wisdom, success, and empowerment, and the sixth and final one was for truth, peace, serenity, and purity of spirit.
Just as the other couples did, when Luan presented the pot to them, Daniel and Sam pushed the seeds into the soil and took the pot from him.
Luan moved on to another couple on the other side of the circle.
"What do you think those seeds are?" Cam asked Daniel in a whisper.
"Based upon the abundance of flowers in this festival, I'm guessing more of the same."
Cam and Vala were the next couple to undergo the ritual. Afterwards, Luan moved over a step so that he was standing directly in front of all five members of the team. He addressed his next words to Teal'c.
"Blessings to you as well for guiding these men and women to the joys of love."
This time, Daniel completely understood all of the words and had to fight not to smile, now knowing what Teal'c's believed role was in all of this.
Luan went one by one to the remaining couple. Then he left the circle and went into the gazebo. He lifted his arms and called out to the crowd, "The ceremony is at an end! Let everyone rejoice!"
All of the witnesses broke into cheers. The ring broke up, each couple going off together.
Bursting with curiosity, Vala asked, "So what was all of that stuff he said?"
Daniel repeated what the blessings were for the couples.
"What did he say to Teal'c?" Sam questioned.
Daniel couldn't hold onto his smile any longer. "Oh, it was a blessing, too."
Cam stared at the archeologist. "What are you smiling about? Did you learn what Teal'c's part in all of this is?"
"Yes, I did. They believe that he's the one who got us together."
Now, Cam was smiling. "They think that Teal'c is a matchmaker?"
"Pretty much."
Cam's smile got bigger. "Oh, man. That is just too fu. . . ." His voice trailed off as he saw the glare he was being subjected to from the Jaffa. He cleared his throat, the smile fading. "Um . . . well, they definitely got that wrong."
Sam was hiding a smile, but Vala wasn't hiding hers. She opened her mouth to say something, but Daniel took hold of her arm.
"I wouldn't say it, if I were you," he muttered under his breath.
Vala paused, then said, "Perhaps you are right."
"So let's go find Luan and express our regrets for leaving the party early," Cam said.
They found the elderly man at the same time as he spotted them.
"Ah, our new friends!" he greeted. "Glorious day, is it not? The gods will surely bless you greatly."
"Thank you, Luan," Daniel responded. "We were very honored to be a part of this."
"It is so fortunate for you that the number of couples today was smaller than usual, otherwise, there would be no place for you."
Puzzled by the statement, Daniel asked what he meant. As the man explained, the other members of the team watched the archeologist's eyes get bigger. He stammered something to Luan, who nodded and left. Daniel then turned to his teammates.
"Jackson, you're looking rather alarmed," Cam said.
"Uhhh, yeah. It, um . . . it turns out that I wasn't quite right about what that ceremony was."
"I'm not going to like this, am I."
"No, probably not." Daniel shook his head. "I guess I should have suspected this. It's just that it bore virtually no resemblance to the original ceremony, so I didn't recognize it."
"Just spit it out, Jackson."
"Okay. We just got married."
Everyone just stood there, staring at him with stunned expressions. Cam was the first one to find his voice.
"It was a wedding?!" he exclaimed.
"Well, it might have actually been a type of handfasting ceremony, which, originally, was sort of a trial marriage, although I'm guessing that this one isn't meant to be temporary. Now I think I understand some of the things I didn't before because of the language barrier. Every couple that wants to get married must wait for this festival, when the gods will be asked to bless their union with all those things Luan said in the ceremony."
"Okay, but it's not legal, right? I mean it won't be considered a legal marriage on Earth."
"My marriage to Sha're was."
The pilot was on the verge of a coronary when Sam said, "No, Cam's right. It won't be legal on Earth. Back when the SG teams were being formed, the brass thought about what happened to Daniel and his unwitting marriage to Sha're and realized that, what with all the alien cultures we would be encountering out here, something like that might happen again. So, after consulting with some lawyers who specialize in this kind of thing, they put it in the regulations that no off-world marriage is legal on Earth if it is not performed with the full knowledge, understanding and consent of both parties, that is unless it has been consummated."
"Then we're safe," Cam said with a sigh of relief. "We didn't know that we were getting hitched, and we have no intention of consummating it."
Daniel's expression was one of embarrassment. "Ummm . . . yeah. About that last part."
The others all turned to him.
"I'm going to like this even less, aren't I," Cameron guessed.
"After the ceremony, every couple goes off to a bower just outside the village and, uh . . . celebrates their wedding night."
A look of dismay was on Sam's face. "Daniel, are you saying that we're expected to consummate the marriage here?"
"I'm afraid so. It is believed that doing it here, where we were blessed by the gods, will make it more likely that the woman will get pregnant on her wedding night."
"Okay, so we make up some story that it's against our religion to do that and hightail it outta here," Cam suggested.
Daniel shook his head. "That won't work. Luan isn't going to understand why we came here to get married and blessed, yet we won't carry out the rest of it." He looked around at his teammates. "Okay, going to the bowers doesn't mean that we have to do anything in there except sit around and wait for a couple of hours. Nobody will be watching us. Then we just thank Luan, tell him that we can't stay any longer, and go."
"And then watch Landry blow up like a volcano when we tell him that four of us accidentally got married while on a mission." Cam closed his eyes wearily. "Great, just great."
Just then, Luan returned. "Are you ready, my friends? The bowers await you."
"Yes, we are ready," Daniel replied, "Although I am sorry to tell you that we cannot stay the night. Matters on our homeworld demand that we leave before dark."
"Oh, what a terrible shame. But the blessings of the gods be upon you anyway. Come. I will take you to the bowers."
The man led them to a tiny meadow at the edge of town, where there was a row of little round huts constructed of interwoven branches covered by a mat of straw. No member of SG-1 could help but think about what was going on inside most of those huts at this very moment.
Daniel and Sam were taken to one of the empty bowers, Cam and Vala to the next one over.
"Blessings be upon you and your union this day," Luan said. He turned to Teal'c. "Honored guide, you are welcome to join the festivities in the village. There will be much drinking and feasting."
Daniel explained to Teal'c what the man had said, and the Jaffa politely inclined his head. Luan then left them.
"So, Teal'c," Cam said, "Are you going to go partying?"
"I am not."
"Well, you can't just stand around here while we're in those huts, supposedly making out like bunnies. That would look creepy."
"I will merely walk among the villagers and observe them. I will return here in two hours."
With that said, the Jaffa strode away.
