Daughter of the Gods-Dark Illusions
by Lisa Beth Darling
Adult Daniel Jackson Fan Fiction

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I will stand firm in the tempest
I will ride destinys' trail
To believe when the truth comes up empty
To hold and respect without fail
Come and be one in the motion
A desire they cannot comprehend
Never to question again
For I am your passion your promise your end
Oh yes I am
Yes, I am
Melissa Etheridge

The soft sounds of a newborn crying brought Jack and Daniel back to the bedroom.

Lord Ares, Maeve, Lya and Samantha were standing around the bed. Ares looked at his wrist as though he were wearing a watch. “It’s about time you showed up. We’ve been waiting.”

Daniel looked down to see her sleeping peacefully in . . .

His arms?

He squinched his eyes shut, shook his head and looked at her again. Yep, that was him in the bed with her. For one horrifying minute he thought someone put David’s corpse next to her, then he realized he could see through the man in whose arms she slept. No one was there, it was just a projection of her sleeping mind, they turned her pillows into an image of him.

“All right,” Ares whispered to his daughter, “we’re all here now. You’re not fooling anyone, old man.”

The pillows Calla was so comfortably nestled against turned solid and a man rose from the bed. “You didn’t think I’d abandon her completely, did you?”

“No, not you.” Ares countered. “You too, Uncle, I know you’re here.”

Below the tower, the sea crashed against the rocks in great waves. Looking off in the distance, down to the water below, a man rose from the sea riding the backs of two stunning mermaids. Within a moment he appeared in the bedroom, stepping onto to dry land for the first time in over a thousand years.

“Yes, well, that’s better.” Ares grumbled. “Are we all accounted for now?”

“Not quite.” Intoned a dark voice from behind all of them. They turned to see Hades standing in the room. “Not going to invite me, nephew?”

“I meant no slight, Hades. You and I have been through too much together for such an indiscretion.” Ares said in a completely false apologetic tone. “Where is Aphrodite?”

“Here, my love.” The Goddess of Love and Beauty, stepped out from behind the God of Death to grasp at the hand of the God of War. It slipped through his hold, Ares grimaced.

“I suppose introductions are in order, I hear you’ve already met my dear Uncle Hades,” Ares nodded his dark head in that direction. “The man in bed with Callestah is Morpheus, you old coot. I can’t believe you’re still around.” He commented with a happy smile. “This, my dear uncle Poseidon. Another relic.” He laughed. “Gods, look at us, is this what our race has come down to?”

“Everything that is born . . . ” Lya began

“Dies one day,” Ares returned. “I know. I sort of helped invent the rule.” Ares turned his stare toward the God of Sleep and Dreams. “What say you, Morpheus?”

The older man pursed his lips and stroked the white beard at his chin. “Her mind is in tact,” he commented slowly as he looked past Ares to Daniel, “as you can see, she remembers him when she sleeps.”

“What do we do?” Maeve asked in her raspy voice.

“We must take Eros from her and then Morpheus can return her mind to her.” Poseidon said as he neared the bed.

“What do you intend to replace him with?” Daniel asked nervously.

“Replace him?” Morpheus asked. “For what purpose?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Jack said in a happily confused tone, “so she doesn’t die?”

“Psyche’s curse is broken,” Morpheus said thoughtfully as he stared at Poseidon.

“Agreed.” Poseidon returned. “She no longer requires binding. We will remove Daniel as well. It‘s time she lived a free life.”

“Yeah, wait, hold on, let’s not go doing anything rash, huh?” Jack said as he stepped forward. “A free life is great, I think we’re all for that,” he looked around at the members of SG1 who agreed with him, “but this is Calla we’re talking about. Doesn’t she need this?”

“Eros’ gift was never meant to keep her alive.” Ares said. “It was meant to keep her safe.”

“Eros and Kanan perverted this.“ Aphrodite said in an agreeable voice. “Unbound from all she lives free and on her own terms, just as you do, Daniel.”

“She will not need you, Sa‘Tan. Not as she once did.” Morpheus warned.

“And the touching thing?” Jack asked. “Although you didn’t seem to have a problem with it.” He said looking at Morpheus.

Morpheus rolled his blue eyes, “I’m not . . . exactly . . . what one . . . would call . . . ”

“Alive?” Ares asked with a happy lilt in his voice.

“Yes, that’s it.” Morpheus quickly agreed. “Not in the way you think of living. They travel the Astral, but I make it my home.”

“Huh?” Came the grunt from Jack’s throat.

“All will be able to touch her.” Lya chimed in.

“And her powers?” Now it was Daniel’s turn.

A long silence followed as the Gods and higher beings in the room gazed around at one another, seemingly lost in a conversation only they could hear. Finally Maeve spoke up once more. “What there is left in her will stay with her. Most of it has already gone into your children, Daniel. You should not have returned her powers when you did.”

“She would have died.” Daniel countered. “They would have died with her.” He pointed to the place where his new babies slept.

“Nevertheless, since she was pregnant when you did this, what should have been hers is now theirs.”

Daniel looked up at Aphrodite. “She won’t need me anymore.” He said in a soft lonesome voice. “Will she still love me? Want me?”

Aphrodite laughed. “Daniel!” The Lady of Love shook her head. “Nothing can take that from you. Haven‘t you learned anything?”

“Kanan. Eros.” Daniel forced their names through his lips. “Does she have to remember them? Can‘t you spare her that?”

“No,” Morpheus told him. “It will always be all or nothing with her, I’m afraid. You have three choices, you can take her back with you the way she is, with Eros inside of her and she may live another twenty years. You can have the fluids removed from her, in which case she will a very long and free life and if she chooses to do it with you so be it. Or we can keep her here with us and you will not be burdened by her again.”

However, there was a fourth option, and it was that which Daniel thought long and hard about while he stood in the presence of Calla’s family. They could use what he had taken from David to re-bind her to him. He was reluctant to make a choice, any choice, for her. this should be her decision and not his.

Playing possum was always something she was good at, laying there with her eyes closed and her breathing even, she listened to the voices around her before making herself known. “Don’t I get a say in any of this?” The Lady Callestah asked as she struggled to sit up in the bed. Her eyes focused on the faces of the voices around her. “Father!” She cried joyously and held her arms out to him. “Father!”

His body again protected by the heavy leather armor, Ares made his way to his daughters’ side and held her tight in his arms. “I love you, little one. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to tell you that again.”

“I’m not dreaming.” Callestah commented in a questioning voice.

“No, I’m afraid you’re not.” Her Father whispered.

“Maeve. Lya.” One by one Callestah remembered and acknowledged the faces in the room until she came to . . . “Mother,” she bit at her lower lips and dropped her arms from her Father. It quickly became obvious to all in the room that Callestah’s memory was already returning. “My children?”

Daniel stepped forward, “They’re fine. Right over there.”

Callestah make a motion toward her head as she tilted it slightly to the right and her eyes grew distant. “No, my other children,” her voice was soft and faded as she stared at her Mother and Uncle Hades.

“They are well, Callestah.” Hades told her. “Do you wish to see them again?”

“The man..." her voice trailed off again, as the hand motioning toward her head, took some of the hair in her hand and began to twirl it around. "The man...with...the..." She looked up at her Father with far-off eyes.

"Braids," Ares said as he took her bare hand in his gloved one. "Kanan was his name."

"He was real?"

"I'm afraid so, my daughter." Lord Ares soothed. "I am sorry, I never should have taken you to him. I had no idea he would be so cruel to you."

With her Father's words it all began to flood back in a great tidal wave of memory an emotion. Thoughts, pictures, and feelings ran rabidly through her as she began to shake in the bed. Callestah turned her sad eyes solely upon her Mother. “I’m sorry.” Was all she could muster.

“I forgive you.” Aphrodite returned with love in her eyes. “It was an accident, you never meant to hurt me. I know.”

“And you, Father?” She took his gloved hand in her bare ones. “Do you forgive me?”

Deep onyx eyes gleamed at her, “Yes.” Ares kissed the top of her head. “It is I who should be asking your forgiveness.”

Callestah brushed a tear away from her cheek and looked past her Father to where Daniel stood. “You’re dead. I buried you.” She accused tearfully. “Mourned you. Wept for you, longed for you. You did not return.” Calla’s eyes scanned the floor looking for the other one. “He . . . where is he?”

“He’s dead.” Daniel told her. “His body is out there.”

“No, Daniel is dead.” Calla’s tone became tighter and more insistent. “I took him . . . ” the memories began to flood back to her without Morpheus’ help. Her little hands balled into fists. “Held him . . . in the smelly room.”

The basement, Daniel thought. Smelly room. It was a bit musty.

Ares left her side and returned to where Aphrodite stood. With her Father out of her way, she could clearly see the shirtless Daniel standing by the bed. She remembered him taking the shirt off to cleanse the knife before delivering her children. Faded whip marks stood out on his chest and stomach.

“It was you!” She pointed to the marks on him. “You are not Daniel.” The Lady charged. “I did that when he tried to escape.”

“Sort of.” Daniel agreed. “You thought I was David. I wasn’t trying to escape, you let me go. Remember?” Although it was a memory which was right up there with Eros and Kanan, Daniel was going to try and call it forth anyway.

“ You tricked me.” Callestah tossed the covers back and made to get out of the bed. “Lied to me.”

“I didn’t. I would never do that to you. I love you.” As she planted her feet on the floor and rose, Daniel wrapped his arms around her and held her head to his bare chest. “Listen.” She struggled in his arms. “Shhh, just be still and listen for a moment.”

Calla ceased her struggle to be away from him for the moment, still he felt the sound of his heart beat was not enough to convince her. There must be some other way he could prove his identity to her. “It’s a marvelous night for a moon dance,” he began to sing softly as he stroked the back of her head, “with the stars up above in your eyes.” The warmth of her slender arms slipped around him. “A fantabulous night to make romance, ‘neath the cover of October skies.” To the beat of his heart, she began to sway back and forth in his arms. "You know the night's magic seems to whisper and hush, the soft moon light seems to shine in your blush."

Across the room, Nicholas let out a hearty cry waking his sister who also began to clamor for attention. More memories, more truths came forward with the sound of their wails. Calla pulled away from him and looked with sad frightened eyes. "The children...." she began and took a deep breath, "Da..Da.." she stumbled over his name before forcing herself to spit it out, "David..."

Daniel knew what she wanted to tell him and stopped her. "They're mine," he told her. "both of them."

Calla shook her head slowly from side to side, "Janet said..."

"Janet didn't have all the facts." Daniel said in a soft voice as his fingertips reached out to trace the outline of her face. "I can prove it when we get home, for now just believe me. They're both mine. Even if they weren’t, I would still love them and you."

Calla pulled herself up to her tiptoes to look him in the eyes. “Kiss?” She asked quietly. Daniel smiled as he bent her head to request. “Oh, God, Daniel, I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

End Daughter of the Gods: Dark Illusions
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Continue to
Chapter Twenty-Eight

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