Chapter Seventeen

Less than two hours after Calla’s stroke Vedic D’Sila began to demand that Morgan Le Fey and Duncan MacLeod come to the planet in fulfillment of their agreement.  Jack tried to handle the situation by telling the Vedic Calla had suddenly and rather suspiciously fallen deathly ill and any decision on that subject would have to wait. D’Sila wouldn’t hear of it, whatever had happened to Calla didn’t concern her or her people so she saw no reason why they should be held up over it.  Daniel Jackson was King of Altair Ain; surely he could send Morgan and Duncan through the Stargate.  When she wouldn’t shut up and began to demand she be taken to the infirmary Jack sent Teal’c to retrieve Daniel from Calla’s side.

“I tried to handle it but the bitch just won’t listen.” Jack said in a soft voice as Daniel stumbled into the conference room. Even when he told the Vedic that Calla had just suffered a stroke she wouldn’t listen and insisted that she be allowed to travel through the Stargate to Earth.  Once she got here Jack hoped to defuse the situation but so far nothing worked and she was one pushy woman.

Daniel snorted. “I’m sure she wouldn’t.”

“Ah, Lord Daniel…” Vedic D’Sila began as she rose, “first we are very sorry to hear of Queen Calla’s condition….”

“No you’re not,” Daniel shot, “so I don’t want to hear it.  My answer is no.”

“We have a treaty,” D’Sila insisted in her haughty Sister Agatha voice. “Need I remind you of that?”

“You have not shown good faith, Vedic, and at this point I don’t have any reason to believe you or desire to stand here and listen to your insincerity.  I said they’re not going and that’s final.”  She wanted an answer well she got one.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, my Wife needs me.”  Daniel walked out without any further explanation. Calla hadn’t shown any signs of waking just yet but he wanted to be there when she did.  He thought Annie was probably glad when he got called out of the room that way she could do her tests without him hovering over Calla asking question after question concerning her treatment. She repeatedly told him there was no way of knowing just how severe the stroke was until Calla woke up, if she woke up.  Seven years, they were supposed to have seven more years together.  He didn’t know if he could take seven years of this and hadn’t thought about it until now.  Daniel hadn’t thought about what the end of Calla’s life would be like at all, if anything and if asked he might have said she’d just fall asleep one night and not wake up.  The thought of her being permanently debilitated before that, just laying there like some forgotten vegetable rotting in the sun, never entered his head.

“You heard the man.” Jack said to D’Sila. “No deal.  I think it’s time you went home, Vedic.”

“I assure you, General O’Neill, the Sovereign will not be pleased with this news. It may put any further negotiations between our people in jeopardy.”

“My understanding is that Nibor doesn’t comprehend a hell of a lot. Believe me, Vedic, if we discover your people had anything to do with Calla’s stroke there won’t be any future negotiations and you’ll be damn lucky if I don’t storm through that Stargate and wipe all of you off the planet.”  He gestured toward the door of the conference room with an open hand. “If you don’t mind I think you’ve overstayed your welcome already.”

“I fear you will come to regret this decision, General O’Neill.” The Vedic warned. She was still reeling from Ares’ outright rejection of her and his audacity to destroy the contents of the cup.  They’d been able to salvage some of it and they did have what the God of War left inside the young girl.  He hadn’t been to leave them completely high and dry.

“Whatever.” Jack returned smartly. What were they going to do? Start an intergalactic war? Not likely since they didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction or even space ships.

In staunch silence and with tightly pursed lips D’Sila turned on her heels and walked through the door on her way back to Sengul empty handed.

**

Before Daniel could walk back into the infirmary he was met by his Children along with Ares, Morgan and Duncan MacLeod. The latter two had come with the other UPs earlier after having returned to Altair Ain last night to await word on their future travel plans. 

 “You need to get some rest and something to eat.” Nick said to his Father. “We all do.”

“I want to be there when she wakes up.” Daniel told him.

“We all do.” Nick agreed.

“It won’t be for hours, Dad.” Coley said softly.  “Come on, we could all use a break.”

Reluctantly Daniel followed them down to the mess hall where they picked at a few items and put some coffee in their stomachs.  “Some of you have to go home and tell the others what’s going on.” Daniel said as he sipped the strong brew. If Vedic D’Sila reminded him of anything it was the fact that he was still King of Altair Ain and had responsibilities to his subjects.  “They need to know.”  Judging by the looks on their faces Morgan and Duncan were not inclined to do what he wanted and that was all right because he wanted to talk to Morgan anyway. “I want you guys to go home.”

“What?” Aiden cried and looked at his siblings along with Lilly.

“Yeah, you five and you two,” he pointed at Poseidon and Morpheus.  “Go, tell them, and see if there’s anything they can think of to help her.”  The less people milling about the better right now, they were only getting underfoot of the medical staff and taking up space.  “If anything changes we’ll let you know right away.”

“What about him?” Poseidon asked and hitched a thumb toward David who hadn’t had much to say since his arrival.

“He stays,” Daniel said flatly and figured that with David, himself, Ares, Nick and Coley he had his list narrowed down to the bare essentials.  Coley didn’t qualify as one of the four but she could sit with her Mother while he picked their brains for a while. Besides, Daniel knew if he asked her to go she’d only give him flack over it and he was in no mood to deal with that.

Begrudgingly the others departed the SGC while Daniel took the rest, except for Colleen, down to his office.  At the risk of sounding completely insane Daniel told everyone gathered about Adoy Retsam and showed them the necklace Guinevere had once given him. “Look familiar?” He asked Ares.  “Did you give it to her?  Did you marry her?”

“I gave it to her,” Ares admitted, “There was no formal ceremony. I cannot say she was my Wife.”

“Just your Lover?”

“You know I’ve only been married once. To Callestah, she was my only wife. What is this about, Jackson?”

Daniel ignored him and turned to Morgan. “Did Guinevere have a brother?”

“Yes, Mardoc was his name.” Morgan replied as she looked at him with deeply questioning violet eyes.

Daniel pulled out his note pad.

“Who was her father?”

Morgan looked at the pad and answered his question with much interest. “Leodegrance, he was a King in the south of England.”

Well that filled in Guinevere’s part of the puzzle now if he could just figure out who was who in this life he’d really be doing something.  He’d like to say Arthur but then this wouldn’t work, would it?  Ares had been Guinevere’s Lover and now he was her Father. If Daniel had been her husband in both lifetimes then he was on the wrong track, right? Adoy said to find the four men who had been all four things to her.  That meant Ares couldn’t fall into the Lover category this time around either.  Did it also mean there were four lifetimes? If so, he was missing two. 

Likewise, David couldn’t be both Brother and Lover. But which one to cross off?  “I don’t suppose you’ve got a few Sons floating around that you haven’t told us about?” Daniel asked of Ares.

Ares, who was gazing raptly at the paper with the scribbles on it, now gave Daniel a queer look. “As far as I’m aware my only living children are my two Daughters.”

Fat lot of help that was.

“What about?” Daniel asked of Duncan. “Did you know Guinevere?”

Duncan chuckled and let out a grin. “A little before my time I’m afraid.”

“Can I ask you, my King,” Ares began in a patronizing tone, “why are you listening to the rambles of some obscure creature who never even met Calla or me?”

“Because at the moment it’s the only thing I’ve got to go on and as we can all see time is growing shorter.”

“It doesn’t make any sense.” Nick groused. “You’re going on the assumption that Mom was Guinevere in a past life and you don’t even know if that’s true.”

Daniel went to speak but as he looked at the paper and his Son something Calla said to Kanan when they were last in the Underworld rang in his head.  Brother has turned into Son.  What if Son actually turned into Brother? She was very close with Nick.  Although she would never actually admit to such a thing, not even under penalty of death, Nicholas was her favorite. Daniel stopped chewing on the eraser and put the tip of the pencil onto the pad.

“Dad?” Colleen said quietly from the door. “Annie wants to see you.”

“Your Mother?”

“Annie got all the test results back.” Colleen didn’t look happy.

Daniel pitched the pad onto his desk and prepared himself to hear the worst as they wandered down to the infirmary with long faces.  Doctor Annabelle Jackson began with this good news which was that Calla had suffered a severe Ischemic stroke. The only good news about it was that she wouldn’t require surgery to remove the blood clot; the clot-buster had done its job.  Other than that, however, Annie’s assessment of Calla’s condition was very bleak and it ended with the idea of Calla going into a rehabilitation facility. Daniel felt as though he’d been shot in the gun quite unexpectedly.  “No way.” He said flatly.

Quietly, with concern and care Annie attempted to explain that Calla needed skilled round the clock care and that was something she just couldn’t get at home.  It would be best for her if she went to a facility near the kingdom that Annie had already checked out and it was, without doubt, the best place in the area for her.

Looking toward his Wife lying on the bed with that eye drooping half open and her jaw hanging down he still couldn’t believe what had happened. “She could get better,” he asserted though he wasn’t sure he believed it looking at her now. Everyone was gathered around her bedside talking softly to her and telling her they loved her.

“Sure she could.” Annie said brightly and meant it. The stroke had been severe but Calla was still an Olympian and there was every chance that one day she would recover to an extent. She might be able to sit up under her own power for periods of time, she might even regain enough cognitive ability to use a specialized scooter to get around a little bit and she might even have some type of rudimentary communication with those around her. But Annie doubted Calla would ever recover the full use of her motor skills or speech.  “Right now she needs this, she needs very specialized care.”

The last time he sent her away for skilled care didn’t work out so well and Daniel reminded her of that. Annie countered that the people at the Norwich Clinic hadn’t had Calla’s best interests in mind from the beginning.  The people at this new facility would be different.  “No,” he said again and shook his head.

“You can’t give her the kind of care she needs.” Annie contended. “You just can’t.”

No one person could be with her 24/7 that was true. “I have a kingdom full of people who will line up at the door to take shifts with her.” Daniel said. That was certainly true enough; the UPs would form a great long line to offer their help and their services to their Queen in her dire time of need. There was that to think of as well. Calla was Queen of Altair Ain and how many Heads of State went into long term care facilities? What were the security issues there?

“None of them know what they’re doing.” Annie returned. “I know you don’t want to, Dad, but you’ve got to listen to me on this. She’s going to need physical, occupational and speech therapy and that’s just to start.”

“I’ll train them,” he said as he reached for anything he could find to keep her with him and not put her in a facility. “They’ll learn.” If that didn’t work then he would hire skilled professionals to come in and look after her.

Annie looked past him. “Nick, would you talk to him please?”

Sam, who’d been standing just a few feet away, entered the conversation as Nick walked over. “Daniel, maybe you should listen to her.”

Nick looked over at his Mother. Had he just been in here not that long ago ragging on her? Picking on her a bout his Grandfather and what she’d done for him?  Did he cause this?  Did the thought of Dad knowing about Ares strike so fear in her that she had a goddamn stroke?  Ares and his working dick didn’t seem so frigging important any more. “Dad, look, it doesn’t have to be forever, right?” Nick offered hoping Annie would agree with him.

“Of course not,” Annie said easily and reached out to touch Daniel’s arm, “just a few weeks or so. Until we know the full extent of the damage and can get her going again.”

“You know she wouldn’t want to be a burden….”

That was all he heard.

Burden.

She was always saying that in their early days. She mustn’t be a burden. Mustn’t be a friggin’ chain around his neck! Suddenly Daniel felt hemmed in, trapped like a rat. “No!” He yelled. “Do you understand me? No! I’m not sending her away!” He pushed past the group of people trying to offer their support to him. There she was on the bed looking at him with that half-open half-dead emerald eye.  Daniel turned back to Annie as a terrible thought crossed his mind. “Can she hear us?”

Annie shook her head. “To be honest with you I don’t know.”

“I think she’s awake.” Amy said from behind them as what would come to be called Calla’s ‘good eye’ opened and she seemed to look around. “Mom? Can you hear me Mom? We’re all here. You’re ok.”

Yes, Calla could hear them just fine and she understood every word they were saying. She couldn’t respond.  Nothing seemed to work on her anymore. Lying there looking at her family and the world through one slotted eye she knew everyone was and why they were so concerned and looking at her with those sorrowful expressions. Strange thing was she seemed to know their faces but couldn’t recall their names. She could even feel the coldness of the drool running down her chin. She’d had a stroke and she might well lay here like this, completely unable to communicate with them, for whatever remained of her life.  She’d rather the attack took her life outright than have to spend years in this horrible place where she was trapped in her own body and her own mind. Movement was so difficult, almost totally impossible on the right side of her body as were fully formed words but that one half-open eye began to tear over and little guttural moaning sounds came from deep in her throat.

Daniel wiped the back of his hand across his face to dry the tears that just wouldn’t seem to stop falling before he sat next to her and took hold of her left hand. “Don’t worry, Kitty, everything’s ok.  I’m going to take you home soon. I promise the next bed you lay in will be ours.” Calla’s fingers curled around his and she held on with a weak grip. It wasn’t much but it was all the confirmation he needed to know that she was still in there and she was still reachable, more than that she was still trying to reach out.  The situation was desperate but it wasn’t hopeless and that made him hold on a little tighter. “Anything, we can do anything, I know you’re going to come back to me. I know you can do it.” He brushed her hand against his lips. “I’m going to be right here with you, helping you and waiting for you. Nothing is going to take you away from me. I promise I won’t send you away this time.”

Normally she’d just bring his hand to her cheek but even her left hand didn’t seem to want to cooperate at the moment as she tried with all her might just to perform that simple act.  Somehow she managed to tug on it just a bit and Daniel did the rest. Still holding her hand in his he put the back of his hand against her cheek so she could feel its warmth and its weight. Calla didn’t know if what he said was true, if she could regain control of her body and her mind but if he was going to be there with her then she was willing to give it all she had and fight her way back to him.

The hours slowly crept by while Calla slept and Daniel sat at her bedside with his ever-present yellow note pad. People came in and out of the room but he hardly noticed them unless they spoke to him.

Everywhere he looked on his little chart Ares name blared at him. Daniel continued blindly following his wandering thoughts.

Ares= Father, Husband, Lover

It sort of made sense, out of all of them Ares was the only one who’d been alive long enough to accomplish everything in a single lifetime.  So who were his Sisters?  Who would call him Brother?  That made Daniel chuckle, Zeus and Hera were both well-known for their dalliances outside of their marriage and for having illegitimate children.

Historically, all of Ares’ siblings hated him but, as Daniel had come to know well over the years, history books were often wrong since they were usually written by the victor or someone wanting to portray the victor in a better light than they deserved.

No matter what he did or how he played it out he kept coming back to the three of them; Ares, David and himself.  He thought he had the fourth narrowed down to three candidates; Duncan, Aiden and Nick.  What if he, Daniel, really had been Arthur in a previous life? What if he had been Guinevere’s husband?  He felt in his gut that was right, why else would Excalibur spring to life for him so well each time he wielded it? Why else did the sword fit in the palm of his hand as though it had been made specifically for him?  If he was Arthur that would explain Calla’s continued reluctance to his trips through the Stargate all these years and maybe even a little bit of just why she would fall into such a deep depression when he was gone so long.  Looking at it now, from this perspective, what were they building in Altair Ain if not Camelot?

David, who was David? Was he Guinevere’s father or her brother?  Certainly he wasn’t Lancelot and Daniel doubted that David had once been King Arthur.

The cast was almost complete, if he could just find that last man he could start printing the playbill and writing the rest of the script.

End of Chapter Seventeen of
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
Go to
Chapter Eighteen