Tarnished Heroes
A Daniel Jackson
Stargate SG-1
Adult FanFiction Series
By
Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling

Chapter Thirty-Six

Everybody's got their problems--ain't no new news here
I'm the same old trouble you've been havin' for years
Don't confuse the problem with the issue girl
It's perfectly clear
Just a human desire to have you come near
Wanna put my arms around you
Feel your breath in my ear
You can bend me you can break me
But you'd better stand clear
Crumblin’ Down
John Cougar

If you didn’t read chapter 35 it is now
Two Days Later
If you did it is now
The Next Morning
Ares’ Cave

Morning broke and Daniel Jackson awoke to find himself naked in Ares cave. Wrapping the animal skin around his waist and feeling very confused he wandered through the open door to find his naked wife in the arms of her equally naked Father.

“See something interesting, Jackson?” Ares asked without turning around to face him.

Being blessedly numb from the distinct sensation of being blind-sided by a speeding Mac Truck he stumbled through the open door. “What the hell…”

Ares’ tree trunk arms closed around Calla’s sleeping form and he kissed the top of her head. Calla moved to greet his warmth and drew in a low mournful breath. “Daniel,” she whispered in her sleep and cuddled against Ares at her side.

Daniels’ brain short-circuited. Unable to remember how he gotten here or what happened before that or to comprehend the sight before him, he stumbled away from the door as the hand holding the skin around his waist released and it fell to the dirt floor. Forget-me-not eyes wide in shock and complete disbelief his mouth dropped open and his hand rose to cover it as Daniel backed away and ran out of the cave. He stumbled through the wide mouth of the opening and kept going until he hit the shore and could go no further.

Calla was in bed with Ares.

CALLA was in BED with ARES!

The thought repeated itself like a needle stuck in groove. Over the last few days the only food he’d taken in was the red ambrosia and that was gone from his stomach. Daniel fell to his knees at the waterline, the sun rising before him and Poseidon’s waves lapping at his naked limbs. He heaved out what he didn’t have until his stomach muscles stretched and hurt so much he couldn’t stand to retch any more. Daniel rolled over on his side in the wet sand and ebbing seawater and tried so desperately to erase what he’d seen from his eyes but it seemed the image was burned into his brain. Along with the thought

The pictures played and he couldn’t deny what he’d seen and he didn’t know if he could live with it.

Calla woke with a heavy heart and a pounding head. The bed was empty Ares was on the other side of the room putting his clothes back on. It was the first time he’d gotten dressed since he got undressed two days ago. Every muscle in her body cried out for rest, water, and food. “Ares?”

“It’s over, Daughter.” He sneered and fastened his vest. “Your husband is awake.”

Tossing the warm skins aside and rising on rubber bands that wouldn’t hold her weight Calla crashed to the ground skinning her knees and the palms of her hands. Sitting there with her head spinning and willing her legs to hold her she reached up for the mattress and pulled herself to a standing position. From here she could see where Daniel laid the last two days. “Where is he?”

“I guess he didn’t like what he saw.” Ares told her as he added the belt with its gleaming blades to his waist. “He took off.”

Begging for any trace of that magick white powder to help raise her and bring her back to life Calla looked around for the flannel shirt to cover her naked body and couldn’t find it. “You let him go?” She asked roughly and finally stumbled over to her Father’s closet where she yanked a fine linen tunic from a hangar and tossed it over her head. On Ares it was a shirt on her it was a dress. “Where?” Calla asked again.

“How would I know? It’s a small island he can’t have gone too far.” Ares hissed and pushed past her as he made his way from the bedroom. Damn! He wasn’t ready to give her up yet. However, a Promise Is A Promise and so it was over. Calling out for his harem—whom he’d banished for the last two days—to come and tend him, Ares settled on his throne as the women came to his demand.

“I’ll never forgive you for this, Father.” Calla told him with tears in her eyes. “You’re no better than Eros.”

“Ah, but I am.” Ares returned. “I was honest about it. We have thousands of years ahead of us to work on the forgiveness part of things.”

“Don’t be so smug!” Calla screamed at him and walked straight up to the foot of his throne. She stood there and shook a scornful finger at him. “I will never forgive you. You’re dead to me. I have no Father.” Tears in her eyes she left him there with his mouth hanging open as she went in search of Daniel.

She found him at the edge of Poseidon’s ocean crying into the sea. “Daniel?” Slowly she made her way to where he was laying in the wet sand. “Daniel?”

The sound of her voice sent shivers down his spine and he sat up as he drew his open palm down over his face to wipe away the tears. “Don’t come near me,” Daniel held his hand out in front of him to block her from his sight. “You slept with him, didn’t you?” he choked.

There was no sense in arguing. “Yes.” Calla admitted shamefully as she continued to a slow pace to where he was. “Please, Daniel…” she held her arms out to him.

“Oh Christ! Don’t touch me!” Daniel screamed and backed away from her, his bare ass skittered across the top of the wet sand as he went. “Jesus Christ! How could you do that? He’s YOUR FATHER!”

“I know who he is.” Calla sobbed and fell to her knees. “Please, Daniel I can….”

“You can what? Explain?” He shook his head. “I don’t think there’s an explanation for this, Kitty. No, I’m damn sure there isn’t.”

“Do you remember how you got here?”

No he didn’t. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?!”

“You were injured; Medea shot you with a bolt of lightning….” She led and waited. Small sparks started to glint in his eyes but there was no real light. “I came to the planet, I found you and Jack and Teal’c and Sam in Medea’s cells, do you remember?” She’d asked Ares to take away the memories of the women he’d lain with but maybe he removed everything about Daniel’s time on the planet from his mind.

“I don’t know…” he huffed and then growled again, “what has this got…”

“Just think!” Calla demanded. “Please, Daniel, just think for a minute, please, just think.” She begged.

“I can’t think right now.” Daniel shot. “I got other things on my mind.” If he could get past the anger then yes somewhere in the back of his mind, he saw them in Medea’s cells. He remembered being cold and hungry and afraid. And oh, shit, she was eating them! Oh Christ the witch ate part of Teal’c!

“I freed you,” she said in a soft voice but didn’t dare go any closer to him. “We were almost through the Stargate and you were injured.”

Yes, now he saw himself standing at the DHD and dialing home. Something was in the wind, no, something was riding the wind. Medea flew up over the treetops and Calla was charging at her on one the ATVs. The Gate opened, he was just about to call out for her to come back and something hit him. It ripped through him with cruel talons and he didn’t remember anything after that until he woke up so rudely a little while ago.

Daniel didn’t say anything but she could see the recognition in his eyes. “I wasn’t strong enough to save you on my own,” she explained as she carefully chose her words. “I brought you here to Ares.”

“Why?”

“To save your life.” She smiled at him through her tears. “You’re Immortal, Daniel. Please forgive me, I had no other choice.”

“Immm……Immm….Im-mortal?” Daniel stammered. “What are you telling me?”

“Hades was here he was ready to take you away from me but Ares allowed me to give you the red ambrosia.”

“I’m never gonna die?”

“It’s not very likely.” Calla wiped her own tears away. “You don’t need my magick to keep you young any more.”

“Ares hates my guts I would think he’d be dancing around singing a song of joy as I died, why did he help me?”

“Because I asked him to.” She said quietly. “He’s my Father he loves me.”

“Is that what you were doing in his bed? Expressing your love?”

There they were at one of those Forks In The Road. She could go left and tell him the truth or she could go right and spare him. “Daniel please…” It seemed to her that either way she went Daniel would never forgive her for this just as she wouldn’t forgive Ares for making her do it. If she told him she bought his Immortality with her body his little brain might implode or something. If she told him that she’d gone willingly well then she was nothing more than the whore he’d always known her to be under that elegant exterior.

“Tell me!”

Stuck at that fork in the road with no way to make things right, Calla did what she did best, she retreated. She got up, ran away from him, and in doing so decided to sit down at that wide place in the road and have a long rest.

“Get back here!” Daniel shouted after her but she didn’t come back he watched her run off and he didn’t go after her.

Blindly Calla ran to the far side of the island and didn’t stop until she reached the shore. Falling to her knees at the waterline she finally began to sob.

It was over, her marriage, her life, it was all over. She’d tried so hard to save it no matter what she did it kept slipping away. There was nothing left now. Nicholas and Colleen were grown they didn’t need their Mother fussing over them. Daniel would live forever he didn’t need this unfaithful old wife hovering around him.

A soft voice on the wind whispered her name.

She raised her head to look around and saw nothing but the water, sand and rocks.

“Mother?” The voice might be coming from the far rocks she scrambled to her knees and then to her feet. “Mother?” Calla called out again and wiped the tears away from her face.

There was a small crag in the rocks it was big enough for her to squeeze through if she wanted. Calla walked up to it and peered inside. At first, all she saw was darkness then her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she took in torches burning inside a deep cave their light flickered and reflected off a great river held within the rocks. Lady Aphrodite stood on the far side of the wide river and looked up at her daughter peering through the rocks, with a wave of her delicate hand she beckoned Calla to come inside. Behind her was a great iron gate and behind that was Cerberus, Hades’ guard dog—who’d once belonged to Ares. A long narrow boat waited on the near shore and captaining it was a figure robed in black.

“Get away from there, Daughter!” Ares big hand landed on her shoulder and forced her away from the rocks.

“M…M…Mother,” she stammered and pointed the stone.

“Is in there? Yes, it’s an entrance to the Underworld.” Ares told her and continued to back her away from the crag. “Go back to Hades I know he’s got something for you Aphrodite.” He shouted at the cold stone and his old lover inside.

“I want to see Mother,” Calla protested. “I know the rules I can visit so long as I don’t eat or drink.”

“And what are you going to pay the Ferryman with? He isn’t interested in sex.” Ares sneered. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with your husband?”

Calla let out a sad laugh and an even sadder smile. All she could do was shake her head.

“So it’s over then?” Ares asked and saw from her eyes that it was. “You will stay with me now.”

“I don’t think so.” Calla told him and began to walk away. “How can you even ask me to do that?”

“You may not believe me Callestah but I do love you very much.” Ares told her with soft eyes.

“That’s your idea of love?”

“No. But I will show you what is if you stay with me.”

“Go to hell. I’ve told you I have no Father and now I have no Husband and no Lover.”

“Where will you go now? Who will turn to now that your marriage is over if not me?” Ares eyes narrowed on her. “Hartley? Another Mortal?” Ares smoldered. “One who pollutes your body and mind as well as your soul?”

“What do you do to me, Father?” She accused. “Every where I look all I can see are bottles of pretty poison. You’re just another one of them.” Having slept last night and not having indulged in any drugs the past few days Calla’s magick was returning to her.

“And Daniel?” Ares asked darkly.

Calla let out a maniacs laugh and tossed her head back. “I guess he’s the biggest prettiest bottle of all, isn’t he? Look at the lengths I will go to in order to obtain and keep him. In the Mortal Realm they’d call me a Junkie. Daniels’ little Strawberry.”

“Where are you going?” Ares asked quickly as he felt her gathering up what energy she had.

“Home. Send him along when you’re ready I’ll be out of the house by sunset.” She might as well get this over with, no sense in dragging it out. It was best to beat Daniel to the punch and get whatever she was taking with her before he cast her out of his home and away from him. Calla disappeared from Ares’ island.

A few hours later, a cold, wet and shaking Daniel Jackson appeared in Ares’ Throne Room looking for his wife.

“She left.” Ares informed him. “Honestly, boy, put some pants on.” Ares waved his hand in the air and a pair of Levis’ covered his son in-laws naked body.

“Thanks.” Daniel said through gritted teeth. “Where is she?”

“At your home packing her bags.”

“She’s leaving me?”

“So it would appear.”

That was just peachy, now wasn’t it? Daniel had a lot of time to roll this over in his mind while he sat at the shoreline. Calla had come and rescued them and she subdued Medea but she did that by booting the sorceress up with heroin. Daniel remembered seeing the Happy Kit on the crude wooden table as they hurried out of the cottage and the needle she’d jabbed into Medea’s neck while she humped him. OK, so he hadn’t been an angel in his time away from his wife but he wasn’t enjoying what he was doing with Medea she’d drugged him and he thought she was Sha’re—no not enjoying it all. OK maybe a little, but still, he’d gotten to that point because he was trying to free his friends and keep the witch from helping herself to anymore of their vital organs. “What day is it?”

“What?” It seemed like a stupid question to Ares but then again Jackson always did ask stupid questions. “It’s Tuesday the first of June.” Ares informed him and then leaned forward. “If you ever get home tell my grandchildren Happy Birthday for me, will you?”

June first. He’d left two weeks and one day ago. Daniel remembered emerging through the Stargate onto the planet. He remembered wandering around and looking at bits of pottery and thinking they were in the wrong place. They’d encountered the signs of human life but no people along the way. Two days or so they rode to the walled city the MALP showed them. It seemed to him he remembered seeing it from high above but then everything went blank and they were all trapped in Medea’s dungeon. They’d spent a few days there, just how many he didn’t know but thought it was two or three. It left him with some four or five days unaccounted for. What was he doing then? Why did it seem so damn important in the face of what he’d woken up to this morning?

“Problems, Jackson?”

“Now who’s asking stupid questions?” Daniel shot as he came out of his daze. Ares laughed and sat back on the throne. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Neither could she.” Ares said in a happy satisfied voice.

“Why?” Daniel asked and walked toward the God of War. “Why did you do it? Why did you make me Immortal?”

“You know she’s told you.”

“No she didn’t.” Daniel shot and came closer. He knew, of course he knew, but that piece of the puzzle just wouldn’t fall into place in his head unless someone SAID it.

Ares slithered forward to look Daniel in the eye. “Yes she did, in her own way she’s already told you. I see it in your eyes.”

“Immortality doesn’t come cheap, does it Ares?”

“No, Jackson, it does not.” Ares agreed and waited but so did Daniel. “All right you stubborn jackass. Callestah bought your new life and your Immortality in my bed, is that what you want to hear? That she paid the price to keep you alive.” Ares shook his head. “But, I see it wasn’t enough to keep you by her side.”

Some sick part of him wanted to ask because he needed to know, the words stuck his throat and his mortal soul begged him not to say a word. He couldn’t know, he didn’t want to know! “We…werr….did….” he couldn’t choke them out. Daniel discovered he couldn’t handle knowing just how high the price was.

But Ares was going to tell him anyway. “Was I good to her? Is that what you want to know now, Jackson?”

Daniel shook his head and backed away. “No, I don’t…..”

Ares shook his dark head and stroked the beard at his chin. “The price was very high, you were there. Don’t you remember what we did to her?”

“W…we?”

“Oh, yes, you and me.” Ares whispered. “You were below her and I was behind her. You don’t remember?” Ares sucked his teeth. “Pity,” he frowned with and adding a deep sigh eased back in the throne.

“You sick son of a bitch!”

Daniel screamed and charged at the God of War.

Ares’ face broke out into a full smile.

“She loves you! Don’t you know she loves you?!” Daniel spat as he got within inches of Ares’ throat. “What did you do to my wife?”

Ares waved his hand in the air casting the angry man from his cave, sending Daniel back to the SGC. Ares roared with laughter. Yep, it was gonna be a hot time in the old Jacksonville Tonight.

Ares would bide his time and watch just as he’d been doing over the last year. Callestah might turn to Hartley for a while but eventually she would tire of him because she didn’t love him. At that time, she would either try to slink back to Daniel or to him.

Daniel would reject her because he couldn’t cope with the situation and that brought Callestah back to him again. As far as he could see, his changes were 2 in 3 that by the year’s end she’d be his Consort and not Hartley’s little fuck-toy or Daniel’s wife.

End of Chapter Thirty-Six of
Tarnished Heroes
An Adult Stargate FanFiction Novel
By
Moon Mistress
Continue to
Chapter Thirty-Seven