Brotherhood (17b/27)
Title: Brotherhood ( Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen
Chapter1 Chapter2a-- 2b Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10a-- 10b Chapter11 Chapter12 Chapter13a-- 13b Chapter14 Chapter15 Chapter16a-- 16b Chapter17a-- 17b
Skaara was awake when he returned, crunched into himself on the floor and wrapped in a blanket. Sha'uri sat next to him and was acting as if she were not bothered by his discomfort, talking casually about the grain surplus she'd just learned about, and how Bekaa had given birth to a healthy little baby girl two months ago, and how the weather was so mild these days...
Tobay was in the catacombs just outside the main chamber. "I brought some medicines that may help," Daniel said as he approached, setting down the bag he'd newly brought from the SGC.
"He became ill outside, just before you returned," Tobay said, too softly for Skaara and Sha'uri to hear at the far end of the chamber. "He will heal?"
"Yes," Daniel said. "The medicines are only to ease the healing."
"It is like se'upu leaf, you said," Tobay said. "Then should he not stop a little at a time?"
"Se'upu was the closest I could think of, but Goa'uld technology is different from normal things--it would only make him worse. Trust me, brother, he will be well in time."
"Kasuf worries."
Daniel hesitated, glancing toward where Sha'uri was wiping sweat from Skaara's face. "Give us a few days. Kasuf can come to see him, but not too many others for now."
"Skaara asked even me not to look at him," Tobay said uncertainly, looking unnerved. As long as Daniel could remember, Skaara had been like the leader among the boys of his age set, even to people like Tobay who were a year or two older. Tobay was Skaara's closest friend.
"He does not want you to think badly of him, that is all," Daniel insisted. "Do not worry. Tell the Guards--do not let him go anywhere on his own right now, but let Sha'uri and me care for him. If he gets past us..."
Tobay stood, preparing to leave. "I understand."
"Tobay...listen to me," Daniel said, catching his arm before he could leave. "You must think of something else. If more of our people begin to take this battle to the Goa'uld, what happened to Skaara and to Sha'uri will happen to others."
"And what happened to you, yes?" Tobay said sharply. Daniel held still as Tobay studied him. "If the Goa'uld come to Abydos again, we will fight. We will not let them take our home again."
Daniel raised his chin. "If they come, I will fight beside you, and I am certain Earth will, also. Only do not lead our people to battle before you have to. Please."
When Tobay finally nodded and exited into the Stargate room, Daniel took a moment to gather what he needed and returned to Skaara and Sha'uri.
"I spoke with the physician on Earth," Daniel said, settling down on the ground with them. "She says that this will make sleep come more easily, Skaara. I can also give you something to ease your discomfort. It will not harm you."
Skaara hunched forward, winced, then nodded.
"Should we eat, as well?" Sha'uri suggested as Daniel found the right doses and handed them to Skaara with some water.
"No," Skaara said.
"You will not feel better if you starve," she pointed out.
Daniel put aside the pack he'd brought from Earth hours ago, which he hadn't even had a chance to open yet since arriving on Abydos, and reached for the emergency pack normally stored in the SGC house. "There is simple food I can prepare for us," he said, digging out an MRE and trying to decide what would be easier on someone who wasn't feeling well. All three of them had traveled much farther than the outskirts of Nagada in the past years; military rations were no hardship for a night.
"You, Dan'yel, who can burn a clay pot attempting to boil water?" Sha'uri said. "You know how to prepare food?"
Surprised, Daniel looked up and then recognized it as a prompt to carry on as normal. He rolled his eyes. "I was seven years old that time. Anyone can prepare this," he promised, "even I."
"Sha'uri has a son," Skaara said suddenly. Daniel stopped while opening one of the rations, glancing up to see Sha'uri frozen with her mouth partway open, as if she'd been about to say something. "The Goa'uld said the Tau'ri stole him."
"I gave him to Dan'yel," Sha'uri said in a very controlled tone.
"Harsesis," Skaara pressed. "The Goa'uld child."
"Skaara, stop," Daniel said sharply.
This time, it was Sha'uri who was avoiding his eyes as she said, "No, do not stop. Dan'yel, you said he was safe. I have not had time to ask more, but..." She trailed off.
"He is safe, I promise," Daniel said. "I watched over him while we searched for Kheb, and we brought him there, as you told us." Suddenly apprehensive, he said, "I gave him into the care of Oma Desala, whom they call the Mother."
Her brow wrinkled. "Who is Oma Desala?" Daniel's stomach dropped, but then she said, "My demon knew that there was a powerful being on Kheb. That is Oma Desala?"
"Yes. She protected us from Heru-ur's forces, and she has taken Shifu now to where he can be protected from all those who are looking for him."
"Shifu," Skaara spoke up. They both turned to him to see if he would say anything else, but he only curled himself tighter. "Ay, Sha'uri, I am sorry..."
Sha'uri sighed and pulled him toward her. Daniel swallowed hard, trying not to imagine her holding Shifu instead, and moved a short distance away to prop the bag against a wall and wait for it to heat.
In the end, Skaara ate very little, but, ill or no, Daniel found that he needed to make sure that Sha'uri took her share. A year of captivity under Heru-ur and the following escape and flight to Thor's Hammer had not done her any favors, though he wasn't sure whether Heru-ur had truly mistreated her or if the struggle against Amaunet was at fault for the tired look about her.
Reluctantly, she accepted the bread he pushed at her, though she nibbled at it only slowly and half-heartedly. "Ah," she said after a minute. "If you are serving me food, then surely you have not found yourself a wife yet."
Daniel spluttered on a mouthful of water. "No! Of course not!" His face heated, and he scowled at her. "Sha'uri," he complained.
"No woman awaits you on Earth?" she teased.
Skaara leaned back against the stone wall, watching them quietly, looking too worn for anything else, so Daniel retorted, "No. There is no one near my age at the SGC--"
"Ah," she said, her lips twitching, "so it is only because you seek someone younger. You are old enough to begin thinking of marriage--I know how men are at your age. There are girls here who would gladly become a woman with you, Dan'yel."
"No, there are not," he said indignantly, and then paused, unable to deny a little curiosity--sometimes it was hard to tell when she was joking. "Are there? No, wait--do not tell me."
Sha'uri laughed delightedly. "Shall I name some girls for you?"
Trying to hide the flush that was creeping over every inch of his skin, Daniel reached for his personal pack. "I am going to read," he announced, suspecting that he sounded less dignified than he'd have liked, since his voice came out considerably higher than expected. "If you have nothing to do but mock me...oh," he said as he pulled out a sealed plastic bag and a small can.
"What?" Sha'uri said curiously.
He felt a silly smile spread over his lips as he showed them both the bag of homemade cookies. "Sam must have put these in my bag while I was not looking," he explained, then pointed to the jar. "This one...could have been any of my friends, I think."
She picked up the latter. "Instant Coffee," she read from the label; between her and Skaara, Sha'uri had always been the more studious about reading and writing in any language.
But coffee had caffeine, which Daniel didn't think Skaara should have, so he said, "Take these if you want"--he slid the cookies toward her and Skaara--"but I am saving the coffee." He checked to see if there was coffee in the MRE pack he'd opened and put that away, too.
Sha'uri quirked an eyebrow at him, then pushed the cookies toward Skaara. "Ih," she said, slapping her brother gently on the shoulder. "Dan'yel's friend makes food for him. Perhaps we have lost his heart to a foreign woman."
"Ay," Daniel sighed. "If you tell her that, she might kill me," he warned. Skaara offered a tired smirk.
...x...
The first time Daniel woke that night, it was to Skaara's footsteps as he paced restlessly, his arms wrapped around his torso.
"I am not running away," Skaara whispered when he caught Daniel watching. "I just need to move. Sleep, Dan'yel."
Daniel squinted around until he could see Sha'uri still asleep in a corner, wrapped in a spare SGC jacket and a blanket. With a yawn, he forced himself to his feet to join Skaara in his circuit of the chamber, following behind him the way he'd often done as a child, fitting his feet into the tracks left by his brother's footsteps.
"How do you feel?" he whispered, seeing the tremors that coursed unevenly through Skaara's muscles, the tightness of each step, as if it were taking all of his control.
Skaara turned. "Strange," he replied after a moment. "Tired."
"Oh," Daniel said.
They stopped together near their wall, the one that might conceal a secret room, in their childhood imaginations if not in reality. As if thinking the same thing, Skaara touched the stone and said, "This used to be exciting, believing there might be something beyond these walls."
Daniel stepped in closer, admiring the words that his parents had pored over years ago as children gathered eagerly behind them to offer help. "We explored everywhere when we were children, even farther than our parents allows us. Why should it be less exciting now?" he asked, though he knew the answer.
Sure enough, Skaara tapped his finger on the wall, then slapped an angry hand against the words. "I have had enough of exploring," he said bitterly.
"Hush," Daniel warned when Sha'uri stirred. Skaara clamped his lips together and rubbed his eyes. When Sha'uri had settled again, he said quietly, "Not all exploring is about the Goa'uld. Is it not better to know there is something else just as wonderful without hurting anyone?"
Skaara stared up at him, his jaw clenched tight in the dark. "It is not your place to be wise, brother," he whispered finally.
That would have been a joke, normally, but Skaara's tone said it was only partly so this time. No one liked platitudes at times like this, but Daniel took a breath and said, "It is what others have told me. I believe it now. When you are well again, there is no reason we cannot return to the things we loved before."
"You were always skilled at turning things to sound good," Skaara accused, one fist clenching and unclenching agitatedly.
Daniel forced himself to shrug casually. "Why can they not be good?"
"We are not living the stories told to a child!" Skaara hissed.
Daniel held out a warning finger and said, "I know this is not a childhood story, Skaara! Do you think I have not seen horror, too?"
"Yi shay, Dan'yel--!"
Frustrated with his brother as well as with himself, Daniel took a step forward and pressed a palm against Skaara's mouth, using his other hand to hold the older man in place. He took a slow, steadying breath, looked away from Skaara's furious eyes, and repeated, "Hush. You will wake your sister." He removed his grip and raked a hand through his hair, checking the watch he still wore to see how much time had passed.
"What was the medicine you gave me?" Skaara asked a moment later.
"It was to take some of the pain and make you feel calmer," Daniel said, noting the tight lines around his brother's eyes. "Did it help?"
Skaara shuffled a foot against a loose rock, then nodded. "Some."
"I can give you a small amount again, just enough to help you sleep." Skaara wasn't meeting his eyes and didn't answer, so he added, "It is not a weakness to be unwell--I will tell you before you take too much."
Finally, reluctantly, Skaara agreed. Daniel waited until he was asleep again, fetched his notebook to make another note of the time and dose. He made sure his bag with all possible medications were within his reach and his reach only as he lay down again, too, fitting his body into the opening of the doorway.
...x...
The second time he woke, it was to Sha'uri.
Daniel blinked himself out of sleep when he heard the first rustling sounds, but Skaara was lying still on the floor. He watched in confusion for another moment, until he heard a moan from the other side, where Sha'uri was sleeping fitfully. "Kheb..." she murmured, and Daniel snapped himself up and hurried to her side.
"Sha'uri?" he whispered, hesitating with a hand poised over her shoulder.
"Stop--do not touch me--"
"Wake up!" he said, more urgently, not wanting to imagine what she was dreaming. He caught her arm and shook her gently. "Wake up, sister!" All of a sudden, Sha'uri's eyes sprang open. "Sha'uri," Daniel said helplessly when she flinched from his shadow, breathing hard. "No, it is Dan'yel, Sha'uri, you were dreaming--"
"My baby," she said, one hand catching his and squeezing tight as she sat up. "Where is he?"
"Ay," Daniel breathed, looking away from her wide eyes and shuffling closer to fold his arms around her shaking form. "He is safe. I took him to Kheb, remember? He is with Oma Desala."
Her face pressed into his chest. "My baby," she said, muffled in the front of his robes. "Gods, my son..."
"I am sorry," he murmured, smoothing her sleep-mussed hair out of habit, because it was what she always did to him when he was upset. "Hush, Sha'uri. We may yet find Shifu again."
She shuddered. "Shifu," she echoed shakily. "What does it mean?"
"It means 'light,'" Daniel said softly, settling on the ground, where he could hold her more comfortably as they both sat against the wall. "I named him Sharemes in your place, and Kasuf called him Shifu, to bring light into our lives." Her hand clenched on his robe. "The Tau'ri showed me how to take care of him. Even O'Neill helped me--"
"He was happy?" Sha'uri said, shifting to look at him, a tear escaping to run down her face. "He was healthy?"
"Yes," Daniel said, mustering a smile as he wiped the tear away with a thumb. "Very much."
Sha'uri dropped her gaze. "Thank you, Dan'yel." He looked away, not knowing how to answer that--he, who had stolen her baby from her arms--and she reached up to smooth a few strands of his hair, resting her hand on his cheek. "My blood and your care. He is our child." He nodded vigorously, as if that would negate the need to speak. "You seek him, still?"
Daniel cycled through they, I, and we before settling on, "We do. Sha'uri, we do not know where he might be, but if anyone finds something that could be the place, we will search for him there."
"Oma Desala," she repeated, swallowing hard. "Then I suppose I must trust in another Mother."
It was strange to feel her smaller body beside his when he could still remember the days when she could pick him up and carry him in her arms. "You are his mother, Sha'uri," he told her. "He bears your name. You are in his kalach for eternity."
She nodded against his shoulder. "I did not dream when the demon was awake within me," she said abruptly. Daniel twisted a little to look at her in surprise. "When the demon slept, while I carried...Shifu, then I dreamed. But after that...it was not until Amaunet was dead."
Daniel grimaced. "Dreams can be good," he offered. "The Tau'ri say we must dream to live."
"Ah," she said, pulling gently away, "because when the demon rules, it is not life. Now I dream, and I know I live."
...x...
The third time Daniel woke, it was to Sha'uri's voice in his ear and Skaara's hands on his shoulders.
"Dan'yel, wake up," Sha'uri urged as Skaara shook him the rest of the way from his dreams.
Gasping, Daniel scuttled back, images of Klorel and Amaunet still swimming behind his eyes with the memory of Apophis's host. Arms closed around him from behind, and he struggled against the hold, only to hear Skaara snap, "It is I! Stop, Dan'yel!"
"You were crying out in your sleep," Sha'uri said worriedly. "Are you awake now?"
Daniel stopped. Skaara did not let go, but now he could feel the unnatural heat and shivers that wracked his brother's body. Not quite able to speak yet, he leaned forward toward his knees, bringing his hands to his eyes as he tried to push away the lingering ghosts of his dreams.
"I am sorry," he mumbled when he trusted his voice again. "I should not have woken you."
"I woke you first," Sha'uri said gently.
"I woke you first," Skaara corrected, pulling away to sit next to him, mirroring his pose.
Daniel unfurled himself enough to look at his brother and caught a pained grimace. "I am not the one who is ill," he said, embarrassed. He raised the back of a hand to Skaara's face, where the skin felt too warm. "You have a fever. Are you in pain?"
Skaara pulled away from his hand. "Everything aches," he admitted, still trembling slightly. "It is not so bad. What were you dreaming?"
"It was not so bad," Daniel parroted, sitting on his hands so they wouldn't shake.
"What have we three come to?" Sha'uri said, sounding fond and sad and amused all at once. She laughed suddenly and wriggled into place between them, an arm around Skaara and her head couched on Daniel's shoulder. "Ay, my babies," she sighed.
Daniel choked. "Babies?" he echoed. "We have not been babies for years, Sha'uri!"
Skaara grumbled, "Dan'yel is a baby."
"Now you sound like one, too," Sha'uri told him tartly. Daniel watched Skaara make a face at her and couldn't stop a surprised grin of his own. He leaned past her to stick his tongue out at his brother. Sha'uri only laughed again. "My brothers," she said softly. She pressed a kiss to Skaara's temple, then turned and did the same to Daniel before settling back as before, all three of them wrapped in one another as they floated together toward peace.
From the next chapter (" Brotherhood"):
"Ay, your face!" Skaara crowed. "You are too easy to...ih!" he said, hopping away as Daniel lunged toward him. He laughed harder as he turned and fled the catacombs. Daniel grinned, then pushed himself to his feet and ran after him, catching sight of the Guards' startled expressions as he rushed past them and tackled his brother to the sand.