P is for Penitence

P is for Penitence
By DennyJ
ancientmuse
Written for Fig Newton's Alphabet Soup challenge
Thanks to Marzipan77 for the beta and suggestions

“I am ready to go home.”

Jack couldn’t believe how normal Skarra sounded. No double –toned, haughty voice, just the pleasant sound of the young man he remembered. He also couldn’t believe how quickly he seemed to recover from his years-long possession. “Now?”

“Yes. I have been waiting for this day to come.”

Carter piped up and said what Jack had been thinking. “Are you sure you’re ready? Do you need time to… recover?”

“The best place for me to do that is with my family.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Daniel press his lips together and lower his head. The guy hadn’t said a word since he’d escorted Skarra into the room. A quiet Daniel meant something wasn’t quite right.

“Then let’s go,” Jack replied. “Hammond already sent a message to Kasuf that we were waiting on your…uh…separation, so we’ll just surprise him.”

“You are coming, too?”

“We aren’t sending you alone.”

“Thank you, O’Neill. There will be much to celebrate.”

"Will this celebration involve food?"

"Of course!"

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

~o~

Jack stepped through the Abydos gate with Skarra at his side. He barely registered his teammates behind him as he looked out at the room packed with Abydonians. And front and center was Kasuf.

“My son!” the older man exclaimed, stepping forward with his arms open wide. “You have returned to us!”

Skarra bounded down the steps and fell into his father’s arms. The Abydonians crowded around them, reaching forward to place their hands on the once lost son, now returned. It was reminiscent of the scene Jack had witnessed when Daniel had said his goodbyes to his adopted family before returning to Earth. That had been an expression of sadness, but this… this was an expression of joy. He glanced at Daniel, standing with slumped shoulders, a step behind Teal’c and Carter, and saw no joy.

“Colonel O’Neill, where is my good son, Danyel?”

Jack turned so Kasuf could see Daniel.

“Come, good son. You must celebrate with us.” Kasuf extended his hand to the side, inviting Daniel to join them.

“Yes, good father.” Daniel slipped past his teammates and descended the steps where he was pulled into a tight embrace by his father-in-law.

Kasuf pulled away and addressed SG-1. “Friends, you must join us!”

Without waiting for a reply, Kasuf, Skarra, and Daniel were enveloped by the crowd and guided towards the entrance. Likewise, Jack, Carter, and Teal’c were tugged along by beaming Abydonians, out of the temple and into the dazzling sunshine of the desert planet.

~o~

The trek to Nagada was a joyful procession filled with singing and laughter. As they entered the city gates, they were greeted by the entire population of the town.

A cheer went up when the people spotted Skarra. They immediately closed around the young man and his father. Some encircled Daniel the same way, all trying to touch him on the head or shoulder. Still others greeted the rest of SG-1, welcoming them as though they were lost family members.

The crowd slowly proceeded down the street, arriving at the center of the town where a feast was already being assembled, not unlike the first time Jack and Daniel had visited this world. Jack was amazed at how quickly these people had reacted once they heard Skarra might be coming home. Optimistically, they had dropped everything to prepare.

Everyone took a seat while tray after tray of food—meats and fruits and breads--was placed in front of them. Jack scanned the smiling faces of the crowd and settled on Skarra and Kasuf, who kept a hand in constant contact with his son as though afraid if he let go, he would lose him again. Jack felt that old, familiar pang of loss briefly settle in his chest. Kasuf had received a gift Jack would never have. The pain diminished with time but never completely went away. He relegated it to that inner box where he’d learned to keep it and cast his gaze to his teammates.

Carter and Teal’c were chatting pleasantly with the Abydonians sitting near them. Jack moved on to Daniel, sitting at Kasuf’s left. His friend smiled as he spoke to the person next to him, but the moment the conversation ended and the other person turned away, Daniel’s smile vanished and his gaze fell to his lap. There was definitely something off in Danieland.

As though he knew he was being watched, Daniel lifted his gaze to meet Jack’s. In the light of the fires, Daniel’s eyes were startlingly blue, but more than that, they looked lost.

Daniel broke the connection to watch Kasuf as he stood and held out his arms.

“My friends, today we celebrate the return of my good son, Skarra. Once lost to a demon, but now free and returned to us, thanks to my good son, Danyel and his friends.”

A cheer when up from the crowd. Kasuf quieted them with a gesture and turned to Skarra who stood up and gazed around the crowd of family and friends.

“Good people of Abydos, thank you for your welcome. It is good to be home.”

The crowd cheered again.

“However, it is a welcome I do not deserve.”

Calls of disapproval followed. Kasuf gestured for the crowd to be quiet and put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Skarra smiled at his father and continued.

“The demon who controlled my body did many terrible things. I am ashamed to think of the pain I caused while under his control. I tried to fight against him, but I could not stop him and was unable to free myself. But with the help of O’Neill, Danyel, Major Carter, and Teal’c, along with their friends the Tollan and the Tok’ra, I am finally able to stand before you a free man.”

Even louder shouts filled the air as Kasuf pulled Skarra into an embrace. He released his son and turned to the crowd.

“Now let us continue our celebration and thank the gods for their favor.”

Musicians began to play and people resumed eating. Mugs of Abydonian wine were served. A blushing woman placed a plate of some local delicacy in front of Jack and urged him to eat. And eat he did, infected by the sheer joy all around him. And it was good. Either Daniel’s affinity for exotic cuisine was wearing off on him, or he was getting used to eating off-world food. Or he was just really hungry. He glanced over at his friend, only to find Daniel’s seat empty. He searched the crowd, but Daniel was nowhere to be found.

It was probably nothing more than the call of nature, but Jack kept seeing the loss in those blue eyes and had a feeling it was more. He also had a feeling he knew where to find his friend.

A quick glance at Carter and Teal’c showed they were occupied with their hosts, so Jack quietly shifted away from the feast, stood, and slipped down one of the dark, deserted streets. This was something he preferred to handle alone.

Jack made his way to the city gates, unguarded with everyone at the celebration. After a quick scan of the area to assure he was alone, he slipped out of the city and into the darkness of the desert.

But it wasn’t completely dark. The Abydos night sky always managed to take Jack’s breath away, and tonight one of its three moons at full turned the sand into a bright white sea. Fortunately, if he was right about Daniel’s whereabouts, he didn’t have too far to go.

He crested a small dune and looked down over a flat area filled with small flags fluttering on poles. A dark figure knelt near one of them. Jack cautiously descended the dune and approached the figure from behind. Stopping a few paces away, he took a deep breath before speaking.

“Thought I’d find you here.”

“Go away, Jack.”

“You’re missing the party. I hear there’s going to be a piñata.”

“I don’t feel like partying.”

“Don’t you think you should be with Skarra?”

Daniel twisted toward Jack, blue eyes flashing with anger in the starlight before the passion faded. Daniel turned back to the grave and sighed.

“You know the Abydonians—they’ll be celebrating all night. They won’t miss me.”

A second full moon began to rise, intensifying the rippling shadows where the flags fluttered over the graves. Jack edged closer to his friend.

“I think you’re wrong about that. Isn’t it more important to be with the living than out here feeling guilty?”

“What do you know about—” Daniel stopped and shook his head. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Yeah, I do know about guilt.”

“I’m not suicidal.”

“I didn’t say you were. But someone once taught me that it was more important to move forward than dwell in the past.”

“Wise man.”

“Sometimes.”

That got a small huffed laugh out of Daniel before he went silent. Jack waited.

“It’s just that… I… it’s… ”

“It’s not fair,” Jack provided.

“Why did it have to be her? Why couldn’t I save her?”

“I don’t think anyone can answer that.”

“She would have been better off if she’d never met me.”

“If she hadn’t met you, if you hadn’t come through that gate, she and all these people you care about so much would still be slaves of Ra.”

“But she’d still be alive.”

“That’s no way to live. Do you think that’s what she’d really want?”

“No, it is not.” Skarra’s voice carried down the dune.

Daniel rose and turned to face his brother-in-law.

“Skarra, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to spoil the celebration. I just—”

“It is all right, Danyel.” Skarra slowly glided down the dune, his steps as sure as if he’d never left this place. “I understand how much you wish you could have saved her. But if she were here, she would tell you that only being with you for a short time is better than never having met you. If that is the price of her people’s freedom, it is a price she would gladly pay.”

Daniel’s arms slid into a self-hug. “She shouldn’t have had to pay for my mistakes. You paid a high price for them, too. I don’t know how you can still consider me a brother.”

Skarra strode forward and grasped Daniel by the shoulders. “No one can know why these things happen. Perhaps it is the will of the gods, perhaps chance. But I do not blame you for anything that has happened. You will always be my brother.”

“And you will always be my good son.” Kasuf looked down on them from the top of the dune. Apparently both men knew Daniel pretty well.

“Good father,” Daniel said, going down on one knee. “I do not deserve to be called your son.”

Kasuf nimbly descended the dune and approached Daniel. He grasped the younger man’s shoulders and guided him to his feet.

“You will always be part of our family. Nothing will change that.”

“Thank you,” Daniel replied as Kasuf pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him.

“You’re a lucky man, Dr. Jackson,” Jack said. “You belong to two families.”

Daniel straightened and looked at him. “Two?”

”I’d like to think that SG-1 is your family, too.”

“Right.” Daniel nodded in agreement. “Lucky indeed.”

End