Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Hey, Daniel?"

Daniel held up a finger as he made another note on the translation he was working on, before looking up. Sam was leaning in the doorway of his office. "Hi, Sam, what's up?"

She smiled in amusement. "How long have you been working on that? It's time to go. The Colonel and Teal'c are already in the gate room."

"No, it can't possibly be...." He glanced at his watch. "I still have an hour!"

Sam sighed. "Daniel. Daylight savings time started last week."

Daniel blinked, then frowned. Had it? He glanced at his watch again, then pulled it off and quickly reset it. "Oh. Sorry." He reached over and grabbed his stuff; thankfully, his bag was already packed. He'd at least known there was a mission today.

He was just closing his office door when someone else called his name, the raised voice echoing just a little bit in the SGC's concrete corridor. A stately older woman with grey hair hanging in a braid over her shoulder walked toward them, a couple of binders tucked under her arm. Unlike the soldiers in the base, or Daniel himself, she was wearing civilian clothes -- a neat blouse and skirt. Her ID badge proclaimed her, like Daniel, to be a civilian contractor.

She held out one of the binders to him. "I wanted to get this report to you before you left, in case you needed it." Her accent was shaded with a hint of British vowels.

"Oh, thanks," he said, taking the binder. He became aware that Sam was still standing there, waiting for him. "Uh, Sam, have you met Alice Grant? She's relatively new here; she's a medical doctor and part-time folklorist. When she's not working in the infirmary with Janet, she works with my department. Dr. Grant, this is Major Carter."

Sam held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Grant. You're new here? What do you think so far?"

"All this is quite fascinating, I have to say," the woman replied. "To travel between worlds and meet other peoples? My siblings would have loved all of this."

"Any desire to go through the Gate yourself?" Sam asked.

Dr. Grant smiled somewhat wistfully. "No, I think my traveling days are over, Major. I'm not quite as young as I may look, and sometimes it's better to keep your feet on the Earth where you were born. But, please, don't let me keep you; I just wanted to make sure Dr. Jackson had that report before leaving."

"Nice to meet you," Sam said again.

"And it's lovely to meet you, as well," Dr. Grant replied with a warm smile. "Good luck and safe travels."

"Thanks, Dr. Grant." Daniel followed Sam down the corridor, jogging a couple of steps to catch up to her.

"She's a bit older than most new recruits," Sam remarked as they turned the corner and were out of earshot.

"Who? Oh, Dr. Grant. Yeah, she's a friend of Catherine's; apparently, they were at school together at some point."

"Medicine and folklore is an interesting combination of fields."

"She was a medical doctor before she became a folklorist," Daniel replied. "One of those people whose hobby became a second profession. It happens sometimes, though it's a lot less common nowadays than it used to be."

They rounded another corner and entered the Gate room. Jack was leaning impatiently against the embarkation ramp's railing, while Teal'c stood stoically in the center of the room, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Well, it's about time you two decided to join us," Jack said with a pointed glance at his watch. "Teal'c and I were beginning to think you weren't coming. Weren't we, Teal'c?"

The team had been together long enough that Daniel could recognize the slightest shading of reproach in Teal'c's "Indeed."

"Sorry," Daniel apologized -- mostly to Teal'c. "I lost track of time."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Did you forget that daylight savings time started? Thought so," he added, at Daniel's sheepish look. "Are you taking that notebook along?"

"It might be useful," Daniel said.

"And are you just gonna carry it?"

"Uh, no." Daniel shrugged his bag off his shoulder and opened it to shove the binder in.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Dial 'er up, Walter," he called.

"Yes, sir," Sergeant Harriman replied from the control booth, and the inner track of the Stargate started to spin, lights appearing as each chevron was coded into the Gate address for their destination, P3X-992. "Chevron seven locked," he announced, and the wormhole's event horizon rushed into the room before settling into the placid pool of an active Stargate.

"Okay, kids, let's get this show on the road." Jack started up the ramp and disappeared into the Gate, followed by Sam, then Teal'c. Daniel went last, pulling his bag onto his shoulder.

Gate travel had become so routine for him that he barely noticed the transit any longer, but he absolutely noticed when he stepped out of the wormhole and the rest of the team wasn't there.

Instead, where Jack and the others should have been, was a...faun?...dressed in a resplendent brocade waistcoat with jeweled buttons and a gold watch-chain.

"Welcome to Narnia, Son of Adam," the faun said with a gentle smile.

Chapter Text

Daniel blinked. "Uh, hi. I mean, hello. We're peaceful explorers...." His voice trailed off as he realized that the others weren't just not there, as in "out of sight," they were not there as in "not there."

"Uh, not to be rude, but where are my friends?"

It was the faun's turn to look confused for a moment. "Friends, Son of Adam?"

"I was traveling with friends," Daniel explained, only to get a second shock when he turned to find no sign of the Stargate. Instead, there was a single antique gas lamp, its flame only dimly visible in the bright sunlight. "Oh, I'm so screwed," he muttered.

"Fear not, Son of Adam," the faun said. "Aslan only allows certain travelers to enter this realm; when your time here is done, you will rejoin your friends. Indeed, if the kings' and queens' words are to be believed -- and there is no reason to doubt them -- you will be reunited with your friends at the same time you left them." Here he leaned forward as though imparting a secret. "Aslan's magic is strong."

"Uh huh." Daniel realized that he was not making a very good showing of himself in a new situation and straightened. "I apologize for my behavior. Thank you for your kind welcome. My name is Daniel Jackson."

The faun smiled, more warmly this time. "Aslan told us to expect you, Son of Adam. The high king chose me as his representative to meet you and guide you to Riversfork where you are awaited. Their Majesties traveled there from Cair Paravel with many members of the court to spare you a longer journey."

"Cair Paravel?" Daniel's mind was already cataloguing the name, dissecting it, comparing it to various Earth mythologies -- as he did with any new Gate destination, but then his thoughts caught up with what the faun had said. "Wait, expected?"

The faun nodded. "Indeed. Aslan appeared in Cair Paravel -- the first time he has been seen in some years -- and told Their Majesties that a traveler would be coming from outside the world and that they should extend him all courtesies."

He turned and pointed. "Were this forest not here, you would be able to see the distant glimmer of the sea to the east. Cair Paravel sits on that eastern shore at the edge of Narnia. Lantern Waste, where we now stand, is Narnia's western border. I used to live not far from here before I entered Their Majesties’ service. Now I live with them at Cair Paravel."

"And how long will it take to get to...Riversfork, was it?"

"I do not know what conveyances there are in your world," the faun replied, "but here, we travel on foot, except in the very greatest need, when a Horse or a Centaur might consent to bear us on their backs. But as this is not that case, we will be walking. Besides," he added, with a twinkle in his eye, "I cannot ride." He turned his ankle a bit, demonstrating that his legs were really not suited to horseback.

"Of course not."

"Come," the faun said. "I am Tumnus, advisor to Their Majesties. It will be a bracing morning's hike; we will be there by lunchtime."

"Oookay," Daniel replied. He fell in with the faun, who started walking in the direction he had indicated -- and which Daniel's compass, when he checked it, agreed -- was east.

"Can you tell me about Narnia?" he asked.

"Of course," the faun -- Tumnus -- replied. "This world was sung into existence at the dawn of time by Aslan, who separated the beasts into those could talk and those who could not. At the same time, a terrible Witch was brought into the world."

The tale grew more fantastical as they walked, and Daniel would have scoffed and filed it away as a heavily embroidered creation myth -- talking animals? Witches? Golden apples? -- except that he was walking beside an actual faun.

And then, as they crossed into a clearing, an eagle cried overhead and plummeted toward them. Daniel ducked, but the great bird only settled lightly onto a tree branch at the edge of the clearing...and spoke.

"I see that you have found the traveler, Tumnus." The Eagle's voice was clear and carrying. The rigid raptor beak seemed not to affect its diction, and after puzzling about that for a moment, Daniel decided that it was best to just go along with whatever was happening here.

"Indeed so, Brightwing. You may tell Their Majesties that we should reach Riversfork by the expected hour."

"Very well. I shall pass on the news to Their Majesties." The Eagle then turned to Daniel. "Greetings, Son of Adam. Welcome to Narnia. May your journey be a pleasant one."

"Thank you," Daniel said. "May, um, your skies be clear.”

The Eagle leapt from the branch, and with a few powerful sweeps of its wings, was up and away, but Daniel was certain that the expression it had turned on him first had been a smile. How even did that work? He shrugged. Like the speech, he supposed.

“What did he mean by ‘Son of Adam?’” Daniel asked. “My father’s name was Melburn.”

“Ah, that,” Tumnus said, beginning to walk again. “It is a polite form of address for humans. Now, then. Where was I? Ah, yes. The first king and queen.”

Tumnus continued talking as they walked, occasionally pointing out landmarks to Daniel, like the series of caves where some of his friends and relatives still lived. Daniel, used to a lot of hiking, did not find the walk onerous. The weather was pleasant and Tumnus was a surprisingly good storyteller. Daniel found himself very much interested in Narnia’s history.

Eventually, they reached a small river; Tumnus turned and took a path that ran alongside it. “This is all relatively new,” he said, indicating the path. “When I lived in the neighborhood, there were no paths or roads. People were not encouraged to travel during the reign of the White Witch, and when they did, they wished to leave no marks, so she could not trace them back to their homes. Perilous times. Perilous times. But then Their Majesties came and saved the day.”

"Your rulers came from somewhere else?" Daniel asked. "Like me?"

Tumnus slanted a look at him. "Indeed," he said. "Very much like you. If you don't mind, though, Their Majesties wish to relate that tale to you."

"Sure. Okay." Daniel nodded because what else could he do, but his curiosity was fired up. Could these rulers from outside be Goa'uld? That didn't fit with what Tumnus had said earlier about this Aslan, who seemed to be some sort of guardian spirit, if not more, being particular about who was allowed into Narnia.

They walked on in silence for a while. Daniel listened to the chatter of the river over the rocks as he thought. Just about the time he was beginning to be footsore and thinking longingly of the granola bars in his pack, the trees thinned out and they walked into an expansive meadow bounded by the river on one side, the forest behind them, and, in the distance, another river that met the one beside which they had been walking for the last few hours. In the more or less triangular area where the rivers ran together was pitched an enormous marquee that resembled a canvas castle. Colorful pennons of various sizes flapped on the tops of the support poles; the central pole was capped by the largest, with the device of a lion. The flaps of the marquee were open and Daniel could just make out the hustle and bustle of figures coming and going.

"Nearly there," Tumnus said encouragingly. "Their Majesties were having a feast prepared. I don't know about you, Daniel, but I worked up quite an appetite this morning." He patted his waistcoat and added, "I'm not as used to long walks as I once was."

Daniel laughed. "A feast sounds terrific. I'm starved."

It took them some time to cross the meadow and as they walked, Daniel looked with interest at the wildflowers and the marquee. There was a lot of lion iconography in the pennants and on the pavilion's walls. Well, not surprising, really. Plenty of kingdoms on Earth used lion heraldry with its connotations of royalty, bravery, strength, and so forth. If their rulers really were from Earth, it made sense.

As they finally got close enough to see the people bustling about, Daniel had his next shock of the day. Very few of them were human. Tumnus' stories and Brightwing the Eagle should have prepared him for the sight, but somehow his brain just hadn't made the connection before. There were Bears and Dogs, Horses and Swans, Badgers and enormous Mice -- armed with swords, no less -- all manner of Animals, in fact, bustling about and setting up the feast in front of the marquee. There were also ethereal beings that in one moment resembled trees and the next, people. Daniel thought they must be dryads.

And as he watched them, he had the sudden realization that whatever Narnia was, it was a land that had never been touched by the Goa'uld. This place was magic -- true, wild, free magic, not science. However he got here, it hadn't been through the Stargate. He thought of the rest of the team, wondering how they were reacting to his disappearance and wishing they were here. Jack would profess to hate the place, he thought. Sam would love it, but would keep trying to explain it in scientific terms that couldn't really apply. Teal'c, he thought, of all of them, would appreciate it for what it was.

He ached suddenly, fiercely, to share it with Sha're. She would be utterly enchanted. Confused, perhaps, but enchanted nonetheless.

A cry went up. "They're here!"

A fair-haired young woman rushed out of the marquee, and ran up to Tumnus, taking his hands and dancing about with him for a moment. While she was dressed in a lovely gown, Daniel noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Mr. Tumnus! I'm so glad you're back!"

"Steady, Your Majesty," Tumnus cried, after she had whirled him around a couple of times. "I haven't been gone that long, Lucy," he added, with a smile.

"It's been ages, Mr. Tumnus," Lucy said brightly. "Simply ages!"

"Your Majesty," Tumnus said, his tone now formal, "please allow me to present the traveler that I was sent to meet. This is Daniel Jackson."

"Hello, Daniel, I'm Lucy," she said. She reached for his hands and Daniel was afraid, for a moment, that she was going to try to dance with him as she had with Tumnus, but then she sobered, just a fraction, folded her hands neatly in front of her, and said, "I am Queen Lucy of Narnia, friend Daniel. Welcome to our fair realm." Then she gave Tumnus a saucy grin, as if to say, There, happy?, grabbed Daniel's hand after all, and tugged him after her. "Come meet my brothers!"

Daniel cast one helpless look at the faun, who only shook his head, as if despairing over the queen's lack of deportment, and flapped his hands, indicating that Daniel should go with her. As if, Daniel thought, he really had any choice in the matter without causing a huge scene. Tumnus picked up Daniel's pack, which had fallen from his shoulder, and followed along after.

Queen Lucy dragged him up to the main doorway of the marquee where two young men stood waiting. Both were dressed in tunics and trousers of the same kinds of fabrics that Lucy wore, though where Lucy's gown was embroidered with flowers, they both sported lion badges. The taller of the two wore a thin gold crown on his head, the other a silver one. He held out a silver circlet in a design of vines and flowers to Lucy. "You forgot something, Lu."

"Oh, thanks, Ed." Lucy dropped Daniel's hand and took the circlet, fitting it over her golden hair, and then appearing to forget about it. "Peter, Ed, this is Daniel, the traveler Aslan told us about."

She turned back to Daniel. "These are my brothers, King Edmund, and High King Peter."

"I am sure," Peter said, "that you have been welcomed to Narnia already, but please let us welcome you one more time and assure you that you have the freedom of the kingdom for however long you are here."

"Thank you, Your Majesties," Daniel said. He bowed, somewhat clumsily.

"And now the official stuff is over with," Edmund said with a grin, "and we can get on with lunch. I'm sure our guest is hungry."

Daniel nodded. "I am, Your Majesty, thanks."

"We're pretty informal here, Daniel," Edmund replied, "except when Court is in session in Cair Paravel. You may call us by our names." He glanced at his sister and smiled. "Lucy would insist on it, anyway."

The effervescent young queen grinned at her brother. "I would, indeed."

Rather than the single long banqueting table or the U-shaped high table and lower tables Daniel had seen in some courts he had visited, smaller round tables were being set up in the space in front of the marquee. Fauns, dwarves, a Monkey, a couple of Beavers, and a Badger quickly had several tables ready. Daniel was led to one and seated with the kings and queen and Tumnus.

Lunch proved to be a fish that Tumnus explained was called pavender, tiny roasted potatoes, and grilled asparagus. There was wine, which Daniel tasted to be polite, but he stuck mainly with water. The grapes which rounded out the meal were large and dark and burst delightfully on the tongue, more than making up for not drinking the wine.

Daniel glanced around, trying not to stare at the diners at the other tables, but it was very difficult, especially when he caught sight of the Beavers and Mice and Badgers using silverware. He was apparently not quite subtle enough, though.

"It takes some getting used to," Peter observed. "We were lucky, I think, to first come here as children. This world is well-suited to the sensibilities of children."

"Tumnus did tell me that you're not originally from Narnia," Daniel said.

"That's right. We were born in London. We first came to Narnia when we were evacuated to the countryside during the Blitz."

"The Blitz!" Daniel looked at the youthful faces of his hosts. "That was over fifty years ago."

"Time runs differently here in Narnia, than it does where we came from," Peter said, after a glance at his siblings.

There was something else that they weren't telling him, but Daniel didn't get the sense that it was anything dangerous. He'd become pretty good at identifying when he was in trouble and he didn't get that sense here.

"You'll find, when you get back," Edmund added, "that no time has passed. Lucy was the first of us to find her way here and when she came back within seconds of having left, it made things a little difficult for her for a few weeks."

"They didn't believe me," Lucy said matter-of-factly. She stuck her tongue out at her brothers.

"And it didn't help that when I first found my way here," Edmund said, "I lied about it."

"Oh, Ed," Lucy said in the most serious tone Daniel had yet heard from her. "Let's not get into all that again."

"As you wish, Lu." Edmund smiled at his sister, but Daniel could see that there was some unpleasant memory there.

"In any event," Peter said, "we came as children and liberated the land from the White Witch. And Aslan made us kings and queens."

"Queens?" Daniel asked, setting aside, for the moment, the question of exactly how old they had been at the time, because they certainly didn't look to be more than in their twenties even now.

All three monarchs grew sober at his question, and Tumnus looked grave. For a moment Daniel feared that he was going to be the subject of royal displeasure.

Then Peter sighed. "Yes. There were originally four of us. Our sister, Susan...I think being told she could never return to Narnia after our second visit here broke her heart and she chose to deal with her heartbreak by remembering Narnia only as a pleasant children's game, outgrown as she became older. So she wasn't with us when we returned the last time."

"Poor Su," Lucy said. "Left all alone. And for more than fifty years? I had no idea so much time had passed there. It hardly seems that long here."

"And that's why you're here, Daniel," Edmund said.

"Me?"

Edmund nodded. "Where once we couldn't return to Narnia, now we can't return to Earth. Aslan told us that a traveler would come from our own world, someone who could take a message from us back to our sister, to tell her that it's time for her to come home -- that a way will be opened for her, if she so chooses."

"Me?" Daniel said again. "But how am I supposed to find her?"

"If Aslan chose you," Peter replied, and Daniel could well believe by the sudden gravity in his voice, that this young man had been a king for many years, "then you will have a way."

"But who is this Aslan you keep mentioning?"

"He's the Lion," Lucy said.

"The King over all Kings," Edmund added.

"He's the creator of this world and the Son of the Emperor Over The Sea," Peter said. "He's...well, he's Aslan. It's deuced hard to describe him to someone who hasn't met him."

"Will I meet him?"

The monarchs shared another glance and shrugged. "We never know when he'll appear," Lucy said. "After all, it's not as though he was a tame lion."

That had the sound of something that was said so often it had become a cliché. It was also all that Daniel could get out of them on that subject.

The luncheon was cleared away and games set up -- lawn bowling to begin with, then Peter and Edmund gave a demonstration of swordplay. When the mock bout ended in a tie, butts were set up for archery. Daniel participated in this contest at Lucy's insistence. He didn't do too badly, though there was no chance that he was actually going to win. They all seemed very well-trained in their chosen disciplines and might even have given Teal'c or Jack a run for their money.

When the sun began to slide toward the tops of the trees at the edge of the meadow, the tables were reset for dinner. Daniel was once again seated with Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Tumnus. This time there was venison, more pavender, and various roasted vegetables. There were cakes and berry tartlets for dessert.

The conversation this time centered on how Daniel was to find Susan Pevensie, especially after fifty years. When he gently pointed out that she might have died in the intervening time, the siblings shared another secretive glance and shook their heads.

"No," Peter declared. "We would know if she had."

"If nothing else," Lucy said, "Aslan would have told us. We may be estranged, but she is our sister, and we love her."

"And besides that," Edmund added, "she is a Queen of Narnia. If she were dead, all Narnia would mourn. No, she lives. Somewhere on Earth."

"That narrows things down," Daniel said sourly. But he already knew that he would find her. It might take some time -- and possibly some government overreach, which he would have to find a way to talk General Hammond into -- but he would find her.

After dinner, the tables were cleared away and blankets and cushions were produced. The entire party lounged on the ground in front of the marquee and, as the sun set in a glory of purple and gold, music sprang up. Single flutes were joined by panpipes and drums of various sizes. An ethereal voice lifted above the instruments, and out in the meadow, people began to dance. Lucy clapped.

"The dryads and fauns love to dance," she said. "It's always so beautiful."

Daniel watched, fascinated. The dance was at once stately and untamed, dignified and wildly energetic. All of the fauns and dryads joined in, and Daniel thought by the numbers that others who had not been present earlier were arriving from the forest. The dancers flowed around one another, lines of dancers crossing and intertwining, until Daniel couldn't keep them all straight. The music alternated between wild and sweet, setting his heart thrumming one moment and slowing to a lullaby the next.

He never realized it when he fell asleep where he sat.

Chapter Text

"Okay, kids, let's get this show on the road." Jack started up the ramp and disappeared into the Gate, followed by Sam, then Teal'c. Daniel went last, pulling his bag onto his shoulder.

Gate travel had become so routine for him that he barely noticed the transit any longer, but he absolutely noticed when he stepped out of the wormhole and the rest of the team was staring up at him expectantly. Apparently, he'd taken a bit longer to get up the ramp than usual, while messing with his bag.

"Daniel, come on!" Jack called sharply.

"Coming!" Daniel responded, jogging to catch up with the others.

The mission to P3X-992 was routine; so routine, in fact, that they were back home by late afternoon. After Janet cleared them, Daniel went back to his office to sit down with Dr. Grant's report. He hadn't had any free time on the mission to take a look at it, and he was feeling a bit wound up for some reason, so he thought he might get some work done before he headed home for the night.

He put the pack on his worktable and proceeded to empty it, repacking it with the things he usually kept in it -- a change of underwear and fresh socks, granola bars, allergy meds, spare notebooks and pens, and so forth. The rest he tidied away.

He decided that he needed coffee, so took Dr. Grant's report and headed for the cafeteria. Fortified with coffee and a piece of chocolate cake, he took a seat at one of the empty tables. The cafeteria was almost deserted, so he decided to stay there so he wouldn't have to walk back to return his plate and cup.

With his coffee set well aside, and a forkful of cake on its way to his mouth, he opened Dr. Grant's report. Inside, he found two intricately folded paper packets that he didn't recognize. It was only when he flipped them over and saw that while one bore his name, the other was addressed simply, "Susan," in a fine hand that he remembered.

Narnia, fauns and talking animals, the Pevensie siblings, and their request that he find their missing sister. He remembered the dryads and fauns dancing in the moonlight. He remembered arriving in Narnia when he expected to step onto the surface of P3X-992. He must have traveled to Narnia and returned between one step and another. Astounding.

The package addressed to him was a bit lumpy; when he opened it a gold necklace fell out onto the table. The lion-head pendant was not very large -- perhaps the size of a quarter -- but the goldsmith had made the lion's face so that it somehow looked kind and gentle, but also sad. Daniel shook his head. It was amazing workmanship.

The letter turned out to be from Edmund and merely reiterated everything that they had already talked about, concluding, "You are presently sleeping under the stars, and I have the strongest feeling that you will not be in Narnia when you wake. I hope you will not forget our request, but Peter and I talked it over and decided to give you some tokens, both for Susan and for your own memory -- it is very easy to dismiss Narnia as simply a dream. The enclosed necklace used to belong to Susan and she should recognize it, no matter how long it has been for her since she last saw it. The letter addressed to her is our sign to her that it is time for her to come home, to join us in Narnia, and to take up her throne. Thank you for your efforts, Daniel. I cannot tell you how much this means to us." It was signed, simply, "Edmund."

Daniel set the letter down. The necklace gleamed under the cafeteria's harsh fluorescent lighting. He wondered again how he was going to find the missing Susan, but he was not unused to research, after all, though this was a little more modern than chasing down the name of a pharoah or trying to decipher the writings on ruins on other worlds.

Movement on the other side of the room caught his eye and he looked up. Dr. Grant was just entering. She poured herself a mug of coffee from the carafe and approached. "I see you are also working late, Dr. Jackson," she said. "May I--" Her question ended in a gasp and the coffee mug slipped from her hand and shattered on the concrete floor. She looked so pale Daniel was afraid she might collapse. He jumped up and guided her to a seat.

"Are you all right, Dr. Grant? What is it?"

She pointed at the necklace. "Where did you get that?"

Daniel frowned. "It was given to me," he said slowly, realization dawning. So much for a lengthy, nearly hopeless quest. "By someone named Edmund, who, along with his sister and brother asked me to find their missing sister."

She looked up, tears running down her face. "You saw them? You saw Peter and Edmund and Lucy? How is this possible?"

Daniel shrugged. "When we went through the Gate this morning, I took a detour."

Dr. Grant smiled tremulously. "Yes, of course. He does love to use doorways."

"Who does?" Daniel asked, though he was pretty sure he knew what her answer was going to be.

She gently touched the gold necklace. "Aslan." And in a low voice, conscious of the few people who were still in the cafeteria, she told him a story that matched what he had learned while in Narnia, except for one detail.

The different surname was easily explained by her wedding band, but "Your name is Alice," he said, confused.

She smiled, sadly. "Alice is my middle name. It helped me to forget having been a queen and losing everything and everyone I loved if I was called something else."

"They left you behind," Daniel said with as much compassion as he could muster.

"They died," she corrected him. "There was a train accident. They were all either on the train or on the platform waiting to meet the train. My brothers and sister. My parents. My cousin. The few other people who knew about Narnia. All gone, all at once."

"How old were you?" Daniel asked gently.

"Twenty-one," she said baldly. "I was left alone in the world at twenty-one years old and had to arrange six funerals. At first I was bitter, but I came to hope that they had been called to Narnia. I'm glad that they were."

"Well, then, this is for you," Daniel said. He clasped the necklace around her neck and handed her the letter. "I'll leave you to read that in private."

She caught his hand. "No, please. Stay."

He nodded and sat down across the table from her while an airman cleaned up the fallen coffee cup and spilled coffee. Daniel nodded his thanks. He couldn't help himself; he had to watch Susan read the letter. Her expression went from dread to joy to resignation.

"They want me to come; they say Aslan will permit it. But I can't leave here. Not with the Goa'uld out there. I have to do my part here."

"Dr. Grant -- Susan -- we have an entire base full of people who are here to fight the Goa'uld. After fifty-some years without your family, I think you're entitled to accept this invitation. Why don't I take you home? You can think about it overnight and tell me your decision in the morning. I can talk Col. O'Neill into adding you to a mission so that you have an excuse to go through the Stargate, if that's what you decide to do. You just let me know."

She smiled at him, her eyes luminous. "Thank you, Dr. Jackson. That's very kind of you -- but you needn't see me home; I'm fine. I'll let you know my decision tomorrow."

"All right, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. Thank you."

Daniel watched her walk away, feeling both pleased to have discharged his mission so easily and also a little sad. He had begun to look forward to the challenge.

And he still hadn't read her report. With a sigh, he opened the binder and started reading.

It was very late when Daniel got home, and he was exhausted. It had been an extremely busy day, after all, what with visits to two different worlds and the emotional discussion with Dr. Grant. He didn't even bother to turn on lights, just navigated to his bedroom in the dark and collapsed on the bed.

"Son of Adam." The deep rich voice thrummed through him, impossible to ignore.

Daniel opened his eyes and found himself face-to-face with an enormous lion. He saw now that the exquisite workmanship of Dr. Grant's pendant was, in fact, a very poor attempt to capture Aslan's likeness -- because this could be no other being. The great Lion nodded his head as if he heard Daniel's thought.

"Yes," he said. "I am He." He backed up a few paces so that he wasn't taking up all of Daniel's field of vision. They were in a meadow with the greenest grass he had ever seen, dotted with jewel-tone flowers. Dr. Grant stood nearby, her braid over her shoulder, her eyes downcast.

"Come, Daughter of Eve," Aslan said, "are we not friends of old?"

Her fingers knotted together. "I was foolish, Aslan."

The great Lion shrugged and shook his mane. "All such things are behind you, now, Daughter. You are called home. Once a queen in Narnia, always a queen."

Susan looked over at Daniel, still avoiding looking at the Lion. "What about the Goa'uld?"

"That battle is for others to fight," Aslan said, but he sounded, Daniel thought, proud of her.

At last Susan turned her eyes on the Lion. Tears ran down her face, as she flung her arms around his neck. "Oh, I have missed you."

To Daniel's astonishment, there were tears on the Lion's face, as well. "And I have missed you, Daughter." He raised a great paw and put it on Susan's shoulder. She raised her head from his mane. "Come, Queen Susan. Your family awaits."

As Daniel watched, the years melted from Susan's face. Her hair came undone from its braid and darkened and lengthened, her no-nonsense work skirt and blouse changed into an embroidered gown not unlike the one Lucy had worn. The tip of a bow peeked over her shoulder, and a large ivory horn hung at her waist, and Daniel realized that this was no longer Dr. Alice Grant, but Queen Susan of Narnia.

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson," she said.

"You're very welcome, Your Majesty," he replied. She smiled gently, and then she was gone.

"And now, Son of Adam, I, too, wish to thank you," Aslan said. "You have many questions, but you must, I fear, find the answers for yourself. I can only tell you this: Do not lose hope. The journey is hard, and the way is long. You have many lessons to learn and great deeds to do before you achieve your heart's desire. If you stray not from the path, nor give in to despair, achieve it you will -- but you may find that it is not what you think it is."

Daniel knew that he wasn't going to get any more concrete an answer than that. Aslan wasn't going to tell him where he could find Sha're or how he could separate her from Amaunet. But he nevertheless felt the hope that Aslan no doubt meant to give him.

"Thank you, Aslan. Will I see Narnia again?"

"Perhaps," Aslan replied. "But until that day, you will not remember it. When you arrive at your workplace tomorrow morning, you will not remember Susan Pevensie. You will find on your desk a letter of resignation from Dr. Alice Grant, who has decided to return to her childhood home, a choice which she discussed with you last night. You will feel regret that she is leaving the Stargate program, but you will move on. You cannot be spared from the fight, Son of Adam. I wish it were not so."

Daniel shrugged and bowed his head. "I think I already knew that."

Aslan paced forward and gently licked Daniel's forehead. "Go now, Son of Adam. Return to your home. We may yet meet again one day." And he ducked his head to meet Daniel's eyes, and Daniel felt as though he was falling into a golden pool...

...and woke with the morning sun in his eyes. He'd been so exhausted last night he hadn't even closed his curtains.

He yawned and stretched. He felt so much better for the rest, though. He glanced at his alarm clock. He even had time for a leisurely breakfast before he had to be at the Mountain.

He got out of bed and padded into the kitchen to start his day.