ltkatia | Fic, Alternate Lines of Duty, PG-13, 6/6

'Okay, it's worth a host, I guess. You'll go talk to these scientists, and if you can get support from them, we'll take an offer back with us when we're allowed to leave,' Jack says.

'Uh, another thing? There should probably be a Tok'ra representative, to meet with our leaders,' Daniel adds.

'Maybe that could be you, Jolinar?' Teal'c suggests.

'I can see that it would be a good idea, but I do not believe I would be a good choice - Samantha and I could be taken as hostages, or used for medical experimentation. Interrogated...Samantha has told me about the NID, and some of your other leaders.'

'Yeah, that's true, unfortunately,' Jack says, sighing. 'Maybe a...contingent of Tok'ra? And we could meet at a neutral place? Maybe another planet?'

'Not a bad idea. Let us see what Anise and Malek says. In addition to being a scientist, Malek is on the Council, and a base commander. His support would be worth a lot.'

We talked to Anise and her host Freya, and then to Malek, who was visiting - you're allowed to be lucky sometimes, right? His host's name is Johan, and both of them are friends of Jolinar's. She doesn't get along with Anise and Freya as well, since they are more pure scientists, but I find I like them. Jolinar just made a long-suffering sigh at her host, and gave me control. I have been chatting with them for a couple hours, and I think we could work together really well.

In any case, both Freya/Anise and Johan/Malek are willing to support us to the Council. We went to talk to Saroosh/Selmak as well, and they chuckled and found it entertaining to see Jolinar gathering support like this. I suspect Jolinar is much more about action than diplomacy. Regardless, Selmak and Saroosh supports us as well, and will talk to Garshaw tomorrow. Then, if they can convince her, a Council meeting will be called and they will discuss the idea.

I am starting to think this will be possible!

We eat dinner with my team mates, and then Jolinar and I go to her quarters, where we take a bath. I am feeling exhausted, mentally, after all that has happened, and I almost fall asleep in the pleasant warm water.

After drying off and cleaning our teeth, Jolinar pulls the blankets aside and crawls into a very large bed.

[No sleepwear?] I frown.

[No, I do not care for it.]

[Pajamas?] I 'point' at the clothes lying under the blankets.

[Not mine. Martouf and Lantash's.] She lies down and pulls the blankets up.

[Wait! Jolinar! Who are they?] I ask, very suspicious. [Why would you have someone else's sleepwear in you bed? Why is the bed so big? Who owns those clothes?] I suddenly spot a bunch of clothes lying on the floor.

Jolinar sighes. [Martouf and Lantash are my mates. It would seem they have not felt the need to keep the place tidy with me away.] She gives the clothes on the floor a disapproving look, then spots a dirty plate on the table. [Obviously.]

[Jolinar, you have mates? You didn't think this little tidbit was worthy of my attention? You're married? I'm host to a married symbiote?]

[Since you have not shown interest in remaining my host, no I did not feel it was any of your concern.]

[Well you felt wrong! What if they come back before you leave me? How are they going to react? How did you think I would react, if you, like, just waltzed up and kissed them? If you do that, I mean.]

[Of course I kiss them...and we do everything else a human couple would do...] Jolinar launches into an intensely erotic daydream, and I do my best not to look as a very attractive naked young man kisses Jolinar and her former host, then push them down on the bed and start pleasuring them with his mouth...then the image shifts to him thrusting into Jolinar, and how much she is enjoying it...It is very hard not to look when the images are being shown on the inside of your skull!

[Whoa! Jolinar! Stop it!]

[Sorry...but do not tell me you do not find them attractive, because I could sense that you did!]

[Yeah, well they're not my mates, so I'd appreciate not knowing these things about them, okay?]

[They could be your mates too...]

[Listen, Jolinar, I'm not letting you stay, okay? And I most certainly are not going to have anything going on with them while I wait for you to leave! Are you crazy? And don't deny it, because I sensed that! What about them? They won't like having to sleep with some strange woman for a couple weeks, just after learning...Rosha is dead!]

[You are correct, of course.] Jolinar sounds very bashful. [They will be grieving her...and it would not be fair to either them or you. It is just that I have missed them and what we had, so very very much, and I am so very eager to have them back as my mates. Just to kiss them, or be held by them...I...I apologize.]

I suddenly feel sorry for her. [I can understand. I guess I don't mind that...if it's not creeping them out, I don't mind you kissing them, or even being held by them, but I don't think I'm ready for anything more than that with them - I don't know them!]

[Thank you, Samantha. You are a very nice person, much more than I deserve. I promise you, I shall do my best to leave you as soon as possible. Goodnight.]

[Goodnight.]

Despite my fatigue, I spend some time lying there, thinking. Do I even want Jolinar to leave anymore? Could I agree to a life like this, living with the Tok'ra? I would still go on missions, and if my people makes some sort of agreement with the Tok'ra, then I could visit Earth, maybe even go on missions with my team from time to time.

Because, I am very tempted by getting to work on the much more advanced technology the Tok'ra have. Very tempted indeed. Question is, can I accept sharing my body with Jolinar? Even just yesterday, I would have said 'hell no', but today? I am no longer so sure it would be a problem.

I start making lists in my head:

Pros: advanced tech for me to play with. BIG PRO!

Cons: sharing my body. Living on an alien base - but is this a con? I am already living on an underground base, and I rarely see my own planet. Another con is that I won't be going on mission with my team mates.

Neutral/unknown: being a Tok'ra host? Jolinar's mate(s)! I mean he/they look cute...attractive...okay, HOT! but I don't know them. Will they like me? Accept me? Can I come to love them?

All of this spins in my head as I finally fall asleep. I will figure it out. Tomorrow - or at least before those two weeks are up...and I am starting to suspect the answer will be that I want Jolinar to stay.