Any warrior would sacrifice his life for the ideals he was fighting for, Teal'c knew that. He was prepared for the possibility of dying on any mission, and would face death bravely when the time came. In a way, Teal'c didn't fear his own death. He rebelled against the false gods and actively fought against them with the hope of one day freeing his people, he couldn't do it if he feared for his fate. But Teal'c was afraid for his friends. It wasn't something common among Jaffa, fearing for his teammates in that way. Among Jaffa, not even family deserved that a warrior would fear their death in that way, everyone should always be ready to give their lives for their god. Perhaps this feeling came with freedom, and he didn't know what to think of it.
He feared for Daniel Jackson, and it only made him fight with more vigor. The only chance Earth had was to shut down the gate, and it made sense to send just one soldier to accompany Daniel and maintain the others providing cover fire. This didn't soothed Teal'c discomfort of letting his friend so close to enemy fire without more help. It was too dangerous.
When the first zat shot hit, Teal'c wanted to run towards him to ensure his rescue. He had no time to plan a route to cross through enemy fire. It was almost too fast to understand. The second shot caused a strong convulsion, and then it was over. Daniel Jackson was dead.
There was no time to mourn; Major Hunter was still under heavy enemy fire while trying to rescue the body. He had not understood that human sentimentality until this moment. Burying warriors fallen in battle, not leaving the bodies behind. For the Jaffa, there was nothing like that. And yet, for some reason, he felt that it was important. The first time they had to veil Daniel, there was no body. He hadn't thought about it at the time, it seemed only natural that a warrior would be veiled without his body. Now he couldn't understand why it was so important to him that Major Hunter recovered the body.
But sentimentality was not worth a life, and when it became clear he wouldn't be able to carry Daniel back, Hunter tore his dog tags and ran to safety. This was something that he did not yet understood, why that object was so important to the Tau'ri warriors. Maybe someday he could ask O'Neill. But not now, not when they were the symbol of the deceased companion.
He knew what would happen next, but that by no means made it easier. With the third shot, the remains of Daniel Jackson disappeared without a trace. Now the dog tags caught by Hunter seemed to have more importance. O'Neill ordered them to leave the room. It was too late, nothing more could be done.
On their way to find General Hammond, Samantha Carter stopped them when they passed by the secondary control room.
"Sir?" She asked as she searched for Daniel with her eyes, and when she got no response, she continued. "What happened? What was the result? Where is Daniel?"
O'Neill remained silent, it was Teal'c who provided an answer. "Dr. Daniel Jackson perished in combat." Somehow, the declaration made the events more real. It was illogical, but perhaps another aspect of human sentimentality that he seemed to have acquired.
Teal'c saw the doubt in her eyes, and the moment when the realization hit her. She clung to professionalism, focusing on the mission. "I have a plan to retake the base, but I'll need some equipment from the labs, I'll get a team to try to cross to there."
Teal'c focused on the battle. It would be disrespectful to the memory of Daniel act differently. When the Jaffa that were in the gate room were electrocuted, it was the perfect opportunity to attack them. The battle was swift and decisive. And when it was finished, he was surprised to find Daniel Jackson in the room.
O'Neill immediately suspected the presence, but Teal'c knew of no Goa'uld technology capable of reproducing a body so perfectly, especially considering they didn't have a sample to work with. Still, it was even more certain that no technology could restore the life of someone who had their body disintegrated. However, O'Neill was convinced of his identity. Trusting his judgment, Teal'c also allowed himself to believe that his friend had returned to life.
Teal'c saw O'Neill pull Daniel Jackson to a hug, and when he let him go, Carter did the same. When she also walked away, Teal'c approached him and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Oh no, you also get a hug." Said Daniel practically throwing himself at Teal'c, contaminated by the same joy his friends felt in finding him alive.
Teal'c reciprocated the hug. He lacked words to explain the joy of knowing that he hadn't perished. With the invasion defeated and all the team members safe, at least for the moment, all was well.
Story based on the Stargate audiobook 1.1 from the Big Fish collection. If you don't know the story, I suggest you go listen to it immediately.
Despite working as a stand alone, this is also a companion piece to Jack's (Nobody get's left behind) and Sam's (I couldn't believe you were dead) versions.