Chapter 9 ~ Alliances.

With his arms wrapped tightly around his waist and his brow low, Daniel threw a scowl at the spot his reflection should have been, seeing only blackness reflected back. Silently, he cursed the mirror for its inactivity. Of course, it wasn't a regular type of mirror. And it wasn't the mirrors fault that Leesia still wasn't back.

Despite the fact that he had given clear instructions to the guards that he was to be contacted the moment of her return, he couldn't help repeatedly checking the mirror for himself at very regular intervals. Each time with growing frustration and anxious tension.

Giving a soft sigh of disappointment, Daniel turned and padded away, heading back to his office and the half-finished mission report that awaited him.

It had been nearly two weeks.

Two long weeks.

Two long, lonely weeks.

Two weeks of throwing himself into his work to occupy his uneasy mind and working to the point of exhaustion to avoid the nightmare that he knew would plague him otherwise.

Two weeks without her! And after watching her die in his arms, two weeks was a damn long time. Hell, two days, two hour, two minutes would be too long for him at the moment.

She was constantly on his mind. Not even having the SGC overrun with Ishta's female Jaffa army (complete with horses), had fully distracted him. And, though he would never admit it, he was not entirely looking forward to Rya'c and Kar'yn's wedding. Watching the joyous union of two people so clearly in love would only serve as a reminder that his soulmate was not currently by his side. Knowing it was likely to leave him longing for his wife, even more than he already was, he was fast dreading the day.

Teal'c, in his disapproving bad temper, had taken to locking himself away, alone in his quarters. Firmly telling anyone who dared to try to coax him out, that he desired solitude. Which effectively removed Daniel's option of meditating with his favourite partner to ease his stress. Sam had her hands full with finding Ishta a new base planet. Mitchell had taken the chance to visit his family and Daniel held little hope of Jack having any time for his friend at the present.

However, when he reached his lab, he found he was surprisingly mistaken. Jack stood in the rear of Daniel's office, absently tossing an Aybdonian fertility stature back and forth between his hands.

"Hey," Daniel greeted, warily plucking the ten-thousand year old relic from Jack's hand before he could break it and carefully replacing it back in its spot on his shelve, "What's up?"

"Was wondering if you wanna get out of here, Get a drink or something?" Jack replied casually.

"Oh, um," Daniel mumbled, quickly scanning his desk for something he could use as an excuse. It wasn't that he didn't want to go with his friend. He did, really. Jack's relaxed attitude always had a calming effect on the archaeologist. He just knew that he currently needed a bigger distraction than alcohol and small talk could ever provide. "You know I'm not much of a drinker."

"Well, I could sure use one and you know what they say about drinking alone."

"I should really get this done," Daniel continued, waving in the general direction of his desk and knowing Jack wouldn't question what he was referring to.

Jack waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It'll still be here in the morning."

"I'll never get it done with that attitude."

Jack shot him a pointed look. "It's ten o'clock at night, Daniel."

Daniel quickly checked his wristwatch and was surprised when he found Jack to be correct. "Oh."

"Everyone needs to take a break. Even you. Besides, you're making everyone else look bad."

Daniel smiled hesitantly, looking unsure.

"Look, if it makes you feel better you could always bring it with you." Jack offered. Then seeing Daniel's resolve waver, quickly continued before the man had a chance to turn him down again. "Meet you topside in fifteen." he said confidently and, not waiting for his friends response, strode from the lab.

Twenty-five minutes later, Jack was leaning against the driver's door of his truck, patiently waiting for Daniel to grace him with his presence. He had expected the easily distracted scientist to keep him waiting and would give him another couple of minutes before calling down to hurry him along.

Jack's concern for his best friend had grown in certainty during the last two weeks, and had peeked when Daniel had turned in his previous mission report. While Sam's and Mitchell's had been detailed, giving clear informative of their time in the other reality, Daniel's had not. His usual compassionate and highly opinionated style of writing, which more often than not went on for pages, had been replaced with a brief and clinical bullet point report. It read as if written by someone witnessing the events, not someone who had experienced them for themselves.

To Jack it looked like a classic sign of detachment. Daniel was not dealing. After what Sam had told him about Daniel's emotional state when they had found him in the police station, Jack wasn't surprised. However, he wasn't about to let his best friend suffer in silence. No, Daniel needed to share and if he wasn't willing then Jack was sure getting a few beers in him would loosen the archaeologist's tongue. Fortunately, Daniel's low tolerance for alcohol meant he wouldn't need many.

Just as Jack was about to place the call, the man himself made an appearance. Loaded down with an over filled and heavy looking shoulder bag and an arm full of books, Daniel wondered over and climbed into the passenger side of Jack's truck.

"Looks like I'm driving then," Jack smiled and followed suit.

"Tis a Paradox. That's what it is." Daniel slurred three beers later. "An enigma, a God damn conundrum."

His fourth beer sat opened yet ignored on the Jack's coffee table in front of him. No longer needed and frankly it had become a hazard in his animated hands. The damp patches that freckled Jack's couch and Daniel clothing were proof of that.

From his visual post on the armchair opposite, Jack took a swig direct from his own bottle. "How's that?"

Daniel let out a humourless chuckle, as if the answer should be obvious. "I'm mourning her, while waiting for her to come back. It was her, but it wasn't her. Which is completely contradictory and impossible. You know? I mean, one person can't be two people. She was identical right down to the tingles. How was I meant to know? …She did, you know? She knew straight away. She didn't just jump me and stick her tongue down my throat - his throat. Whatever."

Daniel had been heatedly rambling for the better part of the last half an hour. Once the alcohol had started to take effect, it proved only too easy for Jack to coax Daniel's thoughts out of the tipsy man. In fact, once he had started Jack was sure it would be far trickier to shut the man up. Something he was not even going to try. Daniel needed to vent, that much was clear and Jack was only too happy to be the one to listen.

"It was meant to be a time machine. It said it was. How was I to know that editing the timeline meant that it created an alternate reality? I wanted to get my son back. I knew it was a risk. A big one. It wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't not try. I just couldn't, you know?"

Jack nodded in sympathetic understanding. Even with hindsight, he knew he'd take the chance if there were even the tiniest possibility of getting Charlie back. Any parent on the planet (or any other) in Daniel's position would have done the same thing had the opportunity arisen. Things may not have panned out the way Daniel had planned, but no one could blame the man for trying.

Jack tuned back in when he realised Daniel was still talking.

"-Assuming she even can. If she develops a Florence Nightingale syndrome, she may not even be willing to. She did with me and he is me after all. I don't think I could cope if that happened." Daniel shook his head sadly, with a mournful sigh, before immediately continuing with his depressive chatter.

While a lot of what he was saying was eluding Jack, he was certainly getting the gist of the big picture. God, Daniel had so many contradictory feeling and thoughts about what had happened Jack was surprised the younger man had managed to keep a lid on it up until now. He was feeling guilty, that was painfully obvious, as well as in mourning and mixed in with everything else was a healthy size amount of paranoid fear.

"And don't even get me started on Daniel - Dan. I mean who does that guy think I am? Okay, I go over and make a messed up life far worse, but he had given up, Jack. He gave up on Sarah. He gave up on himself. Yes, I kissed her but she wasn't MY nurse. That doesn't mean he can take off with my wife and go off to do God knows what, does it?"

Jack added anger and jealousy to the growing list.

"I couldn't tell the difference, but he knows the score. I've never really been the vengeful type, but maybe after years in a mental home a little tit for tat would feel justified."

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Jack interrupted, quickly moving across the room and joining his friend on the couch. Honestly trying to keep up with him was starting to give Jack a headache. He gave his friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze to draw his attention. "You're over thinking this. Leesia loves you and Dan is a good person, same as you. But if you can't trust him, you should at least trust her. Nothing is going to happen between them, I guarantee it and she'll be back before you know it."

Daniel shook his head, sadly. "The kiss, I told her about it. Told her I should've known, but I didn't. I should have seen it. She was more Earth-like, Jack. But in the end, she was still Leesia through and through… She died trying to help me." His bottom lip started to tremble. His breathing quickly turning more and more ragged by the second. "If it wasn't her then I'm guilty of infidelity, if it was then I'm guilty of getting my wife killed. Whichever way I view it doesn't make it any better, or what I did any less wrong and either way a good woman died because of me."

"Hey," Jack said softly. "It wasn't you fault."

Daniel snorted wetly. "It was my fault, Jack. I got her into that situation, I found that machine, I took the gun. I-I-I-" With a wavering inhale, Daniel gasped out, "I thought it was her. I thought it was Leesia and - and oh God, Jack, I felt her life leave… I held her in my arms and I…I felt it disappear."

Before Daniel even realised it, he found himself wrapped up in his friend, with his face buried in the crock of Jack's neck. A comforting hand was gently patting the back of his head, the other rubbing up and down his back in a soothing manner. For a split second he hesitated, unsure, then he melted gratefully into the tight embrace and let the long pent up tears fall.

"That's it, Buddy. Let it out," Jack soothed, rocking him.

He had known that Daniel had been witness to the other Leesia's death first hand. It had been detailed in both Sam and Mitchell's mission reports, and touched on briefly in Daniel's own. But what hadn't been made clear by any of them, was that Daniel had still been under that belief that it was his Leesia at the time. The unbearable agony that came with holding yourself accountable for the loss of a loved one, Jack knew only too well. And so he paid no mind to the tears and various other fluids that were currently soaking the shoulder of his t-shirt through to the skin, he just held his friend closer and rocked the hysterically sobbing man.

Being careful not to wake the slumbering man, Jack pulled a thick woollen blanket over Daniel's shoulder and gently removed the askew glasses off his friend's lax face. He folded them and placed them on the coffee table, next to the glass of water and aspirin he had readied for Daniel's inevitable upcoming hangover.

Shortly after Daniel's sobbing had abated and with a half garbled apology, the archaeologist had succumb to the combination of drink and emotional exhaustion and passed out on Jack's shoulder.

Feeling oddly proud of himself, Jack had gently wiggled out and rearranged the dead weight archaeologist on the couch. He would feel better if Daniel slept in the bed in the spare room (his couch wasn't exactly adequate to accommodate someone 6 foot tall), but there was no way he was going to wake the man now.

Getting Daniel to bear his soul was no easy feet and he smiled knowing that he had succeeded in doing just that and that his friend had lifted some of the weight off his overburdened shoulders. Of course, the bulk of Daniel's trouble wouldn't be eased until Leesia's return, but Jack felt better knowing that he had helped how he could.

Still smiling to himself, Jack left his loudly snoring friend and, snagging the phone on route, headed off to his bedroom.

Pushing the door to behind him, Jack jabbed at speed dial one and pressed the phone to his ear. After only a couple of rings the line connected to a weary "Hello?"

"Did I wake ya?" he asked softly, keeping his voice hushed so not to disturb Daniel.

"No, not at all," Sam replied drowsily. A yawn betrayed her statement. "How is he?" she asked worriedly.

"Sleeping the sleep of the intoxicated and snoring the house down. Poor guy was a mess, but I think this evening helped."

"You actually got him to open up?" she said, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Once he got going it was getting him to shut up that was the problem…Why, did you doubt me?"

"It's Daniel," Sam replied offhandedly, as if that was explanation enough for her tone of surprise at Jack's success. "Wish I could say the same thing about Teal'c. Of course, I didn't have alcohol to help me."

"No joy, huh?"

"None, sorry. Tag you're it,"

"Fine," Jack grumbled jokily. One down, one to go was still a step forward. He knew that getting the taciturn Jaffa to reveal the workings of his inner mind would most likely prove even more of a challenge then Daniel had been, who was only silenced by his more personal issues. "But no more ping pong."

"Still bruised?"

"I scored one." Jack justified.

"Was he at the table at the time?"

Damn, this woman was either spying on him or knew him too well. "…Not the point."

Sam chuckled. "'Night Jack. Love you."

"Love you too. See you in the morning, oh seven hundred."

"Can't wait."

….

Daniel awoke the next morning, way too early for his liking, with a stiff neck, a sandpaper-dry mouth, a protesting stomach and a headache. However, the scent of freshly brewed coffee seduced him from his place of rest.

With a soft groan, he eased himself upright and, following his nose like a bloodhound, wondered into Jack's kitchen. He grunted a "Morning" to his friend, who leant against the counter perusing the paper, and immediately helped himself to a large mug full of the desired beverage.

"Morning," Jack replied, sounding too alert that was natural for the time in the morning.

"Sorry about um," Daniel murmured, waving his arm in the general direction of the living room.

"S'ok." Jack shrugged. "It's all good."

Hiding most of his face inside his mug, Daniel peeked over the rim at his friend. "Thanks."

Meeting Daniel's embarrassed yet grateful eyes, Jack nodded his understanding. Then, not wanting to make Daniel any more uncomfortable then he clearly already was, quickly changed the subject. "You want some breakfast before we head in?"

"Sure," Daniel shrugged. Then, taking in the dim view out of the kitchen window added, "It's a little early to be heading in isn't it?"

"We have a meeting at oh seven hundred."

"We do?" Daniel questioned. SG-1 didn't have a mission scheduled for another two weeks. "First I've heard about it."

"Well, maybe that's because you've been holed up in your office for the best part of a fortnight. Not that I blame you," Jack quickly continued, when he saw Daniel was about to interrupt. "Would have done the same thing if I could, if only to avoid the horses. Right, breakfast we have…" he pulled open the fridge door and took a look at the contents.

"Chinese leftovers, beer or ketchup?" Daniel summed up looking over Jack's shoulder.

"Yep, all the major food groups. You telling me you got something against ketchup?"

Daniel snorted a chuckle. "We'll grab something on the way in. It's on me."

Loop, loop, up tuck, thread through and pull. Daniel wiggled the knot of his tie into place and folded his collar down. He then slipped on his jacket to complete the ensemble.

The day of the wedding was here. With all the stress and worry over Ishta's capture and Teal'c's rescue it had been a long few days and the 'Gateroom ceremony would be a perfect way to end the week on a high.

Daniel just wished Leesia could be here to see it in person. Unfortunately, she would have to settle for being told all about it if she comes back.

When! When, she comes back, he told himself firmly, brushing some nonexistent dust from his shoulder.

After his emotional evening with Jack, Daniel had decided to try and take a more positive attitude regarding his wife's absence. And the meeting the following morning had set that decision in stone. If the others were so confident about her return that they were arranging meetings regarding her future involvement within the SGC then who was he to doubt her homecoming.

She had gone because she was a good person trying to do a good thing. Dan didn't deserve to be locked away. Lisa had died trying to free him. It had been her final wish and Daniel found it quite poetic that her alternate self was making sure that wish came true.

Though the kiss still troubled him, he was trying to forgive himself for it. After all, in his heart, he had believed it was his wife that he was kissing. So it wasn't a deliberate infidelity and he wholeheartedly believe Leesia herself would not hold it against him.

The haunting memory of witnessing Leesia's (No Lisa's, he forcibly reminded himself) death still persistently plagued his thoughts and dreams. But he had expected it would take more than a positive attitude to rid himself of those nightmares.

"Daniel."

So caught up in his own contemplations, Daniel hadn't noticed the object of his thoughts steal up behind him and jumped at the sound of his name. He jerked round to face her, eyes wide in delight.

"Lees," he gasped out gratefully, practically throwing himself at her and pulling her into his appreciative arms. He needed to touch her, feel for himself that this wasn't some cruel dream. As he pulled her into a tight embrace, he felt himself relax. She was home, she was safe. She was alive and in his arms. He rubbed his hands across her back, smelt her hair and then gratefully kissed her cheek.

"Daniel?" she asked sounding quite startled and more than a little confused, "Are you alright?"

Daniel felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as he realised the extremity of his actions. Clearly, the positive thinking memo hadn't reached his subconscious.

He was acting far too needy and that wasn't like him. Sure, it had been nearly three weeks apart, but not matter how much he had missed her, the time was not a good enough excuse for his extreme reactions.

"I'm fine…now." he told her, breathing steadily through his nose, in attempt to get hold of himself and calm his racing heart. He coughed, cleared his throat and pulled back; taking both her hands in his and tried to offer his most convincing smile. "How'd it go?"

She eyed him carefully, not convinced he was actually 'fine' as he had stated. Of course he would be pleased to see her, she was expecting that. She had missed him too and he was a very grateful sight for her longing eyes. But she hadn't expected this level of…what she could only think looked like relief in his unsettled baby blues. He had to have known she would be coming back…didn't he?

When her concerned and questioning gaze upon him didn't falter, Daniel repeated, "I'm fine. Really. How did it go?"

"Oh, um, very well, actually." she stammered to answer his question, while her mind was more focused on what could explain her husband obvious distress. "The other Sam and Cameron have formed the new SG-1. And are currently in the process of contacting many of our allies and forming alliances."

"And Daniel?" he asked, trying to keep the envious tone to his voice masked, and mostly failing to do so.

"After everything he went through he was not willing to join. So I took him where I knew he would be safe and loved."

"So he's…?" Daniel broke off, his eyes widening as he realised the significance of what she was saying.

"He is with Sha're." she confirmed with a smile, finding his stunned expression completely endearing. "I stayed long enough to witness their marriage."

Daniel could stop the bright smile that lit his face. He had walked a mile in his counterpart's shoes. The man had suffered so badly needlessly. The wonders of Abydos and the love of Sha're would go a long way to healing those wounds. And it was heartening to know that in at least one reality Sha're and himself had found their happy ever after.

"Speaking of weddings, you're just in time for Rya'c's."

"I was going to ask about the attire," she said nodding at the suit he had donned for the occasion.

Hand in loving hand, they wondered together down to the 'Gateroom.

The following morning and the halls of the SGC were quiet and horse-free. Side by side in the tranquil calm of Daniel's lab, bathed in the gently light from his reading lamp, Leesia and Daniel worked with their fingers entwined. Had it not been for the fact that Leesia was reading at glancing pace and Daniel seemed to be reading five books simultaneously while taking note, the pair could easy be an old married couple simply enjoying their novels in a comfortable silence.

It was this scene that greeted them, as Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Cam strode purposefully into the lab.

Dropping his pencil and using the excuse of rubbing his eyes to mask his grin, Daniel asked, "Hey guys, what's up?" trying to sound innocently naive to their ploy.

"We want you to reconsider joining SG-1." Mitchell told Leesia, getting straight to the point.

She stared up at the four of them, not unaware that her husband's eyes seemed just as keen for her answer as the rest of them did. "SG-1 already has four members," she pointed out.

"There's nothing in the rule book that says an SG team has to be comprised of four people." Sam said.

"And ten hands are better than eight." Jack added.

"I do not possess the bravery required."

"That is untrue, Leesia Jackson," Teal'c argued. "You willingly travelled to the other reality solo to save the others, putting yourself in great danger."

"To be with Daniel," she pointed out.

"And you didn't have to go with the others to rectify their reality either." Mitchell joined in Teal'c's argument.

"In the last ten missions you've been with us more often than not." Sam added.

Leesia quickly did the math in her head…Sam was right. "That does not mean that I should join. Those missions each had extenuating circumstances."

"In case you haven't noticed, Sparky," Jack said. "This is the home of extenuating circumstances."

"Where you in on this?" Leesia asked turning her accusing gaze in her husband direction.

Daniel merely smiled, then seeing her fearfully doubting expression sighed in disappointment. "Guys, if she doesn't want to we can't force her."

"She does want to," Jack insisted. "She's just scared about screwing up." He turned to face the nervous looking woman and said softly, "Leesia, everyone here has screwed up at one time or another. Like this one time Daniel nearly got us all killed trying to rescue an Unas."

Daniel nodded, the smile on his face clearly stating 'guilty as charged'.

Jack continued. "Another time we were all imprisoned when he wanted to help some bozo and he ended up bringing the 'destroyer of worlds' back here. Then there was the alien device he brought back that nearly took over the base with some freaky sixties glow in the dark bacteria. The base got over run by replicators when he wanted to bring this robot chick back. I can't begin to tell you the amount of times I've specifically told him not to touch something and then two seconds later he's turned it on with nothing more than an 'oops' or a 'sorry'."

Daniel's smile had disappeared from his face, replaced with a frown. "Didn't this speech begin with 'everyone here has screwed up'?"

Jack shrugged. "There's just more examples with you."

"Is not." Daniel argued, his arms folding across his chest.

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"There is not!"

"Oh there so is too."

"Sam wanted to bring Reese back just as much as I did." Daniel pointed out, flapping his arm in her direction.

Sam held her hands up in mock surrender. "Whoa, don't bring me into this." she said, backing up a step.

"And I think you'll find it was Mitchell that caused our latest predicament." Daniel continued.

"Just leading by example." Cam replied casually.

Realising he was outmanned and not going to win the argument, Daniel rolled his eyes. "The point I think Jack's trying to make is, that we've all made mistakes, but each time we were trying to do the right thing and more often then not something good came out of it."

Leesia looked at each of them, one at a time. "Do you all feel this way?"

Five heads nodded almost in sync.

"Well then," Leesia smiled, "How can I say no? Count me in."