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Daniel reached past the dreams towards the glimmer of light – even as the glimmer of light seemed to reach towards him. He found himself in infirmary scrubs with bare feet standing with shaky legs on nothing that felt solid. Automatically he reached out to catch himself on something, but somehow he wasn't falling. He stumbled forward a little, still feeling nothing beneath his feet and wondered if he could sit down somewhere before his rubbery legs gave out on him and his pounding headache killed him stone dead.

The white wolf materialised before him and sat upon its haunches.

"Oh …. crap," said Daniel momentarily confused. He'd thought he had only dreamed about the wolves and the crevace thing. Actually it had mostly been a nightmare involving lots of pain and lots of cold and glimpses of beautiful ice formations and wolves.

"Your memory is damaged," murmured the wolf. "I am indeed real."

Daniel sighed a little and looked around himself. He was tired – very tired indeed. The infirmary bed materialised beneath him just as Daniel found himself beginning to collapse. Daniel landed with a soft bounce upon the cool sheets and lay still, suddenly exhausted.

"Sleep a little longer youngling," said the wolf. "When you awaken again your thoughts and body will be stronger."

Daniel wanted to say something; acknowledged to himself that it would be polite to say something to the talking wolf that wasn't a nightmare after all. He needed to know things like where the hell he was and what had happened but he was so tired and he was asleep again before he could get his mouth to work.

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Daniel opened his eyes to see the white wolf only a foot or two away. Its head was level with his own and it blinked its yellow eyes at him slowly. "How do you feel, youngling?"

Daniel blinked back a few times before he got himself together enough to answer. "I, ah … . Okay, I guess." In the back of his mind he amendment the statement: "I have a monster sized headache though."

"You were most grievously injured youngling. We had thought perhaps that your healers could treat such injuries but alas, they could not."

Daniel blinked again. The wolf had picked up his amended thoughts. He had to remember that there was no hiding anything with this sort of telepathic communication – and that it actually worked both ways. He was getting imagery right out of the wolf mind. It was focussed upon human hands and their wondrous dexterity. Daniel experienced the wolf thoughts and feelings as it remembered how useful human hands seemed to be to the wolf.

Daniel began to furrow his brow in a frown but the action hurt way too much. Instead he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the infirmary bed. The wolf straightened and Daniel found himself drawing in a slightly alarmed gasp of breath at the sheer immense size of the wolf. A wolf that he was talking to like a person and … . Hadn't the wolf just said something that he should be worried about? Something really important? Daniel sighed in defeat. It was so damned hard to focus. He rubbed gingerly at his head.

"Are you well enough, Daniel?"

Daniel gave a half nod of his head, finding that even that small motion caused him considerable pain. "Where exactly are we?"

The wolf tilted its head slightly and regarded him with assessing eyes. "Perhaps you should sleep for a time longer. You have an important decision to make youngling and you must make that decision with a clear mind."

Daniel began to shake his head and stopped that movement before it hurt too much. "No, I'm fine. I'd really like to know what's going on."

The wolf studied him intently for a long moment before nodding its head slowly just once. "Very well. Your injury has divided your future path youngling. You have two options. You may choose to be healed fully of your injury and return to your human 'friends', or you may come with me. Do you recall sharing and your acceptance into our pack?"

As if the words had opened a book inside of Daniel's mind he recalled the sharing as clearly as if it had just occurred. "Oh … I … . That was the most … amazing … . That was glorious!"

The wolf inclined its head slightly in acknowledgement of the compliment. "Were you to choose to rejoin our pack, you would share for all of the rest of your days and then beyond. This gift has only been offered once to another not of our kind in all of the remembered history of our kind. But all of my pack, living or not, agree that you are most worthy of the gift." The wolf stepped closer and nuzzled gently at Daniel's hand. "There is no word for 'loneliness' amongst our kind, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel drew in a slow breath. He yearned for the sharing. It was a stronger need than he had felt for anything in his life before. He understood that it would be a bonding of his mind, his body, heart and soul. A complete sharing of everything that he was and … . He had never realised exactly how much he hated being alone in his life until this moment – when there was a chance to be loved and cherished every single moment – despite his flaws and faults and … . "I want it so badly," he murmured.

The wolf nuzzled his hand gently once again. "I can offer a glimpse of your life in both futures if you would like. It would be best to know fully what both paths may offer."

Daniel nodded his head slightly.

The wolf leaned closer and Daniel found himself lost within its bottomless gaze … .

The pack travelled together moving silently through the deepest and darkest parts of the woods. Daniel rode upon the grey that had shared the crevace with him once all of those years ago. Most often he rode upon his back in preference to any of the others. Somehow it was easier to balance upon Grey's broad back.

"I compensate," murmured Grey's amused thought idly in answer to Daniel's own idle thoughts.

"Otherwise you would be falling amongst the tree roots many times," giggled Chilly the cream coloured yearling that pranced excitedly ahead. "Many, many times!"

"I'm doing pretty well considering," replied Daniel, and he fed the image of a saddle into his thoughts.

"Oh yucky!" squealed Chilly, and she paused with her paws upon a fallen log to give Daniel a wide eyed horrified stare.

"Softly!" admonished Chilly's elder sister from somewhere behind them. "Or all the woods creatures will hear you!"

"But did you see? Those saddley things that tie you with straps and the dried hide of dead things!"

Daniel chuckled. "No-one on my world used saddles on wolves, Chilly. They were mostly for horses and camels." Daniel brought up the images of both animals complete with saddles into his mind.

"We've arrived," murmured Grey slowing his easy lope at last.

Daniel swung his leg over Greys back and dropped lithely to the ground. He patted Grey affectionately in thanks.

Grey gave him a passing affectionate lick. "I hope you will share more memories of the creatures of your world this night Daniel."

Chilly pranced around Daniel as they moved into the cave. "Elder says this cave will be wonderful for you in the winters. There are hot springs inside and Elder has brought more supplies for you through the Gateway."

Daniel smoothed Chilly's fur and couldn't help broadcasting the discomfort he felt at having to be pampered like this. The pack paused. Each and every one of them and Daniel was nearly overwhelmed by the wave of love and tenderness that they Shared for him so completely and fully.

"There is nothing of 'pampering' our Daniel." admonished Elder gently. The pack cares for each and all be they lame, young, old, alive or dead. Or even human. We have always done so."

Daniel breathed deeply and smiled into his thoughts as he felt the feelings and thoughts that told him how much a precious part of this family he was. His wolf family. And once again he knew that there was nowhere in the universe that he would rather be."

Daniel gasped and fell back upon the bed. He closed his eyes tightly on the memory he had been given, trying to lock it into his mind, trying to remember it all. And especially on the feeling of love and acceptance that had so very nearly overwhelmed him. God, how he yearned for that feeling. But it had always been there in that future memory. There had always been a sense of love and belonging shared amongst the family for the Daniel from his possible future. That family love feeling was shared moment by moment along with every thought and feeling amongst the pack.

"You would love your life amongst our pack well, Daniel. Do you see?" murmured the wolf.

"I see it," said Daniel turning to look at the white wolf.

"And now your future with your friends."

Daniel closed the door of his apartment without bothering to turn the lights on.

Jack was gone.

The tightness in Daniel's chest felt almost like when he'd had pneumonia or like a heart attack waiting to happen. It was so amazingly, surprisingly painful.

But he'd known that it was coming.

Daniel remembered Jack's words from when he'd taken that first step away from SG-1. "I've spent my whole life sticking it to the man. And now I'm gonna be the man," he'd said. Daniel remembered wanting to tell Jack that he couldn't leave SG-1 – couldn't break apart their family. Jack had always said that SG-1 was like family.

But there had been that wall that had built up between them over the years. And there were Jack's bad knees and Jack's future to think about and Daniel knew he couldn't be selfish. Jack couldn't take the physical demands of a front line team for ever. Facts were facts – but still Daniel had to fight himself not to beg Jack to stay on SG-1 … . Not to break the 'family' apart. He should have stepped back then and analysed his feelings.

And now Jack was gone. He'd taken another step away from them and it was like by making the decision to take that Washington job, he'd exploded SG-1 altogether. Sam was going to work out of Area 51 permanently. Teal'c was off world, building a Jaffa nation and he … Well, he'd been offered a place at Atlantis in a whole other galaxy.

Daniel blinked and found that he had sat himself down against his own front door without even realising it. His arms wrapped around himself and he shivered. It surprised him how much it hurt. Somehow he'd thought SG-1 would last forever. Somehow he'd hung too much onto the words 'SG-1 are like family' that Jack had said and Sam had said and even Teal'c had said in his own way over the years. They'd all said it at one time or another – and he'd believed it. He'd clung to it. He'd been naïve and stupid and he'd always been too busy to sort things out in his head about it. SG-1 wasn't family. It was a job like any other job. People got promoted. People moved on. He needed to suck it up and pull himself together. He could be alone again. He'd done that almost all of his life long. He just needed to remember that when someone said 'family' they didn't always mean it the way he wanted it to mean.

Daniel pulled himself up off of the floor and fumbled for the lights. He didn't want to think about SG-1 anymore or the meaning of 'family'. It was over and he had to move on. In the morning he'd start the process for accepting the position at Atlantis.

Daniel came back to himself lying on the infirmary bed to find a tear trickling down his temple. He let out a pained half sob.

"I am sorry, Daniel, I did not mean to cause you such pain." The white wolf nuzzled his chest softly.

"I … They … ." Daniel swallowed the lump of pain in his throat.

"You need to rest youngling Daniel. I have taxed your mind and heart overly much for now."

Daniel closed his eyes on his tears and tumbled gratefully into the sleep that waited for him.