}~{ Gild the Lily }~{

"Obviously they don't know that I'm here. I was lucky enough to be able to access our Stargate." Jonas Quinn looked out the briefing room window into the Gate Room where the gate sat silently with the iris drawn shut. He turned and looked to Jack and General Hammond. "If I'm caught returning to my planet I'll be considered a trader."

"What do you want?" Jack asked, not really caring for anything he had to say. As far as he was concerned, Jonas Quinn was just as much to blame for Daniel as any of the Kelownans. Perhaps even more so.

"I don't believe that my people will ever truly support a war that leads to any kind of mass destruction. Our leaders just don't see any viable alternative at the moment." Jonas tried to argue for his leaders, but then fell quiet once again. He took a quick glance at the Stargate and then looked to General Hammond. "Promise me, if you're able to develop defense technologies, such as these shields you spoke of, you'll share them with my government."

"Of course." General Hammond agreed. Jonas had after brought them naquadria illegally and was now a traitor to his own people. It was the least they could do at this point.

The alarms sounded suddenly. Red lights flashed. Sergeant Harriman's voice floated through Stargate Command on the speakers, "Unauthorized wormhole."

Jack looked to General Hammond and then hurried to the Gate Room, leaving Jonas alone in the briefing room. A man walked through the Stargate wearing strange clothing, but Jack knew precisely who it was.

"Jacob." Jack greeted. Jacob nodded his head at him and looked to General Hammond, nodding to him as well.

"I'm here to help any way I can."


Rose sat in a chair beside Daniel's bed, stroking his bandaged hand. She hadn't left since she surprised him and Jack. She hummed gently and the tune carried in the quiet room. Sam and Teal'c paced the floor anxiously, awaiting anything that may happen. Daniel was fading fast. He was no longer conscious and his breathing was slowing.

Movement in the hall caught their attention. Rose stood from her chair and watched as General Hammond, Jack and a man Rose did not recognize strolled in.

"Hey Sam." The strange man walked up to Sam and they embraced as though old friends. He pulled back and looked down at her. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks dad." Sam looked down and then raised a device in her hand. She told him that it hadn't worked when she tried. It had sent Daniel into the state he was currently in. Sam's father looked it over and then shook his head, taking it from her.

"We'll do our best." He walked to Daniel's bedside, placing the device on one of his hands. He outstretched his hands over Daniel as an orange glow emitted from the machine. Rose had seen one of these used before by the SG-1 team. It was used to heal. She watched carefully as the glow spilled out from the device and then looked back to Daniel for any sign of a reaction.

"His condition is grave." The man's voice changed. It sounded as though there was more than one person inside of him. Like a Gou'ald. He pulled the device back and just stared down at Daniel. He then looked to Dr. Frasier beside Rose. "I do not know if I can save him and even if I can I do not believe I can restore his full healthy state."

Rose looked at the others for any sign of trouble. She didn't trust any Gou'ald. Even the Tok'ra were on the fence for her whether to trust or not. She decided not to fret, however, since they weren't.

"Do what you can." Sam placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to try. Rose wanted to speak up, but she didn't. She looked to Daniel and squeezed his hand.

"This is your decision, Daniel…" Rose whispered, tears prickling her eyes. The man again raised the healing device over Daniel. The same orange glow emitted from it. The room was silent apart from the constant hum of the device. Rose looked to Jack towards the back and watched him. He seemed far away like he wasn't even in the room any longer.

"Jacob," Jack spoke up suddenly and the man holding the device halted. He turned and looked at Jack, questioning him. "Stop."

"Are you serious?" Jacob asked, disbelieving what he was hearing. Jack looked down at Rose, who met his saddening stare. She gave him a small smile and nodded her head once in agreement with Jack. They needed to stop. They had to let Daniel go… no matter how much they didn't want to.

"It's what he wants." Jack replied and looked back at Jacob. Everyone stared at him as though he were crazy. Dr. Frasier went wide eyed and Jacob looked to her.

"Someone else want to tell me what to do?" He asked her since she was the medical specialist. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

"Just let him go." Jack spoke up again and looked back at Daniel. Rose closed her eyes, feeling the tears welling up. Jacob pulled his hands back and turned off the device. He looked at Sam with sad eyes and pulled her into a side hug, kissing her forehead. They all sat on pins and needles, listening to the ECG and Daniel's raspy breathing. Then, without warning, Daniel gave his last breath and the ECG ran flat.

Rose stared at Daniel as the others looked to each other for confirmation. Daniel's body started to glow a magnificent white as his soul lifted up into the air. He as ascending to a high plane of existence. Something he had wanted for a long time. Something he deserved.

Rose stood up, placed a kiss on his bandaged forehead and walked to Jack. She wrapped her arms around his middle and hid her face in his shirt. She gave him a squeeze and then released him, exiting the room.

She hurried down the hallway, vision blurred by the tears that stung her eyes. Her throat was becoming sore and tight. She sniffled and when she rounded a corner she bumped into someone. She hit the wall and her palms went flat against it to catch her. She looked to the man she had run into. It was the same man that had been with General Hammond when she had said her goodbyes to Daniel.

"I-I'm so sorry." She apologized quickly. This was the icing on the cake. Her breath was starting to hitch in her sore throat. Her mind was spinning. She knew shouldn't be so upset over it all. Daniel was in a better place, a much better place. One unlike that place she had gone when she had died.

"Hey, are you alright?" The man asked as his eyes narrowed at her, noticing her distress. He placed a hand on her arm to perhaps offer some kind of comfort. She was unsure. She shook her head and tried to say that she shouldn't be so sad, that everything was okay. However, when tears began to stream down her face he took it another way. She placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs and slowly slid down the wall to the cold, hard cement floor. She cried into her left hand, eyes squeezed shut to try and stop her tears.

"Hey, hey, hey," The man quickly knelt before her and placed his hands on her upper arms. She held her free hand to his elbow, unable to calm herself down. "It's alright. Uh, my name's Jonas; Jonas Quinn. What's yours?"

"R-Ros–" She fought to speak coherently. She was too overwhelmed. "Rosalina..."

"Okay, okay Rosalina." Jonas struggled with what to do. It wasn't every day that a beautiful crying woman bumped into him in a hallway. Jonas tried to console her, having no idea really what he was doing. Her hand squeezed his elbow. She looked him in the eyes; deep blue irises glowing against her irritated and red sclera. He couldn't look away. Her gaze was so sad, so heart breaking that it kept him locked in place.

She dropped her hand from her mouth and then placed it on his shoulder. It was as though she was trying to hold on to anything or else she too might disappear. She closed her eyes again and bowed her head, crying softly.

"Is it Dr. Jackson?" Jonas asked carefully. Rose said nothing, but nodded her head vigorously and looked back at him again. He looked away from her for only a moment. He felt shocked by the news. He knew it was coming and soon, but still...

"He's gone. There was n-nothing I could do to help." She choked out, trying to gasp for air. She leaned forward and laid her forehead on his should, hands never moving from their places on his elbow and opposite shoulder. His arms hung loosely outwards with the uncertainty of what he should do in this situation. "He's gone, Jonas Quinn."

At the use of his name his body relaxed and he gently wrapped his arms around her. If she hadn't been crying he probably would have blushed at having a woman in his arms.

"Rosie!" Jack called out down the hall and jogged to her when he spotted who was with her. She pulled back from Jonas and looked up at him with red eyes. New tears were beginning to form. Jack pulled her from Jonas and helped her to stand.

"Jack…" Rose cried, eyes closing once again. She collapsed into his arms and sobbed into his shirt, gripping it for dear life. Jack let out a long, heavy sigh and wrapped his arms around her. He placed his chin on the top of her head and looked up at the ceiling,

"I know, I know." He breathed out and smoothed her hair. His arms tightened around her. "It's going to be alright. He's in a much better place. You know that."

Rose said nothing. She could only cry and release all the emotions she was feeling. Jack looked to Jonas with a stare full of mixed feeling. Both grateful Jonas had been kind to her, but also distaste for everything he had done. Rose trembled in his arms and Jonas looked away, the stare too much for him.

"Excuse me." Jonas excused himself and headed down the hallway, looking back over his shoulder several times as he went.

"Rose, it's okay." Jack tried to calm her down, but she was struggling to. Jack suddenly became aware that something else might be going on with the young woman. "It's not just Daniel, is it?"

"It's everything, Jack…" She pulled herself back from his shirt and looked up at him. Tears fell to the floor and left small puddles. She began to calm down. She shook her head and closed her eyes, pulling herself together. "Gaenor is gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Jack was surprised; utterly surprised. His face conveyed this. "Where the Hell could she go?"

Rose shook her head.

"She's left me all alone and now I cannot go home either." Rose began to feel tears prickle her eyes again. Her throat ached so harshly as she swallowed and her cheeks hurt. Jack stared down at her. There was nothing he could say to make things better. Today had just been too much; for everyone.

Rose threw herself into his arms again. Her hold on him was tight, desperately trying to cling to something, anything familiar. Jack wrapped his arms tight around her as well. Their trio or rather their quartet was no more. They both had lost someone very close to them today, both living and not. While Jack was in pain, he could only imagine Rose's. At least he had gotten to say goodbye to Daniel the moment before he left.