Chapter 14

Take It On Faith

"Vala!" Daniel heard the panic in his voice as he dropped to his knees alongside her. The healing device skittered across the floor to rest at Sam's feet.

The walls were like living things as the group from Moya crowded past him toward their pilot. He caught sight of Aeryn, glancing down at him. Then she gave one quick shake of her head and pressed toward the table.

Garbled syllables, spoken quickly. A cacophony of voices, accents; only John's voice had any recognizable content but he wasn't even listening to that.

"What happened?" Sam dropped down beside him as he slid his forearms under Vala and scooped her toward him.

"Come on, Vala." He held her with one arm, cupped her chin in his palm with the other. Shook her head carefully. "Come on."

Sam reached out for a pulse, nodded. "She's alive. Pulse steady." She picked up the device. The light flared in her grasp as she held it over Vala.

Nothing.

"Sam?" he said.

She shook her head. "I…It's not an injury. Maybe it was just too much."

"What the hell's going on?" Mitchell hadn't moved from the door. "Jackson? What is she doing?"

"Cam," Sam said. "Shut up for a minute. You know that's not the same woman."

Not the same woman. Fifty years, fifty years…What wouldn't he have a chance to tell her if she didn't wake up?

"Aeryn…" Pilot blinked at her. His voice barely more than a whisper, eyelids moving in slow motion—even the effort of that seemed too much.

She covered her face with her hands, stifled her joy. His claw twitched but he seemed too weak to push against the straps.

"I'm here." She reached out, stroked his face. "We all are."

"Hey, Pilot," John said. "You did it, man. You got us to Earth."

"Where's Moya. Where are we?" He gazed around the room as best he could.

Aeryn reached out to unstrap him. John grabbed her hand. "Leave it," he said. "The less he moves, probably the better."

"Chiana? D'Argo?…Rygel?" Pilot paused. "Aeryn, I'm frightened. I don't feel my connection to Moya. I…I don't feel anything."

"It's okay, Pilot. We're going to get you back to Moya." She didn't know if that was true, she didn't know if he'd die, she didn't know if any of them would get out of here…it didn't matter. For now, he was alive.

"Aeryn Sun. I know you will do your best. I must rest." He closed his eyes.

Behind her, Daniel Jackson staggered to his feet, Vala in his arms. The woman's eyes were closed, one arm limp and hanging away from her. Colonel Carter made room on the other side of the table, just outside Pilot's reach. Daniel laid her there.

"We can never have everything," John said. "Dammit. We…she…that device. That did it? Is she…"

"She's not dead." Daniel looked from her to them. "She's not dead." He was emphatic. "Pilot's alive. That's what you wanted."

"Not just that," Aeryn said. "To set this all right."

"If she doesn't wake up, it's not going to be all right."

"Daniel," Sam crowded toward him but he held his hand out.

"Don't. Sam. I don't know how this is going to end. You don't either. Look at this—none of us belongs here except him." He nodded toward Mitchell. "This thing just keeps getting bigger. And it's you, John. You need to do something. If she doesn't wake up…" He cleared his throat. "If she doesn't wake up, I don't want it to be for nothing."

"Uh, guys?" Mitchell had moved away from the group, had gone to the phone on the wall. "I'm sorry, Jackson. It's the General. Sam, he needs to speak to you."

John felt anchored to the ground, a chess piece on the larger board waiting to be moved. He was no one's pawn—hell, he was everyone's pawn.

"'To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!'"

Harvey struts on the stage in full Shakespearean garb while John sits in the empty auditorium. Freshmen year field trip to a performance of Macbeth, bored out of his skull.

The auditorium roof is a patchwork of beams crisscrossing a gray sky glowing orange…

"Smoke from a distant fire," John says.

"Excuse me. This is Shakespeare, not some one hit wonder. Respect!"

"Is she dead?"

"Why do you care? Because she looks like Aeryn? She's not."

"Because. Because I am a goddamn humanitarian."

Harvey clears his throat. "I said 'out, out brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player…' That Willie Shakespeare really knew his stuff, didn't he, John. If she's dead, how will it effect your goals? Hmm? The smart one, Carter, is still alive. There are two of them. That one, Jackson…why, he's played his part in your drama. He saved Aeryn's life. Found her when you couldn't. Realized that he's lost his opportunity at love. Look at him, John. Look at the way he looks at her. It must be love!"

Harvey clears his throat again, clasps his hands together like an opera singer. "'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'"

John leaps from his seat. He tangles his fist in Harvey's ruffled shirt. Harvey on his back, John straddling him, both hands around Harvey's throat, pinching the air out of his windpipe.

"Don't. John!" Harvey's hands around John's wrists. "Don't. Scorpius. Scorpius won't let you."

"Maybe he'll bring you back, Macbeth."

"Maybe he'll bring you back, John. He's here. He's waiting."

"John!" Aeryn at his ear, almost as loud as Harvey.

He breathed like he'd run a marathon. Perspiration misted his hairline, slid down his back. He glanced around, saw his friends looking at him like they usually did. Like he was freaking out, breaking down, wigging out—

Daniel's attention was still on Vala; one glance up then back at her. He held her hand, said nothing. The reason for his interest in Aeryn was apparent now.

"He's waiting," John said. "They're destroying my planet and he's waiting. For me."

"Who? John." She shook him. "I told you—don't listen to him." She tapped the side of his head.

"You and me, Aeryn. Complicit. You said it." He nodded his head toward Vala. "That's on us. This." He pointed around the room. "On us. 'All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death…'"

They'd left a trail of sacrifice—Zhaan, Crais, Talyn…nurses who would have lived full lives had it not been for them. Even Neeyala's people. Women, and children. The good, the bad, the ugly—death was indiscriminate.

Even his own twin self had died in the wreckage.

And when it was over, he and Aeryn still stood. Which of his friends would be next?

"You guys." He pulled away from her side, turned to D'Argo. "You need to go back."

"We are not leaving without you or Pilot." D'Argo took the stance—arms over his chest, feet firmly planted.

"You weren't here when we got here. You can't be here now. Stark. You get it. Right?"

"Too much, too much," Stark said. "Too many to count."

"See? Stark's got it. It's too much. For me. Absolute engrossment." He turned toward the phone as Sam put it back in its cradle. He glanced at Jackson who was now staring at him intently. "Sam, you said we can't go back, right? No turning back the clock?"

She held up her hand to stop him. "John, the Peacekeepers are here. Their captain, Braca, is on Prometheus with Cam…" She hesitated as she considered the other Mitchell who just shrugged in response. "And someone named Sikozu who's serving as translator."

"Well, don't that just beat all." He shook his head, bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh. "Those bastards made it, Sikozu leading the way. Didn't take long for her to sell out."

"They'll take you in exchange for helping us," she finished.

"No. They won't." Aeryn eyed the room like she was looking for something to shoot. "Scorpius is here. And unless they want to see me personally execute him, they won't carry out that threat."

Sam looked unperturbed. "The General's already on it. Not the execution part but a swap. Scorpius for you, John." She sighed. "He's cutting his losses, I think."

"The grand prize at the fair," he said then turned to Aeryn. "Let's talk to him. You and me. Break the bad news that he's worth about the same as me. Sam?"

"That's not our orders," Mitchell said.

"Sorry, Cam." Carter glanced at Pilot. "Is he…can you leave him?"

"He's alive," Daniel and Aeryn said at the same time. Daniel raised an eyebrow at her, head cocked at an angle like she had gotten inside his head…

Stop it, Johnny boy.

The unfinished sentence hung in the air, accusing him. The others in the room shuffled their feet like they were trying to rub it off the bottoms of their shoes: Pilot was alive but Vala may not be for long.

Aeryn pushed past him, strode to where Daniel stood, a useless accessory to the woman who lay stretched on her sliver of table. Her face, still.

From here, she could be Aeryn. He was only grateful she wasn't. That was all the space he had left.

"I'm sorry." Aeryn touched Daniel's arm then glanced at John. "Let's finish this."

It wasn't a room, not like the one on Prometheus or even their command center. They'd put Scorpius in a full on jail cell. A set of metal bars separated him from the rest of the room.

Visions of all the old westerns he'd ever seen danced in his head; he was the old timey sheriff, Scorpius the very bad man he'd captured.

The old black and white TV on the kitchen counter while his mother chopped vegetables and he stood there eating every other one while some white hat rode into the sunset with the girl.

On Moya, his wormhole calculations on fire. The fire turning to the glow in the sky that Harvey showed him; he knew, by now, that at least some of that had come true.

His mother dead on one side of a hospital room while a curtain pull away was his child kicking in a hospital bassinet. He stood between the two, one foot on each side…

He was losing it. Hell, he'd lost it. Like his own mind was sectioned into the realities in the wormhole. A pair of giant hands held his brain and twisted it like they were trying to rip apart an orange.

Sam stood behind him, Beretta drawn.

"Scorpius,"Aeryn said. "How unfortunate."

"Ah, Officer Sun. Of course."

"It's a package deal, Scorpy." John said.

Scorpius sat on the cell's sole chair, drumming his fingers on his thigh. "So this is Earth." Scorpius looked around the cell. "Primitive."

"Skip it, Nosferatu. Speak your piece."

"You know why I'm here."

"Huh. Let me guess. You want to poke your sticky fingers into my brain and see what comes out."

Scorpius sighed. "Again, you misunderstand."

"Hey, I know it's not personal. I'm a means to your end. The belle of the ball. The prettiest girl in the room. You just want me to make you look good."

"Gibberish." Scorpius wiped his hands against each other. "Officer Sun. You're a strategist."

"Why are you here?" she said.

"Who cares why, Aeryn," John said. "He's here. So, Scorpy, I hear you're looking for a swap. Me, for your help. Well, guess what. They ain't buying. Whatever your grand plan was? It's over."

"You're willing to sacrifice everything?" He looked at Aeryn.

John ignored that. "You're the one sitting in a jail cell. Braca is on one of their ships. If you don't get some advantage on the Scarrans here, now, you're screwed. Seems like you're on the short end of this deal."

He turned, glanced at Sam. Her expression gave nothing away. She held the barrel of the gun in both hands. He pulled up a chair, straddled it, and rested his chin on the chair back. Aeryn stood beside him.

"Braca, the Peacekeepers, Earth." John held up a finger for each of them, one, two, three. "They're going to fight your little war. Because if they don't help Earth, then you don't get to go home. Right, Colonel Carter?"

"That's the plan," she said.

"If it goes well, and we don't get killed in the process, then you and Braca and all of you are off my ass. Aeryn, my friends—we're riding off into the sunset. Capisce?"

"Officer Sun." Scorpius was finished with him. "You know this plan will fail. You know that I am needed on. My. Ship!" He lunged into the bars, hands extended through them but not close enough to John.

Carter brought the gun up, aimed. "Back away."

"There's a lot you don't know," Aeryn said. She stepped forward but stayed outside of reach. "One thing you should know, however, is this. My debt to you was paid when I didn't kill you on Katratzi. After that…" She shrugged.

"Here's how it's gonna go," John said. "You'll talk to Braca. You'll tell him to play nice with the humans so we can defeat our 'common enemy.' It's a win-win. My brain, off limits. This wormhole? Closed. My world sealed off from the likes of you. That's really all either of us ever wanted anyway, right? Dead Scarrans and to be rid of each other. Don't make this an ugly breakup, Scorp."

Scorpius sat down, turned his face toward the wall. His mouth was drawn down but he was clearly considering the offer. There was a growl under his breath, then he touched the side of his head.

"Captain," he said. "Did you capture that last communication?" He turned to John, smiled. "You see, John. I am not completely without resources."

Carter edged forward, bent toward John's ear. "What just happened?" she whispered.

He sighed. "Like he said, he's not without resources, Sam. But he's not going anywhere."

Scorpius finished his conversation. "We are agreed. Braca is on one of your ships and feels confident that an alliance can be forged. You can thank Sikozu for that. You'd be better prepared if I were on board my ship."

"I think we'll take our chances. You're really in a deep hole here. Literally. You're just gonna have to trust me." He couldn't resist one last shot. "Hope you like how it feels."

He pushed away from the chair, turned away from the cell.

"John. One more thing."

Aeryn held his arm. "Leave him," she whispered.

This time it was Carter who took the bait. "What's he want?"

"The wormhole weapon, John." Scorpius didn't respond to Carter. "If you can build it, they can be defeated. Here. Your planet, saved. Otherwise…? Who knows."

John cocked his head. Closed his eyes. There was a wormhole. There was death. His twin's message had spelled it out in full. It could be built.

"He wants what he can't have," John said. He didn't turn around. "We're done here, Scorpius."

Carter followed them out the doorway, then slid the heavy metal door into place.

Carter stopped them just outside the door. "What does he want?" she repeated.

"John created a wormhole." Aeryn cleared her throat. He saw the discomfort in her face, the way she looked elsewhere when she said "John." No need for additional explanation to Carter.

"What did it do?"

"It swallowed a dreadnought, a Scarran ship larger than your Prometheus." She snapped her fingers. "There, then gone." She turned to John. "We should leave him here, with them."

"What? Aeryn, that's nuts." Like the thought hadn't occurred to him too.

"Can you really do that?" Carter said. "Build a wormhole weapon?"

"I don't know…Aeryn, we're not leaving any of us behind."

"'Us?' When did he become part of us? John, this could alter the course of the war. We could do things for the better—"

He held up a finger in front of her, his mouth tight. "We never leave it for the better. We just have to leave it the way it was and hope the chips fall in the right place."

"We could be done with him. He'd be out of our lives."

"It's like whack a mole. Kill one, another crazy springs up. Grayza . Ahkna. At least I know this crazy."

"For what it's worth, I think you should send him back the way he got here," Carter said. "Give him back to your shipmates. The last thing we need is him in command of his ship."

"Is O'Neill going to go for that?" The idea wasn't half bad. Scorpius off Earth but not with the Peacekeepers. D'Argo had gotten Scorpy this far. No reason to believe he couldn't do it again.

Sam sighed. "Only one way to find out. Let's talk to him."

The first thing John noticed when they got to the conference room was Cameron Mitchell's smug expression staring out from one of the monitors on the wall.

The next thing was the woman standing next to him: Sikozu, who looked like an ally. Everything old was new again. Braca was a speck in the picture by comparison.

D'Argo and the others had stayed with Pilot. Just as well, John supposed. What he didn't need was one more voice in his ear.

The other monitor contained General O'Neill, and the Samantha Carter from this reality.

"Sir," Carter said from the screen. She looked around. "Where's Daniel?"

"I had Mal Doran taken to medical," Mitchell said. "He insisted on going with her." He shook his head. "No idea why."

"Crichton. Aeryn." Sikozu didn't wait for an invitation to talk. "It's good to see you alive."

"Sputnik. I thought they'd left you babysitting Moya. Guess you got a better offer?"

She drew herself up. Aeryn nudged him with her elbow.

O'Neill stepped back, crossed his arms over his chest, and cleared his throat. "Carter, I understand you met with their commander?"

"Scorpius," Sikozu said from her side of the screen.

"He's fine," John said. "Sitting in a cell and thinking about his life. Maybe he'll turn it around? Maybe he'll get killed. Hell, I don't care."

"Crichton, shut up," O'Neill said. "Mitchell has a plan. Go ahead, Mitchell."

"Nukes. Mark IX." Mitchell glanced at Sikozu. "Right, Ms. Sikozu? We're gonna beam nukes onto their ships. The beams are new to them and I think they'll vastly underestimate our capabilities."

"What about their shielding?" Carter asked from the screen.

"'Arrogant'," Mitchell used air quotes. "That's what Sikozu says."

"Their shields are the least of their technology," Sikozu added. "Our Prowlers can weaken it sufficiently."

John was watching a bank of televisions in the windows of an old Magnavox store when he was a kid. Walking downtown, past the barbershop and a burger place, his mother's hand clasped firmly over his. Susan would walk behind him with Olivia, trying to step on the back of his shoe while their mother rushed them along. He couldn't even remember their ultimate destinations any more. Just the feel of his mother's cool, firm hand over his, the sound of his sisters' giggles as they tried to derail him.

They were all here, on this Earth. Unfinished business.

This wasn't a second chance—not really. It was an aberration of physics, of time, space. An unreality that was playing him like a fiddle. Dad wasn't dad, that wasn't really his mom…DK was alive, married to Olivia. They had a kid. None of it was real.

Fear was the answer. Einstein had left it all in his brain. Even if this all ended on his terms, he'd still have that crap in his brain.

Mitchell and Sikozu yammered on about nukes and beams and ships.

"John." Aeryn's hand around his bicep, pulling him closer. Her whisper in his ear. "John. Are you hearing this?"

He nodded. "Nukes. Scarrans. Ships. I get the gist of it. It's their plan. All we gotta do is close the wormhole."

"So we blow up their ships." It was this reality's Mitchell, pushing his way in front of Sam. "How do we deal with everything else? I mean, no offense to the guy on the ship, or you, Sam." He turned to Carter alongside him. "Isn't one of each of us enough?"

Sam Carter raised her voice through the loudspeakers from SGC. "Cam, we received the data you sent from from their pod, as well as the bit Thor had available, once we re-established communication." She paused, brought her fingertips to her lips. "As it stands, neither of us is able exactly pinpoint any seam that would indicate when this anomaly occurred."

"You mean the wormhole," Mitchell said from his place on Prometheus.

"She means our getting here, Cam." Sam said. "And by 'exactly', you mean..." She paused, looked up at her double.

"Any attempt can't guarantee you'll get where you want to go," the other Carter replied.

"So we're stuck here?" Mitchell took a deep breath. "No guarantee we'll get back to our universe. That's gonna be a problem."

John pulled away from Aeryn, stepped past Mitchell and stared at O'Neill. "It's my mess. I don't know how it mixed in with yours, but I'm the only one who can clean it up."

Sikozu stood there alongside Mitchell, looking every bit the ally. Yet, she'd gone willingly with Scorpius. D'Argo had left her on Moya but there she was, hanging out with the Peacekeepers again, on an Earth ship.

He shook his head, turned to Carter. "General, I'd like a private conversation. Without the Peacekeeper ear piece up there."

Sikozu glared at him. "You don't trust me."

"Sorry, Sputnik. You're just too close for comfort. Mitchell, you might want to consider locking her and Braca up, just to be sure."

"Crichton, you are wrong about this. Aeryn, I am only here to help. If we can make a stand here, we can be rid of them. Scorpius is fracturing their forces. You've refused to help him with the wormhole. What choice does he have? He wants peace."

"Right," Aeryn said. "Scorpius wants peace. Why didn't he say so in the first place?"

"Too much water under the bridge," John said. "General?"

O'Neill nodded. "Prometheus. Stand by."

John saw Mitchell start to protest then Prometheus' screen went blank.

"Okay," O'Neill said. "Carter, you met this Scorpius they all want so badly. What's this wormhole stuff you're talking about?"

"A weapon. Scorpius thinks John can build it."

"What?" O'Neill said. "Carter, don't tell me you're talking about another wormhole?"

"There's a weapon he devised—Their commander Scorpius wants it. That's why he wants John."

"So he dragged himself all the way here for you?" O'Neill shook his head, pointed at John. "I could make this go away and just turn you over to him. Everyone leaves, you guys work out your problems on the other side of the wormhole."

"An open wormhole, Sir," Sam said. "We can't defend it forever."

"No, you can't," John said. "I'm the only one who can make this right."

O'Neill ignored him. "Did it work, Carter? Did the Pilot make it?"

"He's alive," Sam said. "But I'm not sure he's going to be able to travel like he'll need to."

"And Mal Doran? She did what you thought she would?"

Sam nodded. "She…Yes. Sir, I'd like to propose that we send Scorpius back with John's people. Get him out of the picture."

"And what if his people don't go for that and decide to attack?"

"Then you use Mitchell's plan on them," John said. "Nuke 'em all. Hell, I don't care. I don't trust him to keep his word. The only way you're going to have any leverage is to send him back to the other side. They want him, they'll have to play nice. Our friends can stash him until the wormhole is closed. Then it will be our problem. Not yours."

O'Neill nodded. "All righty then. Get Daniel and Mal Doran up to speed. We're going to make arrangements to get you all back to SGC so we can see if this crazy plan of Crichton's will work. Mitchell, 'all' includes you. And get Crichton's people out of here with Scorpius."

"There's one more thing." This time it was Aeryn, much to John's surprise. "He needs to say good-bye."

O'Neill raised his eyebrows. "Right. To his family because that's what? Magical? Who do you think I am, the Wizard of Oz?"

"Sir," Sam said. "Shouldn't we cover all our bases?"

O'Neill rocked on his heels for a moment before the Carter beside him spoke. "Jack," she said. "It's not gonna make things any worse."

"Huh. That remains to be seen. Fine. If we can swing it, we will." He turned to the woman beside him. "Carter, let Prometheus know we're a go with the nukes. The captain can retrieve his commander when they return home. That might incentivize it a little."

A team had brought Vala to a private room in the infirmary. A couple of medics had changed her into a hospital gown while Daniel had stood in the corner, hands in his pockets. Her exam had shown stable vitals but the various stimuli hadn't caused her to wake up.

He sat beside the bed, Vala's hand clasped between his two. Her face was turned toward him, hair fanned out across the pillow. She was pale but breathing.

There was a knock on the door then Mitchell stepped inside and closed it behind him.

"Hey, Jackson." Mitchell put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "We've got some word from General O'Neill. We're heading back to Stargate Command once Crichton's people leave."

Daniel glanced back, didn't release her hand. "How soon? I don't think she's good to move."

Mitchell squared his shoulders and folded his arms over his chest. "Daniel. What's up between you two?" He looked like he really wanted to know.

"What do you mean? Nothing. We…" Friends? Co-workers? Somewhere in between?

Somewhere in dreams, there was more. Dreams that seemed real, like a life lived. Old, middle aged… Dreams that plagued him for their sense of having taken place.

It wasn't possible to remember what had happened on the Odyssey. It was his own mind trying to fill in the blanks. What he couldn't understand was why that was the turn they'd taken.

Mitchell shrugged. "A few hours ago, we dragged Vala Mal Doran through the gate. She claimed to be a Goa'uld. Now I hear she's just a fraud. A liar. So…how come this one's different?" He pulled a chair to the other side of the bed, sat and leaned back like he wasn't in any rush.

"She just is."

"You're the same Jackson. Sam is Sam. Teal'c's the same barrel of fun he's always been, right? I'm gonna bet that the Mitchell up on Prometheus is a real pain in the ass. But her?"

Daniel closed his eyes. Saw her die in flames. Remembered the relief he felt when the Prior brought back to life. When he realized she'd survived the jump through the supergate. When he took her off the Ori ship, alive.

Leave me, grab her.

Oh, yeah, like that's gonna happen…

What had happened for fifty years? Had he managed to push her away his entire life? What would he do if she didn't wake up?

What would he do if she did?

"No answer, huh." Mitchell shook his head. "Seems kind of obvious."

"There's a lot you don't know."

"Sounds like there's a lot you're not saying . Not to me. To her." He stood up, pushed the chair back with his foot. "This whole deal—this wormhole, all those aliens. Double-mint gum us…maybe it's just a chance to learn something." He went to the door. "Don't waste the time you're given is all I'm saying."

"Mitchell. Wait."

Mitchell, his hand on the door knob, turned toward him.

"Give her a chance to prove herself," Daniel said. "The Vala you have here. Before you lock her up and throw away the key, give her a chance. She might surprise you."

Mitchell gave him a half smile, glanced at the woman on the bed and nodded his head toward her. "Maybe you need to follow your own advice. Don't take all day." He closed the door behind him.

Vala's hand slid out from between his. Daniel turned to her. "Vala!"

"Daniel." She cleared her throat. "That was really… lovely."

"You…you were awake? The entire time?"

"Not quite. Just that last part where you lobbied on some other woman's behalf." She moved to sit up, then let her head fall back to the pillow. "I feel like I've drunk all the galaxy's alcohol. Did he…did the Pilot wake up? Did I do it?"

"You did it." She might surprise you.

"So I saved his life and ended up here…and you were concerned."

"Of course I was!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what you told that Colonel Mitchell…about giving her a chance…"

"She's worth it."

She grabbed the sides of the bed, pushed herself up. "Gods, I'm getting tired of hospital beds, though they do seem to be the only time I get your undivided attention."

He stood up, went to the small closet where they'd hung her clothes. "I should get the doctor—"

"Daniel. Mitchell's right." She reached out her hand, let it hover in the air. The expression on her face gave nothing away. "About wasting time. Life's too short."

Life's too short. Memory slipped through his fingers like water through a sieve.

"Doctor," he said again.

"No. No. Not until we talk, and I know where we stand."

They were too different. He was her target of ridicule. She could pack up at any moment…so many reasons to push her away. Yet, here he sat. And when he thought that she might not wake up, the sinking feeling in his gut had threatened to pull him under.

"'We'," he said.

She let her hand drop to the bed. "I see how you've been looking at her." Her fingers picked at the sheets. "How you've watched out for her. You saved her life."

"It's…it's what we do."

She nodded. "Maybe. But I'd like to think that maybe—maybe—you see something of me in her. And that you'll give me that chance." She held out her hand again. "We don't know what's on the other side. We don't even know if we'll survive this. We could go back through the gate and not even know where we end up. Is this how you want to end it?"

He stood there, her shirt in one hand, jeans in the other. Just small aspects of her, and he held them.

"No," he said. "It's not. So you think…that you and I could…that we could mean something else for each other."

"Daniel, we don't need a name for anything I just want to know that you'll be there on the other side of this."

"Will you?"

"That is exactly where I want to be. Part of SG1 and part of your life. We can see where the rest takes us." She sighed. "Who would have thought Colonel Mitchell could be so insightful?"