A/N- Regular text is what is happening, Itlaics are memories and bolded itlaics are memories within memories...enjoy!

Connecting Dreams

She was dreaming, at least she thought she had been dreaming. She had been reliving the moments of when she and the rest of SG1 returned through the gate from their deception with Adria and their loss of Daniel once again

"So SG1," Landry began as they walked down the ramp. "- how did it go?"

"Well she bought it Hank," Jack stated with a semi smile. "Teal'c did a bang up job of destroying the empty canister...-but Daniel has totally lost it!"

"We knew that Jack," Landry stated sympathetically looking at his friend. "-but the Ori aren't going to attack us...are they?"

"No sir," Mitchell interrupted. "I think we fooled them good."

"Daniel knows that it was a ruse though," Jack stated nonchalantly, shocking the other members of his team who had not heard Daniel's admission.

"Will he tell Adria?" Landry asked worriedly, thinking that their carefully crafted plan might have been for nothing. "He is on their side now."

"I don't think so Hank," Jack stated semi-certainly.

"You don't seem too sure about that Jack..."

"He won't tell," Vala stated softly, causing all eyes to turn to her. "-he may have lost it," She continued softly, "-but he is still our Daniel and while Adria may have his mind he still belongs to us..." Vala paused and looked at her team, certain in her claim. "...he won't tell my daughter what he knows."

"You're right you know," Came a familiar voice breaking the memory. Vala whirled around and found herself in Daniel's office staring Daniel down.

"..d….Daniel?" She choked out, not believing that he was there before her.

"I won't tell." Daniel stated, his voice holding a promise and as Vala looked at him she saw no signs that he had ever been turned into a prior. He was just himself, her Daniel as he remembered him; glasses on his face, hands in the pockets of his green SGC uniform and most importantly he smiled at her and for a moment she forgot that it was all a dream. "I promise Vala," Daniel stated again with a small smile. "I won't tell Adria about the sangraal pieces still being in your possession. You guys need to finish it if you want to save the galaxy."

"D-Daniel!" Vala exclaimed with joy not registering a word he said. She was just shocked and un-imaginably happy that he was before her. Before Daniel could answer her she had flung herself at him and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh thank the stars that you're alright! I've missed you so much!"

Vala held him tight, tighter than she had ever held him before and all the memories of the past couple weeks came crashing down upon her and she saw them in her mind's eye

From the moment that he had downloaded the knowledge of the ancients into his mind to the moment she had lost him. Over and over again they flew through her mind until she focused on the last thing he had said to her.

She looked into his eyes she saw for the first time in them fear and she could also see him slipping away. "No." She cried out and impulsively she drew Daniel up into a hug and held him as tight as she could. "Come one Daniel," She pleaded quietly into his ear. "You have to fight this. I can't lose you."

"Bos nunquaym mod." Daniel whispered back, holding Vala as tight as she was holding him.

"I can't understand you." Vala whispered her voice breaking and a tear leaking out of her eye. More tears fell as Daniel pulled out of the hug and looked Vala straight in the eyes.

"You. Never. Will. Lose. Me."

"You didn't lose me Vala," Daniel comforted, hugging Vala a little tighter. "- I'm right here."

"No," Vala argued shaking her head and pulling away from Daniel, her heart breaking as the reality of the situation dawned on her. "No…." She repeated again, looking Daniel squarely in the eyes. "….I did lose you."

"Jack, they've done nothing to me." Daniel explained slowly.

"Look at you."

"I chose this" Daniel answered truthfully causing all their hearts to stop at his words.

'He chose this...?' Vala thought to herself as she looked past the rest of her team, her heart thumping wildly. '…how could he choose to become a prior…..?'

"You what?!?" Jack exclaimed looking at Daniel in shock.

"I. Chose. This." Daniel repeated again.

"I didn't chose that Vala," Daniel insisted taking her hand, trying to make her understand. "-I swear to you that I didn't….not intentionally….not really…."

"Not really?" Vala asked, her voice shaking. "How can you 'not really' become a prior Daniel?" Her voice held such venom in it that it hurt his heart. "You told us that you chose it. How could you choose it? How? Adria and her people are our enemies. We have been fighting them for almost two years…..you said that you would never accept Origin and yet you became a prior…..how could you do that to us…"

'…to me…' she finished silently in her mind.

"Alright," Daniel admitted, hanging his head in shame. He had heard Vala's silent admission but he couldn't speak to her feelings (and his) yet. So instead he chose to explain to her why he had done what he did. "-I did choose to become a prior, but only for a moment and only because-"

"No," Vala interrupted taking a step back from him. "-no, I don't care what your reasons are because you aren't real. This is just a dream," She repeated to herself, even though it felt more real than anything she had ever dreamt about before. "-it's not real."

"This is as real as it gets Vala," Daniel insisted taking her by her shoulders and pulling her close to him. "-I am here, and I am real. I just…. I don't have enough time to tell you-"

"Tell me what Daniel?" Vala snapped back, her eyes blazing with hatred. "What could you possibly have to tell me?"

"I need to tell you why I did what I did…"Daniel finished quietly, watching as no flicker of resentment passed over her face. This he took as a good sign but he saw doubt in Vala's face.

"You're a figment of my imagination," Vala said more to herself than to Daniel who wouldn't let her go. "-I don't care what you have to say."

"Vala please," Daniel begged and for a moment Vala was compelled to believe him especially when a memory floated across her mind with an addition that was new to her.

'Vala...' Daniel stared into space and mentally shook away the feeling that Vala was right there beside him. '...she's on Earth, with the rest of my team…god, I hope that they're alright.'

'Vala….' Daniel sighed inwardly at the thought of Vala and the last time he had seen her.

"No." She cried out and impulsively she drew Daniel up into a hug and held him as tight as she could. "Come on Daniel," She pleaded quietly into his ear. "You have to fight this. I can't lose you."

"Bos nunquaym mod." Daniel whispered back, holding Vala as tight as she was holding him.

"I can't understand you." Vala whispered her voice breaking and a tear leaking out of her eye. More tears fell as Daniel pulled out of the hug and looked Vala straight in the eyes.

"You. Never. Will. Lose. Me."

"Daniel-" Vala cried moving to give him another hug, but as she moved to do so Daniel disappeared and her arms embraced nothing.

'I lied to her…I said that she'd never lose me and look at me…. I got myself captured by Adria.' Daniel sighed and wished that he could apologize to her. 'God Vala, I'm so sorry that I lied to you.'

"No Daniel!" Vala called out her voice returning but it echoing off the wall of ancient writing. "You didn't lie to me, well alright you did- but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are still alive so you have to fight. Fight Daniel fight!"

"Vala?" Daniel blinked and moved his eyes around. He had gotten that feeling again, the feeling that she was right there with him but all he (and Vala) saw was Adria advancing towards him and as Adria began to speak Vala found herself ripped from Daniel's mind and Daniel felt as through the final barrier in his mind has finally broken down, allowing the ancient knowledge to come pouring in.­­­­­­­­

'No Vala…' Daniel fought as hard as he could, and for a moment he held the ancient knowledge at bay. '…..Vala,' Daniel whispered to himself as he pictured her face smiling at him. '….I am so sorry...'

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Vala asked taking a step back, overwhelmed with the emotions that she was feeling. 'What am I doing...?' She thought warningly to herself. '…Daniel would never feel that bad about….about……'

"Vala when are you going to open your eyes…." Daniel asked exasperated as he took her hands and held them to his heart. "….and your heart to the fact that this is real? I am here, with you now. This is real."

"This can't be real…." Vala told herself again as she struggled to get away but Daniel held her close.

"It is," Daniel insisted his face inches away from her own. "This is real, and I am really here with you right now."

"You can't be…." Vala argued shaking her head, not bothering to hide her tears anymore. "You are a prior, you-" She choked over the words but said them anyways. "-you chose to be a prior…."

"Vala," Daniel begged as he brought her into another hug, "-please understand!"

And before Vala could say anything else, she was swept up in another memory that was not her own.

"Take a look Daniel Jackson." Adria ordered, releasing Daniel from his restraints and mentally guiding him to the window that he had been unable to see from his chair.

"Earth." Daniel whispered in fear, realizing that his team wouldn't have had enough time to put the sangraal together, if they had found the fifth piece at all. "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to destroy it," Adria stated coldly. "Maybe then you will see that there is nothing left for you and you will join us."

"What?" Daniel asked in shock as he whirled around to face Adria who was leaning over a consol pressing a button. "Wait!" But it was too late, Daniel whirled back to the window and saw a beam shoot out from the ship and head towards earth. "Adria stop!" He pleaded and miraculously, before his very eyes the beam scattered and entered the atmosphere illuminating the sky in borealis' that were seen all over the globe. Sighing with relief Daniel turned and faced Adria with a dead calm certainty in his stomach.

"You can't harm Earth." Daniel stated solemnly. "And you can't harm my team."

"Yes." Adria agreed with a nod of her head, very pleased with herself.

"Do you swear?"

"You have my word as Orici." Adria promised as she waved her hand over another consol and Daniel saw that Earth disappeared from his sight and Daniel hung his head knowing that he couldn't back out now. "Come Daniel Jackson," Adria beckoned, holding out her hand for Daniel to clasp. "Let me show you the light." Daniel walked over to Adria and faced her down for a second before, with childish glee inside Adria and dread in him, Daniel took her hand...

'She was going to destroy Earth,' Daniel stated, his voice resonating within Vala's mind. 'And you were on Earth,' Daniel continued as Vala watched another memory unfold. 'I couldn't let that happen…..I couldn't lose you.'

Daniel found himself once more in front of the fires on Celeste and as he stared at him he was confronted by the memories of what he had said the last time he had been there.

"Respect, yes, certainly. But that doesn't mean I would murder innocent people in their name. I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether the Ori have spoken to you directly and told you to worship them, or whether you've…misinterpreted some evidence you've found along the way and developed this religion on your own.

I can't speak for everyone in my galaxy, but in my own humble opinion, I don't believe that any individual or society can achieve enlightenment through fear-mongering and forced servitude, no matter what power is presented as evidence. That's something the ascended beings I know very clearly seem to understand.

Don't get me wrong, I mean, we should all be trying to better ourselves. I mean if-if ascension is the ultimate end we're trying to achieve, then so be it, but we should all be allowed to get there or not of our own free will. You can kill me for saying that, but that is what I believe and nothing you say or do will EVER change my mind."

'Boy how thinks can change,' Daniel thought despairingly to himself as he stared into the fire. 'I never thought that I would find myself here.'

"Daniel Jackson, open your heart and mind to origin." Adria commanded and Daniel looked at her one last time before looking back into the fire.

'Oh guys, I am so sorry.' Daniel apologized mentally to his team. 'But sometimes things do change-' A flash of Vala's smile crossed his mind and Daniel knew what he had to do. He had to become a prior, he knew that he could do more from the inside then he ever could do from the outside '- and besides, I can do more this way.'

"That's what you think." Adria whispered maliciously in his ear and before Daniel could react the fires of Celeste entered him...

Time seemed to slow down for Daniel as he felt every pore and cell of his being infused with the fires of Celeste. It was a horribly painful process and as he felt his control slip away, he clung to the one thing that had always made him smile.

The memories seemed to last an eternity and he played them over and over again in his mind.

'Fancy'

'Well, I know you don't get off the base much except for official business, so I thought I'd take you somewhere nice…..'

'Well, I don't mind telling you, I've been looking forward to this little date all week

I wouldn't exactly call it a 'date' it's-'

'Oh, I've watched enough of your television to know what a date is Daniel. It's a romantic event, typified by diner, movie and-or karaoke and usually culminating in a night of….'

'O-okay, this is……this is definitely not a date. It's…..it's two friends and co-workers out for dinner….'

'She came so close to finding out that my excuse was just a lame cover up...' Daniel thought solemnly to himself as the fires consumed him. '...but I had to tell her something, anything. She had to know...'

'...um, look. I know that it hasn't been easy for you adjusting to your new life here, learning to trust other people and most importantly, refusing the temptation to fall back on your old ways….but you have worked hard to make a place for yourself with us and….and dinner tonight is my way of saying thank you. Thank you for, for proving me right when I said we could take a chance on you...'

'I don't know what to say...'

'...and then she went missing...'

'He's got people querying hospitals in the area where Vala disappeared. It's possible that she may have been injured and has been unable to contact us.'

'Hey, listen, I, um… I spoke with the Medical Examiner's office. They're doing DNA testing on the remains recovered at the blast site. But it's gonna take a while.'

'You know, when Vala first disappeared, when the Ori gate was destroyed, I refused to write her off. Although the odds were against it, I believed somehow she'd found a way to survive. And it turned out I was right. I wanna be right again.'

'...and I was right, again.'

'Vala? Vala, it's me, Daniel. We know you're in here. There's nowhere else you could've gone...Vala? I know you're scared. But we're not here to hurt you. We can help you remember.'

'...and then we came face to face again, she was so lost and confused. I had to get through to her somehow, even though she didn't remember me...'

'Get out of my way…..Get out of my way, or I will shoot you.'

'You don't remember who you are, but I do. You won't shoot……If I let you go, I know you're gonna make yourself disappear. You've been running so long it's almost second nature to you. You don't remember it, but you made a decision to stop running. It's over. Now it's time to come home.'
'...Daniel...'

'...Dear Vala,' Daniel thought to himself painfully as the fires consumed his mind. '-my dear Vala, at least you'll be safe...'

'Why Daniel,' Vala thought sadly to herself. 'I never knew you cared so much…..'

"Vala," Daniel began softly, trying to get her to understand. "I c-"

"No." Vala said vehemently to both herself and to Daniel as she completely pulled away from him, and the memories that he had shared.

"Vala?" Daniel asked questionly as she pulled away, only to double over in pain knowing that his prior-ness was reasserting itself and he had no time left.

"This isn't real." Vala said sternly to herself, upset that she had played into her delusions for so long, especially when she saw Daniel becoming a prior right before her eyes. "This can't be real. I know that it isn't real."

"Vala," Daniel pleaded with her, feeling his essence being pulled away. "This is as real as it gets…."

"I don't believe you," Vala shot back, tears coming to her eyes as he echoed his previous comments. "-I can't believe you…." She argued, her voice shaking and her body trembling with hurt, fear, rage and an overwhelming feeling of sorrow and loss. "….how can I when you chose to become a prior….?"

"Vala…………!" Daniel pleaded urgently, seeing her image go translucent before his eyes. She hadn't understood and at the very core of his being, he had to make her understand. "You have to understand why I did this!"

"No." She shot back, the tears falling down her face. "I will never understand, nor do I ever care to." Vala turned away and didn't look at him when she spoke. "You betrayed us Daniel," She whispered quietly, "- you became a prior and betrayed us…..you betrayed me. They burnt me alive, and you join them….."

"….Vala," Daniel pleaded. "I didn't have a choice…."

"….you always have a choice Daniel…" Vala yelled back as she whirled around to face him again, using his own wisdom against him. "….you taught me that…" she whispered a bit quieter as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "….you always have a choice."

"Whether you believe me or not Vala," Daniel whispered back, his image fading from view, their eyes meeting one last time. "…I didn't have a choice….not really…..and I am really and truly sorry…..I know it's not enough, but I don't know what else to say to make you understand. I did what I did because I l-"

He was gone before he could finish his sentence and Vala felt a huge pang of loss and the sense that she had been a fool. He had been trying to tell her something, even if it was a dream. The scene faded to black and Vala could feel the bed under her and the covers above her. She knew it was a dream, and yet as she awoke she couldn't shake the feeling that Daniel had been right there with her.

"Oh Daniel…"She whispered mournfully as she opened her eyes to stare at her darkened room, her right hand still clutching the communication device.

It had connected them once and she realised with utter horror and despair that the Daniel in her dreams probably had been the real Daniel. Vala realised that he had left the communication device for her so that he could communicate with her and in her dream she had been so stupid to think that it wouldn't connect them again. Clearly it had, and Vala wished that she had realised it sooner. This above all else broke her heart because instead of listening to Daniel, she had pushed him away and somewhere inside her told her that she had lost her only chance to talk to him.

"….you really were trying to tell me something weren't you…..and I didn't listen." Vala rolled over and buried herself under her covers, lamenting the fact that he had communicated with her and she had shot him down. She had lost her only chance and it killed her inside. "…gods Daniel, I'm sorry too."

'I don't know if you can hear me….' Vala thought to herself as she shut her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could on the communication device in her hand. "…..but I am so, so sorry. I only acted the way I did because you've hurt me so…..'

She coked back the tears as she thought back to Daniel's last words to her

'I know it's not enough, but I don't know what else to say to make you understand...I did what I did because I l-'

'….Daniel….' Her heart and mind cried out for him as she curled up in a fetal position, the pain of losing him a second time becoming almost unbareable. '…..I love you too….and I want to tell you in person someday…..you have to come back to me….'

Meanwhile somewhere, across the galaxy Daniel Jackson blinked out of his meditative state and gripped his staff a little tighter, sadden at the loss of what was his only chance explanation. But then suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. It was partial, but he knew who it was from and he allowed it to replay over and over in his mind

'...and I want to tell you in person someday...'

Her voice was so mournful, Daniel couldn't bare it in his heart and soul but there was nothing he could do but listen to her voice in his head.

'...you have to come back to me...'

'I will Vala…..' He promised as he felt Adria's control grow over him once more and his will began to disappear as it always did. '…..I will do all I can to come back to you…..I promise.'

And with that, Daniel was once again under Adria's control and against his will he made his way to the gate and headed off to convert yet another unsuspecting planet. But in his heart, the promise he had made still burned strong, ready to find another crack to escape through. All it needed was an opening…….

A/N- Hello beloved readers. Bet you're shocked that you got an update so quickly eh:D Well, it's quite simple really. My muses kinda went balistic on me and I was up till 3 the other night churning out this chapter and the next one with out stopping... I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I think that it's one of my favourites.

Thank you (as always) to Goddess. Nefertiti, annie11232, Sokorra Lewis, clfat, stcobb, Briar Elwood and Shinki for the reviews, and thank you to all who have reviewed my story. We're up to 130 now and that just blows my mind. :D

I'm glad that you all liked the last chapter, and I hope you all liked this one too. If you did (or even if you didn't) feel free to review, especially since the story is winding down so if you haven't reviewed yet you won't get many more chances to do so...

...I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts, have a good weekend and expect chapter 22 within the next couple of days (I just need to edit it so it should be out by Sunday at the latests). TTFN my beloved readers. Ta Ta For Now!

A/N2- Just updated this chapter again with a few minor changes, spelling and flow and such...or and thank you to Goddess Nefertiti for reviewing already!