Chapter Thirty Three

Daniel felt the bed beside him shift, but wasn't quite ready to wake up. He had slept maybe a total of four hours in the past week since returning back to the SGC, and his body wasn't ready to concede with the few more he had managed to get tonight. He flipped over onto his stomach, content to ignore whoever it was that was trying to wake him up. He was fairly certain he was having a good dream, if he could only get back to it...

A dark curtain of hair draped over his face as he felt a woman's breath in his ear. "Did you know that you snore, darling?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Vala, not now."

She made a soft and exaggerated pouting noise. "But I've come so far, Daniel. Can't you spare me a few moments before I have to go back?"

His eyes snapped open as he realized that Vala was in his bed. Safe in his bed. He quickly flipped over, placing a hand on her shoulder as he gazed at her in awe. "How....when did you get back? Why didn't they call me?"

"Easy, dear. I only just got here. And you're the only that knows I'm here."

"Are you okay? What happened? We need to get you to the infirmary," he rushed out the words as if they were all one sentence.

"Not quite possible." She pulled the corners of her lips down as she lifted a brow. "You see, I'm not really here." She placed her finger on the temple of his head before resting her hand upon it. "I'm here."

Realization hit him. This was the dream. "You aren't real."

"I'm only as real as you believe me to be, unfortunately. We're connected, remember?" She gave a wry grin. "Find it to be romantic now?"

He knew she was talking about the connection that had been formed by the goa'uld marriage bracelets and then enhanced by the Ancient communications device, but wasn't sure how that was relevant since the connection had worn off long ago. "So you are real? We're still connected somehow?"

Her face lit up eagerly. "Yes. We'll always be connected, I think. But I've always known that, haven't I? And you've always denied it."

He shook his head. "Now's not the time for that conversation. Tell me where you are."

She frowned. "You know where I am."

"No," he let out a breathy laugh, unable to believe their luck. "We scanned Kasina and the surrounding planets but we haven't been able to find you. Did you see the gate address when they moved you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. But that's not what this is about, Daniel."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? If you know anything about where you are, we can save you! Just give me something to work with. What the people look like, any customs you've noticed, anything!"

She caressed his cheek. "You can't save me. That's not what this about."

"I don't understand," he pleaded quietly. "What is this about then?"

She softly pressed her lips to his, pulling back slightly to whisper, "This is about saying goodbye," before kissing him once more.

For a few blissful seconds, Daniel kissed her back before her words registered. He jerked away to find empty space before him, then the world faded around him and he found himself staring at the ceiling once more in his bed as if nothing had happened. He shot up quickly, knowing he needed help and just who to get it from.

He skidded to a halt in front of Sam's old lab, knowing he would be able to find her there. She and Bill had been working on ways to expand the field of the scanning devices so that the SG team members searching for Vala could walk through the gate, scan, and come back with no time wasted questioning any locals or going on long treks. Sure enough, she was sitting at the end of one of the work stations, her chin rested against her folded hands on the table.

She stretched with a yawn, noticing an agitated Daniel bouncing in her doorway. "Daniel...what's up?"

He rocked on his heels slightly, worried that he might sound crazy. He shook of the thought, knowing that what he had seen was real. He was really connected to Vala and that meant they could use that to find her. "I think I may have something."

Sam straightened. "With Vala? What did you find?"

He rushed forward. "The goa'uld marriage bracelets. The Kor'mak bracelets," he specified quickly.

She frowned. "What about them?"

"When Vala and I were connected by the bracelets, the Ancient communication device only enhanced that bond that the bracelets had already formed. We were connected even without them."

"Yea," she agreed, still not following. "The effects eventually wore off. Otherwise you both would have died when she was transported to the Ori galaxy."

"But that's the thing," he pressed on eagerly, the light back in his eyes. "We're still connected."

"What?" Sam shook her head. "How? And if that's the case, why are you still conscious?"

"Because the communications device didn't just strengthen the physical bond between Vala and I, it created a mental one. I've seen her."

She let out a slow and sympathetic breath. "Daniel, how do you know that has anything to do with the devices or any kind of connection they might have formed?"

"Because she said that we're still connected." He hated the look she was giving him. It wasn't only full of doubt, it was full of concern and overwhelming sympathy. "Don't look at me like that, Sam. After all the things we've seen and been through, you can't tell me I'm crazy."

She placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm not....I just..." She dropped her head, then looked back up at him with regret. "It's not possible, Daniel."

"How can you say that? We have no idea what the effects of using both devices could be. This connection could explain why I knew she wasn't dead when she was lost in the Ori galaxy. And why I know she isn't gone now," he urged. "It could be possible."

She sighed again. "I suppose on some remote level, yes. But from what we know of the devices and what they did to you and Vala, it doesn't seem likely. The effects were pretty immediate, Daniel. Maybe it was just a dream. Your subconscious's way of telling you not to give up."

Daniel dropped his head between his shoulders. He knew that Sam was making sense and that she was probably right. It was probably nothing more than a dream. "Yea, I'm sorry. It just..." he looked to the ceiling as he let out the breath he seemed to always be holding lately, "it felt so real."

He started to turn away but Sam gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "If you want to talk about it..."

"No, I'm okay."

"Can I ask you what she said to you? Your subconscious could be trying to tell you something important."

Daniel could feel the tears biting at his eyes as he responded quietly. "She said goodbye." Before Sam could offer anymore sympathy or words of comfort, he somberly left her office, deciding he would head to his own to go over the history of the Kasinans once more.