TITLE: The Lost Ones

AUTHOR: Cyn(di)

EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com

RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.

CATEGORY: supernatural, drama

SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .

SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Chimera."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: L.E. McMurray gets the bonus points . . . read her review. You go, girl.

I know this chapter took longer than usual but I've had a ton of homework lately. Plus, I have a beta now (hi, Ali) but it's worth a couple more hours' wait for better work, don't you think?

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It was barely a day since Daniel had watched the hockey game at Jack's house, but it felt like a lifetime, and the movies he had rented had little or no success at keeping him awake.

Neither did the coffee, which wasn't surprising considering that he had never gotten around to making any; once he'd sat down on the sofa he simply could not build up enough impulse to get up again.

However, Daniel did manage to make it through a good portion of "Independence Day," which he enjoyed at least as much as Jack had predicted. He began to drift off around the time Will Smith was punching out an alien, and barely had time to make a mental note to watch the film another time before he was fast asleep.

And for once, blessedly, it was real and restful sleep with no battles of any sort going on.

-----

Right now, in fact, it was Daniel's teammates who were having trouble sleeping.

Jack wandered into the commissary, expecting it to be deserted, only to find Sam sitting in the corner staring blankly at an untouched bowl of blue Jell-o. "Why the hell don't they serve beer here?" he asked in frustration.

"We're not allowed to consume alcohol while on duty, sir," she explained patiently.

"I know that," he snapped. "But we're not allowed to sleep on duty, either, so why are there sleeping areas on base?"

"If you want beer so badly, sir, why don't you just go out and buy some?"

"That costs money," Jack said plaintively. "This doesn't. But, since you've suggested it, it sounds like a pretty good idea. Think I might drop in on Daniel while I'm at it, too." He suddenly looked slightly sheepish; Sam suspected he had been aiming at this topic from the start. "You want to come with me?"

"Isn't he supposed to be asleep?"

"Well, yeah. But I somehow doubt he really will be, if he can possibly avoid it. Do you know how much caffeine is stashed in that guy's house?"

Sam smiled at that, but said nothing.

"Besides," Jack admitted finally, "he wasn't in the best of moods when he left."

"Oh, I see." Carter began to smirk. "You want me there for insurance in case he gets pissed at you for worrying about him."

"That, major," Jack said stiffly, "is entirely out of line."

Her grin widened. "Don't worry, sir. I'll protect you."

"Carter . . ." O'Neill's voice was dangerously soft. "Cut it out."

Sam's grin abruptly vanished—or tried to, at any rate. "Sorry, Colonel. What about Teal'c?"

"He's off in candle-land, kel-no-reem-ing."

Sam nodded understandingly. "All right. I'll come with you."

"There's a liquor store near Daniel's house," Jack said, already turning to leave. "We can pick up a case there."

"Next to the video store, sir?" Sam asked, abandoning her Jell-o and following.

"Yeah. That one."

-----

Daniel was dreaming. It was a terribly real dream, but he was fairly sure that he was still actually asleep, because he was dreaming that he was on Abydos. Specifically, he was standing in the central street of Nagada. The village appeared to be otherwise deserted. It was eerily still and quiet, quite unlike the constant bustle he remembered so well; there wasn't even the slightest of breezes to stir the surrounding tents. Still, it didn't quite feel empty, and Daniel was certain he wasn't the only one there.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

The ensuing silence was not particularly surprising. If anyone else was there, which he was beginning to doubt, they were doing a damn good job of hiding.

Daniel stood still for a minute, wondering what exactly was going on and whether he could wake up if he decided he didn't like it, whatever it was.

*You can wake up,* said an uncomfortably familiar voice in his mind, *but you may want to wait to hear me out first.*

He turned and discovered the woman from the video store standing behind him, dressed now in a plain black robe. "I wish you'd stay out of my head," Daniel said angrily, making a point of speaking aloud.

*Got your attention, though, didn't it?* The voice was amused, and he saw that she was smiling slightly.

"Just who are you, anyway?"

*My name is Aurel. I am one of the Perii, but of course you know that already.*

"Yes, I do." There was no point in trying to lie to her. "But what do you want with me, specifically?"

*I wish to make you an offer. A quite generous offer, in fact.*

"And you actually expect me to listen to it, knowing what you are and whom you serve?"

Aurel's smile grew. *Perhaps you may like what you hear.*

"I doubt that." Daniel began to turn away. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going now."

*We could bring this back,* she whispered.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

*You heard me, Daniel,* Aurel said smugly. *This village, this world—even the people who lived here, even though they're now all either dead or Ascended. We could bring it all back, as if nothing had ever happened.*

Daniel was shocked into speechlessness. It had been almost a year since the destruction of Abydos—an event he barely even remembered, although he knew he'd been there—and more than four since Sha're's death. He'd thought he'd recovered, as much as anyone could from experiences like those, but the wave of emotion brought on by Aurel's statement was nearly overwhelming. She had been right; it was an enormously tempting offer.

He simply stood there wordlessly, letting his emotions wash over him for a while until common sense began to take hold again and finally asked, "Why?"

*Why not?*

"You serve Anubis, don't you?" Daniel elaborated.

*I do.*

"And it was Anubis who destroyed this planet in the first place, right?"

*Of course.* He could tell that she was still confused as to where his reasoning was going.

"So why are you offering—on his behalf, I presume—to restore it? What's the point?"

*As I said, it is a very generous offer.*

"You sound like a credit card commercial," Daniel observed, knowing but not caring that Aurel would not understand the simile. "What's the catch here? I'm guessing you want something from me in return."

*Indeed we do, but it is a small thing, only a single piece of information.*

Daniel said nothing, making an effort to keep his mind as blank as possible.

*All we want in return,* Aurel continued, *is that you tell us the location of the Harcesis.*

Very nice, Cyn. This is a very different piece of fiction from most of the stuff I see and read. As a reader you don't know what's going to happen and I like that!

Ali