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," which I now know means "angst out the wazoo."

CATEGORY: supernatural, drama

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

SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Heroes Part 1."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You didn't really think I would kill Daniel, did you?

This being the last chapter, I feel the urge to to be grateful to people. Therefore, I'd like to thank all of you for putting up with me for the past month and a half, 'specially LE McMurray, Frisha, spacemonkey766, koreanpearl, and my beta Ali, as well as anyone else from the OS forum.

I'd also like to thank the band Blue Oyster Cult, whose song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" holds a lot of the blame for this story.

Janet stared for a second at the spot where he had been, then switched her gaze swiftly back to the display in front of her. Her jaw dropped at the readout which greeted her. "EEG is showing normal brain activity," she reported in disbelief. "His pulse and respiration are also returning to normal."

"Sweet." Jack stood up and turned back towards the others just in time to see Daniel begin to stir slightly and let out a barely audible groan.

"Hey, Daniel," Sam said gently. "Can you hear me?"

He nodded slightly and smiled, but kept his eyes closed. "Yeah, Sam. I hear you."

"Welcome back, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added. "How do you feel?"

Daniel opened his eyes tentatively and blinked several times in mock alarm at the Jaffa's undisguised grin of relief. "Anyone get the license plate number off that tank?"

"I did," offered Jack from his other side, raising a hand. "Vanity plate, EVL-SNKE." The others laughed, but as Daniel transferred his gaze to him the smile was replaced momentarily by a look of what looked almost like guilt. Although the smile was back in another second, Jack didn't miss the change in expression. "Everything OK there, Daniel?"

"I hope so," Daniel said quietly. "I'll get back to you when I've worked it out. I heard you guys before," he added, addressing himself to everyone now.

"When we were trying to—" Sam searched for a word—"think at you?"

He nodded seriously. "I wasn't doing too well there . . . couldn't have done it without you."

Jack looked intently at Daniel, suspecting "not too well" to be a pretty big understatement, but decided it would be best not to bring the issue up just yet.

Unable to find anything physically wrong with Daniel apart from fatigue, Janet kept him in the infirmary overnight as a pure formality, then released him on the condition that he go straight home and try to stay out of trouble for the next few days.

The instant he got off duty, Jack went straight after him. Despite his outward cheerfulness—wholly deserved, in Jack's opinion—ever since his return, Daniel had been distinctly uncomfortable whenever the two of them spoke. Jack was determined to find out why.

Daniel appeared a minute after Jack knocked, looking incredibly glum for someone who had just killed the most powerful Goa'uld in history. "Hi, Jack." Another visible flicker of guilt.

Jack smiled winningly at him and wandered in without waiting to be asked. "So nice to feel welcome."

Daniel closed the door behind him. "What do you want, Jack?"

"Okay," Jack admitted, "maybe not that welcome." He plopped into the nearest armchair. "I was worried about you. Thought you'd be a bit happier about having just blasted Anubis into oblivion."

"Oh, I'm happy, don't worry." Daniel forced a grin as he sat down on he chair opposite.

"Damn hard to tell. Just what did he do to you, anyway?"

Daniel said nothing for a minute. "Why do you care?" he asked abruptly.

Jack gaped at him. "You're kidding. You're my best friend, Daniel, of course I care."

"You shouldn't. Not after—" He fell silent.

"After what?" Jack asked sharply.

Daniel looked down at his folded hands. "I left you," he said quietly. "When Ba'al was torturing you . . . I just left, and you had no way to know I was coming back."

"You did," Jack pointed out, wondering how this related. "You told me you had something else to take care of."

"Maybe, but you didn't know that then. Anubis showed me." Daniel hugged himself tightly. "You thought I was gone. And you were calling me, and I wasn't there . . ." His voice was hoarse. "I have no idea what I was doing then, but it can't have been that important."

"Daniel," Jack said seriously, "what part of 'evil' did you miss? Anubis was just trying to get you, you know that. Anything he told you is bull."

"Sha're is dead," Daniel said softly. "That's not bull."

"Sonofabitch," Jack swore forcefully, crossing the room and wrapping his arms tightly around his trembling friend. "Look, Danny, I don't know what that snakehead did to mess with your mind, but he lied, okay? Her death wasn't your fault."

"You're sure?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Daniel looked up and met the other man's eyes. "He won," he admitted finally in a near-whisper.

Jack smiled slightly. "'Course he didn't. He's dead and you're alive, right?"

"Yeah. But look at me, I'm a wreck." Daniel laughed nervously. "And by the time I heard from you guys—" he gulped— "Anubis was about to kill me. And I didn't mind, Jack. I wanted to die. By that point, I was pretty well convinced the world would be better off without me."

"Fortunately," Jack assured him, "you were wrong." Then his eye was caught by the DVD case perched atop the television. Releasing the embrace and straightening up carefully, he walked over and picked it up. "Don't tell me you actually took one of my movie recommendations."

"You'd better believe it." Daniel let out a barely audible sigh of relief at the return to their normal mode of conversation. "Fell asleep about halfway through, though."

"How 'bout we watch it now?" Jack suggested. "We can order pizza. And I'm sure you've got some beer stashed away somewhere, no matter how much you may claim to hate the stuff."

"No way." Daniel shook his head vehemently. "No beer here, for one thing. Besides, I know better than to watch movies with you. You're always talking back to the characters."

"That's because they're usually idiots," Jack observed. "C'mon, Daniel . . . I'll make sure you stay awake, don't worry."

Daniel groaned loudly. "I don't doubt it. All right, it's a plan, provided you don't order pineapple on the pizza this time."

"You drive a hard bargain," Jack grinned.

Between the two of them, Daniel and Jack ultimately anaged to make it—barely—through two pizzas (minus pineapple) and both "Independence Day" and "Godzilla." Jack had disappeared into the night, fortunately sober enough to drive thanks to the bucket of cold water Daniel had obligingly poured over his head, and Daniel was finally able to get some proper sleep in his own bed for the first time in what felt like months.

No sooner had he closed his eyes, it seemed, than he was back in the briefing room, facing Oma Desala across the table. Daniel stared at her in shock. "You have got to be joking me."

"Don't worry," she said, smiling. "You have done more than enough already, I promise you. I simply wished to tell you that we are all deeply in your debt."

"Now there's a change of pace," Daniel muttered. "So am I going to be able to sleep now?"

"You will return to a fully human state," she assured him. "We are still attempting to find the Perius Aurel, but your assistance will not be necessary. She will most likely be found with little difficulty."

"Glad to hear it."

"However, there is one other thing."

Daniel glanced at her in trepidation. "What is it?"

"Someone wishes to speak to you." Oma walked out without another word.

Within moments, a young man walked in. Daniel did a double take—the newcomer looked uncannily like Sha're. Then he realized who it must be. "It's good to see you again."

Shifu smiled back, gracefully taking the chair Oma had recently vacated. "It is good to see you as well, Daniel. I did tell you our paths would cross again."

"So you did."

"I wish to thank you for your efforts on my behalf," Shifu continued seriously. "As you know, I was unable to be present myself, but my uncle assures me you fought most valiantly, and that you succeeded in destroying Anubis."

Daniel nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. He could feel Shifu probing his mind gently.

"She would be very proud indeed," the younger man told him gravely, echoing his own words of three years before.

"Thank you," Daniel said, his eyes brimming with tears. Still, he smiled. "She'd be proud of you as well."

Shifu bowed in acknowledgement, and they were both quiet for a minute.

"Is this the last crossing?" Daniel asked finally.

"We will see," Shifu answered as he and the room began to fade. "One thing you should know by now, Daniel, is that anything is possible."

Daniel smiled as he sank into deeper sleep.

Anything was possible.

Anything at all.

~~THE END~~