DANIEL:

I was laughing at one of Tom's stories when Jack came back to the table. It felt my smile fade when I saw his expression. It was full of pain and anguish. I wondered what the Captain had said. "Jack, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Mia, Riley, Daniel." He said seriously. "There's something you need to hear."

Janeway nodded. "Please." She added.

Wordlessly, I got up and followed Jack as a feeling or apprehension and dread came over me. What the hell was going on? I shot Tom and Chakotay a glance before I left, but they both shook their heads. They didn't know what was going on either. Silently, we all made our way down to Astrometrics. As we walked, I shared a look with Riley. She looked as worried as I felt. What was going on?

My mind whirled as I followed Jack down the corridor. Had they found some way to send us back? And if Janeway had, why was Jack so serious? I would have thought he would have been happy. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe we couldn't go back.

As I thought about it, I decided it probably wouldn't be so bad if we didn't go home. God knew there wasn't anything left for me there. Everyone I cared about was here, with me. Then I sighed. I didn't really want to stop fighting the Goa'uld though. I knew there were other people who could and did fight the Goa'uld too, but I knew so much about them that could help. And I had finally realised I still wanted to help.

We walked into Astrometrics and saw Seven waiting for us. I gave her a small smile and waited for the bad news. Jack looked at us, and then at me. "I don't..." he trailed off. "Danny, I..."

"Maybe I should explain, Colonel." Seven said after a moment.

"Yeah." He agreed with a sigh.

Okay, now I was getting scared. What the hell was this big secret?

"This will not be the easiest thing to hear." Seven said. "But I believe your reality has been split in two. Probably by the weapon you call the 'Eye of Ra'."

Seven stared steadily at us while I tried to sort through what she had just said. Split? What did that mean? Talk about shocking words. Those were probably at about the top of the list. Had she meant what I thought she meant?

"Simply put, this means: what exists in one half of your reality does not exists in the other." Seven continued. "The Eye of Ra released a large amount of energy that managed to rip the fabric of your reality apart. How: I don't know."

My mind whirled in confusion. Then I looked at Jack and noticed the joy hidden in the back of his eyes, as if he didn't want to believe. She had meant what I thought she had! A surge of joy flew through me and almost knocked my off my feet. I can't explain what I felt, but it was the most amazing feeling I think I've ever felt in my life! "Janet...Sam...Teal'c..." I breathed. "They're still alive!"

Pure joy burst into my heart as I said the words, chasing away all the shadows I had thought would stay there forever. I felt it surge through my blood and ripple through my soul, making my feel so alive! Janet...I saw her beautiful face in my mind. Janet. My love. She was alive! I felt like laughing and dancing and crying all at once. I had a need to find her and hold her and never let her go. But then another thought hit me. "But if they're alive..." I began.

"...then they think we're dead." Jack finished. "Yeah."

Suddenly I knew what Jack had seemed so sad. I know all the pain I had been through when Janet had died. It was awful. It had been black despair for so long...and I had also suffered at the hands of the Goa'uld. Had Janet faced the same pain? My heart broke a little to think about what she must have gone through. And Sam. And Teal'c...

Beside me, Riley had fallen to her knees in shock and Mia was weeping silent tears. "We have to go back." Riley said suddenly.

"Definitely." There was no doubt in my mind. I need to go back. And I would do anything. I was going to get back, no matter what.

"I thought you would say that." Janeway said. "But I have to warn you. It will take us about a week to get back to the planet."

I nodded. It almost hurt, the knowledge I would have to wait...but it was a momentary pain. Right now I needed to help figure out how we would mend the tear in our reality and get back to our own world. "How are we going to get back to our own reality?" Jack asked, the same thoughts running through his mind. "And how can we put it back together?"

"That should be relatively easy." Seven said. "A small matter charge should be enough to cause you to jump dimensions again. But it will destroy the stargate."

Jack nodded. "And fixing the split?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, since I believe that a surge of energy caused the split, removing that energy should cause the reality to knit back together."

"And how will you be able to manage that?" Jack asked.

"A small anti-matter explosion."

"Anti-matter?"

"Anti-matter is that opposite of matter." Captain Janeway explained. "You know that matter releases energy when it explodes? Well, anti-matter does the opposite."

"It absorbs energy." I said, my mind whirling with the implications of this. Could I really be going home? And would I really see Janet again? I wasn't sure whether I wanted to believe it or not.

"Exactly."

The idea sounded crazy. But no more crazy than some of the ideas Sam had come up with in the past. And it sounded like it could work. "Thank you." I told Seven and Janeway. "For everything."

"I was glad I could help." Seven replied.

I was in a dream for the next few days. As was everyone else. Rumours spread through the crew almost as soon as we had left Astrometrics. But I hadn't cared. The news had been a real shock. I had just accepted the fact that my friends were all dead, and then I was told that maybe they weren't. It was just too much. Three days after the new had hit, I decided to go out and face the world again. Jack and Mia had taken the news a lot better than Riley and me. Almost an hour after the news, Jack had been walking around with a large grin on his face and a joke for everyone. You don't often realise it, because he hides it well, but Jack's a romantic at heart. And he could simply accept his love had returned to him.

I had to take a little more time. I think it came from the way I felt compelled to question everything I came across. It was the scientist in me. Riley, on the other hand, had taken the news very hard. I left her curled up on the bunk and wondered if I should tell Jack. But I didn't want to impose on his happiness. He deserved a little in his life. I sighed. What should I do? And then I had an idea. I gave a small smile and turned towards Engineering.

When I got there, I was confronted by chaos. People were running everywhere and B'Elanna's voice was yelling orders above all the noise. I took a moment to find a gap and watched in amazement as everyone seemed to go exactly where they were needed. "B'Elanna?" I called.

"Yeah?" A voice snapped, and I was greeted by the sight of a slightly frustrated B'Elanna. Her expression softened when she saw me. "Daniel. What can I do for you?"

At my name and appearance I saw a few of the crew glance curiously at me, but a glare from B'Elanna made them concentrate really hard on what they were supposed to be doing. "I was wondering if you could go and see Riley after your shift." I said. "Maybe...I don't know...take her down to the holodeck or something. I don't think she's taking the news very well. It's kind of shaken her up again."

"I'll go and see her." B'Elanna told me. "And I'll try and help."

"Thanks." I said gratefully.

B'Elanna just shrugged. "I kind of like her." She said. "She's got spirit."

I smiled at that. B'Elanna would never admit to really liking her in public like that. But I knew she cared. "I'll let you get back then." I said, and turned to leave.

"Good." She said. "I'll see you later."

I left the noisy chaos of the Engineering and wandered almost aimlessly down a corridor. I walked, lost in thought, for about an hour. I thought about anything and everything. Janet's smile. How I would miss Voyager and her crew. What it would mean when we went back. What would happen. What had happened to me over the last few years. I was so lost in thought, I didn't hear Jack come up behind me.

"Penny for you thoughts?" he said.

"Jack!" I said, turning in surprise.

"Danny."

I rubbed a hand tiredly over my face. "I'm just thinking." I said.

"About Janet?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. And everyone else."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"It's nothing. I'm just..." I said.

"Wondering how you're going to react when you see her again?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about it." Jack said. I looked at him. "Your heart knows, it's just your head that hasn't caught up yet. You love her. She loves you. That's all that matters."

I told you. Jack was a hopeless romantic deep down. But, strangely, his words comforted me. It was true. I loved Janet and she loved me. We'd work it out. I smiled. Maybe Jack wasn't the only romantic around. "Now, wanna get something to eat?"

"Yeah." I said. "I would."

The table was crowded with people as we all sat around, eating and laughing. Everyone was here. Tom, Harry, Chakotay, Jack, Mia, Tuvok...even Seven and the Captain had come. I noticed Jack and Janeway were talking quietly to each other. I smiled when I caught Janeway's expression. She had the look of someone who was hearing something she didn't want to know. Jack could be like that sometimes.

"What's the smile for?" Chakotay asked me. "I'm not sure Harry's story was that funny."

"I'm just smiling at your Captain's expression. Jack has her cornered. No doubt he's telling her some sort of insight that she'd rather not hear." I smiled at Chakotay. "I've been on the receiving end of that once or twice. It's not fun."

Chakotay smiled. "Truth is sometimes hard to hear."

"Don't I know it." I agreed.

At that moment, B'Elanna and Riley walked up to the table and tried to find somewhere to sit amongst the mass of people. I noticed Riley's eyes were red, as if she had been crying and she had a new bruise on her cheekbone. "Riley, are you all right?" I asked.

She reached up and touched the bruise. "I'm still in one piece, so I think so." She said.

"B'Elanna, what did you do?" Chakotay asked.

"I got her to stop feeling sorry for herself." B'Elanna said.

"Yeah." Riley said. "She threatened to kick my ass if I didn't."

I grinned. "You mean she would have tried."

"Hey!" B'Elanna objected.

Riley grinned, and I noticed just how beautiful she was. Her green eyes lit up form the inside and you could see the joy on her face. A joy I knew well. Everything, it seemed, was going to work out just fine – those we cared about were alive. "Yeah." She agreed.

Suddenly Tom turned to us, excited. "I know what we should do!" he said.

"What?" I asked warily.

"Nothing like that." He told me, and Chakotay raised an eyebrow. "We should go to the holodeck. Harry and I finished our new programme yesterday, and we wanted to show you."

I nodded curiously. "I wouldn't mind seeing that." I said.

"Good." He replied. "Let's go!"

JACK:

I watched Daniel carefully out the corner of my eye. He was looking happier than he had before. I understood why he was acting so cautiously. Hope was a precious thing. But it was also fragile. Daniel hadn't wanted to believe Janet was still alive, because if he allowed himself to hope, then that hope could be crushed as much as it could be fulfilled. But Janet was alive. So was Sam and Teal'c and everyone else. I wouldn't let myself believe anything else.

I turned to Janeway and saw her looking speculatively at her First Officer. I smiled when I imagined the thoughts playing through her head. I had been in a similar situation to her when I fell in love with Sam. "So, are you going to do anything about it?" I asked.

She looked at me in surprise, my voice jerking her out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Are you going to do anything about him?" I asked again, nodding towards Chakotay.

"I..." Kathryn trailed off, and blushed. "I don't know."

She looked at me with a torn look in her eyes. "I don't know what to do." She said. "I'm the Captain of my ship. I have a duty to my crew. A duty that is even more important now that we're so far from home."

"You also have a duty to your heart." I said.

"I know." She looked at me so sadly. "But I'm the Captain. My crew has to come first."

"And it always will." I said. I knew all about her problem. I was a leader myself. And while I might not be in control of a large starship, I had a lot of people back at the SGC depending on me.

She nodded. "So I have to be strong." She said.

"Yes, you do." I agreed. "But you also have to ask yourself this question: What do the crew need more? A distant Captain who does her duty, or a leader they can look up to, who is just as human as they are?"

She looked at me. "But..." She shook her head. "I have to be someone strong for them. To show them that they can't give up."

"Yes." I said. "And I'm not going to tell you it's easy. Both you and I know it's not. But you can afford to show some feelings, you know. The crew respect you. They would follow you, wherever you choose to go. Choosing to love someone isn't going to change that. In face it might make them respect you more. Because it will show them that no matter where they are, life goes on."

Kathryn looked at me, still uncertain, but finally willing to listen to her heart. "Now all you have to do is tell him how you feel." I said.

"Only?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

I grinned. I noticed at that moment that everyone was getting up. I looked over at Daniel. "What's going on?" I asked.

"We're heading down to the holodeck to see Tom and Harry's latest creation." He told me.

I grinned. "Sounds interesting. Can I come?"

"Sure."

As I got up to leave, I heard Kathryn's hesitant voice behind me and grinned. "Chakotay, can I have a word with you?"

"Of course." Chakotay answered, and my grin widened.

Daniel caught me when he glanced back. "What are you up to, Jack?" he asked.

"Nothing." I replied innocently, but I don't think he believed me.