Chapter 2: The Nightmare Begins
Soon after Daniel had drifted off, the worries and bad memories that were weighing on his conscious mind caught up with him as he slept. In his dreams, he was assaulted by the horrifying past that he thought he had put behind him years ago.
Daniel was nine years old, living in one of many foster homes he would stay in after the deaths of his parents years before. At first, he thought this was somewhere that he could feel safe but it didn't take long to discover just how wrong he was. His foster mother was very good to him and tried her very best to protect and care for him. The problem was her husband, the man he was forced to think of as his foster father. A man who was given to drugs and drinking, making him dangerously violent. Daniel was terrified of the man because he had seen what he did to his own wife.
One day, he came home from an evening at the bar, drunker than anyone had ever seen him. When his wife questioned him about his whereabouts that day, he became belligerent and began to savagely beat her. As the screams resounded around him, Daniel decided that he was tired of this and stepped in, grabbing the man's arm in an attempt to stop the violence. This aggravated him all the more and he grabbed Daniel by the shirt and threw him violently against a wall just as the wail of police and ambulance sirens was heard in the distance. The last thought that went through Daniel's mind as he lost consciousness was that he had finally succeeded in stopping the abuse and he and his foster mother were finally safe.
Daniel's eyes snapped open and he sat up as he woke from his nightmare, sweat pouring from him as he took deep breaths and tried to calm himself. It had been a long time since he'd had a nightmare that had shaken him up this much.
"Where did that come from? I thought I had finally put my past behind me. Good thing Sarah forgot to turn the television off because there's no way I'll be going back to sleep tonight. No point in even trying since I have to get up for work in an hour and a half anyway." Daniel thought as he settled down next to where Sarah still slept and watched television until it was time for him to get up for work.
An hour later, Daniel had gotten up, showered, and was now sitting in his kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. He was trying to forget about the nightmare he had the night before and trying to wake himself up because now that the shock had worn off he was beginning to feel tired again. After a few minutes, Daniel heard someone behind him and jumped a mile in the air when Sarah wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? You're up early." Sarah apologized.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something when you came up on me and I didn't realize you were up. Sorry I reacted like that. I'm up early this morning because I couldn't sleep." Daniel said quietly as he readjusted his glasses on his nose.
"Do you want some breakfast? I can make you something."
"Actually, I'm not really hungry right now. I was really thinking about going to the base a little early this morning. SG-10 brought something back yesterday right before I left to come home and I really need to get started on translating it so we can figure out what it means."
"Okay. Have a good day. Tonight when you get home I'll make something special for dinner."
"Sounds good. See you tonight. I love you so much, Sarah." Daniel smiled as he kissed her goodbye.
"I love you too." Sarah whispered as Daniel got in his car and drove toward Cheyenne Mountain.
As Daniel drove the twisting roads toward the base, the one thing that he was thinking was how in the world he was going to manage to muddle through this day.
Soon after Daniel had drifted off, the worries and bad memories that were weighing on his conscious mind caught up with him as he slept. In his dreams, he was assaulted by the horrifying past that he thought he had put behind him years ago.
Daniel was nine years old, living in one of many foster homes he would stay in after the deaths of his parents years before. At first, he thought this was somewhere that he could feel safe but it didn't take long to discover just how wrong he was. His foster mother was very good to him and tried her very best to protect and care for him. The problem was her husband, the man he was forced to think of as his foster father. A man who was given to drugs and drinking, making him dangerously violent. Daniel was terrified of the man because he had seen what he did to his own wife.
One day, he came home from an evening at the bar, drunker than anyone had ever seen him. When his wife questioned him about his whereabouts that day, he became belligerent and began to savagely beat her. As the screams resounded around him, Daniel decided that he was tired of this and stepped in, grabbing the man's arm in an attempt to stop the violence. This aggravated him all the more and he grabbed Daniel by the shirt and threw him violently against a wall just as the wail of police and ambulance sirens was heard in the distance. The last thought that went through Daniel's mind as he lost consciousness was that he had finally succeeded in stopping the abuse and he and his foster mother were finally safe.
Daniel's eyes snapped open and he sat up as he woke from his nightmare, sweat pouring from him as he took deep breaths and tried to calm himself. It had been a long time since he'd had a nightmare that had shaken him up this much.
"Where did that come from? I thought I had finally put my past behind me. Good thing Sarah forgot to turn the television off because there's no way I'll be going back to sleep tonight. No point in even trying since I have to get up for work in an hour and a half anyway." Daniel thought as he settled down next to where Sarah still slept and watched television until it was time for him to get up for work.
An hour later, Daniel had gotten up, showered, and was now sitting in his kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. He was trying to forget about the nightmare he had the night before and trying to wake himself up because now that the shock had worn off he was beginning to feel tired again. After a few minutes, Daniel heard someone behind him and jumped a mile in the air when Sarah wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? You're up early." Sarah apologized.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something when you came up on me and I didn't realize you were up. Sorry I reacted like that. I'm up early this morning because I couldn't sleep." Daniel said quietly as he readjusted his glasses on his nose.
"Do you want some breakfast? I can make you something."
"Actually, I'm not really hungry right now. I was really thinking about going to the base a little early this morning. SG-10 brought something back yesterday right before I left to come home and I really need to get started on translating it so we can figure out what it means."
"Okay. Have a good day. Tonight when you get home I'll make something special for dinner."
"Sounds good. See you tonight. I love you so much, Sarah." Daniel smiled as he kissed her goodbye.
"I love you too." Sarah whispered as Daniel got in his car and drove toward Cheyenne Mountain.
As Daniel drove the twisting roads toward the base, the one thing that he was thinking was how in the world he was going to manage to muddle through this day.