Daniel ran through the corridors of the SGC, dodging airmen, careening into a major or two. Finally making it to the infirmary, he burst through the doorway, skidding to a halt in front of a startled Janet and surprised Siler.

Finishing bandaging the airman 's electrical burn, Janet waited as Daniel tried to catch his breath, nodding Siler to as he picked up his wrench and left, duty overriding his sense of curiosity.

"Hope. Was... she... " Giving up, Daniel just gasped like a fish out of water, watching the doctor calmly hand the tray of gauze and ointment to a nearby corpsman.

"She's fine," Janet assured him. "Nothing showed up on the MRI. Although she is suffering from mild shock. I tried to give her a sedative and send her home but she refused... "

Daniel merely nodded, relieved, only half listening to the part after 'she's fine'. "Where is she now?"

Crossing her arms, Janet gave him a wry half grin. "She's in your office, which you would know if you had been paying attention." She sighed as Daniel muttered his thanks, taking off for level 18 as fast as he had arrived.

Hope was doodling Goa'uld glyphs on a notepad, unaware that Daniel had entered the room until he was right in front of her, giving a slight start as she finally saw him.

"Oh, hey Daniel." She smiled weakly, watching as he pulled over a stool to sit on.

"How are you doing?"

One shoulder lifted, and Hope dropped her eyes to the pad. "I'll be alright. Just a little rattled. I think the thing that freaked me out the most was coming through the Gate and seeing all those guns pointed at me, the expression on General Hammond's face."

Daniel took her hand in his, squeezing gently. "They just had to be sure—"

"I know," she interrupted. "Or at least I will, once it sets in. I read the reports about Kawalsky." Hope fell silent, and Daniel just sat with her, waiting.

"How do you do it every time?" she finally blurted out. "How do you go through that Gate knowing they're out there, waiting for you?"

"Because Sha're's out there too. And I won't stop looking until I find her."

Hope pressed his hand, her turn to give him comfort. "And when you do? Will you still go through?"

This time Daniel was silent. "I'll take her back to Abydos, and live out the life we were going to."

"You'll be able to turn your back on everything that's out there? The untold civilizations that have evolved who-knows-how from when the Goa'uld took them thousands of years ago?"

Daniel gave her a smile, the sweet one she had a hard time resisting. "I'd barely begun to scratch the surface of what was on Abydos. The catacombs there were riddled with ancient writings and pictures. And there would be Sha're," he added, as if that explained it all.

"What about you? Are you going to go back through?"

"Yeah," she answered with a chuckle. "I just convinced myself. At least it won't be all the time."

"No," agreed Daniel. "Just every so often. I knew that curiosity of yours would win."

Hope grinned, which at a slight sound from behind him changed to the smile that always made Daniel wonder if the men in Hope's life were blind. Looking over his shoulder he saw Johnson standing in the doorway, not willing to intrude, but not willing to leave either.

"I heard what happened on 6812 and wanted to see if Hope was ok," he said, looking at Daniel levelly.

"Ah, we're done." Getting up, Daniel passed by the blond, compact man, pausing in the hall to watch as him take Hope in his arms as she buried her face in his chest.

Leaving the two, Daniel went to go find his team.

Fin