Daniel sat in the observation lounge overlooking Ariana's isolation room. He had turned up the volume on the speakers so that he could hear the mechanical sounds of respirator and monitors. They were reminders that his friend was still alive, despite the stillness of her body lying in the bed below him.

A reflection appeared in the glass of the observation window. Sam took the seat next to Daniel, tucking one leg beneath her.

"How's she doing?"

"Janet says that she'll be here for a while. She lost a lot of blood and Janet's worried about infection."

Sam looked at Daniel from the corner of her eyes. "Has she been conscious at all?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not really. She's been having some nasty nightmares, though."

Sam could see a muscle jump in Daniel's jaw. She placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Janet said that she was going to bring someone in to talk to her, Daniel."

"Not McKenzie!" Daniel protested.

Sam shook her head. "No, not McKenzie. They've just hired a female psychiatrist who specializes in rape and post-traumatic stress disorders. Since the Gulf War, there has been a growing awareness of what can happen to both men and women in the field. Ferretti, Sloane and Gutierrez aren't doing too well, either. They'll all be speaking with the new doctor. Daniel, Dr. Conrad should be able to help Ariana work through this."

Daniel shot Sam a horrified look. "I thought Janet said that there'd been no evidence of rape..."

Sam hastened to reassure him. "You're right, but Ariana's situation is almost worse. She killed the man who was attempting to rape her in a very personal and violent manner. That in itself is enough to cause post traumatic symptoms. You should know that, Daniel."

Daniel knew only too well what Sam was referring to. His experience with Hathor had taken a long time for him to assimilate. At least Ariana had been spared actually having sex against her will. He didn't know which was going to be harder to deal with; he'd never killed a person at such close quarters. Sure, he'd shot people before, but stabbing someone was a much more personal act. The fact that his friend had to cope with such a situation filled him with remorse.

"This is all my fault."

"This is not your fault, Daniel," Sam countered. She should have expected that her friend would turn the blame for the current business back on himself. Daniel was too good at taking the blame for everything that went wrong with one of his friends.

"It is my fault, Sam. If I hadn't contacted Nana about this job, she'd never have even known that the Stargate existed. She wouldn't have been on that world and now she wouldn't be in this situation," Daniel gestured through the window to the still figure, his face tortured.

"Daniel, you're being ridiculous. Ariana knew that joining the SGC would be dangerous. She felt that the possible danger was an acceptable risk to face in order to be part of what we're doing here."

"But she's my friend, Sam!"

"What am I?" asked Sam, starting to get aggravated. "I'm your friend. I'm a woman. You don't beat yourself up every time I get hurt or captured on a mission."

Daniel flushed. "You're wrong, Sam. But it's different with you . . . You're a soldier - Ariana's not. Besides, you're on SG1."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Sam asked, confused.

"Look . . . I know that you and Nana can both take care of yourselves, better than I can take care of myself in a lot of cases. But you're on SG1. I know that I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe and so will Jack and Teal'c. We all take care of each other and get each other out of trouble. I don't have that luxury with Nana. She's on another team," Daniel tried to explain.

"And you can't be there with her to make sure she's safe," Sam guessed.

"Yeah. I introduced Nana to this world. I can't let her down the way I have so many others: Sha're, Sarah..."

Ah! Sam thought. "You care about her."

"Of course I care about her! Nana's my . . . Oh . . ." Daniel trailed off. "Not that way, Sam! Nana's just always been there. She was one of the few people who kept in contact with me until I left to join the SGC the first time. Nana never laughed at my theories. When I got back in touch with her after four years of absolutely no communication whatsoever, she never pried."

Sam sighed. "Daniel, Ariana's stronger than you give her credit for. You told me that she's lived under the threat of danger her entire life because of her father's work and survived in the Amazon for years at a time. The best way that you can help her through this is just to be there for her. If you coddle her or try to make decisions for her you will be letting her down. You'll be telling her that you don't think that she's strong enough to make it on her own. That's absolutely the wrong thing to do right now. Besides, Ariana's liable to kick your butt if you keep acting like this. You know I'm right."

Daniel smiled wryly, "I know. Thanks for reminding me, Sam."

Sam leaned in and hugged the archaeologist before rising from her seat and leaving the room.