"Have you got a minute, Janet?"

Janet looked up from her paperwork to see Dr. Jean Conrad standing in the doorway of her office. She gestured for the other woman to enter.

"Sure, Jean. I'm just reviewing the notes on Dr. Farrell's condition."

The psychiatrist seated herself in the chair her colleague indicated. "Good. That's who I wanted to talk to you about."

"How's the therapy progressing?"

"I'm satisfied with her progress, Janet, but we'll be continuing our sessions for at least another month. I was wondering when you were going to release her."

Janet shrugged. "As long as you think she's ready, I was thinking about letting her go home tomorrow. She's not ready for duty, but she's having trouble sleeping and I think she'll be more comfortable at home. Why?"

Dr. Conrad frowned. "The nightmares. I'm afraid that those are going to continue for a while. I know that Ariana doesn't have any family here, but I'd like someone to stay with her. Does she have any friends here at the SGC who'd be willing to look after her for a few days?"

Janet laughed. "Only the rest of her team and the entirety of SG1. Actually, you're going to have a hard time keeping people from staying with her. But if you want someone to stay overnight with her, I'd suggest Dr. Jackson or Colonel O'Neill. I think she's closest to them."

Dr. Conrad's face lightened. "Dr. Jackson may be our best bet. Ariana talks about him a lot. I gather that they've been friends for several years."

Janet nodded. "Daniel's the person that recommended her for the job here at the SGC. He'd be a good choice; he's used to babysitting the walking wounded. Daniel's usually the one who looks after Colonel O'Neill when he's been injured, which happens quite a bit."

"Good. I'll talk to him this afternoon. Thanks, Janet."

Daniel puttered around the kitchen of Ariana's house, putting away the groceries that he'd just returned from purchasing. He knew that whatever had in Ariana's refrigerator would be ruined after her two-week stay in the infirmary. He'd driven his friend home from the base and installed her on the couch in her living room. Daniel had wanted to put her in the bedroom, but Ariana had complained that she'd spent too much time in bed lately. He could understand her need for a change of pace. Whenever he'd been in a similar situation and Jack was the one taking care of him, Daniel always preferred to be in the living room during the day, in order to lessen the boredom of being a semi-invalid.

Daniel heard a noise behind him and turned to see Ariana standing in the kitchen doorway. His friend's unruly curls were sticking out from her head like a halo and she looked about 12 years old in her pajamas.

"Hi," he said, coming to help her to a chair at the breakfast table. "I thought you were still asleep."

Ariana shook her head. "I heard you come in from the store. I was lonely so I thought I'd come supervise – I have to make sure that you put everything in its proper place."

Daniel grinned at her. "Oh, I forgot. Your kitchen is sacred ground."

"You've got it, Monkey. I'll never be able to find anything after you're gone if I just let you have the run of the place."

"I think I can figure it out on my own, Nana.'

Ariana shook her head. "I don't know . . . I've seen your kitchen; there's no logical order to it."

"Not your logic, you mean."

"Exactly," she retorted.

"So, what do you want for supper?" Daniel asked. He and Ariana were sitting on the couch, working on the analysis of the material she'd accumulated on her mission to P3X-987.

Ariana paused to consider for a moment. "Well, I'd really like a big, juicy steak but I don't think that's on the menu, is it?"

Daniel grinned. "Nope. Janet would kill me, and I don't think your stomach would appreciate it either. How about a nice mild Thai soup with glass noodles?"

"I guess that will have to do."

A knock on the front door startled them and Daniel got up to answer it. Gutierrez, Sloane and Ferretti were standing on the doorstep laden with packages. Ferretti grinned when he saw Daniel.

"Hey Dr. J. We thought we'd drop by and check on the doc."

Gutierrez motioned with his full hands. "We come bearing gifts. Flowers, a movie and homemade tortilla soup for the invalid."

"I've got pizza for the rest of us," Sloane added.

Daniel stood back to let them enter. "Nana, you've got visitors."

"Who is it?"

Ferretti wandered into the living room. "Hey Doc, how's it going?"

Ariana smiled at her teammates. "Hi guys. Come to keep the invalid company?"

Sloane grinned. "We were bored, so we thought we'd come and keep you and Dr. J from working too much. I brought The Two Towers for you to watch and Gutierrez made you some tortilla soup."

"My wife sent the flowers for you, Doc. She thought you might like them."

"Thank her for me, Lou. They're gorgeous."

Daniel shifted Ariana's head to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. She had fallen asleep about halfway through the movie. He was surprised to feel a surge of satisfaction that she had chosen him as her pillow rather than Gutierrez, who had been sitting on the other side of her. Ariana sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him.

Gutierrez watched them as Sloane got up to remove the movie from the DVD player. "She really trusts you, doesn't she?"

Daniel looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Sloane looked grave. "Farrell barely lets any of us near her since we got back from that godforsaken planet, but she's snuggled up to you like you're her teddy bear."

"Not her teddy bear – monkey," grinned Ferretti.

"I'm going to kill Jack," Daniel groused.

Ferretti laughed. "Don't blame Jack, Dr. J, it was the doc."

"Traitor."

The others laughed softly and Gutierrez stood. "Well, I guess we'd better go. Thanks for looking after Farrell for us, Dr. J."

Daniel smiled, the two men sharing a look. After a moment, Gutierrez nodded. Ferretti said, "We'll show ourselves out. It looks like you're stuck where you are for the moment."

When the men had left, Daniel looked down at the sleeping woman. Ariana had curled up in a little ball and had nestled her head in the hollow between his shoulder and neck. It had astonished him when Gutierrez mentioned that Ariana was having problems with her team touching her. That in itself told Daniel not only how much Ariana trusted him but how deeply the episode on P4G-129 had disturbed her. Nana was a very tactile person; a lot like Jack, Daniel realized for the first time.

Daniel himself was a very reserved individual, not usually given to allowing others to touch him. Jack had been the first to ignore his unspoken 'no touching' rule. Now that he thought about it, Nana had always ignored the rule, too. She was always touching his arm to make a point or hugging him when she saw him.

Daniel gently pushed the curls from her eyes and called her name. "Nana, wake up. It's time for bed, sleepyhead."

Ariana sat up and looked around in confusion. "Where is everyone?"

"They've all gone home. You fell asleep during the movie."

Ariana smiled. "Oops. I'm a horrible host."

Daniel shook his head. "They just came to check on you. I'm sure they'll come back to see you again when you can stay awake longer."

Daniel looked around the dark room in confusion, uncertain what had woken him. He listened intently for a moment and then heard the sound again. A low moan split the silence and he rose quickly and crossed the hall to enter Ariana's room.

Ariana was asleep, but obviously in the throes of a nightmare. Daniel sat on the edge of her bed, reaching out to disentangle her limbs from the bedclothes.

"Wake up, Nana," he soothed. "You're having a nightmare."

"No, don't touch me!" she yelled, still asleep.

"Nana, it's just a dream." Daniel touched her cheek, trying to rouse her.

"No!" Ariana sat up, coming awake with a start.

"You're okay," Daniel said softly. "You were having a bad dream."

Ariana slumped in his arms. "Oh, Danny," she whispered, "It was so horrible!"

"Shh," he soothed, rubbing her back. "It's okay. Go back to sleep, Sugar."

"Stay?" she asked.

"Are you sure?"

Ariana nodded into his shoulder. "Please, Daniel. Your virtue is safe, I promise."

Daniel chuckled. "Well that's a relief."

Ariana scooted over to the far side of the bed and Daniel slipped under the covers. Ariana moved into his arms and sighed. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, "I'm glad you're here, Danny."

He hugged her. "So am I, Nana. Go to sleep, now. You're safe."

Daniel woke before Ariana the next morning, slightly disoriented by the feeling of waking with someone in his arms. It had been a long time since he'd slept with anyone, even in as platonic a fashion as he'd done with Ariana. It was nice, he decided. He supposed that he should feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about having spent the night in his friend's bed, but he didn't. Daniel wasn't sure if he could have done this for anyone else, even Sam.

Why did he feel this way, he wondered. Could there be something to Sam's suggestion that he cared for Nana more than he'd admitted to himself? That was a question that he discovered he really wasn't ready to answer.

Daniel eased Ariana out of his embrace and settled the covers around her. She snuggled into his pillow and sighed. He smiled down at her for a moment and then went into the kitchen to start breakfast. He'd think about where their relationship was headed later - for now his friend needed him. He promised himself he'd be there to help her face her fears.