Title: Only in Dreams
Author: mysticalweather
Summary: Daniel can't seem to accept that Janet is gone.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The song Only is Dreams belongs to Weezer and SG-1 is property of someone other than me. The only thing I own is my imagination and wishful thinking!
Author's Notes: So, this is another Daniel/Janet story of mine. I'm bringing her back any way I know how! This is loosely based on Weezer's song Only in Dreams.
Feedback is greatly appreciated. I also have written a part 2 for this (which I will post at a later time), so please let me know if you liked part 1! :)
Weezer's Only in Dreams
You can't resist her
She's in your bones
She is your marrow
And your ride home
You can't avoid her
She's in the air
In between molecules
Of oxygen and carbon dioxide
Only in dreams
We see what it means
Reach out our hands
Hold on to hers
But when we wake
It's all been erased
And so it seems
Only in Dreams
Janet woke up as the blinding light around her started to fade. She looked around and found herself lying in some sort of strange prison. From what she could tell, it was just big enough for her to fit into.
'What happened? What am I doing here?'
She searched her mind, trying to think about the last thing she could remember.
Pain. She winced, remembering the pain she'd felt in her chest just before she was thrown backwards.
'Then what?' She thought harder.
Finally it came, the last thing she remembered was Daniel. He was screaming her name frantically. Did something happen to him? He might need her help! She had to find him!
Just as she was wondering how to free herself, the top two sections of her small cell slid apart. Slowly, she sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was in a large circular room. Torches of fire gave light to the space. As she looked around, she noticed that the rest of the room was empty.
Looking down at where she was sitting, she suddenly realized that she'd been inside a sarcophagus. That's when it sank in - she had died.
She wrapped her arms around herself. Despite the warmth radiating from the flames around her, she felt chilled to the bone.
'Where am I? Who brought me here?'
Daniel woke up, startled. With a sigh, he realized he'd had another nightmare. Unable to shake off his feelings of uneasiness he decided he'd had enough sleep. He donned a T-shirt and his glasses and then went downstairs to make some coffee.
'I have to get up in 3 hours, anyways,' he mused to himself as he checked the time on his stove.
He poured water into the back of his coffee maker and sat down.
'Janet would kill me if she knew I was having coffee at this hour,' he though before he could stop himself.
His dream hit him once again. Janet was gone. Sadly, it was more than just a dream - it was a reality. One that kept replaying in his mind whenever he closed his eyes.
Daniel had been no stranger to tragedy. Death had affected him early in life. At the age of 8 he watched as both his parents were killed in an accident. Years later death struck again, this time taking his wife, Sha're, the first woman he'd ever loved.
Now, once again, he found himself mourning the loss of someone truly special to him. And he noticed that he wasn't coping with the loss nearly as well as he had in the past.
'Why is that?' Daniel wondered to himself as he poured his coffee and sat back down.
Daniel thought back on the moments before Sha're had died. Amonet, the Goa'uld inside Sha're, was slowly killing Daniel with her ribbon device. Somehow, though the device, Sha're was able to reach out and communicate with Daniel before she was taken. Then, she was gone.
He remembered kissing Sha're's hand and saying goodbye to her before she was prepared for her burial. Losing her was one of the hardest things he'd ever been through. But he took some comfort - Sha're had died knowing how much he loved her. And little by little, he'd been able to put it behind him.
On the other hand, coping with Janet's death had been totally different. Daniel sipped his coffee as he once again thought about Janet Fraiser.
Despite the often grim and frightening challenges of being the chief medical officer at the SGC, Janet was almost always a bright, happy, fun person whom he enjoyed being around.
'Well, except when she was holding a needle,' Daniel thought with a small smile.
In the course of the 7 years that he'd known her, Daniel noticed that his feelings for Janet had definitely deepened. She had a brilliant mind and was an excellent doctor. One who always seemed to be fixing him up for one thing or another. He'd always had deep respect and admiration for her as one of his colleagues...but over time she became more than that.
Her memory had completely taken him over; the rest of his coffee was forgotten as he thought of Janet.
She had such a love for people. She often sacrificed much for the sake of her patients - staying on base to be with them, going countless days without sleep, even treating some of them off world when she had to.
'She even adopted Cassie' he thought with fondness.
Cassandra was orphaned when a Goa'uld killed everyone in her village except for her. Cassie was left on earth with no family, and nowhere to go. Not for long though. The minute she got approval, Janet had adopted the young girl...taking Cassie in as her very own.
In a way, Cassie helped him realize how he felt for Janet. Once, Cassie got very sick. Janet had done everything within her power to help - but it wasn't working. Daniel could see the strain and worry in Janet's eyes and it tore him apart to see her like that. He remembered walking Janet down the hallway of the SGC, trying to comfort her.
She'd turned back towards the infirmary and said, "I really need to get back and see Cassandra."
Without thinking, Daniel found himself reaching out to grab her hand. He wanted so badly to take away her pain.
"We all know how tough this has been for you. So, if you need anything..." He knew his words weren't much. But sometimes people just need to know that you're there for them.
"Thanks" she'd squeezed his hand and then turned to go.
He'd watched her until she rounded the corner. He felt so frustrated! Janet was hurting and there was nothing he could do to help. And that's when he knew. She'd become more than just his doctor, or his co-worker, or even his friend. He truly, deeply cared for her. She was someone he would do anything for; someone he wanted so badly to protect.
After that moment, he'd wanted to tell her so many times...but something held him back. He didn't want to cause her any more pain. His track record with women was not good. His romantic interests all seemed to be doomed to become Goa'uld hosts or to die an untimely death. Add to that, the fact that he'd died more times than he liked to count. He couldn't bear the thought of getting involved with Janet - only to break her heart when the inevitable happened.
'Not that it did her any good,' he thought bleakly.
She was gone anyways, and now it was too late. She'd never know how comforting the sound of her voice had been to him. Or how her smile always brightened up his day. Or how much she'd truly meant to him.
Then, to make matters even worse, her body had never been recovered. He'd been convinced to let the medical team bring her back. But when they returned, they were empty-handed. Her body was nowhere to be found. All they could do was hold a memorial service in her honor. But it meant that Janet didn't even have a grave that Daniel could confess to.
Daniel watched as his tears fell into the cold coffee still in his mug. He could care less.
"I love you Janet. Wherever you are." He wished she could actually hear him.
Fear rose in Janet as she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her. She quickly looked for a place to hide, but it was impossible in such an empty room.
The door slid open and a female Goa'uld strode in followed by 6 jaffa. Janet swallowed hard as the Goa'uld circled her like a vulture.
"Dr. Janet Fraiser, of the Tau'ri. How nice of you to join us."
Janet looked at her, but didn't respond.
"Mind you, we don't need you to admit who you are." The Goa'uld continued. "The identification we found on your body confirms it. Besides, you match the description perfectly."
"Oh, do I?" Janet said, trying to hide her surprise. Where on earth did the Goa'uld get her description?
As if reading her mind, the Goa'uld replied, "If you recall, Jonas Quinn was captured by my master, Anubis. While probing his mind, Anubis learned many interesting things. One being how gifted a certain Dr. Fraiser is. When my search party found you on the planet, I knew you would be of great use to my master."
"Guess again. I won't cooperate with you." Janet said through clinched teeth.
"Yes, well, your kind has often said that. But, you will soon find that you have little choice in the matter." The Goa'uld turned her attention to the jaffa stationed around the room. "Jaffa! Kree! Take her to the holding cell. I shall report to Anubis and tell him of our find. I'm sure he will send for her in his due time."
Janet quickly realized that resisting would be useless. With a sigh of defeat, Janet was escorted down the hall. She paid careful attention to where they were taking her. If she were to escape, she needed to have some idea of where to go.
After turning down several hallways, she was ushered into a small holding cell. The jaffa quickly exited the room, closing the door behind them. And Janet was left with only her thoughts.
'Oh, Daniel, I hope you're all right' she thought as she started to sob. So many things had gone wrong that day, and Daniel didn't have the best record for staying out of trouble. What if she never saw him again? The thought plagued her mind as the tears spilled down her cheeks.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been there. Grief had eventually caused her to collapse with exhaustion. Sitting up, she decided it was time to pull herself together. She turned her thoughts to escaping. She was inspecting her cell with she heard footsteps approach the door.
The door slid open, revealing the Goa'uld who'd taken her prisoner. As with most Goa'uld, the host was quite pretty. Dark locks of hair framed her face and her dark eyes. She was dressed in a pure white outfit akin to a suit. The only signs of menace Janet could see were the ribbon device on her left hand and, of course, her telltale glowing eyes.
However, Janet noticed that, unlike last time, no jaffa accompanied the Goa'uld. Also, as the door of her cell closed, the Goa'uld's demeanor changed. She still had the unmistakable air of superiority abut her, but she appeared to be less hostile than she was before. Janet didn't really have much time to think about these changes before the Goa'uld spoke.
"Dr. Fraiser, allow me to explain. I am Jay'la of the Tok'ra."
"Tok'ra?" Mixed feelings washed over Janet. If that was true, at least she wasn't completely alone. Still, her past experiences with the Tok'ra told her to be cautious. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Samantha Carter's father Jacob is host to the symbiote, Selmak, who is a leader among the Tok'ra. In fact, I have heard much about your from both Selmak and Anise."
'Anise.' After what that particular Tok'ra had put them through, just the mention of her name made Janet see red, but she tried to retain her composure in front of Jay'la.
"I suppose that's proof enough," Janet concluded, sensing that she didn't have much choice but to go along with it anyways.
"Our alliance may be in trouble, Dr. Fraiser, but I still believe our people should work together and help each other when possible."
"I appreciate that, really. But I still have a few questions..."
"They will be answered in due time. I must go. If I stay much longer, the jaffa loyal to Anubis may get suspicious of my actions. I will return when I can."
With that, Jay'la turned and left. Once again, Janet was left in the small room with only her thoughts to keep her company.
Daniel stared down at the text spread out before him. He'd read and re-read the same passage more than 6 times, but the words just weren't getting through to his brain.
"Don't spoil the ending for me," a voice coming from the doorway said.
"Jack!" Daniel said, a little startled at his friend's sudden presence. He furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know something's bothering you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you've been staring at the same page for..." Jack glanced at his watch, "like the past ten minutes. Even I don't read that slow."
Daniel just looked down at the floor and nodded.
This reaction made Jack even more concerned. He stepped into Daniel's lab and closed the door. He sat down in an empty chair and looked at his friend.
"Daniel, you know how terrible I am with this stuff. But...something's obviously bothering you. What's going on?"
Daniel's gaze shifted up from the floor to his friend's eyes. Normally Jack would sooner take a bullet than voluntarily talk about someone's problems. Jack was a man of action and was usually quite flippant when these situations came up.
Daniel appreciated Jack's concern, but wasn't sure how to answer his question. Should he tell Jack about his dreams...about how one minute Janet was there, and the next she was suddenly taken from him?
"Daniel?" Jack prompted.
Daniel sighed. "The truth is, I'm not exactly sure what's wrong. I guess I've been having problems concentrating...and..." Daniel trailed off.
"And...what?"
"Well, I haven't really been sleeping that well, either. I keep...I keep dreaming about...her."
Daniel didn't need to explain which 'her' he was talking about, Jack knew all too well.
"Oh"
'Brilliant, O'Neill,' Jack thought to himself. He quickly added, "Well, Janet meant a lot to you, Daniel. If I were you I'd probably be having nightmares too."
"It's more than that, Jack" Daniel said, hearing his voice start to crack. "I know she's gone. I saw her get hit. I was with her when she died! So, why..." Daniel's voice faltered. He took a breath a tried again.
"...why can't I shake the feeling that she's still out there? Every time I've gone through the Gate since it happened I think, 'Maybe this is the one, maybe Janet will be here.' "
"You did the same thing when Sha're was a Goa'uld." Jack observed.
"Yeah, but I had good reason! There was hope for Sha're." Daniel paused. "I know Sha're is gone. I was able to accept that. So, why can't I accept that Janet's gone too?"
Daniel had fought his tears, but he could still feel them threatening to spill over at any moment.
"I don't know, Danny." Jack said softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder - hoping to give him a bit of comfort.
They sat quietly for a while as Daniel wrestled with his emotions. Finally, O'Neill spoke, "Hey, why don't we go up to the commissary for some pie? That always cheers me up."
Janet shook her head angrily as she paced in her cell. She'd already been in there way too long, in her opinion.
"You call me being stranded on this God-forsaken planet HELP?"
"Dr. Fraiser, please understand." Jay'la said.
"Oh, I think I understand just fine."
Jay'la sighed. "Listen, I took great risk by saving you. When Osiris was captured, it gave the Tok'ra a very unique opportunity to infiltrate Anubis' ranks. Most jaffa are very loyal to him. If they even begin to suspect anything of me, they will not hesitate to report it to Anubis. Also, the Tok'ra do not normally condone the use of the sarcophagus, but I used it to save you."
Jay'la paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in. "I did this because I understand your importance to your people. But, I cannot risk being discovered by trying to help you return to earth so soon. I'm sorry."
Janet sighed, taking in what Jay'la had said. "I do appreciate what you've done for me. But I don't relish the thought of helplessly being stuck in the underground tunnels." She paused. "Speaking of which, how were you planning to get me down there, anyways?"
"I do have a few jaffa who are loyal to our cause. My plan was to have them take you to a Tel'tak, supposedly to take you to Anubis. The jaffa would then fly you to the forest and show you to the tunnels. At the moment, I see no other solution. However, it will take some time to carry out this plan."
Janet exhaled deeply - she knew she didn't have any other choice. Staying in the tunnels had to be better than here anyways.
"All right," Janet agreed. "But, you have to promise me that you'll contact earth as soon as you can to tell them I'm okay."
Jay'la nodded and turned to leave.
It broke Janet's heart to think about what her friends must be going through. She remembered the grief she'd gone through when Daniel ascended. It had been such an emotional roller coaster. Then, as thrilled as she was at his return, it seemed to add even more confusion to the jumbled mess of emotions that she already felt.
The fact that his memory had been completely erased was very hard. Once, not long after he descended, he'd asked her if they'd ever been involved with each other. Janet knew that Daniel had asked Sam the same thing when they found him.
Poor Daniel was just trying to piece his life back together, so Janet didn't think much of his question...at least not at first. Still, it had made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Why?" she'd asked him, looking at the floor and praying he didn't notice the crimson color rising in her cheeks.
"Well...as few as my memories are, I seem to remember you...I don't know...differently than everyone else."
She smiled. "Oh, well, that's just because I have all kinds of needles and you're my patient with the thickest file." Janet said, trying to brush away the meaning of his words.
"I don't think so," he said, grabbing her hand. "My memories of you are warmer - softer somehow..."
Janet could feel her pulse quicken at his touch. Should admit to him how she felt? Would that be taking advantage of his situation? Or was this the opportunity she'd been waiting for?
Janet sighed at the memory. Sergeant Siler just had to choose that exact moment to hobble into the infirmary. He'd fallen down the stairs. Again.
Soon afterward, most of Daniel's memories had returned, and they never spoke of that conversation again.
Daniel blinked as he realized his phone was ringing. He'd been staring off into space. He picked the receiver up on the third ring.
"Daniel Jackson" he said into the phone.
"Daniel, hello. It's me, Sarah."
Of course it was. He could tell by the sound of her voice and her pleasant accent.
"Hey Sarah...is anything wrong?"
"Well, actually, I've just has a rather disturbing dream...well, memory really."
'Join the club' Daniel thought.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes. I'll be fine. But I thought you might like to know what I saw in my dream. It was of a planet that I believe was Osiris' base of operations."
"Do you remember the coordinates?"
"Of course. Do you have something to write on?"
Janet looked around her small room and wondered once again how long she had been there. Jay'la said it would take time before Janet could be moved from the base without suspicion. How long is this going to take? Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise outside that caught her attention. She looked up as the door of her cell opened.
Two jaffa walked in and escorted her down the hallway of the base and into a large room. Janet looked around and found herself standing before Jay'la and an assembly of jaffa warriors. Once again, Jay'la demeanor was cold and aggressive.
"Tau'ri, you will soon come to know what it is to be in service to your god!"
"Yeah, right," Janet found herself saying.
'I've spent way too much time with Colonel O'Neill.' Janet thought to herself.
Jay'la sneered at Janet and turned her attention to the two jaffa who were standing on either side of her.
"Jaffa! Kree! Take the prisoner to the Tel'tak. Lord Anubis has called for her. He wishes to be the one who breaks her spirit."
'Hope that'll explain to the jaffa why I haven't been tortured yet.' Janet found herself thinking.
With a nod, the jaffa roughly grabbed Janet's arms and escorted her out of the room.
"You mean you actually want to go to this planet? Are you nuts!?" Jack said. "The base of Osiris' operations...in other words...Gould City!"
Daniel looked at the others sitting around the Briefing Room table.
"I know, it sounds crazy, but with Sarah's information about the lay of the land and the interior of the base, I think we can do it."
"Do what exactly, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked.
"According to Sarah, this base was where Anubis kept his battle plans, his strategies, and some powerful Ancient weapons. Sarah says that Anubis has more than likely left the base in the care of some minor Goa'uld while he is dealing with the System Lords." Daniel paused. "If we make it to the base, we may find exactly what we need to defend earth."
"No offense, Daniel," Sam spoke up, "but this feels like a long shot. What makes you want to go to this planet so badly?"
Daniel had asked himself the same question.
"I don't know." He admitted. "It's almost like...there's something on that planet for me. Like there's something there I have to do." He sighed. "I can't really explain it."
"Regardless, any such information or technology would be extremely useful in the event of an attack." Hammond paused. "SG-1, you have a go. But be careful people."
Janet's mind raced as the jaffa ushered her outside. They were supposed to be rebel jaffa, but if they were, they didn't show it. Janet began to wonder about her decision to trust Jay'la.
'What if she played the Tok'ra card to ensure my cooperation?'
Janet was torn. If Jay'la was a Tok'ra, Janet didn't want to giver her away. But if she was actually a Goa'uld...well...Janet didn't want to end up a prisoner of Anubis...or worse, a host.
'Then again, it might make me more attractive to Daniel' She surprised herself with the bitterness of that thought. She immediately chided herself for thinking such things - as if what had happened to Sha're and Sarah was Daniel's fault.
Janet knew the whole situation had gotten to her. She purposefully cleared her mind and forced herself to concentrate on what was going on around her. She noticed that they were getting closer to their destination. To her surprise the Tel'tak was in the same clearing as the Stargate.
'Makes sense, Jay'la said Anubis' base was in a secret location...they wouldn't expect anyone to give them trouble.'
Still, the clearing was quite large, and they were still pretty far from the Stargate. Janet found herself looking back at the large ring behind her. Was it her imagination, or were the chevrons lighting up? She stole another glance behind her shoulder; someone was definitely dialing the Gate.
'What if an SG team came through? Time for a distraction' she thought. She dove to the ground, and hoped her jaffa guards would be too preoccupied to notice when the Gate was activated.
It worked. Muttering something in Goa'uld, the jaffa jerked her to her feet and continued walking towards the cargo ship that was now several feet away.
Janet looked behind her once again. Was that something coming through the Gate? She squinted her eyes and saw what had come through - a MALP!
'What should I do?' She thought quickly. 'Time to find out who these guys are loyal to.'
Gathering up all the Jack O'Neill attitude she had in her, she spat the words, "So, how's that slimy, good-for-nothing, snake-head Anubis doing anyways?"
Daniel stepped through the wormhole way ahead of the others, eager to figure out what had been drawing him to this planet.
He immerged on the other side of the Gate. 'Maybe this is the one...' he thought before he could stop himself. He shook the thought away and focused on where he was. Daniel looked at his surroundings. The clearing was just how the MALP showed it to be...except one thing. The MALP showed no activity in the area. Now, two jaffa were escorting a small figure - a woman by the looks of it - towards a cargo ship.
Daniel let out an involuntary gasp as he watched one of the jaffa turn to his prison and hit her across the face with practically all his might. The woman crumpled to the ground from the force of the blow.
Forgetting himself and the rest of his team, Daniel ran towards the jaffa. He scanned the area as he ran. The clearing had a few trees in it, but nothing to offer much cover. Fortunately, the jaffa were too preoccupied with their prisoner to notice him.
The woman still wasn't moving, not that Daniel could blame her. A blow like that would knock anyone out. 'I hope she's okay' he thought as he ran.
As he ran, Daniel heard his radio click. 'Must be Jack.'
Daniel was getting close to one of the trees in the field. When he got there, he ducked behind it and spoke into his radio. "What?"
Jack's voice was unmistakably a mixture of anger and annoyance. "Daniel, may I ask, what the HELL you think you're doing? You know you're not supposed to run off without us!"
"Sorry, I didn't plan this. Two jaffa are holding a woman prisoner - I have to help her."
"Daniel, no. I..."
With a click, Daniel turned his radio off. He didn't have time to argue with Jack. If he didn't move soon, the woman would be taken away in the cargo ship.
Daniel peered around the tree. The jaffa had forced the woman to stand again. She was wobbly, but somewhat able to walk. They were getting closer to the Tel'tak.
The woman was staggering all over the place. Daniel was almost grateful - it kept the jaffa preoccupied and it gave him time to reach her.
Daniel turned around and looked for the rest of his team. Jack motioned for Daniel to take cover. Daniel dove to the ground and rolled to the left as he heard weapons fire behind him.
Startled, the jaffa whipped around to find out what was going on. The woman between them teetered, and fell to the ground. Obviously figuring she couldn't get far, the jaffa left her on the ground and ran back to the fight.
Daniel watched the jaffa abandon their weak prisoner. It was just the opportunity he need...provided they didn't notice him lying there. Daniel held his breath, as the jaffa ran by - somewhat close to his position.
'Anubis needs better soldiers' Daniel thought as they passed by without seeing him. Keeping low, he ran the rest of the distance to the small figure who was lying face down on the ground. He watched for jaffa as he bent down and felt her a pulse. To his relief, he found one.
The telltale sound of a horn meant that more jaffa were coming. Looking around, he realized there was only one place to go. 'Hope there's no one home' he thought as he quickly grabbed the woman by the waist, hoisted her over his shoulder, and carried her inside the Tel'tak.
Bad idea, he quickly found out. He'd no more gotten inside when he heard it. An unbearable siren exploded in his ears while a burst of light blinded him. 'A shock grenade' his mind registered as he lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground.
Janet woke up, startled. The pain in her head was almost intolerable. She tried moving - and immediately regretted it. Her entire body hurt. She groaned, remembering the blow she'd received for being mouthy. She'd have to thank Colonel O'Neill for that one later - if she ever got out of this.
She'd woken up just in time to be hit by the shock grenade. She knew the after effects of the device - unconsciousness, headache, temporary blindness. Yep, she had them all...but on the bright side, her vision was still blurry - but it was improving. She figured she probably hadn't been hit by the full force of the device.
She sat up gingerly and suddenly noticed the two jaffa that had been watching her. She tensed, wondering what was going to happen next.
As her vision cleared, she realized that these weren't the same jaffa who'd taken her to the Tel'tak. Was that good or bad? Janet wasn't sure.
She decided to let them make the first move and then go from there.
As if on cue, the jaffa closest to her spoke "You are Janet Fraiser of the Tau'ri?"
She nodded.
He bowed his head slightly, in a very Teal'c-like manner.
"I am Pa'lec." He gestured to the jaffa behind him. "This is O'doc. We are free jaffa."
Janet sighed with relief. Looks like Jay'la kept her promise after all.
"What happened?" Janet could faintly remember being picked up just before getting hit with the shock grenade.
"We are inside the cargo hold of the Tel'tak. We were expecting the jaffa to bring you inside. The device we set was intended to incapacitate the jaffa so that we could free you. We were not expecting your friend to bring you inside."
"Friend?" A confused look crossed Janet's face. "What are you talking about?"
Pa'lec nodded towards the back of the cargo hold as he and O'doc turned to leave.
Janet whipped around and saw him lying there. "Oh, my dear God" she whispered.
Daniel had gotten the full force of the shock grenade and was still unconscious. She hurried over to him and felt for his pulse. It was strong. Relieved, Janet reached out and grabbed Daniel's hand. All she could do now was wait for him to awaken.
As she sat there, she found herself studying the hand she held in her own. Daniel's hands were by far one of his best features, second only to his piercing blue eyes. She'd seen these hands do so many things - everything from wielding a P-90 to protect his friends, to carefully cradling an ancient artifact...or gently reaching out to help someone in pain. With a simple touch he always managed to make her feel better.
As she sat there thinking, the events of the past few weeks came crashing in on her. She couldn't stop the tears as she curled up next to Daniel on the floor.
Daniel heard a sound as his mind drifted towards consciousness.
'What is that?'
He listened carefully. Someone was crying very softly, though he couldn't figure out who it was or why. All he knew for sure was that the sound was heartbreaking. His mind drifted in and out as he tried to place who it was that was crying. She sounded so familiar.
"Don't cry, Janet, I'm here."
Daniel spoke the words before he'd even given thought to them. Once again, the reality that she was gone hit him like a ton of bricks.
He blinked, desperately trying to see past the fog that clouded his sight.
"Daniel." a voice said.
Daniel fought the urge to laugh. 'This is absurd!'
Although the voice did sound like her, there was no possible way that Janet was sitting next to him.
"Daniel?" she said again.
'I'll be sent back to that rubber room for sure after this.' And yet, there was no denying it - he had heard Janet's voice. If only he could see her!
"Janet?"
"Yeah."
"I don't...you were...I mean...you...uh...what's going on?"
"It's a long story."
Janet had known the instant he woke up. She sat up quickly, though she was still struggling to control the emotions churning within her.
Daniel's eyes were open, but she knew the shock device had blinded him.
"Don't cry, Janet, I'm here." He said, obviously still feeling disoriented.
Then Janet saw it. A wave of grief washed over his unseeing eyes. He blinked rapidly as if he was both trying to see and make sense of his thoughts.
"Daniel." She said, hoping her voice wouldn't confuse him further.
Janet saw another emotion flash in his eyes - something between amusement and disbelief.
"Daniel?" she tried again.
He tried to gather himself, though he could barely string a sentence together.
He finally came up with, "I don't...you were...I mean...you...uh...what's going on?"
Janet chuckled her herself. 'Typical Daniel.'
His eyes finally cooperated enough for Daniel to see her face. It was undeniably Janet. She was wearing a simple brownish robe, not unlike the ones worn by the people of Abydos. He'd never seen her look more beautiful.
He slowly reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand - almost afraid that if he touched her, she would disappear. When he was certain that she was, in fact, there, he pulled her into his arms, his eyes filled with tears.
"Why are you crying?" she asked.
"I never dared hope this was possible." Daniel paused, considering what he should say.
"You were gone, but you were always alive in my dreams. But every morning, you were gone again. It was like every morning I lost you all over again."
He broke away from her so he could look into her eyes. "And now, here you are..."he trailed off as his voice began to shake.
"Oh, Daniel. I'm so sorry I put you through that."
"No, it wasn't you're fault. It was mine. See..."
They were startled by a sudden commotion outside. This conversation would have to wait. Daniel forced himself to stand.
"Stay here, I'll check things out." He told her.
"Daniel, there were two rebel jaffa who brought us here - Pa'lec and O'doc. They were working with a Tok'ra to free me."
"Ok," Daniel replied, processing this information. He took a deep breath and walked out the door.
"Be careful," she whispered as if he could hear her.
'No matter what this time I'm taking her home.' Daniel promised himself.
He stopped right outside the door of the cargo hold. He could see two jaffa in the flight deck of the Tel'tak. He hoped they were the rebel jaffa that Janet told him about.
"Pa'lec? O'doc?" Daniel asked?
"We are." One of them answered.
"Great...just excuse me one second."
Remembering that he'd turned off his radio, he quickly turned it back on and clicked the button twice to get Jack's attention.
It worked, despite the static.
"Dan...wher...you?!"
"I'm in the cargo ship in the field across from the Stargate. What's going on?"
"Well, let's see...we had a little lunch, picked some flowers, and are currently getting our...icked by...affa!"
Daniel groaned, knowing he was going to get a huge lecture once they got home. Not that it mattered, finding Janet was more than worth it.
"Where are you?" Daniel asked.
"Heading back to...Gate...trying not to get shot!"
"How far away are you?"
"Two cliques east of you"
Daniel turned his attention back to Pa'lec and O'doc. "My friends need help. Can you fly this thing?"
Janet felt the cargo ship start to move. Wanting to know what was going on, she made her way up to the flight deck and stopped next to Daniel.
"What's going on?" she asked
"SG-1 is in trouble."
"We're almost in position." O'doc said.
"Now would be nice" Janet heard the Colonel say over the radio.
"Do it." Daniel said.
They heard the transport rings activate in the cargo hold.
Janet turned to Daniel, "Let's surprise them."
Daniel smiled, "Good idea."
Janet stepped behind him, her petite frame easily hidden from view by his muscular form.
O'Neill was the first to burst into the room.
"Is everyone ok?" Daniel asked before O'Neill could say anything.
"Miraculously, yes."
O'Neill opened his mouth, preparing to launch into a lecture about how stupid it had been for Daniel to go after those jaffa...but something stopped him. Daniel was just standing there, grinning from ear to ear.
Sam and Teal'c walked into the room. Teal'c looked stoic as ever, but Sam looked considerably glum. When they noticed Daniel's expression, they gave him a strange look.
"What?" Daniel asked innocently as his friends stared at him.
O'Neill had had enough. "What could you possibly be happy about? You were captured, we had no idea where you were taken, and we had to hide from like a thousand jaffa. On top of that, the mission was completely blown and we didn't get anything we came here for!"
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Daniel said. He stepped aside and revealed the person standing behind him.
O'Neill didn't reveal the shock he felt at seeing Dr. Janet Fraiser immerge from behind Daniel. Jack watched Daniel's smile as Sam ran to give Janet a hug.
'I should have known' Jack thought. 'Daniel only smiles like that for two reasons - weird ancient relics or the woman he loves.'
"Doc!" Jack said, taking his turn to give Janet a hug. "I'm glad you're back. No one else can jab me with those needles quite like you."
Janet grinned at the Colonel's words as he gave her a hug. She was so relieved that this whole ordeal was over!
As she looked around at her friends, her eyes met Daniel's, and one thought came to her mind: 'Finally, I'm home'.
THE END