Once Daniel woke up from his nap, he and Janet passed a pleasant afternoon together. They seemed to have made an unspoken pact to put the past few weeks behind them and to just allow themselves to slip back into their old comfortable relationship. It wasn't easy, but Daniel was determined to try.
He noticed right away that she took every opportunity she could to touch him or pamper him, and it made him feel like a king. She even played with his hair more than once, something that never failed to make him feel better. Yes, he could definitely get used to this.
As they were eating lunch together on the living room couch, Daniel looked over at the empty spot where their picture used to be. He still felt horribly guilty for ruining it, and wished that he could do something about it.
Then it hit him - maybe there was something he could do about it.
He waited patiently for his opportunity, and a couple of hours later it came. He was sitting in the living room watching a special on the History Channel about the pyramids when Janet came to him and said, "Daniel, I'm going to have a bath, okay? I won't be long."
"Take your time," Daniel said, smiling to himself as she turned towards the stairs. "I'll be fine." He sat back and listened to her footsteps as she climbed the stairs, entered the bedroom, and then closed the door to the bathroom behind her.
As soon as he felt she was safely out of the way, Daniel got up from the couch and went through to the kitchen. He quickly hunted out the phone book and started leafing through the pages. "Restaurants, restaurants..." he muttered under his breath. "Ah, here we are." He scanned the pages for the name Taste of Morocco, and finally he found it.
Before he knew it, he had dialled the number and it was ringing. He started to get a little nervous as he waited for someone to answer, but he took a deep breath and reminded himself that this was for Janet. He had to somehow make up for his actions, and he felt this was his best shot.
Finally, someone's voice greeted him on the other end of the line. He wasn't sure how to go about asking for what he wanted, so he figured he might as well just get straight to the point.
"Hi, I have a question about the photographer who works for you... I was wondering whether he happens to keep the negatives for the photographs he takes?"
Five minutes later, Daniel hung up the phone feeling light as a feather. They not only had the negative of the picture of him and Janet still in their archives, but they were also willing to reprint and deliver it to him within twenty-four hours. It was costing him a ridiculous amount of money, but he didn't care. The thought of how thrilled Janet would be when she saw it had him walking on air.
When Janet came down the stairs a few minutes later, her hair still damp and her face red from her hot bath, Daniel couldn't help but envelope her in a warm embrace. She seemed surprised at first, but then she sighed and hugged him right back. Daniel felt so happy he could cry. "Are we really doing this?" he asked in wonder. "This isn't just a dream is it?"
"Doing what?" Janet asked, pulling back to look up into his face.
Daniel fingered the damp little curls around her ears. "Picking up the pieces. Finally getting past all the crap we've been going through. God, Janet, I never want to feel that depressed and hopeless again."
"You won't have to, Daniel," she said, smiling that beautiful smile just for him. "We're getting through this. Just don't push me away again... please."
"I won't. Not ever again."
That was a promise he fully intended to keep.
By nightfall, however, Daniel was starting to get a little nervous. In a way, it had been easier to sleep in the same bed with her while they had been holding each other at arm's length. Now that they had resolved their issues and were trying to fix their relationship, he wasn't quite sure what he should and shouldn't do or say. He just knew for a fact that he didn't want to spend another night with his back to her. He loved her too much for that.
Janet took her things into the bathroom again to change, and for some reason that gave Daniel a bad feeling. Did she still not completely trust him? Was she just not ready for that yet? He didn't know what to think. It nearly broke his heart when she got into bed without a word and turned on her side away from him. Was she angry? Was she still uncomfortable sleeping with him?
He kicked himself when he realized what he was doing. Thinking things like that and not asking her what she was thinking and feeling was what had damaged their relationship in the first place. So, he worked up his courage, took a deep breath, and scooted closer to her.
"Hey," he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. When she didn't move away or protest, he held her close against his chest, resting his cheek against her hair.
For a long time, Janet didn't speak, just lay there stroking his arm in complete silence. Daniel didn't mind - as long as he could hold her, he didn't care if she never said a word.
He almost had a heart attack when she started squirming out of his grasp a few minutes later. "I'm sorry," he said, pulling his arm away from her. "Are you okay?"
"Shh, it's okay, Daniel," she said. She turned onto her back and lay there looking up at him, reaching up to run her fingertips over his face. Daniel would have let her do whatever she wanted as long as she kept on gazing at him with that soft, loving look in her eyes. "These last few weeks have been awful, Daniel," she whispered. "Every night you've been lying here beside me, yet I've never felt more alone."
Daniel kissed her nose, the old familiar action coming naturally to him now. "Well, you don't have to feel that way anymore. Come here." He turned over onto his back and pulled her along with him until her head rested on his chest.
Janet sighed and snuggled up to him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I've missed you so much, Daniel."
"I've missed you, too." There was silence for some time as they lay there enjoying each other's presence. Daniel slowly stroked her back while still holding her as tight as he dared. "I can't believe I forgot how good this feels," he finally said.
Janet pushed herself up with her hands on his chest and smiled at him. Then she lowered herself down again to kiss him long and hard.
Daniel couldn't suppress a moan at this sudden passionate display. He held her face in his hands to prevent her from ending it, and soaked up the sensations like a sponge. This wasn't like the slow, gentle kiss they had shared earlier. This was full of passion and hunger, and sent a wave of electricity from his head to his toes.
When they finally parted, they were both gasping for breath. Neither of them could speak for a minute as they tried to calm themselves down again. Soon Daniel cleared his throat and said with a slight laugh, "That felt even better."
Janet smiled, but soon grew serious again. "Daniel?"
"Hmm?" he said as he traced the outline of her face with his fingertips.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
She paused for a moment, and then said, "Will you marry me?"
Daniel's hand froze against her cheek, and he stared into her eyes for a long moment. He felt for sure he hadn't heard her correctly. When the words finally sank in, and he saw the anxious look on Janet's face as she awaited his answer, he dropped his hand to his side. "No."
Janet's jaw dropped, and she looked absolutely stricken. "N...no?"
A slow, evil grin spread across Daniel's face. "That's supposed to be my question," he said. It felt so good to tease her again.
Janet's look of overwhelming relief warmed his heart. "Is that a yes?" she asked, teasing him right back.
"I'll let you know when I see the ring."
At Janet's joyful laugh, Daniel rolled her over onto her back and leaned down to kiss her with all of the passion he'd been holding inside for so long. She eagerly kissed him back and laced her fingers through his hair in the way he'd always loved. He was overjoyed that she wasn't pushing him away... that she trusted him again. She lay completely relaxed and contented in his arms as he kissed her senseless.
He finally had to breathe again, so he ended the kiss and nestled his face between her neck and shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. His entire body was trembling, and he was pretty sure hers was, too, as she held his head in place with one hand and stroked the back of his neck with the other. He was in heaven.
After a moment, Daniel softly kissed her neck, relishing the taste of her skin. To his delight, she sighed and tilted her head away from him in a silent plea for him to continue. Not wanting to disappoint her, he placed a few more feather-light kisses on her neck and reached back to stroke the hand that was now playing with his hair. His hand moved down along her arm as he began to trail kisses from her neck to her jaw, across her cheek, and finally back to her mouth.
He couldn't remember feeling happier than he did right then as the horrors of the last few weeks were melted away by her loving kiss.
Janet turned up the volume on the radio so that it filled the whole house. Daniel was sitting out on the porch, and she had some major housecleaning to do after the way she had been slacking off for the past few days. Listening to music always made the task seem easier somehow.
As she worked, she mulled over the events of the past couple of days. She could still hardly believe she had her old Daniel back. She kept thinking it must be a dream, but then she'd see him there and her breath would suddenly catch in her throat as the reality of it hit her.
She knew he still wasn't completely healed - that had been proven the night before when, after they had made love and fallen asleep in each other's arms, he'd had nightmare after nightmare and even a hallucination of a Goa'uld symbiote trying to worm its way into her neck - but his attitude was different now. He didn't push her away anymore, not even during his hallucination. She held him through his nightmares and calmed him down with her soothing words and caresses when he woke up in a panic, and he accepted it gratefully.
It boggled her mind how much he had changed since she had found him sitting there covered in his own blood, feeling useless and unloved.
She hauled the vacuum out of the closet and turned it on, trying to get the living room carpet vacuumed as quickly as possible so that she didn't miss too much of the music that was playing. She always hated the noise of the vacuum cleaner, but it was a job that had to be done.
Once she was finished, she turned it off, unplugged it, and squatted down to coil the cord around the knob on the back. As she did so, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.
Startled, she jumped to her feet and spun around. "Daniel!" she gasped, her hand flying to her chest as she tried to calm herself down again. "You startled me. I didn't hear you come inside."
Daniel just stood there staring at her with his hands behind his back and a small, somewhat triumphant smile on his face. "Sorry," he said. "The vacuum was on."
"Right." Janet gave him an odd look as he continued to stare at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
His smile grew a little bit. "I have something for you," he said, and held one hand out in front of him to present her with a large manila envelope.
Janet narrowed her eyes at him as she took it from him. "What is it?"
"Just open it."
With one more suspicious glance at Daniel, Janet opened the flap and reached inside the envelope to pull out whatever was inside. When she saw what it was, she gasped in surprise. "Daniel!" she breathed. "Where did you get this?"
He grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I phoned the restaurant yesterday," he said. "Turns out the photographer kept the negatives of all the pictures he took. I had him make another copy and deliver it right to our door."
Janet shook her head in disbelief. She tried to speak, but found that she couldn't. All she could do was throw her arms around his neck and try not to cry.
Daniel laughed and squeezed her tightly against him. "So, I finally did something right?" he asked.
Janet pushed back from him and gave him a firm kiss on the lips. "This is way more than right, Daniel," she said. "You're an angel. I love you so much." Her voice broke on the last words, so all she could do was hug him again.
"I love you, too," he said, planting a sweet kiss on her temple.
When she finally released him, she went over to the place where the picture used to sit, and put the new one there in its place. Without a frame, she had to prop it up against the wall, but it didn't matter. This really was a sign that they were going to be okay.
Daniel came up behind her as she stood there gazing at it and wrapped his arms around her waist. Janet leaned back against him and he rested his chin on the top of her head. They fit together so perfectly that way.
"So, you really want to spend the rest of your life with a guy like me, huh?" he said, swaying softly in time to the music.
Janet stroked his arms and remained completely relaxed as she allowed him to move her body from side to side along with his. "No, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Even though she couldn't see his face, she could almost feel his smile as he kissed her hair. Then she felt him stiffen and cock his head as though listening for something. "I know that song," he said.
Janet brought her head down from the clouds just long enough to listen to the song that had just started on the radio. She recognized it right away - The Way You Look Tonight. She smiled at the memory it brought to mind. "Yes. Do you remember why?"
Daniel stood listening for a moment, humming along with the melody, and then it was like a light bulb went on over his head. He turned her around to face him and said, "It was the first song we danced to!"
Janet beamed at him. "That's right."
Daniel didn't waste a second. He crossed the room, turned the radio up, and then returned to her and took her hand. Then he pulled her towards himself, put his other arm around her waist, and started swaying to the music.
"We're dancing!" Janet said in mock surprise.
"Yes, we are." Daniel laughed and pulled her away from himself to spin her around. "With each word your tenderness grows," he quietly sang along with Sinatra as he wrapped his arms around her again. "Tearing my fear apart... And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, touches my foolish heart..."
Janet sighed and leaned her head against his chest in contentment.
"Your laugh really does wrinkle your nose, you know," Daniel murmured into her hair.
Janet looked up at him again, not sure whether he was teasing or being serious.
"That's one of the things I love the most about you," he said, and placed a light kiss on the facial feature in question.
Janet gaped at him as she suddenly clued in. "Is that why you always kiss my nose like that?" she asked in amused indignation.
He grinned at her playfully. "I'm giving all my secrets away now, aren't I?"
Janet didn't know whether to swat him or kiss him, so instead she just snuggled her face against his chest and enjoyed the rest of the dance.
The song had barely come to an end before she heard the phone ring. Janet groaned and reluctantly dragged herself away from Daniel's arms. He gave her one last kiss on the forehead before she dashed off to answer it.
"Hello?" she said breathlessly once she picked up the receiver.
"Janet, it's Sam," said the excited voice on the other end. "I have some big news. In fact, you might want to sit down for this."
"O...kay," Janet said. She sat down at the table and waved her hand at Daniel, who had followed her and was standing in the kitchen doorway. He stepped farther into the room and laid a concerned hand on her arm. Janet covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "It's Sam," she whispered.
Daniel nodded and sat down beside her, watching her expectantly.
"Alright, I'm sitting down," she told Sam. "What do you need to tell me?"
She heard Sam take a deep breath. "We think we've figured out why Daniel hasn't fully recovered yet."
Janet sat in silence waiting for Sam to continue, but when nothing else was said, she urged, "Go on."
"We've found traces of a foreign chemical in Daniel's system. We thought at first it was just a harmless by-product of the illness, something like the protein marker that was left behind in my blood after Jolinar died. Dr. James and his team have been analyzing it ever since it was discovered, though, and they've just figured out what it is."
Janet made direct eye contact with Daniel throughout Sam's speech, and the concern in his eyes was growing stronger with each moment that passed. He took her hand and squeezed it, waiting patiently for her to pass the news on to him. "And... what is it?" she asked.
"It's a hallucinogen for starters," Sam said. Janet closed her eyes in both relief and despair as Sam continued, "It's also what's causing Daniel's brain chemicals to be out of balance. From what Dr. James was telling me, it sounds as though it was designed to completely throw the body's glandular system out of whack, making it impossible to regulate the amount of adrenaline, dopamine, melatonin, and various other chemicals that are created."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Janet interrupted. "You said 'designed?'"
"Yes. We believe the mind fever organisms were designed to release this chemical once their work was done, so that anyone who managed to survive the disease would live in misery for the rest of their lives anyway, and probably be depressed enough that they would eventually kill themselves."
Janet's stomach lurched at these words. "So what you're saying is," she said in a low voice, "even what you're doing with the healing device won't put Daniel right again."
Daniel stiffened and looked like he was about to cry. She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze and shot him a wordless apology with her eyes.
"Well... yes," Sam said hesitantly, "the healing device hasn't been able to heal him
completely because of the presence of this chemical in his system. But Janet... we think
we may have found the antidote."
To be continued...