Title: As the 'Gate Turns: Slipping
Author: Annerb
Rating: minor language
Summary: Things aren't going as well as they seem.
Classifications: Series, Drama, Angst
Season: Mid-season 8, up through End Game (AU from there)
DisclaimerThe characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

Author's Note: Alrighty, here we go! It's tough to fight what you are! As always I am eternally grateful to all of you following this story! Your feedback and comments keep me going. Montage and Triptnx- thanks!

Feedback: Always appreciated!

Part 15: Slipping

Daniel's two week assignment on PS6-976 stretched into three weeks and then four. He had been back occasionally to the base, to look at the rare interesting artifact brought back by an SG team, but overall Jack had barely seen him.

Jack looked up from yet another report from Daniel requesting two more weeks, to find Sam leaning against his door jam with a disturbingly familiar expression on her face.

Jack put up his hands. "No way, Carter. I don't want to hear it."

She smiled. "Is that a direct order, sir?"

Jack paused for a moment to wonder if Sam had always been this cheeky or if it was a recent development. "Don't tell me. She cancelled again."

Sam nodded.

Jack groaned and leaned back in his chair. "This is getting a little ridiculous."

"What do you want to do?"

"You mean besides kidnapping her and tying her to a chair?"

Sam's expression told him she didn't think that would go over well. "I'd say we should try to talk to her, but since we can't even get her on the phone these days…"

"If this keeps up, I'm going to get paranoid. Even Daniel seems to be avoiding us," Jack said, gesturing at the report on his desk.

"Don't tell me he's requested more time! He's already been there for four weeks!"

"What can I say, Carter. We've got some wayward children on our hands."

Sam snorted, imagining what Daniel would say if he heard Jack refer to him as one of his kids. "Too bad Daniel isn't here," Sam said. "He could probably get Haley to talk to him."

Jack stared broodingly at the offending report for a while before he looked up at Sam. "Okay. Enough's enough. Let's 'kill two birds with but one stone,'" he said in a passable impersonation of Teal'c.

"What do you have in mind, sir?" Sam asked, trying to decide if she should be frightened.

"I would appreciate it, Colonel, if you would retrieve your missing team member while I collect intelligence on the movements of our daughter."

Sam raised one eyebrow at the conspiratorial gleam in Jack's eyes. "Didn't realize your spy network was so far reaching, sir."

"If you only knew, Carter. If you only knew. Now go bring Daniel home."

"Yes, sir," Sam said with a smile.

Sam broke out of the woods to stroll into the clearing that now housed temporary buildings for the study of the Reynaul lab. The lab itself stood at the center, now clear of all overgrowth. Sam headed for the first building; the one she knew housed Daniel's lab space.

Sam stood quietly at the threshold of Daniel's office for a while, taking in the clutter and books that covered every available space in great contrast to the rather stark white walls of the temporary structure. Daniel was hunched over a journal with open books spread all around him. Sam's first impression was that he looked tired.

Sam knocked on the door frame to get his attention.

Daniel swung around and blinked owlishly at her for a moment. "Sam?"

Sam smiled fondly at him. "Hey, Daniel." She really had missed him a lot these last few weeks.

Daniel seemed to have missed her too, because a wide grin covered his face. In the next instant, however, it had melted away. "What are you doing here?"

Sam's eyebrows rose at his tone. "Can't a girl just come see how her friend is doing?"

"Um…of course," Daniel said uncertainly before turning back to his work.

Sam suppressed a sigh and sat down across from Daniel. She watched him write for a while before finally asking, "Daniel…what are you doing here?"

Daniel didn't even look up. "I'm working, Sam."

Sam reached out and touched Daniel's arm. "No, Daniel. What are you really doing here?"

"I don't know what you mean," he said, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Something's going on with you, Daniel," Sam said, before voicing her true fear. "Are you thinking of leaving SG-1?"

Now Daniel looked surprised. "No! Of course not. How could you think that?"

"You've been here for a month! And you just requested more time, which, by the way, has been denied. What am I supposed to think?"

Daniel grabbed Sam's hand. "I promise. This has nothing to do with SG-1," he said sincerely.

"Then what does it have to do with?"

Daniel grimaced, probably realizing he had just revealed more than he wanted to. Rather than answering her, though, he just turned back to his work.

Daniel was supposed to be the easy-going one, but he could be just as stubborn as the rest of them when it came down to it. Sam sighed when it became clear that Daniel didn't want to discuss it. She decided to let it go and get to what she really came here to do.

"Daniel, we'd really like you to come back for a bit."

That got Daniel's attention. "What's up?"

"It's Haley."

"Is she okay?" Daniel asked quickly.

Sam had to suppress a smile at his evident concern. "We're not sure. When she moved to Denver she seemed fine, but lately-"

"She moved to Denver?"

"You didn't know?" Sam asked, genuinely surprised. "I sort of assumed she would tell you."

Daniel had looked back down at his desk. He just shook his head.

"Cassie needed a roommate and Haley jumped on the opportunity. She said she wanted a chance to try 'normal' for a while."

"And you and Jack were okay with that?"

Sam shrugged. "She's a grown woman, Daniel." Sam wasn't sure, but she thought Daniel might have flinched. Now her curiosity was really peaked. "Anyway, if she spent the rest of her life hanging around in Colorado Springs, I just know she would try to get involved in the program eventually. I don't think I could handle that."

"So why are you worried?"

"We didn't hear much from her in the beginning, but we thought that was normal. She was probably just busy settling in and everything. But it's been weeks now and no matter how many times we set something up, she cancels last minute. It's almost like she is avoiding us or something. We can't even get her on the phone these days for more than a few minutes. We're just concerned."

"And what exactly is it that you want me to do?"

Sam gazed archly at Daniel for a moment. "We thought you could talk to her. You two have always been close." Both of Sam's eyebrows flew up in surprise as Daniel jerkily knocked over his coffee mug. Daniel jumped up and grabbed a towel as the brown liquid slowly spread over his cluttered desk.

"God damn it!" he swore as he rescued one of his journals from the coming flood.

"Daniel!" Sam snapped. "What the hell is going on with you?"

Daniel froze mid-motion and looked up at Sam. For a moment she thought he was finally going to tell her what was bugging him, but then he shook his head and mumbled, "You've been hanging around Jack too much lately."

Sam let out an irritated sigh and then silently helped Daniel rescue various artifacts and papers. Task completed, Daniel collapsed back into his chair.

"Did something happen, Daniel?" Sam asked eventually.

"She had a nightmare," Daniel said with a sigh. "Something about blood and being herself and yet not herself. It might have been a memory, I wasn't sure."

"What? Why didn't you tell us?" Sam tersely exclaimed.

"I…" He leaned down and put his head in his hands. "I should have, I'm sorry."

Sam was about to give him a piece of her mind when he abruptly stood up.

"This is my fault. I never should have left." Then he looked at Sam. "Give me five minutes to get some stuff together. I'll meet you at the gate." Then he dashed out of the room and Sam was left staring after him in confusion.

Jack was on the phone when Sam and Daniel walked in. Jack waved them in distractedly and went back to scribbling on a pad of paper.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Cass. I owe you one."

He listened for a moment and then laughed. "I'm sure you will. Alright, see you later."

Jack wrote down a few more things and then looked up at them. "Daniel. Nice to see you."

"Jack," Daniel stoically replied, acknowledging him with a stiff nod.

Jack shared a look with Sam, but she just shrugged, clearly still mystified by Daniel's recent behavior

"What's the plan, sir?"

Jack smiled mischievously and said, "Anyone up for a trip to a nice Denver pub?"

The pub in question was one of those trendy, somewhat gloomy British bars that had popped up in University towns everywhere the last few years. A long, dark wood bar covered the length of the side wall. In the back there was a raised platform on which the obligatory college bar band played. The rest of the room was filled with small tables where people were partaking of pints and various fried culinary delights from England.

Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had settled in to a table in the corner by the front door. Jack was swiftly casing the joint with his eyes while Daniel sat somewhat nervously next to him. Sam would have laughed if she hadn't been so worried about her daughter.

"She could really just be busy," Sam said hopefully, more to herself than anyone else.

"It's possible, Carter," Jack replied, but he didn't sound like he believed it anymore than she did. They both just felt that something was wrong.

Teal'c, meanwhile, had been looking around the place in interest. Looking up from the slightly stained plastic menu, he asked "O'Neill, what exactly is 'bangers and mash'?"

Sam suppressed a smile as she listened with half an ear to Jack explaining the intricacies of pub food to Teal'c.

Just then, however, Sam caught a movement from behind the bar. Haley had just pushed out of a pair of swinging doors, holding a plate of food in each hand. Her hair was thrown somewhat carelessly into a bun with what looked like a pencil stuck in it. She wore trim black pants with a small apron at her waist and a tight t-shirt that had a bright British flag on the front.

Haley approached one of the tables nearest the bar and put the plates down. The three guys sitting at the table spoke animatedly to her, one of them seemingly trying to convince her to sit down in an empty chair. Haley just shook her head and laughed. She seemed at ease, talking to the customers with a smile on her face.

Sam felt herself relax. She really did seem to be doing fine. They had probably overreacted. Another table closer to Sam waved Haley over and she slowly wound her way over to them.

Sam could tell the second Haley noticed their presence. She didn't even look their way, but she stiffened slightly as she undoubtedly felt the tingling awareness of naquadah that Sam herself was quite familiar with. Haley's smiling mask only slipped for a moment, but Sam thought she saw surprise and something akin to panic on her daughter's face.

In the next instant, Haley was smiling brightly again and writing down orders. She went back to the bar and spoke to the bartender. When the bartender turned away to make drinks, Haley raised one hand to her head and grimaced slightly. The bartender touched her arm and spoke to her with concern. Haley didn't acknowledge him; instead she turned and looked right past Sam, a strange look of vulnerability on her face. Sam followed her gaze to find her looking at Daniel, who was staring straight back at her.

Somehow a few things finally made more sense to Sam.

Haley was once again talking to the bartender, having turned abruptly away from them. Haley glanced at her watch and shook her head. They spoke for a few more minutes before Haley undid her apron and handed it to the bartender with a grateful smile.

Waiting for Haley to make her way over to them, Sam was taken by surprise when Haley made a hasty move for the rear exit.

Jack didn't seem as surprised, though, because he signaled Teal'c and the large man instantly set out the front door at a jog.

Jack sighed heavily and looked at Sam. "Why does it always have to be Plan B?"

Haley pushed out of the rear exit of the pub to run smack into Teal'c. A few seconds later, Sam, Jack and Daniel rounded the corner into the alley. "Damn military," Haley grumbled before shoving past Teal'c and heading down the other end of the alley.

"Hey, Haley!" Jack called out, following her. "Let's all go find a diner and get some pie."

Haley paused without turning around. "Sorry, guys, but it's late. I have class early tomorrow morning."

"Haley," stepped in Sam, "we haven't seen you in weeks. Can't we just talk for a bit?"

"Sorry, I really can't."

Now Jack was beginning to get annoyed. Since when did Haley act like an ungrateful teenager? He jogged up to Haley and grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him. "Haley, we have been patient, we've given you room, but you can't avoid us forever!"

"I'm not avoiding you!" she exclaimed, even as her eyes evaded contact with Jack's. "I'm sorry I've been busy, but it's called having a life. Something you may have heard of," she added harshly.

Now Jack knew something was wrong. Haley was never cruel.

Having moved closer to Haley, Sam noticed for the first time how sickly Haley looked. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes carefully disguised with make-up. Slight panic was still visible in Haley's eyes. Sam reached out to touch Haley, concern evident on her face.

Haley flinched away from the touch and took a step back from her parents.

"Seriously, Haley. I think you need to tell us what's going on," Sam said.

"Nothing is going on, Sam! I'm doing great. I have a job. I'm taking classes. Hell, I even have friends! I am living a nice normal life, like a nice normal girl."

Haley's emphatic insistence that everything was okay, even though every signal was telling them there was something wrong, reminded Sam of her own blind attachment to the idea of having a 'normal' life.

"Then why don't you look happy?" Sam asked softly. Haley turned and glared at Sam, but didn't answer. "You seemed to be rather attached to the idea of a 'normal' life."

"Because this is who I was supposed to be!" Haley exploded. "Don't you get it? This is who I would have been, if they had never…if they hadn't made me…" Her voice broke off abruptly and she doubled over with both hands pressed to her head.

The acid burns through my clothing and then my skin, the acrid smell of smoldering flesh fills my nostrils. A deep voice comes out of the darkness asking questions that I don't know the answers to. "What was the name of the symbiote?" The question is asked of me over and over. "I don't know," I grind out of my parched mouth. I want to tell him, I just don't know. "Tell me the name!" The burning digs deeper and deeper into me, and I feel my lungs failing. Desperately, I search my brain and finally the name comes…

"Kanan!" Haley gasped out loud, her forehead beaded with sweat and her body gently shaking with the power of the memory. Haley's chest continued to heave as she tried to regain control, trying not to retch. She slowly raised her head to find the others clustered around her, faces full of concern. All but Jack, who stood a step away from the rest of them, a look of utter horror on his face.

Jack looked slightly panicked as he demanded, "What in the hell was that?"

Haley shrugged off the concerned hands and stepped further away from everyone. "It's nothing. I just need you all to leave me alone." There was a slight note of pleading in her voice.

Daniel, however, had other plans. He considered Haley for a long moment, as if he was connecting the dots. "That was a memory, wasn't it? Just like the nightmare you had that night. And now they are happening while you are awake."

"Are you saying that, just then, she saw my memory? Of Baal?" Jack asked incredulously.

"I'd say it's more like she is living them, judging from her reaction," Daniel observed in a strained voice.

Haley's eyes darted to Daniel for a moment before she turned back to her parents with wide eyes. She continued to slowly increase the distance between them. "Please," she pleaded softly, "it's easier if I am not around all of you."

"That's why you have been avoiding us, that's why you insisted on moving out of Colorado Springs, because our memories have been haunting you," alleged Sam.

Daniel stepped closer to Haley, who looked more and more on the edge of full-out panic as every moment passed. "They haven't stopped, though, have they? Even avoiding them hasn't made it stop."

"Like you even care," Haley snapped back at him, before pressing her hands against her face. She continued in a defeated voice, "Just leave me alone, please. This isn't your concern."

"Haley," he said softly as he continued to move towards her. "Let us help you. You don't have to do this alone."

He moved to put a comforting hand on Haley's shoulder, but this seems to have been the wrong move. To everyone's surprise, Haley suddenly lifted Daniel with superhuman strength. She grabbed him by the neck with one hand and slammed him into the brick wall of the alley. Her voice low and gravelly, she bit out a string of words in Goa'uld. Her eyes were hard as they bored into Daniel's eyes. It was as if Haley was a stranger all of a sudden.

The others moved to pull Haley off Daniel, but before they could reach them, Haley's face suddenly changed again. She looked at Daniel in utter horror and quickly released him. Daniel slid down the wall, struggling to find his breath.

Haley stepped back slowly, one hand covering her mouth, her eyes full of tears. Gently shaking, she kneeled next to Daniel, one tremulous hand reaching out to touch his face but stopping just short. "Oh god, Daniel," she whispered, tears now streaming down her face.

"It's okay, Haley," he managed to gasp out.

Haley just shook her head. "No, it's really not." She looked him in the eye and repeated the same plea she had used that night so many weeks before, "I don't want this to be me."

"I know," Daniel said softly. Then he pulled the sobbing Haley into his arms and just held her, no longer caring who might be watching.