Author's Note: I wasn't planning on posting until Monday, but then I started to feel guilty because of all the great reviews (and cries of "evil" and some Jedi mind tricks...). So here is my Father's Day chapter seven. Of course, the betaing has been done wonderfully by Mara Jade Jedi.


Chapter Seven: Very Un-Daniel-like Behaviour

"What are your biggest regrets, Dr. Jackson?"

Wasn't it human nature to dwell on the past? What if? Some regrets were so simple. Losing his parents. Losing Sha're. Being deceived by Osiris. Letting Sarah be taken as a host just like Sha're had.

Other regrets had been nagging at the back of his head for years. Whispers of cowardice. To his surprise, Janet came to mind (but was it really a surprise? Hadn't she been lingering there for a while now?).

He'd learnt a long time ago that the past couldn't be changed. You couldn't save those that were already dead. P7J 989 and the Gamekeeper sprung immediately to mind. However Daniel's thoughts were already out there, and the universe around the doctor shifted to accommodate them.

Daniel found himself outside of Janet Fraiser's house. He knocked on the front door instinctively. It was a strange feeling. He was disoriented, but at the same time he wasn't. He knew what he was doing, but at the same time he didn't.

"Daniel!" Janet answered the door. Her surprise at his visit was evident.

"Hi," Daniel replied automatically and he held up a bag, "I bring greasy takeout."

Janet's smile widened and she moved to usher her guest in. "I hope your doctor doesn't know about your diet, Daniel," she teased.

It was a memory. This had all happened before. It was from three years ago, right after the incident with Cassie and Nirrti. He'd been worried about Janet, so he'd gone over to her house to check up on her.

They cocooned themselves up in the living room, while Janet explained that Cassie was at a friend's house: "If you hadn't dropped by, I'd probably be doing the paranoid parent routine. Wondering if she's really at her friend's house, but knowing it wouldn't be 'cool' to call and check up on her…"

"Sounds like things are returning to normal."

"Too normal. I'm not positive, but I think I saw Dominic a few days ago walking her home from school."

"Want me to get rid of him for you? Jack, Teal'c and I could probably come up with something."

She laughed and Daniel felt like a million bucks. "Think I could get Teal'c to come over and glare at him? I think that would do it."

Copious amounts of wine were consumed (in that Daniel had a glass and was feeling tipsy). Off handedly, he wondered if his pride should be insulted that a 5"2, hundred-pound woman could drink him under the table.

They were sitting on her couch, laughing about Teal'c's recent hat purchases (a top hat, for special occasions). He had started telling her about his theory about how deep Teal'c really was… when she kissed him.

"Had to think of a way to shut you up," she explained. Daniel gawked for a bit. He watched as her cheeks went red, and wondered why an amazing woman like her would ever want to kiss him –in fact had kissed him.

He was just lucky, he realized that now. So he did what he should have done three years ago. He cupped her face, and whispered, "No more talking, I promise," just before his lips touched hers.


Meanwhile in the outside world, the klaxons had gone off. Daniel (who really wasn't Daniel) had prevented Janet from sounding the base alarm; however, Jenny, one of the nurses in the next room had been quick to react to the situation.

Daniel used Janet as a shield. Holding her tightly against his chest, he watched emotionlessly as Special Forces lined up into the infirmary, M16s aimed to kill. Naturally, Colonel O'Neill was the first familiar face on the scene. "What the hell are you doing, Daniel!"

Whatever was controlling Daniel recognized the Colonel. "Jack," he replied, pulling Janet tighter (she squirmed in his grip).

Jack frowned at Daniel's very un-Daniel-like behaviour.

"Colonel, I think Daniel's being controlled by the alien organisms…" Janet spit out the words.

"Ya think?" Colonel O'Neill wasn't the most reassuring person in a hostage situation.

Sam and Teal'c managed to navigate around the SFs to the forefront to stand with the Colonel. Sam was met with the sight of her two friends in what could be considered an intimate embrace. "What's going on?" It wasn't an embrace, it was a brace gripe.

"Sam. Teal'c." Daniel acknowledged.

"It's controlling Daniel?" Sam looked to the Colonel for conformation. The movement of Jack's eyes and shoulders said, "What else did you expect?"

"We would like to go back to our planet; PX3 489 is what you call it," Daniel demanded. Sam didn't think that sounded too unreasonable.

"You going to take Daniel with you?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"See that's where I have a problem with your plan." Not for the first time, Sam wondered if in negotiations they could lock the Colonel in a storage closet on base somewhere.

"Can you leave Daniel?" Sam asked, "We can send you home, but we're just concerned about what would happen to our friend."

"This host," There were few winces at that word choice, "is being integrated as we speak. It would be impossible to 'leave'."

Integrated? That didn't sound good.

"You're fully incorporated into Daniel's body?" Janet couldn't help being fascinated.

"Yes. We require the genetic diversity of this host. We must go back to our home," Daniel explained.

Comprehension dawned on Janet, who had been studying their species in depth for some time now. Like the Asgard, they didn't reproduce sexually. However, asexual reproduction had its drawbacks –they lacked genetic diversity. They needed Daniel's DNA to add to their own sparse gene pool.

"Not going to happen," Jack told the alien, "We're not going to let you take Daniel."

"The alternative is we will continue to inhabit this body, until it can sustain us no longer. Then we shall spread, moving on to inhabit your entire species." Janet froze as Daniel brought his face closer, his lips hovering over Janet's cheek, his body still pressed firmly against her. Janet was filled with mixed signals. She was frightened, but at the same time it was Daniel. It was almost an erotic position.

He whispered seductively in her ear, "Since the evolution of our species, we have never seen such a diversity of life." She shuddered slightly. Not enough for their audience to see, but Daniel certainly felt it.

He brushed his lips against her ear. Was it curious? Studying her reaction? Or was it taunting her? Janet felt anger at the latter possibility, and snapped out of her haze, struggling even harder. It wasn't Daniel, no matter what her body wanted her to think. Daniel sighed, and gripped his captive harder (she would have bruises).

"Give us access to the Stargate or Dr. Fraiser dies." Daniel made his ultimatum.

"Oh for crying out loud. This is ridiculous." Jack grabbed a spare zat gun from the medical emergency weapons locker (because you never knew when or where you'd need one), and fired a single shot. Both Daniel and Janet were stunned due to their close proximity, and fell to the ground in a tangle of legs and arms.

"Sorry Doc," Jack apologized to her unconscious form.

"Teal'c wanna give me a hand here?" asked Jack, and together they pulled Daniel onto the infirmary bed, making sure to strap down his arms and legs.


TBC

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