SGC

June 8th, 2004

1:00pm

After a long and mostly restless night, the group had returned to base. After being poked and prodded for about an hour by Janet, they had debriefed with General Hammond. He had sent SG-12 back to the planet to study the temple, and ordered all of SG-1 and SG-4 two days of downtime. Alexia went back to Daniel's office to study. After her experience on the planet, she knew that the nightmares would be back in full force, and she wanted to make sure she was too exhausted to dream. She was studying when Daniel found her two hours later.

Daniel walked into his office. He should have known that this is where she would have been. Sighing, he leaned against the doorframe and looked in on her, "Alex," he said, "what are you doing?"

Alexia looked up, sheepishly, "Studying?" she offered.

Daniel walked over to her and pulled the book she was reading from her grasp, "No, you're not," he said, putting away the books and papers that littered the desk.

Alexia made a grab for them, "But Daniel, I need to study," she said.

Daniel put the stuff on a bookshelf behind him, "No, not right now, you don't. General Hammond gave us two days of downtime, and I'm going to make sure that you actually take them. You haven't had a break since you got here. Now, when we come back in two days, then we can go back to the planet and study the wall some more," he said, leaning on the front of the desk and peering down at her.

"But.." Alexia started, but Daniel cut her off.

"No, Alex, no buts," he said, coming around the desk and pulling her out of the chair. She looked at the floor. Daniel sighed, she was not going to make this easy, "Look at me," he demanded.

Alexia didn't understand why he was being so adamant about this. She knew that he was worried about her, but he knew that she worked all the time. So did he. Tearing her gaze from the floor, she looked into his eyes.

He smiled, "Listen to me," he said gently, "for the next two days, there is no work, understand?"

She nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to stop until she gave in, "okay," she said.

"Good," he said, "now, how about tonight I make you dinner and we can have our little talk," he paused, "unless you'd rather talk to Sam."

Alexia smiled, she knew that he wanted to be the one she talked to, but he was willing to give her what she wanted, "Daniel," she said, "you know that I would rather talk to you."

"Well, I wanted to make sure, and I would understand if you preferred to talk to Sam," he said.

"Well, trust me, I'm sure," she said.

"Ok, then," Daniel said, "let's go."

Alexia followed Daniel to his apartment, dreading later when she would have to go home to hers. She preferred staying nights at the base, and since coming to the SGC, had only spent 5 nights in her, very empty, very lonely apartment.

When they arrived, Daniel gave her a tour of his apartment, and told her to make herself comfortable while he made them dinner. However, Alexia would have none of that and soon they were working comfortably side by side. They made small talk over dinner, mainly about their respective childhoods. Alexia talked openly of her childhood up until she graduated from High School in Louisiana. But then she just froze. Daniel asked her about college and she answered, but not with the same openness that she had his previous questions.

Daniel, in turn, told Alexia about his childhood with his parents until they died, and then with his uncle. He talked about how he was shunned after finishing college because of his beliefs about Egypt, but Alexia noticed that he seemed most happy when he talked about the past eight years that he had been in the Stargate program. He told her of past missions and about some of their more funny ones.

After dinner, Alexia helped Daniel clean the kitchen. Later, when they were relaxing on the couch, Daniel didn't know how to start the conversation that they had both been avoiding. Lucky for him, Alexia broke the silence first, "You know, Daniel, I haven't had anyone cook for me since Adam," she said, standing up and walking to the window.

Sensing that she needed distance, Daniel stayed on the couch, "Who's Adam?" he asked, gently.

Alexia glanced at him then turned back to the window, "Adam was my fiancé," she said, and Daniel was surprised, she had never mentioned having a fiancé before. He kept silent, though, and she continued, "I met him eight years ago, when I was sixteen. We were good friends for a while, and then when I was nineteen, we began to date. He was wonderful; sweet, kind, and he thought the world of me. He proposed to me on our one year anniversary, and we began to plan the wedding that was set for October," she said, turning to him, "October is my favorite month."

Daniel nodded, leaning forward on the couch, wondering where this was going, "What happened, Alex?" he whispered, almost afraid of where this was going.

Alexia turned back to the window, trying to decide exactly how much she should tell him. Sighing, she decided that he needed to know everything. She took a deep breath, already feeling the tears come to her eyes. She knew she was going to cry, she just didn't know how he was going to react to what she said, "You asked about the nightmares," she said, "Well, the nightmares tie back to Adam. No, he didn't hurt me or anything like that, but they do tie back to him."

"It was about two months before our wedding that it happened. We had gone to see a play in Dallas, where we went to college. Anyways, it got out a little later than we had expected, and we were walking to the train station," she said, and turned to him, "We rode the train because it was easier than trying to find a parking spot downtown, and it was cheaper." She turned back to the window, and stared at the windowsill, "The streets were pretty empty because it was a Sunday night. We didn't see them until it was too late. Three men came at us from out of nowhere. They told Adam that if he would just walk away, he wouldn't get hurt, it was me that they wanted," Alexia said and stopped, crying softly.

Daniel froze. He knew what was coming, and it scared him that this had happened to her. He didn't know if he should go to her or not, so he stayed where he was.

Alexia regained her composure, somewhat, and continued, "I remember begging him to go, to just walk away," she said, emotionally, the tears falling more quickly now.

Daniel gave up and went to stand beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, "But he didn't, did he?" he asked.

Alexia shook her head, "No, he didn't, so one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. Adam fell to the ground, and I knelt beside him, crying. He was still alive, Daniel. One of the other guys pulled me away from him, while the first one stabbed Adam again. I could still hear Adam's breathing, though, so I knew he was still alive, but I also knew by how uneven his breathing was that he was dying, and I was helpless," she said, turning to face him.

Daniel waited, dreading what was coming.

"They raped me, Daniel, while Adam lay on the sidewalk five feet away, dying," she said, the tears coming harder than ever.

Daniel drew her into his arms and held her tightly, wishing that he could take away her hurt. Alexia held on to him just as tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. However, he knew she wasn't finished, so he drew back, and waited for her to continue, and after a moment she did.

"Luckily, someone had seen what had happened and called the police. All three of the men were arrested, and Adam and I were rushed to the nearest hospital. I was fine, physically, but Adam died early the next morning. After that, I knew I needed to learn how to defend myself, so I took three years of self-defense and karate. The nightmares started about three weeks after Adam died, and the only time I didn't have them was when I studied or exercised myself to sleep. I went to school whenever I could, and got my doctorate last year. School was something I could bury myself in, and so I did. I'm starting to get over it, but every now and then, the nightmares come back," she said, looking up at him, "and that's when you find me asleep in your office. I really don't do it to upset you."

Daniel drew her into his arms again, still in shock over what she had just told him. He rubbed her back, "I wish there was something I could do for you," he said, holding her tightly.

"You have, Daniel," she said, looking at him, tears still in her eyes, "you listened, and that's the best thing you could have done for me right now."

Daniel nodded, and led her over to the couch. She was still crying softly, and he didn't know what to do, so he simply held her and let her cry into his shoulder. Eventually, she calmed down enough to sit up. Glancing at her watch, she started to stand, "It's getting late, Daniel," she said, "I should leave."

Daniel pulled her back down onto the couch. If she seriously thought he was going to let her leave now, when she was upset and still crying, she had another thing coming. He looked into her eyes, "You don't really think I'm going to let you leave, do you? You're sleeping here. You can take the bed, I'll take the couch," he said, standing.

"Daniel, no, I couldn't do that. I'll be ok. I can't impose on you like that," Alexia said, knowing that he wouldn't back down.

"Don't argue with me, Alex," he said, "it won't do you any good. I'm going to win," said, then his face softened, "Look, I'm worried about you. I want to keep my eye on you tonight, ok. Let me."

Alexia nodded, "I don't have anything with me, though."

"That's ok, I'm sure I can find something for you to sleep in. Come with me," he said, and led her to his bedroom.

Alexia awoke the next morning a little disoriented, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. It all came crashing back to her, and, wondering if Daniel was awake yet, she pulled her hair back and opened the bedroom door.

He was sitting on the couch reading the paper when she awoke. He heard the door open and looked up expectantly, "Hey," he said, when she appeared, "how you feeling?" He walked over to her.

Alexia realized that she must have slept later than she intended because he was already showered and dressed. She smiled, "Aside from the fact that I probably look like crap right now, I actually feel ok, really."

Daniel grinned at her, "Well, that's good, and you could never look like crap," he said, walking toward the kitchen, "Want some breakfast?"

"I think you've cooked for me enough already. If you're not careful, you're going to spoil me," she said, sitting down at the counter.

"Well, I'd say that you're way overdue for some spoiling," he said, "how about pancakes?"

"Really, Daniel, you don't..." she started, but he silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Don't, ok. Let me spoil you, Alex. Let me do nice things for you. If you don't start accepting them, I'm going to think you don't like them," he said.

"Well, I can't let you think that, can I?" Alexia smiled, "Pancakes sound great, but I'm helping."

"Deal," Daniel said, and Alexia came around the counter. They cooked breakfast in silence. As they sat down to eat, Daniel broke the silence, "So, what are your plans for the next two days?"

Alexia hid a grin, "Well, I thought that I would study," she said innocently.

Daniel sat down his fork, "Alex," he said.

Alexia grinned at him, "Kidding," she said.

Daniel smiled, "Good, so really, what are you going to do?"

Alexia thought for a moment, "Well, my apartment really needs to be unpacked, and decorated. It's kind of bare. I might work on that," she said.

"You mean that you haven't finished unpacking yet?" Daniel asked.

Alexia looked at her plate, "Well, I don't spend that much time there, so I haven't had that much time to unpack," she said, "What about you? What are your plans for the day?"

"I don't know," he said, gathering their plates and putting them in the sink.

"I'm going to go and change. Be back in a few," Alexia said, grabbing her clothes and going into the bathroom.

When she came out, Daniel was sitting in the living room, "Hey, you want some company?"

Alexia grinned, "Actually that would be great," she said, walking to the door. Daniel followed her and opened the door. Walking out the door, Alexia continued, "you can put my bed together."

Daniel stopped. What was he getting himself into? "Wait, you don't have a bed?" he asked.

"Well, like I said, I haven't been home that often."

"But, where do you sleep?" Daniel asked.

"Usually, on the base, but if I go home, I sleep on the couch," Alexia said.

Daniel smiled, "Well, tonight you will sleep in your own bed."

Alexia turned to look him in the eyes, "Thank you Daniel. For last night, for this, for being there for me. No one has for a very long time, so thank you."

Daniel kissed her cheek, "You're welcome. Now let's go."