A/N: Fire-fie, Don't hit your computer! I post daily and tomorrow is the last chapter, so you don't have long to wait.
Arwen ran - well, waddled - as quickly as she could out into the hallway, heading toward the main door to Daniel's office. As soon as she poked her head out of her doorway she saw Sam entering his office. Arwen retreated back to her desk, dropped her head down and cried.
Sam saw her friend leaning against a bookshelf, head down, weeping quietly. "Daniel... Oh, my god! What happened? Are you all right?" She moved over to him and led him to his chair.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" Sam knelt at his feet, wiping his tears.
"She's pregnant," came so softly from his lips that Sam almost didn't hear him.
"I know. We've all known for months." Sam knew who he was talking about. He'd long since confided in her about his feelings for Arwen.
"She didn't wait long after we… Oh, Sam! It's not mine. She had the shot before we left and she wasn't due for another one yet. There must have been someone else. She must have had someone waiting for her."
"Daniel, rumors say it was an old boyfriend she met again when she went back home after you two were rescued."
Daniel paled even more. "I need to get out of here, Sam. I can't breath."
Sam threw hers arms around him and helped him stand. Her arms were still around him when Arwen saw them pass her office door, heading toward the elevators.
Sam led him to her car; there was just no way he should be driving now. She pulled into his driveway, got out and went around to open his door. Daniel turned blank eyes to her.
"I think I'll take a walk. I don't want to be inside right now." Daniel slid out of the car and started walking listlessly up his street.
Sam stood by her car, not knowing whether she should follow – he really didn't pay attention to traffic when he was like this – or just leave him alone. She finally decided to leave him alone and she headed home.
Daniel wandered around the suburbs surrounding his home. He crossed quiet streets, passed by children in swings, stood aside for mothers with strollers, all without seeing. All he could see was her profile; swollen with a child that wasn't his.
Not only is the universe conspiring to keep me miserable, it can't even come up with a new way to do it. Sha're pregnant by Apophis and now Arwen pregnant with some other man's child. I suppose I'll get to deliver this child too!
Daniel stood in the middle of the street, blinded by loss, and pushed the heals of his hands into his eyes as if he could push out the picture in his mind. A passing car blared at him as the driver flipped him a rude gesture. He resumed his trek, unmindful of the life and joy surrounding him.
One day. I had one day of happiness with her. He leaned against a tree, eyes closed, and relived that day in his head. He'd had a day with no worries, just freedom in her. She'd released his soul. She made him laugh. He'd been able to breathe. She didn't ask anything of him, but had come freely, joyfully. How could that have been a lie? How could she go from my bed to someone else's in one breath?
Daniel slid down the tree trunk and hugged his knees, rocking. It began to rain gently, as if Mother Nature wanted to match his mood.
Arms reached out to pull him up and he went unresistingly. Hands maneuvered him into the metal and glass box, strapping him in. Warmth flowed around him, but couldn't reach the ice in his broken heart.
"Daniel."
A voice, sweet and rich, penetrated the trance. He knew that voice. Her scent drifted through him and twisted his bowels. I'm going to be sick. He rolled down the window and hung his head out, releasing the contents of his stomach. Rain drizzled over his eyelids, glasses long since lost, and flowed down his cheeks. He couldn't open his eyes and see her; it had to be a nightmare.
"Daniel, I'm taking you home." Arwen moved the car away from the curb and back into the narrow lane.
Daniel pulled his head back into the car, eyes still closed. "How'd you find me?"
"I live just up this block. You were on my street."
He nodded slightly, acknowledging her words. Millions of streets in this world and I find her's. Daniel flipped a mental finger into the face of whichever god had arranged this little joke on him.
Arwen parked in her garage and unhooked Daniel's seatbelt. Daniel stepped out of the car and stood. She came around and took his hand, leading him though the house and back to her bathroom.
"Daniel, get into the shower. Make it as hot as you can stand. You're soaking wet after walking in the rain and shaking from the cold. I'll see what I can find for you to wear."
She left him dripping on the throw rug and headed into the guest room to see if her dad had left anything behind after his last visit. She found a pair of sweatpants and an old flannel bathrobe. She brought those back to the bathroom and found that Daniel hadn't moved since she'd left him.
Sighing, she dropped the dry clothes on the counter and reached over to unbutton his BDU jacket. "You know, Dr. Jackson, this was not how I pictured removing your clothes." She continued undressing him until she came to his boots. "Daniel, you're going to have to deal with these. If I try to bend down, I'll never get back up."
Daniel wordlessly knelt down and unlaced his boots, stood, and toed them off. She reached behind the shower curtain and turned on the hot water. When he had slipped off his pants, she gently pushed him into the shower.
"You're on your own now, Dr. Jackson." She turned to leave and said quietly under her breath, "I don't think Sam would appreciate it if I joined you."
Daniel let the hot water flow over his head and down his body, warming him.
She headed into the kitchen to make some strong coffee and sandwiches for him.