See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Author's note: I am soooo sorry for the lateness of updates, bad writers block coupled with hectic work schedule made this story an issue. I hope to have a new chapter up every week to 10 days (muse willing). It's all story blocked out, I just have to sit down and write it. :-P Leave some notes will ya. encouragement works! :)

Sighing, Daniel pushed back the translation he had been working on and removed his glasses. Rubbing his eyes, he squinted to make out the clock across the room. After staring at the red dots to no avail, he gave up; deciding it was probably too late to work any more and he was too tired to drive home to his apartment. With a small shake of his head, he turned out the light and shut the door to his lab. Heading towards his on base quarters it occurred to him that he really did spend more time here at the SGC than he did at home. Sleep overtook him the instant his head hit the pillow, his last thoughts full of vows he would go home tomorrow.

Two days later, Daniel paced the halls of the SGC. He had gone home, albeit it had been when the General had made it an order. It had been go willingly or he'd have been escorted by base personnel. He'd grabbed a hot shower, fresh coffee and food and an extra change of clothes for the base before returning, triumphantly, three hours later. Wisely, the General hadn't made any more attempts. Sam had finally grown tired of his uncharacteristic lack of focus and had thrown him out of her lab. Jack had finally finished his overflowing pile of paperwork and was busy venting his boredom by sparring extensively with Teal'c; a pastime Daniel was more than happy to leave the two of them alone to engage in. True, Daniel still had plenty of things he could do translation wise, but they were all pretty minor and weren't enough to tie his mind down for another long, aggravating day of being banned from the infirmary. Never in his entire life had he even dreamed he would ever want to get into that infirmary as badly as he did now. The way he was feeling made his sarcophagus addiction feel like a walk in the park.

"It's ridiculous," he tried to reason with himself, "Janet has every right; and what is the woman to you anyways? Nothing. A total and complete stranger. Sure, she reminds you of your wife, but that's not it. Sure, you wonder if Sha're had to endure this kind of treatment when she was captured by the Gua'uld. And sure, you hope someone cared, like you do, if she had been." But that still wasn't it. This mystery woman, god only knew how, had reached a part of his heart that he honestly had begun to think had died, or at least was buried deep below some heavy armor.

Shaking his head and sighing with frustration, Daniel gazed down at his desk, only half surprised at his surroundings. His feet were used to automatically bringing him back to his office when his mind was otherwise occupied, and like a Swiss watch, they hadn't failed him this time. Grabbing his field journal and notes on Gua'uld language, he turned and marched out the door again. This time, he told himself, Janet would let him in... even if he had to give himself a bleeding wound in order to accomplish it.

Rounding the corner in the corridor to the infirmary, Daniel slowed as he noticed a soft light coming into the hall. Wonders never ceasing to amaze him, he smiled inwardly and sighed with some satisfaction as he realized the glow was light coming from the open infirmary door into the normally dim hall. Quietly, he stepped into the apparently empty room, glancing around for Janet while simultaneously looking for the woman he'd left in her care. He moved toward the last bed on the right, the only one that looked occupied since it was the only one which had the curtain drawn to the foot of the bed for privacy.

Pausing at the foot of the bed, Daniel felt every ounce of restlessness flee his body as he took in the woman again. Her hair lay dark against the bright, crisp, white linens of her bed. Her skin, though still pale, had taken on a slightly rosier undertone even against the pale background of her sheets. Eyes closed, she slept. Her breathing came slow and even. She looked at peace. So stark was the contrast to his first impression of her that he got caught up, starting slightly when he felt someone touch his arm gently, drawing him back ever so slightly.

"I wondered when you were going to get here."

Janet Fraiser spoke low, a smile creeping from her eyes to her mouth as she took Daniel back a few steps to where they could speak without disturbing her patient. The smile widened as a somewhat sheepish expression flowed into Daniel's face.

"Sam told me you couldn't sit still all day."

"I don't know what it is Janet," Daniel responded to the unspoken question that filtered through her tone of voice and inquisitive, assessing gaze. "She got to me."

The Doctor nodded, putting her hands into her pockets out of habit and relaxation.

Glancing back toward the curtained bed, Daniel continued, making eye contact again, slowly, as he spoke. "Are you going to make me leave?"

"No."

The answer came quickly, as if the decision had already been made and she had simply been waiting for the question to be asked.

"How is she?" The question that had been burning a hole in Daniel's mind the last two days finally came out.

"I've cut back on her sedatives today. She's just got continuous pain medication now to cover the aftereffects of the surgery and her mistreatment. She might wake up today, maybe tomorrow; We'll see." Janet spoke calmly, not hurrying anything. Nothing unexpected seemed to have come up after surgery. The mystery woman was recovering, as well as could be expected in the time frame. Janet was comfortable with it, and thus, so was Daniel.

"Have you eaten today?" Ever conscious of how SG-1 took care of themselves, Janet tried to keep Daniel on as healthy a path as possible. As he shook his head in the negative, Janet steered him to the door again. "Get food," she ordered, kindly, "then you can come back for a while."

Knowing if he didn't obey he would find himself banned from the infirmary once again, Daniel nodded and headed toward the Cafeteria. Filling a tray with something that distantly resembled a healthy meal as well as a sufficient supply of coffee for the next few hours, he turned and headed right back to the infirmary, smiling to himself. Janet had never specified where to eat, just that he had to eat.

Engrossed once again in his translations, Daniel sat in a semi-comfortable chair that had mysteriously found its way to the woman's bedside, along with an adjustable tray table, while he had been away at the cafeteria. Janet certainly knew him well enough, and was more than used to bedside vigils being held by members of SG-1.

A now empty tray sat, relegated to the nightstand, and a twice-refilled cup of coffee was on the tray table just to his left. The soft glow of the bedside light carefully lit the area just enough to be helpful, but not enough to be disruptive to a sleeping person. Daniel had grown used to it, he had used it often enough during his extended visits to the infirmary when he thought he was well enough to be discharged to work, and Janet had disagreed. He had always managed to get someone to smuggle in a translation or two for him to busy himself with, much to Janet's chagrin. To his enjoyment, it had usually resulted in him being sent home the next day.

Daniel was so deeply engrossed in his work; he missed a slow sigh of someone waking up that came from the bed in front of him. Hazel eyes quietly watched him, a calm expression settling around them as recognition set in and the peaceful, non-threatening surroundings registered in a still drugged brain.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was soft and inquisitive, just above a whisper, yet Daniel's head jerked up at the sound anyway, bringing the faint traces of a smile to her lips.

"I... uh... it's a translation, I've been working on," he answered, eyes ever alert and checking to see if she was comfortable. Janet had been stopping by every few hours to check on them since he settled down around 1100 hours that morning. The clock on the wall telling him it was almost dinnertime meant she would be by again shortly to make sure he ate again, and to check on her other patient.

"I'm sorry," he continued, "we didn't really have time for introductions before, and I don't want to be rude. My name is Dr. Daniel Jackson. You're at a place called the 'SGC' on a planet called 'Earth'. You're safe here." He felt he had to add the last comment, and judging by the look that briefly crossed her face, she needed to be reminded of it, although she still looked remarkably relaxed. Maybe it was just exhaustion, or the last of the drugs in her system that was making her seem so sedate here, alone, with him.

"My name is M'erynne" she replied, following his lead. Her voice was slightly stronger, but still soft, almost musical he thought, as the sound of her name repeated in his head several times. "My home world is called "Dery'na". There I am a Keeper of the Word for my people."

"What exactly does that mean, "Keeper of the Word"," he asked, his curiosity overriding his patience for a moment. "What exactly do you do?"

Pausing for a moment, M'erynne closed her eyes as she thought of her job, before returning Daniel's gaze and speaking. "I am an assistant to the elders. I transcribe our recent events as well as study the transcripts of those who were Keepers before me. I was trained at an early age for the job and was to someday train a new assistant when I became an elder."

"Ah," Daniel nodded his understanding as he spoke, his translation forgotten for the time being. "On this world, you would be called a Historian. Your work is very similar to mine, although I chose to study the histories of people ten times as old as myself."

"I would like to hear more about your world and your work, Daniel Jackson." M'erynne replied, closing her eyes once again and sinking back into her pillow ever so slightly, bringing Daniel back into reality for just a moment.

"Are you in any pain?" he asked, sincere concern seeping into his voice. "My questions can wait..."

"No, no," she hastened to relieve him, opening her eyes briefly to meet his gaze as she continued, "I am just weary."

"Sleep," Daniel told her, his fingers reaching out to brush hers ever so softly, "We'll talk again after you wake up rested."

The corners of M'erynne's mouth turned up ever so slightly as she drifted off to sleep again, medication and stress once again taking its toll on her consciousness. Daniel waited until he was sure she was asleep before getting up quietly and gathering his things before going to search for Dr. Fraiser. They had a bit to discuss, and he had some dinner to get before she threw him out again.