Getting over the first shock of where he'd found himself took some time. He still had trouble arranging the memories of his last moments before he'd passed out. Jack helped him, telling what, exactly, he'd seen when he'd barged into the room and found Jackson posing as Daniel, and Daniel lying on the floor, fighting for his life. Told him how he'd defied all odds, grabbing the pistol and crawling and standing up and shooting Jackson.
He really had done it. He had killed Jackson, just like that. But he'd been so mad at him, he could remember that. Even through all the pain and the frightening realization that he was dying, he had heard Jackson's words. He'd heard how Jackson had told Jack that he would be just like him. No difference at all. More than anything, Daniel had been afraid that Jack would accept that. But of course he hadn't, he said. He would never do that.
Even if Jackson might somehow have survived that gunshot through the skull, it didn't matter anymore. Sam had zatted him away. No trace left that he had ever existed. Daniel wanted to think that he'd deserved that, but he couldn't. Still, after what Jackson had done to him and Teal'c and all the people in his reality, Daniel couldn't think of him as a completely evil person. Nothing could ever do away with the fact that they had been the same to begin with. Of course, Jackson could've been lying about everything when he'd told that he thought the two of them were the closest match he'd ever seen in any reality, but somehow, Daniel didn't believe that. He believed that, at some point in time, they might have been exactly the same. Sometime before Jackson's timeline had differed and things had gone wrong and he'd taken that one step that had turned him into what he'd been.
Daniel saw it all as a reminder. A warning of what might become, if he wouldn't be able to cope with Sha're's death. The memory of her felt different now, more distant. He would learn to live with it. He had friends. He had his team.
"The difference between Jackson and me had nothing to do with his personality or his family history or troubled childhood or whatever. They were the same. It was all about... You. The three of you," Daniel told Jack, Sam and Teal'c, who were gathered around his bed.
It felt more than a bit stupid to spend time lying in a bed in the infirmary, when there really wasn't anything wrong with him, except for a sore throat from the breathing tube. He still had a hard time trying to believe what everyone said had happened. That he really had been shot in the heart and lived to tell the tale, or whatever little he could remember of it. Janet was still treating him as if he might drop dead all of a sudden. She wouldn't let him up and out before she got her expert here. Luckily, she should be arriving any moment now.
"Daniel, the guy was nuts. Lights were on, but there was no one home. A few fries short of a happy meal."
"No, Jack," Daniel shook his head. "He wasn't nuts. He was alone. Well, he had you, though, I think. I think he and the Jack O'Neill in his reality were really good friends. But when he... He killed Teal'c before SG-1 really came to be. He never became friends with Teal'c. And the team was never the same without Teal'c, so I guess he never really came to trust Sam like I do, either. He just... couldn't cope. Couldn't deal with everything that happened. Not without a family."
"I appreciate the great value you give to our friendship, Daniel Jackson, but I find that somewhat difficult to believe."
"Believe what you will, Teal'c. The most important thing is, I want you to know, once again and for all, that I really, truly do forgive you. For killing... For doing what you had to do."
"That is good to hear. And I wish you to know that I am deeply sorry for what happened."
"I know you are, Teal'c. Don't worry about it."
Daniel was about to get awfully sappy, underlining how good friends and how important his three team mates were to him, when Janet and her much-awaited cardiologist made their entrance.
"And this is your critical cardiac gunshot wound case?" the woman who had to be Doctor Carlsen asked incredulously. The first impression Daniel got from her was that she looked exactly like a strict, old fashioned teacher. She was in her fifties, and her graying hair was tied in a bun tight enough to smoothen any wrinkles. She wore half-moon glasses, peering over them with cold gray eyes, and a skeptical look on her face.
"Well, yes," Janet answered. Daniel had rarely hear her sound so wary. Usually, her authority never wavered, but now, she clearly looked up to this other Doc. "As I said when I called, there were complications, really serious ones, and we had no choice but to operate on our own... It looked really bad for a while, there. We had to resort to some, well, slightly experimental methods. Luckily enough, they worked."
Janet opened the file she'd been carrying, picked up some papers and pictures from it, and handed them over to the other Doctor. Daniel could guess that they were the results of that massive array of tests she'd wanted to run after he'd woken up. She'd said she had found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
"These are from before the--the operation, and these are after it," she added, as an explanation.
Carlsen took them and spent a good while staring at them, frowning.
"Slightly experimental? I'd very much like to see what kind of methods could lead to such instant results."
"I'm afraid it's classified," Janet answered apologetically.
"Ah, yes, that seems to be the thing about this entire facility. Everything's so very secret and classified that I'm hardly allowed to see or hear a thing."
"Anyway... Now that you're here, you could just as well take a look at him, right?"
"Yes, I'd be very interested to."
Janet walked closer to Daniel's bed, and told the rest of SG-1 that, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This might take a while."
Jack nodded, and got up. "We'll be back soon," he assured Daniel, and lead the three of them out of the room.
"Doctor Daniel Jackson, right?" Doctor Carlsen greeted him, her tone very formal. "I'm Doctor Emma Carlsen. I've been hearing rather extraordinary things about what has happened to you."
"Yeah, so have I," Daniel answered her. "I actually do have an awfully vivid memory of lying on the floor with a hole in my chest, but now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me."
"You haven't felt anything out of the ordinary after you came to? Chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations?"
"I've felt just fine. My only problem is that Janet refuses to believe that."
"I'm quite certain I'll be able to convince her. Now, you could help me by taking off your shirt."
Janet had been standing behind Carlsen, silent, her arms crossed. When Daniel cast a glance at her, she winked back at him and closed the curtain around the bed. So, he went on to do as he'd been told, revealing the skin that Martouf had healed.
He couldn't help being a bit amused when he saw Carlsen's reaction to it. Her eyebrows leaped up, creating a complex net of lines on her forehead despite her tight hairdo.
"All right, Janet--what is going on here? This has to be the hugest practical joke anyone has ever tried to pull on me. Luckily I'm not the one paying for the plane tickets and the hours of work I've missed when I've been here on this... this excursion of yours. There is absolutely no way the wounds could have healed this fast, and without any scarring at all, no less!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but this certainly isn't a joke of any kind. We really almost lost him," Janet told her, sounding apologetic. "As I said, what we did was experimental and highly classified, and I won't be able to tell you more than that. Now, as far as I can tell, he's completely healed, but I'm no cardiologist. I'd still like to hear your opinion."
Doctor Carlsen snorted slightly at that, but then shrugged. "Very well. Since I'm here already, I could just as well examine him."
Daniel wouldn't have minded if she'd just decided not to believe Janet at all and left. He didn't particularly enjoy her examination. She spent a good while tapping and feeling his chest with her cold, skinny fingers, and then another long while listening with her equally freezing stethoscope. All the while, Janet just stood there, looking nervous, leaning her chin against her fist.
Finally, Carlsen stood back and snorted once again. "Well, whatever has or hasn't happened to your patient, Janet, there certainly isn't any trace of it left. There's nothing wrong with him, and I sincerely doubt if there ever was. I hope you're satisfied now."
"I am. You've no idea how good it is to hear that, Doctor--Emma," Janet said, beaming, and shook Carlsen's hand vigorously. "And I really appreciate it that you could come, even though you probably feel like it's been a waste of time."
"Well, not that I've got anything to complain about. It was rather refreshing, really. It's been a good while since I've last checked such a completely healthy heart. Usually, they only give me difficult cases."
"And now, can I go home, Janet?" Daniel asked.
"I'd still like to keep you under surveillance, at least one full day, just in case..."
"Janet, don't be ridiculous. Keeping a perfectly healthy patient confined is both annoying to them and to the staff, and a waste of time and money," Carlsen backed him up. He offered her a thankful smile.
"Ah, all right, then... But I want you to take it easy for the next few days. I'd rather not send you home all by yourself... Of course, I think the rest of SG-1 will be more than happy to keep you company."
Daniel didn't doubt that in the least. His team would be there for him, as always. And unlike a few days ago, when he'd been too lost in his sorrow, awfully close to becoming like Jackson, now he was actually looking forward to spending time with them.
Author's Note: All rightie. I could just end the story here, but that would feel a bit abrupt to me. I'm going to do some more. Just one more chapter, I think. :)