Welcome Home?
Part 2
Author: Mac
Disclaimers in Part 1

Cassie had just finished the dishes when the phone rang. She quickly ran to answer it. "Hey Mom! I know why you're calling. I just finished the dishes. I'll have everything finished by the time you get home, I promise!"

"Cass, that's not why I called."

"Oh, God, did someone get hurt?"

"No," Janet replied. She seemed to have swallowed around a lump in her throat. "He's back."

"What? Who are you talking about?"

"Daniel, honey. He's back."

Cassie nearly dropped the phone. Daniel had been "dead" for about a year. It had been so hard for her and her Mom to get over his death. She was so angry at him.

"Mom, are you...?"

"I'm fine. For now. SG-1 is bringing him to Earth. I have to examine him and make certain everything... everything is in working order, I guess."

"Will you be all right?"

She took a deep breath. "I think so. The problem is, Daniel doesn't remember any of us or who he is for that matter."

"Maybe I should come over there."

"No, Cass. Don't worry about a thing. Just finish cleaning the house for the grill out tomorrow. We are still going to have it, is that understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I gotta go, they're coming through. I love you, Cassie."

"I love you too, Mom!" Cassie hung up the phone angrily. "Damn you, Daniel!"

Janet watched as Jack led Daniel out of the infirmary. It was great to see him alive again, but at what cost? He had no idea who any of them were. It was definitely not like a form of amnesia she had seen before. Would his memory even come back to him? She had no idea.

A sharp pang in her chest caused tears to well in her eyes. It had finally hit her that he may never remember their life together and what they had planned for the future. She needed to get out of the confines of the mountain. She needed to see Cassie.

"Janet!"

She took a deep breath and turned to face her friend. "Sam."

"How's Daniel?"

"Physically he's in perfect health."

"He just can't remember anything."

Janet nodded. "There's that."

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Sam knew that the past year had been particularly harder on Janet and Cassie than her. She had tried her best to be there for them without burdening them with her thoughts and feelings.

"I'm... confused, I guess. I knew in my heart that he wasn't technically dead, but..."

"Yeah," Sam replied. "I know what you mean. Have you spoken to Cassie yet?"

"I'm heading over to the house now. I don't suppose you could join me."

Sam smiled sadly. "You know I'm always there for you. Let's go."

"Thanks, Sam."

Sam and Janet arrived to find Cassie finishing up her chores. They looked utterly exhausted. "Mom! Sam!" she exclaimed, rushing over to them. "You guys should sit down."

Cassie led the pair to the sofa in the living room and then ran to get two glasses of water. When she returned, Janet was crying softly and Sam was holding her friend. Cassie knelt on the floor in front of them.

"He doesn't remember anything, Cass," she whispered. "He doesn't even know what he put us through. I don't know that he ever will." Janet sighed deeply. "You were right, we should cancel the cookout."

Cassie stood up and began pacing. She shook her head fiercely. "No! We are NOT canceling the party, Mom! We're not going to let Daniel ruin everything again!" She cried. "He left because he didn't believe in anyone, not even himself. I don't care if he remembers anything because I won't EVER trust him again!"

Janet watched as Cassie ran upstairs, wincing when she slammed her bedroom door. "God help me, Sam, there's a part of me that feels the same way."

The grill out had to be postponed for a few weeks so that they could prepare for the attack on Anubis. And now, it only included Sam, Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond, and Jonas. She could only imagine the questions that would swarm around her if they had invited more people. And Cassie. She had become a ticking time bomb. If Daniel was mentioned once, she would go off in a fit of rage.

She knew how her daughter felt, but she realized that it wasn't their decision to make. Besides, Janet missed Daniel. Her love for him was outweighing everything else she was feeling. She needed to see him.

"Janet." She shook her head and looked up at Colonel O'Neill. "Are you all right?"

"Colonel, I have to..." Janet didn't finish. She grabbed her car keys and ran out the front door.

"Where's Mom going?" Cassie asked.

Jack shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe she forgot to get something. Let's go check General Hammond. His Southern burgers should be ready about now."

And I can talk to Sam. She knows Doc Frasier better than any of us, thought Jack.

Sam watched as Cassie headed over to the General and suddenly Jack was next to her. "Janet left. She said there was something she had to do."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Sir?"

"That she wants to check on Daniel? Make sure he's really ready for this mission tomorrow? That's exactly what I think."

"Maybe I should go too."

Jack shook his head. "I'll call Colonel Reynolds. If there's a problem, he can let me know." Sam nodded. "You, Major, can see what's got that alien visitor of ours so lost in thought."

"Who, Jonas?"

"Yeah. You can deal with him better than I can. I lose my patience easily when he's near me."

"You lose your patience with everyone easily, Sir."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Yeah..."

Janet made her way through the halls of the SGC, stopping in front of the door to Daniel's quarters. She took a deep breath and knocked. "Come in," she heard a faint voice reply.

What she found was something she did not expect. Daniel was sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes rid rimmed as if he had been crying. "Daniel?" He looked up and she saw raw pain there and it hurt her to the core. She immediately went over and sat beside him. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault, Janet. They're all dead because of me! Because I had to try and be the one to save the world!"

She glanced down at the folder in his hands. She read the words 'Abydos' and 'Anubis'. Janet cursed in her mind. She had wanted Sam or Colonel O'Neill to talk to him about that before he read it!

"Daniel, from what Sam told me, the Abydonians ascended."

"Which means they can't do shit from their position! They can't live, they can't die! Their whole world was destroyed! My world! My home!"

Janet watched as he began pacing. She had enough of this. She stood up and grabbed him by the arms, shaking him as she yelled. "Daniel, stop this right now!"

"J-janet?" He stared at her in disbelief.

"I know you're upset, but that's how you got into this position in the first place. You always think of the 'should haves' and 'could haves'. You can't do that all your life or you're going to have high expectations for yourself. You need to think of the good you've done and the people who are still here! We love you Daniel! We always have! And you selfishly turned away from us!"

Daniel didn't know what to say to her. She was right. It was a costly mistake, but he had to try and he told her so. "Janet, I'm sorry. I love you more than words can express, but it was important to me."

"So you had Jack tell Jacob?"

He took her hands in his. "You would have convinced me not to go through with it. I loved you too much to let you go."

Janet smiled and wrapped her arms around him, immediately feeling safe. "I still love you that much, Daniel."

Sam watched as Cassie paced back and forth in the living room. The young teenager had decided the party was over as soon as her Mother left and began cleaning things up. General Hammond and Jonas wrapped up the extra burgers for Janet and Cassie and had left for the base.

"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet, Cass," Jack said.

"Jack, this is ridiculous. Why does Mom feel the need to go over there?"

"Cassie, your Mom loves Daniel. She needs to work things out with him. I know how you're feeling, but this has to be worked out. "

"What if he goes away again?" She asked him. "What if something happens and Daniel dies? What's Mom going to do then? Grieve again? He can't keep putting her through this, even if it's not on purpose!"

Sam walked over to the distraught teenager and held her still. "Cass, you can't just order someone to not fall in love. Your Mom and Daniel should treasure the fact that they have a chance to be in love again. I know it's hard for you to understand, but we can't take this away from either of them."

"Why does everyone assume it's hard for me to understand?" Cassie cried. "I just don't want her to get hurt!"

Before either could respond, Cassie was up the stairs. "That went well," Jack muttered.