Chapter 6

Daniel walked down the hallway after coming out of the medical isolation room. He had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his face. He was almost as emotionally drained as Maylin. He had had to keep himself from tearing up while he was comforting her. She needed someone to be strong for her, not cry with her, he figured.

Jack, Sam, Teal'c, and Janet joined Daniel in the hall. Jack, walking next to Daniel, patted him on the shoulder. Daniel looked at him as he put his glasses back on.

"Nice work, Doctor," Jack told him with a slight grin on his face and, amazingly, no sarcasm in his voice.

Daniel shrugged.

Sam put her hand on his other shoulder. "You were amazing. Really."

Daniel shrugged again and then walked away from the others, leaving them feeling confused and concerned for their friend.

ooOoo

Daniel was in the commissary with a tray of food – a late lunch. As he sat there, thoughts, feelings, and memories were flashing unbidden through his mind: the tragic and sudden death of his parents that happened right in front of his face when he was only eight; the rejection he felt when his grandfather wouldn't adopt him and as he was shuffled from foster home to foster home; the frustration and disappointment of being the laughing stock of the academic world as his theories had been counted as trash ('If they only knew!' he thought.); the heartache of having two loves, Sha're and Sarah, taken as hosts by Goa'ulds; the immense sorrow he felt after the death of Sha're.

Alone. He felt so utterly alone.

Daniel had had a lot of tragedies occur in his life, but they were spread out through time. To have everyone you knew and cared about be killed right in front of you all at once, though - that had to be a hundred times worse.

An image of the girl scared and alone in the isolation room came next to Daniel's mind. Although he knew loneliness, he also knew that he still couldn't fathom what Maylin had been through.

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c, sensing that something was wrong with their teammate, brought their lunch trays over to Daniel's table and sat with him. Jack sat next to him. Sam sat across from Daniel. Teal'c sat next to her and across from Jack.

Daniel didn't even look up from his plate. He appeared to be playing with his food rather than eating it.

"So . . . isn't exactly filet mignon, is it?" Jack said as he watched Daniel move the food around on his plate with a fork.

Daniel sighed, still feeling drained from that morning. "No, it isn't."

Daniel put the fork down on the plate and started to get up from his seat.

"Whoa there, Danny-boy," Jack said as he put his hand on Daniel's arm and pulled him back down. "Why don't you stay a while? Eat. Drink. Be merry. That kinda thing."

"No, I think I should get going - go check on Maylin." Daniel began to get up again.

Jack grabbed Daniel's arm and pulled him down again but with more force this time. "OK, let me rephrase that. I'm ordering you to stay."

Daniel slumped down in his seat, looking at his hands as they rested in his lap.

"Daniel, are you all right?" Sam inquired.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Daniel asked, looking up at Sam.

"Maybe because we can tell that you're not all right?" she said.

Daniel sighed and looked back down at his hands. "I'm just tired, is all."

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel! I've seen you after you've been awake for over 48 hours and you looked better then than you do now," Jack said.

Daniel looked around the table at each of his teammates, first at Teal'c. The Jaffa sat watching Daniel with one eyebrow raised. He was obviously worried about him as everybody else seemed to be. Boy, Daniel and Teal'c had sure been through a lot together. They had helped each other when needed most during the past several years, not to mention saved each other's lives multiple times. Their friendship had also been tested with events surrounding Sha're, but they still managed to be as close as ever now.

Next, there was Sam. She looked at Daniel, also with a concerned face. He really admired her. She was brilliant and beautiful. She was also a soldier, and a darn good one at that; tougher than a lot of men Daniel had seen. She had gotten them out of some pretty sticky situations in the past. She was also compassionate and always willing to lend a hand.

And then there was Jack - always ready with a smart-aleck remark, but he was also there to back Daniel up when needed. He was Daniel's best friend. Sure, they had had their share of disagreements - on pretty much any and every topic - but Jack had never failed to be there for Daniel when he needed it the most.

These were his closest friends. And yet they were more than that.

Daniel looked back down at his hands and a smile crept over his face. He slowly shook his head.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I was just thinking about . . . well, about the past." Daniel began to look more serious now. "It's funny. I never felt like I - like I belonged anywhere. Like I never fit." Daniel paused for a moment. "I always felt so - so alone. And now, I realize . . ." Daniel felt a lump in his throat as he tried to express to his friends how much they meant to him. He had never verbally expressed it to all three of them at once before and somehow it seemed poignant to do it now.

"What, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I realize that I'm sitting here with - with my family." It was a simple and succinct way of putting it, Daniel thought. He hoped they all would read between the lines and interpret the many silent words behind his statement.

The other three members of SG-1 looked at each other and began to smile, including Teal'c.

Jack patted Daniel on the back. "I'm glad you finally see that, Danny."

Daniel looked back up at them and smiled.

ooOoo

Daniel was back in the medical isolation room. He had a lunch tray with him so Maylin could have something to eat. He was only allowed to bring in finger food, though: a sandwich and potato chips. There was still the worry that she might try to hurt herself or someone else, so giving her even so much as a spoon was considered too 'dangerous.' Daniel, of course, thought that was ridiculous.

Daniel approached the bed. "Maylin," he said, trying to gently wake her.

She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hi," he said.

She stared blankly at him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I brought you some food."

She looked at the tray he held for a few seconds. She then sat up.

Daniel sat on the stool next to her bed and put the tray on her lap. As she ate, the girl seemed to like the food, but didn't seem too hungry. 'Depression is setting in,' he thought.

When she got to the point of refusing to eat any more, Daniel asked one of the guards to take the tray away.

Now it was time to get back to the 'questioning,' unfortunately.

"Maylin, I know this is hard for you," he said as he took her hand, "but I need to ask you one more question. It's a tough one, too, I'm afraid."

She looked at him with some fear in her eyes now as she lay back down on the bed.

"I know that you remember what happened yesterday before my friends and I found you. Can you try and tell me what you remember?"

Maylin paused. "W - Why?" she asked with a stutter.

Daniel thought for a second about how he should explain this to her. "Well, we don't want anyone else to be hurt by the ones that attacked your village. What you remember might help my people fight against them so they don't do that to anyone else."

Sadness overtook Maylin's face. "It - it wasn't just our village," she said, trying not to cry.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard them," she said, starting to sniffle.

"You heard them." Daniel processed what the girl was saying. "And what did they say?"

Tears began to stream down Maylin's face.

"It's OK," Daniel consoled, as he squeezed her hand. "Take your time."

She lied there for a long time, staring at the ceiling. Tears were still running down her cheeks and sweat formed on her brow. There was a cloth nearby. Daniel took it, wiped off her face, and then put it back in its original position. He rubbed her hand with his thumb.

Daniel hated this. He knew that he needed to get this information, but it was so hard to watch this little girl suffer so much to relive her memories.

"Take your time," he said again.

After a few more minutes, Maylin slowly began to speak, telling Daniel of the events that she had witnessed.

FLASHBACK BEGINS

Maylin is playing catch with her older brother outside their home. He throws the ball too far by accident and Maylin goes after it. She accidentally kicks it hard, straight back into the woods. She looks back at her brother. "Go get it," he tells her.

She begins walking through the woods, bent down in search of the ball.

Suddenly, after walking a few yards into the forest, she hears something foreign to her. It sounds like some kind of weapon. She gets down on all fours, looking toward the noise. She begins to hear the sound again and again. Then she begins to see flashes of light along with the noise. She also begins to hear and then see people panicking and groaning in pain. She slowly moves backward a few feet, not knowing what to do.

The sound of the weapons gets louder and louder; the flashes get brighter and bigger; the panic in the village builds. She looks over at her own house. She sees her brother, mother, and father staring in horror at what they see coming.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"NO!" Maylin screamed with her eyes shut tight. She squeezed Daniel's hand hard as her back began to arch.

"Maylin," Daniel said loudly, now standing up. "Maylin, it's OK. You're OK. You're safe, remember? Open your eyes. Remember where you are. It's just a memory. It's just a memory."

Maylin opened her eyes and looked into Daniel's. Her back flattened out and she loosened her grip on his hand. She breathed hard, though, tears falling down her face again.

Daniel decided that was enough for now. He didn't want to push her over the edge. "All right. You don't have to tell me any more for now," he said as he stroked his hand on her cheeks, wiping off the tears. "I'm so sorry."

Another lump began to form in his throat. A tear escaped one of his eyes and ran down his face. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

ooOoo

Being emotionally drained, once again, Maylin had wanted to take another nap. Daniel had agreed this was a good idea and, as before, sat with her until she fell asleep.

Sam, who had been watching their last interaction from the observation deck, walked down to the entrance of the isolation room.

Daniel, satisfied that Maylin was fast asleep, joined Sam in the hall.

"Hey," Sam said.

"Hey, Sam," he replied.

They walked a little ways down the hall so as not to wake up Maylin.

"How are you doin'?" Sam asked as they walked.

"Me? I'm fine."

"Daniel, I know this can't be easy on you. I mean, you obviously feel deeply for Maylin and her situation - seeing that you've both lost a lot of people in your lives."

Daniel shrugged.

"Look, just know that if you ever want to talk - about anything - you can talk to me. OK?"

Daniel looked at his friend with sincere gratitude. "Thanks, Sam. That means a lot."

"Hey, we're family, right?"

Daniel smiled.

"It's good to see you smile, especially under the circumstances," Sam noted as she smiled back.

"I only wish Maylin had reason to smile. I wish she had her family."

That gave Sam an idea just as Daniel began to frown.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"Maylin's family. She mentioned having a brother, father, and mother."

"Yeah. So?"

Daniel stopped walking and faced Sam as she stood still as well. "When I was walking around Maylin's house, checking to see if anyone was still alive, all I found were two males: a boy, probably her brother, and a man, probably her father. But I didn't see a woman."

"What are you saying, Daniel?"

"There's no way to prove this yet, but I think the Jaffa may have taken Maylin's mother to be used as a host."

"But you're right, there's no way to prove that."

"Not at the moment, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Maylin's a pretty little girl, and if she got her looks from her mother . . ." Daniel sighed and rubbed his face. "I'll have to ask her about it."

Sam sighed and nodded in agreement.