A/N: My beta's on vacation so she hasn't seen this.
Daniel awoke slowly, the morning sun warming him nicely as he stretched his stiff neck from his position on the couch. It probably would have been better if he'd adjusted himself sometime during the night, but the weight of the past week had drained him of all energy and he'd slept completely through the night.
A shadow passed over him and he had to adjust his glasses to focus on the figure standing over him.
Cassie stood there, her hands planted on her hips, glaring at him. "What happened?" she hissed, trying not to wake her mother upstairs.
"Wha… uh, what?" Daniel groaned and sat up just a little straighter, resting his head in his hands. He slowly lifted his head, adjusting his glasses again – maybe he should think about getting contacts – and wiped a hand over his face.
As he slowly started to wake up he realized he'd fallen asleep waiting for Janet to come home. Obviously, she never did. The candles on the kitchen table were melted down into puddles on the tablecloth, the food stone cold. "Your mom didn't come home?"
Cassie threw up her hands in frustration and paced in front of him, wearing a hole in the floor. "Yes! She did come home. She's asleep in her room. I heard her stumble in at around 3:30 this morning. You didn't say anything to her?"
"I wasn't even awake," Daniel defended himself. Something serious must have happened at the SGC for her to come in so late.
Cassie shouldered her backpack and started walking for the door. "Take the day off so you can be here when she wakes up."
Daniel shook his head. "I can't. Sarah's meeting with the psychiatrist today."
"AUGH!" Cassie flopped onto the edge of the coffee table. She so felt like ripping out her hair right now. "Who's more important to you, Daniel? We worked all night so you could make it up to Mom."
"Cass-"
"No! Sarah broke up with you, and as far as I know, you and my mother are together right now. Do you love my mom?"
Daniel stopped, his mouth hanging open and flopped back onto the couch. Did he? Did he know Janet enough to say whether he loves her or not? They'd only been dating since right after Sam had disappeared. Was that really long enough?
Of course, on the other hand, Jack and Sam had never really even dated and they were married. Six months was a long time and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that, yeah, he really was in love with Janet.
"Yes."
Cassie saw the resolve flash in his eyes and nodded once. "Good. She should be up in a couple of hours, she never sleeps in past 9:30."
Daniel took it as the hint it was and watched Cassie leave for school. That really only gave him about an hour and a half to decide what to do for breakfast.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"Tommy! Let's go, you're gonna be late!"
Tommy rolled his eyes as he shoved his books in his bag. The bus stopped right down the street, but noooo, his stupid dad had to drive him to school everyday. It was so embarrassing. He was old, and he always had to have that uniform on. Back when they'd lived in Texas, he was allowed to ride the bus with Jerod, and he never had his dad breathing down his neck all the time.
He didn't have any friends at school, and he didn't want to make any. He ate alone at lunch, and after punching the only person who'd wanted to be his friend and getting suspended for the day, nobody wanted to go near him. His grandmother, for some reason, hadn't told his father yet and had sat in for him at the meeting his principal had called.
He could hear his dad and grandma talking downstairs and put off heading downstairs just yet. He didn't want to talk to either of them right now. All they ever wanted to know was how was school or if he'd made any friends. He didn't want to talk about it with them, or anyone else for that matter. If he made friends, they'd want to come over, and then they'd find out he didn't have a mother. He usually felt better knowing that his dad was still around, but lately that had changed too.
Oh well. It didn't matter anymore. His dad would probably stay at work all night again anyway.
He threw his bag over his shoulder and kicked his bedroom door frame, heading down the stairs in brooding silence.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"Tommy! Let's go, you're gonna be late!"
Sea looked at his watch yet again and swiftly cleared the table, bringing the breakfast dishes into the kitchen for Eleanor to wash. She'd already started the water and she was dead set on doing as many of the household chores as she physically could. He knew it was to keep her mind off of their dad, but he couldn't do anything about it, not that he wanted to really. It kept her active and busy.
"Where is that brat?" he growled under his breath, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter.
"Seamus O'Neill! He's going through a rough time right now." Eleanor turned to face her son, one hand planted on her hip.
Sea sighed and hung his head. "I don't know what to do with him anymore. Ever since the move he's been obstinate, rude, and stubborn. He was a great kid and now he's moody all the time."
Eleanor finished the last dish quickly and turned to her son. She didn't know quite how to tell him everything that had been going on with Tommy recently, not that she knew anyway, but she had some inklings.
"He got suspended from school the other day," she blurted softly.
"What? For how long?" Sea stumbled over to the kitchen table and dropped into one of the chairs.
"Just the rest of that day. He punched another kid in the face."
Sea groaned as his mother sat down next to him, rubbing his arm softly. "He got in a fight?"
"No, he just hit him once and went back to eating his lunch."
Sea planted his hands on the table, pounding his head on top of them to keep from actually bruising his forehead. "No, no, no," he muttered.
He sat up, wiping his eyes in frustration. "I can't go through this again, Ma. It broke my heart watching Sean go downhill. I can't let Tommy go through that, too."
Before Eleanor could answer, Tommy came storming through the front entryway and out the door to his father's Jeep.
"Thanks for all you're doing, Ma. I love you." He kissed the top of her head and followed Tommy out to the Jeep, climbing in behind the wheel.
He didn't say a word at first, still reeling from what Eleanor had told him and they made it halfway to Tommy's school in silence.
"Why'd you hit him?" Sea didn't look at his son. Maybe Tommy would be more apt to talk to him if they didn't have to make eye contact.
Tommy didn't answer. He adjusted himself in his seat and stared out the window, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.
"Thomas?"
Unfortunately, he'd waited too long to start the conversation and they pulled up in front of the school, most of the children filing in for class already.
"We'll talk about this later after I get home from work."
Tommy threw open the door and grabbed his backpack from behind the seat, muttering a soft, "Yeah right," as he left.
Sea sighed and let his head flop onto the steering wheel, tilting so he could watch his son walk away. This was Sean all over again and he didn't know what to do to stop it.
He sighed and pulled away from the curb. He had stuff to do at the base and hopefully he could figure out what to do about Tommy.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Sarah had awoken several hours earlier feeling well rested for the first time since she'd come back to Earth. She hadn't had any nightmares, and the bed in the VIP room was much more comfortable than the one in the infirmary. It helped that she'd been talking with Sea, she felt comfortable around him. With Daniel, everything felt awkward and uncomfortable, like she had to pretend everything was okay around him just so he wouldn't worry.
She'd spent the morning reading the newspaper and other books people had brought in for her. And there were a lot there for her to choose from.
It surprised her just how accommodating the staff at the SGC was. Nobody had treated her like the scum she felt she was for allowing that thing to take control of her body. She'd hurt or killed many of these people's friends over the last year, but they'd all been so nice to her, acting like she was just as much a victim as they were.
A knock at the door broke her concentration and Sarah stood to open the door. Standing on the other side in the hall were two men, one she recognized and one she didn't. Or did she really recognize the other man? Well she did, but until he stepped into full view she was never really sure who it was. Although, come to think of it, there really was only one option because other than General Hammond, nobody over the rank of Major ever visited her while she was in the infirmary.
"Uh, Sarah? Are you okay?" Sea stepped into full view as she shook her head clear of the thoughts that had been racing through her mind. She'd caught herself doing that a lot lately, letting her thoughts run.
"Yeah," she smiled back. "My mind was just wandering."
She noticed he was a little far off himself and thought to talk to him about it later. Right now she was curious as to who her other visitor was. The tall man reminded her of a balding, skinny version of the Daniel she'd known years ago.
He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Ben."
He was nice enough, though she wasn't sure why he'd been so informal with her. He was wearing a T-shirt and BDU pants, but gave off no indication he belonged on base.
"Sarah Gardner." She didn't bother to add the doctor, she wasn't sure it was still valid after all this time. Daniel's situation could have been special for all she knew.
Sea looked at her guiltily, dropping his eyes to his fingers tapping steadily away to their own beat, and cleared his throat. "Uh, he's the psychiatrist my brother called in to talk to you."
Sarah nodded. She didn't know it was going to be so soon, but if she could get out of here and back to her life, as normal as it could be now, she'd take that conference anytime.
"What would you have me call you?"
Ben smiled. "Anything you want. I've found people are more apt to talk if they feel they can get away with calling me whatever's on their mind at the time, especially if they get upset easily."
Sea had to stifle a laugh, knowing he was talking about Jack. He couldn't imagine what the man had been through trying to help his brother, Jack was a very difficult man.
"General Hammond authorized you to use any of the interrogation rooms or Jack's office."
Sarah looked uncomfortable at Sea's words, but she steeled her resolve and moved towards the door. Sea led their small group down a level to where his brother's office was situated. He figured they'd both be more comfortable than the intimidating grey walls of the interrogation rooms. It wasn't normal protocol, what he'd studied of it so far, but Hammond understood this was going to be hard enough on her as it was.
Sea unlocked his brother's door, his key card one of the only one's on base that had access, and went to leave the two alone for the rather delicate conversation. As he turned, Sarah grabbed his arm, pulling him back into the room.
"Please, stay?" He couldn't refuse her pleading eyes. He could see the fear in them and knew there was no way he would leave her alone right now. He glanced at Ben, making sure it was okay, and turned back to Sarah, nodding.
"Would you like me to find Daniel?"
Sarah should her head. "He's got enough on his mind right now."
Sea sat down in one chair across the desk and pulled Sarah gently down into the one next to him, while Ben moved around to the other side. He perused the photos sitting on the desktop. A picture of Jack and Sam's wedding sat to the left, one of Jack and Charlie to the right, and one in the center of Jack, Sam, and two other men he didn't recognize, but assumed were part of the team.
He folded his hands over the desk and leaned forward. "We don't have to cover what happened just yet. How about you tell me a little about yourself?"
Sarah still looked nervous and he didn't want to push her, so he decided on a different route. "Why don't I start?"
She seemed to like that idea so he leaned back in the chair, folding his hands behind his head. There were a few things he didn't normally talk about, but if it helped her…
"I'm forty. I have two brothers and a sister, all younger. I've only lived in Colorado for two years and I met Jack O'Neill years ago. We've been friends ever since."
He didn't expect either of them to say anything so Sarah's soft voice came as a surprise, breaking through the silence.
"I was studying the jar. I didn't hear the curator leave until the elevator doors shut. It startled me and I dropped the jar. That thing jumped at me before I could react."
A silent tear streamed down her face and Sea squeezed her hand comfortingly, lending her his strength.
"Everything I saw, it was like watching a movie and not being able to change the channel. I could watch myself hurting people, killing them, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I tried fighting, but the more I did, the more he'd torture me personally. The dreams were the worst. I thought I was back home, like it had never happened, but then he'd change it. He'd brutally murder whoever I was with in my mind at the time, usually Daniel."
Sea moved his arm up around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.
Ben gave her a break from her explanation. He couldn't imagine what she had gone through. "Have you had any nightmares?"
She shook her head. "Not for the past couple nights."
"Do you feel guilty for what Osiris did?"
Sarah thought about it for a minute. Of course she was, but there were other factors to it. She nodded, tears falling from her eyes. "Yes, but… I don't know. I know I couldn't have done anything about it, and that helps a little, but I still feel so horrible about all those people who died."
"You wouldn't be human if you didn't, Sarah." Normally, he didn't break in and say anything to his patients, but he felt she was closer to normal than most.
"Am I? I mean, after all this, am I still human?"
Sea took over this one, turning to face her. "Yes. I promise you. You are still human. Nobody sees you any differently now than before."
"How do you know?" Her voice cracked with emotion.
He held her in his arms rocking her gently. "Because I know someone who's gone through it, and she's a wonderful person. Just like you are."
For the first time since she'd been released from Hell, she broke down and cried, letting out all the pent up frustration, and collapsed into Sea's comforting arms.
A/N: So, that rain i complained about last chapter? It was SOOOOO much worse than we thought. Binghamton was actually on CNN, U-E HS, the high school i graduated from, is totally flooded, i'm supposed to go to CT today, but I-88 is washed out so we have to go like 3 hours out of our way to make our trip 7 hours instead of 4. This is crazy. I have a myspace, it's in my profile, and i put pix of the flooding up there, mostly of the hs b/c i didn't have others at the time. Flooding in this area hasn't been this bad since the 40's when the Chenango and Susquehana rivers met and flooded the area. we have 25 foot floodwalls and the water on Wed. was about a foot from the top.
anyway, this was as much as i could come up with for this chapter, i was really stuck, and i really didn't know what to do for the meeting between Ben and Sarah, so i think this is the most detail i'm going to put into their meetings. And for some reason i just can't seem to find a way to close up this story, i kep coming up with ideas that i want put in here. oh well, please review even though i probably wont' get them until sunday! thanks for sticking with it!