ANOTHER WORLD – I. The Director's World by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Daniel wakes up in the wrong place.
Spoilers: All seasons, including 9 and 10.
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

The Director's World

Chapter 2

After Daniel left Janet's office with some pills for his growing headache, he wandered around the base trying to understand what had happened. If he was in an alternate reality, he would soon start feeling the effects of thetemporal entropic cascade failure, but only if the other Daniel was still there, too. Perhaps it was too early to feel any symptoms –he had been in this reality for only a short period of time­­­– or 'Dan' was in his reality.

He walked toward his office, the same one he had had since General Hammond had allowed him to become part of SG-1, and was surprised to find that there was another person sitting at his desk. He immediately recognized his friend Robert Rothman.

"Hey, Dan. Coming to check up on your subordinates?"

"Excuse me?" Daniel said befuddled.

"Just a joke, don't take it wrong. It's that you don't come up here very often since you became the Director."

"I see. I just wanted to know how you're doing, if you need any help," he tried.

"No. Everything is fine. It's good to have the boss on your side," Robert smiled.

Daniel nodded and smiled, too. He left the office as confused as before. He decided to go by Sam's lab. Dr. Lee was there, leaning over the workbench with some strange looking device in his hands. He looked up and saw Daniel.

"Dr. Jackson! Great timing! I've been meaning to go by your office and give you this," he said as he retrieved a small box from one of the drawers. "It's a device that SG-14 brought from their last mission. It's not really useful for the military, but I thought that Sam would get a kick out of it. Let her figure it out. It's fascinating," he added as he gave the box to Daniel. "Is she doing okay? You know that since you two took charge of the base we haven't had her around here very much, but since she started her maternity leave, we're missing her even more."

"Thank you; I'll be sure to tell her that. She's doing fine now; she just needed some rest," Daniel said remembering Janet's words.

He walked away with the box in his hands, trying to choose his next movement. He finally opted for going directly to Landry's office. If he was a 'Director' of something, perhaps the Research Department, there was a chance that his office was near Landry's, even if Lee had said that he had taken charge of the base with Sam.

He was shocked as he reached the door. There, the normal Air Force issue nameplate read Dr. Daniel Jackson. Director. Director of the SGC? Wow. He had not guessed that one.

He noticed that there was another door, near his office, that was not there in his SGC. He walked toward it and read the nameplate. General Samantha Carter.

He walked back and opened the door of his new office and approached the desk. He soon identified the organized mess as his. He sat behind the desk and grabbed a couple of files. The first thing he noticed as he sat down was a frame that displayed two pictures. Where General Hammond's granddaughters had been, there was a photograph of a pregnant Sam in a general's uniform standing by a smiling Cassie. The other one was a wedding picture of Sam and himself. He looked weird, awfully thin and with extremely short hair. He looked at the pictures for a few minutes, trying to imagine how it would be to live that life.

He returned the pictures to the desk and went back to the folders. He soon realized that both Sam and himself had signed most of the papers. Evidently they were sharing command of the SGC. He wondered what turn of events could have pushed the government to make that decision.

After more than a couple of hours of reading, he understood that the reason why he was sitting in that chair was simply international pressure. When the Stargate Program had become public –that really fascinated him– the rest of the world had rapidly become discontented at the exclusively military handling of the SGC. To appease the international community, the government had agreed to allow Dan, by then the prominent scientist whose theories had all been proven right, to share command.

Daniel wondered what would happen when the program became public in his own reality. It was bound to happen, but he was certain that it would be delayed as long as possible. He also believed he would never get to share its command.

He went back to the papers and while he was thumbing through a different group of files he saw an SG-1 report. Who was in SG-1? He had to know. He picked up the papers and read the signatures at the end of the pages. Mitchell was the Commanding Officer. Teal'c was there, too. He searched the next page and found that Vala was also a member of SG-1. He hurried to read the last signature, Jonas Quinn. He was perplexed. He had not seen Jonas in a long time. He unburied the intercom from under the papers he had spread on the table and asked Walter to bring him the files related to the Ori beachhead.

Harriman was back in a few minutes with all he had requested. Daniel asked him if there was anything going on that he should be aware of, but Walter replied that everything had been unusually calm during the day. Daniel felt grateful that at least he had to face less chances of being discovered. After his aide left, he carefully read the reports until he got to the part where the story differed from his. His counterpart Dan had paid attention to Vala when she was trying to explain how to interrupt the formation of the giant portal. They had rapidly convinced Sam and the three of them had headed to the small ship and subsequently had ended up being transported to the Ori galaxy right after they had destroyed the gate. He could not see the logic of the three going on the ship, but then he had not paid attention to Vala and he did not know how it all could have worked out if he had.

He searched among the next reports and he found the ones where Sam, Vala, and the other Daniel described their time of captivity with the Ori. His own version of events made him sick. It recounted endless torture sessions to which the Ori had subjected him daily. They had been interested in finding out how a mere human could have ascended –and descended– twice. If humans started having such ability, there would be no incentive for worshipping the Ori. There was nothing else they could falsely offer in exchange. The promise of ascension had been their main bait, especially for the Priors.

His captors had also been searching for any memory he had kept from his ascended periods. They sought to use any knowledge they could acquire for their upcoming clash with the Ancients.

Dan had managed to keep most of his secrets, first because he did not have many memories to share from his ascension, and, second, because he felt he owed it to Oma Desala to keep quiet. That had not gone over very well with the Ori, who had increased the intensity of the torture. There had been not only physical abuse, but also psychological games where he had been drugged and induced to believe that he had hurt or killed the people he cared about. He suddenly remembered what Sam had said about her experience with the human replicators.

Daniel paused his reading for a few minutes. He could see how dangerous the Ori were, even more than he had predicted earlier. He had to return to his reality and warn his friends.

Soon, he went back to reading. He found out how Sam, Vala, and Dan had finally engineered an escape and returned to their galaxy. There was nothing in the report that could explain how he had become so close to Sam and Vala that he had married one and taken the other one as his lover after their return.

He continued with Sam's report. It had plenty of technically detailed descriptions of every artifact or piece of technology in possession of the Ori she had been able to observe. Unfortunately, most of their power derived directly from their minds and such devices were few. Then he reached the segment where Sam described the state in which 'Dan' had been returned to their prison cell after his daily sessions with their captors. It seemed he had omitted many details in his descriptions, perhaps trying to make them less sickening or simply in an effort to forget. Sam's military training had compelled her to include every minute detail she had been able to remember.

Daniel had to stop again because of the nausea overcoming him. He reflected on what he had read for a few minutes. Sam and Vala had probably saved Dan's life; he could not imagine surviving so much without their support. He picked up Vala's report and he was not surprised to see that she had made a clearly personal description of events. No technical details or professional detachment. By reading her words he was able to deeply understand what had truly happened.

He closed the folders and put them on the desk. What the three had gone through during captivity had been without a doubt horrible. It did not matter that Dan had been the one suffering the actual torture; the experience had scarred them all and had also bonded them in a way he could not begin to understand. He could see then how Sam might not object to him still having a relationship with Vala. He was only surprised that Dan had chosen Sam to marry and mother his child. If he thought about himself, he had had more conflicting emotions about the Vala in his world than about his Sam; he had never thought about Sam as a woman for him.

A light knock on the door brought him back to reality. He got up and opened the door and found a smiling Charles Kawalski on the other side. "Hey, Dan. Wow! What's with the haircut? I thought you'd never cut it back after the Ori thing."

Daniel smiled and let him in. He was surprised to see him alive in this reality, but not to see that he was a general by now. "How can I help you?"

"Well, Landry is going to be in town this weekend. He's flying in from D.C. on Saturday morning. He called and said he'd like to talk to us about some things that have been going on in Homeworld Security. Paul Davis is coming with him. We thought we could call Jack, Lou Ferretti, and George Hammond, and head to your house, since Sam isn't supposed to be going out. What do you think? You can bring Teal'c and Cam."

"I'll have to check it with Sam, but it sounds fine," Daniel said trying to sound normal. "Why don't we get back to you later?"

"Good. I'll talk to you later then." Kawalski patted Daniel's arm and left humming.

Daniel closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. What would happen if they discovered he was not their Daniel? He suddenly had an idea. What if Dan came back through the mirror? He called Walter again and ordered the quantum mirror to be carefully brought to his office. He especially instructed Walter in the handling of the control device, to keep the mirror from being deactivated. It probably was his only way home.

Sergeant Siler came in a few minutes later with a group of airmen and the mirror. Daniel turned it toward the wall. He then searched his computer for the personnel records of some members of the SGC. It looked that he had access to any data he wanted and, more surprisingly, his personal password matched the one he had been using himself, SUHFAIRHES, a made up word formed with the letters of Sha're and Shifu.

He discovered that Major Elliot and Colonel Lionel Pendergast were alive and well, still working for the SGC. On the other hand, Frank Cromwell, William Ronson, Colonel Reynolds, Colonel Samuels, and Colonel Makepiece were all dead. Drey'auc was dead in this reality, too, and of course, Sha're. He had guessed she would be; he was certain he would have never married anyone else if she were still alive. He could have never left her.

Many more were gone and Dr. Carolyn Lam had not become part of the SGC, but she was mentioned in Cam's file. He had requested a leave to marry her in a couple of months.

He got up and tried to think what he should do next. He paced around the office coming up with different solutions and discarding them as soon as he imagined the possible consequences of each. After a while he settled on one option, the only one that seemed viable, Sam. He had to see Sam and ask for her help solving the problem. He knew Sam enough to discern that, no matter in what reality, she would be fair to him and not turn him in as an impostor.

He called Walter to his office and requested an official car to drive him home. He explained he had hit his head earlier and did not think it safe to drive. Half an hour later he was knocking at the door of what was supposed to be his own house. Sam opened the door a few minutes later and looked at him surprised. "Did you forget your keys?" She then looked at him again and asked, "Why did you cut your hair?"

Daniel followed her inside the house without taking his eyes off her. She looked beautiful. Her hair was long and bright and her eyes seemed to have their own light. Her maternity dress was elegant and made her look very feminine. He wished for a second that this were truly his own reality. Having a woman like Sam as his friend and lover and also sharing with her the joy of a child was more than he thought he would ever have again.

Sam went directly to the den and sat down. "I can't believe you cut it, Dan. I told you how much I liked it, and, besides, you said it was a statement, a way to show your independence from the military and your rebellion against the Ori who shaved your head in the first place-" Daniel moved close to her and sat on the floor. He held her hands and she stopped talking. "It's early. Did anything happen? Are you all right?" Sam asked as she looked at him.

"First, I have to give you this," he said taking Dr. Lee's artifact out of his pocket. "Dr. Lee thinks you can have some fun playing with it. I also found this invitation from his wife on my desk. His children are planning a surprise party for his birthday." He passed the envelope to Sam and then added, "And Landry and Davis are coming to visit on Saturday. They want to meet Jack, Hammond, Kawalski, SG-1 and … us, here; you'll have to confirm it," he finished.

"All right; I got all that. Now, tell me what's going on."

He let go of her hand. "Sam, we've known each other for many years," Daniel started, deciding to tackle the problem right at the beginning, "and we've always trusted each other, always. I'm going to ask you to trust me one more time and I believe that my life and my future depend on it."

"Well, if it affects you, then it's my life and my future and those of our child, too," she said very seriously.

"You're right, the lives of all your family are being affected by this." She looked at him with deep concern. "Sam, I'm not the same Daniel you married."

"What do you mean?" Sam said feeling alarmed.

"Do you remember the times we came in contact with alternate realities? I checked and I know you've been through more or less the same experiences, when I crossed and when the other Sam and Kawalski came, and then the last ripple effect-"

"Dan, stop, I know what you're talking about, you don't need to explain that to me. What do you mean you're not-" She suddenly realized where the conversation was going and abruptly stood up and put distance between them.

Daniel did not move. "Sam, you know I'd never hurt you. It's all right if you want me to be far from you, but you need to sit back down. I'll move slowly to the other side of the table so that you can go back to the sofa." He could see that Sam would have preferred to have her weapon near her, but they would both have to trust each other.

Sam slowly sat down and asked, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"I'm Daniel, just not your Daniel. My reality is different than this in many ways. I think I got here today through the quantum mirror, but I can't say for certain. The last memory I have before waking up by the mirror on the base, was going into a cave on a planet where I was on a mission with SG-1."

"Do you know where my Dan is?"

"No, I don't know, but he didn't seem to be on the base and I haven't had any symptoms of entropic cascade failure, though it might be too early."

"Do you believe he's in your world?"

"I'm not sure, but there's a chance that he went there as I came here."

"You're not the Director of the SGC in your world?"

"No, and I'm not married to you, either."

"Are you still married to Sarah?"

"Sarah?"

"You didn't marry her either?"

"You mean Dan was married to Sarah, Sarah Gardner?"

"Yes, until she died, more than three years ago, in a car accident. You- he recruited her to the program as soon as he came back from Abydos and, after Sha're died…"

"So Sarah was not taken over by Osiris?"

"Oh, that was Steve Rayner here. He's dead, too."

Daniel sat back and closed his eyes. Sam respected his need to think. A few seconds later he looked at her and asked, "Was he happy with her? Do you know?"

"I believe so, but we don't talk much about it. He- you don't like to share much about what hurts you."

Daniel smiled slightly. She knew him well in any reality. "Yeah, I know," he said.

"I believe he was sad because she couldn't have children, but he never complained. They had a strong relationship. I suppose he thought he owed her in some way because she had been the only one there for him when his parents died."

"What do you mean? When did they die? How old was he?"

"I'd say a couple of years before he opened the gate, in an accident at the New York Museum of Art. It didn't happen that way for you?"

"No," Daniel said with sadness in his voice. "They died when I was eight years old, right in front of me."

"Your life must have been very different than his, then," Sam said. She paused for a few seconds and then changed into her usual problem-solving self. "Do you know if the mirror is still active?"

"Yes, it seems to be active, but there's nothing on the other side except darkness. It looks as if the cave collapsed. I really don't know."

"So, if Dan passed to the other side, perhaps he's under the rocks," Sam said with concern.

"If he did, my SG-1 would have rescued him and they would be trying to find his way back, too."

"Perhaps. We'll have to see if your people clean up the way to the mirror."

"That's the problem. I don't recall seeing any mirrors in the cave. It was dark, and there were many Ancient and Goa'uld artifacts, but I don't remember seeing a mirror."

"Where is our mirror now?"

"I locked it in my office. I didn't want anyone to turn it off or change the universe at the other end."

"That's good. We need to go and see what we can do."

"Are you sure you're up to it? I haven't told anyone else. I didn't know whom else I could trust in this reality. I just want to go back home and see if I can send your Daniel back."

"We can talk to Dr. Lee tomorrow. Surely Vala will find out soon. We'd better not tell anyone else, not until I meet with Landry and SG-1. I don't want the authority of the SGC undermined by this. Do you think people believed you were our real Daniel?"

"Yes. Nobody made any comments except about the hair length and Janet examined me and didn't see any difference, or she would have called you."

"Janet examined you? Are you hurt?"

"I believe I hit my head on something during or after passing through the mirror. I don't remember anything and I was unconscious, I don't know for how long. I'm fine now."

"We'd better hurry. Let's go. You'll have to drive. I have to be in the back seat," she said touching her belly. She approached him as he stood up and grabbed his arm. "Daniel, from wherever you are, I'm trusting you with our lives. I can't conceive the idea that you'd try to hurt us, in any reality of this world."