ANOTHER WORLD – III. Our 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.

Our World

Chapter 2

"Are you feeling okay, Daniel?" Sam said as she caught up with him on the way to his office.

"I'm fine, Sam. Don't worry."

"Dr. Lam said you should have stayed longer in the Infirmary."

"Not even one more minute."

"But that was a serious injury; you need to recover."

"I have recovered. I'm walking and I almost have no more pain."

"Almost?"

"Almost," he said right before unlocking his door and rapidly sitting down on his small armchair. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Much better, much better."

"Daniel, you still have pain."

"Well, sure I have some pain, but not enough to worry." He stood up and looked dizzy and he immediately sat back down. "I think I'll stay here for another little while."

"Daniel," Sam said approaching him and kneeling by his side. "Why were you so desperate to get out of there? I know you've never liked it, but today I felt like you were in a rush."

"I am in a rush," he said softly, as in confidence.

"Why?"

"I almost died this week again. Many, many good people died in the last two weeks. While I was there in the Ori ship with Vala, I couldn't stop these thoughts about my life from assaulting me."

"What thoughts?"

"How it's been an empty life. How I've followed my passions from one side of the galaxy to the other and I've never stopped to form a lasting relationship with anyone."

"You have friends and you also stopped for Sha're."

"She stopped me. Some days I think that if they hadn't married us without my knowledge, I would have come back with Jack after that first mission."

"You're sure?"

"I don't know if I really stayed for her or for all the wonders I could see around me in Abydos."

"But you loved her very much, I know you did."

"Yes, I did. I loved her very much. It's hard to explain how intense those feelings were, but since then there has been nobody else in my life and I feel this emptiness… When I was in Dan's world it hit me very hard. He had a family, a son on the way."

"His life was different than yours. The gate was public. He was recognized for all his worth. He even had his parents until he was an adult."

"Those were advantages, but I wasn't captured by the Ori and tortured," Daniel said. Sam softly touched the bandages coming out from his shirt and looked at him. "Well, not in the same way and, thanks God, you were not there with me."

"Vala was."

"Nothing happened to her. She's fine."

"I know."

"And I didn't start a relationship with her there."

"I know, Daniel, I know." Sam smiled. "What about Sarah? Dan was married to her for a while."

"I ruined that chance a long time ago and, besides, she's trying to have a new life. She doesn't need a constant reminder of what happened to her."

"So, what are you thinking?"

"I don't know yet. First, we have to deal with the Wraith and the Ori, and we're not even done with the Goa'uld."

"So? Why the rush then?"

"I can't explain it, Sam. I'm desperate." He sighed and leaned back in the chair. He covered his face with his hands and chuckled. "This must be a mid-life crisis, eh?"

Sam felt completely unable to help. She understood exactly what he was talking about. She had had the same feelings when she sat in the debriefing room and looked at the pictures of Dan and Sam that Daniel had brought. They had been through horrible things together, but they had each other every day at the end of the day. They went home to each other. They even had a son about to be born or probably already there.

"Daniel," she finally said as she stood up. "Would you let me take you home with me? Just for a couple of days, for the weekend, okay? We can talk more and I'll be able to help you. There must be lots of things you still can't do on your own. We can order some food and watch some movies. Just a leisure weekend. No talking about the Wraith or the Ori."

Daniel looked at her for a second and then said, "Okay, sounds good. Let's go." They had taken care of each other many times before. Jack had usually been the one who took care of him, but, since Jack had left, Sam and Teal'c had helped. He briefly thought about how many times he had been injured and tortured even after he had descended the first time. He had even died again since then. No, he really did not want to go back to his empty house.