Your world's not over yet
Don't believe in bad dreams
Don't let the dark side bring you down
It's only a dream
Don't be afraid to fall asleep

It was a month since Daniel had come back, two weeks since he'd realized he loved Jack, and three days since he had professed his love. Those three days had been the best days of Daniel's life, but at night he could see in Jack's eyes doubt and fear. That morning, when Daniel woke from a strange dream, was no different. Jack was up on one elbow, watching him through dark, uncertain eyes.

"You get any sleep?" Daniel inquired, stretching and noticing that it was one o'clock in the morning. Still dark.

Jack had been awake for hours, and replied quietly and truthfully, "Not much."

"Will you be okay tomorrow?" Daniel asked, concerned. Jack nodded slightly, and kept looking at him. Daniel tugged on Jack's arm, and Jack let himself be arranged to Daniel's liking on his back. Daniel lay his head on Jack's chest, listening to Jack's steady heartbeat. Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel, and the archeologist could feel the tension in his arms. "What's wrong?"

"Bad dream," Jack dismissed.

"Had to be pretty bad if you've been up all night," Daniel pressed. Jack said nothing. "Tell me?"

"Same dream that's been plaguing me since…you know," Jack said gruffly. Daniel knew. It was disorienting enough for him, remembering his own death. He couldn't imagine having to go through the grief only to be presented with the very person he mourned.

"Describe it?" Daniel requested.

Jack breathed deeply and exhaled slowly before he said, "It's no big deal."

Daniel almost grinned, and would have if it weren't in the middle of the night and Jack mired in misgivings. This he remembered, pulling information from Jack like pulling teeth. This was familiar as Jack's doubts weren't. To Jack he insisted, "It is to me."

Jack was silent, and Daniel let him think. Jack had made clear from the very beginning that feelings, and all things concerning feelings, were difficult for him. Daniel had never minded, and he was content to wait for now. Jack would tell him eventually.

After a long pause, Jack said, "I dream that we're, I don't know, reading the paper together, or watching hockey, or eating dinner, or something mundane like that. We're happy."

Daniel stroked Jack's stomach in encouragement when Jack hesitated. Daniel commented, "It doesn't sound too bad. An awful lot like now, actually."

"Yeah," Jack breathed. "But then I kind of wake up, and it turns out that the happy domesticity was the dream, and I'm asleep in Baal's cell, or in jail, or on that God-forsaken planet of Harry's. And then I really wake up, and I don't know what to believe for a moment."

Daniel could hear the unspoken, "I still don't know what to believe." He lifted his head to look at Jack, then moved to straddle him. The archeologist leaned down to kiss him, softly and lovingly. "Believe that whenever you wake up, I'll be here. Believe that I love you. Everything else is just details."

Jack smiled, not his usual grin, but a smile nonetheless. Daniel retook his former position, and tucked his head under Jack's chin. To sooth away the last of Jack's uncertainties, Daniel added, "It was just a dream, Jack. I'll be here in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"Yes, sir, Dr. Jackson, sir," Jack replied with his usual sarcasm, and now Daniel did smile.