One More Try by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Daniel has a heartbreaking secret and needs to share it with Sam.
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.

One More Try

Chapter 10

When they finally got up in the afternoon, Sam took a quick shower and renewed her efforts with the temperature taking and the charting of her body's reactions to the drugs. The readings were worse than before and she started to lose hope. She felt tempted to call Dr. Brightman, but she had advised her to be patient and wait. Hence, she waited, and waited, and waited some more. The whole week went and passed without it getting any better. On Monday morning, she went back to the Infirmary, feeling defeated. The medical team decided to run some tests to try to find out what had gone wrong.

Right after 11:00 she was called urgently to Dr. Lam's office. She fretted, thinking they had found something bad in her tests. Carolyn was waiting for her outside the Infirmary. She started talking without preambles.

"Daniel has had a little accident."

"Is he all right?" Sam asked almost in tears.

"Not exactly." As soon as she saw Sam's fear in her eyes, she added, "He's alive. He had been working with Cameron and they were going down the stairs when he fell."

"Why? Was he dizzy? Did it have to do with his tumor?" Sam just wanted to go inside to see him, but she needed to know before facing him.

"Yes. He fell because he experienced a sudden loss of his sight. He's blind, Sam. We don't know if he's going to recover his vision. He's taking it stoically, as always. He hasn't complained about it, just about not been allowed to go back to work. I'm certain that this is not the first time that it has happened and, also, that he's been having many of the other symptoms we had foreseen. This time is different; I don't believe any episode lasted this long. It could be permanent."

Sam sobbed softly. She put a hand against the wall to support herself. "He's dying, right? Really dying now," she told herself more than asked.

"Yes, he is, and he knows it, Sam. He's trying to be strong for you. Be strong for him."

"I will," Sam asserted and slowly entered the room.

The day passed slowly. Daniel's injuries were not serious but he had to stay in the Infirmary overnight for observation. Sam stayed with him. She was surprised at his ability to do things without being able to see. She was convinced that he had been practicing beforehand.

Jack promised to visit the following day and SG-1 requested stand down.

Near midday on Tuesday, Dr. Brightman called Sam to her office and showed her a series of lab results.

"We've found out what's wrong with your charts, Sam. You probably won't ovulate for at least ten more months…" Sam's face immediately showed her disappointment, "If we're lucky," the young doctor added with a smile. "You're pregnant, Sam. We did it!"

Sam stood up, still unbelieving. "You're sure?"

"Of course we're sure. Completely certain."

Sam approached her and hugged her briefly. "Thank you," she said. "I have to tell Daniel," and she run out of the office.

That night the original members of SG-1 plus Cameron Mitchell went out to dinner to celebrate the pregnancy. Daniel ordered gnocchi, so that he would not have to cut meat or deal with something more complicated, but still Sam offered to help him by feeding him. Despite the fact that Jack expected him to get upset and complain about how they treated him as a child, Daniel accepted the offer with a smile. Jack saw it as a sign of resignation and feared Daniel had stopped fighting. He decided to stay an extra day in Colorado and spend it giving his friend a pep talk. He could not stop thinking how fragile and vulnerable he looked, quiet and pensive most of the time, when before he had used to be the most passionate talker in their little get-togethers. The fact that he was not wearing his glasses, for obvious reasons, did not help. Daniel looked young, innocent, and deeply hurt, and made him recall the time when they had just come back from Abydos.

After dinner they stopped at an ice-cream parlor for dessert. While the others were ordering at the counter, Cameron sat near Daniel and said almost in a whisper, "I need to talk to you, Jackson."

"Okay."

"Not now. I will tell Sam that I need you to help me with a detail in a translation and I'll go with both of you in her car. Then I'll catch a taxi home."

"Why all the secrecy?"

"Later," Cam said quickly as their friends approached.

Almost two hours later, Daniel and the colonel sat in the little room on top of the garage that served as Daniel's office.

"All right. Sam can't hear us in here. What's going on?" Daniel started.

"Well… There's something I did not put in my report about the last mission of SG-1."

"Really? That's interesting. Why?"

"She asked me not to do it."

"She asked you? Who?"

"Lya."

"Lya, as in Nox Lya?" Daniel asked with genuine surprise.

"Yeah, that Lya," Cam assented.

"Well, that's astonishing. What was she doing there?"

"She said she was there waiting for me," Cam started and then stopped Daniel from interrupting him by putting his hand on his arm. "She said that she couldn't come to Earth, but she needed to get something to you. She knew we had been going on missions together… before this," he made a gesture and then remembered that Daniel would not see it.

"Keep on going, please," Daniel said.

"Okay. She made me swear to secrecy and asked me to give you this." He grabbed one of Daniel's hands, turned it palm up and put a little object in it. "She said you'd remember how to use it when the time came. She also said that she had hope for us because of you."

Cam looked at the object on Daniel's hand one more time. It was intricately decorated and shaped like a small sun. It was almost flat at the edges but the center was raised, with a clear crystal in it. Daniel closed his hand and felt the object. He did not say anything for a little while and Cam did not push him. Then, Daniel put the object in one of his pockets and told Cam, "Thank you. I appreciate you doing this and especially not telling anyone. Whatever happens in the next days, don't say anything about it or how you got it, okay? It's very important."

"So, you know what it is? What's going to happen? What do you mean?" Cam started and Daniel stopped him.

"I can't tell you, Mitchell. It's better this way. Please, just don't say anything."

"Fine. I won't. I trust that you know what you're doing."

"I do," Daniel replied with confidence and then, changing the tone of his voice, he added, "There's something I want to ask you, Cameron."

"Anything, man," Cam answered.

"I need you to talk to Woolsey." Cam's face showed his astonishment. Daniel sensed it in the silence. "Yeah, I know, but I was very ugly to him when he tried to apologize after what happened with Khalek. I wrote a letter to explain why and apologize myself."

"He kind of deserved it, didn't he? I mean, not the apology, but-" Cam started half-seriously.

"He was wrong, but, still, I should have understood his position, too. I was very mad at myself because I wanted the threat that Khalek represented eliminated. I didn't want to kill him, but I couldn't come up with a better solution and that scared and upset me."

"You ask too much of yourself, Jackson," Cam whispered.

"Probably not more than you ask of yourself," Daniel smiled. "This is the letter." He took an envelope from one of his pockets and gave it to him. "I've had it for days, but everything has been so crazy..."

"I understand. Don't worry. I'll make sure that he gets it."

He got up and Daniel did, too. "Thanks," he said simply. They both walked down the stairs. Sam was preparing coffee in the kitchen. Cam helped Daniel sit down on one of the stools and said his goodnights. Sam accompanied him to the door and came back for Daniel.

"Are you ready to go to bed, Daniel?" she asked.

"Let's go to the living-room for a little while," he proposed.

"Sure," she agreed and tried to hold his hand.

"It's better if I hold your arm," he said while grabbing her near the wrist. "That way, I can follow you."

She accepted the change and they walked slowly. Then Daniel asked her to put on a CD with some soft rock songs in it. She was surprised.

"I want to dance with you tonight," Daniel explained. "Have you noticed that we've never danced alone, as a couple? We've only done it in the SGC parties and the circumstances were different."

"You're right!" She exclaimed. "I think it's a great idea. Let me dim the lights; it will be more romantic-" she stopped as she suddenly remembered about Daniel's blindness. "I'm sorry," she added putting her arms around his neck while he held her by the waist.

"Don't worry, Sam. It's all right." He tightened the embrace closing the distance between them as they danced slowly. "I just want to hold you."

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