Tag #21 – Found and Lost

"Will you stay?"

As he gazed into the eyes of the one he loved, Daniel knew he couldn't make Abydos his home again. "I can't," he murmured, stroking Sha're's cheek with his thumb. She started to look away, her very pose ringing with shame and disappointment, but he gently tipped her chin up. "Because I want you to come home with me."

Sha're looked back at him, hesitation swirling in her eyes before she let out a sigh of relief, and dropped her forehead to rest against his. Both trembling, they embraced tightly. Daniel closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of holding his wife in his arms again and letting their souls mingle together.

Daniel was slightly startled when the moment was interrupted by a tiny motion between them. Pulling back slightly, he rested a hand on his wife's belly, the awful reminder of what she had been through…and yet he felt no revulsion towards the child itself, no matter who its father was.

"It bothers you, Dan'yel," Sha're said, those exotic eyes brimming with tears again.

"Yes," he admitted quietly. "But only because I wish it was ours." He hugged her again, fighting back his own regretful sorrow, and this time he smiled slightly when he felt the unborn baby kick again. "When the baby is born," he told her, "the child won't belong to Apophis anymore. I don't care who the father is; it'll be ours."

He couldn't see her face, but he could feel Sha're smile. "That is good, my husband." As if afraid of her welcome, she haltingly raised her eyes to meet his. "I have pretended the child I carry is yours, Dan'yel," she confessed. "It is the only thing I knew to do. I could not bear the thought of that monster…" she trailed off, but Daniel knew what she was going to say.

"When we get to Earth, Apophis will never touch you again," he promised.

There was a scratching at the tent entryway, and Kasuf cautiously peered in. "May we enter?" he asked, respecting their privacy though he had no obligation to do so.

"Of course, Good Father," Daniel answered, leading Sha're to sit down next to the fire. "Teal'c can come in too, if he wants."

The Jaffa ducked into the tent behind Kasuf. "Thank you, DanielJackson."

Sha're looked up at Teal'c, and for a moment Daniel worried that she would blame him for her predicament. Much to his surprise, there was no malice in her. "Teal'c," she said. "I did not tell you sooner because I did not know what kind of man you are. You are the protector of my Dan'yel?"

Teal'c bowed his head to the smaller woman in respect. "I guard DanielJackson with my life, of my own free will."

She smiled slightly. "This is good. I must thank you for keeping my husband safe in his many travels."

Daniel was embarrassed by being the topic of discussion, and the inference that he needed a bodyguard, but he said nothing. Sha're had accepted Teal'c, and given him her blessing to watch over that which was most precious to her. He would not insult her gift by insisting otherwise.

"What will be done concerning the fate of my daughter and her child?" Kasuf asked.

"We can take her to my home, to Earth," Daniel explained as he poured out a cup of water.

"After the child is born, the demon within me will awaken again," Sha're pointed out as the thought occurred to her. "She will punish the child for my disobedience." Daniel sat down next to her and handed her the cup, wishing he could do more for her.

"We would not allow that to happen," Teal'c promised. Daniel met the Jaffa's gaze, sensing the conviction there and knowing that the alien man would move entire mountain ranges with his bare hands to keep such a promise.