Author's Note: I realize I may have confused you all a bit with the last tag. Since "Point of View" deals with the quantum mirror, and we never know what happened to the alternate Daniel, I decided to follow him around and have some fun. It's not really connected to the episode in any other way than the fact that it's an alternate Daniel. Dark Jedi Princess and I are probably going to make a side storyline involving the adventures of mirrorJediDaniel, but it won't start until I'm finished with this series. (For those curious, there are sixty-some tags planned.)

Tag #28 – The Day After Forever

It had been so long since he'd seen her face. He lightly brushed his fingers over her jaw, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head and the concerned voices from the doorway of the tent. He wanted to tell them he was fine, but grief stole his voice. His vision blurred, yet he kept his eyes trained on the peaceful face of his wife. It was all he saw as he sank back into numb darkness.

His teammates witnessed Daniel's fragile grip on consciousness finally give way, and Jack leaped forward to check his condition. "Damn, he's out cold. What the hell happened in here?"

Teal'c, though he outwardly appeared impassive as ever, looked pained. "I came in to find DanielJackson held in the grips of a ribbon device. He was mere moments away from death; I was forced to fire upon Amounet and end the life of Sha're."

Jack looked back at Daniel, swearing under his breath. "Daniel is not going to take this well," he guessed, hauling his unconscious friend into a sitting position and hefting him in a fireman's carry. "Let's get him back to the SGC. Teal'c, get Sha're."

Teal'c actually flinched at the command. "O'Neill, I do not believe-"

"You're the only one strong enough to carry her, and the only one I trust not to disrespect her body," Jack explained as he shifted Daniel's weight on his shoulders, heading out into the open. "Carter, you go on ahead. Let them know we've got casualties."

It was only after they got back to the SGC that Jack had time to think about what had happened. Teal'c had killed Sha're. Daniel's reason for staying with the Stargate program was now gone, and then some. He had absolutely no idea how Daniel was going to react to all of this. Would he resign? Would he request a transfer? Daniel didn't seem like the suicide type, but could he be driven to do something drastic? Would he even remember what had happened?

Jack was interrupted from his dark musings by a pained whimper from the infirmary bed. In a flash, he was standing over his injured friend, waiting for him to wake up. "Daniel," he said, very softly.

Daniel's eyes cracked open groggily, and the ragged burn on his forehead stood out even more against his pale skin. "Jack?"

Frasier appeared out of nowhere, shining the much-hated penlight in Daniel's eyes. Daniel tried to jerk away, but the doctor held his head still. "Hey," she said soothingly. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts," Daniel whispered. He hesitated. "Sha're's dead."

"Yeah," Jack replied quietly, at a loss as to what to say. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"I want to see her," Daniel declared, turning pleading eyes on Jack when the doctor and his friend started to protest. "Please, Jack...I have to know that it's over."

Jack couldn't bear saying no to Daniel. It'd be like kicking a whole litter of puppies. "Doc?" he said instead.

Frasier could usually stand up to any beseeching look, but she had the exact same thought plastered all over her face. "The IV will have to stay in, but I'll get you a wheelchair," she said, patting Daniel's arm gently.

The trip down to the morgue was very somber. Daniel didn't say a word as Jack pushed him down the corridor, and Jack didn't even try to offer lame platitudes. Kasuf and Teal'c stood guard over the sheet-covered figure on the cold steel table. "Good Son," Kasuf acknowledged Daniel. "It is a sad day for us all."

"Yes," Daniel said, bowing his head and somehow managing to look even smaller. "I have failed you, Good Father," he said in Abydonian, voice cracking a little.

Kasuf laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "This is not true, my Good Son," the elder of Nagada told his son-in-law in the same tongue. "No longer will the demons hurt my daughter, and she can be at peace in the sand of her homelands at last. I regret that she no longer lives, but it is not your fault." Daniel couldn't bring himself to reply, but nodded his head.

Jack looked to Daniel for permission, then drew back the sheet. Even death failed to lessen Sha're's beauty and Daniel leaned forward to look at her. He caressed her cheek, barely noticing how cold she was. The spark of life, the one that had told him his visions were false and Sha're still lived, was totally absent. Part of his soul felt like it had been cruelly ripped away and he knew without a doubt that this was real.