Chapter 38. The Shroud

Sam sat on the bridge, fiddling with the controls of the Odyssey. She balanced her laptop, plugged into the control panel, across her knees, watching the progress bar slowly inch across the screen as the computer ran diagnostics. The intercom buzzed to life and Mitchell's staticky voice pierced the silence of the empty bridge. "Carter, Sunshine is awake."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been able to bear seeing him Prior-ised; his usually crystal-blue gaze replaced by milky white, and his skin pale and raised with the markings of the Prior. Sam leaned over to open the channel. "That's good. Is he okay?"

"Well, he's grumpy."

Sam couldn't help but grin at that. "Hey, can you ask him how he managed to cloak this ship?" She said, sucking in her bottom lip. If Daniel could show her how, she wouldn't have to waste time running all these tests. There was a pause before Mitchell answered. "He said magicians don't reveal their secrets." Sam rolled her eyes. So, he didn't know then.

"Hey, is that Ori ship still hanging around out there?"

"Yeah, it's still out there. I sent a message to earth telling them that we were going..." She trailed off as a strange buzzing filled the room, growing louder and louder. "Uh, guys? You better get up here."

The giant SuperGate zapped to life, each connection sparking with blue electricity as it powered up. She stood, slowly moving towards the bridge's enormous window. Sam heard hurried footsteps echoing up the hall, and soon the rest of her team, plus Vala and General O'Neill, dashed onto the bridge. "Incoming wormhole." She warned them, just as the vast wormhole burst through the Gate in a fiery blue whoosh. She felt Daniel's presence as he came to stand next to her, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the Gate as six Ori ships slid out of the event horizon and, one by one, zipped into hyperspace.

"Yeah. I think that went well." O'Neill quipped with his usual deadpan delivery.

Mitchell rubbed at his jaw. "We knew eliminating the Ori might not stop their followers."

"I still think it was the right thing to do." Daniel murmured beside her, his voice soft. She glanced up at him. His shoulders were hunched, his forehead creased with concern, and he swayed lightly on his feet. She went to him, wrapping her arm around his waist and letting him rest some of his weight across her shoulders.

"We may have made things worse right now." She heard Mitchell say solemnly, "But in the long run, it could be our only chance to win the war."

Daniel tilted his head down to meet her gaze, and she had never been happier to see the clear, cerulean blue of his eyes, whirling with emotion. So clear that she could read the worry in them with ease; the despair, the guilt, the determination, followed by the soft glow of love as she reached up to stroke his cheek. He had always worn his heart on his sleeve, she had realised, but hers had been locked up so tightly that it had taken her far too long to see it.

Daniel exhaled deeply; the arm slung across her shoulders growing heavier. "C'mon, you shouldn't be up. Let's get you back to the infirmary. Teal'c?" She glanced up at her teammate, wordlessly seeking assistance. The Jaffa needed no further instruction. He moved to Daniel's other side, wrapping a broad arm around the archaeologist's upper body and taking most of the weight off of Sam.

The three of them shuffled down the hall and back to the infirmary in silence, and Daniel plonked himself down on the bed with a sigh. Teal'c bowed his head, taking his leave, but turned back to them just as he reached the doorway.

"Daniel Jackson, though it does not feel like a success, I, too, believe your course of action was the correct one."

Daniel smiled weakly. "Thanks, Teal'c." Teal'c bowed his head again, his dark gaze briefly meeting Sam's before he disappeared down the hallway. She heard Daniel grunt as he swung his legs up onto the bed, slipping his bare feet under the covers. She pulled them up for him, smoothing them over his chest as she perched on the edge of his mattress. He settled back against the pillows, and Sam ran her fingers through his hair. "Get some rest, Daniel." She murmured with a gentle smile.

"Wait." He grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave, tugging it towards his chest. "Don't go."

She hesitated a moment, before the pleading, puppy dog eyes overpowered her. He shuffled over and she stretched out on top of the covers, his fingers curling between hers. "I'm sorry." He whispered, dragging her knuckles across his lips; his warm breath ghosting over her skin.

She frowned up at him. "For what?"

The corners of his mouth curled upward, grimly. "For disappearing on you. For worrying you. Again."

Sam shook her head, cupping his cheek in the palm of her hand. "You told me you'd find your way back to me. And you did. That's all that matters." Something like relief washed over his face and he sighed, his eyes sliding closed. He tucked their clasped hands into his chest, and wrapped his other arm around her to pull her closer, his spine curving around her as he bent to press his lips to her hair.

She snuggled into his chest, inhaling the familiar, sharp scent of his skin and basking in its warmth pressed against her cheek. His hand grazed up and down her back, then slipped under the hem of her shirt. He froze; she felt his whole body stiffen, and it took Sam a moment to realise why.

He pulled back slightly, enough to stare down at her, a shocked expression carved into his face. She felt his fingertips brush again over the raised and uneven skin on her side, his touch hesitant, unsure.

She smiled wryly up at him. "You missed a few things, while you were gone."

Cautiously, as if unveiling a precious artefact, he lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing the double-sided scar that marred the skin just above her left hip. It was slowly healing – it certainly looked a lot better than it had three weeks ago – but it still looked raw, the flesh red and puckered and sensitive to the touch. Daniel stared down at it, his mouth agape in horror. "What..." He managed to gasp out, his voice rough.

"We were field testing the phase-shift device I rigged from Merlin's Mantle – I'll show you the mission report when we get home. Anyway, we were trying to cloak a village that had been visited by a Prior, but there were a few...teething issues. An Ori soldier saw me. I wasn't quick enough." She paused, watching his jaw work, clenching and unclenching as anger and remorse tore at him. His thumb stroked over the ruined skin, as soft and gentle as the wings of a butterfly.

"I was just lucky Cam found me." She continued, "We were stuck out of phase for quite a while. He patched me up as best he could. He got me out eventually, but I think I scared him there for a minute... We did save the village though, so, there's that." She tried on a smile for him, wanting to soothe the distraught look on his face. His Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to swallow, and his eyes shone wetly in the dim infirmary lighting when he raised them to meet hers. She smoothed a hand over his cheek, wishing she could brush away the torment from his face. "I'm okay, Daniel. I'm fine now."

He seemed to collapse around her, both arms wrapping her up and pressing her tightly to him, as if worried that if he didn't hold her down, she might simply disappear. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't there. God-" she heard his voice break, muffled as he spoke into her hair, "You almost died, Sam, and I wasn't there. I don't know what I would have done if... if you..."

"Shhhh." She managed to get one arm free of his crushing embrace and slipped it under his bicep, rubbing small, soothing circles into his back. "I'm fine, Daniel, I'm fine. You're not getting rid of me that easily." She grinned up at him. "Besides, when have you ever let something as insignificant as death stop you before, hmm?" He choked on a laugh, and Sam brushed away the few droplets that had escaped his lashes.

They stayed like this for a while, Sam with her ear pressed to Daniel's chest, just listening to his breathing slow and calm, his thudding heartbeat strong and even under her cheek. Sam was almost drifting off when Daniel spoke again.

"Sam... There's something you should... I should tell you." She craned her neck back to look at him quizzically, her eyebrow raising in a very Teal'c-esque fashion. He looked oddly nervous. "I... When Adria turned me into a Prior, she...she, erm, kissed me." There was stunned silence for a millisecond, and then Sam couldn't help it. She snorted – very inelegantly, barely managing to clamp down on her laughter.

"Well," she said, struggling to keep a straight face, "I hope she appreciated it. I happen to know firsthand that it is thoroughly enjoyable."

"Saaaam..." He admonished, his frown turning somewhat petulant at her unabashed snickering. Still grinning, she reached up, grasping his chin between her thumb and forefinger and tilting his pouting face towards her. "Daniel, you are the most loyal man I have ever met. I'm not worried. But still," she smirked, her blue eyes twinkling, "I'm sure you'll think of a few ways to make it up to me."

His pout dissolved, replaced by a slow grin that slithered across his face. He shifted, rolling her beneath him on the narrow bed.

"I'm sure I will."

His eyes glinted with promise, and he lowered his head to kiss her deeply.