"So, this man doesn't know about your suspicions?" General Hammond asked after everyone had gathered in the briefing room and he, Teal'c and Jonas had been filled in on the situation.
"No, sir," Janet replied. "I thought it best to wait until we had more proof than just a physical resemblance."
"He doesn't just look like Daniel," Jack protested. "That's his voice, too. Not to mention his attitude."
Janet gave him a look. "I understand that, Colonel, but it's still not real proof. I've taken blood samples, and I'll check Arrom's DNA to see if it matches Daniel Jackson's."
Jonas gave her a confused look. "Didn't you say before that can take twenty-four to thirty-six hours minimum?"
"Can we keep him in the dark and under wraps that long?" Jack asked.
"I have a solution for that," Janet said. "We have the device we were given by the people of P7T-923. We don't use it for anything other than the most important cases, due to the limited power source, but I think this qualifies. I can have an answer in around an hour."
"Do it," Hammond ordered, nodding his approval.
Jonas looked around the table. "Assuming the DNA is a match, how do we explain this? How did Doctor Jackson get to the refugees' planet?"
"We know that someone who's ascended can choose to retake human form. Something's happened to him to cause amnesia," Sam said.
"I don't think it's as simple as that, Sam," Janet refuted. "But let's look at this logically. Assuming it is Daniel, what could have happened to make him forget?"
Sam took a deep breath and considered it. "Well, when we saw him on Abydos, he did say that he was breaking some pretty big rules. Maybe his memory loss is punishment for trying to help us fight Anubis."
Jonas nodded. "That does make sense."
Sam blew out a breath loudly. "Well, I think the other option here, if it isn't Daniel, is that we've miraculously stumbled across Daniel's twin. I mean, I know they say that everyone has someone out there that's their exact double, but still..."
"There is another possibility," Teal'c interjected. "This man could be a clone and the original Daniel Jackson was not available to retrieve memories from."
"Your little Daniel is proof of that theory, Sam, except for the age," Janet added.
"What could somebody gain from that?" Jack protested. "How could someone benefit from making a clone of Daniel and then leaving him with a tribe of nomads on a backwater planet?"
Everyone shared a look. "That is a valid point," Hammond said.
Sam frowned. "I suppose his appearance on the refugees' planet could have been an accident or a mistake," she said dubiously. "But that doesn't seem very likely."
"So how can we determine if he's a clone?" Jonas asked. "Sam's Daniel is genetically identical to Doctor Jackson, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is," Janet confirmed. "We also know the technology is out there. Look at the Asgard for example." She shrugged.
"So how about we call up Thor and see if he can tell the difference?" Jack suggested.
"Perhaps the Tok'ra would have knowledge of this as well," Teal'c added.
Hammond nodded. "Those are both viable options. I'll send messages as soon as Doctor Fraiser has her results."
Jack glanced around. "So what do we do in the meantime? If Fraiser's tests come back positive, what do we do?"
Sam pursed her lips. "I think we should tell him what we know. He deserves to know, and maybe we can help him get his memories back."
"Assuming he's the original," Jonas added.
"Of course," Sam agreed.
"That should be fine," Janet said, "but I'd recommend not telling him too much. I'll double check with the psychiatric staff, but I believe it's best for someone to remember most things on their own if at all possible."
"I believe we've exhausted our options at the moment, unless anyone has something to add?" Hammond asked, looking around the table. No one said anything. "Then let's get what answers we can, people. Dismissed."
Sabrina Marconi was waiting for them when they left the briefing room. "I was told you were in a meeting when I got here," she said to Sam. "Must be something big if you held it this late."
"You could say that," Jack replied.
"Is it anything I need to know about?"
Sam shared a look with Janet. "We don't know yet," the blonde said. "Janet has to run some tests."
Sabrina nodded. "Fair enough. I also hear you have visitors. Why don't we grab Daniel and head for the commissary for supper, and you guys tell me what you can? This sounds interesting." She smiled, her eyes twinkling.
Janet's smile in return was filled with regret. "I'd love to join you, but I really need to run those tests right away." She looked at the members of SG-1. "I'll let you know as soon as I have the results."
"Talk to you then, Doc," Jack said, dismissing her. She nodded and headed for the elevator.
"The rest of us can go to dinner, though, right?" Jonas asked.
"Why not?" Jack answered, shrugging. Sabrina stared at him when she heard the extreme effort behind the casual tone.
Teal'c gave a solemn nod. "I, too, will accompany you."
Sam grabbed Sabrina's arm as the group began to head out. "I need to talk to you alone for a minute first." She looked at her teammates. "We'll meet you in the commissary. We won't be long."
"Sure, Sam," Jonas said with a smile. "We'll make sure there's blue Jell-O for you."
"Thanks," Sam said wryly, chuckling slightly. The two groups then went their separate ways.
An hour or so later, SG-1 had gathered in the observation deck above Arrom's isolation room, hidden by a large two-way mirror, while Sabrina had her weekly session with Danny. "And don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him once we've finished with all that clinical stuff," the psychologist had said with a smile after supper. "You just do what you need to do."
Sam thought of the tentative smile Sabrina's wording had brought to Danny's face, and knew she was leaving him in good hands, even as she looked down on the man who might be her friend and teammate returned to flesh and blood. Arrom was wandering around the room, examining the medical equipment. From time to time he released soul-deep sighs, his expression turning pained for a moment. The team watching could only guess at what he was thinking.
They hadn't been there very long when Janet joined them. "How's he doing?" she asked.
"I don't think he knows what to do with himself," Sam said, standing with Jonas and Teal'c behind the seats at the counter, her eyes not leaving the form below.
"I take it you've got something for us, Doc?" Jack asked, getting straight to the point from his seat in front of one of the inactive microphones.
Janet nodded. "I've already told General Hammond. Arrom's DNA matches Daniel Jackson's."
Silence received the news. "So that's probably Doctor Jackson," Jonas said finally, his voice barely audible.
"It appears so," Teal'c responded solemnly.
"What do we do now?" Jack asked.
"We should tell him," Sam said, hope flaring in her eyes. "Maybe just knowing will help him remember."
Janet sighed. "Sam, it may not be possible, for multiple reasons."
Sam looked at her. "I know. But I really think we need to try."
The doctor nodded. "Let me talk to him first. Each of you can speak with him - individually - when I'm finished. I don't want to overwhelm him. As it is, I expect him to have a hard time accepting this. I mean, to go from a simple, agrarian life to the technology-filled world he came running to..." She shook her head and sighed.
"Do it, Doc," Jack commanded quietly, his face a blank mask. "Let's see what we're dealing with."
"At least Janet has medical proof to back up what she's telling him," Sam said once the base CMO had gone.
"Well," Jonas began diffidently, "we know she has proof. Who knows if he'll understand that proof is real? He's been living in a society at least a hundred years behind Earth's, technologically speaking anyway."
A flash of anger came and went in Jack's eyes. "Don't count him out yet," he grumbled. "Carter could be right and just telling him what we know will be enough to start him remembering." The colonel's teammates stared at him for a long, silent moment, hearing the lack of faith behind the words.
The echo of a knock and the opening of the door to the room below cut off any further conversation. SG-1 watched carefully as Janet entered Arrom's room and closed the door behind herself. She smiled at her patient, who stopped his wandering to look at her.
"Doctor Fraiser," he greeted her. "Is there something wrong? Nurse Williams was already here with my evening meal, and she took away the tray. The food was good."
"I'm glad to hear that, but that's not why I'm here," Janet replied, stepping over to the table beside the bed and setting down the folder she held. "Remember when I said I'd be running tests on the blood samples I took earlier?"
"You said you were hoping to find a reason for my amnesia, yes," Arrom answered.
Janet sighed and looked down at her feet for a moment. "I have to admit something to you," she said when she'd returned her gaze to his. "When I met your gaze after I bandaged your cut, your eyes seemed... very familiar to me. That's why I brought Major Carter in to see you so suddenly. I needed confirmation. When she reacted the way she did, I knew I had it. Your appearance after your shower, and the sound of your voice as you spoke with the major... it all just strengthened my suspicions."
Arrom's eyes narrowed. "What suspicions? You mean you think you know who I am?"
"I know I know who you are," Janet said firmly, gesturing to the folder on the table. "I truly have sent some of your blood samples to the lab to have various tests done that could provide answers as to the source of your loss of memory, but one sample I used to compare to a DNA profile I already had on file for a man who was declared missing in action a little over a year ago. According to the results, you are that man, Doctor Daniel Jackson." She straightened to her full height and waited for the man's reaction.
The brown-haired man stared at her, his eyes wide and his jaw slightly open. To say he was completely blown away was an understatement. "You... you found out who I am," he said finally, somewhat breathlessly.
Janet nodded carefully, trying to read the jumble of emotions churning across the man's features. "Yes, Daniel," she whispered. "And now you're home."
"I... I don't know what to say," Daniel replied, shaking his head.
"You really don't remember anything from before two months ago?" Janet asked, her professional mask finally slipping a little and her hope shining through.
"Nothing specific," Daniel admitted, his gaze falling. "I got the impression that I should have known the language that was carved into the ruins Shamda's people were living in. I tried, I... kept trying to remember... something, anything. I'd come so close, and then it would just... disappear."
Janet's heart broke along with the members of SG-1's at the look of frustrated misery on Daniel's face. And then a thought occurred to her. "You believe me," she said, the phrase just as much a question as it was a statement.
Daniel hesitated, then nodded. "You said your test confirmed I was Daniel Jackson," he said quietly. "You don't have any reason to lie to me, nothing to gain that I can see. And..." he took a deep breath before continuing, "ever since I came here, a feeling of familiarity has come and gone. This place feels so much more... right than the village ever did." He took another deep breath and turned away from both his known and unknown audiences. "I just... I don't... I don't know what to think. I... I don't know what to feel."
Janet sighed and decided to back off, not wanting to overwhelm her friend. "That's perfectly understandable, Daniel. I'll go now and give you a chance to think about what I've told you. But you should know that you were part of a team called SG-1, and the four of you were very close. When you're ready, I know your teammates would love to see you, to talk to you, maybe answer some of your questions. Just let me know if you'd like to see them."
"Do they... know I'm here?" The question was soft and vulnerable.
"Yes," Janet replied simply. "They know you can't remember, and they'll respect your space. However long it takes, they'll wait."
Daniel nodded, and his arms came up into a very familiar self-hug. "Thank you, Doctor Fraiser. I'll let you know. Tell the... members of SG-1..." He swallowed hard. "Tell them I'm sorry."
Janet blinked away the sudden tears that welled up in her eyes. "They know, Daniel. I promise they know, and they understand." She glanced at the mirrored wall. "They understand." When she saw a slight nod of acknowledgment, she silently left the room.
In the observation deck, Sam and Jonas shared a stricken look while Jack stared at the fisted hands in his lap and Teal'c continued to watch the confused man below, a suspicious moisture in his dark brown eyes. "He's... he's supposed to want to know all about himself," Sam whispered. "He's supposed to want to see us so we can tell him all about himself."
"That's a pipe dream, Carter," Jack said in a low voice, his eyes never lifting from his white-knuckled fists. "This is reality. He doesn't even know if he wants to know us."
"Of that you cannot be certain, O'Neill," Teal'c said firmly. "Daniel Jackson has just been presented with the knowledge of his true identity. He does not have access to the memories that would make that knowledge a reality for him. He must be allowed time to adjust."
"And just how much time is that, Teal'c? How long is he going to reject us and what we can tell him? How long are those ascended glow worms going to win by him turning away from himself? And how long do we have to watch it happen?" Jack rose suddenly and walked quickly out of the room.
Sam choked back a sob as the door shut behind her team leader, and Jonas reached out to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze, his expression filled with guilt. Teal'c gazed on them both with infinite understanding, his nonverbal comfort almost palpable. Janet slipped in, her eyes widening as she immediately sensed the heavy atmosphere. "What's going on?" she asked, bewildered. "You're acting like Daniel's dead."
The astrophysicist turned to face her, blinking fiercely to keep control of the tears threatening to overwhelm her. "He almost is," she said softly. "If he doesn't remember, if he doesn't even try to remember..."
Janet sighed. "He's known who he really is for, what? Ten minutes? Give the man a little time to adjust before you write him off." She looked around. "Where's Colonel O'Neill?"
"He left," Jonas explained even more quietly than Sam had spoken before him.
"Well, that explains the prevailing attitude in here," Janet snapped, her features twisting into a mask of irritation. "I expected this from him, but I thought the rest of you knew better than that."
Teal'c's eyebrow rose. "You believe there is something positive in your interaction with Daniel Jackson?"
Janet pulled herself to her full height and pursed her lips. "Of course I do. When I told him who he was, he didn't reject it. He accepted what I told him was the truth. Now he just needs some time to get his mind around the fact that he really has an identity of his own, that he has a full life that he can return to. Give him some time, think positively, and he'll come around."
"Thank you, Janet," Sam said with a small smile. "I guess we needed that figurative slap in the face."
"I was just about ready to make it a literal one, and I might yet with Colonel Negativity. Now why don't the three of you call it an early night? This has been an emotional day."
The four of them left with one last, lingering glance down at Daniel, who was lying on his side under the covers of his bed, staring at the far wall. Yet again, they had no way of knowing what he was thinking. They weren't even sure if they wanted to know.
Sam returned to the VIP room she shared with Danny in a somber mood. She smiled at the greeting Sabrina gave her, her expression widening when she saw the small grin Danny wore when they made eye contact. "So, how did your evening go?" she asked as she joined the pair at the table, dropping into one of the chairs.
"We drew pictures," Sabrina told her, gesturing at a couple of pieces of paper with colored marks on them.
"That's great," Sam enthused. She met Danny's gaze as Sabrina shot her a worried look at her forced tone. "I'm very glad your night went well." The boy's grin widened for a moment then faded somewhat when he noticed the jumble of emotions in her eyes.
"Well, now that you're back, I suppose I should get going," the Italian woman declared after an awkward pause. "It was nice spending some extra time with you, Daniel," she said to the boy before meeting Sam's eyes. "Walk me to the elevator, would you?"
Sam gave a nod. "Sure," she agreed, fully aware of what was coming. "I'll be right back, Danny. We'll talk then." Danny swallowed a bit nervously, then it was his turn to nod.
Sabrina waited for the door to close behind her companion before looking at her with an arched eyebrow. "Okay, what happened? What has you so shaken up that you barely have it under control?"
The blonde woman sighed. "One of our visitors turned out to be Daniel returned to human form," she said softly, not looking at the psychologist.
"What?" Sabrina yelped in a choked whisper, remembering at the last second the boy on the other side of the door. "Daniel Jackson is back?" She shook her head in shock when she received a nod of confirmation. "What happened to him? Is he all right?"
"Except for a cut on his forehead near his hairline, he seems fine. He just... doesn't remember who he is. He has no memories of anything before two months ago." Sam's voice was even softer, a touch of dejection in it.
"Amnesia? Complete amnesia? Does Janet know what caused it?"
Sam shook her head. "Not right now. She said she still has more tests to run. We think it might be part of a punishment from the Others, the ascended Ancients. I'm not sure there's any way to know for certain." She sighed again.
Sabrina's brows furrowed. "There must be something positive going on, or you'd be in worse shape. What is it?"
Sam swallowed. "When Janet told him who he was, that she'd found out because of the DNA test she ran, he accepted it. He's still trying to wrap his mind around it all, obviously, but he's trying." She gave the other woman a shaky smile. "It just hurt when Janet told him about us and he didn't ask to see us, even when Janet said we were very close. I know he's still in shock and everything, and we have time... but it still hurt."
"I'm not surprised you're hurt, Sam. You and the other members of SG-1 have just gotten back a piece of your hearts. You want to reach out and embrace it, in a way put things back to the way you perceive they're supposed to be. When Doctor Jackson didn't just jump at the chance to claim that, well..." She shrugged.
"You're pretty quick," Sam said with a smile.
"I'm grasping at straws and making some lucky guesses based on what I know about human nature and what I read about the relationship SG-1 used to have," Sabrina said dismissively. "It's that relationship that made me worried about how your Daniel would be accepted, remember? And thinking of him, what are you going to tell him?"
Sam shook her head. "I don't have any idea, but I know I have to tell him something. I also have to come up with a way to explain Danny to Daniel."
Sabrina reached out and gave the other woman's arm a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to come up with all the answers in the next couple of minutes, remember that. The world's not at stake, not even your personal one. Say what comes naturally. Your instincts have been good so far. As for Doctor Jackson, you can put that off until he's ready to deal with it. Like you said before, you've got time. Don't rush things." Her arm dropped away as she smiled. "Now really walk me to the elevator."
"Thank you for the talk," Sam said as they walked down the hall. "I needed it."
"I'm glad I could help." An impish glint came into Sabrina's sapphire blue eyes. "Hey, I got to find out what your late meeting was all about. Maybe not all the details, but still..." They both laughed. "I will want to hear those sometime soon, since I think this is going to be pretty big in the long run for Daniel, but it doesn't have to be right away. Get yourselves a bit more settled with the situation, and then we'll talk. Unless you or any of the others need to do it sooner, that is." Her smile turned gentle and understanding.
"I'll keep that in mind," Sam said as they reached the elevator. "We'll see you soon."
Sabrina shrugged as the silver doors opened and she stepped inside the empty car. "You bet you will. I wouldn't miss this for the world." She gave Sam a wink, then the doors slid shut to end the conversation.
Sam stared at the closed doors for a long moment, gathering her courage to go back to her room and answer the questions she knew her young ward had. She finally went back, composure in place, to find Danny sitting at the table exactly as she had left him, right down to the slightly worried expression. "Waiting for me, huh?" she asked, surprised at the tiny quiver in her voice.
"Yes," Danny whispered, glancing down for a moment then bringing his eyes back up right away. "Did something bad happen?"
"Well, I... I don't think I'd put it that way," Sam stuttered. Thrown into the light of a small child's perception, she finally truly believed what Janet had been trying to get SG-1 to understand. She smiled a true smile for the first time since her auburn-haired friend had yanked her into Daniel's presence. "No, nothing bad happened. In fact, something very good happened. My friend Daniel came back when we were expecting that he never would. He's in an isolation room in the infirmary right now."
"Is he sick?"
Sam shook her head. "He has a cut on his forehead, but nothing too serious. Janet just wanted to make sure he was okay and that he had some privacy."
Danny cocked his head to the side. "Is this the man that you told me about before? The lost member of the SGC?"
"Yes, he is," Sam confirmed, her smile growing wider. "There are a few things we have to work through yet, but everything should be just fine."
"What things?"
"He doesn't have his memory," Sam explained. "He only remembers the last two months."
Danny frowned. "He doesn't remember anything else?"
Sam shook her head. "No, nothing before then. We're hoping that being in a familiar place will help him remember."
Danny nodded his understanding then hesitated slightly. "Is he going to come here to talk to you?" he asked, fear a definite undertone.
"Probably not for a while," Sam said soothingly. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him since Janet told him who he really was. I'm going to wait until he wants to talk to me, and then I'll go to him in his room."
"Okay," Danny said in a whisper, his eyes dropping to the tabletop.
"Danny," Sam said softly, raising his head with a gentle finger under his chin, "you should know that my friend Daniel used to be a member of SG-1. We lost him after a mission a little over a year ago. Now he's back."
Danny's eyes grew large. "He's part of SG-1?"
Sam laughed. "Yes, he is. He'll always be a part of SG-1."
It shouldn't have been possible for the boy's eyes to get any bigger, but they did as a realization struck him. "He's the person that lit up and floated away after you went to Kelowna and found the naquadria," he said in awe. "He was sick, then he lit up and floated away."
"Um, yeah," Sam said, shocked to the core. The people at the lab had told the children about that? "And now he's back. He... tried to help us fight Anubis right before we came to the lab and found you, and the other..." she struggled to find a term he'd understand, "lit up people didn't like it. We think they made him come back and took away his memories."
"That was mean," Danny said, his brows furrowing.
"Yes, it was," Sam replied, managing to keep a straight face at the sentiment. She agreed, of course, but hearing it put so... bluntly was almost too much to take. "We're hoping we can help Daniel get those memories back, that they... didn't take them away forever. He said the base felt familiar, so I think we have a chance."
Danny straightened completely in his chair and got a determined look on his face. "We'll get them back," he declared. "We won't let them keep Daniel's memories. That would be too mean, and he was doing a good thing by helping you fight Anubis."
Sam smiled, proud of her boy. A flash of warmth flooded her at the familiar stubborn righteousness in the bright blue eyes he unknowingly shared with her returned friend. She'd see that again in the original pair - somehow she didn't doubt the man in the infirmary was the original Daniel Jackson - and she'd glory in it. For now, though, she just knelt down and wrapped her arms around little Danny MacDonald. "You bet we will," she whispered into his ear. "We'll show those people that you just can't keep Daniel down." She pulled back and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Now let's get ready for bed. I have a feeling we're going to be really busy over the next few days." Danny grinned and nodded, and two of them did just that.