Okay here's a new chapter! Got it done finally...Enjoy! please review, let me know what you think. Thanks, later all!

Chapter 8

The prior frowned. "Vala. What are you doing here?"

Vala gulped nervously. "I could ask the same of you."

"I am here to serve our gods."

"Your gods, Tomin; your false gods, not mine. And they're gone now. The Ori have been destroyed."

He scowled. "You're lying. That's impossible. The Ori cannot be destroyed. You're only here to destroy me."

She shook her head minutely. "No. Not you…but you know we have no choice but to stop this ship from reaching our planet…"

Out in the corridor, SG-1 continued to listen as Daniel reached out to Sam, asking for the hand-held prior device, praying it would work.

Back inside, Tomin interrupted her. "So there are others with you."

Vala blinked. "Well, uh, by we I only meant those of us on earth in general-"

"Stop lying to me, Vala. We were married once. You can't be alone; they wouldn't send you by yourself. The Ori sent me alone because they trust me. I am in favor with the gods, but the Tau'ri do not send their own out alone. Where are they?"

"Nowhere-"

But that was when the rest of her teams burst around the corner, zat guns aimed at the prior and Daniel punching the controls on the device in his hand. But it wasn't working, and almost immediately everything was pulled from their hands. Wide-eyed, Vala looked back and forth between Tomin and her friends, who now stood dumbstruck and helpless along with her.

That was when Tomin's eyes narrowed and zeroed in on Daniel. "You," he grated through clenched teeth.

Daniel's eyebrows went up and he took a step back, but suddenly invisible hands had closed around his throat, and the same invisible force had lifted him from the ground. He failed uselessly, grabbing at his throat. His air supply wasn't cut off, but it was getting harder to breath.

"Daniel!" Sam yelped.

"Tomin, what are you doing?" Vala asked nervously.

"You were lying, Vala. These others were with you, and he-" he nodded to the man whose feet now dangles inches from the floor, "He stole you from me. I was happy, Vala. I had a wife that I loved; she was even the mother of the Orici. Maybe you didn't believe in the Ori then, but I thought I could save you. He took that chance from me! He's going to pay for that…"

Daniel let out a cut off gasp as the grip around his throat tightened, taking more of his air.

"Tomin, you don't have to do this! He didn't steal me away! From both of our points of view he was rescuing me from that Ori ship! I was somewhere I didn't want to be. I wanted to be with my own friends, my own people. He saved me. He didn't do anything wrong."

His intense gaze rested on her again. "Did you ever even love me?"

Vala gulped and glanced at Daniel, who was fighting to stay calm even as he struggled for air and choking noised came from his throat. She saw his eyes flicker in her direction, catch her gaze.

"Yes," she said finally. "I did love you, but I didn't want to be stranded among the followers of Origin forever. I still care about you, Tomin, but please, leave him alone."

"You know, she's right," Cameron said, holding out a hand, palm out. "How about we all just talk through this."

"Preferably without one of us being strung up while we do," Jack added. "Now just put the nice archaeologist down…"

"Why should I? He never asked me how I felt. He only cared that he wanted you back. He didn't care about what it would do to me," he said vehemently, lashing out with his mind in anger. That something pushed fiercely on one of Daniel's ribs, and he let out a strangled cry of pain when it snapped, his eyes squeezing shut.

"Tomin, don't! Stop hurting him!" Vala yelped urgently, worried eyes going back and forth between her husband and the prior.

But he wasn't listening to her, and his telekinetic grip on Daniel's neck tightened even more, cutting of his air completely. Jackson's eyes widened in fear and he clawed at his neck desperately.

"Daniel!" Jack cried.

"Stop it!" Vala shouted, tears in her eyes now. "Tomin, stop! Please! Don't kill him!"

So this is it. This is how it's going to end, Daniel thought in despair as his vision darkened. Janet, Vala…I'm sorry. I love you…

Vala watched in horror as Daniel's eyes rolled up and then closed, his body going limp.

"NO! Tomin, please. If you ever loved me, let him go! Do it for me! Please!"

And when Tomin saw the tears slipping down her cheeks and realized how much he still loved her, didn't want to hurt her…he had no choice.

His head lowered and he released the grip his mind had on Daniel Jackson, letting him fall limply to the floor. Vala swallowed hard and knelt beside him as the others gathered around.

"Daniel…?" she asked worriedly, stroking his hair back. "Daniel, can you hear me? Daniel, wake up…please…" A sudden panic gripped her chest when she realized that she couldn't see his chest moving. "Sam-!" she said, quickly looking up at the other woman.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, worry bringing his voice up a notch.

Sam knelt on the other side of him and reached out a hand to Daniel's neck. When she found nothing there she went immediately into action. "There's no pulse, and he's not breathing," she said urgently, unzipping his vest and jacket halfway and beginning to attempt to revive him. She pushed on his chest, Vala breathed in his mouth.

Jack, Cameron, and Teal'c shifted on their feet nervously, waiting, hoping.

Finally, after what had seemed too long, Daniel gasped in a small breath.

"Daniel?" Sam called, stopping.

His eyes opened briefly, caught Vala's hopeful gaze…"Daniel?"

But then his eyes rolled back again and he shuddered and went limp once more.

"Daniel don't!" Jack cried, dropping to his knees beside his wife and helping her as they tried to bring him back again. But several minutes later, nothing had happened. It was useless.

"Sam-" Vala choked out, almost begging.

The colonel shook her head. "H-he's gone, Vala…I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"No…no, he can't be," she said in disbelief, shaking her head in denial, more tears finding their way from her eyes. She gathered Daniel up in her arms, resting his head on her shoulder and stroking his hair again, pleading.

"Darn it, Daniel…" Jack gulped, tears stinging the retired general's eyes. "Come on, Danny, come back…or do the glowy thing…something…"

Teal'c lowered his head. "Crap," Cameron muttered.

Vala looked up at Tomin, her face streaked with tears. "Please…if you can do something, please…"

For a moment he only looked at her silently, holding her gaze, until finally he sighed and held his staff away from his body, toward the small group huddled on the floor. The blue orb on the tip began to glow, the powers of the Ori coursing through it from him. So he would bring him back, re-start his heart and get him breathing. But he left the bruises and the broken rib untouched. At least he could still have something of his revenge. Besides, unfortunately in Vala's case they would all have to die soon enough. He could let her have him a little longer.

The rest of SG-1 watched Daniel, and sighed collectively in relief when their archaeologist pulled in an unsteady breath. Sam reached to feel for his pulse again as Tomin set his staff down, finished.

"He's back," Sam smiled.

A moment later Daniel coughed and grimaced in pain. Vala wasn't at ease until his eyes opened and focused blearily on her. He saw her tear-stained cheeks and his friends' worried faces, and easily put two and two together.

He blinked. "I was dead again, wasn't I?" he asked hoarsely.

Vala nodded as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "But you're all right now. It's okay," she said, more to convince herself than him.

Daniel winced and reached up to his throat, and his other arm went around his chest. "Oww."

Vala stroked his arm with one hand and wiped her tears with the other. Finally she looked at Tomin again. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Thank you? Daniel wondered. He killed me. But then again he must have been the one to bring me back. Why though? But when looked at the prior, the man, and saw the expression in his eyes as he looked at Vala, he didn't have to wonder anymore. It was as plain as the nose on his face.

After a moment Tomin only sorted and turned away. "It doesn't matter. You will all be dead by the time we reach your planet."

Jack frowned and looked up at him. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

He didn't look at them. "The Ori have placed a weapon on this ship. When it impacts your planet and interacts with its core, it will start a chain reaction that will immediately incinerate your planet and destroy everything else in your galaxy."

"How is that possible?" Teal'c rumbled, his eyes narrowing.

"The Ori can do whatever they wish," the prior said, turning to face him.

"Then why did they see fit to sacrifice one of their own to carry this out if they could have done it otherwise?"

"It is an honor to serve the Ori as closely as I do!"

"Tomin…you were supposed to sacrifice yourself?" Vala asked quietly.

He looked at her for a moment and then looked away, unable to answer her. He went to the door and stopped, his back still to them. "If you wish to remain alive until then to make futile efforts to save yourselves and your planet as I understand the Tau'ri are prone to do then I will not kill any of you now, but understand that no-one in this galaxy will survive."

And then he left. Force-fields snapped into place in all the doorways after him.

Mitchell sprinted over to the door and pounded on the force-field, calling after the prior, but he got no response, and the force-field would not give way.

"Darn it!" he hissed, kicking at the shimmering blue barrier and then hoping back over to the rest of his team on the other foot, wincing.

"That went well," Daniel croaked. That, however, led to a coughing fit. Vala held onto him tighter as he coughed, and through the pain in his throat and chest he felt Sam and Jack's hands on his shoulder as well. When he stopped coughing he moaned, his eyes closing again.

"Daniel? Are you all right?" Vala asked.

Weakly he cleared his throat and tried speaking again. "Not really."

"You can say that again," Jack grumbled. "Not only do we have the fate of Earth on ours hands--now we've got the fate of our entire galaxy sitting on our shoulder. We did not plan this."

Daniel's eyes opened and he rolled them. "Yeah…you can say that again."