Ack! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! It won't happen again I promise! 'Cause now we get to the good part I've been looking forward to writing for weeks and it'll go fast, really. :) So, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and PLEASE review! This is a majorly important chapter and I really need to know your thoughts before I continue. Thanks a lot!

Chapter 11

The rest of SG-1 looked up when the force-filed clicked briefly off and Vala hobbled back into the room. Teal'c immediately strode across the empty space between them to offer her support. She gratefully took it and let him help her over to where the others were gathered, and the jaffa gently lowered her to the ground next to her husband.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked quietly, from where he still sat propped against Sam.

Vala shook her head and swiped at her eyes. "No. But I will be once this is over." Then she leaned over and hugged him gently. "Daniel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't want you to get hurt again-"

Daniel returned the embrace as best he could. "It's okay. It's not your fault. Besides, I'll…I'll be okay."

But when she pulled back and studied him, saw how heavily he leaned on Sam and the thin sheen off sweat that covered his skin and how obvious it was that he was purposely schooling his features, she knew he was in more pain than he was telling any of them. Gulping, she leaned down again and kissed his forehead.

"Don't worry, Daniel. We'll get out of here. I won't let anything else happen to you."

He smiled weakly and reached up to push the hair out of her face. "Has it ever even occurred to you that you're two months pregnant and probably shouldn't be out here in the first place?"

"Well...yes, but if I hadn't come all of you would be in a lot more trouble than you are now-especially you. You've seen how much Tomin hates you."

Daniel winced. "Maybe you're right-" His voice cut off in another coughing fit, which doubled him over and pulled him away from Sam. Vala took the opportunity to pull him to her and hold onto him so he could lean on her instead. Sam would need to get back to work on the door. The colonel rubbed her friend's back one last time before standing. She waited until he stopped coughing and she was sure he was all right though, until she went back to the control panel by the door where she had been working. Even then, she sat at an angle where she could keep an eye on the others.

"This is getting old," Daniel moaned when he could breathe again.

Jack snorted. "No kidding."

"I've got it!" Sam cried excitedly from where she sat. Immediately all attention was on the colonel.

"Well, bring it down," Mitchell prompted.

"Right. Just a minute…" With that, she fiddled with a controls a few seconds more, and the force-field popped out of existence.

"Yes!" Jack applauded. "Sam, you're brilliant, and I love you," he said, reaching down to offer a hand to help her up. When she accepted it the retired general pulled her to her feet and kissed her.

"So that's it? We can get out of here now?"

"Yep," Sam answered, grinning wickedly.

Daniel blinked. "And the plan is…?"

"First we have to neutralize Tomin. If he's distracted, a zat should do it," Vala said quietly.

"Indeed," Teal'c nodded. "And then we would need to contact the Odyssey, but our radios still do not work."

"Once I'm in the main control room I should be able to do something about that. I won't be able to stop the ship entirely, but I think I can manage to stop the jamming and get the shields down so we can beam out and beam the nukes in," Sam said.

"Then it's goodbye Ori uber-ship," Mitchell smiled.

"That's good, because we only about an hour before this thing is too close to Earth. Now how many doors are there into that room?" O'Neill asked.

"Two--the main door at the back and one side entrance," Vala supplied.

Jack nodded. "Perfect. Vala, Daniel you stay here-"

"No. I'm going," Vala said adamantly.

"Me too," Daniel protested, slowly sitting up.

"Jack, they're right. We all need to get out of this room before Tomin notices and reactivates the force-field," Sam suggested.

Jack sighed. "Fine, but stay behind us and be careful. You've already gotten yourself in enough trouble this time, Danny-boy."

Daniel rolled his eyes and grinned. "Whatever, Jack."

Teal'c helped up, and they both help Daniel up. The two leaned on each other and slowly made their way from the room after the others had retrieved their weapons. Teal'c continued to offer them assistance until the group neared the main control room to go over the plan, and stopped.

"Okay, Sam, Teal'c, and Cameron, go in the main door with weapons drawn. Threaten him distract him, whatever. Just make sure he's not thinking about anything else, and I'll come in the side door and zat him. Daniel and Vala, stay out of trouble," Jack went over quickly.

After everyone had agreed with the plan, they split. Or rather, Jack split from the group to go around to the side entrance to the room. Once in position, Cameron glanced back at his team of two, signaled to Jack they were ready and made sure O'Neill was in position as well, and gave the sign to go.

Tomin jumped out of his chair and turned to face them in surprise, his staff clattering to the floor from where it had been hanging in the air beside him again.

"Don't move!" Mitchell commanded sharply.

The prior's eyes narrowed. "How did you get out?"

"We're a lot smarter than you think we are," Sam said simply. "Now stand down." She could see jack creeping into through the side door behind Tomin, and behind her she could hear Daniel and Vala coming around the corner. It was obvious it was them, as neither of them had even footsteps as they helped each other walk.

"Tomin, please; it's over, just cooperate with us. We don't want to have to hurt you." Vala pleaded from just outside the door.

He frowned. "What makes you think you could? We did this yesterday, Vala. I could crush those weapons in seconds if I wanted to. You have no chance."

"We'll see about that!" O'Neill yelled defiantly, firing the zat.

They had thought that it would work that way. Tomin wouldn't know the zat blast was coming, he would fall, and they could save their galaxy. But of course, not everything always goes as planned.

Without turning, Tomin deflected the zat blast back on O'Neill and he dropped with a shout. Then, before any of the others could stop him, the prior mentally seized the zat gun a pulled in up into the air over the unconscious retired general and firing twice more. And Jack was gone.

"NO!" Sam screamed.

"JACK!" Daniel shouted.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c cried.

"General!" Cameron yelled.

"No! No, this isn't happening! Tomin, how could you!" Vala cried.

The prior turned on her furiously. "He was going to kill me!"

Daniel shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes as he watched Sam sink to her knees, sobbing. "Darn it, he wasn't going to kill you. He was only trying to stun you. You didn't have to-" his voice caught. "No, Jack…"

But Tomin was too angry then to care what any of them said. Vala had betrayed him yet again. He couldn't take this anymore. If he was ever going to fulfill the secondary mission the Ori had given him, he had to do it now. They had known that Vala being in the galaxy he had been sent to destroy would be a stumbling block for him and had told him that if he had a chance, he was to kill her himself. He had to do it now.

"It doesn't matter!" Tomin yelled angrily. "I see now that I'll never be able to trust you again, Vala, and it's over now." He snatched his staff from the ground. It glowed, and immediately Sam, Cameron, and Teal'c were swept out of the way of the door and pinned in place, unable to help. Daniel was only pushed out of the way, and he cried out when he impacted with the doorframe. But he could still move, which proved that the prior didn't think an injured archaeologist was a threat to plans.

Vala was left standing precariously on her one good foot in the doorway, gulping. "Tomin, what are you doing…?"

He looked at her for a moment, and then said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"What-?"

And a blast of energy leapt from the staff in her direction, its intent obvious.

"No!" Daniel shouted, pushing himself painfully away from the doorframe in her direction. His body slammed into Vala's and pushed her out of the way, sent her stumbling several feet down the corridor before she fell to the floor. But Daniel had no time to move.

Cameron, Sam, and Teal'c were released, and turned in time to see the blast slam into Daniel, propelling him into the corridor wall so hard that there was an audible crack as something broke.

"DANIEL!" Vala screeched as the light died away.

Daniel fell to the floor with a moan, and Vala quickly crawled over to him.

"Daniel? Daniel, are you all right?" she asked desperately.

His torso was covered in scorch marks, his head tilted at an unnatural angle as he gasped shallowly for air that he would never be able to get enough of.

"Oh no," Sam moaned, as she, Teal'c, and Mitchell gathered around as well. None of them had to be told the seriousness of their friend's injuries.

Tears filling her eyes and spilling down her face, Vala took her husband's hand in hers and brought it to her cheek. She didn't know if he could feel it, but she knew he could see it as he gazed up at her, his eyes glazed with shock and pain.

"Daniel, no-" she choked. "Hold on…"

"I'm…sorry," Daniel gasped, and tears fell from his eyes as well. "Couldn't let him--" But he couldn't finished the sentence, gulped and moved on. "I l-love you…and Janet--tell her….If…if anyone can-can get you all…out of this…you can…do it. Take c-care of her." Vala only nodded weakly, not having the heart to disagree with him, even though it really did look as if none of them were going to get out of this alive--and that their galaxy was going to be destroyed and there would be no daughter to care for.

Sam dropped to her knees beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. Tears were running down her cheeks anew. "Daniel…" she gulped.

Jackson's eyes drifted to his friends for a moment, and then back to Vala as somehow he managed to give the hand that held his a small squeeze.

"Daniel, I love you too," Vala cried. "Please, don't…" she pleaded, because she knew that this time Tomin would not help. The prior stood where he was behind them, grim satisfaction on his face tinged with sadness.

"I love you," Daniel choked out again. "Sorry guys…"

And then his eyes drifted halfway shut before going dark, and Daniel was dead.

Sam broke into open tears again; Teal'c's head lowered solemnly.

"Crap, Jackson…" Cam gulped, blinking back his own tears.

"No!" Vala whispered fiercely, holding tighter to the hand she clutched to her cheek as her eyes clenched shut. But a moment later she realized that she couldn't feel his hand in hers anymore, and a gentle warmth touched her face in its place.

Vala's eyes snapped open, and her eyes widened at what she saw on the ground before her. Daniel's body was suddenly bathed in a soft glow, and as she, Sam, Teal'c, and Mitchell watched, frozen, wide-eyed, he slowly dissolved into the light.

"W-what's happening…" she stammered.

Sam answered in shock. "I think he's-"

All that remained now was the white light, and as they watched, the tentacle of it that touched Vala's face gently caressed it for a moment, before flashing out of existence--out of their plane of existence, as it was.

"Ascending," Teal'c finished for her in surprise. "Daniel Jackson has ascended once again."

Author's Note: Okay no need to totally freak!--Over either Jack or Daniel! Remember that I love happy endings-I'm a chronic happy ending writer. I can't really do anything else, so please chill out and come back when I post the necxt chapter, which I'll try to post Late today or tommorrow...probably more like tommorow. But it will be soon, 'cause I know you're all probably worried...so anyway, keep 'Happy Ending' in mind. Now all you have to worry about is how the heck I'm going to have a happy ending with what just happened...hehehe evil laugh Well, you'll just have to keep reading! But it will be okay I promise! Okay, now I'm back to writing! have a great day all:)