Okay, now everybody take a deep breath...and read on. It will be okay. :) lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I loved writing it and it it pretty long...so anyway, I look forward to your reviews! I want to know what you think! Especially about the very end. :)

Chapter 12

Suddenly it was there. Everything that had been missing from his mind, buried in his subconscious, was there, right in front of him--all of the memories, the knowledge from when he'd been ascended, both times before.

Daniel been looking up at Vala, known he was dying, and even though he'd been sorry that he had to leave them, he'd known he'd done the right thing. He'd saved Vala's life, and had given his friends the chance to survive. That he didn't regret. And when his eyes had closed and the familiar warmth had surrounded him once again, he'd let it take him, and said goodbye once more.

Then his eyes had opened again and he'd been…here. Here was hard to describe. It was the plain he remembered, and it wasn't uncomfortable. He felt himself getting used to it again, knowing everything he needed to know…but he simply hadn't been here for a while. But it was also different this time. Now he knew more, even more than the last two times he had been this way. And the further knowledge told him that it was because this time…he'd done it himself. There was no other explanation. Oma Desala was gone; she couldn't have helped him. And then Daniel remembered that it didn't have to have the appearance of an unearthly, mystical seeming other dimension if he didn't want it to.

Immediately the space around him snapped into focus, and he found himself standing outside the swinging glass door of a diner. His hand reached out to push inside, but then he pulled it back. No. If he went through that door, there would be no turning back. The others would know he was here, and he would be subject to their rules again. Not that he wasn't already, being ascended already and not in limbo as he had been last time he'd stepped into that diner, but if he didn't go in now…maybe he would get lucky. He could claim plausible deniability--a newcomer making a mistake because he didn't know the rules, and get away with what he was about to do.

Oh yeah, sure. With all the trouble they've had with me on the subject in the past, they're really going to believe that. But Daniel didn't care. He knew his friends were still in trouble, his galaxy was still in danger, and he had to help no matter what the cost.

So he turned and walked away, leaving the diner behind him in the swirling mists of the ascended realm, secure in his decision. But one stinging thought of unease still pricked at him, because he knew that at least one of his friends was beyond his help. I couldn't save Sha're, I couldn't save Janet, and I couldn't save you either, Jack…I'm sorry. But he could save the rest of his friends, his wife and daughter…his galaxy. Or he could try, anyway--and he had to do it before the others could stop him.

Vala swallowed hard, and finally turned to her friends. "You mean…he's not gone?"

Sam managed a weak smile through her tears. "I guess not--not entirely, no. He's still out there…somewhere. We might see him again." It warned her heart to think that her friend was not really dead, but in turn her heart ached to think of what had happened to Jack. He was gone for good, and not even an ascended Daniel could help him now.

"The guy can't stay dead, can he?" Cameron said quietly, a slight smile touching his face.

Even Teal'c managed a small one as well. "Indeed," he nodded, as he helped Vala to her feet.

SG-1, two short, turned to face the prior, none of their determination lost.

Still holding onto Teal'c's shoulder, Vala took a hop forward. Tears streaks still stained her face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. "Tomin, did you see that? It was proof--proof that the Ori aren't the ones that ascend their followers. The Ori are the liars, not the Ancients. Not only did they never plan to help you, but they're not here anymore to! The Ori aren't going to bring you to their plane when you die destroying this galaxy; you'll be gone! I don't want that to happen to you. Please, you have to believe us. You have to stop this ship. Don't do this."

Tomin looked at them, his heart torn. He'd hurt them, killed two of their number, and still they pleaded with him, tried to 'save' him. Vala still claimed to care for him. He wanted to believe she did, because he knew he still loved her, but his orders had been clear, and if he believed she returned his feelings it would only make it harder to fulfill the Ori's wishes. All of these humans were getting in his way now, and the ship would be approaching Earth soon. It was time to get rid of these obstacles.

The staff glowed blur again. SG-1 took a step back, but none were quick enough, and the new blast launched their way.

And on his new plane, Daniel sensed what was happening, knew the impending doom of the Milky Way had become imminent danger for the rest of his team. And that was when he took his action, and returned to help them, releasing a mental battle cry for the life of his galaxy.
Vala, Cameron, Teal'c, and Sam flinched, expecting the blast to strike them a second later, killing them all, but when it didn't come and an even more brilliant flash of light filtered through their closed eyelids, they opened their eyes again. The sight they saw before them then was one none of them would soon forget.

In front of them, blocking the blast, his back to them, stood Daniel Jackson. In the homespun robes of his adopted home of Abydos he glowed faintly. His hands were thrown up in front of him, deflecting what he could of the blast and absorbing what he couldn't.

"Daniel!" Vala cried, reaching for his shoulder. But when her hand passed right through it she jerked back with a gasp.

"He's ascended, Vala. He's not physically there," Sam explained quickly.

"Guys, move!" Daniel ordered shortly, and from the slight strain in his voice they could tell what he was doing was becoming a bit difficult. They were forcing him to keep doing by staying behind him, and when they realized that from his words they quickly moved out of the line of fire.

"Thank you," Jackson sighed, and then calmly stepped aside himself, allowing the blast to hit the wall.

The prior frowned and pulled back on his staff, stopping the attack. He scowled. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not going to let you destroy this galaxy, Tomin."

"And just how do you plan to stop me--stop the Ori?"

"The Ori are gone. I can stop you the same way I saved them," Daniel replied, nodding toward his friends. Tomin opened his mouth to say something else, but the ascended being cut him off. "But it doesn't have to be that way. You can stop this ship, and go back to earth with them."

"Uhm, Daniel don't you mean come back to earth with us…" Vala pointed out.

Daniel looked away from the prior long enough to give her a saddened expression. "You know I can't come back with you."

"What do you mean, can you just do that de-ascension thing again-"

"Not now, Vala. I'll explain later," he said quickly, and then turned his attention back to Tomin. "It's your choice. If you won't stand down I'll have no choice but to stop you, but I know Vala still cares about you and I don't want to do that. What's it going to be?"

The prior snorted. "Do you really think the others like you will let you stop me?" he said, and it was obvious that his mind wasn't going to be changed.

Daniel sighed and his eyes closed for a moment as he brought his arms up again, déjà vu washing over him as he gathered glowing ascended energy in his hands. "We can find out."

The prior's staff resumed its powerful glow, and Vala shouted out.

"Tomin, don't! You don't have to do this! Daniel!" she cried, as the other three looked back and forth nervously between the two facing off.

Jackson's eyes opened and he glanced at his wife again, an apology in his eyes. She swallowed hard, knowing that he had no choice if Tomin wasn't going to let them go. Slowly she gave a small nod, and Daniel knew she forgave him for what he about to try to do.

Tomin struck first, the fiery energy of the Ori lancing from the staff, and Daniel thrust out with his own blast, praying that it wouldn't be a repeat of what had happened the last time he'd tried to protect friends this way, that he wouldn't be swept away…

And he wasn't. Ori blast met Ancient, and both were pushed back a ways. For a moment they remained deadlocked, until Daniel enough of a feel for the strength and extent of the prior's powers to know that he could easily overwhelm them. But not just yet.

"This is your last chance, Tomin! Stop this and you can go back with them--live at least something resembling a normal life, without having to serve the Ori!" Daniel shouted across the room to his opponent.

But the prior shouted back in defiance. "No! I will obey the will of the Ori!"

And those were the last words Tomin spoke, before the ascended's powers overtook him.

Vala looked away as he was cleanly and painlessly wiped from existence, and the light died down. When she opened her eyes again Daniel's arms were dropping, and he sighed heavily. As she came to his side he sank to his knees.

If it was possible for an ascended being to be exhausted, he was now--mentally, the ascended equivalent of physically…To Vala he looked numb, and she just wanted to hold him, tell him it would be all right. But she had forgotten that he had no physical body for her to touch, and her hands passed through him again. Resisting the urge to yelp she simply pulled her hands back, putting them in her lap as she sat beside him, and the others came to greet him.

"It is good to see you well, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c smiled.

"Yeah, if you call this well," Jackson sighed, running his hand through the floor and then pulling it up again for emphasis.

"But you saved us, Daniel. You couldn't have done that if you hadn't…well…"

"Not to mention that was one cool battle-even rivaled Star Wars," Mitchell said, grinning.

That brought a small smile to Daniel's lips. "You think so?" But then it faded and his gaze shifted to Vala. "I'm sorry."

She gulped back the tears that were climbing in her throat again. "It's not your fault, Daniel." Then her expression became pleading. "Why can't you come back with us?"

His face suddenly looked pained. "Vala…this is the third time I've become this way…and this time I did it on my own. If I re-take human form now…I don't think I'll ever be able to ascend again. They won't let me back in again-somehow I just know it. But if I stay this way…I can always watch over you and Janet." Then he looked around. "And, if I'm ascended, I can help all of you when the time comes. We can all be together...Well, except for-" He stopped there, and his eyes lowered again.

Sam bit her lip, a tear slipping down one cheek. "He's right," she said after a moment.

Vala looked back to Daniel, looked into his eyes and saw that in them, behind the immediate pain of having to leave his friends and family, there was determination to protect them, and hope for the future.

She sighed. "I'm not going to change your mind, am I?"

He smiled at her weakly. "No. I think this is the right thing to do."

"Are you certain, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked in concern.

"Yeah, Jackson…this is kind of a big choice…" Cameron said slowly.

"I know."

"You'll still be…around, right?" Vala asked.

"Of course. I'll always be there…but you may not see me. I don't know if they'll let me interact with you or not. I just broke a lot of major rules. They'll probably be pretty strict with me for a while…" he sighed.

At that moment Mitchell's radio crackled. "Odyssey to Colonel Mitchell. Colonel Mitchell, come in."

Cameron's eyebrows went up.

"I stopped the ship too," Daniel informed them, standing. "The jamming is stopped, and the shields are down. The ship'll drift here until it can be salvaged. Maybe you can use some of the technology, or figure out how to work the thing."

Mitchell nodded at him and reached up to key his radio. "Mitchell here. What's up, Odyssey?"

"Colonel, thank goodness," the voice of the ship's commander filtered into the room. "We've been trying to contact you since you ringed in, but we were being jammed somehow. It finally stopped. What happened over there? We couldn't get General O'Neill on his radio, and we're not detecting either his or Doctor Jackson's transmitters. Are they all right?" the man asked in concern.

Cameron sighed. "Unfortunately sir…no. We've got one…" But Daniel was shaking his head, and he amended himself. "-two casualties. But the mission's accomplished. There's no more threat to Earth.

"Oh…" the Odyssey's commander trailed. "What about the rest of you?"

"Well, Mrs. Jackson's got a sprained ankle, and there are some pretty darn screwed up emotions all around, but the rest of us are otherwise fine."

The voice from the earth ship sighed wearily. "All right. We'll beam you right over."

"All right, Odyssey, but just give us a minute."

"Of course, colonel. Odyssey out." And with that, the radio went silent again.

Mitchell's arms dropped. "What now, Daniel?"

"You have to go…and so do I," Daniel replied sadly.

"Yeah…thought so."

Teal'c's head bowed. "It has been an honor, my friend."

Sam smiled, though there were tears in her eyes again. "We'll miss you."

"Don't get into any trouble," Cam added.

"I'll do my best," Daniel smiled back. Then he turned to Vala again.

"Daniel…" She started to say something but failed, trailing off as her head lowered to her chest.

"I love you," he said quietly. "I love you, and Janet, and even if we can't interact I'm not going to leave you alone."

Her shoulders were shaking by then, and when she looked up again tears were streaming down her cheeks once more. She sniffed them back.

"I love you too," she choked in return.

Daniel brought his hand up to her cheek, and even though she couldn't feel it Vala closed her eyes and imagined she could--imagined his soft, warm skin against her face and the tickle of the sleeve of the brown homespun robe on her skin. When her eyes opened again she saw tears slipping silently down Daniel's cheeks as well, and her curiosity about whether ascended beings could cry was answered.

She copied his gesture, bringing the palm of her hand to where his cheek would be if his body were physical. She wished she could wipe away the tears there, and she knew he was wishing the same in reverse.

"Goodbye…for now," he whispered.

Vala managed a tiny smile again. "See you around."

Daniel smiled back as both pulled their hands away, and he took a step back.

"Bye guys," he said to them all once more. And then with a wave of his hand, Daniel Jackson was gone again in a soft flash of white light.

Cam gulped and reached up to key his radio again. "Okay, Odyssey. We're ready. Beam us aboard."

Seconds later, the Ori ship dissolved around the remaining members of SG-1, and the Asgard beams took them on the first leg of their journey home--a home that was now safe once again. But at what cost?

Daniel would have gone straight back to the ascended realm, but he still had one more painful goodbye to make.

He reappeared on Earth in the dark, tiny guestroom in Cassie's apartment. He stood beside a twin bed, and in it lay his sleeping daughter. He looked toward the lamp on the bedside table, and it flicked on. He couldn't shake the girl, but the light would wake her up. She wasn't a heavy sleeper.

Daniel took the moment's wait to dry his tears, though he couldn't keep them out of his eyes. A few seconds later, Janet began to stir.

"Janet?" he asked, leaning over her. "Sweetie, its dad. Can you wake up for me?"

The eight-year-old yawn cutely and her eyes flickered open.

"Hey," Daniel said quietly, smiling gently and sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Daddy?" she asked as she slowly awoke, stretching out her little body in the bed.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered.

"I'm not dreaming? I thought you and mom would be gone for a couple more days…"

"No. You're not dreaming," he gulped. Daniel reached out to brushed some of her mussed hair out of her eyes, but pulled back again when he remembered he could. No reason to scare her with his hand passing through her head. He blinked hard as the tears in his eyes tried to surge forward. He couldn't even touch his daughter.

Now Janet sat up. "Daddy? Is something wrong? You look sad." She reached out to him, and before he could move or stop her, her hand passed through his arm.

She shrieked and jumped back. "Dad, what's going on! Y-you--you're-you're not there!"

"Shhh, shh, it's okay," he soothed. "I am here, Janet. I'm just…different." He shifted uncomfortably. How was he supposed to explain this to a child?

She'd heard many stories of SG-1's adventures since she'd learned of the stargate the year before, when the program had finally allowed the SGC's staff to tell those family members that would sign a non-disclosure agreement. Janet was a smart kid, had understood that she couldn't tell anyone a certain secret if she was told, and had been one of the few family members under eighteen who had signed it and learned what her parents did for a living. She had heard some of the stories of his previous ascensions, but she hadn't understood it very well then. How much would she understand now?

"Janet…" he continued slowly, as she untensed. "Do you remember what we told you about how I ascended before?"

The girl blinked. "Some of it…but I didn't really know what you meant."

Daniel sighed. "Something went wrong on the mission, Janet. I had to do it again. That's why you can't touch me. I'm not physical anymore. You can see me and hear me, but you can't touch me, and I can't touch you."

She moved closer again and tentatively reach out toward his face. When her hand passed through his cheek, here eyes widened and she slowly pulled it back. His eyes closed and Daniel lost his hold on the tears; several fell.

"But…b-but daddy, what does that mean? What's wrong?" Janet asked, her voice scared and worried.

"It means I have to go," he answered softly.

"Go? Y-you mean like you did last time? When you had to leave Uncle Jack and Aunt Sam and Uncle Teal'c? Like…leave?"

He nodded.

"But daddy, you can't just go!" she yelped, as her eyes filled with tears.

"I don't have a choice, Janet," he choked. "The others like this--they have rules that I can't break. I shouldn't even be here now, but I guess they don't mind letting me say…goodbye. I'm sorry.

Somehow, the girl seemed to understand, even though she still didn't like the idea of him leaving her. She gulped back her tears and sniffled. "Will you come visit me and mom like you did then?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know if I'll be able to. But I'll be here, okay? Even if you can't see me, I'll be here. And you will see me again. I don't know when, but you will see me again. I promise."

She nodded weakly, and gulped hard again. "I…I l-love you, daddy…"

The sorrow in his daughter's small voice broke Daniel's heart, and he hated to be the one to cause it, but he had no choice at the moment.

"I love you too, Janet." Then he forced a smile. "Be good and take care of your mom for me, okay? The Odyssey will be back in a couple of days."

"Yes sir," she said softly.

So he stood again, not wanting to go but knowing he had to, before the others made him.

"Bye," he gulped.

"Bye daddy," she swallowed.

And Daniel smiled at her reassuringly one more time and then left, before he came to a point where he couldn't.

Daniel found himself standing outside the door of the ascended diner again. He peered uneasily through transparent door. He knew he had to go in, so he took a deep breath and did it before he could think himself out of it.

Once inside, a few heads looked up to take him in, but then turned back to their papers or drinks or food. So maybe he had gotten here the 'right' way this time, and they were allowed to acknowledge him or talk to him, but none of them seemed to want to. Apparently he still wasn't very popular after all the trouble he'd caused the other two times he'd been on this plane.

Slowly he made his way toward an empty booth, not quite sure what to do with himself. He knew he had friends here, and among them all of the Abydonians, but he didn't know where they were. As if on cue a voice rang out from behind him.

"Danyel, there you are!" the happy voice sang.

Daniel looked to his side to find a familiar mop head approaching him. "Skaara!" he said in surprise, as his brother-in-law enveloped him in a bear hug. It was funny how the younger man could always do that, even though he was half Daniel's size.

Skaara patted his friend on the back once more and then pulled away, looking up at him. "So, I see you choose to roam the ascended realm in the robes of home as well, hmm?" he said, indicating his own.

"Yeah…" Daniel said, still a bit bewildered by the sudden reunion in the wake of the sad partings he'd just been through.

"What is wrong, Danyel? You seem surprised, almost as if you had forgotten our people and I would be here."

Daniel shook his head. "No…no, I didn't forget. I just wasn't expecting to find you so soon…"

Skaara sighed. "Danyel, you look upset. You should not be--you saved your friends and your family!"

Jackson's head drooped. "Not all of them," he said quietly.

Skaara grinned and tapped his friend's arm to get him to look up again. "Ah, but Danyel, cheer up. There is someone here that is looking forward to seeing you. I think you be more than glad to see him as well."

Daniel blinked, oblivious. "Kasuf…?"

The young Abydonian laughed. "Well, yes, he is here, but that is not who I meant." Then Skaara nodded toward the bar.

Daniel turned to look in that direction, and his mouth gaped open. There, leaning against the counter not five feet from him with a coffee mug in his hand, dressed in civvies and grinning widely as only he could, stood Jack O'Neill.

"Welcome back to the glow club, Danny-boy! Looks like we're in it together this time."

Yay for Jack! OMG I had so much fun with that! I know things still seem a bit sad...okay, a lot sad, but as I said, I love happy endings, so...just keep reading. :) Thanks all for reviews!