Janet smiled at her patient and turned the small torch off. She placed it in her pocket as she drew out a pen and made a notation on his chart. 'Well, I'm pleased to say that you'll make a full recovery.' She closed the chart and examined Daniel's tense features with understanding. 'You must have a lot of questions.'

'Oh, a few.' Daniel admitted. His eyes focused on her quizzically. 'Alternate universe?'

'What gave us away?' Janet asked lightly.

Daniel settled back against the pillows. 'You.'

'Oh.' Janet frowned. 'So I'm…'

'Dead.' Daniel said bluntly. 'Last year.' His eyes clouded over with remembered loss. 'Niirti killed you and Cassie.'

Janet remembered the incident the previous year when Cassie had developed strange powers and had become sick. Niirti had been the only one able to heal her and Janet had risked everything, her life and her career, to make sure the Goa'uld had saved Cassie.

'I guess that didn't happen here.' Daniel concluded tiredly.

'We had a run in with Niirti.' Janet replied, pleased her voice remained even. 'But Cassie and I survived it intact.'

'Good.' Daniel murmured. 'That's…good.'

Janet smiled at him. She reached out and touched his arm gently. 'We have some questions for you if you…'

'I thought I saw Jack and Sam.' Daniel interrupted her.

Janet nodded. 'They're just outside.' She indicated the infirmary room door. 'You want me to get them?'

Daniel seemed to hesitate a little before he nodded. 'Please.'

'OK.' Janet walked briskly to the door and opened it. She gestured at the waiting SG1 members in the corridor and allowed them into the room but stopped them just inside the door. 'He guessed he was in an alternate universe but go easy on him,' she advised, 'he's still groggy and he needs rest.'

Jack's eyebrows quirked upwards but he nodded. 'OK, Doc.' He followed Sam who hurried across the room to stand next to Daniel with a welcoming smile.

'Hi.' Sam beamed at him.

'Sam.' His tone was reserved and his eyes moved briefly from hers to the Colonel beside her. 'Jack.'

'Doctor Jackson.' Jack pushed his hands into his pants' pockets and rocked back on his heels a little.

'So, where am I?' Daniel asked dryly.

Jack stared at him concerned. 'The infirmary?'

Daniel rolled his eyes. 'I mean, where's your Daniel? Or isn't he part of the programme here?'

Sam and Jack exchanged a brief look and Jack shrugged.

'He was.' Sam replied.

'Was?' Daniel probed.

'Well, you…' Sam waved at him.

'Ascended.' Jack supplied. 'Our Daniel turned into one of those glowy energy beings.'

'Wow.' Daniel muttered. 'That's…wow.' He rubbed his forehead as his eyes slid to Sam and stayed there. 'But I was here?'

'Yes.' Sam gave him another smile. 'You got the Stargate to work and you were a member of SG1 until you, uh, ascended.'

'What about you?' Jack asked pointedly.

'Same.' Daniel remarked, jerking his gaze back to the military man. 'I worked out the Stargate; went to Abydos with you.'

'Married Sha're and stayed on Abydos?' Jack continued. 'Joined SG1 when she was taken by Apophis?'

'Yes.' Daniel's head fell back against the pillow. 'It sounds like we share a lot of the same events.'

'You want to tell me what happened to you?' Jack asked seriously. 'You took quite a beating.'

Daniel's brow creased. 'I'm…I'm not sure.' He closed his eyes briefly before reopening apologetically. 'It's all a bit of a blur.'

'Take your time.' Sam reassured him. She automatically reached out to take his hand and Daniel started as though surprised before he slid his hand into hers. Jack frowned.

'I was off world…'

'On P1X465?' Sam interrupted.

Daniel gave a slow nod. 'Yes.' He tugged on the sheet that covered him and frowned. 'I was at the stream when they attacked.'

'Who?' Jack prompted.

'A hunting party of Unas.' Daniel explained.

'Ah.' Jack nodded as though to himself. 'Unas. I should have known.'

'I managed to get away,' Daniel murmured, 'and I made it to the caves. I thought I could hide in them but they came in after me. They hit me.' His free hand went up to his head. 'I was backed up against a wall and then…'

'And then?' Jack asked impatiently.

'I don't know.' Daniel murmured. 'Suddenly they weren't there.' He peered at them seemingly bewildered. 'Maybe I blacked out.'

'Maybe.' Jack agreed.

'I tried to get to the Stargate.' Daniel sighed. 'I think I blacked out again.'

'Our team found you unconscious near the Stargate.' Sam confirmed. Her distracted tone giving away her thoughts were already turning to how Daniel had been transported to their universe. She rubbed his hand with her thumb absently. 'Tell me about the caves.'

'Nothing to tell really.' Daniel said quickly. 'They're just a labyrinth of caves and tunnels under the mountain.'

'It sounds like an old mine.' Sam commented. 'I mean if the caves are the same as the ones here then they're made up of almost pure naquadah and…' her eyes connected with Daniel's with banked excitement.

'What?' Jack asked, a strange twinge ricocheting through him at the look that they shared. It was so familiar; one he had seen often between Daniel and Sam when the two scientists leaped to a conclusion. He hadn't realised he'd missed it or the way Sam's eyes lit up when it happened.

'The quantum mirrors are made up naquadah, sir. If the caves are almost pure naquadah then it might be possible that it's a naturally occurring rift that's being powered by the naquadah there.' Sam explained. She frowned suddenly. 'We won't know for certain unless we go back.'

'Where was your team?' Jack asked Daniel.

Daniel looked at him with an irritated frown. 'Team?'

'Your team.' Jack repeated. He pointed at Sam and himself. 'The rest of SG1.'

'Oh.' Daniel blinked. 'I haven't actually been part of SG1 since I remarried.' He pulled his hand away from Sam.

'You remarried?' Sam asked surprised.

'I take it I haven't remarried here?' Daniel replied, seeing the shock on their faces.

'No.' Jack confirmed, rocking back on his heels.

'So you have a wife back in your universe?' Sam checked.

'No,' Daniel swallowed hard and his eyes darted from Jack to Sam before he closed them as though weary. 'She died.'

'I'm sorry, Daniel.' Sam said softly. 'For your loss.'

'So, you were on the planet alone?' Jack double-checked. He couldn't imagine a non-Ascended Daniel not being part of SG1; that he would ever have allowed the archaeologist to leave especially a grieving Daniel to leave the team and head off-world alone. He wondered at his alternative self.

'Yes.' Daniel nodded. 'I was, uh, conducting an anthropological study of the Unas.'

Jack and Sam looked at each other in concerned confusion.

'When's your next check in?' Jack asked briskly.

'A couple of days from now.' Daniel murmured. His eyes closed again and he snapped them open. 'Sorry.'

'I think that's enough for now.' Janet said, stepping forward from the back of the room where she had stayed during the questioning. 'He needs to rest.'

Jack acknowledged her words with a nod. He gestured at the wan-looking man in the bed. 'We'll come by later.'

Daniel's hand suddenly reached for Sam's and he caught it as she began to move away. 'Can't you stay? I, uh, I really don't want to be alone.'

Sam looked over at Jack, her blue eyes shone with hope and the question she hadn't put into words.

Jack's eyes fell briefly to where her hand curled around their guest's. His gaze flickered back up to hers; back up to the hope there. He knew how much she missed Daniel. He sighed. 'Sure.' He backed out of the room and Janet followed him.

Sam pulled away from Daniel to draw up a stool and sat down beside the bed. She shot Daniel a shy smile. 'I'll just sit here if you want to rest.'

Daniel moved with a wince to lie on his side so he could see her better. He tucked an arm behind his pillow and rested his head wearily. 'Is Teal'c dead here too?'

'He's alive here.' Sam assured him quickly, wondering what had happened to the Jaffa in his universe. 'He's just helping Jonas.'

'Jonas?' Daniel frowned.

'Jonas Quinn.' Sam explained. She registered the complete lack of recognition in his eyes and assumed he had never come across the Kelownan. 'He's the fourth member of SG1.'

'Since I, uh?' He pointed at the ceiling.

'Yeah.' Sam's smile fell away.

'You miss him.' Daniel stated. 'Your Daniel.'

'I do.' Sam admitted. 'Losing him…it's been one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through.'

'Losing you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through.' Daniel murmured.

Her eyes widened in shocked realisation. 'I'm…dead?'

Daniel nodded. 'I thought I was seeing ghosts when I saw you and Jack up in the observation room. I thought…' he swallowed. 'I thought I was dead.'

'I'm sorry we scared you.' Sam said regretfully, registering that both she and Jack had also died in the alternate universe. Her compassion stirred; he'd lost everyone.

'There was no way for you to know.' Daniel replied.

'So Colonel O'Neill and I are dead.' Sam stated. 'Do you mind my asking…'

'How?' Daniel supplied. He shook his head. 'You…you were taken over by an alien entity that came through the gate. It downloaded itself into your brain.' He swallowed hard as his eyes shone with tears. 'Jack…Jack…' he couldn't complete the sentence.

Sam reached out to take hold of his hand again. 'Jack killed me to stop the entity destroying the base.'

Daniel nodded.

'It happened here too.' Sam murmured compassionately.

'Jack couldn't…' Daniel swiped at his eyes. 'Jack couldn't forgive himself for killing you. He was killed the first mission he took after your death. He sacrificed himself to help our robot doubles free a planet from Chronos. Teal'c died trying to save Jack.' He smiled sadly. 'I don't think any of us were surprised.'

'Were Colonel O'Neill and I together?' Sam asked, curious to know if the pattern would hold true again. 'In the other universes we've encountered I've been either married to him or engaged.'

'No,' Daniel dropped his gaze, 'not exactly together.' He mumbled.

'We were both military then.' Sam stated with certainty.

'Yes and you were, uh,' Daniel hesitated, his eyes flickering up to hers.

'I was what?' Sam pressed with a smile.

'You were married to someone else.' Daniel said quickly.

'I was. Really?' Sam stared at him. She had no idea who else she would have married. She hoped to God it wasn't Jonas Hansen. 'Who to?'

Daniel smiled sadly at her. 'Me.'