Author's Notes: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
This has been ready for ages and I forgot about it till I wrote the next one which will hopefully be up soon.
This is set after 'The Girl In The Flower Dress'
Enjoy.
Daniel sat patiently as the doctor finished his post-mission medical. His ribs were now completely fine, thanks to the Tok'ra using the healing gauntlet on them. Unfortunately after that he ended up with a black eye which he knew wasn't going to fade by the time he got back to the plane.
"You're done, Dr Jackson," the nurse smiled at him, "General Landry has asked that you see him before you leave."
Daniel nodded, "Thanks."
Heading out the infirmary Daniel walked up to the General's office, he stopped for a moment to look down at the Stargate where a team who looked so young and enthusiastic stood waiting to go through. He remembered the first time he stepped through vividly and, despite the pain that followed, he would always be grateful that he'd walked through it.
Daniel allowed himself a moment to think of Sha're, to remember her and how much he missed her, before he refocused and went to see Landry.
x
"What happened to your eye?"
Daniel winced at the way Jemma came marching towards him a familiar look in her eyes, "I came off worst in a conversation. Its fine," he stopped her pulling out her penlight, "I was fully checked out and given the green light."
She frowned but didn't get a chance to ask anything else as the others joined them.
"Where were you?" Ward asked.
Before he could say anything Coulson spoke up, "Dr Jackson still has some obligations to his previous employer. He may have to work with them on occasion."
"Fun trip?" May asked as she joined him.
Daniel rolled his eyes, "Total joy. Did I miss anything?"
May gave him a quick shrug before heading to the cockpit.
Daniel stood watching Skye as she sat at the table with a bottle of water open in front of her. He'd listened while Jemma and Fitz updated him on what had happened with Skye before he and Coulson spoke quickly. Ward was her Supervising Officer but, as requested, Daniel had been acting as a sort of mentor to help her integrate into the team.
"Am I going to get the how disappointed you are speech?" Skye's sarcastic question made him walk over and take a seat across from her.
Daniel shook his head, "No. Because you already know how disappointed I am."
Silence sat between then for several minutes. Skye suddenly slammed her hand on the table.
"You don't understand why I did this," she snapped at him, "You don't know what it's like..."
"To be alone?" Daniel finished for her.
Skye nodded her jaw clenched in annoyance.
"I understand your need to find your parents, Skye," Daniel said softly, "I really do."
"Right," she rolled her eyes.
Daniel took a long drink, "Skye, I lost my parents when I was eight. I watched them crushed to death. Then a year after I was married my wife was abducted."
She stared at him not saying anything.
"Everyone has demons. Everyone has a past," Daniel continued sharply, "But the one thing I learned is that you appreciate the people who give a damn about you here and now. You don't hide things like this from us and frankly I'm surprised Coulson let you stay. I wouldn't."
Skye stared at him, tears shining in her eyes. Daniel turned and walked away finding Phil standing just outside.
"You were harsher than I expected," he noted.
Daniel shook his head, "One thing I learned in the SGC was that you need to be able to trust your team. If you can't then people die."
x
Phil checked in with May to see when they were due to land. With that done he checked on the rest of the team.
Ward was currently pummelling the punch-bag while Fitz and Simmons were discussing a hypothesis and Skye was sitting/hiding on one of the couches in a corner reading a SHIELD tech manual.
There was one missing so Phil headed to the bunks finding Daniel sitting on his reading what looked like a diary.
"Can I interrupt?"
Daniel looked up, "Sure."
Phil leaned against the wall, "I let Skye stay because she needs a place. She's agreed to my rules in order to stay which proves to me she wants to be here."
Daniel offered Phil the leather bound notebook in silence. Phil took it and opened it to the first page finding a drawing of the woman whose picture sat beside Daniel's bed.
"I didn't want to be here," Daniel told him softly, "I wanted to be on Abydos with her but I would never consciously do anything to endanger the people who took me in, who helped me find my focus and gave me a place when I was lost."
Silence filled the room between them for several minutes before Phil spoke again.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," he noted, "Surely during your time in the SGC you saw that."
Daniel nodded, "I did and I was one of the people who needed one but never for a deliberate act."
"I'm giving her that chance," Phil told him.
Reaching out for his diary Daniel slid it under his pillow again when Phil handed it back to him, "You're the boss."
Phil chuckled as he headed out, "Sometimes I wonder."
