A/N: Okay, so I've written, re-written and proofread this chapter, and I'm still not convinced it's right...But, I'm tired of looking at it, and the story needs an update. So if you find any glaring omissions, inconsistencies, or niggling annoyances, please let me know. Maybe a jolt of fresh perspective will help.
Daughter of my Heart, Chapter Sixteen
[Refers to Beneath the Surface, and The Brocca Divide]
"This is such a bad idea," Daniel groaned.
"No kidding," Jack replied. "How long do you think she'll leave us in here, anyway?"
"I, for one, believe Dr. Fraiser to be justified in her methods," Teal'c approved. "If we are ever to defeat the Goa'uld, we must first be permitted to leave this base."
"It's really not that simple, Teal'c," Sam said, fidgeting uncomfortably. "A lot's changed since P3R-118."
"Are we not the same individuals we were prior to our capture?," Teal'c replied gravely.
"No," Daniel answered softly.
Sam shot him a sympathetic look. She could only imagine how he must have felt, the outsider once more...
Jack huffed, pacing the small room. "We've been captured before. Tortured, even. Why the hell is this time so different?"
"Because it was personal," Sam answered. "We weren't the enemy. Being held prisoner is one thing. Having our memories altered and being enslaved simply for not agreeing...that's something else altogether."
"Our names changed, and our memories of the past," Jack said. "So what? We were still ourselves," he retorted, leveling Sam with a heated gaze.
"Yeah, I guess it's not the first time you've taken a swing at me over Sam," Daniel observed wryly. "Though I always liked to think that was the virus talking, and not you."
Sam flushed. "It was almost as if the memory stamp lowered our inhibitions, and heightened our emotional response," she explained.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "That would explain the increased animosity between Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill, as well as the increased intimacy between yourself and..."
"I think we get the picture," Sam interrupted, embarrassed.
Jack scrubbed his face tiredly. "So, what? Are we still suffering the effects, then?"
"I don't know," Sam replied.
"When I look at you, I don't like you," Daniel said, speaking to Jack.
"Hey. Feeling's mutual," Jack bit back.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "It would appear that we are still at the mercy of the memory stamp," he observed.
"But all our real memories have returned," Sam protested.
"So maybe we never really liked each other in the first place," Daniel offered. Jack glared.
"I think I've been fairly tolerant over the years." Daniel rolled his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure you have it the wrong way around."
"Well, how do you feel about Sam?," Jack retorted.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Karlan spent a lot of his time watching us," the Colonel observed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had a thing for Thera."
"Look who's talking!," Daniel retorted.
"That's enough!," Sam said, glaring at both of them. "Things are weird enough without having the two of you at each others' throats."
"I concur," Teal'c agreed, eyeing both men for signs of hostility. They wisely chose to back down.
"So what now?," Jack asked gruffly.
"Now we find a way to work as a team again," Sam replied.
Jack pursed his lips. "You're sure that's what you want?," he asked, once again looking directly to Sam. She blushed.
"Yes, Sir," she answered firmly, willing her flaming cheeks to return to some semblance of their normal hue. Jack's eyes hardened, but he nodded.
"Fine. We go back to normal," he announced to the room.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Were it that simple, O'Neill, would we not have done so already?"
"What do you want me to do?," he snapped, glaring at the Jaffa. "Say 'I'm sorry' for every awkward or unpleasant moment we've had? It's not going to make any difference!," he yelled. "Things happened. They always do. So Lets. Just. Move. On," he ground.
Daniel snorted. "Just because you make it an order doesn't mean we'll be able to follow."
"And what the hell's that supposed to mean?," Jack snapped, rounding on the younger man once more. "You think I was out of line back on 118? Well how about you and your girlfriend? She gave Sam a hard time every single day we were there. And you stood by her."
"I didn't condone what she was doing."
"But you didn't stop it, either," he snarked. "Face it, Danny. You were as guilty as any of the rest of us for any number of things down there."
"Sir, you can't blame Daniel for Keegan's behaviour," Sam interjected. "Besides, he came around eventually."
"Yeah, after Teal'c set us all straight!"
"This is getting us nowhere," Sam sighed, leaning heavily against the wall.
"Major Carter is correct," Teal'c replied, frowning.
"Look. All I'm saying is, I can't just forget what happened on that planet," Daniel said. "No matter how strongly Jack insists."
"What is wrong with you two?!," Sam exclaimed, turning from one to the other. "You're fighting over nothing!"
"Like I said, Carter," Jack drawled, his eyes never leaving Daniel's face. "I'm not the only one who could be accused of feeling feelings."
Daniel blanched. "She's my friend," he insisted softly.
"Yeahsureyoubetcha," Jack muttered.
"Has it ever occurred to either one of you that I am not something to fight over?," Sam spat furiously. "Believe it or not, I'm not here to find Mr. Right. I have a job to do, and I'd like to get back to doing it!"
Both men had the courtesy to look at least somewhat chastened.
"How's it going in there?," General Hammond asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at the live-feed video screen.
"Not good," Janet replied, shaking her head. "But at least they're talking." Sort of.
"Keep me apprised," Hammond said tiredly, heading back out the door. Janet sighed.
How could one little mission leave everything so screwed up?
Three weeks after SG-1's return to Earth, Cassie was finally allowed to go home. But things were different.
Cassie had a thousand questions, but her mom would have none of it.
"What's done is done," she'd say tiredly, and she'd never say anything more.
Daniel missed their first family dinner after SG-1's release, and when Cassandra called to ask why, he'd simply said "I'm sorry. I just can't do it anymore."
And the team was still on stand-down. Sam would go in to work in the mornings, and come home at the same time each afternoon. Cassie hardly saw Janet or Daniel anymore, and she was really starting to worry.
Just what had happened to her family, anyway?