Author's Note: Okay, let's try this again. FanFiction was having a tantrum and wouldn't link the correct document (and I tried twice). Even logging in was giving me issues. I've deleted all other docs I have in my Doc Manager so hopefully it won't pull a random story like it's been doing.

Sorry for all the issues.

o0o

This Love Came Back to Me:

People always leave.

At least that had been Daniel Jackson's experience. When his parents died, his grandfather had no desire to raise a grieving child. He left him to the foster care system without much of a thought. He spent his whole childhood being shuffled from home to home, never having a permanent place to call his.

He thought he finally found a home when he went to Abydos. It was the first true home he had since his parents died, and it was all because of Sha're. On Abydos, he had a wife, a brother, a father, and everyone else who was like family to him. But like most things in his life, they left him in the permanent way, but unlike the past, he knew it wasn't on purpose.

The hardest part was Sha're. She was the best thing to ever happen to him, and losing her pretty much killed. After her death, he was dead inside. Nothing mattered to him – he was barely able to make himself honor his promise to Sha're to find the boy. There were times he was angry with her for leaving, even though he knew it wasn't her fault, but he was left all alone again, and it hurt so much more this time.

He hated the way he felt after losing her – it was all pain, bitterness, loneliness – and he couldn't see a way out, and he wanted a way out. Meeting Ke'ra had dulled some of it to where he felt he could breath – he felt human and alive again, however small it may have been. It was nice being relieved of some of his pain, and feeling something other than negative emotions. Finding out she was Linea was like another strike to his heart. The woman he knew as Ke'ra was nothing like her, so he fought for her. At the time, he didn't see it, but it became apparent it was in vain. There was no way the situation would end well for either of them. So she left, and he let her go.

After that, he realized he was no way near ready for a romantic relationship, and probably wouldn't for a long time. Oddly, he was okay with it. It was too hard and it hurt more than he could bear. But it was like the universe was testing him…or was just fucking with him because why else would his ex-fiancee randomly walk back into his life? Seeing Sarah again had taken him off guard and he was reminded of the life they once shared before he screwed it up. He would be lying if he said old feelings hadn't arisen, but before they could grow into anything, the woman he once knew was suddenly a Goa'uld, and it felt like deja vu, and history was repeating itself.

It dredged up a lot of buried feelings he had about Sha're, and just like that, it hurt all over again. To make matters worse, he felt like he failed another person he loved. Rationally, he knew it wasn't his fault – Sarah was taken as a host before he reconnected with her – but he still felt a heavy sense of guilt. He wasn't able to stop her in order to help her – it really did feel like Sha're over again, and someone else left. But unlike with Sha're, he was able to eventually help her, but it didn't bring the closure he was hoping for. Sarah never truly came back to him. Despite the short stint as a host, it was enough to cause a psychotic break, and she would never be the same – lost to him, probably forever.

Each experience made him more and more jaded to the point where he couldn't fathom a time when he'd ever be ready for a relationship of that nature. It felt like an impossible task, and it always boiled down to Sha're – losing her. It was too much to try.

It was probably the reason he refused to let himself consider the possibility of Janet. Not only was he too scared to put himself out there, it was more complicated with her. She was his friend, his teammates' friends, a coworker, and the mother of a child he viewed as his own niece. There was a lot to consider and even more to lose. Paralyzed with indecision, he did nothing. Janet eventually got tired waiting – there had been an unspoken attraction there, and she never made the first move because she knew his history and never pushed. It was one of the best things about her. Not doing anything was probably one of the biggest mistakes of his life. It took seeing her die an eerily similar way to Sha're for him to realize that.

Daniel had some of the biggest regrets when it came to Janet. Her leaving hit him almost as hard as Sha're. Maybe it was the similar deaths or maybe it was because he felt more for both women than he had for any other. Whatever it was, it left him traumatized. How was he ever supposed to move on when every woman he so much as looked at in interest always ended up leaving him? He still felt the attraction, but he always had reasons to not get close.

It kind of almost felt like love one day just upped and left him when he thought about the few women who came after Janet. Leda was married (unhappily or not, it wasn't a line he'd cross), not to mention from a war torn planet and her need to stay. And Vala…well, she was an insane space pirate who robbed him of his chance for Atlantis. After being celibate for so long, of course he reacted to the brief moment they shared on Prometheus. There was only one exception when it came to her.

She came back.

Not just once but multiple times. When he originally met her, she wasn't his type at all — way too brazen, sexual, and flirtatious. She was just…too much. She was much the same the second time they met, but when she came back from the Ori galaxy, she was different, even though she tried to hide it behind the facade he'd grown so accustomed to seeing. It was only then when he began to realize so much of her was hidden behind that act of hers, and if he tried hard enough, he'd actually get to see the real her. After over a year of time spent with her, he could deny the attraction towards her but it would be a lie. Somewhere along the lines, he felt something shift inside him and it scared him more than any other romantic interest of his.

Per usual, he was terrified and did whatever he could to avoid getting hurt. He was so certain she would be his undoing, and he couldn't allow it to happen. He finally seemed to find himself in a place where he could see himself getting close to someone, but never in a million years could he imagine Vala being that someone he took the leap with. They were so wrong for each other, it wasn't even funny. There was also the fact she didn't feel the same for him. He was screwed either way.

It probably didn't even matter. Now that they'd cleaned up the mess they made with the Ori, Vala wouldn't stick around. He knew the only reason she had was because she felt guilty for unleashing them on the galaxy, and now that the threat had been eliminated, there was nothing here for her anymore. It was only a matter of time until she left for good, and became someone on a long list of people who've left him.

"Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel shook himself out gloomy thoughts to see Tomin standing in the doorframe of his office, his bag slung on his shoulder. "Tomin," he greeted. "Are you heading out?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I am about to depart, but I had to say something to you." Daniel arched his eyebrows in curiosity and waited for the man to speak. "You are a lucky man, Dr. Jackson."

"I am?" he asked with mild surprise and confusion. He guessed it was true but he wasn't sure what specifically Tomin was referring to.

"You are and you don't even know it," Tomin said cryptically. "I only hope you figure out why before it's too late."

Well, that helped clear things up – not. "Tomin –"

"Please take care of her," he cut Daniel off and abruptly left.

That was odd. He didn't have to ask who 'her' was, but he was still puzzled about the request. The more he thought about it, the more it bugged him, and he had to ask.

Daniel carelessly tossed pen on his desk before following the man only to almost run over Mitchell. They both jumped back before colliding.

"Whoa!" Mitchell put distance between them. "Slow down there, Sunshine. What's got you in such a hurry?"

"I'm looking for Tomin," he responded impatiently.

"Oh, he already left," Mitchelm informed him and Daniel frowned. How long had he been thinking in his office? "Good riddance, I say."

His frown deepened at the Colonel's unusual response. "I didn't realize you had a problem with Tomin."

He saw on Mitchell's face confusion but after a few seconds, recognition set it. "I didn't until he tried to poach Princess," he crossed his arms. "He's a nice fella, but if he thinks he can try to lure her away under my nose, he's got another thing coming."

Daniel's breath stilted and he felt his heart rate increase rapidly. "What?" he asked, feeling shocked. "H-he asked her to go with him?"

Mitchell's face twisted at the reminder. "Yeah, can you believe the guy?" He shook his head in disapproval. "Lucky for us, she had the good sense to say no."

He didn't hear anything the man said and walked away in a daze. She had an opportunity to leave – with a man who was technically still her husband – but she decided to stay on Earth. He remembered his earlier thoughts and realized he was wrong to group Vala in with the other women in his life. Yes, like all the others, she had been forced to leave, but unlike everyone else, Vala was the only one to ever come back – the only one who stayed. No one had chosen him in so long, he wasn't entirely sure how to handle it…but he couldn't just ignore it.

"Tomin asked you to leave with him?" he blurted out once he found her in Sam's lab.

"Oh boy," he heard Sam mumble.

"And you said no?" he continued. "Why?"

Both women stared at him with surprised expressions.

"I'm gonna go," Sam said slowly as she edged out of the lab, shutting the door behind her.

"Daniel –"

"Why didn't you go with him?" He spoke before she could ask what was wrong with him – he wasn't entirely sure himself.

"You're being weird," she remarked dryly. "I didn't want to go – why are you making such a big deal of it?"

It wasn't good enough for him – he needed more. "But why? Why stay? What's here for you?"

He didn't mean for it to come off like that – he swore he didn't – but based on her crestfallen face, he knew he hurt her.

Before he could apologize, she was already speaking. "Is the thought of me wanting to stay so ridiculous?"

"No, of course not! I just didn't know you wanted to," he deflated a little. "I didn't know there was anything worth staying for."

He didn't know why he said that.

Vala huffed incredulously. "Really? I thought I made it pretty clear."

What the fuck was she talking about? "How?" When had she ever done that? More importantly, how?

She made a noise of frustration. "I don't know how to communicate my feelings, Daniel – not in the way you'll understand them." She suddenly looked defeated. "I did it in the only way I knew how."

She didn't…she couldn't…there was no way she meant… "Vala, are you saying you stayed…b-because me?" The thought was baffling.

Vala sighed sadly and refused to look at him. "Is it really so unfathomable that I may actually feel something for you?" She started shaking her head. "You know what, don't answer that. If you want me to leave, then I'll leave."

She made a beeline for the door but he intercepted her. "I don't want you to leave – I'm so tired of people leaving me," he confessed, trapping her against the wall. "People have left me my whole life, but you…you're the only one who's ever come back."

So many emotions ran across her face and when it landed on one, he had no clue what it was. "You don't want me to leave," she stated with confidence. "Like me, you don't know how to express how you feel. This is your way of trying to show it."

She had a point. "What if you're right? Where do we go from here?"

There was something about Vala's smile that put him on edge. "I'm thinking something along the lines of…" she trailed off as she pushed her lips to his.

Daniel was caught off guard at first but it only lasted for a few seconds before he kissed her back. It felt…right. After all this time, the gnawing loneliness and abandonment he felt for most of his life was now gone and replaced with a feeling he hadn't felt in so long – pure joy.

"I'll never leave you," she vowed when they finally came up for air. "Just as long as you promise me the same."

He instantly promised the same. People always left him. Only one came back. Only one stayed for him – chose him completely.

And he got to spend the rest of his life with her.

The End.