The gate room was packed. I think everyone in the complex must have been there to welcome back the heroes who saved earth and blew up two Goa'uld ships in the bargain.

Pretty soon food began to show up along with soda from the vending machines and the impromptu party was in full swing. I saw General Hammond by one wall with something akin to a paternal smile on his face; ordinarily he would never have allowed this kind of breach of protocol, but this was a pretty special celebration.

We in SG-1 were having a bit of a celebration ourselves, together in a tight knot in the center of it all, none of us quite ready to let any of the others out of our sight. I don't think it had quite sunk in yet to any of us that we were all alive and together again. When I 'gated back to SGC from the Goa'uld ship, I could only hope Jack, Sam and Teal'c would somehow pull out a miracle and survive, but it didn't seem likely.

Hammond sent me off to the infirmary like a shot, even though after a session in that sarcophagus I couldn't have been more healthy. I'll never be able to prove it, but I'd be willing to bet the general gave orders to Dr. Fraiser to keep me occupied until they got some news. No doubt he didn't want a frantic archaeologist underfoot while he was trying to find out what was going on with the Goa'uld invasion. The good doctor certainly ran enough tests on me, mumbling something about getting data on the after-effects of using a sarcophagus. I don't think she could have gotten any decent readings because I was too anxious and keyed-up to sit still long enough for her to hook me up properly to anything.

I didn't know, until Hammond was standing in the doorway of the infirmary with a broad smile on his face, that my friends had survived. Fraiser must have seen the warning signs on my face because she suddenly pushed me toward a chair and I dropped into it without even realizing my knees had turned to water. They were alive. They were coming back home. Then I was on my feet and hugging Janet and pumping the general's hand and generally going into overdrive. The general, having delivered his good news, left to oversee the millions of details still to be seen to, and Janet turned to me with a sympathetic smile, reaching up to brush a hand over my cheek. I didn't realize until then that I'd been crying.

The look on Jack's face when he saw me in the gate room was something I don't think I'll ever forget. I remember hearing Sam call my name, but all I could see was Jack's face. All I could think of while waiting for them to get home was the look on his face when he realized he had to leave me behind. It was the right decision -- it was the only decision under the circumstances, but I can't imagine what it must have cost him to make it. I wouldn't have been able to do it, but then I don't have Jack's courage. I know he looks on me as his personal responsibility when we're on a mission, but I also know that any other decision would have sentenced the whole team to certain death. I liked this look a lot better. Don't know about the 'space monkey' though...

So SG-1 remained a little island unto itself in the teaming humanity. Sam had latched onto my arm and didn't seem to want to let go. Every now and then she'd look up at me with that sweet smile of hers and give my arm a little squeeze. After my parents died I didn't have any family and I never really got close to any of the foster families I'd stayed with. Jack, Sam and Teal'c had become my family, and Sam was my big sister. Even better, she was a big sister who understood what I was talking about and shared my passion for what we did. I can't even remember the number of times we'd pulled all-nighters in the name of research, subsisting on coffee and candy bars (well, I ate the candy bars), always surprised when Jack showed up to announce it was morning. Something very special would be missing from my life if Sam were gone.

Teal'c wasn't one to express his emotions, but he was hovering around me like he was afraid I was going to disappear. When Jack and Sam both let me go after our reunion, Teal'c had walked up to me, put his two large hands on my shoulders and said, "It is good to see you alive, Daniel Jackson." And his voice shook.

It's a humbling experience to realize you mean so much to your friends.

Jack hadn't budged from my side the whole time. Every now and then I'd feel his hand on my shoulder while he was talking to someone else, like he was just making sure I was still there. But although he wouldn't leave my side, he had barely spoken to me after I told them about the sarcophagus. As soon as I said the word, his face went white. I knew exactly what he was thinking, but there was no way I could talk to him about it here. People were constantly coming up to us, pounding us on our backs, pushing drinks into our hands, offering toasts. It was getting so loud and hot I was starting to get a headache. I remember having problems with headaches after Ra put me in that sarcophagus on Abydos, too. I'd have to remember to say something to Dr. Fraiser about it being a possible after-effect.

"Are you all right?"

Jack was looking intently at me, frowning in concern. Then I realized I'd taken off my glasses and was rubbing between my eyes. "Headache." I wrinkled my nose. "Getting kind of loud in here." That gave me an idea. Playing it for all it was worth, I contrived to look as unwell as possible. "Jack, I think I'd better get some air. Come with me?"

I must have done a pretty convincing job, because he immediately leaned over and said something to Sam. She darted me a worried look as Jack turned to Teal'c, but I winked and indicated Jack. I could see by the comprehension in her eyes she'd picked up on the colonel's mood, too, and she nodded her understanding. Before she let me leave, though, she gave me one last hug, and a kiss on the cheek for good measure. Then Jack was tugging me by the elbow and clearing a way through the crowd as if he was afraid I might pass out at any moment.

With Jack leading the way, it didn't take long for us to leave the crowd behind. I didn't say anything, curious as to where we'd end up. Not so surprisingly, we ended up in my office. Jack often dropped by here at odd hours. I had a habit of working late into the night, and he seemed to suffer from insomnia on occasion, so I'd gotten used to him stopping by on the pretext of getting a cup of coffee from the pot I always had on and staying for an hour or so. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes he'd turn on the small TV I kept there and watch some cable sports program while I continued to work, and sometimes he'd pretend to listen as I babbled on about some great new discovery I was making. No, I wasn't really surprised he'd brought us here. It had become something of a sanctuary for both of us here in the complex.

"Where's your aspirin?" he asked, waving me into a chair.

"No, don't bother. It's much better." I must have replied a tad too quickly, because his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he assessed me; I had obviously made a miraculously rapid recovery. "I just needed to get away from all that noise and stuff," I stammered. "Um, coffee?" I offered, turning away without waiting for a reply and fussing with the pot.

"Sure." Jack took up his usual seat on the small battered sofa along the wall. I was aware of his eyes on me as I prepared the coffee, but neither of us spoke until I'd poured the water through and sat down to wait for it to brew. Jack was still staring at me, and there was a haunted look in his eyes that worried me.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, and a little hoarse. "Daniel... the sarcophagus. It was there on the ship and I never thought --"

I hadn't thought of it either, until it was almost too late. "It wouldn't have made a difference," I interrupted.

His dark eyes flashed. "Wouldn't have made a difference? Daniel, you're alive because of that thing! I left you behind --"

"You didn't have a choice, Jack!" I leaned forward in my chair until I could reach out and touch his knee. "If you had taken the time to get me to the sarcophagus, you would have compromised the whole team, and you know it." I stared at him, forcing him to meet my eyes, willing him to accept what he instinctively knew to be true.

But it was like he never heard me. "I left you behind," he ground out. "Again." His voice broke and he dropped his head, rubbing his eyes so hard I knew it had to hurt. "Jesus Christ, Danny, you were still alive!" Suddenly he dropped his hands and stared at me. "How the hell did you get to that thing?" he rasped, dawning horror in his eyes. "Crawl?"

Actually, it was more like 'drag', inch by torturous inch, but they'd have to rip my fingernails out before I ever told Jack that. "I don't actually remember," I shrugged, perjuring myself without a qualm. "I just remember waking up in there."

He didn't believe me for a second. He just stared at me and I saw the same look on his face that I saw on the ship.

"Oh no you don't!" I think I actually snarled the words. I certainly got his attention. "Tell me if that were Sam or Teal'c in that situation, you wouldn't have made the same decision?"

His jaw tightened. "That's different --"

"How is that different?" I challenged.

"Carter and Teal'c are soldiers; they know the risks --"

"I know the risks! Jack, I'm here because I want to be here. I go through that Stargate because I want to find my wife, and because I'm a scientist and this is the opportunity of a lifetime for an archaeologist." I tapped his knee none too gently with my fist, just to make sure I still had his attention. "And I'm here because when I'm with you and Sam and Teal'c I know I'm as safe as I can possibly be in a job that has to be the most dangerous in the universe. And I know, if anything happens, it won't be because you didn't do all you could do. It won't be your fault." God, I wanted to pound those words into him so he'd never forget them. I pounded his knee instead, as if somehow that would make the difference. "You made the right decision this time, Jack, and if there's a next time, you'll make the right decision then, too."

Something like a tremor went through Jack's body. He took a deep breath, then raised his head and looked at me. "You seem awfully sure of that, Daniel," he said quietly, and with so much weariness in his voice it hurt to hear it.

"That's because I am," I said firmly. "I trust you, Jack. If I didn't, I wouldn't be 'gating all over the unknown galaxy with you." And that was the truth, plain and simple. I'd accompanied other SGC units on missions when my particular skills were called for, but it hadn't escaped my attention that I only went when the planets had been checked out in advance and there was absolutely no danger. As my CO, Jack had to approve my temporary transfer to any other team, and there was no doubt in my mind that those transfers only took place when he was completely satisfied I would be safe while out of his sight. He always made sure I didn't have to depend on strangers for my wellbeing. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

But there was still a look in his eyes that I didn't want to see there, and I got out of my chair and sat down beside him on the sofa. It took me a moment to get my thoughts together, then I took a breath and said, "Jack, I know that you, Sam and Teal'c would lay your lives down to protect me. I know that. But there's something you have to understand, too." I paused until he finally turned his head and looked at me. "I'm prepared to do the same thing for the three of you."

His eyes slid shut, but not before I saw the flash of pain there. After a few moments his hand found the back of my neck and squeezed. "I know that, Danny," he said softly. "I live with that every time we go through that Stargate."

"Just like I have to live with the thought that one of you might die trying to protect me," I gently reminded him. "We're a team, Jack. I don't want to die, but I'm not afraid, not if it means you and Sam and Teal'c would live."

"All for one and one for all?" he said with a small, tight smile.

"Not such a bad concept, is it?"

He looked at me then, and there was the beginning of peace within the turmoil in his eyes. "No. Not bad at all." His hand still rested on the back of my neck and suddenly he gave my head a not-so-gentle smack. "But no more of this dyin', Jackson," he growled. "Three times is your limit, got that?"

I grinned and threw him a sloppy salute, because I know it always annoys the hell out of him. "Yes sir!"

He opened his mouth to make a response suitable to my action, but was interrupted by, "Is this a private party, or can anyone join?"

Our heads swiveled around to find Sam and Teal'c in the doorway. I knew Sam would come to check on us sooner or later. She was giving me a look that promised she would drag the whole story out of me eventually, even if it meant withholding coffee until I cracked. I shot her a reassuring smile to let her know all was well and she gave me an almost imperceptible nod in return. That would have to do for now.

Teal'c was looking at me with some concern. "Daniel Jackson, are you still unwell?"

"Y'know, it's an amazing thing, Teal'c," Jack drawled, giving me a sidelong glance that said he knew he'd been conned. "That headache of his just miraculously disappeared as soon as we got here, isn't that right, Danny boy?"

I shot him a dirty look for the nickname; he knows that always annoys the hell out of me. "I just needed to get away from all that noise," I reassured Teal'c.

"I myself found it somewhat disturbing," he told me.

"So," Sam asked brightly, "are we moving the party in here?"

I looked at Jack, who shrugged and tried to look nonchalant, but I think there was something tugging at all of us tonight, bringing us together. I know the last thing I wanted was to be alone; I could foresee some nasty nightmares in my future and I wanted to postpone them as long as possible.

"What do you say, Jack?" I murmured. "All for one?"

He turned to me, crinkles forming at the edges of his eyes as a smile slowly quirked his lips. Suddenly, he looked years younger and at last I saw the look on his face I'd been hoping for. "And one for all," he agreed. "Sam, Teal'c," he waved at the two in the doorway, "come in and join the party. We've got a lot to celebrate, kids."

Wedged between Jack and Sam on the sofa, with Teal'c on the chair, I settled back in complete contentment, listening with half an ear as Sam recounted some story from the party. The nightmares might come later, but there would be none tonight. Against all odds we were home and we were alive; and I was surrounded by the people who kept me safe.

**fin**