Non Sequitur

by

Jackjunkie

Click for details and warnings

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. This story may not be posted anywhere without the consent of the authors.

Non Sequitur

"Dan-yel! Wake up, Dan-yel."

Daniel Jackson burrowed his head deeper into the pillow and tried to block out the intrusive sounds.

"Have you forgotten what day it is? Larry will be here soon, and you will be late." A light touch on his shoulder accompanied the words.

With a groan, he rolled over. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he squinted through the morning brightness at the blurry vision taking shape before him.

"Sha're, why can't I sleep just a little while longer?"

"You're going to Earth today, remember?" She tossed the answer over her shoulder as she got up and moved away. "You've talked of nothing for days but visiting your friends. You don't get to see them very often."

"Earth? But--" Suddenly the implications of what he was seeing and hearing hit him, driving the last traces of lethargy from his sleep-fogged brain. He sat bolt upright.

"Sha're? W-w-what--? H-how--? W-where--?"

His wife hurried back to the bed, her lovely face lined with concern. "What is wrong, Dan-yel? Do you feel sick?" Extending a hand, she laid it lightly on his forehead.

Daniel shivered, closing his eyes to savor her touch for one blessed, heart-rending instant. Upon reopening them he was startled to see she hadn't vanished. She was still there. This couldn't be a dream. It was too real. Then what?

Reaching up, he grasped her hand and pulled it gently to his chest, resting it against his heart. His other hand softly stroked her face. He blinked again to dispel the tears welling in his eyes. He didn't want anything to cloud his view of the precious face he hadn't seen in so very long.

"Sha're." He whispered the name as though speaking it aloud would break the spell and cause the vision to disappear. "I miss you so much."

Her worried expression did not lighten. "Dan-yel, you are behaving very strangely this morning. I will miss you, too, but you will only be gone for a day. You will be back this evening. I thought you wanted to make this trip. You have been so eager to tell the general all about what you have found here about the chaapa-ai. And you will see O'Neill."

"Yes, the Stargate. And Jack. What...?" Daniel concentrated, trying to think. He felt like his world had been turned upside down. What was the last thing he remembered?

The Stargate. They were on P4Y-656. There were some kind of atmospheric storms all over the planet. One was centered over the Stargate area and Sam had been worried about electrical interference. Daniel remembered dialing home and following his teammates through the gate.

That's when the routine wormhole ride took a left turn into the Twilight Zone. He remembered energy crackling through his body, spinning him out of control. Then... nothing. How had he come to be here on Abydos with Sha're acting as though nothing was wrong and it was all perfectly normal? Had the storm caused a malfunction in the Gate?

"Sha're, what day is it?"

"Day? Why it is the eleventh day of the season of hot winds, in the third year we have been together."

Daniel did the calculations in his head, translating from the Abydonian calendar. It was the present day. Not time travel then. The Stargate hadn't somehow thrown him back into the past. Could it be an alternate reality, like the one he'd experienced during the Goa'uld attack on the other Earth? But that didn't make sense either because how could he have taken another Daniel Jackson's physical place? That's not the way it had worked before.

"Sha're, I know this may sound crazy, but when was the last time you saw me? Before this morning, I mean."

"Dan-yel, I saw you last night when we went to bed. And before that when you were preparing your notes for today's trip, and before that at the evening meal, and before that--"

"All right, I get the picture." So that eliminated the alternate universe theory, or else what had happened to the other Daniel?

"It is my fault," Sha're guessed. "You did not get enough sleep last night and now you are tired and confused. And do not tell me you have forgotten how we spent the night or I will be very hurt."

"No, Sha're, you know I would never hurt you." His head was swimming. Could this be some Goa'uld trick? They had learned very little about the aliens' technology. "I think I'll pay a visit to your father. I need to talk to Kasuf... and Skaara."

"Skaara?" Sha're's eyes grew wide. "Dan-yel, if that is a joke it is not funny at all. You know how much I miss my brother, and my father will not look kindly on anyone who shows disrespect for his dead son."

"D-dead? Skaara's dead?"

"Yes, can you be this tired you have forgotten the accident which took him from us?"

He gazed into those dark eyes and all he saw was a wife's loving concern. The eyes did not glow. The voice did not echo. It was not Amaunet, but his own Sha're.

Why was he looking a gift horse in the mouth? This was the moment he'd dreamed of for nearly two long years. Was he crazy not to simply accept it? He didn't see what else he could do for now anyway. Maybe if he went along with the situation the answer would reveal itself. How he yearned to go along with it, to give himself up to this moment, be it dream or reality.

"I-I guess I am a little tired." He smiled hesitantly. "I'll be fine once I'm up and going."

Sha're returned his smile and pressed her lips to his forehead. "Then get up, my sleepyhead, or you won't have time for breakfast, and I won't have it said I sent you to Earth hungry." With a mock frown, she left the room.

Finding his glasses in their usual place by the bedside, he put them on and watched things come into clearer focus. He needed to find the key to bring his situation into similar focus. He wouldn't find it lying here in bed. Getting up, he proceeded to wash and get dressed, then joined Sha're for breakfast.

***

Daniel exited his home and stood, looking around. The familiar surroundings tugged at his heartstrings. People bustled about their morning chores, smiling and nodding at him as they passed. They also behaved as though it was perfectly normal to see him here. He responded as to old long-lost friends.

"Daniel!"

He heard his name called in a voice he did not recognize. Scanning the crowd, he noticed a bearded, portly, middle-aged man waving to him from a vendor's stall across the way. He approached him curiously.

"Good morning to you, Daniel. Surely you were not going to start your workday without one of your favorite akfir fruits. This one looks nice and juicy." The man handed him a small, reddish-brown globe.

Daniel accepted it with a word of thanks. A sweet cross between a fig and a pomegranate, it was indeed one of his favorite Abydonian foods. Inhaling the tantalizing aroma, he bit into it, relishing the juicy pulp. Abydos was sadly lacking in chocolate, so while he lived here his sweet tooth had had to make do with sugary fruits and pastries.

The vendor slapped him on the back. "Old Maak'dul knows what you like, eh? You won't find fruit like that on your big trip home today, I'll wager."

Juice dribbled down his chin as Daniel swallowed another bite of fruit in surprise. He absently wiped it away with the back of his hand. Apparently there was no secret about his planned trip through the Stargate to Earth today. He seemed to be the only one who didn't know all about it. This fruit vendor acted well acquainted with him, although Daniel could not recall seeing him before today.

"You'll go, you'll have a nice visit, you'll come back and tell Maak'dul all about it, eh? I don't travel as much as I used to, and it's always good to hear about new places."

"Ahh, sure," Daniel agreed.

"But then you don't travel so much anymore either, hm? You don't want to spend too much time away from that pretty wife of yours. Ah, to be young again." Maak'dul shook his head indulgently.

"Um, so you see me around here a lot?" Daniel inquired.

"What's that? Don't I see you every day, passing on your way from your home to your work in the chamber you found in that cave? Maps and charts for travel to far-off lands. All well and good but you spend too much time cooped up there working with Doctor Dunbar. It's about time you got out and did some travelling yourself instead of only working out ways for others to do so."

"It is? I mean, I see..."

"Daniel!"

He turned to see a man in SGC fatigues waving to him from down the street.

"There's Larry Dunbar now," Maak'dul said. "Go on. Have a good trip. I'll see you when you get back."

"Yeah, bye." Licking the last of the fruit juice from his sticky fingers, Daniel walked over to meet his supposed colleague.

Dunbar was about Daniel’s age, tall and lanky with dark hair cut short military style.

"Let's get going, Daniel. It's time we headed for the Stargate. We don't want to keep the brass waiting."

"Uh no, I guess not."

"Have you got your notes?"

Daniel held up the notebook Sha're had handed him before he left home.

"Good. This new method you've devised for correlating star addresses to the aliens' locations could be just what the SGC needs to track them. I'm not surprised General Hammond requested you accompany me to the briefing today."

General Hammond. That was a good sign... he hoped. Maybe when he saw the general he'd finally get some answers to this riddle he found himself in.

"Is it such an unusual request for him to make?" he asked carefully.

Dunbar shrugged. "I'm the official SGC member posted here so he's usually satisfied with my reports. As our resident consultant, I know you don't make the trip through the Gate very often, but you don't have to be nervous about meeting with Hammond. He's really a regular guy behind those general's stars."

"I'll remember that." Daniel's mind was in a whirl. So he wasn't a member of SG-1 here, but was living on Abydos and doing consulting work for the SGC regarding his discoveries. "Who else will be at the meeting? Will anyone from SG-1 be there?"

Dunbar shook his head. "As far as I know Colonel O'Neill's still on extended medical leave and they haven't re-formed SG-1 yet."

"M-medical leave?" Daniel wondered what was wrong with Jack.

"Since that mission where his team were all killed by the aliens. As the colonel was the only one who made it back alive, naturally they took him off active duty for a while. Must have been rough. I thought you were a friend of his."

"Y-yeah, I am... or at least I was." Daniel wasn't sure of anything at this point. "W-who were the other team members? The ones who died?"

"Captain Carter -- didn't you say you'd met her once? -- Lieutenant Goldstein, and the archaeologist Doctor Bouchard. He was a good guy, don't think he'd been with the team long. That's another reason Command's so anxious to hear your report. Any step closer to these aliens means a step closer to payback. SG-1 had a lot of friends."

"I know." Daniel felt as though he'd been gut-punched. Sam was dead? He didn't recognize the other names, but they had to be good men if they were on SG-1 no matter what had happened to his reality. That still left one teammate unaccounted for.

"Is there a Teal'c on any of the teams?"

Dunbar tugged at his ear as though it would jog his memory. "Teelk? Don't recollect that name. It's a strange one. I think I'd remember if I'd heard it. Is he Air Force?"

"Not exactly." The more Daniel learned, the less sense it all made. Maybe he'd be able to put it together when he got to Earth.

***

Sitting at the familiar conference table, in the familiar briefing room, regarding the familiar face of General Hammond, Daniel realized he'd never felt so out of synch in his entire awkward existence. He didn't know how to react to things that were the same and yet not the same.

"What do you mean you can't add anything to your notes? Doctor Jackson, this base is pursuing a vital mission, and we don't have time for games."

"I assure you, General, this isn't a game." Daniel chewed on his lip and wondered if he should come out with the truth. Without any evidence, however, he knew it would sound crazy. No one had believed him that other time when he'd come back from the alternate reality. Sam had been open to the possibility, but Sam wasn't here. Without her to back him up with a scientific basis for what he was experiencing, Hammond wouldn't give credence to his story.

Jack. He had to talk to Jack. SG'1's leader hadn't really believed him before either, but he had trusted him anyway. Daniel didn't know if he could count on that trust surviving into this topsy-turvy world, but he didn't know what else to try.

"I'm sorry, General Hammond, but some recent computations have affected the entire tracking theory. I need some time to make the corrections before I present inaccurate information. I know how important it is that the data for your search locations be reliable."

Hammond considered him, then nodded in agreement. "Very well. How much time do you need? Will twenty-four hours be adequate?"

"Yes, sir, that should do it." That'd give him plenty of time to go see Jack.

"Fine. We'll reconvene this meeting tomorrow at oh-nine-hundred hours. Doctor Dunbar can show you where you can work. Dismissed."

Daniel stood as the military filed out of the room. Then he allowed Larry to conduct him through corridors he knew all too well.

When they were alone, Dunbar rounded on him in exasperation. "Look, Daniel, what is all this? You never told me about any change in the tracking computations."

"It, uh, just came to me last night. I guess I should’ve mentioned it before. Sorry."

"Well, you'd better be ready by tomorrow or you'll find out how ticked off the general can get." They arrived at the lab. "You can work in here."

"Thanks. I'm gonna take off for a while, but I'll be back."

"What? Don't you know how important this is? You've got to have this done on time."

"I will, don't worry. I have to go pay a visit to Colonel O'Neill. Condolences, you understand. It won't take long. I'll have plenty of time to finish up here when I get back."

"Well okay, but don't expect the general to buy any more excuses."

"No sweat." Leaving Larry and the lab behind, Daniel quickly made his way topside to the base exit.

***

He banged on the door again. Jack's car was in the driveway so he ought to be home. Daniel peered through the window next to the door. He could see nothing moving, but he thought he heard a noise. He decided to walk around to the back entrance.

Losing his team... Daniel didn't want to think how hard that would be on Jack. His friend took his responsibilities as team leader very seriously. To return from a mission without his team would be a crime against Jack's very nature.

Extended leave... Daniel wondered if Jack was considering retirement again.

He knocked loudly on the back door… still no response. He eyed the roof speculatively, but there was no reason for Jack to be up there stargazing in the daytime. He renewed his pounding. This time he was sure he heard a muffled thump inside the house, followed by a series of progressively louder sounds. Suddenly the door was flung open.

"For cryin' out loud, can't a person get a decent night's sleep around here?"

"Ahh, it's almost noon, Jack."

Daniel took in the disheveled appearance, the bloodshot eyes, and the backdrop of empty bottles scattered over the table, counters, and floor. Jack must have the mother of all hangovers. This was not good.

"So what if it is noon? Is that any reason to go waking someone up?" Jack peered blearily at his caller. "Daniel? Daniel Jackson?"

"That's me. Can I come in, Jack?"

"Why not? The damage is done." Jack turned away from the door. "Watch your step."

Daniel followed him into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Taking a closer look at the bottles while Jack rummaged in a cabinet, he noted they weren't just beer bottles, but liquor as well -- whiskey mostly. Jack had been doing some hard drinking.

Jack pulled out a half-full bottle and a glass from the cupboard. "Little hair of the dog?" he offered hospitably.

"It's a little early for that, isn't it?" Daniel asked doubtfully.

"Never did understand what the blazes the time of day had to do with having a drink," Jack muttered, sloshing whiskey into the glass. Raising it in a mocking toast, he saluted his visitor. "To old friends." He downed half the glass in one gulp.

"Jack, we need to talk." Daniel felt desperate. Was Jack in any condition to understand his problem, never mind help with it?

Carrying the bottle and glass to the table, Jack took a seat and waved the bottle invitingly at another chair. "Talk away, Jackson. 'M all ears."

Plucking a bottle from the chair, Daniel sat down and scrutinized his friend. He didn't know where to begin. He plunged in with the excuse he'd used for the visit.

"I'm sorry to hear about the team."

Jack's vacant eyes focused, becoming hard as agates. "Are you now? That's just... swell. Okay, you've done your duty, you can leave now. I think you can find the door." He took another swig of his drink.

Daniel flinched. Way to put your foot in it, Jackson. Nothing like kicking your best friend when he's down. He searched for the right words, but there was no easy way to say what he had to say.

"Look, I know it was hard, but it didn't have to happen. Something's wrong--"

"Oh something's wrong all right," Jack cut him off. "I lost my team, that's what's wrong. I screwed up, and now three people are dead. And you're trying to tell me it didn't have to happen?" The harsh laugh held no trace of amusement. "You think I don't know that? If I'd done my job, or if they'd had another commander who'd done his, they'd be alive right now. I know that, so don't you try to tell me you know what it was like. How the hell would you know, Jackson? Have you ever led three people to their deaths?"

Daniel reminded himself the angry words were a barrier his friend used to shield his pain. He took a deep breath. "Jack," he said quietly, "hear me out, please. I know this is going to sound crazy, but things aren't supposed to be like this." Seeing Jack about to interrupt again, he hurried on, spilling his story out in a breathless rush. "Our lives aren't supposed to be like this. Something's changed everything, I don't know what, but Sam was my friend, too, because I was on SG-1, I am on SG-1 with you and her and Teal'c, and we were all going through the Stargate on P4Y-656, but there was a storm and something happened, a malfunction, and when I came out I woke up in this whole different world, where things are the same, but they're not, and you have to help me find a way to put it back the way it was, you have to, Jack, there's no one else."

Jack looked at him for a long moment. "You know, I always knew you were weird, Jackson, but I never thought you were crazy." He finished his drink and poured another.

"What can I say to make you believe me?" Daniel's head dropped forlornly into his hands. How could he convince Jack this was real and not a delusion? He looked up to try a new tack. "What about Teal'c? He wasn't with you on the mission?"

"Who's Teelk? Never heard of him."

"Big guy, snake on his forehead, Goa'uld larva in his belly?"

"You're talking about one of those alien warriors?"

"Yes, a Jaffa."

"Why would he be with us? They're the enemy, in case you hadn't noticed."

"This one isn't. He was a serpent guard, First Prime of Apophis. When we went to Chulak after Sha're and Skaara were captured, he helped us escape from prison there and joined us so he could fight to free his people."

"I don't know what you're talking about. We never went to anyplace called Choo-lack and I sure as hell never made friends with any alien. Skaara..." Jack scowled into his glass. "Skaara's dead." He looked up from under lowered brows, his carefully blank eyes issuing a warning against going deeper into that subject. "The last time I saw Sha're she was with you... and you've never been on SG-1 or any other team."

"I know that's the way you remember it--" Daniel began.

"I'm not drunk enough to forget... not yet anyway," Jack mumbled. He glared at Daniel. "After the aliens came through the Gate at the base and attacked our people, we went back to Abydos to find out what was going on. You showed us that map room with the addresses for the different Gates, and we've been trying to track the aliens ever since. You stayed there to work on the project on a consulting basis, but you never came here to join the field operations."

"What I'm saying is I did, or I was supposed to." Pushing his chair back, Daniel stood up, leaning his hands on the table as he gestured to emphasize his point. "Something happened to me yesterday with the Stargate so I woke up today with a whole different history. At least it's different starting from your visit to contact me again on Abydos, from what you just said. So Apophis never came there and took Sha're and Skaara. Maybe the Stargate malfunction also prevented him from coming through to Abydos. So everything from that point on diverged in a whole different direction. We never went to Chulak, never met Teal'c -- he could still be working for Apophis, if he's even still alive. Anything could have happened."

"Uh huh. Whatever you say."

Daniel ran his hands through his long hair in exasperation. "I understand there would’ve been no reason for me to join the team in that case. And the missions your other team went on would have been different from the ones I remember. But there has to be something I can tell you..." He thought back over some of their missions together. "Did any of your missions land you in an underground prison with a Gate missing its DHD?"

"What is this, Twenty Questions? You gonna guess all the imaginary missions I didn't go on until you hit on one I did? No, that never happened."

"In the past I remember, it did," Daniel stated. "You gave me some good advice about how to behave since I had no experience being in prison... and you did."

Jack stared at him. "I don't talk about..."

"You did then, because I needed your help."

Jack's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I can say anything when I'm drunk."

"If I've been living on Abydos, when have we had an opportunity to get drunk together?"

"I don't know, but maybe somebody else I did get drunk with has a big mouth. It doesn't prove anything."

"No, I guess it doesn't." Daniel sighed tiredly. "I can't give you absolute proof if that's what you want. And I guess you don't know me well enough in your experience to trust my word." He looked searchingly into the fathomless dark eyes. "But, Jack, if there's any possibility at all I'm telling the truth, if Skaara and Sam and the rest of your team aren't supposed to be dead, then don't you want the chance to set things right and bring them back?"

Jack's hand tightened around the bottle. He looked up grimly. "I screwed up the last mission. That's how they got dead. If they really have another chance, they're better off without me. I'd only screw it up again."

"How can you turn your back on them?"

"Don't you understand?!" Jack yelled savagely. The chair clattered to the floor as he jumped to his feet, confronting Daniel across the table. "I was the leader. I should’ve died before letting my team be killed. I should be dead, not them!"

Daniel reached out a hand, but pulled it back when Jack jerked away from his touch. "Jack, you were ready to throw your life away once because you thought it wasn't worth living. I thought you'd changed your mind about that. You turned your life around and made it worth living, not only for yourself but for the people around you and those you helped."

"Oh yeah, I really helped my team, didn't I?"

Daniel knew he wasn't getting through to this man. "The Jack O'Neill I know cares. He wouldn't give up."

"Maybe I'm not the Jack O'Neill you know then. So why don't you take a hike."

A wave of discouragement doused his last spark of hope. Daniel didn't know what else to say. Maybe there wasn't anything more to be said. He didn't even know how Jack could help anyway. He just hadn't known where else to turn.

"Didn't you hear me? Or do you want me to help you on your way?" Jack took a wild swing and missed his target by a mile. Stumbling, he sprawled across the table.

Daniel looked desolately down at the man he was more accustomed to looking up to. "I never thought you'd fall into that self-pity trap again. I guess I was wrong."

Jack laughed weakly. "I guess we both were."

Daniel walked out, without a backward glance at what remained of the man who was his friend in another lifetime.

***

Daniel strolled through the quiet dusk on Abydos.

He'd spent the afternoon in the base lab, trying to come up with a solution and getting nowhere. If a Stargate malfunction had somehow changed history he didn't have a clue how to change it back. He could have used Sam's knowledge of physics, or Teal'c's limited familiarity with Goa'uld technology, or Jack's practical approach to problems. That thought brought forth a melancholy smile. Jack would probably advocate kicking the Stargate to get things back on track. At this point Daniel was desperate enough to try it. He didn't have any better ideas. He needed his team. He couldn't do this on his own.

He'd finally given up and come home to get a good night's rest before going back to the base for the scheduled morning meeting. He'd realized this must have affected many more people than himself and his friends. All the people SG-1 had met on their missions would have had their circumstances changed as well. The Touched from the Land of Light, Nareem's people, the Argosians -- so many of them would be dead or in trouble now because SG-1 hadn't been there to help them. The magnitude of it all was simply beyond his ability to repair. Maybe it was time to turn the problem over to someone else. He could tell the general the truth and see if the scientists on staff had any ideas.

Larry had stayed behind at the base for the night so Daniel was alone with his thoughts. He was roused from them by a friendly voice.

"So, Daniel, how was your trip home? Did you have a good time?"

He looked up and saw the fruit vendor closing up his stall for the night. Everyone else had already gone home to their evening meals.

Daniel sighed. "No, I didn't. Home wasn't exactly home anymore."

"Ah, that is often the way of it when one has been away a long time. Come, sit, we will talk." Maak'dul pulled up two overturned crates and gestured for Daniel to join him.

Daniel sank down tiredly.

"Here, have an akfir on the house." The merchant tossed him one of the ripe fruits.

Daniel caught it and turned it over in his hand, staring at it without taking a bite.

"Things cannot be that bad, my friend," Maak'dul consoled him. "You have a beautiful, loving wife, a good home, friends, work you love. What more could you ask?"

"For myself, nothing," Daniel answered, gazing upward at the stars beginning to show in the darkening sky. "But it's not right to think only of myself. There's been a... a mistake, and others have suffered. How can I be happy through someone else's misfortune?"

"No, I see that you cannot. This is not good. We were afraid of this. It is why I am here."

Daniel looked curiously at the vendor. He realized this stranger did not belong on Abydos. He should have seen it earlier if he had not been so wrapped up in his own confusion. "Who are you?" he asked now.

"I was sent here through the Stargate to make sure you were all right. I see now you are not. I am sorry."

"What happened?"

"My people live on Elbara, the planet you were exploring yesterday. You did not encounter us because of the time streams that flow across our planet. One of them intersected the Stargate at the moment you entered it, interrupting your life path and depositing you in this altered timeline."

"So that's it." It began to make sense to Daniel now. "Can you help me get back to my previous timeline?" he asked excitedly.

"No, I am very sorry. We do not control the time streams. We have simply learned to live around them. We do not know how to correct the changes one has caused."

"There has to be some way I can reverse its effects. If I re-entered another time stream...?"

"That is possible, but there is no way to tell what would happen." Maak'dul shook his head gravely. "If you entered the Stargate on our planet during another time stream intersection, it might place you back in your own timeline, or in another new one altogether. How can we say?"

Daniel brushed aside the objection. "I have to try. People's lives depend on it. You said you've learned to live around the time streams. Does that mean you can chart when and where they happen? Do you know when another will intersect the Stargate?"

"Yes, they occur at regular intervals, accompanied by the storms you saw. There will be one tomorrow at the same hour you passed through it yesterday. If you intend to try this, I would advise you to do so as soon as possible. I believe the farther away you get from the original accident, the harder to duplicate your precise timeline."

"Then I'll try tomorrow. I won't return to the base for the meeting in the morning. I'll gate to your planet instead."

The alien merchant clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Daniel. I hope you find the life you lost."

"Thank you, Maak'dul. So do I."

***

Daniel stood in the shadowed doorway of his home watching Sha're go about the homely tasks of preparing a meal. He'd observed her do these very same things many times during the year they'd spent together, but it had been so very long since the last time he cherished the ordinary sight now as something precious he'd thought lost to him forever. Finally he stepped forward to greet her.

"My Dan-yel, you are home." Her lovely smile lit her face, welcoming him to the security of her love.

Oh God, how could he send her back to the Goa'uld? How could he condemn the life dearer to him than his own to being subverted by the parasite Amaunet? Yet, how could he trade the lives of Skaara, Sam, and countless others for her safety?

He kissed her hungrily and held her close, hands tangled in her soft, cascading hair.

She nestled snugly against him, then pulled gently away with a laugh. "I am gladdened to see you, too, my husband, but we will have plenty of time for that later. Now you must eat. Come."

Plenty of time. Would they ever have time again? Nonetheless, Daniel did as she asked, trying to make the evening as normal as it could be.

They ate and cleaned up and chatted about their days. He listened avidly to all the news of friends and family, all the little bits of daily chatter he'd gone so long without. He commiserated over small mishaps and laughed with her over silly incidents. His heart caught in his throat at hearing the carefree laugh he loved so dearly.

"Sha're."

"Yes, my Dan-yel."

"Tell me you love me."

She smiled fondly at him. "I tell you that every day, Dan-yel. One would think you would grow tired of hearing it."

"I will never, never grow tired of it." He paused to steady his shaking voice before resuming, "Pretend--... Pretend I haven't heard you say it in a long time. Pretend I've been away longer than a single day, much longer, and I've come home to you at last."

"If that is what you wish." Her smile faded as she looked at him seriously. "I love you, my Dan-yel."

"As I love you, Sha're."

She took his hand, playing lightly with his fingers. "And where have you been on this pretend journey, my Dan-yel?"

"I've been... exploring many new worlds through the Stargate."

"Ah, always the Stargate." She nodded understandingly. "But I cannot but be grateful for it, for it is what brought you here to me." Her expression turned mischievous. "Shall I not be jealous of the women you have met on these many worlds? I am sure you quite forgot about me on your voyage."

A sound between a laugh and a sob escaped his lips. "No, Sha're, there was never anyone but you. I dreamt of you every night and carried you in my heart every day."

Tenderly she brushed his hair back where it had fallen across his glasses. "Welcome home from your long journey, husband."

He wrapped his arms about her waist and bent his forehead to her own, gazing deeply into her ebony eyes. "I've missed you so much, my wife."

"And I have missed you, Dan-yel," she whispered softly, her sweet breath warm on his lips.

He kissed her, pouring nearly two long years of yearning into that kiss, and she returned it passionately. His hands slid up her back and along her delicate neck. He caressed her face, drinking in the beloved sight as though he would burn it into his memory. Then taking her hand, he led her to their bed, knowing he would have to make one night last him an indefinite period of further separation.

***

"Sha're, I have to go away again today." He lay in bed, running a finger along her shoulder and arm until he interlaced his fingers with hers. Morning light spilled across them in a play of contrasting shades, his pale skin cool against her tawny warmth.

"Mm, back to the base again?" The fingers of her free hand ruffled through his tousled hair.

"Well, that's where I'm supposed to go, but I'm not going. I'm going to another world, another Stargate. There's something I have to fix, something wrong I have to set right."

"You must go then, Dan-yel, and do what you must."

He paused before uttering his next words. "Sha're, do you trust me?"

She answered without hesitation. "With my life, Dan-yel, and with my heart."

He closed his eyes to gather strength. He'd decided he could not do this without her knowledge. He had no right to decide her fate without her consent. Opening his eyes again, he fastened his gaze earnestly on her.

"Sha're, what I'm going to say will sound very strange, but please think about it seriously before you answer. What if... if I could change things, if I could make it possible to bring Skaara back?"

"Dan-yel, how could you do this? Is it like when Ra's sarcophagus brought you and me back to life?"

"Something like that, but it has to do with the Stargate. If I could bring Skaara back, and my friend Sam Carter and some of the other people on Earth and elsewhere who have died, but if it meant a sacrifice..." How could he explain? How could he make clear what she would face? "If we had to be apart for a very long time, and if it meant you would have to suffer--"

"Dan-yel, I would suffer gladly to have my brother back. You know that. And your friends... if I can do anything--"

"You must listen to me. It will mean you won't be yourself. You will have a demon, a being like Ra, inside you, controlling you, and it would be so for Skaara as well. But he would be alive and so would the others, and we would all be working very hard to save you both."

Her hand tightened on his. "This frightens me. But it would frighten me more to live every day knowing I might have had my brother back and I did not try out of my own selfish fear."

"Sha're, I will find you and free you from this demon, though it may take a very long time. You know I won't stop trying, no matter how long it takes." He remembered a song that expressed how he felt and he quoted those words to her now. "If I have to run, if I have to crawl, if I have to swim a hundred rivers just to climb a thousand walls, always know that I would find a way to get to where you are... there's no place that far they can take you that I will not follow. Someday we will be together again. I promise you. And my friends will help. O'Neill has promised this, and I trust Jack's word with my life, so I know I can trust him with yours."

"Dan-yel, you will trust your friend, and I will trust you. I do not wish to be parted from you, but I will do what I must to help my brother and your friends. I am your wife. Can I do less than help those you would help?"

"You are so brave."

"You are the brave one, my Dan-yel. I know how difficult it must be for you to ask this of me."

"Sha're--" His voice broke. Breathing deeply to recover, he continued, "I must go."

"Then come. We will eat as any day when you are going off to work. And before you know it, the time will be here when we will be together again."

"Oh, Sha're." Kissing her desperately, he felt the anguish of parting and the hope of rejoining her someday. This had to work, for all their sakes.

***

He walked out the door and didn't look back. They'd done as Sha're had suggested, breakfasting and preparing for their day as though it were a normal one. Then with one last clinging, lingering kiss, he'd bade her good-bye.

"I promise I'll come for you. I promise," he'd whispered to her over and over.

"I know you will," she said as they tore themselves from each other's arms.

Straightening his bowed shoulders, he headed for the Stargate. He hadn't gone far when he saw two marines approaching him.

"Good morning, Doctor Jackson," one of them greeted. "It was getting late so General Hammond sent us to escort you to the meeting."

"Oh, yes, sorry. I, er, overslept," Daniel improvised. "I was just on my way to the Stargate now."

"Yes, sir. Let's not keep the general waiting."

"No," Daniel agreed, seeing little choice but to fall in between his escorts. He still had time before his deadline. Maybe he could cut the meeting short and gate to the Elbaran planet from Earth.

***

He realized how futile that plan was as soon as the general began the meeting.

Hammond did not understand why the new theory calculations weren't ready today and was obviously becoming increasingly suspicious of Daniel's stalling.

The frazzled linguist finally gave up and decided to come clean with his story. The looks of doubt on everyone's faces produced the sinking realization it had been a big mistake.

"You do understand how preposterous this sounds, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked skeptically. "A change in the timeline."

"Yes, but you see, that's because of an advanced physics we don't understand. I'm sure it could all be explained scientifically." He couldn't find a single look of acceptance around the table. Larry Dunbar looked dismayed.

The general passed over the issue and pointed out the next snag. "Hmph, well even if that's true, you yourself admit there's no guarantee your solution will work in the way you hope."

"N-no, there's not, but it's the only chance we have to try to set things right," Daniel pleaded. "Believe me, General, Earth and the SGC are far better off in the other timeline. Pretty much everybody is but me personally."

Hammond countered reasonably but firmly, "I only have your word for that. Besides, what if your trip results in altering the timeline in a way harmful to Earth? Perhaps the aliens would attack or even take control of the planet. No, we can't risk any further damage being done. I have to deny your request for Gate travel to P4Y-656."

"General, please..."

"That's my final decision, Doctor. Furthermore, until we can determine whether any of this is real, fantasy, or even an attempt at sabotage, I'm afraid I'll have to order you held in custody, pending an investigation. Airman, escort Doctor Jackson to one of the bunkrooms and remain on guard outside his door."

"Yes, sir."

"B-b-but, General, you can't do this!"

"Doctor Jackson, I'd like to keep this situation as comfortable for you as possible until we confirm any wrongdoing on your part. Don't make me lock you behind bars in the security cellblock."

"No, sir." Daniel's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Son, maybe you've just been working too hard. I'll arrange for our medical staff to give you a complete psychiatric work-up. Dismissed."

"Sir..." Daniel gave him one last searching look and gave up. "Yes, sir." Listlessly he accompanied the airman from the briefing room.

***

Daniel lay staring morosely at the bunk above him. There wasn't much time left before the time stream intersected the Stargate on P4Y-656 today. If he didn't make it he'd have to wait for the next one, which placed him one step further from ever reaching his goal. He had to get out of here... but how?

Even if he got past the locked door and the guard, he still had to make his way to the control room, get the security codes he needed to dial up the address, and go through the Gate before anyone stopped him. Since it was likely the entire base would be on alert by then, he'd have the armed might of the U.S. Air Force blocking his way. It would be a neat trick for one lone archaeologist to get past a set of obstacles like that.

If only he hadn't failed so miserably at getting Jack to believe his story. At least then he might have had some help. It was his own fault for not being convincing enough. If he couldn't even get his best friend to believe him, how had he ever expected to make General Hammond listen to him?

Going over and over his shortcomings was getting him nowhere, however. He didn't have help so he'd have to try something on his own, even if he was sure to fail.

The first step was getting out of this room. As for the rest... well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. A faint smile curved his lips at the recollection of Jack's words... his Jack's words. Would he ever see his friend, any of his friends, again?

He sat up. It was time to stop thinking and start acting. Crossing to the door, he called through the small window to the guard. "Excuse me. I, uh, have to use the facilities."

The airman gave him a blank look.

"The, uh, the john," Daniel clarified.

"Sure thing." Taking out his pass card, the man extended it towards the lock. "Stand away from the door please."

"Right." Daniel stepped back. The door swung inward and the airman motioned Daniel out. Stepping into the corridor, he waited while the guard pulled the door shut. Then the two men began walking down the hall to the nearest rest room.

Daniel walked into the bathroom, let the door swing shut behind him, then did an about face and immediately exited the room, hoping to catch the airman off guard. Surprising the man who did not expect his prisoner to come back out so quickly, Daniel bolted, running as fast as he could down the hallway.

It only took a moment for the guard to recover and give chase. "Halt!"

Daniel ignored the warning. Rounding a corner, he ran headlong into someone walking towards him. He struggled, trying to escape the clutching hands.

"For crying out loud, will ya hold still? I'm trying ta get outta your way."

"Jack?" Daniel froze, staring unbelievingly at the man grasping his flailing arms.

"Daniel?" The brown eyes flickered with surprise as they recognized the fleeing scientist.

Just then the guard rounded the corner and slid to a stop at the sight of the colonel holding his quarry. "Good, sir, you caught him."

Daniel looked pleadingly at Jack, trying to convey his need for help without words. It didn't work or else this Jack wasn't inclined to help, for the colonel took a firmer hold on his arm and addressed the guard.

"That's okay, Airman, I've got him." Making a motion as though to brush past the man, Jack unexpectedly swung his fist and knocked the guard out cold with a neat right hook.

Daniel blinked in surprise, first at the unconscious airman, then at Jack. "W-why did you do that?"

"Let's just say I decided to give this story of yours a chance. If you've got a way to fix things for my team, I'm ready to listen."

"We have to get to the Gate room. I'll explain on the way."

"Let's get this fellow out of sight first."

They dragged him into the nearest room and then cautiously proceeded through the corridors, while Daniel filled Jack in on the changed timeline and his proposed trip back through the Stargate to fix it.

"Sounds like it's worth a try for all the lives it could save," Jack commented.

"The general doesn't see it that way."

"The general has to follow regulations. I figure getting my team back's worth a few broken rules."

"That sounds like the Jack I know."

After a quick detour to the armory to appropriate some weapons, the two men arrived at the control room. No teams were due in or out so it was manned by a skeleton staff.

"OK, boys and girls, play nice and nobody gets hurt," Jack cheerfully instructed as he aimed his rifle at them.

The technician raised her arms as the airman on guard duty tossed his gun on the floor.

"That's it, now back away from the controls, nice and slow. See how easy that was?"

"Jack, I need an authorized officer's security codes to activate."

"That's my department. Hold your gun on these two while I do my thing."

Daniel leveled his handgun, but their captives showed no signs of giving them any trouble.

Jack punched in his security code. "Closing blast doors and corridors Alpha through Charlie. That should buy us some time. Daniel, dial it up."

They exchanged places and Daniel entered the address, watching as the chevrons engaged. When the final one locked, they escorted their prisoners down to the embarkation room as alarms began to sound.

"You just sit tight and explain how we held you at gunpoint, and I'm sure you won't be in too much trouble," Jack assured them, turning to ascend the ramp at Daniel's side.

"Jack, you've done enough. You don't have to come with me."

"I'm already facing a court martial. Might as well see this thing through."

Daniel nodded, and together they entered the wormhole.

***

They stood on the stormy surface of P4Y-656 watching lightning streak through the dark clouds massed overhead. Daniel hunched his shoulders against the force of the wind.

"Nice vacation spot," Jack joked, raising his voice to be heard against the wind's howls. "Your friendly aliens actually choose to live here? I don't see any signs of them."

"Maak'dul said they lived around the time streams. They may not exist in this space and time in a form we can see here." Daniel nodded at the DHD. "I'd better dial home. I don't think the window of opportunity will last much longer."

Jack accompanied him to the device and watched as he punched in the address for Earth. Each of the chevrons engaged, but as the last one lighted, the expected kawhoosh fizzled out and the lights died.

"What's wrong?" Jack shouted.

"I don't know. It seemed to work, but it wouldn't stay locked. Let me try again." This time Daniel held his hand on the last symbol until he was sure the Stargate had been properly activated, but as soon as he released it, the wormhole once again shut down. "It must be the interference from the storm. It's keeping the Gate from staying locked!"

"As long as you held it down it worked," Jack observed. "I can stay and hold it while you go through the Gate."

"No! You can't stay behind. Maybe we can find something heavy enough to hold it down while we both go."

"This area looks pretty barren. We don't have time to go rock hunting. You'll lose your chance if you don't go now. Besides, Hammond might decide to send a team after us at any minute. Let me do this."

"Jack, if an SGC team doesn't come, you could be stranded on this empty planet! I don't know if Maak'dul's people can even contact you here."

"Hey, I've got nothing to go home to except a court martial. If your plan works everything will be back the way it was, and I'll be back on Earth anyway."

"But if it doesn't you could spend the rest of your life alone here!" He thought about Ernest Littlefield, stranded for fifty years on a deserted world. He couldn't sentence his friend to a like fate.

"We haven't got time to argue, Daniel. Lives are at stake. Dial it up!"

Reluctantly Daniel complied. Much as he hated to abandon the other man, having too much personal experience with being abandoned himself, he knew Jack was right. They couldn't risk waiting for the next intersection. As he punched the final symbol, Jack positioned his hand and leaned on the device to hold the lock.

"Get going!" With his other hand, Jack gave him a little shove towards the activated Stargate.

"Jack, I--"

"Go on!" Jack gave him a thumbs-up.

Daniel blinked back the moisture building in his eyes. He would not let Jack see him break down. "Thank you." With a final look of farewell, Daniel ran through the Stargate.

***

Daniel felt himself flung from the Gate and staggered down the ramp in the base embarkation room. He saw his teammates waiting for him at the bottom.

"Hurry up, willya?" Jack waved him impatiently onward. "We were about to send back a search party. What kept you?"

"Jack? Sam? Teal'c?" Daniel wanted to be sure he was in the right place and more importantly the right time.

"Now that we've taken roll call, I think Hammond's waiting for us to clear medical so we can have a debriefing."

Jack's familiar sarcasm was music to Daniel's ears. "On P4Y-656, right?"

"That's right. Daniel, you weren't hit by one of those lightning bolts by any chance?" Sam asked in concern.

"Daniel Jackson does not appear to have been burned in any manner," Teal'c assured her solemnly.

"N-no, I'm fine, guys, just glad to be home is all. Have I got a story to tell you!"

"Super, but storytime can wait ‘til after the med check and debriefing, can't it?" Jack asked.

"It can wait," Daniel agreed, smiling at his friends. "I've got all the time in the world. Now."

The End

The song quoted by Daniel is “No Place That Far,” written by Sara Evans, Tom Shapiro, & Tony Martin, sung by Sara Evans

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