DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Hathor looked straight at him and smiled. Her lips never moved, but he heard her words all too clearly in his mind. "Farewell our Chosen. Our Beloved. We will have you, sooner or later." Then she stepped into the liquid pool of the Stargate and was gone.
Our Beloved.
With a jerk and a choked cry, Daniel Jackson sat up, wide awake and looking frantically around for the source of the voice.
No one was there. Just as no one had been there the past three times he had attempted to sleep, only be jerked awake by the dreams. He shook his head. No, he thought to himself. Not a dream. More like a nightmare.
Daniel looked at the clock on the dresser and groaned when he finally made out the numbers. 5:30. In the morning. "Just great", he muttered to himself out loud. "Forget this." And with a deep sigh, he pushed back the covers and made his way to the small kitchen.
With a coffee mug of tea, Daniel went back to the living room of his apartment and after setting the cup on the table, he dropped onto the sofa. For the hundredth time, the recent events played, unbidden, in his mind.
Hathor's arrival at the Cheyenne Mountain, looking for the Stargate. Her kiss on first his hand then his lips. Damn.. He knew the legends and of what Hathor was capable. Why hadn't he been able to resist her?
With an almost audible groan, Daniel picked up a journal from a stack of books that sat beside the sofa. Jack had kidded him several times about never cleaning up and each time Daniel had tried to tell his friend that he knew just where everything was and to clean the apartment would just totally confuse him.
Jack. Oh god. How could Jack ever forgive him for giving in to Hathor? She had tried to make Jack her Jaffa. First Prime. If not for Sam and Teal'c, they would have lost Jack to the Goa'uld Queen. Thank God Teal'c had remembered the Goa'uld sarcophagus in the gate room and knew of it's power. How could Jack forgive him that? It had been Daniel that had told Hathor of Jack's role in destroying Ra. It had been through Daniel that Hathor knew of Sam's first attempt at capturing the Goa'uld.
He grimaced as he took a swallow of the almost cold tea and squeezed his eyes shut to block the images that moved before him. Hathor telling him of how she produced the Goa'uld larva using host DNA, pulling him close to her and clouding his mind to all thoughts of resistance as she pushed him down on the bed and took him. The images still made him shake.
"Damn!" he yelled and threw the mug across the room, not caring about the crash of it hitting the wall, the small shower of shards or the tea that puddled on the floor. How could he have let her do that. How could he have allowed her to use him that way. Even now, he could still remember her touch, the smell of her breath and it terrified him. Choking back a sob, he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms. Why couldn't he just forget?
"Daniel? Are you in there?" The muffled voice was followed by a sharp knock on the door. "Come on Daniel. Open up."
Daniel's head jerked up. "Jack?" his voice croaked. He coughed and tried again, louder. "Jack?"
"Who else would be up banging on your door at this hour? Come on, you gonna let me in?"
"If you insist." Daniel's voice was dull and flat as he picked himself up off the sofa and went to let Jack O'Neill in. He noticed the time on the clock read 7:00am. Nearly 2 hours had passed since he first got up and he had never noticed. Without looking at Jack, Daniel turned and went back to the sofa, leaving Jack to find his own way in.
"Daniel, what the hell is going on?" Jack started as he entered the apartment, but stopped when his feet crunched on the remains of the coffee mug. He watched Daniel go back and huddle at one end of the sofa.
"Good Lord Daniel, are you alright?" Jack asked, thinking to himself, stupid question O'Neill, of course he's NOT alright. He stared in shock at the younger man's appearance. The lack of sleep had left dark circles under his eyes and he looked tired and pale. Jack had not seen him look this lost since returning from Abydos.
"What is it, Jack?" Daniel asked, but from his tone of voice he didn't really care. "The General said forty-eight hours. That means I'm not due back yet. Just go away, I'll be fine."
Jack snorted softly and sat down on the sofa next to Daniel, trying not to notice how Daniel pulled back slightly. "That was three days ago, Danny. You were due back yesterday. And no, you're not fine. It's about Hathor." He phrased it as a statement, not a question.
"Of course it's about Hathor." Daniel shot back. "It's about how she used me to gain access to the base and the Stargate. It's about how she could have killed any of you and I couldn't stop her. It's about how she used me to create more Goa'uld." His voice cracked and he looked away.
"Whoa, Danny. Let's not get carried away with the self-guilt trip here." Jack paused. Counselling was not his strong area, but he had to do something to help his friend. "Hathor used all of us. She controlled everyone and not even the General was immune to it. Only the women and Teal'c weren't affected. No one blames you, so why should you blame yourself?"
Daniel raised his eyes to look at Jack. "She wanted my DNA to help her create more Goa'ulds, Jack. To create more of the very thing that took Sha're. And I couldn't stop her. What if we find her, I don't know that I'll be able to resist her. I'm her Chosen, her Beloved." The pain was evident in his voice.
"Oh for crying out loud, Daniel. You could not have stopped her by yourself. Not without getting killed. As for a next time, we'll deal with that if and when it happens. And if it does, we'll face it as a team. Got that?" Jack waited to see if Daniel would respond. "And Danny? Sha're would not blame you. I know she wouldn't."
There was a long pause while Daniel considered Jack's words. Of everything, he had not been able to shake the feeling of abandoning Sha're although he had been unable to fight Hathor. He had been in her control just as Sha're was controlled by the Goa'uld queen Aumont. "You think?" Daniel asked, a hint of a smile on his face for the first time in days. He took a deep breath and knew that Jack was right. "What day is it?" He asked. "Has it really been three days?"
Jack released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Oh yeah. The General sent me over here to see what was wrong. No answer when we called and no one had seen you. So he tells me to haul my butt over here to find you. You owe me some sleep time, Danny-Boy." He was gratified to see Daniel chuckle at the teasing tone.
Daniel stretched and for the first time in days, felt ready to face the world again. He knew Jack was right, someday, they would have their chance to face Hathor again and they would be ready for her.