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.
Daniel was warm, but somehow knew it wasn't the internal fire that had been his constant companion for so long. His head felt strangely ... detached. Not necessarily a bad thing considering that it had taken the pain with it when it left. Daniel was distantly aware of voices, but couldn't quite bring himself to focus on the words. It was just too comfortable here. Too easy to let the warmth hold him ...
"Daniel!"
Daniel recognized Jack's voice. Part of him hoped Jack would just go away for awhile and let him enjoy this peace. The other part of him knew Jack wasn't going to go away. Jack never would. As Jack's voice called out his name again, Daniel realized he ought to answer. Jack was starting to sound a little worried...
Daniel called his head back from wherever it had been. It seemed to require rather more effort than he would have thought possible, but eventually Daniel felt it settle into its accustomed place, bringing with it a tight ache that seemed to encompass his entire body.
"Daniel?" Jack again, really worried now.
Daniel concentrated on eliciting his body's cooperation in opening one eye and then the other. It took several tries, but finally the two of them decided they could work together again and opened.
Daniel had to blink a few times, but eventually the blur he was seeing settled into Jack's worried features. Daniel concentrated next on finding his voice, succeeding after a few tries in making a sound that was intended to be Jack's name. Daniel closed his eyes a moment, concentrating a little harder.
"Jack?" Not a monumental success, more like a breath with just a glimmer of sound attached, but Daniel was pleased.
Jack smiled, sighing deeply. "Yeah, big guy. How're ya doin'?"
Daniel thought about that for a long time, taking inventory of the various aches his body reported. He hurt, but it was a bearable pain...almost like a memory of pain. Daniel felt a complete lassitude creeping over him, but it was in no way similar to the torturous weakness that he remembered.
Daniel tried to smile at Jack, but he wasn't entirely sure if he'd succeeded. " 'S all right, Jack."
Jack didn't look particularly convinced, but he smiled again as his hand tightened on Daniel's shoulder.
Encouraged by his last almost-sentence, Daniel tried again. "Everybody okay?"
Jack motioned over his shoulder at Teal'c, Connor and Sam. Daniel smiled then realized he didn't recognize their surroundings.
"Where...?"
Jack seemed to understand what he was trying to ask. "We're on Thor's ship, Daniel. On our way home."
Daniel nodded, letting his eyes close again. Daniel felt the word as if it were a blanket over his weary soul. He wanted that. He wanted to go home.
Jack felt himself relax for the first time since well before they'd left Earth. Daniel was more than a little disoriented. Thor had explained that the machine's healing had only mended the injuries and removed Tel'nat's little experiment. Daniel's recovery was only beginning, but he would live. Not too long ago, Jack had been more than a little doubtful of that possibility.
Jack had sent the rest of his team to the couch-like beds that Thor had shown them before finding a chair and planting himself at Daniel's side once again. They'd been through too much on this trip and Jack wasn't quite ready to detach himself from the scare he'd been given as Daniel had struggled through the past few days. As long as he could see Daniel, still pale but sleeping peacefully now, Jack could relax.
Jack reflected on everything they'd been through. He was inordinately proud of his team, more than a little shocked by Thor's deviousness, and rather more hopeful of Daniel's mental state than he had been a week ago. Jack knew his friend still had a long way to go in the grieving process, a long journey toward finding himself...not necessarily the same self he had been, but hopefully a version that combined the best of who he had been with the maturity of the person he had become. Jack grieved quietly for the loss of that impassioned young man, but deep down he understood that change was a part of life, it was just that some changes really tended to bite.
Thor paused at the door of the medical facility. He could see Daniel was sleeping well, and even from this distance the readouts told him all he needed to know about the young human's improved condition. O'Neill was asleep as well, one hand thrown across Daniel's arm in a gesture both protective and watchful.
Thor felt a surge of protectiveness of his own as he watched them. These two were more than just humans, more than just men who had saved his life...they were his friends. Thor was beginning to realize just how great a responsibility ... and honor ... that was.
Thor moved quietly to one of the cabinets and withdrew a blanket. As carefully as possible, he drew it over O'Neill and stepped away. O'Neill stirred a moment, his hand tightening on Daniel's arm. With that reassurance, he sighed and returned to sleep. Thor walked away quietly, leaving his friends together in rest, determined that somehow, someday, he would return their friendship in kind.