Author's Notes: There it is... Hope you enjoyed it!
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable 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 purposes 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. Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).
Epilog:Jack
Once again, Daniel is sleeping on my couch.
It's been a long week since we got back. In a strange kind of deja vu, I felt the need to bring Daniel back here. If he had reason to have bad dreams before, he had even more now. Basically, I just didn't want him to be alone.
Fraiser checked us out after our reunion in the Gate room. Outside of some residual effects from the Keeper's drugs, she said we were fine. Daniel's exhaustion was just that...physical and emotional exhaustion. Fraiser didn't want to let him go until I promised her that I'd watch out for him.
At first I couldn't get him to go to sleep at all. When he finally did...it was bad. We both expected that.
The dreams were there, waiting, every time he closed his eyes.
And so was I.
I held him when he cried over Sha'uri, Skaara, his parents. I held him when he came awake thinking I was dead. I held him when he woke up in pain as he re-experienced every damn thing the Keeper pushed on him back there.
I only had a few of those bad dreams to deal with...
What I tried to keep uppermost in both of our minds was that, regardless of the bad stuff, we'd gotten through it together. We each kept the other sane through all the waking nightmares. He sure as hell came through for me when I saw Charlie...
I finally got him to eat a little tonight. He even made a joke about green toast. He's getting there...it just may take awhile.
He stirs a little on the couch, but settles down again.
No dreams this time.
He really does look like a kid when he's asleep.
I remember the look on his face when that energy blast was heading straight for him. He looked so certain. He'd come up with the idea, I'd come up with the plan...but he was the one who had to look death in the eye and deny its existence.
I don't know if I could have done it.
He trusted me.
That counts for a lot in my book.
In the end, it counts for everything.