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).
'Group therapy, hunh?'
Sam recalled the pain-ridden thoughts that had assailed them all before; beyond the immediate pain she had been aware of brief images of other, remembered pain....
Ra...Sha're...Apophis....Hathor...
Sam had been trying to deal with those spectral flashes of memory since she'd awakened, cold and stiff on the floor. She thought she'd gotten used to dealing with alien memories with Jolinar, but this felt, somehow, more intrusive. A person's life was full of thoughts and feelings that were private...not to be shared except by choice.
Daniel hadn't been given a choice...
Sam reflected again on the many ways fate had conspired to torment one of the best people she knew. It was like some kind of cosmic bad karma had settled over Daniel in childhood and was determined not to grant him peace...
The source of her concern was still protesting weakly as they prepared for one of the toughest battles of their lives...for Daniel's life.
The colonel was no longer arguing with Daniel. He had decided on a plan, all that was left was to carry it out; and the colonel never debated a plan of action...especially when it was the only one they had.
"Jack, please..." Daniel's tone had changed; no longer argumentative, but softer and more urgent.
Sam saw the colonel's eyes flash, "Daniel, don't..."
Sam wasn't sure what Daniel had been about to say, but she was sure that the colonel was flat-out refusing to hear it.
Sam realized that in Daniel's place, she would have been trying to say goodbye...just in case; to settle things with her friends. Sam wondered why Daniel had even attempted it. Daniel knew the colonel as well as she did...better, in fact...
Colonel Jack O'Neill did not accept the possibility of defeat.There would be no goodbyes, not even the contemplation of them, not until all possible alternatives had been exhausted...and probably not even then.
The colonel seated himself beside Daniel, gently maneuvering the trembling form up to lean against him...grimacing in apology for the pain it caused. Teal'c settled himself on the colonel's right while Sam settled on his left.
The colonel gave them an intense look that spoke of battles won, of purposes joined, of a commonality of spirit that made them the team they were...
Sam realized that Daniel was looking at them, too. His look was softer, more personal; speaking of shared pain and shared joy, of friendship and gratitude...
It was the goodbye that Daniel could not voice....
Sam tried to respond with her own determined smile, encouraging him to fight, but wondered if it really managed to register with Daniel whose eyes were beginning to lose focus as another wave of pain approached...
The colonel breathed deeply one last time, his eyes focused solely on Daniel, revealing things in those dark depths that Sam could only begin to guess at...
With a quick, tight smile the colonel asked, "Ready?"
Daniel laughed then at some private joke between the two of them and shook his head, "No, but let's do it anyway..."
The colonel's smile deepened, eyes reflecting a brief flicker of something deep and bittersweet, "That's my boy..."
Sam had only a moment to steel her nerves and clear her mind, before Jack nodded and the journey into Daniel's private hell had begun...