Stargate Horizons

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Daniel sat in the lawn chair and watched his friends.  Since arriving three hours ago, he'd tried very hard to get into the spirit of the day, and he thought that he'd managed to fool everyone into thinking he was fine.  Even Danny, who almost seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to his moods, appeared to believe that he was okay.  But he wasn't okay.  Since making the decision last night to leave SG-1, he had been hurting.  He knew that it was the right thing to do, but it still hurt.

Many times in the past, Daniel had made decisions and sacrifices that he didn't want to but had felt he needed to make.  Some had saddened him, others he'd simply accepted as necessary.  Many had put his life at risk, and a few had even ended up killing or nearly killing him.  Compared to some of those decisions, the one he'd made last night wasn't nearly as momentous, yet it was hurting him far more than many of those others had.

The truth was that Daniel had thought about leaving before, not just the team but the entire program.  After Sha're died, he'd considered it.  The only thing that kept him from going was his wife's plea to find her son.  After he found her baby and then had to give him up, he'd thought again about leaving, though, that time, he hadn't been as serious about it.  Toward the end of that fifth year, when he was at such an emotional low point in his life, he had actually written out his resignation.  It sat in his drawer for a week before he finally tore it up.  A few days later, the accident on Kelowna happened, and he ended up leaving after all.

On each of those occasions, he had known that he would miss his teammates, miss going through the gate and the work he did at the SGC, but it hadn't hurt this much.  Why was it so different now?

Daniel's eyes went to his clone, who was presently chasing Cassie around the backyard with a hose.  Since Danny came into their lives, it felt as if the bonds between Daniel and his teammates had grown stronger, strengthened by the love they all shared for the little boy.  They had laughed and played together as friends far more in these three weeks than he ever remembered them doing in an entire year.  More than that, every one of his teammates had shown him so much support, being right there for him during the difficult times.  Daniel had always looked upon Sam, Jack and Teal'c as his friends and, in time, he had come to think of them a little like family, but, now, it felt so much truer.  They were his family, and he was going to be saying goodbye to a part of what made it so.

But it wasn't like he'd never see Jack, Sam and Teal'c again.  He'd still be working at the SGC.  They'd still be his friends and spend time with him.  Heck, with Danny in all their lives now, he'd probably see them more often outside of work than he did all the previous years combined.

But that didn't take away from the fact that he was going to miss stepping through the gate with them, miss that little thrill of excitement and anticipation he felt setting foot on an alien world, wondering what they'd discover.  Those feelings had dimmed from what they were in the beginning, but they were still there.  He'd miss being gathered around an off-world campfire with his teammates, the discussions that he and Sam often got into while walking to or from the Stargate, meeting a culture for the first time and knowing that his teammates trusted him to be their pointman, exploring the ruins of some ancient civilization while hearing Jack complain.  He'd probably get to go through the Stargate on an occasional archeological mission, but Daniel knew that every time Jack, Sam and Teal'c went on a mission without him, a big part of him would wish that he was going, too.  And he'd worry about what might happen to them.

But this is how it needed to be, and he had to accept that.  And he would.  In time, this pain would go away, and he'd be all right.  It was just going to take a while.  He simply had to focus on the positive things, like more or less regular work hours, actually being able to keep up with his workload, and, best of all, not spending nearly as much time in the infirmary.  Those were all definite pros.  The problem was that, right now, they felt outweighed by the cons.

Needing a moment alone, Daniel got up and went inside.  He used the bathroom, then went into the kitchen for some water.  He stood looking out the kitchen at the people he loved.  Jack now had the hose and was gleefully pursuing both Cassie and Danny with it.  Janet was watching from the sidelines, laughing, as the two young people suddenly decided to gang up on the colonel and tackled him.  In the battle for the hose that ensued, all three of them got drenched.  Teal'c had that little Jaffa smile that had only begun to appear these past few months, at least as far as Daniel knew.  And Sam. . . .  Where was Sam?

"Daniel?"

The archeologist started violently and spun around to see the astrophysicist standing not two yards away.

"I'm sorry," she said.  "I didn't mean to startle you.  I was wondering where you were."

"Oh.  I . . . I was using the bathroom and getting some water."

"Ah."  She smiled.  "There's a pitched battle going on out there.  I think the colonel may need reinforcements.  Are the Super Soakers around here somewhere?"

"They're in Jack's closet."

Sam's smile widened.  "Come on.  Let's fill them up and help with the fighting."

Daniel knew that he should.  A good water fight might snap him out of this depression.  But he just couldn't, not right now.  Maybe in a few minutes.

"You go on, Sam.  I'll be out in a while."

Sam frowned.  "Daniel, what's wrong?  And please don't say 'nothing'.  You're doing a good job of hiding it, but I can tell something is really bothering you."

"I'm sorry," he said.  "I didn't mean to ruin the mood of the day.  I'll come on out and help you rescue Jack."

Daniel walked past her, heading for Jack's bedroom, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Daniel, please tell me," Sam pleaded.

Daniel sighed.  She and the rest of the team were going to have to know sooner or later.  This wasn't really the right time, but there was no point in trying to put Sam off.  He turned and met her eyes.

"I'm leaving SG-1, Sam."

Sam felt her heart make a hard, painful little thump inside her chest.  Swallowing, she said, "I . . . I know we all talked about this before, what would be best for Danny, but. . . ."

"I made the decision last night.  It will be much better for Danny.  I've known that all along.  I just couldn't get myself to make the decision until now.  I have to do what's best for him.  He's what's most important.  Please don't tell Jack and Teal'c.  I need to be the one to tell them."

With one last sad look at her, Daniel disappeared into Jack's bedroom.  He came out a while later with the water guns.  He filled them and went outside without another word.  He walked up to Jack, who had completely lost control of the situation and was now being hunted by Danny and an evilly grinning Cassie, who was wielding the hose like it was a flamethrower.  The fact that Janet and Teal'c were still dry was a miracle.

Braving the 'enemy fire', Daniel walked up to the colonel.  "Here, Jack.  I know you're lost without your P-90."  He handed one of the guns to the man, who snatched it out of his hands eagerly.

"Yes!  My man Daniel!  I knew I could count on at least one of my team."

Jack didn't notice the pain that flashed through his friend's eyes as he quickly primed the weapon, swung around, and blasted Cassie.  The teen screeched and shot back at Jack.  Daniel hurriedly got out of the line of fire.  He motioned to Danny, who came running over.  Daniel handed the boy a gun.

"Here you go.  It's only fair that you're armed, too."

"Thanks, Daniel.  Are you going to play, too?"

"No, I'll just watch.  You go on and play."

Danny ran off to rejoin the battle.  Daniel went up to Teal'c and presented a water gun to him.  The Jaffa inclined his head with a small smile and took it.  Priming the weapon, he strode into the fray like he was off to do battle with a Goa'uld.

Seconds later, a dripping wet Cassie came running up.  "Can I have one?  They're way better than the hose."

Daniel handed one of the Super Soakers to her, and she ran back into the fight with a war cry.  Daniel held out the last one to Janet, who held up her hands in refusal.

"Oh no.  My survival instincts are too well-developed to get into that fight."

Daniel put the water gun down and sat on a chair.

"You're not going to play?" the doctor asked.

"No.  I'm just going to watch."

Janet stared at him piercingly.  There was something off about him.  "Daniel, are you all right?"

The archeologist didn't think that saying he was fine would cut it with the doctor.  His stomach wasn't feeling the best in the world because of stress and emotional upset, so he decided to use that as an excuse.  "My stomach's just a little queasy.  Probably ate too much."

"I don't recall seeing you eat that much.  In fact, you hardly seemed to eat at all."  Janet's gaze narrowed.  "Were you sick before you got here?  You should have said something."

"No, I was fine, Janet.  Really.  It's nothing.  You don't have to be a doctor today.  I have no alien diseases, nor even any earthly ones."

Daniel turned back to the water fight, pretending not to notice the ocular dissection Janet was performing on him.

"Where's Sam?" the doctor asked a moment later.

"Um, I saw her in the house."

Just then, the major came out.  She had been in the bathroom all that time, trying very hard not to start crying.

"Carter!" Jack called.  "I need backup!  Get in here before the enemy overwhelms my position!"  The "enemy" – namely, Danny, Cassie and Teal'c – had him pinned down behind a tree.

The last thing Sam felt like doing was play with water guns, but she knew that, if she just sat around, it would be harder to pretend that nothing was wrong.  So, she picked up the final water gun and joined Jack behind the tree.

Daniel watched his friends, trying to lift the sorrow in his heart.  He wasn't going to lose this.  He'd still have his friends.  He might not see them at work as often, but they would still spend time together.  They'd come over to see him and Danny, and he'd still be attending barbeques like this, even if he was no longer a member of the team.

Daniel wondered who Jack would get to replace him on SG-1.  There were some good archeologists and linguists on staff, people who could also handle themselves in a fight.  Maybe Sandburg or Reeves or. . . .

No, no, no.  This wasn't helping, thinking about some other person taking his place on the team, bantering with Jack, discussing Goa'uld history and culture with Teal'c, working side-by-side with Sam.

Ruthlessly shoving all thoughts of work away, Daniel focused solely on the water battle.  He noticed that Sam wasn't laughing like she should be, only cracking an occasional smile.  He knew that she was upset about his decision.

The water fight finally came to an end.  The five soggy people came up to Daniel and Janet.

"You two look disgustingly dry," Jack stated.  "How about if one of you gets us some towels so that I don't track water all through my house?"

Daniel started to get up, but Janet stopped him.

"I'll get them," she told him.  "You just stay there and let your stomach settle.  Would you like some antacids?"

"No, I'm okay," Daniel replied.  "I'm feeling better."

"Feeling better from what?" Jack asked, frowning, as Janet went into the house to get the towels.

"My stomach was just a little upset, Jack," Daniel replied.  "That's all.  No big deal."

"You want some 7-Up or something?  That usually helps."

Daniel decided to say yes just to keep the man off his back.

Since the 7-Up was in the house, Janet fetched it after she returned with the towels.  Daniel sipped on it while the water warriors dried themselves off as well as they could.  Among them, only Jack was in the position to change his clothes, so the others would have to put up with staying in their wet ones until they got home.  Fortunately, it was quite a warm day, so they wouldn't get cold.

"That was fun," Danny said, grinning.  Unlike the last water fight, he got equally as wet as everyone else.

"It sure was," Cassie agreed.

"So, which side won?" Daniel asked.

"Ours," replied everybody at the same time.

Jack looked at Danny, Teal'c and Cassie.  "No way.  You so did not win.  Carter and I cleaned your clocks."

"I believe that you are mistaken, O'Neill," Teal'c intoned.  "Our side was victorious."

"Yep.  We whipped your butts," Cassie stated.

"Did not," Jack insisted.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Whoa!" Janet called.  "How about if we call it a draw?"

The members of each side exchanged looks.

"In the interests of peace and the continuation of the ceasefire, we agree," Teal'c stated.

"Yeah, okay," Jack grumbled.  He paused.  "But you so did not win."

"Did too!" Cassie instantly exclaimed.

"Children, children!" Janet shouted as Jack opened his mouth to respond.  "Let's not turn this into a full-scale war.  How about some cake instead?"

"Yeah!" Danny exclaimed.

Janet got the cake she'd brought and served a piece to everyone.

"Is your stomach settled enough for some cake?" she asked Daniel.

The archeologist really didn't feel like any dessert, but he didn't want to be a complete wet blanket.  "Maybe a small piece."  He noticed that, apparently, Sam had asked for a small piece, too, and didn't seem to be eating it with a lot of enthusiasm.

Jack noticed as well.  "You feeling sick, too, Carter?"

"What?  Uh, no.  I just. . . ."  Sam scrambled for an excuse.  "What with all the desserts I've been eating lately, I put on a little weight.  I don't want to get fat."  She really had put on some weight, but it was only a pound, and she could work that off in the gym.  But it was a good excuse for why she had no appetite for the cake.

"You're not fat," Danny piped up.  "You're pretty."

Sam smiled at the little boy.  "Why, thank you, Danny.  That's sweet of you to say."

"We're going to have to get going," Daniel said after everyone had finished their dessert.  "I've got an appointment with the realtor."

"Can't I stay with Uncle Jack instead?" Danny asked pleadingly.

"You need to ask him about that."

"He can stay, Daniel," Jack responded.  "I can drop him off later.  In fact, I'll even feed the little rug rat dinner."

"What's a rug rat?" Danny asked.

Jack leaned over and gave him a quick tickle.  "You are!"

"Thanks, Jack.  That'll help," Daniel said.  He got to his feet.  "Well, I'd better get going.  Thanks for the barbeque.  It was a nice break."

Jack rose to his feet.  "I'll walk you to your car."

The two men went around the house to the front, the colonel glancing at the archeologist a few times.

"Daniel, are you sure you're okay.  If you're hiding some illness from Fraiser, she'll skin you alive."

"I'm not sick, Jack.  I swear.  It's just been a tiring few days, what with searching for a house, then all the paperwork.  I'll really be glad when it's over."

"I hear ya.  Went through this myself, you know.  Okay, well, try to relax more, although I know that can be hard with an eight-year-old in the house."

"I will."

Jack watched Daniel drive away, then went back to the others.  Sam and Janet were cleaning up, while Danny and Cassie were busy drawing on some paper Jack had provided earlier.  Teal'c was watching the two young people.

The women took the trash into the house and began straightening up the kitchen.

"So, would you like to tell me what's really wrong?" Janet unexpectedly asked Sam.

"What?  I, uh . . . why do you think something's wrong?"

"Because, before you went into the house to find Daniel, you were laughing and smiling.  Since you came back out, you haven't laughed even once and have barely smiled."

Sam gave a sad sigh.  "He's leaving SG-1, Janet."

"What?  You mean Daniel?"

Sam nodded.  "He told me when we were in the house."

"Because of Danny," Janet guessed.  "I know that he was thinking about it."  Well, this definitely explained why Sam was so down.  "I'm sorry, Sam.  I know that you're going to miss him on the team."

"Throughout that whole year he was ascended, every time we went on a mission, I missed his presence.  It just wasn't the same without him.  I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with Jonas. . . ."

"He just wasn't Daniel."

Sam sighed again.  "Yeah.  It wasn't until Daniel was gone and we didn't have him there with us that I realized I had started taking him for granted.  We all did.  And then he was gone."

"But this is so much different, Sam.  Daniel won't be gone this time.  He'll still be at the SGC, and he'll still be living here in town."

Sam wiped a finger across her eyes, drying the bit of moisture gathered there.  "I know.  It'll be okay.  It's just going to be really hard not having him with us on missions anymore.  But he's doing what he thinks he needs to for Danny.  That's what we have to focus on."

"I'm assuming that the colonel and Teal'c don't know yet," she said.

"No, and don't say anything.  Daniel wants to tell them."

Janet realized that this also explained the archeologist's mood.  He probably hadn't had an upset stomach at all.

It was so sad that Daniel had to give up one thing he loved for the sake of something else, but she understood his reasoning.  He'd be safer not going off-world, and Danny needed the security of knowing that the man who had taken the place of his parents wouldn't be killed on a mission.  Of course, accidents still happened.  Many more people in the U.S. died in car accidents in the span of a single day than throughout an entire year on SG missions.

The two women went back outside.

"I'm going to head off, too," Sam said.  "I need to get some shopping and other things done."

Danny came up and gave Sam a hug.  "Will you come over our house tomorrow?  Uncle Jack says that you'll be on leave tomorrow, too."

"Um, no, Danny.  I don't think I'll be able to.  I'm sorry.  I've got a whole lot of stuff to take care of."

Sam said goodbye to everyone and went home, her heart aching over the knowledge that her best friend would soon no longer be her teammate.


By the time Jack brought Danny home, Daniel had complete control of his emotions and was able to chat with his friend without giving the tiniest hint that anything was wrong.

Danny was almost asleep on his feet, so he was taken off to bed.  Jack volunteered to get him dressed and tucked in.

"So, what are tomorrow's plans?" Jack asked after he came back out.  "It's Sunday, so I know you don't have any appointments."

"Actually, we're just going to hang around the house and relax.  Well, I'm going to relax.  Danny will be probably play.  I wish I had that much energy."

"Every adult wishes they had that much energy.  You want me to take him for a while?"

"Don't you have things to do?"

"Yeah, some shopping, house cleaning, bills to mail, stuff like that.  Shouldn't take more than a few hours.  I can get it done in the morning, then pick Danny up afterwards, maybe take him to the rink and teach him how to ice skate."

Daniel shook his head in amusement.  "You're bound and determined to make him like hockey, aren't you."

"You bet.  Carter won't go to a game with me, and Teal'c's no fun because he won't yell at the referee and the players.  I want someone to go with who appreciates the game and will yell at the top of his lungs along with everyone else."

"Okay, if you're sure you can spare the time."

"Of course I can, Daniel.  Then you can get some sleep or something.  You look tired."

Daniel hadn't slept well last night, and he was feeling a little drug out.  He didn't expect to sleep well tonight either, so he would probably be even more in need of rest tomorrow.

"I'll pick Danny up after lunch, okay?" Jack said.

"Okay.  Thanks, Jack."

As promised, Jack arrived at one o'clock to pick Danny up.  He was concerned when he noticed that Daniel looked even more tired than he had last night.  Jack was worried that his friend really was sick and was too stubborn to admit it to anyone.  But, no, if Daniel thought that he was ill, he'd do something about it.  He wouldn't take the chance of giving some bug to Danny.  So, something else was the problem.  The man did have a lot to think and worry about.  His life had gone through a great deal of upheavals and changes lately.  It would be enough to overwhelm anyone.  The guy was probably just worrying excessively about it all and not getting enough sleep.  Jack was glad that he was taking Danny for the afternoon.  It would give Daniel a chance to rest.

After Jack and Danny left, Daniel did some stuff around the house, then decided to lie down.  Just as he had expected, he hadn't gotten much sleep again last night, and he was exhausted.  Between Danny's nightmares, his own dreams, and all his worries and heartaches, he hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in over three weeks, and it was really starting to get to him.

Daniel kicked off his shoes and laid on the bed with a weary sigh.  It wasn't long before he was asleep.

Daniel looked at the dozens of natives in the distance.  Armed with spears, the natives stood watching SG-1.  They showed no outward hostility, but neither were they acting friendly.

"Jack, I know this culture," Daniel said.  "They don't react well to strangers, and I'm worried about how they'll respond.  I'm familiar with their language, so I can talk to them, let them know that we're friends."

Jack did not reply.  In fact, it was as if he hadn't even heard Daniel.  "Okay, Carter, Teal'c, let's go make nice with the natives.  I sure wish we had Daniel with us right now."

Daniel stared at him.  "I'm right here, Jack.  Can't you see me?  Listen to me.  We need to be careful."

Still not hearing him, Jack walked forward – right through Daniel.  That's when the archeologist realized that he wasn't really there.  He was no longer on the team, and his friends were going into this without him.

"No!" he yelled.  "Jack, Sam, Teal'c, you have to hear me!  Don't go over there!"

Deaf to his cries, the three members of SG-1 walked up to the natives.  Moments later, they were under attack.  Though they fought bravely, they were soon overwhelmed.  Daniel saw Jack die first, and then Teal'c, and, finally, Sam, a spear buried in her back.

"Noooo!" he screamed.

Still in the throes of the nightmare, Daniel sat straight up and scrambled out of the bed.  He tripped on his shoes and fell, hitting his head on a nearby table.  The searing pain woke him up.  Stunned and confused, Daniel reached for the place where he'd struck his head.  He felt wetness and pulled back his fingers to see them coated in blood.

Great.  Just great.  Now, he was going to have to take a trip to the infirmary, and Janet was not going to be at all happy.

Daniel tried to stand up, but quickly ended up back on the floor as dizziness assailed him.  Whoa.  Okay, bad idea.  Crap.  He probably had a concussion.  This was all he needed.

Daniel closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass, not looking forward to the call he would have to make.


Jack led Danny into the building and down to where the ice rink was.  The boy looked around at all the skaters in fascination.  Having spent most of his life in hot climates, he'd never seen ice skating in person, only on TV.

"So, what do you think?" Jack asked.  "You wanna give it a try?  Now, I'll warn you.  You'll probably fall a few times before you get the hang of it.  You wouldn't believe how may times I fell on my behind when I was first learning how to ice skate.  I was black and blue for weeks.  But I loved it anyway."

"Are you going to skate, too?"

"Ah, I'd love to, but these old knees of mine can't take much of that kind of punishment anymore.  But I will be strapping on a pair of blades so that I can help you keep your balance.  So, shall I go get some skates for us?"

Danny was just about to say yes when he suddenly froze.  His eyes widened into a scared look.

Jack grasped his arms.  "Danny, what's wrong?"

"Daniel's hurt!  Daniel's hurt, Uncle Jack!" the boy cried.  Then he was running out of the rink.  Cursing, Jack ran after him.

When he got to the parking lot, the boy was at Jack's car, pulling on the door handle frantically.

"We have to help him!" Danny exclaimed.

Jack didn't know what was going on, but Danny seemed positive that something had happened to Daniel.  Jack hoped that the boy was wrong, but he feared that Danny was right.  Something had happened, and the telepathic link between Daniel and his clone had sent a warning to the child.

All Jack could hope now was that Daniel wasn't seriously injured.

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