CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A deep ache in his head was the first thing that filtered into Daniel's awareness.  That was soon followed by pain in many other places, particularly his right side, back and left arm.  As the blackness of unconsciousness gradually lifted, Daniel's senses told him that he was not alone.  And then he felt the touch of a cool, wet cloth on his face.  He moaned in response, which caused the cloth to be removed.  He missed its soothing touch.

"Daniel?" inquired a hesitant female voice, one that seemed vaguely familiar to him.

"Sam," Daniel moaned.

"Shh.  It's all right, Daniel.  You're safe.  It's Leda, Jared Kane's wife.

Daniel's mind began to clear.  Leda?  A hazy memory came to him of a slim, auburn-haired woman.  As the memory gained clarity, Daniel attempted to open his eyes--and discovered that he couldn't.  Something was covering them.  Feeling momentary panic, Daniel reached for his eyes, but his hand was halted by Leda.

"No, you mustn't touch the bandages," she said.

"My eyes."

"You got dust and small pieces of debris in them.  I washed them out as well as I could, but I wanted to give them time to heal."

"Am I going to be blind?" Daniel asked.

There was a slight pause before Leda replied.  "I do not believe so, but I can't be sure.  I'm not a doctor, so I don't know what damage might have been done.  You were badly injured, Daniel.  The fact that you're alive is a miracle."

A miracle.  The memories of what happened were all coming back to him now, and Daniel wasn't feeling all that lucky.  Because of SG-1 and the Stargate Program, Rand and Caledonia had been destroyed.

"What happened?  The capital, the other cities.  Was everything destroyed?"

There was an even longer pause.  "The capital is all but gone, as are most of the other cities.  Only rural areas like this one and small townships were spared destruction."

"God," Daniel whispered in a distressed voice.  So many lives lost, and he couldn't stop it from happening.  All these powers of his, and he couldn't stop it.  He felt tears sting his bandaged eyes.

A gentle hand laid upon his arm.

"Please, Daniel.  You need rest.  Don't think about the past.  You need to concentrate on getting well."

"It was our fault.  If we hadn't come here, none of this would have happened."

There was yet another pause.  "Rest, Daniel.  You need to get your strength back.  Frankly, considering the seriousness of your injuries, I am amazed that you have awakened so soon and are lucid.  You have had a high fever for two days now.  It finally broke just a short while ago."

"Two days?  How long has it been since the attack?"

"Less than three since the first missiles struck."

Daniel had another thought.  "What about Kane, your husband?"

"He was injured, too, though not nearly as badly as you.  He also had a bullet wound in his leg, but it was not serious.  He is in another room, sleeping, as you should be."

"And Commander Gareth?"

The long pause gave him his answer even before she spoke.  "He's dead.  That's all I know."

Daniel was sad to hear about Gareth's death.  Though the commander had made some mistakes in how he handled the situation with the Stargate and the Caledonians, he had been a good man.

Daniel felt the tiredness and weakness of his body.  He didn't want to sleep, but he knew that he needed to.  Even as that thought entered his mind, sleep snuck up on him from nowhere and took him back into darkness.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c watched anxiously as the Stargate dialed up.  It had been three days since the start of the war on Tegalus, three days full of guilt and fear.  Sam had barely slept during these days, and she had refused to go home, catching an occasional nap in her quarters.  She didn't want to go home, home to an empty bed that might never again be shared with Daniel.

'No!  Don't you think that!  He's not dead.  He can't be dead.'

Sam felt the familiar burn of tears and hastily wiped them away.  She had refused to let herself cry, refused to give into the grief that was a growing ache in her heart.  As long as they didn't have proof that Daniel was dead, there was a chance that he was still alive.  He was a survivor.  He always had been.  But, with his abilities, the chances were even greater that he was alive.  She was going to hold onto that hope with both hands . . . until there could be no hope left.

The moment the wormhole to Tegalus was established, Jack was asking to speak with Soren.  It was a couple of minutes before the man arrived.

"You said three days.  It's been three days," Jack said.  "I'd like to send some people through, but I need your assurance that they will not be harmed."

"We have no quarrel with your people or your world.  In fact, we owe you a great debt.  Because of your contact with this world, many more people came to see the truth about the gods, and the war that ended the power of the unbelievers came to be."

"Well, gee.  That's just great.  Glad we could help.  When can I send someone through?"

"There is much for me to do at this time.  I have no time now to speak with your people.  In several more days, it will be better."

"What?!  Several more days?  Look, Soren.  Every day we delay lowers our chances of finding Daniel alive."

"Nevertheless, you must have patience.  Contact us again in four more days."

And that was it.  Soren broke off contact.  Jack ordered the gate to be shut down.

"This guy is not going to be winning any Mister Congeniality contests any time soon," he remarked angrily.

"Perhaps we should seek a way to go through the gate by force," Teal'c suggested.

"Oh, the thought definitely entered my mind, but we'd be going in blind.  We have no idea how large Soren's forces are or what weapons they have at their disposal.  They've got the upper hand.  Now, if we could send a ship over there, that would be a different story."

Sam's face lit up.  "What about the Al'Kesh, sir?  With the modifications that Daniel did to it, we could reach Tegalus in no time."

"Great idea, Carter.  I will have to ask permission, though.  The bigwigs are very possessive of that Al'Kesh."

Jack contacted the president and filled him in on the newest developments.  Though Hayes was worried about Daniel and wanted to do all he could to rescue the archeologist, he couldn't give permission to take the Al'Kesh without first discussing it with others.

As they waited for word back from Hayes, Sam contacted Area 51 to make sure they hadn't taken the ship apart again.  She learned that, though they were studying its systems, it was still all in one piece and would be ready to go within an hour's notice.

All they had to do now was get the okay to use it.

Daniel felt better when he awoke the next day, though he was still pretty weak, too weak to attempt to heal himself.  The archeologist had to wonder about his rapid improvement, though.  According to what Leda told him when he spoke to her again, he shouldn't even be conscious yet, let alone clear-headed.  Was it possible that his healing abilities were working subconsciously, repairing the damage to his body?

Regardless of whether or not that was the case, Daniel guessed that it would be at least another couple of days before he'd be strong enough to attempt to consciously heal himself.

And what about after that?  Leda had told him that she did not know the fate of the Stargate.  If the bunker was destroyed, it could be hopelessly buried under the rubble.  With Daniel's abilities, he might be able to dig it out, but if the DHD was damaged, he wouldn't be able to use the gate anyway.  He could turn the ring manually, but he couldn't supply the power needed to generate the wormhole.

So, if the gate was out of commission, his only hope would be that Earth would send a ship.  But would they?  Chances are that a lot of people on Earth believed him to be dead.  That thought led to ones of Sam.  Did she think he was dead?

Daniel closed his eyes and concentrated on Sam, on the feel of her presence.  He found that he could still sense her, though it was so faint as to be undetectable if he wasn't concentrating on it.  Would it be possible to contact her?  When Sam was stranded on the Prometheus, Daniel had managed to get through to her, if only briefly.  Back then, Sam didn't realize what was going on, but if he succeeded in making contact this time, she would figure it out.

Concentrating on the feel of Sam's presence, Daniel tried reaching out to her across the thousands of light-years that separated them.  Minutes passed as he attempted to make contact, and for a brief moment, he thought he felt something.  But then it was gone, and he couldn't get it back.

With a sigh, Daniel opened his eyes.  Maybe he'd try again later, when he was stronger.

Daniel had to believe that Sam wouldn't give up the hope that he was alive, which meant that she was probably exhausting herself trying to figure out a way to save him.  Even if the Stargate was still functioning, it would be under the control of Soren, and Daniel suspected that the man wouldn't let anyone come through the gate on a search and rescue mission.  Which led back to the possibility of a ship being sent.  Osiris' Al'Kesh could make it there pretty quickly.

But Daniel couldn't count on a ship being sent.  He had to get himself out of this situation.  The moment he was healed, he would have to take steps to get back home.

Hayes called Jack the following morning.

"I'm sorry, General O'Neill, but I can't give the okay to use the Al'Kesh.  Not yet," he said.

Surprised and dismayed by the president's statement, Jack had to curb his tongue with an effort.  "I don't understand, sir.  Why not?"

"Because of the chance that the ship will be lost.  It is the fastest and most technologically advanced ship we have.  There is no telling when we will really need it for a vital mission."

"Yes, like now."

There was a pause.  "General . . . Jack.  What are the odds that Doctor Jackson is still alive?"

"For the average person?  Not so good.  For Daniel?  A hell of a lot better.  Even if it wasn't for his penchant to survive situations that he shouldn't be able to, with his abilities, he'd have a lot better chance of getting out of something like that alive than any other human being."

"All right, then let's say that he is alive.  With those abilities, chances are that he will still be alive when the time comes that this Soren allows you to start searching.  Doctor Jackson has the ability to heal himself, so, if he was injured, he could heal the damage."

Jack was getting mad again.  "And if he's lying unconscious somewhere, slowly dying?"

The president did not respond.

That's when Jack lost it.  "I'm sorry, sir, but this really stinks.  None of us would be alive if it wasn't for Daniel.  We all owe him more than we will ever be able to repay.  Not only that, he is the greatest weapon we have against the Goa'uld, a whole hell of a lot more valuable weapon than that damn Al'Kesh.  And you're just going to write him off?"

"We are not writing him off, Jack.  This decision was not made lightly, not by me and not by the others who had a part in making it.  But we are not giving up on him.  Give Soren the additional days that he asked for.  If, at the end of that time, he still won't let you come through the gate, then you have my permission to take the Al'Kesh.  That's the best I can offer."

Jack knew that arguing further wasn't going to do any good.  He had to accept the president's decision.  "And how are we all going to feel, Mister President, if, when we do finally get there and find Daniel dead, we find out that we could have saved him if we'd gotten there just one day sooner?"

Jack hung up the phone, not caring if Hayes took offense to it.  He lowered his head into his hands.

'Dammit, Daniel.  You should have come home.  You should have listened to me.  You damn well better be alive when we find you.'

Feeling tired, Jack got to his feet and went to give Sam and Teal'c the bad news.  He found Sam in her lab.

"What?!  I don't believe this!" Sam ranted when he told her.  "After everything Daniel's done, this is the thanks he gets?  I thought that Hayes was a good man.  I guess I was wrong."

"It wasn't just his decision, Carter.  You know that."

"He's the president.  He could have gone over their heads.  How can we just sit here and wait?  What if Daniel needs us?  What if he's lying under a pile of rubble somewhere, unconscious and running out of air?  What if—"  Sam's voice choked off, and she squeezed her eyes shut.  She felt Jack lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know, Sam.  I'm worried, too.  But Daniel's a really hard man to kill.  How many times has he proven that?  I have to believe that he'll be all right."

"I miss him," Sam said in a small, trembling voice, tears slowly leaking out of the corners of her eyes.  "I love him so much, and I'm afraid I'll never see him again."

Jack held out his arms.  "Come here."

Sam went into Jack's arms, her sobs finally breaking free.  Jack held on and let her cry.

'You hear me, Daniel?' he said silently.  'You be alive.  Don't you break her heart.'

Though Leda thought that they should wait another few days, Daniel insisted that the bandages covering his eyes be removed.  He needed to know if his eyes were damaged so that he could begin working on repairing them.

Even knowing that he could heal himself if it turned out that he was blind, he was still feeling nervous as Leda removed the bandages.  As the last of them were pulled away, he slowly opened his eyes.  Everything was blurry at first, but then began to clear.

"Give your vision a moment to adjust," Leda told him.  "You haven't used it for a while.

Daniel's eyesight cleared further.

"How's that?" Leda asked.

Daniel blinked a few times.  "Better."

Leda smiled at him.  "Your eyes.  It's nice to see them again."

"Thank you, Leda, for taking care of me.  I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"You don't need to repay me, Daniel.  With all that has happened, caring for you has helped me continue on."

"How is Jared?"

Something Daniel couldn't identify flickered across Leda's face.  "He left early this morning.  He wasn't well enough, but he insisted on going.  He and the other soldiers who survived went to the city to search for survivors."

"As soon as I'm physically able, I need to go into the city, too.  I need to get back to my own world, or at least contact them and let them know that I'm okay."

Daniel now knew for certain that the Stargate was still intact.  He had used his abilities to find out its fate.  It was still in the bunker, under heavy guard.

"Trying to reach the Great Ring will be impossible," Leda stated.  "The city is full of rebel patrols, and I have heard tell that patrols are spreading out beyond the city now.  Even to leave the estate grounds would be dangerous."

"Leda, I can't stay here.  I need to go home."

The woman did not say anything for a moment.  "Do . . . you have someone?"

Daniel's gaze grew distance, a small smile on his face.  "Yes.  Her name is Sam, short for Samantha."  He met Leda's eyes.  "I miss her."

The archeologist could have sworn that he saw a tiny hint of sadness in Leda's eyes for a moment.  Then she gave him a smile.  "I'll let you get some more rest.  Sleep, Daniel.  You need it, even if you are healing extraordinarily fast."

Daniel rested for the remainder of that day, allowing his body to regain the strength he knew he would need to heal himself.  Leda talked with him a few more times, telling him a little about herself.  The estate had belonged to her uncle, who willed it to her when he died not long ago.  When the fighting reached the capital, Kane had insisted that she come here, figuring that she'd be safer.  It was, in fact, some of her uncle's clothing that Daniel was wearing.  The archeologist was glad that Leda hadn't gotten rid of it all yet since her husband's clothes would definitely not have fit him.  The man was several inches shorter.

Leda managed to coax a few things out of Daniel about himself.  He told her about his education and friends, some things from his childhood and his life at the SGC, explaining a little bit about their battle with the Goa'uld.  Mostly, though, he talked about Sam.

"You love her very much," Leda observed.

"Yes, more than I've ever loved anyone.  I was married once.  My wife died almost five years ago, and, for a long time, I thought that she was the only one I'd ever love.  But then I realized that I'd fallen in love with Sam, and everything changed."

"She must fear that you are dead."

"Well, you see, I have this habit of not dying even in situation that would kill pretty much anyone else.  Jack would refuse to believe I'm dead unless he saw the body . . . and, based on recent events, maybe not even then."

Leda smiled.  "You have led an exciting life."

"Yes, you can definitely say that."

When Daniel awoke the next morning, he decided that it was time to try and heal himself.  He would target the most serious injuries first.  In that way, if he grew too fatigued, he could stop and let himself recover before doing more.

Closing his eyes, Daniel turned his abilities upon his own body, seeking and finding the damage within.  One by one, he healed the injuries.  He'd managed to heal most of the more serious damage when fatigue forced him to stop.

Daniel brushed the sweat from his brow with a trembling hand.  He felt dizzy and lightheaded, which told him that he'd done more than he actually should have.  He smiled inside at the thought of how unhappy Janet would be with him right now.

Exhaustion pulled Daniel into a deep sleep.  When he awoke it was to see a worried Leda leaning over him.  She smiled upon seeing him open his eyes.

"I was worried.  You have been sleeping for a long time."

The archeologist looked out the window in an attempt to judge the time.  "How long?"

"It is well into the afternoon."

"I guess I really did overdo it," Daniel murmured.

"Overdo what?  Did you attempt to get out of bed without my help?  You are not strong enough for that."

Daniel thought about telling her the truth.  He knew that, eventually, he would have to since she would see the evidence right before her eyes.  But, judging by Gareth's and Kane's reaction to him when he told them that he could see the future, Daniel thought it would be best if he waited to tell Leda about his healing abilities until she had no choice but to believe him.

"I'll be more careful and not strain myself again," he promised her.

"Do you need any of the medicine for pain?"

Daniel shook his head.  He had been refusing the medicine right from the start.  There were very little medical supplies to go around, and he didn't want to take some away from someone else who might need it, not when, if he had to, he had the ability to do something about his pain.  Now that he'd partially healed himself, his discomfort had eased substantially.

Daniel kept the promise he made to Leda and took it easy for the rest of the day.  He waited until after she had gone to bed before resuming healing himself.  Before he began the healing process, however, he tried again to contact Sam.  This second time, though he wasn't completely certain, he was pretty sure that he managed to get through.  But he got no response to his call.  Perhaps Sam was asleep.  He wasn't sure what time it was in Colorado.

Daniel turned his attention to healing himself.  Because he'd managed to already heal the worst of the damage, it was easier this time.  Even so, the moment he started feeling the strain, he stopped.  One more time, and he would be fully healed.  And then he could turn his attention to getting back home.

Sam sat and watched the sun slowly rise above the mountains, painting the sky with soft hues of pink and yellow.  The end of another night without Daniel, another night of nightmares filled with images of his crushed and broken body, or, worse, of him so hopelessly trapped that even his powers were of no use, a hand reaching out to her in supplication, only to finally fall lifeless to the ground.  One of her dreams last night had been different from the others, but still upsetting.  In it, she could hear Daniel calling out to her in desperation, but she was unable to answer him or find him.

Sam had gotten very little sleep during these days that had passed since the war on Tegalus began.  Janet was threatening to give her a sedative.  Maybe she should take the doctor up on it.  She was so tired that it was affecting her work.  When Soren did finally let them come through the gate, she would be in no condition to go.

Sam still hadn't gone home, with the exception of brief trips to pick up the mail and water her plants.  She'd also gone to Daniel's house to get the mail and feed his fish.  Jack had offered to do it for her, but Sam turned him down.  When she got to Daniel's place, she tried to pretend that it was just another time when he was gone away on a mission for a few days, but it didn't work, and she had to leave before she started crying again.

Sam kept telling herself that Daniel was alive, that they'd find him and he'd be okay, but the fear that he was dead was still there, like a wound deep in her heart.

The lieutenant colonel heard a small sound and turned to see Teal'c walking up to her.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

The Jaffa sat on the log beside her.  "Doctor Fraiser is most concerned about you."

"I know."

Teal'c looked up at the lightening sky.  "I believe that Daniel Jackson lives," he stated with quiet conviction.

Sam gazed at him.  "Why are you so sure?"

"Because I feel that he has a destiny that has not yet been fulfilled."

Sam smiled slightly.  "I didn't know you believed in destiny, Teal'c."

The Jaffa met her eyes.  "For most things, we are masters of our own destiny, but I believe that some of us, those of great importance, are destined for a purpose, and I feel that Daniel Jackson is destined to be the one who will strike the final blow against the Goa'uld."

"I hope you're right, Teal'c."  Sam turned back to the sunrise.  "I want to believe that he's alive and that he'll be okay when we find him.  I'm just really scared."

"I know."  He studied the dark shadows under her eyes.  "You need to rest, Colonel Carter.  You will be unable to help Daniel Jackson if you are too fatigued."

Sam sighed tiredly.  "I know."  She got up from the log, as did Teal'c.  "I think I'll go get that sedative from Janet."

The Jaffa inclined his head, agreeing with her decision.  Sam took a step away, then stopped and turned back to her teammate.

"Thanks, Teal'c," she said with a little smile, his words having made her feel better.

"You are welcome, Colonel Carter."

Tegalus' sun had been up for almost an hour when Daniel awoke.  The various aches and pains in his body were virtually gone, but he knew that there was still a little bit of healing to be done.  Deciding it would be best to do it now, before Leda came in with breakfast, Daniel closed his eyes.  A short while later, he opened them, his body now completely healed.

Discarding the sling that had cradled his left arm, Daniel got out of bed and stretched his muscles.  He walked over to the window.  He would have to start planning how he was going to get to the bunker.  Simply marching straight into the city wouldn't work.  Sure, he could probably handle any of Soren's men that he encountered, but, if a report got back to Soren about what Daniel was capable of, one of two things would happen: either the entire force of the rebels would be turned against him or they'd try to capture him.  Either way, it would make getting to the gate a lot harder.

While he was checking to see if the Stargate and DHD were still intact, he'd also learned that Soren was using the bunker as his command center.  From what he'd seen, if it could be taken back, there was a good chance that the rebels could be overthrown.  But for that, he'd want help.

"Daniel, you should not be on your. . . ."  Leda gasped as Daniel turned to face her.  The breakfast tray slipped from her grasp and fell with a clatter to the floor.  "Your face," she whispered.

Daniel touched his face, which was no longer marred with partially healed wounds.

"I'm sorry," he said, coming forward and kneeling to pick up the mess on the floor.  "I should have told you before."

"Told me what?"  Leda knelt, her gaze darting across his features.  "I don't understand.  Your face is completely healed."  She noticed the lack of a sling.  "And your arm.  You're using it without difficulty."

"Yeah.  I need to explain a few things to you."

They finished cleaning up the mess, then went into the living room.

"I guess there's no other way to say this than to just come right out and say it," Daniel began.  "Leda, I have the power to heal both myself and others."

The woman stared at him, her expression that of both amazement and a touch of disbelief.

"I know that may be hard for you to believe, but it's true.  I could have healed myself the day I first woke up, but I was too weak from my injuries.  It takes a lot of energy to do it, and I had to wait until I was strong enough.  I started the process yesterday, but I did too much at first.  That's why I slept for so long.  I'd sapped all of my strength.  But I'm completely healed now.  If you checked, you'd see that there's not a mark on my body."

"I. . . .  This is unbelievable.  Do all your people have this ability?"

"No, I'm pretty unique in that regard.  I can't explain why I can do this.  I'll just say that something happened to me that gave me certain abilities, one of them being this."

"Then this is why you wouldn't let me give you any medicine for the pain and why you seemed to be healing so quickly?"

Daniel nodded.  "I didn't want you to use the medicine on me when there were others who would need it more.  I figured that if the pain got really bad, I could do something to ease it myself.  As for healing faster than normal, I can't be certain, but I think that my ability was working subconsciously ever since I was injured, causing me to heal much more quickly that a normal person would."

"This is an amazing thing.  You are very blessed to have this ability."

"I have to agree.  I've saved more than one life with it, including Sam's."

"What will you do now?"

"I need to return to the city and get to the Stargate."

"But how will you do that?  You are only one man.  Soren has many men."

Daniel paused.  "There are things I can't tell you because it would be too hard for you to believe, but trust me when I say that I have the ability to get past Soren's men and down into the bunker."

Leda searched his eyes for a long while.  "I believe you, Daniel.  How can I not when you're sitting there, fully healed, when, seven days ago, you were close to death?  When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow, I think.  I'm going to have to be careful not to be seen by any of the rebel patrols, so it'll take me a while to get to the city, probably a day or two."

"And once you get there?"  There was a hint of fear in Leda's voice.  Daniel knew that she was worried about him.

"You said that Jared and his men were in the city.  I'm going to try and find them.  With their help and my . . . abilities, I'm pretty sure that we can capture the bunker.  Once we have control, I can contact the SGC, and they'll send troops."

"And then you'll go home."

"Yes.  But we won't abandon your people, Leda.  We can help you rebuild.  We can bring food and medicine.  It's the least we can do considering that we're responsible for what happened."

"Daniel, you are not to blame for this.  There has been distrust between our country and Caledonia for generations.  It was only a matter of time before something set it off.  We did this to ourselves."

Daniel did not say anything about the guilt he harbored for being unable to stop the destruction even though he'd seen it coming.

He looked over at the window.  "Would you like to go for a walk?  I'd love some fresh air."

Leda got a coat that had belonged to her uncle for him to wear, and the two of them went outside.  They began walking down a wide, tree-lined dirt path.

"More rebel patrols have been spotted in the area," Leda said.  "Everyone is afraid of them."

"They're zealots, fighting in the name of gods that they really know nothing about.  They are deluded into thinking that they are justified in what they're doing, and anyone who doesn't share their beliefs is a danger."

"How can you be sure that Soren and his followers aren't right?  How can you know for certain that the gods they worship aren't. . . ."

"Benevolent?  Because I've met more than a few of them.  Trust me.  They're the opposite.  And they're definitely not gods."

"Then what are they?"

"Short form?  They're a parasitical alien race that steals advanced technology and rules via fear and intimidation.  Have a penchant for melodrama.  Trust me, if Soren ever actually met one, he'd be singing a different tune."

"But you said you've fought them and won?"

"Yes, we have.  We've managed to kill several of them.  But there are still many of them out there.

"But there's hope, isn't there?  You think what happened was your fault, but, from what you've told me, it was better that your people activated the Great Ring than the Goa'uld."

Daniel couldn't help but think that, if it had been the Goa'uld who came through the gate, the war would never have happened.  The Goa'uld would have taken control of the planet and subjugated its people.  Then again, maybe not.  If the people of Tegalus had put up a fight, the Goa'uld might have simply sent a ship to wipe them out, which would have been even worse than what did happen.

"I must admit that I will miss you when you leave," Leda said quietly.  "I'd forgotten what is was like to have someone to talk to."

Daniel gazed down at her as they continued walking.  "What about your husband?"

"When Jared became part of Commander Gareth's inner circle, he changed, became remote, distant.  We never really talk anymore."

"I'm sorry."  He met Leda's eyes.  "Don't give up on him, Leda, on what you have.  When I fell in love with Sam, she told me that she didn't feel the same.  There were times when I almost gave up on us ever being together, but I never quite lost all hope.  Now, I have a fantastic life with her.  As long as we're alive, there's hope."

"Hope."

"There's hope for your people as well, Leda.  I promise that we'll do all we can to help you."

She gazed up at him.  "I believe you, Daniel.  I won't give up hope."

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter