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THE OTHER DANIEL JACKSON
Daniel Jackson paced the small confines of the holding room where he’d been left to wait while the other members of his team were off being questioned. The moment they’d walked through the Stargate and been met by a group of SF’s all pointing their weapons at them, he’d realized what had happened. And as usual, no one had listened to him, preferring to speak with the military members of the team first. Which meant he had to cool his heels and wait…and worry...about her.
Damn it all though, she wasn’t even supposed to be with them. Brightman had pulled the mission, but had come down with acute appendicitis, something with which he could certainly empathize. And in spite of the dire circumstances that necessitated the mission, it had been nice to be together. Until it had all gone horribly wrong. Daniel tried to tell himself he wasn’t being over-protective, and if she even knew what he was thinking, she would so kick his ass. But he couldn’t help it, he loved her and damn it, what were they doing with her?
Slamming his fist against the sturdy door in an uncharacteristic show of frustration, Daniel peered through the tiny window, relief filling him when he saw her walking down the long hallway, flanked by two enormous guards. He stood well away from the door and waited impatiently, the door finally opening and his wife slipping into the room past the burly guard.
Daniel knew his wife well, so he took her in his arms the minute he saw her face, ignoring the curious looks from the guard who took his time closing the door of the holding room. He held her tight, one hand in her hair with his other arm wrapped firmly around her. His doctor was one of the strongest women he knew, yet something had obviously upset her—beyond the obvious. Alternate universes were old hat for him, but this was her first time. But he knew whatever had upset her was more than that….
A deep breath shuddered through her slight figure, a sure indication that she was fighting back tears, and he swayed gently, keeping calm in spite of the worry that engulfed him. “What happened?” he murmured, keeping his voice low and soothing.
She sighed and when she lifted her head, he loosened his arms just enough that he could look at her. Her beautiful eyes were troubled and full of sadness. “The Janet Fraiser in this universe is dead.”
Even with his experiences in alternate universes, it still took him several long minutes to fully absorb her blunt statement. Janet dead…his wife dead. He couldn’t even imagine it—didn’t want to imagine it. Losing Shau’re had nearly killed him, but he had been blessed with a second chance at happiness with the incredible woman in his arms. She had brought meaning and purpose back into his life and there wasn’t a day that he didn’t thank all the gods for bringing her into his life.
He didn’t need to ask why she looked so sad, he had a pretty good idea, but he did anyway. “That’s where you were? With him?”
Janet nodded, her expression somber. She twisted out of his loose embrace and he didn’t stop her, instead following her over to the table where she slumped down in one of the chairs. Taking the seat next to her, he angled the chair so he could look at her, taking both her cold hands in his.
“Were they together?” he asked curiously. In all his various experiences with alternate universes, he’d never encountered one where he and Janet had found each other. Of course, he remembered with a wry smile, he was generally dead in most of those other realities.
“I don’t think so,” she said slowly. Given the degree of her distress, her answer surprised him. He watched her carefully as she continued to speak. “But there’s something…I don’t know,” she shook her head, meeting his eyes. “The way he looked at me….” Her voice trailed off again and she looked down, towards their clasped hands.
“Like you were the answer to all his prayers?”
Her head flew up, her eyes filled with a sort of shocked confusion before understanding filled their brown depths. “Yes,” she said softly. “Just like that.”
Daniel felt a surge of pity for the other man mixing uncomfortably with his own sense of relief that he wasn’t the one facing a life without her. Releasing her hands, he stood up and started pacing the small room. “You were gone a long time. What did they want?”
She seemed to relax a little. “Just the usual, I guess. Information about our Earth, our encounters with the Ori.” She smiled a little. “Teal’c was there, it was good to see him. Evidently in this reality he hasn’t broken away completely from the SGC.”
“What about Jack?”
That question brought her first genuine smile. “In Washington.” She laughed. “God, he must hate it.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Well…that doesn’t really sound like our Jack, does it?”
“No,” she agreed. “I guess it just reinforces how different our realties really are.”
“What do you want to do about him?” The words were out of his mouth before he really had time to consider all the implications of his question.
Janet looked at him and frowned slightly. “Who?”
He looked at her obliquely. “You know. The other Daniel Jackson.”
She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a level look. “Are you offering to share me with your other self?”
That comment caused both his eyebrows to rise before he frowned, giving her an owlish look over his glasses. “Umm…no. I don’t think that’s something I would suggest.” When she didn’t say anything but just kept staring at him, he added, “I mean, unless that’s what you….” Realizing he was on the verge of babbling or saying something dreadfully wrong, Daniel let his voice trail off.
Thank god his wife knew him so well, because instead of going ballistic she merely smiled sweetly at him, her eyes sparkling with indulgent affection. She stood up and side-stepped around the table in the middle room, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I know what you meant,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and pressing a fleeting kiss to his lips. Her eyes were once more serious when she continued, “He may look like you, even sound like you, but he isn’t you.”
“Forks in the road?” Daniel brought his hand up and lightly brushed her hair back, tucking a few strands behind her ear.
“Something like that,” she agreed. “I remember the mission where this world’s Fraiser died. It could have been me.” Her eyes met his, raw with emotion, and she caressed his cheek. “It could have been you.”
“But it wasn’t,” Daniel murmured, gently clasping her hand and pulling her closer, resting his cheek against her hair. Remembering something Teal’c had observed before in similar circumstances, he added, “And as sorry as I am for him,” he lifted his head then and gazed into her loving brown eyes, speaking straight from his heart, “our reality is the only one that matters.”
THE END