Title: But Never Forgotten
Date: June 14, 2003
Status: Complete
Author: Jmas
Category: Episode tag
Rating: G
Pairing: None, ever
Email: jmasg1@bellsouth.net

Spoilers: Fallen, Homecoming, Meridian, Abyss, Changeling, Full Circle
Summary: As wonderful as Fallen and Homecoming were, I needed just a tad bit more reuniong.
Author's note: For the first time in far too long a time I went to bed last night and couldn’t sleep because there were so many plot bunnies running around in my head. Feels good. <G>
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of
Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other
characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the
names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA
Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret
Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not
intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for
entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are
the sole property of the author.

But Never Forgotten
By Jmas

Daniel was back. Dinner was on – a huge buffet laid out in the dining room, drinks were flowing, people were laughing and clearly having a good time, Teal’c and Carter were playing cohosts, and all was right with the world.

Except…..

Daniel was nowhere to be seen.

Wandering down the hall, Jack tried to look casual, but there was still an edge of panic associated with letting Daniel out of his sight too long. The thing with Anubis’ ship had been necessary, and the timing sucked rocks, but there hadn’t really been a choice. The mission was over now, though, duty was done and…. where the hell was Daniel?

The house was a bust whichbust, which only left the roof or the yard. Jack was more than a little aware that underneath the flood of returning memories, Daniel was still in some ways the hesitant and doubtful Arrom whose sense of self had been nearly non-existent for over two months.

It wasn’t simply a matter of Daniel getting to know the things around him again,again; it was getting to know who Daniel Jackson was, again.

The yard was clear as far as Jack could see, unless Daniel was hiding under the hedges, so that left the roof. Climbing the ladder slowly, Jack breathed a sigh of relief as a moonlit tousled head came into view. Hesitantly clearing the ladder, Jack took the seat next to Daniel quietly. A bare turn of the other man’s head acknowledged Jack’s presence, but there was no other response.

“You okay?”

There was enough light for Jack to see an ironic smile flicker over Daniel’s face, disappearing quickly as he nodded.

“Yeah…” he drawled in a tone Jack had never hoped to hear again. The one that meant Daniel was about as far from okay as he could get, but working on it. God, how Jack had missed that; all the subtle nuances that made Daniel ‘Daniel’ and made their friendship so comfortable. A year-long ache seemed to break free at the revelation. Daniel was really back. Whatever gaps there were in Daniel’s memories of Earth, his friends, or his experiences, Daniel had said he was going home. Something in the man the natives called Arrom remembered and wanted ‘home’ enough to leave the only place he’d ever know, to trust them enough to follow them not only out of that tent, but through the gate. That same trust would get them through the rest of it.

The other man turned then, his glasses were off so Jack could see his eyes were shining with emotion.

“Daniel?”

“It’s okay, Jack. It’s just so much to take in, you know?”

Jack nodded. He didn’t know, not really, but in a way he could relate. When he’d been imprisoned, he’d just about given up hope of ever seeing his home or family again…returning to reality had been a huge adjustment. How much greater was the adjustment to things you’d never known you knew? Jack couldn’t imagine life as a blank slate getting filled in with bits and letters all out of order.

“How much…?” Jack didn’t have to finish.

“Everything.” Daniel ducked his head. “Not about being, uh, ascended and all that…but everything else. It’s still like it was someone else sometimes, though, you know?”

Jack smiled sympatheticallyy as a tear finally spilled over onto Daniel’s cheek as he leaned back to look up at the stars.

“Sha’re, Skaara, my parents, you, Teal’c and Sam…It’s all there. I remember Colona….the pain after….Then it stops.”

“Until you woke up naked on….”

Daniel smiled and nodded. “I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong, I am. To finally know who I am and where I belong. But I spent the last two months thinking I’d done something terribly wrong, that I was somehow…cast out of where I’d been before because I’d done something wrong. And now I know I did, I failed…and Abydos is gone because of me…and…”

Jack reached a hand up and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “You tried, Daniel. Whatever else happened, I know you went up to fight Anubis not knowing if you could succeed. But you went anyway. You bought us enough time to get away…thanks for that by the way…and gave Oma time to help the Abydonians.”

Daniel nodded his head shortly. “Yes and no…Don’tdon't you see, Jack? I was being punished. I knew the rules, I broke them and they…cast me out. But the one thing I’m sure of…I chose to come back. To be human again.”

Daniel chose.

Actually Jack had not trouble buying that. By the time they’d gathered on Abydos, it was pretty clear Daniel was frustrated as hell with the rules that meant he had to stand by and watch as people got hurt because The Others said so. Sure Daniel had played around the rules to help Jack and Teal’c when they’d needed him and to get SG1 to Abydos, but Jack knew Daniel well enough to know the restrictions had torn at his spirit every bit as much as the military structure had ever done. Until Abydos, until it had come down to only one choice that Daniel could continue to live with…to cross that line and do what his soul knew was right. And when faced with the consequences, Daniel had chosen the side of humanity rather than whatever ascended alternative The Others had offered. It seemed like Oma had learned a few things from Daniel when it came to bending rules and left Daniel enough of himself to find his way back to the man he had been, the man who had been worthy of ascension in the first place.

Jack could only nod at Daniel. It was a lot to take in for Jack, how much more for Daniel?

Pulling a little at the shoulder under his hand, Jack felt the ambivalence of Arrom warring with the man who was Daniel. The man who, while he was yet a mass of confused memories, still remembered homeremembered home.

With a sigh of acquiescence, Daniel came into Jack’s willing embrace, finally accepting the comfort even he probably didn’t recognize he needed as much as Jack needed to offer it.

A glitter of gold preceded the rest of Teal’c’s head as the big man cleared the railing and stepped over, with Carter only seconds behind him. They stood a moment, hesitating, and Jack knew they’d been waiting a while. Gradually it seemed Daniel became aware of them and he reached out an arm toward them, drawing them into hug. They all needed this, needed the emotional reconnection. While it was damn great having their dear friend back in physical form, having Daniel back was even better and they needed time to let it soak into their souls as well.

It had been a long road over the past year, times when it seemed like nothing would ever be right again…but now it was over. Nothing about their lives was ever quite normal, never had been, but the one right thing on this night of reunion was that they were together again…and together they could take on just about anything.

*fin*