Remembrance of Things to Come
by Isabelle Ashe
E-MAIL: thaliamuse2000@yahoo.com
STATUS: Complete
RATING: PG
SEASON: Future
SPOILERS: episode tag for 2010, minor for Upgrades
CATEGORY: Daniel/Janet, a little Sam/Jack ust
SUMMARY: The night after the note comes through the Stargate, Daniel and Janet share an interesting dream.
DISCLAIMER: not mine, yada, yada
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Of course we all love 2010 for its Dan/Jan
shippiness, but I'm always slightly disappointed when they go back to
a time when they won't remember the peck on the cheek and the goodbye
wave, not to mention everything that fanfic writers imagine in the
context of the episode. So I thought I would come up with a way for
them to realize they're getting a second chance. // indicates a
dream //
Daniel snapped out of his reverie as the sergeant behind him at the
coffee machine cleared his throat. He quickly apologized, grabbed
his coffee and tray of breakfast, and walked across the room to the
commissary table that SG-1 occupied.
For the forty-five minutes since he woke up, Daniel had struggled to
focus on anything except the vivid dream he experienced. Janet had
figured in his dreams a couple of times before, usually when he was
sick; in those dreams, their relationship seemed more or less what it
was when he was awake, though in the last one he remembered—right
after the fiasco with Anise and the armbands—his dream self had been
particularly preoccupied with how lovely she was when she was angry.
But to move without an intermediate from admiration of her flushed
complexion to last night's dream. . . well, he didn't really think it
was supposed to work that way. It wasn't even a sexy dream, really,
but the emotions—regret and sorrow combined with an anguished hope,
but most of all desperate, passionate love—the emotions were as
strong as any he had ever felt in reality about anyone.
"Earth to Daniel!" Jack's voice stirred him, and he looked up to see
his three teammates looking at him quizzically.
"Are you well this morning, DanielJackson?" asked Teal'c.
"Uh, yeah. I'm just having a hard time concentrating this morning; I
keep thinking about this—uh, about something." He was glad his brain
was working quickly enough to remind him that he did not particularly
want to share his dream with Jack O'Neill. Jack and Teal'c seemed to
accept his explanation, probably because he was often distracted by
too much thinking. Sam, however, looked thoughtful and perhaps a
little distracted herself.
"You know," she said after a few minutes, "I had this really strange
dream last night." Daniel nearly choked on his cinnamon toast.
Surely Sam couldn't know about his dream, let alone have had a
similar one. He snuck a look at the others. Teal'c's face was
passively interested, as usual, but Jack wore a curiously
apprehensive expression.
"Strange how, Carter?"
"I don't know that the dream itself was all that strange, sir, though
I can't remember ever dreaming anything quite like it. You and I
were out in the woods somewhere at a cabin, and we were arguing with
each other—something about regretting mistakes and trying to fix
them." Sam's cheeks turned a little pink, and she stared intently
into her cereal bowl as she quickly continued in the most Air Force-
appropriate fashion. "I feel like it had something to do with a
mission that had gone badly. But the really strange part were the
emotions of the dream—we were really angry with each other, sir. But
also a lot of regret, and even a strange desperate hope." Sam was
clearly embarrassed and wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Thus, she
couldn't see the shocked expression on Jack's face.
"It was my cabin in Minnesota, Carter." This drew her surprised eyes
up. "I had the same dream. You came to my cabin to get me to do
something, and I was really mad at you. Why is a little fuzzy. But
there was definitely regret and something about wanting to go back
somewhere—in time, maybe? Something about a second chance. I, uh,
yeah." Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a knowing glance as they watched
their two embarrassed, red-faced teammates look everywhere but each
other. Daniel was glad no one had asked him what he had dreamed
about, and he was even more glad that Jack and Sam's dream had not
been the same one he had.
Sam looked up at the door of the commissary and smiled brightly,
apparently relieved at having spotted a diversion. "Janet!" she
called, waving and beckoning toward the empty seat beside her.
Daniel felt all the blood drain out of his face, and he hoped no one
noticed. He took a gulp of his now-cold coffee without even noticing
the temperature. Act normal, he told himself.
Janet walked toward them purposefully, holding a folder in her hand.
Her smile and greeting was somewhat strained, and in the glances
Daniel couldn't help directing at her, he noticed she was avoiding
looking at him. You idiot, he chastised himself, you have one crazy
dream and expect her to suddenly be interested in you.
"Good morning," the doctor said brightly. "I have the results of the
analysis of the note that came through the gate yesterday." She
waved the folder.
"Really?" Sam and Jack answered simultaneously. Daniel wondered if
they were so interested in the lab results or if they were just happy
for a distraction. Of course, his personal distraction was now
sitting across the table from him. Looking quite beautiful, he did
not fail to notice.
"As we might have surmised from the handwriting on the note, the
majority of the blood is yours, Colonel. There is a small amount of
your blood on the note, too, Sam. Other than that, I don't really
know what to make of it. Anyone care to speculate as to how your
blood got on this note in the first place?"
Suddenly, comprehension dawned on Sam's face. "We were going back,
changing the past for that second chance, sir." For the first time
since the dream conversation began, Sam and Jack looked at each other
and shared one of those long moments of wordless communication that
Daniel and Teal'c—and hopefully not many other people—knew they were
so good at.
"I think you're right, Carter," Jack answered slowly. "That's what
the dream was about."
"Dream?" choked Janet. The color rose to her cheeks despite the
visible effort she was exerting to appear casual. Her eyes darted in
Daniel's direction a couple of times, but she kept her head
steadfastly turned toward Sam. Daniel studied his hands, and Jack
and Sam were absorbed in their shared epiphany. Teal'c, however,
raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, the Colonel and I both had this strange and vivid dream last
night. We were fighting about something, and we think it might have
been our future selves arguing about whatever induced us to send this
note back. Maybe. But there was no blood in the dream—so maybe that
wasn't it. Who knows." Sam shrugged, but Daniel could tell that the
wheels were still turning in her head.
"Ah, well, that's really interesting. I should really get back down
to the infirmary. Have a good day." Janet was definitely in escape
mode as she fled from the table, though she did manage to spare
Daniel one more glance.
"Well, I should really get to work, too," Daniel said as soon as she
was out the door. He wasn't sure why he felt he had to get out of
there, but he couldn't wait to shut himself up in his office, bury
himself up to his ears in books, and force thoughts of that dream out
of his head. Janet had just made it abundantly clear, as far as he
could tell, that she harbored no similar thoughts about him.
"What's up with them?" Jack asked as the archeologist disappeared out
the door.
"Perhaps DanielJackson and DoctorFraiser also shared a dream like you
and MajorCarter," offered Teal'c. His teammates looked at him like
he had lost it.
"Huh?" Jack replied inarticulately. "Why would you think that, T?"
"DanielJackson appeared to be alarmed when you first mentioned having
a dream, MajorCarter, as did DoctorFraiser when the subject was first
raised in her presence. And both DanielJackson and DoctorFraiser
were attempting to observe each other while appearing not to do so,
as if they were both interested in yet uncomfortable with one
another. It was most unlike their typical behavior." Teal'c waited
while Jack and Sam considered this idea.
"Maybe," conceded Jack with some hesitation. "Though Danny does have
a bit of a crush on the good doctor anyway."
"And vice versa," added Sam. "But that doesn't really explain their
strange behavior."
"Well, they weren't in our dream. I wonder what they dreamed about."
***
Daniel had managed to get halfway through the title page of the book
he opened before the dream came back to him. He groaned aloud but
couldn't put up a fight against the memory. Besides, he reasoned,
Jack and Sam's dream had made him curious about his own; he could
justifiably indulge in the dream if it were a mystery he was trying
to solve. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let the
images flood back into his head.
// He was standing with Janet in the corner of a room he didn't
recognize. He was vaguely aware of Jack and Sam and another man
across the room, but his focus was clearly the woman in front of
him. He stared into her deep eyes with a frightening intensity, as
if he were trying to memorize every part of them. They glittered
with unshed tears, and he could feel the tears pricking behind his
own eyes as well. Suddenly, she drew him into her arms, and he
responded by crushing her to his chest. If he could just keep
holding her, maybe time would slow down, and somehow, irrationally,
everything would be okay.
"I could come back with Teal'c," she said softly into his chest.
"And automatically raise their suspicion. With just Teal'c, we'll
have a few more minutes." She nodded, but she wasn't happy. "And
besides, you would be a sitting duck there at the gate. I can't
watch you die, Jan."
"So you'll sacrifice yourself and leave me." Her voice was a little
bitter, but mostly just agonized. He held her tighter.
"This is going to work, Janet. It has to work. Then none of this
will matter. We go back, we have another chance."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"It has to work." He felt like he was trying to convince himself.
"I hope we don't wait as long the second time around," she said,
lifting her head to look him in the eyes again. The love shining
there was unmistakable, and Daniel was bowled over by how much he
loved and needed this woman. "I want more time to love you, Daniel."
He answered by kissing her, a desperate, passionate, last-chance kiss
that was quite unlike anything he had ever experienced before. She
responded hungrily, pulling his head close and not even coming up for
air. The sound of Jack clearing his throat nearby drew them back to
earth.
"Sorry, guys," said Jack, sounding genuinely contrite. "It's time."
He nodded once and left the room. Sam and the other man were already
gone. Daniel turned back to Janet once more.
"I love you, Janet."
"I love you, too." She reached up and placed a brief, soft kiss on
his lips. It was an exquisite kiss, tasting both of a final farewell
and of a wild hope for new beginnings. "I know it's impossible," she
mused as she stepped away, "but I really hope I remember this when we
get our second chance."
He watched with a paralyzing tumult of emotions as she walked out the
door. //
***
Janet sighed as she read the report for the fifth time, trying to see
if there was a way she could get someone other than Daniel Jackson to
sign off on it. No new loopholes appeared, and she knew she was
going to have to face him. She was surprised she had actually
managed to read through the report so carefully since the majority of
her brain had been distracted all morning by the inexplicable dream
she'd had. It had seemed so real—almost like a memory as opposed to
a dream, though she knew that unless she was going crazy, she had
never kissed Daniel like that before. Not that she hadn't considered
the possibility. . . But actually, the stirring emotions of the
dream had far exceeded any fantasy she had ever experienced.
Trying not to go down that slippery slide for the fifteenth time that
morning, she turned her attention back to the report. The sooner you
give him the report, the sooner you can get the embarrassing moment
over with, she encouraged herself. Maybe he won't notice if you turn
red the moment you see him.
Janet stuck her head in Daniel's office after he failed to answer her
knock. He was sitting at his desk with a book open, but he was
staring into space ahead of him instead of at the book.
"Daniel?" He jumped a foot at the sound of her voice, nearly falling
out of his chair. Janet couldn't help giggling a little.
"Jesus, Janet, you scared me!"
"Sorry. I knocked, but you didn't answer. I brought this report
that you need to sign." She moved toward him, holding out the
paper. Now that he had recovered from being startled, he was staring
at her, and Janet could swear he was blushing a little.
"You knocked? I didn't hear anything. I guess I was a little lost
in thought," he replied sheepishly, suddenly pulling his eyes away
from her to stare at the floor.
"Yeah, you looked like you were working really hard," she answered
with notable sarcasm. Part of her brain was yelling at her just to
get his signature and get out, but her body was conspiring with the
part that wanted to stay in his presence; thus, she found herself
rooted to the floor making small talk.
"I haven't gotten a thing done this morning," Daniel replied with
frustration. "I can't concentrate on anything but that dream."
Suddenly realizing what he had said aloud and to whom he had said it,
Daniel's eyes grew huge, and he turned a deep shade of magenta.
Janet saw him looking like a dear caught in the headlights as it
dawned on her what he had said. She bit her bottom lip, took a deep
breath, and decided to be brave.
"Dream?" Her voice was soft and shaking slightly. He nodded once,
his eyes never leaving hers. "What was it about?" she managed to
ask. Daniel looked slightly more confident, and a faint smile
touched the corners of his lips.
"You."
"We were saying goodbye, yet hoping for a second chance." Janet
didn't remember moving, but she found herself now standing directly
in front of him. Her breath caught as she looked into his blue eyes
and read the emotions reflected there: fear, excitement, wonder, and
something she scarcely trusted herself to identify. She wondered if
her own eyes were similarly revealing.
"You had the same dream." He reached out cautiously and took her
hand. She responded with a nod, a smile, and a squeeze to his hand.
"Do you think it's like Sam suggested this morning—that these dreams
are a glimpse of our future selves that sent that note?" asked Janet
after a long moment.
"That seems as good an explanation as any," Daniel replied
pensively. He continued to hold her hand and to stare into her eyes,
and he was beginning to realize that he wanted to do much more of the
same. Suddenly, recognition dawned on his face. "Janet, I think you
got your wish."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. This moment certainly
seemed to be fulfilling a number of her wishes, but she couldn't
imagine how Daniel would know about those wishes.
"In the dream, you said you wanted to remember what happened. Or
that moment, at least."
"That's impossible!" she exclaimed.
"Give me another explanation that makes sense," he challenged. She
considered for a moment, but couldn't come up with another
explanation.
"Wow!" she finally said. "So if the dream is true, this is a second
chance, then."
"Mm-hmm," answered Daniel as he reached up to cup her cheek with his
hand, running his thumb over her cheekbone. She turned her head to
place a soft kiss on his palm.
His hand crept around to the nape of her neck as he drew her
close. "The dream kiss was too sad—a kiss goodbye," he whispered,
his face just inches from hers. "This is a kiss of hope and promise."
***
The End
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