The Dan and Jan Archive

Viewpoint
by Sue Corkill

EMAIL: mscorkill@earthlink.net
CATEGORY: Dan & Jan, Missing Scene
STATUS: Complete
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNING: M/F
SEASON/SEQUEL INFO: Season Five
SPOILERS: Menace
SUMMARY: Daniel and Janet must content with their differing views regarding Reese.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just something I've wanted to write ever since seeing `Menace'. This was originally published in Kawoosh #1, October 2002.
Copyright (c) M. Susan Corkill, July 2002

She was getting a headache and her vision was blurring, not a good thing when looking through an electron microscope. Doctor Janet Fraiser sat back on her stool and focused her blurry vision on a distant point, giving her eyes a chance to focus on something else for a few minutes. Massaging her temples with her fingers, she let her mind wander back over the past twenty-four hours. What a fine kettle of fish SG-1 had brought back with them this time. Reese was an incredible piece of technology and she could probably spend a lifetime studying just the nanotechnology used in her cell structure.

`Her'...Janet frowned. Technically, the doctor in her was well aware that Reese was an extremely sophisticated piece of machinery, but she' also had memories, thoughts and emotions. Which still did not make her anything more than a sophisticated machine. Or did it? Dangerous territory, which she had vowed long ago to leave to the philosophers and the theologians when she had decided on medicine and the pursuit of scientific theory. Best to concentrate on what she could actually see...and touch...and dissect, safer that way. Turning back to the microscope, Janet carefully removed the slide and placed it securely in the tray. Lifting out the next slide, she placed it under the lens and, with a grimace, turned her eyes back to the eyepiece.

"Doctor Fraiser?"

Janet sighed, looking up at Matthews. "Yes?" she asked the anxious looking corpsman.

"Doctor Jackson's been injured and..."

"Doctor Jackson's been injured?" she asked sharply. Working automatically, her mind already racing to any number of scenarios, she replaced the slide she'd just pulled out and shut off the microscope. "Where is he? Is it serious?"

"Ah, he's outside the isolation room where that girl is...he says it's not serious, that he doesn't need to come to the infirmary." Matthews gave her a distinctly apologetic look. "Major Carter called and said I should let you know."

"Thanks, Matthews," she said, somewhat relieved by his explanation. If Sam wasn't alarmed, then she would trust the other woman's judgement...until she saw Daniel for herself. "Get the tackle box," she told Matthews, referring to the portable medkit they kept for treating minor injuries outside of the infirmary, "and meet me at the isolation room."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded smartly and hurried off. Janet washed her hands quickly, all the while wondering what on earth could have happened as she hurriedly left for the isolation room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet only half listened to the conversation flowing around her as she gently searched through Daniel's hair for the source of the bleeding. He had been right, it wasn't serious. She couldn't even feel very much swelling yet. Taking a small piece of saline-soaked gauze she gingerly dabbed at the laceration she finally found. Daniel wasn't saying much, O'Neill and Sam were doing all the talking and speculating about Reese. Daniel's unusual reticence in the face of what had apparently happened told Janet that something was wrong. Janet took her time, and finally O'Neill and Carter wandered off leaving her and Daniel alone.

Janet squeezed Daniel's shoulder gently; the discreet touch her only means of communicating love and concern for her lover; "I hate getting told that you've been hurt."

Daniel reached up and briefly covered her hand with his own. "Believe me, I hate it when you get told that, too."

"So, I take it you told Reese she wasn't human?"

"Yeah," Daniel muttered, his hand dropping back down to his side. "She didn't take it too well."

"Did you think she would?" Janet asked curiously.

"Well, yes, I guess I thought she'd understand."

Janet chuckled. "Daniel, I know I haven't spent as much time interacting with her as you have, but I have seen enough to know that she is exhibiting all the emotional maturity of a teen-ager." She stopped dabbing at his head and leaned down, looking him right in the eye. "And that is one area where I have lots of experience."

He got that befuddled look that she adored, and then his face cleared and he smiled. "So what would you suggest?"

Janet glanced over at the door to the isolation room, picking her next words carefully. "Don't underestimate her, Daniel. She's very smart and very clever. And she may seem mature on the surface, but underneath it all is a little girl who feels insecure and has a driving need to `fit in' and be like everyone else." He nodded, and she could see the beginnings of understanding in his eyes. "Teen-ager's are also incredibly self-centered, Daniel. And they still tend to function with an external locus of control."

"So, what do you suggest?"

She applied a small amount of antibiotic ointment on the laceration and then smiled at him, stripping her gloves off and quickly using a water-less hand cleanser. "Give her some time to cool off and then go talk to her again."

Daniel stood and Janet was once again reminded of how tall he was as she looked up at him. He reached up and prodded at his head, frowning. "I don't need stitches?"

"No," she told him, her brown eyes sparkling at his almost palpable disappointment. She glanced at her watch. "What you need is lunch." She closed the tackle box, latching it securely and picking it up. "Join me?"

His eyes turned briefly to the closed door of the isolation room before he answered. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea." He reached for the tackle box and she let him take it. "Give us both a chance to `cool off'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, what do you suggest?"

"Hmmm?" Janet asked, frowning as she picked out a small bone from her chicken noodle soup.

"What approach should I try with Reese?"

Janet looked across the table at Daniel, his expression intense and curious. She smiled gently, an incredibly intelligent man he may be, but when it came to dealing with teen-age girls? "Well, you still want information from her?"

"Yes," he nodded his head, taking a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich.

"Then you'll have to work at building her trust." Janet poked around suspiciously in her soup with her spoon before gathering a spoonful that looked bone free. She looked back up at Daniel. "Go talk to her again, play it low-key and follow her lead."

"I think she has a crush on me."

Janet spluttered, spitting soup out on the table. Coughing, she grabbed her napkin and wiped at her mouth, composing herself and giving Daniel a curious look. "Really?" A thought suddenly occurred to her and she knew he wouldn't like what she was about to suggest, but did so anyway. "Then maybe you should capitalize on that."

"What?" He blinked.

"If Reese has a crush on you, then you should use that to your advantage. Charm her, get her to open up to you."

"Janet..." he protested, "that wouldn't be right, that would be using her."

This was going to get tricky, Janet suddenly realized and wished she hadn't ever decided to offer her advice. She felt like she was getting ready to walk through a minefield. "Normally, I would agree with you, Daniel." She reached out with her right hand and laid it over his, where it rested on the table. "But, she isn't human, Daniel. You know that."

The look he gave her was frightening; he looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. "I can't believe you said that!" He withdrew his hand from under hers, clenching his fist.

Janet kept her expression calm, but inside her heart was falling. "You know I'm a scientist and a physician, Daniel. She is not human, as we know it. We don't really know what she is other than an incredibly sophisticated machine. And...she's an unknown quantity and has information that we need. We need to do whatever it takes, Daniel, to get that information."

"God! I can't believe it, Jan!" He stood up then, his chair skittering back loudly. "You sound just like the damn Air Force!"

Acutely aware that at least a dozen curious pairs of eyes were suddenly trained on them, Janet reached out with an entreating hand. "Let's go to my office?" He merely shook his head and stalked out of the commissary. Janet let her hand drop back down to the table, dimly aware that the conversations around her were slowly resuming. She had surprised herself and stepped on a mine after all, her well-intentioned advice blowing up in her face. She sighed, she had really thought that she knew her lover better than their last conversation would indicate. Standing slowly, she gathered hers and Daniel's trays, deciding she'd better get back to the infirmary. Who knew what the rest of the day would bring with an unknown alien in residence?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We do this my way, Daniel."

"Jack..." Daniel interjected, even though he knew Jack would only charge ahead, regardless of any advice he might have.

"No! She is the enemy, and she controls the enemy." The two men rounded the corner and were outside the door to Reese's room. The SF's snapped to attention.

"She's still just a kid, Jack," Daniel protested in vain.

Daniel grimaced as O'Neill snorted. "Yeah, a kid with `toys' that will kill us all, given half a chance."

Daniel watched as the SF ran his ID card through the reader, opening the door to Reese's room. He followed Jack in, acutely conscious of the two SF's with their drawn weapons right behind him. "Reese, we need to talk," he started gently, only to be interrupted by O'Neill.

"Tell us what you know about the Replicators." Great, Jack, Daniel thought, don't try any finesse at all.

"Replicators?" Reese's voice was quiet and cautious.

"Yeah, that's what we call them...because that's...what they do." Daniel stared at the back of O'Neill's head. `Because that's what they do'?

"It's just a toy. It won't hurt you."

Daniel couldn't tell if she looked scared, pleased or smug with her admission.

"Won't hurt you?"

Daniel hung back while Jack talked to Reese. Unfortunately, Jack was making about as much progress with the girl as he had. Daniel suddenly realized Reese's voice was rising and she was once more spiraling unchecked.

"No! You want to destroy me!"

"No one wants to hurt you," Daniel broke in, trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated out of control and someone got hurt-and this time he knew it would be Reese who suffered.

"Just tell us what happened," Jack broke in, his impatience showing in his voice.

Reese ignored Jack and started talking directly at him. Daniel listened with growing disbelief as she tried to explain her actions. "What did you do?"

"I taught my toys to make more of themselves. I...I taught them to defend themselves and me. In case anyone every tried to destroy us." She sounded contrite, but then he realized unexpectedly that she had sounded contrite before.

"Well, you taught them well," Jack's voice was filled with exasperation.

"When your toys started to attack your world, why didn't you try and stop them?" Daniel asked, and he really wanted to know. If he understood Reese, he could help her. And if she made the Replicators, then she would surely know how to stop them?

"I tried, but I couldn't." Her eyes filled with tears. "They wouldn't listen to me anymore." Reese sounded confused and scared, and Daniel once more found himself drawn to the girl and her plight.

"Why did you go to sleep?"

"They killed everyone. They killed my father. Then they went away. I was alone. I was sad." She looked at O'Neill, "You don't like me. You think I'm bad." Her voice was accusing.

"Actually we want you to help us."

Daniel was mildly alarmed by Reese's abrupt change in mood, but followed Jack's cue. "Reese, the Replicators have become a problem for a lot of different worlds. We need to know how to stop them."

"You want to destroy them," her tone and demeanor were suddenly aggressive, no longer scared or confused.

"Yes," O'Neill replied.

"They're bad, they need to be stopped," Daniel countered quickly, trying to explain and then watched in amazement as Reese's lost control, turning on them. And then she abruptly stopped, looking surprised and stunned. Daniel didn't know what had happened, but she refused to talk to them anymore, going over to her pallet and sitting down with her back to them.

Jack jerked his head toward the door and Daniel followed him, the SF's bringing up the rear.

"That went well," O'Neill said irritably as the door shut behind them.

The SF's retreated to a discreet distance and Daniel took his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes. "Well, what did you expect, Jack?" He put his glasses back on and glared at the other man. "Your whole attitude reeked of aggression. You were scaring her."

"I was scaring her?" Jack snorted. "Hell, Daniel. She was scaring me! And you should be scared, too."

"Jack, she isn't going to hurt us."

"How can you be so sure of that, Daniel? She just admitted that she lost control of the Replicators she made on her planet. She's emotionally unstable and obviously can't control her `creation'." Jack pinned him with that annoyed glare that Daniel generally ignored. "She's a threat to us and this planet."

"So, what are you going to do Jack? Blow her up?" Daniel thought he had asked the question as a joke, but Jack took him seriously.

"If that's what it calls for, then yes."

Daniel just stared at O'Neill. Sometimes he felt like he didn't know the man at all. Which reminded him of his earlier conversation with Janet. He thought he knew her, they were lovers for god's sake! And it wasn't something they had entered in to lightly; he'd opened up a part of himself to her that he had thought he'd closed off forever. But, she sounded more and more like Jack...or was it that both of them sounded like the big military machine they were a part of? He plucked his glasses off again and rubbed his eyes. God, he was tired, his head was pounding and he was worried, though he'd never let Jack see it. He really wanted to talk to Janet about what was going on, but he wasn't so sure of her views any more, after their lunch conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet looked at her watch, 1530. She knew the base was tense and SG-1 was heavily involved with interrogating Reese and determining the threat from her Replicators, but...they always had afternoon coffee together when he was on world. He hadn't even called. Sighing, she finished signing off the open chart in front of her, her thoughts automatically returning to their lunchtime discussion. As fights went, it had been fairly tame, even if it had happened in front of an audience. It was certainly no secret she and Daniel were involved; though neither of them were overt in their actions while on base. She loved Daniel and everything that made him who he was, all the things he believed and represented. That they would share some beliefs and not others was a given, what with their respective ages and life experiences. And Janet was no doormat, blindly agreeing with anyone-even her lover. She had been caught off guard, however, by his almost personal attack. She was military; she had freely chosen this lifestyle. And she had been at the SGC way too many times when it had been under threat by an alien to take anything Reese said or did lightly. Janet loved him so, and one part of that love included his openness and willingness to see Reese's potential humanity. Maybe she was being too harsh on Reese, she mused, maybe Daniel was right.

Janet's musings were rudely interrupted then by the klaxons. Rising quickly, she grabbed her lab coat and rushed out into the infirmary.

"What's the situation?" she asked Liz, the charge nurse, who was just hanging up the phone.

"Replicators, ma'am. Loose on the base. Two casualties on their way here now."

Janet felt a cold frisson of fear run up her spine and then settle back in her stomach with Liz's words. Ignoring the fear, she began firing out orders, prompting her staff into emergency mode and selfishly praying that Daniel would not be among the injured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet let out a startled cry when O'Neill and his team barged into her infirmary. "Just doing a sweep of the base, Doc, before we give the final all clear."

"The Replicators have been destroyed?"

"Looks like it." O'Neill looked less than pleased. Janet wondered what else was going on.

"What about Reese?"

"Neutralized," he replied curtly. She watched curiously as he reached into one of his vest pockets, took something out and held out his hand to her. Picking up the small disc resting on his palm, she recognized it as Reese's power chip...neutralized, indeed.

"I see," she said cautiously, putting the disc in her pocket. Again, that less than pleased look on his face. Something was seriously not right, but before she could ask, one of the SF's with O'Neill interrupted them.

"All clear, Colonel."

"Great." O'Neill gestured to the two SF's to leave and then turned his attention back to her. "You might want to get down to the Gateroom, Doc. Daniel was injured."

Janet felt that lump that had never quite left her stomach start to grow again, though rationally she knew O'Neill would have told her if Daniel had been seriously injured. She nodded as he left the room and called out, "Matthews? The tackle box!"

Janet heard his, "Got it, ma'am," and didn't bother to wait, but dashed out of the infirmary, bypassing the elevator for the stairs and racing down the three flights to Level 28. Bursting out of the stairwell, Janet was momentarily taken aback by the destruction evident. Spent shell casings, Replicator pieces, scorch and burn marks on the walls; the stench of gun powder, sweat and yes, even blood; all signs that a war had been fought here.

Walking quickly and trying to avoid Replicator pieces and other debris, Janet made her way towards the Gateroom. She passed Siler, who looked like he was directing the clean up on this level. "Doctor Jackson?" she asked him.

"In the Gateroom, ma'am."

Janet nodded and when she rounded the corner stopped in shock at the sight of the large hole cut in the door. Even though there didn't seem to be a threat from the Replicators anymore, Janet still found herself approaching the gaping hole in the door cautiously. Peering in, she gasped at the sight. Daniel sat propped against the far wall, his eyes closed, cradling his right hand against his body. Reese lay, apparently lifeless, on the floor less than a foot from him. Stepping carefully over the threshold, Janet entered the room.

"Daniel?" she asked quietly, stepping over Replicator pieces and avoiding Reese, she reached his side. Kneeling down, she did a quick visual inspection before gently touching his left shoulder. No blood, no obvious injuries that she could see except for the arm he was holding so protectively. "Let me see your arm." He didn't open his eyes, but released the grip he had on his right wrist and held his arm out to her. Gently holding his hand, she watched his face as she palpated his wrist, noting the bruising and slight swelling. He winced slightly when she pressed on his ulna, though she couldn't feel any bone moving. "Did that hurt?" He grimaced and nodded his head. "I don't think it's broken, but we'll need to x-ray it to be sure."

He opened his eyes then, and the utterly bleak look present there tore at her heart. "Daniel..." she whispered, tenderly touching his cheek, only to let her hand fall away when he flinched at her touch. He's still in shock, she told herself as she stood, ignoring the uneasy feeling leftover from their long ago lunchtime conversation. "Can you walk?" she asked, reverting to the safety of `doctor mode'. She didn't hear if he answered, as Matthews chose that moment to lumber awkwardly through the opening in the door and into the room, carrying the tackle box.

"Ma'am?" the corpsman asked, sounding a bit breathless.

Janet tore her eyes away from Daniel, who still sat slumped on the floor, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore what was going on around him. "Doctor Jackson needs his wrist x-rayed. Help him to the infirmary and call me when you have the films."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet unloaded the dishwasher, glancing at the clock-2230. Normally, she'd leave the job for the morning, and for Cassie-whose chore it actually was to unload the dishwasher. But she was procrastinating tonight. Why had she ever made that stupid vow to herself? Oh right, she reminded herself, she hadn't wanted her next serious relationship to end up like her marriage. She sighed, taking the silverware basket out of the dishwasher and sorting through the cutlery. Hadn't her mother always said `Never go to bed angry'? Okay, technically she wasn't really angry, so maybe she could just ignore that old chestnut...but, she and Daniel did need to talk about what had happened today. Reese's `death' had affected him greatly, more than she had expected.

Putting the last fork away, she finished cleaning up in her already spotless kitchen and wandered out to the living room. "Hey, Mom," Cassie looked up from the floor, where she lay sprawled doing homework and watching Leno. Rolling over onto her back, she asked, "So what's up with Daniel tonight?"

"Hmmm?" Janet asked, her eyes automatically looking down the hallway towards the bedroom.

"Yeah," Cassie continued, "he was all, you know, more weird than usual."

Janet looked down at her way-too perceptive daughter, trying to decide how much to tell her, finally settling for the abbreviated version. "There was an incident on base today, someone Daniel had been helping died."

"Oh, poor Daniel. Is that how he hurt his hand?"

"Yeah, honey, he was hurt while he was trying to help."

Cassie rolled back over, picking her pencil back up and chewing on it. "Well, he sure looked like he could use some hot chocolate."

Hot chocolate...Janet grinned affectionately at the top of her daughter's head. Trust Cassie to give her an opening in reaching out to Daniel...hot chocolate, the universal comfort drink in the Fraiser household.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel looked morosely at the splint on his wrist. It was starting to annoy the heck out of him, but if he took it off, his wrist only ached more. He groaned in frustration, tightening up the Velcro with once again. God! Even if he wanted to forget, he couldn't, his throbbing wrist and the splint a continual reminder of Reese. He took his glasses off, setting them on the bedside stand and rubbing his eyes tiredly, wondering where the pain pills were that Janet had brought home with them. Janet...she had been her usual kind, caring and efficient self, tending to him with tenderness and affection. And what had he done? Well, he hated to admit it, but he'd been sulking worse than Cassie on a bad hair day. It hadn't stopped him though; even when he'd seen the hurt lurking in Janet's sweet brown eyes. And the guilt already consuming him over his inability to prevent Reese's death only intensified with every non-judgmental, helping touch from his lover.

Daniel glanced at the clock on the bedside table, 11pm. He could still hear the muted sounds of the TV and wondered why Janet hadn't come to bed yet. He wanted to talk to her, to explain and to apologize, he needed to apologize. 'Never let the sun go down on your anger', he remembered his mother saying. His father would always grin at her when she said it and it was only as an adult that he had finally understood that grin. His mother's philosophy had been right; he wanted his relationship with Janet to work, and keeping talking was the only thing that would ensure that. He loved her more than he would have ever thought possible, and he needed to say he was sorry. He wasn't sure he understood her, but he loved her and that was enough.

Throwing back the covers, he started to get out of the bed when the door suddenly swung open and the woman of his thoughts appeared in the doorway. "Hey," she said quietly, shouldering the door open, a tray in her hands. Covering his legs back up, he watched curiously as she set the tray down on the dresser.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, smiling at him as she started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Um..." he held up his splinted wrist and gave Janet his best `pitiful me' look, "my wrist hurts."

She chuckled softly, her eyes gentle. "I've got your pain pills here, you're way past due for a couple." He looked over at the tray, sure enough, a small prescription bottle sat there, along with two steaming mugs of something that was starting to smell suspiciously like hot chocolate. "Let me finish changing, and I'll give you your medicine."

"Yes, Doctor," he murmured softly, as she went into the adjoining bathroom. So, apparently she was handing him the exact opportunity he wanted-a chance to talk with her. Adjusting his pillows and getting back into a comfortable position, he didn't have long to wait for her to finish in the bathroom, when she emerged just a few minutes later dressed in her nightgown. He stared at her, trying not to be too obvious. He loved seeing her like this, ready to get into bed with him, her hair down and all soft around her shoulders. Most of the time it still amazed him that they were together, that she had found something in him to love...and he in her. Usually he didn't think too much about their differences though, until he got slapped in the face with them.

"Here." Janet was suddenly standing by the side of the bed, holding her hand out to him. He held out his hand and she dropped two white tablets onto his palm, handing him one of the mugs. He popped the tablets in his mouth, taking a big swallow of the cocoa, the warmth and sweet chocolate taste of the creamy liquid somehow warming not only his insides but his soul. The bed started jiggling, and he held the mug securely while Janet settled herself under the covers next to him, propping herself up on pillows as well. He took another swallow of the cocoa and heard an answering sigh from her when she took a drink from her mug. "This is good," she murmured.

"Yes," he agreed, "but it could use a little shot of something more...."

He saw her smile out of the corner of his eye. "Not when you're taking painkillers, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel grinned then, hiding his pleased smirk in his mug. She only called him `Doctor Jackson' when she was teasing him and he felt some of the tension uncoil a bit, relief flooding through him. Things were going to be okay between them...but he still owed her an explanation. "Janet..."

"Daniel...." They spoke simultaneously; he laughed awkwardly and she blushed. "Go ahead," she offered.

"I, ah...I over-reacted today, Jan." He sighed, setting his mug down on the bedside stand and turning to face her. She nodded, her expression solemn. "I wasn't mad at you, it's just that don't think I will ever understand how the military mind works. Or understand their approach to someone like Reese, to just destroy her without even trying to understand." Daniel could feel all his frustration and anger starting to resurface and he blurted out, "God, Jan! Jack didn't have to shoot her!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet's eyes widened and her heart started racing. It seemed Daniel had jumped right to the heart of what was bothering him the most. She laid a gentle hand on his arm, above the splint. "I don't think Reese is really dead, Daniel. She's just...deactivated." He pulled his arm away, and she couldn't help the shiver of rejection that ran through her. Maybe they weren't going to be able to work this out after all, she thought wearily.

"Oh Jan, I know she's not dead," he explained. "But, I was reaching her! She was shutting down the Replicators, I know she was! He didn't have to shoot her."

"She hurt you, Daniel."

"She didn't mean to."

"It sounds like she did a lot of things she didn't mean, Daniel."

"Jan...."

"Daniel," she interrupted, "I don't want to get into an argument with you about Reese. She was a very troubled and confused..." she paused, and finally settled for, "individual."

"I know Hammond said do whatever was necessary, I know that the Replicators had to be stopped, I just wish," he sighed, rubbing his face. "I just wish that Jack would have listened to me, for once."

"Daniel! Of course the Colonel listens to you!"

"Does he?" Janet could see and hear the sadness his eyes and voice. "He used to listen to me, but lately, I'm not so sure."

"Daniel, you know the Colonel listens to you and respects your opinions. But you've also worked with him long enough to know that he's going to take a different approach than you to certain situations."

Daniel snorted and she thought she actually glimpsed a slight smile. "That's an understatement, if I ever heard one."

She reached out and touched his arm again, and this time he didn't pull away. "He listened to you about Chaka," she reminded him. "But, he isn't going to agree with you all the time." She ran her hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder, her fingers briefly caressing his nape. "Just like I'm not always going to agree with you." Janet felt relief flood through her when his blue eyes filled with tenderness and he reached out to caress her cheek with his good hand.

"I've been an ass, haven't I?" he asked, his expression rueful.

"Oh, no more than usual," she teased, stroking his nape.

His hand slid around to her nape, and she let him pull her forward, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered against her lips. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

She pulled back so she could look in his eyes, "You didn't have to do anything," she told him. "I'd love you no matter what."

THE END

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