Colonel Jack O'Neill was getting concerned. He couldn't find Daniel Jackson any where. He had been so quiet since they had returned from Abydos.
In the debriefing, he had told them about when he and Teal'c arrived back on Abydos, Kafus had been waiting for them. He had led them to a tent village that had been set up not far from the Stargate. His voice faltered as he told them of finding Sha're there, pregnant. He explained that the Goa'uld that was inhabiting her body was dormant for the duration of the pregnancy to allow the baby to come to term. O'Neill could see the pain in the young archaeologist's eyes when he told them the baby was Apophus. The Goa'uld wanted the child to have him for his next host. Jackson said they tried to bring Sha're back through the Stargate before she had the child, but then to complicate already complicated matters Heru-ur had arrived looking for the child. The presence of the other Goa'uld awakened the one within Sha're, bringing the baby.
Teal'c took over the narrative at that point and explain how they had hid the child with Kafus right after his birth and how they had convinced Ammonite, the Goa'uld in Sha're, and Har'Her that the other had the child. Hopefully, they would take it out on each other and not realized he was still on Abydos.
Jackson had disappeared right after the debriefing. O'Neill stopped by the command room just in case he was in there.
Harriman looked at him. "Can I help you, Colonel O'Neill?"
O'Neill frowned. "You haven't see Doctor Jackson have you?"
Harriman glanced down at one of the monitor. "He's down in the embarkation room. He's been there since the debriefing, he said he needed some time to think or something. I didn't see it would be a problem, no one is scheduled to return for several hours. I hope that alright."
"No, you did the right thing." He turned to go, "Thanks."
O'Neill keyed the door to the embarkation room and it rolled back with a grinding hiss. He saw Jackson as soon as he entered the room.
Jackson was sitting on the floor of the embarkation room, his back against the wall and his arms wrapped around his knees. He was still in the clothes he had been wearing on Abydos. He was sitting just under the windows to the control room and Hammond's office, staring at the Stargate, his face devoid of expression. His mind was obviously millions of light years away on Abydos. O'Neill just stood there watching him. He wasn't going to push him, not now.
"I wanted to bring him back, you know?" O'Neill nearly jumped as Jackson spoke. "The baby, I mean."
"I know, Daniel." O'Neill walked over and sat down beside him.
"I just didn't know what gate travel would do to him. He's so tiny." He looked down at his hands. "His little head just fit in my hand. His little fingers and toes were so tiny. So perfect." Tears started to trickle down his face. "He looked so much like Sha're. His hair was so dark like hers, and his little face." He turned to stare at O'Neill, his wide, blue eyes filled with anguish. "Oh, Jack. What am I going to do?"
"We found them once, Daniel. We'll do it again." O'Neill said quietly. He rested his hand on the younger man's shoulder.
Jackson leaned his forehead down on his arms crossed over his knees. They just sat there for a while. "The gate wasn't the only reason I couldn't bring him back," he said finally.
"Hm," O'Neill glanced at him.
"Could you imagine what would happen to him if Maybourne if got a hold of him." Jackson stared up at the Stargate. "I mean, the child of Goa'uld parents. The baby is human, but still. Do you really think they would let me keep him?"
"Not if Maybourne would have any say. That guy has the compassion of a dial tone," O'Neill said bitterly.
Jackson didn't answer. He just kept staring at the gate.
"He's safe, Daniel. Kafus will take good care of him." O'Neill said after a moment.
Jackson hung his head. "That's not it, Jack. She thought I hated her." He took a shuddering breath and swallowed before continuing. "She really thought that I didn't love her any more. I mean, it was hard to deal with. She was having Apophis child. The child of the only man...thing, that I have every truly hated in my life. But, it wasn't her fault." He looked over at O'Neill fresh tears staining his face. "I could never hate her. I love her."
O'Neill sighed and gave Jackson's shoulder a squeeze. "I know, Daniel."
"She didn't want to have the baby. She knew Ammonite would wake up once the child was born. Oh, Jack." Jackson's head sank back down to rest on his knees.
"Daniel, she knows you love her." He waited till he nodded in response. "And Teal'c said she looked at the two of you and didn't give us away."
"Yes," Jackson said, his voice growing a bit stronger.
"Like you said, 'Something of the host remains.'"
"Yeah."
The claxon sounded in the embarkation room. The Stargate was rumbling to life.
"Incoming travelers," they could hear Harriman announce on the overhead speakers.
"Come on," O'Neill said, getting to his feet. "Let's get out of here."
Jackson climbed wearily to his feet. "We better check on Teal'c." He swayed slightly as he got to his feet and O'Neill steadied him.
"We better get Doc Fraser to check you out too. That Heru-ur creep gave you a pretty good knock on the head."
Jackson gave him a sheepish smile, "You might be right. Let's go."
They pushed their way through the support crews pouring into the Embarkation room to assist the income SG team.
"You know something, Jack." Jackson said as they neared the infirmary.
"What Daniel?"
"The thing that remains, it's hope."
"That is it, Danny. That it is."
© November 2004 Showtime and MGM/UA owns Stargate: SG-1 and all there in. I'm just borrowing them for a bit, and I promise to give them right back when I'm done. Well, most of them, I might just keep Jack and Daniel for a bit longer.