by Little Heaven
TITLE: How The Heart Can Change
AUTHOR: Little Heaven
EMAIL: cielita2689@aol.com
CATEGORY: Action/Adventure, AU,Challenge,Romance
PAIRING: Daniel/other,other pairing
SPOILERS: Gameskeeper
SEASON / SEQUEL: 5 This story is a sequel to: Thank You for Loving Me
SERIES:Waiting for the Day
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: adult themes
SUMMARY: part four of the series. Daniel is in for the surprise of his life...More than once.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Have fun! Please R&R! This particular chapter fills in some gaps and creates a few new ones. Thanks go out to IncomingTraveler and to my new friend Cat--Merci Beaucoup, mon ami! Thanks also to all who have been reading my series so far! Your imput would be appreciated!
**The Gate room**
"Thank you, in advance, for your help, High Chancellor. You and your people are welcome here any time." General Hammond said, looking his captivating guest in the eyes.
"Thank you, General, I will have to remember that." Chancellor Travell replied politely. It was no secret on the base that the General and Chancellor had disappeared for a stretch of time…alone. As she proceeded through the shimmering event horizon with her escorts, SG-1 looked at their General.
"Had a good time, General?" Jack quipped. As the other members of SG-1 snickered and fought not to laugh, Dani ribbed Jack.
"I beg your pardon, Colonel?" he said innocently.
"I think what the Colonel is trying to say is that ‘bashful beige’ is really not your shade, Uncle George." Dani said gently, she herself trying hard not to laugh at the shade of his lips.
"What’s that supposed to mean? Hey! Come back here! That’s an order!" General Hammond called after then as they made a fast break for the commissary.
It was late evening by now, and SG-1 was slowing down and unwinding from the long day.
"What do the two of you have planned for tonight?" Sam asked Dani and Daniel. Daniel’s face gained a delighted smirk as he leaned over to his wife’s ear. Very softly he whispered and their teammates laughed as Dani’s face began to blush. She swallowed what was in her mouth and gently admonished her husband.
"Honey, stop that!" she said, smiling brightly.
"You don’t agree?" he teased.
"I do. And I have news for you, mister, I have more than one idea for you, too." She replied.
"Oh really?" he said back. Dani leaned over to his ear and whispered to him. When she finished, she very lightly nipped his ear. SG-1 roared as Daniel turned a few shades of his own and Dr. Fraiser joined them.
What’s going on over here?" Janet asked.
"Daniel and Dani are planning the night’s entertainment." Jack quipped. Sam belted him across the ribs and he laughed as he shrank back out of her reach. The team laughed with him.
"Do you really think that there’s something going on between General Hammond and High Chancellor Travell?" asked Sam.
"Ya think?" Dani said, making Jack’s head turn in surprise. "Unless he’s cross dressing in his spare time, I don’t ever remember him wearing lipstick."
"I think Dani has been spending too many missions with Colonel O’Neill." Said Janet, crunching down on the carrot in her hand.
"I must concur." Said Teal’c. The team laughed and talked and soon parted to return home. Dani inherently knew that they were not going to get much sleep that night and they didn’t mean the way that they whispered about at the supper table.
"No!…Someone, please, help me! My… Oh God, no!" Daniel cried out in his sleep. Suddenly turning involuntarily, he startled his peacefully sleeping wife from her rest.
"Daniel?" Dani muttered. Still chasing the sleep from her eyes, Dani sat up to wake him. She didn’t have a chance to though, because seconds later he sat straight up in bed crying out again, "No!" Sweat dotted Daniel’s face, and his breathing was heavy and labored.
"Honey, are you okay? Look at me, Daniel." Dani murmured, flicking a lamp on, which threw soft incandescent light over the two sleepy people in the room. "You had that dream again, didn’t you?"
Daniel had been having a recurring dream for the past few nights dealing with the tragic death of his parents in that museum. Dani knew that Daniel was still hurting from it, and that the pain may never go away. She knew this especially well considering the violent end her own parents met so many years ago.
Dani was an only child, and was a very happy, well cared for little girl. When she was 10, her mother announced that she was expecting another child. In their happiness, the family planned a short vacation to celebrate the announcement of their newest family member.
Her father was an air force man, and her mother was a well-respected theology professor at the local university. These allowed Dani’s parents to take time off fairly easily for the event. They planned to drive to Grand Teton National Park, a place that Dani was excited to see. Her mother had told her so much about how beautiful it was. Tragedy is the last thing that anyone expects on a family vacation, and this was no exception, but this was something no one should have to see.
They were on the freeway, and a black car was coming up fast behind them. Her dad had tried to evade the erratic driver, but it was plain that he was aiming for the young family. They were rammed from behind, causing them to veer off the road and roll down into the ditch. The whole family had lost consciousness, and Dani awoke to her father shouting for her to wake up. Dani’s seatbelt had been jammed in the crash, and her father had been able to move just enough to loosen it for her. His leg was pinned in near the pedals, and looking back, Dani supposed that it was broken. As soon as Dani could get out of her seatbelt, her father ordered her to run.
"Dad, no!" Dani wailed, starting to cry. Her wrist had been broken in the crash.
"Danielle Marie, I am ordering you to get out of this car!" her father yelled.
"I’m not one of your soldiers!" she screamed back, her tears falling in torrents now.
"Danielle, mom and I need you to be safe. Get out of the car!" her father had said more gently.
"I love you!" Dani cried as she reluctantly used her throbbing wrist to pry herself out of the car. "I love you!"
She kept screaming it as she ran for the median. When she looked back, the image of what was to happen would haunt her for the rest of her life. Dani heard a bang and then the car exploded, engulfing her parents and her unborn sibling in flames. Dani screamed at the top of her lungs, sobbing her fear, sadness and pain into the cool October air. After the accident, Dani had gone to live with her grandparents, and the accident, strangely enough, was never in the papers. Not even an obituary…
Dani didn’t know what was bringing on her husband’s recurring dreams, but as an empath, she knew that this was tearing him apart inside, and thus, it was hurting her as well. Dani swept a concerned hand over Daniel’s forehead and turned his head to meet his eyes before she lightly kissed his lips. In return, he reached around her to hold her. He was so glad he had married her. He had been dealing with these dreams for so long by himself that he was not used to having someone to share his life with. But he was so glad that he decided to learn. Dani was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to him.
"I’m so sorry, honey. I know that I keep waking you up." Daniel murmured.
"It’s okay, love. I know how much this must hurt for you." Dani replied, her eyes reflecting just how much she really did understand. The two shared a kiss that melted the falling snow before relaxing back into bed and back to sleep.
The next day, at the SGC, SG-1 was briefed on their next mission. They had heard of a rogue Stargate team hiding out on a newly discovered planet and recovering ancient Goa’uld artifacts by the slave labor of two civilian archaeologists. Daniel shifted uneasily in his seat. He knew what it was like to be far from home without knowing if you would ever see your world again.
SG-1’s orders were to gate to the planet, halt the operation, confiscate any artifacts, and rescue the civilian archaeologists. Dani had a bad feeling about this mission, but it wasn’t the first time. She had had these feeling times before and sometimes it was just over-reaction, and sometimes it was an instinct that managed to save the team from mortal danger. But mortal danger was part of her job, and for some reason, she didn’t want it any other way. She liked working for the SGC and the opportunity it gave her to expand her archaeological horizons to include races and civilizations that she couldn’t understand readily, and of course, since she has been at the SGC, she had met and married Daniel. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that this mission had something unusually linked to him. She wasn’t sure what, but she could feel that inexorable pull of natural instinct that told her something was disturbingly familiar about this mission.
"Please! Leave my wife alone! I can keep working if you want me to, but she’s exhausted and she needs to rest!" cried out one of the archaeologists. The crack of a whip was his only answer. As the weapon snapped above them, the man threw his arms around his wife, guarding her from the impending danger.
Later, the man pushed his glasses back onto his face by the bridge with his finger. His wife was fast asleep against his shoulder, more exhausted than they had been in years. They were not the spring chickens that they used to be. The man, his hair graying at the temples, had been searching this god-forsaken planet for artifacts that neither he nor his wife could identify for years. They spent a little time every day in prayer, begging for mercy from the Creator for their suffering. They wondered about what the world was like now. They hadn’t seen their home since the accident in the museum. They wondered about their son, their only child, and what he had witnessed and wondered what he had grown up to become and which of them he looked like. Had he married? What had become of him after the accident? Would they ever see their family again? Surely not. Most people would have given them up for dead long ago.
"Do you think we have grandchildren?" the wife wondered, a rare sparkle coming to her blue eyes.
"Now, Claire, I don’t think it’s wise to get our hopes up." The man told his wife.
"You’ve been saying that for years, Mel. For once, I want to hold onto something. I want to be able to hope for something!" Claire cried, beginning to cry like she had for so many nights before. Mel apologized.
"I’m so sorry honey. I just…It’s been so long, Claire. They’re not looking for us anymore. I want something to hope for too, but I would rather hope that you and I find a way to get out of here and work that gate. It just sounds more realistic, that’s all." Mel said.
"Well, honey, I have to apologize too. I like being realistic. We’re scientists. Logic is our lives…but you know what? Love is not logical. Faith is not logical, and neither is hope. We have to hope in things that we don’t think are possible if we are ever to stay alive and get out of here." Claire said. Mel had to smile. He loved his wife when she was like this. She was so much more alive. There was a fire in her that he rarely saw anymore. Gently he beckoned, and Claire came back to their small bedroll in the corner of their cell. Satisfied once again just to have each other, Drs. Mel and Claire Jackson snuggled down together and fell asleep.
"Dr. Jackson are you well?" Teal’c asked.
"I’m fine, Teal’c." Said Daniel.
"I was referring to your wife." Teal’c retorted.
"Oh, you guys, I have the worst feeling about this mission." Dani replied.
"What do you see?" Sam asked.
"Empathic ability is not so much about ‘seeing’ things as it is about ‘feeling’ them. And the feelings I’m getting from this room are nothing short of chilling." Dani said. They had just stepped out onto the other side of the gate and the landscape was a telltale sign of what was to come.
There was a swamp near the gate, and the smell was unbelievable. The sensations that Dani was getting were ones of fear, malice, and greed. She could sense that there had been at least five people through the gate in recent times. Dropping slowly to one knee, she touched the ground. Closing her eyes, she seemed to absorb the air around her.
"There were five; two female, three male. One of the women was the leader of the group. Two came against their will. The others could have been guards. The leader has been back and forth through the gate. I can’t tell why they came here. I can sense that there was something valuable but I can’t tell you what." Dani said, standing up again and opening her eyes.
"Okay," Said Colonel O’Neill, "We’re looking at a possible System Lord here with two hostages. We already know that there is a rogue Stargate team involved, and that there are two civilian hostages. Do we know how long they’ve been here?"
"Years. The rogue team only came on recently, but the hostage situation could be as old as 20 years. These people don’t expect anyone to come looking for them. They would have given up hope long ago." Dani replied.
"Which System Lord?" Asked Sam.
"What does Jolinar tell you?" Dani asked, referring to Sam’s blending with the Tok’ra Jolinar. Suddenly, Sam felt a twinge in the back of her head. In her mind’s eye there was a flash, and she could tell who was here.
"Nurrti!" Sam blurted out.
"Let’s go, folks, no time to waste." Said Jack, urging them onward.
When they reached a clearing in the swamps and trees, they came upon what looked like an archaeological dig. The artifacts had been cleared out, like a professional had been through there with a fine toothed comb and there was evidence of frequent struggle.
"Whatever or whoever we’re looking for is in that cave." Jack said, taking a step out of the brush. But before he could lead his team into the area, there was a click behind his head. Jack froze. The whole team was surrounded by members of the rogue team, who immediately demanded surrender.
Dani flashed her husband a desperate look. She could see in his eyes what he was thinking. She had read Nurrti’s mind before, why can’t she use her prowess to do something now?
She wasn’t sure. How far did her powers extend? All the confusion was getting to her and she began to feel a pain like a screeching in the center of her brain. Clutching her head, she concentrated on the other team, as if to somehow will the pain to leave her and go into them.
"What the Hell are you doing?" one of the men screamed. He knew that there was no way SG-1 could be causing the throbbing pain in their heads, and they couldn’t prove otherwise. The pain in Dani’s head faded slowly, and she returned to awareness with the sensation that Daniel was clutching tightly to her shoulders to keep her from falling. Meanwhile, SG-1 had taken advantage of the distraction to disarm the rogue team and detain them.
Not far from the scene, down in the belly of the cave, there was a blood-curdling scream. Nurrti knew about what had happened on the surface, and she was not happy. She thought that somehow the two archaeologists had summoned SG-1. He pulled Claire Jackson from her husband’s embrace and bound her wrists. The guards held Mel Jackson as Nurrti secured Claire’s hands to a high crevice in the rock. Mel screamed for Nurrti to stop; Claire didn’t know anything and neither did he. The System Lord paid no attention and began to mercilessly whip the innocent woman. Every time Claire screamed, Mel would pull harder on the guards trying to get free. Down in the tunnels, Mel’s acute hearing picked up the sound of running feet and the jangle of heavy weaponry. Could it be? Could they be saved?
"Claire!" He screamed, fighting the tears in his eyes as hard as he fought the guards. Jack O’ Neill heard the desperate cries of the archaeologists and commanded his team to cover him. SG-1 went in fast and hard, and the guards hit the ground. Daniel darted across the cave toward Claire. Before he could get to her, Nurrti fired her hand weapon at him, and the wide, gold beam of energy that flowed from it was concentrated on his head. He fought with all his might, but he was slowly weakening. This wasn’t the first time he had been in this situation, but it was getting a bit old. Dani looked over from covering Jack’s six and cried out, "Colonel!"
"Go!" Jack shouted, allowing her to defend her husband. Dani turned her gun from the approaching guards and fired at Nurrti. Faster than Dani’s bullets could be fired, the Goa’uld raised her force field, rendering her gun useless. In the transition from the weapon to the force field, Daniel was able to pull free and knock the wind out of Nurrti. The rest of SG-1 took the archaeologists and ran for the mouth of the cave while Jack and Teal’c planted C4 around the cave. Jack took one last look at Nurrti lying crumpled on the ground before he joined his team and pushed the magic button. The ensuing explosion rocked the landscape for miles. Nothing could have survived that. Not even Nurrti.
It was getting late on this world, so SG-1 got ready to camp for the night before returning to Earth. The Jackson’s were asleep before they could introduce themselves to SG-1, but the team didn’t mind. There would be plenty of time for that tomorrow. Dani and Sam came back from the nearby freshwater stream where they had washed their faces and hands. Sam collapsed into her sleeping bag and murmured goodnight.
Meanwhile, Dani snuggled into the double sleeping bag that she shared with Daniel. All they had to do was zip the two together. They whispered to each other in another language, thanking one another for saving the other, and then looking at their new friends.
<
<
As Daniel and Dani snuggled into one another’s arms and drifted off to sleep, Claire stirred and awoke. For once, she was not terrified for her life. She was in pain, and exhausted, but she was safe, and after about 20 years, on her way home. She looked over at the couple sleeping peacefully across camp. That face…how could he look so familiar? She watched the two for a moment. They caressed one another’s faces and softly kissed for a minute. Then he pulled her closer to him and pulled the sleeping bag over her to keep her warm. Then he smiled as he pulled her glasses from her face and then took off his own as he relaxed back into his pillow.
Claire’s heart pounded. She could see now what was so familiar!
"No…it’s not possible! It…it can’t be!" she stammered, waking her husband in the process of her rambling.
"What’s wrong?" he asked, sitting up.
"Look at him! Honey, he—"
"Claire, I don’t want you to start this." He said, interrupting her.
"But Mel, what if—"
"If it was him, he would have recognized us." He said, still remaining rationally calm.
"Mel, how long has it been?" Claire said. "He wouldn’t know us after this long! All he probably remembers is what he was told when he was a little boy!"
By now, they had awakened the rest of the team.
"Hey! Is there a problem, folks?" asked Jack, his customary sarcasm showing through in the early morning hours.
"Yes." Said Dani, sliding out of the sleeping bag behind Daniel.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Sam.
"Tell them." Dani said, her piercing gaze staring down Claire.
"Tell us what?" Daniel asked, folding his hands over his chest.
"The NID kidnapped you 21 years ago, forcing you to work secret military installations in remote regions investigating strange relics. Then when the Stargate was discovered, you were shipped off-world with a rogue SG team." Dani began.
"We were so proud of Dan…I mean, Dr. Jackson. We wondered how long it would take him to figure out the constellations and sequences. We already had a handful of the dialing chevrons figured out by the time the SGC discovered Abydos.
"We were never paid. We were given meager lodging, food, and our lives, but that was about it. For all intents and purposes, we were dead. Anything we discovered was credited to the federal government. They would tell s things like ‘just a few more days’ or ‘two more digs’ and promised to release us, but as you already know, nothing we were promised was ever delivered." Claire said.
"We were always asking about our son; our only child. He was there when the accident was staged. We really were knocked unconscious, but by the time the dust lifted, we were spirited away, and our son was most likely shipped off to a foster home or some filthy orphanage." Mel Continued.
"We looked at you," Said Claire, looking pointedly at Daniel, " and something was so familiar. We couldn’t see it until you took off your glasses.
Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off of the pair. He was searching for some resemblance, something that would trigger a memory. He looked in Claire’s blue eyes and found his own.
"Who are you?" Daniel muttered, his body beginning to shake. His eyes welled with tears and he took a step closer to her.
Mel took a step forward and wrapped his hands around his wife’s shoulders.
"Our names are Melbourne and Claire. Drs. Melbourne and Claire Jackson."
Sam nearly dropped her gun. Jack scratched his head and took a few steps closer to the group.
"You mean to tell me that you two are Daniel’s parents? Isn’t that just a little suspicious?" Jack said, the CO in him showing through.
"They’re telling the truth, sir." Dani said. "I’ve been getting stronger and stronger vibes from them ever since we rescued them. They would have no reason to lie, Jack." Dani said.
"It’s impossible." Daniel said, turning away. "I watched both of you be crushed by that cover stone!"
"Danny…<
"How could you know that? I’ve never told anyone about that—not even my own wife!" Daniel shouted at them.
"It was our little secret. Something only you and I did. Like a password between mother and son." Claire said.
"If I ever got lost in a crowd, all I had to do was shout it and you would be able to find me." Daniel said, finally looking at them again.
Teal’c returned from doing his meditation and Sam quietly filled him in on the story.
"Is that not impossible, Major Cater?" Teal’c asked.
"Nothing is impossible, Teal’c. If it’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that nothing is impossible." Sam said.
Daniel stepped forward and looked at the two people who professed to be his parents. Soon, his emotions got the best of him, and he began to cry again.
"Momma?" He muttered. Claire gently stroked Daniel’s face and nodded, sniffling back tears of her own.
"Yes, Danny, it’s me."
It was then that Daniel was sure. Her touch, her voice, her tears, it was all coming back to him. This is the woman who brought him into the world. He threw his arms around her, nearly lifting her off the ground. Sobs wracked them both as mother and child were reunited. Mel pulled his family close. He wanted so much to encompass them both in his arms, but he couldn’t. He nearly laughed. He hadn’t counted on his son growing to be so tall! Daniel looked up, his eyes bright with tears, and opened an arm to pull his father into the embrace.
Dani stood beside Sam and Teal’c and could only watch and cry. It was so surreal. Daniel’s mother and father suddenly walking back into his life was like watching them rise from the dead, and her beloved husband was the weeping family of Lazarus who received their brother back by the redeeming Grace of the Savior.
Suddenly, Daniel lifted his head from his parents’ embrace. He walked away from them momentarily and reached for Dani’s hand.
"Mom, Dad, this is your daughter-in-law, my wife, Danielle." Daniel said, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. As if they had just met her, the elder Jacksons pulled the newest Jackson into their arms, sufficiently welcoming the woman into their family.
The alarm over, SG-1 collapsed back into their bedrolls for the remaining three hours of the night. This time, Dani and Daniel moved across camp to be beside their guests. As soon as the girls were asleep, Daniel and his father whispered.
"You’ve done well, son. I’m proud of you." Mel said, grasping Daniel’s arm. Neither man could really move--both of their wives snuggled against them, but they were in relative enough proximity to one another to speak. Daniel rested his left hand over Dani’s shoulder and back before he bent his head to kiss hers. She simply smiled and murmured that she loved him before drifting back to sleep.
"She’s beautiful, Daniel." Mel said, smiling at his son. He and Daniel talked forever about Shau’ri, the Stargate, aliens, life with his new wife, where she came from, and how she knew what Claire was thinking.
"Dani is an empathic telepath, Dad." Daniel said.
"She’s a what?"
"She can tell what people are feeling. She can read thoughts very little. The thoughts have to be pretty intense for her to be able to read them." Daniel replied.
"Really?" Mel said with fascination.
"If the two of you don’t think I know what you’re talking about, you’re wrong." Dani muttered without opening her eyes. Mel laughed, and Daniel rolled his eyes. Dani lifted her head from Daniel’s chest and opened her sleepy eyes.
"Sam is like clockwork. She WILL be awake and ready to go home in an hour and forty-five minutes, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to spend that last hour sleeping so I don’t pass out during the debriefing." Dani said.
"Not if I debrief you first." Daniel teased.
"Is that sarcasm? You’ve been hanging out with Jack O’Neill too much. Besides, you don’t have the balls to make love to me in front of your parents." Dani teased back.
"Wanna prove it?" Daniel shot back. He was going to see just how far she was willing to be pushed.
"Daniel, I can’t believe you just said that!" Dani said, she wasn’t about to be defeated. Mel had already bowed out of the conversation and rolled back over, cuddling his wife beside him. Meanwhile, the kids had switched languages—twice—from English to French to Latin and from the sounds of it, they were on their way to a fourth language that Mel hadn’t heard before when Claire opened her eyes.
"Do you suppose this is how they argue? Just keep escalating from one language to another until one of them gives up or forgets what they were arguing about in the race to switch languages?" Claire said. Mel laughed and took a deep breath before falling asleep, Claire soon behind him.
The next day, SG-1 plus two headed back through the gate. As soon as all of them had cleared Dr. Fraiser’s strict post-mission check-up, Daniel and Dani insisted that the elder Jacksons spend the night with them.
"Are you sure?" Asked Claire.
"We don’t want to put you out." Said Mel.
"Nonsense." Dani interjected.
"We won’t hear of you staying anywhere else." Daniel said.
With that, the reunited Jackson family left the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. By the time they were all settled, it was going on 11pm and all of them were tired. Daniel and Dani snuggled down into their bed and held each other. They listened to the silence in the apartment as they began to drift off. Suddenly, a shouting match began in the apartment above them. Dani flinched when she heard the wife cry out in pain. Her husband was brutally abusive, but the young Jacksons had been warned long ago to stay out of it. Daniel had gone upstairs one night and asked if there was something wrong, but he returned with an earful of angry words and a warning to stay away and keep his wife away from him also. In his zeal to protect Dani, he made her promise, as much as it hurt, to stay away from the apartment upstairs. A tear dropped from Dani’s eyes.
"One of these days, he’s going to kill her. You know that, Daniel?" Dani said.
"I know, baby, but all we can do is call the police again, and they will deny it. She’ll support him just to keep him from battering her again." Daniel replied.
A piece of furniture crashed upstairs, and Dani and Daniel jumped.
Shortly thereafter, Mel knocked softly on the door. He wanted to know what was going on. Dani and Daniel tried to gently explain what the problem was, and Mel shook his head.
"Isn’t there something we can do?" Mel asked.
"Unfortunately no. We’ve done everything we can and we’ve been warned to stay away." Daniel said.
"How long has this been happening?" Mel asked.
"Years." Daniel replied.
"Can you imagine? Their marriage must have started off so well. The heart changes so fast. Do they have any children?" Mel asked.
"One. She’s just a tiny baby. He screams if she cries. I can tell that the baby is learning to be afraid and be quiet when he yells. The second she cries, he yells for her to shut up or tells the wife to shut her up. The baby has been quieting down when he starts to shout. That baby will learn to speak late because of him." Dani said.
The three decided to go back to sleep as best they could. Dani moved a little too fast and their mattress springs squeaked. The old woman who lived below them used her broomstick to pound on their floor. If she even heard the slightest sound, she would pound with her broomstick and scream at them to go back to sleep, shame them for being so promiscuous, or tell them to get a room. All things considered, this was their room. Poor Dani was at her wits end and began to cry. She had a few choice words for both of their neighbors but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. She was beginning to feel sick and wasn’t sure why, but at that point, she could think of doing nothing else but standing in the middle of her bedroom and crying.
"Daniel, I can’t live like this anymore!" Dani wailed, sitting down hard on the bed. Daniel seemed to panic. He wasn’t sure just what was wrong, and he wasn’t exactly sure what he could do to help.
"I’m so tired of dealing with them! I don’t want to come home from another exhausting mission just wanting to crawl into bed and hold you and not be able to make love because of her and not be able to sleep because of them! It’s not fair! Daniel, when was the last time we made love?" Dani continued to cry, her tears spilling in torrents over her cheeks.
Daniel was flabbergasted. He didn’t know. A couple weeks at the very least. Maybe a month. He found his voice a moment later.
"How long have you been feeling like this? Physically, I mean?" Daniel asked, gently massaging his bride’s shoulders.
"Why?" She whimpered.
"Because I think you should go and see Janet tomorrow if it doesn’t improve." Daniel said softly.
"I know what’s wrong." Dani said after a short silence, throwing her husband for a loop again. "I just realized it. Daniel, I’m pregnant."
Suddenly, Daniel was so stunned he didn’t know what to do with himself. He gingerly reached around Dani’s waist and rested his hands on her abdomen. Dani leaned back in his arms and seconds later, it was Daniel’s turn to cry.
"I’m…I’m going to be a father? For real?" Daniel stammered. Dani nodded. He seemed mystified by the possibility that there was really another tiny little person growing inside his petite, 5’3" wife. Daniel suddenly got an idea.
"Honey, jump on the bed with me." He whispered.
"What?" Dani hissed.
"You heard me. Let’s teach this bag a lesson." Daniel muttered, fumbling to his knees. Inspired by her husband’s new confidence, Dani took his hand and prepared to jump.
"Promise me one thing?" She asked.
"Anything."
"Make love to me when we’re done."
"Is that safe?"
"Oh, yeah." She murmured, kissing Daniel’s lips. "One, two, three…"
Their laughter echoed down the hall. Daniel’s parents shook their heads. They could tell that Dani and Daniel were jumping on the bed to avenge their lost sleep, but they didn’t yet know about the baby.
The lady downstairs went nuts. She banged so hard that Dani and Daniel thought that the plaster would come off of her ceiling. Daniel and Dani had never laughed so hard. Afterwards, Daniel kept his word, further aggravating the neighbor downstairs, but at least the upstairs couple had stopped their fighting.
Finally asleep, Daniel answered the phone the next morning and told the General personally that they would be late.
"Is everything all right, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked.
"Um, we’ve been having trouble with the neighbors and we’ve been up half the night. On top of that, um, we think Dani…I mean, that Mrs. Dr. Jackson is…well…expecting—sir." Daniel stuttered.
"Well, I’ll make sure that Dr. Fraiser takes a look at her when you get here. Your next mission briefing is at 01300. Do you think you can handle that?" Hammond teased. Daniel smiled.
"Yes sir."
"Congratulations, kids."
End of Part 4!
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