Author: MegTDJ
Category: Angst/drama; romance
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Daniel/Sha're
Spoilers: From Children of the Gods through to Crystal Skull, and a tiny one for The Curse.
Summary: How would things have been different if Sha're had been pregnant at the time that Apophis came to Abydos? A little glimpse of an AU where Daniel and Sha're got their happily-ever-after.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, its universe and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.
Author's notes: For Aislynn, who said on her Christmas wish list that, "A good old fashioned Sha're/Daniel fic would be lovely, less angst, more happy ending." I had the idea for this fic already in my mind, so... here it is! I hope you enjoy.
Many thanks to Kerri, Azar, Tallie, Misty, and the gang at Gateview for the encouragement and inspiration. I don't think I'd ever finish a fic if it weren't for you guys!
Longing for Home
"Must you go, Danyel?"
Daniel slung his sack over his shoulder and bent down to give his wife a sweet kiss. "Yeah, I have to take my turn at guarding the chappa'ai just like everyone else," he said. "You'll be fine. Choya will be here to..."
"I was thinking about your welfare, Husband, not my own."
Daniel blinked at her, obviously not understanding at first what she was saying. Then he saw the light of humour in her eyes and laughed. "I'm sure I'll be fine," he said. "Skaara will take good care of me."
Sha're smiled and pulled her husband into her arms. "I shall miss you, my Danyel."
Daniel held her tight and stroked her back lovingly. "I'll miss you, too."
"I wish that I could go with you again."
Daniel pulled away from her and cupped her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. "You have to take care of yourself now, Sha're," he said. "You need to rest so you'll be strong and healthy when the baby comes."
Sha're did not understand her husband's reasoning in this. Surely the way to gain strength and good health is through exercise? Still, she did not argue. She had been raised to believe that a wife must do as her husband says without question, and even though Daniel himself had challenged these rules and told her that they were to treat each other as equals, she enjoyed it when he took charge over her. He never did so in a cruel way as some other husbands did. He always wanted what was best for her, and she loved him for that.
"I'll be back in a couple of days," Daniel said as he moved toward the opening of their tent. "Send for me if anything... happens."
Sha're smiled softly. "I will. Goodbye, my Danyel."
He lifted his hand in a brief wave. "Bye." Then he stepped out of the tent and disappeared from her view.
Sha're sighed in contentment as she stroked her swollen belly. She loved the feeling of having Daniel's child inside of her. She knew she had made him a very happy man, and somewhere along the way, that had become the most important thing in life to her. She knew he would make a wonderful father, and that he was looking forward to the baby's arrival with great anticipation. She must not let him down by overworking herself and becoming ill, or making him worry while she did things he did not wish her to do. If Daniel told her she must rest, then rest she would.
She spent the first part of the day doing light chores around their little home, stopping for a rest and a meal when Choya gave her a disapproving look. It was then that the messenger came.
"Sha're! Sha're!" The young man burst into her tent, breathless from his long run.
"What is it?" Sha're asked as she rose to her feet. "What has happened?"
"The chappa'ai!" he cried. "It came to life!"
"Danyel was able to activate it?" she asked, feeling a rush of joy come over her at the thought. Her husband had been trying without success to bring his "Stargate" to life, and she knew how excited he must be if it had finally worked.
"No!" the messenger said, shaking his head. "Someone else... from another world! Danyel seemed to know who it was from the object they sent through."
Sha're gasped. "Was it... Danyel's people?"
"Yes! I believe he said the name Jack O'Neill."
Sha're sank back down onto her cushions, clutching her belly anxiously as this thought sank in. What if Daniel's people had come to take him back to Earth? They were supposed to believe that he and everyone on Abydos was dead. Had Jack O'Neill contacted Daniel on his own? What if he had told them what had really happened, and now they were going to send another bomb to destroy their planet like Daniel said they had originally been sent to do?
Worse still - what if these people came through the chappa'ai and seeing them made Daniel wish to return to his home? Would he abandon her for them? Would he expect her to accompany him and leave her people behind?
She wished she were there with him now. Then she could perhaps remind him how much there was for him on Abydos and how little there was on Earth to tie him there. But she was not, so all she could do was be patient and await further word from her husband. Perhaps all of her worrying would be for nothing in the end.
Resolving to keep her thoughts away from worry, she picked up the little dress she was making for the baby and busied her hands with her work.
"Daniel, I'm under orders to bring you back this time." "I don't give a damn about your orders, Jack! I'm not leaving!" "What about Skaara, huh? He's out there, Daniel. Don't you want to find him?" "Of course I do..." "Then come with us."
Daniel wiped a stray tear from his cheek as he approached the village. He hadn't decided yet what he was going to tell Sha're and Kasuf about Skaara. Hell, he wasn't even sure what had happened to Skaara. He couldn't really have been taken by Ra... could he?
He cursed himself for digging up the gate in the first place. This entire mess was his fault, and if Skaara was killed... he didn't even want to finish that thought.
Now because of that stupid mistake, not only had men been killed and his brother-in-law kidnapped, but also he was being forced to return to Earth, despite his impassioned arguments against it. He was lucky that Jack had agreed to let him return to the village for Sha're first, though he didn't really expect her to come along. He was probably going to have to say goodbye to her, and the thought of it was breaking his heart.
The worst part was that he might never even see his own child. He couldn't think of any fate more horrible than that.
He was walking quickly, so he arrived at his tent in no time at all. Sha're was sitting on her cushions doing some form of needlework, but she rose to her feet when he entered. Neither of them said a word, but the look on her face told him that she knew something was wrong.
"Danyel?"
Daniel winced. How could he tell her? There was no way he could say this without causing her intense pain and sorrow. "Sha're..."
"What has happened, Husband?" she asked in a small voice.
The look of worry in her dark eyes almost made Daniel break down right then and there, but somehow he was able to hold himself together as he stepped towards her. "I think you should sit down first," he said, gently taking her arm and guiding her back down onto her cushions.
"Tell me," she demanded. "What is wrong?"
Daniel took her hands in his and stroked them softly. "I don't really know how to tell you this," he said. "The Stargate... the chappa'ai..."
"Men from Earth came back again?"
Daniel nodded. "But they're not the only ones who came through. I was right when I figured that the Stargate goes to worlds other than Earth. What I didn't count on was that there might be other enemies out there on those worlds."
"Husband, what are you saying?" she asked anxiously.
"I'm saying... that after Jack O'Neill and the others from Earth came through... another group of men came through. Bad men... aliens. I don't know who they were or why they came, but some of the boys who saw them said that one looked like Ra."
"Ra is dead!"
"I know. That's why it just doesn't make sense." Daniel sighed and kissed her hands. "I'm sorry, Sha're," he said, his eyes full of tears. "Some of the boys were killed... and they took Skaara with them."
Daniel had never seen his wife crumple as badly as she did right then. Her bones seemed to turn into rubber, her face drained of colour, and she slumped forward with her head in his lap. "Sha're?" Daniel cried anxiously. When she didn't respond, Daniel quickly checked her pulse and then scooped her up into his arms.
Without a second thought, Daniel carried her right out of the tent and made his way to the waiting mastadge that would take him back to the pyramid. Sha're needed a doctor, so there wasn't a moment to waste.
He was taking her home.