Kel-noh-reem

Daniel Jackson and Teal'C sat in companionable silence, meditating together as they often did. Joining each other in Kel-noh-reem had brought the two men closer than any amount of conversation could have. The two friends were an unlikely pair, the intellectual and the warrior.

But friends they were. Daniel smiled to himself as he settled his back against a wall, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind.

Images floated up unbidden from the depths of his subconscious. He realized with a start that it had been exactly a year since...

He didn't want to think about her; the mere mention of her name plunged a spear of ice through his heart. But he could no more stop thinking about her than he could dissolve into thin air. That sounded like a good idea, though - maybe then this agony would end.

He snapped his eyes open with a gasp, his heart pounding.

Teal'C opened his eyes as well. "Are you all right, Daniel Jackson?"

"I-I don't know," Daniel stammered. He hesitated, then asked, "Is it possible to be suicidal and not realize it?" He had truly frightened himself.

"I believe it is. The unconscious mind contains many secrets. Do you believe yourself to be suicidal?"

Daniel swallowed hard. "I... don't know. I mean, I don't want to die, but... well, like you said, the unconscious mind..." He trailed off with a shudder.

Teal'C nodded. "Only within yourself can you find the answer."

Daniel let his eyes drift shut once more.

He saw the arrow flying toward him as if in slow motion. He saw the ominously glittering tip, red with poison. He saw Sha'uri dive into its path, and felt her weight as he caught her.

He saw her go limp in his arms.

Daniel dragged himself back to the present with a cry, and he sat in silence, trembling, as tears rolled down his cheeks. When he looked up, she was there.

He leapt to his feet, oblivious to Teal'C's sudden absence, and reached out to her. "Sha'uri...!"

"Remember what we had," she said. "I have always loved you."

Hearing her voice again broke his heart... and began to heal it at the same time.

She smiled at him. "You have mourned long enough. It is time for you to move on. My journey is over, but yours is only beginning. Goodbye, my Dan-yel."

Daniel opened his eyes, which he hadn't realized were closed. He was once again seated on the floor across from Teal'C, with no memory of having sat.

Teal'C was looking at him curiously.

"I had a... a vision, I guess," Daniel said. "Sha'uri was here... telling me that everything is all right..."

His voice didn't catch on her name as it had for the past year. The thought of his wife now brought the warmth of happy memories to his heart, rather than the cold, empty desolation of loss.