Daniel woke up in the Infirmary, a pounding headache threatening to overwhelm him. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before he heard O'Neill's voice, "Hey sunshine, glad to see you're awake."

Surprised, Daniel struggled to sit up and he exclaimed, "Jack?! What the hell are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be in Washington?"

O'Neill looked at him in a bewildered way and asked, "What's this about Washington?!"

"Don't play dumb, Jack!"

"Whatever."

The Air Force officer looked over to the side and called, "Hey Doc, four eyes is awake!"

Daniel scowled at him and was about to reply, when a sight made him stop in his tracks. The Doctor was none other than Fraiser. He blinked a few times and said, surprised, "Janet?!"

O'Neill remarked, "Boy, he must've taken a few knocks to the head too many."

Fraiser shined her penlight into Daniel's eyes as she asked, "Doctor Jackson, are you feeling nauseous, dizzy, pain...?"

He distractedly replied, "Just a headache," before exclaiming, "Will someone tell me just what the hell is going on?!"

Fraiser shooed O'Neill out of the room before saying, "SG-1 found you collapsed next to the Stargate on P9X-929. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and replied, "Um, Mitchell, Sam, Teal’c, Vala and I had just arrived on Sahal... Sam and I were searching some caves and... I can't remember."

He peered at his formerly dead friend and asked, "How are you here though? You're dead. I watched you die on P3X-666 when you had just stabilised Airman Wells."

Daniel found it strange that he had been escorted to a briefing by an Airman, but he let it slide. His thoughts were a confused gamut of emotions and memories. No-one had given him straight answers and that annoyed him. As he stepped over the threshold of the briefing room, he stopped in his tracks as he saw General Hammond, a long-haired Samantha Carter wearing Daniel's St Christopher, O'Neill, but no Teal’c.

"This can't be right," he murmured, but he sat down regardless.

Hammond said, "Would anyone care to explain just what is going on?!"

O'Neill replied, "Well Sir, SG-1 and 2 found Doctor Jackson out for the count next to the 'gate on 929. Fraiser said something about concussion. I'm sure Samantha will explain the hard core parts... just let me leave the room before she does though."

Daniel looked even more bewildered before he asked, "What's going on?"

Samantha replied, tears brimming in her eyes, "You're not my... our Daniel. Daniel died five years ago, disarming a nuclear device on Kelowna."

"What?!"

Hammond said, "Well, I understand how all of this can be shocking to you -- we are just as shocked to come face to face with someone we thought was dead."

Suddenly Daniel realised something, "Alternate Universe! Oh. Ok, that explains why Sam's got long hair, why you're still here Sir, and why Jack's still here, but... hang on, where's Teal'c!?"

Everyone bowed their heads, as O'Neill replied, "We lost him four years ago. Him and Bra'tac were with a bunch of Jaffa and were ambushed."

Daniel thought to himself, "Oh Gd, because I didn't ascend, I couldn't save him!"

He turned to the AU counterparts of his comrades and was about to say something, when it felt as if he was falling, and then everything went black.

Daniel's blue eyes flickered open and he found himself back in the Infirmary. He murmured, "How am I going to get home?"

To his surprise, he heard Doctor Lam's voice, "Doctor Jackson, how are you feeling?"

Her face came into focus and he, confused, asked, "Where's Janet?!"

She replied, looking worried as she took notes, "Doctor Janet Fraiser died three years ago. Tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Um, I woke up in the Infirmary and Janet asked me a few questions, and then I went to a briefing with General Hammond, Jack and Sam. I was about ask them how I could go home, when everything went black. What's going on?"

"You were found unconscious on P9X-245 next to the 'gate."

"What?! Are you sure it wasn't 929?!"

"SG-1 and SG-5 found you there -- the address is on Colonel Jackson's mission report."

"What?!"

"Are you feeling any pain?"

"No... wait, yes. My head hurts."

She turned to someone he couldn't see and said, "10cc of Didaxitol, stat."

He soon began to feel a bit dopey and his eyes closed, only to open in what seemed to him about a minute, but was in fact an hour. The first thing he saw was Carter's face, and then Mitchell and Teal'c's. He smiled weakly at them and said, "Hey."

Carter surprised the hell out of him by kissing him on the cheek, and he looked at her, confused, and asked, "Sam?"

Mitchell and Teal'c smirked, the former saying, "We'll leave you two lovebirds alone -- I want to be able to eat my dinner."

With them gone, he asked Carter, "Sam, what's going on?"

She replied, "You've been missing for weeks but we found you on 245. I've missed you so much, as have Mel, Claire, Jacob and Eleanor."

"What?!"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten our children!"

She turned to Lam and asked, "Has he lost his memory again?"

"He seems generally confused, Colonel Jackson. The last things he remembers are Doctor Fraiser and a briefing with General Hammond and General O'Neill."

He stared at the two women, dumbfounded, and all he could say was, "Colonel Jackson!?"

Carter looked genuinely upset at his confusion, and then he heard O'Neill's voice, "Hey Dannyboy, up and at 'em!"

Carter glanced at her former CO and said, "Sir, he's confused. He doesn't seem to remember me or the kids."

"Give me a break - I'm sure he's playing. Yo, Daniel! Snap out of it!"

Daniel glanced at O'Neill and exclaimed, "Will someone just tell me what the flamin' hell is going on!?"

Carter smoothed his forehead and said, "Daniel, just go to sleep. Everything's going to be alright."

He felt a small stinging sensation in his arm before it felt as if he was falling down into the bed.

He woke up in his own bed and felt something strange. His arm was draped around a prone figure. He instantly pulled his arm away, scared more than anything, before pulling the duvet to find Carter's fair hair on the pillow. This surprised the heck out of him -- he leapt out of bed and considered his options.

Carter sat up, her hair dishevelled, and she rubbed her eyes and asked, a little groggy, "Daniel? What's wrong?"

He asked her, "What are you doing here?!"

She looked back at him, confused, and exclaimed, "Jesus, Daniel... it's too late to be playing games. We've both gotta be on base at 6. Come back to bed."

He stayed where he was, and suddenly self-conscious of his boxers, he pulled on some trousers. She asked him, "Daniel, what are you doing?"

"This isn't right! I was just in the Infirmary! What's going on?"

She got up, and slowly approached him. He was shocked to note her swollen abdomen. She hugged him and said, "Should I call Carolyn?"

He pushed her away and said, confused, "Sam... this isn't right -- how are you pregnant?"

She pushed past him and to the phone, saying, "This is odd, even for you! I'm calling Carolyn."

Suddenly it felt as if the floor was quicksand and everything turned to black.

He woke up again, this time in his office, and Mitchell was poking him with a ruler. He looked up and exclaimed, "Where the hell am I now?!"

Mitchell quipped, "And good morning to you too! Do you know that you've been here all night?! Go home, get some sleep!"

Daniel stood up, confused, and said, "I've got to see Dr Lam -- this is crazy."

"How come?"

"Well, 1: I don't remember coming here; 2: you don't wanna know where I've been; 3: I'm sure there's a three somewhere... oh yeah, I saw Janet!"

"Right... off you go then."

Daniel made his way to the Infirmary, when he heard something that stopped him completely in his tracks - Carter and O'Neill in the former's lab:

"Should I accept it, Sir?"

"For cryin' out loud, this is Daniel we're talking about!"

"I'm scared."

"It happens to the best of us."

"Even you?"

"Never. Look... it can't be that hard. If anything, he should be more nervous - he's the one who asked you to marry him."

Daniel sprinted to the Infirmary, not wanting to hear the rest of the conversation, although to be honest, he was more than a little curious as to whether Carter would say 'yes' or not. Again, he began to feel odd and then everything went black.

His eyes flickered open and he found himself looking up at a lilac coloured sky, the 'gate looming next to him. He rolled his eyes before wishing he hadn't as his headache grew in intensity.

He murmured to himself, "Where the hell am I?!"

Suddenly he could hear staff blasts but couldn't see the source, or get up for that matter. He was very worried. He then heard multiple boot falls and he heard Mitchell call, "Carter, dial the friggin' 'gate! Teal'c carry Jackson!"

He heard the 'gate being dialled and then felt himself being hoisted over a large, muscular shoulder. He closed his eyes and murmured, "Teal'c."

"Are you in pain, DanielJackson?"

"My head hurts and I can't feel my legs."

Mitchell said quickly, "We're going home folks - Jackson, you're gonna be fine."

The three who were able to walk, walked through the 'gate, one of them carrying Daniel.

He woke up again in the Infirmary, to find Vala looking at him. She quipped, "Nice of you to wake up from your filthy dream."

Dr Lam approached them and asked, "Doctor Jackson, how are you feeling?"

"Rip-roaring headache and... tell me, where the hell am I?"

"You're in the SGC Infirmary. Can you tell me your name?"

"Doctor Daniel Melburn Jackson."

"Good. Has the feeling returned in your legs?"

"Um, yes, I think so. What's going on?"

"SG-1 found you comatose on 989. You have evidence of physical trauma all over your body. Colonel Carter and you were searching caves when you were ambushed."

"So all those things were delusions?"

"What things?"

"I thought I'd slipped into Alternate Universes. I saw Janet."

She began to take notes as she said, "Continue."

"In one, Janet was alive, and General Hammond and Jack were still here. Teal’c and I had died, and Sam had long hair. In another, it appeared that Sam and I were married and had four children. After that, I woke up next to a very pregnant Sam. In another one, I woke up in my office and was about to go to the Infirmary when I overheard Sam talking to Jack about me asking her to marry her."

Vala remarked, "Glad you had such a great time! We were here trying to get you back and..."

Lam shot her a nasty look and Vala exclaimed, "What?!"

Lam turned to Daniel and said, "I can assure you that this is real Doctor Jackson. You are neither married nor engaged. General Landry is the commanding officer of this base, and SG-1 comprises of Colonels Mitchell and Carter, Teal'c, Vala and yourself."

Daniel closed his eyes in relief and said, "Thank you."

Later, discharged from the Infirmary, he sat alone in his office. He tried to work on a translation, but failing completely, his mind turned to the things he had experienced. He had wondered for years what it would have been like to be romantically involved with his colleague, but he had been hurt so much in the past that he kept their relationship at friendship, nothing more.

But the events that his mind conjured up, made him reconsider his options. Should he talk to her about it? Was their friendship strong enough to withstand romantic rejection? Was she really in love with Jack? Did she mean all those things that she said when he was dying?

He sighed to himself and was about to resume translation, when there was a knock at the door. He looked up to see Carter smiling back at him, "Hey Daniel, wondering if you wanted some coffee. I hear they've got some of that Mexican blend in the commissary."

"Sure. I'm tired of this tablet anyhow."

"You, tired of a tablet? That's not the Daniel I know!"

"Well, you'd be surprised -- I'm a changed man."

"Over the past ten years, or just recently?"

"You'll see."