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A half hour later Jack whisked into Sam's lab, two coffee's in hand. He didn't know how to start the conversation and Sam could see his discomfort.
“Sir, it's almost one o'clock in the morning, what ever it is that brought you here has to be important. Don't worry about it coming out perfectly.”
“Carter, if I were to tell you that Daniel visited me tonight would you think I'm loosing my mind?”
Sam reached up and scratched at the back of her neck nervously, “Well, um, no, Sir, I wouldn't.”
Jack's eyebrow shot up in surprise, “You wouldn't?”
“Well, Sir, Teal'c and I were talking. We think Daniel's been back a few times. We've both had similar experiences were we could just... well, just feel Daniel in the room, but there was no one there. So if you tell me that he actually visited you, of all people, it wouldn't come as a complete shock.”
Jack just looked at her in shock, wondering for a second why they hadn't mentioned this to him. But then he realized. They were trying to spare his feelings. Daniel being gone was the big taboo topic for everyone, especially for those few that knew about Jack and Daniel. They were all grieving, they all had a big gaping hole in their hearts where Daniel had resided but none of those holes compared to Jack's. The rest of them had lost a friend and a co-worker, Jack had lost the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Sam and Teal'c knew this better than anyone.
“Okay. Here's the thing...” Jack explained everything in detail that he remembered from his brief conversation with Daniel.
Sam thought hard for a couple of minutes, processing what he had told her. “Well, she would have to be somewhere here on Earth. That's one question answered. If she's five or so, she would have been conceived before we brought Daniel into the program.”
Jack nodded eagerly; he had figured out that much math on his own, “I brought Daniel's journals that cover that time frame five, six years years ago. Maybe there is something in there that will point us in the right direction.”
“Great. And in the meantime I've put a flag on Daniel's information in the system. If anyone tries to access his information or DNA profile we'll be notified immediately. Maybe we'll get lucky.”
They talked for a few more minutes and decided they needed Teal'c and a snack run to the commissary. And once they were settled at a table with about a year's worth of junk food in front of them, the three got down to the work of going through Daniel's journals.
Ultimately it was Teal'c that found the most promising entry. “I believe I have found something.”
He handed Sam the journal and pointed out the entry. She read it out loud, trying not to feel like she was invading Daniel's privacy, but steeled her resolve by remembering that Daniel's daughter was at stake, “The symposium at the Smithsonian was a complete waste of time. Most of those organizing and presenting haven't had a new idea in thirty years, and they're not particularly receptive to someone else having one either. The trip itself wasn't a complete waste though; I met this fantastic Georgetown senior named Elizabeth Warden. She's beautiful, and intelligent, and has such a passion for her field. Which by the way is sociology. I changed my flight around and we were able to spend the weekend together. It felt great to really connect with someone, and not just the physical, although that was pretty spectacular in and of itself. But there was more to it than that, she just understood my drive, my desire to learn and experience. Our paths are going in different directions and I don't know if I will ever see her again, but I am sure that I will think of her often, and remember."
When Sam was finished, Jack was sitting there with a little smirk, he could just picture Daniel as he wrote those words.
Sam reread the passage to herself and said, “That has to be her, Sir. There just aren't any other entries that even come close.”
Jack nodded in agreement. There was just a gut feeling that this was right woman. Now they just had to find her, and find Daniel's daughter.
They decided to try and catch a couple hours of sleep on base and Sam would contact Georgetown University first thing when their offices opened, she would also try and do a computer search and see if anything about Elizabeth Warden popped up.
---------------
Gibbs noticed that Leslie had nodded off in the chair and he quietly pulled a spare blanket off of the shelf and draped it around her, careful not to wake her. Her face was relaxed in her sleep, the worries of the day gone. She interested him a lot. He wondered how she was with sandpaper. With that thought he settled himself back in his chair with a smile.
Jackie, Gibbs had noticed, slept a deep, restful sleep. A healing sort of sleep. He was glad that she didn't have any demons chasing her in her dreams. She more than deserved to sleep peacefully and only conjure up visions of bunnies, teddy bears, maybe even talking butterflies. He remembered Kelly telling him about talking to butterflies in her dreams sometimes. She had liked the talking butterflies.
What Gibbs didn't know was that there was someone in Jackie's dreams with her, watching over her and standing between her and the beasts that wanted to give chase and make her wake with a scream. That someone was her father. And he was angry, burning with a righteous fury. The others let him have this small leeway, allowing him to be with her. What Daniel didn't know was that in his current state that he frightened them. They knew if he truly unleashed his anger and rage that they would not be able to contain him, wouldn't be able to hold him back; they would be defenseless against him. So they let him go to her. Only her.
---------------
When Daniel had first entered her dream she was back in the room of that dirty apartment. She was a little leery of him, but not afraid, and there was a spark of curiosity in her eyes and oddly, Daniel thought, a tiny twinge of recognition.
He sat cross legged on the dirty floor a little ways away from her and smiled, “Hi.”
She didn't hesitate to reply, “Hi.”
“I'm Daniel. You don't have to be afraid. I won't let anyone hurt you, Jacqueline.”
She frowned and shook her head.
Daniel smiled, “What you don't believe me?”
“My name's Jackie.”
“Oh, well then. It's nice to meet you, Jackie.”
“Mommy's got a picture of you.”
“She does? Wow.” That explained the recognition; they had taken many photos over their weekend together as they took in the tourist sites. “I knew your mommy a long time ago.”
He noticed that she was inching closer, her trusty rabbit at her side. He could see her thinking hard about what he had just said and he asked, “Does your mommy ever talk about me?”
Her little lip quivered a bit, but she bravely said, “She says I look like you. She says you're my daddy, but it's 'posed to be a secret. A big secret.”
“She's right, do look like me. And I am your daddy, sweetheart. And I am so sorry I didn't know about you. I would never have left you here,” he gestured around the room, “if I had known you were here. I'm so sorry.” Daniel couldn't keep his eyes from welling, nor could he stop the tears from running down his cheeks freely.
His daughter saw his tears and walked on her knees over to him, dragging her rabbit along by a leg. Her little eyes filled with compassion as she reached out tentatively and stuck a little finger on his cheek, tracing a tear. He tried to smile for her, and didn't think he did a very good job of it. But somewhere, somehow along the way he had done the right thing because the next thing he knew, he had little arms wrapped around his neck as she hugged him for all she was worth. He wrapped his arms around her and held his daughter close for the first time.
Daniel had no way of knowing just how long they stayed like that, and didn't really care. But eventually she wiggled and squirmed to sit in front of him on the floor again.
He suddenly wanted to be out of that dank room, wanted to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, and wanted to see Jackie smile and play. He knew it was all a dream but there was no reason it couldn't be a happier dream. He said lightly, “You know you're dreaming right now. I'm really here, but you're sleeping right now.”
She shrugged, just accepting things with a suspension of disbelief that only a child could manage, “They took me to the hos... the hos... the hos...” she couldn't find the right word.
“The hospital?” Daniel prompted.
“Yeah.”
“You know what the great thing about dreaming is? You can go anywhere you want to go. Is there anyplace you want to go? The sun is out, we could go outside somewhere.”
“Can we go to the park?” she asked brightly, really perking up for the first time, “I like the sandbox.”
He laughed and stood up, “Me too.” They walked over to the closed door of the bedroom, and he held out his hand, “Now think really hard about your favorite park, and when we open this door, there it will be. Okay?”
She put her hand in his, her other one occupied by a stuffed rabbit leg, and she closed her eyes and thought really hard for a minute then said, “I'm ready, Daddy.”
The “Daddy” almost brought Daniel to his knees, but he rallied around his emotions and opened the door to find a beautiful park with a playground area and an enormous sandbox.
The moment they crossed the threshold she let go of his hand and ran towards the sandbox with a giggle. He caught up with her a second later as he looked around. Surprisingly in her recollection of this park she had included other people and children. Soon the two of them were happily digging in the sand together. It was idyllic.
Well, it was idyllic until Daniel noticed a dirty, mean looking man all dressed in black leering at them from the sidewalk. It took Daniel a moment to realize that the man was the personification of one of the horrors of her past trying to turn her dream into a nightmare. Daniel took a quick look around and realized that there were in fact a dozen or more men in black, varying in shape and size, but not demeanor. He stood and placed himself between them and Jackie, letting his righteous fury smolder in his eyes. Seeing the wrath in his eyes, the men slunk back into the shadows.
He knew eventually Jackie was going to have to battle these demons on her own, but it wasn't going to be tonight. And when she did, she would be surrounded by people that loved her, and would help her through it.
---------------
Tony got into the office early, very early, to try and do a little search for Jacqueline's father. Leslie had given him what little information she had found in the album and he ran with it, truth be told he had run down leads on a lot less before.
He started with a quick internet search but the only references to a Daniel Jackson, archaeologist, were about some guy with way out there theories that the pyramids were landing platforms for aliens. The hits for that man were few and far between and he discarded them. Striking out on the internet, he decided for giggles to try the Armed Forces database and see if maybe he could get lucky and the guy was in the Navy or something.
He left the search running and went to the break room to grab coffee. He was shocked that in that short period of time that he was gone that he had gotten a hit. A Doctor Daniel Jackson was a consultant for the Air Force, specializing in linguistics, anthropology, and archeology. But everything else about him was inaccessible, but there was a big flag on the file and instructions for contacting a Major Sam Carter out at Cheyenne Mountain for any additional information.
He quickly printed off the details and groaned as he looked at his watch, it would be a couple of hours before he could even attempt to get a hold of Major Carter given the time zone difference. He decided a quick nap at his desk was in order, and he closed his eyes with a sense of accomplishment somehow knowing deep down that this was the Daniel Jackson they were looking for.
He had been sleeping about an hour when something woke him up; an odd feeling like someone was watching him. He cracked his eyes open and just about jumped out of his skin; Gibbs was looming over him with a smirk. Gibbs didn't say anything but placed a large coffee on Tony's desk and as he went to his own desk he threw back at Tony, “DiNozzo, that was good work yesterday.”
Tony had been in mid stretch and the words stopped him cold, Gibbs was not one to just throw praise his way. “Thanks, Boss. I think I got a lead on who her father is, too.” He picked up his coffee and the limited details about Daniel that he had printed and stepped over to Gibbs' desk. Gibbs looked at the info, his gut telling him that something wasn't right with this Daniel Jackson. Why exactly would the Air Force need an archaeologist at the Cheyenne Mountain facility in the middle of Colorado Springs? It made no sense. But it did read like a bad cover story for special ops. And if Jackson were doing special ops, it was possible he didn't even know he had a daughter, let alone the squalor she had been living in and the abuse she had been subjected to. They had too many questions and not enough answers.
Tony saw the look of frustration on Gibbs' face, Gibbs always took it personally when children were involved. “I'm gonna contact that Major Carter in as soon as daylight hits Colorado Springs, Boss. Maybe he'll have some answers.”
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tbc...
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