Author's Notes:

Chapter Eighteen
Flying

They were back to clinging. Not so much that Daniel was glued to Jack's every move, but enough that Daniel got panicky whenever he couldn't see Jack or reach Jack's side easily. Jack wasn't particularly surprised. After all, just three days ago, Shifu had confirmed the Others were coming.

However, as long as Jack was nearby, Daniel seemed calm. He was solemn but not distraught with worry. He was watchful but not jumpy. He wouldn't talk about the Others or what might happen, but neither he did dissolve into the terrified kid he'd been after Elaine's visit.

Jack, on the other hand, was a mass of nerves. Even if Daniel hadn't insisted on his presence, he doubted he would have let the kid out of his sight. Although Daniel hadn't had any nightmares lately, Jack woke several times a night, suddenly afraid that the Others had spirited Daniel away while he slept.

When General Hammond informed him that the President had bowed to pressure and given the NID permission to interview Daniel again, Jack went ballistic. Thank God, the general was a sympathetic friend as well as a patient commander because Jack was sure he'd said some things that should have landed him in the brig. Instead, the general waited out the storm of anxious fury and then explained the precautions he was personally overseeing for Daniel's safety.

It was a workable compromise, Jack had to admit once he was calm. Elaine was allowed to visit Daniel, but only in the SGC and only with Jack, General Hammond, and Doctor Frasier present. Daniel could choose which questions to answer and which to refuse, and they would make certain she didn't press the issue. Daniel had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to the arrangement.

When they reached the briefing room, Daniel halted abruptly. Jack stopped as well. The hand holding Jack's spasmed. Jack could feel the tension thrumming off Daniel, and for a moment, he thought Daniel might hide behind him or else run from the room. He squeezed Daniel's hand reassuringly.

"Something wrong, Colonel?" Hammond asked. He and Janet were waiting with Elaine beside the briefing room table.

"I'm not sure, sir. Daniel?" He glanced down at the kid and was surprised to see a hostile expression contorting Daniel's face.

        "What are you doing here?"  Daniel spat the words out.
        Jack lifted an eyebrow in confusion.  "Daniel, I told you Elaine would--"
        He stopped.  He had followed the line of Daniel's glare and realized it wasn't 

directed at Elaine. Instead, Daniel was staring intently at a short, obsequious-looking man standing behind and a little ways to the right of Elaine. Jack had assumed the man was some sort of aide.

        The aide inclined his head in a Teal'c-like way.  "Daniel."
        "Gavril," Daniel growled in answer.
        The air shivered as if invisible battle lines had been drawn.  A chill traveled up 
Jack's spine.  He tried to remember where he had that name before.
        Hammond looked suspiciously from Daniel to the aide.  "Doctor Rosenberg, just 
who--"
        Gavril lifted a hand.  Hammond continued speaking for a moment longer, but no 

sound emerged from his mouth. He shot a look toward Jack. Jack tried to shift his weight, preparing to tackle Gravel-guy, but nothing happened. He couldn't move. He saw Hammond's lips twist into a grimace and Janet's eyes widen and knew they were in the same predicament.

        He glanced at Gavril.  The man's skin was glowing.
        Shit.
        Jack's heart thudded.  Much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't protect Daniel 

from the Others. He couldn't fight them anymore than he could fight the radiation poisoning that had taken Daniel from him the first time.

"This does not concern the mortals," Gavril said in a monotone, as if he wasn't accustomed to speaking through the physical body he'd taken.

"You're not immortal, Gavril," Daniel replied in the "I'm-seriously-pissed-off" tone he usually reserved for Goa'ulds and government sycophants. He didn't sound scared, but his hand within Jack's was sweaty.

"Nor are you, Daniel, but you have become more than these lesser beings." Gavril encompassed the whole SGC with a disdainful hand-wave. "You do not belong here, trapped in a child's body."

        "It's my home."
        "You gave it up."
        "I didn't."  Daniel stomped one foot peevishly.  "I joined Oma, but my home was 
still here.  I was still here.  That's why I kept trying to help them."
        "You transgressed our laws."
        "The laws are wrong!"  Daniel hunched his shoulders as if to apologize for his 
outburst and whispered, "I just wanted to do more for them.  To make a difference."
        Jack's eyes stung.  He blinked furiously and wished he could get his body to obey 

him. He wanted to scoop up the kid and hug away that dejected look. Ah, Danny. Why couldn't you see how much of a difference you had already made?

        "You know our reasons, Daniel."
        Daniel lifted his head, anger dispelling the melancholy.  "One day the Ori will 

come here, Gavril. Will you stand by, the way you did with Anubis? Will you watch the Ori destroy this universe and still do nothing?"

Gavril studied Daniel dispassionately, unmoved by the condemnation in Daniel's voice. His face was blank, without a flicker of emotion.

        "You have a right to your anger."
        Ya think? Jack thought and wished he could smile when Daniel echoed out loud, 
"Ya think?"
        "What we did to you... was ill-considered."
        Daniel bit his lip.  His hold on Jack's hand tightened.  Jack desperately wished he 

could do something to reassure Daniel. It was maddening to be stuck here, unable to move or talk, doing nothing, while his kid suffered.

        "It has been decided that your punishment will be rescinded," Gavril said.
        Daniel released a slow, pent-up breath.  He closed his eyes.  Jack could practically 
see the weight lifting off the kid's shoulders.
        "If you return," Gavril finished.
        Daniel's eyes snapped open.  "What?"
        "We cannot allow you to remain here with the knowledge you still possess.  You 
must return with me."
        "I don't--"  Daniel swallowed hard.  "I want to stay here."
        "You are not one of them.  Not anymore."
        "This is my home."  Daniel sniffed and swiped a hand under his nose.  He looked 

up at Jack as if seeking reassurance of that fact. Jack stared back at him, deprived of speech and movement, and tried to convey with his gaze that yes, this was Daniel's home. He was wanted here, welcomed, needed, loved. Because words weren't always necessary between them, Daniel received the message. He smiled tremulously.

        "You cannot stay."
        Daniel looked back at Gavril, every inch a defiant child who had no intention of 

doing what he was told, regardless of the consequences. "I won't go with you, and you can't make me."

        "I can.  And I will."
        Gavril began to change, elongating into a column of light.  The immobility that 

had imprisoned Jack and the others evaporated. Hammond and Janet backed away from the man becoming a glow ball. Elaine stared in wide-eyed shock and stumbled backward only when Janet grabbed her arm and hauled her in their direction. Lady's gonna need a psych ward after we're done with her, Jack thought fleetingly.

Daniel cast a frantic look upward at Jack. "I know what to do this time, but I need help."

        "Anything, Daniel.  You know that.  Tell me what to do."
        "You have to hold onto me.  No matter what.  Even if it hurts, you can't let go."  

Daniel's eyes were frightened. "Promise me, Jack? Whatever happens, promise you'll hold onto me."

Jack licked dry lips, feeling Daniel's fear as if it were his own. "I promise," he choked out. "Not letting you go, Danny. Never again."

Daniel smiled. The absolute trust on his face was blinding. Jack blinked tears again and squeezed Daniel's hand.

Daniel returned the pressure. Then he closed his eyes and transformed.

#

Slipping out of the corporeal form was much easier than Daniel expected, but he did it with trepidation. The physical realm was safe, comfortable, familiar. It was the Stargate and the SGC. It was Jack and Sam and Teal'c. It was home.

It's okay to be scared, Jack had said. As long as it doesn't stop you from doing what needs to be done.

Daniel knew what he needed to do. He had to show the Others that they couldn't hurt him anymore. They couldn't take his knowledge, his choice, or his life.

Adapting to the ethereal required a complete mental shift. This was a plane of energy and thought. Space and time didn't exist in the conventional sense. What passed for reality operated at a higher frequency than the physical body could sense. Daniel gave himself a form--his adult self, he noticed. The form gave his mind a frame of reference to grasp, but it served no other purpose. There was nothing to see in this place, nothing to hear or touch. Technically, it wasn't even a place. It just was.

        The Others came.  They converged on Daniel's mind like vultures.
        "No more," Daniel said out loud for the comfort of hearing his own voice while 
he communicated the same resolution to the Others. 
        His shield was in place.  He had constructed it days ago and maintained it ever 

since, knowing on a higher level that this moment was inescapable. The shield was similar to the one he'd made when he was an ascended adult, but he'd modified it. Every connection he had to the physical realm had been converted into a cord that he'd woven into his shield. His love for Jack, the security he felt in Teal'c's presence, his mirth at Lou's jokes, the passion for learning he shared with Jonas, his respect for Doctor Janet and Mister General, the pleasure he found in Sam's company, his admiration for Siler and Walter. Each bond strengthened his connection to the physical and supported him in a way he had never understood before.

The Others battered at his shield, seeking holes and weaknesses. There were none. The shield was strong and solid. Daniel suppressed a flicker of satisfaction. This was something the Others had forgotten. In giving up their ties to the physical, they had abandoned the very qualities that had placed them on the path of enlightenment. Qualities like empathy and compassion.

Time passed. Seconds or hours, it was all the same. Daniel hoped it was only moments for Jack, but he couldn't check. He needed all his focus to withstand the Others' attacks. They had begun to break his connections to the physical realm. If they couldn't take the knowledge from his mind, then they would make certain he never returned home. Some of his connections snapped under their assault. Daniel clenched nonexistent teeth as pain grated all the way through him.

He forced the pain aside. He had to distract the Others from finding the one cord he *wasn't* holding. His "ace-in-the-hole," as Jack would say.

"This is pretty pathetic, don't you think? One of me against all of you," Daniel scoffed. "Will it cheapen your eventual victory any to know that it wasn't your superiority that defeated me, but your strength in numbers?"

Another cord was severed. Daniel rode out the wave of pain and wondered if channeling Jack's sarcasm was the best idea. But what other weapons did he have? Then he had a flash of memory: Jack complaining about Daniel's ineptitude with a gun and Teal'c answering calmly, "As long as Daniel Jackson is not deprived of his ability to speak, he will fight in his own way. Words are often a greater weapon than the ones we carry, O'Neill."

        Words.  Right.  He could do words.
        "Do you remember when I ascended, Gavril?  Before I learned to revel in the 

wonder of the universe and the joy of discovery? Do you remember what I was like?" He paused, waiting for an answer that never came. "I was like a broken bird. Oma rescued me, but it was you and Shifu who healed me. You showed me the beauty of your world and taught me how to fly. But, Gavril, once the bird is healed, you let it go. You can't put it in a cage, even one as wonderful as the ethereal plane is."

Gavril appeared before him. Daniel knew it wasn't really Gavril, but he allowed his mind to process its perceptions according to the rules of the reality it understood. After all, he wasn't ascended anymore.

        "We freed you from a cage, Daniel.  A cage of flesh and bone."
        Shifu joined them.  Like Daniel, he had chosen an adult form.  "Speak truth, 

Gavril. What is flesh and bone if the mind is free? You have watched Daniel since he opened a forgotten portal and showed his people how to discover the stars. You knew then that Daniel's path would lead him here. Daniel has never been caged. He has always flown free."

"Please." Daniel's voice wavered, betraying the six-year-old child who occupied most of his mind. "I just want to go home."

        Gavril gazed at him.  "Will you return the knowledge we gave you?"
        "Will you fight the Ori when they come?" Daniel countered.
        "No."
        Daniel nodded sadly, expecting the answer.  "Then I'll keep the knowledge.  I 
won't stand by and do nothing."
        "Nor will we," Shifu said.  A chorus of voices echoed him.  Daniel recognized not 

only the Abydonians, but also those few Others who had initially protested Daniel's punishment before they were overruled.

"A decision of this magnitude affects us all. You cannot make it alone," Gavril replied.

"Yet you alone made the decision to use an imprecise, seldom-used method of extraction to punish Daniel for a single act of disobedience."

Gavril's eyes narrowed. "A single act?! Do you know how many times I was sent to warn Daniel? How many times he crept away to visit the lesser beings? He should have been punished much sooner."

Daniel ducked his head. He knew obedience had never been an easy thing for him; even Jack said so. He had opened his mouth to apologize when Shifu rested a hand on his arm, urging silence.

This argument has gone beyond you, Shifu said in the mind-to-mind communication he and Daniel shared.

"It is not his punishment that motivates you, Gavril. It is fear." Shifu shook his head. "I was so excited to have Daniel among us, I did not see it at first. From the moment he arrived, you have all watched for his failure. You held him to a standard he could never attain. You hammered the rules about noninvolvement into him until he thought of nothing else but the desire to help his friends. You needed a reason to cast him out."

Gavril's gaze shifted to avoid looking at either Daniel or Shifu. Daniel felt himself floundering in confusion.

"Wait. They set me up?" When Shifu nodded, the sting of betrayal pierced so deeply that Daniel thought his heart would bleed forever. "Why? Why, Gavril?"

        Gavril still wouldn't look at him. 
        "They are afraid," Shifu said quietly.
        "Of what?" Daniel demanded, struggling to understand.  "Of me?"
        "Partly.  In the ethereal plane, Daniel, change occurs so gradually that no one 

notices it, but every once in a while, the changes are swift and violent. It is necessary, but it can also be frightening." Shifu gazed steadily at him. "You are the instrument of that change, Daniel. The catalyst of our growth."

        "Me?  But I'm human.  I'm...a lesser being."
        A tiny smile curved Shifu's lips.  "So were we all, at one time."
        "Daniel is right," Gavril said, his jaw hard.  "We were mistaken about him."
        "To deny the existence of truth will not make it less true.  You chose the method 

of punishment because you believed, Gavril. You feared him and the change he would bring, so you tried to destroy him."

        "We would have succeeded if you and Oma had not interfered."
        Shifu laughed.  "We did not protect Daniel."
        Both Daniel and Gavril stared at him.
        "But I thought..."  Daniel trailed off, totally confused.
        "So did we," Shifu said.  "We thought we were protecting you, but I see now that 

our efforts were feeble in comparison to what you did, Daniel. You manipulated the punishment from the beginning. You decided what the Others could and could not take. You kept your sanity intact despite the pain, and when it was over, you were still able to fly. Oma and I could not have done that for you."

Shifu turned his attention back to Gavril. "Deceive yourself if you will, but it cannot be denied. Daniel represents the convergence of our past and our future. He has shown us what we were and what we must become. We can no longer be content with an enlightenment that ignores our responsibility to our descendants."

Gavril scowled and paced. "How will we know what to do? The Ori spoke the same words, `We have a responsibility.' Then they crossed a line and claimed godhood. How will we avoid that line? What will stop us from becoming like them?"

        "Daniel," Shifu said calmly, his stillness a counterpoint to Gavril's agitation.
        "Me?" Daniel squeaked.  He was beginning to sound like a broken record.  "What 
am I, your savior or something?"
        "Our guide, perhaps," Shifu replied with a smile.  Then he tipped his head 
consideringly.  "You have saved so many groups of people; what is one more?"
        Daniel raked his hands through his hair.  "I'm not...whatever it is you think I am."
        "Before you came, no one spoke of stopping Anubis.  No one broke rules to help 

old friends. No one cared so much that they would risk their ascension to follow their conscience. What you have done, Daniel, will change who we are."

        "And how we watch over our children," Gavril said, his face resigned.  
        Shifu nodded.  "We must learn how to help them without dominating them.  
Daniel will teach us that."
        "I will?" Daniel asked at the same moment that Gavril asked, "He will?  How?"
        "He is a child himself," Shifu said.  "His experiences will guide us."
        Daniel yawned.  The Others had left him alone after Shifu's appearance, but their 

earlier assault had tired him. The act of holding his energy together within the ethereal plane was depleting the rest of his strength quickly.

"It'll take years for me to grow up, Shifu," he said and winced at the whine he heard in his own voice.

        "For you, yes.  But we are not limited to linear time here."
        Daniel nodded.  Time didn't really exist.  He knew that.  His thoughts were just 
sluggish right now.  He yawned again.  "Okay.  What do you need me to do?"
        His eyelids drooped.  He forced his eyes wide and shook off the desire to sleep.  

Shifu laughed gently, and when he leaned down to kiss Daniel on the forehead, Daniel realized he had replaced his adult form with the six-year-old body that had become familiar to him in the past month.

        "Fly home, little bird," Shifu whispered.
        Home.  Home.  Home.
        He wanted home desperately.  He wanted the safety of Jack's arms.
        It was hard to concentrate.  He couldn't remember how to make the transition 
from ethereal to physical.
        The few connections that remained after the Others' attack slipped out of his 
grasp.  Without them, he couldn't find the way home.
        Terrified, he flung his energy outward.  
        He felt himself falling...
        Falling...
        Falling...
        He screamed for the one person who would always catch him.
        "Jaaaack!"