unascend // daniel jackson.
Daniel did not expect the emotion that flooded him. They were together. They were married. He wasn’t alone. Relief wasn’t a strong enough word for what he felt; it was like being lost in the dark and then a little beam of light switched on that he could follow, even if he didn’t know where it would lead him.
There was the threat of dangerous memories, too, crackling along the edges of her words, but he would reach for them another time. For now, he had her hand in his, and that felt right.
He just nodded at first, the emotion too overwhelming to find words. There were tears on his eyes, but he was smiling. “Okay,” he finally managed, and then he laughed at himself a little. What a stupid thing to say. “That’s a pretty good reason to try to remember. I mean, the way people are tip-toeing around me, I know there’s got to be some… y’know, bad stuff in there, but.”
He looked into her eyes directly, earnestly. “I know–since you walked in here, even though I wasn’t sure what it was, I felt it. I know I love you. Very much. And if you can be patient with me, I want to get better for you.”
the sight of his smile made her breath catch in her throat, and before she knew it, her grin was matching his. there was still so much that stood between them -- that made their path back to what they’d once been rocky and uncertain. but for now, in this moment, she let herself be warmed by hope. it had almost been too dangerous to indulge before. perhaps it still was. but as she squeezed his fingers tighter, those thoughts were temporarily banished.
tears pricked in her eyes and her smile faltered a little. she tried to hide it, and perhaps the daniel who had once known the meaning of even the slightest wrinkle in her brow had not yet fully returned. but his words sent a sharp sting of reality through her warm hopes. there was so much that could hurt him, once he remembered. and she could not even manage to pretend it wasn’t true. she drew in a shaky breath, venturing a hand to his cheek. “ nothing so bad as i’m sure you are imagining, ” she said with a slight, watery smile. “ and nothing you will have to face alone. ”
i know i love you. she closed her eyes briefly, relief coursing through her. it almost seemed too good to be real -- that he could so quickly say the things she’d desperately wanted to hear, the things she’d been afraid to wish for but did anyway. “ i love you too, ” she whispered. “ i -- i didn’t think i would be able to tell you so again... ”
she stayed that way a long moment, holding his gaze, before practicality once more whispered in her ear. her gaze turned determined. “ but you must promise me, you won’t try too hard -- that you will not push yourself before you’re ready... i will wait as long as you need. ”
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