Daniel sat huddled on the floor, his head on the knees he hugged to his chest, his back resting against the couch. As if surrendering to Daniel's stubborn will Jack's hallucination had finally faded, leaving behind a strange feeling of bereavement. 'Big deal, Jackson, you won an argument with a ghost' How long had he spent squabbling with a figment of his imagination?

One thing had become perfectly clear, actually two things, the first being he finally deserved that padded cell Mackenzie kept reserved for him and the second...the second fact was Daniel would never again let anyone else get hurt because of him. He would keep everyone at arm's length and never have to feel this kind of guilt or loss ever again.

"I can't do it Jack.....I can't do it anymore." Daniel had spent most of his life alone, not that he wanted to, but because circumstances deemed it easier. He had never seemed to be in one place long enough to really have a family and the few friends he did make wiped him from their memories as soon as he was shuffled off.

"No m-more." He had always considered himself an emotionally strong person. One way or another, Daniel had managed to deal with everything life had thrown at him. The loss of Sha'uri had damn near done him in but he'd handled it...with Jack's help. Jack had been his father, his brother, his friend....his strength. He didn't think he could do it anymore. The fates had finally understood what it would take to crush him and dealt the final blow. "No more."

He was a cursed man and everyone who came in contact with him was touched by that curse. He had gone against convention and voiced his radical theories of the pyramids which led Katherine Langford to recruit him for the Stargate Project. He had managed to unlock the secrets that opened the gate and in doing so had brought disaster down on them all. Opening the gate had cost his wife two years in hell as a Goa'uld host before her death. Sam had been taken as a host and how many good men had died in the missions to rescue SG-1. If not for the Tok'ra spy, Hathor would have taken Jack as a host as well. How many planets had faced the wrath of Aphophis just because of their presence? How many more innocents had to suffer and die because he had unlocked the gate and all the secrets it held? Jack's death was the last straw. He was dead because of something Daniel said or did or hadn't said or done. He could not, would not go on. Not now, not ever again!

He had learned a lesson he had secretly known for years but chose to foolishly ignore. Never again! When he let people get close, when he allowed himself to care, the very people he cared about paid the ultimate price. Never again!

*****

Hunched over the steering wheel, keeping watch over Daniel's apartment, Ferretti blinked several times, his gaze traveling from the syrofoam cup on the dashboard to the figure striding purposefully across the the parking lot. The man took the steps two at a time before disappearing inside. Ferretti stared at the cup's contents.

"What the hell are they putting in coffee these days?"

Unable to keep the grin from his face, he quickly flipped open his cell phone and dialed.. He wasn't about to deny what he'd just seen as impossible! He'd been with the SGC long enough to know nothing was impossible but he needed verification he wasn't suffering from sleep deprivation.

When Carter answered, he blurted out, "Sam? Please tell me I saw what I think I just saw!"

*****

His hands shaking uncontrollably, Jack inserted the apartment key in the deadbolt. During the complex's elevator ride to the surface, Sam, Teal'c and Janet had filled him in on what had happened in his absence.

As he pushed open the door and entered Daniel's darkened apartment, he immediately became aware of glass crunching under his boots. His terrified gaze quickly swept over the disaster area which had once been a beautiful apartment. He automatically fumbled for the light switch, but his hand stayed as his vision adjusted and his gaze settled on a figure huddled in the mess on the floor.

"Awww, Danny...."

"Go way." The quiet voice was hoarse and barely audible.

"That's a hellava how do you do." Jack quipped.

"Leave me alone, Jack....How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"Daniel..." The light switch momentarily forgotten, Jack cautiously took a couple of steps toward his friend.

"Please...just leave me alone..." Daniel weakly raised his head, tears spilling from the haunted blue eyes. Jack's breath caught at the dejected figure gazing at him as if seeing his friend return from the dead was the most natural thing in the world. Gaunt and haggard Daniel looked as though he had lost twenty pounds he really couldn't spare in the week since they had stepped out onto PQ5483. Tangled golden brown hair framed the scientist's too thin face. His sunken cheeks were covered with stubble which made his enormous red rimmed eyes even larger. "It doesn't matter how many times you deny it, Jack. And don't tell me again you have all of eternity to argue..."

"Daniel! Do you see me standing here?!" Cocking his head to one side, Jack interrupted, waving his hands in front of his body, spinning around like a model on a runway.

"Of course I do, but pretty soon you'll fade...just....just like before." The young man pointed out. "That's how hallucinations work Jack. If you don't believe me just ask....Nick....Can you do that?" The idea suddenly seemed to intrigue him. "Can ghosts travel off world?"

"Daniel, it's me! It's really me!! It's Jack!"

"I know who you are, Jack. I'm crazy...not stupid!" Daniel giggled, the sound turning into a desperate sob. "At least if I'm crazy, I-I can see-see you....talk to you anytime I want...Right?"

"Danny listen to me! Listen very carefully." Jack took a step closer, stooping down in front of his friend Something clattered to the floor as Daniel scooted away from him.

"What the hell is this?....Daniel! Answer me!" Panic made his voice harsher than he intended as O'Neill grabbed the gun from the floor. He recognized the weapon as his own. The gun he kept at home. The gun Charlie....

"Are you out of your friggin' MIND?!" Shock more than anger filled his question as he shoved to his feet.