What You Already Know Part 1: Evolution (Ship Version)

Author: MaureenT
Rating: T
Categories: Angst, Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Content Warning: Mild Profanity, Violence
Spoilers: Stargate Movie, Enigma, Legacy, Past and Present, A Hundred Days, Maternal Instincts, Upgrades, Divide and Conquer, Scorched Earth, Serpent's Venom, Absolute Power, Rite of Passage, Summit, Last Stand, The Warrior, The Sentinel, Meridian, Abyss, Metamorphosis, The Changeling, Prophecy, Full Circle, Fallen, Fragile Balance, Enemy Mine, Space Race, Evolution, Grace

Author's Notes: This story contains a Daniel/Sam romance. If that's not to your liking, go read the Gen version, though I highly recommend the Ship version, which is far superior, in my opinion. This is the first of a series of stories covering many of the events of the latter half of the 7th season and most of Season 8. This first story takes place a while after the episode "Evolution." From that point on, many of the events that occurred in the TV series will happen differently in this fanfic series. It also departs from information we learned in Season 8 about the circumstances surrounding Daniel's return to human form. There is also a Gen version of this story.

PROLOGUE

I have been away for only a short while, yet, when I return, I see that more have come to this world that has been my home for so long. These new ones are not like the ones who came before, those who were servants of the Goa'uld and sought to take the human child. I knew that those men must not be allowed to have the baby, so I destroyed them. My fellow Ancients would frown upon my actions, but I understand something they do not. Sometimes, we have no choice but to interfere, for not doing so would damage the balance of the universe so greatly that it might not recover.

I sense that these new ones also seek the child, but their motivations are different. There is no evil here. There is a Jaffa among them, but he is as unlike the Jaffa who were here before as the day is unlike the night. In time, this one could become one of us, but he is not ready. He still has far to go on his present path.

The female human has a spirit that is both light and dark. She has chosen both the life of a warrior and of a scientist, and these two facets of her life have colored her soul. Yet the light within her is far greater than the darkness. This one, too, could be one of us if she would allow herself to see beyond the physical and accept the spiritual.

From the temple comes a man with the soul of a warrior. There is much darkness in him, yet the light dispels many of the shadows. I sense that he has no patience with our teachings. This one would need to learn much before he could be one of us. It may be that his path could never lead him to ascension.

Another Jaffa emerges from the temple. He is many years older than the other one and has seen much more death, yet, like the younger one, he had turned from the path that their brethren walk upon. It may be that, when this one's life is done, he will find the true path.

Something draws me into the temple, for I sense that there is another. And that is when I see him. I have known many humans over the millennia of my existence, yet never have I met one with a mind so open and a heart so willing to learn. The light within him burns brightly, like a beacon shining in the night. This one . . . ah, this one could be one of us so very easily, truly one of us, not one who can only ascend with the help of one of us, but one with the capacity to transcend his physical form through his own choosing. I can feel the potential burning like a candle flame deep within his essence, like the flame he is attempting now to light with his mind. He has the power to light the candle on his own, but I will help him, for the power is latent, sleeping in his mind, just as it is sleeping within the minds of most of his species.

This one whose name is Daniel wants the child, too, but his reasons are a need to protect, to shelter. The boy has a special meaning to him. But he is not ready to be the child's protector, and I must teach him this. Someday, this may be different, but, for now, the boy must stay under my guardianship.

Everything I believed about the one called Daniel is true. If the other Jaffa had not come, he could have become one of us before the night was done. Never before have I met such an apt pupil. Yet I sense that he is not yet ready. He must travel a while longer on his present path. There are more lessons for him to learn. Even so, I find myself not wanting to depart his company. I have known him only moments, yet I feel love for his beautiful soul and the brightness of his mind. I must touch him, feel his flesh beneath my fingers.

Yes. With that touch I have seen much. I sense that, someday, he will be one of us, but he will suffer greatly before then. I wish that I could prevent his suffering, for he has already suffered so much. But it is not for me to decide when his time to join us will be. And so I will watch over him so that, when his end draws near, I will be there to help him see that his place is among us.

Farewell, Daniel. We will meet again.

Shifu has told me that he taught Daniel a lesson today. Daniel has learned that he must find a new path. Shifu believes, as I, that he will soon be one of us. But this time that has passed since our first meeting has been difficult for Daniel. The weight on his soul grows heavy. I fear that he will become lost before he joins us. Shifu says that Daniel is strong, that his heart will not give up. Only time will tell if he is right. I hope that he is.

The time has come. I sensed it immediately. Daniel's mortal body is failing him, and it is time for him to leave it behind and ascend. Oh, but his soul is so weary. Too much pain has he suffered. He believes himself unworthy to gain ascension. And, because he believes so, he cannot take that step. He must have faith in himself and believe in the value of his deeds and his soul or he will never find the power to ascend. I could use my power to help bring upon the change, as I have with others. But, no. Daniel must do this on his own. I can only guide him and help him see the way. He has the ability to become as the Ancients, and I must not rob him of that. I can only help him see the truth about himself. Once that is done, he will join us through the power of his own choosing.

It is done. In the space of a breath not taken, the beat of a silenced heart, he is here. He does not have our knowledge yet, for that is something we must give him, but he has our power. Even now, so newly born to this form, I can feel it burning within him. He will be great among us.

Yet within me there is a concern. Though his mortal body is no more, his mortal heart remains. He believes that he will have the ability to do more as an Ascended One, and, in some ways, this is true, but he does not yet know that he may not interfere in the affairs of mortals. Will he accept this? His love for his people is great, especially for the three who were his companions. Will that love prevent him from following our ways? I will have to watch him closely. If he breaks the laws of the Ancients, he will be punished, and I must not let that happen. Because I defy the laws of my people, I am outcast among them. They allow me to continue my work, but I know that I walk a fine line. With Daniel it would be different. I must protect him from the others.

He has been denied the knowledge. Not all of it, but enough that he does not realize what he is, what I and my kind are. This was not my decision, but of the others. They believe that he must prove himself before being given all of the knowledge. They sense, as I do, that his heart still cleaves to his fellow humans and to those who were his friends and allies.

He will soon be tested. The one called Jack O'Neill is a prisoner of the Goa'uld Ba'al. Daniel believes that his friend can ascend. I have not told him that O'Neill's spirit is not ready for such a step. I know that Daniel must try to help his friend in this way, but what will he do when he realizes that O'Neill cannot, will not take that step? I must watch closely.

Ah, my Daniel. You were so subtle with your interference. If I had not been watching you, I would have been unaware of it. But I did see. I find myself smiling at what you did. You took no physical actions, nothing overt. You merely whispered into the minds of those who could help O'Neill and showed them the way. I know that you are pleased by the outcome, as am I. What would have happened to O'Neill if you had not acted would have forever darkened a part of your spirit.

If the others knew of what you have done, they would be displeased, but it was such a small thing that I will not tell them. They need not know. But I wonder what you will do if something like this happens again.

I can sense the grief and frustration within him. The woman named Samantha is dying, the victim of Nirrti's experiments. She is in great pain, and Daniel wants to help her. He wants to heal her. But I cannot let him interfere, not this time. The only way that he could help would surely draw the attention of the others, and I must protect him. He is angry at me for forbidding him even to appear to Samantha to give her comfort. I fear that anger may someday drive him to step so far over the line that I will have no choice but to act. My kind cannot see the future, but we can sense things that are on the horizon, and I feel that there will soon come a day when Daniel will have to make a choice between the life he has now and the life he left behind.

For three days he has been with the Jaffa called Teal'c. Throughout those days, he has given his friend strength and comfort, yet he has done nothing that would incur the displeasure of the others. Even so, his actions have saved Teal'c's life and the life of the other Jaffa, Bra'tac. Perhaps Daniel is finally learning and is ready to leave behind the last of his ties with his humanity.

Even as I think this, I know that something is coming. A crisis is approaching that will force Daniel to choose, once and for all, what path he will walk upon.

Daniel has chosen. In truth, his choice did not surprise me. I admit that, all those years ago, when I first saw him, I failed to see that the love in Daniel's heart is too great, his need to help others too strong to ever be able to accept the chains that our laws put upon him. At the same time as this saddens me it also brings me joy, for, in this way, Daniel is so much more than we are. His spirit cannot be imprisoned. His courage knows no bounds. During his mortal life he sacrificed himself many times for the sake of others, and he has now done so again.

With my power I have helped all the people of Abydos ascend. I did this for Daniel's sake, for the loss of those people would have irreparably scarred his spirit. Daniel knows what I have done and is grateful, but he also knows that I now have a difficult task before me. His punishment has been left in my hands, and I find myself unwilling to mete it out. Daniel's passionate argument as he stood before the others had so many words of truth, and I know that some of them agreed, but not enough. Most of my kind refuse to change their way of thinking.

Daniel and I are alone now, the others having withdrawn.

"So, what now, Oma?" he asks.

I look upon him and see no regret, though he knows that his punishment will be harsh. "There is no regret within you for what you did."

"No. I only regret that I did not succeed. I can't be like you and the others, Oma. I tried, but I can't stand back and do nothing, just stand aside and watch terrible things happen when I have the power to help. To even try is a betrayal of who I am."

"This I know," I say.

"So, I ask again. What happens now?"

"There is a choice for you to make."

"Me? What choice? What my punishment will be?"

I nod my head.

"What are my options?"

"There are two. The first is exile on a world with no life for a time period of our choosing."

"You mean like Orlin was?"

"Yes. When we feel that you are ready, you will be offered the opportunity to rejoin us."

"What's the other option?"

"To become human once again."

"Human? You mean descend? I'd have my old body back?"

"Yes."

"The last time I had a human body, Oma, it was dying of radiation poisoning," Daniel reminds me.

"You would be healthy and whole, your body created anew. But you would lose all that you have gained in your time with us. All memories of your life as an Ascended One would be gone. It is the law of the others. Also taken would be the memories of your life before you ascended."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You mean that I'd have no memories at all? I wouldn't know who I am? My entire life would be gone?"

"There is no other way," I tell him regretfully.

"What of my knowledge, the languages I have learned, the things I have studied? Would it all be gone, too?"

"The knowledge would still be there, only you will not know it until you seek to learn it again."

"When I go to relearn everything, it'll start coming back to me?"

"Some of it will. Other things may not."

"So, my choices are to be exiled alone for several hundred years or more, then continue living an existence that I can no longer accept and still be true to myself or to be made human again but lose all memory of who I am and perhaps lose a big chunk of the knowledge I've spent my whole life gaining."

I say nothing. There is nothing more I can tell him. I cannot influence his decision.

Daniel turns away from me for a long moment. When he turns back, I know what he has decided. His words confirm this.

"I'm sorry, Oma. I cannot live like you do. I can't sit on the sidelines as others fight and die. It is not in me to be that kind of person."

"Then you have chosen."

"Yes. Even though I'm going to lose my past and perhaps much of what I know, at least I'll be in control of my own life again. And, maybe someday, I'll be able to rejoin the fight against the Goa'uld, to help others again. It's the only choice I can make."

"This I also know."

Daniel looks at me with those beautiful eyes that are so wise for one who is so young. "I'm sorry, Oma. I know I've disappointed you."

"A flower rises from the earth, blooms in the warmth of summer, then fades and returns to the earth when winter arrives. One cannot be disappointed when the flower is gone, for that is the way it must be. All things must be true to their nature."

"Yeah."

I reach out and touch his face one last time. With that touch, I see a truth I was blind to before. Daniel's time among us has served a purpose, not the one that I had believed it would, but one that I now realize is a far greater purpose than if he had remained one of us.

What is happening now is not an ending. Though Daniel's path is returning to its former course, in doing so, a new future is opening to him, one that I must make sure comes to pass, even if I must break the laws of my people yet again.

And so it is done. Daniel is once again human, left upon a world of strangers. And, once more, I have defied the will of the others, though they do not know it. When the time is right, Daniel will remember. His knowledge and memories of his mortal life will return. As for those of his time as one of the Ascended, in time, he may remember them as well, when he has need.

At the proper time, I must go to the world of Daniel's birth and make sure that those who love him most will find him and help him fulfill the destiny that I sense lies before him.

Someday soon, Daniel will realize that one does not need to be taught what they already know.

CHAPTER ONE

"You are joking, right, sir? I mean, this is a joke, isn't it?" Jack's hopeful smile disappeared to be replaced by a pleading look. "Please tell me that you're joking, General."

General George Hammond gazed at him with sympathy. "I wish that I was, Colonel, but these orders come from high up in the chain of command, specifically from Senator Brandon Westmore, who has recently become involved in the Stargate Program."

"But, sir . . . biofeedback?" There was a note of disdain in Jack's voice.

"Senator Westmore is a strong proponent of biofeedback and believes that it could be the answer to problems in the military caused by stress and anxiety. You and I both know that stress among military personnel is a killer and, more than once, has caused people to make dangerous mistakes or to crack under pressure. There is evidence to support the belief that biofeedback can be used to calm people and relieve stress. Individuals have been able to lower their blood pressure using the technique, and, as Doctor Fraiser will tell you, high blood pressure is something she sees a lot of in her infirmary."

"With all due respect, sir, I don't believe in that stuff. It's all a bunch of hogwash."

"Whether you believe it or not, Colonel, you have your orders. The senator believes that, due to the highly stressful nature of our work, we're perfect candidates. A Doctor Eliza White, who is an expert in biofeedback therapy, will be arriving tomorrow at 0800 to begin evaluating all the personnel on base and deciding which individuals would benefit from the therapy. You are to be the second one she sees, followed by Major Carter and Doctor Jackson."

"The second one?"

"Yes. As the commanding officer of this base, I go first."

"What about Teal'c, sir?"

"Though Doctor White has been briefed about the Stargate itself, she does not know any details about the Goa'uld or the Jaffa. Therefore, using biofeedback on Teal'c is out of the question."

"Lucky Teal'c."

Hammond frowned. "I don't like this any better than you do, Jack. I have better things to do with my time. But the president has approved this, and he is still my boss, as he is yours. So, I suggest that you keep that in mind and try to get through this with as much patience as you can manage."

Duly chastised, Jack said, "Yes, sir."

Jack left Hammond's office and headed for the commissary. He was supposed to meet his team there for a bite to eat. As he walked in the door, he saw that Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were already there. Jack got his lunch and carried it over to the table.

"Hey, Jack," Daniel greeted, followed by a "Good afternoon, sir," from Sam.

"I'm not so sure about the good part," Jack muttered.

"Is something wrong, Colonel?" Sam asked.

"Well, as it turns out, we're all going to get to be guinea pigs again."

"Oh, please don't tell me Anise is coming back," Daniel groaned.

"I almost wish that was the case. No, strike that. I don't ever want to see that particular Tok'ra again."

"The feeling is mutual," stated Teal'c.

"So, what is it this time, sir?" Sam asked.

"What do you guys know about biofeedback?"

Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Biofeedback?"

"Yeah. It seems that some senator is really gung ho about it and has convinced the president that all of us here at the SGC are perfect candidates for trying it out."

"What is biofeedback?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, putting it simply, biofeedback is a type of therapy in which people are trained to exercise some control over their own body processes," Daniel answered. "It's been around in one form or another for thousands of years. Ancient Greek, Chinese and Indian healers all believed that the mind could influence the body, that you could both cause and cure illnesses. This belief is still in existence today in some cultures, such as among the Australian Aborigines. Once Western medicine began to discover the physical causes for diseases and other ailments, those ancient beliefs were mostly rejected, but interest in them has been gradually returning. Biofeedback started being used therapeutically after the second world war to help returning veterans who needed physical therapy. It is now recognized by many physicians and psychologists as a useful therapeutic technique."

"Now, why doesn't it surprise me that you know that, Daniel?" Jack remarked.

The younger man shrugged. "I study anthropology, Jack. That includes the various practices and beliefs that ancient civilizations had."

Jack turned to the other genius on the team. "So, what about you, Carter? Care to dazzle me with your knowledge?"

"Sorry, sir. I really don't know all that much about biofeedback. It's not a subject I ever got into. I'd bet that Janet could tell you some things about it, though."

"I really don't want to know about it, Major. I would prefer remaining ignorant for the rest of my life. But, since we have no choice but to do this, I figured that we should all know what we're getting into."

"So, when is this going to happen?" Sam asked.

"Some doctor is going to be arriving tomorrow morning. The three of us are scheduled to meet with her after Hammond gets his turn. Teal'c is exempt. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it."

"Relax, Jack," Daniel said. "I can guarantee that the doctor isn't going to start chanting in some ancient language and cast a spell on you."

"Well, thank you very much for that assurance, Daniel," Jack responded sarcastically. "I'll leave my garlic at home."

"Um, garlic is for warding off vampires . . . sir," Sam reminded him.

"Whatever."

After lunch, the foursome decided to visit Janet to see what she knew about biofeedback. It turned out that the doctor knew quite a bit on the subject.

"I studied a little about it during my second year in medical school," she told them. "It's really quite fascinating. Biofeedback uses electronic sensors to measure and feed back information about an individual's body that they normally wouldn't have access to. In clinical biofeedback, muscle activity, heart rate, pulse volume, brainwave patterns, and other physiological data are monitored. The subject becomes aware of what's happening in their bodies because they can see it being reproduced on a computer screen by means of the various signals being sent through the sensors. A competent biofeedback therapist can then help teach the person how to alter or change those signals, thereby controlling their own body's internal systems. There are a great many physical and psychological ailments that have been treated with biofeedback, including stress, anxiety, asthma, high blood pressure, epilepsy, migraine headaches, and many other types of pain. There has even been success in regaining movement in victims of paralysis."

"So, I'm guessing that you're all for this whole thing," Jack muttered.

"I'm going to reserve my judgment until after I see if it is of some use, but, yes, I think it might help some individuals control their stress and anxiety, and I would be very happy to see fewer instances of elevated blood pressure in my infirmary."

Since Jack was the only one on his team who was against the biofeedback, he did the rest of his grumbling to himself. Both Daniel and Sam were interested in the process and looking forward to experiencing it for themselves. Teal'c was disappointed that he would not be participating since it reminded him of the connection he used to make with his symbiote during Kel'no'reem and the healing that would take place through that connection.

Promptly at eight a.m. the following morning, Doctor Eliza White arrived. Her equipment was set up in one of the isolation rooms since it would allow Janet to monitor the proceedings without actually being in the room.

Doctor White's first patient was General George Hammond. The first thing she did was conduct an interview with him about his health and that of family members. She then hooked him up to the biofeedback instruments using sensors attached to several locations on his body. She recorded the various readings to give her a picture of the general's overall psychophysiological state, creating a baseline that she would use for the training sessions.

During this first session, Eliza got the impression that General Hammond was a pleasant, easy-going man with a great deal of patience and an impressive ability to remain calm under pressure. Because of the great responsibilities of his job and the stress inherent in it, she decided that he could benefit most from a way to relieve stress and anxiety. His blood pressure was also a little elevated, which she could work on as well. All in all, Eliza determined that the man should do well with biofeedback.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Colonel Jack O'Neill. Right from the start, the therapist guessed that she'd have a hard time with him. He was completely against the whole thing, and she doubted that she'd be able to get him to reach the proper mental state. Colonel O'Neill had the wrong kind of personality and attitude for psychophysiologically-based treatment techniques, and Eliza doubted that the biofeedback would be successful with him. However, the colonel did suffer from frequent headaches, which might be treatable with biofeedback, so Eliza had decided to go ahead and try.

Major Samantha Carter was quite pleasant. As a fellow scientist, she was very interested in the process and was eager to participate for that reason. She asked dozens of questions and was able to grasp most of the concepts. The major was a workaholic and tended to have difficulty relaxing, which was something the biofeedback could help her overcome. The therapist believed that her sessions with Major Carter would go well.

It didn't take long for Eliza to figure out that Doctor Daniel Jackson was one of the most intuitively brilliant and opened-minded people she'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. He had no doubt at all that the process of biofeedback really worked, and they ended up getting into an in-depth discussion about the beliefs various cultures have regarding mental abilities and the ways they could be used to affect the human body. Though Daniel's health appeared to be excellent, like Colonel O'Neill, he had a problem with headaches that Eliza was hoping would respond to biofeedback therapy. She was looking forward to his sessions.

Out of all the personnel Eliza interviewed, only a small percentage had specific physical or emotional problems that were treatable with biofeedback. She noted that over half the people who regularly went on off-world missions suffered from the same headaches that Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson did. This was a problem that Eliza really hoped she could solve.

At last, the day came for the actual training sessions to begin. Like with the interviews, General Hammond went first. Jack was waiting outside when he emerged from his session.

"So, how was it, sir?" the colonel asked.

"Very interesting. Certainly a new experience for me." Hammond noticed the expression on Jack's face. "Relax, Colonel. It doesn't hurt a bit."

Muttering something under his breath, Jack went into the room.

"Hello again, Colonel," the therapist said pleasantly, her grey-green eyes smiling at him. "Why don't you take a seat in that chair over there and we'll begin."

An hour later, the therapist gave up any hope of success with the man. As she suspected, Jack O'Neill was not a good candidate for biofeedback. For it to work, you had to believe that it could work, and the colonel didn't. Eliza saw no point in trying again.

"I could have told you that it probably wouldn't work on him," Janet said in amusement after Jack had left. She hadn't been there to watch any of the interviews, but had wanted to observe the first training sessions.

Eliza looked up at her through the observation window. "Is he always like that?"

"The colonel has little patience for things he doesn't understand or doesn't agree with. He's also got a skull as hard as titanium. But his stubbornness has been a very good thing on more than one occasion. He's saved the lives of his teammates, not to mention a whole lot of other people, on more than one occasion because of his refusal to give up."

"What about Doctor Jackson? He seems to be totally opposite from the colonel. I can't imagine them getting along very well."

Janet smiled. "Oh, don't let his sweet nature fool you, Doctor. Daniel's stubbornness is legendary. He's one of those people who never gives up and never backs down if he feels that he's in the right. The difference is that he's not quite so . . . acerbic about it, and he usually respects other people's opinions."

"Really? He struck me as very agreeable and open-minded."

"Oh, he is. He's extremely open-minded and is very agreeable as long as someone isn't doing something or suggesting something that Daniel feels is unethical. But God help you if you are, because he won't back down and isn't shy about letting you know what he thinks. He's one of the few people on this base who can out-stubborn Colonel O'Neill and has no fear of going toe-to-toe with him in a battle of wills."

Eliza laughed. "It sounds like they have an interesting relationship."

"That they do. But they love each other all the same."

When Jack came out, he found Daniel and Sam in the waiting area. He sat beside the archeologist, looking none too pleased.

"I'm guessing that things didn't go very well," Daniel surmised.

"She sticks all these things on me, and then there's all this beeping and wavy lines going all over the place on the monitor, and she tries to get me to slow down the beeping or make the wavy lines less wavy."

"No luck?"

"Hell no. If I wanted to do magic tricks, I'd have studied to be a magician."

"Sir, the beeping and the lines on the monitor are representations of—"

"Ah! I don't want to hear it, Carter. Maybe you and Daniel here both think it's cool, but I'm just glad it's over."

"She's not going to try again, sir?"

"She says that I'm not a good subject for biofeedback, something about me having the wrong kind of personality for it."

"Now, why doesn't that surprise me?" Daniel murmured.

Jack glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that, for something like that to work, you have to at least have some belief that it can."

"And if someone had bothered to bring that fact up to begin with, I wouldn't have had to go through all that."

Sam was called into the room. Her session went very well. The Air Force major looked upon the whole thing as a fascinating science experiment, and, like all her other experiments, undertook it with her full attention.

Finally, it was Daniel's turn. Eliza told him that the first order of business would be an attempt to get rid of the headaches caused by going through the Stargate. Long ago, Doctor MacKenzie had erroneously believed that those headaches were a symptom of Stargate-induced schizophrenia. Since then, Janet had determined that the headaches were just a mild side effect of gate travel. In the years that the SGC had been in existence, nothing more serious had developed. Eliza had said that she would seek to help Daniel with the headaches. He hoped that she could.

It was only a few minutes into the session when Eliza was actually able to get Daniel to the point where he was exercising some control over his heart rate, blood pressure, and the tension in his muscles.

"Wow. I'm very impressed, Doctor Jackson," the therapist remarked, totally amazed. "I've never heard of anyone reaching this state so fast. Are you sure that you've never done biofeedback before?"

"No, never. I do meditate on occasion, though."

"Ah, well, maybe that helps explain it. Even so, this is astounding. In our next session, I'd really like to see if you can gain some control over your brainwaves. For right now, let's see if we can get rid of that little headache you say that you've got."

By the end of the thirty minute session, Daniel's headache was completely gone, and Eliza was in complete awe of him. So was Janet, for that matter, and she'd known him for all these years. In a mere half-hour, Daniel had succeeded in doing things that it would generally take a good eight to ten sessions to achieve. The two doctors discussed the possible reasons for Daniel's unbelievably fast progress, though there were some things that Janet could not divulge. Doctor White's security clearance was limited to knowledge of the Stargate and the fact that humans from Earth were exploring the galaxy and defending the planet from possible enemies. Other than that, she could not be told anything, like the fact that Daniel had spent a year on a higher plane of existence as a creature made of pure energy.

Janet had to wonder if Daniel's time as an ascended being could have anything to do with his amazingly fast success with the biofeedback. Though the archeologist's tests all showed that he was fully human once again, there were things that modern science still did not have the capacity to measure or detect.

Unaware that he was the topic of an intense discussion by the two doctors, Daniel went out to where Jack and Sam were waiting for him.

"So, how did it go?" Sam asked.

"Quite good, actually. My headache's gone."

Sam frowned. "You mean you actually learned how to make a headache go away already?"

"Yeah. Doctor White said I was a fast learner."

"A fast learner? Daniel, from what I learned in the research I did about biofeedback, it's incredible that you were able to do that during your first session."

"What's the big deal?" Jack asked. "We already know that Daniel's a fast learner, what with the way he soaks up new languages and history stuff like a sponge."

"It's not the same thing, sir. This has nothing to do with how smart you are or how well you retain information. This is mind over matter, the ability to control physical matter – namely, your own body, in the case of biofeedback – through the power of your mind."

Daniel was no longer looking at them. There was a troubled frown on his face, his eyes focused on the floor.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering if. . . ." He shook his head. "It's nothing, just a passing thought. So, I guess we're all done here for today. My next session is scheduled for day after tomorrow."

"Mine too," Sam said.

"And mine's never," Jack stated, not making any secret of how pleased he was by that fact. "Come on, you two. Let's get out of here."

Daniel followed his teammates, the ghost of his earlier thought remaining in his mind like a specter that no exorcism could completely banish.