(Untitled)

[theunascended]

Daniel was sitting in the rec room, waiting for Vala to come back from the doctor's. He'd offered to keep William occupied while Vala got checked out. He wasn't sure what they'd be able to do. Maybe the nanobots. Maybe they had something else that would be able to spark that memory, but seeing her expression when she'd first seen William,

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[captainjack]

Jack watched the little boy grope for blocks and he grinned at the sight of Daniel with him. It was adorable.

"Got stuck babysitting? Is Vala out treasure hunting again?" he asked as he came closer.

[theunascended]

Daniel didn't look up at Jack, although his back tensed. "I've been gone all weekend," he said quietly. "And Vala's in the clinic." He supposed he didn't have to tell Jack where he'd been gone.

[captainjack]

"Oh, no. Is she okay?" Jack asked. He'd been aware of the newest round of island cruelty but he hadn't realized that it had happened to Daniel and Vala.

[theunascended]

"She doesn't remember anything," Daniel answered quietly enough that it was almost under his breath. "Not me, not the island, not William. Nothing."

[captainjack]

Jack tried to parse that, actually tilting his head as he tried to figure out how that worked.

"That's one I've never heard before," he replied, clearly confused. "What happened?"

[theunascended]

"The first time, the only time I went back, it was like nothing had changed. Typical mission, typical night out after, just...normal. This was like history repeating itself." Daniel sucked in a breath. "Vala got kidnapped the one time I took her out of the base for dinner. I'd just figured she was going stir crazy and might want a night out. She was kidnapped and they were trying to retrieve memories using this device. Something went wrong. She lost all of her memories. We got her back eventually and used a device to remove the block, but this time…"

[captainjack]

"Logan and I were in the war. It might have been the same battle...I don't know. The same thing really happened?" he asked in disbelief. "And now she's...god, Daniel, I'm sorry. Can they do anything for her? Is she going to be okay?"

[theunascended]

Daniel ran his hands over his face. "I don't know. She's in with the doctors now, but...but they don't have whatever it is Dr. Lam used back home. I don't know what, if anything, they'll be able to do. When or even if she'll ever get her memories back. I...haven't told her. About us. I didn't want to complicate things."

[captainjack]

"What about William? How did you explain him?" Jack asked, looking at the boy playing with the blocks. To suddenly not remember...Jack knew what that was like. But for him it was only two years, not a lifetime.

[theunascended]

"That he was her son. That his father wasn't on the island anymore. True enough, since this Spike presumably doesn't remember William or Vala at all." Daniel shrugged. "It's not like William's going to start calling me 'Daddy' all of a sudden, Jack. I've never really been his father."

[captainjack]

"That's not..."

He stopped and pursed his lips.

"What are you going to do with her?"

[theunascended]

Daniel knew it wasn't what Jack had meant, but it was still on his mind. What would Vala know? How much was it going to hurt when she assumed things or when she didn't? "With her? I don't know, Jack. I really don't. If she...if she doesn't get her memory back, I'm going to keep William with me for a little while. You didn't see the look she gave him."

[captainjack]

Jack looked at him expectantly and waited for more. When it didn't come he moved forward and rested a heavy, reassuring hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Daniel," he said with absolute certainty. "Even if she has to start over...she can't just turn her back on her child. Or you. You wouldn't let that happen."

[theunascended]

"I'd like to believe you, Jack, I would." Daniel leaned against Jack's hand. He did want to believe it, but the more Vala said, the harder it was for him to believe it. "I'm just worried." He was more than worried. He was absolutely terrified that she wouldn't remember.

[captainjack]

Jack took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I know," he said. "When Logan hit his head and didn't remember me it was..." Jack shook his head. "I know how you feel. Kind of. We didn't have a kid to worry about, too."

[theunascended]

"I don't even know if she will get her memory back. She was attached to something meant to find repressed memories. Something short-circuited and..." Daniel just sighed.