Author's Notes: Sequel to "Smaller Victories" and part 7/8 of a Daniel/Janet friendship series, tracing their relationship through the first few seasons. The order of the stories is as follows: "A Singular Friendship," "The Price of Compassion," "Legacy of Trust," "Crossing the Line," "Gaining in Inches," "Smaller Victories," "Not Too Late," and "After All." After the relative fluffiness of the last one, I'm afraid I had to throw in one more dose of angst.

Dedication: To the fantastic folks on the danandjan list, whose feedback and encouragement keeps me writing!

Daniel took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to release some of the tension that seemed to be concentrated there. He had escaped to his office for a few minutes to get some distance from the day's terrible events. He couldn't believe he had just watched Jack shoot Sam. Rationally he knew there had been no other choice, but he couldn't accept it. As close as they had come to losing someone so many times, this really seemed to be it. He sighed and swallowed hard.

He heard a hesitant knock at his door. "Come in," he called half-heartedly without turning around. When he heard the light tap of high-heeled shoes, however, he jumped up and saw Janet Fraiser standing uncertainly in the doorway.

To say that he was surprised to see her would have been an understatement. Once upon a time, he would have expected her to come to him in a situation like this, but he had effectively ruined that level of their friendship. In the past year or so, they had slowly become more comfortable with one another, falling easily into light conversation and banter like they used to. Janet had admitted that she cared about him, at least insofar as his well-being was concerned, but she still held him very much at arm's length, and Daniel couldn't really blame her, much as he wished things were different.

Nevertheless, even as she remained distant, he had completely fallen for her. Granted, he didn't have far to fall, but a few months before, as they flew home from Egypt after the whole Sarah/Osiris debacle, Janet had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He watched her for hours, memorizing every detail of her face as she slept, enjoying the feel of her body leaning against his, and ultimately, falling completely in love with the woman who was once one of his closest friends.

"Janet, come in," he said, hoping he hadn't paused too long before speaking. She stepped forward a couple of steps, softly closing the door behind her. She chewed her bottom lip worriedly, and the muscles of her whole body were tense. Daniel knew how close Janet and Sam were, and he could only imagine how difficult this situation was for Janet. She hadn't said a word, but he sensed that she wanted to talk. "You want to sit down?" he asked, moving the books out of the chair nearest his own.

"Thanks," she said softly, sinking into the chair and leaning over to rest her forehead on the heels of her hands. "I'm sorry," she said, more to the floor than to Daniel. "I just finished analyzing the data, but I can't face him yet."

Daniel frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She sat up and looked at him. Her lips were pinched together, and she was blinking rapidly in an effort to keep tears from falling. "Sam doesn't have any brain activity," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. "Her wishes in her living will ask for no extraordinary means...I need to tell the Colonel that it's time to take her off the machines." A lone tear spilled down her cheek, and she swiped it away quickly in her effort to maintain composure.

Daniel sighed heavily. "Oh God." He didn't know what else to say. They really were going to lose Sam, he realized, as the familiar ache of grief settled over him. He looked at Janet and tried to imagine being in her shoes, being the one who had to tell Jack. He wanted to hold her and let her cry, but he knew she wouldn't welcome it. Janet occasionally fell apart *after* crises, but it was very important to her to maintain composure in the middle of one, even when it involved the lives of her closest friends. Daniel settled for the minimal contact of reaching over to rest his hand on her knee. "Do you want me to go with you to tell Jack?" he asked.

"No, I can do it."

"I know you can. I just thought if you wanted someone there... Anyway, you know I'm always here."

Janet stood up abruptly. "Always here for how long?" she asked, almost rhetorically. "Just like Sam was always here until now that she isn't? You all didn't even do anything this time! And now I'm losing my best friend." Her back was toward him, but he could see that she was barely holding on to her emotions.

He stood and walked toward her, laying his hands softly on her shoulders. "Janet, I'm here now," he whispered.

"Daniel, please don't," she warned, stepping away, her back still turned to him.

"I'm sorry. But please tell me what I can do for you. You came here for a reason. I want to be here for you in whatever way you'll let me; I want to help you," he pleaded. "Please, Janet."

She didn't answer, but from the way she had started wiping her eyes, he knew she had started crying. He stepped cautiously beside her, holding out his handkerchief. She blew her nose and wiped her eyes, and Daniel was amazed to realize that she had gained control again.

"Thank you for the handkerchief," she said and began walking toward the door.

"Wait!" Daniel cried. "You can't just go like this."

She turned around, evidently trying to look firm and in control but failing rather miserably. "I shouldn't have come in the first place, Daniel. I don't know what I was thinking. This situation with Sam has proved nothing if not how dangerous it is for personal feelings to get in the way of doing our job. Colonel O'Neill almost couldn't shoot her, and I'm going to have a damn difficult time taking her off those machines, all because we got too close."

"You don't really mean that, Janet," he responded quickly. "You can't mean that you would rather not have had Sam as a friend, even if it means losing her now."

"I'm going, Daniel. I shouldn't have come." Her hand went to the door.

"Before you do, could you at least tell me why I have a distinct feeling that this conversation has something to do with me?" Daniel asked cautiously.

Janet hesitated, and Daniel wondered whether or not she would answer. "Because I could very easily get too close to you," she admitted, looking down at her shoes instead of at him.

Daniel's heart lodged in his throat at her confession. "Would that be such a bad thing?" he whispered.

The pain in Janet's eyes when she looked up cut him to the core. "I would rather not be hurt right now."

"Janet, you know if I could take that night back, I would. I've never been more sorry..."

"It's not about that night, Daniel," she interrupted. "It's about being vulnerable. It's about allowing myself to care about someone I could easily watch die next week. I can't do it." She paused and rubbed her temples. "God, I can't believe I'm having this conversation," she muttered under her breath.

Daniel felt like the room was spinning around him. On one hand, he knew that she had just rejected him, but if he wasn't mistaken, it was because she *did* care, not because she didn't. He wasn't sure if he would get another chance, so he recklessly decided to show his hand. "Janet," he began slowly, ducking his head to look her in the eye, "I love you. If I'm honest with myself, I have for a long time. I know I have no right even to say that to you, but I want you to know how I feel." She was staring at him incredulously, her mouth open in shock, and her eyes full of disbelief and, he was disappointed to discern, a little trace of anger. "You're in charge now. Walk out of the door and never speak to me again if you want. Or think about it. Or don't mention it, and maybe we can keep on as friends. It's up to you. I don't want to force you to do anything, and I never *ever* want to hurt you again. I just..." he threw up his hands in a hopeless gesture. "I just wanted you to know."

Janet stood frozen, one hand resting on the doorknob. She had turned quite pale, and she kept opening and closing her mouth noiselessly. "What the hell do you expect me to say to that, Daniel?" she finally gasped. "And *now* for heaven's sake! What..." She trailed off.

He sighed. Definitely not one of your smoothest moves, Jackson, he thought, mentally kicking himself. "I know. That was really unfair. I'm sorry," he stumbled. "It's just, watching Jack and Sam today, it seems more important to get things said before it's too late. I thought, I don't know, maybe it's not too late for us." He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

Janet was quiet for an uncomfortably long moment, staring at the floor and chewing her bottom lip again. "I need to go see the Colonel," she finally said softly. He saw that she had somehow replaced the stoic, professional, 'Dr. Fraiser' look on her face. "You and Teal'c should come down in a few minutes to say goodbye."

"Okay," Daniel somehow managed to say as he felt his heart sink.

Janet nodded once and reached a hand toward his arm. Then she seemed to catch herself in time and drew her hand back. "I'll see you," she said as she opened the door to his office and disappeared.

"Yeah," Daniel answered painfully as he listened to the fading tap, tap, tap of her shoes.