Author's Notes: Sequel to "Not Too Late" and part 8/8 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." See final author's notes at the end.

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

"I promise I feel fine, Mom. You said I was better," Cassie insisted. Janet sighed, knowing her daughter was right.

"I know; I'm just making sure. You've got your phone? Call me if you feel bad at all, okay?"

Cassie enveloped Janet in a big hug. "I will. But don't sit around waiting for it...I feel fine. I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too. Be home by midnight." Janet squeezed Cassie tightly and then watched as the teenager ran out the door and climbed into Dominic's waiting car.

As soon as they pulled away, Janet sank into the couch. It was the first time since before Cassie had gotten sick that she had an opportunity to relax and think. As the events of the past week kept running through her mind, however, she realized how tense she still remained. She closed her eyes and replayed the images of Cassie's illness: Cassie collapsed on the porch; Cassie angry and despondent from the illness; herself holding the gun on Nirrti; and in the middle of the chaos, Daniel taking her hand and offering, well, anything she would allow him to give.

Several months before, Daniel had confessed his love and then put her "in charge" of their relationship, however it might be defined. Janet still wasn't sure if she was grateful or furious with him for giving her that power. Since then, he had been amiable, available, and absolutely non-intrusive, subtly letting her know by his constant, gentle presence that although he would make no more advances, she need only ask and he would be there. If she weren't so tempted by his offer, the whole situation would be perhaps a little awkward, but decidedly easier to deal with. Unfortunately, Janet had long ago fallen in love with Daniel Jackson, much as she tried not to admit it. The scene played again in her mind. "If you need *anything*..." Janet groaned as she acknowledged that this wasn't going to go away on its own. And as long as I'm being honest with myself, she thought with resignation, I know very well what I need from him.

Thirty minutes later, Janet took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Daniel's apartment. Daniel opened the door and proceeded to gape at her: she was clearly the last person he expected to see. The big grin that replaced the initial look of surprise, however, told her that she was a very welcome, if unexpected, guest.

"Janet! Hi! What brings you here?" he asked, ushering her into his living room.

Janet tried desperately to seem relaxed and casual. "Oh, Cassie is out with Dominic belatedly celebrating her birthday, and the house was kind of empty." The excuse sounded incredibly lame, and Janet decided that if she was going to be honest tonight, she might as well start. "Actually," she said, turning to look at Daniel, "I was hoping we could talk."

She hid a smile as she watched Daniel struggle not to look too much like a kid at Christmas. "About what happened this week with Nirrti?" he asked.

"Uh, no. Or, well, kind of," Janet stammered. "I was hoping we could talk about us," she finished awkwardly.

Daniel tried to look serious, but the faintest hint of a smile graced his lips as he nodded. "Sit down," he said, gesturing to the couch. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks, I'm fine." Janet watched as he positioned himself on the other end of the couch, angled so that he could see her. He didn't say anything, and she realized that he was going to wait as long as necessary for her to say everything she needed to say. She twisted her ring around on her finger, trying to work up enough courage to begin. "For most of my life, I've tried to be very guarded with my heart," she said finally. "I don't like to let people get too close because the more you love someone, the more power that person has to hurt you, whether they mean to or not." She glanced over at him and saw him nod in encouragement. "My military and medical training have only enforced my tendency to maintain distance from people, and then my divorce was pretty much the final nail in the coffin lid. But then I met you all and Cassie, and suddenly I couldn't hold on to that distance anymore."

She grew silent again, wondering whether she could go on with him sitting right there. "Daniel," she said softly, then stopped again.

"It's okay," he replied. "Take as long as you need."

She stood up and walked to the window. "When I first started to be attracted to you, you were very safe," she continued. "You were married; you weren't interested in me. You were a wonderful friend, but I could justify keeping a certain distance from you for a number of reasons. And then at some point I realized that our friendship was growing much deeper and that maybe you were attracted to me, too, even though you weren't supposed to be. I was already worried about getting too close before the night of Sha're's funeral. In some ways, you gave me a ready excuse to step away."

She heard him get up from the couch and walk a few steps toward her. She knew how much guilt he still harbored over what he had done that night, and as she turned to face him, she saw it written in his face. "I won't pretend that I wasn't hurt and afraid and angry about that night and about the whole Ke'ra thing. I was falling in love with you, and I wasn't at all sure I wanted to be, and suddenly you were acting like someone I didn't know. The problem was, you were so penitent and sweet and patient afterwards. For the past two years afterwards, actually. This all would have been easier if you had just continued to be an ass, you know." She paused and took a deep breath. "Because then I wouldn't have fallen in love with you all over again."

He came closer, looking intently and lovingly into her eyes the whole time. "Are you still afraid to get too close?" he asked softly.

"While Cassie was sick, I was so afraid I was going to lose her. I had finally learned to love another person absolutely and unconditionally, and she was going to be taken from me. I was terrified, but I realized that the joy of having her as my daughter was worth any pain she might cause...by anything she said or did, or by something she couldn't control, like dying." Daniel seemed to have caught where she was going with this train of thought, and a hopeful expression was creeping across his face. "Somehow, in the middle of all that worry and realization, there you were, the other person I could love if I would allow myself, telling me that if I needed anything..."

"And *do* you need anything?" Daniel asked slowly.

Janet smiled softly and reached out to take his hand. "I think," she faltered, emotion catching in her throat, "I need you."

Daniel smiled broadly as he reached up to caress her cheek. "I'm so glad," he whispered as he leaned in to brush her lips lightly with his. She sighed into his lips as she let the last of her barriers fall away and surrendered to the kiss. She wrapped one arm around his waist and with the other reached up to pull his head closer to hers. She felt as though her soul had been stripped bare, and somehow, she was not nearly as frightened in this man's arms as she had expected to be.

Daniel pulled away a few minutes later, resting his forehead against hers as one of his hands remained tangled in her hair, the other tracing slow circles on the small of her back. Gazing into his eyes, Janet felt as though for the first time in her life, she had come home. "You're still sure about this?" Daniel asked gently.

"Yes," she said with confidence. She leaned up to kiss him softly. "I love you, Daniel."

"I love you, too, my dearest friend," he murmured as he captured her lips once more.

Author's Endnotes: I just wanted to say a quick word about why I am ending this series here despite my original plan to carry it through all seven seasons (though hopefully the reason is at least somewhat apparent). The vast majority of Daniel/Janet fic occurs in season four and beyond, for some obvious reasons, but I wanted to focus on what their relationship might have looked like in the first few seasons (putting some history behind Daniel's disappointment when she walks away in "RoP," if you will!). Since the series has been about what leads up to their romantic relationship, I didn't want to lose that focus by continuing the series after their romance starts. Other writers write episode-based Daniel/Janet romance fantastically well, and I might even attempt it at another time, but for now, this is it. The other big advantage, in my mind, of ending with "Rite of Passage" is that "Meridian" and "Heroes" are both absolutely optional...it's up to you to decide whether either or both happen, or whether this Daniel and Janet get to live happily ever after!