CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The news about Kinsey's estate, coupled with the fact that Daniel was gone at the same time it happened and was also apparently no longer in danger, had more than one person in the SGC suspecting that the senator was behind the murder attempts and that Daniel had "persuaded" the man to leave him alone.  Though the news reports stated that the fire was ruled as accidental, everyone at the base knew that, with Daniel's abilities, he could set a fire and leave no trace of how it was started.

General Hammond did more than just suspect all of this, he was positive of it.  He did not confront the archeologist about it, however, knowing that, if he knew for certain, he would either have to report Daniel's actions to the president or go against his sworn duty.  Hammond reasoned that, as long as he didn't ask, he could truthfully say that he had no proof that Daniel was behind the incident at Kinsey's estate.

As to what he thought personally about the incident, he knew what kind of man Senator Kinsey was.  He had proof of it on a computer floppy disk sitting in his desk drawer.  The fact that the senator was connected to the threats on Hammond's family, the threats that had forced him to retire from the SGC over three years ago, had definitely not endeared Kinsey to the General.  But knowing that the man personally hired hit men to kill Daniel Jackson made things many times worse.  It had not been just threats this time.  If it wasn't for Daniel's psychic abilities, he would probably be dead now.  That thought enraged Hammond.  As far as he was concerned, whatever Daniel did to the senator was justly deserved.  The man belonged in prison, and if evidence of what Kinsey did ever came into the general's hands, he wouldn't hesitate to give it to the authorities.

So, if he had to pretend ignorance of Daniel's actions against Senator Kinsey, then that's what he was going to do.  It's the least that he could do for the man to whom they all owed so much.

Daniel was a little surprised when, that afternoon, Janet came to his office.  He was used to being called to the infirmary when she wanted to see him.

"Let me guess.  You saw the news about Kinsey's garage and want to know if it was my handiwork," he said.

Janet smiled slightly.  "I'm guessing that more than one person has already asked you that."

"Yep, although Jack didn't really ask.  He was already sure of the answer.  And Sam didn't need to ask either.  But I have had a few other people feel me out about it.  You know, if I'd thought about the newspapers running the story, I'd have picked something less spectacular to do.  I wasn't planning on half the base figuring everything out."

"I guess that answers one of my questions, then.  It was Senator Kinsey who hired those hit men."

"Yes."

"Do you know why?"

"No, not really."  Daniel looked at the doctor more closely.  "You said that answered one of your questions.  What other questions did you have?"

"Just one other, really.  It's about what you did to the garage."

"Oh.  You want to know if I burned it down in retaliation for what happened to my house."

"The thought did cross my mind," Janet admitted.

"The answer is no, Janet.  I needed a diversion, something big that would draw the attention of all the guards and everyone in the house.  The garage was the best thing that I could come up with."  Daniel paused.  "But if you're asking if it felt good to see Kinsey so upset about all his cars being destroyed, then, yes, it did.  Does that make me a bad person?"

"No, it doesn't, Daniel.  It just makes you human.  I can't say that, if I was in that situation, I wouldn't have felt the same.  Not many people could.  After the things he did to you, the things he took away from you, it's only natural that you'd feel some satisfaction in seeing him suffer a similar loss.  At the same time, though, I know that you could have done a lot worse.  You could have taken away his home just as he did yours."

"Yes, I could have.  Actually, I threatened to do that very thing – among other things – when I talked to him.  But it's not something that I'd really do.  Kinsey wouldn't be the only one to suffer if I did something like that.  And even if that wasn't the case, I would never stoop that low.  I won't lower myself to anywhere near his level."

"I really don't think you could, Daniel.  It's simply not in you to become that kind of person," Janet said with conviction.  "So, is it over?"

"Yes, it's over.  I don't think that Kinsey would dare try having me killed again, not after the scare I put into him."

"So, what now?"

Daniel shrugged.  "Now I start over . . . again.  Jack recommended that I not tell the insurance company that the fire was due to arson since the investigation would tie up getting my money for months.  I talked to General Hammond about it, and he told me that, because the fire was connected to the Stargate Program and my abilities, he agreed that it would be best to keep the insurance company in the dark.  So, I'll probably be getting a check from them within a few weeks.  I can't stay here on base that long, though, so I'm going to start looking for a new place now."  He smiled.  "Jack wanted me to find a house in one of those high security, gated communities.  I told him no way.  I already have to deal with that kind of stuff when I come to work.  I don't want to go through it whenever I go home, too.  We settled on me getting an alarm system."

Janet smiled again.  "Well, I guess you can't blame him for wanting to make sure something like this never happens again."

"Yeah, but in all the years that I've been with the program, this is the first time I've ever had a break-in.  Jack's also had people enter his house uninvited, yet that doesn't seem to worry him."

"No, but the colonel worries a great deal more about the safety of his friends and the people under his command than he does his own."  Janet's gaze sharpened.  "In that way, he's an awful lot like a certain archeologist I know."

"Really?  What archeologist would that be?" Daniel asked with mock innocence.

"The one I see in my infirmary way more often than I should."

"Hmm.  And here I thought that I was your number one patient out of everyone in the Archeology Department."  Daniel then smiled.  "I'm hoping that, now that this situation is over with, it will be a while before you see me in the infirmary again, well, except for post-mission physicals, that is, and that won't be happening for another couple of weeks or so since the general wants to give me time to take care of all my personal stuff first."

"So, house hunting, huh?"

"Yep."

"You should take Sam along."

Daniel's eyebrows lifted slightly.  "Sam?"

"Sure.  Get a woman's perspective.  We're way better at house hunting than men are."

The archeologist's brows went up another notch.  "Oh, really.  And why is that?"

"Because we know what's important in a house: lots of closet space, decent size bedrooms, nice bathrooms and, most importantly, a good kitchen."

Daniel had a big smile on his face.  "I'll keep that in mind, Janet."

The next day, Daniel began his search for a new house.  He looked at what was listed in the paper and checked the Web sites of the realtors in the area.  Though he had been intending to do this phase of the house hunting by himself, it didn't end up working out that way.  When Sam and Jack stopped by to see what he was up to, they got in on the search and began offering their personal opinions of each house that Daniel looked at in the paper and online.  Then Teal'c showed up and starting giving his rather . . . unique opinions on the pros and cons of each house.

When the time came to go looking at the houses later that day, Daniel found himself hitting the road with all three of his teammates.  It being a Sunday, they were doing no more than drive-bys and, in the case of vacant homes, taking a peek in backyards and inside windows, but, even so, Daniel was finding the number of "acceptable houses" dwindling rapidly.  Between Jack's complaints that the backyards weren't big enough, or that there was too much fancy landscaping, or that there wasn't a decent porch or deck, Sam's comments that the houses weren't pretty enough, or had tiny kitchens, or weren't in good neighborhoods, and Teal'c's frowns of disapproval, what had been a list of fifteen houses was pared down to six by the end of the day.

Daniel could have pointed out that, since this was his house that they were shopping for, it was his opinions that counted, but the feeling of being part of a family who cared enough that they wanted him to find the perfect home was too important to him.  When he had gone house hunting after he descended, he'd done it alone, which was the way he had wanted it.  He had wanted the feeling of being in control of his life that shopping alone for a house gave him.  Things were a lot different now, and he liked having his friends play a part in finding a new place for him to live.

That evening, they all went to O'Malley's for dinner.

"So, you going to call to make arrangements to see those houses tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"That's the plan, though I doubt I'll be able to see all of them in one day."

"So, you want us to come along?"

"I don't want to intimidate the poor realtor or homeowner, Jack," Daniel replied.

The colonel looked over at Teal'c.  "You have a point.  Okay, how about just one of us, then?  You've gotta have a second opinion, after all."

Daniel glanced at Sam.  "Well . . . Janet thought I should take Sam with me."

Sam's eyebrows rose.  "She did?"

"Uh huh.  She said that women are better house hunters than men are."

"Well, I could argue about that," Jack stated.  "When Sara and I went looking for a house, all she cared about was what the kitchen was like and how big the closets were."

Despite Jack's comment, it was decided that Sam would be the one to go with Daniel since the archeologist already knew what Jack thought was important in a house.  Jack also thought that Daniel would benefit from a woman's point of view.

And so it was that, come Monday, Sam accompanied Daniel when he went to take a better look at the houses.  The first house they looked at turned out not to be all that great on the inside, an opinion shared by both scientists.  Daniel kind of liked the second house, but Sam pointed out that it had very little storage space, the closets being quite tiny.

"I don't really have all that much to put in the closets, Sam," Daniel said quietly, which resulted in the major giving his arm a squeeze and a gentle look of sympathy and understanding.

"I know, Daniel, but that will change in time.  We'll be helping you buy all kinds of nice new stuff," her smiled turned mischievous, "and, judging by your office, I'd say that lots of storage space will eventually be a must."

"Hey, are you saying that my office is cluttered?"

Sam just smiled wider.

"Well, okay, so maybe it is a little cluttered, but I know where everything is . . . most of the time."

Sam let out a little laugh.

With Sam's urging and Daniel's admittance that a larger master bedroom would be good so that he could have a bigger bed that his feet wouldn't hang over the end of, the two friends decided to go back to the beginning and look for a bit larger home.  They scanned through the newspaper and found a few possibilities, deciding to go have lunch before taking a look at any of them.  As they waited for their meals, Daniel called the phone numbers for the places and made arrangements to see three of them that day.

A good portion of the rest of the afternoon was spent looking at the three houses Daniel had arranged to see.  One of them turned out to be pretty nice, but they both decided to continue looking.  They returned to the SGC to take a look at the Internet listings and call the realtors.

"So, any luck?" Jack asked when he came to Daniel's office.

"A little, sir," Sam replied.  "We altered the search parameters a bit."

"What does that mean?"  Jack looked at the archeologist.  "Daniel?"

"I decided that I wanted something a little bigger," Daniel told him.  "I figured that more room would be good.  The other house was okay, but kind of cramped.  I had to keep some of my stuff in storage even though you'd gotten rid of a lot of things after I ascended.  And it would be nice to have a bedroom big enough to hold a bed that I could sleep in without my feet hanging off the end."

"Yeah, well, didn't I say that you should have gotten something bigger the last time?"

"Yes, you did, and, now, I'm taking your advice."

The next day, Daniel and Sam were back out on their house hunt.  The fourth house they looked at was for sale by the owner, a pretty sky blue, two-story house with dark blue trim.

"Hey, look, Daniel.  It's your color," Sam said teasingly.

Daniel flashed her a smile, but didn't have the chance for a retort since the owner of the house was coming out to greet them.

"Hello," said the plump woman, who looked to be in her late fifties.

"Hi.  I'm Daniel Jackson, and this is Samantha Carter," Daniel said.

"I'm Cecilia Winter.  You picked a lovely day to go house hunting."

Daniel looked up at the clear blue sky.  "Yes, we did."

"Well, come on in, and I'll show you around."

The three of them went inside, where the woman took them from room to room, talking about the features and interspersing it with chat about her kids and grandkids.  The place, which was a beautifully remodeled and maintained old home, had been the residence of the woman and her husband for nearly forty years.  Their two daughters had shared the smaller bedroom.  Mrs. Winter's husband had passed away a year ago, and she had decided to move to Denver to be closer to her daughters and their families.

It hadn't taken Daniel long to decide that he liked the place.  Being a house built back in the early part of the twentieth century, it possessed a charm that the newer houses lacked, yet, with all the updates and remodels that had been done, it was not lacking in modern conveniences.  The electricity and plumbing had all been completely redone several years ago, bringing them up to code.

"This is beautiful," Sam said.

"Yes, it is," Daniel agreed aloud.

"I'm pleased that you like it," Cecilia said with a smile.  "It is a lovely home.  I hate to part with it, but I need to be near my children and grandchildren.  It's not good living alone."

"Could we see the backyard?" Daniel asked.

"Of course!"

The backyard turned out to be quite spacious and possessed a large, covered deck that Daniel knew would please Jack.  He said so to Sam, who smiled.

Cecilia looked at them curiously.  "Who is Jack, may I ask?"

"A friend," Daniel replied.  "He insisted that I get a house that had a backyard good for having barbeques."

The woman chuckled.  "Sounds like your friend and my Frank would have gotten along famously.  Frank couldn't have lived without his barbeque grill.  See?  There it is over there."

Sure enough, over in the corner of the deck was a large grill.

"I have no need for the thing, so it's staying with the house," Cecilia told them, "which should make your friend happy . . . that is, of course, if you decide to take the house."

Daniel glanced at Sam again.  He could tell that she really liked the place, and he did, too.

"I do like it a lot," he told the owner.

"Do you have your financing all settled?"

"No, but that won't be a problem.  Between what I have in the bank and what I'll be getting from the insurance company, I won't be financing all that much, and I have a well-paying job.  I had no trouble getting the last house."

"Good.  It sounds like everything would be all right, then."

Daniel looked back at the house.  "I'll take it," he said, making up his mind.

"Wonderful!" Cecilia said, beaming.  "I'll tell you the truth.  I wasn't prepared to sell this place to just anyone.  I wanted to make sure someone worthy of it lived here.  But I have a good feel for people, and I know that you're the right sort."

"Thank you.  I'll go to the bank first thing in the morning to work out the financing, but, if you'd like me to, I can give you some earnest money now."

"Oh, that won't be necessary.  I trust you."

Daniel gave her his contact information.  When she saw that he worked at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, she assumed that he was military, and Daniel explained that he was a civilian consultant there.

A few minutes later, he and Sam were on their way back to the mountain.

"That house is really nice, Daniel.  I think you'll like it there."

"Yeah, me too.  Of course, you know that when I tell Jack that I'm getting a hundred-year-old house, he's going to say that I picked it because it's an archeological site."

Sam laughed.  "Yes, he probably will."

Daniel became serious.  "Thanks, Sam.  I really appreciate you helping me find a place.  It was fun doing this together."

"You're welcome, and, yes, it was kind of fun."  Sam smiled.  "But wait till I help you pick out your furniture."

"Oh, now, wait a minute.  I never said anything about you picking out my furniture, Sam."

"Help pick out your furniture, Daniel," Sam responded.  "And you need help.  You had nice furniture in your apartments, but some of the stuff you picked for your house was just way too plain.  You need to get good furniture this time."

"I can see my bank account plummeting already," Daniel muttered.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm great at finding good deals on stuff.  You have to be on a major's salary.  You just leave it all in my capable hands, Daniel."

Daniel kept his eyes on the road, hiding the little smile that wanted to come to his lips.  Maybe there would be some benefits to his house burning down after all.

As Daniel had thought, getting the loan was not a problem, though it had been necessary for the bank to make sure that there was not going to be any difficulty in getting the insurance company to pay the claim on the old house.

Because Cecilia already had a house in Denver picked out, she was eager to have the escrow close quickly.  Because of this, Daniel found himself very busy with the bank, the insurance company and everyone else involved, trying to make things happen fast.  It was then that he found out once again that it paid to have friends in high places.  Apparently, someone important – he didn't know who – had contacted the insurance company and requested that they hurry along with paying the claim.  Daniel got his check in the mail the following Tuesday, which was also election day.

Long before the final results were announced, Daniel knew that Hayes and Kinsey had won, even though it was a fairly close race from start to finish.  Because of Daniel's warning, Jack had also known that Hayes and Kinsey were very likely going to win, but he was still cursing up a blue streak when the announcement was made.

"I swear, Daniel.  Hayes had better not be some puppet on Kinsey's string, because I am not taking orders that originated from that crooked S.O.B," he fairly snarled.  "I don't care if he is vice president now."

"I guess we'll find out once they take office, sir," Sam said, understanding his ire.  She wasn't thrilled about the election results either, and neither was anyone else on the base, from what she'd seen and heard.  Too many of them suspected that Kinsey was the man who'd tried to have Daniel murdered.

Two days later, escrow closed on Daniel's house.  Cecilia had already moved out most of her belongings before then, so, by the weekend, the house was empty and ready for Daniel to move in.

Daniel began his furniture shopping Saturday morning, and, as Sam had said, she was right there with him, "helping".  Most of the time, Daniel agreed with her choices, but there had been a few occasions when their tastes differed entirely.  It being his house, Sam didn't say anything when that happened.  She admitted to herself that the archeologist's choices weren't bad, just not what she'd have picked if it was her house.

Daniel had rented a pickup for the purpose of hauling the furniture he purchased.  With the help of Jack and Teal'c, they all managed to get the house at least partially furnished that weekend, enough that Daniel could move in on Monday once he'd gotten certain other necessities.  At least the house had come with all of the major appliances, so he didn't have to worry about shopping for a refrigerator, stove and such.

Monday evening, SG-1 sat in the living room of Daniel's new house, eating Chinese.

"Well, I have to admit that you did good, Daniel," Jack said, looking around the place, "even if you did pick a house that would qualify as an archeological site."

Daniel looked at Sam with a "You see?  What did I tell you?" expression on his face.  Sam hid her smile the best that she could.

"Actually, Jack.  I did a little research and found out some of the history of this house. . . ." Daniel began.

"Ah!" Jack interrupted.  "Save the history lessons for later.  Right now, I'd like to propose a toast."  He got to his feet and looked at Daniel.  "To Daniel and his new house.  May they be happy together for a long, long, long time to come."

Smiling, everyone took a swallow from their glasses, four friends enjoying the fact that they were all there, alive and well.

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