CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Not quite a week after Christmas, Sam finally got her cast off.  Compared to her other forearm, the left one looked thin and fragile, and the major knew that she was going to have to do some serious workouts in the gym to get it back in shape.  She'd also have to do some special exercises to regain the mobility in her wrist joint, which felt stiff and weak.

"Now, don't go overboard with the exercising, Sam," Janet cautioned.  "Start slowly and work your way up.  If you go slow and easy, you'll soon have that arm back to normal without suffering any discomfort."

Sam jumped off the bed.  "Got it.  I'll take it easy."

She left the infirmary and headed back to her lab, enjoying the feeling of how light her arm was without its plaster prison.

Having ten fully functional fingers and the lack of the clumsy cast sure did make a difference in how quickly she could work and what she could do without help.  She had hated being dependent on others all these weeks to do tasks that she'd been able to easily do alone before she broke her arm.  Sam vowed to never again take the lack of a handicap for granted.

It was New Year's Eve tonight, and the party was being hosted by Jack, which meant that there would be no lack of beer and other alcoholic beverages.  Sam could foresee the SGC having a whole lot of people walking around with killer hangovers in the morning.

It was just a couple of minutes after nine when Sam arrived at Jack's house.  There were already several people there, who had apparently dug right into the beverages and finger foods laid out on the table.

"Hello, Carter.  Glad you could make it," Jack greeted.

"Thanks, sir."  Sam looked around.  "Daniel and Teal'c aren't here yet?  I thought I saw Daniel's car outside."

"Yes, he's here.  He helped me set up this shindig.  He said it was the least he could do to repay me for making his house bright enough to act as a night landing pad for alien spaceships."  Jack's expression turned slightly thoughtful.  "You know, he didn't used to be that sarcastic.  I think I taught him some bad habits."

Sam fought back a smile.  At that moment, she saw the topic of their conversation come out of the kitchen.

"Hi, Sam," he greeted with a smile.

"Hi.  So, I hear that you helped with all this."

"Yep.  I made sure Jack got things for people to snack on besides potato chips and avocado dip."

"I was going to have other things," Jack insisted.

"Then why is that all that was in your house?"

"I just hadn't gone shopping yet."

Any further conversation on the subject was halted by the arrival of more people.  Among them was Teal'c.

"T!  Welcome, big guy," Jack greeted.

"Good evening, O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Major Carter."

"Hi, Teal'c," Daniel said to the Jaffa.  "So, you ready for the new year?"

"Is there a reason why I should not be?"

"Well, I can think of one," Jack said, his good mood vanishing.  "That slimy bastard will be taking office in twenty days."  He looked at Daniel almost hopefully.  "You know, there's still time for me to fix things so that he doesn't get a chance to be vice president."  Daniel just looked at him sternly, causing the colonel to sigh.  "You know, Daniel, there was a time when I'd have ignored you and done what I wanted to anyway."  A little snort of laughter from Sam made Jack turn to her.  "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking that you could say the same thing about Daniel, sir."

"Yeah, but, now, when he wants to do things his way, I haven't a chance in hell of stopping him.  Not that I had much of a chance before when he really had his mind set on something, but how do you stop someone from doing something when they can just psychically pick you up and move you out of their way?  I can't even intimidate him with my tough colonel act anymore."

"When were you ever able to intimidate me with your tough colonel act?" Daniel asked, his expression providing the answer, which was in the negative.

"Daniel Jackson is correct," Teal'c stated.  "He did appear to be immune to any attempts at intimidation from you, even before he gained his paranormal abilities."

"Well, thank you so much for confirming that to all of us, Teal'c," Jack said sarcastically.

"You are welcome, O'Neill."

The colonel looked at the two youngest members of his team, pointing at them.  "And don't either of you say another word," he growled.

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir," Sam responded, trying to keep her face straight.

The party turned out to be a rousing success.  Everyone chatted and had a good time as they waited for midnight to strike.  Daniel, who usually limited his alcohol consumption to one or two beers and a single glass of champagne, ended up drinking way more champagne than that, due to the fact that everyone at the party seemed to be insistent on sharing a drink with him.  Therefore, as the evening progressed, Daniel got to feeling quite good.  Fortunately for him and everyone else, he wasn't feeling so good that he got it in his head to play around with his abilities.

The good feeling started to wane shortly before midnight, being replaced by queasiness and the desperate need for some fresh air.  He escaped out onto the back porch.  A short while later, Sam came out to check on him.

"Daniel, are you all right?" she asked in concern.

"Just feeling a bit queasy, Sam," he explained. "I guess I've had too much to drink."

"Yes, you did seem to be downing quite a bit of champagne.  It kind of surprised me.  You usually take it easy with the alcohol."

"Yeah, I know.  People kept shoving drinks into my hand and wanting me to toast this or that.  I've been to pretty much every New Year's Eve party anyone at the SGC has thrown and you guys have attended, but I can't remember people acting like this before."

"There is one that you didn't attend, Daniel," Sam told him quietly.  "The one that was given last year.  Siler hosted that one, and General Hammond insisted that we come, though, after how the Christmas party made us all feel, none of us wanted to.  A whole lot of people talked about you at the party, and, well, it wasn't quite as festive as this one is.  That's probably why everybody has been all over you.  They're just glad that you're here."

"Oh.  I didn't think about that."

Sam looked at her watch.  "We should go back inside.  They'll be starting the countdown soon."

"You go on, Sam," Daniel told her.  "I think I'll stay out here in the fresh air.  It was really getting stuffy in there."

Sam shook her head.  "No way are you ringing in the new year alone, Daniel."

"Then . . . maybe you could stay with me?" he asked hopefully, really not wanting to be alone.  "I don't think my head would take the sound of all those noise-makers being blown."

Just then, Jack came out onto the porch.  "Hey, what are you two doing out here?  It's almost midnight."

"Daniel wasn't feeling well, sir," Sam explained.

Jack looked at the archeologist.  "What's up, Daniel?"

"Nothing, Jack.  I just had a bit too much to drink and needed some air.  Sam offered to keep me company.  I'm fine."

"So, you two going to stay out here?"

"I think so, sir," Sam replied.

"Ah.  Okay, if you insist,"  Jack said, then went back inside.

"That was odd," Sam said.  "I didn't think he'd cave in that quickly."

Her puzzlement cleared a minute later when the colonel returned, Teal'c in tow.

"If you're going to be antisocial, then so are we," he said.  "We are a team, after all."

Daniel smiled his thanks.  At that moment, the countdown began, clearly audible to the four of them, who all followed along.

"Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . Happy New Year!"

Fortunately Jack had not brought any noise-makers with him, so Daniel didn't have to resort to arson.

Sam shared a hug with him, smiling brightly.

"Happy New Year, Daniel," Jack said with heartfelt emotion.

"You too, Jack."  An odd look crossed Daniel's face.  "Now, if you will all excuse me, I'm going to go."

"Go?  Go where?" Sam asked.

"To the nearest bathroom.  You see, I'm reasonably certain that I am going to be sick very soon, and I'd rather do it in private."

Not waiting for anyone's response, he made a hasty retreat.

Jack let out a chuckle.  "Ooh, somebody's gonna have a big head in the morning."

"Looks that way, sir," Sam responded with a smile, sharing the joy her teammates felt that Daniel had been with them to share the beginning of this New Year.

As with many New Year's Eve celebrations, the party began to break up shortly after the arrival of midnight.  By 1 a.m., everyone was gone except for Janet, General Hammond and SG-1.

The general looked over at the recliner with a fond smile on his face.  The reason for the smile was the sight of a sleeping Daniel Jackson sprawled on it, his mouth hanging open slightly, the faintest of snores issuing forth.  The archeologist had plopped down in the chair about twenty minutes ago and promptly fallen asleep.  All those who had stayed behind to help Jack clean up had done so quietly, careful not to disturb the sleeping man.

"Thanks for your help, General," Jack said, coming back from the kitchen with a dish towel over his shoulder.

"It was my pleasure."  Hammond returned his gaze to Daniel.  "You'll see that our boy gets home safe and sound?"

"Don't you worry, sir.  Daniel isn't going anywhere tonight, except maybe to my guest room, that is if I can get him that far."

The general gave a chuckle.  Then his expression sobered.  "We had a great deal more to celebrate this holiday season than we did during the last one."

"Yes, we did, sir," Jack agreed, his voice telling Hammond that he was remembering the sadness of this time last year.

Hammond's expression became thoughtful as he continued to look at Daniel.  "With all the things that have been going on lately, it's sometimes hard to remember that he really is just a human being like the rest of us."

"Not so much like the rest of us, sir, but I understand what you mean.  What's good is that Daniel remembers that.  I often find myself thinking of that kind of power in the hands of someone without his morality, and, quite frankly, sir, it scares the crap out of me."

"Me too, Jack.  I pray to God that is something we never have to deal with."

A few minutes later, the general left, as did Janet.  Before leaving, the doctor pressed some pills into Jack's hand.

"For the headache he'll most likely have in the morning," she explained with a smile.

"Thanks, Janet."

Surprised at the colonel's use of her given name, Janet only nodded, then headed out the door.  The remaining three conscious people in the house stared at Daniel's dead-to-the-world form.

"I really don't think I want to be him when he wakes up in the morning," Sam said, already feeling sorry for her friend.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.  "Daniel Jackson will not be feeling well after consuming so many alcoholic beverages."

"It wasn't really his fault, though, not entirely," Sam explained with a smile and a shake of her head.  "I think that just about everyone at the party had a hand in it.  Daniel said they kept making him share toasts with them."

"They were all just glad that he was here to celebrate with them," Jack said.  "If we'd been serving alcohol at the Christmas party, Daniel probably would have gotten smashed then, too.  I guess we're just lucky that he didn't get so drunk that he started doing parlor tricks with his abilities.  A drunk pyrokinetic archeologist is not something I want to think about.  I might not have had a house left standing."  He looked at his watch.  "You two had better get going.  It's nearly 0130."

"Do you need help getting him into bed, sir?"

"I think I can manage, and, if I can't, I'll just leave him in the chair.  It reclines."

"Would Daniel Jackson not receive a more restful night's sleep in a bed?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, he would," Sam replied, not letting Jack answer, which would probably have been a wisecrack about Daniel being too drunk to know the difference.  "Which is why I think we should help get him into bed."

"Fine.  Suit yourself," was Jack's response.

With all three of them helping, they managed to get Daniel out of the chair and on the bed without jarring him too much, though he did stir a couple of times, muttering a few words in a language they weren't sure was English.  It was Sam who took off Daniel's shoes and tucked him in.  She brushed her fingers through his hair, smoothing the disheveled brown locks.

"'Night, Daniel.  Sleep well," she murmured.  Dropping her voice to a whisper, she added, "Thank you for coming back to us."

"No place else I'd rather be," the archeologist mumbled, barely understandable.  He then gave a deep sigh and snuggled down under the covers.  The slowing and deepening of his respiration told Sam that he was well and truly asleep now.

With a final smile, she exited the room, the smile lingering long after she'd left the house and was on her way home.

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