CHAPTER THREE
The smell of cooking food awoke Sam the next morning. She entered the kitchen to find Daniel busy making eggs, bacon and buttermilk pancakes.
"Good morning," he greeted cheerfully. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good. Wow, Daniel. If I had known that you'd spoil me like this, I'd have invited you to stay over every time I got hurt and had to recuperate at home. For that matter, I'd have asked you to stay over every time I got the flu."
Daniel chuckled. "Well, you'll just have to remember this in the future."
"Yes, I will. And the next time it's you who's laid up at home, I'll have to return the favor."
"Not necessary, Sam. I'm happy to do this for you.
"Don't be so quick to turn down my offer, Daniel. I don't go to the effort of cooking for just anyone, you know. That's only reserved for special people in my life."
Daniel looked at her, smiling. "Well, in that case, I accept. The very next time I'm shot, blown up, fall over a cliff, have an internal organ rupture, or whatever, I'll let you take care of me afterwards."
"Deal."
After breakfast, Sam did some work on her laptop as Daniel resumed his own work. They kept at it until lunch. They'd just finished eating when there was a knock on the door.
"Five bucks says that's Jack and Teal'c," Daniel said.
"No bet," Sam responded.
Daniel answered the door and, sure enough, the other half of SG-1 was on the other side.
"Teal'c and I were out and about and thought we'd drop by to see how you're doing," Jack told them.
"We're doing fine, sir," Sam responded. "Daniel is taking excellent care of me."
"Is he now? Well, that's good. I can't remember him doing that with me the few times that I've been in this situation."
"There's a very good reason for that, Jack," Daniel said. "Unlike you, Sam actually let's me do things for her. Every time I tried to help you out when you were recovering from an injury, you always insisted on doing everything yourself, even if it just about killed you. I finally gave up even trying."
"Hey, I was willing to let you help me when I broke my leg that last time."
"Jack, you offered to let me wax your car for you. That isn't what I had in mind when I came over to see if you needed anything."
"Well, it needed waxing," Jack muttered. "And you should have considered it an honor that I'd be willing to let you do it. I don't let any old Tom, Dick or Harry wax my car, you know."
"Ah. Well, I will be sure to respond with the proper air of humble gratitude next time."
Jack shot him a glare, then turned to Sam. "So, what have the two of you been doing to occupy your time? I know that I hate being cooped up with an injury."
'Well, now there's a newsflash,' Daniel said to himself, remembering how bad a mood Jack got in every time he was forced to rest because of an injury.
"Nothing exciting, sir. Daniel's been working mostly, and I did a bit of work as well. Other than that, just some reading, chatting, and a little TV."
"The Discovery Channel, Jack," Daniel told him. "I'm sure you would have found it fascinating." A little spark of mischief lit inside him. "Sam and I are planning a two month vacation in Australia."
To Sam's credit, she managed to keep the surprise off her face.
"You're what?!" Jack exclaimed.
"I've always wanted to go there and study the history and culture of the Aborigines. We figured that, to do it right, we'd need at least a couple of months. We'd make it even longer, but we wouldn't want to take too much time off from saving the galaxy."
Jack looking back and forth between the two of them, staring at them piercingly. "You're kidding, right? I mean, that was a joke, wasn't it?" He paused. "Two months?" He was nearly whining when he spoke the last two words.
Their faces totally serious, Daniel and Sam looked at each other. Then they suddenly broke into laughter. They turned back to Jack.
Realizing that they'd been yanking his chain, Jack grabbed Daniel by the back of the neck and gave him a slight shake. "Why you. . . . I'll get you for that one, Daniel," he growled.
The archeologist grinned broadly. "Hey, we could all go together, Jack. You could go off and have fun chasing kangaroos and learning how to throw a boomerang. You know, I bet a boomerang would penetrate one of those Goa'uld personal shields since they move relatively slowly."
"Yeah, I can just see myself requesting that we add boomerangs to the standard armament for all SG teams."
"It would be most interesting to travel to Australia," Teal'c stated. "The wildlife there is unlike any I have ever encountered, and the history of the natives is that of a strong, proud and noble people. They have suffered greatly at the hands of the white men who colonized the continent, yet some tribes have managed to preserve their culture and beliefs despite the odds against them."
Daniel looked at the Jaffa in surprise. "You know about the Aborigines?"
"Indeed. I have read much about them and have also watched programs on television."
"Yeah, well, don't go booking your plane tickets yet," Jack said. "We've got more important things to do than run around with a bunch of naked guys with spears."
"Jack, only some Aboriginal tribes wore no clothing, and that practice was halted a very long time ago," Daniel informed him. "In fact, the larger portion of the Aboriginal populace live within cities and towns now."
"Whatever. The Land Down Under will just have to wait for you. The rest of the galaxy's got first dibs on your time. Okay, back to what I was going to say. T and I thought that we'd come over tonight with some pizza and beer, maybe catch a—"
"No!" Daniel and Sam exclaimed at the same time, startling Jack.
"Well, why the hell not?" he asked petulantly.
"Pizza and beer are fine, Jack," Daniel told him, "but under no circumstances are we going to watch hockey. Got it?"
"But—"
"My house and my TV, sir," Sam reminded him.
Jack gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. No hockey."
"Then you are welcome to come over tonight, Colonel. We'd be happy to have you."
"Great. Say around seven? We'll pick up the pizzas on the way over."
"That would be good."
Jack and Teal'c left a few minutes later. Sam smiled at Daniel.
"Well, we were right," Sam said. "Pizza and beer . . . and a plea to watch hockey."
"Yep. In some ways, Jack can be frighteningly predictable."
The rest of the day passed quietly. That night, along with the food, Jack also brought a couple of videos since they weren't going to let him watch a game. It was a nice evening, and everyone had a good time.
The next morning, Sam awoke earlier. She got up to find the house empty. Figuring that Daniel must have gone out to get something, she went to take her shower. She'd just exited the bathroom when the front door opened to admit Daniel, who was dressed in sweats and had apparently been out jogging.
Not noticing her presence, he stripped off his sweatshirt, baring his upper body, and Sam suddenly found herself breathless. Even though they'd been teammates for almost seven years, Sam had rarely seen Daniel without his shirt on, and virtually every time she had was when he was in the infirmary. Now, suddenly presented with the opportunity, she stared shamelessly at his body, unaware that her jaw was hanging open. Whoa. Okay, she knew that he worked out a lot nowadays. She'd seen the results. But, at that moment, seeing him standing there, naked from the waist up, his skin glistening with sweat, it really hit her. Doctor Daniel Jackson, holder of three PhD's and owner of a brain that could think circles around most other people, looked like something straight out of the pages of Playgirl Magazine.
'Holy Hannah! Did it suddenly get warm in here?' Sam asked herself. 'Why is my mouth so dry?'
At that moment, Daniel noticed his audience and froze, his own mouth dropping open. Sam was dressed it a lightweight, satiny robe that clung to her damp skin like it was glued on. Almost against his will, Daniel's eyes gravitated to her breasts, which he could clearly see the outlines of against the material.
'Oh, damn,' Daniel cursed silently as he felt a spark of arousal blossom inside. With an effort, he dragged his eyes upward to her face. "Uh-uh, Sam. I-I didn't expect you up yet," he stammered.
"Huh?" Sam cleared her throat and regained control of herself. "Oh, um, yeah. I woke up early and decided to go ahead and get up." Just then, she remembered that she was only dressed in a robe. "I'll, uh, go get dressed."
"Yeah. I . . . I need to take a shower."
As Sam quickly escaped to her bedroom, Daniel hurriedly grabbed some clothes from the closet and went into the bathroom. Once safely inside, he leaned back against the door. Okay, that was close, way too close. For a single irrational moment, he'd been fighting against the urge to stride across the room, take her into his arms and kiss the breath out of her. Not good. Not good at all. They were only just starting their third day together, and his self-control was already getting a major workout. Daniel was beginning to wonder if he was strong enough to make it though the week without letting Sam know how he felt. Should he even bother trying? If he hadn't misunderstood Jacob, there was a chance that Sam might be agreeable to taking their relationship to the next level. But could he take the chance, gamble a sure thing – Sam's friendship – on something that may or may not be true? Perhaps it was time to start feeling her out about this. He would have to be extremely careful, though, very subtle. Okay, he could do subtle.
Decision made, Daniel stripped and went to take his shower, thinking that maybe he should make it a cold one.
Sam sat rather heavily on her bed, still feeling a bit overheated.
'Okay, what was that? You were just turned on, extremely turned on, by the sight of your half-naked best friend, a man you've worked with for going on seven years. That is not supposed to happen. That's Daniel, remember? Sweet, gentle, caring . . . gorgeous, passionate, sexy. . . . Oh, boy.' Sam lowered her head into her hands. 'Get a grip, Samantha. Yes, he is gorgeous. You already knew that. It was simply made a whole lot more evident a moment ago. You are a healthy, heterosexual woman, after all. It is totally logical that you'd experience, um, feelings when presented with the naked chest of a very handsome and well-built man. It was just a normal, physiological response to stimuli. That's all. Just a momentary thing. It won't happen again, and you will not start thinking about the fact that Daniel is, at this very moment, totally naked and taking a shower in your bath—'
Sam leapt off her bed and went to the closet. 'Not gonna think about it. Not gonna think about it,' she chanted as she almost frantically searched through her clothes for something to wear. She picked an oversized sweater that hung down past her hips and an old, worn pair of jeans that were a size too big. She did not even try to analyze why she'd chosen to wear the least attractive clothing she owned.
By the time she was dressed and felt ready to face Daniel, he was in the kitchen making breakfast. Thankfully, he'd chosen to wear loose-fitting Dockers, and his shirt was untucked. Sam wasn't sure she'd have been able to handle it if he had been wearing those black jeans that she knew were hanging in the coat closet. They would most definitely have set her off again.
Breakfast was eaten in silence, each of them giving the other furtive glances when they thought it wouldn't be noticed. Daniel was the first one to break the silence.
"You know, I got to thinking about something."
"What's that?"
"Well, you know how we teased Jack about going on vacation in Australia?"
"Uh huh."
"Do you realize that, during all these years that we've known each other, we have never once gone on a vacation together?"
Sam stopped to think about it and realized that he was right. "You're right. We haven't. Why is that?"
"I don't know. Well, actually, I do. When is the last time that either one of us went on a vacation at all, left the city and went somewhere to have fun or to relax?"
"A really long time."
"Exactly. Most of the time, when we're given leave, we spend it doing some kind of project that we've been wanting to work on for ages but never seem to find the time for. The few times that Jack made us leave the mountain during our leave, we took work home with us, or at least I know I did."
"I did, too," Sam admitted.
"You know, thinking about it, the last time I took time off and actually went somewhere was when I attended Doctor Jordan's funeral." He shook his head. "And look how that turned out."
"So, given our habit of working while on leave, I guess it's not so strange that we've never gone on one together."
"Yeah." Daniel studied her face. "Soooo . . . would you like to?"
Sam returned his gaze, surprise on her face. "You mean go vacationing together?"
"Sure, why not? Maybe we could take a road trip, see the sights in and around Colorado. I think it would be fun."
Sam thought about the idea and had to agree that going on a road trip with Daniel would, indeed, be fun. "Just the two of us? Not the colonel and Teal'c?"
Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "Sam, would you really want to go on a road trip with Jack?"
Sam thought about that. "Um . . . no."
Daniel smiled. "I didn't think so. He'd get bored if we spent more than five minutes anywhere that he didn't want to go, would put a halt to any conversations that he couldn't follow along with, and would probably want to go fishing in every lake we came within twenty miles of."
Sam grinned, thinking that Daniel had just perfectly described how Jack would likely be. "Okay, just the two of us, then, since I really can't picture taking Teal'c on a road trip."
"Nooo, that could be . . . scary," Daniel agreed. He looked at Sam closely again. "So, does this mean that you'd really be willing to do that?"
Sam made a sudden decision. "Yeah. Yeah, I would. Like you said, I think it would be fun, and we are way, way overdue for doing something like that."
Daniel rewarded her statement with a huge smile. "Great! The next time we get some leave, we'll have to do that." Daniel's smile abruptly disappeared. "Oh. I just thought of something."
"What?"
"Pete."
"Oh." Sam was ashamed to admit that, yet again, she had not thought about her boyfriend and what his thoughts would be. Would Pete be willing to let her go off alone with Daniel on a vacation? Probably not. In fact, there was no 'probably' about it. He would definitely not like the idea. She could hear his reaction now.
Sam roused out of her thoughts and turned her attention back to Daniel. Where, a moment ago, he was looking so happy, he was now staring at the table, and, though he was obviously trying to hide it, she could see the disappointment on his face. Seeing that expression hardened her will.
"Hey," she said softly. "It's true that Pete wouldn't like the idea of me going off on a vacation with you, but it's my life and my decision. You're my friend, Daniel, my best friend, and I have the right to spend whatever time with you that I want to. Pete will just have to accept that."
Daniel lifted his gaze to hers. "Are you sure, Sam? I wouldn't want to cause trouble between you."
"Daniel, if my relationship with Pete couldn't handle me going on vacation with you, then I really couldn't say much for that relationship, could I. If Pete trusts me, then he should know that nothing would happen between you and me."
"Sam, I don't think the issue would be whether or not he trusts you."
"What? You believe he'd think that you would try to take advantage of me?"
"Well, he doesn't know me, Sam. You are a beautiful, desirable woman, and I'd be spending every day alone in your company and every night in the same hotel. He's a guy, Sam. Of course he's going to think that. I'd think the same thing in his position."
Sam only half-heard most of what Daniel had just said. She was too busy fixating on the fact that he had just called her beautiful and desirable. Did he really think of her that way? She'd always believed that Daniel didn't think much about the fact that she was a woman. No, that wasn't right. Daniel was definitely aware that she was a woman. It just surprised her that he might look at her from the perspective of a man looking at an attractive woman. The realization that he did look at her like that, at least sometimes, pleased her a lot more than it really should have.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.
His question broke through her thoughts. "Um, nothing." The blush that appeared on her face announced that she was lying.
Daniel smiled puzzledly. "Sam, are you blushing? What is it?"
She shook her head. "No, it's silly. Just forget it."
Daniel responded by staring at her without mercy. She heaved a sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to let up.
"It just kind of surprised me that you would say that."
"Say what?" It suddenly dawned on Daniel what she was talking about. "You mean when I called you beautiful and desirable? Sam, I may wear glasses, but I'm not blind. Did you really think I never noticed how attractive you are?"
"I, um . . . I just believed that you never thought about it."
Daniel shook his head slightly. "Sam, I'm not your brother. But then, even if I was, I'd have to be an idiot not to see how beautiful you are. As for the . . . other part of that statement, yes, I do recognize that you are a woman who would be desirable to men." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "I may be an honorary monk these days, but I'm definitely still a man."
Sam laughed. "An honorary monk, huh?"
"Pretty much."
"How come?"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, come on, Daniel. You can't tell me that no woman in the past few years has shown an interest in you. That's impossible."
This time, it was Daniel who blushed. Yes, there had been some women who'd made no secret of the fact that they were interested in him. He'd even gotten asked out a few times. Heck, there had been a couple of women who'd wanted to skip past the whole dating thing and go straight to the main event.
"Um . . . yes, I've gotten asked out a few times," he admitted uncomfortably.
"But you turned them down."
"Yeah."
"Why?" A thought occurred to Sam. "Is it because of Sha're?" she asked gently.
"It used to be. It was for a long time. But not now, not since I descended."
"So, why, then?"
Daniel did not answer for several seconds. They were getting into dangerous territory now. "Lack of interest," he finally replied, which was the truth. All those other women held no interest for him. There was only one woman he wanted to be with, and she was sitting right there across the table from him. "I'm not a casual dater, never have been. If I'm not really interested in a woman, I generally prefer not to get into the dating thing."
"What about Sarah?" Sam blurted out, immediately regretting it. Sarah had only just been freed from Osirus, and she knew that Daniel's emotions were still touchy about what had happened.
The archeologist paused for quite a while, schooling his face. "You mean now or back when we were together?"
"Um . . . both. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, Daniel. I shouldn't have brought her up."
"No, it's okay. It's a valid question. Like I told you before, I did have feelings for her back then. I really don't know if I was in love. The number of relationships I had in college was just about zip, and I had none at all in high school. When I met Sarah, we hit it off right away. We shared the same passion for archeology, specifically Egyptology. We became good friends, and it developed from there. What I felt for her was a lot stronger than what I'd ever felt for any other woman. Looking back on it now, though, after having loved Sha're, I know that what I felt for Sarah wasn't strong enough to have lasted. Just the fact that my research superseded our relationship told me that. As for now, I will always care about Sarah. She will always have a special place in my heart, but she and I are different people now. It could never go back to the way it was before, even if I wanted it to, which I don't."
Sam nodded. "So, Daniel Jackson's just going to stay the lone wolf?"
He looked into her eyes. "I hope not, not forever," he replied softly.
Sam gave him a smile and covered his hand with hers. "It won't be. I'm sure that, someday, you'll find someone. You just have to keep looking."
Daniel gave her a faint smile, then gathered the dirty dishes and took them to the sink. 'Oh, Sam,' he thought as he rinsed off the dishes. 'What would you say if I told you that I didn't have to look any farther than the person who is sitting at your table at this very minute?'
