CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
General Hammond invited Danny to have lunch with him the next day, so SG-1 ate their meal without the boy. Daniel mostly just poked at his food, deep in thought.
"What's wrong, Daniel?" Sam finally asked.
The archeologist put his fork down. "I told Danny about my ascension last night."
His teammates were silent for a few seconds.
"How did he take it?" Jack asked.
"He was upset that I got sick and died, but he thought the part about ascension itself was pretty cool. I didn't even try explaining the whole thing about other planes of existence. I had thought that he took everything pretty well, but I guess I was wrong. He had a nightmare. He dreamed that I died and the Ancients took me away forever."
"Crap."
"He begged me to promise him that I would never ascend and go away again. I didn't anticipate that he'd react like that. It's been days since he had a nightmare. He's had little bad moments here and there, but, all in all, he's been doing great. But this made me realize that any little thing can set him off again. I just hope that this nightmare was the only one, an isolated incident."
"He just needs a little more time to heal, Daniel," Sam said gently.
Jack watched Daniel stare at his plate of food. "Daniel, I need to say something, and I want you to hear me out."
The archeologist lifted his gaze to Jack.
"Fraiser and I were talking a few weeks ago, after your accident and Danny had that nightmare. We agreed that it might help him if he got some therapy from a child psychologist. Now, I know what you think about the psychiatric profession, but those child psychologists can do a lot of good for traumatized children."
"Jack, I don't have a problem with the psychiatric profession. I know that some psychologists and psychiatrists are good people who really help their patients. What I have a problem with is when I'm the one on the couch, so to speak. I will never feel at ease being under the scrutiny of or even just being questioned by a psychiatrist, not after what happened with MacKenzie. But, as for Danny, if you can give a child psychologist clearance to know all about him, who and what he is, I will let him get some therapy."
"Okay, then. Fraiser mentioned that they found somebody they think will be perfect. We'd have mentioned it sooner, but it's just been one thing after another. All that has to be done is for the person to be given clearance and told the whole story. I'll let Fraiser and Hammond know that they can move forward. It'll be fine, Daniel. You'll see."
After lunch, Sam walked with Daniel as he headed back to his office.
"Do you want to postpone our date tonight?" she asked. "I'd understand if you wanted to stay with Danny."
"I don't know. I'll ask him. I know that he was looking forward to spending time with his babysitter."
"Who did you get? Cassie again?"
"No, she had other plans. I got Jon."
Surprised, Sam stared at him. "Jon? As in the colonel's clone?"
"Yep. He told me that he'd watch Danny if I ever needed a babysitter. I decided to take him up on it."
Sam smiled. "That should be interesting. I almost wish I could see that."
"Yeah." Daniel also smiled. "I just hope Jon doesn't corrupt him."
When the archeologist asked Danny if he'd rather have Daniel stay home that night, the boy immediately said no, that he wanted Daniel to go on the date with Sam.
At 6:30, Jon arrived, having taken a cab to get there. Daniel stayed a few minutes longer, talking with the teenager, then he left to go pick Sam up. When her door opened and he saw her, his breath whooshed out of his lungs. The dress was red. It clung to her body like it was glued on, showing off every curve. The halter top plunged sensually, revealing just the right amount of cleavage. The hem ended three inches above her knees, showing off a tantalizing bit of thigh.
"Holy. . . ." Daniel pulled in a deep breath. "Sam, are you trying to kill me?"
Sam smiled, blushing just a little. The look that had been in Daniel's eyes when he first saw her made her skin feel like it was burning. And he was still staring at her. Maybe she had gone too far with this dress. When a woman wore a dress like this on a date, it usually meant just one thing. Sam could not deny that she wanted that thing, and she knew that Daniel wanted it, too, but were they ready for that step? This would be just their second date.
"Let me get my wrap," she said.
As she turned away, Daniel saw that the dress was cut low in the back. He wanted to run his fingertips down that bare skin, to kiss the entire length of her neck and all the way down her spine. The dress was an open invitation for more than just a date, and he desperately wanted to accept that invitation.
They were welcomed warmly at Roberto's. Daniel and Sam had to wonder how many on the staff knew about them. Fortunately, everyone was too polite to say anything about that previous dinner.
The couple's conversation before and during dinner was quieter than their first date. Daniel talked about Sha're, his life with her and the Abydonians. Sam told him about Jonas Hanson. They touched each other several times, sometimes in comfort, other times just because they wanted to. They left the restaurant holding hands.
It still being fairly early, they decided to catch a movie. They chose a romantic comedy to lighten the mood. They watched it with Daniel's arm over Sam's shoulders, his fingers occasionally caressing her skin. Each time that he did, it sent a shiver through Sam.
As they left the theater, they talked about some of the scenes, how they did and did not agree with the actions of the leading man and woman. They came to a stop beside Daniel's car.
"Thank you for another great date, Sam," Daniel said. "I really enjoyed it."
"So did I."
"Well, I . . . I guess we should get home. It's getting kind of late."
"Yeah."
They got in the car and left the parking lot. As they were pulling up to a corner, Daniel reached for the turn signal, preparing to turn left, the way they needed to go to get to Sam's house. Her hand on his arm stopped him.
"Don't," she said.
Daniel looked at her. "Sam?"
"Go straight."
Daniel's heart skipped a beat. If they went straight, they'd be heading toward his house. Did this mean what he thought it did?
Pulling away from the stop sign, Daniel went straight. A few minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway of his house. There was a long silence after the engine was shut off.
"Sam. . . ." Daniel began.
"Come on. I want to say hi to Jon, see if he and Danny left the place in one piece."
Not saying anything in reply, Daniel followed her to the door. Going inside, they saw that all the furniture and appliances seemed to be in the same condition they were in when Daniel left. The kitchen, however, appeared to have been turned into a crayon art gallery, with pictures taped up everywhere.
Jon was on the couch, watching TV. He stood up when they came in.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Wow, Carter. That is some dress! My teenage hormones are raging here."
Sam blushed.
"I see that you two didn't tear up the place," Daniel observed. "But what's with the art gallery in the kitchen?"
"Oh, we were just having some fun, that's all. Daniel, I'll be happy to babysit Danny any time you want. He's quite the kid. We had lots of fun." He smiled. "And speaking of having fun, I'll just get going now." He gave them a meaningful look, which Daniel chose to ignore.
"Do you want me to drive you home?" the archeologist asked.
"Nope. I called a cab when I saw you guys pull in. It should be here soon. I'll wait for it outside." He walked past them. "Have a good night, you two." He was out the door before either Daniel or Sam could say anything.
His throat suddenly feeling dry, Daniel went into the kitchen. It was necessary to remove several pictures to get in the cupboard with the glasses.
"Would you like some water or something?" he asked.
"Yes, please."
Daniel poured two glasses, handing one to Sam. They both looked around at the artwork.
Sam smiled. She pointed at one. "Daniel, look at that one."
Daniel stared at it. Could that be. . . . "Is that the Ancient Repository of Knowledge?"
"I think so."
The picture was apparently of Jack's head being swallowed by an Ancient repository – with teeth.
Daniel laughed and looked around some more. "There," he said, pointing at another. It showed a very, very old man with a young woman beside him. The man was staring down at the ground, where a few teeth lay, apparently just having fallen out of his nearly toothless mouth. There was a speech bubble above him that said, "Oh, fer crying' out loud! Where's that dang Denture Cream?!"
"Argos!" Daniel and Sam shouted at the same time, then laughed.
The next one they found was clearly an image of the Nox, only with hugely exaggerated hair, complete with a few trees sprouting out of it. There were animals living within their hair, birds flittering above. Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were all standing together, staring at the aliens.
"Jack, we have to protect them," Daniel was saying in the picture. "Those ecosystems must be preserved for future generations."
Daniel and Sam burst into laughter again.
The next one they spotted was obviously of SG-1's robot doubles. The robot of Jack was saying, "We're better, stronger, faster!" The human Jack was standing by a wall, having just unplugged a power cord that led to Robot Jack. "Hope the Duracells are all charged up," he was saying with an evil smile. The picture brought on more laughter.
Still another one showed a dog sitting on the ground, its held forlornly in its paws. Sitting beside the dog was Jack, who appeared to be scratching behind his ear with his foot. "I just knew Ma'chello was going to get even," the dog was saying. Jack was saying, "Woof!" Daniel was standing off to the side. "Cheer up, Jack. You've always said that dogs are your favorite people."
"These are really funny," Sam said, laughing.
"Yes, they are. It's too bad they're all pictures of things that are classified. He could get a job drawing comics."
"If I didn't know that the colonel would shoot us, I'd take them to the SGC and post them on the bulletin board."
"We have to keep these. I can torture Jack with some of them."
They began gathering up the pictures, separating out the ones that were recognizable as scenes from SG-1's adventures. Daniel and Sam kept laughing and giggling. One in particular nearly put Sam on the floor. It showed Jack talking to an ascended Daniel, who was glaring at him, arms crossed. In the background was Jonas, who was running around frantically, the seat of his pants on fire. Jack was saying, "Well, how was I to know that you wanted me to save your spot on the team? You never call. You never write."
"I know I shouldn't laugh," Sam gasped. "Poor Jonas. But it's just too funny."
Just then, Daniel found another one. "Uh, take a look at this one," he said, handing it to Sam. The picture showed Daniel lying on the floor, unconscious. Sam was kneeling beside him, her mouth sealed over his. Teal'c and Jack were observing. "Major Carter seemed most eager to be the one to perform rescue breathing on Daniel Jackson," Teal'c was saying. "I've never seen rescue breathing done with tongue," was Jack's comment.
"I really hope he did that one after Danny went to bed," Daniel said. "If he didn't, you can bet that he left the explanation of the tongue remark up to me."
Sam smiled. "I'm afraid that your fear of Jon corrupting Danny may prove to be well-founded."
They kept looking at the drawing for a few seconds longer, then their eyes met. In a single move, Daniel tossed the drawing on the table, pulled Sam into his arms and covered her mouth with his. The kiss instantly ignited into a raging fire. Moaning, their hands slid over each other's bodies touching, stroking and pulling at clothing. Daniel's tie landed on the table.
With an unspoken agreement, they moved out of the dining room, never letting go of each other. They were heading for Daniel's bedroom, but ended up on the couch instead, Sam straddling Daniel's lap. His hands went to her breasts, his mouth on her throat. Grasping his shoulders, Sam threw her head back, rocking her hips against his. Daniel's hands moved down to the bare skin of her thighs and began pushing her dress up, his hands coming to rest on her buttocks, wrenching a moan from deep in her throat.
Daniel was getting ready to pull Sam's dress over her head when he froze, having heard something. And then they both heard something.
"Daniel?"
Danny's little voice had Daniel and Sam moving so fast that even Bra'tac would have been impressed by their speed. In five seconds flat, Sam was off Daniel's lap, her dress was back in place, and her hair smoothed back. Daniel's clothing had been straightened, and he'd grabbed a tissue to wipe any possible traces of lipstick off his mouth.
Danny came into the living room, rubbing sleepy eyes.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" Daniel asked, managing to sound normal despite the fact that he was rather out of breath.
"I had a nightmare, and then I heard a noise."
"What kind of noise?"
"Kind of a moan."
Daniel and Sam blushed brightly, knowing what moan he had heard.
"Uhhhh, you were probably just still dreaming," Daniel said. "Can you tell me about the nightmare?"
"The Ancients came. They said that you had to ascend and go with them or you'd die."
Daniel sighed. He patted the cushion beside him. The boy sat down.
"Danny, there's something I should discuss with you. Do you know what psychiatrists and psychologists are?"
Danny nodded. "Dad said that Nick should go to one because of the things he said about the crystal skull."
"Oh. Yes, I remember that. Okay, there is a type of psychologist that treats children, helping kids who have experienced something terrible and are having problems because of it, like what happened with you because of the memories of seeing Mom and Dad die."
"You mean like the nightmares?"
"Yes. I'd like you to see one, Danny. I think it will help with the nightmares and other things."
"Did you see one when Mom and Dad died?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid it didn't do me much good. She got there too late to really get through to me."
"Would you be there when I'm with the psychologist?"
"Would you like me to be there?"
Danny nodded.
"Then I will be."
"And maybe you can talk to them about what happened to Mom and Dad, too, so that you'll feel better."
"It wouldn't be their job to treat me, Danny. They'd be there for you. Besides, I'm not a child anymore."
"I know, but you're still sad about Mom and Dad's death."
Daniel met Sam's eyes for a fleeting moment, seeing sorrow and understanding there.
"We can talk about this later, Danny," he said. "You should go back to bed."
Sam stood up and held her hand out to the boy. "Come on. I'll tell you a funny story."
Daniel remained on the couch, his head lying on the backrest. He listened to the sound of Sam telling Danny about one of the funnier things that happened to SG-1 on a mission. About fifteen minutes later, she came back out and sat beside the archeologist.
"He does have a point, you know," she said after a moment.
"You mean about my unresolved issues concerning my parents' deaths? It's been thirty years, Sam. I learned to live with and accept it a long time ago." He met her eyes, and he knew that she was thinking about that moment he cried in her arms. His gaze fell from hers. "Danny's the one who needs the help. He's the one we need to focus on."
Sam decided not to push the issue, though she believed that it would do Daniel a lot of good to talk to a professional about his parents.
Daniel smiled. "Well, this evening didn't turn out quite the way I was hoping it would when you asked to come home with me."
Sam also smiled. "I guess we got a taste of what it can be like for parents."
Daniel looked at Sam. "You're still welcome to stay the night. There is a guest room."
"That probably wouldn't be a good idea. The temptation would be too great."
Daniel's gaze intensified. "Yeah." His wilder side was telling him to take her into his bedroom. His cautious side was saying that Danny could wake up again, and, next time, they wouldn't be able to make themselves presentable in a matter of seconds.
"I'll call a taxi," Sam said, hiding the regret from her voice.
She placed the call. After hanging up the phone, she looked at Daniel. Having no need for words, they went into each other's arms. As they waited, Daniel held Sam close, running his hand up and down her arm. Her head was on his shoulder.
Daniel's hand slid down to hers. He entwined his fingers with hers and gazed at their joined hands for a long moment. His love for her swelled inside his chest.
"Sam," he said, his voice very quiet. "Maybe it's too soon for me to say this, but I . . . I want you to know." He tilted her face up, meeting her eyes. "I love you, Sam, with all my heart."
Sam drew in a sharp breath. Then her face brightened. "I love you, too, Daniel."
A smile touched Daniel's face. "You do?"
"Yes, very much."
Their lips met in a long, slow kiss that seemed to last for hours, but was really only half a minute or so. They smiled into each other's eyes.
"I keep thinking about that song from the night club," Daniel said. "All these years, I've been looking at you, and I never saw what was right in front of my eyes, that the kind of love I thought I'd never find again after Sha're died was with me all this time."
"I feel the same way, Daniel. After I put aside the feelings I had for you during those first few months, I really did just look at you as a friend. More than once in my life, I thought that I'd found love, but I think that, deep inside, my heart always knew that there was something missing." She gazed at Daniel. "And there you were for all these years, the missing piece."
Their lips came together again. A honk outside ended the kiss.
They stood up, and Sam retrieved her wrap from the dining room. Daniel walked with her out to the waiting taxi and opened the door for her. He bent down and gave her a parting kiss after she'd gotten in.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.
Daniel stood on the curb and watched the taxi disappear into the night, then he went back into the house. Though he and Sam had not made love tonight as he'd hoped they would, to him, it didn't matter. Tonight, Sam had spoken three words that filled him with more joy than he had ever known.
With a smile on his face, Daniel got ready for bed. He fell asleep thinking of the woman he loved.
The next morning, after dropping Danny off at his office, Daniel went to Sam's lab. Pulling her to a corner of the room that the camera couldn't see, he gave her a slow, deep kiss.
"I love you," he murmured against her lips.
"I love you, too," Sam said back to him.
Daniel smiled. "So, about that third date."
Any reply Sam may have given was interrupted by the announcement of an unscheduled off-world activation. They went to the control room and learned that a man who claimed to be a rebel Jaffa was requesting that Teal'c and the rest of SG-1 meet him. He said that his name was Ryk'l and that he had important information regarding the Jaffa in the service of the Goa'uld Moloc.
Jack and Teal'c had also come to the control room. The colonel turned to the Jaffa.
"Do you know this guy?"
"I do not. However, others have said that many of Moloc's Jaffa wish to be free. Bra'tac has sought to speak with them, but he has been unsuccessful so far. If this Ryk'l speaks the truth, this may afford us the opportunity to aid them."
"And it could also be an attempt to set a trap to grab you and the rest of us." Jack turned to Hammond. "Sir, I suggest that we tell him to call back. That'll give us the opportunity to decide what we're going to do."
Hammond nodded and told the technician to turn the microphone back on. He told Ryk'l to dial them again in one hour.
Daniel requested that someone go to his office to check on Danny and tell him that Daniel was going to be gone for a while longer. Once that was done, SG-1 and Hammond went to the briefing room. Teal'c began by explaining what he had heard about Moloc's Jaffa.
Daniel then told them what he knew. "Moloch, also called Molech, was the sun god of the Canaanites in old Palestine. He was sometimes associated with Ba'al. Unlike many other gods in mythology, who are portrayed as having both good and evil qualities, Moloch is shown as utterly evil. In the eighth through sixth century B.C.E., firstborn children were sacrificed to him by the Israelites to renew the strength of the sun's fire."
"Teal'c, what is your recommendation about meeting with this Ryk'l?" Hammond asked.
"Though, as O'Neill said, there is a chance that this is a trap, I believe that it is worth the risk. If we can turn many of Moloc's Jaffa against him, it would be a great victory."
"It might be a good idea if we have another team with us, sir," Jack suggested.
"It may be that, if we do not come alone, Ryk'l will not show himself," Teal'c responded. "He is taking a great risk in contacting us. The planet that he is on is in Moloc's domain and most likely has many Jaffa who are loyal to him."
Hammond pondered on the situation. "All right, you have a go. I will not send another team with you, but I want you to check in within an hour. If we don't hear from you in an hour and a half, I will send through two other teams. We'll find out from Ryk'l when he contacts us again when he can meet with you."
"Yes, sir," Jack said.
The briefing over, Daniel went to his office. He told Danny that he would be going on a mission soon.
"We shouldn't be gone more than a few hours," he explained, "but, just in case we do have to stay overnight, I'll make arrangements for you to stay with someone."
"Is it a dangerous mission?" Danny asked.
"I don't know. It could be. Almost every mission we go on carries some risk, especially if it has something to do with the Goa'uld, like this one does. We'll be as careful as we can be, Danny."
When Ryk'l contacted them again, he said that he'd meet with them tomorrow morning. The meeting place was about a twenty-minute walk from the Stargate.
Daniel talked with Janet, and she said that she could watch Danny tomorrow night, if it was necessary. The arrangements made, Daniel got busy on learning more about the god Moloch in mythology.
At 0800 the next morning, the gate on P3X-955 was dialed. Danny was in the gate room, saying goodbye to Daniel and the others.
"Be safe," he told them.
"Hey, don't worry, Danny," Jack said, ruffling his hair. "We do this kind of thing all the time, and we've always managed to come back. Sometimes, we were a bit worse for wear, but we came back."
The wormhole was established. With a goodbye to Danny, SG-1 stepped through the gate.
They did end up meeting Ryk'l at the arranged spot, but things did not go exactly as they had hoped. Only moments after meeting Ryk'l, they were all attacked by a party of Jaffa. Ryk'l was killed.
An intense firefight was going on between SG-1 and the Jaffa when, all of a sudden, someone else began firing upon the Jaffa, who were all brought down in a matter of seconds. SG-1 received a surprise when their rescuers revealed themselves to be a group of female Jaffa. SG-1 was asked to come with them. The appearance of a glider made it clear that things were going to get hot very soon, if they didn't leave. A dark-skinned woman who appeared to be leading the group confirmed that the Stargate would not remain accessible for long, and they needed to hurry.
Everyone's surprise at the turn of events turned to shock when a female Jaffa with short reddish-brown hair knelt beside a male Jaffa felled in the battle. As SG-1 looked on, stunned, she removed the larva from the man's symbiote pouch and put it in a metal jar, then sealed the jar.
"What is she doing?" Daniel asked.
"There is no time to explain here," the leader said, "please come with us."
The woman who had removed the larva apparently objected to this, exclaiming in Goa'uld. The dark-skinned one answered back in the same language, and the two argued for a bit.
"Hey, what's going on?" Jack asked.
Teal'c gestured at the leader. "This one believes we should return to her planet," he indicated the other woman. "That one believes it would not be wise."
The dark-skinned woman turned to SG-1. "Please. We knew you would be here."
"How?" Teal'c asked, suspicious of these women, as well as angry about the larva being taken.
"Our intelligence network runs deep within the Jaffa of Moloc. We came to ask for help. I promise you will be safe."
"Well, they did save us," Daniel pointed out.
Hoping they were making the right decision, SG-1 decided to go with them.
