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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Feeling like two children sitting before the school principal, Daniel and Sam nervously shifted in their seats as they waited for General Hammond to finish a phone call.

The general bid the person on the phone goodbye, then hung up.  He gave the couple a smile.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"There's something that you need to be made aware of, sir," Sam began.  "It's, uh, to do with me and Daniel.  You see, sir, we've sort of become . . . involved."

A frown came to Hammond's face.  "Involved?"

"With each other," Daniel clarified.

Realization dawned in the base commander's light blue eyes.  "You are in a romantic relationship?"

Sam nodded in affirmation.  "For a few weeks now."

"I know that it's probably a big shock to you," Daniel said, "and I'm sure that you must have a lot of questions.  How it got started is very private, so we'd rather not go into it, but if there are some other things you feel that you need to know, we'll tell you what we can."

Hammond sat in silence for several seconds.  "Normally, I consider the personal relationships of people under my command to be none of my affair, unless it is against regulations, but I do have some misgivings about this, primarily your motivations and reasons for getting into this relationship, especially considering the recent death of Doctor Jackson's wife."  He looked back and forth between them.  "Are you in love with each other?"

Sam's and Daniel's eyes met for a second.

"I am in love with Daniel, sir," Sam admitted, feeling terribly embarrassed.  "I have been for a long time."

"And I love Sam, too," Daniel said, "just not in that way."

That made the general's frown return.  "Then I am afraid that I don't understand, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel could not remember ever feeling as embarrassed as he did right then.  "It's . . . complicated."

"Of that I have no doubt."

Daniel gathered his courage and met the general's eyes straight on.  "What I feel for Sam has gone beyond friendship.  I love her as a friend, but I also have feelings that a . . . a man has for a woman."

"Ah.  I believe I understand.  Without going into details, I will tell you that I have experienced the same thing."

"You have?"

"Yes, a very long time ago, before I met my wife.  Such a thing can be pretty confusing."

"Boy, have you got that right."

"I must also tell you that the relationship of which I speak did not end well."

Daniel's gaze dropped to his lap.

"What about your wife?" Hammond asked gently.

Daniel looked at him again.  "What I feel for Sha're hasn't changed, sir.  I still love her, and I still grieve for her.  But what Sam and I have now makes me happy and makes that grief easier to bear."  He looked at her.  "We make each other happy."

The general studied the two of them, wondering where this would lead.  "All right.  Thank you for telling me.  Since you are no longer on the same team, there should be no issues regarding work performance, at least none that would affect missions."

"Um, about that, sir," Sam said.  "I was wondering what you'd think if Daniel was to ever decide that he wanted to come back to SG-1."

"I would have to think long and hard on that, Major.  Two people in a romantic relationship being on the same SG team could lead to problems.  What are Colonel O'Neill's thoughts about this?"

"He's not happy about it, but he still wants Daniel back on the team."

"I see.  Very well.  I will put some thought into it.  If Doctor Jackson does decide that he wants back on SG-1, I will let you know then what my decision is."

The couple left the office.

"At least he didn't come right out and tell us that we're making a mistake," Sam said as they headed to the elevator.

"Well, technically, neither did Teal'c."

They had told the Jaffa about their relationship yesterday afternoon.  Though it was true that Teal'c did not verbally express any misgivings, the look on his face told them that he was skeptical about the wisdom of their actions.

Daniel laid a hand on Sam's back and could feel the tension there.

"Come on.  Let's get out of here," he said.  "Let's leave the base for lunch."

Deciding that she did need to get away from there for a while, Sam agreed.  They went together in Daniel's car, but the archeologist did not take them to a restaurant.  Instead, he went to his apartment.  Sam did not question him until they were inside it.

"Planning on fixing me lunch?" she asked in amusement.

"Yes, but that comes later."

Daniel had her sit sideways on the couch, and he settled behind her.  When he told her to take off her top, she realized that he intended to give her a massage.

The moment that Daniel began to work on her muscles, Sam realized that, whatever it was that he was doing, it was way more than just a massage.  He seemed to be finding all the places that hurt the most and making the ache disappear.

"Oh my God, Daniel," she said with a moan.  "That feels amazing.  Where did you learn to do this?"

"The physicians on Abydos don't just treat illnesses and injuries; they also practice a form of therapeutic massage.  But it's not like the therapeutic massages that you get here, which can be quite painful.  I asked them once where the knowledge of the technique came from, but they didn't know.  I suspect that some of the Abydonians that were Ra's personal slaves were taught how to do it, and they passed the knowledge on to their people."

"So you learned it from an Abydonian physician?"

"Yeah.  Sha're fell and hurt her back, and she was having lots of problems afterwards.  I asked one of the doctors to teach me how to do the massage so that I could give her one every night until she was no longer hurting.  I learned only a fraction of what a fully trained person would know, but it was enough."

It was no surprise to Sam that Daniel had learned how to do this in order to help Sha're.  It was exactly the kind of thing a man like him would do.

By the time Daniel reached Sam's lower back, she was pain-free and so relaxed that she felt like she could sleep for hours.  He ended the massage by wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the side of her neck.  She turned around and kissed him.

"Daniel, you are incredible," she said.  Then she smiled.  "You really do never cease to amaze."

"Well, I'm happy that I amaze you."

Sam brought her lips to Daniel's in a second kiss, thinking how lucky she was to have a man like him.

Because so much of their lunchtime had been spent on the massage, Daniel and Sam made a couple of sandwiches and ate them on the way back to the base.

Sam was in her lab, a big smile on her face, when Janet walked in.

"Wow.  You look pleased about something," the doctor said.

"Daniel took me to his apartment for lunch and gave me the most amazing massage.  It's a special kind of therapeutic massage that he learned from the doctors on Abydos.  You really need to get him to teach it to you, Janet.  My muscles were one big knot from all the stress of this whole thing, and now I feel great."

Janet's expression became one of remorse.  "I'm sorry that I'm part of the reason for that stress, Sam.  I realize now that I could have been more supportive yesterday."

"You were being honest.  I understand."

"I just worry that one or both of you are going to end up getting hurt."

"I know."

Janet looked earnestly into Sam's eyes.  "But I really do hope that it works out, Sam.  I mean that."

"Thanks."

"Have you told General Hammond yet?"

"Yes, this morning, which I think was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.  He has his concerns, like everyone else does.  He said that he would think about whether or not he'd allow Daniel back on SG-1 if Daniel ever decides he wants that."

"Colonel O'Neill would still be willing to have both of you on the team?"

Sam gave a nod.  "He wants Daniel on SG-1 regardless."

Just then, the subject of their conversation walked in.  When he saw Janet, he paused.

"Um . . . hi," he said, not knowing how to act.  Sam had told him about the talk with Janet and how the doctor reacted to the news.

Janet stared at Daniel, clearly seeing how uncomfortable he was in her presence.  It saddened her.  She didn't want her opinion of his and Sam's relationship to get in the way of her friendship with them.

Though Sam had told her not to talk to Daniel about the situation, Janet realized that she really needed to know his thoughts and feelings.  But it would probably be best to talk to him when he was alone.

"So was there something that you wanted, Janet?" Sam asked.

"Oh, yes.  I almost forgot."  The doctor pulled something out of her lab coat pocket and handed it to Sam.  "Here's your refill.  You must be just about out."

Both Sam and Daniel blushed upon seeing what the item was.

"Uh, yes.  Thanks," Sam said, then hastily stuck the birth control patches in a drawer.

"Well, I'll see you two later," Janet said, then left.

"Was there any way that could have been more embarrassing?" Sam muttered.

"Sure there is.  She could have done it in front of Jack."  Daniel came all the way up to Sam.  "I mean, it's not like I didn't already know that you're on birth control.  You mentioned ages ago that it was a requirement for all women on SG teams."

"Yes, I know, but, back then, it didn't really mean anything, not for me.  It was nothing more than a precaution in case something happened on a mission.  But, now. . . ."

"It's actually needed."

"Yes, and Janet knows that."

Daniel searched her face.  "Sam, does it bother you that Janet, Jack and Teal'c know that we're sleeping with each other?"

Sam thought about it.  "I guess it does, in a way.  The thing is that I don't think it would if they were happy about it."

Daniel nodded.  "I know what you mean.  It's one thing for them to know that we're sleeping together, but it's another thing entirely for them to know it and think that it's only happening because we're both fools."

"Yeah."

Daniel searched her face.  "Do you regret it?  If you do, Sam—"

"No," she quickly interrupted.  "I don't regret it one bit.  I want this, Daniel, with my whole heart.  As far as I'm concerned, everyone else can just . . . just go jump in a lake somewhere!"

Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the declaration.  "Well, if Jack starts getting difficult again, I will tell him you said to go do that."

That made Sam smile.  "So was there a reason for you coming here or was it just to say hi?"

Daniel handed her a sheet of paper.  "I finished that translation you were interested in."

Sam took the sheet.  "Great.  Thanks."

After telling her that he'd see her later, Daniel went back to his office.  The afternoon was almost over when he got a surprise visit from Janet.  He knew right off that it had nothing to do with a medical issue.  That was confirmed by the doctor within a few seconds of her entrance.

"Daniel, I'm sure it's not something that you want to discuss with me, but I would really like to talk to you about your relationship with Sam."

The archeologist gave a sigh.  "Not to be rude, Janet, but Jack and I already did that, and though I know that you'd never say some of the things he did, I really don't want to listen to more people telling us that we're being foolish and making a mistake."

"I'm not going to do that, Daniel, but I do want to understand more why you decided to do this.  I understand Sam's motivations. . . ."

"But you're not clear on mine."

"No, but I would like to be.  If you don't want to talk on base, Cassie is going to be at a friend's house tonight, so you could come over to my place."

Daniel fell silent.  He knew that, sooner or later, he probably would have to talk to Janet about this.  As a friend of both his and Sam's, it was only right that she know what his feelings and motivations were.

"All right.  I can come over tonight.  What time?"

"How about eight o'clock?"

"Okay."

As Janet left, the thought that went through Daniel's mind was that he was not looking forward to tonight.


Janet watched the man sitting tensely on her couch.

"Daniel, relax," she finally said with a little smile.

The archeologist made a conscious effort to do so.  "I'm sorry.  It's just getting a little irritating having everyone express doubts that Sam and I can have a successful relationship."

"They're not doubts about your compatibility, Daniel.  That is not in question.  The fact is that, under different circumstances, I'm betting that you could have a very strong, long-lasting relationship."

"But we can't under these circumstances?"

Janet let out a sigh.  "You do have to admit that there are reasons for concern."

It was Daniel who sighed this time.  "Yes, I know."

Janet settled in a chair across from him.  "All right.  Since it appears to be bothering you quite a bit, why don't we start with what Colonel O'Neill said to you."

Daniel made a face.  "I'd really rather not tell you."

"I promise that it won't go any farther than me, Daniel.  I feel that I need to know so that I'll understand what it is that you so strongly objected to."

Daniel thought about it.  "All right.  Do you want his exact words or shall I paraphrase it?"

"His exact words would be best."

Daniel did as she asked, repeating Jack's comment about what body part he had believed was doing Daniel's thinking.  The frown on Janet's face told him how she felt about it.

"Well, I understand why it upsets you," she said.

"He did apologize and say that he didn't mean it."

"But that doesn't change the fact that he thought such a thing of you, however briefly."

Daniel stared down at his feet.  "No."

"Well, I don't think that of you, Daniel, and I'm certain that Sam doesn't either."

"I know she doesn't.  She told me so."  He smiled ever so slightly.  "I think she just about gave Jack frostbite the first time she saw him after I told her what he said."

Janet smiled as well.  "Yes, I should imagine that she did."  The smile faded.  "This whole thing has been pretty emotional for both of you.  I know how you felt after the first time you and Sam made love.  If I had been in your position, I'd have felt the same way."

Daniel looked at her.  "And what about what I felt later, Janet?  I know that Sam must have told you that, too."

"I do admit that I was very surprised when Sam told me that."

"It made me even more ashamed.  I could have chalked it up to the fact that I hadn't had consensual sex with a woman in two and a half years, but I'd gone way longer than that in the past.  Besides. . . ."

"Besides what?"

Daniel's cheeks began to heat up.  "If I'd wanted just sex, I could have gone to a bar and found someone.  It sure would have been less complicated."

"Then what is it that you did want?" Janet asked gently.

Daniel's gaze dropped yet again.  "I . . . I wanted Sam.  I wanted to be with her again in that way."

Janet's eyes searched his down-turned face.  "Can to tell me why?"

"Because she took the pain and loneliness away.  Because she made me feel alive and . . . and like there was something worth giving a damn about."

"Is that how you still feel?"

Daniel's head lifted, but his eyes were still downcast.  "Yes."  Then his eyes met hers, and she could see the sincerity in them.  "During these weeks that I've been with Sam, I have felt better than I have since Sha're was taken.  She makes me smile and laugh.  Being with her makes me feel good, not just physically, but emotionally.  More than that, it makes me feel good to make her feel good, to make her happy."  Daniel paused a moment.  "I know you think that everything I'm feeling is nothing more than a reaction to losing Sha're.  Maybe it is.  Maybe I really am so pathetic that I'd fall into the arms of another woman only to stop the pain.  All I know is that it doesn't feel like that to me."

Janet studied him for a long moment.  "I need to ask you a very personal question, Daniel.  When you make love to Sam, do you ever imagine that it's Sha're?"

"Absolutely not.  The only time I had Sha're in my mind was in that dream that got this whole thing started.  When I'm with Sam, I am with her, completely."

Daniel's answer relieved Janet's mind a great deal.  Though she still had her misgivings, she felt better about the whole thing.  She was still worried, though, that a day might come when Daniel no longer wanted to be with Sam as he did now.

"Thank you for talking with me, Daniel.  I appreciate you being willing to open up that way."

The archeologist nodded.  "So, have you told Cassie yet?"

"No.  I figured that could wait until the Labor Day barbeque.  We're having it here this year, so it will be a good opportunity for you to tell her."

"Yes, and I'm guessing that, by then, the entire base will know."

Janet searched his face.  "That bothers you."

"Well, yes and no.  What bothers me is what they might think about Sam."

"But not what they think about you?"

"Not really.  Well, that is unless they think the same thing Jack did at first.  That would definitely bother me."

Janet smiled slightly.  "Well, I'm sure that Sam would straighten them out if she found out anyone thought that way."

A smile also came to Daniel's lips.  "And perhaps give them a touch of frostbite, too."


It had been almost a week since Daniel and Sam told General Hammond about their relationship, and, amazingly, the news had not yet spread to the rest of the base.  The couple was happy about the failure of the base grapevine, though they knew that it wasn't going to last forever.  They'd been very careful not to do anything while in the mountain that would clue anyone into what was going on, even limiting the number of times they went off-base for lunch together.

This morning, Daniel was again in the control room, watching his ex-teammates as they waited to embark on a mission.  This one was to a planet on which the Stargate appeared to be inside a warehouse.  The DHD was covered with what looked like a sheet or dust cover, so it was a good bet that the Stargate hadn't been used in a while.

This time, Daniel remained in the control room as the gate activated, and his former teammates went through the wormhole.  He then went off back to his office to work on yet another translation.  Instead of doing so, however, he just sat and stared at the wall across the room.  He had always enjoyed doing translations, to discover the meaning of the words written in some ancient script.  He still enjoyed doing them.  It was just that it seemed to be the only thing he was doing.  In the two and a half weeks since he rejoined the program, there had been no archeological puzzles brought to him, just translations.  He would never have believed that he could get bored doing translations, but that's what he was starting to feel.

Daniel realized that he kind of missed going through the gate, the excitement of seeing what interesting places and people lay on the other side of the wormhole.  He didn't miss fighting Jaffa, tangling with Goa'uld, and being put in other life-threatening situations, but he did miss the exploration and meeting people on other worlds.  And, of course, he missed the opportunity to explore the archeological sites they sometimes found, even if he never did get to spend as much time doing that as he'd like to.

Daniel figured that, in time, this would pass, and he'd be satisfied just doing translations and whatever archeological projects came through the gate, although if there was ever a special mission that required his expertise, he wouldn't refuse to go.

Pushing all thoughts of missions out of his mind, Daniel got back to work.  He'd been at it for less than two hours when there was an announcement of an unscheduled off-world activation.  Frowning, Daniel looked at his watch.  There were three teams out on missions, and it was the wrong time for any of them to be calling in.  Did one of them get into trouble?  Did SG-1 get into trouble?

Daniel's first instinct was to hurry to the control room to find out, but he decided to wait.  If it involved SG-1, he'd be contacted.

When, a few minutes later, he got a call to go to the control room, he just about ran there, worried that something terrible had happened.  Upon arriving in the control room, he discovered that Jack was in a conversation through the wormhole with Hammond.

"Hold on, Colonel," the general said.  "Doctor Jackson just came in."

"Daniel," said Jack's voice.  "That was quick.  General Hammond and I were just talking about you."

"You were?"

Hammond explained.  "It appears that there is a situation there that involves Linea."

Daniel looked at the man sharply.  "Linea?"  His concern returned.  "She's there?"

"There is some uncertainty about her.  She did go to the planet, but it is believed that she is now dead, although the proof is questionable."

Sam's voice came over the speaker.  "The entire population has amnesia, Daniel.  We don't know the whole story yet.  We called to find out if you and Janet can come here."

"Me?  Why do you need me?"

"There's a library with information that may hold the key to this, but there is a whole lot of stuff to go through.  We need some help sorting through it all."

Hammond turned back to Daniel.  "If you are willing to go there, you and Doctor Fraiser can leave as soon as the doctor is ready."

Daniel's mind went to the thoughts he had earlier.  "Um, sure."

An hour and a half later, Daniel went through the gate with Janet and a medical team.  They were greeted on the other side by Jack.

"Welcome, welcome, Daniel," Jack said with a little smile.  "Did you enjoy the trip?  Excited about being back through the gate?  I'd be happy to arrange for it to become a regular occurrence again."

The archeologist stared at him.  "Did you choose yourself to be the one to meet us just so that you could say that?"

"Um . . . maybe."

"Uh huh.  That's what I thought."

Not answering Jack's questions, Daniel went with him and the others to a medical center.  On the way, Jack filled Daniel and Janet in on what they knew about Linea's visit to the planet.  Janet, who had not been told about Linea, was dismayed by the news.

"So you think this is where she went when she escaped through our gate?" Daniel asked Jack as they entered the center.

"Possibly.  Nothing's for certain yet.  Right now, I'd like to know what we're dealing with here."

"Sounds like a world-class case of amnesia," Janet responded.  She looked over at a group of people sitting by the wall.

"Check these people out, will ya?" Jack said.

"Yes, sir.  I'll find out what I can."  She turned to her team.  "Let's set up over here."  They got busy setting up the medical equipment they'd brought as Daniel and Jack walked away a few paces.  They were joined by Teal'c.

"Where's Sam?" Daniel asked Jack.

"Over at the library with a woman named Ke'ra.  She's apparently one of the head honchos around here.  I'll take you over there.  Teal'c, you stay here and give Fraiser a hand."

The two men went to the library.  Daniel saw Sam beside a woman with long, curly blonde hair.  The two of them were hunched over a table, looking at a book.  Sam glanced up and saw them.

"Daniel.  I'm so glad you're here.  Ke'ra, this is Doctor Jackson.  He'll be a really big help in figuring this whole thing out.  Daniel, this is Ke'ra.  She's the Minister of Health, Science and Restructuring in Vyus' transitional government."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Jackson," Ke'ra said with a smile.

"Call me Daniel."

"You are a doctor?"

"No.  Well, yes.  I'm a doctor of archeology.  I study the past."

"Then you are a most welcome visitor here, Daniel.  Since the time of the Vorlix, all that you see here," she waved her hands about, "is what remains of our past."

"Well, I'm hoping that I can help figure out a way to change that."

"If you can, we will all be very grateful."

Daniel immediately got busy digging into books and documents, Ke'ra his constant companion.  He asked her a lot of questions, learning everything that her own research had uncovered.

Ever since the incident they called the Vorlix, she had spent the lion's share of her time trying to uncover the truth about what happened, most of her knowledge coming from the papers and research notes of a man named Doctor Zervis, who was believed to be dead, killed along with Linea in an explosion.  The bodies of the man and woman believed to be them were the only elderly people to have been found.

"I keep finding references to something called D'Argol," Daniel said.

"Yes, I found D'Argol was a chemical once used as a pesticide.  It seems to have had a significant impact on the environment and has since been banned."

"Yes, we had a similar problem on my world with a chemical called DDT.  It built up in the food chain until entire species were threatened."

"Yes.  I first believed this D'Argol was related to our loss of memory much the same way, but there's little evidence of it.  I've found residue only in the bodies of those who have died since the Vorlix."

Ke'ra looked at a photograph of an elderly man that she'd just found.

"What?" Daniel inquired.

"Sometimes, the images of people in the archives look familiar to me.  I wonder if I knew this person or that person.  There are still so many questions, like why are there no images of children, and where have our elders gone?  Through your Stargate perhaps?"

"Well, I suppose it's possible your people foresaw a disaster coming and sent the most helpless to safety."

"No, Daniel.  Whatever happened, happened quickly, without warning."

Daniel stared at her.  "How do you know that?"

Instead of replying, she simply gave him a knowing smile.  Suddenly, the answer came to him.

"Right.  Of course.  If you saw disaster coming, you would have left yourselves a message, something that explained what happened and why."

Ke'ra's smile brightened.  "Exactly."

Over at the opposite end of the long table, Sam was staring at the woman with Daniel.  She didn't much care for the way Ke'ra was smiling at him.  It was more than just a friendly smile, and she'd noticed the way that the woman had been looking at him.

'I will not be jealous.  I will not be jealous,' she silently told herself.  She looked at Jack, who'd come in with Teal'c just a few minutes ago.  He was now sitting beside her and had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Sir?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about amnesia.  It doesn't quite track with Linea's nickname."

"The Destroyer of Worlds," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, that one."

"Well, actually, in sort of a sick way, it does," Sam said.  "Ke'ra said herself that their society was on the verge of collapse, despite their efforts.  This world is in trouble, sir."

"Perhaps Linea was experimenting with other ways in which to destroy worlds," Teal'c suggested.

Jack looked at him.  "Variety being the spice of life and all?"

"The fact is, sir, we let Linea out of Hadante prison," Sam said.  "We gave her everything she needed to know about the network of Stargates to go anywhere she wanted."

"I know."

"We're responsible, sir."

"I know."


Daniel stared at the results of an MRI scan.  With him were Janet, Ke'ra and two other people from the planet Vyus.  It had been decided that it would be easier to bring volunteers from Vyus to Earth for the tests Janet needed to conduct, although "volunteer" might not exactly be the right word when it came to Orner, who had been very reluctant to go through the Stargate.  Daniel suspected that the only reason he agreed to come was that Ke'ra asked.  The man appeared to have a bit of a crush on her.

Janet pointed at an area of the scan.  "Now, if you look at the blue areas, you'll see that you all have the same identical obstructions in your temporal lobes and hippocampus sections of your brain.  I'm not exactly sure what it is, except that it's some sort of residue between the synapses.  So it's possible your old memories are intact.  They're just not accessible."

Daniel understood what that meant.  "So the memories are just blocked."

"Literally.  Yes."

"And does this material match the D'Argol residue that I gave you?" Ke'ra asked.

"We should be able to confirm that very quickly," Janet replied.  "And if it can be dissolved or removed without damaging the neurons. . . ."

"Then we can be cured," said the woman with Orner.

Ke'ra began to grow excited.  "We need only to find the right medicine to dissolve the residue."

Janet decided that she needed to put the brakes on.  "That is much more difficult than it sounds."

"Well, then we should get started immediately."

"Uh, Ke'ra, we've already been at it for a long time, and I still have some tests to run, so. . . ."

Daniel jumped in, addressing Ke'ra.  "So why don't I give you the fifty-cent tour?"

"Yes," Janet said, agreeing that it was an excellent idea.

Ke'ra turned to her.  "Thank you."

Daniel took Ke'ra on a brief tour of the base, answering most of the questions she had.  They ended the tour at the VIP room that had been assigned to the woman.

"So this is it," the archeologist said.  "Not much of a view, I'm afraid, but it's got all the comforts of home.  Um, well, some of them, at least."

Ke'ra gazed at him.  "You've been very kind.  Thank you."

"You're welcome.  Anyway, if you'd like to change clothes, there are clean ones in the dresser."

"Is my clothing unsuitable?"

"No, of course not.  It's fine.  Um, would you like something to eat?  You're probably pretty hungry by now."

"No, I do not wish food at this time."  She approached him.  "I would like something else."

"Oh?"

"Since the Vorlix, close contact has become almost taboo.  We were afraid that if we were ever able to regain our memories. . . ."

"You would find yourself waking up beside the wrong person."

She stared into his eyes.  "You . . . are not from Vyus."

Comprehension dawned upon Daniel.  "Uhhhh."  He took a step back as she took another toward him.  He held up his hand, stopping her progress.  "Ke'ra, wait."

A look of disappointment flashed across her face.

"I understand," she said, then quickly turned away.

"No, I don't think you do.  You see, I'm already in a relationship."

The blonde turned back to him.  "Oh."

"So, while I do consider you to be an attractive woman, I really wouldn't be interested in, um, being more than a friend.  I hope you understand."

"Yes, although I must admit that I am disappointed.  The woman with whom you are in a relationship is very fortunate."

"Well, I don't know about that."

"May I ask who it is?  Is it someone I have met?"

"Yes, it's Sam, Major Carter."

"How long have you been involved?"

"Not long, around a month since we started, uh, dating."

Daniel decided that getting out of there would be a good idea.  He headed for the door.  "Well, I'll let you get some rest.  If you change your mind about eating, you can ask anyone for directions to the commissary."

Daniel made his escape.  He didn't fully relax until the door was shut behind him.  Okay, that he had not seen coming.  Maybe he should have, but he'd always been rather oblivious whenever a woman became interested in him until he was just about hit over the head with it.

He just hoped that Ke'ra's attraction to him wasn't going to cause a problem.

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