HomeNews & InfoFan FictionMessage BoardLinksEmail

CHAPTER FIVE

Sam plopped down on the sofa with a loud sigh.  She barely remembered the drive home, her mind so full of thoughts of Daniel and what was happening between them that she'd been on autopilot the whole way.

No matter how hard she tried to view things logically, the fact was that she was feeling things for Daniel that she never had before.  No, that wasn't really true.  When she first met him and saw for herself how incredibly brilliant he was and also realized that he was a very handsome man, she had felt a strong attraction to him.  But the fact that he was married dampened those feelings, and they soon faded to be replaced by a warm, deep friendship.

But Daniel was no longer married.  There were no more thoughts of a wife to dampen Sam's attraction to him.  And she couldn't deny that she was very attracted to him.  How this could have happened again after all these years was something Sam couldn't understand.  What had changed?  Could it be that it never really went away, that it was just waiting for something to happen to bring it back to her conscious awareness?  Sam had to admit that when Daniel showed an interest in Ke'ra, she was jealous.  She had ignored that emotion at the time, but it now made her wonder if her feelings for Daniel never were quite as platonic as she had thought they were.

But all that didn't matter right now.  What did matter was that the way she felt about Daniel had suddenly changed in a big way, and she didn't know what to do about it.

A sudden urge hit Sam, and she called Pete.  Not finding him home, she tried his cell phone.

"Hey there," she said as he answered.

"Hi.  It's nice to hear your voice," Pete told her.  "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could cash in my rain check for that dinner."

"You bet," Pete said happily.  "How does six sound or is that too early?"

"No, that's fine.  I'll see you then."

As Sam hung up the phone, she had to wonder why she was so eager to see Pete.  Was it because she thought that he'd take her mind off Daniel?  Was it fair to Pete to use him like that?

Pushing that thought aside, Sam went into her bedroom to decide what she was going to wear for dinner.


Pete watched Sam poke absentmindedly at her food.  Though she had seemed okay when he first picked her up, she had been getting progressively quieter as the evening went on.  She seemed distracted and troubled.  He'd been trying to draw her out of her mood, but nothing seemed to work so far.  He decided to try again.

"So, how is Daniel doing?  I can imagine it must have been rough for him while he was trapped there."

For a second, Pete saw Sam's body tense up, then she visibly relaxed.

"He's doing good," she replied.  "I guess he was pretty badly injured in the attack, but he's fully healed now."

"So, what exactly went down there?"  Pete saw the expression on Sam's face.  "Can't tell me, huh."

"I'm sorry, Pete.  I would if I could, but even though you were given security clearance, I can't tell you any specifics because you're not involved in the program.  As it is, I told you more than I should have about the situation with Daniel.  I can tell you, though, that it was a pretty hard time for him.  He was afraid that he'd never get home.  I can also tell you that it was Daniel who devised the plan that enabled us to get him out of there and defeat the . . ." she lowered her voice in case anyone nearby was listening in, "the people I told you about."

Pete's brows rose.  "Daniel did?  But I thought he was an archeologist and linguist."

"He is, Pete, but he's so much more than that.  Daniel really is like no one else I've ever known.  He is the most compassionate men I've ever met, and he always prefers to find the peaceful solution to things, yet, when he has to be, he's equally as much of a warrior as anyone on base.  He's a damn good shot, too.  Of course, in the beginning, he wasn't like that.  He had no military training or even any self-defense training.  He pretty much had to start from scratch.  But, between what General O'Neill and Teal'c have taught him, he's learned a lot.  I don't think there's a team in the program that wouldn't jump at the chance of having Daniel as a member, not even the marine units.  In fact, it seems like the other teams are constantly asking to borrow him for one reason or another.  It's because having him is like getting the best of both worlds.  They get both his academic knowledge and experience and his fighting skills and experience, not to mention his brilliant mind.  He's an asset on pretty much any kind of mission.  There aren't many others who can claim that."

Pete stared at Sam.  Well, he had succeeded in getting her out of her mood and talking.  The problem was that he really wasn't all that thrilled about the topic that had brought back her animation and passion.  Was Sam even aware of how glowingly she painted Daniel's portrait?

"You sound like you admire him a great deal," he said.

Sam nodded.  "I do.  He is an amazing person."

"And your best friend."

"Yes, the best anyone could have.  He's a really good listener and so easy to talk to.  He has this quality about him that, when you come to him with your troubles, it's like you are the most important person in the world, more important to him than himself.  He looks at you, really looks at you, like his entire attention is focused on you."  Sam laughed.  "Actually, he probably would have made an excellent psychologist."

"He sounds like he's pretty close to being perfect," Pete muttered.

Sam blinked, realizing for the first time that she'd been going on and on about Daniel while on a date with her boyfriend.  How stupid and insensitive could she be?

"Pete, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to prattle on about Daniel like that.  Yes, I greatly admire and respect him, and he is a wonderful person, but, no, he's not perfect.  He's got character flaws just like everyone else does."

"Just not as many as us average mortals."

Sam frowned at the remark, which had sounded slightly bitter.  This is what she had been afraid of, that, if she talked about Daniel, Pete would get jealous.  'Well, can you blame him?  You just made Daniel sound like the best thing since man discovered fire.  Of course Pete's going to be jealous.'

Cursing herself for her big mouth, Sam decided to try and salvage the evening.  "So, how has your case been going?" she asked.

For a moment, Pete didn't reply.  He knew that Sam was trying to patch things up by turning the topic of conversation to him, but that didn't change the fact that he was beginning to wonder if he could ever hope to compete with Daniel Jackson in Sam's eyes.

Not wanting to completely ruin the evening, he answered Sam's question, and they talked about the case for a while, though there were things that Pete couldn't reveal since it was an open investigation.

After that, they talked about other things.  Sam appeared to have gotten past whatever had been bothering her earlier, but, to Pete's critical eye, she didn't seem to have as much enthusiasm as she usually did on their dates.

The drive back to Sam's was made mostly in silence.  Pete pulled up to the curb and put the car in park but did not shut off the engine.

"So, do I have an invitation to come in?" he asked.

Sam knew what he was really asking.  Would they be making love tonight?  Considering that she hadn't been with him for a month and a half, she should have been eager to get him into bed, but she wasn't . . . and that shocked the heck out of her.  Since they became lovers, she'd enjoyed every time they made love and always looked forward to the next opportunity.  So, what had changed?

"I'd like to, Pete, but I'm pretty tired.  As you know, I didn't get much sleep the whole time Daniel was trapped over there, and I'm still playing catch-up."

Though Sam's explanation was perfectly understandable, a red flag was still waving in front of Pete's eyes.  There had been other times when Sam had been too tired to make love, but on every one of those occasions, she had asked him to stay so that she could at least sleep next to him.  This time, she didn't.

There was a heavy feeling growing in the pit of Pete's stomach, one that was starting to weigh down his heart as well.  He hoped that his suspicion was wrong, but, if he was right, he knew what he'd have to do, both for his sake and Sam's.

"Okay."  Pete leaned over and gave her a kiss.  "I'll call you."

Sam smiled at him and got out.  Pete watched her until she was safely inside, then put the car in gear and drove away.


His large, gentle hands caressed Sam's body, finding every place that brought her the most pleasure.  Passionate lips consumed her inch by inch, sending her into ecstasy.  And then his body was upon hers, within hers.  Sam rose upward on the waves of rapture, soaring higher than she ever had before.  As she reached her peak, Sam's eyelids opened, and she found herself gazing into Daniel's brilliant blue eyes.

With a gasp, Sam awoke, heart pounding, chest heaving.  She lay unmoving for a long moment as her body calmed down.  Her mind was another matter, however.  My God.  She had just dreamed about having sex with Daniel.  No, not having sex.  What she had just dreamed was far more than a physical thing.  They had been making love . . . and it had been incredible.

Sam sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees.  Things were getting out of hand.  A big part of her had hoped that these feeling for Daniel would go away, and they could return to the way it had been.  But she was now beginning to suspect that was not going to happen.  She wanted him there with her right now.  She wanted him to do for real what he had done in the dream.  She had turned down Pete's offer of a night of lovemaking, yet here she was, fantasizing about her best friend.  What did that tell her?  It told her that she needed to take a long, hard look at her feelings and try to figure out what was going on.

Sam laid back down, curling up on her side and making herself relax.  It was a long time before she finally went back to sleep.


Sunday passed quickly for both Sam and Daniel as they kept busy with various chores.  They also each did something "fun" so that they could honestly tell Jack that, yes, they did have fun over the weekend.  Actually, they'd already had fun, but neither of them thought that Jack would see grocery shopping as something enjoyable, no matter how they tried to explain that particular shopping trip.

When they first saw each other Monday morning, they were both a bit uncomfortable, especially Sam, but, unlike last time, they were able to get past it within a few minutes.

The rest of the week passed relatively quietly as far as work was concerned.  SG-1 went back to Rand for a couple of days, mostly so that Daniel could talk with both Kane and the new leader of Caledonia about forging a peace between them.  When he and his teammates left this time, it was for the last time.  Daniel was very pleased by how well the talks had gone and was confident that the two countries could handle things on their own from now on.  Several SG teams would be remaining on the planet for another few weeks to continue helping Rand recover from the war, but SG-1's job there was finished.

Daniel and Leda were sorry to say goodbye to each other, and Daniel hoped that he'd be able to visit someday.  Seeing her and her husband together now, he could tell that they were healing the rift between them.  It pleased him to see that, but, at the same time, it made him think about Sam.

As for Sam, when they weren't in Rand, she had plenty of other things to keep her busy.  She talked with Pete over the phone twice, trying to sound casual, like nothing was wrong, though that was far from the truth.  She'd had another dream about making love with Daniel.  More than that, she had begun to think about what it would be like to have him as a boyfriend, not only the sexual part, but also the other things: cuddling with each other in front of the TV, fixing meals together, talking about private thoughts and dreams, all the things that went with the kind of relationship that lasted a lifetime.

It hadn't been like this when she started dating Pete, and it was driving her insane.  She shouldn't be acting this way.  She was a grown woman, after all, not some hormone-driven teenager.

Sam knew that Pete sensed something was wrong.  Though he was subtle about it, he'd tried to find out what the problem was.  A few times, he'd asked about Daniel, and Sam was worried that he suspected that the archeologist was at the heart of her problem.  He had asked if he could come over Saturday night, and Sam had agreed, though she was pretty nervous about it.

Sam left the base earlier than usual on Saturday so that she could go shopping for something to fix for dinner and get started on the meal preparations.  Pete arrived at 6:30 and helped her with the salad.  Then they sat down and ate, making small talk while they enjoyed the meal.  It wasn't until after everything was cleaned up that Pete indicated it was time for them to talk.  They sat side by side on the couch.

"Sam, I know that something's been bothering you lately," Pete began.  "I've hoped that you'd be able to talk to me about it, but it seems pretty obvious that you can't."

"Pete, I'm sorry.  I have been preoccupied lately, and I apologize for that.  I'm sure I'll get past it soon."

"Will you, Sam?  I wish I could be sure of that."

"What does that mean?"

"I just find the timing of this preoccupation to be interesting."

Sam frowned.  "Excuse me?"

"You were preoccupied when Daniel was missing, which I understood, but he's back now, and you're still preoccupied, though this preoccupation seems a lot different."

Sam didn't say anything since she could not deny his accusation without lying.

Pete looked straight at her.  "Sam, what are your feelings toward me?"

"What?  You're my boyfriend, Pete.  I care about you a lot.  I find you incredibly sexy, and I enjoy being with you."

Pete's gaze pierced into her.  "If I was to ask you to leave the SGC for the sake of our relationship, would you?"

Sam felt a spark of anger.  "Pete, that's not a fair question."

"I think it is, Sam.  We've been dating for nearly a year now, and I think I have the right to know where I stand in your life.  Would you quit if it was the only way that we could be together?"

Sam looked away from Pete.  Though she hated to be put on the spot like this, she realized that he did have the right to know what she considered more important in her life, him or her job at the SGC.  So she thought about it, really thought about it, and could not deny what her mind and heart were telling her.  Feeling ashamed, she turned back to Pete.

"I'm sorry, Pete, but I don't think I could.  The Stargate Program is a huge part of my life, one that I love.  I'm not ready to give that up yet.  Maybe someday it would be different, but not now."

Pete nodded, as if he'd already guessed that would be her answer.  "Then let me ask you this.  Would you leave for Daniel's sake, if it would be the best thing for him?"

Shocked by the question, Sam gaped at him.  "Pete, why are you asking that?"

"Because I need to know . . . and I think you do, too.  Answer the question Sam.  Would you leave for Daniel's sake?"

Sam's gaze dropped to her lap.  Would she?  Sam thought about how much Daniel meant to her and how much she'd be willing to sacrifice for him.  If her leaving the SGC was what it would take to give him a better life, how could she not go?  In the end, there could be only one answer.

"Yes," she whispered.  She looked at Pete and saw an expression of knowing acceptance in his eyes, as well as pain.

"Sam, I love you," he said softly.  "But not so much that I'm willing to be with you when I know that I'm only in third place in your heart.  A relationship like that could never last."  He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek and got to his feet.  "These have been some of the greatest months of my life.  I will never forget you."

Sam watched him head for the door, realizing that he was breaking up with her.  She leapt to her feet and strode up to him.

"You're leaving me?  Just like that?"  There were equal parts hurt and anger in her voice.

"I think it's the best thing for both of us, Sam.  I can't stay with you knowing that there's someone you love more.  I think that, sooner or later, you'd have figured that out, too."  He took one last long look at her, his eyes running over every inch of her face, as if memorizing it.  "Goodbye, Sam."  And then he was gone.

Sam stood still, stunned in immobility.  After a couple of minutes, she went back to the couch and sat down.  As tears started to slide down her face, she laid down.  Hugging one of the throw pillows to her chest, she continued to cry for several minutes.  Then she grew quiet and just laid there for a long time.  Her eyes fell upon the phone on the table.  A moment later, it was in her hands and she was dialing a well-used number.

"Hello?" came Daniel's voice over the line.

"Daniel?" Sam said, her voice shaking.

"Sam?  Sam, what's wrong?  What happened?" the archeologist asked anxiously.

"I. . . ."  She couldn't get any more words out.

"Sam, you're scaring me.  Are you hurt?  Do you need me to come over?"

"No, I . . . I just. . . .  I shouldn't have called you.  I'm sorry.  I'll see you Monday, okay?"

Sam hung up, feeling foolish for having called him.  Since when did she go running to Daniel whenever she was upset?  'Oh, gee, Sam, let me think.  Daniel was the one you confided to about how helpless you felt when you and Jack were trapped in Antarctica.  He was the one you eventually talked to about being taken over by Jolinar.  It was Daniel's shoulder you cried on after you found out that Dad was dying.  You have shared more of your personal pain with him than you have with anyone else, including your own father.  Who else would you go running to when you're upset?'  No one.  There was no one else, not anymore.  If Janet was still alive, Sam would probably talk to her about this because she was a woman and someone who understood the pain of a failed relationship.

'But I should be able to handle this on my own.  I shouldn't need a shoulder to cry on.  I'm a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force!'

Despite her thoughts, Sam couldn't deny that, right now, she really needed someone to hold her.

Sam was getting herself a glass of water when there was an urgent knock on her door.  Thinking that Pete had come back, Sam didn't even think about looking to see who it was before she opened the door.  Instead of finding Pete there, she saw an extremely worried-looking Daniel.  His hair was damp, and he looked like he'd thrown on his clothes at supersonic speed.  Sam realized that he must have just come out of the shower when she called him.

"Sam, are you all right?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers like twin lasers.

Sam knew that the evidence of her tears was all over her face, so there was no point in saying that she was okay.  She stepped aside and let him in.  As she shut the door, she did not turn to face him.

"Sam, what's wrong?  Please tell me," Daniel pleaded.

"Pete broke up with me," Sam whispered.

Daniel didn't think he could have heard right.  "What?"

Sam slowly turned to him, but did not look him in the eyes.  "Pete broke up with me," she repeated in a louder voice.

"B-but why?"  It was incomprehensible to Daniel that any man would do such a thing if they were lucky enough to have Sam.

"He thought I didn't love him enough."

"Why would he think. . . ."  Daniel's eyes widened.  "God, Sam.  Please don't tell me this was because of what happened between us."

The guilt in Daniel's voice finally made Sam look at him.  "No . . . yes. . . .  In a way, I guess it was."

"He found out?"

"No, he didn't know about what happened."

"Then I don't understand."

"Let's go sit down."

They settled on the couch, Daniel's and Sam's bodies angled so that they could look straight at each other.  It took Sam a few seconds to figure out how she was going to explain things.

"Ever since we kissed, I've been . . . distracted.  It's been preying on my mind a lot."

"Mine too," Daniel admitted.

"I went out with Pete last Saturday night, and my mind was not on him or where I was.  Pete noticed, of course.  And then I ended up saying some things that made him . . . jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Of you.  We got on the subject of how you were doing, which led to me telling him that you devised the plan for the attack on the bunker, which then led to me singing your praises a little too loudly."

Daniel's mouth fell open.  "I, um. . . .  Okay."  What on Earth could she have been praising him about?

"And that was the start of it."  Sam sighed.  "No, that's not true.  I think it really started when you were still missing and Pete saw how obsessed I was with finding you.  He understood to a certain extent, but I think it still made him start to wonder."

Daniel was staring at the sofa cushion.  "About you and me."

"Yeah.  I've been so distracted lately, thinking about our kisses and . . . other things.  Both that I talked to Pete on the phone this week he could tell that something was wrong.  He tried to find out what the problem was, bringing you up several times, but I always changed the subject.  I was afraid that he might have figured out that you were the reason for my distraction, and I know now that he did."

Sam felt tears burn in her eyes.  "He came over tonight and asked if I would leave the SGC for the sake of our relationship, and I . . . I had to tell him that I wouldn't.  I knew that, if I had to choose between being with the SGC and being with him, I'd choose the SGC.  I had never thought about that.  I never asked myself that question before."

Daniel looked at her.  "I'm sorry, Sam.  Do you think he might change his mind?"

Sam shook her head.  "No, he'll never change his mind, not after the answer he got to his second question."

"What second question?"

Sam didn't reply for a long moment.  "He asked me if I would leave the SGC if it would be the best thing for you."  She looked into Daniel's eyes.  "I told him that I would."

Daniel stared at her in stunned silence.  Sam would leave the SGC for his sake?  He had known for a long, long time that he would do so for Sam, but he'd never really thought that she'd do the same for him.

"You look so surprised," she remarked.

"I, um . . . I guess I am."

"Daniel, you're my best friend.  If my resignation from the program would make your life better, then there is no doubt in my mind that I'd leave."

"But I wouldn't want you to."

"I know that, Daniel.  It doesn't change how I feel.  The truth is that if Pete had asked the same question about Teal'c or General O'Neill, I would have answered the same way.  You are all so important to me, and I care too much for you to hurt you by staying in the SGC."

"But you wouldn't leave to save your relationship with Pete."

"No."  Sam started to cry.  "I really care about him, Daniel.  The only relationship I've ever had that was longer was with Jonas Hanson, and I got closer to Pete than I ever did with Jonas.  But I couldn't just walk away and leave everything I've worked for all these years.  The SGC and SG-1 are my life, and you guys are my family.  I've known Pete for less than a year.  I just couldn't have done it, not now, not this soon.  And so . . . and so he left.  He just walked out."  Sam's fist hit the sofa.  "God, what's wrong with me?!  Why can't I find someone who won't leave me?  I really think I'm cursed."

Daniel gathered her into his arms and held her as she cried.  It tore him up to see her like this.  He had half a mind to go over to Pete's house and give the man a piece of his mind . . . and maybe a black eye, too.  That thought really surprised him.  He was not the kind of man who chose violence if there was no need for it.  He even hesitated when he had the chance to wipe out all the System Lords.  But this was Sam who was hurting.  For her, he would do absolutely anything.  If punching Pete's lights out would result in Sam being happy, he'd do it.  But a right cross to Pete's jaw was not going to fix this problem.

Way deep down inside, there was a part of Daniel that was rejoicing since Sam's breakup with Pete meant that he might have a chance with her, but he ignored that part of him.  All he wanted was for Sam to be happy.  Who she needed to give her that happiness was of lesser importance.

Sam stopped crying after a few minutes.  Daniel looked down at her, trying to tell her with his eyes all the thoughts he'd just had and to let her know that he was there for her no matter what.  Sam looked back at him, both embarrassment and gratitude on her face.

But then, something changed.  Daniel sensed the difference immediately, saw Sam's eyes move from his eyes to his lips.  A second later, she was kissing him.  His gasp turned into a groan as her tongue found its way into his mouth.

Daniel clutched at her as they kissed with wild passion, drawing her as close to his body as their position on the couch would allow.  And then, suddenly, they were a whole lot closer as Sam climbed up to straddle Daniel's thighs.  He crushed her in his arms, feeling her start to rub against him.  His hands grabbed her hips and pulled them flush against his.  He could feel himself losing control, the fire in his mind and body taking over as Sam kissed and touched him with ever increasing boldness.

Caught in the heat of their passion, Daniel began to lower Sam onto the sofa.

Next Chapter

HomeNews & InfoFan FictionMessage BoardLinksEmail
Stargate-Horizons.com Home Page   |   Site Map of Stargate-Horizons.com