CHAPTER NINE
The next three days were tense ones for Sam and Daniel. Since they didn't have a mission scheduled, they both spent their time taking care of other work. Fortunately, each of them had a backlog of jobs to do, so it wasn't so hard to keep their minds off the issue of Daniel's future on SG-1. They had decided not to tell Teal'c what was going on until they knew what the verdict was since they didn't want him worrying about things, too.
It was Friday morning when Jack called Daniel and Sam into his office. His expression as they entered did not tell them anything.
"Shut the door, Daniel," Jack instructed as the couple came in.
After closing the door, Daniel took a seat with Sam. For several seconds, Jack just stared at them.
"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," he said. "Things did not go exactly the way I'd hoped they would. There are individuals, including the president, who are greatly concerned about the idea of two people who are romantically involved being on the same team, particularly when one of those people is the team's leader. They spouted off all kinds of possible problems, some of them potentially disastrous. Several people told me flat out that there was no way they would condone it."
"Then Daniel's going to have to transfer out?" Sam asked, trying to keep her emotions out of her voice not doing a very good job.
"Let me finish, Carter."
"Sorry, sir."
"I talked to all the naysayers till I was blue in the face about how much this planet owes you two and that letting you have a life together and remain on SG-1 was the very least we could do to repay you. I also spent hours giving them examples of how you were both extremely important to the program in your present capacities." Jack focused on Daniel. "Oh, and I passed on your statement that you would refuse to join another SG team if you had to leave SG-1, which pretty much shot down the argument that some made on why it wouldn't be a big deal if you had to transfer off SG-1." He turned his attention back to both of them. "After all that, I managed to sway some people to my way of thinking, but others would not budge. Since the president would have the final say regarding this, I worked on him the hardest."
"And?" Daniel prompted, wishing that Jack would just spit it out. Was this how the man felt when Daniel and Sam went on at length with an explanation instead of getting right to the point?
"And the biggest concern the president has is your conduct and effectiveness during missions, whether or not you would remain professional and not let your personal relationship affect how you did things. I explained to him how you two were already extremely close before this happened, but, let's face it, loving someone like a friend is not the same thing as having a sexual relationship with them. You do not react the same way to a friend being in danger as you do to a husband or wife being in danger."
Neither Daniel nor Sam could argue with that.
"Since, while you're on missions, we back at the SGC would have no way of seeing for ourselves if there was a problem, we would never know if you might be . . . sweeping any problems under the rug."
"Sir, we'd never do that!" Sam exclaimed angrily. "There is no way that Daniel and I would jeopardize the welfare of the team and the success of our missions for our own sake."
"I know that, Carter. I have absolutely zero doubt that, if you knew there was a problem, you would come clean about it. But the president doesn't know you as well as I do. Therefore, I came up with a solution. For the next several months, it will be Teal'c's job to . . . observe your behavior on missions and report anything he considers to be of concern."
"So, he's going to be like a monitor," Daniel stated.
"In a way."
Daniel frowned. "I see."
"Daniel, I know you don't like the idea of Teal'c acting like some kind of informer on you and Carter, but this was the only way that I could get the president to agree."
"That's not what's bothering me," Daniel said. "I'm thinking of the difficult position this puts Teal'c in. What if something does happen, and he has to 'snitch' on us? How is that going to make him feel? He'll feel like he's betraying our friendship and trust."
Jack stared at the archeologist. Leave it to Daniel to care about the feelings of others above his own. "I . . . have to admit I didn't think of that."
"Well, you should have, Jack. This would not be fair to Teal'c at all."
"I agree," Sam said emphatically.
"Well, the only other alternative would be to add a fourth member to your team who has the added job of being the 'snitch'," Jack stated, "and I think we all know how well that would go over with you guys."
"I wouldn't be able to trust him, sir, not if he was someone we didn't already know and trust," Sam told him. "He could let his own viewpoints color what he sees."
"Exactly. You trust Teal'c, and you know that he would be totally fair, yet also completely honest."
Daniel was still frowning, his eyes focused on a spot on the desk. "What if he could come to us first?" he asked.
"What?"
Daniel lifted his head to look at Jack. "What if Teal'c would be allowed to express any concerns he has to us first so that we could try to work it out? In that way, if the problem still wasn't fixed, Teal'c would know that he did all he could to help us resolve it before he was forced to go to you."
Sam nodded. "And it would help ease Teal'c's conscience since he wouldn't be sneaking around behind our backs and informing on us."
Jack's expression turned thoughtful. "Okay, that could work."
"Will you have to go back to the president to ask if he's okay with that?" Sam asked.
"Um, well, actually, he kind of advised me not to tell you two what Teal'c's status would be. He thought that, if you knew, you would . . . put on a face whenever Teal'c was around, pretend that there was no problem."
"Sir, you didn't go against a presidential order by telling us, did you?"
"No, he didn't make it an order. It was just his advice. He left it up to me to decide how to handle it. And my belief was that it would be better for you to know since knowing that you were being watched would make you strive harder to overcome any issues."
"I think we need to talk to Teal'c about this and leave the decision up to him," Daniel said.
Jack nodded in agreement. "Does he know about you two?"
"No. We wanted to wait until after we knew what the decision was."
"All right, then your first order of business is to tell him the news. I'd sure love to see his reaction to that."
Daniel and Sam went in search of the Jaffa. They found him in the gym, working out.
"Teal'c, we need to talk to you about something," Sam told him.
"Is there a problem, Colonel Carter?"
"Well, yes and no," Daniel answered. "It all depends on your point of view. Come on. Let's take this somewhere private."
They all went to Daniel's quarters. As Sam and Daniel sat on the bed, they indicated that Teal'c should take a seat in the chair, which he did after moving it up to the bed.
"Um, okay, I guess we should just come right out and tell you this," Daniel said. "Sam and I are romantically involved with each other now."
To Daniel and Sam's utter surprise, a soft smile lit the Jaffa's face.
"It pleases me that you have finally taken this step," he said.
Gaping at him, the couple were left speechless for several seconds.
"Y-you mean that you've been waiting for this to happen?" Sam asked.
"Indeed I have. I have observed for quite some time – from the very beginning, in fact – the great bond of mind, heart and soul that you share. You are what your people call soul mates." He focused on Daniel. "When you were still wed to Sha're, I did not think that yours and Colonel Carter's relationship would ever progress beyond friendship," he looked at both of them, "but sometime after Sha're's death, I began to believe that, someday, you would find love with each other."
Stunned, Daniel stared at Teal'c. "But you never said anything."
"It was not my place to do so. You had to reach this conclusion on your own and at the proper time, though I admit that it took you longer than I had anticipated."
Both Daniel and Sam gave a laugh and shook their heads.
"Here we thought that we were going to surprise you with our news, and, instead, you shock the hell out of us," Daniel said.
Teal'c gave them a small smile. "Have you informed O'Neill of this?"
"Yes, and, unlike you, he was shocked," Daniel told him.
"Which leads us to the other thing we need to tell you," Sam said.
The couple explained everything to Teal'c, the issue about them staying on SG-1 together and the solution that Jack came up with. After they were finished, Teal'c sat in silence for a long moment.
"I would not like having to . . . inform upon you to O'Neill," he said at last. "It would not be an honorable act."
"In one way, no, it wouldn't," Sam agreed. "But, in another way, it would since it would be your duty to report any problems that could jeopardize the team and adversely affect missions."
"Teal'c, Jack said that, if you do see a problem, you can talk to us about it first so that we can work on resolving it," Daniel told the Jaffa. "You wouldn't have to go behind our backs. And we wouldn't feel like you betrayed us if you did finally have to go to Jack about the problem."
"But, if there was a problem that could not be resolved, would you not choose on your own to leave SG-1 for the sake of the team, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"Yes, I would, Teal'c. I would never stay if doing so would put the team at risk or cause us to mess up on missions. Jack knows that, too. But the president doesn't. He doesn't really know me as a person. He has no way of knowing for sure if I'd do the right thing and leave of my own accord. This thing with you keeping an eye on us is more for his peace of mind than anything else. And it'll only be temporary. After a . . . probationary period, once everyone is satisfied that Sam and I can still work together as teammates, it won't be a concern anymore."
"If I do not agree to do this, then you will be forced to leave SG-1?"
"Yes."
"Then I accept. I do not wish to lose you again as a teammate."
"Are you sure, Teal'c?" Sam asked.
"I am sure."
Daniel and Sam smiled.
"Thank you, Teal'c," Daniel said. "I really hope that Sam and I never give you cause to report anything to Jack."
"I have confidence that you will not," the Jaffa stated. He looked at his younger teammates. "Now that you are a couple, will you be cohabitating?"
"Uhhh, we've only been a couple for a few days, Teal'c," Daniel stammered. "It's a bit early for us to be talking about moving in together."
Teal'c gave a single nod. "I understand. You must date first."
Daniel and Sam both laughed.
"Well, we're already kind of past the dating stage," Sam explained.
"Actually, we skipped over that part entirely," Daniel added.
One of Teal'c's eyebrows lifted. "I see."
The comment and the look caused Daniel and Sam to blush furiously. They hurriedly rose to their feet.
"Well, I think we've got everything all settled," Daniel said with a closed-mouthed smile, clapping his hands together.
"Yes, I'd say so," Sam agreed, still blushing. "We should go tell the general."
"Good idea." Daniel gave the Jaffa a little wave. "See you later, Teal'c."
Teal'c watched them leave, making no move to stand. After the door closed behind them, a huge grin slowly spread across his face. Then he started to laugh.
"It is about time, my young friends," he said.
The rest of the day turned out to be quite amusing for Daniel and Sam. Since they no longer had to keep their relationship a secret, they decided to have a little fun. As they often did, they had their lunch together in the commissary. Throughout the meal, they did nothing out of the ordinary, talking about news on the base and the stuff they were working on. However, after they were finished and had gotten up to leave, Sam leaned into Daniel and gave him a kiss right on the mouth, which he returned without hesitation. It wasn't a long kiss, nor was it very passionate, but the sudden dead silence in the room, broken by the crash of someone dropping their tray, told them that they had succeeded in doing what they had set out to do.
"See you later, honey," Sam said, trying with all her might not to laugh.
"I'll be looking forward to it, sweetheart," Daniel responded, also battling to keep his face straight.
They walked out of the commissary as if totally oblivious to the fact that three-quarters of the people there were gaping at them like landed fish.
And so started a wildfire of gossip, whispered comments, furtive glances and stares. The news was spread from one end of the base to the other within the space of a few hours. Daniel and Sam pretended to ignore it all, going about their work as if nothing was happening. Secretly, though, they were cracking up with laughter.
The only time that they were actually surprised was when Daniel overheard several people talking about who won the pool, and he realized that the pool they were talking about was for when Daniel and Sam would get together romantically. Apparently, Teal'c was not the only person on the base who thought that they were destined to step over the line sooner or later.
It was late in the afternoon when Jack went to Daniel's office. It just so happened that Sam was there.
"So, you guys having fun?" he asked.
"Fun, sir?" Sam asked.
"Oh, don't play innocent with me, Carter. I heard all about that kiss in the commissary. I bet you guys got a big kick out of the reaction."
"Well, it was kind of funny," Daniel admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen that many dumbstruck expressions all at the same time before."
"The way their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were bugging out did remind me of fish gasping for air," Sam added.
"You know, you guys are scaring me," Jack told them. "There was a time when I could count on both of you to act like mature adults. Now, you're, well . . . more like me."
"I guess you rubbed off on us, Jack," Daniel said.
"Yeah, well, while you were laughing it up, I was having to repeatedly explain things to about a dozen people, who each decided it was their duty to report your behavior."
"Only a dozen?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"I guess the majority of the personnel either decided it was none of their business or figured that I'd find out about it one way or another without them having to tell me."
Sam was starting to feel a little guilty. "So, what did you tell them, sir?"
"I told them that the kiss was a joke that would never be repeated while in public," Jack replied sternly, "but that you two were, indeed, dating and had an okay from the president to do so."
Suitably chastised, Daniel and Sam apologized to Jack for the stir they caused.
"Well, at least there won't be any of that 'are they or aren't they' gossip clogging up the grapevine," Jack stated. "Everyone on this base now knows that you are."
That brought a blush to the faces of the couple. Jack looked at them, trying not to smile. The truth was that the main reason he was ticked off about the kiss was that they didn't wait until he could witness the reaction, too. He'd have paid a lot to see that. He wondered if the commissary camera feed was recorded. He'd have to check on that.
Jack had to admit that it was really good to see his 'kids' so happy. Both Daniel and Sam had suffered a lot of pain during their years in the Stargate Program, and it was about time that they found some real happiness. He had no doubt that the relationship between the two of them would work. He may have been surprised in the beginning, but, after than surprise wore off, he realized that Daniel and Sam fit together, like puzzle pieces. In the past, they had fit as friends, coworkers and teammates, and, now, they were fitting together as lovers. Jack wondered how long it would be before he would be standing by Daniel's side as his best man. Probably not long.
'I wonder what Jacob's going to think about this,' he mused silently. 'He'll probably love the idea. If I was Carter's father, I would.' A thought came to his mind. 'Damn. Their kids are going to be scary. Thank God I'll probably no longer be the commander here by the time they grow up and join the program. As it is, Daniel and Carter frighten me by how smart they are sometimes. Their kids will be almost inhuman. Bet they'll give even the Asgard a run for their money.'
"So, your next mission is scheduled for Monday morning," Jack said, choosing to change the subject. "Any plans on how you're going to proceed?"
For the next twenty minutes, Daniel and Sam talked about the upcoming mission, their manner not in the least out of the ordinary. Jack would never guess by watching them right then that they were now lovers.
Personally, he had a feeling that the two of them were going to be fine on missions. They were both well-trained, level-headed adults who understood all too well the importance and seriousness of their job.
Jack's biggest fear was what would happen to the survivor if one of them was killed. He saw how devastated Sam was after Daniel ascended. How would she take it if, now that they were even closer, he died on a mission? Jack feared that it would be too much for her to handle, and she'd leave the service. And what about Daniel? The guy had lost so many people in his life, included his wife. What would it do to him to yet again lose the woman he loved? The thought scared Jack.
Not wanting to think about that, he invited them over for another evening at his house. As he left Daniel's office, Jack decided that he was looking forward to Monday and seeing his faith in his friends justified.
SG-1's mission on Monday did not start out well. Trying not to act any differently than normal, Daniel and Sam overcompensated, acting stiff and rather formal toward each other . . . that is until they caught Teal'c staring at them with a raised eyebrow and a disapproving expression. After that, they forcibly relaxed and just concentrated on their jobs. Once they did, they were fine, as if nothing at all had changed between them.
The debriefing was routine, with nothing out of the ordinary standing out. After Daniel and Sam had left the room, Jack looked at Teal'c.
"So, everything went okay?"
"Yes, everything went quite well," the Jaffa confirmed.
"Good. That's good."
The following two weeks passed with nothing momentous transpiring, though SG-1 next mission turned out to be a bit more exciting than the previous one. Their encounter with the natives on the planet was very tense in the beginning, and they thought for a while that they'd have to beat a hasty retreat, but Daniel did what he was so good at and defused the situation. After that, everything was okay, though the three of them never really lowered their guard. They ended up trading food for a few samples of a mineral that had some interesting properties that Sam wanted to study. As with the last mission, there was nothing for Teal'c to be concerned about regarding the conduct of his teammates. On the contrary, they seemed even more in tune with each other than they had been before, so much so that the Jaffa wondered if they were telepathically communicating with each other.
While on Earth, Daniel and Sam spent the better part of their nights together. They soon found that the nights they spent alone were not happy for either of them. They got little sleep and spent most of the night missing each other. It surprised Sam that she had so quickly become addicted to sharing a bed with Daniel. Daniel, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. When he was married to Sha're, it had taken all of a week for him to reach the point where he couldn't sleep well without his wife lying beside him.
At the beginning of the third week, because Daniel was hip-deep in an important translation, he and Sam were apart for two nights in a row – and Sam was not a happy camper.
It was around 10 a.m. when Jack went to Sam's lab to find her glaring sourly at some doohickey on the table. She was grumbling and cursing, looking like she wanted to take a baseball bat to the thing.
"Having problems, Carter?" Jack asked mildly.
Startled, the astrophysicist jumped.
"What? Oh, sorry, sir. I'm just having problems with this. It won't do what it's supposed to, and I'm getting really frustrated." She shot another glare at the offending object.
"Another night without Daniel, eh?" Jack remarked mildly.
Sam stared at him. "What?"
"You know, there were a few people on base who thought that yours and Daniel's new relationship might cause mood problems, and it appears that they were right. But they were right in the wrong way."
"Excuse me?"
"They thought that you guys would start sniping at each other because you were spending too much time together and were discovering all the personal habits you each have that drives the other up the wall. Instead, the problem is that you're not spending enough time with each other."
Sam frowned. "Sir?"
"Carter, every time you and Daniel spend a night alone, I can tell about thirty seconds after I start talking with one of you. You're both moody and, sometimes, downright cranky. Almost everyone else on base has noticed it as well. At first, we didn't know the reason, but then a pattern started emerging. We realized that every time either you or Daniel spent an all-nighter here, the other of you would be in a mood the next morning. After that, it didn't take much to come to the conclusion that the days you were both moody were days that you were both home alone the previous night."
Appalled that the entire base seemed to know when she and Daniel slept with each other and when they didn't, Sam flushed brightly. She knew that she was a bit sullen on the mornings that she woke up alone, but she hadn't realized that her mood was that noticeable.
"So, do us all a favor, Carter. If, for some reason, you and Daniel have to spend a night apart, then get together first thing in the morning and chill each other out, okay?"
Sam stared at him. "Chill each other out, sir?"
"Yeah. Cuddle for a few minutes or something."
Sam choked on her own breath. "Cuddle? S-sir, you want me and Daniel to become . . . affectionate with each other while on duty?"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Carter! I'm not telling you to go find a closet somewhere and make out. Just hug, kiss, talk . . . whatever. I trust you to keep it this side of indecent while you're on base."
Blushing again, Sam stared at the table. "Yes, sir." She couldn't remember the last time she was this embarrassed. Her C.O. was actually telling her to go cuddle with her boyfriend to improve her mood. Coming from any other superior officer, she'd have been highly offended, but Jack was, well . . . Jack. Tact was not in his vocabulary.
"Now, I want you to go over to Daniel's office and cheer each other up. And you can consider that an order, Colonel."
"Yes, sir," Sam said again. She hurried out of the lab, face still flaming. When she got to Daniel's office, she found a very tired-looking archeologist bent over a clay tablet.
"Hey, Daniel," she said softly as she closed the door.
Daniel turned to her, his face immediately lighting up. "Sam."
"I'm sorry I didn't come see you when I got in. I knew that you were under a lot of pressure to get that translation done."
Daniel gave a sigh. "That's okay, Sam. You're right about the translation."
"How's it going?"
Daniel removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Slowly. I'm certain that the language originates from Ancient Hebrew, but the differences are making it difficult to translate."
Sam looked at her lover for a few seconds, then she walked over to him, cupped his face between her hands, and gave him a long, very deep kiss. Surprised, Daniel did not respond for a couple of seconds, then he returned the kiss eagerly, grabbing hold of Sam's head. By the time they drew apart, they were both a little breathless.
"What brought that on?" Daniel asked. "I thought that, after that whole situation with the kiss in the commissary, we decided that we weren't going to kiss or anything while on base."
"I was following orders."
"Huh?"
"General O'Neill ordered me to come over here and kiss you."
Daniel blinked, eyes widening and mouth hanging open. "H-he did?"
"Well, he didn't really tell me to kiss you. Actually, he recommended that we cuddle, but—"
Daniel laid a hand on Sam's forehead, checking for fever. "Sam, are you feeling okay? Hallucinations? Delirium?"
Sam smiled. "Daniel, I'm fine."
"Then it must be Jack. It can't be a Goa'uld since I cannot think of a reason why a Goa'uld would believe that getting us to kiss would help them take over Earth. So, it must be some alien virus brought back through the gate. Maybe—"
Sam pressed a finger to Daniel's lips, silencing him. "The General is fine, too, Daniel."
"Then what's going on?"
Sam settled on the corner of the desk and explained everything to the linguist. He listened to it all in surprised silence.
"So, Jack's orders are for us to . . . cuddle every morning that we didn't share a bed the night before?"
"Uh huh."
Daniel shook his head. "No matter how many years I know that man he will never stop surprising me."
"You can say that again."
Daniel looked up at Sam. "Soooo, this cuddling we're supposed to do. How far are we permitted to take it?"
"The general just said to keep it this side of indecent."
Daniel abruptly pulled Sam down onto his lap. "Define indecent," he said before taking Sam's mouth in a scorching kiss.
They did manage to keep things from turning R-rated, though it was definitely above PG. They were both flushed and breathing hard by the time they parted.
"Well, he was right?" Sam murmured.
"Who was right? About what?"
"The general. He believed that our, um, cuddling would make us both feel better after we'd spent a night apart."
"Yep, he was right. I feel much, much better. In fact, I'm probably feeling a little too good right now."
"Oh?"
"Uh huh. I'm going to have to wait a while before getting up from this desk if I don't want to embarrass myself in front of anyone."
Sam laughed silently, resting her forehead on his.
"I love you, Samantha Carter," Daniel said quietly, now completely serious.
"And I love you, Daniel Jackson, very, very much." Sam followed her words with another kiss. Then she got off his lap. "Well, I'd better get back to work." She turned to go. "Oh, uh, will we need to cuddle again tomorrow?"
"Yes, we will." Seeing the looked of disappointment on Sam's face, Daniel smiled. "But we can do it in your bed. I should be able to get this finished today."
Sam gave him a brilliant smile. "That's great."
"You know, I just remembered something."
"What's that?"
"We probably just gave whoever is watching the camera feeds some entertainment."
"Oops, you're right. Hmm. I wonder if there's some way for me to temporarily block the feed from this camera so that we can have some privacy when we need to cuddle."
"And your lab. Don't forget about there. I'll sometimes be coming to cuddle you."
"Yes, you're right. I'll set my mind to it right away."
Sam left Daniel's office with a big smile on her face. There would be no more reason to feel grumpy today.
Jack happened to be walking down the hallway and caught sight of Sam passing by ahead of him. By the pleased expression on her face and the lightness of her step, the General guessed that she had just come from seeing Daniel.
"Ah, Danny Boy. Looks like you performed your magic on her," he said under his breath. "Keep up the good work."
Smiling secretly, Jack continued to his destination, knowing that all was right again in his domain.
