by Cynthia J. Klawitter
winterjameson@yahoo.com
Completed: September 27, 2004
CATEGORY: Humor, Romance
PAIRINGS: Sam/Daniel
SPOILERS: Children of the Gods, A Hundred Days, Shades of Gray, Small Victories
SEASON: Season 4, right after Small Victories, and a direct sequel to Oil and Water and Other Things That Don’t Mix (and Some Things That Do)
RATING: PG-13 (to be on the safe side - again...)
CONTENT WARNING: Just remember, folks, prescription drugs and alcohol still don’t mix. Oh, and there’s some sexual overtones, but nothing explicit. Other than that, none.
SUMMARY: On vacation in the Bahamas in an attempt to unwind after the events in Small Victories, there are a few conversations that need to take place...
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM/UA, Showtime/Viacom, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is merely for entertainment purposes. No money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The basis for most of the plot of the original story (where this one comes from) is the intellectual property of Bill Engvall (buy or rent his “Here’s Your Sign Live DVD - my sides still hurt from laughing so hard!). I just borrowed the concepts to have fun with my favorite team!
* * * * * * * *
The beach abutting the Sunset Bay Resort in the Bahamas had plenty of mid-day traffic even though it was a Monday, made up of college students on vacation, newlywed couples on their honeymoons, and other random tourists seeking the tropical get-away for one reason or another. One pair of people on that beach were distinctive by their lack of movement, however. Colonel Jack O’Neill and his friend and teammate Teal’c stood at the end of a long dock that jutted into a shark lagoon and served as a takeoff and landing platform for parasailors, as recently proven by their other teammate Doctor Daniel Jackson not a half hour previously. The final member of their team, Major Samantha Carter, had gone up to their hotel suite to check on the civilian’s condition as the only reason he’d gone parasailing in the first place was he’d accidentally gotten a mix of Vicodin and alcohol into his system and an aggressive boat driver had taken advantage of the resulting drug-induced hyperactivity.
“What are you thinking, O’Neill?” Teal’c inquired when the other man had been quiet for a long moment, especially for the normally talkative team leader.
“Those are sharks, Teal’c,” Jack murmured, his eyes never leaving the ocean predators that swam in the water below him.
A dark eyebrow rose. “Yes,” he agreed, unsure of where his friend intended to take the conversation.
“Daniel nearly landed in there.”
“Yes.”
“I could see it coming, you know. When that boat started heading for the platform I could see that the angle of the rope was all wrong. What I wasn’t sure of was whether or not he’d end up close enough to the dock to make it out of the water before either the parasail dragged him under or the sharks decided he’d make a great lunch entre.” The greying-haired man sighed and ran a hand through his military-length locks. “When he made that mad scramble and managed to hit the platform with his feet barely getting wet... relief and the absurdity of the situation just overwhelmed me. I couldn’t help but laugh. I saw him tear the harness off out of the corner of my eye and...” He sighed again. “He was okay, Teal’c. Daniel was okay. Or would be at the very least. The next thing I know you and Carter are talking like I’m not there about checking up on him and meeting later for dinner. Daniel was gone and apparently pissed off at me.” Jack finally tore his eyes away from the water and looked the Jaffa beside him in the eye, brown meeting brown. “I know I screwed up. I owe Daniel a huge apology. I shouldn’t have laughed when he was so scared. But I was too.”
Another long silence descended on the pair, each not looking away from the other. “I was frightened for Daniel Jackson’s welfare as well, O’Neill. I saw as you did that his trajectory would not lead to his landing on the platform, and was helpless to do anything to assist him. I do not like the feeling,” the larger man said finally.
Jack smiled wryly. “Neither do I, big guy. I’ll talk to Daniel later, but for now let me apologize to you. I have a feeling by watching me make an ass out of myself you managed to make Daniel think you weren’t concerned about him, and with his shaky mind-set that would really hurt him. It’s my fault, and I’m sorry.”
“I accept your apology,” Teal’c acquitted his friend with a bow of his head. “You realize you would be wise to offer one to Major Carter as well as Daniel Jackson of course.”
“Oh, that’s just a given.” The colonel’s smile turned into a grin. “Thanks, T. I owe you one.”
“Indeed, O’Neill. And I will anticipate the repayment of that debt with great fervor.”
Jack gulped, his smile dropping off his face. If only he hadn’t been so stupid! This one could get incredibly sticky. And that was not something he was looking forward to, no matter how much he may have deserved it.
* * * * * * * *
Sam woke up from her nap a couple hours after she dropped off, her sleep-fuddled mind reveling in the warmth that surrounded her without truly identifying its source. She snuggled her face into the short, soft brown hair her cheek had been resting against as a pair of arms tightened briefly around her waist. And then it hit her: she was in bed with Daniel! Her eyes sprang completely open from their half-mast position and her breath caught as she looked down her body as best she could.
Daniel was still wound as tightly around her as he’d been when he’d cuddled close to her side to sleep off the pain medication he’d taken that morning and the alcohol he’d accidentally added to it. And she still felt like a giant plush toy. Sam smiled gently at the sleep-softened features resting against the sensitive skin of her neck. There were worse things she could feel like, she supposed.
The blonde woman lightly ran her fingers through the short brown hair that tickled her jawbone. Part of her missed the longer length he’d worn when she’d first met him, but overall she had to admit the style he wore now fit the man he’d become in the three years since then. Reminded of that first meeting, her mind’s eye replayed the memory of her first sight of the DHD in the pyramid on Abydos, then having her attention directed to the man who’d opened the Stargate, Doctor Daniel Jackson. She’d read all his work, studied his theories and how they’d influenced the remaining scientists involved with the project, tried to find a decent picture of the man somewhere in some file. And while she’d had a healthy respect for the archaeologist’s incredible intellect, nothing had prepared her for the sight of him standing amidst a group of natives, dressed as they were in flowing natural-toned robes, looking at her with bemused confusion. His ear-length brown hair was thick and full, a slight wave threatening to make the ends curl outward, and his wide eyes were the color of a clear summer sky, not hidden in the least by the cobbled-together spectacles resting on the bridge of his well-shaped nose.
Just... wow.
Sam had let her eyes close again as she let herself sink into the warm, fuzzy feelings that had first washed over her when their eyes met, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she heard him call her “Captain-Doctor”, his way of diffusing the tension he felt between herself and Colonel O’Neill when she’d introduced herself as Doctor Samantha Carter and her superior officer had refuted it by reminding her she’d told him she preferred to be called by her rank. Her breath caught in the next moment, the feather-light touch of lips on her pulse point yanking her back into the present. A sleepy “mmm” came from just above her left shoulder, and a lazy hand began running slowly up and down her right side.
Blinking furiously, the previously-daydreaming physicist maneuvered her head to the side, not deterring the man holding her in the least, and looked down to see what in the hell was going on. Her eyes widened even further when she realized that the man nuzzling her neck and caressing her side so gently was still sound asleep. “Daniel?” she whispered, hoping to draw him out of what must be a dream or memory of his time with Sha’re before he either did something to truly embarrass himself or slipped into a nightmare about what had been the final outcome of his search for her. She didn’t think she could bear to see him go through either scenario.
“Sam,” Daniel softly moaned into her throat, still asleep. “You taste just like I always thought you would.” His kisses became longer and more drawn out.
“Oh... my,” Sam breathed, involuntarily letting her head fall back under the onslaught of feelings and emotions that washed over her, her right hand that had previously merely been resting lightly on Daniel’s left shoulder now tightly gripping it. She should stop this, she knew she should stop this. They hadn’t had an opportunity to have that talk about how they really felt about each other. She wasn’t even sure she knew how she felt.
But, oh, this felt so good. His lips were practically searing the soft flesh just under her earlobe, and the hand that had been lightly running along her side had switched to a gentle massage just shy of her breast. Sam’s passion was quickly building, eroding her determination to wake Daniel and not reply in kind. A low groan escaped the woman’s mouth instead of the name she’d intended, not that she was sure that would have been much better.
And then everything petered out. The kisses slowed and the massage stopped altogether, his hand stilling just above her diaphragm. Daniel’s head snuggled back into the crook of Sam’s shoulder, and with a deep sigh he slipped back into motionless slumber.
Sam blinked. She certainly hadn’t been expecting any of that, especially its conclusion. Her breathing slowly recovered from its hormone-induced increase, and the haze in her mind dissipated, leaving behind a startling revelation. She’d enjoyed that. She’d completely and thoroughly enjoyed everything that had been brought bubbling to the surface, and the fact that it had been Daniel who lit the fire just made it all the more intense and compelling. She’d thought she’d put aside these feelings for the man who would become her friend and teammate when it became apparent on Abydos that not only was the archaeologist taken but he was completely in love with his wife. Obviously she had been mistaken.
So what did she really feel? She knew there was a deep, abiding friendship that they shared. She couldn’t deny the physical attraction, that much was a given. But ultimately... Her eyes widened as realization struck. She... she was in love with Daniel Jackson. She’d fallen in love with him the moment she saw him, and it had only grown deeper the more she got to know him. Holy Hannah.
They still needed to talk. It was even more important now. At the same time, the last thing Sam wanted was to make Daniel feel pressured about his own emotions if he wasn’t sure - she’d think about his earlier comments when the time came - so she decided to leave things as they were until they had their promised discussion. No matter what Sam needed Daniel’s friendship; anything else was worthless if that was gone, if there could even be anything else. Everything as settled in her mind as they could be, Sam took advantage of the close proximity of the man who had won her heart without either of them realizing it and laid her cheek once more against the top of his head, her left arm draped loosely across his shoulders. Sleep reclaimed her quickly, her conscious thoughts leaving only a small smile as sign of their passing into oblivion.
* * * * * * * *
Jack paced in the lobby of the resort at six-thirty that night, waiting impatiently for the younger half of his team to come down for dinner and fighting the almost irresistible urge to check out the suite the four of them were sharing to find out what was going on. Teal’c sat on an overstuffed chair near the front desk reading one of the magazines that normally rested on a nearby coffee table for just such a purpose, studiously ignoring the restless man. “You don’t think they’re going to make me wait here all night just to spite me, do you, Teal’c? What I did wouldn’t warrant that, would it?” the Air Force colonel asked, incredulous disbelief masking an almost desperate need for reassurance. He’d really stepped in it this time, and he knew revenge was inevitable. He just wasn’t sure what form it would take.
“There are still thirty minutes before the time Major Carter arranged to meet us, O’Neill. You must be patient.” The Jaffa finally looked up from the glossy pages. “Your conscience speaks much too loudly.”
Jack couldn’t even pretend not to understand that one with Teal’c’s ominous threat of a favor hanging over his head. “I just want to get this over with and get on with our whole group vacation of fun thing. How can I apologize if they don’t show up?”
Up went the trademark eyebrow. “Your fear is unfounded, O’Neill. Our friends will arrive in time for dinner as agreed. You will have your opportunity at that time.”
Jack sighed. “I guess.” He continued to pace, and Teal’c returned to his article.
Fifteen minutes later, Sam came out of one of the elevators dressed in a light, flowing, pale blue sundress and white sandals. She smiled and joined her waiting teammates. “Hi, Teal’c, Colonel. How was your day?”
Okay, she didn’t sound like she was still angry. “We did some sight seeing, a little bit of shopping. Had to pick up a few souvenirs for the folks we left behind.”
“Cassandra Fraiser was quite insistent about bringing her presents,” Teal’c agreed, a light of amusement in his eyes. “I believe she will be pleased.”
“She better be,” Jack grumbled. “That necklace cost a pretty penny.”
“Not as much as the portrait you requested,” the Jaffa countered.
“Commissioned artwork always costs a little more,” the greying-haired man retorted haughtily. “I just hope that photograph is good enough to work from.” He looked at Sam, who was grinning at their antics. “So where’s Daniel?”
The blonde woman’s smile faltered slightly. “He’s changing. He was a little groggy when he woke up and decided to take a shower before coming down.” A hard glint came into her light blue eyes. “He’ll be here in time, sir.”
Jack held up his hands. “Never said he wouldn’t, Carter. Never even thought he wouldn’t.” He sighed. “Do you think we could talk in private for a moment? I need to tell you a few things.”
Sam took a deep breath and released it. “Of course, sir.” She gestured toward the front doors. “Be sure to let Daniel know we’ll be right back, okay, Teal’c?”
“Of course, Major Carter.”
Jack led the way to an empty bench on the manicured front lawn of the resort and sat down, Sam following suit immediately after. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “I want you to know that I realize I was out of line this morning, Major. Especially considering Daniel just had surgery two weeks ago, I should have made sure he really was all right. I can only tell you that my reaction came from being overwhelmingly relieved. I’d seen he wasn’t going to hit the platform, and I knew that’s where the sharks were. I also knew that parachute could easily drag Daniel under before he could make it out of the water; the driver and his two buddies certainly weren’t in any position to help, and we were pretty far away. It was... reaction.”
Sam hadn’t looked at the man next to her at all. “So that’s your excuse?”
“Not an excuse, Sam. But it is the reason behind what I did.”
Now the blonde turned her head, icy blue meeting guilt-lightened brown. “Permission to speak freely, sir.”
Jack sighed. “We’re on vacation, Carter.”
Sam blinked. “Permission to speak freely, sir.”
Okay, he wasn’t walking away from this one unscathed. If Carter was ignoring his implicit permission to say whatever was on her mind and demanding him to actually say it, whatever was on her mind was bound to be extremely painful for him. But he had asked for it. “Permission granted, Major. Hit me with your best shot.”
Now those blue eyes blazed. “Do you honestly understand how you hurt him? And not just this time, either. Sometimes when you harp on him, I can see him mentally rocking back from the blows. And I don’t mean your usual playful bickering. That’s just a game. I even find it amusing, for a while anyway. You are Daniel’s best friend. Your opinion means the world to him. I think Teal’c’s and my opinions mean a lot, too, don’t get me wrong, but you’re the one most likely to lash out, whether you mean it or not.”
“Now hold on a second. Daniel knows a lot of the time I’m just blowing off steam.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t. But why is it Daniel is almost always the target for that? Even though he understands, I can see that it still hurts. He forgives you - he’ll always forgive you - but he still feels the pain. If you keep going on like this, no matter how much he forgives you, that pain is going to overwhelm him. And I do not ever want to see that happen.” Sam’s body shook with the effort to keep herself under control. What had happened that morning on the beach, as well as her revelation of that afternoon, made all of her issues with how the colonel treated Daniel boil over, and she wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to do something about it.
Jack blinked in surprise at his 2IC’s vehemence. “I don’t want to see that happen either, Carter, really.” He paused. “Is it really that bad?”
Sam sighed, her muscles relaxing at the sound of the man’s genuine concern. “Not completely, but ever since you went undercover to expose Makepeace and his people it’s been heading that way. I still don’t know what the two of you said to each other when he went to see you in the middle of that mess - Daniel refuses to talk about it - but whatever it was struck him to the core. When I think about it, it looks like that’s where everything started.”
“Shit.” Jack’s eyes closed and he leaned his head back against the back of the bench. “Maybourne still has a lot to answer for, doesn’t he?” Sam said nothing. “He’d bugged my house, Carter. I had to sell the conniving bastard persona I’d put on to make them believe I’d be willing to switch sides. And then came Daniel, my very concerned best friend, knowing how out of character I’d been acting and wondering what was wrong so he could help fix it. You know it was probably that conversation that convinced Maybourne I wasn’t playing with them?” He gave a short, humorless laugh.
“What did you say, Jack?” Sam breathed. She could feel the man’s pain like it was still fresh, and felt a little guilty that she’d been the one to open this particular can of worms.
“Would you believe I had the audacity to tell him our friendship had no foundation? The man who managed to reach me when I was ready to complete a suicide mission after losing my son, was willing to die for me when I’d been nothing but an asshole to him... But no, there’s no foundation there, what would make him think that?”
Sam flinched at the scathing sarcasm, the anger behind it obviously aimed inward. She wanted to reassure him, let him know Daniel understood, but that wasn’t what Jack O’Neill needed to hear. “You know, you were pretty supportive after we... lost Sha’re. But not too long after that this downward spiral started. Why? Why have you been withdrawing from Daniel? Do you realize that you’ve been more than ready to criticize him when he makes a mistake, but I can’t remember when the last time was that you gave him a compliment? And you were pretty distant with him when we got back after they finally got the replacement gate in place and ready to go. What’s going on, Jack?”
“I actually thought about that last one, believe it or not.” Jack’s eyes opened and brow creased as he considered it again. “I realized I was taking Daniel’s presence for granted. Now I’m starting to think I’ve been taking everything about Daniel for granted. But that’s not the whole problem.”
“It isn’t?”
“Can’t be.” The greying colonel let out an explosive breath and rubbed his hands over his face. “God, I think you’re right, Carter. I have been withdrawing from Daniel, and it started with the undercover assignment. I had to withdraw then, from all of you, or there was no way I was going to pull it off. I knew I’d hurt him with the act at my house, and he returned the favor with that crack about drawing the short straw. What I had done was worse, of course, but the combination of hurt and guilt...” His voice trailed off.
Blue eyes narrowed as Sam contemplated the man beside her. “It was a combination of lashing out and protecting him from yourself, wasn’t it, sir? An unconscious form of revenge for daring to lash out at you and desire to never hurt him enough to make him want to lash out at you again.”
Jack hesitated for a moment in consideration then nodded. “You just might be on to something there, Carter. I think you just might have nailed it on the head.” He sighed. “Hell, I think you can probably throw in some leftover angst from when I was stuck on Edora. It hurt to think I’d never see any of you again, especially my best friend. I don’t ever want to feel pain like that again.” He sat up straight and his eyes widened as he turned his head to look at Sam. “You really don’t remember me ever complimenting Daniel? No pats on the back, no job well done?”
“Not ever. Just not lately,” Sam clarified.
“But I have for you and Teal’c?”
“Yes, sir,” was the quiet answer.
The pair was silent for a long moment, Jack’s gaze on the grass at his feet and Sam’s on Jack. “I didn’t even realize it was happening,” the older man whispered. “What would have happened if you hadn’t said anything?”
“I’m sure you would have come to your senses eventually, sir.”
“I wouldn’t put too much money on that one, Carter. So much of my communication with Daniel is unspoken it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that some things need to be said out loud. Combine that with my normal reluctance to deal with emotional issues...”
Sam cocked her head to the side. “So what made you share this with me, sir?”
Jack gave her a rueful smirk. “You threw it in my face, Carter, made me really look at it. And then there’s the fact that you caught me at a low ebb. I’m feeling pretty guilty about this morning. Mind you, I’ll probably say you took advantage of me later.” The smile turned genuine.
The blonde woman laughed. “I’ll probably let you.”
“So are we okay? I am sorry about what happened this morning. I’m sure you took some flak for getting distracted by my stupidity, and that’s my fault.”
“Yes, it is. And I did have to deal with a pissed-off Daniel. But I suppose I can forgive you.” Her superior smirk faded into a concerned smile. “Just, please. Remember what we talked about and do something about it. You and Daniel have a very special friendship, and I don’t want to see anything happen to it. You’re both too special to me.”
“Now that’s a deal I can live with.” The two Air Force officers shook hands.
Sam’s expression turned wicked once she let go of Jack’s hand and stood up. “Mind you, that doesn’t mean there will be no revenge. Just so you understand.”
Jack groaned. “Message received, Major. Message received.”
Go to part two
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