CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Daniel and Sam were very sorry to reach the end of their leave, their first week together as lovers having been the best week either of them ever had. They left early, and Daniel dropped Sam off at her house so that she could take care of a few things before heading on to the mountain.
Yesterday, they had decided that they needed to let General Hammond know as soon as possible about the change in their relationship. They had talked for a long time about what they were going to do if the general decided that they couldn't both stay on SG-1.
"Daniel, you know that you're needed out there more than I am," Sam had insisted. "Your abilities are too valuable to lose on missions."
"But what would you do, then? Stay in the lab?"
"I don't know. Maybe. It's not like there wouldn't be plenty enough to keep me busy. It would give me the time to finally work on some of those projects I've been wanting to. I guess I could join another team, instead, but that would feel weird."
"There is another option," Daniel had said after a moment.
"What's that?"
"I could accept the offer of my own team."
The suggestion had surprised Sam. "But you didn't really want your own command."
"No, and I still don't, but, back when it was first offered to me, I knew that, if it was the only way for us to be together, I'd do it. I know that I wouldn't be on SG-1, but I'd still be out there, doing what I can."
Their discussion had ended with nothing firmly decided.
About forty minutes after Daniel arrived at the SGC, he got a sudden feeling. His eyes looked up at the ceiling. Sam was here. She'd just arrived. Already familiar with being able to sense the presence of others, it was not a strange sensation, but the fact that he could feel her even though she was clear out in the parking lot was a little surprising. So was the fact that he could sense that she was a little nervous. That's when Daniel realized that a part of the psychic link had, indeed, remained. He had to wonder if Sam felt any of this, too. He also had to wonder how this was going to affect things.
The moment Sam got onto the base, she headed down to the infirmary. She felt the need to share with Janet the joy that she'd found with Daniel. Of course, she had no intention of discussing the details, but, considering how long the doctor had been trying to get Sam to do something about her feelings for Daniel, the astrophysicist figured that she deserved to know how wonderfully everything had turned out.
When Sam walked into the infirmary, Janet did a double take. She immediately came over to the major.
"Wow, Sam. You look great." She smiled knowingly. "I'm guessing that you had a very nice week."
"You don't know the half of it, Janet," Sam replied with feeling.
"Really. Well, let me finish what I was doing, and we can talk about it."
Sam went to Janet's office to wait. The doctor came in a few minutes later.
"So, is it safe to assume that you and Daniel finally went out?"
"Uh huh. Three dates so far."
"Three? All in one week? I guess the first two dates must have been pretty spectacular."
"They were. I'm not exaggerating when I say that they were the best dates I've ever been on."
"Well, that's great, Sam. Now, don't you feel silly for taking so long to make up your mind about this?"
Sam frowned at her, then sighed. "Okay, so I admit that I do wish now that we'd gotten together months ago. Heck, if I'd known then what I do now, I wouldn't have stopped Daniel from making love to me when we were on M4A-826." Then she thought about it. "On second thought, maybe it still wouldn't have been a good idea, not considering."
"Considering what? Sam, are you saying that you and Daniel have slept together? Not that I'd be the least bit surprised if you have."
"Yeah. Yeah, we have," Sam answered, her tone soft, yet full of emotion.
"And?"
"And there aren't any words in the English language or probably any other Earth language that could describe it."
"Wow. That good, huh?"
"Better, Janet. I'm not kidding when I say that it was beyond what you could imagine. And I'm not just talking about the lovemaking itself. Do you remember me telling you about that 'sharing' thing that Orlin did?"
"Yes, I do." Janet's eyes widened a little. "You mean that Daniel did that?"
Sam nodded. "He showed me everything, Janet. He showed me his soul. And he saw mine. It was so amazing. I thought I knew him really well before, but, now. . . ."
"Not many men would be willing to bare their soul to someone like that. That alone proves how much he loves and trusts you."
"Yeah. But it was more than that, Janet. We . . . linked, psychically."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we were sharing a complete empathic connection."
"You felt each other's emotions?"
"Yes, and more."
"More?"
"More, much, much more."
"I don't understand."
"Janet, I felt everything Daniel felt, both emotionally and physically, and he did likewise."
It took a moment for the doctor to process what Sam had said. When she did, her eyes became huge. "Sam, are you saying that you physically experienced everything Daniel did?"
Sam nodded again.
"Everything?"
"Uh huh."
"Even when you were. . . ."
Sam grinned. "Yep."
Janet's mouth fell open. "Holy shit," she murmured.
Sam had to smother a laugh. That was not the kind of thing that Janet normally said, and the major found it extremely funny.
"And . . . and he experienced what you were feeling?"
"Yes."
"That, uh . . . must have been . . . rather intense."
"Oh, yeah, you can say that again." Sam was not going to go into any more details about the experience, the ways in which Daniel worshipped her body and she his, how even their psychic link could not explain the level of ecstasy that they felt every time they made love. That was too private even to share with the woman who was both hers and Daniel's doctor. The whole truth about how indescribably incredible their lovemaking was would be something that only she and Daniel would know.
"Well, all I can say is that you are one lucky woman," Janet said.
"You aren't kidding."
The physician paused. "I don't suppose that you'd be willing to tell me what it feels like for a man. That's something all women wonder about, and, now, you actually know."
Sam shook her head. "Sorry. That's a bit too private. Besides, it would be hard to describe."
"I understand." Janet smiled. "I am jealous, you know. Heck, any woman would be jealous. If other women found out that Daniel has the ability to do that, you'd be beating them off with a baseball bat."
Sam gave her a grin. "If they knew the whole truth, I'd probably need tactical nukes to keep them away."
The two women laughed.
Becoming serious, Janet said, "So, when are you going to tell General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill?"
"Today. There isn't going to be a problem with the colonel. I'm sure about that. I don't know about the general."
"What are you going to do if he says you can't both stay on SG-1?"
"I don't know. Daniel and I talked about it, but we didn't come to any decisions. I guess we'll just wait and see what the general says and decide then."
Daniel was well into a translation when he sensed that Sam was getting near. It felt like she'd just gotten off the elevator. Smiling, the archeologist stood and quickly went to the doorway. He positioned himself against the wall to the right of it.
When Sam came through a moment later, Daniel grabbed her arm, yanked her up against his chest and crushed her lips with his. Sam was stiff and unresponsive for about two seconds, then got into the spirit of the kiss. They explored each other's mouths hotly for around half a minute before pulling apart.
"You know, you're lucky I didn't knee you in the groin or toss you over my shoulder," Sam told the archeologist. "Grabbing someone who has hand-to-hand combat training like that is not a smart move."
Daniel grinned. "It was worth the risk."
"What if someone saw us through the camera feed?"
"The whole base is going to find out anyway once we tell General Hammond, so I don't think it's going to matter if the person watching the video feeds finds out ahead of time."
Sam thought about that. "You're right. Doesn't matter at all." She followed that statement up with another passionate kiss.
"Mmm. Wanna go find a closet somewhere?" Daniel asked, grinning broadly.
"Now that would be a bad idea. We can't give General Hammond any reason to think that we can't handle being lovers and still remain professional on-base."
"Oh. So, no hot, wild sex on my desk, huh."
"Nope."
"Or your workbench."
"Afraid not. Sorry."
"Damn. I'm so disappointed. You have no idea how many fantasies you just shot down in flames."
"Aw, poor baby."
The lovers separated and went over to Daniel's desk.
"So, when do you think the best time to talk to Hammond would be?" the linguist asked.
"I'll find out what his schedule is like and set an appointment. That way, we'll be less likely to be interrupted or interfere with something else he's doing." Sam paused for a second. "I'm kind of nervous."
"Me too, but it's going to be okay, Sam. I love you, and we're together. No matter what the general decides, that won't change."
Sam nodded. "You're right. It's going to be fine." She stood. "I'd better go make that appointment."
Daniel caught her hand and established the psychic link. He sent all his feelings of love through it. Sam smiled beautifully and did the same back to him. She then gave his hand a little squeeze and left the room.
Daniel got back to work. It wasn't long, though, before he sensed Jack approaching. The colonel came in and walked up to Daniel, an odd little smile on his face. He sat on the corner of the desk.
"So, have a nice week?"
"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact."
The smile got a hair bigger. "Uh huh. You know, something I found rather interesting just happened. You recall how I said that Carter has this thing about humming when she's dating someone? Well, I just bumped into her, and she wasn't just humming, she was singing. Didn't catch much of the song, something about reaching the stars. That was interesting enough, but what really caught my attention was her face. It was . . . glowing. Radiant would be a good word. Now, I gotta ask myself, what would earn that kind of reaction? Got any ideas?"
Daniel stared at the older man. Obviously, Jack had guessed that he and Sam were now a couple, and there was no point in denying it or acting dumb, but there was no way that he was going to tell the colonel all about what happened on their leave.
"I might have some idea," he answered, straight-faced.
Jack's smile went up another notch. "I figured you would." The smile then widened to a full-blown grin. "So, you two finally did it, huh?"
"Did what, Jack?" Daniel asked innocently.
"Oh, cut the innocent crap, Daniel. You know what I mean. Judging by the way Carter is acting, I'd bet my paycheck that you did a whole lot more than just go out on a date. Even the best date in the world wouldn't make a woman look like that. Nope, that was the face of a woman who's had mind-blowing sex . . . repeatedly."
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. "And I assume you're an expert on this?"
"Hey, I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but I was married, and I knew how to satisfy my wife."
"Ah."
"Soooo . . . it was good, huh?"
"Jack, we are not talking about this."
"Oh, come on, Daniel. You can tell me. We're best buds."
"And Sam is your second in command. Even if she wasn't, I'm not the kiss-and-tell kind of guy."
"You have to tell me something," Jack nearly whined. "Come on. Throw me a bone."
A little smiled curved Daniel's lips. "Okay. I'll tell you that having once been ascended has some very nice fringe benefits."
Jack frowned as he thought about that. "Daniel, don't tell me you did a Moonraker thing."
Daniel stared at him, perplexed. "Huh?"
"You know. The whole zero gravity scene with Roger Moore and what's-her-name."
"I never saw the movie, but if you're suggesting what I think you are, then, no, the laws of gravity were not defied by us at any time last week." 'Although it sure did feel like it sometimes,' he added silently.
"Then what are you talking about?"
Daniel turned back to his computer. "Nope, that's all I'm going to say."
"But that doesn't tell me anything!" Jack complained.
Daniel didn't reply. He just got busy typing. When, after a few seconds, it became obvious to Jack that the archeologist wasn't going to tell him anything else, he sighed loudly.
"Fine. Be that way. So, when are you going to tell Hammond? You're going to have to, you know."
Daniel stopped typing. "I know. Sam's making an appointment with him for today. Jack . . . do you think he'll let us both stay on SG-1?"
Jack paused briefly, a look crossing his face that Daniel couldn't identify. "Well, there's no denying how valuable you both are to the team, but there are considerations to be made. Two people in a romantic relationship being on the same team could cause problems. There's the concern that you guys won't be able to stay professional and keep a level head if one of you is in danger. Some people might consider that to be too big a risk."
Daniel sighed. "Yeah, that's what I figured."
"Just cross your fingers and hope that he's in a good mood."
As it turned out, Hammond had a free spot in his schedule almost right away. Both of them feeling a little tense, Daniel and Sam went to see him.
When they entered his office, it wasn't hard for the general to tell that the two scientists were nervous. He told them to take a seat.
"I'm guessing that this is something rather serious," he said.
"Um . . . yes, sir," Sam responded. "It's . . . it's about me and Daniel, General. You see, we . . . uh. . . ." Her voice faded off, losing the words.
Daniel picked up from her. "We're romantically involved with each other, sir."
A small smile came to Hammond's face. "Ah, I see."
The couple blinked in surprise.
"You're not surprised, sir?" Sam asked.
"No, I've known since the party here at the base that there was something between you, though Colonel O'Neill told me that you weren't in a relationship at that time."
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. You and Jack have already talked about this?"
"Yes, we have. And if you're here to ask if I will allow you both to remain on SG-1, I have already discussed it with the colonel and left it up to his judgment."
A little glint of anger lit in Daniel's eyes. "I see. Thank you, sir. I guess we don't really need to talk with you about this, then."
Hammond smiled again. "I do want to say that I hope you will both be happy. It always pleases me when someone under my command finds something to bring joy into their life. With the job we have here, joy is sometimes in short supply."
"Thank you, sir," Sam said. "We appreciate that."
"There are a couple of other matters that we need to discuss," the general said. He turned to Daniel. "This concerns you personally, I'm afraid. I was intending to talk to you about it today. While you were on leave, the NID contacted me by phone. They are very interested in the fact that the knowledge of the Ancients was downloaded into your brain. They want to know if you've retained any of that knowledge."
'Uh oh,' Daniel thought. 'This is what I was afraid of.'
"I do consciously remember some things, but none of it would be of much use to us," he said aloud. "I don't remember the plans to any weapons or other devices. I doubt that the NID would be interested in the agrarian society that lives on a planet called Nestraana or the fact that there's a solar system with four dwarf stars on the outer edge of the galaxy."
"No, they probably wouldn't. And those are the only things you remember?"
"There's other stuff, too, but, like I said, nothing that would be of much use to the NID or the SGC. The rest of it is all locked back up in my subconscious."
"I see. All right, I will let them know what you've told me. Hopefully, that will be the end of the matter."
"There is one thing, though, sir."
"What's that?"
"I've regained all of my memories from when I was ascended."
Hammond leaned forward in his chair. "That's good news. I can only imagine what those memories entail."
"Some of it is pretty amazing, sir. I do remember visiting a few planets that we might want to check out. It's possible that we could gain some valuable allies or forge some good trade agreements."
"Excellent. Put anything you think is relevant or important in a written report."
"I will, sir."
"Okay, on to the second matter. An issue has arisen in regards to the Ancient outpost in Antarctica. It seems that the other countries who are privy to the existence of the Stargate Program are . . . concerned."
"Concerned, sir?" Sam inquired.
"They are, to put it mildly, nervous about the power of the weapon that is there. They are insisting that control of the outpost not be placed in the hands of the U.S."
"And who do they want to have control?" asked Daniel.
"That is still being argued about. In the meantime, all research at the outpost has been suspended."
"They're afraid we'll find out something and not share it with them," Daniel surmised.
"That's basically what it amounts to."
"So, I guess I'm not going there."
"Not at the present time, I'm afraid."
"Do you think it would do any good if I talked to them?"
"I'm not sure. A Doctor Elizabeth Weir is representing us in the talks."
A startled look crossed Daniel's face.
"What's wrong, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.
"Um . . . nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm, uh, familiar with Doctor Weir's work. I referenced some of it when I was working on the treaty with the Tok'ra. She definitely knows her stuff. I doubt that anything I'd say would be better than what she can do."
"I will mention it to Doctor Weir anyway and see what she says."
"Okay."
As soon as the couple had left General Hammond's office, Sam looked at Daniel.
"Okay, what was that look for?"
"What look?" Daniel asked as he headed for the elevator.
"There's something about this Doctor Weir that you didn't tell General Hammond."
Daniel paused for a moment. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything to Hammond or Jack."
"Why not the colonel?"
"I just think it would be better if he didn't know."
"Okay, I promise."
Daniel waited until they were on the elevator before answering Sam's query. "Doctor Weir is the person the president would have replaced Hammond with if I hadn't convinced him not to."
Sam blinked a couple of times. "She is?"
"Yes."
"Wait a minute. Would have picked? You mean he's not going to replace Hammond?"
"No, I don't think so, at least not at this time. I'm pretty positive that, in the original way things played out, Hammond was replaced before Anubis' attack."
"That's great. So, Doctor Weir is a negotiator, right?"
"Uh huh. She's been responsible for brokering a lot of international treaties."
"What military experience does she have?"
"None, that I know of."
Sam frowned. "Then why would the president have picked her? Someone with negotiation skills isn't going to help us with the Goa'uld. They don't negotiate . . . well, except for when Earth became a protected planet."
"It's complicated, Sam. The president did have his reasons. He just wasn't looking at the big picture."
When the elevator doors opened, Sam realized that they were on the floor that Jack's office was on.
"Are we going to see the colonel?" Sam asked. "I think he's already figured out that we're a couple now." She blushed a little. "He kind of noticed that I was in a really good mood."
"Oh, he knows, all right. He came to talk to me after he saw you. We're going to see him so that I can kill him."
"Um . . . okaaaay. So, why are you going to kill him?"
"Because I asked him if he thought that Hammond would let both of us stay on SG-1, and he didn't tell me that the general had left it up to him. More than that, he deliberately made it sound like there was a good chance that Hammond wouldn't let both of us stay on the team."
"Why would he do that?"
"Revenge."
"For what?"
"Uh . . . I wouldn't tell him something he wanted to know."
"What?"
Daniel didn't answer right away. "He . . . wanted me to kiss and tell."
"He. . . ." Sam's eyes widened a little, her cheeks coloring slightly. "And . . . and you didn't?"
"No, I didn't. It's none of his business."
"Thank you. I think I'd die of embarrassment if you'd told him anything. I mean, he's my C.O. For him to know the details of my sex life would be mortifying."
The couple reached Jack's office.
"I figured you'd be coming to see me," the colonel said with a little smirk.
"Very funny, Jack," Daniel growled. "That was a lousy thing to do."
"Hey, I didn't lie to you. I just failed to tell you that the decision wasn't up to Hammond. It didn't hurt you any to sweat a little."
Sam glared at him. "Sir, Daniel is right. It was a terrible thing to do. And for you to do it because he refused to tell you about our sex life makes it even worse."
Jack stared at Daniel. "You told her?!"
"Damn right I told her. She wanted to know why it was that I was planning on killing you."
Jack looked back and forth at the two angry people standing before him, realizing that he owed them an apology.
"Okay, I apologize. It wasn't a nice thing to do. I was just ticked off."
"With all due respect, Colonel, what Daniel and I do in the bedroom is none of your business," Sam told him angrily. "How would you feel if I asked your ex-wife about your sexual relationship with her?"
Jack knew that she had a point, and it made him even sorrier about what he'd done. "You're right, Carter. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked, and I shouldn't have done what I did when Daniel refused to tell me." He turned to the archeologist. "So, how were you planning on killing me?"
"I hadn't decided yet. Something painful."
Jack grimaced. "Well, if you can hold off on my homicide, I'd like to make it official that, as far as I'm concerned, you can both stay on SG-1 as long as you don't let your relationship affect your performance on missions. I would also like to say that I couldn't be happier that you two are finally together."
He stood up, came around the desk, and gave Sam a light hug. Then he stepped up to Daniel.
"So, am I going to get to live for another day?" he asked.
"I suppose so," Daniel replied. "But if you ever do something like that again. . . ."
Jack held up his hands. "Hey, I may not be the brightest guy on the planet, but I know better than to make that mistake twice." He then pulled Daniel into a tight, brief hug, patting his back.
"So, I guess Teal'c's next on the list, huh?" Jack said. "I doubt he'll be surprised."
"No, he probably won't be," Sam agreed, "not considering what happened when Daniel . . . when we thought he'd died."
Daniel looked at her. "What happened?"
"I . . . made no secret of the fact that I was in love with you."
"Oh." The archeologist decided not to ask anything else about that. He knew that his "death" had hit Sam hard, and he didn't want to make her relive that difficult time.
As Jack and Sam had guessed. Teal'c was not surprised a bit when Daniel and Sam told him about the change in their relationship.
"This pleases me," he told them with a satisfied little smile on his face. "I have hoped for some time now that you would become lovers. I believe that you will bring each other much joy."
Daniel and Sam looked at each other and smiled. "There's no doubt about that, Teal'c," the archeologist said.
"No doubt at all," Sam agreed.
