Three minutes after Sam came in the door, the two of them were naked and on the bed, passion and need making their movements almost frantic. Sam rolled on top of Daniel, her hands and lips everywhere.
"God, Sam," Daniel groaned, his body already aching for her.
Wanting the same thing just as much, Sam sat up, positioned herself, and sank down onto him. She began to move with him, their pace very quickly speeding up.
In fascination, Daniel watched Sam rise and fall above him. She looked so beautiful, her face lifted toward the ceiling, her body flushed with passion. This was not Sam the scientist or Sam the Air Force major. It was Sam the woman, a woman who made him feel so alive every time he made love to her.
Sitting up, Daniel grabbed Sam's head and took her mouth in a hard kiss. Keeping their bodies joined, he folded his lower legs underneath him. She joined him as he launched into a hard, fast rhythm. They rapidly climbed the peak together.
Feeling himself ready to fall over the edge and sensing that Sam was as well, Daniel took hold of her head again and met her eyes. With their gazes locked together, they came simultaneously in a wildly intense climax.
They held each other as they came down from the high. Once their breathing had slowed, they claimed each other's mouths possessively.
"You are amazing," Daniel murmured.
"So are you. You make me feel so incredible, Daniel."
The archeologist stared into her eyes. "I don't ever want you to think that you have a reason to be jealous, Sam. I meant what I said before. I am committed to this relationship."
"I know you meant it, Daniel." Sam's eyes dropped from his.
"But? I can tell that something is on your mind."
Sam gathered her courage and spoke her thoughts. "You loved Sha're so much, and I know that being with her made you happy." She met his eyes. "That's the way I feel about you, and nothing would make me happier than to be like this with you for the rest of my life. But if . . . but if you ever met someone you thought you could feel that way about, I wouldn't expect you to stay with—"
Sam's voice was halted by Daniel's fingers on her lips.
"Sam, I can't say what the future is going to bring," he said, "but I don't want you to look at every woman I meet and wonder if she's going to steal me away from you. I cannot imagine myself with any woman alive except you, and I don't think that's going to be changing any time soon. What we have, it may not make me happy in exactly the same way as being with Sha're did, but it does make me happy. I love this." He brushed his hand down her arm. "I love being with you. I love making love to you. I love waking up with you beside me. So no more worrying about other women, okay?"
Sam smiled, a hint of tears in her eyes. "Okay."
After using the bathroom, they crawled into bed. Daniel spooned behind Sam, curving his body tight against hers. One of his hands gently cupped her breast, a gesture of possession. Sam smiled softly, very much wanting to be possessed by him. The independent woman in her railed at the thought, but the woman in love didn't care.
Sam's hand came to rest over the one he had on her breast. She then closed her eyes and, with a feeling of contentment, drifted away into sleep.
Sam looked up from her bowl of cereal to study the man sitting across from her.
"When are you going to invite Teal'c and the colonel over so that you can give them the news that you're not moving?" she asked.
"I was thinking of calling them around four o'clock. I plan on fixing spaghetti for dinner."
"Sounds good. I guess I'll be making use of my acting skills again when I pretend to be surprised about your decision to remain in Colorado Springs."
"That should be a piece of cake compared to yesterday."
This being her last day of leave, Sam wanted to spend as much of it as possible with Daniel, so she was still there when he made the call to her C.O. at four p.m.
"Hey, Jack. I was wondering if you guys might like to come over to my place for dinner tonight, sort of a thank-you for yesterday."
"Sure. What time?"
"Seven?"
"Sounds good to me. Would you like me to let Teal'c know?"
"Yeah, thanks. I'll call Sam."
"Okay. See you at seven, then."
Daniel hung up and turned to Sam. "All set. I do need to go grocery shopping, though."
"I'll go on home, then. I really need to get some housework done anyway."
"Okay." Daniel gave her a kiss. "See you tonight."
It was no surprise that Sam was the first one to arrive at Daniel's that evening. In fact, she was a full twenty minutes early. She helped him with the last minute stuff in the kitchen and was busy setting the table when Jack and Teal'c arrived five minutes early.
Everyone enjoyed the meal, the conversation remaining light. They were in the living room, eating slices of the Dutch apple pie Daniel purchased, when the archeologist set down his plate and looked at his ex-teammates, a serious expression on his face.
"I've made a decision," he announced. "Jack, I know you wanted me to think about it for two weeks, but I already know what I want to do."
Jack's expression showed how unhappy he was. "Daniel, come on. We agreed on two weeks. Can't you just put a little more thought into it?"
Daniel stared at him. "So, you want me to wait another eight days before telling you that I've decided to stay?"
Jack blinked. "You . . . what?"
"I've decided to stay."
"Daniel, that's wonderful!" Sam exclaimed, doing a good job of playing the delightfully surprised friend.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, looking pleased.
"Why you little jerk," Jack said. "You deliberately worded it so that I'd think you went ahead and decided to leave."
Daniel kept his face completely straight. "Did I?"
"I should punch you for that. Instead, I'll just echo Carter and Teal'c's sentiments. I am delighted that you changed your mind. I'd say that it calls for a celebration, but since we're already eating pie, I'll just get back to doing that."
Jack did that very thing, a smile on his lips. The others did so as well.
"Now that you have chosen to remain in Colorado Springs, what are your plans for obtaining employment, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked after a moment.
"That's a good question. There aren't all that many job opportunities around here for someone with my qualifications. There would be more in Denver, but I'd hate the long commute."
"Well, I know of one job that would fit your qualifications perfectly," Jack told him. "Your old one back at the SGC."
Daniel stared down at the floor. "I still don't feel like I could continue traveling through the gate on missions, Jack."
"But you wouldn't have to, Daniel," Sam said. "We would all love for you to come back to SG-1, but just you coming back to the SGC would be great." She looked at Jack. "Isn't that right, sir?"
He nodded. "I'd definitely prefer you back on the team, but having you there just as a consultant would be a hell of a lot better than not having you in the program at all."
"We have missed your presence there," Teal'c stated.
Daniel lifted his head. "I'll think about it."
"Good," Jack said. "You do that."
Jack and Teal'c left a while later, Sam saying that she was going to stay and help wash the dishes. She and Daniel hadn't been at the dish-washing for very long when the major let out a laugh.
"That was just plain cruel, what you did to the colonel."
A tiny smile curved Daniel's lips. "I suppose it was, but I couldn't help myself."
"I was fighting to keep a straight face when you said that." Sam looked down at the soapy water. "You know, what we said about you rejoining the program is true. You could come back just as a consultant."
"I know, Sam. I will think about it. I promise."
Though Sam would have loved to spend another night with Daniel, she figured that it would be best if she went home since she'd be getting up early.
"I am going to miss being with you every day," she said from within the circle of Daniel's arms. They were standing at the door after having shared a very long kiss.
"Likewise. I'd say that you could come over in the evenings, but the problem is that I never know when Jack's going to drop by unexpectedly."
"You could come over to my place."
"I could, but then I'd want to spend the night, and you need to get up early on work days."
"That's okay. We can make it work. There wouldn't be anything preventing you from letting yourself out after I've gone to work. You should still have a key. You made a copy so that you could feed Schrodinger while I was recuperating from that unplanned trip to Antarctica."
Daniel thought about it. "Okay, how about if I come over every other evening, starting Wednesday?"
"That'll work. What about the weekend?"
Daniel smiled. "Well, since I'll be waking up there Saturday morning, I suppose I could hang around for the rest of the day."
Sam tightened her arms around him. "Mmm. Just what I was thinking."
They shared another long kiss, then Sam reluctantly headed for home.
Neither of them had spoken again about telling Jack and Teal'c about their relationship. Sam knew that it was something they'd have to do eventually, but she really wasn't looking forward to it. On the other hand, it would mean that they'd no longer have to sneak around behind everyone's back. They could freely spend as much time together as they wanted.
On Wednesday, she and Daniel would have to talk about this and decide what to do.
Sam laid her head on Daniel's shoulder, her eyes on the TV screen. They were cuddled up on the couch together, watching a movie.
It had been nine days since Daniel let Jack and Teal'c know that he'd decided to remain in Colorado Springs, twelve days since he told Sam that he wanted to be in a relationship with her. They had been twelve of the happiest days of Sam's life. They'd continued their schedule of getting together every other evening and spending one weekend day together. The one problem was that, on the work day mornings that Daniel was sharing her bed, she really didn't want to leave. There was a time when Sam loved going off to work and couldn't think of anything she'd rather do, but that was most definitely in the past.
Sam had feared that Daniel would grow tired of spending so much time with her, but he seemed to enjoy every minute they were together. As for Sam, she eagerly looked forward to their times together. Regardless of whether they made love or simply slept together, each night with him was wonderful.
Daniel had turned out to be the perfect boyfriend, romantic and attentive. One evening, he surprised her with a dozen roses. On another, he presented her with a little box that contained a lovely charm bracelet, each of the charms being a cat posed in a different position. They'd gone on two more dates. For a man who wasn't even in love with her, he was more loving and giving of himself than any other boyfriend Sam had ever had. Sometimes, she felt like pinching herself to make sure it was all real.
The couple had yet to tell Jack and Teal'c about their relationship. The truth was that they were putting it off. They were dreading the reaction, especially from Jack. They knew that they couldn't put it off forever. As it was, there had been a couple of close calls. Sam and Daniel were together one Saturday at his place when Jack showed up out of the blue. Thankfully, they were both fully clothed and came up with the explanation that the two of them were planning on going to see a movie together. Jack invited himself along, which was a problem because there weren't actually any movies playing that the couple wanted to see. They settled on an action flick. The other close call was far worse. That time, the lovers were most definitely not fully clothed. In fact, they'd just finished having sex against Daniel's bedroom wall when Jack's knock on the front door startled them. Daniel had to quickly throw on some clothes, and Sam had to hide in the bedroom while the archeologist got himself out of spending the evening with Jack at O'Malley's. After that incident, the couple decided that it was far too risky to spend any time together at Daniel's place.
The movie ended, and Sam went to use the bathroom. When she came back out, Daniel was looking through her CD collection. She just stood there and watched him for a moment, a little smile on her lips. She then walked up to him and gave him a kiss.
"Forget the music," she said. "Let's go into my bedroom and make our own music."
A grin slowly spread across Daniel's face. "Make our own music?"
Sam made a face. "Okay, that sounded really corny. Blame it on the movie we just watched." It had been a rather sappy romance.
Daniel stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. "So, what kind of music will we be making tonight? Will it be a slow song or something . . . up-tempo?" Daniel's voice dropped half an octave on the last two words, his hand sliding down Sam's body. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Up-tempo, most definitely," she murmured huskily before taking Daniel's mouth in a scorching kiss.
The "music" that night was definitely up-tempo. Afterwards, they lay flat on their backs as their thundering hearts gradually slowed.
"If we were at my place, and Jack knocked on the door right now, I don't think I'd have the strength to get up to answer it," Daniel declared.
"Thank God that's not a possibility here." Sam rolled onto her side and looked at her lover's profile. "How much longer do you think we can keep this a secret from him?"
Daniel sighed. "I don't know. We've been lucky so far. If I was still in the program, I doubt that we could have kept it hidden for this long."
Sam fell silent. "Have you put more thought into that?" she finally asked. "Rejoining the program, I mean."
"Yes, I have, and it occurred to me that there would be one big disadvantage to doing so."
"What's that?"
Daniel looked at her. "As it stands now, the only people we're going to have to tell about our relationship are Jack and Teal'c, and I suppose Janet, too. But if I come back to the SGC, we'd have to tell General Hammond. The entire base would probably find out, and you can bet that people will talk. Now, normally, I'm not the kind of person who really cares about stuff like that. After all, when I posited my theories about the pyramids, I knew that every tongue in the archeological community would be wagging. What people on base would say about me isn't what's bothering me."
Sam looked at him. "You're thinking about what they'd say about me."
"Yeah."
"Daniel, though I do admit that I don't like the idea of people there gossiping about us, if I have to choose between that and not having you back there, I'll take the gossip. If that's the price of having you back with the program, it's more than worth it. So please don't make the decision not to return because you want to protect me from what people might say or think about our relationship."
Daniel didn't say anything for a moment. "If I did decide to come back, would there be a problem with work?"
"If you're wondering about regulations, then, no, there would be nothing against it. You're a civilian. Technically, even if you rejoined SG-1, it wouldn't be against the regs, although, if you did that, the people in charge could object and refuse to allow it. But if all you did was rejoin the program, there's nothing they can say about it." Sam gazed at him intently. "I want you back there, Daniel. I miss having you there. We all do. It would be so wonderful having you back."
Daniel fell silent again. He left the Stargate Program because his guilt and grief over Sha're's death had destroyed his desire to remain there. So what about now? Sha're was still dead, and he still grieved for her, but his new relationship with Sam had reignited the spark that had died within him. Could he return to the SGC, to the place where he'd held so much hope that he would someday free his wife? That shadow would still be there, but Sam would also be there and the hope that she had brought back to him. He liked the idea of working closely with her again, joining her on projects. Their new relationship would make it even better. Of course, there was also the practical consideration, that it would resolve the dilemma of what he was going to do for employment. He'd done a bit of job searching but hadn't had any luck so far.
Daniel rolled onto his side and met Sam's eyes. He saw there the hope that he would say yes. If he said no, that hope would be replaced by disappointment.
Several more seconds passed, then Daniel caressed Sam's cheek, smiled, and nodded. A bright smile lit her face.
"You'll come back?"
"Yes, I'll come back."
Sam engulfed Daniel in a tight hug. Just the joy on her face when she pulled back was enough to make Daniel happy with his decision.
"The colonel and Teal'c are going to be so delighted," she said. "When are you going to tell them?"
Daniel thought about that, and the smile on his face grew. "Actually, I have an idea about that."
Jack frowned down at the paperwork before him. When he came into work this morning, he'd been called into Hammond's office, where the general spoke again about finding Daniel's replacement. He'd managed to stall yet again, but that wasn't going to work for much longer. If only Daniel would at least agree to return to the SGC, it might be enough to convince Hammond that, given more time, the archeologist might decide to rejoin SG-1.
Jack couldn't count the number of times that he'd been tempted to talk to Daniel about coming back to the program, but he didn't want to get too pushy. He had come to recognize that his friend needed to make that decision for himself.
Letting out a sigh, Jack finished going over the paperwork, then signed it. He put it in the outbox, then got up to pour himself a cup of coffee. He was reaching for the pot when a voice startled him.
"Hey, Jack."
Surprise was the emotion Jack was feeling as he turned around. That surprise grew into shock as his eyes fell upon Daniel. The archeologist was standing in the open doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb . . . and he was wearing BDUs.
"Daniel? You're wearing. . . ."
"Yes, I am."
Jack stared at him. "Does that mean. . . ."
"Yes, it does."
An ear-to-ear grin split Jack's face. "Yes!" He came forward and gave his best friend a hug. He then drew back and grasped Daniel's shoulders. He could not help but note that the SG-1 patch was not on one of those shoulders, but just the fact that the Stargate Program patch was there was enough for now.
"I can't believe you did this behind my back," Jack said, shaking his head. "When did you rejoin?"
"Just now, actually. I just left Hammond's office a little while ago. He said that it'll be a few hours before it's official, but he saw no reason for me to wait to settle back in."
"Sweet." Jack patted his shoulders. "Come on, then. Let's go give the good news to Carter and Teal'c."
"Sam already knows. She was with me when I made the decision yesterday."
"And was she in on this plan to surprise me?"
"In a way. I came here with her so that the guards at the gate wouldn't have to get the general's permission for me to come on base. But Teal'c doesn't know, so we can go tell him."
Daniel called Sam's lab, and she joined the two men as they went to Teal'c's quarters. The Jaffa was delighted that Daniel had chosen to rejoin the program, and all four of them went to the commissary for some celebratory dessert, where several people welcomed the archeologist back. Afterwards, Jack, Sam and Teal'c all followed Daniel to his old office.
"You need to get busy filling it back up with your stuff," the colonel remarked, looking about at the barren shelves and desk.
"I've got some of it in Sam's trunk, mostly my books."
"Well, then let's go get it."
The four friends fetched the boxes, then Sam, Jack and Teal'c watched in pleasure as Daniel began filling the shelves with his possessions.
"This is great," Jack murmured.
"Yes, it is," Sam agreed.
Jack looked at her. "Daniel said that you were with him when he made the decision to come back."
Sam hesitated ever so slightly before saying, "Yes, sir."
"So what finally made him decide to do it?"
Sam's hesitation was longer this time. "Well, I told him how much we wanted him back, but I think a big factor is that his grief over Sha're isn't as strong as it was when he quit."
Jack nodded, returning his attention to Daniel. He best friend was at last back where he belonged. Well, not quite. Jack was now confident, though, that, given some more time, Daniel would return to the team as well. He – and General Hammond – just had to be a little more patient.
