StargateFic100: 100 ficlets featuring Sam & Daniel, by Amaranth Traces

Diamond

Genre: Romance
Pairings: Sam/Daniel established ‘ship
Spoilers: The Serpent’s Lair, Meridian, Fallen
Season: Future season
Rating: T
Word count: 1,586

Thanks to Thraesja, a precious diamond of a beta. And thanks to Jess for pointing out the incorrect episode title in my spoilers. :)

--

Sam stared at the phone on the coffee table as her hands fiddled with the envelope she was holding. She walked across the dark room for what must have been the hundredth time that night and peered out the front window.

Still nothing. A glance at the clock told her that Daniel was now more than four hours overdue. It wasn’t the first time, but that didn’t make her worry any less. She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth as her gaze fell on the phone again. There was no use calling the SGC. They’d have let her know if there was anything to report.

A beam of light swept across the living room, and Sam turned back to the window. She let out a relieved sigh as she saw Daniel’s car pulling into the driveway.

Quickly, she padded down the hall toward their dimly lit bedroom. She could hear the front door opening quietly as she set the envelope down on her bedside table.

Sam dove into bed. Damn. The sheets were cold. He was going to know that she’d been waiting up for him.

A few moments later, Sam felt Daniel climb into bed behind her. His arms wrapped around her as he brushed a light kiss behind her ear.

“Mmm,” she murmured, rolling over to face him. “You’re late.”

“Sorry I worried you. Diplomatic incident off-world.” Daniel lowered his lips to hers for a sweet and lingering kiss.

Sam trailed her hands across his chest. Her fingers began a slow recon of areas further south, sliding across his stomach and over the angle of his hip. His body tensed, and he hissed quietly into her mouth. She broke the kiss to find him wincing.

After switching on the lamp behind her, she pulled the sheet down. The reddish-purple beginnings of a large bruise painted his left hip and the side of his thigh.

Sam’s fingers hovered over his injury. It looked incredibly painful. “Diplomatic incident?”

“Minor misunderstanding.”

She sighed and stared at him for a moment. It just killed her to see him hurt. He knew, she was sure. Why else would he be downplaying it?

Sam moved to get out of bed. “I’ll go get you some ice packs.”

“No, stay.” He took her hand and kissed her fingers. “It looks worse than it is.”

She let him pull her into his arms, nestling next to him. “I hate that I can’t go with you.”

“I know. I feel the same way every time you leave on a mission without me.”

“Every trip through the gate carries the risk that we might not come back. But it’s harder when I can’t be there fighting next to you.” Her fingers toyed with his hair. “I couldn’t bear to lose you again.”

“Sam, I promise you, if there’s a way, I’ll always come home to you.”

She smiled against his neck, breathing deeply, inhaling his scent.

“Would it be easier for you if I requested a posting planetside?”

“What? No.” Sam pushed herself up to look at him. “You love going off-world.”

“If it makes things easier for you, I’ll give it up.”

Her fingers touched his cheek as she shook her head. “I can’t let you do that.”

Daniel sighed and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her down onto his chest. She settled herself against him again, careful to avoid his injured side. With her ear against his chest, she could hear his heart beating. She felt him kiss her hair.

As far as Sam was concerned, it didn’t make any sense for the Air Force to have separated them. They worried about each other too much on different teams. It was affecting the work of both of them. If they worked together, they wouldn’t be distracted by imagining the horrors the other might be facing.

Sam lifted her head and weaved her fingers together over his chest. She rested her chin on her hands and studied him carefully. “What if there was a way for us to be on the same team again?”

He looked at her, a crease of confusion appearing between his brows. “The regulations are pretty clear. As much as I’d love for us to work together again, I’m not willing to give up being together for it.”

Sam smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Me neither. But what if there was a way around the regulations?”

“What do you mean?”

Stretching, she grabbed the envelope she’d put on her bedside table, then handed it to him.

Daniel’s frown deepened, but he opened the envelope. Sam watched his expression carefully as he read the letter it contained.

He looked at her, clearly alarmed. “Sam, you can’t resign your commission!”

“Why not?”

“Because you love your job! You’ve worked so hard to get where you are.”

“I joined the Air Force because I wanted to be an astronaut. Now, I’m on a different planet every week – that’s more than any astronaut can say – and I don’t need my rank to do it.”

Sam stroked her fingertips along the muscles in Daniel’s arm. “Besides, I’ve been on the space shuttle, though considering the circumstances of that trip...” She forced a smile. “Let’s just say that it quelled any desire to do it again.”

He opened his mouth, and she knew he was going to argue his point. She put a finger to his lips.

“I can request reassignment to the program as a civilian scientist. The frat regs don’t apply to two civilians. Particularly if we’re not on a front-line team. We can work on one of the scientific teams. They’d all be panting at the chance to get both of us at the same time.”

“Yeah, but...”

She shook her head. She’d thought a lot about it and had made up her mind. “It’s not like I haven’t considered this before, you know.”

He blinked, clearly surprised. It was good to know she could still surprise him. “You have? When?”

Her fingers traced idle lines over his chest. She probably shouldn’t have said that. She didn’t want to talk about when.

“Sam?”

She took a deep breath. “After Kelowna, when Dad was using the hand device to heal you.” Sam paused, swallowing hard. No matter how many years had passed since that mission, it still made her feel sick to think about it.

Daniel stroked her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

“Dad said he wasn’t sure he could heal all of the damage. I didn’t hesitate; I told him to do what he could.” Sam smiled and trailed her fingers across his lips. “I never told anyone, but I was going to quit my job and take care of you.” She lowered her head to his chest, once again listening to the reassuring sound of his heartbeat.

“I had no idea,” Daniel said softly.

She looked up at him again. “Would it have made a difference if I’d told you?”

He frowned. “A difference with what?”

“With your decision to leave.”

Daniel’s eyes squeezed shut. “I don’t know.”

It was a mistake to have brought the subject up. It was painful for both of them. Sam kissed him tenderly. After a moment, his lips responded, and when she pulled away, she smiled at him.

“So,” Sam said. “This isn’t a new idea for me. Resigning and reapplying to the program as a civilian would let us work together again.” She studied him. “What do you think?”

He seemed to consider the idea. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Sam smiled, nodding.

“Well, there’s a problem with your plan, you know.”

She felt her smile turn to a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve studied the regulations too, looking for loopholes. Your plan only works for married couples.”

“What?” Sam sat up and started to move toward the edge of their bed. The book of regs was on her desk in the study. “No, I’m sure I read—”

Daniel’s arms slid around her waist, dragging her back toward him. He pulled her onto his lap and pressed his mouth passionately against hers. Sam melted into him, moaning softly as his tongue slid over hers.

When they parted, she smiled at him before glancing toward the door. “Just let me check. I’m sure the regs didn’t say anything about—”

She stopped abruptly at the expression on his face. Looking down, she saw that he was holding a small, black velvet box, and the drawer to his bedside table was ajar. He pressed the box into her palm, his eyes twinkling with a shy smile.

Oh. Guess he could still surprise her, too.

Sam’s hands were shaking as she opened the box. The ring was perfect. The glittering diamond was flanked by a blue topaz on one side and a ruby on the other – their birthstones. The design was perfect, with the stones set low so they wouldn’t be damaged by her work.

“Sam, will you—”

“Yes!” She leaned into him, gently pushing him backwards onto his pillow as she dropped scattered kisses across his laughing face.

Daniel wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over. He gazed down at her, a wide grin brightening his face. “Can’t a man finish a question around here?”

“Sorry,” she said, grinning sheepishly.

“Samantha Carter, will you marry me?”

Sam beamed up at him, a bubble of joyous laugher bursting from her chest. “Yes, Daniel Jackson, I would love to marry you.”

THE END

Note: For the record, Orlin got it wrong, but Sam was too polite to correct him. :)

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