Ouroboros, by Amaranth Traces

-- Chapter Seventeen --

Daniel lay on Jack’s sofa, willing himself to relax. He flexed his feet and weaved his fingers behind his head. The moon reflecting off the pond outside cast a shimmering pattern on the ceiling, reminding him of the stargate’s event horizon. His eyes drifted shut as he recalled the events of the day.

They’d had fish with Jack’s special recipe beer sauce for supper – sauce that was thankfully on the side. Jack had prepared the interesting meal after catching three large trout from his pond.

The pond that was supposed to be fishless.

Once again, Daniel’s mind wandered to the tape they had found. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he and Sam had been acting strangely on the recording. And he couldn’t get over the thought that there was something that the other version of himself wanted the other Sam to say.

Daniel made an effort to clear his mind in preparation of sleep. It never worked, but he tried anyway. After several minutes, it became quite clear that he wasn’t yet tired enough. He had images of the canopic jar saved on his laptop. Translating was a relaxing activity, though he had to admit the puzzle of the jar was becoming increasingly frustrating. He idly wondered what Jack’s reaction would be if he came out to find him working. Daniel imagined that he’d have to spend the next morning fishing his computer out of Jack’s pond.

The sound of a door quietly closing pulled him out of his silent reflection. Daniel opened his eyes and sat up. Aside from him, the room was empty. He looked out the window and, with the light of the full moon overhead, saw Sam walking toward the dock. A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

He watched as she sat on the end of the dock, dangling her feet over the edge and into the water. She leaned back on her arms, throwing her head back to look at the sky. The moonlight bathed her in an ethereal glow.

Suddenly, Daniel realised something. If the crate from Egypt hadn’t arrived at the exact moment it did, he would have told Sam how he felt about her. He would have told her the real reason he had chosen to descend. But in the original timeline, there had been no crate. The original him would have told her. Maybe the writing on the jar really was about her.

He quietly made his way outside. As he walked down the short path to the dock, a twig snapped under his foot. Sam’s body tensed, and she turned around sharply.

Daniel held up his hands, smiling. “It’s just me.”

Visibly relaxing, she turned back to the water. Daniel settled himself on the edge of the dock next to her.

“Did I wake you?” she asked, staring again at the sky.

“No, I wasn’t sleeping.” Daniel followed her gaze to the stars overhead. “I heard you go out, and I’ve been watching you from the window. Thought you might want some company.”

She glanced at him briefly and smiled. “I really needed this.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“This place is just beautiful. It’s so peaceful. I kinda like it.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Jack.”

Sam laughed and swatted him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t you dare. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Daniel chuckled. “Good point.” He turned and studied her profile. “Sam?”

She smiled and rolled her head on her shoulders to look at him. “Hmm?”

“Are you okay?”

Her smile faltered. “Fine. Why?”

“I don’t know. Lately, it’s just seemed like...” Daniel studied her expression carefully. “Like there’s something on your mind.”

The smile faded, replaced once again by the look. Sam sighed and turned back to the water.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Of course I know that, Daniel.”

“Okay,” he said quietly.

They sat in silence for a while. Daniel relaxed, enjoying her company and the cool night air.

“Daniel, do you think—”

He looked over at her and waited for her to finish. When she didn’t say anything more, he frowned. “What?”

“That tape from the tomb...” Sam said softly, seeming to look everywhere except at Daniel. “Did you think— I mean, did you notice that we – the ‘we’ on the tape, I mean – were acting, um...”

“A little odd with each other?”

Sam nodded and finally looked at him again. “What do you think that was all about?”

“I don’t know.” Daniel licked his lips nervously, watching her. “I mean, it almost looked like I— he was asking you— uh, her if they should say something on a personal note.”

Her eyes searched his for a long moment before she looked back out at the pond. “I got the same impression.” She splashed at the water with her feet. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, actually.”

“And?”

Sam turned to face him. “The thing is, there aren’t supposed to be fish in this pond.”

Before Daniel realised what was happening, Sam leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. The contact lingered just a moment longer than one between two people who were just good friends should. She pulled away before he could react, leaving Daniel feeling dazed. She looked at him for a moment, her face showing a mixture of fear and uncertainty. Then, abruptly, she stood up and began walking quickly toward the cabin.

His brain finally shifting into gear, Daniel rose to his feet and followed her. “Sam, wait.” He caught up to her near the door to the cabin. Placing a gentle hand on her arm, he turned her to face him.

“Daniel, I’m sorry.” She sighed and hung her head. “God, I’m such a coward.”

“What?” He cupped her chin, tilting her face up to his. “Sam, you’re one of the bravest people I know.”

“Not when it comes to talking about how I feel.” Her eyes looked almost silver in the moonlight.

Daniel smiled, hoping he understood her correctly. “How you feel about me?”

She nodded, dropping her gaze to the ground. “I should have told you ages ago. But I was afraid to admit it to myself. I promised Dad that I’d tell you. This last week, I’ve tried so many times. But I was afraid.” Sam uttered a humourless laugh and looked up into his eyes. “It doesn’t make any sense. I can face death every day, but I can’t tell you that I...” Her fingers grazed over his cheek. “I love you, Daniel,” she whispered.

A joyful warmth spread through Daniel’s chest. Slowly, he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly. After a moment, her mouth began to move under his. He felt her hand at the back of his neck, her fingers sliding through his hair as she intensified the kiss. Daniel responded eagerly.

Finally, they broke apart. Daniel stared at her. “Sam...” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “I’ve been afraid, too. The truth is, I’ve been in love with you for years.”

The smile that spread over Sam’s face could have lit up all of Colorado Springs. Daniel wrapped his arms around her, and her arms encircled his waist. Once more, he pressed his lips to hers. His entire body tingled with pleasure as her hands roamed his back. Her mouth opened in response to his tongue’s touch to her lips, and he echoed her moan of pleasure as he explored her mouth.

Breathlessly, he pulled away, smiling at her. Her face was glowing with happiness. Daniel traced a light line down her cheek with his finger and then pulled her close to his body. They held each other in silence for several minutes.

Sam uttered a happy sigh, resting her head on his shoulder. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Daniel dropped his head and ran a line of kisses from her shoulder up her neck. “Me neither,” he whispered near her ear. He kissed her earlobe before pulling it gently into his mouth. Sam gasped and clutched at the back of his shirt, pressing her body tighter against his.

He took a step forward, so that her back flattened against the outer wall of the cabin. She sighed softly as he nibbled lightly at her neck. Her fingers again tangled in his hair. She pulled his face up to hers and kissed him hungrily.

Her tongue probed his lips, and he granted her access. They kissed deeply and passionately, their tongues sliding over each other. Daniel pressed his body tighter against hers, pushing her against the wall. Sam lifted one leg and hooked it around his, locking them together and thrusting her pelvis against him.

Daniel moaned loudly into her mouth. His hands moved to her waist and then slowly up her sides. His thumbs tentatively grazed over the curve of her breasts through her clothing, and she gasped at his touch, her body arching into his hands.

A loon called out from across the pond and brought both of them back to the real world.

Panting, they clung to each other, faces buried in the other’s neck. A long, delicious minute passed.

“We should probably take this slow,” she said rather unconvincingly.

“We’ve been going slowly for years, Sam,” Daniel murmured into her neck. He kissed the pulse point below her ear, gently nipping at her skin.

Sam gasped in pleasure and her head fell back, giving him more access to her delicious neck. Daniel marvelled at the reactions his kisses were causing and had to force himself to stop. “You’re right,” he said.

She whimpered softly as he lifted his head. Gazing at him, she held his face in both of her hands and pulled him into another kiss. Parting again, Sam dragged her teeth along her bottom lip.

Daniel groaned softly, his eyes locked on her lips. “You’re going to have to stop that.”

She released her lip and smiled at him. He lowered his head and kissed her tenderly, then rested his forehead against Sam’s.

“I guess we should go inside,” she whispered.

Daniel nodded his agreement. He stepped away from her, and they entered the cabin quietly. They sat on the sofa, side by side, their legs touching. Sam smiled at him as his fingers brushed against the back of her hand. She turned it over and entwined their fingers together. Daniel squeezed her hand affectionately.

A loud snore came from another room. Daniel laughed, but Sam tensed, staring at door to the bedroom where Jack and Teal’c were sleeping.

“We’re gonna have to tell them,” she said quietly.

Daniel smiled. “I have a feeling they’ll be okay with it.”

She turned to look at him. “How do you know?”

“I think, in the timeline where Jack’s pond has no fish, we were together.” His thumb traced circles on the back of her hand. “We would have told them. And except for the odd glances we were giving each other – which I think we’ve figured out now,” he smiled warmly at her, “there was no indication of any problems from Jack or Teal’c.”

Slowly, Sam nodded. “I think you’re right.”

“Jack might...” Daniel searched for a delicate way to phrase his concern, “need some time to adjust to the idea.” Sam frowned, so he tried to explain himself better. “He, um, he’s part of the reason I never told you how I felt.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to know that Jack has had feelings for you.”

She winced. “Yeah. I was worried about that too. There was, uh, a bit of confession during our zatarc testing a few years ago. But, I recently discovered that he’s been seeing someone.” Sam glanced at the bedroom door. “But it’s a secret. I sort of stumbled in on a dinner they were having at his house. I had stopped by unannounced to talk to him about what might happen once you came back.”

He smiled. “You knew I’d come back?”

“I was afraid we’d have to find you again. That you’d have lost your memory again. But I knew you’d be out there.”

Daniel caressed her cheek, and she closed her eyes, turning her face to kiss his palm. “I came back for you, you know.”

Her eyes opened, searching his. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“I don’t think that’s even possible.” Daniel gave her a broad smile at her.

Sam’s fingers traced his lips. “I really missed you,” she said. “And I missed this smile.”

“Well, I’m back now. And I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighed happily and rested her head on his shoulder, folding her legs up onto the sofa. “Good.” Sam curled up along his side, her fingers playing with the fabric of his shirt.

“We should probably get to bed.”

“I know,” she said. “I just wanna stay like this a little while longer.”

Daniel smiled against her forehead. He’d be perfectly content to hold her close forever. At that moment, he realised that he had been right about the writing on the canopic jar. It had been about him and Sam.

He tightened his arms around the woman he loved, wondering how they were going to tell Jack. If Jack really was seeing someone, then that did bode well for his acceptance of the change in relationship between two of his friends and former teammates.

Daniel closed his eyes, drinking in the feel of Sam’s body against his. He wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable talk with Jack. Daniel just hoped his friend would understand.

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