Title: Daniel's Denial

Summary: While off world, Sam tries to help Daniel to get over his denial.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own stargate, yada yada yada.

Daniel's Denial (A/N: Takes place after AOT but before Sam goes to Atlantis.)

If Sam had to listen to Daniel's audible sighs and frustrated tossing and turning for one more minute she was going to lose it. The man had been at it for over an hour and she could take it no more.

"Having trouble falling asleep Daniel?"

"A little, yes."

Sam hadn't shared a tent with Daniel in what seemed like years. It always seemed as if Daniel and Vala were stuck in their own tent while Teal'c, Cam, and herself were in the other. She had no idea why Daniel couldn't sleep, she thought that a night away from 'Vala's incessant chatter', as Daniel had put it, would do him some good.

"Want to talk about it?"

Sam heard the rustle of Daniel's sleeping bag as he sat up. "I don't know."

Something was bothering him, Sam had known him long enough to be able to tell that. "Well, maybe it will help, something is obviously bothering you."

"Vala..."

Vala? She wasn't there to bother him. "What about her? I thought that you would be able to sleep better without her bothering you constantly.

Daniel sighed loudly. "It's not that."

"What then?"

"Her and...and Mitchell..." Daniel trailed off before he finished his statement.

"Vala and Mitchell what?" Sam was very curious as to what Daniel was referring to.

"They are alone, together." Daniel's voice held a bit of venom in it.

He was right though, with Teal'c away to visit his son, Cameron and Vala had the other tent to themselves.

"Yes, so are we." Sam turned on her flashlight and set it up so she could see Daniel's face and hopefully read his expressions.

He looked angry, and something else too that Sam couldn't quite place at the moment.

"It's not the same, I think of you like a sister. Mitchell and Vala...well you know how Vala is."

Sam finally recognized the other emotion blatantly playing over Daniel's face. Jealousy.

She smirked. "Yes, I know how Vala is, she's crazy over you."

Daniel's mouth gaped open for a bit before he shook himself out of it. "More like just crazy. She is probably trying to seduce Mitchell as we speak."

Sam tried to stifle her laughter. "Yes, and I'm sure she remembered to bring her furry pink handcuffs with her."

Daniel threw his pillow at her. "You aren't helping! Mitchell isn't as strong as me in that regard. He will give in; let her have her way with him."

Sam rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen."

He was outraged now. "How do you know? They could be naked, sprawled in each other's arms right now." Daniel buried his face in his hands.

Sam could tell that he was definitely jealous. It was time to call him out on it. "Do I sense a hint of jealousy Daniel?"

The look on his face was priceless. "No! I mean of course not! I'm not...jealous, why would I be jealous?"

"Maybe because you want Vala all to yourself and you can't stand the thought of her alone with another man?"

"No...no way, why should I care if she sleeps with Mi...Mitchell?" Daniel was starting to stutter and Sam knew that she had hit the nail on the head.

She was tired of Daniel's denial. The man really just needed to get himself together and ask Vala on a date or something, anything. "Because, you want to sleep with her."

Daniel was in shock, that much was obvious. "What? I do...do not! How could you even think that?"

Sam merely shook her head. "Daniel, I have known you for over a decade now, and I know that you have feelings for Vala."

"How?"

"Well, let's see..." Sam thought for a moment about how Daniel acted around Vala. "First of all, you are always looking at her when you think no one will see you."

"Not true!"

"Daniel shut up! You sound like a four year old!"

He closed his mouth and Sam continued. "Second, you touch her whenever you get a chance. Take our mission briefing last week, she fell asleep and instead of calling her name, you patted her on the back to wake her up. Oh, and that time when she cut her hand on our mission and you insisted on bandaging her hand yourself?"

Daniel just looked at her.

"Or how about when she went missing after your little date?" Daniel went to interject, but Sam stopped him. "No, I don't want to hear your speech on how it wasn't a date, it totally was. Anyway, you sulked around the whole time she was gone, and that hug you gave her when we found her? That was not a friendly hug, it was more."

Daniel dropped his head in defeat. "Okay, okay, I might like her a little."

Sam raised her eyebrow at him.

"Okay, a lot. But, how do I know if she had serious feelings for me?"

Sam sighed. "She does Daniel, and you are the only one who can't see it. She stopped messing with you a while back now. Just ask her out to dinner, see how things go."

"Maybe I will, but I'm still worried about her and Mitchell."

"Fine, I'll go check on them now."

Before Daniel could protest, Sam slipped out of the tent and heading over to the tent where Cam and Vala were staying. She unzipped the tent flap just enough to peak in. Just as she thought, they were sleeping on opposite sides of the tent, Cam snoring softly and Vala cuddled up with her stuffed giraffe.

She went back to her own tent and reported to Daniel. "They were sleeping, in their own sleeping bags, on opposite sides of the tent. Vala even had that damn giraffe you got her all cuddled up next to her."

Daniel smiled. "Thanks Sam, you're a good friend. So when are you and Jack going to go out on date?"

"Goodnight Daniel."

The End. I'm still working on my other story, but this idea popped into my head and I wanted to share it. Reviews are loved!

-J