Title: Never Again

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: None

Season: Any

Summary: AR: Sam has a problem and Daniel comes to the rescue.

Disclaimer: Okay I don't own Stargate SG-1 or anything to do with it's universe, you know that and I know that so lets not bring it up. I do own the plot and all of the original characters in it.

Author's Note: I wrote this some time ago but I'm posting it now in honor of my Isis Award nomination for another Sam/Dan story. I hope you enjoy.

Side Author's Note: I just need to take a moment to do a happy little dance, I've been nominated for two awards in the past few weeks, one for Sam / Daniel and the other for my "Dance" series. More information can be found in the After Thoughts.

Doctor Samantha Carter moved as quickly as she could through the cold, sterile halls of the SGC on route to her lab. She didn't want to deal with anyone today.

Once inside of her lab she quickly closed the door and shrugged off her jean jacket before removing her sunglasses. She walked over to a drawer, pulled it open and removed her mirror. She sighed as she looked at her reflection; her left eye was three times larger than normal and a deep purplish black color. She could barely force the eye to open it was so swollen.

She put the mirror away and decided that she would just work all day and not interact with anyone else on base. Turning around she began to go over one of the files left on her desk by one of the fellow SGC scientist and began her normal daily routine.

Doctor Daniel Jackson tossed slightly in his sleep it wasn't that his quarters were uncomfortable it was the damn nightmare…again.

Watching from the shadows of the hallway as his drunken foster father burst through the front door and immediately went after his wife. His hands quickly balled into fists, right before he slammed his hands into her face. Daniel watched in horror as his foster mother fell to the ground and his foster father continued to lay into her.

"D.J. go to bed!" his foster mother yelled between her bawls. Daniel couldn't move though, he was afraid that his foster father would kill her…

Daniel quickly sat up in a cold sweat and fought back the overwhelming sense of fear that had welled up within him, it wasn't happening again…he was okay, he was a man for goodness sake, not some scared little boy. Pulling himself off of his bed, Daniel quickly splashed some water on his face in his bathroom and looked at his reflection. He certainly wasn't the scared little boy anymore.

Thirty years had passed, he now stood proudly at six feet, his skin was sun kissed from all of his long days on digs and his body had become quite toned and muscular from his time spent on SG-1 and in the gym. He had cut his brown hair short a few years earlier and liked the way it just sort of stuck out now, he didn't look like just another archeologist, he looked like Indiana Jones remade for a few generation of women, all the way down to his glasses.

Taking several more reassuring breaths before leaving his base quarters Daniel decided to grab some coffee and see if his favorite doctor was on base yet.

Sam was typing a report when someone knocked at her door, she jumped and panicked, her sunglasses were out of reach and she wouldn't be able to just hide under her desk. The knock sounded again but this time it came accompanied with a voice, "Sam are you in there or am I knocking for no reason?

Sam spun around in her chair so her back was to the door, she didn't need Daniel seeing her like this, "Come in."

Sam cringed as she heard the door open and the handsome archeologist walk in, "Hey there, I'm not disrupting anything am I?"

"Just hard at work, as usual." Sam said in a faked happy tone as she kept her back to Daniel.

"I can see that, I bet you're happy I brought you some coffee than huh?" Daniel asked and Sam heard him set the coffee down on her desk.

"Very much so, thanks Daniel." Sam said a bit too rushed as she tried to make herself look busy.

"Sam?" Daniel's voice no longer sounded happy but rather concerned.

"Yeah Daniel?" Sam asked as she bit down a quiver that nearly escaped in her voice.

Sam jumped slightly as she felt Daniel's strong hands touch her shoulders, she hadn't heard him move but suddenly she was very aware of him standing behind her, only his hands were touching her but she could still feel his presence.

"Sam what's wrong?" Daniel asked, his voice had grown deeper and Sam recognized the emotions that his tone carried; concern, worry, and something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Nothing Daniel." Sam said lightly hoping that he would just leave.

"Sam…Sam look at me." Daniel whispered lightly causing Sam to jump again as his warm breath caressed the nape of her neck.

Sam didn't move but she didn't fight Daniel as he slowly turned her around. Her crystal blue eyes were locked down at the floor; she didn't want to meet his gaze when he saw her.

Daniel couldn't help but tremble as Sam's face came into his view, there was only a three-inch difference between them and even though she was staring at her feet he could see the huge purple and black burse that flowered over and around her left eye.

"Oh God Sam, what happened?" Daniel whispered as he placed his hands on either side of her slim face and raised it to look at her better.

"Nothing." Sam said quietly, "I walked into the door."

Daniel tried his best to look her in her crystal blue eyes but she still had them locked downward. He gently raised her chin before whispering, "Sam look at me. Look at me."

Finally Sam brought her baby blue eyes to meet his midnight blue, he could see the unshed tears in her right eye and he could barely see any eye at all in her left, she sobbed once before leaning onto Daniel's chest, gripping his standard issue black tee shirt and collapsing. He quickly brought his large hands around her back and caught her before she fell, she still sunk to her knees and he followed her down, holding her all the way. He never let her go, especially as he felt her slim body begin to quiver and her warm tears seep through his tee shirt.

"Its okay…shhhh…its okay Sam, you're safe, I'm here…" Daniel quietly murmured into Sam's hair as she continued to cry.

Even long after tears stopped pouring Sam still found herself holding onto Daniel as if he were the last thing on Earth. Somewhere in her breakdown he had moved her onto his lap, his rough yet tender hands slowly moved in symmetrical patterns across her back and she could still hear him murmuring reassurances into her hair.

"I'm so sorry Daniel." Sam said, her voice coarse from her crying.

"Why are you sorry Sam?" Daniel asked.

"For…for this. All of it." Sam replied.

Daniel softly gripped her shoulders and pulled her back so he could look into her eyes, "Sam there is nothing you should be sorry for – you haven't done anything wrong."

"Still you didn't need to sit here as I went through this…" Sam said quickly, grasping for some reason to apologize to him.

"Sam, I'm honored that you let me stay, that you trusted me to be the one to be here for you." Daniel whispered as his midnight blue eyes stared truthfully into hers.

"Trust." Sam whimpered.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"You said that I trusted you, that's not right. I trust you." Sam whimpered again as she felt her eyes stinging with tears yet again.

Daniel smiled ever so slightly as he ran one of his hands over Sam's cheek to dry some of her tears. "What happened Sam?"

Sam couldn't help but sob as she tried to answer, "It…it was Jonas…"

"Oh Sam…I thought you were going to break it off with him." Daniel whispered as he once again gathered Sam in his arms.

"I tried…he flipped out." Sam sobbed as she dug her nails into the back of Daniel's shirt, "He said he was in charge…he was the one who would decide if we were going to break it off."

"Then he hit you?" Daniel asked in a quiet voice.

Sam nodded her head into his shoulder before sobbing again, "That wasn't all he did…oh God Daniel…"

Daniel felt a tear escape his eye as he clutched onto Sam harder, she had her head buried in the his neck, her warm tears bursting from her eyes and leaving cold trails down his chest. Daniel whispered the only thing he could think of, "Never again Sam. Never again."

Daniel insisted on bringing Sam to his apartment after she finally collected herself enough. He informed General Hammond that he and Sam would be leaving and drove her to his home. After arriving Sam asked if she could shower and after twenty minutes Daniel became concerned he knocked on the bathroom door twice before he opened it to find Sam leaning against his sink in a tight ball crying again. He walked in and held her for a few minutes as she continued to cry before he picked her up and carried her to his room. He gave her a pair of his sweats and a tee shirt and told her to lie down and rest. She had insisted that she wasn't tired but she quickly feel asleep in Daniel's arms.

Daniel didn't know how long he held Sam for, he had lost track of time as his thoughts absorbed him. Thoughts of his childhood in foster care; thoughts of the beautiful woman in his arms, thoughts of how anyone could ever bring themselves touch a woman – to hit her. Before he realized time had passed, Daniel felt the tears trail down his cheeks at his thoughts. He could never…would never raise his hand to a woman. He wouldn't even touch a woman without her permission, the last date he went on thought he was a nut because he asked if he could kiss her goodnight, but that was the kind of man he had become, the kind of man he was meant to be – the kind of man that Sam needed in her life.

Before long Daniel found himself asleep as well, Sam cradled in his arms like a precious treasure that he feared losing. The last thought that ran through his mind before he drifted off was 'Never Again'.

Sam awoke with a slight start, new sensations moving all around her. The smell of coffee brewing from the kitchen but most of all the sensations of having a man holding her close to his body. She looked up and found Daniel still asleep, he was still wearing his clothes from the day before; he was even wearing his glasses. She smiled slightly at the thought that he had spent the whole night with her, holding her like this. It made her forget about Jonas, forget about her work at the SGC, forget about everything as her mind memorized the look on his face, the feel of his chest underneath her hands, the sound of his heart beating in her ears even the smell of him, which was warm and caring.

She moved ever so slightly and Daniel's eyes immediately opened, "Sam, what's wrong?"

She couldn't help the small smile that crept its way across her face, "Nothing Daniel…nothing. I'm fine."

Daniel looked down at her and she watched as he tried to focus his eyes, "You sure?"

Sam nodded and a look of relief washed over Daniel's features as he rubbed her back, "Okay."

"Daniel…" Sam whispered after a few moments.

"Yeah Sam," Daniel whispered back.

"What am I going to do about Jonas?" Sam murmured.

"Are we." Daniel replied.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You said am I, that's not right. Are we." Daniel answered with a small smile.

Sam couldn't help but feel relieved and warmed by his comment, "What are we going to do?"

"We'll take care of it." Daniel replied. "How does coffee sound?"

"Well it smells good." Sam joked before they both climbed off of his bed and headed to the kitchen.

Daniel hadn't lied to Sam when he said they would take care of it, it being Jonas. He had taken her to her apartment to get some clothes and whatnot after Daniel insisted that she stay with him for at least a little while. While she packed and made small talk with him from her bedroom Daniel had sat on the couch, until the front door opened and Jonas Hansen stepped through.

"What in the hell is this? Who are you?" Jonas sneered as he walked into the apartment as if he owned it.

Daniel quickly stood up so they would be face to face, "I take it you're Jonas Hansen."

Jonas was about to open his mouth when Sam walked into the living room, a bag slung over her shoulder and one in her hand and he turned his attention to her, "What do you think you're doing?"

Sam stared at the man, "I'm leaving. And I want you gone too. I've already informed my landlord of this as well as my neighbors. If anyone sees you around here again the police will be informed."

"I don't think so, we just had a talk about this last night." Jonas replied as he took a step towards Sam.

Daniel quickly put Sam behind his back and stood to face Jonas, "No you didn't talk about it. She tried talking about it; you just like hitting, so she's telling you now. And I'm telling you to get the hell out of here because if I see you again I won't be calling the police."

Jonas stared at Daniel, "I'd like to see you try pretty boy."

Daniel didn't move an inch to hit Jonas; he simply stood there, making sure Sam was safely behind him so Jonas decided to throw the first punch. Daniel quickly stepped back as he caught the man's fist and wrapped it behind his back, "Stop."

Rather than listen to Daniel, Jonas attempted to hit Daniel again with a head butt but Daniel simply applied more pressure to Jonas' pinned arm until an unnerving crack rang through the living room and Jonas fell to his knees, cradling his arm in his good arm. "You bastard…"

"No Jonas, I'm not the bastard, I'm just a man who would never raise my hand to a woman because I could. Now like I said before, if I ever see you again I won't be calling the police, Sam and I work for the same people and those people have the power to make other people disappear. So the police won't be involved Jonas but you'll wish that they had been if I ever catch you near Sam again." Daniel replied before turning away from the man and walking over to Sam.

He extended his arm to her, "Are you ready to go?"

Sam took her eyes off of Jonas to look at Daniel, he may have just broken another mans shoulder but his eyes didn't hold the violence that Jonas' always did, no his held love and respect. He'd done it to protect her not to harm her. She smiled despite the situation, "Always."

Sam took Daniel's offered arm and gave him one of her bags when he offered to help her. He led her to his car and drove them back to his apartment before they decided to go out and get a bite to eat. Sam spent the rest of the afternoon smiling and laughing with Daniel, feeling perfectly at ease with him. Maybe after all of this time the man she'd always wanted had always been there.

Daniel enjoyed the rest of his day with Sam, that night she asked him rather than sleep on the couch if he would maybe stay with her, just incase she had a nightmare or something. He agreed and she once again fell asleep in his arms. And for the first time in a very long time he wasn't haunted by the nightmare of his childhood. He had told Sam never again and he was going to make sure it stayed the truth. Who knew, maybe after all of this time the woman who he truly wanted and could understand him had always been there.

After Thought: Well what do you think? Not full blown Sam / Dan. Also, show your support for all parings by voting in this year's Isis Awards at http colon slash slash isis dot shovah dot org slash index dot php well as this year's Sam and Jack Fanfiction Awards that open soon at http colon slash slash www dot samandjack dot net slash sjfa slash about dot html