The house was full of noise. Noise generated by his two daughters.
It was early morning. Daniel had already been up for an hour, packing his overnight bag. There was some meeting in Washington that General Landry had wanted him and Colonel Mitchell to attend. He was only going to be gone for one night and would be back in the morning. Shelley was used to it. Having spent several days and when he had been missing, several weeks too months on her own with the girls! It was even more usual when Daniel was at home at all. Now that she was pregnant again, it was only going to get worse.
Daniel heard the girls running about from inside his bedroom. In a few months time, there would be another two additions to his family. The shock was still sinking in and finding out they would have a son was unexpected and daunting.
Last night, the two of them had shared a romantic meal together, trying to talk about how their lives will change when the twins are born. But it hadn't gone the way Daniel had expected.
Shelley was in the adjoining bathroom, picking up Daniel's toiletries. She watched him from the bathroom door, shoving his clothes into his overnight bag. Shelley smiled.
"You know you could put more in if you didn't just shove them in," she said, taking his clothes off him.
Daniel looked at her, still seemingly a little distant.
"I know. But I'm in a hurry!"
"Well if you'd have packed it last night, you wouldn't be in a rush now,"
He reached out, taking hold of his suite holdall. For a brief moment touching Shelley's hand!
"Are we gonna talk about last night?" Daniel whispered.
"There's nothing to talk about," Shelley said, trying to shrug it off.
They looked up as the front doorbell rang.
"That'll be Cam. You don't want to be late."
She moved out of Daniel's reaching, heading out into the living room. Mia ran passed her, heading for the kitchen. Daniel followed closely behind his wife. He opened the door, greeted by an annoyed Cam Mitchell. Last thing he wanted was a trip to Washington for a meeting with some DC beaurocrat. He would rather be fighting some new evil race that was hell bent on destroying everything and everyone.
Shelley smiled at him from across the room, seeing Daniel standing next to him, holdall in one and his suite cover in the other.
"Hey Mrs J," Mitchell shouted from across the room.
"Colonel," Shelley said, an official tone in her voice.
She sat Kennedy on her chair, placing a bowl of cereal and her Winnie the Pooh spoon in front of her. Mia sat next to her, a little more grown up and using the same as her parents.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Daniel said from across the room.
"Okay,"
She looked away, handing Mia a piece of toast.
"Bye daddy," both of them said, waving at their father.
Daniel waited for a moment, waiting for his wife to respond. But she didn't.
"You ready?" Mitchell asked.
Daniel continued to look at his wife, hoping for some kind of goodbye, but there was still nothing. She was watching Kennedy eat her cereal, missing her mouth and getting it all over her t shirt.
"Yeah," Daniel whispered and followed Mitchell outside.
Shelley looked up, realising that he'd already gone. She hadn't wanted to talk about last night and wasn't sure what exactly had happened.
~ # ~
Being as Daniel and Mitchell were off in Washington, meant that Sam and Vala had a little spare time away from SG1 to catch up on whatever needed to be caught up. Shelley had avoided Vala like the plague. Having the uncanny ability to know when something was wrong, especially between herself and Daniel. And after last night, she didn't want to talk about it. Especially not with Vala!
After taking the girls to work, Shelley did need someone to talk to.
She rang Sam's bell on her front door and waited. Sam had very little to do at the base and Landry had given her the day off before he left with the others for Washington.
Shelley waited, feeling stressed. She could cope with getting the girls up in the morning and even having Daniel away for the night, but being pregnant with twins, was just taking it out of her way more than she thought it would.
"Hey," Sam said, her face beaming with a smile. "Come in,"
Shelley followed her inside, taking off her coat and hanging it in the hallway, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. At only 4 months she was already beginning to show, especially with twins.
"Look at you, you look fantastic," Sam said.
"Wish I felt it,"
The botanist walked across the room and sat down on the couch.
"What's wrong sweetie?"
Sam sat next to her, resting her hand on her friends. For years they had been close friends. Being there for each other in the good and in the bad! Notably when Daniel ascended, when Janet and when Sam's father died. And for both Shelley's pregnancies and now her third!
"I just feel so......."
~ # ~
Daniel stood in the hallway, having excused him self half way through the meeting. Not being able to get the events of last night and this morning out of his mind. It wasn't like Shelley to be so distant. Last night she slipped back into bed quietly. And that morning, had shut him down completely when he'd wanted to talk about it. But he wanted to talk about it. They needed to talk about it.
He held his cell phone in his hand, dialling Shelley's cell, knowing that she was either not at home or at the base.
Shelley felt it vibrate in her pocket and took it out, in case it was from the girl's school. Seeing Daniel's name on the screen, she placed it on the couch next to her, watching it ring and ring and ring.
"Are you going to answer that?" Sam asked.
The redhead shook her head.
"It's only Daniel," she said.
"It might be important."
Both of them watched the phone, vibrate on the arm of the couch, almost falling off. Sam reached over, picking it up before it toppled off the edge.
"Don't answer it."
Daniel rang the cell several times. Mitchell's head appeared around the door down the corridor.
"Jackson!" he shouted.
Daniel frowned at being interrupted. This was more important than some funding meeting.
"Just a minute," he said back.
On the last attempt, his frown deepened, deciding to leave a voice mail message. Knowing full well that she probably wouldn't call him back.
"Shell its Daniel. I wanted to talk about last night. We need to talk about it angel, we can get through it. Call me. I'll try and be back as soon as I can. I love you," Daniel said, closing his cell and placing it back in his jacket pocket.
Sam and Shelley listened to the message, the redhead's eyes filling up with emotional tears.
"What happened last night?" Sam asked.
Shelley stood up, beginning to pace the room.
"It's not like we haven't done it before. When I was pregnant with Kennedy..."
"Shell," Sam whispered. "Just tell me what happened?"
Her voice was soft and comforting, making Shelley feel more relaxed.
"We'd just put the girls to bed and we were getting pretty hot n heavy on the couch,"
For the first time all day, Shelley smiled. The image in her mind was not un pleasing.
"And I mean, it was hot."
~ # ~
Daniel reached up, taking the hair band that was keeping his wife's hair in place, pulling it down, letting it fall over her shoulders. Shelley lifted herself up, straddling Daniel between her thighs. Pushing up her skirt, Daniel slipped his hand underneath, making her moan deep into his shoulder. Shelley lifted her shirt above her head, throwing it across the room, twisting her head around to see it land on the floor behind them. Her husband's arms wrapped around her, unclasping her bra, it falling on the chair next to them! His hand ran across her breasts, moving down her body, to her stomach.
"And that's when it happened," Shelley said.
"What happened?"
"I flinched. I pulled away. I've never done that before. When he touched me, I felt sick."
"Maybe it was ..."
Sam tried to find the words, but couldn't find them. How could she tell her friend the answer when she wasn't sure of the question!
"I just couldn't do it."
"Maybe you just weren't in the mood," Sam said, finally.
"Oh I was in the mood. I was definitely in the mood. I wanted him. But I just couldn't do it. I made up some excuse and ran in to the girl's room and I didn't come out until he was asleep, because I knew he would want to talk about it."
Shelley stopped pacing and stood next to Sam.
"And he still wants to talk about it."
"Then talk to him!"
Her relationship with Daniel was always honest and open. They had no secrets from each other. But she had found that she just couldn't talk to him about it.
"I can't. How can I tell him that although he turns me on, when he touches me I feel sick?"
Sam tried to think what the problem could be.
"Maybe it was just a one off, you know. It can happen. Was it just when he touched you? Where was he touching you when you..."
Sam was trying to be helpful but was also trying not to pry. Last thing she wanted was every single detail of her friend's sex lives. The look on Shelley's face explained it all. Making her realise exactly what had stopped her, the night before.
"What, what is it?" Sam asked.
"He was touching my stomach. It never bothered me when I was pregnant with Kennedy. But ever since I found out we were having twins...It's like...I'm scared something will happen to them."
"Shell, nothing will go wrong. Nothing happened to Keddy did it?"
She shook her head. Ever since her first miscarriage, she had spent the whole 9 months of her pregnancy in a constant state of worry.
"I'm just worrying over nothing, I guess."
"Talk to Daniel. I'm sure he'll understand."
Shelley nodded. It wasn't the easiest of subjects to approach. It was either talk or not have sex and that definitely was not an option.
~ # ~
Shelley spent the rest of the afternoon with Sam. Her friend doing her best to calm her fears! Not being a medical doctor Sam had very little to go on. And listening to her friend's sex life was a little uncomfortable. But Shelley was her friend and it's what friends do. Well it was what they did.
On her way home, Shelley picked up the girls, stopping on the way for ice cream. Liking to treat them once I a while, especially when Daniel was away. Making them feel a little happier. And ice cream seemed to do the trick, that and cake. A family trait definitely inherited from her brother's side of the family. Every occasion and there had to be cake.
Kennedy had insisted that they bring home some ice cream for Daniel. They didn't want their daddy to miss out. The little girl had picked out chocolate. Only because if her daddy didn't eat it then she and her sister could finish it off! Although only for a treat and if their mother agreed! She didn't want them to have too much sugar.
After dinner she bathed the girls, put them to bed and read them a story each. Kennedy was asleep first, hugging the teddy bear her father had brought her. Mia always took the longest to get to sleep, wanting to stay awake for as long as possible. Shelley felt that her eldest daughter was going to be trouble when she hit her teens. Not going to bed on time and being a pain to wake for school in the mornings. Sometimes Shelley forgot that her little girls would be teens in a few short years. Wishing they could be babies forever. Shelley did wonder what they'd be like as adults and how their lives would change. Of course there would be 6 of them. Twins, she still couldn't believe they were having twins.
Shelley tucked them in, kissing them each softly on the forehead before closing the door behind her. She looked back for a moment, seeing how peaceful they looked when they were asleep.
Kennedy looked so much like her father. Shelley always thought that it would be Mia who took after her father, what with the whole being conceived whilst Daniel was ascended. But it hadn't turned out that way. Mia was like her mom, red hair, green eyes and a moody streak when she was tired.
Shelley smiled, closing the door shut.
She sat on the couch, a cup of coffee in one hand and the television remote in the other. As she sat back on the couch, she felt something digging in her back. She leant forward, prizing the object from behind her. In her hand was her husband's notebook. Brown leather and unmistakably Daniel! She placed her coffee on the side table, holding the book in both hands, raising it to her nose. The smell of leather was strong but there was another smell. A smell that belonged to Daniel! Breathing it in deeply it was as though he was in the room with her. With one hand, she opened the book. There he was, on every single page, notes, drawings, little scribbles in the margins. When he'd ascended she had kept his original notebook under her pillow in their apartment. Not letting it out of her sight. Denying Jonas' several requests to read it, until Mia was born! Not feeling the need to keep something of him close to her. She had their baby girl by her side. But now, with Daniel being away and with what happened the night before, Shelley wanted a part of him near her, something she could touch. Holding the book close to her chest, she settled back on the couch, smelling the leather once again.
A series of noises made her eyes open and the front door opening made her bolt upright.
Daniel was standing at the edge of the living room, his holdall on the floor next to him. He was watching Shelley wake up. Thinking how cute she looked when she was waking up.
"What time is it?" she asked.
He looked at his watch.
"Ten after 9. Are the girls asleep?"
"Yeah. Since seven. I can't believe I fell asleep. What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Washington tonight?"
Daniel moved across the room, sitting on the couch next to his wife. He noticed his notebook in Shelley's hands and noticed that she'd been sleeping with it.
"I managed to get an early flight. I wanted to come home. We need to talk about what happened."
Shelley nodded in agreement. Knowing that she couldn't put it off forever and that he deserved to know the truth!
Daniel waited for her to say something, but felt she needed a little push. He placed his hand on her knee.
"Whatever it is, we can talk about it."
Shelley began to feel the tears forming in her eyes. Not being able to hold them in any longer.
"You're gonna hate me!"
"Why, would I hate you? What is it? Come on, you can tell me. Did I hurt you?"
Shelley shook her head.
"No, god no you were..."
Suddenly it came flooding back to her. The feel of him between her thighs, the cool breeze across her breasts, his touch on her skin!
"It's me, it's me. I'm just so stupid,"
"Hey, you are not stupid. Just tell me!"
"Last night, when you touched me..."
"When I touched you?"
Shelley nodded.
"That's why you backed off, because I touched you?"
She knew how bad it sounded and hated herself. But how could it possibly sound any better. The look on his face said it all, hurt and confused.
"Just when you touched me in a specific place!"
"In a specific place?" Daniel asked.
"I know it's totally irrational and crazy, but when you touched my stomach."
For some strange reason, Daniel understood.
"Oh. Is this about the babies?" he asked.
Shelley nodded. Daniel reached across, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"We had sex whilst you were pregnant with Keddy."
"I know. But twins, I just feel a little self conscious."
Daniel moved closer.
"You look amazing. Are you worried that something will happen to them?"
The redhead nodded again.
"I don't know. It just felt weird."
"Was it just that I touched you or..."
"Just when you touched me!"
"Well," Daniel said. "We can either stop having sex whilst your pregnant or, I can stop touching you."
The thought of him not touching her was the last thing on her mind.
"And I can't not touch you," Daniel added.
She looked up at him, feeling the same feeling she felt the night before. Before she had flinched!
"I like it when you..."
She began to feel his hand moving from her knee, up her thigh. Daniel leaned in, kissing her neck.
"I... when you... kiss me..."
Her breathing began to increase. Daniel moved away, sitting back up, but holding Shelley's hand.
"It's been a long day, why don't we go to bed?"
Shelley knew what was on his mind and wanted to try again. It was a stupid and irrational fear.
~ # ~
Daniel had grabbed his holdall whilst Shelley had gone into the bathroom. On his way back into their bedroom, he stopped outside his daughters' door, watching for a moment as they slept peacefully. Not a care in the world. Wishing that it would always remain that way!
He dropped the back on the floor of his bedroom, hearing noises coming from the adjoining bathroom. Daniel hadn't been shocked by what Shelley had told him. He had half expected that to be her answer. It was that or that she didn't want to sleep with him and he knew his wife. If she didn't then she wouldn't have started to get him all hot in the first place.
Daniel looked up, hearing the door begin to open. He sat on the edge of the bed, already having changed. Now just wearing pyjama bottoms and nothing else! From where he was standing, he could just about make out Shelley's bump and finding her the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He reached out his hand, smiling as she took it, leading her to the bed.
Shelley laid back on it, her night dress clinging to her body. She widened her legs, smiling as Daniel positioned himself between them. Feeling his body pressed against hers.
Daniel pulled himself up, his lips meeting with hers. Sharing a deep kiss, Shelley ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him in for a deeper kiss. Finding it hard to breath, they parted for a moment, whilst Daniel continued his assault on her neck. Shelley felt his hand begin to move from her thighs, moaning, biting her lip.
"I want you," she moaned.
His hand moved again, clutching at the edge of her nightdress and pulling it up over her head. Daniel smiled at the sight in front of him. They kissed again, soft and slow. A moment later, he moved down her neck to her collar bone, pausing for a moment before continuing her journey south. He could feel her legs wrap around him and her hands pushing down his pyjama bottoms. The cool air was a pleasant release.
After pausing, he moved down, kissing her breasts, listening as her moans of pleasure filled the entire room. Bringing a smile to his lips! His tongue circled her nipples. Shelley held in a sharp breath as his hand moved down her body. Daniel placed his hand softly against her stomach.
"I love you," he whispered.
Shelley felt her need for him take over her. Somehow Daniel felt himself underneath her, holding her close to him as all of her fears faded away.