"Daniel Jackson, you should be ashamed of yourself." Keyra said, leaning against the doorframe with a small box in her hand. Daniel looked up from his breakfast to find an ancient box of condoms in her hand. "How old are these things?"
He nearly upturned his cereal in a rush to grab the box from her, but Keyra easily held them behind her back, smile glittering. "What were you even doing in my bathroom cupboard?"
"I needed a new bottle of shampoo. You haven't even got any, go figure."
"I usually ju-" He stopped abruptly, eyes narrowing. "There's a fresh bottle in the shower."
"So, I was curious. And with good reason, Doctor Jackson. These things must have expired before I was even legal."
"If you don't go get ready, you're going to be late for work. And if you get fired, you're going to end up crashing on my couch for even longer."
"And we wouldn't want that, would we?" She said, rolling her eyes and disappearing from the doorway.
Why, oh why, did I agree to this? Being friends with the young archaeologist was difficult enough, but having her on his couch made things even more difficult.
Shaking his head, he sat back down and continued on his meal. Keyra emerged soon after, pulling her hair back and revealing a thin sliver of skin around her stomach. He found his eyes pulled down, before quickly averting them. But not before Keyra noticed, and stifled a giggle.
"See ya later, Danny." She leaned down, kissing him on the cheek before rushing out of the house.
It was late that afternoon when she re-entered, carrying two plastic shopping bags which she placed on the bench, tugging out her hair.
"Got you something. Take a look." Daniel sighed and looked in the first bag, finding a very lacey pair of underwear, which he held up and looked dubiously at her. "Nope. Those are mine."
He ignored the thoughts pressuring at certain parts of his body and dug further, pulling out a box. As soon as he read the label, he groaned. Condoms.
"Thought you'd appreciate some fresh ones. I had to take a guess at your size, but I'm sure they'll suit." She hooked a finger in the waistband of his jeans before giggling and heading out, bags in hand. Daniel groaned, throwing the box on the table and storming out of the room.
Later, when he emerged for food, he found Keyra lying on the couch, nose stuck in a book as she read intently. He pushed the spine up to get a better look and smiled. Egyptian history. Oh, if only you knew. Keyra muttered something angrily and moved the book back to proper position, swatting at his hand. Daniel took a seat opposite her, putting his feet up. She snuck a glance at him from the side of her book and grinned.
"Essay?" He said, pointing to the book.
"Na. Just spare time reading. Though I have to say, I found your theories much more interesting. I mean, pyramids as spaceships? You're an idiot, but it's certainly fun reading." Daniel closed off, and she used her toe to poke him in the ribs. "You're a good idiot."
He grabbed her foot, tickling it gently and eliciting a shriek before she started laughing and writhing to escape. The book fell to the floor, discarded, and Daniel moved to her sides, tickling further up her ribs.
"Daniel!" She moaned, and he stopped, realizing they were only milimetres away. With each breath, he could feel her chest expand and brush against his. Keyra's eyes flashed, and she practically dared him to make a move. He considered it - hell, he almost did it, but the doorbell interfered.
He groaned, letting himself fall over her for a moment, before hobbling off to the door. Keyra rubbed her eyes in exasperation and trundled off after him to see who was at the door.
"Jack, this better be good."
"Well, I was thinking, all this free time. You, me, Teal'c, fishing. Come on." Keyra raised an eyebrow; Daniel and fishing? That hardly sounded like a good combination.
"Actually, Jack, I've got a guest." It was Jack's turn to be surprised then, and he looked at Daniel dubiously.
"You're just trying to get out of fishing, I bet."
"No! I'm not! Knowing Keyra, she's probably listening in so she can come out now." Daniel said, turning to the end of the hallway, where Keyra emerged, grinning.
"If I wasn't there, you would've looked totally stupid just then."
"And when have you ever been able to fight your curiosity?" Daniel shot back, earning a shrug. "Jack, this is Keyra, she's an archaeologist. Keyra, this is Jack, I work with him."
"You work with him? In this mysterious little world you disappear to for months on end? Well, it's nice to know you do exist, Jack, and that Danny isn't just making stuff up to avoid me."
"You're an archaeologist?" Jack said in disbelief.
"It's a side effect of my morbid curiosity, I'm afraid. I like to know things."
"She likes to know everything." Daniel interjected, crossing his arms.
"By the way, Danny," Keyra said, eyes narrowing, "we should totally go fishing with Jack. If he doesn't mind me tagging along?"
Daniel froze, and for a moment so did Jack, before both recovered and began stuttering different things. Eventually, Jack grinned. "Sure. You might want to wear something else though."
"You got it, Jack." She replied, and disappeared to find clothes.
"Where's Teal'c?"
"In the car," Jack said, "but don't worry, he's g-"
"Shh!" Daniel said suddenly. "She's probably still listening."
"I'm so not listening!" Keyra shouted through the wall, and Daniel rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe a little!"
"Don't make me come in there!"
"Oooh, is that a threat, Danny boy?"
"Daniel?" Jack said, throwing his colleague a look. "You mind explaining why there's a kid sleeping on your couch?"
"She's 20, Jack, she's not a kid. And they repossessed her house, so she needed a place to stay. It just so happens I had a room to offer." Keyra re-emerged then, wearing long camo pants and a black tank top that revealed hints of the heiroglyphs tattooed on her left hip.
"Danny was foolish enough to offer me that room. Even my mum threw me out as soon as I was 18. She said living me was like living with Big Brother."
"One would hope it was an over exaggeration." Daniel muttered, and Keyra poked him.
"Come on, Danny. Get changed. You can't go fishing in those nice little boxer shorts." She looped her finger under the waistband where Jack couldn't see, and Daniel jumped like he'd been electrocuted.
"Right." He disappeared, and Keyra turned to Jack.
"So, you work with Daniel?"
"I work for the Airforce. Daniel just kind of tags along." He replied, and she grinned.
"Cool. Do you get to fly planes and stuff?"
"Sometimes."
"I'm surprised anyone would hire Daniel. I've read his stuff on ancient cultures, it doesn't exactly scream credibility."
"Yeah, well, I guess there are some pretty foolish people bossing me around." Jack jested, and Keyra looked around as Daniel emerged, muttering to himself.
"Great! Let's go!"
They headed out to Jack's car, while Keyra stuck close to Daniel. He was still running over all the things that could've happened only moments earlier. He could've kissed her; touched her.
"O'Neill, this is most unnecessary." Teal'c groaned, as Jack shoved the hat further down to cover his mark. The massive Jaffa noticed Keyra at the same moment Keyra noticed him, but her response was far more vocal. She shrieked, jumping back into Daniel, who braced himself enough to keep them upright.
"Sorry. Sorry, you just startled me." She said, and held out a hand. "I'm Keyra, Daniel's friend."
"This is Teal'c. We work with him too."
"Oh, so you're in the airforce aswell?" Keyra questioned, her fear dissipating to be replaced by curiosity.
"No." Teal'c responded, at the same moment Jack said, "Yes."
"Yes." Teal'c said, his face not even moving.
"He's a consultant, like I am." Daniel explained airily, ushering Keyra into the backseat, while Jack and Teal'c took the front seats. Keyra flashed him a wonky smile, and slipped her hand onto his thigh teasingly. Daniel grunted, grabbing her hand as it travelled, and glaring at her.
"You kids okay back there?"
"Shiny." Keyra said, grinning devilishly. Daniel cursed the gods and the goa'uld and everyone else he could think of, forcing himself to think about alien languages and artefacts.
They drove for a few hours, until they reached Jack's cabin, and he took Teal'c away to get the equipment. Keyra wandered out onto the dock, with Daniel lagging behind. She reached the edge, and stood upon it, staring out, before turning back to Daniel.
"About before…" she started, but was interrupted by Jack bringing out some chairs. When he left again, Keyra took a few steps closer to Daniel and kissed him soundly on the mouth, leaving the archaeologist in shock even after she'd moved away.
"So, Keyra, you know how to use one of these things?" Jack asked, handing her a rod. Daniel muttered something and took a seat, pulling his hat down over his face.
"Curiosity teaches you a lot, Jack." She said, before casting it perfectly, then reeling in.
"Very nice technique. You ever thought about golf?"
"I can't say I'm wonderful at it.?" She didn't miss the flash of amusement that crossed Daniel's eyes as he looked up.
"She's a terrible golfer."
"Alas, Daniel is right there. I've been kicked off many a green, though not always for my lack of skill." Daniel groaned and stood.
"I need to go to the toilet." He stuttered gruffly before disappearing. Jack cast his line, oblivious to the tension between the couple.
Teal'c just stood.
When Daniel returned, Keyra was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she go?"
"Said she was going to take a walk around. She's on the path. Come on, time to fish."
"Just a minute." Daniel replied absent-mindedly, and wandered off down the path and into the thick forestry. The canopy blocked out most of the light, save for a number of tiny holes that allowed the light to filter through into the perfectly green scenery.
He found Keyra in a clearing less than five minutes away, dancing to an unheard music, her limbs flying gracefully through the air. Camo pants had never looked so elegant as she made them. When she noticed Daniel, she stopped abruptly and eyed him.
"It just looked too beautiful to resist."
"I didn't know you could dance."
"Archaeology was a better career. A proper career." She said, doing a few moves before walking up to him. "So I put the dancer away."
"That was a mistake." Daniel said, and she smiled woefully.
"Maybe."
"You want to come back now?" She shook her head, moving to speak, but a dart whizzed through the air, before eight people crowded around her before promptly disappearing into the trees. Daniel gaped at the empty space before him, before shouting out to Jack and Teal'c. They appeared from the path soon after.
"Someone took her! They tranquilized her and took her!" He shouted at them, and Teal'c cast a glance at Jack, before receiving the nod to go after them. He disappeared into the trees also, while Daniel rubbed his temples. "It's got to be because of us. Why else would they take a random civilian?"
"We'll get her back, Daniel. Don't worry." Jack clapped his friend on the back, watching the trees, his insides knotting themselves together. "We should contact the SGC. If this was because of us, they'll be able to intercept any further attacks. They might be holding her for ransom."