A/N: This was an exercise for a Rare Pairings Ficathon on LJ, and was definitely a stretch for me since I haven't written either of these characters before, let alone together! And they haven't even ever appeared on screen together! But I think it turned out well, and I hope you enjoy it! Reviews Love!
"Lieutenant?! Where are you?" Daniel called from somewhere around the tree line above the rock face.
Laura breathed a heavy sigh and tried to stop her cheeks from flushing. Of all the situations she could think of for Dr. Jackson to find his military escort in, waist-deep in quicksand wasn't one of the best. Especially when said military escort thought the doctor was rather attractive and had been thinking up ways to ask him out all week.
"Cadman?! Are you ok?" She was tempted to leave his question unanswered until she got herself out of this mess.
Suck it up, Cadman! She admonished herself sternly. You need help, and he'd be worried that he couldn't find you. She sighed again and called out, "Over here, Dr. Jackson!"
There was the sound of shuffling feet, and Daniel's head suddenly appeared in her line of vision at the edge of the rocks. His eyebrows were knitted together in concern and confusion. "Lieutenant? What's going on?"
Laura resisted the urge to roll her eyes and swallowed her sarcastic remark. This wasn't really the time. "I was running from that bear…or whatever the hell it was… and I jumped down here to get out of direct line of sight. I didn't realize how deep this was until I couldn't get out of it…and now I'm stuck. I think it's quicksand." She tried to lift her left foot again and succeeded in sinking it another half-inch. Frustrated and embarrassed, she glanced up at Daniel. "Can you see if there's a branch or something up there so you can pull me out?"
"Hmm…no…."
Laura blinked. Did he just say no?! "Uh, look, I know I got myself into this, but the gentlemanly thing to do would be to lend me a hand…"
"Huh?" Daniel's face was scrunched into a thoughtful expression, and she wondered how she'd ever found his vacant musings anything other than exasperating.
"Dr. Jackson! If you won't pull me out, at least toss me a vine or a branch or something!"
"What? Oh! No, no, that's not what I meant." At least the man had the good grace to look abashed. "It's just that trying to pull you out won't do any good. Pulling straight out like that just works against the vacuum that the movement causes. We couldn't apply enough force to break that vacuum, and the movement would likely only sink you in further."
Laura ran a hand over her face and put her hands on her hips as best she could with half her body submerged in liquid sand. "And what would you suggest?"
The contemplative look was back. "Well, if I remember correctly, the best way to get out of quicksand is to relax." This time, Laura didn't hold back her eye-roll. Daniel's mouth quirked up at the edges and he nodded. "I know, it sounds cliché, but it's true. If you relax, you should be able to float in quicksand…it has something to do with density." He sat down near the edge of the rocks and scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I think you're supposed to make small, slow movements to bring yourself closer to the surface, lean backward to float horizontally, then slowly paddle yourself to the edge."
Laura leveled him with an incredulous stare and raised an eyebrow. "Float to the edge? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"
Daniel shrugged. "Who am I to argue with local guides whose families have been leading people around quicksand for centuries?"
He had a point. "So this is some wisdom you picked up on your Earthly travels?" Laura asked as she slowly began to move her left foot forward and upward. She was only mildly surprised when it appeared to work.
Daniel smiled, and Laura was quite surprised and mildly annoyed to find herself attracted to him at this extremely inconvenient moment. "Actually," he said, "I read that one in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Guide." At Laura's questioning glance, he grinned sheepishly and answered, "Sam gave it to me for Christmas a few years back. I had quite a talent for getting into trouble back then."
"Just back then?" Laura smirked, "Doesn't fit with what Colonel Mitchell was telling me back on base earlier."
This time it was Daniel's turn to roll his eyes. "Hey, I'm not the one stuck up to my waist in quicksand right now."
Laura glowered at him, which brought out that enticing little smirk of his. Once again, she found herself studying his face, cataloging his features. She definitely liked what she saw.
"Ok," Laura said, forcing her attention back to the rather important task at hand. "It seems to be working…I've managed to get my left foot back up about half an inch. But this is gonna take a while."
Daniel nodded and glanced around. "That's ok. I don't think we're in any danger for the moment." He reached behind him and found a thin branch long enough to reach to the sand below.
"I thought you said trying to pull me out wouldn't do any good," Laura questioned.
"It wouldn't," Daniel stated. He pushed the end of the stick several inches into the sand a few feet away from Laura. "I'm trying to find the closest edge so we can get you out of there faster once you're floating."
Laura nodded distractedly, trying to keep her attention on slowly levering her body to the surface. "Faster would be nice. I'm already sick of this."
"Patience is a virtue, Lieutenant," Daniel quipped, and pointedly ignored the glare that he knew was now directed at him.
Five minutes later, Daniel had located the edge of dry sand closest to Cadman. Once she leaned back and was in a floating position, safe sand would only be about two feet away.
Daniel leaned back to wait and glanced out at the ocean. No matter how many planets he visited, he would never tire of observing the beauty of the different landscapes. Below the rocky outcropping that he was currently occupying, he stared out across the flat shore and the waves rolling steadily in with the tide. Suddenly, Daniel sat straight up.
The tide.
Daniel's breath caught in his throat as he put the pieces together. The algae-ridden rock face suggested that the majority of the rock was often under water, and the flat shore meant the water would rise unnaturally quickly.
That grim thought had barely entered his mind when he realized the waves were already rolling in faster. The entire cove could be swallowed in minutes.
"Lieutenant, I think we have another problem."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Forgetting that she was supposed to be moving slowly, Laura attempted to whip her body around to the side facing the ocean. She growled in frustration when she only managed to twist her body an inch deeper into the muck.
Daniel grimaced. Concern and something akin to apology were in his voice when he spoke, "Yeah, sorry. I hated to bring that up, but it seemed like it might be relevant at this point."
"I don't suppose there's anything we can do to make this go faster, huh?" Laura asked, but she already knew the answer. Daniel's sympathetic look told her all she needed to know. She was so screwed.
Laura huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Life-sucking aliens, human-form machines, glowing energy beings…and the two things in this galaxy that conspire to kill me are sand and water!" She paused as she concentrated on lifting her right leg another fraction of an inch. Looking up at Daniel, her face was completely serious. "Sometimes I really hate this galaxy."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Daniel smiled…and Laura felt just the tiniest bit better. After all, at least wasn't in this by herself.
Ten minutes later, Laura had finally managed to pull her entire lower half out of the quicksand and was currently leaning backward to float on the quicksand. She was also trying very hard not to think about the nightmare that would be trying to wash this gunk out of her hair.
She had just laid back completely when she felt the first wave of salt water brush against her hand. A random though suddenly hit her and she called out to Daniel, "You know, isn't this called the dead man's float?" She tried to cover her nervousness with levity to go with the joke, but she was pretty sure that she didn't quite succeed.
"You'll be fine, Laura. We're actually lucky that you're not that far from the edge." He hesitated and glanced out at the tide. "And no, I think the dead man's float is face-down."
Laura shuddered despite herself. "Yeah, that would be worse."
Several moments later, Laura noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, breaking her concentration. She looked up to see Daniel climbing carefully down the rockface. "What are you doing?!" she asked, surprised.
"I'm coming down," Daniel stated the obvious, concentrating on not slipping on the algae-covered rocks.
Laura began to protest vehemently. "No! Stay there! You could get sucked in, too." The last thing they needed was for both of them to get stuck like this.
Her arguments did nothing to stop Daniel's descent, however. He continued logically, "I know where the edge is. It'll be faster if I can help pull you up when you get there."
And we're running out of time, Laura thought. Why else would he be risking his life to make this go a little bit faster?
"Daniel…" she began, still concerned for his safety.
"Laura, trust me." He was close enough for her to see his eyes at that point, and she couldn't argue with the determination she saw there. She simply nodded and returned to her attempt to free herself from this mess she'd landed in.
"Go!" Laura gasped during a break in the lapping waves. "Get back up on the rocks." The last word was choked off as yet another salt-water wave found its way into her open mouth. She forced herself to continue steadily paddling toward the edge.
"Laura." The voice was firm and demanded her attention. "Laura, I'm not leaving."
Laura nodded, unable to speak around the water and the sudden lump in her throat. Daniel's calm voice was all she allowed herself to hear.
"Slow and steady…that's it…you're almost there…come on, Laura…"
She felt the water creeping higher, and suddenly the latest wave didn't recede enough for her to take a breath.
Panic crashed through her brain. I'm under water! I'm drowning!
After several terrifying seconds, Laura's training finally kicked in and she clamped down on the rising panic. Panic gets you killed. She could almost hear her former C.O.'s gravelly voice repeating that mantra within her head.
Steeling herself, she tried to ignore the burning in her lungs and continued her agonizingly slow journey to safety.
Just when she thought she couldn't go another second without air and had resigned herself to the fact that she would die here on an alien planet, she felt firm hands grasp her arms. She was yanked sputtering to the surface, and the first thing she heard was Daniel's voice. "I've got you! Breathe, Laura! It's ok, I've got you…"
Adrenaline kicked in and the two of them managed to climb the rock face and stumble into the tree line. Laura collapsed at the base of a tree, and Daniel sat down beside her. For a moment, they did nothing but stare at one another, taking in just how close that one had been for Laura.
Finally, Daniel shook himself and turned to her with a smile. "Come on, Laura, we need to get you out of those clothes before hypothermia sets in."
"Typical guy," she joked as Daniel helped her pull of her vest and jacket, "always trying to get me naked."
Daniel grinned. "Yeah, that's me. I just couldn't resist your charms. You won't take it personally though if I wait to jump you until we're somewhere a little warmer?"
Laura laughed out loud and clutched at the heat-trapping blanket that Daniel wrapped tightly around her. "I'll forgive you…but just this once." She leaned back against a tree and tried to think of something other than her ice-cold fingers and toes.
"Just my luck," she managed to force out through her chattering teeth. "Lorne finds a real-life paradise complete with some phoenix bird the zoologists are drooling over…and I find the one beach planet in the galaxy that's freezing!"
Daniel swallowed his chuckle when Laura turned her patented glare on him. He would have thought that shivering from head to foot and being completely wrapped in a space blanket would have taken away some of the power of that particular look. Instead, it only seemed to intensify it. He floundered for a moment before gesturing vaguely toward the edge of the rocks, grimacing, and offering weakly, "Well…at least it has a nice view?"
He thought briefly that she might actually kill him for that one, but after a moment, her grin broke through. He smiled back, and suddenly they were both doubled over laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
Daniel was finally able to curb his laughter, stating that he needed to use the bathroom and would be back momentarily. When he returned, he was surprised to see that Laura was still shaking with laughter underneath the space blanket. He hadn't though it was that funny.
Slowly, it dawned on Daniel. She wasn't laughing…she was shaking from the cold. She still wasn't warming up, even without the wet clothes and with the addition of the heat-trapping blanket. "Laura," he said, concern evident in his voice, "you're shaking. You're still too cold."
When she didn't respond, Daniel felt panic start to rise in his chest. Without even thinking, he began stripping off his clothes. When he was down to his boxers, he grabbed the other blanket and sat down next to Laura. He nearly flinched when he touched her skin; it was cold as ice. He maneuvered them so that he was the one leaning against the tree with Laura lying almost on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest, and tucked his leg around hers. She sighed softly when he began rubbing his arms up and down her back, trying to coax some of the warmth back into her skin.
Apparently lost to everything except the need for warmth, Laura snuggled in closer to Daniel, pushing her body flush against his. Daniel swallowed a groan and prayed to any gods (imposters or not) that his body wouldn't choose this moment to react. He hadn't held a woman like this in quite some time, and he was already very attracted to the blonde lieutenant.
After a few moments, Laura's shivering finally subsided, and Daniel felt her relax against him. He smirked a little as he realized that she had fallen asleep. Looking down at her face, he realized that he hadn't felt this comfortable with a woman in a very long time. With anyone else, this situation might have been awkward, but Laura was so open and honest anyway that he knew it wouldn't be. Lost in his thoughts, Daniel didn't even notice as he drifted off to sleep.
Laura woke first, the static-filled sound of a radio breaking through her peaceful sleep. She blinked against the early evening light as she wondered how she could have fallen asleep this late in the day. Suddenly, she was very aware of a distinctly male body laying underneath her…a rather naked male body. Laura was instantly awake.
"Lieutenant Cadman, do you read? This is Jumper One…what is your position?"
She reached for the radio as she heard Major Lorne's voice. Daniel woke up as she shifted, and he held her steady as she leaned across him to grab the radio.
"Major, this is Cadman, we're north of the gate just behind the tree-line. Look for an outcropping of rocks next to the ocean. We'll meet you there." She avoided looking up at Daniel as she spoke to her superior officer.
"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. When you didn't check in an hour ago, we got a little worried. What happened?"
Laura winced; she hadn't been looking forward to recounting this story to anyone, much less Major Lorne. But as she opened her mouth to speak, Daniel plucked the radio from her hand. "Thanks for coming, Major. We ran into a native creature that resembled some kind of bear. When we finally lost it, we got a little turned around. We just got back to familiar ground, but we'd still appreciate a ride if you don't mind."
"Sure thing, Doc. We'll be right there; ETA is 10 minutes. Lorne out."
Laura smiled up at Daniel, "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."
Daniel shrugged, "Well, I didn't think there was any real reason to tell him everything over the radio."
"Yeah, but I still have to put it all in my report later." Laura grimaced as Daniel helped her up and they began looking for their clothes. Daniel handed her a still-damp shirt and pants.
"Sorry these aren't dry, but I think you'll be ok with the wet clothes for a 10 minute Jumper ride." They pulled on their boots and headed out to the rocks to wait for Lorne and the Jumper.
Hesitating slightly, Daniel turned to her and said, "You know, I've still got another week in Atlantis before the Daedalus leaves…"
Laura grinned. "Dr. Jackson, are you asking me out on a date?"
Daniel shrugged and tried to hide a smirk. "Well, I've already seen you almost completely naked…seemed like the least I could do."
Laura laughed, "I'd like that. I'm sure we can find some time together in a week, even with our schedules in Atlantis."
Daniel smiled, "I can't promise there won't be any life or death situations this time, but I'll do my best." In the distance, they heard the Jumper's engines approaching.
"Sounds good to me." Slowly, Laura's soft smile morphed into a mischevious grin. "Hey, we could go camping!"
She knew she wanted to get to know him better when he met her grin with one of his own. "As long as there's no beach this time."
Fin