Title: A New Year's Eve to Remember
Author: Amanda
E-mail: fraiser_jackson@yahoo.com
Category: Romance
Pairing: Daniel/Janet
Spoilers: None that I can think of.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Disclaimers: The characters aren't mine and neither is the song used.
Dedication: To Red, for the giving me the best ever word to use! And Karen, for being greedy.
Summary: Daniel finally has a New Year's Eve to remember. (Response to the challenge based on TR's pic on her website.)
Author's Notes: I originally started this as a Christmas fic but then I kind of put it aside to work on other stories and Christmas went by. So, while I wasn't doing anything on New Year's Eve, I decided to rework it and turn it into what it is now. Special thanks to Red, Meg and Karen for the help they offered in the Gateview chat. Not beta'd, so mistakes are all mine.
New Year's Eve never was Daniel's favorite holiday. All those happy couples going out together and having fun. Recently though, he had begun to actually enjoy the night, spending it with Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Janet. Having single friends to share the night with made it easier to bear.
That is, single until Jack and Sam had each found significant others. It had become a tradition for the team to spend the holiday together so Sam and Jack would both be bringing their dates. And since Teal'c was spending this New Year's Eve with his son, Daniel was left to find himself a date for the evening or risk being a fifth wheel—something he definitely didn't want to be.
He was sat at a table in the corner of the restaurant, waiting for his date to arrive. He was so glad Janet had agreed to be his date; glad that she wasn't planning on bringing her own date, thus making him a seventh wheel. And he had to admit, he was very much looking forward to spending the celebration with her. In fact, it seemed he liked to spend a lot of time with her lately.
But at the moment, he was doubting whether or not she was going to show; she was already 20 minutes late. He had offered to pick Janet up, but she had insisted on meeting him instead. Jack and Sam were both on the dance floor with their respective dates. He did not want to be stuck with them all night by himself.
Checking his watch again, he was considering the possibility of sneaking out and leaving the two couples to their own devices then the door opened and he saw Janet walk in. His breath caught in his throat as he took in her appearance. This was not the Janet Fraiser he knew.
This Janet was dressed in a low-cut v-neck, short, gold-colored dress that nicely showcased all her curves. If he had ever, in all the years he'd known her, wondered what was hidden beneath the lab coat and Air Force uniform (which, of course, he had, many times), that question had now been answered. This Janet was the absolute definition of sultry. The fact that she looked so damn confident with her new look only made her that much more attractive to Daniel.
He watched as her searched the room for their table and when she spotted him, she smiled. That smile stopped his heart. He didn't know how it had happened, but he was pretty sure he had just fallen in love. He took the time it took her to walk to the table to try and slow his racing heart and wipe his sweating hands on his napkin. He stood when she reached the table.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, surprising Daniel with a kiss on the cheek before allowing him to pull her chair out for her. "Cassie took forever to decide what she wanted to wear."
The simple press of her lips to his cheek almost killed him. He calmed himself as best as he could, then chuckled. "That's okay. You look very beautiful tonight, Janet."
"Thank you, Daniel. My Christmas present from Sam was a day at a spa and this dress, so I figured I would put them both the good use."
The waiter came by and took Janet's drink order and then they were left with a comfortable silence. "So, where are the two happy couples?"
Looking out at the dance floor, he pointed them out to her. "Ah. So you were at the table all by yourself until I arrived?"
"Pretty much. I'm glad you came in when you did though because I was about to sneak out and leave the lovebirds alone."
She pouted. "But that would have meant that I would have been left alone with them all night."
He couldn't think of a time when he'd seen a sexier pout. "That's why I'm glad you came in when you did. You probably wouldn't have been happy with me if I'd left you alone with them."
"I guess since you gave me such a nice compliment earlier, you're forgiven for almost leaving me to suffer with them. By the way, you look very handsome yourself."
"Thank you. So tell me, what was Cassie's big fashion emergency this time?"
The two continued to talk until the other four returned to the table. They ordered their food and the six of them talked throughout the meal.
Their reservation had been for later at night and it was quickly creeping toward midnight. After eating, the two couples went back onto the dance floor, sure that Daniel and Janet wouldn't mind being left alone for the second time during the evening.
As Daniel spent more time with Janet, he became convinced that he had indeed fallen for her. The only problem was that he had no idea what she felt for him, if anything. He didn't know if it was the small amount of alcohol he had consumed or what, but he intended to find out just how she felt by the end of the night.
Janet was staring off into space, lost in her own little world, when he asked if she had any resolutions to make, so he had to ask again. "Have you made any resolutions for next year, Janet?"
"Oh, sorry. Uh, not really; I never usually do. But there is one thing I'd like to do for next year." She started to play with her napkin, keeping her eyes firmly away from Daniel's.
"What's that?"
Hoping he would pick up on her not-so-subtle hint, she looked directly at him and replied, "There's a guy I'd like to get to know better. I've known him for awhile, and he's my friend, but I want to be more than that."
Daniel, being Daniel, didn't get the clue. "Oh. Well, I wish you luck with that."
She grinned. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna need it."
A quick glance at his watch told him it was almost 11:30. He figured that if Janet was interested in someone else, he would at least use the traditional 'midnight kiss' to his advantage. He stood and held his hand out to her. "Would you like to dance? I'm not all that great, but I can promise I won't step on your feet."
"Sure." She took his hand and followed him to the floor, which was filling up quickly. They waved to their friends as the found a spot that wasn't too crowded.
He pulled Janet into his arms, relishing the contact. With her that close to him, he had to resist the urge to kiss her before the stroke of midnight. It was not an easy task.
Slow songs were all that were being played and Daniel had no complaints. They danced to the songs as they came on, talking all the while. As midnight drew near, the manager of the restaurant announced that the last song of the year was coming on. It was a song both Daniel and Janet knew well, having been forced to listen to it over and over again by Cassie.
They both fell silent as the song began to play and Daniel unconsciously tightened his hold on the woman in his arms.
There's something about the way
You look tonight
Something about the way that
I can't take my eyes off you
Something about the way
Your lips invite
Maybe it's the way that
I get nervous when you're around
And I want you to be mine
And if you need a reason why
Daniel had always liked this song and now it was describing his feelings perfectly. Looking at Janet, he tried to read her expression but was at a loss. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't describe. It was probably wishful thinking on his part, but he thought it looked like love.
It's in the way that you move me
And the way that you tease me
The way that I want you tonight
It's in the way that you hold me
And the way that you know me
And when I can't find the right words to say
You feel it in the way
You feel it in the way
Something about the way
You stay on my mind
Something about the way that
I whisper your name when I'm asleep
Maybe it's the look you get in your eyes
Oh baby is the way that
It makes me feel to see you smile
And the reasons, they may change
But what I'm feeling stays the same
She moved in closer to him, resting their entwined hands and her cheek against his chest. Her head was over his heart and he had no doubt that she could feel how quickly it was beating. Moving his hand up and down her exposed back, he felt her shiver against him.
It's in the way that you move me
And the way that you tease me
And the way that I want you tonight
It's in the way that you hold me
And the way that you know me
And when I can't find the right words to say
You feel it in the way
You feel it in the way
I can't put my fingers on
Just what it is that makes me love you baby
So don't ask me to describe
I get all choked up inside
Just thinking of the way
It's in the way that you move me
And the way that you tease me
The way that I want you tonight
It's in the way that you hold me
And the way that you know me
And when I can't find the right words to say
You feel it in the way
You feel it in the way
The song ended and the manager was on the mike again. They didn't move, just stayed how they were even though there was no music playing and they weren't dancing anymore. The countdown to midnight started and they finally moved, just enough to look at one another. Neither spoke and when the countdown reached one, the both leaned in, mouths meeting in the middle.
What was hesitant at the start quickly became not so and Daniel dropped her hand in order to wrap both his arms around her waist.
When they pulled apart, breathless, Daniel leaned his forehead against Janet's. "Happy New Year."
At some point during their kiss, Janet's hands had found their way to his neck and her fingers were now playing with his hair. At his words, she gave him a sly smile. "Happy New Year, Daniel. Do me a favor—see if Sam and Jack are staring over here."
He looked to where the couples had been earlier, and sure enough, all four were looking in their direction, mouths hanging unattractively open in shock. "That would be a 'yes'."
"I figured." She brushed a kiss across his lips. "I guess I didn't have to work very hard to accomplish my resolution."
"What do you mean?" Auld Lang Syne was playing in the background and they began to sway lightly with the music.
"You were the guy. You're telling me you didn't figure that out?"
"Seriously?" She nodded. "I just thought I would use the midnight kiss thing to my advantage if you were going to go after some other guy in the new year." He laughed at his own absentmindedness. "It was really me?"
Lightly shaking her head, she said, "Yes, Daniel. Are they all still looking over here?"
He glanced at them. "Yeah."
"What do you say we give them something to really stare at?"
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "What do you have in mind, Janet?"
She didn't answer; she just leaned in and kissed him with all she had in her.
Across the floor, the four looked on in amusement. "'Bout damn time," Jack said.
Sam nodded and the two couples resumed their own dancing, leaving Daniel and Janet to enjoy the rest of their night.
New Year's Eve never really was one of Daniel's favorite holidays, but this one had turned into a night he was never going to forget.
Author's Note: In case you're wondering, the Webster's definition of sultry is: "exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire". Not that I think their relationship should be purely sexual or anything, but Red gave me the word and I just had to use it.