Season 7: Evolution pt 2 Episode Tag
Where the hell was Jack anyway? Daniel's leg was starting to throb from limping all over the base looking for him; weren't they due at their debrief in ten minutes? Hell, they had only left the gateroom after meeting Sam and Teal'c 45 minutes ago. Where the hell could he have gotten to? Last ditch: cafeteria. If he wasn't there, Daniel was considering reporting (another) O'Neill alien abduction to Hammond.
Daniel rounded the corner to the cafeteria and spotted the silver head he had been searching for.
Oh.
That would explain it.
As he rounded the corner and took in the scene opening up before him, Daniel's irritated mood evaporated in an instant. In that moment he also decided to intervene before his friends inadvertently did something stupid. Okay, more stupid.
At a table in the middle of the cafeteria sat Colonel Jack O'Neil and Major Samantha Carter with the remains of blue jello and pie between them on the table. Unfortunately, the table and dishes were only barely preventing a major PDA.
Daniel had to chuckle. They were completely oblivious, and that was completely out of character for both of them. They were deep in conversation, completely engrossed in each other. Their legs under the table were tangled up together with Jack's knees rhythmically tapping Sam's thigh! Daniel actually wasn't sure how they could manage so much leg overlap with the table between them. He could have sworn the table was too wide for that! Daniel had never actually seen people snuggling with a cafeteria table between them before.
They obviously had gone straight from the gateroom to the cafeteria and hadn't moved since. Sam's vest and gear were sitting next to the table. Although Sam was leaning forward with her hands wrapped around a mug of something and Jack was slightly reclined, they were both so totally focused on each other that the rest of the room just didn't exist. Daniel had called out to Jack as he'd rounded the corner into the cafeteria and … not even a flinch.
So: intervention time. They would have to break it up in a moment to head off to the debrief anyway and at the rate they were going there was no way they were going to get there on time anyway. Daniel thought he'd save them the embarrassment of being paged.
Daniel plunked down in the chair next to Sam and slung his arm around her shoulders. Sam startled for a moment – she hadn't even noticed him coming, but then she smiled and leaned into him. Daniel picked up a flash of annoyance from his friend before Jack schooled his features.
"Hey, Daniel. Where'd you come from?" asked Jack.
"Actually, I've been looking for you for the last 10 minutes. And I was calling out to you as I hobbled in here," he pointed out.
Daniel watched as a moment of sheepishness flashed across Jack's face and he could see Sam's pink flush out of the corner of his eye as legs un-twined a bit under the table.
Daniel hugged Sam a bit more as he continued, "I thought I'd come in and break you up before Hammond sent out a search party…" Daniel smiled as both Jack and Sam anxiously checked their watches.
"What?" asked Jack with forced innocence, "we still have … 8 minutes until the debrief!"
Sam flushed a little harder and glanced down at her gear sitting next to the table where she'd dropped it fifty…. two minutes ago.
"It's okay. You two are incredibly cute but you were on the verge of making a scene."
"I was just congratulating Sam on her first command and getting the particulars," protested Jack.
"Pfft, it barely counts as a command. It was just Teal'c and my dad," protested Sam.
"You got everyone home safe and completed the mission objectives. I never had a doubt," said Jack.
Although she tried to look nonchalant, Sam glowed at the approving words. Daniel hid a smile as he watched the eye contact between his friends threaten to make the room disappear again.
What Sam didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and Daniel would never tell! Daniel knew, though, that the last few days had been an absolute hell for Jack. Jack, the Protector, had had the agony of having his charges on different ends of the universe, and having to choose rescuing one over watching over the other. Although on one level Jack knew that Sam could handle herself, and besides knowing that Teal'c and Jacob would never let any harm come to Sam, Jack was still beside himself with worry, especially the moment he knew Daniel was safe. As soon as they had climbed on the choppers in that Honduran jungle, Jack had been on the radio to the SGC for an update on Sam's mission, and had been pestering Hammond for news constantly until he could get back to the SGC to wait and watch for himself. Even now, Jack hadn't yet darkened the door of his house! He wouldn't leave the base until she was back, safe and sound. Daniel, and everyone else, knew that it wasn't that Jack didn't trust Sam's abilities… but Jack and Daniel both knew that Sam wouldn't see it that way. Although brilliant in so many ways, confidence in her own leadership abilities was fledgling, and Jack would never in a million years let her even suspect that he was at all worried, for fear she'd take that as doubt in her abilities. They all knew she'd manufacture enough doubts for herself, anyway. In many ways, he knew her better than she knew herself and he really did have more confidence in her than she had in herself. Didn't stop him from worrying though.
Daniel could see that if he didn't force the issue, Sam would end up at the de-brief in the same clothes she arrived home from the mission in. Deciding to save them from themselves, Daniel started to interject in their little world again. "Of course," he started invisibly. No response. Rolling his eyes he realized he was going to have to push harder to get some movement. "Jack was too busy rescuing me from the Honduran rebels to give a second thought to your mission! Good thing Jack loves me best," grinned Daniel as he leaned over to plant a big kiss on Sam's cheek.
Well, that got Jack's attention! Deflecting the glare from Jack, as Sam grinned and snuggled under Daniel's arm peeking back out at Jack mischievously, Daniel decided that enough was enough. Giving Sam one more squeeze, he made a to-do of wrinkling his nose in her direction. Although the snuggle belied the implied insult, the point was that time until their de-brief was rapidly flowing, and if he didn't unstick his two colleagues post-haste, there would be some raised eyebrows around the conference table. "So, Sam, you now have… exactly 5 minutes before we're due to meet with Hammond. Are you really planning on wearing day-old, sweaty mission gear?"
Sam finally glanced down at her gear still sitting next to the table and, with a hurried look at her watch, leaned away from Daniel and started to untangle her legs with Jack's. Jack grabbed her thigh with his knees for just a second before releasing her and turning his mock ire on Daniel. As Sam practically sprinted out of the cafeteria toward the locker room, Daniel turned to Jack with his most innocent expression. "So, all those radio calls to the SGC from the chopper, the air base, on the flight back to the States…"
"Next time you decide to get shot at by cliché wielding bandits, maybe I just won't come to save you, Danny-boy," commented Jack, as he patted Daniel's injured leg just a bit too hard while getting up.
"Ow! The thanks I get…" muttered Daniel as he got up to follow Jack out of the room.