Dear Readers:

Though I was blind for a long time, I've recently been introduced to and have subsequently become Completely. Obsessed. with Stargate SG-1... which is definitely being enabled by the torrid, one-sided love affair I'm having with Dr. Daniel Jackson right now. I can't help it- archaeologist, linguist, lost boy... HE'S MY PEOPLE. *hearteyes*

I've really got no explanation for this story other than that in my search for good Daniel fanfic, I came across a Daniel/ Sam pairing that I ended up REALLY liking and once I was finished with it, the concept for this story was in my head and itching to be written- which was pretty surprising to me since I'm not even a Daniel/Sam shipper but damn did I want them to kiss some more after I finished that fic.

This story isn't meant to take place in any particular season or be part of any existing storylines... it simply is. The whole thing pretty much defies my standard writing style and as a result I'm a little unsure of it... but that could just be the over 2 years of fanfic inactivity on my part speaking. So if you're here and reading, thank you! I hope you find something to enjoy.

Daniel entered the infirmary quietly. He stopped and watched her for a silent moment; she didn't even know he had come in. She was at a breaking point, he could see that. It was there in the slump of her shoulders, the fatigue on her face. The way she tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle the tears. Jack was in a coma, and it was bad. The coma itself was worrisome but at least it ensured complete bed rest, time for his body to heal from the extensive injuries he'd sustained on P9X-247. Life-threatening injuries.

They'd gone to the planet to meet up with Teal'c, Bra'tac and a new group of rebel Jaffa. They had arrived just in time to walk into an ambush- a group of Jaffa loyal to Ba'al who had somehow acquired intelligence about the meeting. Everything had happened so quickly, Daniel still wasn't sure what exactly had happened. He only knew that they had been lucky to escape with only one serious injury... they'd been seriously outnumbered and the area near the stargate didn't have much in the way of cover. It was all he'd been able to do to run for the gate, dial back out and hope they could get back through in one piece. He'd been clipped in the shoulder by a blast from a staff weapon which decidedly did not feel good, but at least he was still upright- more than he could say for Jack.

He studied the graceful line of the back of Sam's neck as she bowed her head once more. Daniel knew she was beating herself up- Jack had taken a hit meant for her. It could just as easily be him though, laying there on that sterile bed in the infirmary, bandaged and pale. He fleetingly wondered if she would be sitting here this way now, crying, if he had been the one to step in the way of the oncoming blast. If it was his life that hung in the balance. He didn't think so. He knew there was a special bond between her and Jack- everyone knew it, just as they all knew neither of them would ever acknowledge such a thing, let alone engage in anything inappropriate while serving together.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Daniel moved forward and placed his right hand lightly on her shoulder; the firm warmth of it gave him pause. He'd never wish for Jack to be the one to pay such a price but words couldn't begin to describe how relieved he was to know that Sam at least was here. Safe. Alive. He was a little surprised by the intensity of his own thoughts. For just a few seconds he imagined her responding to the touch, leaning into his reach and nuzzling her cheek against his hand as a bit of that tension between her shoulder blades dissipated. She didn't do any such thing, of course.

What she did do was start visibly. She straightened up a bit and quickly swiped at her eyes as she looked up and met Daniel's sympathetic gaze.

"Daniel," she said uncertainly, a bit ashamed that he had caught her crying.

"Hey Sam... how's he doing?" he asked softly, as he glanced back at Jack with a somber expression.

She hesitated for a long minute. For a few seconds he thought the tears might win again.

"Janet says he's as stable as he can be for now, but ultimately it's up to him... whether his body gives up or not." He could hear the bravado in her words as she tried to keep it together. "She says we should talk to him, keep him company."

She glanced vacantly at Daniel's hand, still resting lightly on her shoulder. He noticed and sheepishly jerked it away.

"Sorry, I uh... sorry," he mumbled with a flighty wave of the offending hand, which he then abruptly thrust into his pocket.

Sam smiled a mirthless smile as she considered Daniel; she couldn't imagine a more comfortable person to be with at this moment. But sometimes comfortable just wasn't enough. Glancing back at Jack, motionless on the bed except for the alarmingly shallow rise and fall of his chest, she was overcome anew with the urge to cry. Fighting the overwhelming emotion, she stood abruptly.

"I've got to go- I left an experiment running in the lab. I'll just..." she trailed off. "See you later, Daniel," she said with an absent wave of her hand.

He speared her with a sympathetic gaze but didn't say any more. Their eyes locked for an intense few seconds. Sam was sure he wanted to say more, do more- this was Daniel, after all. Even as she had the thought, it brought to mind all the times they'd nearly lost him. A second wave of emotion hit her like physical pain and she backed out of the room, stumbling in her haste to get away and go lick her wounds in private.

Daniel crossed his arms and exhaled noisily as he watched her go, but didn't follow. He continued to watch the empty doorway for a minute before turning back to the hospital bed and pulling the stool closer. With an effort, he pushed Sam from the forefront of his mind and looked around the room, his eyes coming to rest on his friend's battered body.

"Well Jack, here we are."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After picking at a tasteless dinner alone in the commissary, Daniel found himself wandering the deserted halls of the SGC. It was late. He knew he should probably go home- with himself injured and Jack out of commission, so was SG-1- at least temporarily- but there was nothing for him there except more solitude. At least here he could talk to the overnight guards or the gate control operator if he wanted to. He didn't have to dwell. At least not alone. Plus, if anything happened to Jack... well, he just didn't feel like making the trip home.

He heard a faint shuffling noise coming from a door up ahead on his right. Looking up and taking stock of his surroundings, he realized he was just outside of Sam's lab. He hadn't seen her since earlier in the day, in the infirmary.

He approached the doorway quietly but didn't step across the threshold. He'd never before experienced the feeling when entering this room but it almost felt like he was intruding this time. Again her head was bent as she wrote carefully in a journal. Again, his eye was drawn to the exposed curve of her neck. He knocked softly on the wall, alerting her to his presence but not wanting to scare her again. She looked up.

"Hey there," Daniel said with a small smile. "Just thought I'd check in. Seems like it's just you and me holding the fort tonight." He remained in the doorway, waiting for a cue from her.

"Daniel, come in," she said immediately, setting down the pen she was holding and standing. "I ah, couldn't sleep," she admitted. "I thought maybe if I came here I would at least actually achieve something productive."

"Yeah? How's that going?" Daniel asked lightly, crossing his arms and coming to stand on the other side of her lab table as he waited for her response.

She heaved a big sigh and brought her hands up to her face as if to scrub the fatigue, or the worry, away. "Not so well."

A long moment passed before she looked at him with a rueful gaze. "I can't stop thinking about it," she admitted. "No matter what I try to do, all I can think is if I'd just-"

"Sam, don't do that to yourself," Daniel interrupted, moving closer to her for reassurance. "Jack told us all to get to the gate- he gave you a direct order. In fact, he's probably going to be pretty mad that you ignored it and went back for him."

He was silent for a few seconds before adding, "He wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for you." He looked directly at her, willing her to accept his words as fact. "Don't punish yourself for saving his life."

Her bright blue eyes began to glitter, heavy with impending tears. She had an arrested expression on her face- the kind that told him she wanted to argue, but knew that she couldn't.

All at once she seemed to crumple right in front of his eyes; her body collapsed as if her bones had suddenly disappeared. He rushed forward to catch her before she hit the ground, ignoring the burning pain in his injured shoulder. He hauled her sinking dead weight against his body and clamped a hand on each of her arms. The action seemed to jolt her awake again and he found himself staring again into that brilliant blue gaze. Their faces were mere inches away- he could feel her breath on his lips.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he felt his heartbeat begin to race at her proximity. Beating back guilt over the inappropriate response, he squeezed her shoulders.

"Sam, are you ok?" he asked urgently.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she immediately replied, responding perfunctorily. Her gaze darted rapidly around the room before settling on his face, betraying her confusion and uncertainly.

"Sam, when was the last time you slept?" Daniel asked carefully, concern etched deeply on his face.

It had been fifty seven hours since they'd brought Jack back through the gate. Fifty seven of the longest hours of his life if he was honest, and Daniel was beginning to think she'd been awake for all of them. The fact that she seemed so lost had him wondering if she was experiencing some type of delayed shock. Janet had cleared her for duty physically but the Sam Carter he knew had a pretty strong grasp on her composure, even during the most difficult of times, and there was little evidence of that just now. She seemed to sense the doubts he was having and gave up all pretense. His arms were still supporting her; she let herself go boneless again and collapsed fully against him, closing what little space remained between them. His immediate reaction was to adjust his grip to support her weight- he let go of her arms and brought his own around her shoulders, her back. Someone walking by would think they were hugging, or possibly sharing a more intimate embrace. Everything in him screamed to proceed with caution, that he shouldn't be doing this, that it was somehow wrong.

His hesitation was his undoing. He searched her watery eyes for some sign that she was aware of what was going on and found none... but he was unable to break the intense connection. As he stood there watching her, and she him, their heads drifted closer. With his heart in his throat, Daniel closed his eyes a split second before their lips bumped together with a very slight pressure. The awkwardness of it struck him at that moment and he tightened his grasp on her, steeling himself to pull away even though he was realizing that he actually couldn't think of anything he wanted to be doing more... though the guilt of wanting it so badly was eating him alive at the same time.

So far, what had happened what not irreversible- they were two kindred souls going through the stages of grief together. There was nothing wrong with sharing an embrace, drawing comfort from the other, in a situation like this. He clung to that seemingly logical notion desperately.

The she moved.

She began to actively kiss him, increasing the pressure on his lips, and snaking her arms around his neck as she pressed even closer- it felt like she was trying to become part of him. His response was mindless and automatic; it had been so long since he'd shared a comforting embrace with a woman, and he was coming to realize that he might be near a breaking point of his own- he was in need of the physical contact too. And it had been years since he'd felt this... alive. He'd be outright lying if he said he'd never found her attractive, but the timing had never been right. It still wasn't right. Jack was lying just a few floors down on a sterile bed in an empty infirmary, and here he was, kissing the woman Jack loved. The woman who loved him back.

Just as the thought penetrated his overwhelmed brain, he felt a warm wetness on his face; a tear had escaped her eye. Immediately he went stock still, a little shocked to find one of his hands cradling her head, keeping her close. She did as well, sensing the change in the atmosphere immediately. He let go of her and backed away slowly, hands up in the air, watching her carefully. She immediately turned three different shades of red as she realized what was going on.

"Oh, god. Daniel, I'm so sor-" she began frantically, swiping at the fresh tears escaping her eyes.

"No, no, Sam. Don't," he commanded softly, taking one of her hands to show there were no hard hard feelings, no judgments. The gesture made her uncomfortable and she tried to pull away. He tightened his grasp.

"Sam, it's ok-" he began softly, not letting her break eye contact.

"No, it is absolutely not ok, Daniel," she countered, her voice steady but a little bit shaky. "I'm a mess. I can't control my emotions right now and you got in the way. I'm so sorry, Daniel- I never meant to take advantage like that."

"You can take advantage of me any time," he quipped with a little grin, attempting to lighten the mood.

She gave him a look- one that said it was not funny- immediately followed by another groan and blushing spell. She tried to turn away, embarrassed beyond words. This was Daniel- how was she supposed to work with him with something like this between them? Worse, could they still be friends? She didn't think she could stand to lose both Jack and Daniel at the same time- these people, this place, had become her life. Her anxiety threatened to consume her.

"Sam, really- it's ok," he reassured her, forcing her to look at him again. "There is no fault here. I'm sorry too- I didn't mean to... kiss you back like that." It was his turn to be uncomfortable and apologetic, as a bit of color crept up his neck and he reached up to fidget awkwardly with his hair.

She looked at him hard for a moment. When it became apparent she wasn't going to say anything in response to that, he jumped in to fill the silence. "We're both stressed out right now. It's perfectly normal to act out of character- both of us- at a time like this. If you-"

She sniffled and swiped her sleeve across her face to catch an errant tear. "Daniel, that was a far cry from crying on your shoulder, but thanks for trying," she aid wryly, unable to stop the blood from rushing to her cheeks again. She wondered how long it would be before she could pass him in the hallway without that happening.

"You can cry on my shoulder any time, Sam," he said softly. "Any time."

Determined to put the strange moment between them in the past, he approached her carefully, put a cautious arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the door.

"Come on. Let's go harass Jack."

Feel free to let me know what you think!