~o~

Daniel pulled his car into the parking lot of O'Malley's just before seven and tucked it into the first available parking spot. He killed the ignition and turned to Cassie, a question in his eyes.

"Ready?"

Cassie smiled back. "Let's go," she said as she opened the car door and stepped out.

Daniel exited the car and waited for her to join him, placing a hand to her back as she walked in front of him and headed for the front door. Once inside, they paused as their eyes adjusted to the low light. Daniel scanned the room, looking for familiar faces.

"They're waiting in the bar," came a familiar voice. Daniel turned and saw one of their favorite waiters, Trevor, standing at the hostess station. "You two are the last to arrive," he told them with a smile. "We'll have your table ready in a minute or two."

"Thanks, Trevor," Daniel said, smiling as he put a hand to Cassie's back to guide her to the bar.

Cassie caught sight of Teal'c, towering over the crowd, and moved in his direction. He was standing back from the bar holding a glass of juice and listening to Vala go on about something, a patient but longsuffering expression on his face. Sam stood on his other side, leaning against the bar, a beer next to her, looking slightly amused. Carolyn stood beside her, back to the bar, with Cam leaning sideways against the counter on her left, playing with his own beer. Cassie smiled at the sight they made, glancing up to see a matching smile on Daniel's face.

"Here we go," he murmured to her, reaching down to clasp her hand in his own.

They reached the group, and Sam was the first to notice their arrival. "Hey guys," she said brightly, almost relieved at the interruption.

Cam, who had been the only one not facing them when they'd walked up, turned to see who'd joined them. He clearly hadn't been expecting what he saw, because his face registered mild shock as he took in their joined hands and blissful expressions.

"You…and Cassie?" he sputtered. Turning on Carolyn, he pointed his finger accusingly. "You knew, and you didn't tell me. Even when I told you this afternoon, you knew."

"Yeah, so?" came her sedate reply.

"Nothing," Cam said, totally deflated by her nonchalant attitude, "I'm just saying is all."

"Am I the last one to know about this?" Vala piped up from her place beside Teal'c.

"Apparently not, 'cuz I didn't know he was dating her either," Cam said, shrugging.

"But you knew he was dating someone," Vala accused. "Why am I always the last to know?"

"Perhaps it is because, once you learn a fact, you do not cease to speak of it until everyone in your acquaintance has the knowledge you possess," Teal'c offered sourly.

Vala's mouth dropped open at the accusation. "I never—," she began, but was cut off.

"Yes, you do," Teal'c intoned, another longsuffering expression crossing his face. "All the time."

"Well, I think they look cute together," Carolyn offered, trying to distract Vala before she opened her mouth again. "Don't you, Sam?"

"Oh, absolutely," Sam confirmed, laughing at the still shocked expression on Cam's face.

Daniel and Cassie traded amused glances at the verbal sparring going on in front of them. They seemed to have been totally left out of the conversation, something neither of them had missed. Daniel shrugged, and signaled to the barman for two beers while Cassie went and hugged Sam and Carolyn.

Cam shook his head to clear it, glancing at Daniel as he retrieved the beers he'd ordered. "It's no wonder you weren't too sure about bringing her," he finally said.

"Oh, we can leave, if you're still having problems," Daniel offered sardonically.

"No, no, it's okay," Cam rushed to assure him. "It's just, you and Cassie," he said, at a loss for words.

"Yeah, me and Cassie," Daniel confirmed, handing the glass of beer over to Cassie and giving her a winning smile, something Cam didn't fail to notice.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked. He looked back and forth from one to the other, and he could clearly see the affection written all over both of them. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how he could have missed it.

"Yes, Daniel," Vala piped up. "How long have you two been, you know," she said, suggestively, wagging her eyebrows for effect.

"We've been dating," and Daniel put the emphasis on 'dating', "for about three months."

"Ah," Vala said, giving him a clearly disbelieving look.

"I just don't get how we could have all missed it," Cam said, giving first Daniel, then Cassie a sly look. "I mean, it's not like we don't have eyes."

Daniel looked over at Cassie, who had landed between Sam and Teal'c. "Well, we haven't been advertising," he said, which was the truth. They'd agreed to keep it low-key, but even Daniel hadn't had faith that they could keep it quiet for this long.

"Come on, Jackson," Cam said, "you know how the grapevine works around here. Hell, everybody on base knew I'd asked Carolyn out five minutes after it happened."

"Hey, not five minutes," she objected.

"I believe it was two hours, twenty-three minutes," Teal'c stated. He'd overheard it while waiting for the 'gate to dial, from one of the 'gate technicians who was dating a nurse. "If you desired to keep your relationship a secret, you should not have asked her to accompany you while still in the infirmary."

"Yeah, Cam," Carolyn slapped him on the chest good-naturedly. "Word to the wise: the walls have ears."

"Which would be why I asked Cassie out after we'd left the base for the day," Daniel supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cam said, waiving him off. The others just laughed.

Just then, the hostess came over to let them know that their table was ready. They followed her deep into the restaurant, until she stopped at a round table near the back, not far from the pool tables and the jukebox and dance floor. They settled themselves in, with Daniel and Cassie finding themselves sandwiched between Teal'c and Carolyn. Vala took her seat next to Teal'c, and Cam and Sam took the remaining two.

They didn't even look at the menu, and when their waiter arrived, they ordered from memory, having a good laugh about spending so much time at O'Malley's that they had all memorized the menu.

"So, I want to know how all this got started," Carolyn said, looking pointedly at Daniel and Cassie.

Daniel looked to Cassie and shrugged. "You tell them," he said, smiling, sliding his arm across the back of her chair and settling back to watch the show.

Cassie chuckled, since she knew it was all her fault anyway. "I kissed him," she said matter-of-factly. Only Sam and Teal'c seemed not to be shocked by that admission.

"You kissed him?" Cam repeated, staring at her in disbelief. "And he didn't freak out?"

"Oh, he freaked out, all right," Cassie assured him. "The way I heard it, he didn't sleep for, what, four days?" she turned to Daniel for confirmation.

Daniel nodded and sipped from his beer. "Four days."

"Huh," Cam said. "But you decided to date her anyway, even though it freaked you out."

"She made a convincing argument," Daniel offered, smiling at the memory.

"Oh? What was that?" Carolyn wanted to know.

"She said we're both adults," he informed her.

"That was it?" Cam asked, disbelief in his tone.

"Well, she said it much more eloquently," he put in, winking at Cassie. "But, yeah, that was it. We're both adults, and if we wanted to do this, we could."

"So you're telling me that you two have been dating for three months?" Vala spoke up. She'd been totally silent since they'd been seated at the table, but now it seemed she'd finally begun to process what Daniel and Cassie were saying.

"Yep, that about sums it up," Cassie said, trying and failing to hide a smile.

"Well, I suppose a toast is in order, then," Vala said, lifting her martini glass off the table. The rest of the group followed suit, and waited for her to begin. "To new beginnings," she said, looking over at Daniel and giving him a wink.

Surprise registered on Daniel's face as he realized what she was referring to. She'd figured out what their conversation was all about, the one they'd had during his turn at watch on P6Y-509 over the summer. Vala smiled his way, over the top of her glass, and Daniel smiled his gratitude back.

"New beginnings," the group chorused as one, clinking glasses and then sipping their drinks as conversation moved on to other topics.

Daniel watched as his friends talked to each other about anything and nothing, amazed that him appearing with Cassie as his girlfriend really hadn't caused any stir at all. Teal'c had been right all those months ago. His friends—his family—would accept the situation because they loved both of them and wanted them both to be happy. He reached over and squeezed Cassie's hand where it lay on the table, more glad than ever that he'd decided to take a chance on her.

~o~

Conversation had flowed easily around the table as they ate dinner, and not once did anyone bring up work. Sam considered it a victory that their lives were becoming about more than just the SGC and the war with the Ori. And she was pleased no end at the way the rest of the team had embraced Daniel and Cassie's new relationship. It seemed that once the initial shock had worn off, each one of them had decided that they both seemed happy, and that was all that mattered.

Someone had started feeding quarters into the jukebox, and just then a slow song came up on the play list. Cassie tugged on Daniel's arm. "Dance with me," she requested, leaning in close so she could be heard over the noise.

Daniel smiled. "Sure." He led her out to the dance floor, where they were joined by a few other couples. Taking her into his arms, he sighed contentedly.

"You didn't tell me you could dance, Daniel," Cassie said as she was guided expertly around the small dance floor.

"No?" he asked coyly. "Well, part of being an academic is attending University fundraisers. I had to learn, or I'd keep crushing the toes of wealthy donors. They frown on that."

Cassie giggled. "I don't suppose they'd want to give money to someone who'd just broken all their toes," she agreed.

"You realize this is our first official dance," he murmured, enjoying the feel of her body as it swayed with his own.

"Not exactly swank surroundings," Cassie observed, "but it'll do."

Daniel smiled and pulled her closer.

Back at the table, the rest of the team watched as the new couple glided around the dance floor.

"They really do look good together, don't they," Carolyn said, slight wonder in her voice.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "I hadn't seen them together before tonight, but it's amazing how well they seem to fit together."

"That's it, isn't it?" Carolyn said. "I wouldn't have given the idea a second thought, but seeing them together, it makes perfect sense."

Vala rolled her eyes. She really had taken a liking to Daniel when she'd first met him. He was tough but kind, but so not her type. Her type had changed, but so had her relationship with Daniel. And while she no longer had a crush on him, she still felt a little awkward around him. Not that she was going to tell anyone that. Instead, she observed, "I think that the person we are best suited to is sometimes the person we least expect. I suppose for Daniel, that was Cassie."

"Well said, Vala Mal Doran," Teal'c congratulated her.

Vala smiled and winked at him before turning her attention back to the discussion at hand.

"I think you might be on to something, there, Vala," Cam said thoughtfully. "I don't think, even a year ago, that I would have asked Carolyn out, and now look at where we are."

"Yes, well, I probably wouldn't have said yes, even if you had asked," Carolyn informed him, patting his cheek before dropping a kiss there.

"Ouch," Cam said. "Way to bruise the ego."

"You're right, though," Sam put in. "I've never been attracted to the right kind of man," she explained, "but when the right one finally dropped into my lap, I jumped at the chance."

"General O'Neill gave you lap dances?" Cam asked, feigning shock.

"Smack him for me," Sam requested, and Carolyn complied with a hand to the back of his head. She smiled her thanks and then turned back to watch Daniel and Cassie. "Here they come," she told the table at large.

Cassie and Daniel walked back to the table hand in hand, satisfied expressions on both their faces. Daniel took his seat, and Cassie bent down to whisper something in his ear before dropping a slow, sensual kiss on his lips and then turning to walk away. Daniel watched her leave, a dazed expression on his face.

"I remember that look," Sam said, leaning forward, a wide smile on her face.

"Huh?" was all Daniel could muster.

"The first day I met you, Sha're kissed you like that, and you had the same dazed look on your face," she informed him with a grin.

Daniel smiled, not just at the memory of his wife, but at the memory of the kiss Cassie had left him with just moments ago. "Yeah, amazing how I find the only two women in this galaxy that can do that to me, isn't it?"

Sam sat back, surprise and happiness welling up in equal parts. "Wow, Daniel, you've got it bad."

"That I do," he agreed immediately, his smile growing wider.

"Well, for the record, I think you two are good for each other," Carolyn pitched in.

"We're all happy for you, Daniel," Sam said, smiling across the table at him. "She's good for you. I haven't seen you smile this much since I've known you."

"I will be the first to admit that I have it good," Daniel said, sitting back in his chair, a satisfied grin on his face.

"That is good to know, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, speaking to his friend without turning his attention from the dance floor. "Because, were you to ever cause harm to Cassandra Frasier, I believe the line to exact revenge would form behind me."

Daniel blanched briefly, until he caught the smile playing at Teal'c's lips. "Got it," he confirmed with a nod, his laughter mixing with the others'.

"Here's to us, Daniel," Cam offered. "May we do right by our women," he finished, lifting his beer bottle to his lips and taking a long pull.

"Amen to that," Daniel said, lifting his own glass in tribute before draining the contents.

Cassie returned to the table then, sporting fresh lipstick and a twinkle in her eyes. "What were you all talking about just now?" She'd heard the laughter, and suspected they were teasing Daniel.

"Teal'c was just threatening to beat Daniel up if he ever hurt you," Cam said casually.

Cassie's head whipped around to look at Teal'c. "You didn't?" she pleaded.

"I did," Teal'c said solemnly.

"Oh, god," she said, dropping her head to the table. "Instead of one parent, I've got to have half a dozen," she moaned.

"Deal," Cam stated on a wink.

Cassie smiled, and turned her attention back to the group. The conversation once again was flowing around the table. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and it felt good to be part of the reason for that. She just hoped it would last. With the way their lives were going, change could happen at any moment. She shook her head and rejoined the conversation. She wasn't going to worry about that just then. Life was too short to dwell on what might happen. She was going to live in the here and now. After all, the here and now was pretty good.

...continued...