Chapter Thirteen Summary - Sam has been living on base, but would rather be in her own home, which isn't possible until they find out who was behind the wiring of her house. After finding out what they can from Harry Maybourne, Daniel comes up with a surprising alternative...in more ways than one. Characters - Sam, Martouf, Daniel Rating: - this chapter PG-14

Cor'cyfials shel'lec te dak – Heart-friends sharing the flesh

"Italics" - Symbiote-Host communications

A Path Not Taken

Chapter Thirteen

Some Other Time; Some Other Place

Sam sighed and arched her back as she sat at one of the control room computers running diagnostics. She was still living on base for now. She didn't mind staying on base as much as she'd thought she would. The guys had pitched in and moved quite a bit of her stuff to the base, since it appeared she would be there for quite some time, so she had her own computer, her own DVD's, and her own books. She wasn't happy about what having her things on base meant, but she was glad she had them.

Her house had been well and truly wired. She smiled a little thinking about it, though. They had left a few fingerprints, very careless of them, and a couple of people from area fifty-one were now facing charges of breaking and entering among other things.

She was startled to feel hands on her shoulders and fingers working their way into her tightened muscles, but she closed her eyes and smiled as she recognized Daniel's scent.

It never ceased to amaze her that, whereas before, she probably could have told by scent which of her teammates were standing or sitting beside her, now there was no doubt whatsoever. Charesh enhanced all of her senses and had she been paying attention she would have recognized Daniel's scent before he touched her.

She moaned as his fingers worked their magic. Char would have taken care of it before long, but it felt good to have Daniel's hands on her. She frowned and opened her eyes. Why had she never realized before how wonderful Daniel's long fingered hands felt on her body? He'd rubbed her shoulders before. Then she smiled slightly. Char, of course.

"I am not causing you to think or feel these things, my Sam," Charesh said quietly. "I just now awoke and realized that Daniel was here with us."

Sam frowned at that. Char could not easily lie to her, anymore than she could easily lie to Char. It took a lot of control to be able to do it and the lie remain undetected. Char was much too relaxed to be hiding anything from her this time, so, if she said that she had not enhanced Sam's feelings about what Daniel was doing, then she had not done so. Which left Sam wondering what was going on in her own mind and body. Maybe Janet was right, and she really should take Malek up on his offer…soon.

"I would not be averse to doing so, my Sam, but this you already know. I do not believe that he would take advantage of us."

"I know, Char, and I'm almost there myself. Let's see what Daniel wants first though, before we go planning any big seduction scene, okay?"

Char sent her characteristic gurgle of laughter to her in answer. Sam couldn't help but smile. Charesh's laughter was one of the most endearing and enjoyable things about her. It seemed to bubble up and almost sparkle as she let her mirth consume her. It was all Sam could do to keep from joining her every time she laughed, as it was such a beautiful, infectious sound.

Sam mentally shook her head at her symbiote, but still, she smiled at her. She was amazed at how quickly the two of them had blended and began to share almost every facet of their lives. It was astounding, astonishing, and amazingly comfortable. But, she didn't have time to contemplate that now. Not while Daniel was sending shivers down her spine with his touch.

She turned to Daniel and his magic fingers and attempted to sound normal, which, thanks to Char, she could do. "Hey, Daniel, when did you get back? I thought you were going to be gone for a couple of days."

"We were, originally, but we got the information we needed and left immediately. How are things going here? Heard anything new?"

"No. I was hoping you managed to find out something more."

Daniel grinned. "Well, to be honest, one of the guys from area fifty-one met Teal'c, and, for some reason, he decided that he liked birdsong. He's been singing like a canary."

He shook his head as he denied his own words. "That's not really true. He was willing to sing long before he met with Teal'c. It's too bad he wasn't higher up on the inside, because I think he told us everything he knew including his hat and shoe size."

Sam laughed, her eyes sparkling at him when he sat down next to her. "So, what did you find out? Anything that will get me out of the base and back in my own home?"

Daniel sobered and sighed shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid we didn't get any information deep enough to clear you from their radar. Whoever it was that ordered it, he didn't know. I really believe that, if he had known who it was, he would have told us."

Sam frowned, thinking over his remarks. "Why do you say that, Daniel? What makes you so sure he's telling the truth?"

"Well, it seems that by covering Harry Maybourne's ass during the foothold situation, you effectively, in some weird way, protected him, too. I guess he could have been in trouble as well as Maybourne, although I don't really understand how. Maybe he just has that idea in his head, and it isn't really true. Who knows?"

"Anyway, everyone on Maybourne's team knows you are strictly out of bounds for them to harm or set up for someone else to harm in any way. He wasn't told whose house he was going to wire. It wasn't until he arrived that he realized he was pretty sure whose house it was. Then he saw the pictures and knew it was yours. And he knew that, contrary to what they had been told, Harry didn't contact them to tell them to do it."

"He thinks that there were only two of them that realized the order didn't come from Maybourne. Both of them managed to leave fingerprints, figuring that something was up and that Harry didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Evidentially, they both decided they wanted out, and neither knew of the other's decision. So that's three of them wanting out of whatever is going on within the N.I.D."

Daniel shrugged. "They really couldn't tell us much as far as who actually ordered the surveillance, but we now have some backup that Maybourne is telling the truth as well. Neither of them even knew that they both left prints in order to get out, until we told them. The looks on their faces when they saw each other and Harry was priceless."

"We interrogated them individually, and then we took them all into a room together. Once they started talking to one another, they came up with a little more stuff, too. As they compared notes, they all came to the conclusion that this isn't the first time this has happened. Maybourne is furious, by the way, and he appears to be out for blood."

"There was no way that they could have talked to Maybourne before we brought them in. Martouf said it was very obvious when he accused him of ordering the wiring of your house that Maybourne didn't know the first thing about it, so neither of them could have talked to him before we managed to get all three of them into custody. They are now free to go back to work. Only this time, like Harry Maybourne, they are working for us."

"It's too bad that Maybourne has no way to find out who the order came from. I'm beginning to think I'm never going to get to move back home." Sam sighed disconsolately.

Daniel cleared his voice before saying, "Sam. There is something you could do. It wouldn't be the same as being in your own home, but if you are really getting to where you just can't stand being here, it would at least make it a little bit better. Jack and I talked it over, and it might be an alternative. Well, in fact, Teal'c, the General, and Martouf agreed that it might work, too."

"What's that, Daniel? I have to admit it really hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, mostly I think, because you have all been going out of your way to keep me busy. Still, I'd love to have an alternative. What is it?"

Daniel took a deep breath and glanced around them. Sam and Walter were the only two people here at the moment. He was uncomfortable talking about this around other people, but he wanted to talk to her about it now.

He glanced once more at the Sergeant and was surprised to see him looking back at him. He was even more surprised when he said, "Dr. Jackson, would you and Major Carter like some coffee? I'm afraid our coffee maker is on the blitz, but if you would stay here with the Major, I'd be glad to run to the mess and get you both a cup."

Daniel smiled. He really liked the Sergeant. The man appeared to have an internal radar when it came to knowing what they needed. "Yes, we'd both love some. Why don't you take your break, since the Major and I are here to cover for you? I'll be glad to stay if it gets me a nice big cup of coffee." Daniel smiled his friendliest smile, the one that said, you're great and I really appreciate this, and the Sergeant responded like a flower to a much needed rain.

He blossomed and stood at once knowing he'd been right and Dr. Jackson had something private to say to the Major. "I'll be back in thirty then, if that's all right with you?"

Sam turned to smile at him, too. "That would be great, Sergeant. Thank you."

"No problem, Ma'am." He walked over to and out the door.

After watching him leave, Daniel turned back to Sam and said softly and quietly, "You could move in with me, Sam."

Sam sat stunned at his offer. When she found her voice, she answered, gently, "Oh, Daniel, that's really sweet, but we both know that you don't really want a semi-permanent house guest. I can't do that to you. You need your space and quiet time."

Daniel nodded, saying, "I guessed you would say something like that. The truth is that I don't think you would bother me at all, Sam. I'm not looking at it through rose-colored glasses, though. I know there would be things come up that could be problems. No two people can live together in constant harmony. On the other hand, I think we would work any problems out. We work through things here at work. I think we could work through disputes if we lived in the same space, too."

"I won't try to push you, except to say this. I would love to have you, and if nothing else, I'd like to make you at least a semi-permanent house guest."

"I know you've stayed weekends, but usually only two nights and maybe occasionally one during the week. I want you to agree to stay with me at least from Thursday, to Monday. That's four days. If I thought that I could get you to agree to Tuesday, I would, but I know that, since you already turned full-time down, you won't do it. Please, Sam, I want you to promise to think about it. Okay?"

Sam blushed, and Daniel looked at her oddly, his forehead scrunched into his thinking lines. "What, Sam? You're hesitating for a particular reason. You can tell me, you know. If it's something about me, and you know we can't get along because of it, I won't be insulted. On the other hand, if it is something personal, I won't go blabbing to the entire base."

Sam glanced around, even though she knew they were alone, before saying quietly. "I promise it isn't anything about you, Daniel. Nothing like that. It's just that—I might begin to—well, I'm going to…" Finally, her voice gave out, as she cast about in her mind looking for the best words to use before trying again to answer Daniel's puzzled look.

Looking down at the floor before again looking at him, she stated quietly, "I think I'm going to begin dating someone."

Daniel sat for a moment, stunned. "And this is a problem, how?"

Sam cleared her throat. "I mean, I'm going to be seeing someone."

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I still have the same question. How is this a problem?"

"Well, okay. I'm going to, um, need my, well, my privacy. I mean I could tell you I'd stay with you for those four days, but then what if I wanted to say, stay on base for a couple of those nights? So, I really can't tell you that I will stay with you, when the time might come—possibly sooner rather than later—when I would want to be here. I mean, I can't go to my own house without some type of guard, so." She stopped speaking and shrugged, looking only slightly uncomfortable.

Still watching him for his reaction, she said quietly, "I'm not exactly a virgin, Daniel. I'm an adult with adult needs." She paused, before continuing, "I hope discussing this type of thing with me doesn't upset you."

Suddenly, the light bulb came on over Daniel's head as he realized what she was trying to tell him. His eyes widened as he straightened from his forward leaning posture and cleared his throat. Well, d'uh, Jackson, talk about stupid. "I think I can assume that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights could be when you will want to stay on the base?"

Blushing slightly, Sam nodded. Then she looked up and into his eyes. "Daniel, so help me, if you mention this to anyone, anyone at all, I'll kill you."

Daniel understood what she was saying to him. He leaned forward toward her again and placed his hand over her fisted one. "Sam, we are the best of friends. I can tell you anything and ask anything of you, and you can do the same with me. So no, I'm not uncomfortable in talking about these things with you, it's just that we never have before. Not like this."

"Furthermore, I would no more tell anyone what you confide to me than you would tell what I confide to you. Everything you've said to me is confidential, I promise you. I just, well, I don't want to see you get hurt. Are you sure about this? Do you, you know, trust him?"

Realizing that Daniel's nimble brain, once he had made the initial jump, had added the numbers and come up with the right sum, she nodded. "Yeah, I do. We've actually started talking about it, and it's something we both need, with no strings attached."

"We are being very upfront about the entire thing, Daniel. I don't believe there are any hidden agenda's on either side. I have a need and so does he. We're very attracted to one another, as friends for now, but there is an underlying sexual attraction that we are both very aware of that we may want to explore at some point. And it may or may not be a while before—well—before we are actually together together, if you know what I mean."

"It's just that, right now, we're still considering it. As I said, we're becoming friends, and if it works out that an affaire is what we both want, then that's what we'll do. It's—that is—I really wish I could explain it, Daniel. I feel comfortable with him. In a way, how I feel about him, reminds me of how I feel about you. I trust you, and I feel like I can talk to you about anything, and ask anything of you, too."

A slight pink invaded Daniel's face. He drew in a deep breath, looking down at their now firmly clasped hands, before saying hesitantly, "Sam, uh, you know that, well, I mean—if you needed—that—and you decide you can't—find it, with Malek and Devlin, or if you need—that—before you make your decision, then, well, I think we could be together in—that way—without having any problems."

"I mean, we love each other already, just not in a romantic way. That doesn't mean I don't notice you as a woman. I do, and I would, um, well, if you ever feel a need or anything, you can," he cleared his throat; "you can ask me. I'd consider it a very special, well—joining—for lack of a better word. I'd also consider it a very special gift that we give to one another."

"I don't consider you a sister, Sam, and I never have. So, well," he paused and drew another deep breath before looking her straight in the eyes and saying, "I'm very willing to help you out. I, um, have even thought about it sometimes when I've needed—that—but I didn't think you'd be comfortable with it, and so I never—got up the nerve and—asked," he finished quietly, his voice progressively softer as he neared the finish of the sentence.

Sam watched Daniel's face as he offered to join with her. She had been surprised when he looked up from their clasped hands, into her eyes. She knew her mouth was open, and Daniel watched as her eyes glowed. Charesh came fore and smiled at him. "I am so very glad you have offered this to us, Daniel, for Sam and I have discussed this very thing several times."

Daniel looked stunned for a moment, before stuttering, "Y-you, h-have? R-really?"

Char nodded. "I have been in stasis for two thousand years, Daniel. I have never had sex, since I was put into stasis just as I was coming into full maturity, and I have never been blended. I know it only as a tactile memory passed on through Egeria."

"Because I wish to experience it first hand, I have looked around to see if there are any men with which I would feel comfortable exploring my sexuality for the first time. There were three that I felt would be acceptable. More than acceptable. All three of you are," Char paused and grinned impishly at Daniel, "yummy."

"Because of my Sam's love and affection for you, you were my first choice. I asked her if I could ask you to kiss me, and she agreed. She also agreed that if it went beyond kissing she would not stop us."

"I believe that she perhaps thought the fact that you and she are teammates would cause you to decline my invitation, but she is also harboring a small hope that you would not. She, also, finds you extremely attractive and would not object to you as a mating partner. As for feeling toward you as she would toward a brother, I can assure you that the feelings she harbors for you are nothing at all akin to those she has for her brother."

She cocked her head as she continued to study his reactions, "Should I take this to mean that you are willing to become our partner now, Daniel, while we are considering what to do about Malek and Devlin?"

She frowned. "That does not sound very nice. I am sorry, Daniel; I did not mean it the way it sounded. I would never use you in that manner and then leave you, nor would my Sam. If we decided to do—that—then I would agree to whatever boundaries you would set up."

"If you did not wish us to lie with Malek as long as we were lying with you, then I would agree to that. I do not believe that Malek would be possessive, though, so if you are not either, then there would be no problems or jealousies, which would be a very good thing, I think."

Daniel sat quietly, too astounded to answer for a short time. Finally, he managed to say, "I, um, don't know how I would feel about it to tell you the truth, but sitting here now and thinking about it, I doubt I would object."

He frowned in obvious concentration, "I mean, are you thinking it would be like an ongoing affaire or just a, well to put it bluntly, something to scratch an occasional itch? I mean, just until you decide whether or not you want to start seeing Malek in that way?"

"Because as crude as it sounds, I don't think I would have a problem with that. I mean I have no problem with us both feeling free to let the other know we need them or want to be with them. I suppose we could have it remain that way even after you start to see Malek if that is acceptable to him, too. We are friends, Char. And, friends help friends, sometimes even in these kinds of circumstances. It's not like we are pledging ourselves to each other for anything more than being, well, "friends that have extracurricular activity" when they feel the need."

Char smiled at him before she nodded, saying, "The Tok'Ra have a term to describe that which we are contemplating, Daniel. It is Cor'cyfials shel'lec te dak; heart-friends, or lovers sharing the flesh. I agree with you, Daniel, and I believe my Sam will as well, but she wishes to discuss it, she is saying some other time; some other place; therefore, I will return her to you."

"God, Daniel, that sounds like the title to some cheesy movie." She clasped his fingers a little tighter. "Are you really as okay with this as you seem to be, Daniel? Because I don't want to mess up the friendship we have, and if you think it will, then I'd rather not do it. And, I do think we need to think about it a little before we rush into anything. I mean, if nothing else we each need to know the other's comfort levels."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, I really am as okay as I seem to be. I don't think it would mess up our friendship, Sam. We aren't talking about an affaire of the heart where one of us could be hurt. We are talking about opening another avenue to explore our friendship through."

"We know going in we are doing it as friends, because we both have needs and neither of us is the type to go out and pick someone up and have one night stands. Neither are we looking for a long term relationship right now. It's not like we would be lovers in the true sense of the word."

There was an arrested look in his eyes for a moment before he said, softly, "Or maybe what we are contemplating is a true, though different, meaning of lovers. We do love one another, and neither of us would ever hurt the other. We would truly be lovers in many senses of the word. However," he continued wryly, "I do agree that we should both think more about it. We'll discuss it later, okay?"

Sam nodded and smiled in relief as she took in his words. Maybe Daniel was right, and they would be able to become lovers in a true sense of the word, but still not be lovers in the romantic sense of the word. They would talk again.

She said, as softly as he had, with gratitude in her voice, "All right, Daniel, and if you don't think it would make you uncomfortable, then while we are thinking, I will take you up on your offer to stay with you, if you wouldn't mind. I'd love to stay with you. But, only if you promise to tell me if you need your place to yourself whenever you are having company or just plain want to be alone. And only so long as you don't feel uncomfortable with it. Deal?"

Daniel smiled. "Deal, Sam. Ah, I think I need my place tonight, Sam. The guys are all coming over, and you said you were staying on base, so we made plans without you. We could change them if you've changed your mind and want to come along. That is…"

"No, thanks, Daniel, I have some things that I have to do here. There will be those nights. Nights when I have something going on and I need to stay on base to accomplish it. I never realized how often I actually do stay overnight here."

"I think that both of us are guilty of that, Sam, so don't beat up on yourself over it. I'm sure there will be nights that I tell you I'm staying over as well. I guess that basically, we're going to be going on the same way we have been except that instead of you staying on nights I ask you too, it will be unspoken that you'll spend the night unless one or the other of us says they need the night free. Is that about the way you see it?"

She smiled at him in relief. He wasn't insulted or upset that she might want to have some nights to herself. "Yes, that is exactly how I see it, Daniel. And Daniel. Thanks. I appreciate the offer. Both offers. In fact, it's kind of funny that you asked me because Char and I were just talking about whether we thought you'd be willing to stay with us at our house once in a while. So, we were both thinking along similar lines."

"Sure, Sam, I'd be glad to stay there once in a while. If you aren't worried that they will try to get to you there? I know that Maybourne thinks you are okay for now, but I don't think any of us are really comfortable with it. And my place is more secure than yours."

Sam's brow furrowed in thought, before she started to talk, obviously thinking things out as she went along, "I'm not sure we shouldn't take his word for it that I'm safe now, Daniel. I mean, think about it; really give it some thought. Maybourne knows that if he screws up he is going to be in a small cell for a very long time. Now, knowing that, I don't think he'd tell us that he believes I'd be okay, unless he is pretty darned sure of it."

Daniel nodded. "I've thought of that, too, Sam. I think it could be that you would be safe, but I also believe that we don't want to take the chance that he's wrong."

Reaching over and taking her hand in his again, he said quietly, "We wouldn't know how to go on without you, Sam. We're too afraid for you to allow you to go into a known danger here on Earth. We face danger and possible death every time we walk through that gate. We don't want to take unnecessary chances with you here on Earth, too."

Sam couldn't speak for a minute, but when she could all she could manage was, "Oh, Daniel."

He released her hand just as the Sergeant came through the door bearing coffee for two. He reached for them, saying, "Thank you, Sergeant. We appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Dr. Jackson. No problem." He settled back into his station.

Daniel sighed and took a drink. It was coffee. His eyes opened wider. It was almost good coffee. What had happened? Maybe someone new was fixing it. He drank it gratefully for once. It couldn't be called great coffee, but it certainly was a one hundred percent improvement over what was usually served in the cafeteria. He and Sam sat in companionable silence as they drank it, both caught up in their own thoughts for the moment.

It didn't take Daniel long to finish his cup of coffee. Looking at his watch, he realized it was later than he thought. He had several things to do yet today. "Well, I'd better get going. I need to find Martouf and let him know what time to be ready to leave. I'll probably talk to you tomorrow, Sam."

"All right, Daniel." She paused. "And Daniel, thanks, I really appreciate the offers."

"You're welcome, Sam. I'm looking forward to it."

With a last smile, Daniel headed out to find Martouf, and Sam lost herself in her thoughts again. At first, all she could think about was Daniel's offer.

"It is a wonderful thing for us, Sam. Daniel is a good friend and we can trust him. I believe that we could trust Malek with both our body and our emotions, as well, but until we have built our friendship with him, I do not wish to jump into an affaire."

"I know that I often tease you about it, but as you already know, the truth is that I am in no real rush. I, also, truly wish to have trust and at the least affection for the man with which we mate. Not, that I am adverse to the preliminaries before that happens; however, Daniel is both trustworthy and a holder of our affections already," Char spoke softly to her lifemate.

"I agree, Char. It could be a very good thing. On the other hand, if anything went wrong, it could ruin our friendship. I would really hate to see that happen. Daniel is one of the closest friends I have ever had. I'd be lost without him in my life." Sam spoke morosely, as she contemplated her life without Daniel in it. Bleak. There was no doubt that her life would be a dimmer place without him. He was one of those shining lights that one meets only once or twice in a lifetime. Her lifetime would be a lot less bright without him in it.

Char gave Sam a warm hug and sent waves of affection and love to her. For she did love Sam, and she knew that Sam was very attached to her, as well. "I do not believe that your friendship with Daniel could be hurt by this, my Sam. The bond that you and Daniel share is much deeper than you realize. It would take a catastrophic event to damage it, and I do not believe that this will lead to one."

"I hope you are right, Char, because the more I think about it, the more I think it would be a good thing. I think Daniel needs someone to be with sometimes, too, but he isn't ready to take a step toward a romantic relationship, yet. He is still mourning Sha'uri, although, not as deeply as he was for such a long time. And he told the truth about both of us when he said we weren't the kind to go in for one night stands. This may be something that he needs as much as we do, and it might help him as much as it would us."

"I agree. I would imagine that Daniel needs it much more than we do. After all, his wife has been gone much longer than just the time since her death. There is no doubt that he needs a friend with whom he could share and sate his sexual needs, and there is no reason that we could not be that friend."

"Yes, I think so, too. But, there is no point in speculating about his feelings at the moment. I'm sure when we talk again we'll find out what he is thinking and feeling. Daniel doesn't have the problem relating his emotions that some men do."

Char 'nodded'. "Yes, it is obvious that he is much more aware of his emotions than many of the men I have met appear to be. It will all work out; you will see."

Sam sent her agreement. It would work out and worrying and thinking about it wouldn't change the outcome one way or the other.

It was Char's turn to sigh, as she continued, "Much as I would like to continue to contemplate what may happen, we have other things that must be given thought and seen to."

Sam agreed. Pushing thoughts of Daniel out of her mind, it then headed right back to where she had been before he had come in.

As Daniel had said, Maybourne had been extremely angry about the incident. Sam was strictly off-limits. Someone managed to countermand his order by saying the wiring orders came from him. He wanted to know who as much as the SGC did. And for certain considerations, he was willing to work on it. So, Harry Maybourne and two of his cronies were free, sort of, and the rogue element inside the N.I.D. was not as hidden as it had been.

Of course, all bets were off if he screwed them around. Somehow, this time, Sam didn't think he would. He'd given a lot of information. Like his men that had left the prints, he wanted out, but had no way to get there. Until now.

He was under surveillance and he knew very well that, if this went wrong, he was as good as dead, if he wasn't in that very small cell. Martouf was Tok'Ra, and they did not wait for a court to decide. Neither would Teal'c. Char wasn't too happy about it either. One way or another, if Harry screwed up, he was in a world of hurts, and no one would ever find out who was behind it.

Sam turned as she heard steps coming into the control room and walking toward her. It was Martouf, and she was surprised to see him. "Hey, Martouf, what's going on?"

"Nothing important, Samantha. I wanted to be sure you knew that I would not be available to go for a walk or to the gym this evening. I believe we are to go out somewhere during the evening, but you decided not to go with us, is that correct? I wished to be sure you knew that I was going with the others, so you would not be expecting me."

Sam smiled at him as she nodded. He was always so scrupulous when making arrangements that he was not affecting someone else's plans in an adverse way. "Yes, I know you are. In fact, Daniel was here just a little while ago, and he was going to look for you to tell you what time to be ready to leave. Didn't he find you?"

Martouf shook his head. "No, I am afraid he did not. I finished my last report earlier and was then with Allison helping her with her Goa'uld. I have recently found myself helping to, tutor, I believe is your word, several people who wish to learn Goa'uld. I know Daniel's one-on-one tutoring has helped me immeasurably, so I am attempting to help others in a similar way."

"Furthermore, it is something that I can do when we are on base other than watching the television. Entertaining as it can sometimes be, I prefer to be busy doing useful things." He grinned. "At least, I like to be busy during the day. I have to admit that I enjoy the evenings I spend watching movies with Teal'c, though. As well as our walks, workouts, and the nights, we all go out together, of course. I am, as I have mentioned before, finding that I am enjoying a great deal about my time here. The Tau'ri, while not as technologically advanced as the Tok'Ra in some ways, are more advanced in others. Entertainment methods are one of them, I must admit."

"I'm glad you are enjoying your time here, Martouf, and that you've been helping with the tutoring, too. Knowing at least some Goa'uld is very helpful in certain situations, and I'm always glad when one of the team members attempts to learn at least some."

Martouf nodded. "General Hammond has asked me if I would consider teaching a small class. I have told him that I would be happy to. It will be very unstructured, since we are often gone on missions, but when we are here we will try to have them. And I will continue to do my one-on-one studying with those that wish to do so."

"I think that's really great, Martouf. I'm glad you've found something that you enjoy doing on our days on base. At least it isn't admin or research in a lab," she teased him.

She watched the smile bloom on his face as he chuckled. "That is very true, Samantha, but even that seems to have its charm when doing it here. Things are accomplished so very differently that it makes even mundane and boring things interesting for me."

"Furthermore, I find that when I am able to help Daniel with the archaeology side of things that I enjoy that immensely. I have always been interested in those types of things, and I must admit to liking it much better than sitting and doing scientific experiments or administrative duties. I am also enjoying teaching, so, as you can tell, I am finding many things to occupy my time here."

"I'm really glad, Martouf. I hope that when you saw Lantash you assured him that you are very busy and not constantly worrying about him now." Seeing his nod of agreement, she then returned to the reason he had come to find her, and said, "As for tonight, I wasn't planning on going for a walk or working out either one. All you need to think about is going out and having a very good time."

Sam and Char had started taking walks on the mountain in the evenings on nights when it was not too cold, and they did not go home with Daniel. More often than not, Martouf joined them.

They had become friends during those walks and had even begun to delve into their feelings about Jolinar, and each other. In a friendly way, of course. They both agreed that, at least for the foreseeable future, friends would be the best relationship for them to share. They also both realized that they were becoming very good, very close friends.

It was a pleasant companionship and reminded her of the relationship she had with Daniel, although there was an undercurrent in it that neither of them were ready to explore. If something eventually grew between them, it would not be until after Lantash was reunited with Martouf.

In the meantime, Sam was still very attracted to Malek and was no longer averse to becoming involved with him. When and if the time ever seemed right, anyway. Nor was she averse to starting a mutual relationship with Daniel. Sam shoved those thoughts aside, and asked Martouf, "Do you know where you are going this evening?"

"No, I do not. All I know is that Colonel O'Neill has said that, since you are not going, we would do something that we normally would not do. I believe he called it a boy's night out."

Sam grinned at him. "I have no doubt that you will enjoy yourself. Just be careful how much you drink. You aren't used to our alcohol and you rarely drink more than a couple of beers."

"I will try to remember that, Samantha. I do not think there is much danger of me drinking too much, as I really do not care for the substance that you call beer."

"Maybe you'll find something you like better. Either way, I hope you have a really good time."

"Thank you, Samantha; I will endeavor to do so. I will also remember my winter coat and my gloves. I realize it can become quite cold at night."

Sam laughed lightly, saying, "I'm glad to see that you have finally remembered what I've been telling you."

"I now believe you. I was very cold the last evening we went out, and I forgot mine. I will not do so again. I forget I do not have Lantash to warm me."

"I imagine it is hard to get used to. I know it's hard for me to get used to it being the other way around and realizing I don't really need a coat or jacket. And, it's good that I like my jackets a little large so that, when Char reminded me of that fact, I could allow you to borrow it before you froze to death that evening, and it wasn't too small for you. Snug, yes, but not too tight for comfort."

He grinned at her reference to the evening when he had forgotten his need of a coat, and they all thought he would freeze before the heater in the jeep managed to warm the inside of it. Char had mentioned to her that she did not actually need hers, and so he had been bundled into her jacket until the jeep warmed up.

His mood changed as he answered, though, "Yes, it is very hard to remember. Sometimes, I wonder if I do so simply because I do not want to remember that Lantash is no longer with me." He sighed as he thought of Lantash and felt the familiar ache at his continuing absence.

He did his best to shove his thoughts aside and smiled again at Sam, saying, "I had best be on my way. If Daniel is looking for me, they must have made some solid plans, so I should attempt to find out when to be ready to leave."

Turning back to her computer screen, Sam nodded, "Yes, you should, and I should probably get back to this diagnostic I'm running."

He acknowledged her comment. "Very well, Samantha. Have we any particular plans for tomorrow? I know that since we are on downtime we have nothing we must do here on the base."

Sam shook her head. "No, not really, unless you'd like to go to Denver or something? Or we could go someplace like the Royal Gorge. We haven't been to Estes Park yet either. The ski slopes have been open for a while now. You might like that."

"We could go to Cripple Creek. It's an old mining town and there is a gold mine there you can go down in. I think it's called the Molly Kathleen, if I remember right, but I may not. Our mines are nothing like your crystal tunnels so it probably wouldn't make you homesick. I doubt we could get through Phantom Canyon, which is the back way into Cripple Creek. The last I heard it was closed and it's a shame because it is a very pretty drive."

"Or if you'd like, we could go out on my bike—well we could if the Colonel, Teal'c and Daniel would go with us. They won't let us go alone, I'm sure." She frowned before saying, "No, that wouldn't be a good idea, not as cold as the weather has been. If it warms up in the next few days, we could though. We'll have to wait on the weather for that."

"Why don't you guys talk it over tonight and decide where you'd like to go. It's time you got out of Colorado Springs and saw some of the rest of the state. There's some really pretty country here in Colorado. I'll stop by in the morning to see what you've decided. Would that be all right?"

"I would find that quite acceptable, and I will look forward to tomorrow. You are indeed correct, and I would enjoy seeing more of the state of Colorado." Martouf beamed at her, as he was now able to understand exactly what they meant when someone mentioned the 'state' of Colorado. By now, he knew that it was a 'state' within the United 'States' of America. His history and geography lessons with Daniel were a true joy to him, as he was very interested in the history of the Tau'ri world. He knew that Lantash, too, would be excited by it. What little he had explained to him had already shown him that.

"Then that's what we'll do. It's too bad Malek can't get away. Since we are on downtime, we have four days completely free. We could take both of you and take a small trip. We should make plans to do that sometime."

"Perhaps we can discuss it with Malek this weekend and make some plans. Then the next time we have unexpected time off, we could contact him to let him know and perhaps he could ask Zaris to take over the base for an extra day or so. If he knows ahead of time that he may have to go with little notice then he would only have to alert his present second-in-command."

"Sounds like a great idea to me. For this time though, we can do something fairly close by, since we know Malek will be here by Friday evening. We'd really only have about one and a half days and without having plans already set, we'd get a late start. There are things that are close enough to see and do in a day, though. Maybe you guys will come up with something tonight."

Martouf nodded his agreement and stood to leave. "I will see what they have to say, Samantha, and I will see you and Charesh tomorrow morning. Have a nice evening."

"See you tomorrow, Martouf," Sam nodded absently as he left the room, and she turned back to her diagnostic again. Her mind wouldn't stay on it, though. It turned instead to the last evening walk she and Martouf had taken together and the conversation that had been a very interesting part of it. It took little effort at all for her to go back in time and relive that evening and what Martouf had disclosed about Jolinar—and Rosha.

TBC