Number Twelve: Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow You May Cry.
They had returned from the mission feeling battered, bruised and hopeless. The entire staff at the Mountain moped around. Nothing seemed to be going right. Showered and changed they gathered in Daniel's office after leaving the infirmary. Mitchell fiddled around with an ancient and irreplaceable artifact, tossing it up and down in his hand. Daniel couldn't care less as he shelved a pile of books in their appropriate slots. Teal'c sat on Daniel's chair turning to and fro an uncharacteristic look of dread in his eyes. Sam was perched up on a counter, arms crossed and staring, unseeing across the room. Vala leaned against the wall, silent, hands deep in her pockets.
Carolyn Lam wandered in and scanned the group. "All reports are normal. You are all fine. Free to go."
No one said a thing. Mitchell hesitated in his artifact tossing for the briefest moment, nodded at the doctor and continued on with his one item juggling.
"Or, should I recommend you all for a psych evaluation?" The doctor watched for some sign of life, but got nothing. "Dinner's on me, O'Malley's. Doctors orders."
Sam hopped down from the counter. "I'm starving."
Vala pulled her hands from her pockets, "Me too."
"I could eat a bear." Mitchell put the relic on the desk.
Teal'c stood, "I too, could eat a bear, though I have never had one, nor do I remember seeing it offered on the menu at O'Malley's."
Daniel sat the remaining books down and walked toward the door. "I've got a taste for something chocolate."
……
In the corridor, Vala laced her fingers with Daniel's. Instead of pulling it free, he squeezed her hand and held onto her. Mitchell put an arm around Carolyn's shoulder, hugged her to him for a moment then relaxed his grip, leaving the arm in place. Sam placed a hand on Teal'c's back and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
The bond between them as they passed through the halls of SGC was not lost on the personnel who watched them go by.
O'Malley's was crowded, loud and just what they needed. The beer flowed freely, but no one was getting a buzz. They ate a lot, with little talk. There was the slightest chuckle when Teal'c expressed his disappointment that indeed, there was no bear on the menu. When the table was cleared, each sat back in quiet contemplation of their strange life made more profound by the 'normal' people who laughed and drank and talked seemingly without a care in the world. Sam excused herself for a moment, wandered out side and called Jack on her cell phone. He didn't answer and she left a loving message and went back inside.
Carolyn was paying the bill, not letting anyone talk her out of it.
In the vehicle Daniel leaned forward, "Teal'c could you drop me and Vala off at my place?" Daniel put his arm around Vala's shoulder, she looked up at him. "Life's just too freaking short, Vala." He kissed her as he had always wanted to kiss her. Teal'c's eyes lifted to the rearview mirror and his face lit up with a true smile. Daniel settled back against the seat pulling her closer into him. His eyes were on her as if he tried to memorize every line of her face. "I love you, Vala. I love you with every breath I take and I am an idiot for not telling you sooner." He kissed her again.
"Drop me off at Peterson Airfield, Teal'c." Sam closed her eyes and leaned against the seat.
Mitchell looked across at the Jaffa. "Drop me and Carolyn off at her place."
"Tomorrow I will not be at the base. I will visit Ishta, then Ry'ac and his family."
Everyone nodded in understanding. They remained quiet and thoughtful as the world continued on around them.