The Mood

"Daniel?" Sam turned the movie off and hit rewind.

"Hm?"

"Why did you ask me if there was something between us… when you first came back… from being ascended?"

Daniel choked on his beer. "I said what?!" Coughing, he placed the bottle of beer on Sam's coffee table. "IU ah, mean… I said a lot of things." Please God, Daniel thought: Don't look her in the eyes. Stare at the floor. But he couldn't help it. His eyes popped up on their own. "I thought Jack's name was Jim for a while. Admittedly, I kept it up because it was amusing."

"Oh," Smirking, Sam gathered up the pizza boxes. "I thought it might be one of those Freudian things."

"Think one thing, say another? The deep seated desires bubbling out through a badly timed slip of the tongue…" Daniel grabbed his beer and downed it, sputtering a bit. "That's a good theory, Sam. But to think I had a secret crush on you the last time I was…here." Daniel dropped the bottle in the recycling bucket as he followed her into the kitchen. "A little far-fetched…"

A small frown marred her features. Daniel opened her fridge. Inside was a bottle of beer and a bottle of wine. Closing his eyes, he sighed. He was so busted: Big time. "Unless you want it not to be. Far-fetched, I mean. He closed the fridge, the bottles in both hands.

"What?" Sam stared, open-mouthed.

"Never mind. Stupid idea." Daniel turned back to the fridge, meaning to put the wine back. Sam's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Wait."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. Her frown deepened. "Why did you visit Jack and Teal'c, but not me?"

"Oh." Daniel put the bottles on the counter. "They were in mortal danger. I couldn't bear to just stand back and watch them die. Watch any of you die. Now if a truck had been barreling down on you…"

"It really hurt my feelings." Sam's face soured, as if realizing what she said sounded childish. Daniel didn't think it was.

"I'm sorry." He leaned against her counter, palms against the cold surface. "How about this? The very next time I'm dead: I'll come visit you first. Top on my list, really."

Sam stared at him. Her head tilted to one side and her bright blue eyes burned right into him. "This is silly." She let out a breath and a little laugh. "We're being really silly."

"Ah, yeah," He drawled, than paused. "Then again, I'm not about to waste this mood." Daniel let go of the counter and it was like dropping off a cliff. Luckily, he steadied himself by grabbing Sam's arms. All he could hear was his heart pounding for several seconds as he moved closer. Her scent was lavender and gun oil. Closing the distance between them, he kissed her. An electric shiver lit him up from top to bottom.

There was a tense moment. Sam wasn't just a beautiful woman: she was also the most dangerous warrior Daniel knew. If she was against kissing, he could get seriously hurt. Fortunately for him, her body relaxed into his and that tripled the pleasure of being this close to her. The corners of his mouth turned up against hers. He held onto her, moving his hands to her back, to support her weight. Taking it all in, they stayed together for several minutes before he let go, breathing hard.

"Wow." Sam breathed, opening her eyes.

Daniel touched her face, "I was going to say that."

The smile on her face was bemused and distinctly feminine. "How long have you been waiting-"

"Long time." He dropped his hands back to the counter.

"Before-"

Daniel dropped his head, raising his eyes to look her over, "Even before that. You were always kind of tough and beautiful and smarter than anyone I ever expected to meet in a secret military base."

She rolled her eyes, "Ah-yeah."

"No, you're really special. I just thought you should know that." Daniel flashed her a smile. "Now I know I've pushed this mood as far as it can go. So, I'm going to go. Get out of your hair." He retreated to the living room.

Sam followed him, hugging herself. "Daniel, wait. Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Truth is: I always thought you had a thing for Jack."

"I do," Sam laughed.

"I know."

He rolled his eyes, "It's okay. But I spent a year away from my life and I don't want to waste anymore time."

"Then maybe you should stick around for a little while longer."

Daniel's eyebrows lifted again, "Really?"

"Yeah, otherwise I won't have my own chance to take advantage of our mood."

The End.