Chapter 2 – Thoughts

On the way home she concluded that she only gave in so easily because she hadn't had coffee for a few hours. She remember her watch glowing 01:32 last time she had gone to fetch a drink. They sat in the morning traffic in silence. Sam presumed Daniel was thinking over the scriptures, and she let him. Her mind briefly focussed on the orb, before returning to an image burnt into her mind. Daniel's beautiful eyes looking deep into hers. She wondered whether he too had felt the spark. 'Daniel's only been my good friend. I like him loads, but that is to be expected in a job like this. Isn't it?' She glanced sideways at the man sitting next to her. They were stopped at some traffic lights and Daniel was staring away from her, outside his window. He had let his brown hair grow a bit recently, and she was reminded of his younger days, when she first met him. Looking at him now, she realised he had changed a lot. The Colonel's vigorous training had made him well-built, and he had lost some of his school boy essence. He had actually grown incredibly attractive she thought to herself, blushing.

Daniel glanced at the woman next to him. She had a faint blush rising on her cheeks. She looked beautiful, and he would love to have leaned over there and then and kissed her. Instead, he turned back to his window and focussed on the traffic lights in the distance. He knew his feelings for Sam had been growing stronger recently, but until today he hadn't realised how strong. Even before Shar're had died Sam had grown to be very important in Daniel's life.

In the distance the lights changed to green and 5 minutes later they were outside Sam's house. Daniel pulled up and climbed out, reappearing seconds later to open Sam's door. She smiled at him and got out the car.

"Did you want to come in for some coffee, or breakfast, or something?" She collected her things together from the car and turned to face him.

"I'd best not. I want to get some sleep and go back to study the texts this afternoon. Are you going back in today? Do you want a lift?"

Sam laughed at this. "I would if you don't mind. I'll have to bring my bike home at some point. Maybe I could get into the orb this afternoon."

Daniel opened the gate and started walking Sam to her door.

"Say 3 o'clock. Will that be ok?"

"Yeah, that'll be great. Thanks." She flashed him a smile and started hunting in her pocket for her keys. Daniel held her notes patiently while she unlocked the door, before handing them back to her, once more dazzling her with a smile.
"I'll see you at 3. Have a good..err.. Mornings sleep."

Sam chuckled and gently shut the door. Daniel turned and walked back to his car, deep in thought. Sam leaned back against her door and tried to discern her feelings about Daniel.

Standing in her bathroom 15 minutes later, brushing her teeth, she had come to the conclusion that she did in fact have special feelings for Daniel. She wondered for how long, but could not distinguish a particular time when her feelings had grown stronger than friendship. She walked into her room and pulled the curtains shut, plunging the room into shadow. Stumbling into bed, she added to herself "It's not like it matters anyway. Nothing can come of it."

Daniel drove home thinking about Sam. The feelings he had pushed to the back of his mind so long ago had again surfaced. He didn't remember feeling this strongly abut Shar're, but he had changed a lot from the innocent young anthropologist who had gone to Abydos so many missions ago. 'Of all the women I meet, Sam is the one I can't have' he thought to himself. He knew how Sam felt about Jack, even though she had been very professional about the whole thing. Jack would kill him if he ever found out what Daniel was thinking. Teal'c probably wouldn't mind though. Daniel found some consolation in this as he pulled up by his house. Letting himself in, he was quickly ready for bed and fell into an exhausted sleep, his dreams plagued by images of Shar're and Sam.