As Sam pulled away from the kiss, her eyes fluttered open. Daniel smiled at her, and she smiled back. Then, as though struck by a bolt of lightning, she realized what had just happened. She'd done it again! She immediately jumped out of Daniel's arms and sought to put a great distance between them. Pacing on the opposite side of the path, she exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened. It was. . . It. . . It was. . ."

"It was a product of the moment," Daniel finished for her, looking rather embarrassed.

She pointed at him like he was a game show winner. "Exactly! A product of the moment."

"We should probably just forget about it."

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah." Relief washed over her. She was glad Daniel possessed the sense that she apparently didn't at the moment.

Daniel retrieved his jacket and Sam's shoes then joined her on the path. As he offered her the shoes, Sam shook her head slowly with a crooked smile on her lips.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking. . . ." She took the heels from him, placed them on the ground, and stepped into them, gripping his shoulder to keep her balance. "For being in love with Jack O'Neill, I certainly am kissing you a lot."

"Oh." Daniel looked at the ground as he fidgeted with his pockets. Eventually he added, "I'm sorry. It's my fault really."

"Huh? How?"

"I kissed you."

"Yeah, but I kissed you, too."

"No, I mean, I'm the one who kissed you."

"What? No, I kissed you. Both times."

He shook his head, and answered with a long, drawn-out, "No."

Her face scrunched in confusion. "Yes, I did."

Daniel cocked his head to the side. His words were drawn out again as he repeated, "No, you didn't."

"Really, I did." She was still bewildered by why he would think otherwise when a thought hit her. "Is this one of those macho things where you're afraid to admit that the girl made the first move? Because I didn't think you were that type of guy, Daniel."

He chuckled at the idea. "No, this isn't some macho thing. I'll admit, I wasn't sure at first, but I'm certain now that I was the one at fault both times."

"Okay. Fine," she conceded as she resumed walking. "You started it. You kissed me."

"Thank you," he responded as he followed.

"Even if you didn't," Sam muttered.

"Hey! I heard that."

Sam played innocent. "Heard what? I didn't hear anything."

He glared at her and threatened, "You know there's still that fountain back there. . . ."

She held up her hands to ward him off. "Okay, okay. I give up. You're right. You win."

"Thank you," he repeated.

"I can't believe I let you get me over that fountain anyway. I definitely should have been able to take you."

"Hey, I'm not some wimp, you know."

Though he didn't sound hurt by the comment, Sam felt stupid for saying it without realizing he would take it the way he had. She knew his physical abilities had always been a sore spot for Daniel, especially as he found himself surrounded by skilled Air Force officers and Marines each day. It was as though Daniel wanted to fit in with the guys, but he didn't really want to be one of them. She had even wondered if his recent enthusiasm for weightlifting might be a result of that. "I know you're not. You never were. I just meant that I was bested by a civilian. I should really be ashamed of myself." After a short pause, she muttered, "And I fought like a girl."

Chuckling, he assured her, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. And I know you could have kicked my ass. Why do you think I didn't throw you in?"

"Yeah, right. You weren't afraid of what I'd do to you. You're just too much of a nice guy. I never believed you'd actually do it. Though I'll admit, for a second there, when I was dangling over the water, I thought you might."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Sam laughed and accused, "Yes, you did."

A guilty smile crossed Daniel's lips. "Okay. Maybe I did a little." He cast an accusing glare her way. "But at least I didn't push you in."

"Oh, come on. I apologized for that already. Are you going to hold it over my head forever?"

"Not sure. Maybe just a little while longer." Sam looked at him with pleading blue eyes, and he immediately caved. "Okay. I forgive you, and I won't mention it again." He shook his head. "I'm never going to win with you am I? Not when you can just give me those puppy dog eyes."

"You won just a few minutes ago," she argued.

"Figure of speech."

"Well we're even now."

His brow wrinkled. "What?"

"You won one, and I won one." She stopped and offered her hand to him as she finished. "We're even."

"Agreed," he responded as he met her hand with a friendly shake.

Sam used the connection to pull Daniel to her then wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked as he brought his arms around her back.

"Being such a great friend."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Daniel said as he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

Sam closed her eyes and rested her head against his, cheek to cheek. They remained that way for several minutes before Sam spoke softly. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Daniel whispered, stroking her hair.

Sam laid her head on his shoulder, and several more minutes passed before she spoke again. "I'm sorry I avoided you this week. I don't know why I did it. I just felt so strange around you after what happened. I can't explain it, and there's no excuse for it."

"It's understandable. Don't worry about it."

Sam squeezed Daniel tighter then pulled back to look at him. "I'm glad you convinced me to come out tonight."

Tucking her hair behind her ear, he answered, "I'm glad you decided to come."

"Really, I've had a great time. This is so much better than the night I would've had otherwise." Sam stepped away from him as she admitted, "I spent last night and most of today making myself miserable and doing all these ridiculous little things trying to figure out what I should do about this whole situation."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You'll never believe the things I did. I'm almost ashamed to admit them." A short burst of laughter escaped before she continued, "I took some really. . . 'insightful' online quizzes from Cosmo. Let's see. There was. . ." She looked up at the sky, trying to recall the titles. "Are you a player?." Looking back at him, she added, "Turns out I'm just a savvy dater, but at the moment I have a few arguments with that analysis. Then there was Are you ready to settle down?, Are you in love or forcing it?, and my personal favorite: Is he relationship ready?" After a few seconds, she decided to clarify the last one. "I took that one about Jack. He came out as a 'Ditchable Dude'."

Daniel looked at her with confusion. "Sam, what's wrong with taking some quizzes?"

"Those are cute and fun to do, Daniel, but they're not exactly deep and revealing. I shouldn't be trying to make my life's decisions based on what some magazine tells me to do."

"I don't think it's that bad. There are probably plenty of women who use them."

"Well, I don't want to be one of those women. I'm nearly 40 years old. I should know enough about relationships by now that I wouldn't even seriously consider taking one of those things."

"Sam. . ." Daniel tried to argue, but she didn't let him.

Sam nearly laughed at the absurdity. "I think I hit rock bottom when I took a quiz in the 'Seventeen Magazine' Cassie left at my house." She shook her head and a deep frown creased her forehead. "None of them told me anything I didn't already know. . ." Her voice took on a bitter tone as she added, "if I weren't too damned stubborn and thickheaded to accept it."

Daniel opened his mouth again to argue. Sam knew he was going to object to the name-calling she'd directed at herself, but she didn't want to hear it. She stopped him with a wave of her hand. The truth had been echoing in her head for days, years if she really wanted to admit it to herself, and all that time, she'd found reasons to contradict and justify everything. "I just kept making excuses. If I gave it a few years, Jack would come around. His feelings were just as strong as mine, but he was protecting my career. Eventually he would retire so we could be together. Or maybe I could resign or transfer out of his command. I told myself I really wasn't violating the regulations if we hadn't acted on our feelings yet. If I was just patient, it would all turn out to be a 'happily ever after', and I would have the man I'd been waiting for." She sighed and her shoulders slumped forward. "They all sound so hollow and artificial when I say them out loud."

She would always love Jack O'Neill and hold a soft spot in her heart for him, but there was no point in continuing to pursue a fantasy that wouldn't and couldn't come true. Now that she'd finally begun to accept she'd been lying to herself and she and Jack were not destined to be together, she didn't need someone putting her mind at ease no matter how much it hurt. She needed tough love even if she could only get it from herself. "I feel like an idiot for not seeing it years ago." She looked at the ground and closed her eyes to brace herself as she admitted aloud for the first time, "Jack and I are never going to be together."

Daniel stepped closer, silently offering his support and waiting to find out if she had more to get off her chest.

She'd expected to feel overwhelming sorrow, to be crying her eyes out after speaking those words, but now that she had, it just wasn't there. Of course, she felt a deep loss and an extreme sadness, but it was overshadowed by the feeling that an overwhelming weight had been lifted. If she'd known speaking to a friend about her feelings would have made them so much easier to deal with, she never would have kept them bottled inside all these years. She stepped closer to Daniel and smiled at him. "I just realized that I should have stopped being so stubborn and pigheaded and just talked to my friends about this a long time ago."

"I can't argue with that," he said as he brushed the hair away from her eyes. "Well, most of it. I might have some qualms about the part where you called yourself pigheaded."

Sam leaned in and kissed him chastely on the lips. "Thanks."

Daniel placed his arm around her shoulders, and smiling broadly, she slipped hers around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, taking comfort in his warmth and his familiar presence. She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh night air and realized that she could now smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers that surrounded them. She could also smell Daniel's cologne, or aftershave, or soap. . . whatever it was that made him smell distinctly like Daniel. She'd had eight, make that seven, years to familiarize herself with it. She closed her eyes and just breathed in, reveling in the relaxing scent of flowers and a good friend.

Continuing on their walk, Sam began to wonder if they might be somewhere near the end of the path. She'd noticed some time ago that it seemed to be curving back in the direction it had begun. Any time now she thought they might be arriving back at the restaurant. . . and she dreaded it. She didn't know whether it was the weight that had lifted off her chest, the fresh night air, or the presence of a good friend that did it, but she felt more content and at peace than she could ever remember. This wasn't something she wanted to give up willingly.

Spotting another bench a short distance ahead, she asked, "Mind if we sit down? My feet are killing me." In truth, her feet were a little sore. High heels weren't the best choice for walking shoes.

"Sure."

Sam collapsed on the bench, kicked off her shoes and tilted her head back to look up at the stars. As Daniel sat next to her, he requested, "Give me your feet."

Turning her head to him, she questioned, "What? Why?"

He gave her a piercing look. "Just give me your feet," he repeated.

Sighing, she turned and placed her feet in his lap. He then proceeded to take them in his hands and knead the soreness away. She let out a moan before saying, "I could get used to this." Maybe I should date Daniel, she joked to herself. The idea brought back a memory from last night. She laughed at the thought.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about this word association thing I tried last night. It was completely absurd. You'll never guess what my great revelation was."

"Oh? What?"

"Well, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was in love with you. Isn't that crazy?"

She expected him to laugh and agree, but he didn't. He just looked at her, furrowed his brow and eventually asked, "What's so crazy about it?"

Sam felt like a deer caught in headlights. "Well, it's just that. . . we're like . . ." She started to say 'siblings', but realized they'd already had that discussion earlier, and he'd been right. She really didn't think of him like a brother, but a really, really close friend. "No, it's that I . . . um . . . " This time, she was going to say, 'I care about you too much as a friend,' but as Sam began to speak the words, she realized she couldn't finish. She knew that was just the way women politely turned down men whom they weren't attracted to. Though she'd told herself an untold number of times that she wasn't attracted to Daniel, she couldn't actually say it out loud. Something in the back of her mind told her it didn't apply to the way she felt about him. If she weren't at least slightly attracted to Daniel, she wouldn't occasionally find herself admiring his physique, and she wouldn't have thrown herself at him twice nor felt that intoxicating, tingling sensation she'd convinced herself to ignore both times. People don't kiss like that when they're not attracted to the other person, she begrudgingly admitted to herself.

So, if she was attracted to him, why was it crazy that she might be in love with him? What would be so crazy about falling for a man who was attractive, attentive, supportive, thoughtful, gave great foot rubs, and made her feel more at ease and happier than she'd ever felt, while at the same time, made her body tingle?

Sam froze. Holy shit! Was she in love with Daniel?

Her father's face flashed before her eyes. "For as long as she was alive, your mother showed me a world beyond just ambition and career. She gave my life meaning and balance. . . . That is love. . . . It's time to let go of the things that prevent you from finding happiness. You deserve to love someone and be loved in return." It now seemed alarmingly clear. She'd gotten it right the first time: Jack was her safety net, protecting her from the danger of actually falling . . . and actually experiencing happiness.

She just hadn't fully understood the message, and that's why things had gone so wrong. She'd mistakenly sought out a relationship with anyone who wasn't Jack. She'd thrown herself into it without looking back and without considering other options. It was either Pete or Jack. Though Pete was a wonderful man, she had begun to doubt whether he was the right man for her, whether life with him would leave her simply content instead of happy. That was the very thing she was trying to avoid, and so it had left only Jack. She'd never stopped to consider that the right man might be someone else entirely, someone like Daniel, the man who truly did make her happy.

"For as long as she was alive, your mother showed me a world beyond just ambition and career. She gave my life meaning and balance. . . . That is love. . . ." The words still echoed in her head. Her father, or rather, her own mind in the form of her father, had been talking about Daniel. He was her balance. Before she'd met him, life had been all about the military and science. He'd taught her to truly see the world as more than that. Why hadn't it been clear to her before now?

More importantly, how did he feel about her? He obviously cared for her a great deal, but did he feel the same way? Had he felt the same pulse-racing, nerve-crackling sensation course through his body when they'd kissed?

She remembered the look in his eyes the first time it'd happened. At the time, she hadn't stopped to think about what it meant, and she had thought she'd never seen it before. Then she had seen it again before he'd kissed her tonight. Now, seeing him in a new light, she realized she'd seen that look many times before. It'd been there in glimpses when she'd turn and catch him looking at her, thinking she wouldn't notice. It was always there right before he quickly looked away. It was a look of desire, not simply lustful desire, but admiration and love. Then there was the overwhelming fact that he had always been a willing participant in their kisses, an incredibly passionate, willing participant.

"Sam?" Daniel gently shook her shoulder. "Sam?" Pulled out of her musings, she looked up at him. Concern was written across his face as he asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am." Then smiling brightly, she added, "Better than ever."

"Good. You had me worried there. Listen, I'm sorry I asked you that. I didn't mean anything by it, and I wasn't trying to upset you."

"I love you, Daniel," she blurted out.

Caught by surprise, he obviously misunderstood her meaning. His voice was riddled with confusion as he replied, "I love you too."

She shook her head, intending to set him straight. "No, Daniel." She slid her legs off his lap and drew them under herself. Still facing him, she reached out to run her fingertips down his cheek to his jaw. Then she leaned in and brought her lips to meet his, starting with a feather-light brush then going back for a more intense caress. He hesitated for a moment before he pulled her closer and returned the sentiment with all the fervor with which it had been given. Minutes later as she pulled away, Sam finished, "I love you."

"Wow," was all he managed to say. He stared at her in shock, searching her face intensely. It took only seconds to find what he was looking for. "I love you, Sam," he declared as he pulled her lips back to his.