True to his word, Daniel dropped Samantha home so she could shower, change and catch a taxi to the base. It seemed like a bit much as far as Daniel was concerned, but Samantha was determined to keep their relationship under wraps for a little while.
He gave her a passionate goodbye kiss. " I'll see you on the base, " he said softly. " And tonight. " The tone of his voice suggested she would find his company much more pleasurable that night then she would on the base.
In fact, now that it was a reality, they both wondered how they would manage to get through a whole day pretending to be 'just friends'.
Daniel presented himself to Janet's office at ten o'clock the next day, as agreed. Janet couldn't help but noticed he looked tired. And she couldn't resist commenting on it.
He glared at her. " I wouldn't mind having some of those hormones, " he admitted. " How are you going on duplicating it? " He was only half joking, he was worn out and wouldn't mind not caring like he had – or hadn't – on Dorsal.
" It's going well, but I'm not giving you anything, " Janet admonished him. " You've put your body through a lot. If it's wearing you out, you shouldn't ignore it."
Daniel looked contrite. " I wanna be able to meet Sam's expectations, " he admitted.
Janet clucked her tongue sympathetically. " You think she's going to leave you because you can't be as active as you'd like? " she asked. " Get a reality check, Daniel. She's pregnant, and more to the point, she loves you. She's not going anywhere. Honestly, somehow I wonder how the two of you got together in the first place. "
" McKay assaulted her and I happened to be there, she was pretty cut up about it, " Daniel admitted. Which reminded him, he had to have a 'talk' with McKay. " It kinda went from there. "
" Remind me to thank him for it, " Janet muttered, only half-joking. She detested the arrogant scientist for his attitude towards woman – Samantha in particular – but if his actions, however repulsive, had gotten Samantha and Daniel together then she couldn't completely hate him.
She focused her attention back on Daniel. " Promise me you won't do anything stupid trying to prove your masculinity, " she begged. " Sam won't appreciate it and you won't curry any favours with me, either. "
" I promise, " Daniel said quickly, his mind elsewhere. " Was there anything else? "
" No, that's it for now, you can go, " Janet said. She really hoped Daniel would heed her advice. Maybe she should talk to Samantha about it, women were far more likely to pay attention to something like this then men were.
Daniel quickly found McKay, who was working on something – Daniel didn't care what. What he found fascinating when Samantha was explaining it he found unbearably boring when it was coming from McKay.
McKay looked up just in time to be slammed into the wall with Daniel's hand closed tightly around his throat. He gurgled uselessly and for a few seconds truly thought Doctor Jackson would kill him. He had that same look in his eyes he'd had yesterday, only more murderous.
" Sam told me what you did, you sick bastard, and if you go anywhere near her again, I'll kill you, " Daniel threatened. " Do you understand that? "
McKay nodded, and he would. He was officially scared out of his wits of Doctor Jackson.
Daniel let McKay go and he dropped to the floor, gasping for air. He was really quite a coward when you got down to it. Daniel left McKay's office, not feeling the least amount of guilt over what he had done.
" What are you looking so perky about? " Captain Sanchez asked when she saw Samantha, sitting by herself in the mess hall, looking like the cat who got the cream. Sanchez was distrustful of women in general, and she was distrustful especially of any woman who outranked her. Particularly a woman who had gotten 'her' man. Of course, Daniel couldn't be held responsible for his actions, but to Selena's mind, Samantha could.
She thought she had done a pretty good job with her smear campaign against Samantha. Turned out there were a lot of people who resented having such a high-ranking woman, especially one held in such high regard as Samantha. So it annoyed her to have Samantha looking so… perky.
Samantha had wanted to keep her relationship with Daniel a secret, but seeing the malicious look on Captain Sanchez's face and she was unable to resist a little dig. " Oh, you know how it is, " she said vaguely, as if she were confirming some shared secret between them.
Now Sanchez's interested was well and truly piqued. " How what is? " she demanded to know.
" You know how it is… when Daniel makes love to you all night, " Samantha couldn't resist saying. She allowed herself a perky smile for herself, then a pitying one for Captain Sanchez. " Oh, that's right – you don't. Sorry, my bad. Didn't mean to brag. " And she flashed a brilliant smile so Sanchez would know that was exactly what she had meant to do.
Captain Sanchez glared hatefully at her. Samantha Carter was a prize cow. " You're lying, " she hissed. No way would Daniel turn her down in favour of Carter. If he did, he'd live to regret it.
Samantha flashed another brilliant smile. " Go and ask him if you want, " she offered.
Captain Sanchez sent another glare in Samantha's direction and stormed off. " Bye, " Samantha called after her, grinning to herself. She knew she was just stirring up trouble, but she figured she couldn't make any more of an enemy out of the woman.
Sanchez stormed out of the mess hall, furious, and headed for Daniel's office. He was sitting at his desk with a dreamy look on his face.
" Captain Sanchez, " he said, surprised. It was a stab through the heart to hear him call her by her rank – what had happened to Selena?
" Is it true? " she asked. " Did you really spent last night with that – whore? "
Daniel figured the only person she could have heard that from to make her this angry was Samantha herself, so there was no point in denying it for her sake. " Not that it's any of your business, and I would suggest you hold your tongue when it comes to someone who outranks you, but yes, I did. "
Captain Sanchez's eyes flashed hatefully. " How could you? " she shrieked like a woman possessed. Instinct told Daniel to hit the security button under his desk.
" There was nothing between us, Captain Sanchez, except maybe in your imagination, " Daniel said calmly.
" Selena, " she corrected.
" Captain Sanchez, " Daniel repeated through gritted teeth, making it clear their relationship was purely on a professional level – and as nonexistent as possible. " I want you to leave. "
" Why her? " she demanded. " Why not me? "
" Because you're a predator and a bitch, " Daniel retorted. Clearly, she was troubled. He regretted giving her any encouragement at all, like being polite in his disinterest was encouragement.
" You'll be sorry, " she threatened venomously when she spotted security coming down the hall and decided it was a good time to make her exit. " You and that whore you're so fond of. "
Daniel wasn't particularly afraid of her threats but she troubled him nonetheless. He'd given her no encouragement, and she seemed convinced there had been something between them. Mostly, he was concerned she'd make more trouble for Samantha ; it her own demented way, she was too fond of him to cause try and hurt him. At least not intentionally – if she hurt Samantha…
She dropped by his office later at his request. " You wanted to see me. Doctor Jackson? " she asked, trying to sound professional even while she was preoccupied with thoughts of straddling Daniel and ripping his shirt off.
Careful, she told herself. Janet said to take it easy with him, remember?
" Shut the door, " he said. When he saw she was apprehensive about someone seeing them in his office, alone together, he added, " oh, just do it Sam, you don't want anyone to overhear this. "
Samantha shut the door. " What did you say to Captain Sanchez? " he asked.
Samantha looked guilty. " She saw me in the mess hall, wanted to know why I was so perky – so I told her. " She grinned wickedly in memory of the look on the woman's face. " Why, did she say something to you? "
" She went mental, like Glenn Close mental, " Daniel said. " She seems convinced there was something between us. "
" I never liked that movie, " Samantha mused. " The guy cheats on his wife, ditches his pregnant lover – I figured she had a right to go a little mental. "
" It's not funny, Sam, " Daniel complained. " She could make more trouble for you. "
Samantha shrugged. " Honestly, babe, there's not much more that she can do. And it was a kick, the look on her face. How did she act when you told her it was true? "
" Like a woman scored – a completely mental woman scorned, " Daniel said. " I wish you wouldn't take this so lightly. "
Samantha approached him. If people were going to talk about her and Daniel being alone together, she may as well get her gossip's worth. " There's not much she can do, other then spread more gossip, and I'm used to that, " she said. She sat on his lap and kissed him. He slipped his arms around her waist, resting one hand on her slightly swollen stomach. " I really don't care anymore, Daniel. I have you, nothing else matters. "
His mouth crinkled into a smile. " You mean that? " he asked.
Samantha nodded sagely. " I do. Hey, speaking of which, did you ever get me a ring or did you decided your word was good enough? "
Daniel looked confused. " What word – oh, asking you to marry me – which, I recall, you turned me down quite harshly. "
Samantha looked sheepish. " Yeah, sorry about that, it was just quite predictable – I told Janet two weeks before that's what you do. I thought you were just offering because it was the right thing to do. "
" I asked you because I love you, Sam, " Daniel said quietly, and she was reminded of how badly she'd hurt him in turning him down the way she had.
" Yeah, I know that now, " she said. " So… are you going to ask me again? "
" And risk you breaking my heart again? " Daniel asked, teasing. " No way. If you want me to marry you, you'll have to ask. "
" No way. "
" Why not? "
" It's not traditional, " Samantha said between playful kisses over his face.
Daniel started to laugh at this. " Since when were you traditional? " he asked.
Samantha pouted. " I can be traditional, " she said. " I can! " she insisted when Daniel looked at her disbelievingly. Women tended not to become airforce Majors in top-secret projects by being traditional, and Samantha was no exception. " OK, fine, if you're going to be like that… Daniel Jackson, will you marry me? "
" OK. "
Samantha raised her eyebrows, pretending to be hurt. " OK? That's the best you can do? " she asked.
" It's better then 'you're only doing this because you knocked me up', " Daniel pointed out. " I love you, Sam, and I want to marry you. What more do you want? "
Samantha smiled adoringly. " Absolutely nothing, " she said, and kissed him passionately.
From outside Daniel's office, Captain Sanchez listened intently. She had been keeping an eye on Major Carter all day, figuring eventually she'd go to see her lover. Her lover! How could Daniel sleep with such a tramp when he could have had her? And when Samantha had made her move, Sanchez had followed her at a distance.
She'd overheard their entire conversation, and now things had gone suspiciously quiet as they made out. She couldn't believe it! Daniel was going to marry the tramp!
Only because she's pregnant. It was the oldest trick in the book – pretend to be on birth control, get pregnant and force the guy to 'do the right thing'.
She wished she'd thought of it before Carter had.
Daniel couldn't marry her – he couldn't. He was only doing it because it was the right thing to do – and the kid might not even be his, knowing the tramp Sanchez was sure she was.
He was only marrying her because she was pregnant.
And idea started to grow in Daniel's mind.
" Are you sure you want to do this, both of you? " Hammond asked Daniel and Samantha the next day when they approached him about getting married. Technically, he couldn't stop them, especially not in light of Samantha being pregnant, but he deserved to at least know in advance.
" We're sure, " Daniel said for both of them, snaking a protective arm around Samantha's shoulders.
" You know that people will talk, " Hammond pointed out. " They'll get stuck into you, Major Carter, they'll say Doctor Jackson only did it because you're pregnant. Which isn't exactly a total lie, either. "
" I know that, sir, and I don't care, " Samantha said defiantly. " Daniel and I love each other, and that's all that matters. Besides, " she added ruefully, " it's not like they can say much more about me. "
Hammond had to concede her point. He'd only heard some of the rumours that had been circulating around the base – people tended to gossip down, not up – but he figured if he multiplied what he heard by a hundred in volume and viciousness, that would be about right. " If you're doing it for the right reasons… " he began.
" We are, " Daniel and Samantha chorused together.
"… Then I give you my blessing, " Hammond finished. They smiled lovingly at each other and Hammond knew he'd made the right choice. " You realise, Major Carter, that I can't give you permission to go offworld during your pregnancy? "
Samantha nodded. " I'm requesting permission to stay on Earth until the baby's born, too, " Daniel spoke up.
" Of course, son. Given the circumstances, I think that's quite understandable. " He didn't say so, of course, but he was delighted things had worked out so well between them. He'd noticed several years ago that Daniel and Samantha had quite a connection, strengthened after Sha're's death, that seemed to have been obliterated by the disaster that had been the Dorsa experiments. At least they'd gotten some impressive technology out of it. Jack was proving to be quite the accomplished blackmailer.
They were all over each other in the mess hall, Sanchez saw with disgust. Rather, Samantha was all over Daniel. To her way of seeing things, he looked rather pained at having to be with her. Like it was something he was doing out of duty and she was taking full advantage.
Now that she knew Samantha was pregnant, it all made sense. No way would Daniel be with her if she wasn't pregnant. He was just doing the right thing, because he was that kind of guy.
She had trapped him.
Anger surged through Sanchez's blood, anger at being outsmarted, anger as losing Daniel. She never lost.
And she wasn't about to lose now.
"… I'll see you tonight? " Daniel asked Samantha, although it was a confirmation, not a question. They had spent the last three nights together, since the first time they'd made love.
Samantha nodded, smiling at him. He was so goddamn hunky. And it gave her a little kick to know Sanchez was standing three meters away, glowering at them. Well, let her glower. There wasn't much else she could do. " I've got some stuff to go over before I leave, I'll be by around seven? "
" Seven it is, " Daniel said, before kissing Samantha passionately. Neither of them cared that they had an audience which broke into the predictable applause and 'oooooh' sounds. It was really hard for the majority of people to believe the gossip that had Samantha painted as a whore when it was clear Daniel was madly in love with her. " I love you, " he whispered in her ear.
" I love you too, " she whispered back, and with a dreamy smile on her face she watched Daniel walk away. She couldn't wait for seven o'clock.
Sanchez watched the older woman from three meters away, her fury mounting until it felt like she would burst. Samantha Carter had trapped and stolen Daniel from her ; Sanchez was convinced that they were meant to be together, and if she just had a little more time, he would realise that.
But that slut had interfered.
Well, no-one beat Selena Sanchez and got away with it.
With a shriek of mad jealous, Sanchez barrelled towards Samantha, who looked up just in time to see the younger woman lunge at her. For a few moments they struggled before Sanchez revealed the steak knife she'd hidden up her sleave and plunged it forcefully into Samantha's abdomen.