Chapter Two

Samantha knocked on the front door of the rental house. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Daniel was looking at her strangely. "Sorry," he said. "You look like a lifelong sinner going to plead for clemency from St. Peter. "

Samantha scowled. "I think I'd take that option right now," she admitted. "This was hardly my greatest plan."

Daniel smirked. "Compared to, say, saving the world? No, it isn't. But we're here now we may as well go through with it – or you're going to lose an awful lot of face. C'mon, it won't be as bad as you think it is."

Samantha smiled, grateful for the reassurance. Yes, Daniel was the best person she knew to help her out of this sorry mess. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she'd imagined.

Tiegan came to the door, and Samantha began to think that it was as bad as she'd initially thought. Tiegan looked every bit the success story – glamorous but professional, the woman who had everything.

Sensing her nervousness, Daniel slipped his hand through hers. Normally he wouldn't have dared such a familiarity unless it was a life-or-death situation but he could see she needed it and besides, since they were acting like a couple…

"Samantha!" Tiegan cried in one of those fake-friendly voices that women who looked like her always seem to have down pat. "So great you could make it." She stepped forward to hug Samantha, and Samantha was forced to let go of Daniel's hand – which she had found, for the few seconds it was holding hers, to be quite comforting – and embrace her 'friend'. It was far from Daniel's place to make a judgement about women, but even to him, the embrace was superficial, even forced.

Tiegan withdrew from Samantha and gave Daniel a long, intimate look that made him feel like she was coming onto him. He swallowed hard. Even from Samantha's descriptions of Tiegan – after all, she hadn't gotten to where she was by being something of a predator – Daniel couldn't believe she would be so blatant. "You must be Daniel," she said in what sounded suspiciously like a purr. Daniel could quite easily imagine her as a tigress, complete with lethal claws.

He stepped forward and went to shake her hand, but she beat him to the bunch and hugged him. "Sam said you were quite the looker, and I see she hasn't exaggerated," Tiegan said. "Come in, come in, meet the rest of the gang."

Samantha and Daniel followed Tiegan inside. In the lounge room were five other people. Samantha recognised Phillip King as well as Sarah and Ashley, and she assumed the other two men were their boyfriends. " This is my darling husband, Phillip King," Tiegan drawled, gesturing to her husband who, as Samantha had said, wasn't much to look at – but he looked very rich. "And our friends Sarah Ashley and Alanna Murphy and their men, Arthur Phillips and Lachlan Macquarie. This is Samantha Carter and Daniel…?"

"Jackson," he said. And just because he had a feeling it would irritate Tiegan to know how educated Samantha's 'man' was, he added, "Doctor Daniel Jackson."

Tiegan looked impressed. "You're a doctor?"

"He has two doctorates," Samantha piped up, seeing where Daniel was going, God bless him. "Archaeology and Ancient Egyptology." You're husband may be a lawyer, but he's not a Doctor, Samantha thought smugly. Her own doctorate annoyed Tiegan to no end, especially given she had tried and failed to get her own.

"You must be very intelligent," Tiegan cooed, in front of her husband too, who didn't seem to mind. Maybe he was used to it.

"Daniel was accepted into uni when he was sixteen," Samantha piped up. "Sometimes we don't know what we'd do without him."

"Oh? And what exactly is it that 'we' do?" Tiegan asked. She had always been trying to pin down the details of Samantha's job but she always evaded her questions.

"Classified," Samantha and Daniel replied in unison. Tiegan frown for a split second before rearranging her face into a smile. She'd always suspected Samantha did more then she let on, although Tiegan had never been able to find a record of her in the government databases.

"Why don't you two take a seat?" she offered, gesturing to a spare couch. Samantha and Daniel sat. Tiegan took note of the fact that when Samantha sat down, she was awfully prim for someone who was on a week away with her friends and boyfriend. She also noted that it was Daniel who put his arm around her and for a split second she looked uncomfortable before she relaxed and it was as if they really were together. Hmmm, interesting…

Samantha had tensed up for a split second when she felt Daniel's arm snake around his waist as he drew her closer to him – more like a boyfriend then a friend. "Follow my lead if you have to," he whispered low in her ear. Years of working often covertly and they knew how to communicate in plain English without anyone hearing them ; to the casual observer, it had just appeared he had whispered a sweet nothing in her ear. Daniel was sweet to think of it. It must have been at least as awkward for him to initiate such an intimacy as it had been for her to accept it.

After a few minutes, she found herself relaxing in Daniel's embrace and she rested her head against his shoulder. He smelled nice, clean but masculine. There was something very comforting about his smell – the familiar? No, it was just that… for a few seconds her scientific mind tried to work it out and then gave up. All that mattered was that Daniel was here to help her through this sorry mess, and she was eternally grateful for it.

"So," Tiegan purred, looking Daniel directly in the eye and pretty much ignoring Samantha. "How did you guys meet?" She was determined to catch them out. No way did someone like Samantha land someone like Daniel. She sent a sideways glance at her husband, who was wealthy and successful but not exactly good looking.

"At work," Daniel replied evenly, knowing Samantha was trying to put together something more elaborate. "We can't tell you much more then that, it's – "

"Classified, yeah, I get it," Tiegan said. Hmmm, Samantha had definitely been keeping some secrets. First the secret government job, now the 'boyfriend' – maybe she was faking both. Tiegan smiled grimly. It was be a pleasure to expose her as a fraud.

The conversation moved on, and the four women began trading memories from high school, which was what they always did. "Daniel," Tiegan cooed, "did Sam ever tell you about the time she tried speed and it made her so horny she did two guys in one night?"

It was way below the belt, and she'd brought it up just to make Samantha squirm. For sure, they all had the moments, Tiegan had plenty worse then Samantha, but Samantha was so prissy about it, so easy to make fun of…

There was a collective gasp from Sarah and Alanna and Samantha went white. Daniel was quite to lace his fingers through hers and hold her hand conformingly. "Of course I did," he lied. There was no need to worry that Tiegan was making something up to try and catch them out – it was quite obvious from the way Samantha had reacted that it was true. "Sam and I tell each other everything. Personally, I've always preferred women who embrace their sexuality instead of repress it. Lets say I found Mae West far more interesting then Grace Kelly." And with that he gave a long, pointed stare at Tiegan and her cool blond good looks.

Tiegan was flustered. She hadn't expected such a response from Daniel. Could it be true, that they really were honest with each other and he didn't care? That jab about Grace Kelly had annoyed her. No way was she less interesting then a tramp like Mae West. She almost said so, except she had a feeling Daniel would have a biting comeback. She wasn't willing to get into a battle of wits with a man of his intelligence.

At this point, Alanna skilfully drew the conversation away from anything controversial. The eight of them chatted casually for an hour, before everyone retired to their rooms to get ready for dinner – and perhaps, Tiegan added slyly, looking in Samantha and Daniel's direction, rejuvenate themselves. Everyone knew what that meant – Samantha and Daniel especially.

"She's horrible!" Daniel exclaimed when he and Samantha were in their room together, the door closed. Just in case, though, he kept his voice low, although void of none of the vehemence he'd intended to eject. "That crack she made before – " he saw Samantha go white, and he decided to drop it. "Sorry."

Samantha lowered her head. She didn't want to look Daniel in the eye. It had been one night twenty years ago, and God knew Tiegan had done plenty worse, but it wasn't something she was proud of. She didn't want to lose Daniel's respect over it. "You know it's true," she said in a small voice.

Daniel quickly closed the distance between them to take Samantha in his arms. "I figured it was from your reaction," he admitted. He gently cupped her chin and forced her head up so she was looking at him. "You know I don't care about that. I meant what I said. I find you much more interested then I do her and whatever you did along the way, well, who am I to judge that?"

Samantha sniffled and knew tears were close. It only made things worse that Daniel was being so nice about it. "You're just saying that to be nice," she accused him half-heartedly.

"I am not, I mean it," Daniel responded. "You know how much I respect you, don't you Sam?" he asked, searching her eyes for some kind of affirmation.

Samantha nodded. She did know how much Daniel respected her, and loved her – as a friend. "Thanks for standing up for me," she said.

"No problem." He kissed her on her forehead, and she felt a tingle go down her spine. She decided it was just her wounded ego responding to some much-needed respect. It wasn't like she was attracted to Daniel or anything. No, that would be far too messy. She and Daniel were just friends.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Samantha asked anxiously. "It's not that I'm ashamed, exactly, but – "

"Yeah, I know," Daniel said, and he did. There were such unfair double standards about men and women in the military, even for someone like Samantha who had proven time and time her brilliance. That she had helped save the world several times over didn't seem to make up for the fact she was a woman and, as such, was subject to much more conservative standards when it came to her sexuality. If such a story about Jack got out, it would be treated as a fine joke, and Jack would be admired for his sexual prowess and stamina. But Samantha would never live it down. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone."

She granted him a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks," she said. "If you don't mind, I think I'll have a nap for a little while, it'll help me unwind. You can stay if you want, but – "

"I'm not tired, I'll just annoy you," Daniel said. The truth was, he could do with a short nap after such a long drive, but he wasn't tired enough to deal with sleeping next to Samantha in a comfortable Queen-sized bed. The ground on a foreign planet he could do fine, but such a comfortable situation, not just yet. "I think I'll go and read for a bit."

Samantha smirked. She just knew Daniel would bring one of his chunky archaeology or history books. She was sure he ordered them all in their original languages just to be pretentious, like someone reading War and Peace in Russian just because they could. "Have fun," she remarked dryly, and she settled down to sleep.

Daniel wandered into the kitchen to make himself a coffee – he didn't care what everyone said about it being a stimulant, it calmed his nerves and his nerves needed calming after dealing with Tiegan – and then into the lounge room to curl up with one of the chunky books he'd brought. He was sure Samantha would have brought one of her chunky astrophysics books if it hadn't have been the high of antisocial.

He began reading, but he found it hard going. He was a little tired, and rattled by Tiegan's attack on Samantha – not to mention her little revelation. It wasn't that Daniel thought any less of Samantha, just that it was something of a shock. Samantha had always been his commanding officer – inasmuch as a civilian can have a commanding officer – and a brilliant scientist who he had a hell of a lot of respect for. He had never thought of her as a sexual being before and he had to admit, just to himself, that more then anything rattled him. If he started thinking of her as a sexual being, then he'd start thinking about their few chaste kisses on the cheek… and how maybe he wanted more. And he definitely did not want to think about that.

Putting down his book, he stared into space for a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts. He was soon interrupted by Tiegan sashaying through the lounge room. She really was quite an attractive woman, but that cool blond deal had never been Daniel's thing – too much maintenance. Not that he was one to pass over a beautiful woman – Sha're had hardly been ugly – but if it didn't come naturally he wasn't interested.

"Daniel," she cooed. "I thought you'd be… resting." Her emphasis on the word resting made it clear what it was a euphemism for. "Where's Sam?"

"Resting," Daniel said coolly. "She thought she'd need it to deal with you at dinner."

"Oh, you mean that silly comment I made?" Tiegan trilled. "That was nothing."

"You mean, nothing other then an attempt to hurt her and drive a wedge between us?" Daniel corrected. "It didn't work, on either count."

Although Tiegan had her doubts about the legitimacy of their relationship, it was clear Daniel cared about her. Why, Tiegan had no idea. "What goes on between you and Sam is none of my business," she cooed. Or what doesn't go on. She walked over and perched on the edge of Daniel's chair. "The same as… what goes on between you and I is none of her business." She reached over to trail one manicured set of fingers down his arm.

Daniel jumped up. Jesus Christ, was she hitting on him? "What are you doing?" he asked, when it was quite obvious what she was doing.

Tiegan pouted. "I thought it was quite obvious," she said. "I thought maybe we could have some… fun."

Jesus Christ, she was hitting on him! "You're married," he reminded her. "I'm dating your friend."

"Doesn't bother me," she said, and she lunged for him, kissing him.

He pushed her away violently. Even if he wasn't going through this stupid charade for Samantha, he still wouldn't be into her. He'd known Tiegan wasn't the most moral woman around, but her indifferent attitude to fidelity shocked him. Why on earth had Samantha bothered to remain friends with such a nasty piece of work? "You're mental!" he said and stormed off.

He went to his and Samantha's room, which had an ensuite, and hurriedly began stripping off. He stepped into the shower. Tiegan had only touched him briefly but he could swear he reeked of her scent. Samantha had warned her she was a predator, but he couldn't believe she was this bad. She had absolutely no qualms about who she propositioned! Why, oh why did you bother? he asked Samantha in his mind.

The hot shower did a lot to take his mind off things, and he emerged fifteen minutes later feeling very clean. He realised in his hurry to get into the shower, he hadn't taken a change of clothes into the ensuite with him. There was no help for it – he would have to go into the bedroom wrapped only in a towel to get his clothes. With any luck, Samantha would still be asleep.

No such luck. Years in the military had taught her how to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow – or the ground, as was often the case – and she'd only needed twenty minutes sleep. She'd woken up to hear the shower running in the ensuite, and she wondered what Daniel had been doing that he needed to get clean from.

Immediately, she thought of Tiegan and what a predator she was. Samantha knew from experience that Tiegan had a pretty loose definition of fidelity, and her heart sank. No way, she told herself. Daniel wouldn't go for someone like her… and it's only been twenty minutes. Still, her mind wandered off to thoughts best left be.

The idea of Daniel with Tiegan – hell, Daniel with another woman – made Samantha a little jealous. She didn't know why, she had no claim to him. But he could try being a little discreet about it…

Daniel came out wearing only a towel wrapped casually around his hips. He looked very… edible. She'd forgotten how much he'd toned up since joining the Stargate program, or it just hadn't registered with her. And the stray droplets of water running down his back and his still-damp hair only added to his yumminess. Samantha couldn't help but entertain thoughts of yanking off that towel.

He rummaged through their wardrobe until he found what he was looking for, and turned around to see Samantha, wide awake and shamelessly staring at him. It was hardly the first time she had caught him in a state of undress – or vice versa – but it was the first time in several years the blood had rushed to his cheeks over it. It must be the distracting thought he'd been having over her that was doing it. Certainly, she wouldn't be encouraging him, of that he was sure. She was too professional for that. They were just friends.

"Just, uh, let me get dressed," he said, becoming more and more aware of how little he was wearing. He had always been self conscious about his body, had never gotten beyond seeing himself as the weedy nerd. No wonder Samantha was looking at him ; she was amused by his dorkishness. And he bolted into the bathroom.

He emerged a few minutes later, looking very nice in a casual-dressy way. He was wearing black pants and a long-sleeved button-down shirt – dinner attire. Samantha certainly wouldn't mind going out to dinner with him.

"That friend of yours, Tiegan, is an absolute bitch," Daniel complained, not mincing words. "She totally came onto me, when I told her about you and Phillip, she said she didn't mind if I didn't!"

He shuddered, and Samantha smiled. Of course Daniel would be put of by someone who was as much of a predator as Tiegan was. "You didn't, uh – ?" she started to ask.

He made a face. "God no. She kissed me and it was – " he shuddered again. "That's why I had a shower, it felt like I reeked of her."

Relief flooded through Samantha, although she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like who Daniel slept with was any of her business. "I thought you were having a shower because…" she trailled off, too embarrassed to finish her sentence although it was clear what she was talking about.

"I don't know what to be more insulted over," Daniel said in a mock-hurt voice, "that you think I would sleep with someone like her or you think it would only take me ten minutes. I'll have you know, I have plenty of stamina."

He didn't know why he'd said that last part, it wasn't relevant to his defence, it was merely bragging. The truth was, he was quite confident in his sexual abilities but it wasn't like he was going to prove that to Samantha anytime soon so mentioning it at all was just crass.

For some reason, Samantha suddenly had the urge to challenge Daniel to prove that statement. She didn't know why, and she didn't know why she was even thinking about it, but something told her Daniel was someone who liked to take his time… and made it very worthwhile for the lucky woman.

Instead she said, "I told you she was aggressive."

"By aggressive I thought you mean a little flirtatious. She was fully coming onto me, she didn't care about you and Phillip!"

"That's Tiegan for you," Samantha said. Tiegan had always been a maneater as well as ultracompetitive, although she was a little shocked that their 'friendship' meant so little to her that she would come onto Daniel with Samantha in the next room. "Well, thanks for not, um, giving into her advances," Samantha said. For some reason she felt the need to add, "It would have looked pretty bad, you are I supposed to being a couple and all." Rather then Samantha having any claim on Daniel in a romantic sense.

Daniel made a face. "I wouldn't have been interested in her even if it wasn't for you – and Phillip," he insisted. "She's not my type." His type, he thought, was more intelligent, more earthy, more low-maintenance… like Samantha. OK, don't go down that road, he ordered himself. "Why don't we get ready for dinner?" he suggested. That seemed pretty tame.

Samantha nodded and slipped off the bed and headed for the shower. She was glad to be out of the same room with Daniel ; there was something happening between them that she wasn't sure she liked. She and Daniel were just friends, and she was confused because of the way he had stood up to her and told her he didn't think any less of her despite Tiegan's mean-spirited comments.

Half an hour later, she was ready. And she looked pretty damn good, although she'd put in the minimum of effort. That was what Daniel liked about her, she could look good without preening for hours. There was something comforting about a woman who didn't take much longer to put herself together then he did.

Dinner was nice, at a local restaurant that Tiegan had chosen – of course. Daniel discovered that Lachlan Macquarie was a historian, and while his knowledge wasn't quite up to Daniel's level – he was yet to meet anyone who was – and they got along quite well. Since they were in a public place, Tiegan didn't dare make any mean comments, and Samantha relaxed with Sarah and Alanna. She remembered the reason she came to these weeks away – and it wasn't Tiegan.

When Daniel went to the toilet, Sarah gave her a conspiring smile. "Daniel's quite a catch," she said approvingly. "And he's devoted to you." Alanna nodded her agreement. Privately, they were appalled by Tiegan's behaviour. She had always been jealous of Samantha's success. Anyone could see from the attention Daniel showered her with that he was completely in love with her.

Samantha smiled winningly. She felt a little bad that she had deceived her friends – after all, if it were just them, she wouldn't have bothered to lie – but since she was deceiving them, she may as well bask in their praise. Privately, she was incredibly grateful to Daniel and the effort he was putting into making their relationship look 'legit'. On a dozen occasions he had leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, held her hand or touch her wrist, leaned over to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She knew he was focusing on her, taking note of any opportunity to make contact with her. He was probably thinking of Sha're and those little opportunities a person took to touch the one they loved. Daniel just kept surprising her. He was a real gem. Her heart fluttered a little when she thought of the effort he was going to just so she wouldn't lose face. Yep, she owed him big time.

A few times she caught Tiegan glowering at her, and whenever she did, she responded with a winning smile, knowing that, at leats for the time being, she was up on the woman. She knew Tiegan's ego was bruised because Daniel had turned her down – that must be a rarity for her, a beautiful Grace-Kelly-type blond offering sex and being turned down. That make it all the sweeter.

"Thankyou," she said to Daniel when they were in their room later tonight. "What you did – you've gone above and beyond what I asked of you."

He shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "She was being such a bitch to her, I wanted to help you get back at her. She looked like she was reading to murder you."

"When you kissed me, I looked over to her, she looked like she was ready to crave me up with that steak knife of hers," Samantha admitted. "Thankyou so, so much Daniel. This means so much to me. I know – it must be kind of hard to pretend like that. You were thinking of Sha're, weren't you?"

"Kind of," he admitted. He didn't dare tell Samantha he'd enjoyed touching her far more then he'd expected he would. That would make him sound like some kind of pervert. But the feel of her skin, the texture of her hair, the scent of her… Daniel swallowed hard. He had to stop thinking like this.

They got changed into their pyjamas but didn't go to sleep straight away. Instead, they stayed up talking for two hours and the stress of dealing with Tiegan all day melted away in Daniel's presence.

Finally, at almost two in the morning, they turned off the lights and drifted asleep. God knew they needed it, they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.