There was a huge round of applause and catcalls. Daniel and Rain both bowed and waved and went over to get coffee. The room quieted down just a hair above the normal buzz. A very amused sounding voice spoke from behind them. "I'm thinking I may be able to sell my copies of your mission reports, for the signatures you know."
They turned around to see Cam Mitchell, leaning against the counter and looking very entertained. Daniel grinned. "Hey, bring in copies and Rain and I'll sign them for you, right Rain?"
"Within limits. If I sign too many, my hand will freeze up and I'll have trouble firing my rifle," Rain chuckled.
Daniel remembered his manners, "Colonel Cameron Mitchell, this is Captain Rain Carter. Captain Carter, Colonel Mitchell."
Rain saluted and Cam acknowledged it. "Good to meet you Captain. Any relationship to Colonel Samantha Carter?"
"I don't know anything about my dad's family, sir," Rain said. "If there is, I don't know about it."
"There is a certain resemblance," Cam said.
"That's what they tell me," she said. "I haven't actually seen Colonel Carter yet."
"Here's your opportunity," he said. He inclined his head toward the door. Sam and Teal'c had just entered. The room got quiet again as Teal'c headed straight for Daniel and Cam and Sam trailed along behind. Seeing the two women together was remarkable. Rain merely looked very interested. After all, she had been forewarned. Sam on the other hand looked slightly ill and definitely in shock.
Cam took the responsibility for the introductions this time and Daniel just watched. "This is really amazing," Sam said. "I have to wonder if we're related. What's your father's name?"
"Jacob Carter," Rain said.
They all gaped at her. Finally Sam found her voice, "As in my father, General Jacob Carter?"
"No, no. My dad is allergic to the military. I initially applied to the Air Force Academy to annoy him."
Sam said, "Would his full name by any chance be Jacob Mark Carter?"
"Right." Rain looked excited. "How are you related to him?"
"That's my brother's name." She looked at Teal'c and Daniel who were puzzled. "Mark always went by his middle name when we were kids to avoid confusion with dad. After he left home, he started using his first name." Sam asked, "It's not that unusual a name. Let's make sure who we're talking about. About how old is he? Where does he live?"
Rain said, "He's in his early 40's and, at least as of six years ago, he lived in Denver."
Sam glared at Rain. "Just what are you about?" Hostility was plain in her voice. "My brother has two kids. Neither of them are named Rain or are anywhere near as old as you are. This is a creative way to get Daniel's attention, but I don't think it is at all amusing."
Rain's expression went blank. Her voice got very cold and she straightened to attention. Daniel remembered being a foster child, hoping more than once that he had found a family, only to have the bottom drop out on him. "Begging the Colonel's pardon, but the Colonel's brother got my mother pregnant when he was 16. He took no responsibility for me at the time. After she was out of the picture, the state located him. He adopted me, but his wife didn't think I'd be a good influence on my half-siblings so I was shipped off to a boarding school. Under the circumstances, he apparently chose not to mention it to anyone in the family. May I be dismissed?"
Sam stood frozen and Cam gave Rain a nod of dismissal. She turned and walked toward the door. Daniel paused long enough to look at Sam with absolute loathing. He felt Rain's pain and his own. "Nice, really nice," he spat out. Mentally he finished the sentence, 'You bitch,' but was able to choke the words back. He turned and quickly went after Rain. He didn't know what the effect of it all was on Sam but he didn't care. He was focused on Rain.
Daniel caught up with Rain in the hall. "Rain," he said softly. "I'm sorry."
She looked at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Don't worry about it."
He spotted an empty conference room and pulled her into it, shutting the door. He put his arms around her. "Sam's really a great person. That was out of character for her. Maybe it was because she still hasn't dealt with her father – your grandfather – dying the way he did a year ago."
"Or," she said, a little spitefully, "maybe she was jealous. I am sort of the before to her after. There is a little mileage on her. Not to mention the fact that I've got your attention."
He laughed bitterly. "She's never seen me as a man. That didn't enter in."
Rain looked at him dubiously. "Either she's an idiot or she's lying to you then."
He cupped her face in his hands. "I know I shouldn't say what I'm about to say. My brain is telling me we're both at a vulnerable place, that your resemblance to Sam has to be affecting me somehow, that my, well, reputation and past history has to be messing with your head." He stopped and brushed her lips with his. "On the other hand, my heart is telling me that I'm falling in love with you. That I want to fight dragons for you and tilt at windmills and protect you from saber tooth tigers."
She was gazing at him mistily. She dashed away a tear and said, "I've had a long string of failed relationships with the wrong men. If you're going to bail on me, please do it now. I can't handle caring any more than I already do and then losing you.
They kissed then. It was a tender, cherishing kiss with a promise behind it on both their parts. Afterwards, he said, "Come over to my place tonight. Let me cook us something and we can watch a DVD."
That evening, he was busy in his kitchen with Rain providing deliberately unhelpful supervision, perched on a stool at the counter separating it from the great room, when the phone rang the first time. Rain picked it up, said, "Hello," and listened. She covered the mouthpiece and said, "Do you want to talk to a radio station?"
He shook his head. "Dr. Jackson is busy." She was apparently interrupted. "Yes, this is Captain Carter. I'm afraid I can't talk to you either."
She hung up and resumed her kibitzing about his pasta cooking technique when the phone rang again. Again Rain answered. This time she didn't bother to consult Daniel. "Dr. Jackson is not available for interviews. Never mind who I am. Good evening."
He raised an eyebrow. "A television station." Daniel wiped his hands on a towel and leaned over to remove the jack from the back of the phone.
Fifteen minutes later, someone rang the doorbell and then knocked on the door. Daniel and Rain exchanged a long look. "You expecting anyone?" she asked.
He went quickly to a window that allowed him to look out at the front door and the street. "I do believe it's the television station." He quickly locked the front door, jerked the curtains shut, and returned to her.
They managed to ignore the insistent pounding on the front door and gradually relaxed with an excellent meal and then watched a Star Trek movie with the sound turned down and a constant running commentary between the two of them. She fell asleep against him during a second DVD and he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, removed her shoes, and settled her comfortably. He returned to the great room and slept fitfully on the sofa, fretting about the implications of the play the convenience store story was getting.
In the morning, he was awakened by a gentle kiss on the cheek. "It's 0700. I imagine you need to be on the base by 0800? I've got until 1000 today so I made breakfast."
He stirred groggily. "Yeah, thanks. Do I smell coffee?" he asked hopefully.
"Right here," she said and produced a mug.
"Could you be any more perfect?" he asked.
She smiled, shrugged, and turned on the television to catch the morning news. He was just reentering the room, dressed and shaved, when something on the screen caught his eye. "Rain, Rain," he said insistently, drawing her attention from pouring herself another cup of coffee. He turned up the sound.
"The Heroic Lovebirds, as they have been dubbed, have captured the fascination of America," the morning show personality was saying. "The story is inspiring, they are both very photogenic, and blogs have given the story new life because of Dr. Jackson's reputation. Jackson has been featured prominently recently on several blogs dealing with alien abduction. His work in the early 90's claiming that aliens built the pyramids in Egypt was derided by other archeologists and he hasn't published since then. A blogger interested in the subject discovered his work about a month ago and it has been getting increasing play. These Web sites regard the fact that he has been working on a classified project for the government ever since he quit publishing as evidence that he was right. There is a great deal of speculation about his evident disappearances for a year in 1996 and again in 2002."
Her co-host said, "The government has refused to comment on the project in which Dr. Jackson is involved. It'll be interesting to see how this story plays out." They then turned to a discussion of psychiatry for dogs.
Daniel switched off the TV. "I'm on the Web?" He went hurriedly into the bedroom he used as a home office and brought up his personal laptop, Rain right behind him. He googled himself and sifted in horror through Web site after Web site.
In addition to direct discussion of his scholarly work, there were a few old photos of him and a couple of candid type recent shots, taken on the street, that made him think someone had found his address and had been watching him. There was also one Web site where there was actually a discussion by multiple women about how cute he was.
"You didn't know?"
"Honest to God, Rain. I usually have very little idea of what's going on here on Earth. It isn't that interesting. On top of that, I've been off world most of the past month."
"My boy friend is being panted after by women I haven't even met. Look at this one," she indicated the screen. "She wants to have your baby. I don't really like that."
Moments later, Mitchell called to tell him they were going off world on an extended mission to keep him out of circulation while the media hype cooled. Rain looked thoughtful and checked her answering machine. She had a similar call from her CO. She left hurriedly to go back to her apartment earlier than she had thought she needed to. When she opened the door, they were treated to the sight of another television station's van pulling up. Daniel groaned and hoped with everything in him that a couple of weeks would be enough for this story to be supplanted by another.
Immediately after arriving at the Mountain, they were both called into a meeting with General Landry, Cam Mitchell, Rain's commanding officer, and an officer from the Air Force's public relations staff. It was impossible to fault either of them for their action in the convenience store or their relationship and no one tried. The topic of the meeting was how to answer press inquiries on the incident until the next new flavor of the month drove it from public attention. The press officer did allow that they had been monitoring the recent interest in Daniel on the Web.
He informed them that the Air Force would simply state that it had no knowledge of, or interest in, Daniel's archeological credentials or research. He was employed, and had been employed, as a linguist and had performed exceptionally in that function. In addition to refusing to discuss his job at all on the grounds that it was classified, Daniel was to disavow any interest in archeology and say that he had not been active in that field since going to work for the Air Force. If asked, he would say he had no comment on his earlier conclusions as he had not revisited them in light of current research.
Daniel felt dismayed by what was being asked of him and it showed on his face. The press officer had the good grace to say, "The Air Force regrets asking this of you. When the Stargate is revealed, as it ultimately will have to be, all your work will be vindicated at that time."
Landry said, "Forget regrets. The Air Force apologizes that it has to ask this of a man who has been a genuine hero in the service of his country and his planet."
The press officer hastened to say, "Of course."
In the end Daniel acquiesced, having no other choice. Rain simply was reminded that everything about her job was classified.
After they walked out of the office, Daniel said, "I don't know if I can handle being separated from you right after I've found you.
"I love being with you, but this has all been a little fast. I feel just a little crowded," she said. "Separation will be a good way to confirm that this is real, to understand how we really feel."
Daniel felt an icy wave of panic wash over him and thought, just as long as it's not a good way for you to realize that I'm a lot older, come with tons of baggage, and you could do better.