Chapter Two
Thanks to Meriem Clayton, who patiently Betad this chapter and doesn't mind the liberal inspiration I took from several of her own stories, which I highly recommend. In my defence, everything I've ever written has no doubt been inspired by other stories I've liked, which I'm sure many writers can related to
Daniel made a sound that resembled an animal caught in a trap as he automatically tried to stop himself from climaxing, to no avail. This was the most humiliating moment of his life. He had been rejected by women before in favour of tougher, stronger men, of course, but never like this. Never in the throes of passion when he was beyond any ability to pull back.
He should have known. He should have known she had a thing for Jack. He should have known through her sisterly affections. He should have known from the sisterly affection she had always shown him. He should have known from the fact that she had never come on to him before. That required an aphrodisiac. He should have known by the fact she had never come onto him before – no, it took an aphrodisiac to do that. Even then, if it had been a choice of him or Jack, he was sure she would have chosen Jack.
Whore. Conniving bitch. Couldn't have what she wanted so she dragged Daniel into it, took him as a substitute. Of course, like a fool, he had convinced himself that she wanted him. Convinced himself that when she had been riding him thirty seconds ago, making the sounds she had been making, that she had been thinking of him.
No, it had been Jack. It had always been Jack. Well, he had more pride then to stick around when he obviously wasn't wanted.
Violently, he pushed her off. He wanted to do more then just push her off. He wanted to tear her to pieces. He wanted to get Jack O'Neill out of her fucking head, even if that meant crushing her skull. He was deeply angry and deeply humiliated. Goddamn her lying, two-faced soul, why couldn't she have kept her damn mouth shut, or at least have given him more notice? Thirty seconds sooner and he could have stopped. It would have hurt, but it would have been better then having come inside her.
He now had a much deeper appreciation for women who said they'd been used for sex.
Samantha looked at Daniel in absolute horror, just realising what she had said. "Daniel, I'm so sorry…" she began, although in a situation like this, 'I'm sorry' doesn't really cut it. She had no idea what had come over her. One moment, she was enjoying fantastic sex with Daniel and, the next, she was calling Jack's name. She felt deeply embarrassed, but she knew that was nothing compared to how Daniel must be feeling right now.
"Shut up," he growled, pulling on his pants quickly. He didn't want to hear anything she had to say – no doubt along the lines of a miserable apology. Like there were words that could make up for the fact she'd just called him Jack, and at the worst possible moment for a man.
He had to get out of here. He didn't know what protocol was in this situation – although he had a feeling that husbands didn't just leave their new brides half an hour after being left alone in what passed for a honeymoon suite – and truth be told, he didn't care. This damn planet held women responsible for every little thing and if his hasty departure pissed off the traditions of this place, well, he was quite happy to have Samantha take the blame for it.
"Daniel – " she tried again desperately.
"One more word and I'll thrash you," Daniel said, his back turned towards her. His fingers lingered on the buckle of his belt and he thought about how tempting it was to take the leather strap to her. He wanted to hurt her as badly as she'd hurt him, if that was at all possible. He had to get out of here before he did something he'd regret.
Even though she couldn't see the way his eyes were alternating between flashing with anger and clouding over with hurt, Samantha knew Daniel was beyond angry. His shoulders were tensed and the swift motion he used to slip his shirt back on was violent. For a moment she was scared he would turn on her; he was angry enough. But as soon as he stormed out of the room, she was sorry he'd gone.
In a state of semi-shock, Samantha gathered the sheets around her. What the hell had come over her? It wasn't that she had accepted Daniel as some kind of substitute She knew she had wanted to be with him – well, as much as she could have, given she hadn't entirely been in a position to consent. Neither had Daniel. There had definitely been something in that drink they'd been given. Otherwise she would never have had sex with Daniel or with any man.
Thank God she had three-month contraception injections. All the women were given them in case of rape, but Samantha had never expected she would need one because she'd had sex with one of her team-mates. She burrowed under the covers, wishing that she could hide from the world. Oh, God, what had they just done? Vaguely she supposed it was kind of like getting drunk and then having sex you with someone you wouldn't take seriously as a lover when you were sober.
She held her head in her hands, trying to take stock of the situation. She had just had sex with Daniel. She had just called him Jack. She didn't know which one was worse. Although she was trained to be stoic and unemotional no matter how crappy the situation , this particular situation got the better of her and she started to cry.
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It was hard to miss Daniel barrelling down the hall looking very, very angry. Ashaire and the two junior maids didn't miss him ; immediately, their interest was piqued. It was very unusual – unheard of, in fact – for a man to leave the marriage bed so early in the evening. Something had to be wrong.
Of course, Ashaire didn't dare say anything to Daniel, even if she had been brave enough to try and intercept him, which she was not. It was inappropriate for a woman to speak to a man when she could speak to his wife. Besides, she had business to attend to with Samantha. It was the head maid's responsibility to verify that the marriage had been consummated.
Ashaire felt no need to knock before she entered, knowing that only Samantha was in the room, or, if it wasn't only Samantha, it was something Ashaire should know about.
However, Samantha was definitely not used to someone entering her room without knocking. She glared at Ashaire, thinking that would be hint enough for the woman to retreat. Apparently this planet was behind on manners as well as women's rights, because Ashaire looked completely unapologetic. "Get out," she ordered.
Ashaire took no heed of her. Now that she was aware there had been a disagreement between Daniel and Samantha, she had little sympathy for the new bride. It was a terrible thing for a husband to be so quickly angered at his bride and a transgression that the wife was held entirely responsible for – what her punishment would be was up to her husband. "You have displeased your husband?" she asked.
Samantha noticed that Ashaire was cool towards her. She figured Ashaire had seen Daniel leave and had assumed Samantha had done something wrong. The assumption annoyed her, like this whole backwards planet annoyed her. Just because she had been in the wrong didn't give Ashaire, or anyone for that matter, the right to assume so. "That's none of your business," she said stiffly.
Ashaire looked quizzically at her. "Of course it's my business. My job is to verify that the marriage has been consummated."
Samantha stared at her. She had to be kidding. No, she wasn't kidding. This planet was so backward that they checked that the marriage had been consummated. Samantha didn't know that much about history, but she had never heard of such a thing happening on Earth. These people had actually regressed to before they were transported by the Goa'uld. "And what if I say no?" Samantha asked coolly.
"Then you would clearly have something to hide, such as a lack of consummation," Ashaire said, and it was clear she considered this to be the only reason – Samantha's dignity not being a factor in the argument.
"So?" Samantha couldn't resist provoking the older woman. "That's Daniel's business and mine."
Ashaire hadn't liked Samantha from the very beginning – she had acted wantonly and therefore wasn't deserving of the respect that a chaste woman would be given. Her provocation only lowered her in Ashaire's eyes. "Then that is proof of your husband's rejection on top of acting wantonly. You would be executed."
Samantha gasped in spite of herself. These people were barbaric. Never in the history of Earth – or at least no history that Samantha knew of – had such a low premium been placed on women, especially women who failed to meet the strict standards of chastity of desirability. Well, maybe Afganistahn in its most recent reincarnation, but that would be about it. "Get me Daniel," she ordered. Daniel might hate her right now, but he still wouldn't let her be subjected to this. It galled Samantha that she had so little say in her own body and she needed Daniel's benevolence, if he had any right now, to protect her, but it was the only thing she could thing of.
"Master Daniel has made it clear he does not wish to be with you," Ashaire said primly. She wasn't about to track down the furious man anyway. It was Samantha's own fault that he had left the marriage bed. "If you won't submit yourself to examination, I will be forced to tell Macah you were noncompliant." The consequences of that were obvious. Samantha had no choice but to let Ashaire proceed with her examination. At least, she thought, the sorry event that had transpired between her and Daniel had come to some good – a few minutes ago she'd been wishing she'd never slept with Daniel, now she was realising it may have saved her life. Maybe that was why they'd been given whatever it was they'd been given. If consummation was such a big deal on this planet, then it made sense that the use of aphrodisiacs should be elevated to an art form.
Samantha wasn't exactly experienced in these things, but she was sure Ashaire was being rougher then she needed to be. The woman just didn't like her – Samantha supposed that was fair enough, given that she was about two thousand years ahead of Ashaire's time. Revolutionaries are rarely appreciated in their own time. Daniel's comments about an intergalactic feminist movement came back to her – the idea was looking mighty tempting right now.
"You were not pure," Ashaire noted disapprovingly.
"You mean I wasn't a virgin? I could have told you that," Samantha snapped. "Is that a capital offence too?" If it was, she may as well go out swinging – so to speak – and say what was on her mind because nothing was going to get her out of that.
Ashaire sniffed, even more disapproving. This one just would not keep her mouth shut even when she was getting deeper and deeper into trouble. No wonder her husband had been dissatisfied with her. She was surprised – and a little disappointed – to find evidence of consummation. "That depends on your husband," she answered Samantha's question. "It is up to Master Daniel. If he is unhappy with your impure state…" her voice trailed off, and Samantha bridled at the thought. Though she seriously doubted that Daniel was that angry, it wasn't fair that it should be his choice. He hadn't exactly been a virgin, so what was the big deal? She gritted her teeth and vowed she was never stepping foot on this planet again.
After a few minutes of rough and very humiliating poking, Ashaire left her be, mumbling something about wanton, disrespectful women. Samantha had the urge to throw something at her. No bloody wonder this planet was so damn backwards, with women like Ashaire perpetuating the dominance of the men. The sooner she was off the planet the better.
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Daniel went outside to be alone and for fresh air. He had noticed the look Ashaire had given him as he'd stormed past, but he hadn't given her the opportunity to intercept him. He'd probably broken some rule, but he didn't care. Let them talk about it. Let Samantha bear the consequences.
After a few minutes, Macah came out to join him. He had been alerted by one of the guards that Daniel had left Samantha shortly after being left alone with her – something that didn't bode well for Samantha. "You were unhappy with you new bride?" Macah asked suggestively. For a society that did its damnedest to repress sexuality, Macah was awfully suggestive about it.
"She's fine," Daniel said shortly.
"Then why are you out here and not with her?" Macah asked. The man was spiteful and a tyrant, but he was only stating the truth.
"Is that any of your business?" Daniel asked.
"It is the village's business if you are dissatisfied with your wife… and have not consummated the marriage," Macah said. "It is an offence for a woman to be rejected by her new husband… punishable by death."
Daniel rolled his eyes in the darkness. Was there anything a woman could do that wasn't punishable by death? He hated Samantha right now and fifteen minutes ago he had wanted to beat the crap out of her, but he would never wish upon her death at the hands of a man like Macah. Dully he realised that it had been a good thing he and Samantha had been drugged into sleeping together, because they never would have done it of their own initiative, and if they hadn't, she would have been executed. He hated her, but he didn't want her dead.
"I assure you we consummated our marriage," he said with a touch of bitterness.
Macah looked at him suspiciously. He was not at all acting like a new husband ; that he had already left the marriage bed was testimony to that. "Ashaire will see if that's the truth or not," he declared.
Daniel stared at Macah until comprehension dawned on him. All he could think was thank God we slept together. He hated her, but he didn't want her dead. He couldn't believe these people were so barbaric. He couldn't wait to get out of here.
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"Enjoy your night as husband and wife?" Jack asked Daniel the next morning. He'd meant to sound teasing, but came off as a little snarky. He didn't dare say anything to Samantha, who looked very jacked off at him that he'd allowed this to happen. Yeah, well, next time they came across such a sexist society, he'd take her home and come back with an all-male team. He seemed to recall saying that when they'd run into Turghan, but that had been so long ago that it didn't count anymore.
He'd been just a little unsettled that Daniel and Samantha had spent the night together. He supposed it was fair enough. Who knew what violation of archaic law Macah would come up with if he thought Daniel and Samantha weren't properly married? But still, the idea of Samantha and Daniel spending the night together – there was something not quite right about that. He and Samantha had come to an unspoken agreement some time ago, and Samantha'sspending the night with another man right under his nose felt like a violation of that agreement.
Daniel glared at Jack. "That's not funny," he snapped. He wanted almost as little to do with Jack as he did with Samantha. Well, the minute he got back to Earth he planned on asking for a transfer so hopefully that would be possible. If Jack and Samantha had only got their damned act together like any two reasonable humans would, Daniel would never have allowed himself to fall into that trap.
He felt like no less of a prize fool today then he had last night. If anything, he felt worse. He'd had a night of wandering around the countryside to ponder the situation, and he'd only ended up feeling angrier and more humiliated then when he'd started.
"Touché," Jack muttered defensively. He wondered if Daniel and Samantha had had a fight. She wasn't looking too crash hot herself, like someone who hadn't got much sleep. He hoped it didn't affect his team dynamics.
Mind you, if he'd had to spent the night with someone like Samantha and not gotten laid, he'd be cranky too. At least he could understand Daniel on that level. "You need to get laid," he informed Daniel before walking off to talk to Teal'c, who was the only member of his team not looking ready to bit his head off.
Daniel realised that Jack had no idea he and Samantha had slept together which made sense. Talking about sex wasn't exactly these people's forte. They would have assumed that Jack and Teal'c knew such things happened on wedding nights without taking into account that Jack thought he knew Samantha and Daniel better then that. Thank God you don't, Daniel thought. For once, Jack's complete cluelessness when it came to people was a good thing, because if he had clued onto what had really happened last night, Daniel doubted he'd still be here. Well, he certainly wasn't going to clue Jack in.
After some minor discussions with Macah, SG-1 was free to head home. Jack took the lead and Teal'c covered them, with Samantha and Daniel in the middle. Daniel took the opportunity to talk to Samantha.
When he fell in step along side her, Samantha was relieved that he was in a better mood – he was prepared to talk to her. That had to mean he was in a better mood. Her hopes were dashed as soon as Daniel opened his mouth. "Jack doesn't know about last night," he said in a quite, cold voice that demonstrated that he'd lost none of his initial anger at her, "so I figured we should get our stories straight."
Samantha swallowed her disappointment. She hadn't expected Daniel to act as if nothing had happened, but she hadn't expected him to be so unforgiving, either. Well, what did you expect? she asked herself. You called him Jack. He's feeling humiliated. "I take it you've already thought about it?" she asked.
"We admit to having spent the night together," Daniel said with that same quite, cold tone. "Jack knows that much so we have to admit to it. We'll say you slept on the bed and I slept on the floor."
"Why you slept on the floor?" Samantha asked.
"Because that's something I would have done for you," Daniel said, emphasis on the words would have. "It won't matter for long anyway. I plan on asking for a transfer."
Samantha's heart caught in her throat. He wasn't serious, was he? She dared a look in his angry blue eyes. He was very serious. "Why?" she gasped.
"You mean apart from the fact you just completely undermined my masculinity?" Daniel asked sarcastically. His voice was accusing.
"I'm sorry," Samantha said contritely. Then, "I don't want you to transfer."
"Once again, it's about what you want," Daniel snarled. He couldn't believe Samantha could be so self-centred. "You should have gotten Jack to fill in for me last night," he continued bitterly. "It's not like they would have known the difference."
"I never meant to hurt you," Samantha said in a small voice. Daniel was scaring her. He was incredibly angry. His words from last night came back to her: One more word and I'll trash you. He'd looked angry enough then to hit her and he looked angry enough now. She supposed she'd be holding a grudge if he'd called her Sha're… The thought made her squirm uncomfortably. She would have been devastated if Daniel had called her Sha're. She was surprised at just how possessive she was of Daniel, a possessiveness that she knew, deep down, went beyond simple friendship and loyalty.
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," Daniel said sarcastically. "You didn't mean to do a lot of things, but somehow you managed to do them. Notice how every man who shows an interest in you ends up dead?"
It was a low blow, but unfortunately, one that had a grain of truth in it. Of course, the deaths of Narim and Martouf hadn't been her fault, but she had mourned them anyway and got herself a reputation as a black widow. Daniel had only brought it up as extra ammunition against her and it succeeded it making her feel worse then she already did. Narim, Martouf, Daniel – was it her fate to destroy the men she loved?
All the men except Jack. And she didn't even know how she felt about Jack. Oh, she loved him, in the same way she loved Daniel and Teal'c – as friends, as comrades, the kind of love that comes from saving each other's lives for years. She had thought there was something more to her relationship with Jack, but if there was, why had she felt the way she had with Daniel last night? And why was she so torn up over his threats to be transferred?
Daniel didn't give her the opportunity to say anything else ; he fell behind her, where he was supposed to be. He didn't want to speak to her anymore. The sight of her face, her voice, made him too angry. He was surprised and a little scared by the violence of his feelings. It had, after all, only been a one night stand that had ended badly. If it had been anyone but Samantha, he wouldn't be feeling the urge to crush her skull.
So why Samantha then? Why did her rejection of him have him feeling so angry, so humiliated? Vaguely he realised he had inappropriate feelings for her and that enraged him even more.
He had always been attracted to her, right from the first day they had met on Abydos. Maybe that was why Sha're had kissed him so passionately and so publicly before he'd taken the rest of the soldiers from the Stargate Command to show them the map of Stargate addresses he'd found. Maybe she'd sensed the attraction between him and Samantha and had wanted to stake her claim. He couldn't help but grin at the thought. It was somewhat soothing to his battered ego – if only momentarily – that someone had wanted him, and only him, that badly.
Yes, the attraction had always been there and, as hope of finding Sha're had faded and then been obliterated completely with her death, he had become closer to Samantha. They had been best friends – with obvious chemistry. Neither of them had done anything about it. It would have wrecked their team dynamics, but it had been there nonetheless.
If it had been Jack she'd wanted all this time, she should never have given him the slightest encouragement. She should never have smiled at him the way she had, she should never have permitted the lingering displays of affection, a caress on the cheek, a hand on the shoulder, and she should certainly have not kissed him last night, especially after he tried to slow things down. That was why he was angry. She had allowed him, encouraged him even, to invest in her emotionally, and then had thrown it back in his face by calling him Jack. If she had been a stranger he'd picked up in a bar, he would have gotten over it in a few days. But that it had been Samantha, his best friend who he loved and was attracted to – he wanted to run up to her and wring her neck. He wanted to hurt her as badly as she had hurt him and he wouldn't mind taking a swing at Jack while he was at it.
That was why he was going to ask for a transfer. He couldn't work with them anymore. He could barely look at either of them without wanting to inflict bodily harm.
The four of them came through the gate looking less then happy, Daniel, because he was angry at Samantha, Samantha, because Daniel was so angry at her, and Jack, because Daniel had somehow contrived to marry and spend the night with Samantha. Even if it had been to save her life, Jack still didn't like it. At least Teal'c was happy, although he was aware of the frosty relations between his three fellow team-members today.
The four of them had their debriefing meeting. They did not have much to show for their aborted mission, other then the promise of lots of Naquada. Macah had seemed open to a trading partnership, especially after Jack had explained about antibiotics and immunity shots, but he would not trade with a woman, so they would return at a later date with an all-male team. Samantha scowled at that. An intergalactic feminist movement was looking really good about now…
"Oh, and Carter and Danny-boy managed to get themselves hitched," Jack added, pretended like it had been an afterthought when he'd been mulling over it the entire meeting. He hadn't called Daniel Danny-boy in years; it had started off as a condescending nick-name that he'd gradually abandoned.
Hammond was floored at this seemingly casual revelation. "I'm sorry?" he asked incredulously.
Before Jack could make anymore snide remarks, Samantha jumped in and gave Hammond the details – about Macah's frosty attitude towards her, about her falling and Daniel helping to treat her wounds, about their being discovered in what Macah considered to be a 'compromising position.' She bristled as she related this information. It still annoyed her, and would for some time, that there were men out there – even if they were on other planets – who held women in such low regard. "Daniel was given a choice, to marry me or for me to be executed," she said. "He only did it to save my life."
"They spent the night together, too," Jacked piped up.
Daniel glared at him. The more he dealt with Jack's attitude towards his and Samantha's impromptu – and very necessary – marriage, the more he suspected Jack returned some of Samantha's feelings. Otherwise, why would he be acting so petty about it? Damn them both, they should have acted on their feelings years ago, before Daniel foolishly got involved. "They put us in what I assume was their version of the honeymoon suite," he explained. "They weren't very subtle about what they expected us to do. We thought it would be asking for trouble if we requested separate rooms."
Hammond seemed happy with this response. "All right," he said. "Colonel, assemble a team of men to go back there. If they really are interested in trading, we want to get started straight away." A shortage of Naquada was always an issue for the Stargate Command. "Take McKinney to ascertain what their most common illnesses are. I'm sure we can adapt some of our available antibiotics to suit their needs." Captain Roger McKinney was a Doctor of Medical Science whose field of interest was the creation of new and more effective medications. Re-engineering the drugs they currently had to fit slightly different physiologies was his arena. It wasn't quite as good as having Samantha there, but that wasn't exactly an option.
The debriefing meeting over, SG-1 separated. Daniel couldn't wait to get off the base. Already word was getting out about his and Samantha's marriage, and people were coming up to him, offering their congratulations, giving him a few lewd looks. Some people just wouldn't get their heads out of the gutter.
In the sanctuary of his apartment, he really let his pent-up anger go. He screamed a few times, broke a glass that had started off as the means for a stiff drink, and then, when his anger had dissipated, he curled up on his couch to feel sorry for himself.
He had never taken a woman's rejection so hard. He had thought he was somewhat immune to the phenomenon, having so many women in high school and university reject him in favour for the hunkier, more macho guys. He'd thought he was closer to Samantha then that. He'd thought, even though they weren't entirely in their right minds, that she wanted to have sex with him. Samantha's rejection of him hurt more then any previous rejections had because Samantha meant more to him then any other woman had.
It wasn't the rejection itself that had cut so deeply into Daniel's soul. It was the way she had done it. Being so close to climaxing when she'd called Jack's name, he hadn't been able to stop. She'd made him come after she'd called another man's name and he hated her for that more then he hated her for rejecting him.
How did you get over it when the woman you loved secretly loved your best friend?
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When he felt he was calm enough to return to work without feeling the urge to hurt Samantha every time he saw her, Daniel showed up at Cheyenne Mountain. He ignored the looks he got. People were curious as to why Daniel was quite obviously spending time apart from his new wife. Funny how word was much faster getting out the fact that Daniel and Samantha was married then getting out the fact they were married in name only and only to save her life.
He knocked on Hammond's door. Thankfully, the man was free for a few minutes. A few minutes was all Daniel needed. "I want to transfer to another team," he said, cutting straight to the point.
Hammond looked at him in surprise. "Because of your marriage to Major Carter?" he asked. "Because I think we can make an exception for the two of you, son. After all, those fraternisation laws are there in regards to people who are romantically involved. That hardly applied to a marriage in name only."
Daniel squirmed. He had hoped Hammond would just give him the transfer, but he knew that was too much to ask. There was no way Hammond would split up SG-1 without good reason. Well, Daniel was about to give her good reason. "Sam and I slept together," he admitted. When Hammond looked like he was about to have a heart attack, he quickly added, "It wasn't our fault, There was something in the drink they were giving us all night – something to do with their culture. Apparently it's a capital crime for the woman if a husband and wife don't consummate their marriage on their wedding night so –" he really hoped Hammond saw the logic of his reasoning, "it was kind of a good thing that we did."
Hammond thought about it a few seconds, and decided Daniel had a point. He considered asking Daniel how those people went about proving consummation had occurred and decided he didn't want to know. "You feel this will compromise your relationship with Major Carter?" he asked.
Daniel nodded. He wasn't going to tell Hammond about the main reason he wanted a transfer, that Samantha had called him Jack at the most humiliating point that she possibly could. "There's no way I can convince you to work things out with her? You know I'm reluctant to split S-1 up."
Daniel shook his head. He played his trump card. "You know as soon as Kinsey hears about this, he's going to demand that we be split up. I want to go to another team so you'll have to fight both of us. If you wait until he starts making demands, you're going to look like you've given into him. That will mean he'll ask for something more next time, - and expect it. This way, you can say you were simply respecting my request."
Hammond saw the logic in Daniel's argument; he'd been waiting for the inevitable fight that would come when Kinsey found out about their marriage. If Daniel wasn't going to be on his side, then he may as well give Daniel what he wanted to start off with rather then have it look like he'd given into the Senator's demands. He sighed. "OK," he agreed. "I'll switch you with Captain Jacobs from SG-4. Colonel Richards is in charge. Go and have a chat with him."
"Thank you," Daniel said gratefully. For a moment, he thought maybe Hammond would insist that the best thing for him and Samantha to do was sort things out. Like hell he could sort things out with her. His heart constricted painfully and his hands fisted up when he thought about their disastrous night together. "Oh, and Jack doesn't know about it," he admitted. "I'd rather it stayed that way. I know we lied to you but –"
"I understand," Hammond said magnanimously. He could certainly understand what had driven Daniel at least to keep their night together a secret. Jack was very protective of his team, Samantha in particular – being a woman in a male industry made her an easy target. If he found out a man took advantage of her, even in the circumstances Daniel had described, his first instinct would be less then rational, like that of an overprotective father with a shotgun, only Jack's weapons of choice were far more effective then a shotgun. "If you and Major Carter are happy to keep it between yourselves, then I'll go along with that. Do you think you and her can settle things eventually?"
Daniel shrugged. "I don't know, maybe," he said. He didn't think so.
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Samantha didn't find out about Daniel's request for a transfer until two day's later, when Jack asked her had she said anything to Daniel to make him ditch them. He'd already told her he was going to request a transfer, but she'd thought it was something he was just saying in the heat of the moment.
Her heart plummeted when she was told. He was serious. He was leaving SG-1. He couldn't stand to be around her. She wasn't sure she could blame him, but still – he was leaving.
She went to find him. He was in his office, about to leave to meet Captain Miranda Jacobs to fill her in on the dynamics of SG-1. He was sure Samantha would be delighted to have a younger woman to mentor – one good thing that had come from their night together. Not that it had been a night, more like an hour. An hour to completely wreck a friendship he'd thought was too strong to be wrecked; that was testimony to how deeply she had hurt him.
"I heard you're ditching us," she said. "Were you ever going to tell me or were you just going to hope I wouldn't notice the different between you and Captain Jacobs?" She tried to keep her tone light, but there was something accusing there. Given how much they had been through, didn't he owe it to her to tell her personally?
"I already told you I was requesting a transfer," he reminded her.
"When we were coming home and still offworld," she pointed out. "I thought you were just letting off steam."
"Because you thought I would just get over the fact you called me Jack?" Daniel asked.
Samantha flinched. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"
Not enough. "I don't want to keep fighting with you, Sam," Daniel said, and suddenly he was very tired. Having to look at her made his heart ache. "Just… go and be with Jack."
"I don't want Jack!" Samantha yelled, and to her surprise, she meant it. Whatever had been between her and Jack had been an infatuation, a mutual attraction that had long since passed into mutual respect and fondness for each other.
"Really? Could have fooled me," Daniel muttered bitterly. He wanted to believe Samantha, he really did. When she looked at him, indignant and pleading, he wanted to believe her. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do more then just kiss her. He started to feel very uncomfortable in the groin area when he thought about just what he wanted to do to her with herBut what was that saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Like hell he was going to let her fool him again. "Get out, Sam," he ordered.
"But, I –"
"OUT!" He ordered. Frightened by the tone in his voice, Samantha scampered off. He locked the door behind her and sank into his chair. His brief words with Samantha had exhausted him. Right now he hated her almost as much as he loved her – and he hated himself for loving her. You'd think he wouldn't be such a fool to love someone who loved someone else, but here he was, a complete fool.
There was a knock on his door. "Doctor Jackson? It's Miranda. Can I come in?"
Daniel crossed his office to let the young Captain in. After all, Miranda had done nothing to him so she shouldn't bear the brunt of his bad mood. He put on his best smile. "Sorry about that, I was just thinking," he said.
"Thinking with your door locked?" she asked.
"Something like that," he said. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Is it about Major Carter?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. It's just that you guys seemed to be such good friends and now you requested this transfer – it seems strange."
"Miranda, I really don't want to talk about it," Daniel said.
"OK," she agreed, and they left it at that. He was grateful for her tactfulness; he was thoroughly sick of being asked questions about his marriage to Samantha and why they were barely on speaking terms a week later.
Miranda Jacobs was a talented linguist as well as being a twenty-five-year-old Captain in the United States Air Force. Her excellent leadership and communication skill, and her abilities as a strategist, accounted for her attaining the rank at a relatively young age.. On second thought, maybe putting her beneath Samantha wasn't such a great idea after all. Depending on how ambitious Miranda was, it could end very badly. But he'd spent a bit of time with Miranda lately and he didn't think she was that ambitious – her success had been achieved through her skills and achievements and not her determination to climb the career ladder. He thought he could quite like her, if given the opportunity. Once his ego – and his heart – recovered sufficiently.
She beat him to the punch. "Do you want to get a coffee or something later?" she asked. "Somewhere other then the mess hall?"
Daniel made a face. "I swear that stuff isn't coffee. It's industrial ooze with massive doses of caffeine. Um, I'd like to, but I'm kinda getting over something at the moment."
She looked at him, confused. "Sha're?" she asked. His devotion to his wife had been legendary. But it had been a few years since she had died. Surely he wasn't still deeply morning for her?
He shook his head. "No, something else. I don't wanna get into it."
She smiled understandingly. "It doesn't have to be like a date," she said. "I just thought, well, I've seen quite a bit of you in the last few days and I thought it would be nice if we could hang out in a less… official atmosphere."
He smiled. Yes, Miranda was definitely someone he could spend more time with. "Give me half an hour," he said. "Forget the café, I have a ten thousand dollar coffee maker at home, if you don't mind the mess."
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One month later
"Sam, I need you to be absolutely honest with me and know that nothing you tell me goes beyond these walls," Janet said ominously when Samantha reported to the infirmary at the Doctor's request.
She nodded, a little concerned by Janet's summoning her into the infirmary. She felt perfectly fine, but then, there were plenty of Earth diseases, let alone intergalactic ones, that had no symptoms. "OK to both," she agreed cautiously.
"Did you and Daniel ever sleep together?" Janet asked bluntly.
Samantha's eyes went wide in surprise at the question. Janet had no reason to ask it, did she? Sure, she and Daniel weren't on the best of terms these days – mostly he avoided her and he was coolly polite when he was forced to deal with her – but Janet had no reason to suspect it was because they had slept together – or, rather, because she had called him Jack at the most inopportune moment. "What makes you ask that?" she asked, stalling for time.
That Samantha was being vague only added to Janet's suspicions. "It took me a while to get to it, but I was analysing your blood taken from you after you got back from P4X-261. The hormones from your birth control weren't entirely present, I'd say they were working at about seventy percent. I'm going to guess they gave you some kind of fertility drug that, in your case, decreased the effectiveness of your birth control. This made me wonder if they hadn't given you some kind of hormone stimulator as well. This is why I'm asking if you and Daniel slept together because if you did, I have to test you for pregnancy."
Samantha felt her heart stopped beating for a few moments. The scientist in her knew what Janet was saying made sense – and she had more information then Janet did. They had definitely given them a hormone stimulator. She would never have acted the way she had if she'd been entirely in control of herself. Since consummating the marriage obviously meant a lot to these people, then it made sense that conception did too. A woman's place is barefoot and in the kitchen, she thought. She bet women who didn't fall pregnant within a year were shunned. Miserable chauvinists. "Sam?" Janet asked, peering at Samantha with a visibly concerned expression on her face. "Sam, what's wrong?"
Samantha's throat was dry. "We did sleep together," she admitted. "They gave us this drink – it was really nice – didn't realise they'd drugged us," she said ruefully. "It was my fault, I was all over him as soon as we were alone. He tried to tell me we weren't in our right minds. I told him I didn't care… As it turned out, it saved my life… They're really archaic and they, um… had someone come and make sure the marriage had been consummated. The woman who did it said if the marriage wasn't consummated, it meant the woman was undesirable, which is a capital punishment."
While she was talking, she stared at some arbitrary spot on the wall rather then look at Janet. It had been a month since those steamy moments spent together – it could hardly be called a night – but she was having trouble forgetting it. She had tried a few times to work things out with Daniel, but he didn't want to talk to her. He was still angry at her and when he wasn't angry, he was just tired, and not willing to trust her again.
It was ironic, because it wasn't until she had pushed Daniel too far that she realised how much he meant to her. He had always been there for her, always oblivious to the thing she had with Jack, their infatuation, whatever it was. Daniel had been her best friend and something more then that, something unspoken because it would be inappropriate for team members to be involved. Still, there had always the lingering displays of affection – a caress on the cheek, a hand on the shoulder. Not to mention his quiet but unwavering support. She felt very alone without Daniel at her side, more alone then she could have thought possible.
She was vaguely aware that she was in love with him and she hadn't realised it until she had pushed him too far. Now there were rumours about him and the women he'd traded with, Miranda Jacobs. Rationally, Samantha knew better then to trust gossip, but, irrationally, she was being just a little sharp with the newest member of SG-1.
"Sam?" Janet questioned, interrupting Samantha's thoughts. "If that's the case, I want to test you for pregnancy. It's unlikely but there's still a chance."
Samantha nodded and let Janet take her blood. "How's the annulment going?" Janet asked.
Samantha made a face. Even in the military, annulments were notoriously hard to come by – worse, in fact, then everyday life. It was hard to find an official who was cleared to accept 'we broke a few archaic laws while on an offworld mission and were forced to get married to save our lives' as a legitimate excuse. Stupid Daniel and his stupid precedent-setting marriage to Sha're. If it wasn't for him, their marriage now would just be considered a quaint ceremony offworld that had no consequence on Earth. "It's not," she admitted glumly. Something Daniel seemed to hold her personally responsible for – or at least, that was the vibe she was getting from Miranda.
After a few minutes of silence between the two women, Janet said, "Honestly, Sam, I'm having trouble understanding why Daniel's mad at you. Is it because you slept together? I can understand why he'd want a transfer, but I don't understand why he'd stop talking to you. That doesn't seem like him."
Samantha blushed. "He's not mad at me because of that… he's mad at me because I called him Jack," she admitted.
"And he didn't stop?" Janet asked incredulously. That didn't seem like Daniel at all. Not that she had first hand experience, but the Daniel Jackson she knew had more pride then that.
Samantha looked at the floor, feeling very, very small. "Uh, he couldn't," she admitted.
Janet's eyes grew wide in comprehension. "You mean you called him Jack while he was coming?" she asked. Samantha nodded miserably. "Oh, God, Sam, no wonder he'd mad at you. He must be feeling humiliated."
"Yeah, don't make me feel worse then I already do," Samantha said. "Oh, God, Janet, I can't believe what I've done. I thought I had feelings for Jack – but knowing how much I miss Daniel – and now he won't speak to me – now he's seeing someone else."
"I wouldn't bet on that," Janet said sympathetically. "I asked him about it. He wasn't very keen on talking about it – which says a lot, I think – but I got the impression he's only half-hearted about it. I also got the impression he was carrying quite a chip on his shoulder over something."
"Yeah, well, now you know. I completely undermined his masculinity," Samantha said. Oh, God, how had things gone so badly so quickly? She wished she had Daniel here right now supporting her. She was sure that if she told him she could be pregnant he'd come – but only out of obligation. She didn't want him merely out of obligation. She was in love with him, but she wasn't desperate.
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Miranda knocked on Daniel's door. He smiled when he looked up and saw her, although it was a friendly smile and not a romantic one that she kept hoping for. She and Daniel had been spending a lot of time together lately – both on and off the base – but all of it frustratingly platonic.
He was attracted to her, and that made it all the more frustrating. After two weeks she'd given up on him making the first move, so she'd gone to kiss him . He'd pulled away discreetly, but she was woman enough to know what he was doing. "I'm sorry," he'd said apologetically. "I'm not ready to get into a relationship."
What was aggravating was he wouldn't tell her why. She figured it was another woman, but he never gave any details, or even a name. She wondered if it was Major Carter. The Major had certainly become cool to her since the rumours about her relationship with Daniel had started circulating – almost all of it entirely made up, like the one about them being found having sex in a storage closet. Miranda knew better then to take offence at such gossip and she and Daniel had often had a laugh about it. Once she had made it clear she wasn't going to pursue him like some of the more aggressive women on the base, they had stuck up quite a good camaraderie – with an obvious physical attraction to one another.
"Miranda," he said when he saw her. "How you doing?" He always called her Miranda, even when there were other people around, rather then Captain Jacobs. Technically it was against the rules, but she didn't mind.
"Pretty good," she said. She had just come back from a debriefing from a routine offworld mission and was looking to unwind. "My TV Guide tells me Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is on tonight. Wanna come and watch it with me?" she asked, her eyes sparkling conspiratorially. Big-budget movies centring around archaeology were a secret vice of Daniel's. In much the same way that Teal'c was endlessly amused by the portrayal of aliens in moves like Star Wars and E.T. for the sheer magnitude of how off the mark they were, Daniel was endlessly amused by movies like those in the Indiana Jones and The Mummy franchises for how off the mark they were in their portrayal of archaeology.
"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. at the thought of an evening of running commentary about how useless their researcher and scriptwriters were. "I can be a pain in the ass."
Miranda laughed. She was a linguist, not an archaeologist, but she was still fascinated by what Daniel did. His knowledge of ancient history was staggering. "I think I can handle you," she said confidently.
As it turned out, they did have a good time together, helped by Daniel making a concerted effort not to be a know-it-all. It had been ages since he'd consciously tried to impress a woman – or at least taken the effort to tone down on the intensity – and he found it thrilling, if somewhat anxiety-inducing. He liked Miranda a lot and knew she was interested in him, but he was apprehensive about getting involved with someone while his ego was still feeling the sting of Samantha's rejection. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with someone just because it made him feel better that he was wanted.
He wasn't surprised when she kissed him, kind of welcomed it in fact. It was nice. He kissed her back, found it was much easier and more enjoyable then he had anticipated, then reluctantly pulled away. "Miranda, I really like you," he said.
"But…" Miranda prompted warily.
"But – and I know this sound really crazy – it doesn't feel right – getting involved when I'm married. I know it's only on paper, but I'd rather if we took things slow until the annulment comes through."
Miranda smiled. She did consider it a little crazy but it was one of the things she loved about Daniel. He was so sensitive and took marriage vows seriously – seriously enough that he wanted an annulment before he got involved with someone else. Here she'd been thinking he was going to tell her he was interested in someone else. "I can wait," she said. "How long, do you know?"
"Another two weeks, I hope," he said. "Sam's got the last of the paperwork to sign and then I'll be free and clear."
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For two weeks, Samantha had stared at the annulment papers on her desk, waiting to be signed. Her signature and she and Daniel would be free and clear, their marriage ceasing to exist.
She didn't know what to do.
Well, actually, she did. She had been thinking about it for two weeks and she had finally decided what she wanted to do.
She was pregnant. Janet had sympathised over the sheer bad luck of the situation but there was no helping that she was pregnant. So her options were abortion, adoption, or keeping the child.
She knew she couldn't have an abortion and she knew equally that she couldn't carry her child for nine months and then just hand it over. This left her with the less-then-desirable option of keeping it.
She had never seriously thought about having children. It had always been in the back of her mind, of course, something to do when she was older, when she was secure in her career – but she was never old enough, never secure enough. It was easy for men to have children, a few minutes and there you go, the woman can take care of the rest. Well, she was a woman and having a child was a much greater investment of her time then it was for a man.
But she was getting old, there was no getting around that, and this was most likely her last opportunity to have a child. If she didn't have this child, then chances were, she would never had one. The thought scared her more then she thought it would.
She wanted this child. She wanted to raise it with Daniel.
Daniel didn't want her.
There was the crux of the situation. Was she willing to be a single mother? Could she deal with the worst possible reaction from Daniel – that he wouldn't care, that he wouldn't want the child?
In the end, she decided yes just in time for Daniel to come marching into her office, demanding why the hell she hadn't signed the annulment papers.
"I have a life to live and whatever stupid games you're playing, I don't appreciate it!" he raged. He was in a particularly bad mood at Samantha because he had been very, very tempted to make a move on Miranda after he'd told her he wanted to wait until after the annulment. He still was. He really did feel uncomfortable about breaking his marriage vows – even if they were only on paper and even if he doubted 'honour and obey' really applied to men on P4X-261. Even so, he wanted to wait. He had expected it to be wrapped up two weeks ago, when he'd first passed on the papers to sign – two weeks ago.
"So sorry to have inconvenienced you," Samantha said sarcastically, her defences automatically up when she heard the tone in Daniel's voice. She wondered what his life was – was it Miranda Jacobs? Was he screwing her brains out on a daily occasion like the gossips said he was? Did he want to marry her, was that why he was so eager to have the annulment done with?
He glared at her. She was the one who was holding the annulment up. She had no right to speak to him like that. "Well, what's taking you so long?" he asked. "Spending too much time with Jack?"
Hateful, hateful man. "Only professionally," she said.
He laughed bitterly. "I doubt it. So what's the problem?"
There was no help for it. She had hoped to ease into it, tell him at a more opportune moment, but it wasn't going to come. "I just thought you might want to give your child your name," she informed him icily.