"You're pregnant?" Daniel asked dumbly. Samantha nodded. "And who's the father?"
Samantha glared at him hatefully. "You would think that," she hissed at him. She was in no mood to deal with his jealousy at the moment – even if it had some foundation. All she'd heard so far was Daniel verbally attacking her for not signing the damn annulment papers and as soon as she had told him about her pregnancy, he wanted to know who the father was.
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "You haven't exactly given me the impression you've only been with me," he pointed out.
"I have only been with you!" she defended herself. Damnit, why couldn't he make this easier for her?
Daniel laughed bitterly. "Could have fooled me. Next you're going to tell me you haven't been shacked up with Jack this whole time."
Tears sprung to her eyes, which she blamed on the hormones. "I've had nothing to do with Jack!" she yelled, fast losing her temper. "Look, I thought you'd feel that way so here, Janet did a paternity test." She thrust a piece of paper into Daniel's hand.
Daniel scanned the piece of paper and bit his lip as it dawned on him that Samantha was pregnant and he was the father. She wouldn't manufacture evidence like that, not when she could have manufactured it in Jack's favour. He didn't believe that she hadn't slept with Jack. Like things couldn't get any worse with their relationship. "How did this happen?" he happened.
She glared at him. Was he being deliberate obtuse? "Do you need me to spell it out?" she asked sarcastically.
He sighed unhappily. This was something he did not need. He'd come here wanting to know what was holding up the annulment papers so he could start a new relationship guilt-free, and been saddled with fatherhood. "I know how it happened," he snapped. "I meant… I thought you were on protection."
"I was. Apparently they gave us – well, me at least – some kind of fertility drug in that stuff we drank. It got my protection down to about eighty percent. The rest was just bad luck."
Daniel leaned against her desk. "What do you want to do?" he asked tiredly. He really did not want to deal with this right now – or any time. This was just another reason why he shouldn't have let her convince him it was a good idea for them to have sex.
"What do I want to do?" she responded incredulously. "Last time I checked, it took two people to make a baby."
She didn't like the tired way Daniel was looking at her. When he'd come charging into her office a few minutes ago he'd been full of anger, but at least he'd showed some passion. Passion about moving on with his life. Now he was just tired – tired of having to deal with her. "It's your body, Sam," he pointed out. "If you want to have an abortion, I can't stop you."
She gasped in horror. It was never really an option for her and now that she had decided to keep it, the idea of terminating her pregnancy was abhorrent. "You think I want to have an abortion?" she asked.
"Well it's going to be incredibly inconvenient for you to have a life when you're stuck carrying my child," Daniel pointed out. He bet she wouldn't look nearly as miserable if she was carrying Jack's child.
She felt miserable because Daniel was being such a jerk about it. She was sorry about what had happened and she had tried to make it up for him, but it was like talking to a wall. "Don't be like this," she begged.
"Don't be like what?" he asked coolly. "You don't want to be with me, Sam; you made that very clear. I'm not going to try and pretend we can live happily ever after just because I had the bad luck to get your pregnant. I'm certainly not going to try and make you keep this baby by promising that. Do what you want, Sam. I've got no say in it." And with that he brushed past her to leave her office before he did something he'd regret, like promising her happily ever after.
Samantha watched Daniel go, feeling her heart ache over his departure. He didn't care! She'd just informed him he was going to be a father and he didn't care! She had known he was still angry at her, but she honestly hadn't anticipated that he would be so angry he wouldn't want to know about it. Right now he was probably wishing the baby was Jack's so he could wash his hands of the responsibility.
How could he not see how much she loved him? How could she have been so stupid not to see how much she loved him until it was too late?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When are you free? I'd like it if we could go somewhere and… talk."
"Sounds ominous," Miranda remarked when she heard the tone in Daniel's voice and saw the look in his eyes. "What's up?"
"Not here," he said. He closed his eyes and struggled to get control of his feelings. "Sorry, I shouldn't have barged in on you like this."
"No, it's OK," she said, her interested piqued. That, and she was flattered Daniel had come to her about whatever was bothering her. "I'm just doing some paperwork, I can do it tomorrow." She stashed what she was doing in a drawer and was done for the day.
She and Daniel left together, something that would no doubt add to what the gossips were already saying. Leaving her car at the base, she let him drive her back to his apartment, where he fidgeted and stalled a lot. "What's up?" she asked him again.
He bit his lip. "Do you remember me telling you that I'd been burned and I didn't want to get involved again too quickly?" he asked. Miranda nodded. "Well, it was Sam."
She stared at him disbelievingly. "Major Carter?" she asked. Daniel nodded. "But that's – is that why you asked for a transfer?" He nodded. "Was it on your last mission?" Another nod. "But I thought – isn't that seriously against regulations?"
"They gave us something," he explained again. "You know when you get drunk and suddenly the people you'd never think of sleeping with start to get very attractive?" Miranda nodded. "It was like that, except much stronger."
Miranda bit her lip. "So you slept together and you asked for a transfer. I don't understand why you're so angry at her and I don't understand why you're telling me now."
"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," he said seriously. Miranda nodded. "I mean it. I feel bad enough without anyone else knowing."
"OK… I won't tell anyone," Miranda said seriously.
"She called me Jack," Daniel said dispiritedly. He sighed, and decided he may as well admit everything. "And now she's pregnant."
Miranda stared at Daniel, completely floored. It certainly was a lot to take in. "We're all protected from that," she told him.
He sighed. "Janet seems to think we – or at least she – was given some kind of fertility treatment that left her not entirely protected, about eighty percent."
Miranda bit her lip. This certainly put a spanner in the works. "So the annulment –"
"Not going to happen right at the moment," he said. "I don't know if we even can, if she wants to keep it. And honestly, I don't know if I can ask for a divorce in those kind of circumstances. She said to me 'I thought you'd want to give your child your name', and as stupid as it sounds, I don't want my kid to be born out of wedlock, not when we're already married."
"What does she want to do?"
Daniel looked distraught. "I don't know. I told her it was her choice."
"Well, it is," Miranda pointed out. "If she wants to have an abortion –"
Daniel cringed. "Please don't remind me," he begged.
She wound her hand around to the base of his neck, her fingers brushed the hair there. He bent his head towards her, glad to have the contact. "Have you told her how you feel?" she asked.
"No," he said. "That's her choice."
Miranda sighed. On the one hand, it was very tempting to let Daniel leave Samantha to it. It would be convenient as far as their relationship went if there wasn't a child involved. She wasn't happy to hear the news that Daniel and Samantha had slept together, even if it hadn't entirely been their fault, but she couldn't bring herself to encourage Daniel to cut off all ties with Samantha just because it would be convenient for their burgeoning relationship.
"You should talk to her," she suggested. "You can't stop her from having an abortion, but maybe you can sway her with what you want."
Daniel bit his lip. Then he said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For getting you involved in this."
She kissed him on the cheek. "It's nothing," she said. "I don't know what you want from us, but you have to do what feels right, or else it's not going to work at all." Even, she decided, if that meant Daniel decided to be with Samantha. She couldn't manipulate him into a relationship as much as she wanted to continue to be with him, it would be bound to backfire.
He looked at her quizzically. "Wait – do you think I want to be with Sam?" he asked.
"Well, you're attracted to her and you're married to her and she's carrying your child," Miranda pointed out the obvious. "If that's what you want, I'm not going to hold you to whatever this may have been."
She leaned in to kiss her softly, quickly on the lips. "I really like being with you, Miranda," he said sincerely. "I do want this child, but I don't want to be with Samantha. I want to keep seeing you, but I'm married and… I'm afraid I've made a big mess of things."
She pulled him into her arms, and he accepted the embrace gratefully. "I don't mind," she said after a moment's thought. "If you're married in name only…"
"I am," Daniel insisted. He sighed. "People are going to talk," he pointed out.
"They're already talking," Miranda pointed out. She'd already had several people, convinced that Daniel and Samantha's marriage was the real deal, ask her how she could 'steal' a man from his wife. Those kinds of questions always left her not knowing what to explain first, that Daniel and Samantha had only married to save her life, or that she and Daniel were in a very tentative relationship that was more like a friendship then a romance most of the time. "But I don't care what they say. I just…" she faltered, hating to admit her insecurities. "I just need to know that you don't want to be with her."
He raised his head to kiss her. It was the first time he'd kissed her, rather then the other way around, and she was grateful she was sitting down, because if she'd been standing, her knees would have buckled and the only thing to keep her upright would have been Daniel's arms wrapping themselves around her waist to draw her tightly against him. His kiss was passionate, overpowerful, and definitely one hundred percent focused on her.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked when they broke for air.
"You know it did," she said breathlessly. She kissed him and soon they were making out, although he seemed hesitant to so much as get his hands under her shirt. So she was surprised when he asked her to stay the night. She bit her lip. "I'm not ready for that," she admitted.
His eyes clouded with confusion, and then cleared up. He smiled reassuringly at her. "I didn't mean have sex," he clarified. "I want to spend the night with you. That's all." He wrinkled his nose when he thought about the implications of Miranda's initial refusal. "What kind of guy do you take me for, anyway? Drugs notwithstanding, I don't do that kind of thing. It's…" he searched for the words.
"Too much?" Miranda offered. Daniel nodded. Of course he'd be the kind of guy who wasn't into sex on the first date. Not that what they'd been doing was exactly going on dates, but the principle held. She hugged him, and snuggled into his hold as he hugged her back. "I'll stay if you want," she said, pleased that Daniel wanted her with him.
"Thank you," Daniel said. He felt better for having Miranda around. He was glad he had told her about Samantha – their night together, her pregnancy. She had been very understanding about it, more so then a lot of people would have been, but then, that was what he'd liked about her in the first place. It was too early to say anything definite, of course, but he had a feeling their relationship could become something big.
In the meantime, he had to talk to Samantha. He would do that tomorrow. Right now, he was happy to be with Miranda.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Samantha was pleasantly surprised to see Daniel in the morning. He was dressed to go to work, so he'd clearly made the effort to see her before that, rather then just see her at work. "Hi," she said, suddenly shy.
"Hi," he said. "Can I come in?"
He was so uncomfortable around her, and it made her heart twist painfully. Maybe if she'd treated him a little better all these years, he wouldn't be looking so uncomfortable around her now. "Of course," she said, and she opened the door to him. He followed her into her house. "Do you want a coffee or something?" she asked, knowing that coffee always made Daniel feel better, especially when it wasn't the industrial ooze they served at the mess hall.
"No, thanks, I'm wound up enough as it is," he admitted. He hated to think what a wreck he would be right now if it hasn't been for Miranda's soothing presence the last night. He had dropped her at her place before he'd come to see Samantha, and she'd wished him good luck. The coward in him wished she was here right now. She had made everything seem much easier last night.
Daniel and Samantha stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Daniel blurted out, "We need to talk about this."
"I tried talking to you yesterday," Samantha reminded him, as gently as she could despite the bitterness she felt about the way Daniel had reacted. She had never expected him to react so coolly to the prospect of fatherhood. "You snapped at me."
He cringed. "I'm sorry, I was pissed off about the annulment and you threw me. But… well, I know I can't stop you but… I don't want you to have an abortion," he blurted out. "I mean… I want this child, Sam. I don't want you to have an abortion if my lack of support is the only thing stopping you. I want to be part of its life."
They were the words Samantha had been longing to hear. She had slept very little the previous night, thinking about Daniel's words, convinced he didn't care what she did with their child so long as he didn't have to be involved. And now, here he was, saying quite sincerely that he wanted to be part of their child's life. She had known he wasn't the kind of man who didn't care about his children. His own childhood had been too bumpy for him not to give him children the stability he had always craved.
Tears forming in her eyes, Samantha threw herself into Daniel's arms in a rare display of emotion. "I've wanted to hear you say that," she admitted in a choked voice. She raised her head to look Daniel in those beautiful blue eyes of his before kissing him.
Abruptly, he pushed her away. "I think you have the wrong idea," he said in a low voice. "I don't want to be involved with you, not romantically. I want us to raise this child together, but… I'm not your husband. Not in that sense."
The warmth drained from her body as she realised what Daniel was saying. He had come over hear to say he wanted to be part of his child's life and like a fool, she had interpreted that to mean he wanted to be part of her life, in the sense of being her husband and not just the father of her child. She backed away from Daniel quickly, wishing the world would swallow her whole. "I want you to go," she said in a tight, controlled voice.
He looked at her and realised she was embarrassed. He didn't think she was used to throwing herself at men, let alone having them reject her. So she was embarrassed, maybe she had some idea of how he had felt when she'd called him Jack. "We need to talk about this, that's why I came over," Daniel said.
Samantha struggled to compose herself. She had just thrown herself at Daniel only to have him turn her down flat. She was not going to cry in front of him. If he wanted to act all professional, well, she could do professional. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked flatly.
"Custody, access – child support," Daniel rattled off a few practical considerations. Samantha flinched at just how practically he was talking. He was taking the feelings she had for him and turning them into a practical matter. "What are you planning to do pre-nataly? I want to be with you for that."
As the father of my child, Samantha thought miserably. She could see it in Daniel's eyes, he saw her as little more then a vessel for his child. She would not cry. She could be just as practical as he was. "You can see as much of it as you like, you know I would never deprive you of our child. I won't need your money, but I will need your support. I'll need you to take it sometimes so I can have time to myself. I – we – will need you to take an active interest."
"You know I will, Sam," he said softly and it was the first time they'd even remotely connected since their night together. He was remembered he fractured childhood and how he wanted to make it different for his own child.
She smiled, and there was a little more warmth in her smile. She knew Daniel would be an excellent father. These were terrible circumstances to have a child in, but they could be much worse – Daniel could have no interest in it whatsoever. "As for pre-natal – I haven't looked into any classes yet, but if you want to come along – I'd like that."
"So would I. What about missions?"
"I'm going to stand down for a year or so," Samantha said. She hadn't thought about it in depth, so she was surprised at how quickly a decisive answer came. She had been thinking about it more then she realised. "We know so little about the effects of Naquada on the human body, let alone of a feutus, I don't want to take that risk."
"I was actually thinking more along the lines of the danger we're exposed to every day," Daniel pointed out. He was relieved Samantha was going to stand down for the duration of her pregnancy. "Will it help if I stand down too?"
She was surprised at how quickly the offer came, but that was typical Daniel. He never did things by halves. He didn't want to miss out on anything to do with his child. She only wished he could treat her with the same amount of regard. "You don't need to do that," she said. "Maybe if you could scale back your workload though, try and be here when I need you."
"I can do that," Daniel said, and he sounded like they were discussing a group project. She supposed that was how he saw it. They were in this together, whether he liked it or not. "How are you going to tell people?"
"You mean how am I going to tell Jack?" Samantha clarified. She couldn't help but smile a little. Daniel was quaking in his boots at the thought of Jack knowing he and Samantha had slept together, let alone that he'd gotten her pregnant. Jack hadn't even been happy about their marriage and the fact they'd spent the night together as a matter of saving Samantha's life. He would be furious to know they'd slept together. "I'll tell him as gently as I can. I'll make sure he knows it wasn't your fault."
Daniel looked relieved. He knew it was selfish to be thinking of such a thing when they had much bigger issues to deal with, but Jack could be very scary sometimes. "Thanks," he said. He glanced at his watch and realised the both needed to get going.
"Why don't you come over for dinner?" Samantha asked hopefully. "We can talk about this more." It wasn't exactly a date, but time alone with Daniel couldn't be a bad thing.
"I can't," he said, "I've already made plans."
"What, to go over another manuscript?" Samantha asked, very aware of Daniel's penchant for sacrificing anything resembling a social life so he could read a book.
Daniel scowled. He was very aware of his reputation as a bookworm, but he thought Samantha knew him better then that. But then, them not knowing each other had gotten them into this mess. "I'm seeing someone," he said. Funny how he didn't feel like rubbing in the fact that, now that she'd decided she wanted to be with him, he was seeing someone else.
Samantha blanched. "You mean Captain Jacobs?" she asked. Daniel nodded. "Aren't you a little old for her?" she spat, thinking about Daniel with the pretty young captain. No wonder Daniel had been so thrown by her news yesterday. He had been thinking that his wonderful life with Captain Jacobs had to be put on hold. Her heart twisted painfully when she thought about how she'd thrown herself at Daniel and all the while he'd been seeing someone else. She wondered if they were sleeping together. That made her heart ache.
"Isn't Jack a little old for you?" Daniel spat back.
"Jack and I are not involved!" When was Daniel going to see that?
"Could have fooled me," Daniel said bitterly. His eyes clouded over with anger and then he composed himself. "Look, Sam, I don't want to fight with you about this. What's done is done and we need to focus on the future. OK?"
Samantha nodded. She had too much pride to beg Daniel to take her back – not that they were together in the first place. That had been the problem. "Let me know if you need to go to the doctor or something and I'll be there," Daniel promised. Samantha nodded again, refusing to say what was in her heart: but you won't be there as my boyfriend.
She couldn't resist asking, "What does Captain Jacobs have to say about all this?"
"She's been very supportive," Daniel admitted, smiling at the memory of the semi-platonic night they'd spent together. Samantha's heart ached a little harder. So they had slept together ; he wouldn't be smiling that way if they hadn't. "She was the one who told me to come and speak to you, actually. She won't begrudge me spending time with you for the sake of the baby."
Samantha wished she hadn't asked. The last thing she wanted to hear was how supportive Captain Jacobs was being. It would be much easier if Jacobs was a possessive bitch – she would have driven a wedge between her and Daniel soon enough. But no, she had to be the supportive type. Samantha bet her child would just love Jacobs as a stepmother. Bitterness washed through her body. It wasn't fair. She had known Daniel for years, they'd invested so much time building on their friendship, and just when Samantha realised she wanted more then friendship, Miranda Jacobs came along and usurped her.
"I hope you're very happy together," Samantha said with heavy sarcasm and bitterness. She had meant to sound sincere, but it was hard to keep her feelings to herself when they were as strong as they were.
Daniel's eyes glittered dangerously. "Don't you dare criticise my relationship," he ordered her. "You had your chance; you decided you wanted Jack. You've got no claim on me now." It was so hard to stay in control of his emotions when Samantha was pushing his buttons the way she was, but he had to try, for the sake of their child. "Look, I'm free tomorrow night. Why don't we talk then?" he suggested. It would give him the chance to calm down.
Samantha remained stoic. "Fine," she agreed. "Seven?"
"Seven is fine." They were talking like virtual strangers. It was sad that their relationship had degenerated into this, but then, Daniel thought, that wasn't his fault. "I'd better get to work." Without waiting for an offer to be seen out, Daniel bolted, glad to be out of the house. There was something unnerving about being with Samantha. She knew how to push his buttons. She knew how to put him on the defensive. She knew how to make him want her.
He didn't feel guilt over finding another woman attractive. That was just stupid. He had no intention of acting on his attraction for Samantha, Miranda being just a small part of his reasons, but he felt unnerved at the prospect of spending so much time with her.
He contrived to spend lunch with Miranda. It was good to be in her presence; she helped him relax. He told her how things had gone with Samantha. "Well, it's good that she wants the baby, isn't it?" she pointed out optimistically.
He shrugged. "Of course it is," he said. "It's just – I feel uncomfortable being around her. She wants to take things further, she wants us to be in a relationship."
"How do you feel about that?" Miranda asked. It was a loaded question.
He looked at her pointedly. "I have no intention of being involved with her any more then I have to," he declared. "Mostly because of what she did, but…" his face softened when he looked into her eyes. He couldn't believe how patient, how supportive she was being. "I want to be with you," he said quietly.
Miranda smiled; it had been what she'd wanted to hear. She'd been worried about Daniel seeing Samantha, worried he might decide the best thing was for them to get together. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said shyly.
Daniel leaned in to kiss her. From a few meters away, Samantha watched the pair with growing irritation. Christ, they were practically making out, and never mind the fact there was less of an age gap between them then there was between her and Jack, it was unseemly for them to be together.
She seemed to be the only one who minded, though, judging from the wolf-whistles and applause that was being created by the other diners. That would give the gossips something to talk about, especially once it got out that she was pregnant. She hoped his reputation as a good guy suffered because of it – one woman knocked up, and already seeing another.
She unconsciously touched her stomach. There was no bump there yet, of course, but she could swear she felt the life there, a life she and Daniel had created, whether he was happy about it or not. That was something pretty strong binding them together. She thought about all the time Daniel would have to spend with her. She was sure that was plenty of time to bond and mend fences. She was sure, given time, Daniel would see that they were meant to be together. She held no beef with Captain Jacobs, but it was true what they said, that all was fair in love and war.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Predictably, Jack was furious when he found out about Samantha being pregnant. He couldn't believe Daniel had acted so indignant about Jack's crude comments when all along he'd been doing exactly what Jack had accused him of – taking advantage of a helpless woman. Alright, so Samantha wasn't exactly helpless, but, still, Daniel had taken advantage of her, Jack was convinced of it.
Five minutes after Samantha had broken the news as gently as she could, jack had found Daniel and had him pinned against the wall of his office. "You son of a bitch," Jack growled with a murderous glint in his eyes.
"Jack," Daniel said in an even voice, "it's none of your business."
Jack pulled him away a few inches and slammed him into the wall again. Daniel grunted in pain. Jack certainly knew how to hurt a person. "It is my business when you take advantage of my 2IC," Jack said.
Daniel struggled free. "It wasn't our fault, we were drugged," he insisted.
"Right," Jack scoffed.
"What the hell is your problem?" Daniel demanded. "Don't tell me you're jealous?" Maybe Samantha was telling the truth that she and Jack weren't together. Maybe that was why Jack had been increasingly intolerant of Daniel and Samantha's banter, because he'd been jealous.
Jack took a swing at Daniel. It landed squarely on his cheek, knocking Daniel back. "Like I would ever be jealous of someone like you," Jack said incredulously. What did such a dork like Jackson think he had going for him? The only way he could get a woman was to have her drugged. Jack wasn't entirely sure Daniel was telling the truth there, although he himself had experience being drugged with foreign substances.
Daniel regain his footing. "Well then what's your problem?" he demanded irritably. He knew his cheek was going to hurt for a few days.
"My problem," Jack ranted, ready to take another swing at Daniel, "is that you took advantage of her." He got in another punch.
Daniel started putting effort into ducking Jack's blows. "I did no such thing. And it goes to show how much you value her, because if we hadn't, she would be dead."
Samantha had told him that, although she hadn't gone into much detail. "Oh, so you hated every minute of it and it was completely an obligation," Jack said sarcastically.
Jack was being a complete ass about this, and talking wasn't going to achieve anything, Daniel realised. "I'm not going to talk to you when all you want to do is beat me up," Daniel said, edging for the door before Jack really let his aggression go. "Maybe if you actually listened to Sam, she'll tell you the same thing."
Jack glowered. The truth was, Samantha had told him that, but he was having trouble accepting that Daniel couldn't be blamed for his actions, no more then Samantha could. When Samantha had admitted that she and Daniel had slept together, and that she was pregnant, the news had hit him like a blow to the gut. He had long ago accepted that nothing was going to happen between him and Samantha, but for something to happen between her and Daniel was a massive blow to his ego. What had she seen in him, especially since he had been keeping his distance ever since they'd gotten back from their last mission together, when their marriage and night together had taken place? The Daniel he knew was hardly a fuck-and-run merchant, but it was the only thing that made sense – other then Samantha being at fault, which Jack had ruled out completely. Which meant, in Jack's eyes, that Daniel had taken advantage of her and now wanted nothing to do with her, despite the fact that he'd gotten her pregnant. Oh, for sure, Samantha had said he would be there for the child, but that was a far cry from being there for Samantha. Daniel was bailing on his obligations and he told Daniel that.
"Maybe you should ask her what happened then," Daniel responded bitterly. It didn't really surprise him that Jack had taken Samantha's side so completely. Of course Samantha wouldn't have told Jack what had happened. Well, he certainly wasn't going to enlighten Jack and have himself made the fool all over again. Jack could think what he wanted, Daniel didn't care; he wasn't under Jack's command anymore.
----------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell happened to you?" Miranda asked when she saw Daniel that evening.
"Got into a fight with Jack," Daniel said, although he wasn't sure 'fight' really covered the one-sided match that it had been. "He's angry at me because of Samantha."
"So he hit you?" Miranda asked. It didn't entirely surprise her. The time she had spent as part of SG1, she was getting some strange vibes between Jack and Samantha. There was some chemistry there. It made her angry that Samantha had seen fit to get Daniel involved. Now that she knew about that, she found it difficult to be around the Major. "Did you tell him what happened?"
Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Miranda. The less people who know about that, the better."
There was bitterness in his voice. She kissed him softly and dropped the subject completely. He kissed her back, and soon they were making out, although they had an unspoken agreement that they were going to take their time. The more time she spent with Daniel, the more sensitive she realised he was, and how much of a blow to his ego Samantha's little stunt had been. He wanted to take his time, learn to trust her, and she was fine with that. It was refreshing to be with a guy who wanted to get to know you before they went to bed with you.
She dropped the subject with Daniel, but that didn't mean she forgot about it. The next day, when the temporary three-man team of SG1 was being briefed for their next mission, she was hostile towards Jack until the Colonel got fed up with his Captain's behaviour and, getting her alone in a hall, asked her what the hell was her problem.
"I have a problem with you beating up my boyfriend," Miranda shot hotly.
Jack stared at Miranda. Daniel was her boyfriend? Jack's anger towards the archaeologist grew. So he'd knocked up one woman – a very dear friend of his, no less – and he was sleeping with another – who was a good ten years younger then him, on top of everything. Jack didn't think Daniel had it in him, but clearly, he didn't know Daniel. "I think you have appalling taste," Jack said. "Daniel and I had words because he's a fuck-and-run merchant," Jack said harshly.
"You didn't have words, you gave him a black eye," Miranda retorted. She wasn't afraid of Jack. The man was nudging fifty, past his prime. She could hold her own against him. "And if you want to know why he doesn't want to get involved with Major Carter, well, maybe you should ask her that."
What was with people – first Daniel, now Miranda – telling him he should ask Samantha what had gone so horribly wrong that Daniel wanted nothing to do with her? Jack brought it up with Samantha, who was uncharacteristically evasive.
"It was my fault," was all she would say, "and nothing you can do or say will fix it. I think with time he might come around but in the meantime, he'll be there for the baby – I know he will." Jack was dubious, but Samantha seemed convinced, and he knew from experience that trying to convince her otherwise once her mind was made up with a futile process. Jack left it be as best as he knew how.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the next two months, Samantha did everything in her power to interrupt Daniel and Miranda's relationship. She asked a few subtle questions and voila, an appointment with the obstetrician coincided with the romantic dinner the two of them had planned. She would pretend to be exhausted and Daniel would spend the afternoon making sure she stayed in bed, bringing her food, drinks – company. She would, of course, insist that she was perfectly capable of looking after herself, to which Daniel would tell her he wanted to make sure she and the baby were OK, and that it wasn't in his nature to pay someone to watch over her pregnancy. She pulled every trick she could think of to have him at her side, gradually winning him over by reminding him how good friends they had once been. When she learned through a passing comment Daniel had made that he and Miranda weren't sleeping together yet, she was absolutely delighted and redoubled her efforts.
Of course, it cut her deeply that, for all his friendly affection and paternal concern, Daniel never showed any interest in her beyond that as a friend and the mother of his child. When they went to pre-natal classes together, at first the other expectant mothers were envious of the rapport she and Daniel had, then their envy turned to pity when it became clear that rapport was platonic. Samantha ended up dreading the classes, hating those pitying eyes she was given. It made her more determined to win back Daniel properly.
Unfortunately, she realised, Daniel was very much involved with Miranda, despite the fact they weren't sleeping together. He liked her a lot and mentioned her frequently. Every time he did, it was a knife in Samantha's stomach. She had tried everything she could think of to get Daniel by her side and it was clear he was still attracted to her, but he had no intention of doing anything about it, or even admitting it to himself. He was happy with Miranda – or at least content. Samantha knew she could make Daniel happier, knew they were meant to be together, but she didn't know what else to do…
Daniel was aware of the growing attraction between him and Samantha. He had been spending a lot of time with her – a lot of that in very close proximity to her, thanks to the exercises they did in the pre-natal classes – and they had become very close, almost as close as they had been before their disastrous night together.
And it was at the expense of his relationship with Miranda. Being a mere male, he didn't realise Samantha's contrivances to have him with her were a deliberate ploy to make him spend more time with her and less time with Miranda. All he knew was that Miranda was starting to complain about the amount of time he was spending with Samantha. "I know she's pregnant and I'm not trying to deprive you of time with your child, but Daniel, we hardly see each other," she had told him more then once.
And then there was the little matter of sex. As in, they hadn't done it yet. With the pressures of his workload and the pregnancy, it was easy to always be too tired, too distracted. Until it dawned on him that he was procrastinating. And he forced himself to commit time to Miranda.
One morning he spoke to Samantha at the mountain. There weren't any plans – not visits to the obstetrician, no pre-natal classes – for the day, and Daniel wanted to keep it that way. "I really need to spend some quality time with Miranda," he said, "and I don't want to be interrupted. So – if you need anything… can you call Janet?" He felt like a cad for asking such a thing, but he didn't know how well it would go down with Miranda if Samantha interrupted yet another night they'd planned for themselves.
Samantha remained stoic, even though her heart was breaking insight. Quality time. Did that meant they were finally going to do the deed? Samantha felt sick. She wanted to hunt Miranda down and scratch her eyes out, but outwardly she smiled. "OK," she agreed in a small voice, her plans to call Daniel complaining of being tired and bored dashed. It wasn't hard to sound disappointed; she was disappointed, deeply so.
She made it to her office and cried in private. Her plans had failed. Daniel didn't want her, or, if he did, he was pretending he didn't, which was almost as bad and amounted to the same thing.
She made it through the day painfully, all smiles and pretending that her heart wasn't breaking, like she didn't want to burst into hysterical tears and kill Miranda Jacobs. Bailing at the earliest time possible – it was amazing how good an excuse pregnancy was for such things – she made her way home, dropping the facade as soon as she got into her car.
When she got home, ignoring all that she knew about pregnant woman not drinking, she poured herself a stiff bourbon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel and Miranda were making out on his bed. From early on in the evening, when Daniel had promised Miranda his complete attention all night, it had been clear what was expected to happen. They had been officially together for two months, and casually seeing each other for a month before that, ever since Daniel had come back from P4X-261, and not yet had sex. Daniel kept making excuses; there is a space after a semicolon but not in front of it he decided that tonight was the night.
He had chalked up his procrastinating to his terrible previous experience, but as the night wore on, his gut feeling grew stronger and stronger. It wasn't that he didn't want to have sex. It was that he didn't want to have sex with Miranda.
It wasn't a lack of attraction. He knew he was attracted to her, had known that from their first kisses. It was just that, despite himself, he was attracted to someone else more. Intellectually, emotionally, sexually.
He wanted to be with Samantha and he hated himself for it. He should have known better, should have been able to forget about her after she had humiliated him on P4X-261, but he couldn't. The time he'd spent with her had just made him more and more aware of how attracted to her he was, of how deeply in love with her he was.
Damn him. Damn her. He had a vauge idea she'd been planning this all along. Damn women, he didn't know what they were up to until it was too late.
Slowly he became aware that Miranda was rubbing him through his pants and the sensation was more irritating then pleasurable because of his train of thought. To his absolute horror, he realised he'd been thinking about Samantha while Miranda had been attempting to elicit a hard-on out of him. He was doing the same thing to her that Samantha had done to him.
He pushed her away. "I can't do this," he said in a hoarse, very guilty voice.
"Can't have sex?" Miranda asked. She'd expected Daniel to be nervous, his last experience with sex had been less then ideal, but this was ridiculous. It was like he had no interested in sex whatsoever. She bit her lip. Or maybe that was just no interest in sex with her.
"I can't do… this relationship," he admitted. He forced himself to look her in the eye and shame and remorse were reflected clearly in them. "I'm so sorry, Miranda. I really do like you. I just –"
She jumped off the bed. "No, I get it, I really do," she muttered angrily. "You'd rather be with her."
He didn't try to lie. "I'm sorry," he said.
She supposed she should have seen in coming. In time, she would forgive him, but for the moment she was angry. Angry at him for not seeing that he was in love with another woman, angry at herself for not seeing it. For the moment, it was easier to be angry with him. "Go to hell, Daniel," she snapped, making a quick exit, leaving Daniel feeling very remorseful and very stupid.
But at least his choice was a lot easier to make now.
He showered and changed and pondered if he should see Samantha tonight or sleep on it. To hell with it, he wouldn't be able to sleep. And he had a key to Samantha's house, he could just let himself in. If she was sleeping he could leave her be. If she was awake and up for a talk –
He left his building and got in his car, headed for Samantha's house. They had a lot to talk about.
-------------------------------------------------------
One drink had turned into another, and before she knew it, Samantha had drunk most of the bottle. As she drank, she got more and more upset. Thoughts of Daniel and Miranda together filled her head, and the drunker she got, the more graphic her thoughts got. Daniel and Miranda in bed. Daniel and Miranda thrashing around. She remembered just how much of an accomplished lover Daniel was. She bet, without drugs or alcohol slowing him down, he was spectacular.
And it was all for Miranda. Bitch.
She was so lost in her drunken thoughts that she didn't hear the front door open, didn't hear footsteps in the hall, didn't realise anyone was in her house until Daniel was in her kitchen, taking in the scene. Samantha, barely able to sit in her chair. A bottle of bourbon that he was pretty sure had been sealed this morning that was now nearly empty.
"What the hell have you done?" he asked, all thoughts of having a heart-to-heart forgotten about as he realised just how drunk Samantha was. It wasn't healthy for anyone to get that drunk, let alone a pregnant woman. Did she know that?
Samantha turned to Daniel, too drunk to care how angry he was at her. "Finished with your whore?" she asked bitterly.
"What I do in my own time is none of your goddamn business," Daniel snapped. "You're drunk."
Samantha laughed bitterly. "How fucking observant," she said, going to pour herself another drink. It was more observant then he had been of her feelings.
Daniel snatched the bottle away. She pulled away from him, then threw her empty glass at his head. She had terrible aim, and it smashed against the wall behind him. "GIVE ME MY BOURBON!" she screamed at him.
"No. What the hell do you think you're doing? You're pregnant."
"Wow, your powers of observation are just spot on tonight, aren't they, Danny-boy?" Samantha asked. "I'm surprised you even noticed, you haven't noticed anything else in the last two months." If Daniel wouldn't give her back her bourbon, she had plenty more stuff in the liquor cabinet. She wasn't too fussy at this point.
"Over my dead body are you having another drink," Daniel raged when he realised what she was going to do. "Have a shower, go to bed."
"Go to hell. Or better yet, go back to your whore. I'm sure she's wondering where you are."
"Don't call Miranda that."
"I can call her whatever I damn well please. All you care about is her. You don't care about me."
"Why the hell do you think I'm here?" Daniel asked.
"Because you have an obligation." She reached for a bottle of vodka, and Daniel forcibly removed it from her hand and pulled her away from the liquor cabinet. She hit him, hard, and because he was in close enough proximity, she landed a heavy blow. She glared at him with hate in her eyes. Hate – and heartbreak.
He kissed her. She pushed him away. He pulled her close into him and she was too uncoordinated to struggle out of his hold. He was kissing her hard and, even though she hated him and was convinced he'd slept with Miranda, she kissed him back. The world was spinning around her, but she groaned when she felt Daniel's hands sliding under her shirt roughly, possessively – lustfully. He wanted her.
Where an evening with Miranda hadn't been able to get him hard, a few seconds of kissing Samantha had. Blind to everything but the raging desire he felt, Daniel pulled Samantha onto the floor. She landed roughly, but she didn't care. With barely a pause, they were making out on the floor of her living room, their hands all over each other, their clothes coming off in a display of pent-up attraction that had finally become too obvious for them to ignore.