Right Time and Place by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Jack and SG-1 share a celebration off-world.
Spoilers: All seasons, including 9.
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

Right Time and Place

Chapter 5

"What do you mean?" Sam asked clueless as to what he was talking about.

"This… date. It's not working. I feel like I felt in one of the countless blind dates that Janet fixed for me. This is too impersonal. I don't feel the connection we always seem to have. It's a complete failure for me. I'm sorry."

"Wow. This is such a relief! I thought I was the only one feeling that way. Maybe we have to go back to being best friends."

Daniel felt immense relief, too. He smiled and suggested, "Why don't we grab our plates and go to the living room? We can put on a DVD and watch a movie while we eat."

Sam thought it was a great idea. They picked up their deserts and took them to the living room. They came back and spent a few minutes cleaning up the table and taking what was left to the kitchen. Soon, they were sitting side by side on the carpet against the bottom of the sofa and watching a movie while they ate. They had both lost their shoes and were feeling very comfortable. They talked animatedly as they watched −something Jack had never been able to understand− discussing everything that was going on with their lives and the universe, too. Near midnight, they were both completely relaxed and having a great time.

There was one fig left on the bowl they had brought from the dining room and Daniel distractedly took it while he was commenting on their second movie. Sam looked at him in disbelief. He never ate the last anything; he always left it just in case someone else wanted it. She felt mischievous and decided to do something about it. She lifted her hand and snatched the now peeled fig from Daniel's hand.

"Ah, no, mister. The last fig is for the guest."

Daniel was stunned for a second until he saw the playfulness in Sam's expression. "No way," he said as he stole the tender fruit from her hands. "The chef has a right to his own menu." He gave a small bite to the fruit and Sam smiled naughtily right before she tickled him with one hand and grabbed the rest of the fruit with the other. She quickly put it in her mouth and chewed on it.

"You will have to pay for such an offense," Daniel said and grabbed the last glass of champagne left on the table. He knew it was Sam's; he had hardly drunk his first glass and he had never poured himself anymore. Sam had drunk the rest very slowly along the meal and he couldn't see it had had any effects on her. After all, they had finished the formal part of the dinner hours ago.

"Ah, no!" she said as she saw what he was doing, but she was not fast enough. He drank the little liquid left in one gulp. He put the glass back on the table and looked at her with a smug expression. "I'll kick your but for that!" she said trying to contain the laughter and she pushed him on the floor and tickled him again.

Daniel had not been a weakling for a long time now and he proved it as he used his years of training and quickly subdued her. She was now lying on her back on the floor and he was right on top of her, holding her hands as she fought for control, both laughing loudly. She moved her knee slightly and hit him softly between his legs, not enough to hurt him, but enough to make him fall by her side and stop the struggle, She quickly rose on top of him and said, "There you go. Now you know not to mess with a lady." Daniel had his eyes closed tightly and Sam suddenly thought he was in pain. She released her hold on him and started apologizing. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't do it too strong-" She was cut in the middle by Daniel who took advantage of her distress and reversed the situation, but this time he made sure to have his lower body out of the reach of her knees.

"Gotcha!" he smiled.

"I can't believe it!" Sam said, containing her laugh, "Taking advantage of a poor-" she stopped herself when she noticed that Daniel's face had become suddenly serious. "What? Are you all right?"

"This," he said. "This is how I had imagined it would end up a date with you."

"With me on the floor and you on top of me?"

"No! Well, yes. No! I mean, not exactly." Sam smiled because she knew she had caused him to blush deeply. "Having fun, sharing a good time. I'm sorry." He sat up on the floor by her side and helped her sit up too. "It's my fault. I tried all dinner long to talk about something else, to avoid our problems and our jobs, and everything that could ruin the mood, but it was not us. This is the right mood. We've been talking about all those things for the last hours and we are still fine. This is who we are. We face all that daily, we discuss it, we solve as much as we can, and then we can take a minute and have fun, in spite of everything… This is what I like about you. Your passion for what you do, your brightness, your fun side. I don't need light conversation. Even naquadah reactors are light if they come from you."

"That's very flattering, Daniel," Sam said also seriously. "I think I was trying to do the same. I was putting the same façade, just as I do in every date, when I'm forbidden to talk about what I really do or what I really know. Maybe that's why it fails with everybody else, too. That's not me."

"Well, I'm glad we stopped behaving so silly. The second part of the night was far better."

"Yeah, but the food was awesome all the way." She patted his hand and he smiled. She got serious again and added, "Would you consider repeating this in… let's say, a week? Next Friday?"

"We'll be ourselves?"

"Promise," she smiled. "And I have a midnight-blue dress that's even better than this."

"Well, I can always wear a different shirt with this tuxedo," he said jokingly. Sam smiled and Daniel felt that everything was right again. "I've already planned the menu, but it's going to be a surprise."

"I'll be looking forward it all week," she replied. She started getting up and he did the same and helped her. He brought her the coat he had hung for her while she picked up her purse and put her shoes back on.

"Are you sure you want to drive?"

"It's not that late and I feel fine. We didn't drink much, especially you," she said smiling. "I'll see you on Monday." She approached the front door and Daniel followed her. She opened the door and turned around to smile at him again and Daniel got closer and kissed her very softly and briefly on the lips. She was surprised, but she was not upset. She smiled at him again and then ran down the front steps and got into her car. As she drove down the street, she saw Daniel slowly closing his door.