A MATTER OF POWER – II. The Power of Feelings by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Sam deserves a promotion and Daniel is willing to help her. Sam has her own plans.
Spoilers: All seasons, including 9 and 10.
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.

The Power of Feelings

Chapter 1

Paul Davis was a man of action. He had served in the military since he was very young and he had learned much from his commanders and fellow soldiers. He was also a good politician. His assignment as Pentagon Liaison had allowed him to improve his public relations skills and now he needed to use them. He was certain that Daniel and Sam's marital life was far spicier than they let out in public. According to his plan, he just needed one picture, one innocent, not too telling picture that would hint to that. If he could get it, he was going to let it circulate in the press circles so that normal people could see them as what they were, a pair of newly-weds in love.

He just needed to find the perfect moment, so he decided to carry a small digital camera in his pocket at all times. He was not after something scandalous, just a little bit riskier than their usual. Near the end of June he came up with a good opportunity for his plan to start working.

Sam and Daniel were going to host a reception to celebrate the Fourth of July and their wedding anniversary. The party was going to be held at a famous hotel in Colorado Springs and there would be many important guests, plus the members of the SGC. Jack O'Neill had been on the list as one of the main guests, but a small home accident was preventing him from flying to Colorado, leaving the couple to host the party along with Cameron and Teal'c. That meant that they would have to stay at the hotel that night, in order to be there to receive the guests and to close the party as well. Davis was certain that if he followed them around the day of the party, he could get something to serve his purposes. Parties always get people to relax and let some of the daily correctness disappear.

Sam was also looking forward to the party. Jack was not going to be there and that was going to work to her advantage. Over the last few months she had seen slight changes in Daniel's behavior. There was nothing evident, but she had known him for too long to be oblivious to the small alterations to his daily routine. She was certain that Daniel was attracted to her and also that he was enjoying the marriage as much as she was. She felt there was hope for her and she was willing to stake it all out on a dangerous bet. The night of the party, amid the celebrations of their wedding anniversary, she was going to make Daniel face her feelings for him. She did not know how or exactly when, but she was convinced that the right opportunity would present itself. She just needed to be ready.

She had taken care of all the logistics for her D-Day. She had decided to wear a dress for the party, instead of her uniform. It was not a military function, but a social one. She spent a few days searching for the right dress until she finally found a very elegant black dress that made her skin look radiant and perfect. It was not a revealing dress, just classic and stylish. She also chose simple jewelry and lifted her hair up. The hair had grown some after she had stopped cutting it monthly, right after being promoted to Brigadier General. She had not tried a different hairdo in so many years that when she looked at herself in the mirror she almost did not recognize her image, but she enjoyed the effect. She supposed that being happy, as she had been in the last months, had definitely had an effect on her appearance. As a last touch she selected a very mild perfume that she remembered her mother using often.

The night of the party Sam avoided drinking much alcohol; she wanted to be clear minded. She checked on Daniel and she only saw him drink some champagne during the final toast. He usually was not a heavy drinker.

Sam openly flirted with him all night long. She kept looking at him with eyes that said much more than her words. She hugged him and kissed him more often than they usually did to give the image of the happy couple. She even made a couple of jokes, almost in a whisper, only for him to hear, about their chemistry and how much they could enjoy if they really were together. She finally allowed her hands to wonder in places she had never dared touch. Nothing too strong; just plenty of insinuation.

For the casual observer, everything could have been part of the normal behavior of a couple of two young people in love. Paul Davis thought so and captured many images that could be used in his campaign.

For Daniel, it was extremely confusing. He already had enough trouble battling his own demons to have to deal with Sam's strange behavior on top of it that night. He kept wondering what was going on. He tried different answers and none left him satisfied. Sam was acting as if possessed. He knew she had drunk very lightly during the night, so he could not attribute it to an impaired state of mind. Was she really insinuating herself to him? Perhaps she only wanted to have one night of fun… No, that did not sound like Sam. Maybe she simply wanted everybody at the party to be convinced that their marriage was real. Nobody really doubted it, so what was the point?

Was she choosing him over Jack? He did not know what was going on between Jack and Sam as they waited for Jack to retire, but he was sure that it would always be just platonic until she was divorced from him. The little Christmas incident was well behind. Actually, it had not even been enough to call it an incident, just a flare of jealousy on Jack's part. In any case, he had not seen any other signs of problem between his friends and he was almost certain that Sam would never choose him if Jack was available. He had noticed how Sam had not failed to see Jack every time he had been in Colorado and how sometimes she had ensured that he was off-world when the General was in town.

They were dancing now and she had just lowered her hand on his back enough to make him shiver. It was getting dangerous. He broke the dance and excused himself to go talk with Colonel Davis. Sam noticed his reaction and let him go with a mischievous smile.

Davis was paying attention to them; he was utterly satisfied. When Daniel approached him and asked if there could be a formal closure of the party that would allow whoever wanted to leave to do so without breaking any protocol, Davis agreed. Sam joined them and they closed the official segment of the celebration.

Daniel just wanted to get out of there and go back to the hotel room. Sam followed him chatting and smiling as they walked toward the elevators. As soon as they were in one of them, she turned around and kissed him. Daniel lost control of himself and responded to her hungrily. He softly pushed her backwards toward the elevator wall and he lifted her slightly against it as he kissed her neck. Sam arched backwards and closed her eyes as she allowed him more space to kiss her. It felt wonderful to be so tightly flushed against him.

The elevator's doors closed and Daniel found enough clarity of mind to press the right button. They did not change pace as they walked together down the hallway toward their room. Daniel opened the door and Sam closed it as soon as they were both inside, still entangled in frantic kissing and caressing. It had been long since she had felt this kind of high. It had been even longer since he had allowed himself to love someone without thinking of the consequences, but there was definitely no thinking for Daniel. He was just being happy, for once in his life.

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