A/N Thanks for the wishes of success at uni, etc. I am here now and everything is amazing! I am never going home! And I joined a scifi club!

Not much happening in this chapter I'm afraid. Good ol' bit of fluff. Some action coming soon though, before a bit more fluff. :) Can never have too much!

Chapter 17

Sam's mind went blank of everything as Daniel kissed her.

Everything except Daniel that is.

She stopped responding to his kiss and he pulled back, looking at her expectantly.

"Are you ok? I can stop…"

"I can't believe I'm kissing you."

"Am I really that bad?" Daniel heard himself question.

"No, you're very good. Much better than I imagined." Daniel's eyebrows shot to the ceiling and Sam giggled nervously. "Ok, I didn't mean that quite like that. I just meant… well… you're Daniel."

Daniel shifted on the bed, moving his weight off her. "I'm sensing this 'I'm Daniel' thing is an issue with you so can we just discuss it?"

Sam cursed herself for her stupid comment but nodded obediently, sliding into a sitting position beside him.

"It's not an issue. Really – I'm not just saying that so you kiss me again. It's just you've always been there for me, and I can't believe it took me so long to realise I lo-" Sam broke off and cleared her throat.

Daniel looked over at Sam, his heart (his whole body) filled withrespect and love for the woman sat next to him, anxiously pulling at a loose thread on her trousers.

"Would it help if I said it first?" he whispered, taking her hand in his.

She looked up at him and Daniel realised he had never seen her eyes in such close proximity before. It felt like he could look into them forever. He could see love in them, but also worry and fear, like she was scared to admit her feelings.

"I love you." He said sincerely. It didn't feel at all weird, and he'd half expected it to. After all, the last person he had loved had been his now dead wife, but with Sam it felt different – not like he was trying to replace Sha're, just developing a new part of himself.

Sam felt herself swimming in Daniel's eyes and marvelled at how filled with love they were. Had she never noticed it before? Perhaps she had never been let so close. She smiled, her last fears evaporating as she looked at Daniel.

"I love you too." She whispered, daring not to raise her voice to normal volume lest it wavered. She moved closer and gently removed his glasses. He smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss.

One kiss turned into many, and pretty soon Sam was convinced they had raised the temperature on the planet by a couple of degrees, at least. Some how they had ended up lying down on the bed and Sam's good hand was inside Daniel's shirt, carefully exploring his chest as they kissed. Daniel delicately brushed the fingers on her injured hand, meticulous in his attempts not to cause pain.

Daniel's tongue played chase with hers as he slipped his spare hand inside her top, and she winced as he ran his fingers along her ribs.

Daniel paused, not sure if he'd be able to stop if she asked him, but too well-mannered to pretend he hadn't noticed.
"Sam?" He breathed and looked into her eyes. He certainly regretted not discovering this vital method of communication earlier. Behind the lust and love in her eyes, he could see something else. Pain?

"What's wrong?"

Sam smiled at him – always so loving and considerate of other people. She had no doubt over her feelings now.

"Nothing," she purred, shifting her weight slightly to alleviate the pressure on her bruises. Daniel looked at her suspiciously, and she could see he wasn't willing to accept that as an answer.

"A wedding present from the Sheriff. Nothing serious." She immediately regretted opening her mouth as she saw the passion in Daniel's eyes be replaced by anger and worry. He let go of her bandaged hand and carefully slid up her top, sitting back to look at her ribs.

In the poor lighting – just the orange glow from the large fire below, Daniel couldn't immediately see any sign of injuries. He looked up at Sam, who smiled nervously, and then ran his hand over her ribs. She shivered at his touch but he saw her wince and looked closer at her skin.

"Daniel, this is not very seductive." Sam whispered. "I'm not going to die, I'll be fine."

Making out a patchwork of purple hues across her stomach and ribs, Daniel let out a small growl.
"I cannot believe he did this to you."

"It's not the first time I've been on the receiving end of a punch, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Don't worry." She flinched as Daniel prodded around her ribs again. "Is it completely necessary to do that?"

"Why didn't you tell me, or even Jack, that you were-" He gestured at her bruises.

"Because it didn't hurt until you started poking them." Ok, that wasn't completely true.

"Are you sure you haven't broken a rib?" He ran his hands expertly along each bone, looking for any sign of pain from Sam. Finally convinced she wasn't bluffing, he sighed and idly let his hand drift up her chest.

She smiled and gently brushed his hand with her own. "Can we continue?"

Daniel sighed. "Sam, what I said earlier, about loving you? Well I mean it. Perhaps we should wait. Until we're home. Until your bruises have gone. Until we are ready." Daniel hated himself as he watched Sam's look of disappointment, but he knew it was the best thing to do. He didn't think leaving the planet would change his feelings, but it would make it much easier for other people to understand if they got together when they were home. Anyway, Daniel would never sleep with a girl on the first date.

Sam let out a small sigh. "Yeah. You're right. You're still… sleeping in here though aren't you?" She asked awkwardly.

"If you want me to. I can sleep on the floor if you want. Or sneak in with Jack." Daniel pulled a face and Sam giggled.

"No it's ok; you can sleep on the bed. There's room for both."

Daniel shuffled over to the side of the bed and pulled the blanket over them, lying back slowly on his side of the bed. They lay still beside each other for a few minutes, both feeling strangely awkward over what had gone on.

"I suppose I should be used to things happening very quickly, but this time yesterday I was in a damp cell with Jack." Daniel whispered, turning to face Sam. She smiled and turned to face him.

"I was sitting in a castle wondering about my wedding dress. This has definitely been a bit different from the usual mission."

Daniel nodded. "What was the dress like? I mean, I'm guessing it wasn't the dress you were in earlier. Though that beautiful."

Sam smiled and thought back to her evening the night before. "The dress was very beautiful actually. For a dress." She smirked. "I…" She changed her mind and smiled again.

"You…?"

"Nothing. Changed my mind."

Daniel pulled her close and surrounded her with his arms.

"What were you going to say?"

"Only that I thought about you last night."

He smiled into her hair as she nestled down in his embrace.
"I thought about you as well."