ANOTHER WORLD – III. Our World by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Daniel wakes up in the wrong place.
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.

Our World

Chapter 1

"How's the baby?" Sam asked as she turned on the lamp on the nightstand.

"Sam, would you please stop worrying? The baby's fine. He's sleeping. I couldn't sleep and I just felt like watching him sleep for a while." Dan smiled and got back in bed.

"Sometimes I do that and I check that he's still breathing," Sam said cuddling on Dan's side.

"Sam, he'll be all right. He won't stop breathing. He's fine and he's strong. He has your genes," he smiled at her again and hugged her as she leaned against his side.

"I hope yours are stronger than mine. You have a better record of coming back."

"Sam," Dan changed his tone to a very serious one. "He was a little bit premature and he got in trouble, but he's fine now. You don't have to obsess about it anymore. It was a long month, but we have him here, at home. That means he's strong enough to be out of the hospital. Start enjoying this blessing."

"I never thought I could be that scared."

"I know, I felt the same way, but it's over now. Besides, I wanted to talk about something with you."

"Is anything wrong?"

"Sam!"

"Okay, okay, I'm listening."

"I've been meaning to talk to you since I came back from the other reality. We probably would have done it by now if you hadn't gone into labor as soon as I crossed back."

"Yeah; too many things happening in only two days," Sam said as she recalled that week.

"Well, now that everything is back to normal, I think we need to talk about us. Specially about us and Vala."

Sam felt a knot in her stomach. She had been expecting this. Now that the baby was born and her reputation was safe, Dan did not need to stay with her out of loyalty and concern. She knew that, even if they separated, their bond was too strong and they would remain friends for the rest of their lives. Moreover, Dan would always be there for their child.

She took a deep breath and prepared for the worst. "Okay," she said softly.

"I wanted to apologize for not letting you participate in the decision-making lately," Sam dismissed it with a gesture. "No. I'm serious. Vala and I have been making up our minds about what's right for us and taking action without really consulting you."

Sam looked down and remained quiet. She had felt left out, but she had not found a way to talk about it. After Dan had 'informed' her that he was ending his relationship with Vala, she had wanted to know the reasons, but Dan had seemed upset that day and she had remained silent. Afterwards, she had never felt it was the right time to ask about it. She had thought a couple of times about talking to Vala –she considered her a friend since their return from the Ori– and the circumstances had stopped her on every occasion.

She sighed and then looked at Dan. "It's all right. I just want to know why."

"Why Vala and I separated or why we didn't talk about it?"

"Both, I guess."

"It's hard for me to talk about it. That's my fault. I feel very guilty about abandoning Vala, about leaving her after all she did for me –you both did– during our time with the Ori. We've never talked about it, Sam, you and I. Vala wanted to talk about it; she confronted me. She made me face my feelings. The morning that she and I had the talk, the psychiatrist at the base had had his usual session with me earlier in the day. He had gone back to the times of the captivity and he suddenly said something like 'You've never told me what prompted you to have sex with fellow teammates' and looked at me waiting for an answer."

"He's talked about that so many times with me," Sam said. "Every time he has to update on how fit we are for running this program, he goes back to that."

"We really never discussed that part. Mostly because I refused. It's too personal." Sam smiled; she knew Dan too well and she was sure he had found ways to escape the questions. "That day I felt that we had to talk it out or he'd never stop asking. One of the few times in my life I've felt so strongly the desire to punch someone's face."

Sam smiled again; she could imagine Dan's red face as he kept himself under control. "What did you tell him?" she asked.

"I told him that we hadn't just had sex. That we had made love."

"What did he say?"

"He looked at me with disbelief and asked 'With both?' as if it were impossible."

Sam tried to remain serious; she could not stop being amused at the fury that Dan would have felt as the doctor questioned his honesty. "And you said?" she prompted him.

"I said yes, of course with both, I love them both. We didn't just have sex for entertainment. We defied the Ori by allowing ourselves to share the love we have for each other and it gave us more strength to face the challenge. He said we didn't need to resort to the physical relationship to achieve that. That team cohesion doesn't include sex. He asked me what would have happened if I had been there with Cam and Teal'c instead of you two."

Sam could not stop the smile. "Did you answer that one?"

"I said I didn't know. That wasn't the situation and I don't have to worry about it. He then asked 'So, you don't rule it out that it could have happened the same way with your other teammates?' and I seriously considered if they would let me stay in command if I knocked him out."

Sam openly laughed. "McKenzie has always made you feel that way, especially since the incident with Ma'chello's parasites."

"Remind me again, why is he still here?" Sam smiled and Dan continued. "In any case, he then asked me whether we had ever thought if the Ori knew what we were doing."

"I think so, I'm sure they knew. What I don't know is why they didn't stop us," Sam said.

"I believe they just don't know enough about human nature. With all the delusions of greatness they still can't understand what moves the human spirit."

"You're probably right," Sam agreed and then changed her tone "Was that all with Dr. McKenzie?"

"No, he also asked if I had chosen you to marry simply because you were pregnant."

Sam felt she would have to work on her breathing because it was becoming more and more difficult. "Did he?"

"Yes and that was exactly the same question Vala asked me a couple of hours later." Sam did not comment on it and Dan continued. "I had to tell her the truth, too, but I've never told you this, Sam, and I think it's about time I do." He held her hand and turned slightly toward her so that he could look at her eyes as he spoke. "I chose you, and I would have always chosen you, because I love you, as my teammate, as my friend, as my lover, as my wife and the mother of my son, and simply as a woman, the most fascinating woman I've ever met, Sam." Sam's eyes filled with tears all of a sudden and Dan hugged her tightly. "I don't know what drove you to offer your love to me in that cell or if you agreed to marry me just because of the baby, and the truth is, it really doesn't change what I'm trying to tell you, Sam, but when I was in that other reality and thought that perhaps I'd never see you again, I couldn't forgive myself for not having told you this." Sam tried to say something, but he stopped her. "Let me finish, Sam. I want to be sure I tell you everything." Sam assented and Dan added, "I care about Vala, I do, I care deeply for her, because in spite of the image she shows to the world, you and I know that she's different inside and that she's capable of many sacrifices for the good of others." Sam agreed again. "However, those feelings don't compare to what you have awakened in me. I'll do whatever you want to do with the rest of our lives. I don't want you to feel that you have to choose to stay with me because of how I feel; I just want you to be happy. I couldn't bear it if in order for me to keep you with me I had to see you long for someone else or suffer because you don't love me the way I love you."

Sam moved slightly backwards so that she could look at his face. "You know, Dan, I know you're brilliant. You've proven it over and over again, so I don't understand how you can be so clueless sometimes." Dan put on his most clueless face as if to prove her right and Sam knew he was not faking it. "You don't know, do you? You have no idea how much I love you and how I've been dreaming you'd say to me what you said tonight." Dan hugged her again and Sam added, "I can't blame you, can I? I didn't realize what your feelings were either." Dan chuckled softly and Sam almost whispered, "I feel like when I was seventeen, all giddy and scared of what comes next at the same time."

"What comes next is that we try to be happy for as long as we have and we fight with everything we have to save our family and our world from what's threatening them."

"Feels like too much responsibility."

"We've never doubted before and now we have one more reason to fight."

"Yes!" Sam said excitedly as she thought of the small baby sleeping in the other room. "Just tell me one thing, Dan. How's Vala really taking all this?"

"She's fine. She's been through much worse. I don't think she loves me the way we love each other. I think she likes me, but I think it'll take her much longer to learn to trust someone enough to allow herself to have those feelings. Besides, I think she's starting to feel an inclination for Teal'c."

"Teal'c?" Sam asked with surprise.

"Yep. 'Muscles' has sort of a calming effect on her and I think she amuses him. Have you seen them playing basketball together?"

"She could put her trust in him more than in anyone else we know."

"You're right. Now, going back to us, there's one more thing I want to tell you. I want to apologize for every time I was with Vala after we got married. I know you said it would be all right the day we discussed our options after we came back, but I felt like I was betraying you in some way."

"You didn't. This started because of her and we couldn't just leave her on the side of the road and keep on going. What I noticed is that you slowly started diminishing the times you were together through the months."

"How would you have known?" Dan asked surprised.

"Oh, I did, Dan. It was written all over your face and it didn't feel like it was making you happy."

"It wasn't, really. It was pleasurable. You know that because you were there in that cell with us, but it was missing something, what I had when I was with you."

"But we haven't been together since we escaped," Sam replied.

"I know. At the beginning, you were so sick all the time and, later on, it didn't feel right. I didn't know what your feelings for me were and I didn't want to hurt you."

"I thought you didn't want to be with me."

"I'm sorry. I would have told you then if I had known. I just wanted you to have a peaceful pregnancy."

"Well, the pregnancy is over and we know how much we love each other," Sam said with a smile.

"Then, I shouldn't be making my wife wait," Dan said as he slid under the covers taking her with him and kissed her without any doubts or reservations for the first time in their lives.