FOUR DAYS
OF CELESTINO – II. Day Two
by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Daniel and Sam share a Saint Patrick's
weekend.
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.
Day Two
Chapter 2
Daniel came back to the room much earlier than Sam. He had enjoyed at least eighty minutes of Swedish and deep tissue massage and then he had endured his first –and probably his last– 'gentlemen's facial' ever. Then he had gone through 'The Hiker's Delight', a series of pressuring touches in his hands and feet called reflexology. He was not very willing to admit it, but he was feeling far better than the day before. The last weeks in the battle against the Ori had taken a great toll on all the members of SG-1. He had been exhausted, but now he felt relaxed.
He opened the doors to the balcony and stepped out. The fresh mountain air hit him in the face. He probably could enjoy it in Colorado Springs, too, but, considering that he spent most of the time underground in Cheyenne Mountain or on other planets, this was his chance to take advantage. He went back into the suite and picked up a book he had left on top of the table. There were some nice looking stools on the balcony, but he wanted something more comfortable. He tried taking out a chair, but finally settled on picking up the small armchair by the side of the sofa and taking it out. He was still sitting there, reading his book under the sun, when Sam came back near midday.
"Wow! That's an amazing view," she said as she approached him. She stopped for a minute near the handrail of the balcony looking at the mountain range in front of her.
"How was your appointment?" Daniel asked.
"Pretty good, if I have to be honest. Some well spent five hours. I hadn't done anything like this in ages."
"Did you get a massage?"
"I got something called 'Day of Decadence' if I understood correctly," she explained. "First I got an exfoliating sugar scrub with Babassu palm oil, then a full body aromatherapy massage, a facial, a pedicure, and a manicure, while I was eating fruits and cheeses with champagne."
"Sounds even better then mine. Are you sure you want to go out instead of taking a nap or something?"
"I'm feeling great. Let's go."
"I checked the pub on the Internet. It's very near," Daniel said as he got ready to leave.
The Conor O'Neill Traditional Irish Pub was less than two minutes away from the hotel. Sam was surprised to see that its façade was blue. Somehow she had expected a green building. Daniel quickly explained that it was the color of Saint James Gate, in Dublin. Soon after they entered they saw a group of street signs in the middle of the room, pointing at directions meaningful to the owners of the place. Sam and Daniel kept walking until they got to the Tree Room, where the bagpipers were playing. They sat at a small table near the stage –one of the few left– and soon were looking at the menu.
Daniel had had no breakfast, so he ordered an Irish cheese plate. Sam chose an O'Neill green salad and Daniel smiled. He ordered a salmon salad for himself and, as soon as the waiter left them, he asked, "Do you miss him?"
"Who?"
"Oh, come on, Sam. Everything around here reminds us of Jack."
"Oh! Well, I thought he'd be here."
"You mean for the weekend or here waiting for us at the restaurant?"
"Either."
"I don't think he's coming. I don't understand what's going on, if he thinks this is some kind of joke, or if he's trying to force us to take a vacation, but I seriously doubt that he's coming."
"Why do you think he did this? Do you think he was planning on coming and then something came up?"
"The truth? No. I think he planned it this way from the beginning."
"Why?"
"I have no idea. We'll have to wait and ask him."
For a while they ate in silence. After the salads, Daniel had a Traditional Lamb Stew and Sam had a Dubliner Sandwich. Slowly they started a conversation again, but Daniel tried to avoid going back to Jack. He was bothered by the fact that Sam was not enjoying the trip because of his absence and for a while he thought that if Jack had come, he probably would have left them alone after the first day. It was obvious to him that Sam had seen the trip as an opportunity to be near Jack. His long-standing belief that Sam was in love with Jack became stronger. He suddenly felt sick and was overwhelmed by the desire to be back home. He just wanted the whole Boulder affair to be over. He was going to have a long conversation with Jack as soon as he could get in touch with him.
A short while before one in the afternoon, both teammates decided to have a little tour of the pub. They visited a room dedicated to the Irish hero Michael Collins, an area about Gaelic Football, the Distillery area –where Daniel explained her the Irish origin of the word 'whiskey'– and the Cottage room. Sam particularly enjoyed the Snug, a replica of the only room in an authentic Irish pub where the ladies were allowed. Daniel preferred to look at the replica of the carvings from the megalithic Newgrange Burial Chamber.
Right on time they stepped outside and had a chance to watch the World's Shortest Saint Patrick's Parade that initiated its march exactly in front of the pub. Bagpipe bands and Irish dancers were the main attraction. Afterwards they walked for hours around town, getting to know different landmarks of Boulder. On their way back, Sam asked to stop at the Pearl Street Mall, where she entertained herself looking for a present for Cassie among the multiple crafts and pieces of art available. Daniel left her for a while as he lost himself in a very old bookstore. When they reunited, they had a soda in one of the sidewalk cafés. By the time they got back to the hotel with the treasures they had acquired, they were both exhausted.
"I think I'll go to the gym for a while," Daniel said as he entered the room and started taking out some training clothes from his bag. He changed in the bathroom and before leaving the room he added, "I'll be back in a couple of hours, unless you want to do something else."
"No, that's fine. I'll take a long bath," she said.
Daniel left the room feeling very uncomfortable. He was not able to determine precisely what was bothering him so much. He had always felt comfortable being with Sam, but all of a sudden there was some kind of tension between them that he could not understand. He exercised hard for at least an hour, and after a brief shower in the Fitness Center, he went to the swimming pool and threw himself in the water with unusual violence. At that time of the evening the place was deserted and he felt relieved by that fact. He could not imagine what other people would have thought of the crazy tourist who had just slammed himself into the water. He could not stop thinking about Sam. That was his problem. He had been analyzing the situation from every possible angle and the conclusion he had arrived at had left him even in a worse place than before. He was jealous. He was awfully jealous of Jack. He swam the length of the two-lane pool one more time and finally stepped into the whirlpool trying to forget.
