For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1

Chapter 7: The More Things Change
(Daniel's POV)

I watch Sam as she walks into my lab and I realize almost immediately that something is wrong, the only problem is that I don't know what, or maybe I do.

"So, how did it go?" I ask, well aware that she was planning to talk to Teal'c today and realizing that that is the most likely cause of her odd behavior.

"Not like I had been expecting it to," she admits, letting herself almost fall down on a chair in a totally uncharacteristic gesture.

"What happened?"

"He knew."

"He knew? How could he know?"

"Well, apparently it had something to do with the fact that we humans are not in the habit of paying attention to our sense of smell," she explains.

"Our sense of smell? Oh..." I trail off as I realize just what it is that she is saying here.

"Yes, oh... and apparently Teal'c has been blaming himself for what happened to me ever since we came back from Simarka and we never even noticed."

"Blaming himself?"

"He is convinced that he failed in his duty to protect 'his woman'," she explains. "I tried to tell him that he didn't fail and that I'm not his woman but I'm not really sure that helped much. The problem is that I just didn't know what to say and Teal'c wasn't much help, seeing how he doesn't say much to begin with so I couldn't really figure out what he was thinking. I mean, I've managed to learn a few things about him and I can honestly say that I understand him a lot better than I did before our little chat but I still don't know how to reach him and I'm worried."

"Worried?"

"Yes. If I can't get him to trust me to defend myself he could easily end up finding himself in a world of hurt while he is trying to protect me... and, to tell you the truth, in that regard I'm not sure he is the only one," she says before going on. "Sure, the colonel tries to keep things politically correct --something no-one would ever accuse Teal'c of-- but I'm not sure he trusts me to take care of myself and that could easily come back to haunt us if they are more worried about watching my six than their own... especially because I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure it's not so bad."

"Well, I'm not and I don't think I could live with it if something were to happen to either one of them because they were trying to keep me safe."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," I say, finally realizing where she is coming from and trying to reassure her.

"You don't know that," she insists.

"No, but I know you have to trust them to do the right thing, just like you want them to trust you."

"But what if...?" she begins but I cut her off almost immediately.

"You have to trust them to watch their own backs. Yes, they are bound to worry and the truth is that I don't think there's anything you could possibly say to either one of them that could possibly change that but they do trust you, besides..." I trail off, wondering if I'm about to cross the line here.

"Besides what?"

"Besides, if Teal'c has known all along, then you don't really have to worry about him treating you any differently now, do you?" I ask, reminding her of what her primary concern was supposed to be.

"I guess not," she reluctantly admits.

"But that's not really the problem?"

"I'm not sure. I'm trying to understand where he is coming from, I really am, but I just can't and that is frustrating... especially because I thought I knew him but I don't. I mean, we've been working together for almost a year and today I realized that I know next to nothing about Chulak. That was the thing I felt was holding me back the most, that I couldn't figure out just what it was that I was dealing with... and the fact that he did point out a few inconsistencies in my own behavior didn't really help matters."

"What kind of inconsistencies?" I ask, feeling more than a little curious.

"Things like the fact that I was getting mad at him because he insisted that I was under his protection while arguing that saving Nya was my responsibility because I was the one who had encouraged her to defy her father in the first place. I don't regret going back to save her, of course, but Teal'c's comments did make me feel like a bit of a hypocrite," she admits and I can't help but smile at that.

"Yes, well, we humans are not always consistent and this is an emotional issue," I remind her, wondering if I should duck for cover here. After all, reminding Sam that she is nowhere near as rational as she'd like to believe is not the best of ideas.

"I know, but still..."

"But still you pride yourself on being rational and you are not entirely comfortable with the notion that at times being human and being rational are two things that just don't go hand in hand?" I ask with a smile.

"Hey!"

"You know it's true," I insist.

"Yes, but --seeing how I don't have to be rational about it-- still hey!"

"So, other than that, how did it go?"

"Other than the fact that I was totally blindsided by the realization that Teal'c had known all along, that I discovered I know next to nothing about a member of my team and that I was confronted with my own hypocrisy, I guess it went about as well as could be expected."

"That well?" I ask, somewhat amused by Sam's obvious frustration.

"Well, in terms of me understanding where Teal'c is coming from it went great, in terms of getting him to understand where I'm coming from, not so great."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, as you said, Teal'c doesn't say much. That means that he may well have understood a lot more than you are giving him credit for here," I remind her.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not so sure what I was trying to get him to understand made that much sense to begin with... and the fact that I had no clue as to how to explain it to him probably didn't help matters."

"And what were you trying to explain?" I ask.

"That I can take care of myself, mostly," she says.

"And you are sure Teal'c doesn't understand that?" I ask, shaking my head at Sam's stubborn denial.

"Well, seeing how he was blaming himself for his failure to protect 'his woman', I would say that that's a pretty safe bet."

"Actually, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Why not?"

"Because you come from different worlds so I think you should go by Teal'c's actions rather than by his words. You say that he's known what happened on Simarka all along, right?" I ask.

"Yes."

"And up until now he's given you no reason whatsoever to even suspect that he knew... or that he didn't respect you, did he?"

"No, but..." she trails off.

"But what?" I prod.

"But he considers what happened to me to be 'his shame', that's why he never said anything about it... that and the fact that apparently he didn't realize that the colonel didn't know," she explains.

"Yes, but the point is that he knew and you never even suspected that much."

"So?"

"So, as I told you before, if he's known all along then I don't think you have to worry about the possibility of him treating you any differently now," I point out, again. I mean, I understand where Sam is coming from and I definitely understand how she feels but at the same time there is no denying the fact that, just like Jack and I have been doing our best to fight the urge to hover, just like we have had no choice but to come to terms with the fact that what happened on Simarka happened eight months ago --even if it's news to us-- now it is her turn to come to terms with the fact that Teal'c has known about it all along and that therefore his perception of her has not really changed in the past couple of hours. That's going to be a difficult adjustment for her and I know it, but the bottom line is that it is an adjustment she is going to have no choice but to make.

THE END (of this part)


Author's notes: Hi guys, okay, that's it for Alien Ways (and I have to admit I'm glad this one is behind me). I still have two more stories to go in this series and I hope to start posting the next one in two weeks. Thanks for sticking with me (and for reviewing, of course)!

Alec