Chapter 7. The Tok'ra
Daniel knocked against the frame of Sam's open office door. "Hey Sam. How are you doing?"
She glanced up from her computer screen and returned his smile. "Hey Daniel. Uh, good, actually. I mean, it's hard not knowing when I'll see him again, but I'm just glad that my dad's gonna be sticking around for a while longer. I'm grateful to the Tok'ra for that."
Daniel nodded, wandering over to her desk. He fiddled with the specimen of a strange opal-like rock she was studying. "So," he tried his best to sound casual, "you and that Martouf fellow seemed to be hitting it off."
She glanced up from the microscope she was adjusting, smirking at him. "Daniel, are you jealous?"
"What? No!" Yes. He swore he'd nearly had a heart attack when he caught them looking like they were seconds away from kissing on the sand dunes. "No, I just thought that, that it must be strange having these…memories of people you've never met."
"Oh, right," she glanced away, pink colouring her cheeks. Whew, good save Jackson.
"Well, actually, yeah, you're right. Jolinar was Martouf's mate. They were together for over 100 years."
"Oh. Wow. So, you must have all her memories of her…of them…"
"Yeah."
"That must be…"
"Weird? Confusing? Kinda creepy?"
Daniel laughed, selfishly relieved that she wasn't pleased by the knowledge. "Yeah. That."
Sam grinned up at him, and Daniel's heart did a weird little flip-flop his chest. What was that? Heartburn again? But he hadn't even eaten yet. Daniel's stomach growled in agreement.
"Hey, I was just gonna get some lunch, want to join me?"
"Yeah, sure, I could eat." She stood, closing down her computer and packing away her samples. She moved past him to head towards the door, and Daniel's hand moved on autopilot down her back, coming to rest in the lower curve of her spine. He felt her shiver beneath his touch and quickly pulled his hand away, realising what he was doing.
Both scientists decidedly chose to ignore any lingering sensations, and continued on to lunch.