Inescapable: Chapter 21

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1. I'm really sorry for the huge delay in this chapter but I'm in the middle of my final year exams! I won't be finished for a few weeks so I'll try to update soon again but I can't make any promises!

"You're up early," Sam said as she pottered into the kitchen barefoot and still in her pyjamas and saw Daniel fussing over a newspaper and a cup of coffee. Daniel lifted his eyebrows as he lowered the paper and his cup, flashing a grin at her.

"Morning," he said, a curious edge to his expression. "Yeah, it tends to help when I don't get smashed the night before." He eyed Sam watchfully as she yawned and headed for the pot of coffee he had made and also nearly finished. She was presently grinning at his remark; it wasn't very often he stayed sober at one of their team parties or that he admitted to it. Of course, he would never have said that in front of Jack.

As he thought about Jack his attention went acutely back to Sam who was now frowning over the coffee pot, holding it in the air and studying its contents. Guilt bubbled up and he shot his eyes down to his paper as he felt her head turning to him.

"Daniel," she started. "Exactly how long have you been up?" She waved the coffee pot at him, almost devoid of the smooth black liquid she had expected to find there. Daniel flicked his eyes up and shrugged at her. He heard her give a sigh that he knew was accompanied by a roll of her eyes as she went to make more. "Jack will kill you if he finds out you devoured-" Sam stopped abruptly when she glanced at Daniel and found his gaze riveted on her. The words meaning to come out of her mouth died and she forgot what she was saying. Why the hell was he staring at her like that? He was poised like somebody had dropped Hathor in his lap, the paper was crumpling in his tight grip and his coffee cup was floating mid air, only halfway towards his mouth, simply forgotten. And his eyes, his eyes… were they throbbing? It was an insane thought, but it really did appear if his eyes were… well, throbbing.

She was just about to voice her concern for him when he blinked and she was distracted by another set of bare feet slapping at the tiled floor. "Yeesh," Jack complained as his toes were assaulted by the coolness of the tiles. He glanced down at them, peering from beneath his pyjama bottoms and wiggled them a little as if in apology. He looked up to see Carter and Daniel staring at him. He threw his eyebrows up and shot a smile at them. "Morning kiddies!" He chirped causing Daniel to blink again. Jack missed it however as his smile and his entire awareness was currently concentrated on Carter who was smiling sheepishly back at him.

"Morning," Sam said quietly and turned back to the coffee making, still smiling.

Daniel's brow knitted and he idly set the paper and his cup down as he watched Jack. "Yeah," he said with a stretch to his words that normally highlighted to those around him how confused he was. "Morning." His lips tightened as no one took him on. Sam had her back turned to him, busying herself with the coffee and Jack was almost hopping across the cold floor towards the fridge.

When Jack pulled a few items from the fridge he moved for the bread, resting beside Sam and mumbled something about coffee to her. Daniel strained to hear but they had stopped talking and Sam was side-glancing at Jack while he pulled bread from its wrapping. Somehow, even though Jack wasn't looking, Daniel saw a tiny smile creep in the corner of his lips as he tilted his head.

Daniel divided quick bewildered glances between the two of them, his mind furiously trying to work out what was wrong. For something was very, very wrong.

Or different. Definitely different, Daniel thought decidedly. Jack is smiling. In the morning. Making breakfast. Barefoot. And smiling. Jack. Smiling. In the morning.

Daniel almost fought the urge to glance around and look for aliens. This had to be some warped version of reality. Had he woken up in another alternate reality? He found himself looking for more signs that things were different and his eyes rested on Sam. Oh, yes… she was definitely different. Not a doctor. She was Sam. But Sam was different.

She called him Jack. Casually. Just Jack. In a sentence. A general, everyday, sentence. Jack.

Maybe she was a doctor. There was no engagement ring though. So, where were the aliens?

Jack never smiled in the morning. It had happened occasionally when …

Wait…

And Sam only ever used Jack's name when…

Oh.

Daniel blinked. And blinked. And blinked some more.

"Daniel?" Daniel winced, his mind in knots as his puzzled, shocked eyes phased back into the room to see Jack mauling a piece of toast and slurping at coffee with a touch of irritation in his expression. He waved the toast at Daniel as he tore it from his teeth. "Heloooo!" He called. Daniel blinked again and then Sam was at Jack's side, giggling softly. Daniel watched as the two of them seemed to gravitate towards each other as they rested against the counter beside him. "Daniel!" Jack barked.

"What?" Daniel matched his bark, annoyed for the interruption to the processing his mind was falling over.

"Do you want toast?" Jack repeated with a hint of sarcasm and a little miffed at the tone Daniel had taken.

Daniel frowned again and said flatly, "No." But remained staring at Jack, glancing cautiously to Sam as Jack raised his eyebrows and moved away from the grouchy archaeologist.

"I think I like him better when he wakes up with a hangover." He heard Jack say just before Sam's laughter floated back to him as she followed him into the living area, a coffee in her possession.

Daniel stared after them for a while. Had they? Could they? He wished he had checked to see if there actually had been someone sleeping in the living room this morning - he had decided not to go in as he was up horribly early and didn't want to wake anyone. Damn, he wished he had of. He needed to know. He grabbed his now lukewarm coffee and almost dashed after the objects of his frustration.

They had been speaking in a hushed manner and stopped when he stepped inside. Things were getting weirder by the second and Daniel paused at the end of the couch, staring dumbfounded at them. This was excruciating. Jack looked up at him and Sam's eyes soon followed. They both had ridiculous grins plastered on their faces. Daniel started blinking again, his eyes showing signs of an impending aneurism.

Finally, after a long moment of silence and a lot of staring, Jack spoke, "What?" He asked, querying Daniel's behaviour.

"What?" Daniel asked incredulously. There was no way Jack O'Neill had no idea why he was looking at the two of them like they had just spawned a few Goa'uld.

"You okay, Daniel?" Sam. He glanced at her, his eyes growing.

"Am I okay?"

"As funny as you're parrot impression is Daniel… and at the risk …" Jack sighed and shook his head, then asked again, pointedly, "What?"

"You're," Daniel pointed at the two of them. "Asking me what?"

"Yes." Jack was taking on that 'Daniel, shut up and stop pissing me off' tone. "I'm asking you - what?"

"What?" It flew out of Daniel's mouth in frustration.

"What? What?"

"Jack!" Daniel snapped, throwing his hands in the air.

"Relax, Spacemonkey, before you sprain something," Jack said indifferently and smiling at Sam's amusement. Daniel was boring holes in his head with his eyes but Jack didn't give a damn and whatever his wound up companion had been about to launch into was interrupted by Teal'c entering the house, stopping right beside Daniel. He bowed his head to them all in greeting.

"Morning, T!" Jack beamed. "Coffee?"

"I do not require it," Teal'c said.

Sam noticed Daniel blinking again as his face grew redder by the seconds. The poor man was about to blow.

"How was your run?"

"It was energising."

"Of course it was!"

"Sam?" Daniel in his desperation sounded like he was imploring something from her. She smiled gently at him and felt sorry for him - she knew Jack was taunting him and enjoying it far too much. She listened absently as Jack barraged Teal'c with a set of questions aimed at annoying and ignoring Daniel all at once. They had been talking quietly before Daniel came in about how they would proceed with what happened last night and fishing had come up again and how much, or rather little, fishing they had planned to do on the trip. She grinned wickedly.

"How do you feel about a fishing trip, Daniel?"

The room suddenly went silent, so silent in fact, that the blurred motion of Jack's head whipping towards Sam nearly sounded like a whistle.

"Carter?"

"Sir?"

Daniel didn't know what she'd done, but Jack wasn't particularly happy about it and Daniel was suddenly very happy about it.

"I think I'd feel quite happy, actually," Daniel replied, smugly and smiling tightly at Jack.

Jack's lips parted as a glint shone in Sam's eyes. He was sooooo gonna get her for that.

Again I apologise for the shortness, but as anyways feedback is welcome.