The four of them left for Denver around seven. They took two cars for the approximately one-hour trip; Daniel and Sabrina in his car, with Jack and Sam in Jack's truck.
When they arrived back at Catherine's they found no sign of the police. Only a yellow crime tape across the front door showed they had ever been there; that and the fine sheen of dust that seemed to be everywhere, left over from the dusting for fingerprints.
The first thing they did was to claim bedrooms. Since none of them were involved in relationships with each other, not officially anyway; they each chose their own room. Luckily Catherine's house had six, or was it seven bedrooms? Daniel wasn't sure.
He took his accustomed room at the top of the stairs, while Sabrina went across the hall to Catherine's suite, the one she had been using since she moved in. That left Sam and Jack with two guest rooms overlooking the back gardens and grounds.
And if the rumor mills were true, and if Daniel had been reading his two friends the way he thought he had been reading them, and they ended up sharing a room; well, good for them.
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Catherine's elegant formal dining room ended up being their base of operations. They carefully moved the silver pieces from the antique mahogany table and then spread some towels out to protect its surface. Soon it was covered with laptops and other electronic equipment that Sam had brought with her. She had anticipated some of the things they might run into, and had packed with amazing accuracy.
As Sam spread out her electronic 'thingys', as Jack called them, Daniel volunteered to make a pot of coffee. Sabrina was commandeered to help Jack find the control center for the security system.
"Coffee, Sam?"
"Mmm, yes. Thanks."
Daniel set a mug in front of his friend before sitting down next to her himself. "You know, I'm sure there's a VCR connected to the TV in the study. You really don't have to be doing all that." Somehow Sam had MacGyvered a connection between a VCR and her laptop so that she would be able to watch the video footage on her computer screen.
"I know, but what would be the challenge in that?" She stopped what she was doing to take a sip of the coffee and smiled at him. "So…what's the deal between you and Sabrina?" she asked.
"To tell you the truth, I honestly don't know. This has been a wild week, but when all of this is over…I don't know. Who can say?"
"She seems very nice." Sam put her coffee down and started connecting cables. "Maybe you shouldn't worry about next week. Live in the moment, Daniel! You always have to analyze everything to death." She gave him her best big sister grin, the one that always melted his heart.
He smiled back at her. "Maybe you're right."
"Right about what?" Jack and Sabrina walked into the dining room, Jack carrying a cardboard box filled with video tapes.
"I was just telling Daniel we ought to call it a night," said Sam, looking over her shoulder to give her friend a conspiratorial smile.
"I see you found the control center," Daniel added, hastily changing the subject.
"Yeah, that security system is pretty outdated. Today everything's digital. This system must be twenty years old, at least. I thought Catherine would've had the latest technology." Jack put the box on the table next to Sam's laptop.
"No," Daniel said, taking a sip of his coffee and thinking of the thirty-year-old percolator that had made it. "She was an avid believer in the 'don't fix it if it ain't broke' theory."
Jack had to smile at that. It wasn't often that he heard Daniel use bad grammar, even as a joke. It made him seem more human somehow. "Well, these will still give us what we need. There'll just be more work involved, that's all." He began taking tapes out of the box and arranging them in some sort of order.
"How far back do these tapes go, Jack?"
Daniel was surprised to hear Sam address Jack by his first name, but somehow managed to keep from doing a double-take. Perhaps that fourth room wasn't going to be needed after all…
"They go back about six months," Jack replied.
"It doesn't seem like that's enough tapes," Daniel said, to no one in particular.
"No, actually it doesn't take much tape for one of these systems," said Sam. "The cameras are motion-sensitive, so they only come on when someone's approaching one of the doors from the outside; or if the perimeter has been compromised, they'll activate inside as well."
"I see." Daniel started shuffling through the tapes, looking for dates. "Where do we start?"
"I'd say with this one." Sam picked up a tape labeled 'December, 2004'. "This seems to be the oldest." She placed the tape in the machine, made some adjustments with her mouse, and before long, to everyone's surprise; a grainy image began to appear on her screen.
Jack pulled up a chair next to Sam and watched over her shoulder as she began to fast-forward through the tape. Most of the footage appeared to be delivery men, interspersed with an occasional dog and even one raccoon. Catherine didn't seem to have much company.
Sabrina stood watching them from the other side of the dining room, her arms crossed around her waist. She sighed and then excused herself to walk into the living room. Daniel followed her a few moments later.
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He found her standing in front of the fireplace. No fire was blazing tonight, but she seemed drawn to it anyway.
"Starting to get to you?" Daniel walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"She must've been so lonely, living here by herself after Ernest died."
"Don't let those tapes fool you. Catherine had a lot of friends…Hey, she had me!"
Sabrina turned around at that, hoping to catch one of those elusive Daniel Jackson grins. She wasn't disappointed. "Yes, she did have you. She was very lucky."
"She was lucky to have you too, Sabrina. Don't forget that." Daniel looked at her solemnly.
"Was she? Sometimes I wonder."
Daniel looked puzzled but Sabrina continued, changing the subject. "I had thought I'd come in here and start cleaning up this mess." She indicated the damage around them. "But I just don't have the heart to do it tonight."
"Well, it's late. We can work on that tomorrow. And don't forget Catherine's staff. Is there anyone still on retainer?"
"There's a cleaning woman who's been coming in about every three days. I guess I can call her to come in tomorrow."
"Yeah, let's do that. You don't need to do all this yourself. You'll feel better after a good night's sleep in your own bed." They both were thinking it was actually Catherine's bed, but neither one of them said anything. "Tomorrow we can start going through the pictures we scanned of Catherine's artifacts, too."
Sabrina looked downcast, refusing to meet Daniel's eyes. "Hey, we're going to figure this out. Trust me." He tilted her face up to his and kissed her. It felt good. It felt right. He kissed her once again, more thoroughly this time; and he smiled to see her mood improve. "You go on upstairs to bed. We'll get the lights and lock up."
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Daniel ended up leaving Sam and Jack to lock up and turn off the lights. They were still looking at footage when he climbed the stairs and entered his room. He moved his duffle bag onto the floor, thought briefly about a shower—vetoed it, and then got ready for bed.
He lay there in the dark, watching the shadows on the walls; caused by the play of moonlight through the trees outside his room. If he listened carefully, he could hear the sounds of his friends' laughter echoing from somewhere downstairs.
Tired as he was, sleep eluded him as he thought over the events of the last few days. He had just turned the light on next to the bed and was reaching for his 'airplane novel' when he heard a soft knock at his door.
"Daniel?" The knock came again, softer still.
"Sabrina?" Daniel dropped the novel back in his bag and propped himself up on one elbow. "Come in."
"I saw your light was on and wondered if you'd like some company." She was wearing an oversized men's tee-shirt and probably not much else. On her it looked good, great even. "Actually… I was wondering…if I could sleep in here with you tonight." She caught his gaze and held it steadily.
"Uh, sure…I mean, okay…" Daniel looked at her in confusion. He knew she had been upset earlier, and he didn't want to take advantage of her. Perhaps she only wanted some company. "Oh—kaay. Do you mean sleep in here?…Or do you mean 'sleep' in here? Because I'm…okay…with either…" When she started to smile, he smiled in return.
"Hey, does a girl need an engraved invitation to this party, or what?" She closed the bedroom door and leaned back against it, a mischievous look on her face.
Daniel hesitated only a moment. "Absolutely not." He slid over to the middle of the bed, plumped up the pillows and patted the bedspread. "I even warmed up your side." It occurred to him that she still hadn't answered his question.
All questions were answered rather quickly, however; as she slipped beneath the covers, pulled her tee-shirt over her head, and dropped it on top of his novel. She turned to look at him, a mock-serious expression on her face. "Are you a 'lights on' or a 'lights off' kinda guy, Dr. Jackson?"
He rolled over to face her and grinned. "Oh, 'lights on'…definitely…'lights on'."
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Later, much later, as they lay together in the moonlight and shadows, they talked about the craftsmanship of these old antique beds—how they don't creak and groan the way modern beds do.
While down the hall, Sam lay in Jack's arms, laughing softly. He traced her initials on her bare shoulder and nuzzled her neck. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"I was just thinking it was about time Daniel got laid." She smiled in the darkness.
"Amen to that. Maybe now we can get some sleep." He pulled her closer and they both drifted off.