Descension Back To Normalcy
"Thanks for everything guys," Sam said as she set half a dozen pizza boxes on the floor of her kitchen. "As payment for help, I bring you food," she joked as Major Griff set another ten boxes on the floor.
"Mmm… Pizza," Jack called out from the backyard. If it hadn't been for the last ten minutes he'd just spent fighting various pieces of hardware into the correct position, he would have poked his head through the vacant window frame and grabbed an entire pizza for himself.
"As I recall, up until half an hour ago you'd done no actual work, sir," she reminded grudgingly, her tone sounding as though she was seriously contemplating withholding food from him.
"Oh sure. Last night I fed you, clothed you and gave you somewhere to sleep. Bite the hand that feeds you, why don't you?" Jack groused, triumphantly dropping his screwdriver in the grass now that all of the pieces were in their proper places. "And here I am installing the lock on your new front door."
"Carter, feed him if for no other reason than to make him shut up," Feretti instructed as he grabbed a box of pizza and ran upstairs to feed the kind souls who were upstairs removing all the smashed tiling from her bathroom.
"Thanks for everything sir," Sam said with a smile, acquiescing and handing him a slice through the window. "I appreciate it."
"Pay me back with pizza," he mumbled around a mouthful consisting of half the slice. "I'm almost done," he added after swallowing but thankfully before cramming the second half in his mouth.
"We're done hauling the big stuff out. I'll help you get the door up," Sam offered, dutifully handing another piece of pizza out the window at his pleading look.
"You're going shopping with me now," Daniel reminded as he rounded the corner. Stealing the slice out of Jack's hand halfway through its journey to the older man's mouth, he added something that sounded vaguely like, "Yum, green peppers – Jack's favourite," through a mouthful of pizza.
"Did they take everything at the dump?" Jack asked, stealing his beloved pizza back with a glare.
"They did indeed, O'Neill," Teal'c intoned, announcing his arrival.
"I should stay here and help," Sam argued against Daniel's reminder. She shrugged and added, "Besides, I can't exactly afford new furniture right now."
"Oh! I forgot to tell you ma'am," Graham Simmons interrupted as he came to grab a few boxes of pizza for the group busy tearing down the destroyed sheets of drywall throughout the house. "General Hammond wanted me to tell you that the air force is going to foot the bill for fixing your house up, as well as all of your credit card bills from the… From Orlin," he hastily corrected himself when three-quarters of SG-1 glared at him through the empty window frame.
"There you go," Jack said, clapping his hands together. "Get out of here."
"Still, I should…"
"Still, you should go," Janet Frasier declared as she marched into the kitchen and surveyed the room, taking stock of the damage that had been done. "I'm here now and I promise I'll keep the boys in line."
"You're outvoted Sam, let's go," Daniel urged impatiently, tossing his keys from one hand to the other.
"Bring back beer!" Jack exclaimed suddenly, the seemingly tangential remark earning a raised eyebrow from Teal'c. "The big guy'll pay for it!"
"I am not scamming the President of the United States out of beer money!" Sam enunciated each word carefully, fixing him with an incredulous look.
"Oh well, no one's perfect," Jack sighed disappointedly.
"Some are significantly closer to perfection than others, O'Neill," Teal'c deadpanned, the dig made obvious only by the amusement sparkling in his warm brown eyes.
Turning away from the window, Sam headed out the front door and around the side of the house before she could be dragged into the brewing argument. She snagged Daniel's arm, gave Janet a sympathetic smile and waved at the others over her shoulder before hustling Daniel away. As much as she hated the idea of shopping to furnish her whole place, she was relieved that it got her away from the crowd swarming through her house. She appreciated all of their help and was touched by the number of volunteers who had turned out, but it was all a bit overwhelming.
"You can drop the act now, Sam," Daniel advised gently as he slid into the driver's seat.
"What?" she asked, feigning confusion as she focussed an inordinate amount of attention on pulling the car door shut behind her.
"No one's around now," he elaborated, sliding the key into the ignition and starting it up. "You can stop pretending you're okay."
"I really am fine Daniel," Sam lied, hoping she could convince him to drop the subject.
"I heard you last night," Daniel confessed as he pulled out onto the road and carefully made his way down the street, dodging various SGC personnel hauling trash out to the fleet of pick-ups lining the street. "All night bawling your eyes out doesn't seem very 'fine' to me."
"I thought I was quiet enough that you wouldn't hear," she mumbled sheepishly, dropping her gaze to her hands in her lap.
"I don't think Jack or Teal'c heard," he offered, more to ease her embarrassment than because he really believed the other two hadn't noticed. "I didn't know if you wanted to be left alone or not, so I stayed on the couch…" he trailed off, unsure of whether he had made the right decision.
"Thanks," Sam said quietly. "For leaving me alone. And for not bringing it up in front of the others."
"So how are you really?" he questioned, sparing a glance at her. "The truth this time."
"It hurts, Daniel," Sam confessed, focussing on her hands folded in her lap. "He cared about me and he died. Just like Martouf and Lantesh, and before them Jonas… It's not fair."
"I know," he soothed, placing his right hand over hers and rubbing his thumb back and forth across the back of her knuckles.
"The only thing any of them did wrong was care about me; they didn't know I'm cursed. I should have to wear a sign around my neck that warns people about me or something," Sam stated. She realized it sounded ridiculous, but given all the things they'd seen in the last few years, she wasn't totally willing to discount the possibility that maybe she really was cursed.
"You're not cursed," Daniel reasoned. "You've had some rotten luck when it comes to love, but you're not to blame. None of this is your fault."
"I'm afraid that next time someone dies, it's going to be one of you," she murmured, near tears again for the umpteenth time in twenty-four hours. "I couldn't take losing one of you too."
"You're not going to lose us Sam," he reassured, even though they both knew it was a promise he couldn't keep. There was nothing else he could say, really; he shared the same fear and had yet to hear anyone say something that actually chased it away, even temporarily.
Falling silent, Daniel drove to the nearest furniture store while Sam stared listlessly out the window. The drive lasted almost half an hour, most of which Sam spent lost in thought and Daniel passed by casting frequent glances over at her, trying to discern what was going through her head. It wasn't until he pulled into the parking lot that she was dragged from her thoughts.
In silence, Daniel got out of the car and waited for her in front of it. Following his lead, Sam got out and slammed her door shut. Walking around the front of the car, she moved right up into his personal space and hugged him as tightly as she could.
"I'm sorry I've been so impossible to deal with lately," she apologized sincerely into his shoulder.
"You're not impossible Sam," he assured as his arms went around her. "You've been through a lot, especially lately. We understand," he said into her hair as held her tightly against his chest. "We want to help you get through this; you've just got to let us."
"Colonel O'Neill said the same thing."
"Then it must be true – Jack and I never agree," Daniel stated wryly before reluctantly letting her go. "Now, let's get this whole furniture shopping thing out of the way."
"My thoughts exactly," Sam said with the same grim smile she usually reserved for the midst of battle. "Sorry you got dragged into this."
"I volunteered," Daniel reminded, grabbing hold of her hand and walking towards the store at a relaxed pace. "Anyway, better me than Jack or Teal'c."
"Can you imagine trying to explain annoying, overbearing sales people working on commission to Teal'c?" Sam asked rhetorically, threading her fingers through his. "I owe you for saving me the trouble."
"Nah, I did it more for me than for you. I hate cleaning," he informed her, pitching his voice low so the last part came out as a conspiratorial whisper.
He was rewarded with a laugh and he savoured it, the genuine joy it carried a welcome contrast to the heart-wrenching sobs he'd listened to last night. He knew the levity would be short-lived and interspersed with stretches of solemnity and awkwardness, but every time he was permitted to glimpse the lighter side of Sam, he felt renewed hope that they would be able to repair the relationships within the team. That was Daniel's top priority right now: repairing the damage that had been catalyzed by SG-1's last mission, the physical as well as the emotional.
"I love you, ya know," Daniel admitted just outside the entrance to the store, tugging her gently around so he could look her in the eye.
"I know," Sam replied, tilting her head slightly to smile up at him. "I love you too."
"I know," Daniel mimicked. He was pleased that she hadn't hesitated to respond, despite the fact that his statement was both unusual and, he thought, unexpected. "Let's buy your furniture and get outta here."
With that, he opened the door and followed Sam into the store, their hands still intertwined.