Chapter 3


Daniel gazed at Sam with bleary eyes. “It’s …” He paused as he turned and glanced at her clock radio. “…It’s almost four AM. Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah – no, I’m not,” she said, flustered.

“I, um … I … what’s going on?” Noticing Daniel’s confused expression, she continued, “How did you get here? I’m sorry if I’m not making sense. I just had a crazy dream and I’m a little confused.”

Daniel edged closer to her and pulled her into his arms. “You asked me to stay the night with you because you were upset, remember?” he said.

Sam furrowed her brow in confusion.

“You didn’t want to be alone after what happened to SG-13,” Daniel elaborated further.

Sam frantically searched her mind for any recent events remotely close to this, but she came up empty. Had something happened to her other team members that she didn’t know about? “What happened to SG-13, Daniel?” she pressed.

Daniel held his index finger softly up to her lips. “It’s okay, Sam,” he said gently. “I’m here. Everything is okay.” He supplemented his spoken reassurance with a soft, tender kiss on her lips. The action made Sam shiver at first and then a warm feeling flooded her body, making her feel safe. “Okay?” Daniel asked.

As if to make sure Daniel was really there, Sam reached out and softly touched his cheek. She was still a bit confused, but Daniel was indeed real and he was here with her, and it made her feel very good.

“Okay,” she replied, a genuine smile on her face.

Daniel returned the smile and gave her a small kiss on the forehead before he eased back down onto the bed. Still in his arms, Sam eased back down as well and, within a short time, she had peacefully drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately, when she glanced about her bed, she realized that his presence had been just that – in her mind. She was lying in the middle of the bed and there had been no telltale sign of another person having slept there. She was not ready to accept that it had been a dream, thinking at first that Daniel had gotten up for some reason. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She walked over to her doorway and called out into the hall.

“Daniel?”

There was no answer. Still not ready to give in, she padded down the hallway and searched the kitchen and living room. There was no trace of Daniel or any sign that he’d been with her at all.

Sam returned to her bedroom and the realization that her intimacy with Daniel had been another dream finally hit her. She put her hands to her mouth and tried to stifle a sob, but it came anyway. The tears began flowing again as the feeling of overwhelming loneliness that tried to conquer her over the past two months succeeded at long last.

She had tried to convince herself that leaving SG-1 was the right move and that no one on the team, particularly Daniel, would miss her. After all, he was always in Vala’s company and she was most likely the object of his affection – or so Sam assumed. She still would not entertain the notion that she was jealous of Vala for one second.

However, this dream seemed to be trying to tell her something. It was no secret that she missed Daniel. But the fact that she was intimate with him and that it felt so good, and especially that she was unwilling to believe that it was just a dream, was a real eye-opener. Not only did she miss Daniel more than she’d originally thought, but she also cared about him a lot more than she’d originally thought.

She often wondered what it would be like to be in Daniel’s arms, to gaze intently into the endless depths of his cerulean orbs, and to kiss his full lips. She didn’t entertain these thoughts very much and pushed them away while Sha’re was still out there. Even after Sha’re died and Daniel had let go of most of his grief, Sam suspected that she had some stronger feelings for him, but she still didn’t give much thought to them. She’d still considered him as her best friend.

Sam finally stopped crying and her eyes widened upon being hit by another important realization. This dream had reminded her that she’d also wondered what it was like to be loved by Daniel. At some point, Sam had fallen in love with him, on a level much deeper than friendship.

She’d done it. She’d fallen in love with her best friend, but she wasn’t sure if he would ever return that love. It certainly seemed less likely now that Vala was here. She wondered whether or not she should talk to him about it. If she didn’t, it was bound to eat her up inside and make her miserable. But would she look foolish if it turned out he didn’t feel the same way?

Sam turned to glance at her clock radio. It was now 5:00 AM. Her alarm automatically went off and the radio started playing an old jazz song:

As she passed her dresser, her eyes settled on a Polaroid photograph of her, Daniel, and Cassandra. It had been taken that day in the park more than nine years ago, the day after the bomb-in-the-chest crisis had been averted and the day that Jack had given the girl a dog. Sam and Daniel were sitting together on a park bench, with Cassie sitting on both their laps. The three of them were smiling happily and it caused a faint smile to tug at Sam’s lips … such good times. The longer she stared at it, the more she began to wonder what she and Daniel would be like as parents. Reminding herself that there was about a zero percent chance of that happening, her depression returned.

She placed the photo back down on her dresser and proceeded to get dressed. There was no sense in agonizing over this as much as she was; she had work to finish up in the lab.

As she made the drive over to Cheyenne Mountain, she still couldn’t help wondering whether she should tell Daniel about her feelings. In the past, she would have discussed something like this with Janet, but of course that was no longer possible. As she neared the front gate, Sam sighed. God, she wished she could talk to someone about this.

Sam looked away from her computer monitor and began to massage her temples. The second alien device had helped her succeed in getting her mind off the dilemma regarding her feelings for Daniel. Yes, it was something that she had to confront sooner rather than later, but the uncertainty of Daniel’s feelings for her still cultivated fear within her. She could have held off on studying the device for a little while, but it presented a convenient stalling tactic to her.

She turned and furrowed her brow at Dr. Lee’s empty chair until she remembered that the other scientist had taken off to the commissary for a lunch break. She’d asked him to bring her back something, as she wanted to avoid running into SG-1 again. If they were there, there was a good chance that Daniel was there as well and she didn’t want to see him before she worked up the nerve to have the important conversation with him.

She glanced down at her watch and realized it was a good time to take a break herself. She wondered when Bill would be back and if she could risk a quick trip down to her office.

Before she could make a decision, there was a knock on the lab door. She highly doubted it was Bill, seeing as how he spent most of his time in here and hardly ever knocked. Could it be General Landry? She didn’t think he needed to see her about anything important, although a visit from him wasn’t out of the question.

She steeled herself for the possibility that it was Daniel and then berated herself for even thinking that he would have any reason to visit her. Still, there was a tiny spark of hope deep inside her that it was him and that she would finally have her chance to speak to him. As she opened the door, however, she found a familiar, hulking Jaffa on the other side.

“It is good to see you, Colonel Carter,” Teal’c said sincerely, inclining his head. “May I speak with you?”

Sam gazed at him curiously. Truth be told, it was good to see him again as well, but she somehow got the idea that he wanted to try to talk her into rejoining SG-1. She didn’t think she was ready to do that, at least not until she talked to Daniel. She quickly made up an excuse. “Uh … well, Teal’c, to tell you the truth, I’m kind of busy in here,” she said, gesturing to the inside of the lab.

Teal’c gazed at her, undeterred. “I assure you that it will not take very long.”

Sam briefly looked away from him and sighed. Teal’c knew her all too well and saw right through her excuse. He had left her alone when she’d first informed him of her reassignment but she could not avoid talking to him forever. Perhaps he wasn’t trying to talk her into coming back. “Okay,” she said quietly, stepping back to allow him entrance.

Teal’c stepped into the room and looked curiously at the devices on the table, one of which was under a microscope.

“We just brought these back the other day,” Sam told him. “They’re made mostly out of refined naquada. Dr. Lee and I ran a spectral analysis on the first one and we …” She trailed off, realizing that she was techno-babbling again and didn’t think Teal’c was interested in hearing it.

Fortunately, the Jaffa didn’t bat an eyelash and walked around the table, looking at the objects with interest. “It has been many days since we last spoke. In that time, you have become a member of SG-13. How has this change affected you?”

Sam was momentarily nonplussed, not expecting the question. “Oh … well … it’s fine,” she replied, not too convincingly.

Teal’c picked up on her uncertainty and his eyes became tinged with sadness. “I am aware that I have previously informed you, but I still regret that you have been reassigned,” he said somberly. “It is not the same without you, Colonel Carter.”

Sam chuckled bitterly. “Right, Teal’c, I’m sure it isn’t. I’m sorry, but I didn’t really feel that I was needed on SG-1 anymore. With all the changes on the team, I just felt that I was in the way.”

Teal’c moved closer to Sam and gazed at her seriously. “You are incorrect. You are quite a valuable asset to SG-1, as you have been since the day we first met.”

Sam opened her mouth as if she was about to protest, but shut it abruptly when she knew how hard it would be to argue with the Jaffa. She began to feel a bit guilty and her expression showed it.

“Something troubles you,” Teal’c said quietly.

Sam collapsed heavily into a chair and leaned her elbows on the table, sighing as she covered her face with her hands. “How do you know?” she mumbled.

“Yesterday evening I saw you in the commissary. You were sitting with members of your team, but your face and your demeanor reflected unease. I was quite certain that something was troubling you, but I did not wish to speak with you in front of SG-13.”

Sam lifted her gaze to meet Teal’c’s. Her eyes began to sting with tears upon the memory of what happened the previous night, especially how she felt when she saw Daniel and Vala enter the commissary. It reminded her once again of her feelings for Daniel and how confused she was about what she should do to reconcile them.

“Okay, I admit it. I really miss you guys,” she said, sniffling.

“As do we miss you,” Teal’c returned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

As she looked up at him, Sam found both clarity and concern in his warm, brown eyes. She decided that she could talk to him about Daniel. “Teal’c, did you ever have feelings for someone, but it took you a long time to figure them out?”

Teal’c stared at her intently for a moment. “You are speaking of Daniel Jackson,” he said quietly.

A faint blush stained Sam’s cheeks and she nodded.

“I must tell you, Colonel Carter, that Daniel Jackson does miss you greatly,” Teal’c stated.

“I’m finding it hard to believe that,” Sam returned, her voice wavering as the tears threatened to fall. “He has Vala to keep him company.”

A hint of a grin appeared on Teal’c’s lips. “I assure you that there is no love between Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran,” he told her, slight amusement lurking inside his voice.

Sam looked as if she really wanted to believe him. “Are you serious? Daniel and I used to spend so much time together, and now it seems that Vala takes up all of his free time, even his not-so-free time. I just assumed that …”

“Forgive my interruption, but at this moment I am reminded of one of O’Neill’s peculiar statements. I believe it goes: Do not assume, because when you do so, you make a domesticated donkey out of ‘you’ and ‘me.’”

Sam’s lips quivered up into a smile and she began to laugh at Teal’c’s slightly butchered version of one of Jack’s signature sayings. Teal’c had something akin to a grin on his face once again, perhaps satisfied that he had caused Sam to laugh.

Sam reached up and patted Teal’c on the arm. “Thanks, Teal’c. I’ve been such a mess lately, I needed a laugh,” she said gratefully.

Teal’c’s grin faded and he inclined his head. “What of your feelings for Daniel Jackson?” he prompted.

Sam sighed before she began. “I had a dream last night. It was pretty intense. You and I and Colonel Mitchell were on the Odyssey, engaged in a battle with some Ori ships. We took a lot of hits and suffered a lot of damage. I was injured pretty badly – hit my head and burned my arm. Everyone was yelling and running around me but no one noticed that I’d been hurt. I kept looking for Daniel, thinking that maybe he could help me, but I remembered that he wasn’t with us. He and Vala were off somewhere else, and, somehow, I could see them. I could see where they were. They were in some sort of old library, sitting close together and … being affectionate.”

Teal’c lifted an eyebrow, listening intently to the details of Sam’s dream.

“I know it’s ridiculous, but it contributed some emotional pain along with the physical pain that I was already experiencing. I was lying on the ground in agony, feeling like this was the end when I suddenly woke up. It was so vivid that it felt like it was all really happening. It was one of the worst dreams I’ve ever had.” She shuddered slightly.

“Indeed,” the Jaffa said, concerned.

“I woke up, but I didn’t really; it was still the dream. I noticed someone in bed with me, and it was Daniel. He said I asked him to stay with me because I was upset over something that happened to SG-13. I asked him about it but he insisted that everything would be okay. He held me in his arms and he … he kissed me.” Sam’s voice faltered. “After what I’d just dreamt I felt so safe, so warm being in his arms and the fact that it was just another dream …”

Sam’s voice died in her throat and she cried as Teal’c gathered her into a hug. She felt warm again being in the Jaffa’s arms, but it was a different warmth from that which she’d experienced being with Daniel in the dream. She found her voice again and continued, “I woke up and found that I was all alone again. Teal’c, you don’t know how lonely I felt then. Being close with Daniel was something that I really, really wanted and it’s something that I’ll probably never have.”

“It seems that this dream was meant make you understand the reality of your feelings for Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c said. “Its goal was to show you that your love for him is stronger than that of mere friendship.”

Sam pulled out of the hug and looked up at him, sniffling. She then looked away and nodded.

“You must inform Daniel Jackson of your feelings,” Teal’c continued.

Sam focused her gaze back on him and appeared almost frightened. “Yeah, I know it’s only fair to him to let him know, but I don’t want to get hurt, Teal’c.”

“Why do you believe you would get hurt?” Teal’c asked, confused.

“Because I can’t be sure that Daniel has the same feelings for me,” Sam said, sounding a bit impatient. “As I said before, I thought he had replaced me with Vala even before I left SG-1. Maybe he did have similar feelings for me at one time, but they long evaporated when Vala showed up.” She winced inwardly at the bitterness in her tone.

“You cannot be certain of that,” the Jaffa insisted. “I am confident that Daniel Jackson does indeed have great love for you.” Sam’s confused look prompted him to continue, “He has not been his usual self since you departed SG-1. He has been, as you would put it, ‘preoccupied.’ He has spoken very much of you during missions, as well as during gatherings for meals in the commissary. Vala Mal Doran has seemed somewhat irritated by this. He has also spoken with me in private, informing me that he wishes you would have reconsidered joining SG-13. He has not spoken very much of his feelings for you, but his behavior has led me to believe that they are quite similar to those which you hold for him.”

Sam gazed at Teal’c intently, the sincerity of his words sinking in. They began making her feel even guiltier. Daniel had been talking about her a lot during the time she’d been gone? At first she entertained the notion that Teal’c was just making up excuses to get her to consider rejoining SG-1. She knew that he would never do such a thing, though. He was her friend and would not go to such ridiculous lengths in order to get her back on the team.

“This is true, Teal’c?” she asked in a small voice.

“It is, Colonel Carter,” he said. “I have long believed that you and Daniel Jackson had feelings for each other beyond friendship. It seems that Daniel Jackson has begun to discover them and I am pleased that you have as well. It is my hope that you both will consummate these feelings.”

Sam stared at him, stunned. She didn’t know that Teal’c had ever felt this way. His words and his expression seemed so genuine. Hell, this was Teal’c; they had to be genuine. They instilled in Sam the confidence she needed to talk to Daniel and reveal her feelings to him. They also revealed to her what a valuable friend she had in the Jaffa. She reached up and hugged him again. “Thanks, Teal’c,” she told him in an uneven voice.

As she let him go and stepped back, she caught a hint of a warm smile on his lips. “You are welcome,” he replied, bowing his head. “Are you now going to speak with Daniel Jackson?”

Sam’s smile grew and she nodded. “Yeah, I am. I still have to finish these spectral analyses,” she stopped and looked down at her watch, “Oh, and get something to eat. But I’ll definitely tell him tonight.”

Teal’c inclined his head once more and headed out of her lab. Once he’d gotten out into the corridor, he looked back at her and smiled faintly once again before walking away.

“Here ya go, lemon chicken,” Bill Lee said as he threw a Styrofoam container in front of Sam, interrupting her thoughts.

Sam looked uncertainly down at the container and lifted the lid, then gave him a playful, almost sarcastic, grin. “Thanks,” she said.

“Whoa, you’re suddenly in an awfully good mood,” the other scientist remarked.

“No, actually, I’m not,” Sam replied, her mouth full of chicken as she ate enthusiastically.

“Uh … hungry, then?” he said wryly, watching her eat.

“You got me,” Sam chuckled once she’d swallowed her food. “I’d like to finish up on these devices before tonight, if you don’t mind,” she said.

“Don’t mind at all,” Dr. Lee said. “Why? What do you have to do tonight?”

Sam suddenly found that she was without an excuse. She avoided his gaze and shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, nothing much, really. I’ve just been burning the midnight oil lately and want to catch up on some sleep.”

“Sounds fine to me,” he said. “To be honest, I’d like to try getting out of here early myself. They’re having a ‘Facts of Life’ marathon on Nick at Nite tonight.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “’Facts of Life’?”

Bill nodded. “Yeah, Tootie was always my favorite, though Mrs. Garrett was also quite a peach.” A fond grin appeared on his face, which faded after a few seconds. “Never understood why they had to replace her with that Phyllis from Mary Tyler Moore.”

Sam put the last of the lemon chicken into her mouth and glanced at him oddly. She then put it aside and directed her attention back to the object under the microscope, gesturing for him to join her.

Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stared at his computer monitor. He was supposed to have a report on SG-1’s latest mission done by the next morning, but other things on his mind succeeded at distracting him. He hoped that another shot of caffeine would get him back on track.

He glared at his empty coffee cup and rose from his desk, heading over to the coffee maker on the other side of the room. He cursed to himself, realizing that he was out of coffee filters. He’d have to head down to the commissary and he was not sure he could afford a break if he wanted to finish his report in a reasonable amount of time.

He sat back down at his desk and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. He managed to type out a few more sentences before he glanced at his empty mug once again. He almost expected to see Sam standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee, one for each of them – or both for him if he was really down to the wire. He reminded himself again that she was on SG-13 and had not fraternized with him or anyone else from SG-1 for some time. It prompted feelings of frustration as he attempted to figure out what was at the root of Sam’s discontent.

Before he could think about it any further, a knock sounded on his partly open door. Daniel made a slight face. Not only was he preoccupied over Sam, behind schedule in getting this report done, and coffee-deprived, but now he had to contend with a visitor. If it was Mitchell asking him to take part in some two-on-two, Daniel hoped the Colonel would have a replacement for him lined up. He was not in the mood for basketball by any means.

“Come in,” he called out. He groaned inwardly when he found Vala on the other side of the door, grinning coyly at him.

Vala entered and, noticing the pained expression on Daniel’s face, her grin faded. She made her way up to him and leaned forward with her hands on his desk. “What’s wrong, Darling?” she asked in a husky tone of voice, reaching out to play with the soft strands of hair at his nape.

Daniel winced slightly at the moniker and briefly turned away from her. “Just … don’t call me ‘Darling,’ okay?” he nearly pleaded, sounding more stressed out than usual.

Vala seemed almost affronted by this but she looked at him expectantly.

“It’s Sam,” he elaborated, his blue eyes clouded with distress.

The concern left Vala’s eyes and she straightened up. “Oh, yes, Colonel Carter,” she said.

Daniel averted his eyes and nodded.

“Her behavior has been a bit odd recently, especially over the past few months,” Vala continued.

“I know,” Daniel said. His tone was reluctant. “We had an argument a couple of months ago that led to her putting in for reassignment. It was over something very silly and I wish it had never happened. But, when I think about what she said, she’s actually right in a way. Things are very different around here now. When SG-1 initially split up after Jack got promoted to Homeworld Security, I could feel the changes. I really wanted to resist them initially; I mean, SG-1 was my family. It’s hard to let something as important as that go. But I realized that maybe things were changing for the better. Now I’m not so sure, especially ever since she’s been on SG-13.”

Vala looked at him curiously for a few seconds and then adopted a neutral expression. “Well, if you ask me, I think it’s quite an improvement.”

Daniel’s eyebrows drew together. “What is an improvement?”

“The fact that Colonel Carter is no longer on the team,” Vala clarified. “To be quite honest, I thought there was too much friction with her being there.”

“What friction??” Daniel asked suspiciously.

“Well, between her and Mitchell. It seems that she resents having to answer to him. Perhaps she’s even jealous that she can no longer lead the team.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “I never noticed anything like that and I can’t see why she would ever be jealous of him. She never seemed to be after she came back last year.” He then muttered under his breath, “Of course you wouldn’t know that because you were lost in the Ori home galaxy at the time.”

Vala shrugged. “It’s just something I seemed to notice,” she remarked casually, avoiding Daniel’s gaze.

A realization hit Daniel and he looked at her intently. “You’re talking about Sam and yourself, aren’t you?” he said slowly. Vala continued to avoid his gaze, prompting him to continue, “Although I haven’t really noticed any friction between you two either.” He was correct; Sam and Vala weren’t exactly buddy-buddy with each other, but they were civil. Daniel never noticed Sam being cold toward Vala on any of their missions. She was a good soldier and would never resort to petty behavior with a fellow teammate when they were on duty.

“I just feel that there is an element of competition between us and I don’t like it,” Vala said bluntly.

Daniel regarded her oddly. “What do you mean by ‘competition’? Over what??” he nearly choked out.

Vala neglected to answer him. Deep down she felt there was some competition between Sam and her over Daniel. Yes, maybe that was a silly notion, but over the time that Sam was absent from the SGC, Vala had nearly free rein over Daniel and was able to spend almost every free moment in his company, whether he enjoyed it or not. Now that Sam was back, a wrench had been thrown into the works. Vala knew that Daniel and Sam were quite good friends and had known each other for a long time, apparent from the way they kept in touch during Sam’s absence and the way Daniel interacted with her when she first came back. Even though he and Sam weren’t spending a lot of time together, Vala felt it was only a matter of time before they would be fraternizing with each other constantly and she would be shoved out of the way.

“I don’t think she is absolutely indispensable to the team and I can’t understand why her not being there is such a problem for you,” she finally stated.

Daniel’s mouth dropped open and anger flashed in his eyes. “Excuse me??” he blurted out incredulously.

“I think our team is just fine the way it is,” Vala continued glibly.

Daniel made a sound of utter disbelief. “In case you still don’t realize it, Sam and I are friends and we’ve been friends for much longer than you and I have known each other. And she is important to the team because she is not only a good soldier, but her expertise in science and technology has come through for us more times than I can count.”

Vala stared at him as he defended his close friend and former teammate. Daniel’s tone seemed to let on that he knew Vala was jealous, but she couldn’t be absolutely sure. “Oh, that’s brilliant, Daniel,” she said sarcastically. “How could I not realize it, after the way you talked about her nonstop these past two months? ‘Oh, if Sam were here, she’d be able to figure out this technical doohickey in minutes.’ ‘Oh, Sam wouldn’t do this, she would do this.’”

“That doesn’t excuse what you just said about her,” Daniel said firmly, fixing her with a look of contempt. “I just can’t believe that you would talk about Sam this way.” He shook his head in disbelief. “And I don’t even want to know what you mean by ‘competition.’” Vala moved her lips to speak but Daniel instantly held his hands up, signaling that he didn’t want to hear anymore. “No, just … just leave, Vala,” he said in an irritated tone.

For a moment, Vala looked at him with a mixture of frustration and hurt in her eyes. Realizing that she wouldn’t get anywhere with Daniel, she turned around and quickly made her way out of the room.

Daniel winced as his office door loudly slammed shut, then sighed in frustration before his thoughts returned to where they’d left off: Sam. Recalling how Vala had just mockingly imitated him, he felt a small twinge of guilt. Had he really mentioned Sam as often as to become insufferable to his teammates? No one had ever said anything to him before. He did think about her quite a lot these past few months, so, admittedly, bringing her up as often as possible wasn’t out of the question.

A fond smile grew on his face as he remembered when Sam had first returned. Even though he’d kept in contact with her while she was at Area 51, it was really good to have her back. He didn’t really get to tell her as much, due to the important mission on which they were about to embark. His smile grew wider upon the memory of helping her move her things back into her lab. It faded as a twinge of guilt throbbed in his chest. Yes, he and Sam hadn’t been spending much time together, especially off base. Admittedly, he’d been quite distracted the past eight months – not only due to Vala, but to the ongoing threat of the Ori.

Ha, some excuse that was. Even back when they faced the wrath of the different Goa’uld system lords and the replicators, they’d still find ways to spend time together, even if it was just talking about the latest threat to the galaxy over cups of coffee. Of course, back then, Daniel didn’t have an annoying alien woman on his neck flirting with him every free chance she got. The only alien that came close to that was Thor, but he only ever requested Jack’s presence. He didn’t flirt with Jack, either; at least not that Daniel knew of.

The twinge of guilt metastasized into a full-fledged feeling that threatened to consume him. But why should he feel guilty? It wasn’t his fault that Vala tried to monopolize his time, preventing him from getting some important work done and making less time for him to spend with Sam. But he could no longer hide from the fact that he really, really missed the Lieutenant Colonel. He missed the warm smile and the soft laugh that was like music to him. He missed the vibrant blue-gray eyes, the comforting touch, and the warmth of being inside her embrace.

It was then that he fully realized that his feelings for Sam had truly gone deeper than he originally thought. The fact that he was constantly talking about her all this time was certainly proof of that. Sometime over the course of ten years, he’d gone from loving her as a friend to loving her as so much more – and secretly hoping that she’d return that love. He wondered if Vala sensed it somehow. Her earlier behavior did seem to reflect jealousy on some level, especially with the mention of “competition.” He then recalled the little argument he’d had with Sam that started this whole thing. Sam, the one whom he loved all along, had been jealous of Vala, the woman whom he didn’t have any romantic feelings for at all.

He sighed heavily and sat with his elbows propped on his desk, his head in his hands. He realized that he really needed to talk to Sam about this. He only hoped that he wouldn’t end up looking like a fool to her.

*"Good Morning Heartache" lyrics were written by Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, and Dan Fisher.