Open Doors

Part 2 of Breaking the Walls

Sam pulled out of Janet's driveway. She was glad that Janet had gotten a ride to work. God, Janet didn't know it but she had basically saved Sam's life. Well, maybe not her life per se, but close enough. She wasn't ready to tell Daniel the answer to that question yet, not when she knew he was still madly in love with Sha’re. How could this happen? She spent half of her time with SG-1 flirting with Jack. But it wasn't Jack that she had spent her nights dreaming of, it was Daniel. She felt very guilty about being in love with him in the way that she was in love with him. She didn't love him just like a brother or a friend, but as a lover, as someone that she would want to be with the rest of her life. She loved him in the way that she wished she could spend every night wrapped in his arms, pulled tight up against his warm, hard body.

* * * * *

Daniel threw a few of his books in his bag, then grabbed his coat and started his way up to the parking lot. Why had Sam left so suddenly earlier? Had she not wanted to answer the question? But, why? Maybe he said something wrong? I have no idea, I'll ask her about it when I see her tomorrow. Sam had made a very good poin, thought. This has been hard and it only seems to get harder. At times it feels like the pain is unbearable. The worse part of it all was I didn't only lose Sha’re; I lost Ke’ra also. But it felt so good to let some of it out, and talking to Sam is great. There's just something about her that I can open up to. I wonder if she knows how much she means to me, and that I do really need her? Wait, did I just think that?? Do I need her? Okay, now I'm confusing myself. If I need her, then do I love her or what? Okay, I need to sleep, that’s all. I need sleep and when I wake up, I'll be thinking clearly. Yeah, that’s it, I just need sleep.

* * * * *

Sam threw her bag onto her chair, and then made her way to the locker room, which was the girls’ for about 15 more minutes. What am I going to do when Daniel comes in? He’s going to ask me why I didn't answer his question last night. I can't tell him; not yet. I'm not ready and nether is he, not after all he’s going through right now. Sam pulled on her t-shirt and grabbed her jacket. She made her way out of the locker room and started down the hall to her office.

"Carter?"

She turned to see Jack walking towards her.

"Yes, Colonel,” she stopped so that he could catch up and walk next to her.

"Have you seen Daniel yet this morning?"

She stopped died in her tracks.

"No. Why, Sir?"

"Well, I don't think he’s come in yet and I wanted to know if you knew where he might be. If you haven't seen him, could you call him and see if he is still home: Maybe he just didn't get up to his alarm or something."

"But, Sir, I've got a ton of work to do this morning." She tried to think of a better way of avoiding it, but she didn't know what else to say.

"Carter, the work can wait until you call Daniel. It will take two seconds. Anyway, it’s Daniel; since when did a pile of work come before him?" He flashed a smile at her, and then walked away.

Damn it, now I just don't have to worry about facing Daniel when he gets here. I have to call his house and wake him up and talk to him before even seeing him face to face. She walked into her office and picked up her phone, then dialed Daniel’s number.

*ring* *ring* *ring*

"Hello," Daniel’s sleepy voice answered the phone

"Hey ... um .... Good morning, Daniel."

"Sam???"

"Yeah...um...Jack wanted me to call and wake you up. Do you know that you’re half an hour late?"

"Um, no, I must have forgotten to set my clock last night when I got home. I'll be ready in a few minutes, but my car is having some problems. Could you come downtown and pick me up?"

Sam froze once again. Pick him up? She took a deep breath. She would have to be able to see him without wondering what will happen when he walks in the door. And at least now she had a chance to talk to him before they were at the SGC.

"Sam, are you still there?"

Oh, shit, she had forgotten he was still on the other line.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'll be there in about half an hour, okay?"

"Yeah."

She hung up the phone. She pulled off her SG jacket and put on her black one. She didn't have a place to change because the locker room had probably been taken over by the men by now.

* * * * *

Daniel shut his bedroom door, walked out to his kitchen and poured himself a hot cup of coffee. Man, how could I have forgotten to set my alarm?? I must have been more tired than I thought. He sipped his coffee as he thought. Sam would be there in around five minutes. Maybe I could buy her dinner or something to thank her for being there for me last night. A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts, and he made his way to the door. He opened it to see Sam.

"Good morning," he said with a shy smile.

"Morning." She gave a slight wave of her hand.

"I just have to grab my coat and bag," he said, then turned back in his apartment. He appeared within second as he pulled on his coat.

* * * * *

Sam pulled her keys out of her pocket as Daniel opened the front door of the apartment building. Why did I do this again?? I feel so uncomfortable right now.

"Sam,” he said, getting into her SUV.

"Yeah, Daniel."

"Um, about last night…"

Here we go, I knew this was coming, she thought to herself.

"Well, I wanted to say I'm sorry if I hurt you or anything like that." He was playing with one of the zippers on his bag.

"What on Earth gave you that idea?"

Okay, that's great; he now thinks you’re mad at him because you slipped up last night.

"Well, I guess because of the way that you left last night … well, I thought you were pissed off at me, and that I had said something."

"No, Daniel."

She let that slip out faster and louder then she had meant to.

"It’s not that, it's just... well that....um...I just…"

Damn it, Sam, get a grip and spit something that makes sense out.

"…well.....you see.......I had to talk to Janet about a personal problem."

Shit, you didn't just say that.

Sam heard him move uncomfortably in his seat. The silence in the car was almost painful.

* * * * *

Daniel tried to think of something to say, but he couldn't come up with anything appropriate. Why is this so hard? Just say something.

"So, did Janet help you?"

No, bad question. Now she's going to think you’re prying or something.

"Um, yeah, she did. You know, she's really great to talk to."

Oh, so it wasn't that kind of problem. I mean, well, damn it, Daniel, calm down. Clear your mind. He let out a deep breath.

"I know she is. Trust me, I've spent a lot of time talking to her during the many times that I have spent in the infirmary."

She let out a shy laugh.

That’s better, now you have her laughing. Keep this up and maybe nothing will be weird. He looked over at Sam who was now calmly smiling. She has a beautiful smile. I wonder why I never noticed it before.

"You’re in a good mood this morning."

"Yeah, I am, aren't I,” he smiled at her. Wow, she's very beautiful.

"It’s great to see you smiling again, Daniel." She gave his shoulder a squeeze.

Her touch feels so good. God, do I wish I could pull her into my arms, and.......wait, Daniel, this is Sam you’re thinking about. You know, the one you work with? Major in the air force? Damn it, Daniel, you can't think that way about Sam.

* * * * *

He looks so cute. I'm so glad that he’s not asking me more about last night, but I'm even more glad he smiling again. It’s been so long since I've seen him happy. I missed his smile so much. I wonder what's made him feel better. She stopped at a red light.

"Um, Sam, I wanted to thank you for being there for me last night. It meant a lot to me to have a shoulder to cry on and a friend to hug." He shined one of those super sensitive smiles that just seem to speak on its own. Sam had to pull her eyes away from him as the light turned green.

"Daniel, I was so glad to be there for you. If you ever need me for anything, I'll be here for you."

Did I just say that? He’s going to get the wrong idea from that. They pulled up to the gate.

Within a few minutes, the two were on their way into the SGC. Sam turned the corner and started her way to her office. She stopped and turned back just in time to stop Daniel before he had gone into his office.

"Hey, Daniel."

He stopped halfway in his door.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Um... we have a briefing in around forty-five minutes, okay?”

"Okay, thanks."

He gave her one last smile, and then turned into his office.

She took a deep breath, then turned and made her way down to her office. Why does he have to make this so hard?? I mean, just looking at him makes me want to pull him in my arms, and kiss his soft lips. I want to see that lust in those deep blue eyes of his. Not that he knew that he was doing this to her, but in a way she wished he did.

"Hey, Sam."

She pulled herself away from her thoughts and turned to see Jack in her doorway.

"Yes, Sir."

He took a few steps into her office, picked up a tool and started playing with it.

"Um, how is Daniel?"

Sam set down the book she had just picked up. Jack hadn't asked about Daniel in a long time.

"He’s doing better, Sir."

"That’s good. Um...well… oh, um, the briefing has been pushed back an hour because General Hammond has something he has to do before the briefing."

She looked up at him.

"Okay, Sir."

"Sam, there is one other thing...."

"Yeah."

"Well, could you tell Daniel?"

"Yeah, Sir...um, can I ask why you haven't tried to talk to him?"

"Um, well, you know......well.....because....Sam, can we talk about this later?"

He left her office without another word. Sam had spent many hours trying to get Jack to talk about why he and Daniel were growing apart, but she had never gotten an answer out of him.

* * * * *

Daniel sat in his office. Why can't I keep focused? Okay, Daniel, take a minute to think about this, okay? Sam is a beautiful, smart, kind woman. But she's a friend, and I don't want to push her. And then there's the fact that she's in love with Jack, or at least she likes him a lot. Calm down.... come on, you can keep yourself under control. Okay, let’s be realistic here. He took three deep breaths. Yes, she is very, very beautiful, but she would never see you in the way that you see her.

"Daniel."

He turned to see Sam in his doorway.

"Hi."

God, she is beautiful. Why haven’t I noticed before these last two days?

* * * * *

"Um....I'm here to tell you that…"

She paused for a minute. She wanted to say “I'm here to tell you that I love you but I have never told you because you’re in love with Sha’re'.”

"…that the briefing has been pushed back an hour."

She couldn't stop herself as she stepped further into his office. Damn it, Sam, don't get too close, she thought as she stepped closer.

"Sam."

The sound of his voice had this effect on her. He has no idea how good he sounds. The way he moves around the room, the way he moves when he’s found something she found truly fascinating.

"I wanted to know something, but I'm afraid to ask."

"What would that be?”

He stopped walking around his office, and stepped closer to her so that she could feel his warm breath on her face. His hands came over hers for a brief moment, and then moved up her arms. Oh God, Daniel, don’t do this. I don't know how much longer I can control myself.

"I wanted to know: do you love Jack?"

"No, Daniel, I don't. Well, as a brother and a close friend, but nothing more."

He had a half smile on his face as he lowered his lips to hers. She couldn't help but kiss him back on his warm lips. She ran her hand in his soft, brown hair. In reaction, he pulled her closer to his warm, hard body and then started kissing her deeper as his tongue searched her mouth. The passion seemed to fill the room and all they could do was take it in. The kiss was the only thing in the world between them. She could feel him pulling her closer and then picking her up and clearing a space on his desk, all in one movement. Then he sat her on his desk, and started kissing her again, this time even more passionately than before. She pulled off his jacket and let it fall to the floor. He pulled his lips from hers and traced her neck with his lips and then with his tongue. She couldn’t stop the low moan that she was now making.

* * * * *

Sam was right. He did need to fix what had happened between him and Daniel, Jack thought as he was sitting in the mess hall. He got up and started making his way to Daniel’s office. He saw the door was shut, so he gave it a good hard knock. To his surprise, the door opened and he saw Daniel jump away from his desk, on which Sam was sitting. Oh my God, did I just walk in on what I thought I walked in on? Were Daniel and Sam going to do that in his office?? On his desk???

"Jack,” Sam said, hopping off of Daniel’s desk. "Sir, I can explain … well, actually I can't." She started to look pale.

Jack turned to Daniel.

"Well, I don't think I have to explain this. I think you’re a grown man and you can put 2 and 2 together. Well, I hope you can." Daniel said without missing a beat. Not that he ever did; Jack knew that boy could talk and talk well, but he wasn't going to talk himself out of this.

"Well, let me check my math here, Danny Boy. I seem to think that I walked in on you and Carter here, getting ready to make love like rabbits on your desk, here in the SGC, when anyone could walk in." Did I just say that??

Daniel just looked at him, and Jack could tell he hadn't expected him to say that. With a smile, he left the room.

* * * * *

Daniel just watched as Jack left the room. He knew Jack that knew what he had walked in on was something close to that. Wait, was I going to make love to Sam??

"Sam."

He turned back to Sam.

"No, Daniel, let me say something first."

Daniel was aware of how close she was standing to him.

"You know how last night I left, well, very suddenly? Well, it’s because you asked me why I had came back, and, well, the reason I came back was to be with you to see if you were okay … and, well, because I'm in love with you."

"I know that now, Sam, and I love you, too."

~END~