Title: Saving Grace
Author:
BethV (taurichick77)
Rating:
PG-13
Summary: Sam comes to a realization after the events
in “Grace.“
Disclaimer:
I do not own Daniel, Sam, or the rest of the characters in the Stargate SG-1
universe. They belong to MGM, Double
Secret, and lots of other people who are way richer than me. I’m just borrowing them for my own amusement,
and hopefully yours, too.
Spoilers:
Major ones for “Grace,” and a few for previous eps
including “Fallen” and “
Archiving:
Absolutely, just ask so I know where it is.
AN: This
is unbeta’d, it just kind of came to me after I saw
“Grace” and I wanted to get it done.
Major
Samantha Carter woke up in the infirmary for the second time that day, still a
bit groggy from her recent concussion.
The events of the last few days came flooding back to her; she
remembered being on the Prometheus, alone and confused. Then the visions of her teammates, her dad,
and the little girl came back as well.
Finally, she remembered that the Colonel had been next to her when she
awoke earlier, and that she had called him Jack. Sam groaned.
“What was I thinking?” she mumbled out loud.
“I
don’t know, Sam, what were you thinking?”
Daniel’s voice alerted her to his presence. She turned and saw that he was sitting in a
chair a few feet from her.
“Hey,
Daniel.”
“Hey
yourself. How are you feeling? You had us all really worried about you. What happened out there? Who’s Grace?
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you were talking in your sleep.”
“I’m
feeling better now, thanks. What
happened? That’s a really long
story. Grace was, well, she was this
little girl that I thought I saw on the ship.
You told me she could be the cloud trying to communicate with me.” Seeing the surprised look on Daniel’s face,
Sam clarified, “Not ‘you’ you, but the you my
concussion-addled mind came up with to keep me sane.”
“Wow,
when you said long story you weren’t kidding.
It does sound like something I’d say, though. So you thought of me to keep you sane? I’m flattered.” Daniel flashed her a
grin. In the time since he had descended
and his memories came back, he realized that his question to her in the tent
had come from his subconscious. Somehow
a part of him remembered that, before he ascended, he had wanted there to be
something between them, something more than the wonderful friendship they
shared.
Sam
smiled back at his grin, and wondered if the real Daniel would bat his
eyelashes at her like the one on the ship.
He certainly was hard to resist when he turned on the charm. “I hate to burst your bubble, but Teal’c, the
Colonel, and my dad were there, too.”
“Oh.” His grin faded slightly. “What did they tell you?”
She
hesitated as she thought about the conversations with her mind’s versions of
her father and the Colonel. “Let’s just
say that I realized that something I thought I wanted wasn’t really what I
needed. I was just hanging on to a safe
bet, and it’s time for me to move on.”
Daniel
looked confused, but decided not to press her and instead changed the
subject. “So, Janet tells me that if all
goes well then she’s letting you out of here tomorrow. General Hammond has us on stand-down for two
whole weeks.”
Sam
nodded. “What are you going to do with
your time off? No, let me guess, you’re
going to be locked away in your office, with endless pots of coffee, working on
finding the
He
grinned again. “You know me too
well. If you’re really good, I’ll sneak
you into your lab so you can work on that new piece of technology that SG-3
brought back from P3X317. I’ve got
connections; Janet will never know you’re working.”
“Connections,
eh? Would these be female
connections?” Sam was surprised to note
a bit of jealousy in her tone as she thought of the nurses, several of whom had
obvious crushes on one Dr. Jackson.
Daniel
was also surprised, but pleasantly so, to detect the slight hint of jealousy in
Sam’s voice. He tried not to get his
hopes up too much, remembering that she had a concussion, which reminded him of
why he had come to see her in the first place, and the small bag resting by his
feet. “Oh, I almost forgot, I brought
you something.” He picked up the bag and
walked over to her bed.
“Chocolate
walnut cookies! You’re the best, “ she said, any jealousy forgotten and replaced with the
thought of chocolate goodness as she devoured the cookies. “Thanks, Daniel,
this is exactly what I needed.”
“Anytime,
Sam, you know I’m always here for you.”
Daniel took her hand. Sam thought
he was about to say something else, but just at that moment Janet walked in.
“Aha! I thought I told you to go home and get some
rest, Daniel. Sam needs to rest,
too. Are those cookie crumbs?”
Daniel
feigned his best look of innocence.
“Cookie crumbs? I have no idea
what you’re talking about, Janet. I was
just leaving, but I wanted to tell Sam that I’ll be back in the morning to take
her home.”
“That’s
good; all the tests are coming back normal.
I see no reason why you can’t go home tomorrow, Sam, especially since I
know Daniel will get you home safely.
Right now, though, he needs to go home so you can get some rest.”
“I’m
already gone. See you in the morning,
Sam, sweet dreams.”
“Good
night, Daniel.” Sam’s eyes followed him
out of the infirmary, and then she turned back to Janet. “Did I ever tell you that you have really
poor timing?”
“Me? I’m not the one who waited until a certain
someone was on his deathbed to tell him how I felt. You know, he still thinks you’re in love with
the Colonel.”
“Not
anymore, at least not in that way. Hey,
how did you know all that? I’ve been
trying to sort all of this out for months, and you
knew all along?”
“Has
anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep? Plus, I’m very perceptive.” Janet smiled.
“Now don’t you think it’s about time you do something about this
revelation? Get some sleep, Daniel will
be here in the morning.” She turned the
light off in the infirmary as she left, leaving Sam alone with her thoughts. Her last thoughts before drifting off to
sleep were of Daniel, and of all the things she needed to tell him tomorrow.
The
next morning, Sam was awakened by a loud voice saying “Rise and shine,
kids!” She looked over to see that the
Colonel had walked in, and was apparently addressing her and Daniel, who was
rising from the same chair he had been in before he left last night. He must have come back during the night. The thought of him watching over her somehow
made her feel all warm and tingly inside.
“Jack,
was it necessary to be so loud?”
“Sorry,
Daniel, I wanted to see how the Major here was holding up. The doc said you were taking Carter home this
morning.”
“I’m
fine, sir, just a little groggy.”
“Good. Teal’c says hello; he’s spending the next two
weeks with Bra’tac.
He stopped in to see you before he left, but you were still asleep.”
“Didn’t
seem to bother you, did it,” Daniel grumbled.
Sam laughed.
“I
heard that, Daniel. Fine, I’m leaving,
but you make sure she gets home OK.” He
turned to leave, and passed Janet, who was on her way in with Sam’s clothes.
“Here
you go, Sam. Daniel and I will be right
outside.” Sam took the clothes and got
dressed. She hoped Janet wasn’t telling
Daniel anything about their little conversation last night.
She
needn’t have worried, since out in the hall Janet was too busy fussing at Daniel
for sneaking back into the infirmary after she had sent him home. “I specifically told you to go home and get a
good night’s sleep. Curling up in a
chair, fully clothed, does not constitute a good night’s sleep. If I find out which nurse it was who let you
in here. . . ”
Sam
walked out into the hall. “Ready to go,
Daniel?”
He
breathed a sigh of relief. “Quite.”
“Sam,
you make sure to take it easy the next few days. Call me if you notice anything unusual.”
“Thanks,
Janet, I will.” She followed Daniel to
the elevator. When the doors shut,
Daniel turned to her.
“Thanks
for the rescue back there.”
She
smiled. “You’re welcome. I didn’t want Janet yelling at you just
because you care enough to want to watch over me.”
“I
do, you know. Care. A lot, really.” He fumbled with his words, trying to work up
the courage to say more.
“I
know, Daniel. In fact, I’ve been meaning
to have a talk with you about that very subject.”
“You
have?”
“Yes,
but…” Sam was interrupted by the ding of the elevator, signaling that they had
arrived at their stop. “Let’s continue
this off the base, OK?”
“OK.” They were both silent as they made their way
to Daniel’s car. When they arrived, he
opened the passenger door for her before climbing in to the driver’s side. After they had passed through the front
gates, he looked over at her. “We’re off
the base now.”
Sam
smiled. “Yes, we are. Daniel, I didn’t tell you everything about
what happened on the Prometheus. You
asked what the others told me. My dad
was there, and he told me that I deserved to be loved. Jack, um, the Colonel, told me that I
deserved better than him.”
“So
it’s true, then, you do have feelings for him.”
“Yes,
but remember what I told you last night about how I realized that what I wanted
wasn’t really what I needed, and that I was just hanging on to a safe bet?”
Realization
dawned on Daniel. “You were talking
about Jack.” Sam nodded, and he
continued. “You also said you were ready
to move on.”
“I
did, and I am. I thought about who was
always there for me, and who really understood me. Last night, when you brought me cookies and
told me you’d help me sneak into my lab, I realized that I did deserve someone
better, and that someone had been there all along. I guess I’ve kind of known how I felt about
you for a long time now, but something was always in the way until now. Daniel, what are you doing?” This last question was asked as the car
slowed down and Daniel maneuvered it onto the shoulder of the road.
“It’s
five more minutes to your house, and I didn’t want to wait one more second to
do this,” he said, as he stopped the car and reached across to capture her lips
with his. The connection was instant,
and the kiss continued for several moments.
Daniel could feel Sam smiling against his lips, and he pulled away to
look at her. “What are you smiling
about?” he asked, his own mouth stretched into as wide a grin as Sam had ever
seen.
“You
are such a romantic! I feel like I’m in
one of those novels, all I want to do is say cheesy things to you and tell you
how I feel. That kiss was, well, wow.”
Daniel
laughed. “Well I’m glad we agree on
that. Now, if you don’t mind, I promised
Janet and Jack that I would get you home safely. We can, ah, continue this there.”
“By
all means.” Sam giggled. She couldn’t remember a time she had been so
happy. She wondered what her Dad would
think. Even though it wasn’t really him
she had talked to on the ship, she felt pretty sure that he would be happy for
her. Besides, he liked Daniel. Before she knew it, they were at her
house. Daniel, ever the gentleman, came
around and opened her door for her. He
held her hand as she got out of the car, and didn’t let go until she had to dig
around for her keys in her purse.
“So,
Daniel, would you like to come in?”
“Try
and stop me,” he laughed, as they entered her house together.
“Are
you still planning on spending your down time in your office?”
“Depends,
do you still want me to sneak you into your lab?”
“No,
I’ve had a change of plans. A handsome
archeologist has just walked into my house, my calendar’s full for the next few
days.”
“Good,
I was hoping you’d say that, because I’ve got this cute blonde waiting for
me.”
Sam
elbowed him. “Refer to her as a cute
blonde again and she might not be waiting for you too long.”
“My
mistake, what I meant to say was that I have the most beautiful woman in the
world, who’s also a brilliant scientist and a skilled soldier, and who has just
realized that I’m the one for her, waiting on me.”
“Much
better, that should keep her around for considerably longer. Now come here.”
“Yes,
ma’am.” Daniel moved in for another
kiss, thinking that if the mysterious girl Grace had anything to do with his
current situation, he was forever grateful.