Something Else

Author: Jess

Rating: PG

Fandom: Stargate SG-1

Pairing: S/D

Subjects: S/D friendship, smarm, episode tag

Spoilers: Cor-Ai, tiny one for Emancipation

Summary: After returning from P3X-1279, Sam tells Daniel what she really thinks of him (tag for Cor-Ai).

Archive: Anywhere, just let me know where it's going and keep my name on it.

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off of this. The characters do not belong to me, they belong to MGM/Showtime, Gekko Film Corporation and Double Secret Productions. This story is copyrighted January, 2004 and may not be used or altered without the express permission of the author.

Note: Thanks to BethV (BethTauri-Chick) for the little beta!

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"So anyway, General, nothing Carter, Daniel or I could say would change their minds about Teal'c. It took a contingency of those snake-heads and a staff-weapon blast to Teal'c's thigh to convince them to let him go free."

Hammond narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and nodded as Jack debriefed him.

"I don't think they quite expected him to put his life on the line to save them," Sam continued. She glanced over at Daniel, who was much quieter than usual and almost seemed to be brooding.

"I am still dismayed that Hanno did not receive the retribution he so desired," Teal'c said solemnly.

Jack put his hand on Teal'c's shoulder.

"Hey, it's over now. The main point is that you're alive. You're part of our family, Teal'c. We never would have let you go," he said quietly.

The Jaffa looked at him, his lip trembling slightly. Once it passed, he nodded at Jack.

"I see, O'Neill," he said softly, his lips edging up ever so slightly into something vaguely resembling a smile.

Jack smiled back and nodded.

Sam grinned and turned back to Daniel. She did not expect to see him with his head down, preoccupied with the pencil in his hand, turning it over and looking closely at all the small ridges within it. Maybe it was just the excitement of what they had been through, first trying to convince the Byrsa that Teal'c should live and then getting involved in that Jaffa firefight. Still, she didn't expect him to be so quiet.

No one had said anything about the great lengths he had gone through to convince Hanno to spare Teal'c's life, or the outstanding performance he had given in doing so. They had all been co-counsels for Teal'c, but neither she nor Jack had spoken so passionately in making the case. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that Daniel was like a little boy with low self-esteem who needed to be reminded about what a good job he's done.

She softly put her hand up on his shoulder and he jumped slightly, not expecting it.

"Hey, you okay?" she said in nearly a whisper.

Daniel looked at her almost bewilderingly before casting his eyes down and nodding slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said almost inaudibly, turning his attention back to the pencil in his hands.

Sam looked at him thoughtfully, wrinkling her brow. She shook her head slightly as if to clear it and turned back toward Hammond.

"Um...anyway, we offered to give them assistance in fighting the Goa'uld," she continued.

Hammond nodded.

"Alright, we'll send SG-7 back there shortly with some equipment and information to help them. This was quite an interesting debriefing. Dismissed."

With that, the members of SG-1 rose from the table. Jack supported Teal'c, who now had to rely on crutches, as he stood up and led him out of the room. Daniel stood and gave General Hammond a look which could only be described as a mixture of apology and anguish.

Sam bit her lip and looked at him with concern. Daniel should have been commended for what he had done for his friend, at least in her opinion. She noticed a small smile beginning to form on the General's lips as he looked Daniel over...

"Dismissed, son," he smiled and nodded, arms folded across his chest.

Daniel continued to look through him and then nodded slightly.

"Thanks, Sir," he said glumly as he began to make his way toward the door.

Sam walked over to Hammond.

"Is something wrong with Doctor Jackson?" he asked as he leaned in toward her.

Sam gave him a sideways look.

"I think he's extremely disappointed, Sir. If you only knew what he went through to try to convince the Byrsa people to let Teal'c..."

"I know, Captain," Hammond interrupted softly. "You all did a fine job in Teal'c's defense. But that's no longer the issue."

"But General, Sir, with all due respect, I don't think you understand."

Hammond furrowed his brow in confusion.

"When Teal'c and Daniel first met, they were enemies. In his eyes, Teal'c had been responsible for his loss of Sha're. Daniel said himself that it was tough at first, that he wanted to hate Teal'c. But he's realized what a different man Teal'c has become...a friend."

Hammond's eyes seemed to be saying 'go on.'

"General, Daniel tried with all his heart and soul to convince them that Teal'c didn't deserve to die, and it was all for nothing. They didn't want to let him go. He was so sure he had convinced them. To have a goal seem so close, just within your grasp and then to lose it...well it's gotta hurt."

Hammond averted his eyes and nodded.

"Nobody gave him any support, told him what a good effort he made. Sir, he feels like a failure," she said quietly.

"I see," Hammond responded just as quietly. "Captain, I have some paperwork to do. Why don't you check up on Doctor Jackson."

Sam smiled faintly and nodded.

"I was just about to do that, Sir."

The General smiled back and nodded before exiting the room. Sam directed her attention back toward the doorway leading out into the corridor and hoped that Daniel hadn't gone far away.

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Her worrying was for naught when she found Daniel further down the corridor leaning back against the wall, his right foot propped against it and his arms folded across his chest. He saw her approaching from the direction of the briefing room and fell into step with her after she approached him.

Sam smiled. The way she found him it appeared as if he had been waiting for her, especially the way he began walking with her en route to her office.

"Hey, Daniel," she started.

"Hey," he said softly.

"You seemed kinda preoccupied at the debriefing. You okay?" she asked, her brow knitting with concern.

Daniel didn't turn to face her, instead he looked down at his hands as they walked.

"Oh...I'm fine," he sighed. "I just...hope the Byrsa will be okay from now on."

"The General said he'll send SG-7 there shortly with some supplies to help them..."

Daniel nodded, still looking down at his hands.

They reached Sam's office and slowed to a stop. She turned her eyes down thoughtfully, trying to decide how to phrase her impending statement.

"I just wanted to say... from what I saw of you back there ... defending Teal'c like that. You were something else," she grinned.

Daniel looked up at her, a startled look on his face.

"What?" he asked in a small voice.

"You heard me, Daniel," she smiled again. "I said you were something else. The way you defended Teal'c and tried to convince them to let him go. It was ... truly amazing."

Daniel snorted scornfully.

"Yeah. Some good it did, huh."

Sam's face contorted in confusion.

"'Some good'? Daniel, of course it did some good."

"Sam, are you kidding? They were going to kill Teal'c anyway. No matter what I said, it wasn't good enough for them. It didn't do any good at all," Daniel replied excitedly. He turned to leave when Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around.

"Daniel..." she began, raising her voice desperately. "Maybe not in the way you think, but it did do some good."

Daniel's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, for one thing, you showed them how loyal you are to Teal'c. We all did, but not to the extent that you did. Not only that, but you also showed Teal'c how much he means to you, how much your friendship has grown these past eight months. That has to mean something."

Daniel looked into her eyes before averting them once again.

"I failed, Sam," he said quietly.

Sam gave him a look of pity before shaking her head.

"No... no, you didn't," she countered softly.

He looked questioningly back up at her.

"Daniel, as scientists - hell, as human beings - we all have very high expectations of ourselves and if we fall just micrometers short of them, we fail. In our own minds, we fail."

She lowered her voice and continued.

"But not always to other people."

Daniel fixed her with a serious look.

"Daniel, we were all impressed by what you did for Teal'c."

He chuckled ruefully. "Well, no one ever said so."

She looked at him with a sadness in her eyes and nodded.

"Well...I'm telling you now," she answered, giving him a little smile.

He looked back up at her and his eyes met hers, locked in each other's gazes. He averted his eyes once more and nodded slowly.

"Thanks," he said sheepishly, a little smile of his own tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I mean it, Daniel. I was impressed with your work when I read the reports about you while I was at the Pentagon, and I was impressed by your desire to learn from and understand other cultures..."

"Like the Shavadai?" Daniel interrupted innocently.

Sam fixed him with a deadly glare, which made Daniel break out into laughter.

"Oh boy, you're never gonna let me off the hook for that one, are you?" he said between giggles, remembering the ordeal Sam had gone through on that planet, most notably that monstrosity of a dress she had to wear.

"We'll see," she answered with an evil grin and a wink.

"Great, now I can sleep easier at night," Daniel returned sarcastically.

His answer couldn't help but make Sam laugh, and he joined her.

"Ah..." she finally calmed down. "Anyway, back then when I first met you, I was impressed with the lengths you went to in order to understand people, to help them. But on this mission you really proved what a great man you are. I'm sure Teal'c is more than grateful for what you did to try to help him."

Daniel averted his eyes again and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"And what matters is that he's alive and back with us. So what if we weren't initially able to convince them that he should live? We ended up gaining their trust in the end, and they realized the bonds of friendship we have for each other."

Daniel nodded again.

"Daniel..."

He looked back up at Sam, who was now grinning broadly.

"You did a damn fine job."

A smile slowly spread across Daniel's face and his eyes blinked as if he were trying to force back tears.

She reached over and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, Sam," he replied softly, sniffling a bit.

"I think we sometimes don't realize how lucky we are to have you on our team," she smiled, still in his embrace, running her hands over his soft long hair.

She finally stepped back to allow Daniel to compose himself. He sniffled a couple of times and reached into his BDU jacket pocket for a tissue.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"Oh, yeah. Just those allergies again," he nodded in mock reassurance as he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.

Sam giggled.

"Hey, I could sure use something to eat," she said suddenly. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking of heading down to the commissary actually," he replied, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his eye.

Sam nodded.

"Great. Would you like to join me?"

Daniel smiled.

"I thought you'd never ask," he replied. He stuck his arm out and Sam took hold of it as they started walking down the corridor.

After they entered the room, Daniel made a beeline for the dessert line. He smiled upon seeing a solitary dish of blue Jello. He snatched it and added it to his food tray before collecting the main course.

"Since Jack is going to be playing nursemaid to Teal'c, I finally have a shot at getting the blue Jello for once," he explained to Sam upon noticing her bewildered look as they sat down.

Sam shook her head and grinned. Daniel grinned back and raised an eyebrow playfully before he began to gouge his chicken pot pie with a fork.

Yes Daniel Jackson, you really are something else, she thought to herself.

~@~THE END~@~