Chapter 14

Sam hummed to herself as she got dressed. Over the past three weeks, she and Daniel had become more comfortable and less awkward in their friendship and willingness to spend time with each other. Sam had gotten over what Joe had done to her in good time, and her overall demeanor was more positive and self-assured. Daniel had sensed that he’d given her enough time and space, and that she was ready to get back to where they left off. They spent quite a bit of time talking on the phone and meeting for coffee, with the occasional meeting for lunch.

During one of these meetings, Daniel told her about the reception following the Anthropology department’s graduation ceremony. He’d wanted to invite her, and asked if she would like to come by. She found it hard to say no, but she did have to attend her own department’s graduation ceremony, as several of her top students were among those graduating. She decided to work out a compromise: she would stay for the ceremony, stay for the first few minutes of the party to congratulate her students, and then would join Daniel at his department’s reception.

Finally, the day had approached: May 16th. A faint smile appeared on her face when she realized that it was an important day for another reason – it was her birthday. She’d nearly forgotten until she received an early morning phone call from Sara, and then a long distance call from her brother, both wishing her a Happy Birthday. She was slightly disappointed, as she almost expected Daniel to give her a call, thinking back to his “I’ll have to remember that” statement from a few weeks ago. She then berated herself for expecting too much from him. After all, they were still just friends. She didn’t really expect him to remember, as it wasn’t such a big deal.

She finished getting dressed and made her way to the kitchen, where she made a quick cup of coffee and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She quickly glanced at the clock and realized it was 9:30 AM. She was usually up much earlier, but there were no classes today, and she didn’t have any meetings or other pressing engagements. She had to be in one of the seminar rooms for the graduation ceremony shortly before 1:30. She did want to get to the campus before lunchtime, so she could check her mail – both email and voicemail – and see if they needed any help setting up for the ceremony or the reception.

She was just about the leave when the phone rang once more. She didn’t bother to look at the caller ID before she picked up the receiver.

“Hello?” she asked quietly.

“Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday, Dear Sammie … Happy Birthday to You!”

Sam grinned widely as she recognized the voice that sung birthday wishes to her.

“Thanks, Dad,” she laughed gently.

Jacob Carter chuckled affectionately on the other end. Even though he was a career military man, her dad was also quite the softie. “You didn’t really think I’d forget, did you?”

“No,” she grinned.

“For a minute there I was worried that you weren’t going to pick up. Aren’t you supposed to be at the school now?” he asked with a touch of concern in his voice.

“Uh, not right away,” she replied. “There’s commencement today, and I really don’t have to be in until the Geosciences department graduation ceremony at 1:30. I do want to get in there earlier, though, so I can take care of all my administrative business – email, voicemail, any paperwork … plus I want to see if they need any help setting up. I’ll be leaving in a little bit.”

“Ah,” Jacob returned. “That’s right, I remember you telling me that. Do you have to attend some sort of reception afterwards?”

“Yeah, there’s a reception after that in the department. I’m not staying very long, though, because a friend invited me to attend the reception in his department – Anthropology,” Sam continued, her cheeks becoming tinged with red when she realized she might have said too much.

“A ‘friend’, Sam?” Jacob asked curiously. “A friend invited you to attend the reception in ‘his’ department?”

“Uh … yeah,” Sam said awkwardly as her blush deepened.

“A friend, huh? Very interesting,” Jacob remarked, his tone becoming a bit playful.

“Yes!” Sam insisted, snickering a bit. “What is the big deal??”

“Well, that fact that your friend is male, and that you’ve never mentioned him before, for one. You did break it off with this Joe, didn’t you?” he said suspiciously.

Sam shook her head and laughed softly. “Yes, Dad, I did,” she assured him. “And, I did mention this guy to you before.”

“No, you didn’t,” Jacob pressed. “Oh … wait. Is he the guy who you met in the coffee shop?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Sam smiled as she remembered that fateful day when she and Daniel first met. “His name is Daniel and he’s a professor of archaeology. We’ve known each other for more than a month now. He’s sweet and considerate, and we really enjoy each other’s company.”

“You’ve known him for more than a month?” Jacob asked.

“Yeah,” Sam confirmed.

“And, yet, you still went out with that Joe. What, was Daniel not good enough for you?”

Sam sighed, annoyed. “No, it wasn’t that,” she replied, suddenly feeling ill and wishing she could hang up right this second. She knew her father too well, though, and he wouldn’t let her get off without an explanation.

“Then what was it? From the way you describe him, it sounds like you two have real chemistry. Why did you take such a chance with that creep?” Jacob’s tone was quiet and full of concern.

Sam shut her eyes and exhaled slowly before turning back to the phone. “I … I really can’t explain it now, Dad. I have to leave now.”

“Okay, kid,” Jacob conceded softly, aware that Sam was being made uncomfortable by his grilling. He’d have to save it for when he saw her later in the day. “Actually I better get going now myself. My flight leaves in about an hour.”

“Oh, right, um … what time do you think you’ll be out here?” Sam asked.

“I should be getting into Denver International at around 12:30 or 1 PM, if there aren’t any delays,” he replied. “I couldn’t get a direct flight to Colorado Springs, but I’m renting a car and I’ve been to the Air Force Base out there, so I know my way around.”

Sam frowned. “Are you sure, Dad? I mean, I could go and pick you up in Denver after the ceremony.”

“Sam, are you kidding?” Jacob chuckled softly. “I would never expect you to do that for me. You’re going to be busy enough already, and it’s your birthday, for God’s sake. I appreciate the thought, sweetheart, but, please, don’t knock yourself out.”

Sam forced a little smile. “Okay.”

“And, besides, I think I’d go nuts if I had to rely on you to drive me around the whole time I’m here,” he teased.

“Thanks,” she said wryly. “The graduation ceremony will probably last an hour, and then the reception maybe another hour after that. I’m not sure when I’ll be back home, but probably not before 3:30.”

“I’ll give you an extra half hour since you’ll be with that nice young man,” Jacob laughed gently.

Sam rolled her eyes and smirked. “Well, I better go. I’ll see you later, Dad. Thanks for the phone call,” she said quietly.

“Okay, kiddo. Have a nice time,” he said genially.

She said goodbye to him and hung up, smiling happily as she did so. She became thoughtful as she replayed over in her mind the words her father had spoken. As with Sara, he seemed to think that she and Daniel had good chemistry, even though he’d never met the man. She found it difficult to tell him why she’d gone out with Joe instead, and was glad she was able to worm her way out of the conversation for the time being. He would undoubtedly question her about it later, though, so she wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever. She thought about what she could possibly tell him, and she hoped that he wouldn’t berate her too much; she’d already done quite a bit of that herself.

She realized it was almost 10 AM, and that she needed to get to the school. She reached for her briefcase and keys, and then made her way outside.

Sam strode past the atrium on the first floor of the Earth and Space Sciences building, where various faculty and staff members were starting to set up for the reception following the graduation ceremony. She was going to offer her assistance to them once she’d gotten all her administrative business out of the way.

She headed for the stairs and stopped at the mailroom on the second floor. Finding a small stack of mail in her mailbox, she grabbed it and made her way out the door, glancing quickly at the blackboard, on which “Graduation ceremony: 1:30 in the Gilbert R. Baum Seminar Room (121). Champagne toast and reception to follow in the first floor atrium. Congrats, grads!” was written.

Sam collapsed into her chair and hastily went through her mail: several issues of various astrophysics journals, a flyer advertising a geology field trip, and a letter in an envelope with only her name printed on the front. She furrowed her brow in confusion, wondering whom the letter could possibly be from.

She opened it up and a little smile graced her lips as she began to read the neatly handwritten words on the lined stationery:

“Sam,

I’m not usually good with saying things like this, but I wanted to thank you for all the time, guidance and insight you’ve given me these past two years. Passing my thesis defense and receiving my MS degree are two of the most important things that have ever happened in my life. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure I would pass my defense. Looking back on that day, I was so nervous and didn’t really have much of an idea of what to expect. Plus, having bronchitis didn’t really help matters. I’m glad that my voice held out for as long as it did.

I’ve been accepted into the PhD program at Stanford with full financial support. I’m going to miss working here at UCCS with the faculty and my friends (including you), but I think I’m fully prepared for what lies ahead. Over these past two years, I’ve worked hard, but I’ve learned a lot in the process, and even had some fun. I have you to thank for all that.

I’ll be heading out to California in August. When I get all settled in, I will email you and give you my contact information so we can stay in touch. I’ll see you later at the ceremony, and hopefully at the reception, but I wanted to give you this letter now in case I don’t get a chance to tell you how much I’ve appreciated having you as my research advisor.

Thanks for everything.

Kelly Muldoon”

Sam’s smile grew and she blinked a few tears. Kelly’s letter had really touched her. She had always been a sweet girl, but Sam was certainly not expecting something like this. It made her think of how lucky she was to be working with such good students – good not only as far as academic achievement was concerned, but good-hearted as well. She folded the letter back up and tucked it into her purse.

She checked her email and realized she hadn’t received anything, apart from one email from the department chair, reminding everyone of the ceremony and reception. She had just shut her computer down when the blinking of the voice mail button on her phone finally got her attention. She picked up the receiver and went through the procedure of retrieving the one message that was waiting for her.

“Hi, Sam, it’s me, Daniel. I tried to reach you at home, but I guess I just missed you. Sorry if you were expecting to meet me for coffee, but I’ve been busy preparing for the ceremony. I have to … ah … make a sort of speech,” he trailed off awkwardly.

Sam grinned. She knew that Daniel was busy and wasn’t expecting to meet him for coffee, but the way he apologized was so endearing.

“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you when the reception was going to be so you can come by and join me,” he continued. “The ceremony should be over at … ah … about 2:30 I’d say, so the reception should start not long after. It’s going to be held in the common area on the sixth floor, the place where a lot of the students and professors usually meet for lunch, informal meetings and whatnot. You shouldn’t miss it; it’s a large, open area separating the north corridor from the south corridor.”

Sam took a pen and quickly scribbled some of the details onto a small piece of paper.

“If you’re a little late, it’s not a problem. You can come at 2:30, 2:45, even 3:00. I’m not sure when your department’s ceremony is, but I’d guess it’s around the same time. If you get this message, can you give me a call back and let me know when you think you might be coming? If not, I’ll expect you anywhere from 2:30 to 3 PM. Okay, I guess I’ve gone on long enough. Talk to you later, bye.”

Sam’s grin widened. Daniel seemed a bit flustered and even a bit unsure towards the end, and she found that endearing as well. She shook herself out of it, realizing that she’d better call him and give him some indication of when she’d expect to show up.

She dialed his number and then frowned upon hearing his voice mail pick up. They were playing phone tag again, just as they’d done back when they first met.

“Hey Daniel, it’s Sam. I got your message; I guess I was en route to the school when you called. The Geosciences’ graduation ceremony is at 1:30, the same time as your department’s ceremony, and the reception is at 2:30. I have to stay for a bit to congratulate some of my top students, and then I’ll join you. I should be over there between 2:45 and 3 PM, if that’s okay. I guess you’re busy now. You don’t have to bother calling me back, I’ll just see you later … oh, and good luck with your speech. Bye.”

Sam smiled as she made her way down the hall from the seminar room to the atrium. The graduation ceremony had gone off without a hitch. There were several tables adorned with pastel-colored tablecloths, which featured cookies, bottles of soda, pieces of cake, and a large punchbowl filled with champagne punch.

Sam collected a piece of cake and a glass of punch before scanning the room for her students, Kelly and Brian, as well as a few bachelor degree recipients who’d taken one of her astrophysics courses and excelled. Upon not finding any of them right away, her mind began to wander. The agonizing thoughts over what she should tell her father about the decision to date Joe began plaguing her, and she felt quite ashamed when she remembered how she’d showed such poor judgment in deciding to give Joe a chance and not noticing how Daniel was right there the whole time.

“Sam?”

She was pulled out of her brooding when she heard a familiar voice calling out from across the room. Her eyes refocused on a short girl with long brown hair, wearing a black cap and gown and surrounded by a middle-aged man and woman. A smile grew on her face as she steadily made her way over to the happy girl.

“Hey, Kelly, congratulations!” she exclaimed as she reached forward and pulled the girl into a small hug.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” the girl smiled as she hugged Sam.

After she stepped back, she glanced at the couple standing next to her and then back to Sam.

“These are my parents,” she said. The man and woman each stepped forward and shook Sam’s hand.

“You’ve got such a bright daughter,” Sam gushed. “She did a wonderful job on her thesis, as well as her defense. You must be so proud of her.”

“We really appreciate all the time and insight you’ve given her,” Patrick Muldoon said graciously.

Sam smiled and blushed faintly. As she averted her eyes and glanced momentarily at her purse, she realized she’d almost forgotten something. She opened her purse and dug out the letter Kelly had written her.

“And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” she addressed Kelly, smiling shyly. “This was such a sweet thing for you to do, and it means a lot.”

Upon seeing her parents’ confused expressions, Sam smiled apologetically and held the letter up. “She wrote me a sweet letter, thanking me for all the guidance I’ve given her.”

Kelly’s parents blinked in surprise, and then smiled at her. “Well, that was a sweet thing for you to do,” Jan Muldoon said as she put her arm around her daughter. Kelly nodded and smiled once again at Sam.

Sam smiled brightly and reached over to give her another hug. “I have to run. Take care of yourself, and good luck with Stanford. Keep in touch, okay?”

“I will,” the girl answered.

“It was nice meeting you,” Sam said, addressing Kelly’s parents before she went off to look for Brian Lombardi, her other student, as well as the undergraduates she wanted to congratulate before leaving to see Daniel.

Daniel stood at the far end of the common area near a large window, holding up the wall. The graduation ceremony in the Anthropological Sciences department had just ended, and faculty, staff, and graduates along with their families had congregated in the large, open area for some cake and a champagne toast. Daniel had given a short speech as a prelude to the presentation of an award given to graduates who demonstrated excellence in the discipline of archaeology. Daniel was quite accustomed to public speaking no doubt, but he was convinced that he didn’t sound as lucid and confident as he usually did when giving a lecture or a speech. He reasoned that it was because he had Sam on his mind, especially the anticipation of seeing her at the reception and introducing her to all of his colleagues.

Daniel alternated between sipping his champagne punch and checking his watch every few minutes. It was now 10 minutes to 3, and there was no sign of Sam. He had checked his phone messages right before he made his way down to the lecture hall for the ceremony, and had listened to her message. He had a vague idea of when she was coming, at least, but the fact that she wasn’t here seemed to make the time drag on as slowly as possible.

“Daniel, there you are!” exclaimed a woman in a soft British accent. He looked up and saw his friend, Sarah Gardner standing in front of him.

“Hi, Sarah,” he said softly, forcing a little smile.

“That was a brilliant speech,” she gushed, smiling broadly as she patted him on the back.

“Yeah, really?” he said glumly. “Half the time I almost didn’t know what I was saying. It was a good thing I had index cards on the podium because I was almost completely focused on something entirely different.”

“What?” Sarah asked curiously as her brow furrowed in confusion.

Daniel looked at her for a moment and then gave a little shrug. “It’s nothing, really,” he said dismissively.

Sarah looked at him curiously and then shrugged herself.

“Where’s Steven?” Daniel asked as he looked past her into the crowd.

Sarah smirked. ‘I don’t know. He’ll be here soon. He’s probably paying court to poor Doctor Kleinhuis,” she snickered softly.

Daniel rolled his eyes and chuckled. “The man has not changed.”

Speak of the devil, Steven Rayner had just left an older colleague’s side and made his way up to Sarah and Daniel.

“Steven!” Daniel greeted him. “Paying court to poor Doctor Kleinhuis, were you?” he asked jokingly.

Steven’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What? ‘Paying court’? What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, his tone letting on that he knew it wasn’t exactly a compliment.

Daniel held his hands up. “Not my words – Sarah’s,” he said innocently.

Steven looked accusingly at Sarah. “Why, how naughty you are, Doctor Gardner,” he said, grinning playfully at her.

Sarah went up to him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “I learned from the best, Doctor Rayner,” she said, adopting a sexy tone of voice before kissing him softly on the lips.

Daniel rolled his eyes briefly and then flashed an innocent smile as they turned back to him.

“So, Daniel, that was some speech you gave!” Steven exclaimed.

“I told him that, but he wouldn’t accept it,” Sarah added.

Daniel blushed faintly and shook his head as he wrapped his arms protectively around himself.

“Come on, guys, it was nothing. If I kept my mind more focused on the topic at hand, maybe I could have done a halfway decent job.”

“Oh, you’re too hard on yourself,” Sarah frowned.

“Always has been,” Steven agreed. “You’ve never changed, Daniel.”

Daniel’s blushed deepened somewhat and he shrugged. “I never thought that humility was such a bad thing.”

“It isn’t,” Sarah conceded. “But, excessive humility, that’s something else.”

Daniel snorted as his friends enjoyed a quick laugh at his expense. He wished now more than ever that Sam would arrive.

His wish was granted as he spotted a tall (though definitely not as tall as Sarah) woman with short, blonde hair wearing a light blue skirt and blazer, white shirt and black, low-heeled shoes. She was coming from the north corridor and was proceeding tentatively toward the big open space of the common area. He looked past Sarah and Steven as she came closer. A smile grew on his face as he realized that it was Sam.

“Excuse me,” he said, glancing quickly back at Sarah and Steven before walking away.

Sam made her way through the north end of the building, passing offices and classrooms as she neared the common area. She suspected that Daniel would introduce her to his friends, and she really didn’t know what to expect, so she was quite nervous.

She felt her heart pounding as she picked Daniel out of the huge crowd that had assembled there. He was wearing an ash gray suit with a light gray shirt and a navy blue tie. He looked so sleek and handsome in that outfit, she was afraid she’d start drooling unconsciously. Daniel was certainly proof that geek could be chic. She was unaware that a silly grin had found its way onto her face.

The grin faded when she realized he was among a few other people, especially another woman … especially another woman who was a bit taller than him, thin as a waif, and had long, strawberry blonde, spiral-curled hair. She noticed that he was standing quite close to this other woman, and her cheeks began to flame. Was she actually feeling jealous? Perhaps this woman was just another colleague – a professor or even a staff member like a secretary. What reason did she have to be jealous?

Before she could agonize over it further, Daniel parted company with the others and started walking over to her.

“Sam,” he said happily. His smile was warm and genuine, and it washed away the feelings of sheer jealousy.

She grew a smile of her own. “Daniel,” she said softly.

Daniel’s smile grew wider. “I got your message,” he suddenly said.

Sam grinned. “You know, we really need to quit this game of phone tag,” she joked.

Daniel chuckled softly and patted her arm softly. He quickly turned back to where Steven and Sarah were looking at them curiously.

“Oh, ah … come with me, I want you to meet someone,” he said as he turned back to her.

Sam looked at him expectantly and then joined him as they made their way back to his colleagues.

“Sam, this is Steven Rayner …”

“Hi,” Steven said genially. Sam smiled, nodded, and muttered a weak “Hi.”

“… And Sarah Gardner,” Daniel finished, gesturing to Sarah.

“Hello,” Sarah smiled kindly.

Sam felt the slight pangs of jealousy return and resisted the urge to pull the taller woman’s hair out by the roots. She forced a smile and a tiny “Hello.”

“I’ve known Steven since my days at the University of Chicago,” Daniel added.

“Oh yeah, we go back a long way,” Steven agreed. “You don’t want to know what he was like back then.”

“Um … I can’t imagine,” Sam said awkwardly.

Daniel sighed. “Don’t listen to him. I thought you just said before that I haven’t changed,” he said accusingly.

Steven shrugged. “No, I guess not,” he conceded. “Except for some of those wacky theories you used to have. His advisor, Doctor Jordan had to talk some sense into him, or his career would have been in jeopardy. I mean, you should have heard some of his ideas –“

“I think you’ve said enough, Steven,” Daniel cut in, glaring at the other man. He turned his attention to Sarah.

“Sarah came here two years ago from UC Davis, and earned her PhD a little over a year ago,” he smiled.

“Is she one of your students?” Sam suddenly blurted out. She mentally kicked herself as she recognized the slight note of jealousy in her voice.

Daniel raised his eyebrows, a bit surprised by the question. “Oh … ah …no, she was a student of Doctor Kleinhuis,” he replied as he gestured toward an older man standing near the table with the bowl of punch. “She teaches one of our introductory archaeology courses.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. She nearly flinched in surprise when Daniel edged closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

“This is Doctor Samantha Carter. She’s an astrophysics professor over in the Earth and Space Sciences department,” he said.

Sam looked up at him and smiled before turning back to Sarah and Steven.

“Wow, astrophysics, interesting!” Sarah exclaimed.

Sam gave her an amused smile and nodded.

“So, how did you guys meet?” Steven asked.

Sam and Daniel turned to each other briefly. “Uh ... well, we …” Sam trailed off.

“We met in the coffee shop,” Daniel supplied carefully.

He was met with blank stares from both of his friends.

“The Java House … a few blocks from campus,” he clarified.

Their blank stares were replaced with expressions of familiarity.

“Ah … so, how long have you known each other?” Sarah asked.

What is it to you? Sam thought to herself before once again biting back the feelings of jealousy.

“About a month and a half,” Daniel replied.

“That long, huh?” Steven remarked.

Sam and Daniel nodded.

“Nice,” Steven mused. He looked at them awkwardly before he looked at Sarah and noticed that her glass of champagne was empty.

“I’m gonna go get us a refill,” he said to Sam and Daniel, gesturing to her empty glass, as well as to his own.

“Don’t overdo it,” Daniel said wryly.

Steven turned to look at him once more and rolled his eyes before he led Sarah over to the punch bowl. Daniel turned back to Sam and decided he’d introduce her to a few more of his colleagues.

It was about 3:30 when everyone began to disperse, and Sam and Daniel found themselves outside the imposing SBS building all alone. Most of the graduation ceremonies and parties had come to an end, and this part of the campus seemed almost like a ghost town. They walked hand in hand over to a large elm tree, which afforded them some shade from the bright afternoon sunlight.

“Thanks for inviting me, Daniel,” Sam said as she turned to him. “It was nice meeting some of the people that you work with.” She blushed slightly, as her tone seemed a bit glum in that last sentence.

Daniel didn’t seem to pick up on it. “It’s okay. They all seemed to like you, especially Steven and Sarah.”

Sam averted her eyes and nodded.

“Did you know that they’re engaged?” Daniel continued.

Sam inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and berated herself for ever cultivating feelings of jealousy in the first place.

“R-really?” she stammered.

Daniel nodded. “They haven’t set a date yet, but with their schedules, they’re thinking it probably won’t be for at least a year. They’re not in much of a hurry, though,” he said softly.

Sam nodded, and as she looked at him, she seemed to become lost in his eyes. They were such a clear, deep cerulean color, and she thought she would drown in them. She studied his face – the chiseled features, the strong jaw, and the kind smile. She noticed that the soft, long, light brown hair that framed his face so nicely had some subtle blonde highlights in it, emphasized by the sunlight that leaked through the elm tree’s canopy. She felt as though she wanted to kiss him, but acting impulsively would make her out to be a hypocrite, so she tried to rein those feelings in for the time being.

“It’s such a nice day, isn’t it?” Daniel asked her with a dream-like quality to his voice.

“It is,” she replied. Her gaze shifted from him ahead toward the far end of the campus. In the background she could just make out some of the peaks of the Colorado Rockies. In the sunlight, they seemed to glisten magically.

She didn’t notice that Daniel had been looking at her thoughtfully for quite some time, until he realized what day it was and how important it was.

She turned back to him when she heard him fidgeting with his blazer pocket. He pulled out a narrow rectangular box, and handed it to her.

Sam looked at him curiously and accepted it. As she opened it, she felt her heart leap up into her throat.

Inside was a dainty tennis bracelet, set with small emeralds – Sam’s birthstone. She stared at the gift in disbelief, completely stunned and not expecting such a thing from Daniel. She almost felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

“You got this for me?” she finally asked in a small voice as she blinked tears.

Daniel gave her a beautiful smile. “Of course, Sam,” he replied. He removed the bracelet, unhooked the clasp, and fitted it around her right wrist, where it dangled ever so slightly.

“It’s beautiful,” Sam choked out.

“Like you,” Daniel as he took hold of her hand and began to caress it.

Sam bit her lip ever so slightly as she felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She didn’t want to be reduced to a messy, blubbering state, even though she was touched so much by Daniel’s words.

Daniel noticed the tear rolling down her cheek, reached into his pocket and handed her a tissue. Sam accepted it and began to laugh through her tears. Yes, he was so thoughtful.

Once she dried her eyes and managed to regain her total composure, Daniel took hold of her hands again and looked into her eyes.

“I hope you know how much I care about you, Sam. I know we’ve only known each other for just over a month, but I feel that we have such good chemistry; it’s as if I’ve known you for years.”

Sam nodded slowly and smiled. “I feel the same way,” she said.

Daniel’s smile grew, and they began edging closer and closer to each other until their lips joined, and Daniel enveloped her in a slow, soft, tender kiss. For a fleeting moment, he was worried that Sam wouldn’t be receptive, and might actually push him away, but this wasn’t the case at all. His hands had cupped her face, and within several moments his fingers began running through her hair. The kiss became a bit more passionate and Daniel’s tongue began searching her mouth, although not yet plunging into her throat.

He heard Sam utter a soft groan, and he realized what he was doing. He abruptly pulled away from her and blushed madly.

“I’m sorry, that was too forward, wasn’t it,” he said, flustered. His eyes were intensely apologetic as he gazed at Sam. He suddenly thought back to her experience with Joe, and was worried that he might end up doing the same thing to her. In the very least, he didn’t think she wanted to go this far after what Joe did.

“No, it wasn’t,” Sam answered solemnly as she looked him in the eyes. “Daniel, I’m finally absolutely sure of my feelings for you. I know that I love you, and on top of that, I’m attracted to you. As you said, we know each other so well. Of course it isn’t too forward. In fact, I was beginning to enjoy it.” She smiled impishly and blushed slightly.

Daniel smiled and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good. Then I hope you won’t find this too forward …”

He wrapped his arms around her neck and proceeded to kiss her again, this time even more deeply and passionately. Sam knew there was no going back, and was completely receptive to the kiss. She knew it was something she truly wanted. She felt his tongue searching through her mouth, and it made her moan with pleasure. She began running her fingers through his soft hair, and he responded by doing the same to her. His hands worked their way down and began caressing her shoulders and her back, but never quite making their way to the front of her body.

After what Sam deemed to be one hell of a kiss, the two parted lips and stared soulfully into each other’s eyes. Daniel then pulled her close to him and hugged her before kissing her softly on the forehead.

“Sam, I love you, too,” he said softly. “I’m not quite sure how to say this, but … nothing would make me happier if we could be a couple.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Daniel, caught a bit off-guard by his admission. She nearly got the wrong idea and thought that he was proposing to her. Proposing, after knowing each other only a month and a half? It seemed eerily familiar to Joe’s experience – wanting to propose to a girl after dating her for only several months. One important difference was that Daniel was nothing like Joe, and quite possibly, the girl didn’t harbor any deep feelings for him (apart from disgust, Sam thought).

She came to her senses when she realized she had jumped to conclusions. He couldn’t be proposing, because there wasn’t any ring involved. He had to mean that he wanted to see her on a steadier basis. Still, she needed to be absolutely sure.

“Daniel,” she began softly. “Are you saying that –“

“I’d like to cultivate a real, meaningful relationship with you?” he supplied. “Well, yeah, something along those lines,” he smiled softly.

Sam laughed gently as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good, just making sure,” she replied.

Daniel grinned. “We’ll still be the best of friends, but on a whole new level, if that makes any sense,” he said as he blushed a bit.

“Oh, yes, that makes perfect sense, Doctor Jackson,” she grinned back. She noticed that his glasses had slid down his nose a bit, so she reached out and pushed them back up to the bridge of his nose. Daniel reciprocated by fixing the collar of the white shirt that she wore under her blazer. It had gotten slightly askew as a result of their little make out session. Sam grinned up at him and nodded before embracing him once again.

“I can’t believe what a fool I was,” she said regrettably as the top of her head brushed his chin. “I was searching desperately for love, and there you were, right under my nose the whole time.”

Daniel sighed. “We all make mistakes, Sam,” he said softly. “But, we can redeem ourselves by learning from them.” He finished his statement by stroking the back of her head.

“That’s so true,” she muttered. She stayed in his embrace for a few moments before a realization hit her and her eyes widened before she pulled apart from him.

“Oh, geez, I just remembered, my father should be at my house by now,” she remarked in a flustered tone.

She looked into his eyes hesitantly as she worked up the courage to ask him an important question. “Would you like to come home with me and meet my father? After all, it’s only fair if we’re going to be seriously dating.” Her face cracked open in a big smile.

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Daniel answered gladly.

“Great,” Sam nodded. “Just follow my car. I’m not too far from the school.”

Daniel smiled and nodded before making his way to his own car, which was parked not far from Sam’s.