Chapter 28

After she’d gone through her nightly routine, Sam collapsed onto the bed inside their hotel room in Cairo. She thought back to what had taken place over the course of this very long day. Despite the bit of confusion stemming from the fact that Daniel seemed to have misplaced the plane tickets, everything went smoothly. The flight, albeit long, was a fairly relaxed one. Nevertheless, they were both quite tired from the journey, so they decided to spend the evening looking around at the local bazaars after having dinner. Afterward, they retired back to the hotel to talk about their plans for the next day.

“I figure we’ll leave here by about eight o’clock,” Daniel told her as he eased down next to her. “That way, it won’t be as hot since the sun will have been up only a few hours. Plus, if we start early we’ll have plenty of time to study the evidence. We’d be able to make it back to the hotel for dinner.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. She then looked at him and furrowed her brow. “Dinner? What are we going to do about lunch?” she asked.

Daniel bent over and rummaged through his bag. He grabbed a couple of Powerbars and held them up. “MREs,” he said, grinning.

“MREs,” Sam mused before her eyes lit up in understanding. “Oh! Meals Ready to Eat. Right. Dad would talk about those all the time. I thought it was just military-speak, though. Where did you get that from, Daniel?”

“Actually, one of my former students had previously worked with the Air Force. Whenever we went on digs, we’d usually bring meal bars like these and he’d jokingly call them MREs. They are basically meals that are ready to eat, although he mentioned that the military version was not nearly as good,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, from what Dad said, they were pretty bad,” Sam agreed, grinning. “I’m glad I’ve never had to experience them.”

“Ditto,” Daniel replied. He looked back down at the Powerbars. “Anyway, I have a bunch of these and a couple of water canteens for us, so we should be set in terms of sustenance. I’ve got plenty of pens and pencils, several notebooks, a small tape recorder, flashlights with plenty of batteries …”

Sam nodded. “My digital camera is charged and focused properly.”

Daniel grinned. “Great, we’ll use it as a backup. Is the video camera charged?”

“All charged and ready to go,” Sam replied as she gestured to the camera that was plugged into the charging unit on the other side of the room.

“Great,” he answered again before kissing her softly on the lips. He turned briefly to remove his glasses and place them on the small night table next to the bed. “Then everything is all set. I can’t wait for you to see this, Sam,” he said as he turned back to her.

A broad smile spread across Sam’s face as his eyes pierced hers. “I can’t wait to see it, either. You’ve got me all excited about it.”

“Really? You’re not exactly showing it,” he teased affectionately.

“I am excited. Trust me,” she answered playfully. With that, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, followed by a longer, more tender kiss. Small sparks of passion ignited as the kiss became deeper. Sam reached underneath Daniel’s pajama top and caressed his chest as Daniel’s hands grabbed hold of the spaghetti straps of Sam’s nightgown. He pulled them slightly off of her shoulders, but he stopped before it would pull down the front part of her gown completely, exposing her breasts. Sam also had the urge to reach down underneath the waist of Daniel’s pajama bottoms, but concentrated on his chest as well as the strands of hair at the nape of his neck. It was as if some small part of each of them was not willing to go all the way just yet. They both emitted low groans and finally remembered that they couldn’t survive without oxygen. Their lips parted and they exchanged longing gazes.

“I take that back. You are showing it,” Daniel said, nearly out of breath as his eyes bore into Sam’s.

Sam panted slowly as she attempted to catch her breath as well. “I told you I was excited.”

Daniel caught his breath and smiled widely. Suddenly, he emitted a little yawn. “And now I’m exhausted.” He eased down onto his pillow, turned his back to her, and pulled the sheet up to his chest. “Goodnight, Sam,” he said, his voice slightly muffled.

Sam looked at him, almost dumbfounded. He was suddenly exhausted? If only a few minutes of passion made him this way, she wondered if making love would put him into a coma. Her cheeks grew hot as she stared in disbelief at the lump next to her. The disbelief was slowly being replaced by disappointment as Daniel remained unmoving except for the rise and fall of his chest. She cast another wary eye upon him before easing down onto her pillow, facing his direction.

She was just about to close her eyes when Daniel suddenly turned over and faced her with twinkling blue eyes and a wide grin on his face.

“Just kidding,” he said impishly.

Sam uttered a slight sound of disbelief. “Oh, you!” she exclaimed as she bopped him lightly on the head with her pillow.

Daniel chuckled softly before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as a peace offering.

“Don’t ever do that again, okay? It makes me feel … inadequate,” she said awkwardly.

Daniel’s eyebrows shot up.

“You know what I mean,” she added, blushing once again.

Daniel grinned and gave her one more kiss, this time on the lips. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I guess we better get some sleep now anyway. We have a big day ahead of us.”

Sam looked at him and conceded with a slow nod. “Goodnight, Daniel,” she said before kissing him back.

“Goodnight, Sam.”

Early the next morning, Sam and Daniel had changed into their desert wear and headed down to the hotel dining room for breakfast. Much to Sam’s relief, choices that more closely resembled traditional American breakfast dishes like hot cereal were included on the menu. She had been a little daring the night before and had ordered Lahma mu’assaga – savory minced meat – for dinner. This morning, however, she wanted to play it safe.

After a quite good breakfast, they came back upstairs to do some last minute preparations and collect all their equipment for the expedition. Sam fitted her boonie hat onto her head and grinned as she surveyed herself in the mirror. I look like I’m ready for a safari, she thought to herself. She tried to picture Daniel in a hat like this and her grin grew wider. Her eyes drifted down to the chest of drawers where Daniel’s bottle of SPF 60 sunscreen sat. She grabbed it and began applying liberal amounts to nearly every inch of exposed skin. Fair-skinned as she was, she had the tendency to burn easily and, after a couple of painful childhood burns, she wasn’t taking any chances.

She’d just about finished applying the sunscreen when Daniel emerged from the bathroom, cleaning his glasses with a small rag. “Ready to go?” he asked her once he’d put them back on.

Sam turned toward him and her eyes and mouth formed three nearly perfect O’s. Apart from being dressed in his desert gear, he had a tan-colored bandana tied around his head. His hair flowed out from underneath it and flopped over the top half of his shirt collar. Sam had never seen him like this and was nearly at a loss for words.

Upon not receiving an answer from her, Daniel looked at her expectantly and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh … uh … yeah, yeah, I guess,” she said, clearing her throat.

Daniel looked her over once more and smiled faintly. “You look good in that,” he said, gesturing first to her clothes and then to the boonie hat. “Forget the astrophysics degree – you look just like an archaeologist,” he said coyly.

Sam blushed and gave him and awkward smile. “I can’t say I’ve really seen an archaeologist wear something like that,” she said as she gestured to his bandana. “That’s all you have to protect you from the sun?” Not that there was anything wrong with it.

“Ah … yeah,” he answered. “I have a hat just like yours but I misplaced it. This is the next best thing. Plus, it keeps my hair back and out of my face, which can be pretty important when you’re bent over studying ruins.” He ended with a nervous little chuckle.

Sam nodded as she stared at him appreciatively. She broke her stare as he made his way up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. As he stepped back, he wrinkled his nose slightly upon almost getting a taste of sunscreen. “How much did you put on?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I don’t want to take any chances,” she said sheepishly, giving a little shrug.

Daniel nodded. “Actually, I should talk – I’m always putting on more than I need. That’s why you notice I never have a tan.” He took the bottle of sunscreen and began slathering it on all over his exposed skin. He replaced the bottle and surveyed the room for their gear.

“Is everything set?” he asked her.

She bent down and went through the two bags that contained their equipment. Satisfied that they had all they needed, she turned to him, straightened up and said, “Yeah, we’re all set to go.”

Daniel smiled and nodded. “Great.” He picked up the olive green bag and watched as she picked up the navy blue bag. He gave her one last smile before they closed the door behind them and set off.

Sam looked around curiously as she followed Daniel down the dark corridors of the burial chamber. It seemed that it was minutes ago that the two of them were trekking across the hot desert in a Land Rover. She was like a child, nearly gawking around at everything in her field of vision, especially when the tomb came into view. After they arrived, she helped him set up a small tent close to the entrance. Now, she was actually exploring the inside of the chamber with him. She’d watched various documentaries on TV about exploring the pyramids and tombs of ancient Egypt, but she never thought she’d get to experience them herself. It was, in a word, exciting.

“Daniel, this place is fascinating,” she murmured.

She heard Daniel utter a low chuckle. “You sound just like I did over ten years ago,” he said fondly.

He stopped to let Sam come up beside him and he noticed her glancing at him oddly. “Ah, not that I don’t find it fascinating anymore … it’s just that there isn’t anything terribly impressive in this part of the chamber,” he said awkwardly.

She looked at him and blinked.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” he sighed. “I know that this is all new to you. What I meant to say was, if you think this is fascinating just wait until you see the hidden room.”

Sam’s stern expression softened and her eyes regained their twinkle. “Hidden room?”

“That’s where the hieroglyphs and pictographs – a/k/a the exciting discovery – are located,” he elaborated. His tone of voice and the little smile on his face revealed pure enthusiasm.

Sam returned the smile and nodded. They continued silently down the corridor, their flashlights clearing a path in the darkness. As she glanced behind them and noticed the inky blackness, she shuddered slightly. Even though being in a tomb like this was fascinating, there was a bit of a frightening aspect to it as well, especially after having watched a good amount of horror movies focused on mummies. Sam was glad she was with Daniel, who seemed to know his way through the chamber after he’d already been there once before. She was also glad that the batteries in their flashlights had a full charge and that they had plenty of extra batteries with them.

The silence was broken as Daniel began to explain some of the hieroglyphs on the wall to Sam. When they reached the part that Kevin was studying, he went into detail about Kevin’s thesis and what their findings suggested. Although it was all very interesting, Sam only listened to him with half an ear. Her anticipation over Daniel’s exciting discovery was at the forefront.

“And,” Daniel finally announced as they finished their long journey down one of the corridors to a seemingly dead end, “Here it is.”

Sam squinted as she tried to make something out inside the area in which Daniel was shining his flashlight. Daniel stepped back and gestured for her to lower her head and climb through the large hole in the wall. She looked at him uncertainly and a tinge of fear colored her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Daniel coaxed. “It’s perfectly safe. And I’ll be right behind you.”

With that, Sam exhaled, turned back around and climbed through the hole with Daniel on her heels. As she looked around to get her bearings, she noticed pieces of broken pottery scattered around as well as some sort of jars that were intact. For a moment, Daniel seemed to get distracted as he left her side and made a beeline for one of the jars. He picked it up then knelt down on the ground to study it closely.

Sam made her way over to him and stood watching him. He was clearly intrigued by what he was looking at and she didn’t want to disturb him. Daniel finally turned and noticed her standing in back of him with questions in her eyes.

“Oh … ah, it’s a Canopic jar,” he told her. “They usually contained the preserved organs of the deceased.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. As she kept her flashlight trained on Daniel, her mind began to wander and she suddenly found herself staring at him instead of the object in his hands. She’d seen Daniel in different styles of clothing but never anything like this. It had to be the bandana. There was something about it that really appealed to her – not that she didn’t find Daniel attractive before. Perhaps it was the way it was tied around his head, or the way it swept his hair back from his eyes so she could get an even better look at those clear blue orbs.

She finally shrugged herself out of it and disciplined herself to focus on what they were supposed to be studying. She couldn’t believe she was gawking at her husband-to-be like that. She touched the corner of her mouth and blushed when she realized she had even started to drool.

Can I really help it? she asked herself.

As she snapped out of her reverie she realized that Daniel was no longer with her and had moved on to some other part of the room.

“Sam,” he called out. “It’s over here.”

“Oh! Okay, I’ll be right there,” she called back absently as she tried to get herself in order. She pushed the thoughts of her fiancé’s extremely good looks into the back of her mind before she made her way toward the back of the room.

She found Daniel knelt down next to the wall and running his hands across a set of pictographs. She shone her flashlight onto them as she knelt down next to him. What she was looking at didn’t seem out of the ordinary to her. “This wasn’t what you showed me, Daniel,” she told him.

Daniel turned briefly to look at her. “No, this isn’t it. It’s right … over here,” he said as he moved slightly over to the right.

Sam followed him and searched through the pictographs and hieroglyphs until her eyes caught the unmistakable objects that Daniel had shown her when he’d first arrived home. Her brow furrowed in concentration as he explained what the pictographs represented, supplemented by his translation of the corresponding hieroglyphs. Although she was almost completely in the dark regarding things like this, she found it hard to disprove Daniel’s theory.

As she looked at the pictures intently, Daniel moved slightly back from the wall and over to an area behind what Sam thought resembled some sort of altar. “Now, I thought that the hieroglyphs were the only thing we had and was afraid that there wouldn’t be enough evidence to support my idea. But … this isn’t the case,” he said as he bent down in front of a limestone relief.

Sam backed away from the wall and joined him. The relief depicted nearly the same scene as the pictographs, right down to the specific grouping of the “planets.” She grabbed a notebook out of Daniel’s bag and began making a sketch of them in hopes of studying their distribution later.

“Oh, ah … there’s no need for that,” Daniel said quietly. He gestured to the video camera, which he’d just turned on. He began making several slow sweeps across the relief. Sam stared at the quick sketch she’d just drawn before she replaced the notebook and reached for the digital camera. She took several still photos of the relief as well before she went back to the hieroglyphs and pictographs they had just looked at.

“I need your honest opinion, Sam,” Daniel began earnestly once she’d rejoined him in front of the relief. “Do you think you can find some way to tell whether these bodies represent our solar system?”

She looked at him intently and found a mixture of enthusiasm and hope in his eyes. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure if she could tell what they represented, given the evidence. Nevertheless, she wasn’t the type of person to just give up when presented with evidence that was on the obscure side. This was something that intrigued her and she wanted to do as much as possible to solve the riddle, even if it led to a few dead ends. She was always persistent in attacking whatever problem she’d been faced with, whether it was her own or one shared with others. She might not have known it yet, but it was just one more thing that she had in common with Daniel.

“I think so, Daniel,” she finally said. “I would need to look up what the rates of planetary shift were so I could have an idea of what their positions were at this … time. I take it there are other inscriptions or pictures that depict the position of the planets back then or sometime before or after?”

Daniel thought for a moment and then nodded. “There are Sumerian engravings that depict the planets of our solar system in their rightful positions at the time. They date to around 4000 BC, but I think they might help.”

Sam nodded, remembering a documentary she’d once seen that mentioned such depictions of the planets from Sumerian engravings.

“I have a book with some good pictures of them as well as an explanation, but we might be able to get the actual tablets from a museum,” Daniel continued.

Sam nodded. “Let’s not worry about that just yet. We still have to study what we have here,” she said, waving her hands around.

Daniel looked into her eyes and smiled faintly. “Okay,” he nodded. “I’m glad that you’re willing to help me with this, Sam.”

Sam blushed faintly and smiled back. “Anytime, Daniel,” she said as she edged closer to him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “This whole thing has me intrigued and if it leads to something wonderful, I’m more than happy to be a part of it,” she continued as she absent-mindedly ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. “And, if it doesn’t lead to something wonderful, I’d still be happy to be a part of it, working side by side with you.”

Daniel’s smile widened before they exchanged a quick kiss. After they pulled apart, he looked around the room, remembering what their task at hand was. He turned back to her and said, “I guess we’d really better get a move on with this so we’ll be able to finish before nightfall.”

Sam laughed gently at his awkward tone before joining him in front of the relief, ready to get back to work.

It was almost 7 PM and Sam was beginning to get restless. She jotted a few notes down in Daniel’s notebook and watched as he did yet another sweep over the pictographs and hieroglyphs with the camera. Sam wondered how many that would make today; she’d lost count around number 24 and that was right after their little lunch break. She berated herself for growing impatient, but she thought she’d seen enough of the writings and pictures for one day. She couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and study these pictures in a place that had better light. The fairly dim conditions didn’t seem to bother Daniel and Sam ruefully surmised that she would make a terrible archaeologist.

“Daniel,” she almost pleaded. “Are you almost done? We’ve been looking at this section of hieroglyphs for hours.” She groaned inwardly upon hearing the slight whine in her own voice.

Either Daniel didn’t hear her or he did hear and was too engrossed in what he was doing to give her an answer. She certainly hoped that he wasn’t annoyed with her. “Haven’t you gotten enough film footage of this?” she asked, gesturing with her hand to the wall.

Daniel finally took the camera away from his eyes and looked up at her curiously. “What time is it?” he asked, not actually answering her question.

Sam peered down at her watch. “It’s just about seven.”

Daniel’s eyes widened briefly and a faint smile appeared on his lips. “I guess we can call it a day now. I just want to make some quick notes in my book.” With that, he finally turned off the camera and replaced it in its bag. He grabbed the notebook he’d been using and began writing quickly in it.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Sam persisted.

He stopped writing and looked at her.

“Why did you have to get so much film footage of this?”

“Seeing as how the batteries were dead last time I was in here, I thought it was better to play it safe. You always try to get as much footage as you can in case something doesn’t come out well. Plus, you can never have too much footage of this,” he grinned as he gestured toward the pictographs he’d studied extensively.

Sam grinned and shook her head. As Daniel went back to writing his notes and making a few little sketches, Sam began staring at him. She took in his features as she watched him work. She’d done it at various times earlier on, but it was only a brief glance or two and she managed to stay focused on the matter at hand. Now that they were at a stopping point, she had no excuse not to ogle him once more. There was no need to discipline herself any longer.

She failed to realize that Daniel had stopped writing and was looking at her inquisitively. “What?” he asked.

Sam blinked and finally came down off her cloud. “Oh, uh … sorry,” she said as her cheeks became rosy. She adopted a sly grin and continued, “I just love the sight of you in a bandana.”

Daniel looked at her blankly. “Oh?”

She nodded. “It makes you look adorable, handsome, sexy …” She trailed off, finally aware of what she’d just said. It make her blush deepen.

Daniel’s eyebrows quickly shot up and then came back down and furrowed. “You mean you didn’t find me adorable, handsome or sexy before today?” he asked in a mock disappointed tone.

Sam’s blush turned yet a shade deeper. “No, no,” she insisted. “You were always those things and more, Daniel. I guess I just have a thing for guys in bandanas.” She gave him a crooked grin.

Daniel gave her a teasing grin back. “I never thought you were that type,” he said.

Sam looked away and giggled nervously. “Yeah, I guess I’m not. I guess it’s just something about you in a bandana, okay?” she said once she returned her gaze to him.

Daniel gave her an odd look and raised his eyebrows.

“You’re not making this very easy for me,” Sam said, still laughing somewhat.

“I hope you’re not going to make me wear this every day, Sam,” he continued playfully. “You might think that hat hair is bad. Well, bandana hair is even worse.”

Sam rolled her eyes briefly before a wide smile graced her lips. “I can’t imagine that it would be. But, I’ll take your word for it,” she said.

Daniel smiled gratefully at her before giving her a small kiss on the cheek. “I think we’ve got everything packed up, so why don’t we head back out now. We’ve got enough for one day and we’ll be able to do a lot more tomorrow.”

What else is there to do, Sam wondered. She looked at Daniel apologetically as he scooped up the olive green bag and took hold of his flashlight. “I’m sorry if I seemed to be rushing you. I’m just really intrigued about this whole thing and I can’t wait to view the evidence back at the hotel. We can hook the video camera up to the TV and watch the footage, right?”

Daniel nodded. “That’s why you were getting impatient? I thought it was because you were growing tired of this whole thing.”

“Are you kidding?” she said incredulously. “Not on your life!”

Daniel merely chuckled softly as he headed out of the room with Sam and down the corridor toward the exit of the tomb. Deep down, though, he had a big smile on his face.

Sam sat with her nose almost up against the TV as she viewed the video footage, pausing it every now and then. It was now almost 11 PM and she’d been looking at it for nearly three hours. Daniel had joined her for the first hour and a half, studying both the video footage and the photos taken with the digital camera. He had smiled to himself, content that she had taken as much interest in this as he had. The fact that someone so close to him seemed to share his interests so much actually touched him.

They’d both reviewed the first bit of evidence they’d procured with deep interest. They engaged in some discussions about what they could be dealing with. After a while Daniel realized how late it was getting and that they would have to be up early again the next day. He left Sam to her own devices while he showered and got through the rest of his nightly routine.

Now he was half-sitting, half-lying on top of the bed with his glasses off and tilting his head back slightly. “Sam, honey, please come to bed. It’s getting late and we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there in a second,” she replied absently without even looking back at him.

“But, Sam –“

“If I remember, you were the one who was spending way too much time on this stuff in the tomb,” she interrupted with a hint of amusement in her voice at their role reversal.

Daniel acknowledged her with a small yawn. “I know. But, we’ve had a long day and it’s time for some much-needed sleep.”

Her posture became rigid and she sighed, realizing that he had a point and that sleep was the only option. “Okay,” she said, resigned.

She turned off the TV, unplugged the video camera and put it back in its case, and returned the notebooks and the digital camera to their rightful locations. She barely noticed him as she collected her sleepwear and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change.

When she reemerged, Daniel was in the exact same position. This time, she couldn’t help but notice him. He was sitting up against the bed frame with his legs outstretched. His eyes were shut and his head was tilted back, causing his hair to just barely touch his shoulders. She stared at him and realized once again how gorgeous her husband-to-be was.

As she settled into bed next to him, she unwittingly let a quiet chuckle escape her throat as she thought back to when they’d first arrived back from their excavation. After setting the equipment down, the first thing he’d done was remove the bandana from his head. Sam resisted the temptation of reaching out and smoothing down the light brown strands that were randomly kissed by the sun. Daniel had saved her the trouble as he fingered a comb and began to fix it himself.

“What?” he asked her as he caught her laugh and gave her a sideways look.

She thought Daniel appeared almost paranoid as he turned to face her better and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “It’s nothing,” she said dismissively.

Daniel continued to look at her somewhat dubiously. “I can’t help but notice that you’ve been a little … giggly … today, Sam,” he said with a hint of amusement.

Sam’s cheeks flushed at his observation. She looked down at her hands and cleared her throat before returning her glance to him. “Sorry. I guess I’m just …” she paused as she searched for the right word, “… excited about this whole thing. I’ve never been inside an ancient Egyptian tomb before. Not only that, but the evidence and how it could apply to your theory of aliens visiting Earth during this time… I mean, the ramifications of it all are just …” she trailed off as her smile widened and she shook her head, seemingly impressed.

“It’s so incredible, Daniel,” she said forthrightly. “I’m really glad to be a part of this.”

Daniel beamed proudly deep inside, though his façade only produced a warm smile. Sam was not only soon to be his wife; she was also his partner. They would be working side by side to try to unravel this mystery, not unlike Marie and Pierre Curie or Louis and Mary Leakey. He didn’t care how long it would take them to study everything, or how many tries it would take them to arrive at a conclusion. The fact that Sam was working with him made it entirely worthwhile.

He wondered if he would have persisted in this research or had been more forthcoming about his theory if he hadn’t met her in the first place. Daniel was a persistent young man who could be quite passionate about his work. He was also quite meek and some of that passion had dimmed when his ideas were continually shot out of the water by former professors and research advisors. It was compounded by his being denied funding from various scientific institutes and foundations. He wasn’t entirely sure if he’d go ahead with all of this if Sam hadn’t entered into the picture. Perhaps the one thing he needed was someone who truly believed in him. It would certainly make sense, given the behavior of his parents the last time he’d spoken to them. He believed he found that person in Sam.

“Hey …”

He was pulled out of his deep thoughts by Sam’s voice.

“Daniel, are you okay?” she asked. As his eyes refocused, he noticed the concerned look on her face.

He looked at her thoughtfully before a bright smile spread across his face. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sam returned the smile and began fingering the buttons of his blue pajamas. She stopped as Daniel edged closer to her, put his arm around her and engulfed her in a soft, tender kiss. They eased back down onto the bed and unbridled passion was released as the kiss became deeper. As Sam began undoing his buttons to revisit his handsome chest, Daniel’s hand was roaming across the small of Sam’s back. It reached its ultimate destination of her left buttock and softly cupped it, kneading the flesh ever so slightly. At that instant, Daniel removed his lips from Sam and began planting small kisses along the crook of her neck. She groaned softly as the kisses moved from her neck down to her breasts. Her hand roamed down his chest, bypassing his nether regions for now and began caressing his inner thigh. Her groan became a little louder as she felt him growing hard against her thighs.

After several minutes of going almost as far as they could go without doing the actual deed, the two slightly moved apart and collapsed. Sam lifted her head to look at Daniel who was splayed on his back. His hair was spread out across the cream-colored pillow and as his breathing slowed, a small smile formed on his face.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sam asked him impishly.

He turned toward her and grinned. “Most definitely,” he drawled. He scooted over toward her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which caused her to emit a small, affectionate laugh.

As she stopped laughing, the face of the clock radio on the end table past Daniel grabbed her attention. “Whoa – it’s almost midnight,” she announced soberly.

Daniel straightened up and began re-buttoning his pajama top. “Oh, God, I didn’t realize it was that late,” he said. “We’d better get some sleep. We have another long day ahead of us in the tomb.”

Sam nodded as he pulled the sheet over them. “I didn’t realize it was that late, either. Goodnight, Daniel,” she said after he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before switching off the light.

Time flies when you’re having fun, she silently added.