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Sometimes I forget you're not military.
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Maybe that's why she found herself standing outside Daniel's apartment at such a late hour, or the excuse she would give if her actions were questioned. It wasn't like she could show up on the Colonel's doorstep in the middle of the night, aside from being highly inappropriate given their positions he also just wouldn't understand.
She knew it was late, and she knew she probably should have called ahead first to make sure he was even ok with her just showing up but she was still in a spin after the events of the last few days.
Cassandra was fine, Janet had opened her home to the young girl indefinitely once they had determined the bomb inside her was no longer present. Sam had accompanied them both back to Janet's in order to help Cassandra get settled and had hung around for a few hours before promising to check in the next day. She had left under the pretence of going home and getting some rest but had quickly changed direction at the prospect of going back to her empty home with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company. Said thought process was why she had found herself outside of her friends apartment at just shy of eleven thirty at night.
Before she could stop herself, Sam raised a hand and knocked lightly on his door. She decided to give him a few moments to answer before leaving, she wouldn't knock again and a small part of her hoped he wouldn't answer so she could take it as a sign and convince herself it had been a bad idea after all.
He did answer however, stood in a t shirt and a pair of sweats, Daniel had a look of mild confusion on his face before quickly recovering and offering Sam a smile.
"Hey Sam."
She didn't look him in the eye but caught sight of his attire and instantly felt awkwardness fill the air, what was she even doing here? Daniel was her friend sure, but were they close enough that she could just show up at his place unannounced late at night? Maybe not so much.
"Do you wanna come in?"
His soft voice cut through her thoughts and that's when Sam realised she had just knocked on his door and proceeded to stare at him instead of saying anything when he answered, finally looking at him properly she gave a small nod. She wasn't sure what she was going to say in regards to why she was there but she figured any kind of conversation was better had inside than in the hallway of his apartment building.
Daniel opened his door wider and stepped aside to let Sam pass, he had considered calling her to check in, but he knew she was helping Cassandra get settled at Janet's place and didn't want to stick his nose in where it potentially wasn't wanted. Her turning up at his apartment however had quashed some of his worries about her not wanting his help.
"I'm sorry for just showing up like this, I hope I didn't wake you."
The awkwardness was back as she crossed the threshold, Daniel closed the door behind her and she turned to face him.
"You didn't, I was actually just doing a bit of reading."
He assured and she finally smiled, his face always lit up when he spoke about nerd stuff as Jack liked to call it.
"How's Cassandra?"
His question caused her smile to falter, the mention of the young girl flooded Sam's mind with memories of the past few days. She was fine, they all were, but it didn't change what had happened and what had nearly happened. She had just about been able to hold herself together aside from her moment in the elevator and the last thing she wanted was to show up at Daniel's place and then cry all over him.
"She's.. fine."
She answered after a pause and Daniel nodded, waiting patiently for her to elaborate.
"It'll take her a while to adjust to being here on Earth but Doctor Fraiser's already smitten, she's been through a lot but she's a good kid."
With another nod, Daniel gave her a soft smile. He didn't need to ask Sam how she was doing, it had been a tough few days for them all but she and Cassie had formed a special bond from the get go and he couldn't begin to imagine the toll this all had taken on her. It was then he realised they were still standing by his door and mentally chastised himself for being a rude host.
"Would you like something to drink?"
He asked, gesturing for her to head further into his apartment.
Sam briefly considered asking if he had anything alcoholic but they both had work the next morning and with her mind already in a spin, she wasn't sure alcohol would be the best choice.
"Water's fine, thanks."
She told him with a small smile as she headed on through towards his kitchen with him in tow. She'd been to his place before on a few occasions but that had been with Teal'c and the Colonel when they'd had time for a rare team evening, it had never been just the two of them.
Daniel busied himself with grabbing glasses from the cabinet whilst Sam stood across from him, wondering what direction their conversation would take next. She still wasn't entirely sure why she'd decided to stop by Daniel's place after leaving Janet's, she didn't really wanna talk about the days events but she also hadn't wanted to head home alone and deal with her own thoughts.
"I was going to call you actually."
He mentioned casually, glancing over to gauge her reaction whilst he filled two glasses up with water from the tap.
"You were?"
She sounded genuinely surprised and he nodded.
"I meant what I said before Sam, you don't have to do this alone."
At the time she had assumed he was simply referring to taking care of Cassandra. He offered her a glass and she took it with a grateful smile. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments after that, both simply enjoying the others company and giving Sam time to mull over the revelation.
They shared a glance, both knowing what they wanted but unsure of whether the other wanted it too. Eventually it was Sam who made the first move, perhaps it was the adrenaline still racing through her from almost dying but in that moment all she wanted was him. Setting her glass down on the counter beside her she closed the remaining distance between them, bracing herself with a hand against his chest she pressed her lips to his. It was chaste and over as quick as it had started but when she made to move away, Daniel brought a hand to her cheek and drew her in for another kiss.
Both allowed themselves to get lost in the moment, Sam moved her hands to his waist, fingers gently fisting the material of his shirt as his free hand cupped her other cheek. It was soft, and gentle, and so Daniel.
He loved Sha're but he couldn't deny his growing feelings towards Sam. His determination to find his wife had never wavered and he wouldn't give up no matter how long it took and regardless of his feelings for another.
They had become fast friends since meeting during her trip to Abydos with Jack and the others, she wished it had been under better circumstances but since he had joined SG-1 in hopes of finding his wife, they had all become a bit of a family of sorts. A pretty dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. Working for the military as long as she had, Sam was well aware that relationships were against regulations, but like she had been reminded of earlier that day, Daniel wasn't military. That's not to say she wanted a relationship with him, for a start he was married, but it was a comfort to her to know that they could have something between them if they so wished it, without serious repercussions.
Finally parting, they remained close. The moment Daniel had realised that Sam wasn't joining them back on the surface replayed in his mind along with the fear and dread he had felt, brushing a hand down her arm he took one of her hands and gave it a soft squeeze.
"I thought I'd lost you back there, at the facility."
With a small sigh, Sam lowered her gaze.
"I couldn't leave her Daniel."
She repeated the words she'd told the Colonel before, it made her feel sick to think she had nearly left Cassandra in that cold and damp basement at the nuclear facility all by herself. She had only turned back because of her last minute realisation that the bomb possibly wouldn't detonate after all and she didn't dare consider how she would have felt had things turned out differently.
"No, I know, I just, I'm really glad you're ok, both of you."
His relief upon hearing her voice over the com had been palpable, he knew the risk their jobs entailed but each time they managed to get through another mission he sent a silent prayer to whoever or whatever god was watching over them.
"I should probably go, it's late."
He considered asking her to stay, his guest room was set up for any impromptu team nights otherwise his bed was also rather comfortable if he did say so himself. It had been an overwhelming few days for them both however, Sam was upset and he didn't want them to let their emotions get the better of them and do something they would later regret.
With a nod he took a small step back, if he had any intention of following his better judgement then he needed to put some space between them. He still had her hand in his however and he gave it another gentle squeeze before letting go.
She dismissed the small pang of disappointment she felt when he didn't ask her to stay, it hadn't been her intention for anything like this to happen when she'd made the decision to stop by and knew they were doing the right thing by stopping before they passed the point of no return.
He took lead and she followed him back through his apartment to the door, he opened it for her and she silently stepped over the threshold before turning back to him with a smile.
"See you tomorrow?"
She knew she would but the question held a deeper meaning and he knew it. A smile crossed his lips and he gave her another nod.
"See you tomorrow."