Chapter Text
“Daniel?” Do you really want to do this?
“Jack.” yes why are you asking?
“Daniel?” because I don’t agree with you.
“Jack?” why don’t you?!
“Because you had a long day a boring day and maybe going home rather then back to base is the better part of of sanity.” Jack insisted. "Humor an old man why dontcha?” They stood arguing in their odd shorthand at the parking lot of where they had enjoyed a lazy late lunch on Jack's dime. Cam and Teal’c had left for their apartments. They lived in the same building.
Sam was in the car already. Daniel could see her grin from where he stood. She didn't even try to hide it. “I do need to do some work but that isn’t the only reason I want to go back to base, JACK.” The Emphasis on his name meant the argument was done. Daniel climb into the back.
“Fine.” He replied sliding into the driver’s seat. “Remind me why I put up with him?”
Sam reached over and stroked his knee while replying. “He is brilliant, speaks more languages then you have fingers and toes. And he needs you almost as much as I do.” Daniel missed the looks between them as he was staring out the window. He heard Sam’s reply and he sighed agreeing.
He pushed back from the table. Glancing up at the clock it read 1am. His brow knitted tighter while he rolled back to the side of the desk where his phone was. “Yeah, it’s Daniel. Has there been any returns from the Tok’ra homeworld?”
“No Dr. Jackson. We did have a status check from Ms. Mal Doran. She asked for and received permission to stay another 24 hours.”
Daniel chewed his cheek nodding while he listened. Hummm, Vala staying there?. She didn’t like the Tok’ra much. An uneasiness stirred in his gut. “Is there any scheduled returns to there?”
“Yes Dr Jackson. At 0500 today SG-20, it says on the roster for research purposes.”
“Thank you Airman.” He hit the disconnect and called Cam.
“Mitchell,” the groggy voice on the other said answered on the forth ring.
“Daniel here. I’m going back to the Tok’ra homeworld in the am.”He heard a feminine voice in the background. He sucked air through his teeth. Yeah gonna owe him a huge apology.
“Sure. Be back for our next mission. In two days for the briefing,” He grumbled a bit then added. “Makes sure Princess is ok.” Then he hung up.
Enough for a short sleep, he thought while walking back to his base quarters. He paused and looked down at her door. Still after two and half years years their quarters were close to each other. It was less than 10 steps. But it might has well have been a mile. He entered his room tossing his keycard on the desk. There was a 2nd keycard in a tray there. He’d had it since she came to the base. She’d slipped it in his pocket sometime after she slapped those bracelets on. He never returned it.
He’d not been in her room since she had stopped having nightmare after her kidnapping. The memory of his holding her shaking, sweat soaked body flashed. He hadn’t heard her screaming. He had just woke feeling her fear. It was like that occasionally. Times of pure communications. It happened in times of great need, or times of whimsy. But not with any frequency. Dr Lam told him it was probably a holdover from any number of mind altering things they had been through. That night he got glimpse when she spoke of how terrible parts of her life had been.
He had always known and acknowledge there was a physical attraction between them. He'd have to be blind not to see her obvious charms. However he pinpointed the kidnapping as to when his emotions for her started to changed. The potential loss of her had spooked him. Her fragility in her nightmares showed him a side of her he knew was there but had not witnessed.
Sleep. He needed to sleep and to let worries stop for the night.