Fic: Slow Evolution (Valentines #10)
Title: Slow Evolution (#10 in the increasingly inaccurately-named 'Valentines' series)
Author: Pepper
Rating: PG
Summary: Daniel has his say.
Season: One
Related SG-1 Episode(s): 109 Thor's Hammer, 110 The Torment of Tantalus
Pairing(s): Sam/Jack
A/N: shinysilvergrl prompted me that I hadn't written this series in, er, a very long time. This is effectively a chapter of an ongoing story, and doesn't work as a stand-alone. It follows directly on from the previous one (and if anyone is still wondering what Three Little Words Sam said in that one, the clue is in the title. *g*). This one is mainly Daniel. The fact that it's several times longer than the other chapters is totally his fault.
With much thanks and smooches to vickyocean and surreallis, for their very kind (and swift!) beta-ing. The fact that the military stuff now makes sense is entirely due to them. I owe you many biscuits, ladies.
Series: Intruder Alert / Sweet, Cute, Tacky / Days Of Wine And Roses / Unprofessional / Etiquette / Four's Company / The Wrong Man / The Kirk Syndrome / White. Silk. Underwear. / Slow Evolution / Settling In / Necking
Warning: This series is a WIP. What's worse, I honestly don't know when it will be finished. But I do have plans, and I do have two more chapters/stories (some of them are more stand-alone than others) in a state of semi-writtenness, so all is not lost...
Oh, and belated happy birthday, shinysilvergrl!
---
If it had been any other couple, Daniel would have left them to what was obviously a private moment. But this wasn't a couple - this was a colonel and his subordinate. So he knocked hollowly on the wooden wall of the gun range booth, and they both turned, looking startled. Neither officer had heard his approach, being as they were far too absorbed in staring at one another.
Not a couple. Yeah, right.
"Daniel, hi," Sam greeted him, slightly over-enthusiastically, and then fell awkwardly silent. If Daniel hadn't known better, he might have suspected that they'd been talking about him - it was an oh-shit-we'd-better-shut-up-now sort of a silence.
Jack seemed even more distracted. After briefly acknowledging Daniel's presence, his eyes strayed back to Sam, but it seemed they couldn't decide where to stop, ticking back and forth from her face to - erm - an area slightly lower.
"Jack!" Daniel reprimanded, sharply.
Jack's eyes snapped front and center and his cheeks pinked slightly. "What?!"
Geez, defensive much? "Are you-" staring at Sam's chest? Daniel found he just couldn't ask that. He took pity. "Not interrupting anything, am I?" Well, maybe not 'took pity', exactly...
"No," said Jack, glaring at him. "We were getting in some target practice."
"Oh, right, is that the story?" said Daniel, in breezy disbelief. "Well, anyway, that's not important. I wanted to talk to you about the Heliopolis... you know, Ernest's planet. We really need to go there."
Jack and Sam exchanged looks - and there was just enough 'how do we talk him down?' about it to put Daniel's back up.
"Daniel," Sam began, "I consider this find as important as you do, but you know we haven't got the technology to reach it without a Stargate. And as far as we can tell, that fell through into the sea and was destroyed."
"I know you want to go there, too," said Daniel, feeling a pang of irrational guilt that he'd at least gotten to spend some time with Ernest's discovery, knowing how much Sam must have itched to explore its mysteries. Perhaps she might even have found a way to detach the important parts and bring them home. But it wasn't Daniel's way to dwell on aspects of a problem that he couldn't change, when, if he came at it from a different angle, he might find a solution. "And I know it's too far away for us to reach right now - but we have to think about this more constructively, and put a solution to General Hammond. Maybe he can make it a - a mission objective, or something. After all, we have the co-ordinates, right?" Sam nodded, watching him thoughtfully. "And we know there are ships out there that could make that journey, right?" Sam raised her eyebrows.
"Goa'uld ships," she pointed out, ever practical.
"But the technology exists," insisted Daniel. "And it's not inconceivable that we might get our hands on some of it - either by acquiring a whole ship, or by getting access to enough information about the technology in order to build our own version. We need to make that a priority."
"Daniel-" Jack paused, and Daniel knew he was mustering counter-arguments, and for a moment felt a flash of irritation that Jack was always - always - so negative. But that was unfair, he reminded himself. Jack was doing what he was good at: ruthlessly pointing out the flaws in any plan, refusing to go off on a mission with his shoelaces untied and half his pack forgotten - metaphorically speaking. And Daniel knew that Jack did this, not out of fear, but because the universe was a dangerous place, and he wouldn't hazard his friends and colleagues unless there was a very good reason to do so. "This guy Thor is gonna contact us sometime, right? And it's his people who put together the whole," Jack waved a hand over his head, "floating balls display." Sam shot him a sideways look. "So why not wait until we can speak to the source? What's the rush? I mean, not that I don't think that this meaning of life stuff is all very important, but don't we have more pressing things to think about?" Trying to find your wife, for example, Jack didn't say. Daniel heard it anyway.
"Jack, Thor may or may not contact us, but the Asgard obviously have a little more - a little more long-term way of looking at things. I mean, think of the Nox - some of their writing was in that chamber, and they consider us to be a very young species. Species, Jack. They want us to evolve a little more before they'll talk to us like grown-ups, and that's just not soon enough!"
Jack stepped quickly towards him, looking startled at the outburst. He put a steadying hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Daniel... What's this really about?"
Daniel honestly hadn't realized that his drive to get to Heliopolis had been about anything, really, other than his normal thirst for knowledge. He surprised even himself when he continued, the words wrung from him. "The Asgard know how to remove a symbiote, Jack," he said, desperately. "And they know how to fight the Goa'uld. I have to find out how they do it. If we get their attention - if we can learn enough to gain their respect, maybe they'll help."
Sha're had been gone now for nearly nine months. And Daniel didn't have to be told that the chances of getting her back now, whole and healthy and herself, were infinitesimally small. But he'd been given a glimpse of heaven, when they found out what Thor's Hammer did, and he hadn't realized how vividly the rekindled desire to find her again was blazing. The smallest chance...
Jack moved his hand to the back of Daniel's neck. "I'll talk to Hammond about it," he promised, gently. "I don't know if he'll go for it - the risk involved in getting hold of a ship is a bit beyond SGC parameters at the moment, but that may change. And if we ever hear of a good opportunity, I swear to you we'll go for it."
Daniel bowed his head, weighed down by his friend's hand. "Thanks, Jack," he said, softly.
Jack patted his shoulder, and with a sudden, subtle shift in body language, became awkward, I-don't-deal-with-this-emotional-crap Colonel O'Neill again. "Now, was there anything else?"
"No. Oh, yes, actually - Hammond wanted to see you, Jack." Two pairs of eyes, in synchronized paranoia, flew to the security camera on the wall. "I doubt that's the reason," added Daniel, amused.
Sam shook her head at herself. "It doesn't have sound, anyhow," she muttered. Then glanced at Daniel, and looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"I'd better go," said Jack. "Sam, will you-?" He waved at the guns.
"Yes, sir," said Sam, briskly, professionally.
Jack nodded. His eyes flicked to Daniel, back to Sam, then to Daniel, then to the floor. "See you later," he told the floor, and departed quickly.
Sam glanced warily at Daniel, and turned around, ostensibly to unload and sort the various weaponry that she and Jack had brought up there. Daniel rather thought that it was a convenient excuse to avoid his eyes. He leaned against the low shelf that ran around the inside of the booth, and watched her for a moment. He felt like he'd gotten something off his chest, something he hadn't been aware he was carrying, and was happy to focus on someone else's problems for a while.
He, personally, thought they were being idiots about this whole situation. Of course the regulations said they couldn't start a relationship, and - despite what Jack might think - Daniel understood and approved of the reasons those regulations had been put in place. But he didn't agree that they applied no matter what.
Daniel saw the world in shades of grey. Yes, the regulations forbidding relationships between military personnel were sensible, reasonable - completely understandable. But he couldn't see why anyone as intelligent as Sam and - when he stopped acting like an ass for a moment - Jack should feel that they had to follow those regulations so dogmatically. They acted with free will and self-determinism when it came to improvising off-world, and dealing with unexpected situations. It was one of the things that made them both so suitable for working at the SGC, dealing with situations never envisioned by whoever wrote the rulebook. So why were they still acting as though the normal rules still applied? Hadn't they realized what an - an extraordinary and unpredictable universe they had stepped into?
Besides, the real issue as far as Daniel was concerned was that, no matter what their personal relationship was or wasn't, Sam and Jack couldn't regulate their feelings - and it was the feelings that would ultimately cause problems, if problems were to be caused. Whether they were actually in a relationship or not, the fact that they felt something 'inappropriate' for one another would always be a part of their decision-making, whether they or the Air Force liked it or not. It didn't mean that their decisions would be any the worse. Daniel was inclined to believe that real, human emotions were a thing to be celebrated, and that the military would be a lot healthier if it could admit to feeling a few more of them. If only Jack, Sam, and the Air Force regulations manual could be brought to see that.
Well, he didn't hold out much hope for his ability to get Air Force regulations changed, but he could definitely work on Jack and Sam.
"Sam-"
"Daniel, don't." Sam turned quickly, her eyes wide. "Whatever you're about to say, just - please don't." Daniel paused, his mouth open. "I don't think you fully understand the situation."
Daniel closed his mouth and looked at her. "I don't, huh?" He pursed his lips, thinking, wondering what she thought he thought, and whether she'd actually examined her own feelings closely enough to know, or if he was making assumptions... "So you want to explain it to me, then?" Sam glanced at him, frowning irritably. "Hey, I don't have the right to pry, I do understand that. But I... Sam, maybe I just think you might want to talk about it?" He held out his hands. "If I swear not to make any judgments, or give you any advice whatsoever?" he tried, cajolingly.
Sam smiled, reluctantly. "Sweet-talker," she said, softly. She checked her watch. "Okay. But not now, and not here. Coffee after work?"
"You really need to ask?"
---
"Okay, tell me about it."
Sam glanced at him, and then down at her cup. "Well, it's hot," she began. Daniel's eyebrows flew up. "It's sweet, it's got a double shot of espresso-"
"Haha," said Daniel, catching on. "Evasion. That's good, Sam. Very mature." She kicked him under the table. "Ow."
"Why do you want to know?" Sam countered.
"Because I care about you both. Because I'd like to know what effect this might have on our jobs." She glanced up at him. "Because I'm nosy."
Sam grinned. "Okay, because you're nosy," she conceded. "Yes, I am... attracted to the Colonel. And I think he's attracted to me-"
"You think?"
"Shut up, Daniel." But the look in her eyes was pleased. "And yes, we're sort of... flirting, I guess. But that doesn't mean it's going to go anywhere." She looked up. "Not yet, anyhow. This job is too important to me. And I think the Colonel would say the same. We might flirt, but nothing's going to happen until this assignment ends."
"Until what?" asked Daniel, startled.
"Until the Colonel and I have to move on." She raised her eyebrows at his surprised expression. "Daniel, Air Force assignments don't last forever. Three or four years at the most, and we've been a team for coming up on a year. There's a good chance that, in two or three years time, I'll get re-assed to Area 51 - I'm pretty much the most qualified person on Earth to work on all the technology we've brought back. What I hope they'll do, though, is give me my own command and let me stay at the SGC, lead my own team through the Gate." Daniel continued to stare at her, mouth open slightly. She smiled, wryly. "Don't get me wrong, I love being on SG-1. It's the best team I've ever worked with. But it's not the final phase of my career." She put her hand on his. "If you're worried, the rules are different for civilians. I don't know what will happen with your role, if anything, but I don't imagine the Air Force will ever want to lose your expertise. Teal'c... well, I don't know what will happen with him, either, but he's a unique case. The Air Force won't want to lose him any more than they do you, I am sure of that. I think they'd want to keep both of you going on missions for as long as you're willing."
Daniel found his voice at last. "And - and Jack?"
She shrugged. "I don't know exactly. He might stay on SG-1 a bit longer, but they're not going to keep sending him out into the field forever. He might get promoted, he might get moved to the Academy, he might retire again. It also depends on what happens with the program. I've heard talk of a possible..." she glanced around, "overseas command," she said, smoothly. "You know - a base. Abroad. The Colonel would definitely be in the running for that. If he did get it, he might ask you and Teal'c to go with him." She spread her hands. "I don't know. But in two years - three, tops - it's all going to change. And then... well, we'll see."
"I... Sam, that's... um." Daniel sat back, and rubbed his forehead. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.
She smiled at him. "I'm more cautious about getting to know people since... you know." Her smile faded, and she rubbed a finger restlessly through some grains of sugar on the table, and didn't say the name 'Jonas'. "That was hard, Daniel," she said, with quiet understatement. "I'd want to get to know someone better - next time. And you know the Colonel's past. If - and I stress the word 'if', Daniel - anything's going to happen, then waiting for three years is probably best for both of us."
"Well. Sam, that's..." The first word that sprang to Daniel's mind was 'cold'. "Thought-out," he temporized.
"Augh!" Sam, unexpectedly, dropped her face to her hands and her hands to the table. "I sound like a stalker, don't I?" she asked, muffled. "If you tell anyone - even Janet! - any of this, I can and will make your life hell."
Daniel smiled. "Not a word, I swear." He frowned. "It's funny, though, how you think you can see all sides of a situation, and then find out that it's... well, very different from someone else's point of view." He gave her an evil smirk when she looked up at him. "But I see you've given it a lot of thought, huh?"
Sam groaned, hiding her face again. "Please, Daniel - please don't think that I've got it all planned out! I just mean that I'm not looking to be in a relationship with anyone, any time soon. I have no idea what the Colonel is thinking. Or if he's given it any thought at all, for that matter. Maybe he's just... just..."
"Having fun?" suggested Daniel.
Sam sat up, swiftly. "Do you think so?"
Daniel opened his mouth to say 'no', and then realized: he honestly had no clue. "I don't know. I don't think so, but Jack is... Jack. I don't think even he knows what his motives are, half the time."
Sam huffed a laugh. "Well, that's my point exactly," she said. "Maybe by then, I'll actually understand the damn man."
Daniel rested on his elbows, lacing his fingers. "And you think you can wait until then?"
"Daniel, I'm not fourteen," said Sam, irritably. "He may be cute, but he's not irresistible!"
---
TBC... hopefully a bit sooner, this time!