Constant Love

By Demon Faith

TITLE: Constant Love
AUTHOR: Demon Faith
EMAIL: rosabeth@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Sam/Daniel, romance, alcohol, party! m/f
SPOILERS: None really, but maybe a minor one I missed!
SEASON / SEQUEL: Uh, make it Season 3 but it doesn't matter.
RATING: G
CONTENT WARNINGS: A little blood but nothing scary!
SUMMARY: It's Daniel's Birthday but his party goes slightly wrong...
STATUS: Completed
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: For Steph, my Stargate friend who had to cope with my obsession! An apology to her friends, who also have to put up with me! Also dedicated to SG1.
I love feedback, so please write!

“I do not understand this ritual.”

Janet sighed. Sam and Jack had just arrived and were holding several balloons and streamers.

“We’re celebrating Daniel’s birthday, the day he was born. And it’s customary to have…well, a celebration to…honour that fact.”

Teal’c raised an eyebrow.

“I have observed that humans tend to “celebrate” as much as possible. Are they honouring…different things?”

Janet gave Teal’c a frustrated push behind the desk, as Sam and Jack dived down as well.

~

Daniel yawned and opened his office door. The light was off so he flicked the switch.

“Surprise!”

Daniel jumped and then took a step back through the door. Sam laughed and ran up to him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Happy Birthday Daniel!”

He smiled.

“I thought you’d forgotten.”

He brushed at a sudden tear and Sam hugged him.

“Do you want your presents now?”

Daniel grinned like an idiot and everyone laughed.

“Take that as a yes then!”

Sam grabbed his hand and dragged him beside her on the carpet. Before him were six presents, all carefully wrapped up and labelled. Jack started to indicate the names.

“There’s one from each of us, and then that one’s from Cassandra, and that one’s from a little collection we did yesterday.”

Daniel smile became even wider as he was handed Cassandra’s present. He unwrapped it carefully, trying not to rip the brightly coloured paper. It was a box of chocolates. Janet pounced immediately opening the seal and taking the first one.

“I’ve been waiting all day,” she said, sheepishly.

Sam placed another one in his hands. It was rectangular, with a plain gold wrap. Daniel removed it to find a beautifully inscribed book.

“Legends of the Tau’ri?”

Teal’c smiled, an odd expression on his usually neutral face.

“All Jaffa are taught about your world. I recalled my knowledge and used it to create this. Samantha Carter aided me in this endeavour”

Daniel ran his fingers over the smooth cover before opening to the first page.

“Oh wow!”

Daniel was staring at the book for several minutes before Jack grabbed it out of your hands.

“Not now, Danny boy! You can’t read on your birthday.”

Daniel lifted his hand to protest but Sam just piled another present on him. He gave her a reluctant look and then took off the paper. Then he laughed.

“How to avoid danger? Janet!”

Janet laughed with the rest of them. It was a standing joke in the infirmary about how SG1 couldn’t come back from a mission without getting injured. And, boy, were they right! Jack began a mental tally of all the times they had come back uninjured. 3. Only three times had they come back without the slightest cut, bruise or headache! Jack shook his head in disbelief. They were probably the most accident-prone team in the whole US Airforce! Then again, they had the most dangerous job. Well, you can’t win them all! Daniel was reaching for his next present, the one from the SGC. Jack had bought this late last night. He hoped it would go down well.

“An Egyptian alarm clock! Ha, what does it play?”

Jack tapped the top and it began to play “Arabian Nights”.

“Now, that is historically incorrect…”

“Oh shut up Daniel!”

Everyone put their head in their hands and sighed. Daniel looked quite hurt from their reaction and reached for the next present in silence.

“Sorry Daniel,” they all said simultaneously. He looked up and gave them a knowing grin. He pulled off the wrapping paper of Jack’s present and groaned at the sight of yet another plastic gun. Jack laughed.

“You know me. Have to be consistent!”

Everyone joined in his laughter as Daniel picked up the last present. This one was from Sam, a small box covered in a dark blue paper. He lifted the lid and sucked in a breath. A gold ring with a tiny diamond embedded in it shone out of the box at him. No one shared this moment, as the room filled with laughter, but Sam placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hope you like it.”

Daniel gently plucked it out of the box and his eye caught a tiny inscription on the inside. It read: To my Daniel. Daniel slipped it on his finger quickly and Jack didn’t even seem to notice.

“Let’s get this party going people!”

He pulled out an ancient stereo and put on some kind of modern music. Sam grabbed Daniel by his hands and swung him round the room. Jack offered Janet his hand. They both stepped out and danced. Teal’c went to fetch the alcohol while the other four danced. Teal’c soon arrived with wine and they all indulged on their night off. Soon they were all very drunk. The dancing had got a little more clumsy and even Teal’c was slightly tipsy. Sam went out of the room to catch her breath. The corridor spun as she tried to get her bearings.

“Need a hand?”

Daniel held out his arm in ancient chivalry and Sam leaned heavily on it. They set off down the corridor, swaying as they went.

~

“You have real…beautiful eyes, Teal’c!”

Jack could barely see for his headache and Teal’c was just as affected. Janet had held back slightly at first but was now well into the swing of things. They hadn’t noticed Sam and Daniel leaving.

“And you, Jack, are the most handsome man I’ve ever met.”

Janet playfully sat on Jack’s lap as he entwined his arms around her. She giggled and he laughed drunkenly.

~

His job was complete. Soon SG1 would succumb to the poison and die. Very slowly. The assassin chuckled to himself as he dialled home. The wormhole gushed open. He ran down the stairs before the alarm sounded.

Daniel had lost his glasses at some point and now he couldn’t see a thing. He could just make out a black blur beside the Stargate.

“Who’s that Sam?”

Sam stumbled beside him.

“A Gourldy thing, I believe, Daniel.”

Her normally gentle voice was loud and brash with an annoying slur.

“Then it’s our duty to stop it.”

Daniel drew himself up proudly. He had had a dream like this. Sam and him were chasing a Gourld. They won of course and then they got married. Daniel smiled to himself.

“Yes sir!”

Sam giggled and gave him a mock salute, almost toppling over in the process.

“Let’s follow him.”

The blur went through the Gate and Sam and Daniel followed.

~

“This is nice.”

“Yeah.”

Janet was on his lap, leaning against him. Jack felt wonderful, as if he could do anything. Suddenly Teal’c collapsed. Jack jumped in alarm.

“Teal’c!”

“Leave him. He’s probably just in a coma.”

“Oh, alright then.”

Then Jack felt very sleepy. Janet’s eyes closed and her breathing became slow and rhythmic. Might as well sleep too, eh Jack? Jack fell fast asleep.

~

“Where are we?”

“Forest.”

Sam and Daniel strode into this forest, forgetting all protocols on defence and strategy as they tramped through the wood. Then they both fell down laughing.

“Daniel,” said Sam, softly.

Daniel looked straight at her blurry blue eyes staring at him.

“Yes, Sam?”

“Do you want your birthday present now?”

Daniel stared at his finger and could just make out the gold blob that had to be the ring. Then he figured she meant something else. Something intimate.

“Sure.”

Sam leaned in for the kill, attacking his lips with a long, passionate kiss. They rolled into the mud, Danny’s shirt ripping at about the same time. Sam knew this was right, oh so right. But she just couldn’t keep awake. They both yawned and fell fast asleep.

~

Jack woke up in the infirmary.

“Ow!”
His head hurt like hell. And where was Janet?

“Good morning, Jack.”

Janet looked at him with concern but then glanced away. Jack followed her gaze. Teal’c was lying on a nearby bed, completely out of it. Jack leapt off the bed, immediately regretting it as his headache intensified. Janet reached to steady him, then came at him with a shot. His headache ebbed away.

“What was that?”

“Anti-intoxicant. SG5 brought it back.”

Jack nodded and then went over to Teal’c. The Jaffa was unconscious and Jack wondered what was wrong. Jack turned to Janet.

“He’s been poisoned.”

Jack’s eyes widened. That’s not what he expected.

“I get the feeling there’s something else…”

Janet shifted nervously.

“We think all the wine was poisoned. Except that, in us, the alcohol cancelled the effects.”

“What about the…tiredness?”

“That’s the one problem. The alcohol wasn’t completely compensating.”

“So, why Teal’c?”

“His symbiot absorbed the alcohol, leaving him the poison. What we have here is one very drunk Gourld and…a dying Jaffa.”

Then Jack noticed something.

“Where are Sam and Daniel?”

~

“Where are we?”

“No idea.”

Sam was lying on top of Daniel in the middle of a forest. She pulled herself off his wonderful body and eased into a sitting position.

“What a hangover!”

“Oh yeah.”

Daniel groped around trying to salvage his shirt. Sam saw that only one button had ripped and reached to do up the rest. Daniel felt her cool fingers dancing on his chest and tensed.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry!”

Sam lightly scooted her fingers over his eyes.

“How much can you see?”
“A big fuzzy blur.”

“Ah.”

She took his hand and led him around for a bit, surveying the terrain. She had no idea how they had got here but she had to get them back.

“Daniel, do you remember…anything?”

“We were chasing someone, just like my drea…uh, well we came through the Stargate.”

“Right. Stargate it is then.”

“Any idea where we are, Sam.”

No, she didn’t but she wouldn’t tell Daniel that. Sam just smiled and dragged him on.

~

“So?”
“Someone went through the Gate to Chulak at roughly 3am.”

Jack bit his tongue. If Sam and Daniel were really drunk, they could’ve dialled Chulak. Damn them!

“Oh for crying out loud, sir! Do you think they would be that stupid?”

As he said it an evil voice crept into his mind, sounding suspiciously like Sam. Oh yes they would be!

“Colonel, maybe the assassin went to Chulak. Just maybe Sam and Daniel followed. I can’t risk people…”

“Oh, I’m going sir! You can count on it.”

General Hammond could see the flickering determination in Jack’s eyes.

“Very well, Colonel. But be careful!”

“Sir.”

Jack gave him a jaunty salute and then headed straight down to the Gate room.

“Dial Chulak, son.”

~

“Oh no!”

They had finally cleared the forest, to see the wide-open plain with the all-too-familiar stones and Stargate in the middle.

“What?”

“Uh, Daniel. I think we’re on Chulak.”

“What!”

Daniel jumped nervously and Sam had to calm him down. Chulak didn’t hold particularly happy memories for either of them and Sam knew that Daniel had the worst.

“It’s okay. Our location should be in the dialling computer. The Colonel will come for us.”

Daniel nodded, shakily. They sat down on the sand, waiting for the Colonel. Bang! Sam and Daniel were flung high in the air, bouncing down the ridge. Damned Jaffa! Couldn’t they ever leave them alone? Sam and Daniel ran for the Gate. Iris code or not, they had to go somewhere. But before they even got close the Gate opened and Jack stepped out.

“Argh!”

Daniel went down in the sand and Sam turned to face him. She was soon beside him, as he lay facedown in the sand, his back a bloody mess.

“Leave…me.”

“Not on your life, Danny.”

Not the best choice of words, Sam! She hauled him up and slung him over her shoulder. She ran as best she could, Zat blasts nipping at her heels. Jack pulled her up the steps; Daniel made climbing near impossible. The Gate disengaged and Jack ran down the steps to dial up. The Jaffa were closing in but their fire-power was slowing up. Daniel was getting heavier by the minute and Sam could barely hold him. She stepped down a bit, as the Gate opened. Then she gathered all her strength to run up the steps and through the event horizon. She fell out the other side, Daniel sliding into her arms as she sat on the floor, completely dazed. Jack jumped out behind her and rolled down the ramp. Janet was soon beside her, giving her an injection. Daniel was taken from her, her clothes now soaked in his blood. God, she hoped he was alive! They lowered him onto a trolley and took him through. Jack lifted her from behind, supporting her as they left the Gate room.

~

“I’ve got it!”

Jack and Sam looked up, sleepily. It had been 24 hours since Daniel’s party, and it had to be his worst birthday yet!

“What have you got?”

“If we give Junior the anti-intoxicant, then it can help Teal’c heal.”

“Doesn’t he have to do the meditation thing?”

“He’s been unconscious. Let’s hope it’s enough.”

“How’s Daniel?”

“He’ll live. The wound should completely heal.”

“Is he awake?”

“Oh yes. I’m amazed there was no spinal damage. Maybe the Jaffa’s weapons were on low power…”

Janet looked around her. She was talking to herself.

~

Sam cautiously walked in. A tiny figure, drowned in machinery lay on the bed. She took a chair from the corner and sat down. Daniel’s normally bright eyes were closed and his head lolled loosely to one side. Sam placed a gentle finger on his neck and was amazed at the touch. The skin was hot and his pulse throbbed steadily beneath. She drew her hand away to reveal Daniel’s eyes, now staring straight up at her, warm and inviting. Sam, where did you get such an idea! Sam brushed her thought aside and jumped as Jack placed a hand on her shoulder.

“How’s our favourite archaeologist?”

Daniel smiled weakly and Sam placed her hand over his. His blue eyes widened for a second but he seemed to relax into the situation. Jack had wandered off, looking for Janet to give him some recovery estimates, and also unwilling to appear interested in Sam and Daniel’s conversation. Though he did strain his ears whenever his “quest” came within range of them talking.

~

“Thought we had lost you.”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Sam looked down at her fingers entwined in his and saw the little speck of gold on his finger. Gently, she lifted his hand to admire it. Her ring on his finger. It felt poetic. He smiled at the dopey expression on her face as she looked deep into his eyes, searching for a hint, a suggestion, a clue that something might be there. She found it. His eyes stared at her in love, lustful yet caring, consuming yet unselfish, content yet filled with desire. Her Daniel, the brave, gentle scientist who loved her. Maybe this one thing, this one love, might last, grow become something more than friendship, more than romance. The one constant in her turbulent life, the one thing that remained intact, no matter what planet, what galaxy, what universe they were in. Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson. The couple that beat the odds, conquered the statistics and won true love. Something straight out of a romance novel. Not for realistic application. Sam sighed as her farfetched dreams sailed out of the window along with any hope of a sane existence.

But when she looked back, looked into those deep, caring eyes, she saw it, the light for her carried in his heart.

And she was glad.