"Attention, all passengers on Flight 2487 to Cairo. Departure time has been pushed further back..."
Daniel echoed the groans of the rest of the boarding area with a sigh and resisted checking his watch for the umpteenth time. He glanced over at Sam, curled up in the plastic chair next to him. "I don't need to comment on the irony, do I?"
"Uh-uh," she mumbled from within her fleece jacket.
"You don't suppose we could call..."
"Already thought of it, and no. They're - " she looked around the terminal crowded with weary, dull-eyed travelers - "out of town."
"Right."
Daniel resisted the urge to sigh again, stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets. It would figure that their first real getaway in a long time would get off to a rough start. Jack, of course, would say they'd gotten exactly what they wanted - a perfectly ordinary vacation experience.
He looked back at Sam, whose eyelids were losing the battle. She looked tired, but less bone-weary than when she'd stepped through the gate the day before. He'd thought, then, that maybe she'd prefer to stay close to the Springs and just do nothing for three weeks, but when her first words to him following the enthusiastic hug were, "Take me someplace warm," all panicked thoughts of how he'd get back the ticket money vanished.
Mitchell hadn't understood. "Egypt," he said, when Daniel offered to chaperone the whole team. "Jackson, you know that's not exactly a substitute for Maui, right?"
Daniel just shrugged.
Vala had found Cameron's ski trip plans much more interesting, having spent more than enough time on desert planets as Qetesh, Teal'c , as usual, intended to visit his son, and inviting anyone after that would have made for, as Mitchell put it, "serious style-cramping."
That, at least, he could agree with. He looked again at the blonde head bobbing next to him, still fighting. He smiled and reached across to gently push it down to his shoulder, letting his hand drift down once it was settled to smooth over her loose ponytail.
He remembered when she'd decided to let it grow; back from a bizarre trip that only Teal'c remembered, not yet thinking about Atlantis, or anything but going straight home and washing away the end of the Asgard. He'd found her in the bathroom, standing naked in front of the mirror. "Do you think I should let it grow out?" she asked without preamble. One hand was fingering a close-cut lock, the other resting on the counter.
He moved in behind her and let his hands settle on her hips. "Do you want to?"
"Maybe. I don't know, I feel like it's time for a change." Her eyes me his in the mirror. "You know?"
He shrugged. "Pretty happy where I am, actually." He tickled her belly lightly, prompting a jerk back into him and a smile.
"Can't keep up with me, can you," she teased.
"What, you think I should get contacts?"
She turned in his arms. "Nah. I kind of like this part." She reached up to gently remove his glasses, place them on the counter behind her, and wrap her arms around his neck...
A toddler's shriek brought him out of the memory and made Sam's head jerk up, startled. Daniel shifted to wrap his arm around her shoulders, gathering her back in to him. Strains of a hackneyed carol reached his ears through the din. "Maybe we should take 'opportunity for travel' out of the recruiting blurb."
Her answering smile was somewhat less sleepy. "Wouldn't feel the same without a little drama."
He brushed errant strands of hair behind her ear. "Thought you were looking for change."
"Mmm, I've thought about it."
"And?"
"I decided that change is all right," she said, slipping her arms around his waist, "as long as you're there when I come home."
Sam closed her eyes and snuggled into his side. The PA announced someone's gate change; the family seated across from them broke into yet another argument; the music turned into something high-pitched and peppy.
Daniel dropped a kiss on her forehead. She already knew he agreed.
Sam/Daniel - "A quiet holiday in Egypt"
Daniel echoed the groans of the rest of the boarding area with a sigh and resisted checking his watch for the umpteenth time. He glanced over at Sam, curled up in the plastic chair next to him. "I don't need to comment on the irony, do I?"
"Uh-uh," she mumbled from within her fleece jacket.
"You don't suppose we could call..."
"Already thought of it, and no. They're - " she looked around the terminal crowded with weary, dull-eyed travelers - "out of town."
"Right."
Daniel resisted the urge to sigh again, stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets. It would figure that their first real getaway in a long time would get off to a rough start. Jack, of course, would say they'd gotten exactly what they wanted - a perfectly ordinary vacation experience.
He looked back at Sam, whose eyelids were losing the battle. She looked tired, but less bone-weary than when she'd stepped through the gate the day before. He'd thought, then, that maybe she'd prefer to stay close to the Springs and just do nothing for three weeks, but when her first words to him following the enthusiastic hug were, "Take me someplace warm," all panicked thoughts of how he'd get back the ticket money vanished.
Mitchell hadn't understood. "Egypt," he said, when Daniel offered to chaperone the whole team. "Jackson, you know that's not exactly a substitute for Maui, right?"
Daniel just shrugged.
Vala had found Cameron's ski trip plans much more interesting, having spent more than enough time on desert planets as Qetesh, Teal'c , as usual, intended to visit his son, and inviting anyone after that would have made for, as Mitchell put it, "serious style-cramping."
That, at least, he could agree with. He looked again at the blonde head bobbing next to him, still fighting. He smiled and reached across to gently push it down to his shoulder, letting his hand drift down once it was settled to smooth over her loose ponytail.
He remembered when she'd decided to let it grow; back from a bizarre trip that only Teal'c remembered, not yet thinking about Atlantis, or anything but going straight home and washing away the end of the Asgard. He'd found her in the bathroom, standing naked in front of the mirror. "Do you think I should let it grow out?" she asked without preamble. One hand was fingering a close-cut lock, the other resting on the counter.
He moved in behind her and let his hands settle on her hips. "Do you want to?"
"Maybe. I don't know, I feel like it's time for a change." Her eyes me his in the mirror. "You know?"
He shrugged. "Pretty happy where I am, actually." He tickled her belly lightly, prompting a jerk back into him and a smile.
"Can't keep up with me, can you," she teased.
"What, you think I should get contacts?"
She turned in his arms. "Nah. I kind of like this part." She reached up to gently remove his glasses, place them on the counter behind her, and wrap her arms around his neck...
A toddler's shriek brought him out of the memory and made Sam's head jerk up, startled. Daniel shifted to wrap his arm around her shoulders, gathering her back in to him. Strains of a hackneyed carol reached his ears through the din. "Maybe we should take 'opportunity for travel' out of the recruiting blurb."
Her answering smile was somewhat less sleepy. "Wouldn't feel the same without a little drama."
He brushed errant strands of hair behind her ear. "Thought you were looking for change."
"Mmm, I've thought about it."
"And?"
"I decided that change is all right," she said, slipping her arms around his waist, "as long as you're there when I come home."
Sam closed her eyes and snuggled into his side. The PA announced someone's gate change; the family seated across from them broke into yet another argument; the music turned into something high-pitched and peppy.
Daniel dropped a kiss on her forehead. She already knew he agreed.