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Title: It All Started with a Picture
Suggested
Rating: for young adult and older
readers
Category: Daniel/Janet romance, slight bit of
humor
Season: Set during season 7, at least a few
weeks after the events of Orpheus
Spoilers: Anything up to season 7 could be fair
game, but specific mention of events from season 5 Meridian and season 7 Orpheus
Author’s
Comments: Ummm,
pure, unadulterated fluff. You
know, no real point – just an excuse for some D/J romance. Actually, a response to a fic challenge, of sorts. Someone posted on the danandjan list about Teryl Rothery’s official web site – more
specifically asking if we had seen the picture there, and then wondering what
might be Daniel’s reaction if he ever stumbled upon pictures of Janet
looking like that. I’d seen
this picture myself just a few days earlier, and admittedly had experienced
similar wonderings about the archaeologist’s response. So, after the challenge was made, I
confess a somewhat plausible (if a little bit silly) idea did pop into my
head, and this is the result.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly
recognizable characters and places (the Stargate SG-1 stuff) are the
property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret
Productions. This piece of fan
fiction was created for entertainment only and no infringement on copyrights
or trademarks was intended.
Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are
copyrighted to the author. Any
similarity to real persons, living or dead, is
coincidental and not intended by the author.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A
PICTURE
by Michelle
Lunsford (2003)
“I got them,”
Sam whispered conspiratorially, sitting across from her friend.
Janet managed an inquisitive expression despite her
mouthful of sandwich.
“You know,”
Sam went on. “The
proofs.”
Janet shook her head, still in the dark.
Sam rolled her eyes.
“Proofs of the pictures, from when we were at the mall a
few weeks ago.”
Understanding registered and Janet had to fight back a
groan.
“Oh, that,” Janet murmured.
It had been
Valentine’s Day. Earlier in
the week, the two friends had made a pact they would not wallow in self-pity
over their apparent lack of any genuine social life in regards to celebrating
the infamous holiday. No, not
even the fact that Cassandra had a date and neither of them did was enough to
dissolve their vow. To
combat any threat of commiseration, they had agreed to go out that night with
each other. They’d had a
nice meal, complete with sinfully chocolate desserts afterwards. And while they’d had a
couple of drinks before dinner, they hadn’t gotten drunk – not
that Janet didn’t have cause to wonder about that later, considering
what happened the rest of the evening.
They’d decided to
go to the local mall, and shop for some outrageous piece of clothing that
– considering the very lack of social activity they were so pointedly
attempting to ignore that evening – neither of them would have reason
to actually wear. From there they
had inexplicably ended up doing a session with the Glamour Shots photography
studio in the mall.
‘Oh yeah,’
Janet’s mind prompted her.
‘And it was somewhere during the chocolate indulgence that you
admitted to your friend that you thought you were developing a thing for the SGC’s resident archeologist.’
------------------------------------
“A thing? For Daniel?” Sam had looked a little surprised,
but managed to keep her voice nondescript. “Exactly what kind of a thing are we talking about here, Janet?”
“Oh, I don’t
know,” Janet confessed.
“I mean, I’ve considered him a friend for years now. Like I have all of you. And, like all of you, I missed him
terribly after he died – ascended – whatever the heck it was he
did. It’s been wonderful
having him back, but I think there’s something… different this
time.”
“Okay,” Sam
replied. “So what’s
the difference? And when did this
all start?”
“You remember when
Teal’c got injured? And
then SG-1’s mission to infiltrate the prison camp on Erebus, where Bratac and Ry’ac were
captive?”
Sam nodded.
“Well, I think it
was after that. It seems that
Daniel’s been more his old self since then, but it’s as if he has
a new focus. Like maybe he
understands his place in life now.” Janet gave her friend a quizzical
look. “Or am I just
imagining things?”
“No, I see what
you’re getting at,” Sam agreed. “There’s a confidence, or
a purpose about him, that I don’t think was always there before. I mean, I haven’t really put my
finger on it – stated it in those terms – but I’ve noticed
it too.”
“And so,”
Janet continued, “I guess I just started to notice that about him. And in noticing that, I found myself
noticing him. And in
noticing him, now I just have this… this thing for him.”
Sam smiled. “A serious thing?”
“No, not
exactly,” Janet replied.
She was sure of that much – at least, for the time being…
maybe.
Sam’s smile
broadened, and Janet knew her friend had read between the lines.
“But it could
become a serious thing?” Sam asked.
Janet swallowed her bite
of chocolate desert, sighed, and shook her head. “Somehow, I doubt
that. It’s not as if
I’ve received a sign that any of this is reciprocated.”
Sam leaned in, donning a
mischievous expression.
“Want me to feel him out for information?”
“No,” Janet
replied, laughing. “Good
grief, Sam. We aren’t in
junior high anymore.”
The major held up her
hands, placating.
“I’m just saying, two spies are
better than one. I can watch for
‘signs of reciprocation’ when you’re not
around.” She gave Janet a
wink.
------------------------------------
And it was sometime after that when Sam had convinced her a shopping trip was in order. Janet mused, ‘the evening
definitely became one big female frivolity fest from that point
forward.’
“Oh, come on,” Carter ribbed her friend. “You had fun that night and you
know it.”
Well, that might be true, Janet thought, but she
wasn’t going to let her confidante off so lightly.
“And I also suffered what I think may have been a
legitimate chocolate hangover the next morning, and spent entirely too much
money on a dress that I’ll likely never wear.”
“Whatever,” Sam replied around a bite of her
salad. She waited only a few
seconds before continuing her taunts. “So, when should I bring
the proofs by for you to see?”
“I don’t really care, Sam,” Janet sighed
in exasperation. “I
have a long shift today, so I’m not going anywhere any time
soon.” She began gathering
her lunch tray. “In fact, I
probably should be getting back.”
“Okay.
I’ll see you later then.
And I’ll bring the proofs.” Sam raised her eyebrows suggestively
and grinned.
“Whatever,” Janet threw back the playful
remark as she walked away.
She returned to her office, and the mound of paperwork –
‘I swear it grew while I was at lunch,’ she thought – got
busy, and promptly forgot all about Sam and her silly proofs.
------------------------------------
“According to my translation, the device could have
been part of some kind of weapon.
If that’s the case, any details about the weapon itself are,
unfortunately, most likely what was on the missing fragments from the
tablet.”
Daniel was in Sam’s lab, helping her work on one of
her latest projects – an item that had been discovered by SG-7 on a
recent mission. The SG team had
also found various pieces of a tablet in the vicinity – tablet pieces
with Goa’uld symbols. The device definitely involved Naquadah, and a power source, but beyond that Sam
hadn’t made much headway in figuring it out.
“You think if we were able to go to the planet, have
a look around, you might find some of those missing tablet fragments?”
Sam asked.
Daniel considered.
“SG-7 is usually pretty thorough… but yeah, I’d like
to have a look.”
“Well,” Sam continued. “If we can learn enough about
this thing to make a case to General Hammond, he might approve it as a mission
for us.”
She tapped her fingers against the top of her workbench,
thinking. “Maybe if I look
over their report one more time, I might find something. Daniel, would you mind looking for
it? It should be over there, on
my desk somewhere.”
Sam busied herself with studying the device again while
Daniel rummaged.
“I’m not seeing it here, Sam,” he called
over his shoulder.
“I know, it’s a mess,” Sam admitted
distractedly. “Just keep
looking.”
Several moments passed before she heard Daniel cautiously
ask, “Uh, Sam – what are these pictures?”
Sam had been only half-paying attention, as her
concentration became more focused on the device, but Daniel’s question
instantly wrenched her awareness back to his search of her desk. She spun around as realization
dawned. Earlier, she’d had
the proofs out, looking at them.
She was going to take the ones of Janet and put them in a plain,
manila envelop – rather than the rather obvious Glamour Shot
pro-advertising one they came in – so she
could take them to her office later.
After all, teasing her friend about their crazy antics that night was
one thing, but Sam didn’t want to genuinely embarrass her in front of
any nursing staff who happened to be standing around
at the time she delivered the proofs.
The phone had rung. Then
she’d had to stop and look for something in answer to the phone
conversation. One thing led to
another, and obviously the proofs had gotten buried underneath files and
papers on her desk. In his
search, Daniel had found them.
Being Mr. Curious, he couldn’t just pass them over. Of course, Sam didn’t really
mind if he saw her pictures, but she suspected Janet would be mortified if
Daniel saw the ones of her. And
now, in the midst of her rising panic, Sam simply could not remember if
she’d managed to get Janet’s proofs into that plain envelop
before that phone call had come.
“It’s, um-- just some shots I had taken for
fun a while back,” Sam replied as casually as she could. She made her way to where he stood,
trying to peer over his shoulder at the proofs.
He turned to face her. “Glamour shots?” He was obviously at a loss as to the
nature of this particularity.
“It’s a type of photography studio. Their ploy is to give you special
treatment – pamper you like some kind of model by giving you a
makeover, letting you select clothes from their wardrobe, and then having
professional photos made. They
tend to do a really good job because although the proofs come as part of the
sitting fee, their scheme is to get you to buy lots and lots of
prints.”
Daniel continued to stare at her, donning an expression
like he often wore when she’d lost him in one of her more detailed
astrophysicist expositions.
“It’s a female thing,” she said at last.
“Oh,” Daniel answered, as if that explained
everything. His eyes fell to the
pictures again. “These are
actually quite good.”
“Thanks,” Sam replied, trying to edge her way
in for a better view and thinking like mad how she was going to get them away
from him.
“Although, I
don’t think I ever imagined seeing you in a cowboy hat like
that,” he admitted with a wry grin.
Sam squinted, attempting
to ascertain just how many sheets of prints were in the stack in his
hand. They’d had seven different
shots each made that night, and the company had put two proofs to a
page. She felt her stomach
drop. Yes, Daniel definitely held
more than four sheets, and she could only watch in dismay as he slowly moved
on to the next page of proofs.
The expression on his face was all the confirmation Sam needed to
realize it was too late.
“Uh,
Sam?” Daniel’s tone
was definitely one of barely controlled fascination.
“Yes?” Sam
replied, trying to play it cool.
“These pictures
aren’t of you.”
“Really?” She ratcheted her nonchalance up a
step. A part of Sam was screaming
at herself to do something to prevent this from going any farther. The other part was torn between
protecting her friend and watching for Daniel’s continued reaction,
which thus far had been most interesting. He was absolutely riveted to the
images in front of him.
Sam injected her manner
with an air of utter casualness, and peered over the top of the prints. These were the more casual shots, the
ones the photographer had done first.
Both Sam and Janet had still been a little edgy at this point in the
process, not at ease with the absurdity of what they were actually
doing. Still, Sam hadn’t
missed the fact that Janet had been able to look totally relaxed in these
shots, her smile warm and friendly as she tried to produce the laid-back pose
the photographer had suggested.
“Oh yeah,”
Sam said matter-of-factly.
“Janet was with me when I had those made. I suppose we were in something of a
silly mood at the time, but it was an amusing way to kill some time.”
She continued watching as
Daniel went to the next page. Two
more casual shots, although Sam remembered that Janet had chosen a
particularly sharp looking outfit to wear for these. They’d also begun having a bit
more fun with the process by this point, and the result had been pictures of
a Doctor Frasier who somehow managed to look both professional and playful at
the same time. Sam couldn’t
help but notice the effect was not lost on the pictures’ observer.
“Amusing way to
kill some time?” Daniel repeated, a smile tugging at the corner of his
mouth. “Yeah, I can tell,
if Janet’s expression here is anything to go by.”
‘Just wait until
the next one,’ Sam thought, recalling that the subsequent two shots
were what the photographer had called the “fun ones”. This is when Sam had opted for
her cowboy getup, but Janet had chosen a just-this-side-of-over-the-top ultra
sophisticated outfit – one with a gargantuan, yet very stylish
hat. At the time, Sam had
remarked that Janet looked like she’d just stepped out of some
glamorous nineteen thirties movie set.
“Stunning!” The exclamation escaped Daniel’s
mouth in a near whisper.
Sam was pretty sure her
mouth hit the floor at this point.
She wondered if Daniel had perhaps spoken without thinking, because
– for the first time since he’d begun going through Janet’s
pictures – he glanced sideways at her, rather sheepishly.
“I mean, your
pictures were stunning too, Sam,” he stammered.
Sam fought against a grin
that was threatening to break.
The use of terminology might have been the same, but the level of zeal
was unmistakably different.
“I see,” Sam
replied, her expression clearly saying ‘I’ve got you now buddy
– no way will I let you off the hook’. “You sure that wasn’t some
kind of Freudian slip, perhaps?”
“What? Can’t a guy make a complimentary
comment about his friend’s appearance without it being read
into?”
His words were impassive
enough, but all nonverbal communication said otherwise. Sam was sure he was beginning to
blush.
“Sure he
can,” Sam answered, unrelenting.
“But I know you better than that, Daniel Jackson. Come on – fess up.”
Daniel glanced upward, as
if seeking some mystical assistance to get him out of this mess, and
sighed. “Alright, alright. So I happen to think Janet is a very
attractive woman. There’s
nothing wrong with that.”
“Right,” Sam
agreed. She noted his eyes were
once again fixed on Janet’s pictures. “Anything else you’re not
telling me?”
Another sigh and sideways
glance, this time of feigned irritation.
“You know, Sam, if you weren’t such a good friend,
I’d really hate you for being so nosy. Okay, so maybe – and I stress maybe
– I could, just possibly, have some sort of more-than-friendship kind
of interest in my doctor. There,
I said it. Satisfied now?”
Sam’s grin finally
won out. “Are you
kidding? I think it’s
great, Daniel.” She gave
him a playful punch in the arm.
“So, why don’t you ask her out sometime?”
Daniel’s responding
gaze was nothing less than pure incredulity. “Oh, let’s see
– how about, because she is my friend, and my doctor? Not to mention we work together. Oh yeah, and she’s a
friend. Then there’s the
fact that she’s never shown any real interest that could be interpreted
in that way – at least, not that I’ve seen. And, well, any number of about a
gazillion other reasons I could probably come up with, if you really want to
hear them – some, arguably, more legitimate than others. And did I mention, she’s a good friend?” He sighed again. “I can’t think of
much I’d hate worse than for me to consider starting a relationship
with her, it not working out, and then possibly damaging our friendship as a
result.”
Sam considered that. It was a valid argument. But she hadn’t missed the fact
that Daniel had made comment about not perceiving Janet’s feelings in
the matter. Were both her friends
so dense as to not be able to recognize they had mutual interest in one
another? Then she
remembered that they both were not extremely open and demonstrative people by
nature. They’d obviously
been making a point of keeping their current feelings hidden. And, Sam noted sardonically, she
herself had not had a clue about any of it. Somewhere, in the corner of her mind,
a little voice goaded, ‘maybe they could use some help here.’
“I see what
you’re saying,” Sam countered. “But – just for the sake
of hypothetical speculation – what if there was a good chance a
relationship would work out?”
Daniel gave her a wary
glance. “What are you
trying to say?”
Sam bit her lower
lip. She hadn’t exactly
promised Janet not to interfere.
“I’m just
saying, what if?”
Daniel continued to eye
her before finally acquiescing.
“Then I’d probably ask her out.”
‘Okay,’ Sam
thought, ‘now all I have to do is get him to understand the what if really is an it is and
they’ll be on their way.’ Her mind raced with
possibilities.
“Whoa!”
Daniel’s
enthusiastic outburst interrupted her thoughts. In her fascination over this
revelation about her friend’s feelings, Sam had completely forgotten
about the last picture in Janet’s set of proofs.
For the final shot, she
and Janet had agreed to have their picture made in the new dresses
they’d bought earlier that night, rather than going with something from
the Glamour Shots wardrobe. The
photographer had been fully egging them on by this point, going for a more
seductive look. Janet had been
trying to play along, but she kept getting too tickled with the ludicrousness
of the situation to pull it off.
In a moment of sheer roguishness, Sam had yelled out, “come on,
Janet – think archeologist!”
Janet had laughed, but accepting the challenge, had struck a most
alluring pose. The photographer,
ever the professional, had captured it instantly.
“Something a little
more than just stunning this time?” Sam asked mischievously.
“Is that really
Janet?”
Sam didn’t miss the
fact that Daniel’s voice had gone a little raspy.
“Yep, that’s
really her,” Sam confirmed gleefully. “What do you think?”
Daniel, any attempt at
pretense now abandoned, responded whole-heartedly. “Amazing. Gorgeous. Definitely stunning too. In a word – wow!”
“You know, Janet
was telling me just today that she’d probably never have reason to wear
that dress anywhere.” Sam
let the comment fall easily, but when she caught Daniel’s eye she
raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“I don’t know – surely she could wear that to dinner
at a nice restaurant, and maybe a concert
afterwards. I know Janet really
goes for classical music. And
aren’t you always trying to make performances of that string quartet at
the university when you’re not off world?”
“Alright,
Sam,” Daniel conceded, his eyes falling again to the picture. “I’ll think about
it.”
------------------------------------
“Would you like to
come in, for some coffee?” Janet asked as she unlocked the door.
Daniel smiled. “Coffee would be nice.”
It had been a fabulous
evening. Initially, Daniel had
been nervous. But just a few minutes
into their date, both he and Janet were at ease. Conversation had been so easy. He discovered she knew a lot more than
just medicine and the life of being a single mother, and he had listened to
her with a growing sense of just what an amazing woman she truly was. Likewise, Janet had shown a genuine
interest in listening to his stories about archaeology and anthropology. Perhaps part of their being so comfortable
with one another stemmed from the fact they had an established
friendship. But Daniel had been
amazed at how easy it was to move into this new territory of expanding the
bounds of their relationship. Or
more aptly, he realized, he was amazed at how receptive Janet was to move
with him. He couldn’t
believe he’d never noticed before that she was interested in such a
possibility.
Daniel kept playing over
in his mind scenes from their night out.
Dinner had been delicious, and the string quartet had been performing
pieces by Mozart, which as it turns out, was Janet’s favorite composer. Luck may have had a hand in that part
of the evening, but Daniel knew he owed Sam for several of the other
convenient circumstances that had happened in his favor. When he’d finally admitted to
her that he’d asked Janet out, Sam had been the one to suggest
Janet’s favorite restaurant.
And, although he’d made her promise not to mention that
he’d accidentally stumbled upon those pictures of Janet, he was pretty
confidant that it was Sam who was responsible for convincing Janet in her
choice of attire tonight.
He’d hardly been able to believe it when she’d opened the
front door and was standing there in the dress from that amazing
photograph. ‘Of course,’
he thought once again, ‘she makes it look even more amazing in real
life.’
Daniel followed Janet
inside the kitchen and watched her as she began to make coffee. ‘She really is beautiful,’
he reflected. And something about
the image of her now – dressed to the nines, but with her heels now
discarded, all the while moving easily about her kitchen in the perfect
picture of domesticity – made her seem all the more beautiful. She was standing with her back to him,
pulling coffee and filters from a cabinet overhead, saying something about
how she knew he liked his coffee strong.
Daniel wondered when she’d picked up that piece of trivia about
him. Suddenly he realized he very
much wanted to know all the pieces of trivia he could about her as well.
“There’s
filtered water in a pitcher in the fridge,” Janet said. “Would you mind getting it for
me?”
Daniel retrieved the
water. He moved to set it on the
counter beside her, but a new impulse flitted through his mind, and following
the whim he stepped up behind her.
She was preoccupied, counting out scoops of coffee into the
filter. With one hand, he reached
around her and lifted the lid of the coffee maker’s reservoir. With the other hand, he reached around
her other side and began pouring in the water.
Without consciously
realizing it, Daniel had practically pinned Janet against the cabinet, and
there was no way she could have missed the proximity of their physical
contact. He noticed her hands
paused, just perceptibly, before she continued counting the scoops of coffee.
He placed the water
pitcher on the counter, but didn’t move away. He could just make out her scent, a sweet mixture of rosemary, mint, and something
that he instinctively knew was nothing but pure Janet Frasier. Slowly, he began tracing a light
line with his fingertips up and down her arm, leaned over her shoulder
slightly and continued to watch her as she set up the coffee maker.
He was close enough now
he could almost hear her breathing.
It was soft, regular, but definitely quickening. Not surprisingly, he realized, it was
mimicking his own.
“Coffee should be
ready soon,” Janet whispered, as she turned on the coffee maker. She placed her hands on the
countertop, obviously content not to move from their present situation.
Daniel began to run a
finger over her other arm.
“Okay,” he murmured in response, purposefully allowing his
breath to brush across her ear.
Janet’s eyelids
fluttered closed as she leaned back against him. Daniel smiled, allowing just
enough of his male ego to surface to feel pleased with the affect he was
obviously having on her.
‘No more so than she’s having on you,’ the more
tempered side of his persona reminded.
‘Or, more likely, she’s the one ahead in the race here,
considering you’re already putty in her hands and she hasn’t done
anything except make coffee.’
“I have a little
confession to make,” Daniel said.
He’d had a nagging feeling about this all evening, and
considering the present mood, he really wanted to get rid of this pesky bit
of guilt. “I made Sam
promise not to tell you, but she had some pictures underneath some files on
her desk – I was looking for a report when I accidentally found
them. And, naturally, I had to
stop and look at them. As it
turns out, some of them were of you.”
Janet’s eyes
remained closed, but he felt her tense a fraction. Just as quickly, she relaxed again. A light laugh escaped her lips and
Daniel found the sound intoxicating.
“Oh. Those pictures.” Janet sighed. “What did Sam say about
them?”
“That it was a
female thing.”
Janet laughed again. “True enough.”
“I have just one
question though,” Daniel admitted.
“What’s
that?” Janet’s voice
was soft, contented.
“You know the
picture, where you’re wearing this dress?”
She nodded her head
against his chest.
“What were
you thinking about when that shot was taken?”
To his surprise, Janet managed
to turn around in his arms. She
was smiling, and her eyes were expressing a particular look that Daniel knew
he’d seen only one time before – in the very picture under
question.
“Oh, just
this,” she replied with a soft slyness.
Daniel felt it before he
saw it – her hand suddenly at the nape of his neck, fingers twining in
his hair as she pulled him down to meet her waiting lips. The contact threatened to make
his knees go weak and he grabbed one-handed against the cabinet for
support. Some part of his mind
began to automatically catalogue the flurry of sensations he picked up from
her kiss – warmth, sweetness, flirtation, and distinct
satisfaction. Janet’s other
hand had snaked underneath his suit jacket and was dancing teasingly across
his back. Realizing he
really wouldn’t fall over if he actually let go of the cabinet, Daniel
circled Janet’s waist and pulled her closer. And as he deepened the kiss, he
thought once again, ‘yes, it’s been a fabulous evening’.
------------------------------------
Sam had used every trick
she knew to get all possible details out of her friend. And, truth be told, Janet had been
pretty forthcoming with information about how her date had gone. Still, Sam couldn’t shake
the feeling that her friend was holding something back. Maybe it was the way Janet would grin
whenever she assured that the date had been wonderful, and she was looking
forward to going out with him again.
Or perhaps it was the fact that Sam had caught Daniel whistling
– yes, actually whistling – when he was working in his
office. Then again, it could have
been that O’Neill kept making impish remarks when he observed Daniel
and Janet in the same room and he thought they weren’t listening to him
– comments like, “yeah, they’ve got it pretty
bad”. No, she finally
decided. The telling factor was
the picture.
Sam had spotted it just
that morning – the Glamour Shot picture of Janet, in the dress
she’d bought that night – it was placed in a simple gold frame and
was sitting on one corner of Daniel’s desk amidst the piles of books,
files, and other papers. Sam
wasn’t quite sure which had caught her more by surprise – that
Janet had given it to him, or that Daniel actually had the gumption to
display it in his office.
Either way, Sam was
positive of one thing. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen both her friends so
happy. In the end, that was all
she really needed to know.
~ END ~
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