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Suggested
Rating: for young
adult and older readers
Category: Daniel/Janet holiday fluff
Setting: Valentine’s Day – can be
any season in which you can believably picture them being married.
Synopsis: Sometimes the best laid plans of mice
and men end up being replaced by something even better.
Author’s
Comments: I literally
threw this one together at short notice.
It hasn’t been beta read.
Goodness, it’s barely been proof-read. But, Isa wanted a Valentine Challenge
– so here ya go…
Isabelle’s
Challenge:
The challenge is simple: Daniel,
Janet, Valentine's Day, chocolate, kissing, fluffiness!
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.
A LITTLE VALENTINE IMPROVISATION
- by
Michelle Lunsford (February 14, 2005)
It took
every ounce of resolve he could muster just to keep his eyes open and his
mind focused as Daniel drove the familiar route home.
You’re exhausted – you
should have crashed at the base, the more reasonable half of his inner voice chided. Before he could even reach to turn on
the blinker for his left-hand turn, the other, decidedly more passionate half
barked right back in response. Yeah right – after all the other
plans I’d hoped to pull off for this particular evening had to be
abandoned, I’ll be damned if I’m spending what’s left of it
in an SGC bed by myself!
He knew
these things happened. He’d
come to accept it as part of his job – a job he truly loved. Still, he’d have given just
about anything if this time the emergency that absolutely required
SG-1’s expertise hadn’t come right before Valentine’s Day.
Well, any other Valentine’s
might not have been so bad, he reflected as he turned onto the empty street of the
subdivision. But this was the
first Valentine’s that he and Janet would celebrate as a married
couple, and he’d been planning for weeks beforehand, envisioning all
the ways he was going to make it special for them. All the plans ended up having to be
scrapped, however, when SG-1 had needed to gate out two days ago. And to make matters worse, things on
the mission hadn’t gone so well.
They’d had to sneak away, in the middle of the night, just for
their own safety.
Pulling
into the driveway, Daniel was greeted by a dark, silent house and a fresh
wave of disappointment washed over him.
At least I’ll get to wake
up in the morning next to my wife, he considered in an attempt to cheer himself
as he got out of the car.
Approaching
the front porch it suddenly struck him that his mad rush to get home might
not have been such a good plan after all. He was still dressed in his SGC fatigues,
it was nearly one in the morning, Janet was likely sound asleep by now and
certainly not expecting him home until sometime tomorrow night. He didn’t relish the idea of
waking her, but attempting to sneak into the house, and then into their bed, without
stirring her wasn’t exactly the safest way to
go about it either. Deciding to
simply cross that bridge when he came to it, Daniel unlocked the front door
and quietly entered.
It was as
dark and still inside as he’d expected, but as he silently made his way
down the corridor Daniel realized the house wasn’t completely devoid of
activity. He could just make out
murmured voices and as he rounded the corner toward the den he recognized the
distinctive flickering of shadows that meant the television was on. Easing into the room he spotted Janet,
curled up in one corner of the sofa, her attention focused on the action
playing out on the screen.
“Hey
sweetheart,” he called out as he stepped around the sofa.
Janet
bolted from her seat, a startled yelp escaping her throat even as she
reflexively went into a defensive posture. Then her eyes registered recognition
and her body relaxed. But her
voice still croaked slightly when she spoke, hinting at the burst of
adrenaline still coursing through her system. “Daniel? What are you doing home? You scared the bejebbies out of
me.”
“I’m
sorry,” he answered sincerely, taking her into his arms. He felt her warmth as she settled
against him, the pleasant sensation magically easing his fatigue. “The mission sort of fell apart
and we had to leave early. I
didn’t want to stay on base so I came home.”
“I’m
glad.” Her voice was soft
as she breathed against his chest.
“I’ve missed you.”
He pulled
back, just enough to glance down at her face and noticed that her eyes
appeared slightly puffy. As he
continued to study her, the pieces began to fall into place – the
oversized flannel pajamas, the numerous empty red and silver foil candy
wrappers strewn on top of the coffee table, the box of tissues on the sofa,
and a Jane Austen film adaptation playing on the television in the
background.
He peered
at her over the rim of his glasses.
“I thought you told me you weren’t going to be too upset
about my being gone for our first Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m
not,” she insisted, not quite meeting his gaze. But then her lower lip trembled
slightly and she sniffled.
“Come
here,” he said, pulling her to him.
“I’m
sorry.” She sniffled
again. “I tried, really I
did. But I had to stop at the
store, on the way home from work.
And, of course, the flowers and candy were everywhere, and all the men
running around making their last minute purchases – I couldn’t
help but think of all the plans you’d been making.” She paused, glancing up at him. “And before I knew it I was
feeling sorry for myself… and so I came home and had my own little pity
party.”
He smiled
down at her. “What am I
going to do with you, my little munchkin?”
She
grinned at his use of the term of endearment and shrugged.
Looking
at the love reflected in her eyes, Daniel felt a stirring of
inspiration. Well, my original plans may have gone down the drain, but I can still
make the most of what’s left of this holiday.
Without
another word Daniel scooped his wife up into his arms and headed toward their
room.
“Daniel,”
she squealed. “What are you
doing?”
“Shhh,”
he answered, carrying her into the bathroom. He managed to flip up the light switch
with his elbow and then carefully sat her on the countertop of the vanity. Then he began searching through
shelves and drawers.
“Daniel?”
He
paused, placed a finger over her lips and gave her a wink. “Just wait and see.”
Within a
few seconds he’d gathered all the necessary supplies –
Janet’s favorite bath salts and some candles. A few seconds more and he had a nice,
hot bath going in the tub.
“So,
was this part of your original plan?” Janet asked as he began to
unfasten the buttons of her pajama top.
“Um,
not exactly.” He brushed a
light kiss across her lips.
“I’m just improvising.”
After
helping her get settled into the tub, Daniel excused himself to the bedroom
where he queued up the Mozart CDs he knew Janet liked and placed additional
candles. Once he was satisfied
with the setup, he returned to the den, grabbed what remained of the open bag
of Hershey’s kisses and shut off the television and DVD player.
Stepping
into the bathroom again he saw Janet was relaxed against her bath cushion,
her eyes closed.
“How’s the pity party cure coming along?” he asked,
sitting on the edge of the tub.
“Perfect,”
she purred. Opening her eyes to
look at him, she reached for his hand.
“Where’d you go?”
“Just
setting the stage for act two,” he replied, pulling her hand to his
lips. “You about ready to
get out?”
She
sighed heavily and batted her eyelashes demurely.
Smiling
roguishly Daniel leaned over and flipped open the drain.
“Oh,
very well,” Janet acquiesced.
He helped
her dry off and get into her robe before leading her into the bedroom.
“Nice,”
she murmured appreciatively after taking a look around. Then, as she stepped closer to the
bed, she added, her tone clearly enticed, “oh my goodness,
is that what I think it is?”
Apparently that last minute
decision to spread the rest of those Kisses on her pillow was a good one, Daniel thought as he stepped up
behind her. Resting his hands at
her waist he placed a kiss on her neck and whispered, “Well, I know how
much you like chocolate.”
She
turned, easing her arms up around his neck as she asked, “And this is
really all just your improvising?”
He
shrugged, feeling an undeniable sense of intoxication from the way she was
responding to this. “More
or less,” he replied.
Leaning
into him, Janet kissed him so passionately that, for a moment, Daniel though
his knees might literally give out beneath him.
“Well
this may prove to be a problem,” she said breathlessly when they
finally parted.
“How’s
that?” he asked, noticing his own voice was just as breathy.
She
grinned, all coy pretenses now completely replaced with a candid
arousal. “Because, if this
is how your improvised Valentine’s plans go,
then your premeditated ones are going to have one heck of a reputation to
live up to.”
And as
she pulled him down for another kiss, Daniel happily gave in to the oblivion
of loving his wife.
~ The End
~
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