Somebody
by Jammer
E-MAIL: jammer0307@yahoo.com
STATUS: Complete
RATING: PG-13
SEASON: 7+
SPOILERS: 'Homecoming', 'Chimera, and 'Meridian' at
least.
CATEGORY: Songfic, Romance
SUMMARY: When Daniel hears a song, he starts to think
a little differently about his doctor.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: For Red, who helped me think of writing this fic.
Daniel Jackson was driving to work when his favorite
station cut out halfway there. He'd forgotten to
bring a tape to listen to, so he scanned for a good
station. Then he remembered that someone told him the
only station that came in near the SGC was a country
one. 'Who told me that?' he puzzled.
He turned the radio to the station and was just in
time to hear the end of a commercial. "And now for a
new song! This is a new one from Reba – one of
country's best female singers. Here is 'Somebody' on
99.5, Colorado Springs' top country station!"
"At a diner down on Broadway they make small talk
When she brings his eggs and fills his coffee cup
He jokes about his love life
And tells her he's about ready to give up
That's when she says 'I've been there before
But keep on lookin'
Cause maybe who you're lookin' for is
Somebody in the next car
Somebody on the mornin' train
Somebody in the coffee shop
That you walk right by everyday
Somebody that you look at but never really see
Somewhere out there is somebody'
Across town in a crowded elevator
He can't forget the things that waitress said
He usually reads the paper
But today he reads a strangers face instead
It's that blue-eyed girl
From two floors up
Maybe she's the one
Maybe he could fall in love with
Somebody in the next car
Somebody on the mornin' train
Somebody in the coffee shop
That you walk right by everyday
Somebody that you look at but never really see
Somewhere out there is somebody
Now they laugh about the moment that it happened
A moment they both missed until that day
When he saw his future in her eyes
Instead of just another friendly face
And he wonders why he searched so long
When she was always there
At that diner waitin' on
Somebody in the next car
Somebody on the mornin' train
Somebody in the coffee shop
That you walk right by everyday
Somebody that you look at
But never really see
Somewhere out there
Oh, somewhere out there
Is somebody."
The song struck a chord in Daniel. There were a few
lines that reminded him of someone, but as before when
trying to remember who told him about the radio
station, he couldn't remember whom. He parked his car
in his usual spot and walked into Cheyenne Mountain.
As he got into the elevator, he heard a voice call out
"Hold the elevator!"
He did so and a blue blur landed in the elevator
beside him. The person looked up and smiled at him.
Daniel returned the smile to Janet Fraiser. "Hi
Janet, in a hurry?"
"Yeah, didn't want to miss the elevator."
The elevator closed and made its way down. Daniel
couldn't get the song out of his head and
unconsciously began to hum the tune. Janet heard him
and looked over curiously at the archaeologist.
"Daniel, what are you humming?"
"Oh, you heard that?"
"Yeah." She replied.
"It is a song I heard on the radio this morning. I can't get it out of my head."
"I see. What's it called?"
"'Somebody'. The lyrics are a bit thought provoking."
"Wait, 'Somebody'? Isn't that a Reba song?" Janet asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah. My radio cut out and the country station was
the only thing on."
"Oh." The elevator came to a stop. "Well, this is my
stop. Hopefully, I won't see you later." She joked,
remembering his tendency to end up in her infirmary.
"Yeah." He said. "It would be something out of the
ordinary for you, huh?"
"Well, yeah." She said, laughing as she stepped out
of the elevator.
"Bye, Janet!" He called as the doors closed and the
elevator went to the floor where Daniel's office was.
------------------------------------------------------
Daniel worked in his office all morning, finally
making a dent in his paperwork. Jack had broken his
wrist, so SG-1 were on stand down unless they wanted
to join another team for at least another three more
weeks. The song he had heard on the radio haunted
him. Frustrated because he couldn’t work anymore, he
turned on his computer and looked up the lyrics.
He read them carefully, trying to figure out which was
the line that started all this. He read it over and
over again, until he'd memorized the song. The line
in the chorus, "someone that you look at but never
really see" was the one that started this whole mess.
He supposed it meant someone that you see everyday but
never really get to know. 'But why does it affect me
so?' he asked himself. 'Do I never see a possible
girlfriend or am I hurt because she doesn't notice
me?'
Daniel puzzled over this all day, casting aside his
other work as it was just extra research. 'I'm going
to start taking notice of the women around me. Maybe
I had feelings for someone before I ascended and since
my memory was, well still is, Swiss cheese, could it
be that I forgot who it was? Or did I have a short
relationship with someone right before… and just can't
remember?'
As he puzzled over this, he heard a slight knock on
the door. He looked up to see Janet leaning against
his doorway.
"Hey Janet."
"Hi Daniel."
"So, what brings you down here?" he asked.
"I was visiting Sam, trying to get her to eat. I
thought I should try to persuade you to do so as well.
I know how you both are when you get immersed in
projects."
"Actually…" his stomach growled "…I'd better."
"Good. Want to eat with Sam and me?"
"Sure!"
"Let's go." Janet turned and walked away, Daniel
following.
"So…" She began after a silence in the elevator, "What
are you working on?"
"Nothing really. I'm pretty caught up with my work."
"At least for today, right?"
"Yep. I hope the commissary food is decent today."
"So do I. I wish the General would get a better cook.
After the last one transferred out, I've had a large
increase in food poisoning patients!"
"Ewww, gross. By the way, where's Sam?"
"Yeah, ewww. Sam is going to meet us there, or so she
said."
They continued on their way. Sam did meet them at the
commissary and they enjoyed a companionable lunch.
All the while, Daniel's mind was on that blasted song.
He had already resolved to take a closer look at the
women in his life.
First, there was Sarah. After returning from…well,
being a host, she had accepted a civilian consultant
position, much like Daniel himself, but under one of
the conditions of her job, she did not under any
circumstances go off world.
Then there was Sam. She had said they weren't
involved and as he remembered more of his life before
ascension, he realized Sam was more like a sister.
Last, but certainly not least, there was Janet. As
that thought popped into his brain, he looked at the
petite doctor sitting across from him. He had known
her for almost seven years and indeed considered her a
good friend. However, as he looked at her, he
realized he didn’t know her. Sure, he knew that she
was a doctor, a single mother, was divorced, had
allergies, brilliant, kind yet tough, and had a sense
of humor.
Out of these three women, Daniel knew there were only
two possibilities: Sarah and Janet. Sam was out, not
only because she was his 'sister', but also because
Jack and Sam had these unspoken feelings for each
other. It was only a matter of time before they got
their heads out of the sand and admitted it.
Daniel's thoughts turned to Sarah. He saw her nearly
every day, but she didn't fit the lyrics of the song.
He knew it was rather foolish, but he hadn't had
anything in the last few years affect him as much as
this song did. Anyway Sarah was out. Not only did he
already date her, but also she had not believed in him
when his theory about the pyramids had first come out.
While he did forgive her for it, he knew that he
needed someone who truly believed in him – even if his
ideas were off the wall sometimes.
So by power of deduction, that left Janet. As if she
had heard his thoughts, Janet turned from her
conversation with Sam and asked him, "Daniel, are you
all right? You've barely touched your food."
He started, "Yeah, Janet. I'm fine, I'm just
thinking, that's all." He tried to reassure her.
"Is it that song again?"
"Yeah, I just can't shake it."
"Uh…what song?" Sam asked.
"I heard a song on the radio and it got me thinking.
Janet found me humming it and so I told her the story.
That's all." Daniel replied. "Listen ladies, I
really need to get back to work."
"Ok, bye Daniel." They said in unison.
He returned to his office. He felt bad for lying to
them, but how could he say that the song had caused
him to think about Janet in a definitely non-platonic
way?
He gasped as a memory slammed into him. Once in a
while, one of his memories from 'before' would fill in
an event in his Swiss cheese head. This one was from
when Cassandra was ill. He remembered comforting
Janet in the hallway. Then the feelings associated
with the memory set in. He remembered that he had had
a crush on the good doctor and had nearly worked up
the courage to ask her out when Kelowna happened. He
had gone to the base when Hammond called with news of
Cassie's illness, and had tried his best to help. In
that hallway, he had wanted to comfort her so badly,
but he hadn't known how she'd have taken it.
He sat at his desk after the sensations passed and
smiled. The song had awakened not only one of his
memories, but more than that it had confirmed that he
should ask Janet out. He wracked his brain for ideas
on how to do it, and was surprised to find that not
only the memory of the 'mind-fire' sickness came back
but also a few others had as well, all having to do
with Janet. He now remembered the trip to Egypt, the
Goa'uld-killing machines, and the Land of Light
disease found on the day they met.
'Ok. I know I have had feelings in the past for
Janet, but do I still or are these feelings just a
reflection of the memories?' He searched himself for
the answer and found he has retained the crush he had
on one Dr. Janet Fraiser. 'Now, how to ask her out?
But before I do that, I have to find out if she has
any feelings other than friendship towards me…Sam and
Cassie will know!' Thus resolved, he made plans to
find out if Janet had any feelings for him, and if so,
act on them.
----------------------------------------------------------
Six weeks had passed since the day Daniel had heard
the song and realized his crush on the 'Napoleonic
Power Monger'. He had subtly inquired after her
feelings for him, well at least as subtle as he could
be. Neither Sam nor Cassie would tell him for sure if
she did, but they hinted that if he did ask her out,
she wouldn't be adverse to the idea.
Now all he had to do was work up the courage to ask
her out. He had tried, but just as he was about to
ask, an emergency came up in the infirmary. He
finally decided to be completely romantic about it;
something about asking her out in such an extravagant
way appealed to him. He knew from his interactions
with her over the years that it wasn't her style, but
he felt that every woman needed to be pampered once in
a while. He had ordered seven dozen flowers, one for
every year they had known each other. Three bunches
were red roses, for every year he's cared for her as
more than a friend (even though he was ascended,
didn't mean he didn't think of her as more than a
friend); one was lavender heather, a sign of his
admiration of her; one was Queen Anne's lace, which
meant haven or safety – she had always had made him
feel safe to be him around her; one more was a bouquet
of deep pink roses, a sign of his gratitude for her
support of him and his ideas over the years; and the
last bunch were of yarrow, the flower of healing – a
recognition of the healing she had done to his mind
and body, but now he hoped she would finish healing
his heart and soul. He then made sure that the
meanings of each type of flower were written on cards
embedded in the flowers.
Janet arrived to work on a Tuesday morning, already
having a horrible day. She'd slept through her alarm,
her car had had a flat, and to top it all off, she'd
forgotten her security pass at home and had to go back
for it. She sighed as she entered her darkened
office, bracing herself for the day ahead. She turned
on the light and was pleasantly surprised at the
flowers that surrounded her desk. She looked at the
cards sticking up from each bouquet, surprised to find
two meanings – one for the flower and one for the
reason the type of flower had ended up in her office.
Then she saw the card on her desk.
"Dearest Janet:
By now, I'm sure you are wondering who sent you these
flowers and why. Well, the why part is very easy to
answer. It's partly a thank you for your valued
friendship, partly to brighten your day, and partly
because I wanted to ask you out in a unique way. I
sincerely hope you liked the choices I have made and
would consider getting to know me better as I desire
to do the same. We have indeed been friends a long
time, but I now wish to truly know the woman behind
the friend. What do you say to dinner at Champlain's
at seven tomorrow evening?
Eagerly anticipating your answer,
Daniel"
Janet was shocked beyond belief. She couldn't believe
at all that Daniel was so sweet, buying all these
flowers for her. She also couldn't fathom the fact
that he had asked her out. Of course she'd say 'yes',
she had had a thing for him for at least a year before
his 'ascension' and had hoped upon his return that
they could make a go of it. The memory loss thing of
his had hampered that idea.
She knew Daniel was a good man. 'He's intelligent,
caring, compassionate even to people that have hurt
him, strong minded, and yummy – what else could a
woman want?' She asked herself. She had to find him
and give him her answer. She looked in the infirmary
first, considering the fact Daniel spent more time in
there then anywhere else. She checked his office, the
language lab, Sam's lab and office, Jack's office,
Teal'c's quarters, the briefing room and the
commissary. The only place she hadn't checked when
she heard the alarms were Daniel's quarters. She
sighed and ran to the 'Gate room in order to meet the
team coming back if needed. Luckily she wasn't, so
she made her way to Daniel's quarters – where he
wasn't.
Sighing again, she went back to the infirmary where
she found Daniel, sitting on a bed holding his hand in
a cloth.
"What did you do now, Daniel?" She asked, shaking her
head.
"Sharp artifact." He said ruefully.
"Ah."
"So, you get the flowers?" He asked eagerly.
"Yes, I did." She said, finishing with his hand –
'Cleaning and stitches, damnit I lost the latest bet
with Sam!' "And I'd love to." She added.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really." She smiled at him – a large smile
that he'd only seen after his 'lifeboat' experience –
at least that he remembered.
"Good! I'll pick you up at six-thirty then – that
will give us more than enough time to get there."
"Sounds great!" He left, not noticing the full smile
Janet aimed his way as he went.
------------------------------------------------
Janet was really anxious about this date. To her
surprise, Daniel was actually on time picking her up –
a first, considering the archaeologist's tendency to
be late to briefings. They made their way to
Champlain's – a fancy restaurant where you had to make
reservations at least a week in advance. Just by
asking her there, Janet knew he'd had the date planned
for a while.
They chatted about random things over dinner – Cassie
who was at a friend's, work, most embarrassing
moments, etc. There were three subjects they stayed
away from – Sha're, his death/ascension, and her
marriage that had ended before they met. They each
found the other was a great listener and really
enjoyed each other's company. Janet found herself
looking at Daniel in a different light – while she'd
considered him a friend and he'd been great while
Cassie was sick, she'd also never thought that he'd be
interested in her. But now that she knew he was, she
saw the feelings he'd held inside, the ones she never
could place, in his eyes and it mesmerized her. She'd
never seen them sparkle like that before – and she
promised herself that they would shine like that as
long as she was around.
Daniel, for his part, was really happy for the first
time in a long time. Something about the way Janet
spoke to him and smiled at him captivated him. All he
knew was that he needed to make her smile like that as
often as possible – at least as long as he could.
They finished dessert and walked out to his car, him
holding her arm in his own. He opened the passenger
door and waited until she had fastened her seat belt
before getting in his side of the car. They drove
back to her house in a comfortable silence, not
needing to fill the car with words.
They pulled up in front of Janet's house all too soon.
Daniel got out first and opened the other door for
Janet, helping her out like any good gentleman would.
He walked her to the door and began to say goodnight
when she touched his arm and softly asked him inside
for coffee.
He accepted, grateful the night was not to be over
yet. He followed her into the living room and
gingerly sat down on the couch, wondering what was
going to happen next. Janet brought out some cream
and sugar, placing them on the coffee table in front
of Daniel.
"The coffee will be ready in a few minutes." She said
as she sat down, breaking the silence.
"Oh, okay."
All of a sudden she burst out into laughter.
"What's so funny?" He asked.
"The fact that most of the night we’ve been talking
and haven't lapsed into silence before, but now we
can't even find a few words while we wait."
"That is a little bit funny. Well, what do you want
to talk about?"
"Anything, anything that is except things we've
already covered." She said.
"Agreed."
So they continued the conversation they began at the
restaurant. Soon, however, they ran out of happier
topics and had to move on to the sadder aspects of
their lives. He told her about his parents' death.
She knew SG-1 knew about it, but it was something they
never really asked him about. She told him about her
parents' reaction to her enlistment in the Air Force,
something they were vehemently against. He also told
her about Nick and the foster homes he'd hated. She,
in turn, talked about her ex-husband and why they'd
divorced.
They showed each other more of the sides of their
lives they had never shared with anyone else, not even
Sam and Jack – their best friends. Somehow they knew
that the other would not judge the decisions they had
made. It was this that had attracted them to each
other in the first place – the fact they trusted each
other so much as to confide their deepest secrets and
most painful memories. It was around one in the
morning when Daniel noticed what time it was.
"I'd better go; it's late." He stated.
"I'd rather you stayed – I don't want to get a call
saying I'd have to come and fix you up." She smiled,
letting him know she was teasing him. "Besides, I
have tomorrow off so it wouldn't bother me if you
stayed. No arguments."
"Ok." He said, adding jokingly, "I'll stay – if only
so you can get more sleep."
"Thanks." She smirked at him.
She showed him to the guest room and turned to go to
her own bedroom. Daniel stopped her with a hand on
her shoulder.
"You know, I never did tell you one thing while we
were talking…" He started.
"Really? And what would that be?"
"The fact that I've had feelings for you for a while,
but because I couldn't remember why, I pushed them
down deep inside. That is until that song a few weeks
ago. It helped me remember the times you impressed me
and then the puzzle pieces clicked."
"Really?" She asked again.
"Yep. I just wanted you to know that. Good night,
Janet."
"Good night, Daniel. Thanks for telling me." She
leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, then left the
room.
Daniel stripped down to his boxers and climbed into
the bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he
heard a scream echo throughout the house. He ran to
Janet's room and threw open the door. He saw her
thrashing about on the bed, obviously in the middle of
a nightmare. He woke her up as quickly as he could
and calmed her down. Just as he was about to leave,
she softly asked him to stay with her.
"Ok, I'll stay." He said.
"Good. Thank you, Daniel." She replied moving into
his embrace and curling into his body.
"You're welcome. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, not right now. In the morning, all right?"
"Sure" Noticing that she was getting sleepy again, he
said softly, "Now sleep."
Lying there, holding the woman who had quietly managed
to steal his heart, he knew there was no place he'd
rather be. He got the feeling he was finally where he
should be and as he fell asleep, his last thought was:
'why did I search for so long, when she was right
here? Oh, well it doesn't matter now. I've found my
somebody and I plan to be around her as long as
possible.'
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