Indecision by Betty Bokor
Sam/Daniel. Brief Valentine's story.
Spoilers: All seasons, including 9.
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

Indecision

Chapter 1

Before midday on Valentine's Day, Daniel rang the bell at Sam's house.

"Hey, Sam," he greeted her as she opened the door. He was smiling at her from behind an inordinate amount of red roses that he kept trying to hold still while not dropping all the other packages he had brought with him.

"Daniel? What are you doing?" she asked smiling broadly as she let him inside the house.

"Well, after our last encounter with the Lucian Alliance and Ba'al, I thought I should loosen up a little. I was shopping earlier this morning and every man in the store was getting Valentine's presents and I thought that it's been a long time since I've done that. So," he stopped for a second as Sam helped him put all his packages on the kitchen table, "I thought of you." Sam looked at him with a questioning expression, so he continued. "After all, you're my best friend and the most important woman in my life these days," he tried to explain.

"That's very sweet of you, Daniel, but, what are all these other packages?" she asked still smiling.

"Let's see," he said arranging the packages and bags in a certain order. "I thought I'd bring you the present early in the day, just in case you had something scheduled for later."

"Something like what? We're on stand-down this week. I'm not going anywhere."

"Something like a date, I meant. A Valentine's date."

"Oh, I see," she said without really answering the question on Daniel's mind. "So?"

"So, first I got you the roses. They had all these different colors, but the red ones were far more striking than the others."

"Why did you get so many? How many are there?"

"Three dozen. Yeah, I know, too many. I just thought that you could have some here in the kitchen for this week, to brighten your day while you're eating at home, not at the base, and then it occurred to me that they would look good at the entrance, for when you get into the house."

"And the last dozen?"

Daniel blushed slightly and answered, "What about some for your room, so that they greet you when you wake up?"

Sam smiled brightly. "That would be lovely, too, Daniel. Let me see if I have a vase."

"Oh, don't worry," he said as he grabbed a big bag from the table. "I got you some vases, too. I hope you like them." He carefully unwrapped the three packages he had taken out of the bag and Sam sat down to admire the vases more closely.

"These are pieces of art, Daniel. They're not just vases."

"I know. I have a friend from college, an archeologist, here in town, who makes this kind of piece as a hobby. I really admire his talent and it seemed appropriate to get some of his works of art for the flowers. I can take you to visit his workshop one day, if you're interested."

"I'd love to do that. I'm impressed."

"I'm glad, Sam."

Sam got up and started filling the vases with water. Daniel helped her separate the roses in three groups and arrange them. While Daniel went to put one vase on the foyer table, Sam went upstairs to her bedroom to put the last arrangement in its place. When they both came back, Sam sat down again and waited for Daniel to explain the rest of the packages.

"Okay," he said as he chose the next package to be opened. "These are some chocolates. I know that's a passion we share and I had to get you some of these. They're my favorite ones."

Sam unwrapped the package and opened the box inside. The smell of chocolate filled the air. "Mm, you're going to kill my diet, Daniel. I don't think I can resist these."

"Well, then I shouldn't give you these either," he said as he picked up another package. "Nah, you need to try these," he added and handed her the item.

She opened it and found a plastic container with cookies inside. "Did you cook these?"

"No, I wish I could. My neighbor, the old lady who lives to the right of my place, she brought them yesterday afternoon. They were still hot. They're chocolate walnut cookies. Don't think I'm giving you all of them," he smiled, "I've already eaten several."

She got one of them out of the container and tried it. "Wow! They're fantastic, Daniel. Thank you for sharing them with me."

"I thought you'd enjoy them, too."

"I will. They're delicious. Thank you, Daniel; this is all so thoughtful."

"Well, you deserve it and since you've been lonely for so long, I thought that, as your friend, it was my obligation to remind you of how important you are for us."

There was so much emotion in Daniel's voice that Sam's eyes filled with tears. She got up and hugged him. "Oh, Daniel, I should be the one reminding all of you how important you are to me. You're right, I'm pretty lonely lately, but every time I go to the base and I get to be with you, Teal'c, Cameron, and even General Landry, I remember how lucky I am. Not many women have men like you so close to them." She let go of Daniel and got a tissue to wipe her tears. Daniel was very quiet and she felt she had to say something else. "When General O'Neill and General Hammond left us, I thought we'd never get together and be a team again. But we are and we're doing well. I'm so happy, Daniel!"

"I know what you mean. I felt the same way, but we're doing fine. You're right."

"Oh, God, I can't believe I'm crying over this." She threw the tissue in the trashcan and sat back down. "Let's see, what else do you have there?"

He picked up the packages in order and explained as he gave them to her. "Some of your favorite coffee, some fine tea –for those days when tea is the only comfort– and some aromatic spices for the next time you feel like fixing a special meal."

"This is too much. I can't believe I didn't get you anything," Sam said with regret.

"You didn't have to get me anything. I enjoyed choosing things for you. There's a couple of books in this bag and a subscription to a magazine I think you'd enjoy in this envelope."

"I don't know what to say. Why so many, Daniel?"

"I couldn't decide what was best. I actually got some other things, but I thought it could end up offending you or something."

"You could never offend me, Daniel."

"Well, you could think that it was inappropriate that I gave you other things."

"Such as?"

Daniel hesitated. "I don't know if I should tell you. Maybe we should just forget it. I'll take them back to the stores and we'll forget all about it."