SquidgeWorld Archive

Chapter Text

Vala walked into the men's locker room with a smile on her face, nodding to the men as she passed them. She spotted Colonel Mitchell towards the back of the room, shaving in the mirror. 'Nice body,' she thought to herself as she checked out his towel-clad figure. 'This is going to be fun.' She had thought about how she was going to announce her presence to her teammates of the SGC and thought why not cause a little excitement. Pretend to come on to Cameron as Daniel - wait until he's totally freaked out - and then proclaim, "Vala's back!"

Luckily, it looked as if Cameron was running late this-morning, and by the time Vala entered the locker room, most of the other men were just finishing getting dressed and were on their way out. As Cameron finished rinsing his face the last officer left the room and Vala locked the door behind him. Hearing the click of the lock, Cameron turned around to face Daniel.

"Daniel?" He asked, toweling off his face. "Your acting real strange this-morning - was there something you needed?"

Vala sauntered Daniel's body over to Mitchell; placing his hand on Cameron's newly-smooth face and whispered, "Just this..." then leaned in and kissed him.

Cameron's first response was exactly as Vala had expected; his eyes widening in surprise as she vaguely made out a "what?" coming from his mouth that was now covered with Daniel's. But a second later it was Vala who was taken by surprise. Instead of pushing Daniel away and giving her the chance to use her "Vala's back!" line, Cameron's mouth opened slightly and he leaned in, deepening the kiss. His hand reached around behind Daniel's neck and his fingers threaded through his short hair. Vala was lost in the kiss; amazed at how passionate the other man was in his actions. It wasn't until a sudden hardness began to rub against Daniel's thigh through the towel Cameron was wearing, that she was brought back to reality.

Pulling away, Vala looked into Cameron's flushed face. "Ummm, Vala's back?" she said. Cameron's eyes - which a second ago had been filled with heat and passion - suddenly went wide. "Vala...you mean...shit." He quickly turned around, suddenly conscious she supposed of the fact that he was half naked and totally aroused. Before she could say anything he disappeared behind one of the long rows of lockers.

Five minutes later, Cameron reappeared, fully dressed, with a look on his face that Vala couldn't read. "We need to find Carter," he said unlocking the door and heading out into the hallway of the SGC.

"Mitchell, If I had known..." she said as she followed him down the hallway towards the mess hall. "I mean, I never would have... It was supposed to be a joke..." Cameron didn't stop walking.

"Look, just forget about it okay," Cameron hissed, not slowing down and obviously trying to keep his voice down. "Let's just figure out how you're communicating with us again. Carter will be able to figure it out." He opened the door to the mess hall and Vala followed him inside.

Cameron rested his head on the cool wall of his temporary quarters for when he had to stay on base overnight. He closed his eyes, wondering what the hell he was going to do. They were taking a short break from hearing Vala's tale of what was going on with the Orii and it was the first time he had a chance to just stand and think about what had happened in the locker room earlier that morning. He knew now that it wasn't Daniel that had kissed him; even though it was Daniel whose hair he had run his hands through and whose lips he could still taste. Cameron shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

But he couldn't do it. He had been thinking about Daniel as more than a team member for the last few months now and having actually experienced being that close to him, only to have it taken away was making him feel used. Maybe it was time to approach Daniel for real - he already knew that Daniel was into guys as well as women. But would Daniel be into him? He hadn't come out to any of his team members yet. The military's policy on don't ask, don't tell made him very cautious of whom he trusted with his secret. Not that he thought he couldn't trust his team members; but it was a big deal to him. And there were very few people that new the truth.

Sighing, Cameron pushed himself off the wall, and, decision made, headed to Sam's room to see if he could find anything out from her. If anyone would know if Daniel had ever thought of him in that way, Sam would - the two of them were like brother and sister.

When the door to Sam's quarters opened, Cameron rushed inside without waiting for an invitation. He needed to get this over with fast if he was going to do it at all. "Hey, Cameron...everything okay?" Sam asked when he brushed by her into the room.

"Yeah, well - sort of..." Cameron stopped. He wasn't sure about how to ask her what he wanted to, and he wasn't off to the best of starts. From Sam's reaction, Cameron concluded she was used to this kind of conversation - no doubt having been on the listening end of Daniels problems (Teal'c and Jack didn't seem the type to "talk" about their feelings) after being on a team together for nine years. She sat on the bed and simply waited for him to continue.

"Um, okay - I was just wondering if you had ever... I mean if Daniel had ever..." 'Shit - just come out and say it Cameron!' he thought to himself.

"Has Daniel ever mentioned having a thing for anyone on the base?" he said in a rush. Okay, not exactly what he wanted to say, but it was a start.

Sam looked at him, confused, "A thing for anyone on the base? Like who? You doing recon for one of the nurses or something?" she asked with a grin, leaning back on her hands.

Cameron shook his head. "I was actually wondering if he had mentioned anything about... me." There, he said it, it was out.

That got her attention. Sam sat up from her relaxed position on the bed with a surprised look on her face. "You? You mean..."

He nodded his head - looking away from her for a second to glance at the door. He could just walk out. Walk out and pretend like this had never happened. If he didn't bring it up again, maybe Sam wouldn't either. He turned back around at the feel of an arm around his waist. Sam had moved from the bed and was... hugging him?

"Cameron, I'm really glad that you feel like you can come to me with this. I know it can be a real risk, considering who we work for. You really have to trust someone in this organization if you want to come out like that to them. It means a lot that you feel like you can talk to me about it."

Okay, not the reaction he was expecting...hoping for maybe, but definitely not expecting. Sam pulled back and surveyed him.

"So what brought this on? I mean, I'm guessing you didn't just wake up this morning and decide to have a thing for one of your team members - but something must have spurred you to talk to me about it."

"Yeah, well, you know how I brought Vala to the mess to find you?"

"Ye-ah?" Sam replied. Cameron could tell she was trying to urge him forward with this story..

"The truth is she found me first, he said, the memory of what had happened washing over him again. He moved over to the spot on the bed that Sam had just vacated and sat down. "She found me in the guy's locker room. Apparently she thought it would be a great way to make an entrance - by coming onto me as Daniel in the locker room and then laughing at my reaction when she revealed herself as Vala."

"Oh no," said Sam, realization dawning on her face.

"She kissed me - and was a bit shocked when, after my initial surprised reaction, I kissed Daniel back. Not the reaction she was expecting - nor any of the other reactions I was having considering I was dressed only in a towel." Cameron blushed slightly and put his head in his hands. Sam came over and patted him on the shoulder. "I told Vala to just forget it, and I think she understood that this isn't something to go talking to everyone about, so I'm not so worried about that, it's just..."

"I'm guessing that after experiencing kissing "Daniel", watching him from afar just isn't going to cut it anymore," she finished for him.

Cameron sighed and nodded. He could tell she was thinking back to her long relationship with Colonel O'Neill where all they were able to be was friends and co-workers. He imagined that now they were a couple she couldn't imagine things going back to the way they were before. Glad that she at least understood where he was coming from, Cameron looked up from where he was sitting on the bed.

"Look, Daniel has never said anything about you, not in that way. But that doesn't mean a whole lot. Daniel is pretty closed when it comes to his love life. If I want to know if he is interested in someone I usually have to be the one to bring it up. I know he considers you a good friend - and friendship is something that Daniel doesn't take lightly - so you can take heart in that."

"Maybe you could talk to him for me," Cameron said.

"Want me to slip him a note during study hall?" Sam said with a grin. Cameron grinned back, realizing how high-school that sounded. The phone on Sam's wall rang and she picked it up. "Carter...Yes Sir...." She hung up the phone and turned back to Cameron. "We're needed back in the interrogation room. The General wants to finish this up with Vala so we can get Daniel back as soon as possible, apparently there are some issues with the meeting he was supposed to be in." Cameron got up and they walked towards the door. "Look, once we get this figured out with Vala, and Daniel is back, I'll see if I can talk to him tonight. We haven't hung out just the two of us in awhile. I'm not promising anything, but, if I can figure out how to work it into the conversation I'll do my best to try and feel him out about it."

Cameron stopped just before they went out the door and gave Sam a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks Sam. Not just for talking to Daniel; you know, for being cool with everything."

Sam smiled at him and they headed back to see how Vala's story would continue to unfold.