Tidbits

Daniel tightened his arms convulsively around Sam's waist as they took the curve at something over ninety miles an hour. He stared with horrified fascination at the gritty surface of the highway, which was perhaps four inches below his left knee. The sound of her delighted laughter Dopplered past him as they straightened again, and then she was accelerating even further as the road opened up in a long, smooth stretch.

She wouldn't really be able to tell if he closed his eyes, would she?

They reached the final climb, but Sam didn't slow. They roared towards Cheyenne Mountain in an abandon of speed and noise and freedom, and even as Daniel fought the urge to scream for mercy, he couldn't help but feel a kind of awed glee at the sheer power of acceleration.

The checkpoint seemed to hurtle towards them, and they were finally, blessedly slowing down. Daniel very carefully eased his cramped grip and tried to steady his breathing.

The SF at the gate grinned as Sam screeched to a perfect stop in front of him. "Afternoon, Major Carter." He nodded at Daniel, his eyebrows raising slightly. "Doctor Jackson."

"Sergeant," Daniel croaked back.

Sam fished her ID out of the breast pocket of her leather jacket and waved it in the sergeant's direction. Daniel fumbled for his own wallet with only slightly shaking fingers.

"Speeding again, Major?" the SF asked cheerily as he gave their ID cards a cursory glance.

"Good day for it," Sam said, her voice bright and breathless.

They drove through the checkpoint at a decorous pace and parked without incident. Daniel lurched off the motorcycle and staggered several feet away to lean against a pillar and try to catch his breath. Sam, on the other hand, dismounted with easy grace. She removed her helmet and sauntered over to regard him with open amusement.

"Now, Daniel," she chided, her eyes alight with laughter. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Daniel pulled the helmet off his head and scrubbed at his hair. "Never again," he said fervently. "I mean it, Sam. I am never hitching a ride with you again."

Sam chuckled and threw a companionable arm around his shoulder. "That's what you said the last time you lost a bet," she reminded him. "Next time, don't let Teal'c call the stakes. Come on. Briefing's in half an hour."