Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, I just like to have fun with them.

Please review- This is my first fiction writing of any kind, so please let me know what you think- constructive criticism is always welcome!

"Hello?" he asked as he came around the corner and entered his office. He could have sworn he heard sniffing coming from the back of the darkened room. Peering into the dark, he thought he could make out a silhouette of a person sitting on the floor between two bookshelves.

"Is that you Vala?" he questioned as he turned on the overhead light. To his surprise it was not the raven haired woman he was expecting. Instead, a familiar blonde looked up at him, squinting at the sudden light with red, swollen eyes.

"Sorry, Daniel, it's just me." she stated dejectedly, wiping her nose with a wad of tissue.

"Sam, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming for a few more hours. What's going on?" Daniel was immediately worried over Sam's obvious distress. He could tell she had been crying.

"I was supposed to have a meeting with the IOA to discuss my first year performance as commander of Atlantis, but apparently they had the meeting without me." Sam wiped at the new tears that threatened to escape from her eyes.

"What happened?" He asked with a concerned face. He knew it had to be bad to reduce Sam to tears. He crossed the room and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Woolsey met me as I arrived so he could let me know that I'm being replaced." She stated bitterly.

"Oh Sam, I'm so sorry." Daniel squeezed Sam's shoulders tighter. Sam leaned her head into his chest, grateful for his presence and support.

"You want to know what the real kicker is?" She asked. "Woolsey is the one replacing me. I bet he just couldn't wait for me to come through the gate to rub it in my face." Once again angry tears began to form, but Sam fought against them.

"You can't be serious; Woolsey? That paper-pushing, bureaucratic worm? I can't believe Jack would let that happen." Daniel was stupefied and beside himself with anger over the situation. He knew how hard Sam had worked to replace the much loved Dr. Weir on Atlantis and was ired that the IOA had failed to recognize her efforts.

"It was out of his hands." Sam replied in defense of her former CO. Jack may be the top military officer overseeing the Stargate programs, but the IOA had the final say regarding her position. She knew he would have fought for her to remain on Atlantis, but the IOA felt that the military was controlling too many aspects of the Atlantis expedition.

"All they cared about was having a civilian in charge." Sam continued unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

Daniel held Sam while she sniffed a few more times and wiped her nose again with the tissue. He turned to face Sam who was now looking at the tissue she was shredding unconsciencely. He cupped her face with his hands and lifted her chin up to look at him. He smiled warmly at her and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Come here." He said as he gathered her into his arms for a full on hug. Sam hugged him back and rested her chin on his shoulder. She had forgotten how long it has been since she and Daniel had hugged like this. The year that she had spent on Atlantis had found her new friends, but she had never found a friend like Daniel there. He always was willing to listen to her rant and rave about some new tech they had found and she in turn felt his excitement when he described a new culture or language. They not only understood each other and their passion for their respective fields of study, but they connected on more than just an intellectual level. It was as if they were two halves to a whole.

Sam knew without a doubt that Daniel was her best friend. However, after Vala had come back from the Ori galaxy she began to have her doubts about Daniel's feelings for her. Between his preoccupation with the Ori and his constant distractions from Vala, they rarely had time for each other. It seemed like they had been drifting apart and the year she was gone had only served to widen that gap. However, the only place she could think of going after Woolsey had given her the news had been Daniel's office. Despite the fact that he wasn't there when she first entered his office she knew that he would come eventually. Now here she was again in Daniel's arms and it felt as though she had never left.

"It'll be okay Sam." He murmured softly as he rubbed her back. Daniel could feel some of the tension in her shoulders relax and he felt good that he could be there for his friend. He had truly missed Sam while she was gone. He had always felt comfortable around her enough to confide in her his inner most thoughts and secrets, something he didn't have with anyone else, not even Jack or Vala. Daniel couldn't help but think of the time she had come to see him on Vis Uban to convince him to return with them back to Earth. He didn't remember her name at the time, hell, he couldn't even recall his own, but he had sensed that same feeling he was feeling now. A closeness that failed to be defined by any language he knew. It was that connection that had led him to believe that they had been telling the truth to him, that they were is friends, even if he couldn't remember them.

"Thanks, Daniel." she sighed.

"You're Welcome. I missed you, Sam." Daniel replied "I'm sorry this happened, but I'm glad you're back."

"I missed you too."

Daniel and Sam broke from their embrace when the phone began to ring. Daniel stood and offered his hand to Sam, helping her to her feet. Daniel gave her a smile and walked over to the phone.

"Daniel Jackson" He spoke into the receiver. "Yes sir...she's here too. Okay, we'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up the phone and turned to Sam.

"General Landry wants us to come to his office."

"Me too? What's going on?"

"I don't know, guess we better go find out." Daniel walked back over to Sam grabbing a few more tissues from his desk on the way. He handed her the tissues. Sam accepted them gratefully and rubbed off the mascara that had smeared under her eyes. Sam took a deep breath and blew it out again, feeling more and more composed.

"You gonna be alright?" he asked with a concerned face.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now, thanks." She nodded and smiled up at him before kissing him chastely on the cheek. He smiled back and gestured to the door.

"Let's go then." Daniel and Sam walked out of the office together as he turned off the lights and closed the door behind them.