Part 1 of the Saving Graces Series This is the fastest thing I have ever written. It was thought up, written, beta'd and posted in 24 hours. Hence it was also the most fun thing I've ever written. Thanks to Pie - fastest beta in the West and hero on a daily basis. Thanks to BJ and AnnO for nodding in all the right places. Thanks to Pepe, for teaching me about line breaks!

As the blast wave of a thumping base line assails my ears when I step out of the truck, I look at my sheepish 2IC with a steely expression.

"This is not the kind of club I would usually frequent, is it, Carter?" I ask her shortly.

"No, sir," she smiles, not nearly apologetically enough. A quick glance around the parking lot informs me that it is a popular venue for Colorado Springs' beautiful people... young beautiful people.

"It's the kind of club where you dance," Daniel informs me. Both he and Carter have been insufferable in the truck, bouncy and talking twenty to the dozen all the way here. They eye me with anticipation, wondering if I'm going to bail on them and I do think about it, but Daniel looks so hopeful and I love to see that smile on his face... the one that says, "Can we, huh? Huh? Can we?"

"Come on, Jack, it is Sam's birthday. It'll be fun," Daniel adds, grasping my jacket sleeve and starting to pull me towards the brightly lit entrance.

Daniel and fun... two words that don't often collide. Surely Daniel's idea of fun involves a library card and a family sized bar of Hershey's, or rearranging his CD collection by genre not artist, perhaps a nice game of chess with yours truly? Surely this kind of place wouldn't appeal to someone like him? Geeks have down time? This I have to see!

Teal'c takes point as we enter the place and by subtle intimidation i.e. breathing, he secures us a table far from the deafening speakers but still by the dance floor. The place is pretty full and the clientele look prosperous and happy with their lot... and did I mention young? My grey hair must stand out a mile, although my choice of outfit is just the right side of smart/casual. Speaking of outfit, Daniel has just shucked his jacket and seems to have had some kind of laundry crisis; his black jeans are way too tight for modesty and the marl grey t-shirt clings across his broad shoulders and chest in a way that is almost unnerving.

As the tempo changes, Carter and Daniel look at each other with excited grins.

"Let's dance!" Carter commands.

"Coming Jack?" Daniel asks with a sly smirk.

I start to make noises about my knees and they both agree far too quickly and dump their coats on me.

"Would you order me a Southern Comfort please, sir?" Carter asks as she takes the willing archaeologist by the hand and starts to drag him away.

"Me too, please!" Daniel calls back, laughing as the press of bodies on the dance floor swallows him up.

"You don't feel like dancing, big guy?" I ask as I lose sight of the more irrepressible members of my team.

"I am dancing, O'Neill," Teal'c intones. I look at him doubtfully and after a thorough search discover that Jaffa dancing involves changing your weight from foot to foot every fourth bar or so. Subtle doesn't begin to cover it.

"Course you are," I agree, dumping the jackets unceremoniously onto the seat before sliding behind the table myself. I just look at my large friend for a while and it's enough to persuade him that he should sit down too – Colorado Springs just isn't ready for Chulak Body Popping.

I manage to attract the attention of a waiter and order our drinks, which arrive mercifully quickly. After moaning about Carter and Daniel's choice of drink being filthy and expensive, I check Teal'c's root beer is to his liking before settling back in our booth to watch the action and drink my beer. The crowd ebbs and flows and I track the floor with lazy eyes until my attention is arrested by half of Earth's premier first contact team shaking their thing!

Carter is all smiles and shoulders as she sways to the insistent beat, her strappy top and jeans curving in all the right places. But it is Daniel that has me blindly reaching for my glass, afraid to take my eyes off him.

Daniel can dance. I don't know why this surprises me, but it does, in fact it damn near takes my breath away. His hips seem to have taken on a life of their own as they rock to the rhythm of the music, describing tantalising figures of eight, which burn their way onto my retina in a manner that I know I will still see even when I shut my eyes. His slim waist remains still despite the movement further south and his hands are lightly clasped behind him drawing all the attention to his shoulders and those hypnotic hips. The defined muscles of his arms look amazing under the tight, short sleeves of his shirt and his skin, under the hot lights of the club, glows a golden cream. He looks relaxed. He looks happy. He looks HOT!

I need a drink.

Despite the beer my mouth is as dry as a dustbowl. Daniel and Carter continue to gyrate, unaware of the reaction it is causing in the maturity corner of the club. At least I can console myself that I am not the oldest person here and if anyone can challenge Teal'c on that one, I want a list of the supplements they are taking. The effect of Daniel's motion is anything but mature though and I feel like a teenager, looking at porn magazines, like it's a forbidden pleasure for which my Catholic upbringing has special levels of hell set aside for me. But try as I might, I cannot drag my eyes from him.

Daniel moves around to accommodate another dancer at that moment and I am rewarded with his rear view. The issue I was having with my pants has now been upgraded to a problem as Daniel's denim clad ass fills my vision to the exclusion of any other damn thing. I can feel the IQ points dropping away as each sway and glide mesmerises me. I don't even react when Teal'c helpfully reaches across and closes my mouth for me.

The beat changes again, becoming more frenetic, and Carter and Daniel move closer together, grinning like idiots. I can see them both now they have moved around again. Carter is really lost in the rhythm and she moves into Daniel's space, their bodies never touching but looking for all the world like they were connected. Daniel, too, is one with the music by now and his movements become more exaggerated and provocative, leaving me breathless. He unclasps his hands, moves impossibly closer to Sam and... Oh Christ, he's not going to... Oh God! He is! Daniel lifts his arms over his head and his t-shirt and jeans part company revealing a perfect band of taut, pale skin.

I think it's at this point that I begin to whimper. Thank God for lowered lights and booths with tables, as the problem becomes an all out disaster. Seeking assistance, my hand encounters Daniel's glass of filthy Southern Comfort, which I neck, swiftly followed by Carter's. Teal'c takes one look at me and disappears, only to reappear a few moments later with a pitcher of iced water, a couple of glasses and another round of drinks. With a tight smile of thanks, I cradle the freezing cold jug in my lap and think about my tax return until I am able to speak in a coherent manner again.

"So, T? You go clubbing much?" I ask in the closest thing to nonchalant I can manage. I train my gaze on his implacable face and resolutely ignore the fact that my civilian consultant is burning up the dance floor and I'm getting off on it like nothing before.

"I do not," he replies, "but it would seem that both MajorCarter and DanielJackson have frequented such establishments previously."

I nod sagely and put my chin in my hand to prevent my eyes from straying back to Jackson getting jiggy.

"Indeed it would appear that they are both extremely proficient in this form of dance," Teal'c continues, obviously warming to he subject. "Observe how much pleasure they are deriving from this occupation."

Like an idiot I do observe.

The introduction of the next track begins and although I don't recognise the building piano baseline, most of the rest of the club does and piles onto the dance floor forcing Carter and Daniel ever closer to where we're sitting. My 2IC shouts something to Daniel at which he throws back his head and laughs before casting an amused glance in our direction.

"They make an aesthetically pleasing couple, do they not, O'Neill?" the big Jaffa offers blandly. I grunt in an uninterested manner at which Teal'c smiles in that Sphinxy way he has. Nobody does enigmatic like Teal'c.

But he has got me thinking and I watch Carter now, marking her every move. They smile into each other's open faces, enjoying each other's company, enjoying the music. And I know I'm being paranoid but does she have to dance that close to him? And make him laugh like that? I mean, could she be any more all over him? When she raises her arms and Daniel steps into her embrace and rests his hands on her hips, Teal'c quickly moves all the drinks on the table out of my reach. I have the strangest compulsion to leap up and drag them apart, but settle for taking a long pull on the icy water... straight from the pitcher.

Sam has her back to me now; they can only be five yards away. I can see Daniel lean down to say something in her ear that makes his eyes dance with mischievous laughter. I reach across and pointedly retrieve a drink from beneath the Jaffa's disapproving glare and after a short staring contest, which I win – I'm not a Colonel for nothing you know – I turn back to watch my kids dance, only to come face to navel with a panting, glowing archaeologist.

"You're hot!' I squeak, scooting back so I don't have to address his abs and he frowns at me a little. I quickly retrieve the pitcher of iced water from under the table and pour him a glass.

He narrows his eyes at me, but takes the water with a quiet, "Thanks, Jack."

Carter takes a seat beside Teal'c, her face pretty and flushed, but Daniel is doing obscene things with a glass of water and I barely glance at her as she begins to talk. Daniel is holding his glasses in one hand and with the other is tipping the cold drink into his greedy mouth. A rivulet escapes the side of his lips and tracks slowly down his exposed, flushed neck before disappearing into his t-shirt to leave a tell tale dark spot on the tight fabric. He lets out a sigh of bliss and drops to the seat beside me, gracefully accepting his Southern Comfort from Teal'c. No one notices when my last IQ point books without a fight and has anyone seen my heterosexuality while we are at it?

Enthusiastically, Daniel joins in Sam's discussion, his face animated and alive in the changing lighting of the club. I have no idea what they are finding to talk about in here and I'm not even trying to keep up until there's a pause in the conversation and three pairs of expectant eyes turn my way. I was quite happy in my little world, dreaming of Danny dancing, just for me, swaying his luscious...

"Ass!" I murmur into the silence.

Three pairs of eyes do a "WTF?" thing... well, two "WTF?"s and an "Indeed".

"Ass... k you if you needed another drink," I flounder foolishly. "I'm just going to the bar."

Carter and Daniel order another round and I press past Daniel in order to get out of here as fast as possible. The bar is as good a place as any. I can feel the heat radiating off his body as I do my damndest not to touch him as I brush by. I know he is giving me an odd look; I don't need to see it. Carter seems oblivious and it could be the lighting, but I swear Teal'c is struggling to contain one of his gargantuan grins, the ones he reserves for Jaffa jokes and hopelessly out of their depth Colonels.

I use my time queuing at the bar to regroup and get a grip and by the time I return to the geriatric table I think I have this well enough in hand to last the rest of the evening without disgracing myself – that can wait until I'm alone!

Teal'c is sitting by himself and I can see Carter and Daniel have found themselves a square foot to dance in. Once again my 2IC has her arms loosely around Danny's neck and her back to me. Daniel has his hands on Sam's swaying hips and is talking to her while looking over her shoulder. I give him a smile and show him his drink at which he nods and carries on dancing. See? I can do this!

I take my seat again as the music changes once more up-tempo. The beat is driving, thumping and relentless, and I watch Daniel adjust his pace and release Sam so they can move more easily to this faster rhythm. The heat and the mingled smells of cigarettes, alcohol and fresh sweat wash over me as I feel the insistent beat slam through my chest. The sea of bodies on the floor moves as one to the demands of the music. I regret the stolen drinks now that their fiery warmth flares around my body, making it hard to concentrate. My eyes range erratically across the heaving mass of dancers until they are caught by another pair of clear blue eyes that act like an anchor in the shifting swell.

Daniel's eyes.

The heat and the scent are forgotten and the other dancers pale to insignificance as my full attention comes to rest on Daniel. His direct gaze is so totally unguarded and I can see a question and a challenge in its depths. I can't look away, though I know I should. There's no pressure, no judgement in that cool appraisal, only recognition. I can only guess at what he sees in my eyes, definitely lust, probably fear, but I hope a little of what else I am feeling is reflected for him to see. All that I can see in return is him. All the noise, lights, odours and sensations are nothing. Everything is narrowed down to those eyes, that small smile and the rippling movement of his body in time to a beat that echoes the thump of my heart.

Carter leans in to Daniel with a few words and shatters the illusion. Suddenly I am back in the moment, the music too loud, the atmosphere too thick and Teal'c looking way to all-seeing and smug for my liking.

"What?" I challenge him. He simply raises his infuriating eyebrow and turns back to watch the dancers. My gaze follows his, irresistibly drawn back to find the only person in the whole place who could make me drink Southern Comfort without bitching about it. Carter has finished talking. Daniel nods and casts a quick look my way, following it up with the sweetest smile I have ever seen, before he grabs Sam and whirls her away into the crowd.

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