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A Vision From Next Door

CHAPTER ONE

Annika carefully lowered the little icing figure onto the cake she was decorating and sighed pleased with the results. She spun the turntable critically studying the sugary creation to make sure everything was in place. Yep, this was a good piece, one of her best. She couldn’t wait to see the little girl’s face when she saw her birthday cake. The theme was Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’, the child’s favorite movie and Annika had created a seashore scene to include not only Ariel and Eric, but all the other characters including Sebastian, Flounder, Max and Scuttles. Humming she reached for the phone to tell her client her order was ready.

As she arranged a time for collection she glanced out the window to see her neighbor mowing his lawn. Eying the man Annika was momentarily distracted from her conversation. Quickly she said her goodbyes and resumed her appreciation of the view before her.

Due to the unseasonably hot day, the man had stripped off his shirt. Sweat made his skin glisten and only enhanced his muscled body. She noticed a few scars both on his back and stomach, but they did nothing to detract from his beauty. Wonder where he got them? What would I give to be able to sculpt him? Her hands twitched at the idea.

He absently pushed his glasses up and Annika caught a flash of bright blue.

As if his body wasn’t enough to turn me on, she thought shifting her attention to his face. He was handsome and the glasses only made him more appealing, however it was his eyes that fascinated her, even from this distance. They were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She knew she could easily lose herself in those blue depths if given the chance.

Annika suddenly saw that those blue eyes were focused on her. She realized she’d been staring, gawking actually. Oops! Busted! Feeling her face turn red, she ducked behind the curtain. He must think her a mooning moron! She’d practically been drooling over him. Carefully she peeked out to see his reaction.

The man stared at the window, a perplexed frown marring his face. After a moment he shrugged and kept on pushing the mower.

A A A

Years of working at the SGC and fighting the Goa’uld had fine-tuned Daniel's instincts, so when he had the prickly sensation of being watched, he paid attention. Turning the mower, he casually scanned his front yard for the source, silently cursing himself for not keeping his gun within reach. He should know better! While his address wasn’t common knowledge, organizations like the NID could easily track him down.

Just as he was about to start scouring behind every bush, his eye caught sight of his neighbor at her window chatting on the phone. From the way she was watching him he knew she had no idea that he saw her studying him. Her eyes traveled up his body and he saw a deep appreciation in them, but it was like an artist studying a model. No one had looked at him like that before! Yes, he’d been examined by doctors, experimented on, been wanted by numerous female Goa’uld and by 'normal' women including Sha’re, especially lately since he started working out for work, but this woman looked like she wanted to touch him just to see what he felt like.

Daniel found the idea appealing. Before he could lift a hand to wave ‘Hi’, the woman gave a start as their eyes locked. Immediately she ducked behind the curtain, but not before Daniel saw the blush stain her cheeks. He was surprised to feel his own body tingle in response. Damn, I haven’t felt those feelings in awhile. He shrugged and kept mowing. Don’t go there, Daniel, he told himself. Your lifestyle has no room at the moment for a normal relationship, and he sensed instinctively that his neighbor wasn’t into quick flings. (Not that he was either.) Your track record is frightening! He could hear Jack’s voice in his head, 'The last two women you loved ended up with glowing eyes and snakes in their heads. Do you really wanna risk it?'

He’d almost convinced himself ‘no’, when a car pulled up and a woman and little girl got out. The little girl was practically bouncing with pent up excitement.

"Mommy, come on, I can’t wait to see it!" She was trying to drag her mother into his neighbor’s house.

Daniel wondered what was in there to cause such enthusiasm.

"Honey, we’re an hour early, she may not be home." The mother was trying to calm her daughter down.

"But you just spoke to her, she’s gotta be home."

The front door opened and Daniel saw his neighbor smile warmly. His stomach clenched. God, what a smile!

"I see you couldn’t wait."

It was the first time he’d heard her voice. Her amused tone was slightly husky. Man, if that’s how she speaks normally, how would she sound when aroused? Daniel felt his groin tighten at the thought. He took a deep breath to try to control himself. What am I, a teenager? He forced himself to concentrate on what was being said rather than how.

The mother was looking apologetic. "I’m sorry, but once she heard it was ready, well…you can see the results."

"Don’t worry about it," she reassured. "It’s for moments like these that I do it."

Now Daniel was really intrigued. What had she done? He found himself taking his time tidying up, hoping to see the visitors come out with whatever it was. He heard an excited squeal from inside the house and smiled. Obviously it was living up to expectations.

A few minutes later he heard voices and the door opened again. The girl flew out of the house, followed more sedately by her mother and his neighbor who was carefully carrying a box.

He felt a twinge of disappointment. Guess he wouldn’t be seeing it after all.

The little girl had opened the car door and was hopping from one foot to the other waiting impatiently for the adults to catch up with the precious cargo. She spied Daniel watching them and ran over to him.

"Come have a look at my birthday cake!"

Before Daniel knew it he was being dragged to the other side of the fence.

The two women broke off their conversation and looked up at the girl’s voice. Their expressions couldn’t have been more different. The mother looked horrified at her daughter’s audacity, while his neighbor looked embarrassed and wouldn’t meet his eye.

"Honey, you shouldn’t be bothering this poor man." She turned to Daniel. "I’m sorry. She’s not normally like this."

"It’s okay," Daniel smiled. "It’s nice to see a kid so happy." He noticed his neighbor steal a glance at his words. Had the feeling she realized he hadn’t had a nifty childhood.

Daniel squatted down and turned his attention to the girl. "So how old are you?"

"I’ll be six tomorrow," she announced proudly.

"And I take it you’ll be having a party."

"Uh huh, tomorrow morning," she nodded, "with balloons and streamers and presents and cake."

"Can’t have a party without cake, can you?" Daniel asked solemnly, a smile still playing on his lips.

The girl shook her head just as seriously. "No way! It wouldn’t be right!"

Daniel laughed. "My friend Jack would totally agree with you."

"I’ve got the bestest cake ever." She leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. "Sally Jensen’s gonna be sooo jealous. She only had a boring old cream cake."

He whispered back. "Do you think I can see this bestest cake now?"

She nodded.

He began to rise, however, his neighbor was already crouching down so not only Daniel could see, but letting the child catch another glimpse. His eyes widened in surprise. Wow! It wasn’t at all what he expected. He’d been thinking a few flowers, something pretty…not this work of art! He recognized the characters from the Disney film. They were so like the cartoon that he tilted his head to take a closer look. "They’re not plastic toys, are they?"

His neighbor seemed offended at the thought. "Not on my cake. Everything’s edible down to the last sea shell."

His eyes locked with hers and for a second he was distracted by their color. Admittedly he'd seen many startling hues in the last few years, from human and alien species, but never had he seen the like of the dusky violet he was now looking at. "I’m impressed. How did you get them so realistic? A mould?" He could tell he’d said the wrong thing. Her eyes flashed and he immediately held up his hands in surrender. "Not on your cake, right?" he grinned at her.

Reluctantly smiled back. "Right."

He turned back to the girl. "You’re right. Sally Jensen will be sooo jealous."

She giggled. Impulsively she grabbed Daniel’s hand. "I like you. You can come to my party if you want."

Daniel was touched by the invitation. "Thank you, I’d love to but I can’t. I’m going away on a trip tomorrow."

The girl’s face fell and Daniel had the sudden urge to make her smile again. "Hang on a minute, I’ll be right back." He jogged into the house and rummaged through the artifacts and knick knacks he’d brought home to catalogue. When he found what he was searching for he hurried back outside. His neighbor was giving final instructions about handling the cake but stopped at Daniel’s return.

"Here, let’s make Sally Jensen really jealous. I assure you, you won’t find another one like it…" he cut off what he was about to say. He’d almost said ‘anywhere on Earth’! Where is my brain today? Out loud he added, "It’s unique, handmade, so no two are ever the same." Daniel held out a delicate necklace of pink, yellow and purple beads. In the middle hung a pendant in the shape of a sun in the same shade of yellow as the beads, with a clear stone in the center.

He crouched back down next to the girl. "If you move it in a circle like this…" he showed her how, "…you can make the center change color."

She clapped her hands in delight. "Oooh thank you! I love it! Where did you get it?"

"On one of my trips," he answered vaguely.

"I’ve never seen anything like it," the mother exclaimed.

Daniel gave a start. He’d forgotten she was there so centered was he on making the girl smile. "I hope you don’t mind." He rose, gesturing to the necklace. "It was given to me by a friend, but I know she’d like it to go to someone who’d appreciate it." He gave a wry grin. "It’s not exactly my style."

The mother laughed. "I can see that. I don’t mind, as long as you’re sure…" She looked doubtfully at the beads. "It looks awfully expensive."

Daniel shook his head. "It’s just a type of glass, but it’s pretty. I assure you I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want your daughter to have it."

She looked down at her child who was engrossed in making the clear stone change color. "Okay, thank you. Honey, thank the nice man."

Instantly Daniel found himself with two little arms wrapped around his waist. "Thank you sooo much. I love the necklace."

"I’m glad you like it. I hope you have a great birthday."

She flung herself at his neighbor. "And thank you for the cake, it’s the best!"

"I enjoyed making it."

Daniel noticed that she seemed uncomfortable receiving the hug. Why?

The girl’s mother was pulling the child away, ready to get going. With the cake already safely stowed on the back seat, the two neighbors watched the car drive away. After a moment of silence she spoke.

"I’m Annika Murdoch."

Daniel noticed she didn’t offer the customary hand to shake.

"I’m Daniel Jackson." He took her cue and didn’t hold out his hand.

"That necklace wasn’t made of glass, was it?"

Her question surprised him. How did she know? He answered truthfully. "No, not quite."

She was about to ask another question when the sound of a ringing phone interrupted.

Daniel grimaced. "I’d better get that."

She nodded and after a slight hesitation started towards her home.

He was reluctant to let her go. "Hey…"

She turned back.

"Uh…It was nice to finally meet."

She smiled. "Yeah, it was."

The phone kept ringing and Daniel went to answer it while mentally kicking himself. Way to go, Jackson! Twenty-three languages and you come out with ‘Nice to meet you’. How lame can you get?

When he picked up the receiver he was more abrupt than usual. "What?"

"Well, aren’t we a happy camper?" Jack said sarcastically. "Am I interrupting something?"

Daniel sighed. "No, not really. What’s up?"

"Just letting you know that the briefing has been moved up an hour. Some sort of visit’s going on and I guess they’d like us to be gone before they get there."

"Oh? Who’s coming?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"I don’t know, some politician. You know I don’t pay attention to these things. Carter will know."

Daniel grinned. "Okay. I’ll see you then." He hung up, fixed himself a cup of coffee and then set about finishing up all the little chores one does before leaving on a trip. It had become almost second nature after all these years of working at the SGC. Which was just as well because he couldn’t stop thinking about his next door neighbor with the husky voice and violet eyes.

A A A

Annika was doing her own tidying up while thinking about Daniel, running all that he’d said through her mind. ‘It’s nice to see a kid so happy’. She’d seen the brief look of sadness cross his features and guessed he’d had a crap childhood. What had happened to make him so sad? His kindness was apparent. If one look into his eyes wasn’t enough to convince her, his quick generosity in giving the necklace to the girl, a stranger really, just to make her smile, did.

But he was also a man with secrets. ‘They’re not really glass are they?…No, not quite.’ She already knew he hardly spent any time at home. Sometimes he left for weeks at a time. What did he do for a living? He didn’t seem like the traveling salesman type. And where did he get those scars? It was his secrets that had stopped her from shaking hands when they’d belatedly introduced themselves. She felt he had very good reasons for keeping those secrets and the last thing she wanted to do was touch him and get a vision from him.

Some psychics took advantage of their ability but Annika felt it was a violation to touch someone, knowing it could reveal their innermost secrets, without pre-warning them. And since announcing up front that you’re psychic tended to make people think you’re nuts, or extremely nervous, Annika had long ago refrained from touching anyone intentionally until she got to know them and them her. She sighed. And she’d really like to get to know Daniel Jackson a lot better.

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