Enjoy- loving the sweet comments, tweets and other encouragement.
xoxox Bri
“Are you ready to leave AdrienneRowan?” Teal’c asked her as he and Ronon crossed the threshold of her quarters noting that as usual the feisty Cajun woman seemed to be operating in her own time zone, door wide open as she dashed about her room with a superhero-like quality, stuffing that black backpack with many more items that she would ever need for a 4-5 day mission.
“Almost, I wanted to grab my iPad and a novel, just in case,” Adrienne replied, reaching over and grabbing a new paperback from her desk and adding that to the collection. She knew that being on the first mission alone she would be busy, but you never know when you might be stuck somewhere during bad weather or a dialing mishap and she wanted to be prepared. Smiling with satisfaction, Adrienne scanned the room with her deep cocoa eyes, checking once more for anything she might have forgotten and tossed the bag over her shoulder.
“Do we need to go by the lab?” Ronon asked.
“Nope,” Adrienne responded, “just came from there.”
“If you have forgotten anything, DanielJackson will be waiting for us at the gate room,” Teal’c added quickly, shooting a glance over at Adrienne. Teal’c had been trying to get the two if them to be friends, he had known DanielJackson long enough to know that were he just to give AdrienneRowan the chance that could become great friends. Adrienne didn’t seem to agree, believing that they had their little truce going on, that should be enough.
“Joy,” she answered, rolling her eyes and heading out of the door to her quarters. He told her last night that he thought she had everything under control. True, she knew he would probably meet her to send her off but there was still this looming feeling inside her gut telling her that he was really only going to be there to check up on her.
“I thought you and Dr. J were getting along now?” Ronan questioned, remembering their last dinner conversation where Adrienne had admitted to Cam that the little mishap in the elevator had actually done them both some good.
“If by getting along you mean that I haven't threatened to quit in a week, sure, we are doing quite well,” she responded, curbing her tongue. Honestly, they had been very civil to one another this past week, Daniel even taking the time to ask how Adrienne was every morning, as she requested. She had almost convinced herself that he meant it too. As a sign of good faith, she had even brought him coffee a few times, granted she was arriving late anyway like normal and trying to smooth the waters, but she did think about him, and that should count for something. Shaking his head, Teal’c laughed loudly at her remark, he figured he’d try, maybe eventually the two of them would speak. Maybe.
“Shut up Teal’c,” she said smiling slyly, continuing her brisk walk to the elevators.
“I don’t get it,” Ronon said, “he’s a hell of a lot nicer than Rodney. They could have hired you to work with him.” Not stopping her match down the hall, Adrienne shook her head, cocking it back over her should to answer.
“It’s not that he’s not nice, it’s just that I don’t think he is used to ever being wrong or having someone working with him that is not an idiot, at least in archaeology,” she added the last part quickly. Adrienne had quickly determined that Teal’c’s assessment of their situation was true; Daniel just didn’t know how to deal with Adrienne. She was smart like Sam, but not his boss or a military overseer. She was feisty like Vala, but wasn’t throwing herself at him nor was she loud mouthed, rude, or impulsive, well, most of the time. In short, she just wasn’t what he was used to and to be honest, he wasn’t what she was used to either.
“DanielJackson does not think you are an idiot,” Teal’c stated.
“Oh, I KNOW that,” Adrienne said stressing the word know, hoping Teal’c knew that she had heeded his advice, “that’s exactly why he hates me. I think he would rather have Vala trying to undress him than have a woman in the lab that can get something accomplished.” Ronan laughed and adjusted his own pack, deciding to end the conversation, especially since it seemed that Adrienne was getting a bit riled up. Reaching the elevators, the trio entered, Adrienne nervously tapping the button at least three times for the basement, a clear indicator to Teal’c that she was much more anxious about this trip than she had let on. The brave warrior was about to reassure his small human friend when the doors opened, and there he was, waiting for her, folder in hand and eyes fixated right on her. Adrienne felt her heart in her throat.
“You’re late,” was all he said. No tone, anything. He just stood there, staring at her arms crossed. Get it together Addy, get it together, she coached herself.
“Good morning Daniel, how are you this morning? I’m fantastic, thank you for asking,” she pushed past him and made a bee line straight to the gate room, waving to Colonel John Sheppard, acting leader of this expedition, who was prepping the remainder of the team. Keep it friendly Addy, she reminded herself, you got it girl.
“Adrienne this is your first mission without me, and you can’t even be on time?” he asked, trying to keep his cool and remain polite. That was the one thing he had stressed with her all week, be on time. If she was an example of a real citizen of New Orleans, he really had no idea how the state of Louisiana functioned.
Face flushing, Adrienne whipped her head around and grabbed him by the shirt sleeve pulling him over to the side of the gate room, out of earshot of the others. Ronan and Teal’c walked on, however Teal’c did pause looking back over his shoulder to make sure they were not going to have another argument just in case he needed to intervene.
“Look, I thought we were going to avoid things like this. I mean really, how are you demonstrating that you think I am in the least bit an equal professional if you are waiting for me at the elevator just to yell at me!” she hissed quietly. Yes, she expected him to meet her at the gate room to see her off, but to be standing at the elevators to criticize her for being late was a breach of their little agreement; he had promised to trust her judgement.
“Ok, sorry, I’m still getting used to, well, relinquishing control. I was concerned that you were late and you were having second thoughts. I’m sorry,” he apologized honestly She can handle this, he tried to tell himself, she’s proven that she can, just trust her.
“It’s ok, it’s just a trade negotiation right? Simple, I can do this,” she assured him, placing her hand gently on his arm.
“Yes, but even those can get a little, complicated,” Daniel replied, not moving her hand or flinching at her touch. It’s a nice gesture, he told himself, she is just trying to be nice.
“Listen, I’ll be fine. And I’m not too proud to ask for help when I need it, trust me,” she pulled back her hand quickly that was resting on his arm, as if she was remembering that she really didn’t like him enough for that. GIving him a soft smile and hoping he really would trust her with this Adrienne hoisted her pack on her shoulders once more, looking ahead rest of her team for this mission: Teal’c, Ronan Dex, John Sheppard and Vala Mal Doran. At least she could have fun with them, that would take off some of the nerves she was feeling in dire worry of disappointing Daniel. With a quick flick of his hand John ordered the dialing, Walter fired the gate and they started up the ramp toward that now familiar shimmering pool of matter.
“Adrienne, remember, they speak classical Quecha, not the modern sort!!” Daniel yelled from behind her, noting her slower step, as she lagged behind the rest of the group, her staff weapon Teal’c had brought down for her secured so tightly in her hands they were ghost white from lack of blood. He had meant to say something supportive, but that was what came out and he regretted it the moment she turned around to face him. Why couldn’t he talk to her?
“I thought they spoke Japanese?” Adrienne replied, pretending to be confused. Daniel made a face, but was secretly relieved that she wasn’t angry.
“Why are you always trying to be funny?” he asked, now beginning to worry once more about the mission. What if she was going to treat this entire thing like a joke? Maybe he should readjust his schedule and join her, it would take some maneuvering, but he could catch up to them in a few hours time. Adrienne just smiled over her shoulder as the rest of the team made their way through the gate.
“To make up for the fact that you’re not!” she yelled, stepping through last without a moment’s hesitation. The wormhole closed and his assistant was gone, on her own to do his job, complete his negotiaotn. Trying force himself to stop worry, he was startled when a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.
“She’s going to be fine; why are you worried?” Sam asked looking over at him confidently, as he composed himself and slowly turned around, that frown on his face she had dealt with for years. He pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed.
“Because I have this itching feeling that she’ in over her head,” Daniel answered, recalling that this particular group of people could be testy, even if all of the more difficult parts of the negotiation had been taken care of in advance. He had seen her prep work but he knew that sometimes all of the prep work in the world couldn’t prepare you for what was actually on the other side of that gate.
“She’s proven pretty apt so far, wouldn’t you say?” Sam smiled.
“Apt doesn’t mean perfect. Apt never helped any of us avoid trouble,” he left his argument at that, closing his copy of the mission folder and tucking it under his arm. He should have been happy, considering the lab would be free of rap music today but instead, he tapped his fingers nervously on the spine of the file, wondering if Adrienne would try to introduce their new allies to the wide world of R&B. Chuckling lightly at his worry and relieved that for once the two of them were on good terms with one another and Sam made her way back to the metal spiral staircase leading to her office.
Waiting by the DHD on the other side, John Sheppard observed each and every team member pass though the gate, serious in his duty to insure the safety of all members of the team, watching closely as each individual hopped through the blue glittering pool, stopping as always to take a look at the surroundings. Adrienne came through, last, laughing still at her conversation with her highly worried boss, one that by the look of her face John would have to ask about later. A sucking sound echoed through the sky as the wormhole closed and then there was silence, save a few birds in the distance.
“Ok guys,” he announced turning to face his team, “If you remember from the briefing, it is a 12 hour hike to the village, so we are going to camp about halfway.”
“12 hours!?!” Vala exclaimed, scanning her friends to see if anyone else was surprised, but no one offered her any support.
“Yes, 12 hours Vala,” Sheppard repeated, trying not to express too much annoyance in his tone. “Were you listening at the briefing? Going the twelve hours straight puts us arriving to the village in the middle of the night. Not exactly the impression we want to make.” Vala threw her hands up.
“No, I never listen at those things,” she replied. Ronan turned his head trying not to laugh at her, catching Adrienne rolling her eyes as he did.
“And yet I am the one Daniel thinks will screw this mission up?” Adrienne stated, making a face at her as she adjusted her pack preparing for the hike Vala doing the same, whilst glaring over at her friend.
“Shut up Addy,” Vala spat, playfully, and started to follow where Ronan and Teal’c were already heading down the long path that seemed to stretch out endlessly into the distance. Once again, Adrienne was bringing up the rear, slipping her iPad out of her pocket to review information along the way, because to be honest, she wasn’t feeling quite as confident as she had led Daniel to believe and after all of the progress the two of them had made in the past week, hell he even sat down with her little group at lunch one day, the last thing she wanted to do as anger him. No, not anger, that wasn’t the right word, she thought, flicking through the names in the file once more. Disappoint him, she didn’t want to disappoint him, hating herself instantly for admitting how much his approval really meant to her.
They walked six hours down a narrow path on the spine of a tall gray mountain range, long streaming cirrus clouds surrounding them at one moment and dropping off below them in the next, a constant reminder of how up they really were. It wasn’t dangerous, but it was a hard walk up and down hills and despite the high fitness level of this mixed team of SG-1, the A-1 crew and Adrienne, it didn’t take long before each of them were stepping aside to stretch or catch their breath. Sam had warned them that months of running on even ground at the SGC would not prepare them for hiking such rocky terrain in high altitudes, but it wasn’t until they had to actually do it that each of them realized the truth in her words.
At six hours on the dot, Sheppard was happy to declare it was time to stop and considering how exhausted the entire group was, not a soul complained. They stopped along the ragged path, looking all around them for a place to set up camp until Ronan spotted a small grove of evergreen trees about 100 yards from the trail, so Sheppard and Teal’c went to check it out while Vala, Adrienne and Ronan sat down on their packs and waited, enjoying the rest. Given all clear over the radio, the trio stood and made their way to the clearing to set up camp, Vala still complaining the entire walk about needed to walk further only to have to then assemble their overnight accommodations. It didn’t take as long as it could have, Vala didn’t complain once in face, and when it was complete Adrienne couldn’t help but think that it it looked like a cute 1950’s boy scout camp, everyone set in their respective one person pup tents in a circle around the central fire. Setting herself down on the soft ground at the base of the warm blaze, Adrienne sat waiting patiently as John began to go over the watch schedule.
“Ok, I’ll take first watch, until midnight. Then Teal’c till 4 and then Ronan till 8,” he ordered causing Adrienne and Vala looked at one another.
“What about us?” Adrienne asked confused, hoping it wasn’t because she was a woman. Not that she would make a scene here, but the last thing she wanted on his first mission alone was to be treated as the fragile female, but John shook his head
“Nerds don’t get watch on my missions; I usually need your brain later to be at full fuction. And I thought I’d give Vala a break, she seems a little beat” Sheppard teased, alluding to the whining that Vala had done the last hour or so. Ok, that’s fine, Adrienne thought, he wants to brains to be rested, got it. Vala didn’t seem to mind too terribly either, happily flopping herself on her sleeping bag and grabbing the book Adrienne had loaned her.
“I’ll take the break,” she declared, turning the pages to the novel while Adrienne just made a face at her friend’s remarkable laziness, standing to gather sticks for the fire, in an effort to make herself feel somewhat useful. It was going to get cold in the mountains and whoever was keeping watch would need to keep the blaze going, so she could at least save them the trouble of looking for firewood. A snap behind her stopped her heart and she turned around, taking a fighting stance to face whoever was there.
“What are you doing? We don’t train on missions,” Ronan joked, stooping to pick up a few sticks from the ground intending to help. Relieved, Adrienne put down her hands and rejoined him in the effort.
“It’s a camp out, I want a fire. Nerds can man the fires and tell ghost stories,” she smiled, tossing a few more sticks into her arms.
“Excellent. I have a story so good it’ll make Sheppard piss his pants,” Ronan said excitedly as Adrienne laughed and kept collecting wood. She couldn’t wait to hear this one.
The fire was going warm in the center of the tents, however, now, rather than a cute boy scout campsite, it better resembled a bad horror movie much to Adrienne’s delight. They sat around and ate their MRI’s, telling ghost stories and other simply horrifying tales, a mix of truth and fiction and a little of just Vala craziness through into it. Ronan was right, his was a particularly terrifying tale of the wraith that gave even Adrienne chills and she loved horror movies. Maybe it was that this tale, despite Ronan claiming it was something they told on Sateada, was probably somewhat rooted in the truth. Sheppard told the infamous man with the hook hand story which completely confused Teal’c since he could not understand how just having a hook hand made a man physically superior. Vala said she’d have just ripped the hook off, shoved it up the man’s ass and dumped the boyfriend and comments like that were exactly why Adrienne loved her so much. However, as usual, conversation eventually turned to work, the base and the mission.
“So Adrienne, how do you like it so far?” Sheppard started. Despite have worked there for almost four months, Adrienne had barely gotten a chance to talk to John at all; she spent most of her free time with Teal’c, Cam and Ronan or Vala if she was feeling girly. But mostly Ronan, and Vala had a theory as to why, a theory that left Adrienne the brunt of much lunch time teasing and many a hidden instant messages during work hours. Adrienne swallowed the water she had been drinking and glanced up at him.
“I like it. It’s very different from teaching but it’s interesting. You never know what’s gonna to happen,” she replied, hoping Vala didn’t chime in like her face was indicating that it would.
“Well you seem to be working awful hard, what does he have you doing down there?” Sheppard continued, curious as to what Jackson’s assistant did exactly. Adrienne had gone on a few missions, but as of late it seemed the times he had to swing down to the lab Adrienne was sitting at her desk, her face in a scowl, typing away furiously at the keys.
“He’s teaching her the art of being boring which he has already mastered,” Vala joked. Adrienne started laughing but decided to defend Daniel, a bit. After all, he was trying; he really wasn’t that bad of a guy.
“No, it’s not so bad, mostly we just work through the Asgard database unless Sam sends something else, like this,” Adrienne explained.
“Yeah,” Ronan sat forward, “How did he get out of this?”
“The DOD is surprising Sam with a little visit and she hates to do those things without Daniel. I was gonna lead on this one anyway, so it worked out,” Adrienne explained.
“Then what was with his little nervous tantrum this morning?” Sheppard asked.
Teal’c spoke up this time, “DanielJackson fears AdrienneRowan will do well without him.”
“Damn straight,” Vala concurred, “she scares the shit out of him.”
Sheppard and Ronan were roaring with laughter, but Adrienne just started to get red in the face, looking down at her hands, fingers ready for the picking. Recovering from her laughter, Vala noticed and reached over to her leg.
“Addy, we’re just kidding. But you’re not around to see the reaction he has after you do something correctly,” Vala explained causing Adrienne to turn her head, confuse, and thankfully ignore her poor damaged fingernails.
“This is true ValaMalDoran. There was the time when AdrienneRowan showed her skills with a knife,” Teal’c was laughing loudly. Vala directed her attention to John and Ronan, who had yet to hear this story.
“She comes into training, and gets all excited about knife throwing. She takes his knife and throws it, dead on, bullseye. I swear he peed himself standing right there,” she was falling back onto the ground with laughter as she told the story. Adrienne got redder.
“Wait, I’ve got one,” Ronan stepped in and Adrienne looked surprised that he had a story. She was quickly going from red in the face to giggling, wondering what was going to come out of his mouth, out of his beautiful mouth. Stop it Addy, she fussed at her self as Ronan continued.
“Ok, one time we were in the gym and Adrienne was running on the track. So, Jackson comes over, dressed to lift with us and he is looking over at her, just watching her run, all open mouthed and stupid and Mitchell says something like ‘Can you stare harder man?’ and he starts stammering and stuttering that he wasn’t looking at anything and was just wondering how far she ran. But come on, you know what he was doing. It was pretty damn obvious.”
“What!?!” Adrienne shouted, “He was checking me out?!” She knew there had been some talk around campus concerning her, well, appearance, even though Adrienne was pretty hippy and looking nothing like Vala or Sam for that matter, but apparently her cute frame and face was quite popular, something she did not understand in the least. But Daniel? There was just no way and she didn’t want to entertain the thought because it kind of made her nervous and insanely uncomfortable.
“Oh yeah his face was priceless,” Ronan was rolling on his sleeping bag now, laughing himself. Teal’c, who had remained silent through most of this was laughing now as well, much louder than Adrienne, trying to speak but couldn’t when Vala threw up her hands, trying to contain her amusement, to speak one more.
“Wait, wait,” she held up her hand, gasping between breaths, “did Cameron tell him, tell him how far she runs?” Vala asked.
“Yeah,” Ronan answered, “he said 5K everyday, right Adrienne, and 5-8 miles twice a week.”
“Yeah, that’s current level, why?” Adrienne was lost but laughing right along with the group, silently impressed that Ronan knew her training schedule, and glancing back at Vala to see where she was going with this.
“Because,” Vala said, wiping tears from her eyes, “last week Daniel was running on the treadmill and,” she was unable to speak for a moment, “and he just kept going and kept going and I could tell he was dying on there and when I looked at the preset he had it set for 5K and was having it count backwards.” She collapsed on the ground.
“Wait, now he’s trying to outrun me!?! That man is neurotic!” Adrienne was now laughing herself at the image of Daniel trying so hard to not let her best him. These past months she thought he really believed she was an idiot when in reality he was afraid that she would out do him. It was ludicrous! Adrienne had never met a smarter man before in her life, why in the world would he think she was here to oust him or even out do him? What a stupid idea, if anything she was the one worried about what he thought of her. Together they all laughed a little longer, not just at Daniel but at Rodney as well and Teal’c even told stories of the crazy things Jack used to do years ago. It made Adrienne wish she had been with them all sooner; it sounded as though her and Jack would have had a great time. As the sky grew darker, they each headed to their tents for the night knowing they had a rather big task ahead of them in the morning, Adrienne crawling into her tent hoping that she was up for the challenge.
The next morning was uneventful and they walked the remaining six hours to the village with far less complaining and at an even steady pace. Her nerves kicked into overdrive, Adrienne kept peeking at her watch because she knew that soon Daniel would be dialing to check in via the radio. She could hear him now: Did you make it? Any complications? You know you are negotiating for a rather large expanse of farm land, blah, blah. blah. She just hoped that when he did call in, she would have something impressive to report.
Like clockwork, the village came into sight at the precise moment she heard his voice over the radio.
“Adrienne? Come in please.”
She decided to be nice and not be goofy, for once.
“Yes Daniel, I can hear you,” she answered.
“Have you arrived at the village?” he asked.
“Dead ahead,” she responded.
“Ok, now remember, I’m not there to complete the test of might, so let Ronan or Teal’c do it?” he added. Remembering the translation of the traditional opening of a negotiation, Adrienne giggled, unable to contain her sarcasm.
“Test of might?” Adrienne repeated the name, recalling when she had laughed at the translation the first time, “I would like to remind you I think it is odd these people celebrate Festivus, but I know, I know, let them do it,”he just couldn’t be serious with him all of the time; he just left himself open way too much.
“Adrienne, Festivus? Stop kidding around. This is serious. I feel like I have to deal with Jack all over again,” the radio cracked but he didn’t sound that angry, actually he sounded like he remembered the joke. Maybe there was hope for him after all.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said, “Remind me what the test is?” She asked, but she knew, however she also knew that the quickest way into Daniel’s graces was to allow him to jabber on for a bit.
“It’s just a sparring match, nothing too harsh, no one gets hurt. The negotiator or a representative of the negotiator must prove that they are worthy to lead the talks by an open demonstration of their strength,” she heard through her shoulder.
“I can do that,” Adrienne argued, the exact same argument that had been having for three days, professionally at least. She could feel his glare from across the galaxy before he even replied.
“I know you can. Don’t,” Daniel answered shortly. He knew Adrienne was quite capable to clobbering the snot out of most people, but he didn’t want to take any chances with the talks or her safety. This was her first mission without him and he wanted everything to go smoothly.
“Why not, you still haven’t give me a good reason?” Adrienne asked, starting to get annoyed, this was the lack of confidence in her that was about to drive her mad and there was a tiny part of her that hoped he would cave and just let her do it, after all she was supposed to be the lead negotiator on this mission.
“Because, well, because, that’s all,” he sounded flustered. He couldn’t come up with a good reason that wouldn’t set her off, so he gave her none.
“Fine,” Adrienne responded. As she was rolling her eyes at his command, a young copper colored boy clad only in a loin cloth came running to approach them. Adrienne smiled; saved by the natives.
“Gotta go,” she said, “The welcome committee is here. I’ll keep you informed Daniel, no worries,” and she shut off the radio, not wanting to hear his reply. Daniel sat back in the chair of the observation booth, letting out a sigh and glancing over at Sam who was jotting down some data from the screen.
“The Jacni control an important Stargate if we hope to recreate the bridge system between here and Pegasus. It may not seem that important right now but if we hope to ever get Atlantis operational and in the position that we were in before, we need this trade deal to be accepted by both parties, we need each and every small piece to fall into place,” Daniel said to her, resting his elbows on the counter and rubbing his face with his hands.
“I know,” Sam answered, looking at the screen ahead of her.
“Sam, if she messes this up...” he started.
“She won’t,” Sam replied, not breaking her gaze from her own task. Daniel sighed again and once more peered over at Sam, who seemed so cool and collected about this entire ordeal. Feeling eyes cutting into her Sam she turned her head in his direction.
“You know she won’t. That’s what’s bothering you,” she said to him. Frowning, Daniel peered over his glasses at her comment but Sam just chuckled.
“She’s not Vala. She’s not Satterfield. She’s not Mardsen. She’s not Rothman, rest his soul. She’s Adrienne and she’s probably the best hire I’ve made since I got this job,” Sam declared proudly.
“I hope so,” Daniel replied, gazing again, this time across the top of the computer monitor and to the stargate beyond.
The young boy that approached them began to greet Adrienne in, as promised, classical Quechua. Adrienne had to ask him to repeat a few things, but she was pleasantly surprised at how much she remembered. Thank goodness for that semester abroad in Peru. The boy seemed delighted to see them and quickly ran back down the hill after he greeting them, John pointing in his direction as the lad dashed off quickly, bare feet on the pebbled path.
“Are we supposed to follow?” he clarified.
“Yea, but we don’t have to run; he was just making sure that we were the visitors that they were waiting for,” Adrienne told him, turning her head slightly to address the entire group. She felt kind of cool for just a brief second, with the leader of their merry band asking her what they should do. Without comment or complaint, her friends adjusted their packs to begin the trek downhill.
Daniel could warn her a million times about what to expect, but here, walking amongst the steep mountain range, Adrienne was amazed at how similar these people were to the Inca of Earth. The few trees that grew on the mountains were decorated with multicolored knotted cords and connected by ropes, quipu it would have been called back home and wondered if the same would be true here. Off the edge of the trail she could see farming steppes carved into the mountains, containing small fields of potatoes and gourds each field stationed so precariously high that Adrienne herself knew she would never be able to tend them, her heart races for the young teenage girls that were doing just that. There were a few temples on some peaks in the near distance, built like standard step pyramids, mini Macchu Picchus almost and she laughed to herself, thinking that now that she knew all about the Go’ould and the Stargate how it made so much sense that so many civilizations that had nothing to do with each other did so many similar things. John leading the way, but looking back to Adrienne for guidance, they made their way into the village and proceeded straight to the ball field, where the boy had directed them to go.
“Ok,” Adrienne turned to face the group, trying to carefully walk backwards as the terrain changed from a mountain to a village street, “It’s not the ball game, so no one dies, no worries, nothing like in the movies. Incan ball games were nothing like that Aztec and Mayan craziness anyways. It is just simple one on one, hand to hand combat. No one even has to win, just hold their own for a few minutes to prove equality.”
“Yes, AdrienneRowan, you have told us this before,” Teal’c answered, “shall it be myself or Ronan Dex?”
“I’m going to do it!” Adrienne chirped and turned back around before she could see the face she knew Teal’c was making.
“AdrienneRowan, are you purposefully trying to anger DanielJackson?” he asked. He had been trying to get the two of them to get along and this was not a way to do it, this, in fact, would have the entirely opposite effect. He saw Adrienne stop and turn back to face her, her face sincere and honest.
“Not at all. I want you to think of how this looks for just a moment, from their perspective. They are promised Daniel and I as negotiators. They only get one and the one they get cannot compete in the honor battle. These are simple people and we might be insulting them. And if we insult them and this doesn’t work out like it is supposed to then I’ll get the blame. I am just trying to insure that this mission goes as smoothly as possible,” Adrienne explained.
“I love when someone outsmarts him,” Vala sniggered, Adrienne trying not to laugh because she had been thinking the exact same thing since she made this decision days ago.
“She can do it,” Ronan interjected, “We’ve all seen her fight. These people are tiny anyway.” Everyone looked at Sheppard, who was technically in charge, wondering which side he would take.
“Adrienne, if you think you can handle it I defer to you, you know these people,” he relented. Smiling, Adrienne stripped off her tac vest and jacket tossing them to the ground and removed her boots, digging some small kung-fu shoes out of her backpack, and sitting on the ground to slip them on. She undid her BDU’s and pulled them down as well, revealing she was wearing a pair of tight running shorts, much to everyone’s surprise.
“So, this was not just a decision you made this morning?” Vala asked, indicating her much more comfortable attire.
“Not at all, and contrary to popular belief I’m not trying to piss him off. I’m also not going to let him order me around like I am a moron. I planned this trip for weeks; I know what needs to be done. This needs to be done,” she said as she began to stretch, bending deeply onto each leg one at at time. A few swift kicks into the air and Adrienne jumped up and jogging lightly toward the center of the arena. There was no audience, as she and Daniel had explained, just their group and a small band of elders speaking to a younger man wearing a loincloth. A village leader, also in a loincloth but wearing a bright open robe, decorated with deep red and blue beads met Adrienne in the center and introduced her to the young man, presumably her opponent, since they were now bowing low to one another. Backing up and saying something in a language John could not understand, the elder addresses both Adrienne and the man, who were already taking up positions, arms up, facing one another.
Concerned, as he examined the man, a young warrior, fit and tone, Sheppard leaned over to Teal’c, “You sure she’ll be ok?” he asked worried about having to answer to Daniel if he brought back his assistant, broken. Teal’c smiled and crossed him arms across his chest, no fear for the young archaeological assistant as she faced the muscular dark skinned man.
“Most certain,” Teal’c answered, watching his latest student deepen stance. There was a shout, something along the lines of “¡Hina kachun!” and the man charged Adrienne, who merely stepped aside with her left foot, the rest of the limbs unmoving. Frustrated, the young man grunted and twisted around, charging again, almost breaking out into a sprint on the approach, but Adrienne simply shifted her back foot this time and moved to her right.
“What is she doing?” Sheppard, the only one who hadn’t seen her fight, asked, perplexed by her style.
“Watching,” Vala replied. She knew Adrienne’s strategy from experience, painful experience, and tapped Sheppard’s arm to direct him to Adrienne ebony eyes, eyes that were assessing the opponent in front of her, searching for any weakness or faltering. The man took one more attempt at charging and once more Adrienne moved. Angry, and verbally showing it, muttering what John was certain were very strong words under his breath, he took a swing directly at her head. She ducked, moving only her upper torso and keeping her feet planted firmly in place. He took another swing and she dodged again. Face filled with rage and embarrassment, he gave a loud war cry and took another swing, leaning far too forward exposing his chest, allowing Adrienne lift her lead leg and with a quick shift of her hips slamming a side kick into his stomach. The man slipped back with an ‘uf’ , fighting to stay upright.
“That’s right girl,” Ronan muttered, his head nodding in approval when they heard a sound coming from the ground. Knowing full well the source of the sound and static that followed, Vala leaned over to Adrienne’s tac vest greeted by a familiar voice on the radio.
“Adrienne, can you read me? Stop trying to mess with me and answer.” It was Daniel. Poor Adrienne, he really was going to check up on her every five minutes. Vala sighed, picking up the gadget to try to stall the inevitable.
“Daniel, it’s me.” Vala said into the radio.
“Vala?!?!” he shouted, “Where’s Adrienne?”
“Busy,” she answered just as Adrienne took a fist to the stomach but countered with an uppercut in the middle of faking having the wind knocked out of her. Vala smiled, it was fun to see a fellow woman kick ass, Daniel didn’t know what he was missing.
“With what? I told her to keep the radio on her. Did the physical test go alright?” he asked, the concern in his voice clear.
“Not done just yet,” Vala tried to remain cryptic, she didn’t want to be blamed for Adrienne getting caught nor did she want to be on the receiving end of the screaming that was to come once Daniel figured out what his assistant was doing.
“What do you mean not done? Vala where’s Adrienne?” he asked slowly, too slow, she thought. He was catching on and at this point Vala just needed to give up on hiding it, she could just try to convince him later that she had begged Adrienne to stop.
“In the center of the arena. Winning,” she answered, making an effort to emphasize the last word. As expected, there was silence on the other end, which was not a good sign. Daniel yelling was one thing. Silence was quite another. Adrienne was going to kill her.
“Have her radio me when she is finished. I will be leaving the gate open,” he responded calmly, the static dying away. Hoping she hadn’t missed anything good, Vala peeked up as Adrienne knocked down her attacker with a swift hook kick to the head. He fell to the ground, making no real attempt to stand, as an elder approached, placing his hand firmly between the two. Vala heard the robed man say Haykuykuy, which she had no idea what that meant, but it must have been good since Adrienne bowed low to the man and he clasped her shoulders as she stood. They talked for a moment, Adrienne bowing once more before pointing back to her friend and heading back for the group.
“See, everything’s a go,” she said, “Now, we get to set up in the guest house over there,” she pointed at a small stone building, “they will bring us some food and then we will first meet with their elders to gauge their concerns. The neighboring peoples shall arrive tomorrow with their own negotiator.”
“You got a call,” Vala informed her.
“Lemme guess, mon meilleur ami,” Adrienne retorted, knowing no one save for maybe Sheppard would pick up on Adrienne’s sarcastic use of the term best friend in reference to Daniel. She toko the radio from Vala and stuffing the rest of her clothes in her pack, Adrienne slipped on the tac vest only and grabbed the radio from her shoulder.
“Hello Daniel,” she said.
“You FOUGHT THAT MAN!” he screamed. Adrienne covered up the radio with her hand and looked at the others, embarrassed that he was choosing to yell at her, yet again. She waited for him to finish his rage, which went on for a good minute or so before she as allowed to defend herself.
“Technically I beat that man. If you will recall not only did I prep for this entire mission but I also can handle myself, ” she hissed as she walked away from the group to have their argument in private.
“Adrienne, it’s not about you being able to handle yourself. It is about listening to what I have to say,” he continued.
“Look, I planned this trip. I didn’t want to risk offending anyone, you know their customs. It went just as I expected. No worries,” she assured him calmly. He was silent for a moment and Adrienne hoped that he was considering her words and just hadn’t hung up on her or whatever the equivalent was with a walkie talkie. Finally, she heard muttering and static on the other line, and was relived that it had been the former.
“I’m still not happy,” he answered, but cooled the tone in his voice. She was right, trying not to offend was the best decision, he had to give her credit for that.
“I’m not trying to be difficult Daniel. I’m just trying to do my job,” she replied, peeking over her shoulder to make sure that this conversation was indeed in private. She almost apologized too, even though she knew she was technically in the right, but unable to give an apology over the radio that would indicate real remorse, Adrienne remained silent.
“I know. I will dial to check in tomorrow, after you have your first meeting. Out,” he said and the radio went to static again, leaving Adrienne in an entire new turmoil of worry. Did he mean it? Did he really understand that she was just trying to be what Sam expected her to be? Pushing her worries aside, Adrienne shut the radio off and went to meet with her companions who thankfully were already making their way toward their temporary quarters. After they ate, a lovely simple meal of sweet potatoes and corn, and were settled in for the night, Adrienne left to meet with the elders as the lead elder had requested hours earlier. Sheppard volunteered to come along but Adrienne assured him that it would be annoying sitting there unable to understand what anyone was saying, insisting too that she was in no danger and could handle everything herself. Reluctantly he agreed to stay out of the meeting, but insisted on at least standing outside the meeting hall, informed the team of his intentions and set off for the meeting with Adrienne.
As she expected it was all quite simple, the villagers wanted access to a field on the territory of their neighbors, the Kakuni, and as an exchange they would allow access to the Stargate now that they knew how to use it. Basic access rights and Adrienne thought it was all pretty cut and dry. Excusing herself once she had made the proper notes onto her iPad, Adrienne left the meeting, collecting John from outside along the way and returned to the guest house.
That night, like the one before, they all sat around telling silly stories from their hammocks, as the guest house was pretty much a one room stone structure with a fire pit and surrounding hammocks. Adrienne didn’t mind, it was like a big slumber party, and she hadn’t experienced one in years, at least since high school. They told more stories about Daniel, which had Adrienne near tears, but told a lot of stories about Jack O’Neill and the things he used to do when he was a member of SG-1. Adrienne’s favorite story was when Teal’c and Jack had to repeat their day over and over so Jack decided to hit golf balls into the Stargate, much to the late General Hammond’s dismay. She could only imagine Sam’s life with that man and it made her wonder if there was a hidden side of Samantha Carter that she had yet to encounter. Yet, the events of today, coupled with the long walk had taken its toll, and one by one, starting with Ronan, they each started to doze in their respective slings of fabric. Conversation dying down Teal’c hopped out of the hammock and extinguished the fire, the room dropping to blackness as Adrienne fell asleep.
The next morning, Adrienne got up and dressed, making sure that she looked presentable for the meeting, in full SG gear and her science team badge displayed proudly on her shoulder. There was a tiny part of her that wanted that coveted SG-1 patch her friends shared, but SG-1 already had one science team member, her boss, and didn’t need another. After all, she was just a lab rat and needed to consider herself lucky at all to be on a mission alone, just a few short months after being hired. She bid her friends farewell, signaling to her person bodyguard John that it was time to leave and hiked out to the main temple facility.
The Kakuni looked almost exactly like the Jacni, so much so that Adrienne was very thankful that they wore two different colored robes so she could tell them apart, the Kakuni blue and the Jacni red. They went through their ritual greetings, hand kissing, bowing, and the exchange of some knotted cords which went on for quite some time until the elders finally made their way to sit on either side of the table. Adrienne sat at the head, along with a Kakuni man who must have been their negotiator, opened her pack and pulled out her iPad, taking a deep breath as she did.
“Alright,” Adrienne spoke in Quechua, “the time has arrived to begin.” The chatter in the room quieted.
“As the representative of the Jacni, I speak as one of them,” she began, “Elder Marin respectfully requests the usage of the field at the base of the green mountain. It is beyond your villages and could help the Jacni immensely feed their growing population. In exchange, the Jacni will grant access to the Stargate, plus training in how to use it to contact our people should you need assistance,” Adrienne smiled politely and waited for the yes she knew she would get. So cut and dry, she thought, and it would give us access to two major peoples as well as pave the wave for use of the stargate in future bridging endeavors.
“No,” Kakuni negotiator answered, not even bothering to make eye contact, looking ahead at his people who were nodding their heads in agreement with him. Adrienne started to speak and begin to go into the finer points of the agreement when she finally realized that was not the answer that she expected.
“No?” she asked, “Shouldn’t you confer with your people?” It was a silly try, she could see them out of the corner of her eye and there was no conference to be made. They had come to these negotiations with their answer already determined and that answer was no.
“We knew what the Jacni were choosing to offer and the answer is no. They have no real offering in exchange,” he replied.
Adrienne was momentarily insulted. How could access to the Stargate not be a real offering, to Adrienne it was the greatest thing she had ever seen. Clearing her throat, she started to explain in better detail, in order to ensure they understood their proposition.
“You do know that access to the Stargate will provide you others worlds with which to trade, in addition to any assistance that my people may be able to provide,” she offered, hoping that at the mention of the Taur’i the Kakuni would reconsider.
“We already have access to the gate, it is half on our land,” the man answered, unimpressed by her offering. Making a face, Adrienne glanced back down at her iPad, her eyes scanning diagram after diagram, almost as fast as her fingers could flick through the images but she couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. She was about to look up and speak when Marin stood from his seat.
“Are you accusing us of theft?!” he shouted at the Kakuni negotiator, his Quecha accent so think that Adrienne could barely make out the words other than theft, but she got the general idea. This entire process was about to go downhill fast, just as Daniel had warned her, and her fears were affirmed when the other Kakuni stood and began to shout, the Jacni joining them on their feet. Within moments, the entire room was out of control, with threats, screams and shouts, so loud that Adrienne was sure that John along with half of the Jacni army would come charging in any minute. She had to get this meeting back on track, she just couldn’t let everyone down.
“UPALLAYANA,”Adrienne yelled, ordering the chaos to silence, still holding the file folder and iPad trying to figure out how she and Daniel had missed something as simple as a border. How she had missed something as simple as a border. Thankfully coming to their senses, the small men sat back down looking to her for guidance, guidance she was starting to worry she didn’t have.
“Alright, I will look into the boundaries around the gate, but in the meantime, while we investigate that, I would like to move onto the farmland in question,“ she continued, hoping to at least accomplish something tonight since it as looking like she was going to be stuck here for a while.
“Also unacceptable, that is sacred land,” the Kakuni man said.
“Sacred?” Adrienne questioned, completely confused, referring once more to the file folder and iPad to find nothing of the sort listed.
“If I may, in what way is it sacred?” she inquired.
“It is sacred burial ground,” he replied. Again, there was mumbling around the table, mostly from the Jacni side. As Adrienne tried to find any information she could in the folder, having given up on her iPad and now taking Daniel’s approach, she caught bits and pieces of the argument, ‘How could it be burial ground, there were no stone markers’, ‘it used to be underwater so that is impossible’ and even a few outright accusals of lying. She paused for a moment listening to the argument and felt her stomach sink and her head throb as the arguing grew louder and louder and the men were once again on their feet, shouting and argue as they had before. Daniel was right, she was in over her head, way over her head.
“Allichu,” she pleaded and again they dropped to silence, taking their seats carefully and glaring at her and looking to her for answers, answers that she was certain Daniel would have, but Adrienne had none.
“I would like to call a recess, until..... tomorrow. Marin, can our friends remain in the village?” she asked, hoping that the Jacni were as kind a people as they seemed and would not use this as an opportunity to attack their Kakuni ambassadors while they slept.
“Of course,” he answered and stood to make preparations, his expression giving her the reassurance she needed to endorse this overnight stay. The rest of the men filed out behind him, muttering under their breath about idiots and outsiders, forcing Adrienne’s stomach to her toes.
Thirty minutes later Dr. Adrienne Rowan sat alone in the temple, her head in her hands as she fought a splitting headache, but lacking the desire to even get up and return to their own cottage for relief or solace.
“I take it that didn’t go so well,” John said as he pulled out a chair beside her taking a seat. She hadn’t even noticed him coming in, so absorbed in her own thoughts and self-misery. She looked up at him and shook her head.
“Do you have an Advil?” she asked.
“Always,” he replied and reached into his vest and grabbing a small plastic bottle, “How many?”
“All of them,” she answered. He just laughed and shook out two of them, handing them over and reaching for his canteen at his side. Popped them into her mouth, Adrienne took a swig from the small canister, handing it back over as she swallowed.
“Well, what happened?” he asked.
“Apparently we were not very well prepared. I’m not blaming anybody, but there are some things I don’t think anyone could anticipate,” she explained, still angry with herself feeling there was something she could have done better, something she could have researched better.
“I’m all ears,” John said so she recounted the entire situation for him from her preliminary research to the disaster of a meeting over which she had just presided, thankful for someone to talk to. He listened quietly and thoughtfully and when she was finished he put his hand to his chin and nodded.
“Well, you and Jackson had no way of knowing that information. As far as access to the gate, I think you are going to need to see where this line goes to determine who really is in charge of what. But the burial ground, Adrienne, I’m at a loss. I was never a real religious person, so I never understood why people just didn’t burn their bodies anyway,” John said, sympathizing with her predicament. Adrienne nodded her head.
“Ok, then, we start there. I will move the negotiations another day and I can head back for the gate get some basic survey supplies. Teal’c speaks enough of their language since they were Go’ould controlled once, so he can try to keep the peace here in my absence,” she stated, feeling better already with some semblance of a plan forming in her mind.
“Sounds good, I’ll go back with you; Vala and Ronan can stay with Teal’c,” he volunteered.
“Thanks, I really want to pull this off. There has to be something back at command I missed, or some boundary marker at the gate the original team didn’t see or that we will be able to see with just some more investigative work. I just don’t want to disappoint Daniel,” she said, pausing at the end. She hadn’t meant to say that, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment realizing her slip. John stood, staring down at her, a look of understanding on his face.
“You won’t. I think we need to start somewhere and this is the perfect where. I’ll go tell the others, you go get packed up,” he said kindly, giving her a gentle smile before heading for the guest house while Adrienne stood, grabbing her notes, legal pad and her assorted technology, none of which was able to help her. This time, she was going to have to rely on good old fashioned digging, something she had to admit she hadn’t done in a long time.
Sheppard was ready to go in about an hour and the two set off for the gate, walking briskly through the chill of the mountain afternoon. Nervous about the entire ordeal Adrienne requested that they walk until they could go no longer before they camped, hoping to cover as much ground as possible. The first three hours they walked in silence, Adrienne replaying the meeting over and over in her head, trying to figure out what went wrong and pouring over the folder in search of answers. After hours of watching her scan that same pages over and over with frantic eyes, it was John that broke the silence.
“Come up with anything?” he asked.
“Not a thing. I’m just hoping we can find something at the gate, some kind of boundary, anything. Even if I have to dig,” she replied, her eyes still on the information and not the path in front of her.
“It’ll all work out. Compared to what we usually deal with, this is really nothing, just a bunch of pissed off old men throwing a tantrum,” he stated.
“Which is precisely why I have to figure it out. Wouldn’t look that great if I blew my first solo mission and it was just something like this,” Adrienne lifted her eyebrows, finally glancing in his direction, albeit briefly and then quickly returning to her scan.
John shouldn’t have been surprised when Adrienne suggested they forego sleep to keep hiking, but he wasn’t too upset as their pace put them at least an hour ahead of the time the group made before on the trip to the village. In the short time he knew Adrienne, John had learned that she was not only exceedingly intelligent but just as determined. When he suggested setting up camp she had just reached into her tac vest and held up two fists.
“You got a choice Sheppard, Five Hour Energy Shot or Coffee Beans.”
“The chocolate covered ones you and Jackson are always eating,” he asked Adrienne laughed at the sick ways her and her boss kept themselves awake at all hours, and this one in particular that he had gotten her hooked too. At her insistence, they were organic, of course. Ok, maybe he wasn’t so bad.
“The same,” she replied.
“Hook me up with the beans then,” she tossed them over and that ended the discussion of camping for the night.
The sun set two hours before they arrived at the gate.
“So I’m guessing the plan is camp at the gate? Search at first light?” John asked as the sun blinked out of sight.
“No, actually, I’m gonna dial home,” Adrienne answered.
“Really? But you haven’t even looked for the boundary line yet?” he continued.
“I just have a gut feeling that this is going to go bad if I don’t pop over and talk to Daniel. Regardless, I need some equipment and if we are going to be doing some serious traveling we’re going to need to requisition a puddle jumper, “ she winked at him. He smiled from ear to ear; puddle jumper was music to his ears.
Finally the gate was in sight and Adrienne reached into her vest for a flashlight to dial home, not wanting a repeat of symbol fumbling at the DHD. The wormhole formed and Adrienne clicked the button on her personal code signal, knowing that it would summon Daniel to the gate, but no longer caring. Drawing up all of her courage, the courage to admit she was wrong, the courage to admit she needed help, Adrienne glanced back at John trying to smile confidently.
“Be right back,” she pushed her pack onto her shoulders and walked through, letting the suction of the wormhole pull her body through space. She felt her foot touch solid ground in an instant and when her eyes clear as she passed through the event horizon, there he was, waiting for her as expected, looking out of breath as if he had run from the lab.
“What’s the matter? Where is everyone else? I told you not to fight that man!” Daniel’s arms were crossed and he was fussing at her just as she expected. She frowned but decided to take the high ground and not get into a shouting match with him in the middle of the gateroom.
“Nothings the matter, well, let me get to that. Everyone else is waiting on me and you need to get over the fact that I can handle myself,” she answered but decided to change her tone quickly, “but if you’ve got a sec things did get a little interesting.”
“Interesting? How?” he asked, finally seeming to calm down and blowing past her comment about handling herself.
“Follow me, I need some supplies,” she started to exit the gate room and headed for the lab explaining on the way. When they arrived, he walked over to the phone, dialing the Science Wing to see if they could get a puddle jumper sent down as Adrienne had hoped. She walked over to the metal closet where she knew he kept the surveying and excavation gear, pulling out what she was sure she needed, stuffing a duffle bag full. She shut the cabinet and lifted it to her shoulder but as soon as Daniel hung up the phone he walked over to Adrienne taking the duffle bag and putting it on his own shoulder. Adrienne looked up, surprised at the kind gesture, but didn’t say a word, just stood there for a moment as he smiled at her, a soft kind smile accented by his handsome blue eyes.
“Nice job Adrienne. This is just what you should do if something like this arises. Take each part of the problem and break it down,” he said, breaking her from her trance, thankfully, what a stupid thought to have, handsome eyes.
“I’ll take this down for you, puddle jumper and survey gear is on the way. Anything else you need?” he continued, his voice and his actions proving to Adrienne that she had made the right decision to come and ask for help. Now to really ask for help. Adrienne breathed out a bit and looked him right in the eyes.
“You,” she said, feeling her face flush at the realization of how that sounded versus how she meant it. Why couldn’t she talk to this man?
“I thought you said you could handle yourself?” he asked playfully, taking the request exactly as it was meant, looking at her over his glasses. Thank God, she thought.
“I can but I would prefer to have your assistance on this one,” she smiled. She really did want his help on this, if he could get away. He just stood there smiling, the duffle thrown over his shoulder appearing ready to go with only her word.
“What happened to me being a wash-up pompous asshole?” he stood, asking in earnest. While she had made it undeniably clear that she could handle this position, she still acted as if he was a complete moron, in fact, he had no idea she actually thought he was capable of anything at all other than pushing paper.
“Daniel, come on, I didn’t even know you. I’m not blind; I’ve seen the amazing things that you’ve done; I’ve read the files. I think if maybe we stop sniping at each other and try to work together we’d both be surprised as what we can accomplish,” Adrienne answered, placing her hands on her hips. Better I don’t tell him how smart I think he is, she thought to herself, that could backfire. He didn’t say anything further, just smiled again, reading kindness in her face. Maybe she was coming around, maybe this would work. Walking back over to the center table, he set down the large duffle and turned to face her.
“Do we have time for me to pack?” he asked.
“You ordered the puddle jumper; how long on that?” she answered, trying to hold back her excitement that he had agreed, with no screaming and no scolding.
“Plenty of time, come with me, I’ve got an idea,” he indicated. She raised her eyebrow and followed him to his on base quarters, where he began to explain on the way.
“You think this will work?” she said as he stuffed a set of clothes, a few journals and a notepad into his backpack, having laid out the entire plan in the elevators. To be honest, she wanted to keep him talking, feeling slightly nervous here in his on base quarters, alone with him. This was definitely a change from their status quo.
“No, not at all, but I think our number one priority is to keep everyone happy,” he said.
“It’s a lot of figure it out as you go isn’t it?” she asked him.
“Now you’re learning,” he threw the bag over his shoulder and they left, Adrienne pulling his door closed behind them. As requested a puddle jumper was waiting for them as they arrived at the gate room. The door opened and they climbed inside, together, not fighting, on their way back to the village.
******
“Daniel, can you listen to this, this is my first report you know,” she asked but Daniel held up a finger giving her a silent indicator that he needed just one moment longer. He always needed a minute and she rolled her eyes as he alternated between his lighted magnifier and the journal that he was working in, seemingly taking his sweet time.
“Daniel?” she repeated.
“Wait......” he answered.
“The lab’s on fire,” she said.
“Uh huh,” he answered, “not gonna work.”
She sat and waited, impatiently, tapping her pen against the center table as she stood at the end of his desk, until he finally looked up.
“Read,” that arrogant tone was back, his eyes cutting at her over his glasses, but Adrienne refused to give him the satisfaction of upsetting her, clearing her throat and beginning to read.
“Alright, upon arrival at the main village, Drs. Jackson and Rowan met with Marin and Txyectl, the Kakuni representative. Both men agreed for a survey of the boundary to be completed as soon as possible by neutral SGC parties to determine if any one group controls the immediate area around the Stargate,” she stopped for a breath.
Daniel started to laugh, “I like how we were lumped into doctorS.”
“We did this together DR. Jackson,” Adrienne defended and Daniel just smiled.
“Keep reading,” he said.
“The farmland in question is to be surveyed as well by a SGC survey team at a later date to be agreed upon by the elders of both villages to ascertain whether or not it is viable farmland, whether or not it contains any graves or human remains and it’s probable value to both communities,” she continued.
“Perfect, keep going,” he praised.
“Finally, in order to aid both villages in feeding their growing populations, Drs. Jackson and Rowan have agreed to return in seven days time with farming equipment that shall enable an increase in crop yield by an estimated 200%,” she finished.
“Change shall to will,” he suggested quickly.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you’re writing a mission report, not the Bible,” he tried not to laugh at her, “and where did you get that 200% figure?”
“It sounded good and you said it would double yield. That’s 200% genius,” she screwed up her face at him, playfully, a bright smile emerging from under her scrunched nose.
“Fine, type it up and we’re done,” he retorted. Adrienne, who of course had typed it up to begin with, was finished in moments and hit print. Report completed, she walked it over to him a smile still plastered on her face. He couldn’t help but think how nice she looked smiling, so different than she had been these past few months.
“Done yet?” Adrienne heard a voice behind her and turned to discover that Cam was sticking his head in the doorway.
“Yeah, let me get my bag,” Adrienne answered, handing Daniel the stack of paper and walking over to the lockers, pulling out her gym bag. She was heading for the door when she suddenly paused at the doorway, looking behind her.
“Later Daniel, have a good night,” she said, smiling at him once more. Daniel waved goodbye and she turned on her heels, following Cam down the hall to the elevators. Once they were out of earshot, Cam looked over at her, the laughter beginning to trickle from his mouth.
“What?” she asked, knowing where this conversation was about to go and hoping to get it over with.
“No feud? It’s a holy miracle!” he threw his hands up doing his best evangelical minister impression, laughingly maniacally as he did so.
“Leave me alone; he’s not so bad,” Adrienne admitted, shoving his shoulder and pushing her way ahead of him, hoping he didn’t catch the redness creeping up into her cheeks.
“Told you,” was all he said in reply, enjoying this moment for as long as he could.
Now we're gettin' somewhere! :) On to 6...
ReplyDelete