Daniel and Adrienne #10: Trust

“Ninety seconds, do it again,” Cameron said as he clicked the stopwatch, glancing up slightly at Adrienne knowing her reaction. She sighed and started to undo her tac vest, wondering if this would ever end, this latest test in Cameron’s little master plan he had laid out for her. Kneeling as she pulled the vest from her shoulder, Adrienne peeked up to she if Cam was looking at her or still playing with the stopwatch, laying out everything for herself nicely onto the floor of the lab, standing quickly, her hands on her hips. 

“No cheating Addy, no cheating,”  Cameron said and stood from where he was sitting on the center table, pointing at her organized layout. Damn, caught. Shaking his head, he walked over, messed up the pile of equipment and returned back on the table hoping back up onto it, laughing at her attempt.   

“Cam, it’s 11 at night; I’m exhausted, and we’ve been doing this for,” she paused, looking at the clock over Daniel’s desk, “almost an hour,” Adrienne stated, a hint of complaining in her voice.  Adrienne tried hard not to complain, Vala did enough of that for entire base, but right now Adrienne just wanted sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. Daniel had been working her too hard lately, and there was a tiny part of her that was fearful that he would arrive just in time to give her something else to do before she could race down to her quarters and slip into her bed away from home.   

“I thought you were a night owl,” he replied, looking at her in such as way as to indicate that he had no intention whatsoever of stopping this little exercise.  Adrienne shook her head in response.   

“Not after a five mile run, a hour of weights with Dex, more busy work from Indy waiting for me up on my return and now this.  This is torture,” she explained, crossing her arms at him.  While Adrienne understood what it took to be a part of this group and hang with the big boys, sometimes she felt she was being pushed a little too hard, especially for someone who was hired to be a lab rat, but Cam’s expression did not falter. 

“Well Daniel’s not gonna be coming on every mission with you.  Since you aced that mission a few weeks ago, you better believe that Sam’s gonna  be shipping you off in his place a lot, especially when she wants to avoid an IOA meeting alone and if I am your team leader in those instances, I want you to be ready.  Again,” he argued.  Adrienne sighed, wanting to remind Cameron that during that trade negotiation she supposedly aced that she had to go get Daniel for help but it didn’t seem that he would care about that right now.  She took a stance over the equipment and nodded.  

“Go!” Cam shouted, activating the stopwatch.  Adrienne raced through the equipment, finding her jacket, her vest, putting everything on in order.  Finishing in a time she was certain had to be faster than before, she buckled her vest and placed her hand onto her hips, breathing out in satisfaction.  

“DONE!” she shouted. Cam was smiling. 

“Sixty seconds! That’s what I am talking about girl!!” Cameron exclaimed, leaping from the table in excitement to give her a high five.  Adrienne clapped his hand and ripped off her tac vest, throwing it in celebration knowing that done in sixty seconds meant she could go to bed, finally. 

“That’s only my face,” she heard behind her and turned to discover that Daniel was standing at the doorway, removing her tac vest from his head and removing his glasses along with them.  

“Sorry, Indy, sorry,” she said, rushing over to him and reaching for his face to see if he was alright or if she had managed to break his glasses.

 “I thought you were going to bed,” she added, squeezing his shoulder and taking his glasses from his hand.  They seemed alright so she handed them back to him, a frown on her face full of worry.  

“Can’t sleep,” he replied, handing her the vest over and without another word, he walked over to his desk.  Making a face of his own, Cam stood from the table and looked at Adrienne.  

“I think we’re good for the night girl, run at lunch?” Cam asked, knowing Adrienne would have to see what was wrong with Daniel, like always. Since that little road trip he had talked his way out of they were now inseparable, a strange turn of events considering it wasn’t that long ago that he had locked them in an elevator watching them at the verge of a fist fight via a security camera.   

“Yeah, no problem,” she answered distant, her thoughts were elsewhere.  Of course they were, Cam thought and left, still mystified by their sudden friendship. What exactly had happened in that Uhaul?  Her face still a bundle of worry, Adrienne walked over to where Daniel was sitting down at his desk, staring at a rock relic that had been brought back yesterday and stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. 

“I thought you weren’t going to obsess over this,”  Adrienne said. Shrugging his shoulders underneath of her palms, Daniel pinched the the bridge of his nose and pulled away slightly, peering forward.   

“I feel like I owe it to Kasuf just to see,” he replied, pulling the magnifier over the stone this time for a better view, squinting and straining, running his finger across the top line of the text, but she could tell he wasn’t reading, he was just doing what he did best, worrying.  She reached over and pulled the magnifier away, glaring down at him as he started to protest but she just gave him that look, the look that she was not to be questioned, not this late at night and not about this, again. 

“You looked at it yesterday. I looked at it yesterday.  You looked at it this morning. I looked at it this morning.  It still says the same thing Indy, I promise,”  Adrienne whispered, stepping back and pulling up a chair.  Daniel started to pull the magnifier over the stone again when she reached over for his leg making him stop his hand mid grab.  

“But if there’s a chance, just a small chance that part of the tribe, even slightly distant cousins are still alive, I think I really need to take the time to analyze it. Can you look at it again?”  Daniel looked up at Adrienne, his crystal blue eyes pleading. This meant a lot to him, she knew this, she knew the moment the stone had arrived yesterday, and that was in addition to the fact that for some reason which was eluding her, she couldn’t say no to him anymore. 

“How long did you sleep last night?” she asked him, trying a different approach rather than outright refusal. He breathed out, turning his head slightly to look back at her.   

“Sleep is a relative term,” he replied, knowing full well that would not be an acceptable Adrienne and as expected, it wasn’t, he knew the moment she stood and grabbed his hands.  

“No, it’s not, it’s sleep, your body needs it. Daniel, I’m not going to lecture you again.  Get up,”  she pulled, trying to bring him to his feet but Daniel pulled back gently, gazing up at him with sorrow in his face.

“Adrienne, just let me read it. One more time,” he requested, his eyes pleading more than his voice.  She relented, sitting back down to monitor his request.

“One more time Indy, just one more time,” she said.  Nodding in agreement, Daniel moved the magnifier back over the artifact, staring down into the glass, tracing his finger over the lines again. 

And when we rejected Ra we were banished, never to see our kinfolk again.  

Standing, unable to sit and wait, Adrienne rose to her toes to read over his shoulder.  She knew what this meant to him, these were his people.  She didn’t read the rest, she knew it went on about setting up a new civilization and how they lived a life without gods.  SG-12 had found the tablet in an abandoned village, on a planet that looked a lot like Abydos. ,but other than some busted pottery and other relics of a village long abandoned, there were no signs of inhabitants, much less ones that had been there recently. There was motion, forcing Adrienne to stand flat on her feet as he brought his hand to his chin and his eyes moved upward. She knew what the meant; he was lying to her, he was reading it again.  Choosing not argue or scold, Adrienne simply reached over and clicked off the light to the magnifier.  In silence, he looked away to the wall of lockers.

“Done, Dr. Jackson, done,”  she said, sliding the arm of the large tool into it’s resting place at the side of his desk while Daniel continued to stare off into space.  Letting out a sigh, Adrienne reached for his shoulder again, squeezing it lightly.

“Fine, I’m getting up,” he said finally and stood, his gaze still staring out into space.  Adrienne moved to shut down the rest of the lab, waiting for him to leave in front of her to ensure that he would keep his word and go to bed.  Besides the fact that they were friends now, his obsessive tendencies in the lab was the exact reason she had been hired in the first place; he needed sleep. She pointed down the hall and watched him head toward the elevators that would take him to his quarters.  Safely out of sight, Adrienne turned back to pull the door to the lab closed, and ran her fingers over to the keypad, entering in her code. 

New Password? 

The message popped up onto the screen, Adrienne hastily selecting yes. 

Enter new password now, followed by ##

Adrienne typed quickly just in case Daniel was making his way back to the lab, to argue with her or to make sure she wasn’t doing this very thing, but regardless he would never figure this out.  He didn’t know Alexander Skarsguard’s birthday, he would never be able to figure out that she used her celebrity crush’s personal information. Thinking that should keep him out of the lab until she returned herself in the morning, after a night’s sleep she so desperately needed, Adrienne tapped in the double pound sign and stepped back, waiting for confirmation. 

“Have fun trying to come back down and obsess shug,” Adrienne said out loud and walked, finally, to her own quarters, it being just too late to drive back to her apartment.

When she arrived to work the next morning he wasn’t sitting outside waiting to yell at her, which she thought was a guarantee, so much so she had rehearsed her speech in the elevator, in face, he wasn’t there at all. She coded herself into the lab and was shocked to she that he was sitting right there, at his desk, magnifier in place and reading that damned tablet again, looking like he hadn’t slept all night, his hair a disheveled mess and a shadow coming in around his chin.  Slamming her backpack onto the floor, she stormed over to his desk, shouting as she walked. 

“Dammit Daniel!” Adrienne yelled, “You’re grating my last damn nerve this week!!”  He looked up at her, raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his face.

“I expect more of you than using you little celebrity obsession’s birthday to keep me out of my own lab,”  Daniel responded, smiling.  At least he looked like he was feeling better. Sighing, Adrienne shook her head and walked over to him, knowing what was coming next.  

“When do we leave?” she asked, hopping up onto the center table, crossing her legs yoga style.  

“2,” he replied curtly, glancing back down at the small stone slab. Adrienne didn’t even need an explanation, she knew him well enough; he had waited until she was asleep, went to speak with Sam, sweet talked his way into going to check it out and them came back down here.  How he had ascertained her Swedish love’s birthday she was yet to figure out, but that was something she could worry about later. Seeing no point in arguing, she let her brain go into mission mode. 

“Who’s going?”  she asked, trying to figure out what loose ends she needed to tie up before accompanying her boss, her friend, on this wild goose chase.  Had she finished up that insanely huge pile from yesterday? Where was she on her translation schedule? Running her to do list through her head as she stood from the table to retrieve her iPad, she almost missed his answer were it not what his answer was. 

“No one, just us,” he said.  Stopping dead in her tracks, Adrienne turning, looking at him in bewilderment. 

“Uh, no, what about Cam, Teal’c Vala, Dex, Teyla, John, anybody?!”!” Adrienne said, beginning to list anyone that usually came on missions, people that carried a gun and made sure she and Daniel didn’t get shot at while digging in the dirt.  She wasn’t afraid of being able to take care of herself but she also didn’t like to be working on something without back-up standing right there, armed and ready to go.   

“Sam seems to think we can take care of ourselves.  There is nothing there but a small village we have been working with for years, the one right by the gate.  I’m actually surprised this wasn’t discovered sooner.  Regardless, she’s giving us no more than three days to investigate before we have to be back,” he explained, shrugging. Feeling that there was really no way out of this, Adrienne walked over to her locker and looked back over her shoulder, still shaking her head at him.  

“What do we need to bring?”  she asked. Daniel smiled and began to list, happy that she wasn’t arguing and seemed ready to go.   

Adrienne was determined to get in a run before they left.  After she packed everything that was not only dig site standard but Daniel standard as well, which was about ten times the amount of gear she used when running a dig herself, she slipped away to the gym, texting Cameron on the way to let him know of the time change to their daily workout. Unfortunately he was stuck in a training session for most of the next two days, except for lunch which she would have to skip, so Adrienne resigned herself to running alone. Grabbing a towel from the front table, she climbed onto the treadmill, slipping on her headphones and tuning out the world.  

About 3 miles into a 5 mile run Daniel was standing in front of her.  Wondering what brought him in to witness her sweaty majesty, Adrienne pulled off her headphones and kept running, curious as to what he wanted. 

“Are you ready yet?” he asked.  

“Do I look ready to you?” she replied, not slowing down the exercise machine or her stride.  That was a stupid question, she thought, she understood that he was excited, but storming into the gym to bother her during the one thing personal she had asked to do before they left was unacceptable, friends or not. 

“I was hoping we could leave a bit earlier since we are ready to go,” he paused, as if he was considering his own words for a moment and continued, “Correction.  We are leaving earlier since we’re ready to go.  How long will it take you to shower?” 

Adrienne put her headphones back onto her head and kept running.  He needed to calm down and be patient and stop working himself up again, that wasn’t going to get them anyway other than Daniel stuttering, stammering and running around like a squirrel on crack, a comparison that he did not appreciate her making. She saw Daniel reach for the emergency stop button and she ripped the head phones off of her head again, glaring.

“Daniel, do you want to go alone?  Leave me be, let me run and I will be ready to go shortly.  Chill out,” she ordered, not trying to be mean, just trying to make him relax., but her voice carried around the gym, stolen glances shot in their direction. Without protest he removed his hand, his face growling silently, and turned storming out of the gym.  Adrienne popped the headphones back on before she could hear the whispers, the accusations of ‘there they go again,” drowning the judgement with some hardcore rap. 

Understanding his excitement and nervousness, and feeling guilty for snapping at him, Adrienne stopped her run at four miles, rushed through her shower and headed down to the lab where she found him staring into the magnifier, reading the lines over, again, and mouthing them to himself. This man was relentless.  Grabbing her backpack and tac vest from where she had left them at their desk,  Daniel not glancing up in acknowledgement,  strapped on her vest, put on her backpack and grabbed her staff weapon.  She walked up to Daniel, rolling her eyes as he continued to remain aloof and engrossed, and tapped him on the shoulder, surprising him as he nearly spilled a cup of coffee onto the tablet. 

“Come on Indy,” she said, “let’s rock and roll.” She decided not to mention stopping her workout early just for him, it would either make him think she was either there for his bidding or come out just plain bitchy. As he turned in his chair, his face serious now, and less excited, she noticed he already had his tac vest on and was ready to go, his hand reaching down to the messenger bag at his feet.  Going right into briefing mode, he stood and pulled his pack across his shoulders.

“Alright, remember they don’t speak Egyptian, it’s a separate dialect altogether, so make sure you have those notes I forwarded you,” he started and Adrienne reached behind herself, patting her backpack. 

“Loaded and ready to go. Calm down, I’ve got you.  I’m even bringing Eric,” Adrienne replied, hoping to lighten his somber disposition but Daniel looked at her confused.  

“Eric?” he asked as Adrienne was already lifting her staff weapon into the air, a huge grin on her face.  Daniel shook his head and laughed, of course she would have to name the damn thing but her joke had it’s intended effect; he was smiling again.  

“Isn’t that the vampire you and Vala lust over?” he questioned, rolling his eyes at himself for even knowing that. He had learned something in his Sunday night embarrassment, he learned that Eric Northman was the name of Louisiana's Sheriff of Area 5. Christ, he remembered the damn title of the vampire’s job. What was this woman doing to him??  Adrienne, however, was impressed. 

“That I lust over,” Adrienne corrected, a smirk across her lips, “Vala has moved onto werewolves.” 

“Of course she has,” Daniel said, effectively ending his lapse into Adrienne’s cable television insanity, and headed for the door to the lab, shutting out the lights behind them.  

Daniel wasn’t kidding when he said the village that had built up right around the gate was tiny, tiny was a generous word. Adrienne wasn’t even sure that she would consider this a village, it was more like a small familial compound, three or four mud huts flanking a small pen of swine like animal.  Nonetheless, there was someone to greet them when they arrived, as if he were representing a large city rather than this pint sized commune. 

“Dr. Jackson,” the man spoke, thankfully in English, bowing his head slightly. If there was one thing Adrienne could credit the Go’ould with was that so many races spoke either English, Egyptian or Ancient, which was close enough to Latin that she could usually get by as long as it was spoken.  Written, she preferred to have a Daniel journal on hand, just in case. 

“Hello, we are sorry to keep disturbing your village going back and forth like this, but we are here to examine the ruins my friends have been working at,” he explained, even though he was fairly certain that SG-12 would have explained the entire situation in advance.  The man nodded politely, and led them to a worn path on the outskirts on the small settlement, not too far from the gate itself. 

“It is about a half day’s hike this way.  You will see it coming up over the horizon, it is very easy to find,” he assured them. Placing his hand lightly on the gentleman’s shoulder, Daniel thanked the man and started off in the direction of the horizon, leaving his assistant behind.

“Indy, we only have three days, and we’re gonna spend a third of that just walking,” Adrienne pointed out, hoping Daniel understood what they were walking into and had maybe looked into this more than just a cursory glance over the file. However, he didn’t even hesitate, black boots to dirt, trudging swiftly up the path. 

“Well, then I guess we need to get walking,” he answered curtly, picking up his pace, his gaze on the bright double suns in the horizon.

“I should’ve worn my running shoes,” Adrienne complained, hoping he heard and jogging to catch up.  They walked, fast paced, down the worn path, cut through browning flat grasses and low growing foliage.  There were no animals to be seen, no other people, just path, grass, bushes and the blaring suns.  An hour into the walk, Daniel was stopping, wiping sweat from his brow, reaching groggily for the buttons to his black military issue jacket.  

“I need to lose some layers,” he said, waiting for the harassment;  Adrienne often teased him that for someone that went to college in California he sure softened up all those years in Colorado.  

“Wuss,” she teased, right on cue, but started to remove her pack herself, taking off her jacket and folding it to stuff it into her pack.  She peeled the black t-shirt off as well, leaving her in a tank top and black BDU pants. Reorganized her things quickly, she tossed her pack over her shoulders once more, glancing up to face her boss to note that Daniel was looking down at her, waiting, a grin on his face. 

“Then why are you losing layers?” he taunted, “DC weather make you soft?” 

“Nope, if I have to babysit you I might as well get a tan doing it,” she replied, winking at him. He laughed, leaving it at that, and they soldiered on, determined to make it to the site as soon as possible. 

After a while, Adrienne stopped again.  

“What now?” Daniel asked as he looked back, starting to be annoyed by their progress. It felt like a half a day’s was taking close to a week. He was tired, annoyed and anxious as to what lay ahead of them, holding back hope inside that he had read the tablet correctly. 

“Keep going fussy, I just need to eat,” she replied, kneeling, rummaging through her pack and pulled out one of those little milk boxes she toted around that didn’t need to be refrigerated along with an apple. 

“How can you eat that in weather like this?” he asked, still, after all this time mesmerized by her diet; the last thing he could ever imagine consuming in this heat was milk, much less milk at room temperature, but she just shrugged, standing and popping the straw through the metallic paper at the top of the box. 

“I take my health seriously.  Sometimes we have to do things to take care of ourselves that might not be pleasant, but we do them,” she answered.  Daniel started to leave it alone, not wanting to be rude or anger her,  but there was a burning question in his mind, a question he would have never asked before, yet now that they were, well, friends, he felt like he could finally ask.  

“Adrienne, when did you start eating like this?” he asked, cutting her eyes away for a split second, sighed and over at him, a hollow stare accented by dark cajun eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking and it’s partially true.  Other than smoking though, Dad ate pretty healthy, just because he was an active person; we were an active little family. But, I did become a little obsessive and regimented when he was diagnosed, like I feared cancer was contagious or something stupid like that.  Back then, I wouldn’t even touch a Diet Coke bottle, as if the chemicals were going to permeate the plastic and enter my blood stream, but now, well, now I’ve realized that eating like this, taking care of myself like this, it just makes me feel better,” she answered him, with pure honestly and no jokes.  

“I hope I didn’t offend you by asking,” he said quietly.

“Not at all,” she replied smiling, but not offering anything further, pointing back down the path, and taking a bite out of her apple. 

As promised the ruins were easily visible on the horizon and Daniel could see the tents over to the side where SG-12 had left them, even though they had returned this morning. Their mission was over, but Sam had radioed them requesting they leave the camp half set up for Daniel and Adrienne.  The site of the ruins energizing them they picked up their pace so they could begin looking around.  

Not too far from the dig site itself, stood an army green research tent, complete with mesh sides to keep out the dust and what not and two sleeping tents behind it, one significantly larger than the other. Daniel pointed over to the large tent.  

“You can take one,” he said, making his way to the smaller one.  

“You sure?” she asked, “I’m a bit smaller,” she joked.  

“Positive,” he smiled, “I just want to get started so go ahead and get situated as soon as you can.”  Adrienne walked over to the larger tent as requested, unzipped it and peeked inside, discovering that it was empty and tossed her pack in,  looking back over at Daniel.  

“Ready!” she announced, smiling as she approached him.  Daniel was just crawling into the smaller tent, and looked back at her, surprised.  

“Really?” he asked and she knelt down behind him, setting her palms on thighs. 

“Indy, this is what, how many trips together now? You should know me better.  Let’s get to work!”  she grabbed his bag from his hand, tossed it into the tent and stood, reaching out to help him up. Taking her hand, he got up immediately and looked around, trying to figure out where to start until the look in his eyes told her that he had  found what he was looking for, marked with a small red flag.  

“Ok, it was found over there, so let’s get the gear and start gridding,” he ordered.  Adrienne reached where he had dropped the gear back and grabbed it, heading over to the small hill.  He smiled, following behind.  

“Indy, shug, there’s nothing here,” Adrienne said many hours later, glancing hopelessly at her boss. She had been on many useless digs before and this was, well, useless and she felt awful, but in four grids she hadn’t even found those pottery shards mentioned in the original reports by SG-12. Nevertheless, Daniel was still digging andAdrienne sat back on her feet, looking over at him, knowing full well that this wasn’t going as he planning and that his worry would set in very soon, very very soon, and here she was, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, alone with possibly depressed friend and colleague. Drawing up every bit of courage, and empathy she had, Adrienne took a breath and spoke. 

“Daniel, I am thinking this might have been planted,” she said, opting for his real name. That got his attention.  He sat back, just like she was, and glanced over at her,   the same look on his face from this morning, one of worry and despair. 

“I know,” he said quietly just staring at his grid.  Setting her trowel and brush aside Adrienne stood and walked over to him and kneeling on the outside of the red string and reached out, laying her hand softly on his shoulder. 

“It won’t bring her back,” she said gently.  Daniel tossed the trowel aside and stood, stepping over the string and walking toward a small patch of grass peeking through dusty ground.  Adrienne waited a moment and then stood, joining him in silence still unable to figure out what to say or what to do. Glancing over at him, she could see a trickling of dust gathered on his cheek, so she reached over and gently wiped it off.  Still not speaking, Daniel smiled at the gesture, locking his blue eyes with her for a brief moment and then turning away once more.  There was something he needed to get off of his chest, something he needed to get out, that was painfully obvious, but Adrienne hated to pry, yet she also hated seeing her friend sitting here, obviously at some kind of breaking point. 

“How did it happen?” she asked.  Daniel looked up at the sun beginning to set on the horizon, his shoulders settling and Adrienne knew she had crossed the line, she knew she shouldn’t have asked, when suddenly he surprised her, quickly glancing over at her, his face in complete torment, before redirecting his attention to the horizon once more.

“Teal’c killed her.  Killed the monster inside of her, but she was too attached, it killed them both.  It was her or me and he made a choice,” Daniel answered simply, lacking emotion in his voice.  Adrienne didn’t know what to say. No one had ever told her before, but that explained so much, especially knowing that years later the Tok’ra had introduced them to the technology that would have saved her, the technology that saved Vala. Their mutual friend must be a constant reminder, Adrienne had never thought of that before, even though she had read the file and knew part of what had happened to Shar’e. Maybe that was why he had the strange feelings he did for the alien woman, a living example of what might have been given the time. For a lack of anything to say in response, Adrienne scooted herself closer to him and slipped her arm around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder.  She wasn’t quite sure if this was alright, but he looked like he needed a hug and a hug was something she could do.  

“Indy, I think we should call it a night.  Maybe fresh eyes in the morning will help us find something else,”  she said, squeezing him just a bit, her heart racing, worried about his reaction, when he did something he had never done before. Reached his arm around, Daniel wrapped it tightly around her shoulders pulling her close to him, rubbing his hand up and down her bare bicep. It was only for a second and then he released and pulled away, as if they had never made contact, and the moment was gone, leaving Adrienne confused.    

“Yeah, we’re probably overlooking something due to exhaustion.  Can you set one of your little toys to wake us up early?” he asked, looking over at her, his eyes tired and sad. Adrienne tried to smile to make him feel better.  

“Sure thing, but you had better put it in your tent.  I have a tendency to attack alarm clocks,” she joked.  

“I’ve felt you hit so that’s probably a good idea,”  he responded, laughing lightly, although she could not tell if it was forced or not, and before she could try to analyze, Daniel stood, leaving his tools behind and headed back for the encampment.  Adrienne stayed seated for a few moments longer, watching him leave.  There was so much more to him than she had thought when they first met, there was this entire hidden person inside, a kind, thoughtful person and clearly a person in pain.  The person Sam had told her he was. Out of the corner of her eye, Adrienne could see Daniel slipping into his tent, and she stood, deciding to straighten up their workspace before heading back herself. 

We have found nothing so far, not even evidence of a temporary encampment or more of those pottery relics SG-12 found from their first excavation. Adrienne seems to think that maybe someone placed this here and I am starting to think she might be right.  Who would do such a thing? And why? Either way, I have set, well Adrienne has set, the alarm for 0500 so we can be ready to work as soon as the sun comes up.  If a second grid set does not yield any results I think we will have to go back and tell Sam it was a wash.  

On a personal note, I was really surprised by Adrienne today.  I mean, things have gotten better since we became friendlier, but she still doesn’t hesitate to shove it into my face when I am wrong.  But she didn’t today.  Not once.  In fact, she was quite pleasant, and not just pleasant as if we have had fun these past few weeks goofing off together but nice and caring. I think she was actually worried about me today.  I have noticed that she is different for our little group; that she seems to hold onto things a bit harder. I am starting feel like I can talk to her on a more personal level.  In fact, I have to admit that I am kind of glad Sam hired her. 

Daniel tapped the pen for a moment, considering his words.  Adrienne really had been there for him today, with no ulterior motive. It was just like the original days of the team, when it was he, Sam, Jack and Teal’c.  Not that Cameron and Vala weren’t great, but they had not grown as close as the original group and since they had all been given their separate assignments, they seemed to grow even more distant. To be honest, everyone seemed much more distant these days, not that he had really confided in anyone other than Teal’c before, but he felt like he had lost his connection to others as the years passed by, a connection that he hadn’t realized he had come to reply on so strongly.  Shutting his journal and reaching to tuck into into his pack, he peek down at his watch.  2300, Earth time.  Slipping off his glasses to tuck them safely out of the way, he rolled to turn off the lantern when he heard a soft rustle at the door of his tent.  He froze, reaching carefully behind himself for his zat gun, sliding it ever so slowly from the side of his pack.  

“Indy, good, you’re still up,” the voice whispered. It was Adrienne.  What was she doing up and about at 11 at night? He set down the zat gun and leaned over to unzip the door to the tent and almost instantly, through blurred vision, he saw Adrienne kneel down, sticking her head in through the green fabric flap. 

“Can I come in?” she asked, remaining at the door until invited.  

“Yeah, is everything alright? ”  he replied, moving over so he was not blocking the door, reaching for his glasses so he could see if she was injured or otherwise in need of his assistance. Ducking in, Adrienne crawled over to the far corner of the tent, which in reality wasn’t that far away at all, Daniel zipping the flap behind her. When he turned to reached for the lantern. clicking it on again, she was looking back at him, sitting cross legged as she did, and he noticed she had on no shoes and had changed into yoga pants.  

“Oh yeah, I just couldn’t sleep, saw your light on and figured you were feeling the same,” she answered, grabbing her ankles in a selfconscouse manner, croosing them tight to her body. As she moved her hand away from her left foot, a trail of green caught his eye and remember the vine tattoo, the tiny leaves at her toes, meandering up her foot and weaving its way to her ankle.  She saw him looking at it and smiled, extending her foot and nodding her head in its direction. 

“I was thinking about getting some more work done, adding some flowers or something.  I still like it but it seems, I dunno, depressing in a way,” she said, turning her foot from side to side in the dim light.  Daniel looked at her over his glasses, puzzled. 

“Are you asking me if you should?” he inquired, Adrienne throwing her hand up shaking both the limb and her head.   

“No, I was just making a statement, I noticed you looking,” she responded.  

“Actually,” he said honestly, “I was wondering how bad that hurt.”  She smiled and started to laugh, preparing to answer a question she had answered dozens of times before. 

“More than words can describe,” she admitted, earning her a look of bewilderment and confusion. 

“If it hurt so bad the first time then why in the world would you want to add to it?” he asked, genuinely baffled by her logic completely. Why would she do that to herself? 

“Beauty hurts,” she replied, tucking her foot back under her and raising her eyebrows. Daniel rolled his eyes.

“You don’t need to have pictures permanently inked on your body for that,” he said, shaking his head causing Adrienne to break out into a grin from ear to ear.

“Awwww...” she was saying in that tone of voice she got when she was going to harass him, “Indy thinks I’m beautiful this time.....” she paused, waiting for embarrassment to set in, but instead he gave her a look.  

“Is there something wrong with that?” he started, not denying her accusation. She was beautiful, a very beautiful and kind woman, there was no harm in acknowledging that fact, “I just don’t think you need to clutter yourself up for the sake of beauty.”  

“I don’t really, I was just kidding. Like I told you before, they’re more for me than anything else,” she answered, starting to fiddle with her fingernails.  He must be making her uncomfortable; he had noticed that she only picked her nails when she was nervous.  

“I didn’t mean to be rude. There’s just a lot about you that I don’t know, that no one knows and I wonder sometimes,” he said, sitting forward and crossing his own legs, gazing over to where his assistant was seating in a matching pose. With a smile, she looked up at him and stopped picking her fingers, resting her hands on her feet.  

“Ask,” she ordered.  

“Ask?” he repeated and she shrugged her shoulders.  

“Sure, ask. I mean, I’m pretty boring; I don’t have anything to hide.  Ask,” she restated.  Daniel laughed, Adrienne shaking her head in confusion at his laughter. 

“You are far from boring Addy, trust me,” he laughed out.  Extending her foot to kick him lightly on the thigh, she stood, making her way to the door flap of the tent on all flours, reaching to unzip the flap. Concerned, Daniel quickly quieted his laughter and turned his head. 

“Where are you going? Did I do something wrong? Again?” he asked, started to get annoyed fast, his mind going automatically to the defensive that he had learned to build up with her these many months, the mode in which he shut up because the completely lacked the ability to speak to her like a normal person, but she didn’t snap or even shoot him a glance, instead turned around and smiled.  

“No, I’m gonna get my pillow and sleeping bag. I’ll be right back,” she said, running the zipper in a circle to free her way. 

“Wait?” Daniel turned to face her, trying to clarify, “You’re planning on sleeping in here?” 

“Yeah, why not? I mean, it doesn’t look like we are going to sleep anytime soon anyway and you seem to want to play twenty questions.  Eventually, one of us will talk and the other just won’t answer because they have fallen asleep and then we can crash,”  Adrienne explained simply but Daniel just stared at her, worried. This wasn’t a motel, surrounded by other people or a truck stop surrounded by truckers.  They were alone, completely alone for miles.  Sensing his concern, she reached her hand over, placing it on top of his and squeezing it lightly  

“I’m not Vala, alright? I can appreciate the attractiveness of my friend without trying to jump him or whine my way into his pants.  But if it’s gonna make you uncomfortable, I’ll just head to bed. I’m cool either way,”  Adrienne assured him, her voice was full of honestly.  Relaxing his face, Daniel considered her words and then started to laugh again.  Now it was Adrienne’s turn to be confused.  

“What are you laughing at?” she made a face at him.  

“You said I was good-looking,” he replied, now taking his turn to wait for her embarrassment.  She scowled. 

“Go to hell Daniel,” she answered, laughing and red in the cheeks, slipping out of the tent.  When she returned five minutes later, she brought not only her pillow and sleeping bag but the rest of her belongings as well, crawling back in and setting herself up in the corner opposite him so they were facing one another.  She fluffed her pillow, slipping into the bag and got comfortable, laying down on the floor of the tent. 

“Hit the light,” she ordered and Daniel quickly did as she asked, scooting into the folds of fabric to lay himself.  He could tell she was waiting for him to git situated, so he hurried, making himself as cozy as possible on the hard ground. 

“Ok, question one,” she said into the dark, hoping he would take her up on her offer.  This could be interesting, she thought, and give him the chance to ask her what he wanted and herself a chance to pry and discover some of the truths behind the stories Vala had told her. Realizing that she was serious about this little Q & A, that  she really was planning to get down to business.  Daniel sat for a second, wondering what he really wanted to ask her, what questions had floated through his head for so long before he could actually have a conversation with her that did not end up in a literal spilling of blood.  He decided to start easy.

“Alright, what did you think about the Stargate the first time you saw it?” he asked, waiting for her answer. That should be easy enough, he thought to himself, get her warmed up for some of the things that he was more curious about, but surprisingly, she started laughing in the darkness, rather than giving him an answer.

“Please direct me to Malcolm Reynolds,” she answered, still gigglng.  

“Who is Malcolm Reynolds?” Daniel asked confused, trying to remember if there were any young men by that name in the program.  Adrienne, on the other hand, was still laughing. 

“Firefly.  Joss Whedon TV show. Hot starship captain,” she answered, quickly figuring out that Daniel had no idea as to what she was talking about.  

“Oh good lord,” he responded, catching on that this was yet another of her TV men. Of course it was, why would he expect Adrienne to be serious? 

“My turn,” she announced before he could say anything smart.  

“You didn’t answer my question,” he retorted before she could come up with a question of her own. He heard her calm her laughter and sipping in air to take a breath and drop to a soft silence that lasted for a few moments before she continued.  

“Honestly, it was more like, wow every single thing I ever dreamed of in childhood is real.  I must get this job,” she answered, serious this time, so much so he could hear in her voice exactly what she must have felt. He could relate to that, he remembered having that very same feeling standing in front of that gate with Katherine and realizing that he had been correct all along.

“Go ahead, it’s your turn now.  Ask away,” he said accepting the second answer, nerves fluttering in his stomach, wondering what in the world she could possibly ask.  

“What’s your favorite color?’ she inquired quickly, her voice jovial once more, and  Daniel paused, taken aback by the simplicity of her request. 

“Really? That’s your question?” he answered, relieved that was all she was asking, but also equally as puzzled as to where she could be going with this.  

“Yes, color selection says a lot about a person.  For example, yellow is my favorite color and I am high energy, driven and optimistic.  So, what color?” she explained, repeating her question.  Seemed simple enough, he decided, answering honestly. 

“Red,” he answered, giving her his true answer, not the green or blue that everyone just associated with him, “so what does that say about me?” he asked in follow up curious as to what she could possibly learn from this question, curious himself since he has never actually told anyone before what his favorite color was, not that anyone had ever asked before. He could hear Adrienne mumbling to herself before clearing her throat and explained.  

“That’s very interesting. Red is so fiery, so passionate,” she paused, like she was considering something else and then spoke again, “Yeah, that fits.”  

“How so?” Daniel asked, quickly becoming concerned upon hearing the word passionate, visions of Vala-like insanity dancing through his head.  “And please don’t tell me this is something you read in a magazine,” he added. 

“Not at all, I read it in the American Journal of Psychology.  Red is associated with depth, wisdom and warmth, but also passion and fire.  It is an oxymoron of sorts, representing both romantic love and blood, sacrifice, which while interconnected are also stark opposites.  And, it was the official color of battle flags of the Ancient Romans, but I am sure you knew that,” she explained intelligently.   

“You read the American Journal of Psychology?” he asked, figuring he would avoid the other information she thought she had gleaned from him in this simple question, since she might use it to her advantage later.  

“I used to read the American Journal of Psychology,” she answered, “then I started working for you,” she emphasized the last word but he could tell she was laughing.  He laughed a little too, he did work her pretty hard, but he was very intrigued by this little revelation. Rarely did he meet someone, other than Sam, that was as geeky as he was.  

“I can understand reading journals of our field, well, as much as you can tolerate them anymore considering our knowledge, but why Psychology?” he pushed further.  

“Actually, it was teaching that sparked the interest.  I wanted to understand what motivated a student to do what they would do, whether it be cheat on an exam or strive to get an A.  I knew that I was intrinsically motivated as a student, but I wanted a better understanding of people, well, not like me,” she answered. Made sense, Daniel thought to himself, true educators want to understand their students as well as their subject matter. 

“And? What were your findings Dr. Rowan? ” Daniel inquired teasingly, but also genuinely curious, she never ceased to amaze him with her open mindedness and intelligence, yet, instead of a serious reply, he heard her begin to chuckle again. 

“That people are basically screwed up,” she said, laughing loudly and then stopping suddenly.

“Wait, that’s a lot of questions out of you Daniel, it’s my turn again,” Adrienne countered. He chuckled, realizing that he had been caught, even though he really wasn’t counting follow-ups as real questions.  He decided to let her keep asking, as long as she was going to talk about things like color.  

“Fine, but I should warn you, the color red is about the most fascinating thing about me, I can assure you,” he said. 

“Why did you get married so young?” she now asked.  He froze.  Well, we went from colors to personal awful fast, Daniel thought to himself, clearing his throat to stall his answer.  

“Well, first off, I was 27, which is not young,” he began, trying to defend himself and not reveal too much to her at the same time, “and it was an accident,” he added.  

“An accident? Well this is gonna be good. How does one get married by accident?” Adrienne asked, rolling over onto her side, or so he thought, judging her movement in the shadows, supporting her head on her hand, making sure she stayed awake for this.  

“It was a ceremony, what I thought was a welcoming ceremony. It happened when we went through the first time and met Kasuf’s people.  They thought I was the leader since I could communicate with them and was not armed and offered me Shar’ei. I didn’t realize that they had married us, well, until she...” Daniel trailed off, fearing he had said to much.  Adrienne was laughing.  

“Relax Daniel, I’m not a soldier of Artemis ok, I know what sex is. Well that had to be awkward,” she said kindly.  It took him a second to place the reference, Artemis, the virgin and resident prude of Olympus, but he quickly realized that she was trying to assure him that she wouldn’t make fun and that she understood.

“Alright, well, but, yes, I mean I didn’t, it wasn’t appropriate, well, I just, yes it was awkward at first but then I just realized that I had never met a woman like her so I stayed on Abydos,”  he answered, stammering through the beginning before he could compose an answer, but Adrienne waited patiently for him to finish before speaking again.  

“So a whole year and no kids?” Adrienne continued, hoping he wouldn’t catch on...

“That’s a separate questions,” Daniel responded, “ and a personal one.”  

“Ok, sorry, don’t answer, my bad.  Your turn,” Adrienne relented and laid back on the pillow once more, planning her later strategy, but Daniel breathed out slowly and sat up, every intention of answering, beginning to understand that she really meant no harm. 

“I tried to make it as close to normal for me as possible, so I ‘courted her.’ I courted my own wife, for lack of a better word. By the time we got to that point it wasn’t soon after that she was taken....” there went his voice again, creating a sharp pang of guilt in Adrienne’s gut. Just when they had begun talking about starting a family, his entire world had been ripped apart. He was trying to contain his emotions, feeling like an idiot tearing up here in front of her, darkness or not when he felt a hand on his leg.  

“I’m sorry Daniel; I shouldn’t have asked,” she whispered into the dark, no nicknames, no jokes, but he didn’t want her to feel bad.  These were honest questions and she wasn’t try to be malicious with the information, she really wanted to get to know him better.  He jumped slightly as he felt a hand reach out and rub his leg quickly, pulling her hand back just as fast. 

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.  It actually feels better to talk about it.  But, I’m not going to let you cheat any more,” he tried to lighten the mood, changing the subject quickly back to Adrienne, “how about you? I know you haven’t been married before, but really, at the rate certain people on base hunt you down you cannot tell me that you have been single your entire life.” He heard Adrienne laughing again and assumed this question was acceptable and that she did not take offense about his comment concerning Ronan and Cameron. 

“No, I’ve dated some guys, but really, once dad got sick I didn’t have time for a relationship,” she answered.  Dammit, he thought to himself, why do I always forget about her dad? He started to apologize, hoping that he didn’t go digging up memories that she was hoping to shove away herself, when he heard her continuing. 

 “There was one guy, Joshua, that I’m pretty sure wanted to get married, but things just didn’t work out,”  she added. 

That surprised Daniel, he couldn’t see Adrienne as ever wanting to marry anyone at all, much less be in a relationship that could have led to marriage. He hoped she’d keep talking, being that this was even more interesting than color analysis; he was actually learning something about Adrienne outside of her life here in D.C.   

“You, married?” he asked, trying not to be too sarcastic, but playful, playful enough to keep her going. It worked; he felt a kick at his hip and heard a light giggle from the other end of the tent. 

“Yes, married.  I just, ugh.  I have no problem with marriage, I don’t, but I have high expectations. I think there needs to be a connection between two people, not just a physical one, but a spiritual and intellectual one, the trifecta of perfection.  I mean, you have to spend the rest of your life with that person, there needs to be something there in 5, 10, 20, even 50 years,”  she explained. 

“So you want a romance film?” he joked, unable to resist mocking her stereotypical female answer. He heard her breathe out loudly and he couldn't tell if she was upset, annoyed or just tired, but she was still talking so he kept his mouth shut.  

“No, I don’t want a romance film.  Typical male answer.  And I really don’t believe in love at first sight either.  I think that falling in love with someone takes time and takes the two people having a complete and total understanding of one another.  But whatever, don’t believe me,” she replied, exasperated.  He sat up a bit, even more intrigued; she was a lot more complex than he had given her credit for. 

“Fine, fine, I believe you.  So what happened with this Joshua character?”  he asked.  

“I just got bored,” she said and heard Daniel laugh, “Wait, poor choice of words.  Let’s try that again. Joshua asked out a girl with pink stripes in her hair, tattoos, crazy, me.  A year into the relationship he wanted June Cleaver. Now granted, if that is what a woman is striving for, to be coddled and taken care of and cook and clean that is her choice and there is nothing wrong with that choice. But you can’t expect someone to change who they are fundamentally as a person; that only happens on TV,” she said.  She expected him to counter her argument, but Daniel was laughing again, making her grow instantly nervous that she had said too much. 

“What in the hell are you laughing at now?” she asked, worried, annoyed, offended, she didn’t know what, but she just wanted him to stop and as if he read her mind,   Daniel calmed his laughter to respond. 

“Because I just find it odd that the most unique individual that I have ever met is also the most stable,” he replied.  

“How so?” Adrienne asked confused.  

“You have such a clear vision of who you are and what you want and that vision is not determinant on anyone else around you.  You don’t need a man, but you would take one as long as he accepted you for who you are.  And again, considering what I have learned about you over these months, I just find it oddly ironic,” he explained.  

“I’ll take that as a compliment.  Now, is it my turn again?” she asked, wanting to change the subject from how weird Daniel thought she was and get this conversation back on the track that led her to some answers about her boss and new friend.    

“Be my guest,” he replied.  Adrienne paused for a moment, her next question one she knew would start a war in this small temporary living space, but one that had been burning her up inside for months.  Willing herself to do it, she lay back into the pillow, staring up at the ceiling of the tent and asked. 

“Why were you so mean to me when I was hired?” she finally posed the question that had agonized her since the day she was hired. She had never done anything but be nice to him, while he had been a complete creep, dashing off to find Sam to fire her the moment he discovered she was hired, treating her like she was his slave and his his assistant, snapping at her when she asked a simple question and as she expected, he was defensive instantly.  

“I wasn’t mean to you!” he shouted out without thinking.  Adrienne sat up, searching for his outline in the darkness and resisting the urge to kick him upon discovering that in this tightly cramped space her foot was resting right by his side, a perfect and soft target. 

“Seriously!?! You literally greeted me my first day by trying to hunt down Sam to get rid of me!” Adrienne shouted back at his direction.  She could see his silhouette in the dark and that he had sat up as well, making his side even more a temptable target, but he didn’t scream back or give her another reason to kick him, instead she saw him sigh, slumping his shoulders.   

“Ok, you’re right, I was not very professional nor was I cordial,” he admitted.  She remained sitting up, looking over at his form, he defensive posture gone from his stance and replaced by a significantly subdued form. 

“That doesn’t answer my question,” she stated, hearing him mutter under his breath.  The question was obviously making him uncomfortable, more so than the questions about his late wife, but Adrienne needed to know, she just needed to know why, what she had done wrong, if for no other reason than to never do it again. 

“Excuse me Dr. Jackson, I didn’t catch that,” she said mocking him by calling him doctor, playfully she hoped, knowing full well that he hated when she did that.  Daniel cleared his throat, and she thought she could make out him rubbing his face before he spoke.   

“It wasn’t that I had any problem with you.  I was offended.  Offended that Sam didn’t think I could do my job anymore, and I was offended that she had researched you, hired you and put you to work in my lab without even asking my opinion or giving me warning for that matter. I felt like everyone else was suddenly promoted to some important position in the SGC and making decisions on my behalf after everything I have done for this program.  Once I figured out you weren’t going away; I just tried to look for reasons not to like you, and I probably took out my overall frustrations on you as well and for that, I’m sorry,” he finally answered, saying it out loud for the first time.  He had felt betrayed by his friends and resented this intruder into his world, never stopping to think for just a moment that Adrienne didn’t seek him out to destroy his life, in fact, she was as much a victim of the entire situation as he was. 

“Well I seemed to really grate your nerves; I just thought maybe there was something about me that you didn’t like,”  she asked, not really wanting to admit that, but feeling that she should.  Adrienne had never been one to have many friends, especially at work, but for some reason it had really bothered her that he seemed to hate her so much despite her best efforts.

“There was.  You didn’t give me a reason to fire you,” he joked thankfully receiving laughter as his response and it was true, the most frustrating thing about Adrienne was that she was a really nice, down to earth person who was good at her job.  He really needed to be thanking Sam for finding her, for making his life easier and helping him work faster rather than tearing her apart for anything little thing he could.  

“Soooo....” she started, “you don’t mind my piercings, my tattoos?” she inquired.  

“No, that’s your choice, I don’t care,” he responded.  

“Alright, my eating habits?”  she continued, wishing she could see his facial expressions in the dark to judge whether or not he was telling her the truth. 

“Nope,”  he answered.  She squinted to try to see him, having no luck with that either.  

“My music?” she tried.  

“That’s god awful, but as long as I don’t have to hear it, you can listen to whatever you want,” he responded, laughing and felt her smack his leg. 

“How about the fact that I can beat your ass?” she said trying not to crack up as she spoke.  She heard him make a grunt or something near close and adjust at her side. 

“You can not beat my ass,” he said, stressing the words can not very slowly.  

“Are you requesting a rematch Indy?” she asked.  He didn’t answer, but was thinking that might actually be fun, see what Teal’c had been teaching her and maybe even compare notes on the various self defense techniques that they had learned, however Adrienne took his lack of response as admission of defeat. 

“Thought so,” she replied, laying back on her pillow.  

“I’mo not going to fight you in the dark, at midnight,” he answered and she could tell by the distance in his voice that he had laid back down himself. 

“Is that a challenge?” she asked, giggling at her question. 

“Possibly,” he taunted.  He felt her kick his leg again, making him laugh that much harder. 

“You like being tough, don’t you?” he asked.  

“No, I like not having to worry about myself.  I like knowing that I can take care of things should things arise,” she replied quickly, and changed the subject.  

“We are not digging tomorrow, are we?” she asked.  She heard him shift uncomfortably, taking that as her answer before he spoke. 

“No, I just want to clean up and get out of here,” he said, “It’s a dead end.” 

“How do you think it got there?” she continued.  

“I don’t know,” his voice was quieter and neither of them said a word for a painfully silent moment.  

“Daniel?” Adrienne said finally. 

“Yeah,” he answered.  

“I know we’re still getting used to getting along and everything, but if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m happy to listen,” she said.  There was a moment of silence as Daniel considered her words. That was the kindest thing that she had ever said to him, and she meant it, he could tell by the tone in her voice. 

“Thanks Adrienne,” he replied, not knowing what else to say and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off to sleep. 

Adrienne awoke the next morning to sunlight.  It seemed he had turned off the alarm, but she wasn’t totally surprised, he most likely remembered her warning about breaking those types of electronic devices in particular. Sitting up, Adrienne rubbed her eyes and brushed her hair back with her fingers, turning to see if he was up yet. or had just quieted the alarm, but Daniel was gone.  

Adrienne panicked for a second, noticing he had packed everything up.  Everything. Everything but her gear that she was quite literally laying on had just vanished.   

“DANIEL!!!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, fearing he had gotten up without her and done something stupid, or worse, left her here all alone. Scrambling over to the tent flap, she reached to unzip the door to the tent when it unzipped in front of her and there was Daniel, looking her right in the eyes. 

“Panic much?” he asked, smiling.  She made a face at him, taking the moment to ease her racing heart and rapid breath.  

“I was worried, after our conversation last night....” she started, halting her words as she was beginning to feel stupid already.  

“What, that I would throw myself into some fire out of despair.  I miss my wife, but I’m not suicidal,” he stated. Adrienne shook her head, not wanting to add that she also thought he might have just left her here behind.

“Ok, so, stupid, alright. What were you doing?” she inquired instead.

“Breaking camp.  SG-12 left it up remember?” he responded like she was an idiot, earning a glare from those piercing cocoa lasers that she called eyes.  

“You stubborn ass, why didn’t you wake me up, I could have helped,”  she fussed.  

“I tried to wake you up, you swore at me,” Daniel began to chuckle, much to Adrienne’s utter confusion. 

“Really?”  she asked. 

“Yes, your exact words were, “Go to hell Sam Merlotte, I have today off,”  Daniel said, laughing, knowing full well the reference and still thrilled that it had happened so he could throw it up in her face just like he was doing right now, effectively, as Adrienne grew red in the cheeks.  

“Sam’s Sookie’s boss, I don’t know if you remember.  That’s pretty funny actually,” she said, beginning to laugh. Of course, Adrienne would dream in vampires as well, something he needed to store in his mind for later. 

“Well, I have everything down except for this, so if you’re up we can take this down and get going,” he said.  Adrienne grabbed her pack and got to her knees rolling up her sleeping bag, eager to return home. 

They were packed and ready to go in about 30 minutes.  There was too much gear for them to carry, so Daniel just decided to send some guys back to collect the remainder.  Prepping themselves for another half a days walk, they hoisted the gear they could manage over their shoulders and headed back toward the gate.   

Sam was at the base of the ramp waiting for them.  

“Anything?” she asked, hands on her hips looking like she had been hit with a ton in the short time they had been gone.  After this disappointment, Daniel didn’t even want to know. 

“Nope.  I think it might have been planted,” he replied.  Sam shook her head.  

“Alright, well, we got word from Jonas last night that we need to send a representative right away to speak at their council on behalf Earth.  There are some important debates regarding trade with other worlds this week in the Senate and.....” she let him finish.  

“I’m the lucky representative,”  Daniel concluded, “Can I shower and repack?”  Sam smiled; she could always count on Daniel, even if he had just gotten back from what looked like an unsuccessful personal mission. Her brain already working through a week or so without him, she glanced over at Adrienne, ready to assign her a task as well. 

“Lab 1 is yours for the week Addy, but I’m gonna let Vala work with you so that you are not totally abandoned,” Sam said, “And I expect you ladies to behave.”  Daniel made a face, but said nothing as Sam redirected her attention to him.  

“We need you ready to leave at 1600 hours,” she requested.  Daniel nodded, turned quickly to leave, indicating for Adrienne to follow him.  She did, but he waited until they were out of hearing distance to lean over and whisper.  

“Send her on lots of errands.  Don’t let her near my desk.  She has no clue what goes on down there,” Daniel hissed, his eyes making sure Sam, or more importantly, Vala, were not standing there, ready to jump down his throat. 

“No worries; I was already thinking of things to keep her busy,” she responded.  Daniel nodded appreciably, stopping as the reached the elevators, glancing back down at her. 

“I’m going to head back down to the lab after I shower to grab a few things but I would like to go over some stuff with you that you’ll need to know while I am gone if you don’t mind hanging around a while longer,” he said, as he hit the button to go up to his quarters to shower and repack. Adrienne nodded her head.  

“Not at all; I was actually going to rush down and Vala proof the place before Sam informs her of her assignment this week,” Adrienne joked, but Daniel just smiled and nodded in response. Taking that as her cue, Adrienne turned to go down to the lab when she felt a hand on her shoulder, pausing and peeking over her shoulder to see what else he wanted. 

“I tend to feel the need to talk in the middle of the night, when I can’t sleep,” he uttered, testing her offer from earlier.  He shocked himself even saying this to her, why in the world was he letting her know this, why on earth had he stopped her?  Nerves began to build inside of him as he awaited her response, his heart pounding so strongly it might as well have leapt into his throat. 

“I like iced non-fat quad carmel lattes. The Starbucks down the street is 24 hours,” she replied, raising her eyebrows.  With no further word, not a smirk or a snide remark, Adrienne squeezed his hand and turned, walking away from him and toward the lab. He watched her walk away, this stranger in his life, this unexpected friend he could have never anticipated, startled by the elevator doors opening behind him.  

“Thanks Ad,” he whispered to himself, turning to enter the elevator.