Daniel and Adrienne #15 : The Hard Truth

“Teal’c!!” Cameron was shouting from behind the DHD, his eyes darting around in an attempt to ascertain the location of the attack, to no avail, turning back to yell at his teammate.  “I’m taking fire man, can you guys hurry it up?!”  

Looking over his shoulder, it was obvious to the Jaffa that Daniel had no intention of stopping what he was doing despite Cameron’s dire predicament, he was working, reading and translating something, completely blind to the gunfire erupting all around him.  

“DanielJackson, we must hurry,” Teal’c urged him, “ColonelMitchell is taking fire.” 

But Daniel just ignored him and kept working on what was left of the gray stone wall crumbling before him, mumbling under his breath.  

“I can’t believe that she missed this. This is insane; this just isn’t like her. God dammit Ad,” he whispered, hissing it was more like, and kept writing, comparing the notes in his lap to a file folder carefully etched in a woman’s handwriting.   Teal’c looked ahead to Cameron, who was pinned down waiting to jump up from beside is protective position at the DHD and try to dial home, looking for a signal, anything from his two companions. 

“DanielJackson, we need to leave, immediately,” Teal’c was more stern this time and Daniel finally looked back at him, affirming to Teal’c that he had been completely unaware of the situation going on around him, flinching only as a blast went off by his head, shattering a piece of stone wall beside him.  

“Dammit, ok, fine, but we’re going to have to come back,” he said as he grabbed his head, searching for any areas of contact or bits of rock.  Brushing some dust from his hair and scowling,  Daniel grabbed his pack, shoving the folder back into it, another bullet nearly missing his foot.  He swore again, in French by the sound of it, and pulled his Zat for the leg holster, glancing back at Teal’c. 

“Let’s go,” he said and stood, following close behind Teal’c’s swift advance toward the gate, firing at the Lucian attackers surrounding them.  Reaching the DHD first, Teal’c turned in order to cover Cameron so he could stand and dial, Daniel pivoting, jogging slightly backwards as he let off a few blasts of the zat himself in the direction of a cluter of fighters hiding behind a cluster of trees.  Assured his teammates had the situation under control, Cam looked left and the right carefully, leaping to his feet and leaning over to the symbols finding the ones needed to get them home, a barrage of bullets all around them. Chevron one, two, three were dialed when there was a sound of impact, and out of the corner of his eye Teal’c saw Cameron crumble to the ground.  That shot was too close, Daniel thought, his fears conformed as his friend fell, no shout, no sounds, just an unconscious heap onto the dry dirt. Daniel rushed to help, running much faster the rest of the distance between he and the gate, reaching for the emergency supplies he kept in his vest as he slid to his knees, reaching out for the injured Colonel. 

“Teal’c!!” Daniel screamed as he rolled Cameron to his side, discovering a blast hole at mid lower line of his back, blood pouring out uncontrollably. Not bothering with any first aide supplies, Daniel applied pressure directly with the heel of his hand, reaching underneath the colonel to provide a counter pressure, gripping Cam as hard as he cold.  “Dial home!!!”  

Trying to cover the two men, now at his feet, and dial, Teal’c worked fast and frantic, resetting the process to ensure they would arrive home, the right home. Beneath him were orders from Daniel, demanding Cam wake up, stay with him, top bleeding, while the buzz of bullets filled the air like a swarm of locusts.  Chevron one, two, three, four, dialed, when he felt pain rip through his leg, a hot burning crawling up his thigh, but he kept dialing but kept dialing, the sounds of Daniel screaming at Cam to look at him, to make eye contact, keeping him motivated.  Five, six, seven, engage and he ducked back down to Daniel, holding his leg in an effort to stop the bleeding of his own that was soaking through his BDU pants.  No time to tie off the wound, he decided, as they watched their escape appear in front of them, Teal’c hitting the button on his signaler, indicating that they were coming in under fire, and injured.  Knowing they only ha done shot to make it home, the two men nodded at each other, grabbed Cameron between them and ran for the gate.  

SG-3 was waiting for them as they crossed over, covering their entrance, in bullet proofs vests as bullets and lasers poured through the gate behind them, ripping through Daniel’s backpack, a little too close for comfort before the gate shut behind them. Sirens blaring, the side doors opened, Dr. Cassie Frasier tearing into the gate room, a stretcher and orderlies trailing her.  

“Who’s hurt?” she asked even though it was plain to see that Cameron was barely conscious, slung by his arms between Daniel and Teal’c, a line of blood streaming down  the gate ramp, leading to their injured leader, his waisted tightly bound by some rough Daniel Jackson first aide.  Despite her small stature and youthful appearance, Cassie took charge instantly,  pointing and commanding the orderlies to take Cam from Daniel and Teal’c and set him on the stretcher, rushing over, shoving the stethoscope buds into her ears, and shouting over her shoulder at the other two members of SG-1. 

“How ‘bout you guys?” she asked, hoping for the best since she could only focus her attention on Cam right now, who was losing blood fast, the white sterile bandage already a deep red.

“I have taken a shot to the leg but I shall be fine,”  Teal’c answered, planning to walk to the infirmary, have the wound cleaned and then treat it himself with deep meditation and extra Tretonin. Daniel, unharmed except for what he was certain were partially ruined files in his pack, shook his head in the negative, running his fingers slowly through his hair. Satisfied with the state of the other two men, Cassie directed the stretcher taken to the infirmary running beside it, the heel of her hand pressed firmly onto Cameron’s lower back. It was then that Daniel noticed the sirens were going off all around them, and he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward of the headache that was taking shape. 

“Guys, what happened?” Daniel heard a shout in his direction, opening his eyes to confirm it was Sam, today wearing standard SGC blues, rushing toward them, “I thought everything was clear.” 

“No,” Daniel answered, readjusting his glasses and storming toward the exit, “It was not clear.  Not at all!”  he shouted, pushing past Sam and turning left to head for the lab.  He was only feet from the door when he saw her running toward him, knowing she must have heard the sirens, hell, all of DC probably heard them, racing to see what was going on.  She didn’t hesitate, just threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly in the middle of the hallway. 

“Dear God Indy, are you ok? What happened?” Adrienne asked, worry in her voice, running her palm lightly down his cheek, scanning him with her careful eyes for injury, her heart stopping as she could see what looked like blood dried onto his black uniform. Too angry for her concern right now, he knocked her hand away, pushing her back.  

“That’s what I’d like to know Adrienne! What exactly happened?” he shouted at her, pointing his finger at her chest, Adrienne looking frightened and confused, no longer for her friend, but for herself.  

“Daniel, what are you talking about?” she asked, visibly upset, not bothering to call him Indy or even try to play around; he was clearly very agitated and not in the mood for games.

“I’m talking about your prep work.  I’m talking about your analysis of the MALP video that not only gave us the all clear but completely misidentified the language it found, which is part of the reason we were ambushed!!!” he was screaming at her loudly in the hallway drawing a number of stares, a few personnel stopping to gape at this display here outside the lab. Adrienne looked around them embarrassed, hiding her reddening cheeks with her hand, reaching out to pull him aside. 

“What do you mean misidentified?”  Adrienne inquired, puzzled, clasping his jacket sleeve to pull him over while she thought. She was always so careful with her work, she accepted no less than perfection, especially for a task that Daniel had asked her personally to handle, disappointing him was a non-negotiable. Racking her brain, she remembered that she had completed that mission prep last Friday when....

“Oh shit,” she finally said.  She had completed that mission prep before a few of them, mostly Adrienne, Vala and the Atlantis crew had gone to dinner. Daniel was off world, otherwise they would have been at a movie or something silly, and she remembered Ronon and Vala standing at the doorway goading her to leave it for later.  Instead, never able to leave a task undone, she just pushed herself to finish and tore out of the door with her friends.  

“Oh shit!?!? That’s your response, oh shit!!!” Daniel, pulled away from her grip, stepping further away from her, his face red with anger, the blood vessel in this forehead throbbing. There were whispers, Adrienne felt dozens of eyes on them, on her, and out of the corner of her now dampening eyes saw Sam barreling toward them.

“Daniel, I’m sorry.  I really thought everything was alright, I - “ Adrienne was stammering trying to apologize but was shaking in fear at her friend screaming at her with such fierceness in his voice.  This was the angriest she had ever seen him, including the time they had both put one another in the infirmary and even then she had never seen him like this, so enraged, so disappointed. 

“Well, it’s not Ad, it’s not.  Cam was shot and I have no idea what his condition is.  So, I hope that margarita, that run, that what the hell ever was worth it for you.  Because you may have cost us a team member and I have to now go back, instead of be there for my friend in order to find your mistakes so no one else gets hurt! Nice going Ad! I agree, oh shit, sums it up nicely,” he shouted and shoved her shoulder, pushing past her heading for the lab.  Adrienne stood in silent shock in the hallway with everyone, including Sam, looking at her as she tried to fight back tears.  She wanted to go catch up to Daniel, beg his forgiveness, try to help fix her mistake but she was frozen in place, shaking where she stood. Personnel who had stopped to watch the scene unfold were now moving on, looking down as to not make eye contact with her, adding to her shame. Adrienne lowered her head unable to run and hide, wanting to just disappear when there was a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Sam standing there.  

“Let’s go check on Cameron, you can tell me what happened along the way,”  Sam quietly instructed.  Nodded slightly, Adrienne sucked back the tears that were beginning to form and followed Sam to the infirmary.  

Enraged, Daniel went back to the lab to pull Adrienne’s files.  Of course, nothing was on paper, so he grabbed that stupid iPad thing of hers, firing it up with a tap of a button and a quick flick of his finger.  He had no idea how to use the damn thing, but fortunately she had made a little file folder icon with an Earth Chevron on it.  

“How fucking clever,” he swore aloud and tapped it, searching for the mission files, the icon revealing pages and pages of files with planet codes and virtual sticky notes.  Luckily, one had an exclamation point and a date, today’s date, so he touched that picture lightly, sitting down in her chair to read.  Daniel was so angry he could barely think as he scanned through the preliminary statistics of the planet, both at her and at himself.  As she had slowly become a part of his lab, his team and his life he had found that she was not only reliable, but thorough, and he had passed a lot of his tasks over to her, he trusted her to do her job, in some cases lately his job, and do it well.  Up until this point she had completed each and every one with perfection; it was as if someone had xeroxed him in the lab.  But this?  This was insane.  Had they grown too comfortable with one another? Did she think that now that they were friends that she didn’t need to be as careful because she no longer needed to prove herself to him? Either way, someone needed to explain to her the gravity of what she had done, how Cam almost died on a routine scouting mission.  

Flicking the stats aside, the MALP video was embedded in the file, again surprisingly easy to find, calming him a bit to find that she was at least organized even if she had screwed up royally.  Video playing, he saw that the coast was clear on that, no indicators of any inhabitants, so she hadn’t missed any would be attackers, that, at least, was just coincidence.  True, Vala should have been poking a little more into Lucian affairs, as intelligence was her job now, but he had learned a long time ago not to count on her to prepare in advance for anything; she was more of the fly by the cuff kind of person and right now, he was focused on Adrienne. The video ended and Daniel switched the view over to the still photos to look over what had brought him to the planet in the first place.  

When they had first gotten that information from the original MALP run, it looked as if the crumbled stone pillars by the gate were in ancient, an older form, but it was hard to make out exactly what they said. Busy working on the follow up from P5L-3251, Daniel handed over this prep to Adrienne who had insisted they were in ancient; she had even rushed to get Sam to send another MALP, thinking she saw something there that would provide some defensive information.  Daniel stared at the original photos, photos he really hand’t paid attention to, given that it was her task.  Granted, maybe his glasses were not as sharp as her eyes, even though she wore contacts herself, but still he couldn’t see anything in these pictures, to him, the writing looked like rubbish.  He had trusted her though, like he always did, and they sent a second MALP through.  

Daniel changed to the second set of photos from the second MALP run. These were not much better, but he could make out a few symbols here and there.  Yea, they looked like ancient if you were just looking quickly, but he wasn’t looking quickly and she should’t have been either.  These symbols were clearly a bastardization of another language, one spoken by one of the ruling races of the Lucian Alliance.  How in the hell did she miss this?  She had sent them quite literally into enemy territory. She had sent HIM quite literally into enemy territory.  How could she have been so careless? Daniel reached over for her phone and dialed.  

“Gate room,” Walter answered with authority.  Daniel was glad it was Walter, unlike come of the younger cadets and officers trying to prove themselves, he just went along with what was asked and didn’t question having been around long enough to know and trust Daniel and the members of his team. Walter must have been starting his duty when Daniel and company arrived back, he hadn’t seen him when they left.  Thank God for small miracles.  

“Walter, it’s Daniel.  Can we freeze any trips to or from P84-R477?  I need to go over this some more, before we risk another team” he requested.  

“Yes sir.  Consider it hostile?” he asked. 

“For now, yes. Thank you Walter,” Daniel replied and hung up, continuing to go back over Adrienne’s work, trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.  

Dr. Carson Beckett met Sam at the door as Adrienne trailed behind.  

“He’s stable General, but he’s lost a lot of blood,”  Carson informed her.  Glancing over his shoulder, she could see Cassie adjusting an IV.  

“Ok, that’s something; does everything else look alright?” Sam inquired further, looking back at Carson to read his eyes. 

“Yes, for now. It was a clean shot, missed all of the major organs. But he might be out for a while,”  the doctor answered, stepping aside to allow Sam and Adrienne enter the infirmary, but while the general stepped forward, Adrienne continued to lag behind.  

Approaching Cameron’s bed,  Adrienne saw that he was shirtless, his chest wrapped in a tight bandage and body pale from loss of blood. Deep purple bruises spread across his cheeks, suggesting to Adrienne that he must have slammed himself into the DHD as he fell and there was a large gash starting at his jawline and running down his neck, frighteningly close to the jugular. He looked like death and it made Adrienne cringe, goosebumps erupting up and down her arms, her own cheeks losing their color. Sam looked over at her, but remained silent, allowing the young woman to understand exactly what had happened in her haste. 

“Cameron, dear God,” Adrienne whispered and approached her friend, tears in her eyes, leaning over and hugging him as tightly as she dared. 

“Cam, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Adrienne laid her head on him, as if that would wake him up, her tears racing down her cheeks and dripping onto his chest.  Sam felt bad for a moment, yes, Adrienne had made a mistake; a terrible mistake, but it was nothing that they all hadn’t done before.  At least no one had died.  Choosing to let Adrienne deal with this in her own way, Sam stood back to let her take it in.  If anything, it would teach her to be more cautious with her work; no one was perfect and sometimes that was a hard lesson.  She glanced back over at Adrienne to see she had stood again holding onto Cameron’s hand, trying to joke with him about running, trying to be strong, sucking in tears as she spoke. Unable to hold back any longer, Sam reached over and touched her shoulder.  

“Let’s go.  I’m sure one of the doctor’s will let me know once he wakes up.  Why don’t you go and see what we can do about the information Daniel was able to get,”  Sam urged Adrienne to move on and stop blaming herself without saying as much.  Nodding her head in agreement, Adrienne squeezed Cameron’s hand once more and leaned over to kiss him, pecking his cheek gently and pulling away, trailing Sam out of the infirmary. 

Daniel stood from Adrienne’s desk feeling a little bit better.  Honestly, she had rushed, but he could see why she had thought it was ancient; there were certain words in each of the images that were borrowed words.  While the remainder of the passage was most definitely not ancient, he had to admit that he would have been intrigued in the same way she must have been.  It would have been something that he would have insisted checking out for himself, but it would have been nice to have been warned that it was Lucian territory, that wasn’t something she shouldn’t have missed.  

He looked over at the clock checking the time to discover that it had been about two hours since they had returned.  Sam had not called a briefing yet, so she was probably checking on Cameron something he should have done already himself but had just been to upset to do so. Walking briskly over to his own desk, Daniel determined to go through the photos once more to see what else he needed to know and whether or not he should return to the planet, regardless of the fact that he wanted too.  He grabbed a note pad and sat in his chair, starting the prelim work from the beginning as if his assistant had never seen the file.    

Cam was stable and Sam was sure that Daniel was working on whatever information he had gathered and what Adrienne had worked on before.  Adrienne had left the infirmary without another word, and Sam figured she would give her some time alone, the poor woman really not looking like she wanted to talk although she was fairly certain that most likely she had gone back to the lab to talk with Daniel.Adrienne would hate to think that he was still angry with her or worse disappointed; she had worked so hard to get him to see her as an equal and now that they were friends she would be taking this all that much harder. Rather than bother the two archaeologists and what Sam hoped was some sort of reconciliation, she decided to swing by Teal’c’s quarters to check on him.  

The strong handsome man was sitting on the floor  of his room on a small read carpet, wearing very short shorts with his legs folded, in light meditation. Sam could see that he had taken care of his own wound, the shorts he was wearing chosen to allow him to tie a large bandage onto his upper thigh.  She hated to disturb him when he was like this, but she needed something if she hoped to start piecing together a report, one she was hoping to write without a briefing that would result in more shouting and tears. Tiptoeing across the room, she knelt gently by his side, rousing him at his shoulder.  

“SamanthaONeill,” Teal’c said without opening his eyes, his back arching to a less crouching position. She smiled at the recognition, knowing she should know better with him by now. 

“How fares CameronMitchell?” he asked, his eyes still closed and his hands resting on his knees.  

“He’s as well as can be expected. Looks like we are down a team leader for a few weeks, best case scenario.  How are you doing?” she replied, taking a seat on the floor in front of him, unable to cross her legs in her dress uniform. Breathing out slowly, he opened his eyes, his deep strong stare meeting her gaze.   

“The bullet was small and I have extracted it with tweezers.  I have taken an extra dose of Tretonin and I believe another dose of Tretonin and more mediation shall be sufficient to heal me.  I will be ready to resume duty in a few days,” Teal’c responded professionally. 

“The last thing I’m worried about right now is any of you resuming duty.  I’ll leave you to your meditation, but I just needed to ask you a few questions first is that is alright,” Sam replied, feeling slightly guilty to interrupt his recuperation, however Cameron was unconscious and Daniel was too upset right now to think straight, in fact, he was probably having a stern conversation with her right now, which gave Sam yet another thing to worry about.  She hoped he wasn’t being too hard on her. 

“Of course, what do you wish to know?” Teal’c inquired looking at Sam preparing to speak/

“What in the hell happened out there?” Sam asked the only question that was on her mind. She had heard Adrienne’s side, the shoddy prep work, but she still didn’t understand why one mistake in translation had led to them almost losing a member of the team. Teal’c took a breath, his stance relaxed and began to speak.  

“When we crossed through the gate it was possible to the ruins a short distance away.  The area appeared uninhabited so ColonelMitchell remained at the gate to to stand guard. I accompanied DanielJackson to the area,” Teal’c began.  

“And you saw nothing? No one when you arrived?” Sam hated to interrupt, but she needed to be clear.  

“No one. As I said, it appeared uninhabited. DanielJackson walked over to the area that he claimed AdrienneRowan recommended he investigate.  He examined it quickly and stood, saying something about it being incorrect and insisting we walk further.  I followed DanielJackson and he examined every stone in the area, continuing to claim something was incorrect. It was then I heard a shot fired,” Teal’c explained.  Sam held up her hand to halt his explanation, deciding to try to finish for him.  

“So, you all started taking fire about the time that Daniel realized he had been sent to investigate something that was not there?”  she asked, a sinking feeling deep in her gut.  Daniel was right, Adrienne had screwed this up, royally.  She’d led them into a trap.

“Precisely,” the Jaffa responded, “DanielJackson did not want to leave, but I was able to persuade him.  ColonelMitchell was shot dialing home as was I.” 

Sam stood and straightened her uniform, looked back down at Teal’c.  She had what she needed, or at the least what she needed from her Jaffa friend. 

“Thank you Teal’c, and please rest. I’m going to check on Daniel,” Sam thanking him and turning to leave.  

“SamanthaONeill?” Teal’c spoke once more, looking up to Sam who turned again to face him.  

“Tell DanielJackson not to be angry with AdrienneRowan.  The writings appeared to be ancient to me as well,” Teal’c offered quietly and closed his eyes.  Wishing it were that easy, Sam let out a sigh and left the room, the main lab her next destination. 

Daniel had just about finished going over what he could of the photos when he heard a knock at the open door and peeked up to see Sam walking over to him.  

“Hey, I was going to come find you,” Daniel said as he pushed his glasses up his face as she walked up to his desk, pulling a chair over from the center table and sitting down beside him.

“Anything?” she asked pointing to the iPad he was working on. Daniel nodded and turned to machine to face her, scrolling down the images once more. 

“Yeah, I can see why she put thought what she did. It wasn’t carefully done by any stretch, but honestly I could have made the same mistake.  I want to finish this, go over it with her and possibly go back, with reinforcements,” Daniel set the machine down and sat up in Adrienne’s chair, feeling the ache of the day taking a toll on his body. Noting that Adrienne was missing, not sitting at Daniel’s desk as he sat at hers, not sitting on the center table like she did when they were working late, not anywhere, Sam sighed. Shaking her head and planning her next stop, she glanced back at Daniel. 

“Did she go back down to see Cam again?” Sam asked, but rather than give her the answer she expected, Daniel seemed puzzled.  

“I don’t know.  I haven’t seen her since we got back.  I assumed she was with you,” Daniel replied, looking at Sam confused. Last he remembered, Adrienne was standing in the hallway, blankly staring at him, Sam fast approaching. 

“She was, we went to see Cam but when we left she didn’t have much to say and was heading in this direction. I had assumed that she was coming to talk with you,”  Sam said, concern growing in her voice.  Daniel just shrugged, rolling his eyes as he set the iPad back onto the desk.

“Honestly, I told her off pretty good, I’m sure she’s still upset with me.  She probably went to find Vala and talk about how much of an asshole I am.  I’ll go find her and get this mess fixed,” Daniel said as he stood from the chair, pushing it under her desk, taking a moment to straighten her workspace as she kept it.  He waited for Sam to stand and leave ahead of him, shutting out the light and headed for on base quarters.  

“My dreams have come true,” Vala said as she opened the door to her quarters and stepped back allowing Daniel to enter.  He didn’t acknowledge her statement.  

“Have you seen Adrienne?” he asked, crossing his arms. Vala made a face at him.

“I wait years to have you come to my bedroom and you come asking for her?”  Vala shot back. This time he shook his head, rolling his eyes. 

“Yes Vala, I am looking for Adrienne.  I thought she might be here,” he stated hoping she would drop the act and tell him where she had last seen his assistant.  

“Haven’t seen her,” Vala turned to head back to her bed where Daniel could hear the TV on from across the room. 

“You’re sure you haven’t seen her?” Daniel asked again, just to clarify.  

“Positive.  I had today off so I decided to lay around watching Lifetime and go get my nails done later.  None of the above would Adrienne ever do,” Vala answered honestly.  She was right.  Adrienne didn’t even have nails.  Daniel sighed.  

“Well, if you see her can you please tell her that I’m looking for her?” Daniel requested.  

“Whatever,” Vala responded, throwing herself back onto the bed, “Sure you don’t want to join me?” she teased and patted the place beside her. Daniel just left.  

Daniel checked the commissary, the gym and the library and he even went back down to the infirmary thinking she would be with Cam but she wasn’t there either.  After speaking with Cassie, since Cam was still unconscious, he decided to check her on base quarters next and if she wasn’t there to call her apartment. Standing outside the door of her quarters, he regained his composure before knocking lightly. 

“Ad, can we talk? I’m sorry I screamed at you. That was unnecessary and uncalled for and I would really like to talk to you. Can you open up?” he spoke into the door trying to keep his voice down; the last thing they needed was another audience.  He knocked again, a little harder, but she didn’t open the door and pressing his ear to the door jam he couldn’t hear a sound from the other side, not even angry wrap music. Scowling, Daniel entered in her room code, since he had memorized all of her codes in retaliation for memorizing his, watched the light changed to green, and turned the knob, sticking his head in slowly to the other side.  

“Ad, please, I’m sorry, but we need to talk about this,” Daniel said into the dark room and it clicked; the room was dark.  Very dark.  Too dark.  He flicked on the light.  

And the room was empty.  

Not totally empty of course, but it was obvious that she had moved out the few things that she had left in her quarters after she had secured an apartment, leaving behind her military issued furniture and a few crates in the corner. Her linens were folded nicely on the small single bed and everything was put back in place for use by the next person.  Daniel scanned the room, looking for a sign as to what she had done when he noticed a sheet of paper sitting neatly folded on the desk, his name written on the outside. He recognized the handwriting immediately.  

Daniel,

   I’m thinking you will most likely be the one who finds this, but please assure Sam that I will be submitting a proper notice via email once I can think straight enough to draft a tender of my resignation.  I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry for everything.  The truth is that you’ve been right all along.  This is not a professor’s job because in academia one doesn't risk the lives of their friends with an error in research.  Both emotionally and professionally I do not believe that I can handle such responsibility.  But I thank you for trying.  

    

     Adrienne 

Daniel set the note back on the desk, his stomach sinking to the floor. She quit. This wasn’t a fit, a scene, she just quit, quietly and without notice. Why did he have to come back through screaming at her? Why didn’t he just pull her aside and talk? He needed to fix this, he needed to find her, wherever she had gone. 

His first thought was to check her apartment, having cleared out her things, it made sense that she would go there next. He didn’t bother calling Sam to explain where he had gone, she didn’t need to know about his whereabouts nor about Adrienne’s note, he just rushed back to the lab to grab his wallet and keys and then rushed back to her quarters, grabbing the note. Scanning the room once more, worried Sam would come here as well, concerned about the both of them, Daniel walked over to her bed and messed it up trying to make it look like she typically left it, even throwing a few items on the floor. Satisfied that it was the best he could do, he put the note into his pant’s pocket and headed for his jeep.  

He didn’t even need to bother with knocking at her door, he knew she wasn’t there the moment he pulled into the parking lot of her complex. Her beetle was gone and since their parking spaces were assigned, it wasn’t possible that she could be parked elsewhere.  He pulled into the guest space he usually parked in when they hung out and shut off the Jeep, trying to think about where else she may be. 

“Adrienne, where are you?” he asked aloud as if asking would make her appear.  He was annoyed; annoyed to be chasing her down like this but also very worried.  Adrienne was not the type of person to do something drastic.  Her quitting was not dramatics, he knew, it was fear.  All these many months she had risked her life and seen others risk theirs however this was different; today Adrienne saw that it wasn't just about risking her life in the field, it was about taking chances with the lives of others.  Daniel himself had sent many a men and women on missions with limited information, some to their deaths and it was a hard thing to live with, but it was part of the job. He had wanted Adrienne to understand this earlier, he just didn’t go about it the best way.  Adrienne was a woman of reason and he should have reasoned with her, not screamed at her.  Sitting back in the driver’s seat, Daniel racked his brain, trying to think where in DC she would go, for coffee, to the movies, or the mall. Unsure of the time, he looked at his watch. Six o’clock.  And then it came to him. Reaching quickly for his keys he started the car, pulling out of the space quickly and headed for the interstate.  

Adrienne sat on the blanket debating whether or not to go get another taco from the truck before the man shutdown for the evening.  She decided against it knowing that her stomach would punish her for it later if she did, like it was starting to do already. Frustrated and sick, she crumpled up the wrapper of her last taco and laid back on the blanket she had fished out of her car, looking up into the D.C. sky.  She had come down here with every intention of walking straight into the office of the director of the Smithsonian and requesting and interview when she realized she was in jeans.  And her resume was on the iPad.  Which was in Daniel’s lab.  And he was mad at her. Probably worse now since she had quit without so much as a goodbye.  So, without anything else better to do, and not wanting to stay in her apartment, she just went and bought some tacos.  

The museums closed and she watched the people file out, guests first and then historians, scientists and archaeologists, one by one, people who were who she thought she would someday be.  After all, when she flew up here the first time she thought that fancy black car that met her at the airport was there to take her to the Smithsonian and not to a secret base buried deep under the Pentagon.  Adrienne knew she couldn’t stay here all night; but she at least wanted to wait until traffic died down a bit; she hated driving the bug in traffic especially with her shiny new fender, a reminder of the last time she had driven in traffic.  

She closed her eyes enjoying the sunshine on her face.  Ice cream, she thought, I’ll get some ice cream on the way home. Feeling the UV rays warming her cheeks, so hot they felt like they were on fire, Adrienne laid back trying to clear her mind, forcing her thoughts away from Cam’s pale body, Daniel’s angry face, and Sam’s look of disappointment. Suddenly, the feeling was gone and her cheeks cooled rapidly and she opened her eyes hoping the passing cloud that was blocking her warmth was not going to rain on her since the bug was parked a good distance away. It wasn’t a cloud.  

At first they didn’t say a word to each other.  Adrienne lay there trying to image how in the world he had found her while Daniel just stood there, looking down at her, no funny face, no smart remark, nothing.  Finally, her heart racing so fast she could barely breathe, she sat up, directing her gaze to the ground.

“Hey,” she said, keeping it simple, bracing herself for the yelling that was to come.  She knew he would say she was acting like Vala; that she had stormed off like a child throwing a tantrum.  Mentally prepared for the fall-out, she looked up at him.  

“Can I sit?” was all he said in response.  Surprised, Adrienne nodded and scooted over, making room for him on the blanket and he sat down quietly, not saying anything further.  They sat there in silence for a while, Adrienne sitting crossed legged, picking and pulling at blades of grass in front of her and Daniel sitting his knees up, watching the horizon.  

“You hungry?” he asked, glancing over as Adrienne tore apart a piece of grass like she would normally tear the skin on her nails. Returning his gaze, she was slightly surprised; he didn’t seem angry, he seemed concerned. 

“No, I had four tacos and two sodas already,” she answered, embarrassed at admitting it aloud all the while her stomach rumbling, reminding her of her poor choice. 

“From where?” Daniel asked looking around, trying to remember if the Smithsonian cafeteria served tacos.  

“A taco truck,” she answered and pointed over to where it had been parked most of the day.  Now, Daniel made a face at her. 

“Wow, I really must have been an ass this morning for you to resort to a food truck,” he tried to joke but Adrienne didn’t laugh, just stared ahead and then quickly back down at her hands.  

“I didn’t do this for attention,” she stated instead. 

“I know you didn’t,” Daniel replied, sincerity in his voice. 

“How’s Cameron?” Adrienne asked, avoiding the topic of her departure. 

“Same,” he said.  With that response, Adrienne looked over at Daniel with a look on her face he had seen a million times on his friends, the look of understanding, total understanding of what this job was. 

“I can’t do this,” she finally said, “I can’t be responsible for the lives of others like that.” 

“That’s part of what we do Ad,”  he began, “and you never know if who goes through that gate is ever going to come back.  Including yourself.” That didn’t seem to be the answer she wanted, in fact, she seemed more upset by his words.   

“Daniel, I screwed up. I screwed up so bad,” she continued, pulling her knees to her knees to her chest and hugging them with her arms.  Without thought, Daniel reached out and set his hand softly on her back. 

“Yeah, you did,” he said, “but it won’t be your last time screwing up either.  Honestly, if we counted the number of times I’ve screwed up,” he paused for a second and laughed, “well let’s just not count the number of times I’ve screwed up, ok?”  He smiled at her, hoping she would understand and she must have, giving him a half grin.  

“You haven’t sent that email, have you?” he asked, hoping to keep her talking.  

“No, I left my iPad in your lab,” she replied.  

“Good,” he answered and sat up, reaching into his pocket, pulling out her note, waving it between his fingers. 

“Technically,” he said, “I’m your boss and I do not accept your resignation.”  He tore the letter into two pieces and handed them to her, but she didn’t take them, shaking her head, tears welling up in her breathtaking eyes. 

“Daniel, I can’t,” she started, but he just shook his head, crumpling the paper in his hands and looked into her heartbreaking gaze.  

“Yes, yes you can,” he said, “I know you can. You just got your first taste of reality and humility,” he added the last part carefully. Looking away again, she let out a sigh and released her legs, crossing them once more in from of her.  Stuffing the fragments of the note deep into his pocket, Daniel moved over closer and put his arm around her, pulling her to him. She didn’t speak, didn’t fight, just leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.  Grasping her tightly, he held onto her and they sat like that for a while, together, not saying a word as the sun set across the mall.  

*********

“Isn’t there a song about this,” Cameron teased.  

“I believe that song is about Santa Claus ColonelMitchell,” Teal’c answered.  

“If you are insinuating that I am a jolly fat man Cam, I’ll beat your ass,” Adrienne responded and closed the cover to her iPad, looking up at her team. 

“We are good to go and yes, Cameron, I have checked it.  Twice,” she continued, reaching for her tac vest to slide it onto her shoulders.  She was buckling it as Daniel and Vala entered the locker room, chatting away about something else Vala was trying to convince Daniel would be in his best interest. She would ask him later, but now she needed him.  Reaching back over to the bench, Adrienne grabbed the iPad walking it over to Daniel.  

“Here, take a look at this one more time before we leave,” she insisted passing it over to him. 

“I’m good,” he put his hand up making his way over to his locker. 

“Daniel, I want to be sure,” Adrienne urged, following him, opening the cover and beginning to flick her finger around the bright LED screen. Frowning, Daniel reached over, grabbed the tablet and closed the cover, looking her in the eyes, as he handed it back to her.

“I trust you Adrienne,” he said with a soft smile, grabbing his own vest from the locker.