Daniel and Adrienne #18: Second Guesses

“Are you guys going to ever be finished? I thought having Addy was supposed to speed up this process,” Vala sighed as she sat down on a broken column in the center of the foyer of the temple, coughing at the dust rising around her as she flopped her BDU clad but onto the stone’s surface. 

“Vala this is sped up; imagine if Adrienne wasn’t here,” Daniel replied, turning away from Vala and continuing to work, his glasses sliding down his nose as he read, forehead furrowed in concentration and annoyance. Leave it to Vala to think that translating Ancient, about five full walls of it, in this lighting, in this cold temperature was a task that was going to take simply a few hours.  Ignoring her continued whining, he kept reading as Adrienne glanced over at him.  

“Puis-je plaisante pas avec elle?” (Can I mess with her?) Adrienne asked, that evil smile on her face, the smile Daniel didn’t trust. Adrienne must be getting antsy herself, he thought. 

“Comment?” (Mess how?) Daniel responded, treading lightly.  Messing with Vala could mean anything from Adrienne just teasing her verbally to a full on prank, although he had no idea where his trusty assistant would get the materials for said prank. Adrienne claimed Vala was just an easy target and Daniel couldn’t disagree and after years of Vala being the ringleader in screwing with people, she deserved to be the recipient of a few jokes.  Smiling and winking, Adrienne raised her eyebrows and gave him that look, the look that meant she was up to no good, the look that told him exactly how Adrienne planned to mess with her.  Her new stock joke. 

“Devez-vous?” (Must you?) he pleaded, weakly.  He knew it was a sure fire way to send Vala into a complete downward spiral, but he wasn’t a fan, given the current mutters all over the based.  Adrienne, instead, just winked.  There was no stopping her at this juncture, her mind was made up.  

“Je vais avoir deux se tortille mal à l'aise pour le prix d'un, c'est un gagnant-gagnant pour moi,”  (I get two uncomfortable squirms for the price of one; it’s a win win for me),” Adrienne smiled. No longer willing to entertain another of Daniel’s protests, Adrienne leaned over her shoulder casually at Vala. 

“Vala, come here,” Adrienne motioned over to her.  Groaning loudly, Vala stood, trudging her way over to Adrienne coming to a stop behind her about three feet away, too far, so Adrienne stuck her finger next to her cheek and motioned Vala closer.  Vala rolled her eyes but stepped closer, groaning with each step forward.  

“We’re taking long on purpose, to make sure we’re still here for nightfall,” Adrienne whispered coyly. 

“Why?” Vala asked, annoyance growing in her voice. 

“Because we’re miles from the gate and alone,” Adrienne said the last word in a way she hoped she would understand, which cleary she did as Vala’s eyebrows perked up but her face changed quickly.  

“No, I’m here,”  Vala answered not buying into Adrienne’s little game,”and besides you guys aren’t planning to..... are you?” Vala asked, now confused.  Adrienne shrugged her shoulders and continued, putting on her best act. 

“I mean, you can stay, I don’t mind, but it may make Daniel a bit uncomfortable....” Adrienne trailed off a bit for effect, biting her bottom lip shyly.  Out of the corner of her eye she could see Daniel’s face growing redder.  She couldn’t tell if he hated when she did this or if he liked the attention, but it served it’s purpose, the reaction she had intended growing in her tall loud mouthed friend. 

“Ugh!”  Vala shouted, repulsed, “I’m leaving. You two can do whatever strange things to one another that you like to do in dark dirty places without my company,” she stormed out of the temple in a fit of rage, grabbing her pack as she exited. Satisfied, Adrienne looked over at Daniel who was now visibly red in the face.  

“There,” she said, “quiet.” 

“I just can’t believe she falls for it every single time,” Daniel answered, the color of his face normalizing as he continued to work.  

“She knows we’re not together; she thinks it’s more of a friends with benefits situation.  Better for us that way I think,”  Adrienne turned back to what she had been doing.  Daniel shook his head and returned to his task as well, not ever entirely sure to be pleased, embarrassed or angry when Adrienne pulled the “we might be sleeping together card” but knowing she played it at all gave his nerves terrible fits. Forcing himself to focus, he soldered on, trying not to think about what Vala might think that he and Adrienne were doing right now. 

Their first indication of exactly how long they had been working was when Adrienne realized she needed a lamp in order to read the carvings in front of her. Night had fallen, and despite her earlier jest, there would be no romantic liaisons between anyone, just more hard work, more dust and more backache. Stretching, she put down her composition book and pen and walked over to where Vala had been sitting earlier looking for the large black bag of supplies that she had assembled early this morning to add some illumination to their workspace. Scanning the ground near the busted column, she discovered that it wasn’t there, the bag was gone, it’s impression left behind in the dirt. 

“Dammit!!” Adrienne swore out loud, retracing their footsteps around the temple.  Daniel looked over his shoulder at her, peeking over his glasses. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.  Spinning on her heels, Adrienne turned to face him, a look of frustration and annoyance plastered on her normally smiling face. 

“She took our bag!!!” Adrienne fussed as she stomped around, “Jealous bitch took our damn gear!!” Daniel stopped what he was doing and turned to join her in the hunt, although, he was reasonably sure that Vala had indeed taken Adrienne’s gear in retaliation.  Vala was in constant competition with Adrienne for Daniel’s attention which amuse him since Adrienne could care less and only used Vala’s jealously for her own personal entertainment.  Even if he did think of Adrienne in a romantic way, which he didn’t,  he was fairly certain that if Adrienne was interested in anyone on base it would be Cam or Ronon. He had been working her pretty hard on Ronan, who seemed to be right on the verge of asking his assistant to dinner.  Regardless, he and Adrienne were just friends, albeit it good friends, but nothing Vala or anyone else needed to worry about. Searching just enough to placate his very angry cajun friend, Daniel stopped, glancing over at her and cleared his throat.   

“Yeah,” Daniel began, “she took it.” 

Adrienne swore profanely in Spanish. While Adrienne preferred to speak French to Daniel so that no one else would understand the conversation, she greatly preferred Spanish for her profanity claiming it had more passion and fire.  He laughed lightly, enjoying her frustrated Spanish/Cajun fueled outbursts that seemed to occur on a regular basis.  

“I’ll radio her, tell her we are finished,” Daniel offered, reaching for the radio on his shoulder but Adrienne made a face at him.  

“You think telling her we finished will get her to come back,”  Adrienne retorted emphasizing the word finished.  It took Daniel just a second to catch on, before sighing out and reaching back for the radio.n  

“Ad, get your mind out of the gutter. I meant with our work.  Which essentially we are, unless we can get some light in here,” Daniel rolled his eyes at Adrienne, squeezing the button on his shoulder, hoping Vala would answer; he didn’t want to leave the temple just yet. 

“Vala, come in,” Daniel said as Adrienne sat taking Vala’s former seat crossing her legs in frustrated, her eyes cutting into him as if this was his fault. Trying to ignore his assistant’s anger, he clicked off the radio and waited for a reply but none came.  He walked over to Adrienne and sat down beside her on the ground, his legs tired from standing all day.  

“Vala, jokes over, you’ve got our stuff,” Daniel spoke again, sternness growing in his voice. Her mood changing, from annoyance to embarrassment, she could read his face now, she knew he was upset that his work was being interrupted, she shrugged, dropping her hands into her lap, picking the skin on her fingernails. 

“Sorry Indy, I didn’t mean to really set her off, that bad....” Adrienne apologized, weakly.  Daniel knew that Adrienne was secretly pleased to have angered Vala so greatly, even if it cost them their gear temporarily.  Trying not to snap at Adrienne, or Vala for that matter, Daniel figured that he would try one final approach.  

“Vala, it was a joke.  No one did anything inappropriate, ok.  Adrienne was kidding and she is sorry that she ran you off,”  he said a final time, Adrienne mouthing quickly, “I am not,” at him.  However, they had no success with this as well so Daniel stood, sighing, brushing dust off of his pants.  Her eyes sending him a rage filled warning, Adrienne grabbed his hand as she stood right after him, jerking him back in her direction.  

“Daniel, you do realize that if you run out there you are playing right into her game, right?”  Adrienne stated.  That was the one reaction that Vala could get out of Adrienne; concern.  Adrienne was forever a worrier and had often cautioned Daniel of actually getting involved with Vala, she never got into detail as to why it upset her so much, but he knew that she worried about him and he appreciated that; he’d never really had someone care about his well being so much. Knowing that she was correct, he sat back down, stealing her stone pedestal in playful apology, looking as she apparently made the decision herself to go after her tenuous friend, heading out the main entrance.  

About thirty minutes later Adrienne came storming into the temple, black bag in hand.  It was covered in dirt and had obviously been manhandled and the look in Adrienne’s face answered one question brewing in his mind but not another.  

“Where’s Vala?” he asked, preparing himself for the answer.  

“I don’t fuckin’ care,” Adrienne answered, holding the bag up in the air, “She broke my light!?!?! The cool LED one I found at Lowe’s. Do you know how much that cost?” He did, down to the cent; she reminded him of this every time he used it.  He shook his head, now annoyed by Vala’s childish behavior and reached for the bag to examine the remainder of the contents.  Adrienne was right; her light was mashed to pieces.  Daniel carefully dug around the shards of glass looking for a flashlight, because at this point while he didn’t plan on working anymore today, much less with Adrienne being this angry, they would need a flashlight to find their way back to the gate. Relieved, he found on very quickly, clicking it on to make sure it still worked.  Fortunately, it did, one less thing for Adrienne to yell about. 

“Come on,” Daniel said as she looked over to Adrienne who was standing, facing him, arms crossed, “let’s head back.”  

“See,” Adrienne complained as she walked toward him, “This is what pisses me off.  If what we do is so damn boring, don’t come with us, or sit ‘ere and tuat t’en grosse bueche!” 

“She likes to learn things Adrienne, she never had a formal education like we did,” Daniel defended lightly, very lightly, as once Adrienne had slipped in to full Cajun there was no going back. Growling, surprisingly, Adrienne walked past him, ripping the flashlight from his grasp. 

“You keep telling yourself that Indy, but the reality of the situation is that she’s just here to stare at your ass,”  she shot back at him and walked herself out of the temple.  Daniel hoisted the bag up on his shoulder and looked behind him to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.  Satisfied they weren’t leaving anything behind, he followed the small bobbing light Adrienne was making with the flashlight ahead.  

It took about an hour to arrive at the gate.  Daniel started to radio Vala again, but Adrienne grabbed his hand and gave him a look, daring him to do it.  Reluctantly, he removed his let go of the button and made a face, hoping that this little incident would not result in a falling out between the two of them since they seemed to become such good friends lately, especially since come tomorrow they would be headed back, this time hopefully with a light. Maybe leaving early, Daniel could gate back home and run to the hardware store in order to replace Adrienne’s lampe before returning.  He even considered forging an apology note from Vala to help keep the peace.  

“Hey girl! You guys have fun?” Cameron waved as he saw the two of them approach.  Adrienne waved back, picking up the pace to jog up and meet him.  

“Tons,” she laughed, “but I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.” 

“Oh really?” Cameron raised an eyebrow in curiosity and Adrienne scowled, her eyes already rolling. 

 “Yeah; apparently the sheer assumption that I would lay a hand on Daniel costs me a perfectly good LED light,” Adrienne pointed back at her boss, who, grimace on his face, holding the bag aloft so that everyone could see. 

“The girls had a little misunderstanding.  How long ago did Vala go back?” Daniel asked, setting the heavy bag down on the ground, cracking his head as he did carefully, enough to glance over at Adrienne to see her reaction. She had none.   

“Go back?” Cameron looked confused, “to where?” 

“Back to base,” Daniel added. Cameron looked over at Teal’c who shook his head.  

“DanielJackson, ColonelMitchell and I have been at the gate all day, playing cards.  ValaMalDoran has not come,”  Teal’c looked over at Daniel, his look as puzzled as Cam’s.  

“So,” Daniel clarified, “you two are certain? You haven’t seen her all day?” 

“No, not one peep. Trust me, Vala’s not going to sneak up on us, we would hear her bitchin a mile away,”  Cam added, Teal’c nodding in agreement behind him.  Growing more concerned by the minute, Daniel peeped back at Adrienne, looking for support, something, anything but more anger. 

“Why are you looking at me?”  Adrienne asked, “I have no idea where she went.  She’s your girlfriend.” she spat, adding the last part for effect.  No support there, Daniel turned back to face his team, something in his gut telling him that this was all wrong. 

“We need to find her,” Daniel stated looking at Cameron and Teal’c who were nodding in agreement just second before there was a noise and some more swearing behind him.  

“What!?! This is insanity!! Why in the world do you guys bow down to her childishness? Well, you three can have fun playing hide and seek with the gah damn drama queen! I’ll go home and inform Sam that the boy’s club is letting the entire mission volla merde for some galette,” Adrienne shoved her way past Daniel and began to dial home, slamming her palms agains the symbols.  Cautiously, especially since he had a slight understanding of the swears that had just rocketed from her mouth, he reached for her shoulder but she shrugged him away and kept dialing. 

“Adrienne, really, I know she can grate your nerves sometimes, I do, but this isn’t like her.  If anything, she would be causing a huge scene if she were angry, not quietly slipping away,” Daniel tried to reason with his assistant although he was slightly worried that they were beyond the point of reason as Adrienne spun around, glaring at him intensely.  

“Daniel, I’m not gonna indulge her,” Adrienne said, not bothering to make eye contact, her hand about to touch the center globe. 

“I’m not asking that you indulge her,” Daniel replied, pausing and breathing in as he reached out for her shoulder gently, hoping she wouldn’t turn around and punch him, “I’m asking that you indulge me.”  Adrienne sighed out and stop dialing, bowing her head in frustration. She could never say no to Daniel, ever, not for a long time.  It annoyed her greatly.  

“I hate you Daniel Anthony,” she spun around, her face in a scowl, cutting her eyes at him.  

“I know you do,” he answered, and turned to face the group, “In pairs?” he suggested, “Meet back here in an hour?” 

“Sounds good, T and I’ll head making a circle from here to the ruins and you guys can circle that side,” Cameron ordered, double checking the area with a quick scan before he and Teal’c headed to the left.  Indicating with his hand for Adrienne to lead the way, the two archaeologists set out in the opposite direction. 

Adrienne didn’t say a word for a full twenty minutes, Daniel knew she was angry, but he also knew at this point in their friendship exactly how far he could push her so he kept his mouth shut.  Honestly, he couldn’t figure out when their falling out had occurred, but he did know that Vala had been making comments to Adrienne, comments about her being single and other things of the sort. She was so hostile when it came to relationships, in fact he had backed off completely on trying to set her up with Ronon, even though it was clear that the Sateadan man was very interested, but unlike Vala, he had respected her request that he stay out of it.  He was guessing, that in true Vala fashion, she hadn’t, and that was making Adrienne a little more touchy when it came to things that she had before overlooked, mostly at least. 

“Merde!” Adrienne shouted as she slipped on a rock, crashing to the ground, barely catching herself on her left side.  Daniel knelt down quickly to make sure she was alright, she was still a bit sore from their last mission, a little over a week ago, and he instantly felt terrible to see her hurt again. No longer swearing, she patted his hand lightly and sat up, pulling up the leg of her BDU pants to examine her knee. 

“I’m good shug, just tripped.  It’s hard to see out here,” she said, her tone a little softer with him than before, putting the flashlight in her mouth to inspect her injury. Shaking his head, Daniel simply reached over and took the lamp from her mouth, shining the light onto her leg.  There was a light trickle of blood sliding down her shin, almost to her yin yang tattoo, so Daniel tucked the flashlight under his arm and reached in his vest, grabbing some alcohol swabs and a bandage.  

“Here,” he said, “let me get that,” he reached over to fix her knee, hoping to contain the rage that he was afraid she was going to unleash on Vala, and since she was missing, on him by default.  

“I’ve got it Indy, just point the flashlight please,” Adrienne grabbed the first aid supplies from his hand, and began to fix the nasty scrape, wiping the blood vertically up her leg  not even hissing at the alcohol on the open wound. Passing her a bandage, he watched to make sure that she hadn’t mended herself in haste, and as she reached to pull her pants leg back down, she paused about halfway gazing up at him. 

“Daniel, what are we doing?” she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.  

“Looking for Vala,” he gave a rhetorical response to a rhetorical question.  

“No, I mean traipsing around in the dark after an adult who throws tantrums.  Why does she get away with this over and over? If I spent my free time crawling all over you or Cam, talked like a prostitute and bumbled my way around command like a moron, you would have canned me a week in, if that long.  Why does she get a free pass?” Daniel could see Adrienne’s face in the dim light of the flashlight and she wasn’t angry, she was offended.  Adrienne had worked hard to get where she was in life and he could see how she saw Vala as the stereotypical woman who used her body to earn her way through, not that Adrienne wasn’t pretty, she was very attractive in Daniel’s opinion, but Adrienne wanted that to be the last thing you noticed about her.  She wanted you to notice her brain first, or her ability to punch you out. Vala’s constant hunt for a man and her insistence that Adrienne do the same probably wasn’t helping much either. Sitting back on his heels, he reached his hand out for hers, interlocking their fingers. 

“Ad, I know you haven’t known her as long as I have, as long as we have.  Once you get to know her better, she lets her guard down and you see that she is an intelligent competent person.  One that despite the grand performances she’s put on for you, would not just run off like this.  Trust me,” he tried to explain.  Adrienne sighed again, pulling her hand from Daniel’s, reaching underneath her bottom to push herself to her feet, glancing back and reaching down to grab his hand and help him up.  Without further argument, they walked on, continuing to look for their friend.

One fruitless hour later, they were headed to the gate, not one sign of Vala to be found.  Daniel could see that Cameron and Teal’c had beat them there and from the gate ramp Cameron was waving his arms, holding up a gun over his head while Teal’c was already dialing behind him.  A glimmer of hope, although Vala wasn’t with them, Daniel and Adrienne jogged up to meet them.  

“Cam, what’s the rush? Did you guys find her?” Adrienne asked, looking at the both of them strangely.  

“Nope, but this is her P-90; she wrote her name in fingernail polish on the handle,” Cam turned the gun to hand over to Adrienne who flinched away nervously, Daniel stepping forward before she could be embarrassed by her fear, making a note to himself he really needed to ask her what that was all away. Looking it over, the pink paint confirming what Cam already said, he looked back over at Adrienne before handing the weapon back to their team leader.  

“See, something’s wrong.  She loves this gun,” Daniel said, turning to Cameron, “Where did you guys find it?” 

“About a half mile from the temple.  It was thrown in a bush like someone tossed it away. Dirt kicked up, general mess.  Signs of a struggle,”  Cam said and immediatly Adrienne started to feel a sinking in her gut; maybe Daniel was right, maybe this wasn’t a ploy for attention. Seeing Daniel’s non-verbal agreement, Cam walked back over to the gate, indicating to Teal’c that he should continue to phone home. 

“I’m going to dial home and see Sam.  I think we need to call in our intelligence agents, this doesn’t look good.” Cam turned to wait for the wormhole to open, the blast of cold air having an almost ominous feel to it and they left the planet behind, along with their friend.  

“But we don’t have any evidence that she has been kidnapped,” Sam argued, “She could be anywhere.” 

“Sam, there were clear signs of a struggle, I think we need to assume the worst,” Cameron argued as Daniel and Teal’c nodded in agreement but Adrienne kept silent, torn as to what to do. There is no way, she thought to herself, no way that she would go to this length for attention, but the way Vala had been acting lately, so insistent that something was going on between her and Daniel one day and showing up prancing herself into his lap another, Adrienne was completely confused. So what if Vala still had feelings for her friend, why did she care? But she did, for some reason, and she wasn’t sure why. Noting her silence, Sam looked over at her puzzled.  

“Adrienne, you don’t seem to be on the same page as everyone else, is there something you need to add?” Sam inquired. 

“Look, Sam, I love her, I really do, but you have to admit that every single time she doesn’t get her way, about anything, she flies off the handle and I work out with her, almost every day, and I just find it hard to believe that she would be taken without any of us hearing her at least scream,”  Adrienne replied, glancing quickly over at Daniel, hoping he understood. Sam nodded her head, a small part of her wondering the same thing.  She knew that Vala felt threatened by Daniel’s feisty assistant since Adrienne had been promoted up to the team and what had started as friendship between the two women was now filled with some tension, at least lately.  Sam thought there was another source of tension, noting how much more protective Daniel had grown of Adrienne, especially after the mission to rescue SG-14, but she kept that thought to herself, looking back out across the group. 

“Ok, let’s play out worse case scenario, to ensure that we area covering all of our bases. I’ll assemble an investigative team immediately to return to the planet. Daniel start calling our allies; see if anyone has heard anything and if I find out this is some elaborate act, I will deal with her myself,” Sam added the last part as she looked over at Adrienne, who gave a slight nod and dismissed the group to their tasks.  

Three hours later Adrienne went to bring Daniel something to eat.  He had been sitting in the observation room for hours, dialing allies and asking for information and Adrienne knew he hadn’t eaten since they broke for lunch almost 12 hours ago.  By the time she arrived it was midnight, Daniel had been alone for quite some time, having dismissed Walter for the evening.  

“Any luck?” she asked, not bothering to hide the worry in her voice. 

“Not one peep. No one has heard anything. It’s like she just vanished,”  Daniel replied, his voice sullen, slowly turning the chair around to look at her.  His eyes were so tired, the normally mesmerizing ocean blue against white replaced by redness and despair, their usual sparkle gone.  Knowing he needed her, regardless of the complete confusion that was going on inside of her and had been all day, Adrienne set down the sandwich and soda, pulling up a chair beside him.  

“I’m sorry I doubted you, that I doubted her,” Adrienne said quietly. 

“I would have in your position too,” Daniel replied, reaching out for the soda and opening the top.  He took a long swig and set it back down on the counter, grasping for the sandwich and pausing, making a face.  

“Wrong thing?” Adrienne asked, standing in a silent offer to get another.  

“No, it’s fine, I’m just not very hungry.” Daniel turned back to look at the screen, pushing the plate away and resting his chin on his fist. Scooting to the edge of her chair, Adrienne reached out for his leg, rubbing it up and down lightly, not knowing what else she could possibly do.  

“I know she means a lot to you,” Adrienne said, cautiously.  

“She does, not in the way she would like but, I just can’t bear to lose anyone else.  We’re all like family here,” Daniel answered, lifting his head slowly to glance at her. Without thinking, not about Vala, not about her assertions, not about any of the gossip floating around the base, Adrienne leaned forward and rested her forehead to his, slipping her hand behind his neck, bringing him so close, dangerously close.

“We’ll find her,” Adrienne assured him, her alluring brown eyes locking with his own, eyes full of total concern and unconditional caring. Being this close to her made Daniel strangely nervous and he couldn’t figure out why but he didn’t want to pull away, not that he thought he would offend her, but he just wanted to stay there, basking in her touch, but as soon as the sensation of comfort hit him, she was backing up, squeezing his neck lightly before kissing his forehead. Without another word, she stood from the chair, meandering slowly toward the door. 

“Ad?”  Daniel glanced up at her, catching her right before she made it to the hallway.  

“Yea Indy?” she stopped and looked back over her shoulder, the worry in her face worsening, the dark circles under her eyes a clear indication that Daniel wasn’t the only one worried and not sleeping.  

“Do you mind hanging around?; it’s too quiet here,” he felt like an idiot asking, he hated asking, she needed sleep as bad as he did, but he just wanted some company right now.  He wanted her company; he wanted her close. 

“Sure,” Adrienne answered, smiling, walking back over to where she had been sitting, reaching out to place her hand on his back as she sat.  She rubbed it lightly and turned to the computer console in front of her, as he faced the one in front of him, deciding to read the news while she waited.  

“Incoming wormhole,” the 5 a.m. lieutenant signaled the message and started the sirens.  Adrienne awoke groggily, her aching neck, cursing herself for falling asleep on the keyboard, to Daniel standing beside her his arms crossed nervously across his chest, waiting for the iris to open. He noticed her waking and silently pointed to a cup of coffee that was over where he had been sitting, a cup that was obviously his, but she didn’t care. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she grabbed the half empty mug, chugging down the rest gratefully before standing to join him.

“Something?” Adrienne asked.  

“Hopefully,” Daniel stood, his eyes still locked on the gate activating on the other side of the glass, “Sorry it was cold.” 

“It’s ok, you know me, I just want the caffeine,” she replied, starting to reach out to touch him again, but paused, that awkward feeling returning, instead shoving her hands into her pockets. As the wormhole formed a faint radio signal came through, the computer transmitters racing into action.

“Dr. Jackson?” the voice was faint and Adrienne did not recognize it, glancing over at Daniel for clarification.  

“Yes, Sergeant Patrick, it’s me. Do you have something?” Daniel answered. The name Adrienne did recognize from meetings and conversations with Vala; it was one of their spies in the Lucian Alliance and he was taking a big risk contacting home base outside of scheduled check-ins.  He must have something.  

“We’ve got some information on Miss Mal Doran,”  he reported professionally.

“Great, we hear you,” Daniel answered.  

“It appears that she was not taken by the Lucians sir.  I have found indications that a woman matching her description is being offered for sale at a slave auction next week,”  the man said plainly. Daniel looked shocked; he was almost certain that she had been taken by the very people they were paying her to spy on, not slave traders. 

“Are you sure?” he asked for confirmation.  

“Yes, quite sure.  I will try to send a radio image, but they listed her as a tall spirited brunette in the description,” the man confirmed.  

“That’s Vala,” Adrienne answered, giving into her earlier temptation, reaching out and squeezing his hand quickly before letting go. 

“Ok, can you please send coordinates and times for the auction?” Daniel requested.  

“Of course sir, transmission coming through,” Patrick responded, various signals appearing on the computer screen.  Grabbing a nearby note pad, Adrienne sat down at the computer, jotting down the information with one hand, cross referencing the coordinates with her other, the information quickly popping up on the screen.  

“We can get there by Daedalus in two days.  Auction is in three,” she looked up at him.  

“Go get Sam,”  he replied and left the observation room.  

The trip on the Daedalus was long and melancholy; the fear of losing one of their own was too great.  Everyone, including Adrienne was a combination of worried and depressed.  Being a woman, Adrienne could only imagine what might have happened to her being trapped on a slave collection ship, it made her shiver to think about it, and feel guilty for doubting her friend. Ok, so Vala got on her nerves about with her over the top flirtations, but she had been nothing but a good friend to Adrienne and the first chance Adrienne had to doubt her, she was ready to leave her to her doom. She didn’t eat much, and stayed in her room, headphones blaring as she stared off into space.  Daniel kept blaming himself for letting Adrienne send her away, feeling as if sending her alone outside made her an easy target and he wasn’t sleeping very well as a result, fighting the urge to go and bother Adrienne, who he knew was dealing with her own guilt, guilt he didn’t want to add to by barging into her quarters. Cameron and Teal’c kept thinking that they should have seen something, heard something in the sky, and could not believe that on their watch they missed a ship, and entire slave ship full of others just like Vala.  They tried to pass the time but playing cards just made them sick to their stomachs. All alternating between wanting to be alone to think and wanting the company of one another, it was the quietest two days Adrienne had experienced since becoming a part of this group, two days she hoped in her heart would be much jovial upon the return. 

As Adrienne predicted, they arrived in two days, one day to spare before the auction.  Captain Carval called them down to the bridge as he slowed the approach of the large vessel, hoping to keep their presence limited.  In silence they stood and watched the red planet come into view, sparse colonies populating the surface and by the look on his face, Adrienne could tell Daniel was plotting already.

“Ok, I think it’s best if Cam and I head to the surface, make sure that it is indeed Vala and then see if they are willing to sell her in advance.  It’s best to not start a fire fight, to just pay their price and get her back,” Daniel stated simply, but Adrienne was shaking her head at him the moment he spoke. 

“Really Ad, what else is it going to take for you a DNA test?” he snapped, sick of her insistence that this was just a game Vala was playing; he knew better and he couldn’t understand for the life of him why she was acting like this. 

“No shug, you need to think rationally for five seconds.  First, do we even know how to pay for her if they’ll sell her to us? It’s not like we are walking around with some kind of universal currency,”  she stated, no tone, none of the attitude from the other day, just honest concern.  That, he thought, I can live with.  

“I have that taken care of, Sam’s Asgard simulator can reproduce just about anything we would need especially if we can trade with a mineral,” Daniel answered, but Adrienne still didn’t look convinced 

“Daniel, shug, even if they aren’t Lucians, won’t they know who you are? You’re kinda recognizable...” Adrienne added carefully, the look in her eyes telling him that this wasn’t about Vala any longer; she was worried about him.  Daniel went to argue, to assure her but she was right.  If he went down the chances of getting caught and attacked were monumental, there may be a firefight anyway, despite his best intentions. 

“Adrienne, we don’t have any other choice.  Teal’c is even more well known than I am and Cameron can’t go down there alone,”  he countered, shaking his head, having no better option.  

“We do, me.  I plan on taking Lando here and invading Jabba’s Palace myself,” Adrienne declared. only Teal’c smiling at the analogy.  

“What?” Daniel asked confused.  

“If you watched movies like normal folks Indy I wouldn’t need to explain.  Come on Cam, let’s suit up,” she turned to head for the weapons room, escaping quickly before he could argue. Cam walked behind her without argument, agreeing that this was the best course of action.  Daniel paused for just a moment, his brain not completely registering what had been implied at first turning quickly realizing what Adrienne was saying.  Jogging to catch up with her, pushing past Cam, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to a stop.

“Ad, you’re not going,” Daniel ordered simply.  

“Um, last time I checked Cameron was the head of this team, not you,” Adrienne pulled her arm away from his and shouted to Cameron, who had quickly passed by the two, avoiding the possible blow out that was going to occur in the hall.

“Mitchell! Can I go to the surface with you?” she asked, in a tone that was mocking of Daniel’s order. 

“Looking forward to it girlie!” he shouted back and kept heading for the weapons room.  Adrienne turned to face Daniel, satisfied.  

“You only count as my boss on-world.  I’ll see you when I get back. No worries; I’m a smooth talker,” Adrienne turned once more to follow Cameron. Daniel grabbed her arm again quickly, Adrienne whipping her head around with such an evil look that he let go, memories of being busted in the head flashing back.   

“What is your problem?! I was wrong, ok? She’s a pain in the ass but she’s my friend too. This is my fault and I’m going to make this right.  Now I need to go get my staff weapon and a tac vest,” Adrienne argued, tears filling her eyes. She felt bad, she felt at fault and this wasn’t about making him mad, this was about atoning.  Daniel looked her in the eyes and shook his head, knowing this was a battle he wasn’t going to win, that he was going to have to let her go, into yet another situation that would be possibly hostile to women, without being able to be there to help her.

“Adrienne, I, you just need to be careful,” he said, refusing to argue with her further, his heart racing with worry and panic, visions of her on the floor of a dirt hut flooding his head, her blackened cheek, but she wasn’t going to just sit here and wait. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll have the two of us fighting over you again soon enough,” she joked, and leaned in to kiss his cheek, Daniel instinctually reaching out for her to rub her arm and stopped, pulling back quickly. Her eyes gazed downward quickly, breaking their stare and she turned, heading for the weapons room, Daniel watched her rush down the hall. 

“I still think you’re trying to recreate a movie.  You don’t think this is a bit over the top?” Cameron asked Adrienne once they were beamed to the surface, both members of SG-1 covered head to toe in Kull warrior suits.  Adjusted the material around her curvy hips, Adrienne was starting to regret that she had taken Vala’s suit since Vala had made adjustments for a woman’s anatomy forgetting that while Vala was tall and thin, Adrienne was a few inches shorter, athletic and curvy. Cameron noticed the adjustment, frowning as he motioned with his hand at her obvious irritation. 

“You don’t even look like you’re comfortable in that thing,” Cameron noted as they walked on toward the major activity of the city.  

“I’ve got a bit of a tchew, ok, but trust me, this will work,” Adrienne assured him, pulling the tight fabric from her backside.

“You do realize that I have done this a million times before while you have only seen it on TV?” Cameron asked, but Adrienne just smiled with that Miss Perfect smile of hers, walking on confidently before halting to peek back at him. 

“Uh Cam?” she asked. 

“Yes Princess Leia,” he teased.  

“Where do you think they keep the slaves?” Adrienne admitted the one flaw in her plan.  

“Come on,” Cameron laughed and shook his head, making his way toward a large industrial looking building in the distance. 

When they arrived, the first thing Adrienne noticed were the large armed guards standing in front of the tall buildings, humanoid, but definitely not one hundred percent human, sickly olive green skin and solid black eyes the only things showing under layers of tattered brown leather armor.  For as tough as she played, hell, as tough as she was, Cam could send Adrienne’s frustration by the pace of her stride, stepping forward to speak Adrienne nervously adjusted her helmet.  

“We are looking to acquire a female,” Cameron spoke, with his works a chill racing down Adrienne’s spine, memories of being called property, being treated as property making her ill.  

“Sale is tomorrow, no advance purchases,” one of the men answered, thick brown lips moving behind a face sheld, muffling his voice.  

“We want a female that has not been used, we don’t want to wait,” Cameron stressed the word used and Adrienne grew sicker. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, she thought, maybe she should have stayed on the Daedalus and let Daniel handle this.  

“I said come back tomorrow,”  the man growled, taking a step forward to challenge Cameron, not fearing the Kull warrior standing in front of him.  

“Let me see your superior,” Cameron demanded, taking a step forward himself to meet the man, but hesitated, as with the colonel’s defenses down, he reached for Cameron’s throat, lifting him of the ground.  Her heart pounded in her chest, the second guard advancing toward her moments before her training clicked on in her head. Taking a stance, Adrienne pointed her staff weapon activating the head so that it would open, glaring at the man through the thick plastic helmet. She didn’t dare speak, dare give away that she was a woman, but she didn’t have to as the man tossed Cameron aside and looked at his companion.  

“Pirates, in stolen suits,” he said, kicking dirt in Cameron’s face, fortunately protected by the suit. In an attempt to avoid further confrontation, Cameron got up slowly and began to walk away, signaling that Adrienne follow. 

“We can’t just leave,” Adrienne insisted as she caught up to him, ripping off her helmet once she was certain they were out of sight of the two men, creatures, whatever. 

“Well, they’re not going to let us in so we need another plan,” Cameron continued on, making his way to the rendezvous point, intending to call Daniel and go with his first plan, scolding himself for buying into Adrienne’s crazy fantasies in the first place. Sensing that Cam made up his mind, Adrienne slowed her stride and looked back to the tall gray building rising in the distance, so cold and hostile, even for this poor excuse for a city in which they stood.  She just couldn’t leave Vala in there, there had to be a way, what if they were.... No, she wasn’t leaving, she refused. Reaching into the very tight pockets of the uniform, Adrienne pulled out two small items, glancing up to make sure that Cam was still walking ahead, deftly ducking into an alley. 

“She did what?!?!” Daniel was screaming when Cameron beamed back up the the Daedalus, his heart races, his mind in a million directions. 

“She ditched the suit and disappeared.  You know Addy, when she’s made up her mind, well, she’s made up her mind,”  Cameron responded, feeling bad for letting Adrienne out of his sights.  By the time he had realized that she was gone, she had already taken off the Kull suit, folding it neatly onto a trash bin he assumed in the hopes that he would find it, and was gone, vanished just as Vala had. He had no idea what she had up her sleeve, or if she had anything up her sleeve, save for the fact that would be kidnappers generally don’t leave things behind neatly folded. 

“Did she take her signal, anything?” Daniel asked, his nerves getting the best of him, so much so he thought he felt his hand shaking. Adrienne had never been in a situation like this; would she have any idea what to do? 

“No,” Cameron responded, showing Daniel Adrienne’s personal call sign, a defeated look on his face. He let out a sigh, passing it over to Daniel, as if relinquishing the item itself was passing the problem over.  

“I hope she knows what she is doing and not just trying to act out something she saw in a movie,” Daniel said, taking the small black box and flopping himself down into the spare chair on the bridge, his brow furrowed as he stared out to the screen, the cruel redness of the planet paining his eyes.   

Adrienne tucked her tank top into her sports bra, trying to make her athletic gear look as sexy as possible. She knew the running shorts might do the trick being that they were skin tight and Daniel continuously harassed her about them, but her sports bra and tank top where what worried her.  Would they look too much like what you wear under you uniform since that is essentially what they were?  Scanning the loud market that she cut through on the way back to the towers, she saw a thin linen robe hanging on the corner of a stall and stole it quickly and stealthy, wrapping it around her body.  

“That should do the trick,” she said to herself, hoping that was true and she wasn’t just trying to convince herself. The crowd thinned and the buildings in the distance were no longer the tall spires she had spotted from the alley way; the goliaths stood in from of her, the same guards were standing there from before, large and even more imposing without Cam there in case this went wrong, their pitch black eyes glaring at her suspiciously.  

“Hey handsome,” Adrienne said, literally doing her impression of Vala that she did with Daniel in jest. Adrienne sucked at sexy; she was much more of a direct kind of girl, not that anyone on base would know that, so she worried as she walked with a sashay in her hips she only ever did sarcastically.  The guard did not respond.  

“I’m here to see the man in charge,” she said, trying to add more seduction to her voice, panicking slightly at the man’s lack of interest. 

“No one gets in until tomorrow,” the guard repeated, eyes forward, not even a peek in her half-dressed direction.  Damn big cajun hips, Adrienne thought, changing her strategy and focus. 

“My boss said to tell you that I am a gift for certain advanced considerations,”  Adrienne leaned forward, hoping that would get a reaction. Come one little ladies, she chanted internally, don’t fail me now. For a brief instant she thought that hadn’t worked either when the guard to the left turned to look at her, examining her from head to toe.  

“Who is your boss?” he asked, although not as gruff this time.  Yes, Adrienne thought excitedly, this is working, I actually can pull off seductive. 

“I can’t tell you, only the man in charge,” she insisted, licked her lips slowly, working now off of movie knowledge and not life experience, praying to any god she knew that this would not blow up in her face. Nodding, the larger guard looked over at his friend, his angled at Adrienne.   

“I’ll take her in,” he winked and without warning grabbed Adrienne forcefully by the arm, yanking her over to the door. I bet you will you sick bastard, she thought, holding back her training and her desire to clock the big lug in the head, she needed to get into that building and she needed to find Vala. The large, grotesque alien opened the doors and shoved her ahead of him, looking back at his friend, head bobbing again, and Adrienne could only image the grotesque expression contained underneath of his mask.  Stumbling, dramatically and falsely, to buy time in order to get a lookout of her surroundings, Adrienne fell to the floor, doing what she did best, scanning and memorizing. 

They were in a large lobby that had the building been on Earth might have easily been mistaken for a hotel. There was as central fountain and Adrienne could see across the room and to the upper left what looked like an auditorium, rows and rows of reddish stadium like seats, that while plentiful were in a state of disrepair. That must be where the auction is held, she noted, seeing risers on the stage that appeared as if they may be there to display people, women, women for sale. There was a sharp pain in her ankle, and she looked back at the guard who was actually pulling her by her ankles to him, reaching down once she was close and dragging her to her feet.  His thumb pressed painfully into her bicep, that was gonna bruise, he escorted her past the fountain to the other side of the room where Adrienne could hear screams, female screams. Lots of female screams, making her skin crawl and her stomach turn.  What had she gotten herself into? Approaching the door, the guard leaned forward, the optical scanner recognizing the cold piece of obsidian shoved into his face. The door opened automatically, swinging into the room, Adrienne quickly shoved in behind it. 

This wasn’t where the slaves were kept, she quickly ascertained as her face slammed onto a cold stone floor, but they were close.  She could hear their cries from here, loud, clear and heart-breaking. Looking around before she was ripped to her feet again, she saw that they were in an office of sorts, dingy and unkempt, the back wall a sheet of glass displaying in the distance a factory like floor filled with rows and rows of crumbling and rusty cages, all holding women.  Slave women, the woman that were going to be sold into whatever horrors awaited them in just mere hours.  Adrienne grew sick, her nerves causing her to begin to lose the meager lunch of saltines and carrots she had eaten hours before, choking on her on vomit as the guard whirled her around slamming her into a table, holding her with one hand while undoing his pants with another. 

“I get to inspect all gifts before the boss,” he informed her, ripping off his mask to reveal a misshapen face, olive green as the rest of what she was able to see, a large crooked nose, obviously having been broken a number of times hovering over thick brown lips, slimly with some kind of moisture that Adrienne didn’t care to identify.  Repulsed, Adrienne stuck to the plan, leaning back submissively, keeping her eyes where they needed to go.  She felt his huge fingers grab at her shorts and flinched, just for a second, letting him move one step closer kneeing him powerfully in the groin.  Falling back, moaning and holding his crotch, Adrienne jumped on him, pressing her forearm tightly into his throat, her elbow pressed firmly into his windpipe. He clawed and gasped for air, but between the ache in his crotch and the lack of air, Adrienne knew she had the advantage and in seconds the man relaxed under her attack.  She stood, adjusting herself and covering her midsection, tossing the linen robe onto the limp, disgusting body at her feet, spitting on him before getting a better look at her surroundings.  In the distance, through the dirty yellowed glass, she could see there was an elevator and a staircase that led to the slave area, seemingly located on the outside of this room. The staircase would be more discreet but the elevator was closer and there was no time for debate. Glancing back once more to make sure she would not be followed, she slipped out of the office and toward her destination.  There were few people in the center area; apparently the guards took their job seriously and no one was going to get into this building prior to the auction, so there was no guards in the common area which Adrienne considered a stroke of luck. Dashing over to the elevator, she slammed her thumb into the only button she saw, hoping that it would open. 

Once she was inside the elevator she panicked, regretting this course of action all over again.  The buttons were not in any language she knew, Daniel would probably have known, but Adrienne was completely clueless, alone with no way to reach him.  What if he came looking for her? What if the guards attacked him, took it out on him, punished him for her actions.  Trying not to think about it, she took a deep breath and pushed the button furthest down, chanting under her breath for it to be the correct direction. A violent shake startled her, but the elevator began to move downward, making Dr. Adrienne Rowan say a silent prayer of thanks to a deity she didn’t believe in.  

When the doors opened, Adrienne was expecting to have to dodge people or make excuses to explain her presence, unchained, uncaged and walking freely on this level but instead, they opened right into a row of cages, holding more women than she had ever seen collected in once place.  A quick scan of the crowd told her that this was a special kind of slave auction, one in which men would be doing most of the bidding, one where the women would be auctioned as they were right now, barely clothed, some totally nude, shivering in the corner in fear. Fighting the illness that was crawling its way up her throat for the second time, Adrienne began to run between the cages, terrified for Vala’s safety, searching in desperation for her friend. As she sped past, the women noticed her, some just weakly peering up, their eyes sad, void of hope, while others began to reach out and beg for help in dry strained voices. She shushed them the best she could, fearful of having too much attention drawn to her, but they just wouldn’t quiet, so she ran faster through the rows, the ruckus getting louder, making Adrienne more nervous, her heart racing in her chest, looking all around her for the inevitable attack that was to come when she saw her.  Slumped in a rusty cage wedged in between a smaller cage holding two sickly blue women was Vala, laying in a sports bra and ripped BDU pants, seemingly unconscious.  

“Dammit,” Adrienne cursed, “ I can’t carry you out of here!!” she hissed, thankful it looked as if her friend was mostly unscathed and rushed over to the cage.  Falling to her knees, she reached for Vala hair, pulling it harder than she would have ever pulled, fear taking over her good sense. 

“Vala!!” she hissed, “Vala dammit wake up!! It’s me; it’s Addy!! Wake up. Please.” Vala stirred for a bit, pulling slowly from her grasp, looking up at her.  

“Addy?” she appeared confused, not good Adrienne was thinking, worrying she had been drugged or otherwise altered, “How did they capture you too, weren’t you with Daniel?” 

“I haven’t been captured, I’m here to rescue you,” Adrienne answered and stood looking for a lock, hoping that Vala would snap out of whatever daze she was in. 

“You, rescue me?” Vala look unconvinced.  

“Yes me.  Does it require a man for your rescue to be satisfactory?” Adrienne asked, crossing her arms daring Vala to question her, a half a smile on her face.

“No, it’s just, nevermind.  Where are the others?” Vala continued.  

“Got a little stonewalled so I had to improvise, now back up,” Adrienne ordered.  She knew that this wasn’t going to be easy to open, but she had brought something that should work, one of the two items she had taken from the Kull suit as she had frantically stripped in the alley.  Pulling it out of her bra, she smiled brightly, shaking it in front of her. Vala’s eyes widened.  

“A focus grenade?!” Vala asked rhetorically. Not replying, Adrienne smiled and winked, lifting the lock, trying to slip the bomb into place.  

“You have a focus grenade hidden in your bra?  Addy, I’ve underestimated you!!” Vala declared gleefully and backed up, whatever drugs were in her system washed away by this new development. Adrienne smiled and stuffed the bomb the last bit in, giving Vala the verbal cue to back up. 

“3...2...1” there was a light flash and a pop and Adrienne saw Vala’s door swing open, freeing her friend, who dashed out, grabbing Adrienne's arm, and leading her deeper into the maze of cells.  Confused, Adrienne stopped and pulled, trying to get Vala’s attention, glancing back over her shoulder at the elevator from whence she came. Vala paused and let go, allowing Adrienne to rub her wrist which had been yanked for forcefully, throwing up her hands in frustration. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“Where are we going, the exit is that way,” Adrienne pointed back to the staircase she had preferred to take earlier.  Vala shook her head.  

“Addy, do you know what kind of auction this is?” Vala asked and knowing the answer, Adrienne put her head down, avoiding eye contact with her admission.  

“Yeah,” she admitted.  

“We need to let these women go,”  Vala stated. Taking a breath before she spoke, Adrienne glanced up at her friend slowly and sorrowfully. 

“Look Vala, I want to help them too, it’s making me sick even being in this room thinking about it, but in case you didn’t notice, it is just you and me right now, and we are a bit short on weapons and clothing,” Adrienne explained.  Looking them up and down, Vala tried to think, knowing Adrienne was right. She looked back down the passage way, her expression changing and started to run faster than before, through the cages of screaming captives. Adrienne hesitated, not having any idea what her colleague had up her sleeve, but figured she owed her and needed to trust her right now so she followed, looking behind her every so often as she ran as the pleaded women, some of whom were now beating on the sides of their cages. They reached a wall at the back of the large room, a red door cut into the wall that Adrienne was just not noticing.  a

“What else you got shoved in there?” Vala said, turning around and pointing at Adrienne’s chest.  Shrugging, Adrienne reached in and pulled out a small pocket knife, twirling it in her fingers.  

“Not a staff weapon if that was what you were hoping for,” Adrienne answered, handing the small thing over. Vala took the blade, looking it over carefully, nodding as she did. 

“It’ll do.  Remind me to teach you how to pick a lock, a real lock, if you’re going all sneaky on me,”  Vala smiled at her and started with the lock.  Adrienne cursed herself for not bringing her radio, she felt the need to call Daniel, to find out if he was alright, to make sure he hadn’t followed her here. 

“How long?” Daniel demanded.  

“Dude, chill, it’s only been four hours.  I think the fact that no one’s coming to blast us out of the sky is a clear indicator she might actually have everything under control,” Cameron lied.  He was just as worried about Adrienne as Daniel was, but he wasn’t about to show it; at least one of them needed to keep their head straight and in about 15 more minutes that one was not going to be Daniel.  Adrienne was like his evil twin, and Cam knew he would be devastated to lose her, despite any insistence otherwise.   

“Adrienne tries too hard; she tries to hard to act like she’s been with us and doing this for years.  If it was Vala down there, going after Adrienne, I wouldn’t be so worried.  But Adrienne,” Daniel shook his head, still standing looking at the output screen on the main bridge, his heart in utter turmoil, as Teal’c entered, walking right up to where Daniel and Cameron were standing, his wise eyes scanning the screen as well. 

“Do not worry about AdrienneRowan.  She is strong and smart.  She would have made a great Jaffa,” Teal’c smiled.  Daniel looked at him and shook his head, thinking to himself how much about Adrienne Teal’c really didn’t know, how much that Daniel still felt that he didn’t know, when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a large flash on the screen. Looking over and saw what appeared to be a large scale explosion erupting on the planet’s surface and his heart stopped.  He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry ot, but before he could say a word Captain Carval was calling his attention to the screen again. 

“Sir, we have a ship hailing us,” he said.  Daniel peered ahead, trying to figure out if they needed to raise the shield preparing for an attack when Cam spoke.  

“Open the damn channel,” Cameron ordered as every member of SG-1 stared at the communicator, hoping for a miracle. 

“Hey Indy!” it was Adrienne’s voice over the loudspeaker.  Daniel almost collapsed with relief, she wasn’t down there, she had done it.  

“Adrienne!!!” Daniel shouted incredulously, “how in the hell?”

“Thank you Daniel, it’s good to know that I’ve been missed.  I love you too!” Vala snickered.  Daniel let out a breath; it was both of them, alive and unharmed.  She did it, she really did it. 

“You there Indy? I have an overwhelming urge to give you a stern lecture on the role of women in a free society, but it is kinda hard to educate you and take Vala’s orders on how to work this damn thing so can you just open the hatch and let us in,” Adrienne stated, happily, he could almost see that brilliant smile on her face. He turned to comply but Cam was already at the control panel opening the hatch.  Daniel didn’t even wait for the confirmation of landing, he didn’t even say a word to the others, instead he tore off, running full force toward the landing bay. 

“So, there’s Addy, kneeling at my cage, just damn lucky the sedative wore off and she starts pulling focus grenades out of her bra!!!” Vala was roaring at the dinner table as Adrienne got red in the face in embarrassment at her telling of the story, part of her still not believing that she had indeed shoved explosives into her undergarments. Cam slapped her on the back hard, trying not to choke on his dinner as Teal’c was shook his head, apparently as surprised at her actions as she was. 

“Addy, our Addy, shoving bomb in her brassiere.  What have we done to her?” Cam said choking on his food again, this time Adrienne leaning over to slam him on the back.  He nodded appreciatively, regaining his composure, reaching to chug down a glass of water. 

“I have no idea.  All of this time I thought that Daniel was rubbing boring off on her, but apparently she’s a tricky little minx. She must have taken out five guards herself and when we got to the lock control panels for the cells, she was ripping out the wires like a crazy woman!” Vala continued while Adrienne just sat there, her face continuing to flush. Taking out those guards, ripping up the control room, ushering those women out and rigging the generator to make the place blow, that was not bravery, that was fear, sheer fear of what would happen to those women, to Vala, or to herself were she caught. But let Vala think Adrienne was trying to save the day; maybe it would make up for their previous disagreements, for the weird tension that had begun to build between them. Tension that Adrienne had been trying to figure out, where had it come from and the only explanation she could come up with was Daniel, that Vala thought something was really going on between her and DAniel.  Stupid thought, but Adrienne didn’t feel like trying to have that conversation with her now or any time soon, and now reminded of Daniel, stood to leave, noting his absence at the meal.   

“Girl, where are you going?” Cameron asked.  

“Time’s up playing superhero,” Adrienne stated, “back to boring computer geek for me.”  Cam nodded, noting as well that Daniel had not come to dinner and as the hired thug for his childish behavior, Adrienne would have to go see what was wrong.  She deals with him much better than I would, Cameron thought to himself, much better.  Vala just made a face.  

“You keep your hands off my man,” Vala teased.  Adrienne smiled and leaned over Cam, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing their faces together. 

“You can have the grumpy dork.  I’ve got my sights set elsewhere,” Adrienne played right back with a smile, kissing Cameron lightly on the cheek.  He flushed red himself and began to laugh as Adrienne waltzed, doing her best Vala impression, out of the cafeteria.  Changing her step as soon as she reached the hallway, she walked down the corridor to on base quarters and knocked lightly at his door.  

“It’s not locked,” she heard from the other side, turning the knob and entering and there he was, not moping, just sitting in front of a portable monitor and working away, like nothing had ever happened. She smiled, thinking all was back to normal, and walked over to the desk, standing behind him.  

“Hey Indy, you good?” she asked, peering over his shoulder.  

“Yeah, just going over something from the temple.  I plan on heading back once we’re all home safe,” he replied, out of it completely, seeming intent on what he was doing.  Not satisfied by his answer, Adrienne reached over and pulled his face to look at hers.  

“Why aren’t you in with the rest of us?” she asked, wanting to say, you look like you are throwing a tantrum because this didn’t go as planned, but she didn’t. After this episode, she had learned that she needed to stop making assumptions about everyone, no matter how much she thought she knew them. 

“Just Vala rehashing your insanity, that’s all,” Daniel finally looked up at her with slight annoyance, a menacing frown on his face. 

“Fine,” Adrienne just sighed out, “let’s get started.  Daniel I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I sent Vala away and did so by making a joke about you and I sleeping together.  I’m sorry that she was kidnapped and I thought that it was a prank. I’m sorry I doubted her and that she annoys me with her constant sexual advances toward you which always seem to come when we are trying to work on something important.  I’m so sorry.  Did I forget anything?” she finished, crossing her arms in front of her chest, but he didn’t respond, just turned the chair and laughed.  

“Now who’s being dramatic?” he asked.  

“Go to hell Indy,” she replied.  

“That’s the Ad I know.  Stop apologizing.  I’m not mad at you.  I was just worried about losing a friend which quickly turned into worried about losing two friends.  I worry. I care.  I have my own way of dealing with it.  Happy?” he asked.  

“Whatever,” Adrienne answered, smiling, walking over to his bed, sitting down, relieved that he wasn’t mad. After everything, she just couldn’t handle him being angry with her.  Hearing the plop behind him, he looked back over to her, the smile quickly vanished from his face. 

“Adrienne, don’t do that again,” he said plainly to her.  Pulling up her legs to cross them, yoga style like she did, and picking her fingernails nervously she looked up at him, her bewitching eyes casting her spell on him, his stomach fluttering, his nerves a disaster.  She’s fine Daniel, he told himself, she’s right here. What is going on with you? 

“Daniel, I’m part of the team now. Aren’t we supposed to do just what I did? Go after each other.  Free oppressed peoples.  Fight for justice, blah blah blah,” she tried to kid, lighten the moment, but it didn’t work, he just made a face at her.  

“Promise me that you will at least radio me, or something first before you do anything like that again.  Ok?” he asked.  Adrienne looked at him exasperated and annoyed. She thought they had been through this; Adrienne could take care of herself yet as she glared at him the look on his face softened. He cared, he was really worried about her, that same look of worry that she had seen when he realized Vala had been taken, in fact, he looked far worse, his face flushed, his bright blue eyes sad. Touched, Adrienne clasped her hands, smiling over at him. 

“Ok, I promise.  I won’t do anything stupid, without at least informing you that I am going to do something stupid, ok?” she said, standing from the bed and heading over to the door.  Daniel thought she was leaving and went to say goodbye, but paused when he saw her get to the door and close it tightly engaging the lock.  Smiling, she sauntered over to the bed, removing her combat boots and laid down backwards, putting her feet on the headboard. pushing it rhythmically.  His face reddening, he started laughing at her, putting down his journal and turning from the computer to watch her little plan unfold.  

“Seriously?” he asked as Adrienne laughed but kept pushing her feet against the wall.  

“I swear, if it wasn’t so easy, I just wouldn’t have the temptation,” Adrienne answered,  as they could both hear Vala shouting in the hallway.