Daniel & Adrienne #31: The Northern Dune Sea

“Oh, just let him take Dr. Perky.  It’s the Unas for crying out loud, we don’t need to send a entire damn brigade,” Jack rolled his eyes at the last order of business from the meeting agenda. He had been in here for three hours discussing stupid things that the IOA should really be letting Sam deal with and had finally gotten down to the most pointless item on the list, checking in on P3X-888.  The Unas had agreed to mine on both their home world and P3X-403 in exchange for protection and supplies from Earth and Chaka was the liaison between all three worlds.  Jack thought he was doing a pretty bang-up job, however, in true IOA fashion, they wanted to send SG personnel all over the damn galaxy to check in on things that did not need checking. Their rationale, that Anubis would start contacting their allies to make some of his own, now that his first plans of infiltration were foiled, but Jack knew better, he knew that his old pal ‘Nuby would be the last person, ancient, ex Gou’ald asshole Chaka and his folks would ever be paling around with.  Hoping to avoid a complete and total disaster, Jack had suggested sending Daniel since he had a good relationship with the Unas and wouldn’t stick his nose into anything. He would go, spend the recommended three days and come back, make Dr. Perky write up one of those pretty little reports like she did complete with those glittery tacky graphics. She was really good at that, to be honest, she was good at a lot of things and he was starting to see why Daniel liked her so much because for as different and wild she was, she got the job done and shut these assholes up. That he could appreciate.   

“That would be two archaeological staff members on one mission with no military back-up and we would have to shut down the lab for those three days as well,” Robert Woolsey replied, condescendingly.  Jack threw up his hand, the little punk rocker went with Daniel all of the time now and no one ever thought twice of it, but today, of course, when they would rather send one of their own lackeys, there would be an issue. 

“BDP, that stands for Before Doctor Perky, Daniel danced his geeky little feet all over the galaxy, sometimes alone.  The lab survived and so did he,” Jack paused thinking that wasn’t an entirely accurate statement but continued, “Just send them and it’ll be real cut and dry, I promise.”  Looking over at some of the other officials, foreign men with funny names Jack didn’t care to remember, Woolsey silent sought their approval. Weasel, Jack thought to himself, you don’t even need their approval you just want them to think they matter. Stupid government bullshit.   

“Fine General, I suppose there is no harm just sending the two of them for such a short mission, perhaps with Dr. Jackson’s expertise he can expedite the process. I will prepare the necessary materials and see that they are sent to Dr. Rowan’s inbox,” Woolsey relented.  See, Jack thought as he remained seated, the IOA officials, leaving, still complaining in various languages about things that were of no real importance, this is why nothing gets done.  Room cleared, Jack stood, happy to at least have gotten his way on one agenda item. Daniel couldn’t say he didn’t look out for him.

“Pack up Danny boy, you and your girlfriend ship out at 1300 hours!” Jack announced as he entered the lab.  Daniel was leaning against the center table staring at some images being projected on the whiteboard while Adrienne was over at the file cabinet, headphones over her ears and dancing as she filed.  Rolling his eyes at the greeting, Daniel held on finger up behind his head, marking his place in the photos and turned to look at Jack.  

“Where and she’s not my girlfriend,” he said, writing something down as he spoke.  Shaking his head, Jack walked over to Adrienne yanking the headphones off of her ears.  She jumped a bit, pulling back to punch him but the moment she saw who it was, she retracted her hand, blushing.  

“Sorry General, you caught me off guard,” she apologized, only having cocked back due to the forceful nature in which her music had been interrupted.   

“No worries Rowan, I’d prefer that be your reaction when startled than screaming like a little girl,” Jack replied, glad that Dr. Perky hadn’t taken a swing at him, glancing back over to Daniel. 

“P3X-888,” he said and Daniel made a face.  

“Why? Is there something wrong?” he asked, putting down the folder and looking concerned. Jack figured he must be worried about Chaka, as Daniel was practically part of the tribe, so he quickly shook his head no, hoping his look of sheer disgust would convey that same.   

“No, just IOA bullshit.  They need the camp to be observed, make sure that the Unas haven't sold their souls to your good old ascended buddy, and get some stupid reports filled out. I wanted to avoid drama and idiocy, so I volunteered you and Dr. Perky here. Consider it a romantic getaway,” Jack joked.  He passed over the folder to Daniel and looked behind him where he could see Adrienne pulling her headphones off and going to tuck her iPod into her backpack.  Without comment, Daniel opened the file and read through, making a groaning noise as he did peering up at Jack over his glasses. 

“Really? Output reports? Working conditions? Analysis of environmental impact? Jack you want to send me?! And Adrienne?!” Jack couldn’t tell if Daniel was annoyed or concerned about getting the task set in front of him, it was a pretty damn long list not even counting the snoop around in case Anubis is hanging out part of the report. Jack put his hand on his shoulder quickly, shaking it playfully before turning to leave.  Daniel wasn’t going to get out of this one, last thing Jack needed was for Woolsey to turn a good thing with the Unas into a goddamn three ringed circus. 

“Look Daniel, I only trust a few people with BS.  You are one of those people.  They wanted you to take a second person and I know that Dr. Perky is your BS person, so there you go,” he shouted behind him as he waltzed through the door. Glaring as Jack as he left, waving his hand in the air over his head, Daniel walked the folder over to Adrienne, presenting to her their latest prize.  

“You’re not going to get to run today,” he apologized and Adrienne just shrugged. Leaning over, Daniel tried to read her face to see if he needed to stall any further than the departure time of 1300 Jack had so deftly posted on the top of the folder. Adrienne had been so distant lately, less herself and more withdrawn and while he understood why he also knew that he needed to make sure that she was taking care of herself and running was doing just that.  

“I’ll take shoes and improvise; this is gonna be a no brainer, right?”  Adrienne replied, not one hint of disappointment in her voice. Relieved, Daniel nodded.  

“Yeah and you finally get to meet the Unas.  They’re fascinating people,” Daniel continued, rushing back over to his desk to back, since he would rather go, get this finished and get back to the task at hand, going through a set of MALP photos with some very familiar technology.  Following his lead, Adrienne quietly skipped over to her desk, feigning excitement over meeting her boss’s dear friends, and packed up her own things, promising Daniel as he left the lab to swing by Jack’s office she would be at the gate room no later than 1255.

At 1250 Daniel was knocking on Adrienne’s door.  

“Just a second!!” she shouted from the other side, a just a second that Daniel knew meant she had no intention of walking through that door at a reasonable hour. 

“No Ad, we’re leaving on time...” Daniel shouted back, coding himself into her room.  He opened the door to Adrienne standing in front of a mirror putting on make-up. Why in the hell was she putting on make-up? True she wore it, but not a lot, barely any to justify the expense of purchasing it. What was going on with her?

“One more sec Indy,” she said curtly. Daniel wasn’t sure whether to laugh, tease or scold, but he sure as hell was going to get her moving. 

“Adrienne, what are you doing?” he asked, carefully, out of confusion more than anything. 

“I’m making a good first impression, this is your tribe, isn’t it? Aren’t you one of them?” she replied, the best excuse she could come up with twenty minutes ago when she realized that she was going to be early to the gate room for once and needed a distraction. Daniel, however, didn’t seem to care about first impressions, yanking the black plastic casing from her hand. 

“Come on, you look fine. You do realize that you’re being ridiculous, right?” he said, screwing the make-up tube back together and handing it over.  Rolling her eyes, she slammed the cylinder onto her dresser peeking over at him. 

“You forget I’m now lumped in with Sam and Vala as the ladies of the SGC.  The gods gave me big cajun hips so I need to make up for it in other areas,” she countered, as playfully as she could, playing normal. Daniel just shook his head at her latest ridiculousness, trying not to stare.  He had caught himself doing that lately, noticing her features, her figure, her beauty, the things you only really noticed about a person when you loved. Standing here, her long eyelashes carefully painted, it was the effort of her actions that make her even more breathtaking to him right now and he fought the urge to shut the door and just press himself again her, kissing her with abandon. Sometimes, it was harder to refrain than others, and now was one of those time. Feigning a cough, he stepped away quickly. 

“Well, can we get those cajun hips moving in the direction of the gate please,” he requested, turning to grab her back pack and staff weapon and leave without her.  Pausing at the door jam, she watched him walk away, her insides in pieces, before forcing one foot in front of the other. 

The gate room was bustling, a steady stream of teams coming and going, so Adrienne and Daniel just sat back and waited their turn, Daniel using the time to flip through the notes that Adrienne had printed out for him before they left. Adrienne didn’t mind just sitting there relaxing, a tiny part of her slightly nervous about meeting Daniel’s friends, but more than that, because he knew. She had told him, told him what had happened to her, told him what no one else in the world knew, except for her father, who had been there, but he was gone, and nothing of that night remained but her fear. 

The police had come, her father insisted on that much, but she showered, and came out claiming she was merely pistol whipped and needed the cold water to ease her swelling. The younger cop bought the excuse, but the look in the touching gray eyes of his older partner told another story. He knew, and more than anything that shamed her, but other than a gentle touch on her shoulder, one that took every ounce of strength she had left in her not to shrug away from, he didn’t push the issue and left, a police report in hand for breaking and entering with simple assault. They hadn’t even had anything good to steal. 

Things had been different since he had told him. That night she cried in his arms, soaking his shirt she knew, cried so hard that she fell asleep with the tackiness of saline covering her cheeks. When she awoke, it having not been that late in the evening when he came to check on her, it was sometime in the middle of the night and there he was, still laying there, holding her so tightly and so close. It had taken quite the contortionist act to escape from his grasp without waking him, and she sat on the bed for a long time staring at him, his sharp jawlines and cheeks, his full lips, slightly pouted as he breathed softly through his mouth, most likely a result of having allergies all of his life. Fighting the urge to wake him, to reach out and touch him, to tell him that she had heard the words she thought she had wanted to hear, she choked back more tears and stood, fleeing from the room. 

He did. There was no question. And there was no other option. She had been avoiding him ever since. 

“Earth to Adrienne,” Daniel stood glaring right at her, waving in front of her, a semi-sarcastic look on his face, “Are you coming, or are you still afraid of the Gamorrean guard?” 

“The what?” she asked, confused, turning her head, grimacing.  

“Ad, are you ok? Gamorrean guard? Star Wars? Jabba’s Palace? Since when don’t you get a Star Wars reference?” he asked, concerned. 

Since I figured out why you look them up, but she didn’t say that, she just waved her hand in front of her face, shaking her head. 

“No Indy, I’m good, I just didn’t sleep well,” she replied, standing to adjust her pack and head for their shimmering exit. She was two steps away when she felt a gentle grasp at her bicep, making her turn her head slowly and gaze over her shoulder. 

“Ad, I can tell Sam something came up, or you can stay here and I’ll get someone else to go with me, just tell me....” Daniel started, but stopped himself as he gazed into her eyes, her warning eyes. They said stop; they said let go, so he did just that. 

“I’m good, let’s go,” she hissed, pulling away and stepping into the event horizon. 

Much to her surprise, P3X-888 looked just like a forest Earth, or Endor since Daniel was all about the Star Wars jokes today, the wormhole depositing them in a field that looked like it had been cleared for the gate itself.  In the slight distance there were large evergreen trees as far as the eye could see, except for the clearing peering between the emerald peaks, a clearing most likely leading to Chaka’s village and the mining colony. The gate was positioned in the center of the field and Adrienne could still see remnants where Daniel had excavated years before to her left, the twine and stakes gone but the careful checkerboard pattern of his dig sites tattooed into the earth. 

“That where you found those matriarchal fossils?” Adrienne asked, tapping his shoulder to point over to the area that matched some of the thousands of photos Adrienne had looked at during her time at the SGC. 

“Yea, this is where Rothman began to name samples after Elizabeth Taylor roles,” he replied, trying to kid lightly, but Adrienne just smiled.  

“All of Aunt Barbara’s barn cats are named after the Olympians because of me. Rothman sounds like my kind of guy,” she answered, trying to play it natural. It must have worked because he grinned at her comment, placing his hand onto her back to lead her down the ramp. 

The village was about a two mile hike from the gate, not very far in comparison to other missions, but long enough for Adrienne to wish she had more things to go over with him. Maybe avoid was the wrong word, she had continued to spend time with him outside of the lab, but just shortened their encounters, making for a very strange two weeks. The first Friday after the attack, invasion, after she decided to tell him what she thought he had the right to know, he had shown up at her apartment all smiles, a container of Chunky Monkey and a bottle of French Red in one hand, some slasher film in the other. It was so sweet, his eyes sparkling with excitement at his plan, even babbling on as soon as she opened the door about the plot line of the movie. She wanted to cry the moment she saw him at her door, wanted to send him away and tell him that they needed to stop, that this would never work, because it wasn’t Daniel that was broken. It was her. 

“Look, they’ve spotted us,” Daniel said, breaking her trance for the second time today, stepping forward and yelling something Adrienne didn’t understand. He was correct, some guards on the outskirts saw them coming and obviously recognized Daniel, saluting him, one of the younger guards, whose job must have been to serve as a runner, dashing back into the village center. She had seen the Unas in pictures, but were it not for the fact that Daniel had assured her they were friendly, she would have been completely terrified, Gamorrean guard they were not, lacking the adorable pudginess of Jabba’s gatekeepers. They were slightly larger than a human male, the guards standing at least 5 inches taller than Daniel, who Adrienne knew was six feet tall himself.  Their green, spiked skin was intimidating and they seemed to glare at her strangely as if they were sizing her up, so she tried retain her composure, resisting the urge to reach for Daniel’s fingers, to reach for him at all, instead she directing to attention to the village, examining the strange structures. Daniel had told her that the Unas typically, lived in caves, but this village had been constructed right around the mining operation.  He explained that the Unas were very adaptable people, much more so than human beings and Adrienne hadn’t believed it until she saw it, that cave dwellers in less than a generation had changed their entire way of life to live above the ground. The village was arranged like an Eastern Iroquois village, long houses made of grass mats, presumably woven from the grasses Adrienne could see out in the distance, arranged in a circular pattern, must like in the eastern United States. It seemed theit water source was situated behind the settlement, as the forest gave way to large meadows bordered by a massive lake. making Adrienne wonder if they had somehow, without ever having made contact with an Iroquois village, managed to master their fishing skills as well, in face, the only thing that didn’t resemble a Powhatan village was the lack of a fence around the barrier, but Adrienne chalked it up to the Unas being the superior inhabitants of the area.  

“Earth to Adrienne,” Daniel was waving his hand in her face, “you went into your zone again.”  Adrienne shook her head. Third time today, she thought, reminding herself that she needed to be more careful about this, hoping he would just blame it on her curiosity. Daniel claimed that every time she went to a new place, whether it be a new world or just new surroundings that she went into some sort of observation zone and he acted like she tuned out completely or something.  Adrienne tried to explain to him that it was just her eidetic memory creating a picture in her mind, but he still picked on her about it.  She just hoped he would think that was what was going on now. Stop it, she cursed herself, you can’t continue to work like this. 

“I was not in a zone,” she replied scrunching her face at him, smiling slightly. That reaction seemed to please him and he returned the favor. 

“Uh, huh, come on, Chaka will be dashing out here soon once he realizes I’ve arrived,” Daniel said, hunkering on.  He was exactly right, Adrienne discovered when she saw the crowd part in front of her and a larger male Unas approach, waving his hand in greeting as if he were human. 

“Daniel!” the large humanoid shouted. Smiling brightly, Daniel approached the giant green beast, reaching out his hand.  

“Chaka!” he shouted back and the two clasped arms as they reached one another, Daniel saying a few things in the Unas language, signaling for Chaka to turn and face Adrienne.  

“Mate!” he shouted warmly and stepped forward toward her, one of the most terrifying things she experienced, visions of b-rate horror movies characters flooding her brain, but she didn’t flinch as the large creature embraced. Mate, she thought as Chaka returned her to the ground, is there anyone that doesn’t think we are together?

“Helper,” Daniel tried to clarify, but Chaka simply turned back to face him, patting him strongly on the back.  

“Pretty helper mate,” Chaka responded as Daniel was shaking his head, Adrienne laughing lightly at his insistence. At least he thinks I’m pretty, she admitted, enjoying watching Daniel squirm for a moment. 

“Not mate Chaka, HEL-PER,” Daniel tried one more time as Chaka nodded, leading them excitedly through the forming crowd toward the village. 

“I didn’t tell him that,” Daniel assured her, his cheeks flushed and his lips pursed. She couldn’t resist, considering everything she should be upset and angry but the childlike exuberance of the Unas just made the entire situation more comical than awkward, and she chuckled, following Daniel and his friend to the village.  

“Have home for Daniel and mate,” Chaka explained pointing ahead toward a cluster of smaller huts situated toward the center inside ring of the fast approaching village,  Daniel had given up on arguing with him, signaling for Adrienne to follow and she did so slowly, forgetting this part of the mission. It was overnight, with Daniel, alone. I can’t do this, she bemoaned, I can’t be here with him like this. She’d have to figure out something, she hadn’t so much as slept under the same roof as him, not counting the SGC of course, and despite her recognition that this was an impossible dream, she couldn’t help but want to sleep in his arms, so close, one last time. Remaining silent, she trudged on as Chaka lead them into the village and to a smaller more circular hut near the largest long house.  Adrienne assumed that was yet another adaptation to their environment since as they ducked inside and entered the hut it seemed to be a guest house of sorts.  There was a center fire, Adrienne screaming inside her head at the images of the two of them wrapped in one another’s arms by the warm flame, and over to the far corner a large bed made of grass mats on an elevated surface.  There were a few other mats scattered around so Adrienne assumed that when other SG teams visited the team leaders took the large mat and the other members slept on the side mats, so, trying to ignore the large bed even more so than the fire, she walked over to the smallest mat furthest from the door. 

“Take the big bed,” she heard a whisper in her ear, his voice, his breath, sending chills down her spine. Why, she thought, why does this perfect, caring, man love me, why does he worry about me? Appreciating the gesture, and wanting to let him know she did,  Adrienne clasped his arm and reached down for her bag, grabbing it once more and walking over to the larger mat created sleeping area, sitting down to unpack her supplies. Daniel tossed his on the one she had claimed before and turned to face Chaka saying a few more things that Adrienne did not understand.  Chaka did a strange bow/nodding thing and left the hut, leaving the two of them alone in their sleeping quarters. 

She was bent over, trying to adjust her sleeping area, when Daniel walked over and sat beside Adrienne, reaching across her and removing her iPad from her backpack.  

“Alright, let’s see what lovely things Jack is going to have us do,” Daniel started to tap around and Adrienne smiled.  He might have said it but he wasn’t trying anything, that was what she needed to remember. That whispered proclamation was meant for a sleeping Adrienne, not one that was still somewhat awake, and the truth of the matter was that he most likely knew what she was just now coming to terms with, the futility of their situation. 

“I’m so proud of you learning how to use this thing,” she said, teasing, deciding to act as normal as possible. Grinning, Daniel looked over at her, tapping the gadget in his hand. 

“What do you say all of the time?” he asked, “When in Rome....” He clicked around on the machine and pulled up the electronic version of the files Jack had brought down, disregarding the pile of print-outs sitting on his mat. Sitting quietly, she watched him fumble around the icons, not totally sure as to what he was doing, reaching over here and there to guide his finger. 

“We are too educated for this shit,” he said to her after he finally had the list opened and enlarged to an appropriate size. Nerves she had experienced all morning subsiding, Adrienne was about to die laughing at his words, unsure if she had ever heard the word shit cross his lips.  

“You swore,”  she joked as Daniel smiled, realizing his words.

“You would too if you saw this list,” he responded and handed it over to her to read.  She was laughing and raising her eyebrows as she scanned the screen, reading it carefully which she had yet to do, her entire focus this morning on the prospect of being alone with him in a place where she could not easily escape. Agreeing with his assessment of the situation, she passed the gadget back.  

“What’s the plan my oh fearless leader?” she asked, reaching her hand over to his thigh, forgetting herself. She had tried to be less tactile with him too, but she was quickly reverting to old habits, best friend habits and before she jerked her hand away realized that this was what she wanted, that she wanted to keep her friend, the one friend in her life that she really could tell anything too. Noticing, apparently, he glanced over at her and smiled, saying nothing and stood and reaching to help her up.  She took his hand gratefully, adjusting her uniform, vowing to act normal. 

“Knock out as much as possible today and get home, I’d rather be back at the lab going over those MALP images.  Grab your radio.  I want you to start with the quantitative data and I will take care of the qualitative and do Jack’s blessed poking around for Anubis.  I’ll radio you once I have gotten to my part on the list and you can work on it and answer me back.  Start with the area of village surrounding the mine and we can go from there.  Don’t worry about exacts, just walk it off with your feet and calculate in your head.  We can do the math back at home,”  Daniel ordered, rattling off the instructions like he did, taking off his jacket but reattaching his tac vest to his black t-shirt.  Gah, she whined internally, why is he so beautiful, but did the same and walked over to her backpack, producing a measuring tape and calculator, holding them up.  

“No, I’ll walk it off, but I can give you exact measurements.  I figured we’d need these,” she replied.  Smiling again, he gave her a thumbs up and head of the hut, intent to tackle the task at hand. 

***** 

It didn’t take Adrienne very long to walk the village off, or measure the average home structure size, the distance between the huts, as well as the various other things that the IOA seemed to care about for reasons she could not understand. Things like this were more her and Daniel’s territory, not the IOA’s, but it was good to be off world working again, it took her mind off of the past two weeks. Absorbing herself in her assignment, she even mentioned to Daniel a few times the similarities with Eastern Woodland tribes but he told her that they should keep that between them, better the IOA only get the very basics so they would continue to leave Chaka and his people alone.  She agreed, but made a note in the personal file of her iPad, hoping to create an excuse to come back and explore later. 

Daniel was sitting on a large rock watching the loading process when Chaka approached him, squatting beside him looking him in the eye, glancing over to the line of alien miners and back at Daniel. 

“What you do Daniel?” Chaka asked curious as Daniel scribbled a note onto his legal pad without looking up.   

“We are making sure everything is good here.  For my leaders,” Daniel answered trying to explain to Chaka in the simplest English possible that everything was ok, that there was nothing to worry about. Thankfully, Chaka nodded. 

“Is good here,” he replied, adjusting his squat to gaze in the same manner as Daniel. Looked down to his list to see the parts of the form he had already filled out, working conditions, impact on the community, Daniel quickly discovered that Chaka was right, it was good here.  

“Chaka has done well,” he responded, looking down at his friend but Chaka shook his head.  

“No, Unas done well,” he smiled in response.  Sign of a good leader, Daniel thought to himself, gives the credit to his people.   He made a note of that on the screen.  

“Daniel?” Chaka spoke again.  

“Yes Chaka,” he answered not looking up, moving down the checklist to the next question.  

“Daniel mate very good,” Chaka said.  Daniel shook his head laughing, realizing that his explanation of assistant when they arrived might not have been sufficient. 

“She’s not my mate Chaka,” he quickly corrected, “she’s my helper.”  Chaka looked up at him confused.  

“Daniel tribe have female helper?” Chaka inquired.  He had seen Sam and for years assumed Sam was Jack’s mate.  In the end, that’s what happened and he had only seen Vala in passing when he came to the SGC, indeed, Daniel for the first time realized the picture of Earth he might have given these people was not the most accurate of portrayals.  

“Yes, we have many female helpers yes,” he clarified, nodding his head and making eye contact so his friend would understand, but Chaka turned his head curious.  

“Female not strong,” Chaka retorted and Daniel laughed at that one, unable to contain his amusement.

“Don’t let Adrienne hear you say that,” he joked. Chaka turned his head, the English too fast for him, and Daniel remembered that he never did tell Chaka Adrienne’s name.  

“Helper is Adrienne.  She is very strong,” Daniel corrected him, stressing the word very, his muscle memory reminding exactly how strong she was. 

“Ahdwain strong?” Chaka tried, failing to say her name correctly. Daniel laughed and tried again, opting for her preferred moniker.

“Call her Addy then.  Yes, she is very strong.  She can beat me,” he admitted to Chaka what he would never tell Adrienne. ever, a verbal confirmation of what they both knew to be true being the ultimate source for harassment.  Chaka, however, was still somewhat confused confused.  

“Strong Addy,” Chaka declared, a slight question in his voice, so Daniel just kept writing.  

“Just call her Addy.  She doesn’t need any more encouragement,” Daniel replied and kept working.  Somewhat understanding the joke, Chaka sat down completely, crossing his legs, watching what Daniel was watching in silence.  Finishing the last sentence he intended to write concerning the mining, he reached for his shoulder, squeezing the button on his radio.  

“How’s it going my young Padawan?” he asked into the radio, hoping she would appreciate his joke. He heard a click and then laughter, making him chuckle lightly himself.

“You keep saying things like that Indy and I’ll be forced to marry you,” she joked back, pausing at her at her tactless comment, trying to cover quickly,  “Unless there’s something else I think I’m about finished.  Just wrote down the last couple of things instead of radioing you; I hope that’s alright?” 

“Just fine,” he responded, secretly delighted to have finally hit the correct Star Wars button, “meet me back at the hut.  I think we can look through everything and double check.  If it looks alright we can dial home in the morning and see if Jack thinks we can head back.”  

“Sounds like a plan. Meet you back there Obi-Wan,” she said playfully and he took the bait.  

“Does that make you Luke or Anakin?” he quickly shot back, hoping to further impress her.  

“Anakin, there’s a dark side to me shug that you haven’t yet met,” she hissed into the radio, ending the communication. 

“Chaka,” he called out to his friend, “we’re finished.”  Chaka stood, looking pleased.  

“We must eat!” he declared but Daniel laughed and shook his head no. 

“No Chaka. Addy and I must work,” he said, trying to take a tone of apology with his voice and Chaka nodded in understanding.  

“Chaka bring food,” he declared and headed off for the village center, presumably to bring them a meal. Daniel smiled and made his way to the tent, hoping Adrienne that would meet him there. 

*******  

“Alright, last item, kilos per hour,” Daniel read from the list.  Adrienne was laying on her stomach beside him and scanned down her legal pad as she reached over to the plate Chaka has brought for them to eat. Adrienne had been thrilled to see that it was an entire plate of fruit, but Daniel was content to chew on a chocolate power bar.

“I sat there about an hour, but just a general guess without running it through the calculation program it looks like 25 an hour.  Pretty damn good I’d say,” Adrienne added.  Daniel agreed and entered in the information into the tablet, not noticing her smile at his improved usage of her favorite tool as she popped a small yellow berry into her mouth.  Daniel tapped a few more things and then passed the iPad back over to her, beaming.

“Finished!” he declared and Adrienne rolled over, shoving the iPad back into her bag.  

“Woo hoo!!” she said flatly, sitting up, “so what now?”  Shrugging, Daniel looked at his watch, mouthing to himself and then back up at her.  

“If you don’t mind walking in the dark we could try to head back to the gate and dial home,” Daniel offered, noting a change in her demeanor.   

“Well, you know how I feel about ghosts...” she said quietly, trying to act terrified, failing miserably and Daniel rolled his eyes.  

“Kidding, Indy, no, I’m good to go.  I would really love to sleep in my own bed if at all possible,” and not with you if at all possible, she added internally. Settled, Daniel stood and grabbed his bag.  

“Alright, pack up, I’ll go find Chaka and we can head out,” he ordered and left the hut.  Adrienne started to pack their things when she heard a low rumble in the distance and lifted her head, curious, trying to listen, but it was quiet, not a sound to be made. Thinking that she was hearing things she continued to pack, when the sound boomed again and there was a flash immediately after.  Annoyed, Adrienne stopped packing.  

“Dammit! A storm, hello uncomfortable sleeping situation,” she said and crawled over to the large bed, reaching into her bag to grab her latest vampire novel when Daniel came dashing into the hut.  

“Up Adrienne, up up!!!” he was shouting.  Adrienne looked over at him confused.  

“Daniel, if you think I’m running two miles in a storm you have really lost your marbles.  It’s ok we can just camp here,”  she answered, thinking to herself that it was not okay, but she was going to have to deal with it but Daniel was shaking his head, grabbing his bag and rushing over to Adrienne dragging her upward by her wrist.  

“No Ad, it’s thunder hail.  I’d forgotten, it’s why the Unas lived underground.  They’re a seasonal storm and cause damaging hail. We need to head for the caves, now” he said, pulling her harder.  She stood, grabbing her things, looking over at him, confused.  

“But what about the huts? What do they do about the huts?” she asked.  

“Chaka says they leave them, they leave everything, we have to run, we have to go now, come on,”  he pulled her more frantically and she stopped arguing, following him as the dashed out of the tent.  

The hail began to fall when they were only fifty feet from their shelter, a large piece slamming into Adrienne’s shoulder, causing her eyes to water at the sudden sting. Daniel must have seen because he reached his arm over to try to protect her but she shoved him away since his concern was only slowing their retreat.  Just as he pulled away a second piece slammed right in front of him, nearly missing his face and Daniel stumbled back, Adrienne catching him the best that she could.  Instead of remaining upright however, they both fell back onto the ground, Daniel almost completely on top of Adrienne and they scrambled to stand, helping one another to their feet when Adrienne was belted in the hip by yet another piece of ice. She grabbed her side this time her face giving away the pain and Daniel reached to pull her up, trying to pick her up in the now muddy slippery mess but she shoved him away again and pointed to the Unas that were making their way to the caves, insisting that they soldier on. Staggering onward just feet ahead Daniel,  Adrienne saw a small Unas stumble, and peeked over her shoulder to shout to Daniel, but noted that he had seen as well, dashing up to meet her and together they each grabbed an arm, lifting the creature to it’s feet and pulling it along between them.  They heard screaming and looked up to see that Chaka was standing at the mouth of the caves, waving his arms wildly.  

“Daniel, Addy!” he was shouting and Daniel and Adrienne helped the Unas between them to their feet entirely, the three making at mad dash to the opening before them, collapsing, out of breath at the mouth of the grotto.  

“Unas village inside,” Chaka said pointing in the direction that Unas they had grabbed was already headed.  His face fully of worry, Daniel looked up at him and put up his hand.  

“Addy’s hurt,” he said, without thinking, reaching for the clasp of Adrienne’s pants but she smacked his hand away.  

“For the love of god Ad let me see your hip. I heard that piece hit you,”  Daniel said emphasizing the word heard and reaching for her buckle once more.  Adrienne winced, obviously in pain moving his hands away and reaching to uncover her hip herself. She unclasped the buckle and unzipped her pants pulling them down to expose her right hip bone.  Reaching into his vest, Daniel grabbed a small flashlight, clicking it on to shine the light at the exposed skin.  There was a large black knot forming right by where Adrienne was resting her thumb and what looked like blood oozing from an unidentified wound.  Adrienne was gritting her teeth in pain and noting that she needed to relax, Daniel reached behind himself for his pack, handing it over to her.  

“Lay back,” he ordered but Adrienne shook her head.  

“Indy, it’s not that bad, let’s get inside,” Adrienne argued wincing as she tried to sit up. 

“We’re fine right here, but your hip is not,” Daniel replied as he made a face at her.  Pushing him away, she tried to sit up a once more and winced again, falling back onto her elbows.  Finally, she just relented and laid back on his pack, uncovering her injured hip once more.  Daniel pulled out some first aid supplies from his vest and crawled over to her, pulling the side flap of her pants down a little further trying to locate the source of the bleed.  She winced again and he saw a small eruption of the skin where the hail must have hit so hard it busted her open, so he grabbed a sterile bit of gauze and a few iodine packets, ripping them open and beginning to dab lightly.  Adrienne gritted her teeth harder between the pain of the open wound Daniel was cleaning and the pressure of him pushing down on the forming bruise, she could feel her head spinning.  He worked as fast as he could, trying not to cause her further pain and when he was satisfied he had done his best, he carefully bandaged it, covering her back up carefully.

“At least it wasn’t on the side with the tattoo,” Daniel smiled as packed his things away.    

“I knew that I’d regret showing you that someday,” she answered playfully, not sure whether to be touched or slightly creeped out that he remembered. 

“Can you walk?” he asked, reaching into another pocket to grab some ibuprofen worried about swelling.  Nodding in the affirmative, she stood, taking the pills from his hand and swallowing them down dry.  She knelt down and went to reach for her pack but Daniel beat her to it, tossing hers over his shoulder with his own.  Adrienne just smiled and took another step, stumbling slightly as she moved forward.  

“I take that step as a no,” Daniel stated and placed her arm onto his shoulder, wrapping his own around her waist.  

“I’m fine,” she argued verbally but relented physically.  

“Sure you are,” he replied, hoisting her up the best he could, leading her through the tunnel where the dim lights of the Unas’ fires were visible ahead.  Ducking through the tight passages that served as the entrance to the hall, they were able to stand again after a short way and saw the group gathered in a large common area around a fire, Chaka having saved them a place close to his own to warm themselves.

“Addy good?” Chaka asked as Daniel carefully helped sit on the mat closet to where they stood. 

“Addy good, small wound,” she assured him, smiling, and satisfied by his response, Chaka looked back at the fire, scanning his people.  

“Chaka?” Daniel leaned over Adrienne to get his attention, “How long does the storm usually last?”   

“Few suns, many suns, stop now,” Chaka replied, shrugging, a mannerism he must have picked up from Daniel. 

“In other words you don’t know,” Daniel clarified, and Adrienne let out a sigh as Daniel glanced over at her. 

“I guess we can just rest here.  If we haven't checked in as scheduled, Jack will dial in and come find us, weather or not.  There’s got to be plenty of food and water since some members of the tribe still live down here,” Daniel explained and too distracted to think otherwise, Adrienne just leaned over onto his shoulder and looked at her watch.  10:00 p.m. Earth time.  Evidently not paying that much attention either, Daniel wrapped his arm around her.  

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” he offered, “I don’t want you moving around with that hip much anyway, at least until we can get Carolyn to look at it.”  

“Not like I have a whole hell of a lot else to do,” she said, sitting up again and grabbing her pack.  She scooted her body closer to Daniel and turned to her side, laying her head onto the backpack.  She felt bad for a moment, sleeping surrounded by displaced Unas, but as she let her eyes scan the room she saw that many of the Unas were doing the same and they looked like they maybe they knew the storm would not be as long as Chaka said it would be.  Hoping that was the case, Adrienne shivered a bit and felt a hand on her leg.  Smiling, she reached up to grab his hand for the comfort of his touch and let herself fall asleep.  

“Addy helper good?” Chaka asked once Adrienne was asleep.  Daniel slowly pulled his hand away from hers, rubbing his hand across her leg lightly and leaned over to made sure she was comfortable before responding to Chaka.  

“Yes, just hurt and tired,” Daniel replied but Chaka turned his head from side to side and smiled.  

“Daniel love Addy helper,” he said and laughed, grinning the best his horned face could. 

“Chaka, Addy is my friend, like Sam, remember?” he clarified. Chaka just laughed some more and looked toward the fire. Daniel could still hear the hail beating on the walls of the caves and he gave up just sitting there and staring at the fire, moving his own pack to make it a pillow and leaning back to rest his head onto it. Peeking over at Adrienne, asleep on her side and breathing lightly, he scooted his body closer to hers, wrapping his arm protectively around her. 

Daniel awoke to loud, violent, crashing sounds all around him and he sat up quickly, whipping his head around frantically, fearing the worst. Chaka and many of the other leading Unas were no where to be seen but glancing beside himself he saw Adrienne was still asleep and leaning into him.  Still holding her close, Daniel bent to whisper in her ear. 

“Ad, wake-up, something’s going on,” he said in a panicked tone hoping not to startle her too badly.  She rolled over and rubbed her eyes, still half asleep and not pulling away from his arm. 

“Did the storm stop?” she asked quietly and Daniel shook his head.  

“I’m not sure, but there was a loud crash and I’m going to check it out. I want you to stay here alright?” he insisted, pulling away slightly, realizing that he was holding her in his arms, so close, too close, and his heart was racing now for two reasons instead of one.

“Sure, but don’t do anything heroic, please,” she pleaded, sitting up and pulling away herself, reluctant to leave his embrace.

“I promise,” he answered, remembering another promise he made to her, pushing himself to analyze the situation and get back to her as soon as possible. 

Daniel knew there was something very wrong when he could barely make it through the corridor for all of the Unas men blocking the way.  Some moved for him kindly, others made a face as he passed, but eventually he was able to make his way to Chaka, who was standing at the mouth of the cave right where Daniel had tended to Adrienne hours before.  However, this time there was no mouth to the cave entrance; in it’s place a large tree had fallen.  Distressed, Chaka peering back at Daniel, all of the Unas stopping to stare at the one human.  

“Too small for Unas. Daniel try?” he asked and Daniel nodded, approaching the tree and looking for a space to squeeze through.  Scanning the fallen timber, he found a small hole underneath the tree and got down on his hands and knees, trying to push his hands through first and fit his body in after.  Pushed harder, Daniel tried to squeeze himself further, but couldn’t get past his shoulders and discouraged, he stood, brushing himself off, turning to face Chaka.  

“Too small for Daniel,” he explained and Chaka pointing back in the direction of the tunnel.  

“Too small for Addy?” he asked.  Daniel thought for a moment.  Adrienne was smaller than him, but she was right about one thing this morning, her big cajun hips.  She wouldn’t make it through either.  

“Too small for Addy,” Daniel declared instantly. Even if she could squeeze through, he didn’t want her very injured hip to be pressed in that fashion anyway. There had to be another way out. Tapping Chaka’s shoulder as he was scanning the crowd looking for someone small enough to fit, Daniel tried to indicate with his hands and his eyes what he was looking for, to no avail. 

“Chaka, Jack will come soon if Daniel and Addy do not go home, if we do not open the gate to call home,” Daniel glanced over, explaining. Since at least half of the tribe lived here in the caves while this might be an inconvenience it was certainly not an emergency, or so Daniel thought, however, the look on Chaka’s face said something different.  

“Daniel little food and water in caves.  Unas eat new food. No food here. No water here,”  Chaka explained.  Daniel let out a sigh; he had forgotten the Unas preferred fresh food and living in an environment where the temperature was always temperate and season changes were really only rainy and dry, they had no need for food storage.  Even in such storms, the males would brave the weather to bring water back to the group or would have stock piled food and water anticipating the season change, but most of the males were working the mines, and working the mines meant not taking care of problems like this, like trees that could trap them inside, well in advance of a situation like this. Chaka was right, there would be nothing here, and Daniel had no way of knowing whether or not Jack would come right at the twelve hour mark past check-in, or just chalk it up to Daniel enjoying his visit with the tribe. He needed a better idea and for that he excused himself to go back to Adrienne and try to brainstorm.  

Adrienne was relieved to see him coming back toward her, worried sick sitting here alone with the women and children. 

“Well?” she asked.  

“Trapped, huge tree blocking the entrance,” he replied, sitting down beside her. 

“Looks like we are camping for a few days.  You get to force me to eat Powerbars.  Yay!” she teased but Daniel gave her a serious look.  

“The Unas eat fresh food.  They have nothing down here, no food, no water,” he began but Adrienne shook her head.  

“Indy, there’s plenty of water. I was looking around when you were gone and there’s a giant body of water about three chambers back,” she assured him.  

“But there isn’t way to clean that water, it’s impossible to boil the amount we need. The Unas won’t even drink it unclean, can’t drink it unclean.  Or go near it.  We need to find a way out.  Can you walk?” he asked and Adrienne nodded, standing, showing him that she was indeed capable of walking as she said she had been doing before.  There was a slight limp so he approached her, but she shooed him away.  

“I’m good, let’s try to find a way out of here,” Adrienne lead the way through the caves she had been exploring.  As she explained to Daniel while they walked she could see nothing but dead ends and small family homes built into the walls; each and every nook and passage was the same until they finally reached the pool Adrienne had described earlier. 

“This is the last one I could find. I mean you’ve been down here before, did we miss anything?” Adrienne asked.  

“No,” Daniel said, “It’s been years but I don’t remember any other way out.” Adrienne just continued staring at the water.  

“Where does this come from?” she asked and Daniel looked around the walls of the cave and back at the pool.  

“It must be feeding from the other side of the wall of something; I don’t see any indication of a water source in here,” Daniel replied.  Screwing her face into that curious gaze that she got, Adrienne knelt at the water’s edge, her eyes darting back and forth along the water’s surface. 

“Then, it’s got to be coming from the other side, right?” she continued, Daniel kneeling beside her, catching on quickly. 

“Yeah, Ad, I know where you are going with this, and the answer is no,”  Daniel got ready to prep his argument, but she had anticipated his words.  

“Alright, I know the Unas are afraid of water and I’m assuming that they do not drink it for what, the same reasons we don’t drink the water in Mexico.  Not dirty enough to kill you but just yucky enough to maybe give you a bug,” she surmised and Daniel let out a sigh.  

“Yes, we tested it extensively before setting up camp here; it won’t kill you but it can give you a nasty stomach virus,” he confirmed and  Adrienne stood, pulling her shirt off and removing her pants.  

“No Adrienne, absolutely not! You are not diving in there to figure out what is on the other side!” Daniel shouted but completely ignoring him, Adrienne knelt to unlace her boots.  

“Do you have a better idea? You said it yourself, Chaka is very concerned and doesn’t think we can wait for Jack.  If there is water here there has to be another side.  At the very least I can see if there is another way out,” she pulled off her combat boots and slipped her pants to her ankles, kicking them off and then ripping off her socks and stood, in her sports bra and underwear.  Remembering her injury, Daniel stepped forward, reaching for her hip and saw that it was black, the same color as her underwear, and that the bruise had spread down her thigh.  Shaking his head, he reached to pull off his shirt.  

“You’re right but let me go, you’re injured,” he said but she grabbed his arm.  

“Indy, I swim way better than you and you know it,” she argued.  Daniel pulled his arm away but she was right, he was in great shape, but health was Adrienne’s area of expertise. She could out swim, out run and out fight him.   

“Go and but come back first, tell me what you find,” he gave in, hoping that the frown of his face conveyed his concern. Nodding, she placed her hand onto his shoulder and turned, diving into the water and he watched her disappear from his sight when he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Chaka entering the small room.  

“Addy go?” Chaka asked and Daniel pointed to the water.  

“Yes, Addy is looking for a way out,” he answered and Chaka peered over the water cautiously.  

“Helper brave,” Chaka declared, impressed at her lack of fear of the water.  

“Among other things,” Daniel said, more to himself and looked back at the water, and waited.  

After what seemed like an eternity Adrienne appeared in the pool one more, Daniel breathing out a sigh of relief and rushing over to her.  

“Anything?” he asked. Adrienne was breathing heavily but nodded.  

“Yeah, I think I could have made it if I didn't have to come back here.  Light ahead, looks like sunrise.  I can get back, go for the gate and get some supplies to cut this mess down,” she said but Daniel shook his head.  

“You think you could have made it? Ad, think and can are two different things completely,” he replied.  Glaring at him, Adrienne put up her hand.  

“Daniel, I can make it.  Really, I can.  The faster you let me go the faster I can get back,” she retorted.   

“Brave Addy go,” Chaka interjected from behind them, earning him a glare from his old friend.  

“See, even Chaka thinks I should go,”  Adrienne pointed at the Unas.  Knowing there was no other alternative he relented; if anyone could make it to the other side and get help, it would be Adrienne. Accepting this course of action, Daniel knelt down closer to the edge of the water.  

“Please be careful, I don’t know what I would do -” he began but Adrienne put her hand over his mouth to shush him.  

“Stop talking like I’m gonna die. I’ve had to rush for help before, remember,” she said, pointing to his side, winking and turned, diving back into the water.  Waiting for the splash to subside, Chaka knelt beside Daniel, peering over at him.  

“Daniel love Addy helper,” he said again.  Daniel looked over at him.  There was no point in denying it, he was pretty sure his face gave him away completely; he did love Adrienne, a love stronger than he had ever felt before. 

“Yes Chaka, I do love her. I love her very much,” he replied in earnest and Chaka put a hand on his shoulder.  

“Addy mate. Chaka right,” he said and made his strange laughing sound.  Daniel just looked out into the water.  

By the time Adrienne got to the other side she felt as if her lungs were going to burst.  Popping up out of the water, she searched around for a familiar sight and thought she saw some grasses in the distance, quickly remembering the field visible from the village. Hopeful, Adrienne hoisted herself out of the water and made her way hurriedly toward the open meadow.  

******

“Sir, you might want to come down here,” Walter’s voice came over the intercom in Jack’s office, interrupting his reading of the sports section. 

“Dammit Walter, I just sat down, I just sat down.  Where’s Sam?” he asked, hoping his wife would step in and deal with whatever this was.  

“She’s still in the Area 51 planning meeting; I can’t get a hold of her,” Walter responded.  

“Give me one good reason Walter, and it better be good,” Jack groaned, slamming the paper onto his desk,  dreading what was going to come out of Walter’s mouth.

“Dr. Rowan is standing in the gate room in her underwear,” Walter replied.  

“For the love of God!” Jack said as he stood from his desk.  

By the time Jack arrived in the gate room Daniel’s little lackey was at least properly covered and being tended to by Cassie Frasier.  Jack walked over to her and put his hands on his hips, wondering what in the hell kind of trouble she and Daniel had managed to get themselves into this time. 

“What now Dr. Perky?” he asked and Adrienne made a face.  

“Seasonal hailstorm sir, a bad one.  Daniel and the Unas are trapped in the cave system without food and water,” she replied.  Disgusted, Jack threw up his hands.  

“And why are you naked?” he asked.  

“Not totally naked sir; I had to swim out to get help.  There’s a pretty big tree at the entrance and we need to hurry.  The storm was early and the Unas had not prepared to take cover,” she responded.  

“Of course you had to swim.  And your hip?” he continued as he leaned behind him to signal the team on standby to approach, watching Cassie patch up a large cut that seemed to be the top of a painfully long bruise. 

“Large piece of hail,” Adrienne responded.  Jack nodded as Cassie spoke up.  

“It’s fine Addy, looks like hell but Daniel did a good job of fixing it up,” she smiled at Adrienne.  

“Of course he did,” Jack said out loud into a conversation that he was not a part of, “Ok people, you are on large tree removal and can somebody please go get my WIFE because only Jackson could screw up something so simple!” Adrienne raised her hand.  

“In our defense General...” Adrienne started but Jack but cut her off.  

“No, no Dr. Rowan. Don’t even try,” Jack began as the gate was dialing, “I thought God broke the mold when he made Daniel.  No, apparently he just waited 15 years and slapped some boobs on it.  You two are a magnet for trouble and one of you, now, is even a literal magnet,” Jack ranted, tapping Adrienne on the spine and watching the wormhole form.  Adrienne turned back to Cassie, looking for some support, to see Sam coming through the gate room.  

“Jack!” she shouted, “What is going on!” 

“Daniel waits until you’re occupied to cause trouble and I’m gonna go fetch him, as usual. You might want to talk to Dr. Naked over there to see what else is going on!” he shouted as he stepped through the worm hole.  

Daniel heard the familiar sound of a saw as he lay at the mouth of the cave and stood quickly, running over to the tree.  

“Adrienne!” he shouted.  

“Yes honey!!” a man’s voice imitating a woman shouted back.  It was Jack and Daniel smiled.  

“Jack!” he shouted, “Is Adrienne alright?” 

“You’re welcome for coming to your rescue old buddy and yes do you think I’d be here with the SG lumberjacks if she wasn’t?” Jack responded.  He had a point.  Daniel turned to Chaka, who had jumped up, so Daniel quickly ordered him and the other Unas to back up.  Chaka began to shout at his people, and seeming to have the situation under control, Daniel went back down to the main area to retrieve their packs.  

*****

“Ok, now, here’s a real simple trip Daniel.  Do you think you and Dr. Perky can handle it without getting into too much trouble?” Jack announced as he strode into the lab, file folder in hand.  This was getting to be a familiar site, Daniel hunched over some nonsense, Adrienne putting things together wearing those headphones and the funny part was was that he was getting kind of used to this and Daniel did have a point.  He and Dr. Perky did seem to get a lot accomplished.  Adrienne was dancing around when he noticed him first.  

“Hey sir, did you need something?” she asked, pulling down her headphones.  Jack decided to ignore that Daniel was ignoring him and walked the file to Adrienne.  

“I have another field trip for my favorite little errand people.  Care to go?” he asked.  Adrienne reached over onto her desk and grabbed a Nerf gun Jack was just now noticing, pointed it, shooting Daniel right in the head.  That got him to look up.  She said something to him in French and Jack just decided this time to refrain from comment, while Daniel laughed and looked up and over at Jack.  

“When do we leave?” he asked.  

“1500,” Jack replied, “See you two love birds then!!” The general didn’t stick around for a response, just slipped out of the lab to let the two of them get packed. 

“So much for Star Wars,” Daniel shrugged, looking up at Adrienne. 

“It’s ok Indy, it’s not like we won’t have other opportunities,” Adrienne responded, relieved that in his ten second visit, Jack had gotten her out of movie night. Avoiding, definitely a bad word, more like altering, that was what she needed, she needed to alter their relationship, so interruptions like these, too busy to reschedule, were just what the doctor ordered. 

“As soon as we get back I promise,” he answered, excusing himself with a wave of his hand and darting out of the lab. 

“Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi's life. So you might say, that we are encouraged to love,” Adrienne quoted under her breath, remembering Anakin’s speech, never really thinking about it much until now. Sniffing in, she pinched her nose and quickly wiped her eyes as she walked over to her locker.  

“Compassion Indy,” she whispered to herself, “we can try compassion.”