Daniel & Adrienne #47 - Risks

Daniel thought the smell that hit him as he entered the front door of her apartment was strange, not in general, but just from Adrienne’s apartment. It smelled like cake, unburned cake, which made it all that much stranger considering Adrienne claimed that she couldn’t cook.  Frowning, he tossed his jacket onto the sofa and followed the smell, his stomach beginning to rumble violently.   

As he turned the corner, there was Adrienne, standing in her kitchen baking cupcakes and shocked just wasn’t strong enough a word to express what he was feeling right now. 

“Adrienne?” he asked, confirming for himself that she was standing there, over a stove, looking like June Cleaver, her worst nightmare. Dropping a pan onto the floor, empty thankfully, Adrienne whipped around quickly glaring at him.  

“Don’t you call anymore?” she asked, looking nervous as if he had caught her doing something inappropriate rather than baking.  

“No, I don’t, I have a key, what are you doing?” he asked, wanted to hear the words come out of her mouth, trying and failing to hide the smile on his face. 

“I’m baking cupcakes for Jack and Sam’s anniversary,” she stated, turning around again quickly like nothing had happened, temporarily ignoring the cooke sheet sitting at her feet. 

“Oh really,” he continued, as he approached the counter, kneeling to pick up the forgotten piece of cookware to set it on the counter beside her puzzled him for more than one reason. First, her own birthday was just a few days ago and she had so quickly moved on to someone else’s celebration. Second, Jack was at area 51, but Daniel just figured that she was doing this for Sam alone, who had seemed bummed out about the entire situation. Thirdly, he thought she couldn’t bake....

“Yes really,” she spat but didn’t look at him, just stepped back, pulled out a pan of cupcakes and switched them for a tray of mix sitting in little cups to her right. Without a word, she set the cooked treats onto the stovetop and returned to stirring in a large bowl.  

“I thought you couldn’t cook. Or bake?” Daniel asked, now confused. Adrienne always joked that she ate raw food because she was so bad at cooking but now, here she was, all decked out in an apron looking like she knew exactly what she was doing.  There was a hesitation as she stirred furiously until she dropped the spoon into the bowl, sighing and turning back around to face him.  

“Promise not to tell?” she asked, looking at him sheepishly.  Tell what, he thought, what grand secret could possibly be behind her ability to make desserts, so he nodded in the affirmative.  

“I can cook alright. And bake. And a lot of other shit I say on base that I can’t do,” Adrienne said, this time lining a new baking tray with little paper cups, very certain as to what she was doing. 

“Ok, so then why are you telling everyone otherwise?” he asked, mystified.  Scowling, Adrienne grabbed a large spoon off of the counter, beginning to spoon the mix into the cups, answering him without eye contact.  

“Because, just, I can do a lot of things ok. A lot. Not because I am perfect, or want to be better than everybody, or whatever you used to say about me. I just can do a lot of things because when I find something that I feel I need to learn how to do, I learn it, make sure I can do it well and then do it.  People don’t like that though; that’s not how you make friends. So, if I have a few things people can tease me about, then it just makes things easier,” she answered, quietly.  Daniel breathed out, taking in her words.  It was typical Adrienne, over analyze anything, as if anyone would care, but she obviously thought they would.  Instead of offering her any sympathy for her silliness, which he knew she would find patronizing,he walked over to the bowl of batter and moved to stick his finger in.  

“You wanna keep that,” Adrienne hissed, grabbing his finger fast as lightening.  He smiled, cursing her black belt reflexes, glancing over at her. She must have been baking all day; she was covered in flour and there was even a spot on her nose, barely visible against her pale skin. It looked so cute, in fact, despite her hatred of anything domestic, she looked absolutely beautiful standing there like this. 

“Trust me, they will be good,”  she said, as if he didn’t believe her, “I’ll even give you one when that group comes out since I have batch one packed away already.”  Smiling softly, dear lord if he kissed her right now would she explode about being made some housewife, she pointed over to some carefully placed cardboard boxes when it occurred to Daniel, the one thing she hadn’t explained away. 

“If you’re planning on hiding that you can bake, how are you going to give Sam cupcakes?” he asked and Adrienne, rolling her eyes, pointed back over to the cardboard boxes. Confused, Daniel walked over to them seeing that they were all stamped “Metro Cupcakes Inc.”  

“Really?”  he asked over his shoulder, unable to believe the lengths that she was going to to keep this ridiculous secret. 

“Yeah, told them it was for my daughter’s class.  They gave me five boxes,” Adrienne smiled and kept baking. Daniel shook his head, deciding to ignore the daughter comment. 

“Ja-wer, you take neurotic to a whole new level,” he said, walking back over to the fridge, opening the door and starting to dig.  

“There’s no junk sha,” she said over her shoulder, switching out more finished cupcakes, knowing that with the smell of one kind of sugar present her dear boyfriend would be seeking out another.  He didn’t reply, however, digging around a moment longer before standing from her fridge with a vitamin water in one hand and a Snickers bar in the other.  She looked at him funny, wondering where it came from as he waved the candy bar at her and smiled.  

“Took your advice; I hid some stuff here,” Daniel smiled and shut the door, Adrienne rolling her eyes.  

“You are way too comfortable here,”  she joked as he finally came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her ear.  Smiling, she leaned back on him, cuddling herself into his gentle embrace. 

“I was waiting for that,” she said, resting the back of her head on his shoulder.  

“You looked busy,” he whispered, squeezing her tighter, “Are you almost finished?” 

“This batch that I’m spooning is my last tray,” she answered, pulling away, reluctantly he could tell, but intent on finishing.  Not wanting to let go himself, Daniel pulled her into his embrace for one quick second, kissing her a second time before releasing her, taking his snack back out into the living room. 

“Can I still have one?” he asked again smiling at the doorway. 

“Go find something to do and let me finish,” Adrienne responded, turning back to her task.  Knowing she’d give in, Daniel didn’t respond, walking to the living room and turn on the TV.

He was much more nervous than he should have been.  It really wasn’t a big deal, not a holiday, no stupid one or two month anniversary like they were teenagers, not her birthday, for that he had gotten her bug detailed, something she had complaining about forever, but it was jewelry and it was his test. He hadn’t planned it that way, it just worked out like that last week when Daniel was with Teal’c helping him select some more appropriate clothing for being seen around Earth.  Teal’c had been spending so much time with the Jaffa council and with his new grandson Sryah’c that his wardrobe was severely out of date.  Not that Teal’c cared that much about fashion, but he did care about standing out, as did the IOA.  Daniel had volunteered to take him to the mall to keep the entire affair low key, especially after Vala volunteered. That would have been anything but low key. 

After they had finished at one large department store, Teal’c set out for the only store that had shoes in his size, a smaller shop located at the far side of the mall. There was a nice sales lady there to help, so Daniel didn’t feel the need to hover, moseying his way slowly toward the food court to get himself a pretzel when he saw it. In a very simple gold and glass display case, right in the front of the jewelry store just two doors down from the shoe shop was the necklace, a blood red ruby in the simple shape of a tear drop.  It looked like a drop of blood and Daniel’s first thought was Adrienne and her obsession with vampires novels, but the second was the stone. It was his birthstone, his birthstone that he would give to her as a symbol to offer his heart to her, forever, before he could really ask. He couldn’t think of a better gift for now, a better way to test and see if she was ready to take the step that he knew in his heart he was ready to do. Decision made, he walked right in and bought it, no questions asked, forgetting the pretzel completely. 

He wasn’t nervous until he got home.  He had just bought her a gift, an expensive gift, not a book, or a dinner, like he had before but a real gift, jewelry.  Jewelry was a serious gift, he knew that standing in the jewelry store but at home, standing in his bedroom with the box in his hand, his heart raced. Adrienne didn’t accept the traditional male/female gender roles that were dictated to her by her Louisiana upbringing, she hated flowers and candy and Valentine’s Day.  Would she hate this too? Would she think he was patronizing her?  Last week he’d shoved the box back into the drawer, making himself obsess over it for days when he made his decision. If she liked it, if she understood he would stop playing around on the internet, call Jack and go to the jewelry store. If she didn’t like it, well, he hadn’t thought that far ahead. 

Now, however, he sat on her sofa, looking at the box in his hand, opening it once more, the blood red stone glistening in the low light sending his heart into overdrive.  He shut it again quickly.  

“Ok, here, you get one, but Indy I swear, if I get up in the middle of the night to find you eating anymore I will kill you.  And you need to keep in mind that I know where you sleep,” she reached behind him on the sofa, passing him a cupcake.  Surprised by her arrival, he quickly slid the box underneath his knee and reached behind, taking the small red dessert.  The lighting in the kitchen had been bad, he thought she was making chocolate, but that was not what was being placed in his hand.

“It’s red velvet.  It’s a girl thing,” she said, reading his mind.  Smiling, her eyes eager for his response, she walked around the sofa, crawling close to him, watching as he peeled back the wrapper and took a bite.  

“Dear God,” he said to her mouth full of cake.

“Chew Indy, then critique,”  Adrienne laughed, biting her lip lightly, clearly satisfied. He swallowed quickly, amazed, peering back at her.  

“You made this? From scratch?” he asked, not believing it himself.  

“Yea” she answered, her face flushing.  

“Then I’m mad at you,” he replied, taking another bite while Adrienne looked at him strangely.  Seeing that she did not get his joke, he couldn’t laugh, the dessert was too good to waste a speck, he swallowed and continued.  

“You cook like this and you have been holding out of me! I’ve been living on Chinese take-out and pizza for years and I have a girlfriend that bakes like this! And you can cook too! I think you owe me, what, a year and a half of back cooking,” he explained, smiling, hoping she would catch on.  

“A year and a half?” she asked, counting in her head how long that they had been seeing one another, six months she thought, was it six months, she never remembered stuff like that. They’d only know each other for close to two years when she caught on, punching his arm.  

“Yes, I demand back cooking from the time you first told me I was alright to hang out with and that was about a year and a half ago,”  he said as he finished the cake, peeking over his glasses carefully, hoping that she didn’t take it the wrong way. Smiling, Adrienne took the wrapper and placed it on the coffee table, leaning over into his arm and cuddling close, turning her body to lay her head on his chest.  She shifted her body once more, wanting to lay in his arms when she felt something hard poking the underside of her thigh. 

“Ow, I must have left a book on here,” Adrienne said as she reached under herself and pulled out not a book, but the box, holding it in her hand confused. Daniel’s heart stopped as Adrienne turned the long black rectangle over and over in her hand, a smirk across her face as she handed him the box.  

“Did you lose something?” she asked, smiling slightly and Daniel shook his head, taking a breath before he spoke. 

“I was waiting until I had something nice and romantic to say, but I’m at a loss.  Open it; it’s for you,” he said instead, knowing that with Adrienne it was best that he keep it simple and direct, that and he really hadn’t been planning anything. Her eyes bright with excitement, warming his heart, she was excited, she was really excited, she held the box carefully in one hand opening it slowly with the other. 

“Wow,” she breathed out, holding the open box in her hand all the while Daniel sitting in suspense trying to gauge her response.  

‘Why? You did the car and the dinner last week?” she asked, shocked, speechless as she looked at him, but he laughed, her reaction assuring him, telling him that this was alright. 

“Do I need a reason? I just saw it and thought of you.  It reminded me of.... Eric,” he teased, not wanting to give away his true intention, just yet anyway, and thankfully, Adrienne began to laugh.  

“It does look like a drop of blond doesn’t it?”she agreed, reaching to take it out of the box but Daniel pushed her hands away, grabbing the chain and undoing the clasp, placing it tenderly on her neck. She touched it lightly as it reached her collarbone, her deep chocolate eyes gazing up slowly to meet his. 

“But, it’s not just the vampire thing.  It’s a ruby, a real ruby.  My birthstone, but you probably already know that.  I wanted to give you something to make you always think of me like I always think of you,” he finished quietly. He hadn’t prepared that speech and he wasn’t sure what she would say when she sat up quickly, throwing her arms around him.  

“I love you Daniel.  So very much. And I love it, it’s just perfect,”  she said in his ear, kissing him slowly at the ear, the cheek and then the neck.  Pleased with her reaction, and hoping to please her further, he leaned over gently, turning off the TV, returning his attention to her lips.  

Tossing her hair back and out of her way, she placed her palm on his face as he kissed her lips, his mouth tasting lightly of cake and batter since she had intentionally given him an undercooked cake, knowing his likes. She turned her body, adjusting herself in his lap as he reached under her legs, pulling her closer to the hardness that was forming underneath.  Gasping out, she ground down, thankful for the yoga pants she was wearing that allowed her to feel every groove of his body, every touch of his hand. He was kissing her feverishly now, pulling his lips from hers and running them softly down her neck, sending chills down her spine as he moved down lower and lower, his lips now at her collarbone pecking there lightly, She threw back her head, breathing out with a slight moan, grinding into him further when she felt hands at her waist and a pull, the chill of the air conditioner hitting her bare skin as he pulled the tank top over her head, tossing it into the floor. 

He had to laugh as he kissed his way to her chest, reaching behind to fumble for the clasp of her bra as he felt her doing the same at his jeans. So amazing, he thought, this is all just so amazing, her, this, forever, he had to have to forever and the emotion of it all made him work faster, finally undoing the hooks and pulling the garment from her body, tossing it quickly aside. Reaching for her face to bring her lips to his once more, Daniel kissed her slowly, letting his hand drop from her cheek and cup her breast, running his thumb around the nipple. She moaned again, hands at his pants, jerking the zipper downward, so he pushed her back, reaching to help her, dragging the zipper the rest of the way and pulling his pants to the floor. He was hard and ready, reaching out for her to remove her impediments as well, pulling the black fabric downward and pulling her into his lap, but not onto his just yet. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, naked, on his lap, so close, but he composed himself, slipping his fingers between her legs. She was drenched and ready, but he wanted to make this good for her, twice as good if he could. 

“Trust me,” he whispered back, guiding his wandering back to the front, pressing, rubbing, searching for his goal and finding it quickly, the hardness that was now rocking against his fingertips. 

“Don’t do that,” she panted out but didn’t stop the rocking, her face in ecstasy as her eyes met his. 

“Trust me ja-wer,” he repeated, reaching his free hand to her hip to pull her closer to him, not losing contact for a second. The rocking intensified and she began to moan, a familiar moan and he knew she was there, lifting her slightly as he slid into her body, that same guiding hand now pushing her onto his body. She was screaming now, not too loudly, enjoying the sensation from his gentle touch, Daniel watching her carefully as  he ground her onto him, trying to focus on her pleasure while pleasuring himself. He felt her relax on him, finished, yet he didn’t stop, reaching behind and lifting her up, still buried deep inside of her as he laid her onto the sofa, his grinding becoming a thrust, a slow, steady, methodical thrust. 

He’d surprised her with that little climax, but now as he pumped in and out of her so strongly, his glasses falling off of his face, Adrienne’s mind quickly forgot the first orgasm even if her body hadn’t, her hips beginning to move with the pace of his drive. Arching her back, Adrienne clenched him inside of her, eliciting her favorite reaction from him in bed, that reaction where he couldn’t believe that this was happening. Gently she reached up for his glasses, his pace slowing to allow her, folding them gently and setting them on the floor out of the way, returning her gaze and her hands to his body. He thrust in once more, so hard that he was pushing her back into the arm of the sofa when he pulled himself forward so that he was almost on his knees, reaching down again for that spot, that same hard spot as before. 

“Oh god Daniel,” she panted out, telling him that he was doing well, that he was going to have his way, sending her over the edge a second time. Rubbing quickly with his thumb, Daniel reached his other hand behind, pulling her onto him as he worked her into another frenzy, feeling her writhe underneath. She was close again, clenching his thickness inside of her once more, that tight clenching of the end and he waited for her face, for that last breath she always took, laying her down the moment he saw it, and slamming himself into her, feeling the squeeze, listening to her moan, watching her body, her breasts move under his frantic torso when he let go, yelling out himself, her fingers squeezing his hips tightly. 

“Daniel!” she shrieked, pulling him further into her body, a request that he was glad to fulfill as he felt himself spill into her, the sweet release of his climax, a feeling he only felt with her, allowing himself to be completely vulnerable to her once more. The sensation ended, Daniel bracing himself with his palms, spent, but not wanting to crush his beautiful love. 

“Dear God Indy,” she gasped, still breathing heavily and he smiled, proud of himself. 

“Yay me,” he joked, sticking his tongue out like she always did, receiving a laugh in return. She giggled for a moment before reaching out her hand to his face again, bringing him low to kiss her, softly and quickly, nuzzling their faces together. 

“I love you, more than I’ve ever loved someone before,” she whispered, warming his heart. 

“I love you too Adrienne,” he answered simply, knowing he had made the right choice.

Tomorrow, he would really start looking for a ring. Really. 

*****

Daniel awoke the next morning regretting it was Monday.  He never used to regret Mondays before, but before he didn’t have a reason to stay in bed.  Reaching behind to shut off the alarm, the annoying buzz not what he wanted to hear right now, he was careful not to wake Adrienne just yet since they had a bit longer that she could sleep, mentally ordering himself to wake up in twenty minutes. Gazing down at her breathtaking form, he kissed her bare shoulder, slipping his arm back around her waist, and pulling her close feeling her cuddle herself closer to him.  

He slept more than twenty minutes.  This time, the phone ringing woke him and he reached behind himself once again, grabbing it from the nightstand. Rolling onto his back, his left arm still trapped behind Adrienne’s neck, he flicked the screen with his right, not bothering to read the name on the screen. 

“Hello,” Daniel answered, still half asleep.  

“Hey there Danny Boy, did you guys decide to sleep in?” Cameron teased and Daniel could hear laughter in the background.  Sleep in, he thought, sitting up straight in the bed, jerking his arm from his sleeping bedmate, looking at the clock. It was almost 10 a.m., sleeping in was a nice way to put it. 

“Shit,” Daniel hissed, glancing over at Adrienne, who was still fast asleep, as always, the woman could sleep through anything. Damn comfortable Adrienne.....

“Yeah, spare us the details.  We have, HAD, a briefing at 10 and Sam says she can have the Odyssey beam you guys in, but we would all rather that you guys were clothed before we do,” Cameron choked out between bouts of laughter, Daniel frowning at the phone.  He was just loving this, Daniel thought, they’re all just getting a kick out of this. 

“Dammit Cam, just, just stall or something. Tell Sam to give us thirty minutes and then beam us up.  Just, please, make us not the topic of conversation, ok?” Daniel pleaded, standing from the bed, turning to lean back over to Adrienne who just pulled the blanket up higher on to shoulder.  Sighing, Daniel hung up on Cameron, who must have handed the phone to Vala as she was making obscene noises into the phone, noises that he didn’t want to hear. 

“Adrienne, ja-wer, wake up,” Daniel whispered softly and she rolled over to face him, the ruby sparkling against her throat.  To him, she was breathtaking anyway, but the stone just accented her beauty.  

“Good morning my love,” she answered, reaching up for him but instead of melting into her arms like he desperately wanted to do, he clasped her forearms, pulling her in a upright position.  

“Come on Ad, it’s 10 a.m. You now have ME operating on Cajun time,”  he joked as Adrienne sat up unwillingly.  

“Ugh, is it really?” she asked, looking over at the clock as if she thought he was kidding, which he had to admit, he did to her a lot to get her moving. 

“Yes, really.  We have thirty minutes to get decent before we’re being zapped to work.  Let’s get moving,” Daniel replied, pulling at her arms again.  Grunting, she really isn’t awake yet he thought, trying not to laugh, she stood unwillingly, trudging toward the shower.  

*****

They were beamed directly into the briefing room to the sounds of kissing noises and other sexual jokes. Red in the face, Adrienne set her stack of cupcake boxes on the table in front of Sam, looking away as she took a seat by Vala.  Daniel slipped in beside her, red in the face himself, trying not to look at the his old friend who was shaking her head at both of them.

“Now that we’re all here.....” she began, Adrienne flushing for a second time.  She and Daniel looked over at each other quickly and broke their glance, both feeling a serious talk coming on, as Vala leaned over to Adrienne, bringing her lips to her ear.

“First, I hate you. Second, well, I hate you,” she joked, sitting back as Adrienne covered her mouth so she would not laugh.  

“Despite the fact that I hate using you guys as my trading emissaries, once more I will be using you guys as my trading emissaries,” Sam began and Cameron laughed.  It was one of the things that they were getting used to, either as spies after Anubis or trading emissaries, and he would take the latter any day. 

“With the way things have been going with trading partners and Anubis poking around, trading is slim, as is our supply of Naquada, which we need if we have a hope of defending ourselves,” Sam began as she clicked on her smartboard. Behind her were some pie charts and other things that Daniel didn’t need to read; they were things that he was just complaining to Adrienne about the other night and he wasn’t thrilled to see a visual reminder of Anubis’ ability to kick their asses should he arrive to do so. 

“We know that SG-7 has established a pretty good relationship with this world, P98-452, also known as Pusflet, and they seem willing to discuss an exchange of Naquada for farming supplies.  It’s a good situation for us, they have not been contacted by Anubis or any of his men and they understand the nature of the situation. SG-7 has started everything, but I would just feel better with a deal like this, one we need so badly, for you guys to close the deal,”  Sam explained, handing out folders as she cued up the first slide, another set of diagrams. More charts, Daniel thought, we’re going to be here for a while, opening the folder as he glanced quickly at Adrienne, trying to give her a quick smile before they began.

*****

Daniel was right about being there for a while. Almost ninety minutes later Sam closed the meeting, shutting off the smartboard, Daniel head throbbing with information, although it could be his medication, that tended to give him headaches too. Having his to-do list ready to go, he stood, everyone stood to leave, stretching and moaning, everyone except Adrienne who leapt up calling for everyone’s attention. He smiled, remembering last night and once again thankful that this wonderful caring person was such an important part of his life. 

“Hey everyone! Today is Sam’s anniversary! Of her promotion and marrying Jack!! Let’s celebrate!!” she announced happily, shoving the folder away while her teammates just stopped, frowning at her, clearly wanting out of this room as soon as possible, but undeterred,  Adrienne made a face, pointing to the boxes.  

“I brought cupcakes,’  she smiled, the team suddenly making a mad dash for the boxes, Adrienne smiling, noticing Daniel looking at her wanting to expose her secret, but she shook her head in the negative, telling him with her eyes that this was a secret to keep between them. The group ate their fill and moved on, leaving Sam with dozens more cupcakes. 

“I bought plenty knowing this crowd.  Take them home to Jack. Happy Anniversary Sam,” Adrienne said sweetly, walking over to hug her friend.  Smiling, Sam hugged her back and thanked her, gathering the cupcake boxes to do just that, knowing Jack would appreciate the gesture as well. 

“I’m going to start getting ready Ad,” Daniel said, leaning over, kissing her goodbye lightly, leaving to head back to the lab. Sam thought she heard him whisper I love you before he left to  the blushing cajun woman as she repacked the pastries, resisting the urge to tear up right there. They were so happy and she couldn’t have been more pleased to see that her old friend had found such happiness, in fact, she was just waiting for the day he came to her office telling her that he was going to propose. She didn’t give him very long. 

“This is the last one Sam,” Adrienne said, bringing over the final box of cakes, “I’ll go put them in your office.” 

“Thanks again Adrienne, that was really sweet.  They’e delicious. How long did they take you to make? I’d hate to think that you spent your whole Sunday baking just for me,” Sam said. 

“No, it’s no big deal Sam. I bought them last night after I ran errands,” Adrienne responded but Sam shook her head.  

“Addy, nice try, but Metro doesn’t do Red Velvet with Sugar Icing.  They use Cream Cheese,” the general corrected, pointing down at her own second cupcake on a napkin. Adrienne smiled slyly and Sam laughed, reading her face. 

“Your secret’s safe with me, but you’d better watch your back. If Daniel gets wind of this you’ll be cooking until the end of time...” Sam raised her her eyebrows, laughing some more and Adrienne was nodding, rolling her eyes, giving her every indication that he had found out and was already requested. Adorable, Sam thought, they are adorable, and she turned to bid Adrienne farewell when she saw the a sparkle at the archaeologists neck, a red glisten, lit by the fluorescents in the room. Reaching out she grabbed Adrienne by the shoulder, reaching for her neck to examine the gem.   

“Oh wow,”  Sam said, impressed by the large stone at her neck, “did he?” 

Adrienne just smiled and nodded her head, “Yea.” 

Sam looked surprised but went back to her desk, her head shaking, “I guess he’s not totally hopeless,” she said out loud, thinking to herself if he was ready for that a diamond had to be soon to follow. Still blushing, Adrienne laughed, waving goodbye as she headed for the lab.  

*****

They left promptly at 8 a.m. the next morning and this time Daniel made sure that he and Adrienne didn’t oversleep, determined he was going to make her run of his time and not the reverse.  

As soon as they crossed over, a small army of mounted knights and vassals were waiting to greet them, large finely dressed men on a team of some of the most beautiful horses that Adrienne had ever seen. Excited, Adrienne leaned over to Vala, her eyes as wide as saucers. 

“Kinda disappointed I didn’t wear my Ren Faire costume,” she whispered and Vala laughed, figuring that would be her friend’s first reaction.  Daniel, however, just ignored them, having just given up on trying to make the two of them behave.   

“Good morning SG-1, my name is Ailwin and I am the liege lord for this province,” a burly man with reddish hair and beard walked over to them, the knights parting like the Red Sea for him. 

“Good morning,” Daniel answered back since Cam had declared him in charge of all things boring, this co-leadership starting to be something the colonel didn’t hesitate to take advantage of and to Cameron, trade missions were considered boring.

“As I’m sure you’ve been told I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson and this is my team, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Teal’c, Vala Mal Doran and my assistant Dr. Adrienne Rowan.”  

“My lover Dr. Adrienne Rowan,” Vala whispered to Adrienne who promptly kicked her.  This time, however, Adrienne could see Daniel waving his hand behind himself in a ‘cut it out’ motion.  

“Excellent,” Ailwin continued, “I am pleased to meet you all. Right this way,” he indicated, walking between the men on horseback a second time, expecting them to follow, which Daniel did immediatly, Adrienne lagging behind staring out into the distance.

“It’s just so cool,” Adrienne whispered over to Vala, pointing to a small manor house situated at the base of the castle, the center focus point of the surprisingly neat medieval village. 

“Not really.  We saw a lot of this when we were chasing down the Ori.  After a while it just gives you the creeps,” she replied quietly. Remembering, and wishing she hadn’t said anything, Adrienne nodded and walked on, looking ahead for Daniel. 

*****

As Daniel had expected once he got a handle on the layout of the village, they were set up in the manor house, which apparently had been converted to guest usage once the castle had been completed.  As normal, there were quarters for the men and for the woman which Vala picked up on right away and began her typical torture of Adrienne, torture that included a variety of comments about Daniel and Adrienne sneaking out to make whoopie in the woods. Blushing, Adrienne just walked away, admittedly disappointed that she would have to sleep for at least tonight not wrapped in his warm embrace. Adrienne went to grab Daniel, inform him of the arrangements when she saw him being whisked away by their host, legal pad out already writing feverishly. For the remainder of the day Daniel met with Ailwin and the village leaders, apparently meetings that she didn’t need to attend, so Adrienne and the team set out for the town, eager to explore. 

“Put that thing away Ad, you’re scaring the villagers,” Cameron teased Adrienne as she used her iPad to take photos, flashing the contraption all around her, snapping uncontrollably.  

“Girl you know better, to them, it looks like you’re using some crazy spelled mirror,” he explained as she frowned at him, like Daniel did, so much like Daniel, trying not to laugh at her expression.  For as smart as she was Adrienne sometimes forgot that her fun technological gadgets tended to freak people out and she blushed, pausing to kneel and remove her pack, switching to her less intimidating digital camera.  

The team wandered around for a bit, Adrienne snapping pictures, stopping to speak to villages and take some video footage, yammering on about societal roles and Go’ould and Ori religious influence. She was very excited, but Cam was starting to wish that she had gone with Daniel. The sun rose to its final peak, reminding the group that it was midday already, so they decided to eat lunch under some trees on the outskirts of the village.  

“I love an easy mission,” Cameron said as he removed his jacket, setting it down to make himself a seat, “no getting shot at.  No worrying.  Just come, walk around, relax and let Jackson run his mouth.”  Adrienne laughed, opening her bottle of water and leaning against the tree.  

“What are you laughing at Addy? You know how he gets and yet you choose to spend every waking moment with him. Wait, I take that back, every waking, sleeping and whatever you guys do in between moment,” Cameron teased and Adrienne reached over, grabbing a rock and tossing it playfully in his direction. Teal’c was laughing loudly and Vala just crossed her arms, happy someone else was doing the picking. Smiling, Adrienne just lay back on her jacket to relax looking up when she saw that Cameron had moved over to sit beside her.

“You guys really are serious aren’t you?” Cameron asked but Adrienne just shrugged.  

“Yeah, I guess so.  I mean, he’s hard to read, but I think it’s heading that way,” Adrienne answered honestly.  She knew he loved her and she loved him, but despite how much talking Daniel would do about any other topic, he was pretty bad at talking about their relationship.  It didn’t bother Adrienne very much; he did other things that let her know he cared, like the necklace, cooking her dinner, remembering her movies, but she really had no idea where this was going or if it was going anywhere. She’d told herself that if he asked her to marry him that she would, but he hadn’t asked, hadn’t hinted, just told her that he wanted to spend forever with her, which she wasn’t quite sure exactly what that meant.  However, before the conversation could go any further, as if his ears were burning, they heard Daniel’s voice coming over Cam’s radio.  

“Cam, can you read me?” he asked. Swallowing his water, the colonel, squeezed the button, turning his head to answer.  

“Yep, we’re just relaxing and letting you do all of the work.  How’s it going?” Cameron replied casually.  

“Interesting..... can you guys head back?” Daniel replied, the team looking at one another strangely.  Puzzled, Cameron clicked the talk button once more.  

“How interesting?” he asked, cutting his eyes at Adrienne who shrugged at his non-verbal question.   

“Just head back....” Daniel requested, ending the conversation, and Cameron, once again, looked over at Adrienne.  

“I speak Daniel but I can’t read his mind,” she retorted and stood, heading back before anyone else cared to mock or pry into her personal life.  

*****

When they arrived Daniel was waiting for them outside of the castle and without a word, he motioned them toward the guest house.  Confused, everyone followed him in and to the common room when he leaned back on the central table, looking at his friends.  

“Who can ride a horse?” Daniel asked calmly and Adrienne immediately raised her hand, remembering many a summer with Aunt Barbara and her cousin Rae.  Frowning, Daniel shook his head.  

“Who else can ride a horse?” he corrected, ignoring the glare he was receiving from his bewildered girlfriend. Cameron raised his hand now, of course, having grown up on a farm and Daniel nodded but was still making a face.  

“They smell bad,” Vala replied as Daniel shook his head in the negative, now peering over at Teal’c. 

“Teal’c can you ride a horse?” Daniel now asked, confusing Adrienne further; why would it matter if Teal’c could ride a horse? Teal’c shook his head no as well and Daniel sighed, looking back at them as if he was ready to explain. 

“Well it appears that we’re going to get our trade deal.  Provided we’re able to meet one.... stipulation,” Daniel began carefully.  

“Why do I have a feeling that this stipulation involves me doing something crazy that I would rather not do?” Cameron stated.  

“Here a tourney is usually called to celebrate new alliances.  The proper documents are signed following the event provided the visitors can supply a knight capable to facing theirs,” Daniel explained and everyone looked at him puzzled, everyone but Adrienne.

“Cam’s gotta joust?” Adrienne asked in disbelief, Vala frowning in her friend’s direction. 

“How did you know what gibberish he was talking about? I thought you studied those toga people?” Vala asked. 

“I do, but I’ve been to enough of those Renaissance Faires to know where this is going.  He doesn’t have to win, right? Just take a few blows, enough in the final bout where the king eventually steps in, calls it a draw, honors both men, and what have ya?” Adrienne peered over at Daniel clarifying and he nodded.  

“That’s about right.  Cameron just needs to stay upright for a few passes and then the show is over,” Daniel agreed, Cameron already shaking his head no.  

“Nuh uh,” he began, “not only do you expect me to ride a horse, but I have to ride a horse with a stick and try not to get poked by someone else’s stick.  Do we really need this Naquada that bad?” Cameron asked a question everyone knew the answer to.  

“Yeah,” Daniel replied, “we do. I mean, I can head back to base and see if we have anyone who is as geeky as Adrienne and has done this before but in all honesty you’re a team leader.  It would probably look best if you did it. I would, but I can’t.”  Looking at the ceiling, muttering something about his grandma and his life, Cam took a deep breath before looking back at Daniel, the expression on his face not one of contentment.

“Alright, alright.  I sword fight, I do all of this crazy King Arthur shit with the Ori so I guess that makes me the official knight of the group. Maybe I need to go with Addy to those geek fests of hers to prepare for future contests you guys decide to volunteer me for,” he agreed, reluctantly, Adrienne suppressing a giggle at his reaction. 

“I’ll buy ya some sexy breeches when the Fredericksburg Faire comes to town shug, I promise,” she offered as Cameron shook his head, Daniel standing from the table, clasping his hands together nervously before leading him to the armory to select his attire.  

*****

The tournament took a few days to prepare so the team got to enjoy the amenities of Pusflet a little longer than they had originally anticipated.  On Daniel’s orders, Vala had radioed back to Sam that they were staying for a few days and she insisted that she would send whatever the team needed to make this trip a success, excited and hopeful that this was going to all work out as planned.  Most of the members of the team were bored, but Adrienne was thrilled to be living a live Renaissance Faire, dragging Vala around the entire village explaining things and shopping.  Adrienne found her translation skills and talents with a knife paid off and she was able to swap reading documents and writing letters for some illiterate villagers for various things she and Vala wanted to purchase.  Daniel just let them be, figuring that Adrienne was at least keeping Vala out of trouble, although he did wonder how he was going to explain to Sam the three baskets of dresses his assistant, his girlfriend,  was bringing back through the gate.  She had made a few comments but it was true, he did let Adrienne get away with a bit more than he should, he loved her and he couldn’t help himself.  

Vala had noticed too, but she didn’t seem to mind anymore.  In fact, she acted like she was Adrienne’s personal bodyguard and threatened to do severe bodily harm to Daniel should he hurt her.  He had no intention of doing so, in fact it was quite the opposite, he was starting to figure out if he should include Vala in his proposal scheme, but he couldn’t help but wonder what harm would come to him if he did.  

Finally, tournament day arrived. 

Teal’c stood back from Cameron as he fastened the last bit of armor to his chest, Daniel looking to Adrienne for the final inspection. 

“Is it put on right?” he asked, knowing Adrienne would know and she made a face at him because she did, and not for professional historical reason but for geeky ones that he would mock later. 

“Yes smartass, yes it is.  I think he’s ready to go. How do ya feel mon ami?” she asked Cameron, reaching her hand out for his shoulder. 

“Like a very hot canned ham. Do I have to wear this wool crap underneath?” he questioned.  

“ColonelMitchell, that protects your skin from the metal and lessens the impact,” Teal’c explained. 

“T, can we not use the word impact.  Or blow. Or anything that reminds me that that huge Orbert fellow I met yesterday is going to ride at me with a small tree,” Cam requested, Adrienne once again trying not to laugh. Yesterday, Cameron had gotten an impromptu riding and jousting lesson from a very large and very friendly man named Orbert.  After helping Cameron drive his lance into a straw man a few times and after showing him how to do it himself and thereby destroying the straw man entirely, Orbert then announced that he would be Cameron’s opponent. Adrienne was still surprised that Cam hadn’t fainted right then and there. 

“You’ve got this Cam,” Vala assured him, although Daniel knew she was lying.  At this point, everyone just wanted to get this over with, with their team leader in one piece, well this team leader in one piece. Daniel excused himself to sit with Ailwin, kissing Adrienne lightly before leaving, as Cameron mounted up to meet his fate.

Adrienne was spellbound as she walked beside Cam’s steed, gazing out into the main arena area. They had seen the setup from the outside, but there was know way that she could have truly understood what it looked inside.  Flanked by large sheets of brightly painted canvas in the colors green and blue, the colors of Ailwin’s family, were wooded foundations, home to rows and rows of wooden bleachers, carefully crafted in only two days time, complete with intricate carvings of war scenes and hand railings. There was a main box, where Ailwin was sitting watching and Adrienne could see Daniel joining him, his perfect tall frame kneeling down to duck under a canvas canopy as bright as the flags surrounding it. The central part of the arena was just like she had seen at her geeks fests and on movies, a two lanes separated by wooden railing, the scoring flags waiting in the center to be moved to their correct places, a light blue and black flag to represent their team. She wondered if that was Daniel’s doing, as they walked out to the starting line instantly greeted by a small squire wearing the same colors as the canvas and the flags billowing over them.  

“The name of your knight my lady,” he asked Vala and she smiled at being called my lady, answering him with a blush in her cheeks. Nodding, the young boy repeated the name carefully, running over to make the announcement.  

“Announcing, Sir Cameron of the Taur’i!” the boy shouted to the crowd.  From atop the brown steed Cameron was smiling from ear to ear, his copper colored armor wrapped all around him and the helmet covering most of his face, but the grin was clear and one could just make out his green eyes sparkling with pride from inside the helmet.  He sat up a bit, regal and proud, his appearance all the knight he was being asked to play. 

“Sir Cameron, I like that.  From now on you all can call me Sir Cameron!” he declared in jest.  

“Sir Cameron,” Vala shouted, “Try not to get your ass knocked off the horse.”  The squire shouted once more, ordering the start of the match and Adrienne, the only other team member with much horse experience began leading the stallion to the starting line, assigned herself the task of being his squire.  Finally out of earshot, Cameron glanced down at her, those smiling lips now looking deadly serious.

“Tell me I’m not gonna die,” Cameron said quietly to Adrienne.  

“You’re not gonna die,” she replied plainly.  

“That didn’t sound confident,” he joked, turning his head and raising his eyebrows. 

“You’re gonna be fine. Just hold on and point stick.  Easy as pie,” she smiled and handed him the reigns, backing up from the animal.  Looking ahead, Cameron rode forward picking up his lance and holding it under his arm.  

“Announcing, Sir Orbert of Glasdonn,” the squire shouted as Adrienne made it back to her friends, the three friends gazing out as Orbert, riding out in black armor on a large black horse entered the arena. Horse and man combined must have stood a good 15 feet off of the ground, maybe more,  and his red beard poked out from the sides slightly, like flames, making him much more intimidating.  

“Holy shit,” Vala breathed out.  

“That is no joke ValaMalDoran,” Teal’c answered. Remaining silent, hoping for the best, Adrienne just shook her head, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.  

The contest began with the sounding of a horn, a loud brass echo into the air, vibrating in the fields around them and Cameron took off just as he had been trained, his lance pointed at Orbert and Orbert’s giant lance pointing at him.  Cameron wasn’t joking when he said small tree, Adrienne thought, one man clearly dwarfing the other as they approached one another, all three members of SG-1 holding their breath as they awaited impact. 

Daniel watched the two men ride, lances out and ready, their steeds carrying them swiftly toward one another. Come on Cam, he thought, immediately thankful he couldn’t ride a horse.  Time seemed to speed up and the two men were suddenly on one another, Cameron’s lance pointed at Orbert’s chest moving closer and closer until the crash of metal on metal, echoing louder than the trumpets had before. Daniel almost stood and shouted, but restrained himself, shocked however, that Cam had hit him, a direct point on that large and very skilled man... who now wasn’t moving, who didn’t budge an inch, who apparently wasn’t even trying to hit him this round.  Daniel actually felt the blood leave his face; this was not good, not at all, his concern not lessened as he heard Ailwin laughing beside him.  

“Orbert likes to play in the first pass,” he explained, “feel out his opponnent.” 

“Play,” Daniel repeated, “nice.”  Breathing out, he looked back at the competition field as the men went to the opposite sides to ride again. Daniel squinted, trying to see if he could gauge how Cam was doing, but the colonel gave him no indications one way or the other, just rode over and back to the starting line to go once more.  Maybe Cameron thought he did well, it was a good clean hit.  Please don’t let your guard down, Daniel thought, please realize what just happened. Sitting there, wishing he had a way to communicate that to Cam, Daniel tried not to worry as the squire trumpeted again, the men riding toward one another for a second time and it was clear by his stance that this round Orbert wasn’t playing.  He rode powerfully toward Cameron, lance holding strong and pointed at his opponent’s chest but Cam held his lance as well, riding hard and fast, his gaze on Orbert.  And then there was impact, loud, fast, more powerful than before and Daniel looked up just as Orbert’s lance slammed directly into Cameron’s chest, making a disgusting, gut wrenching, crunching sound as it did.  Daniel couldn’t tell if there was damage to the lance or to his friend, but Cam just kept riding toward the side line, to where the team was waiting. He seemed alright, fortunately, so Daniel let out a sigh of relief and prepared himself mentally for the next set of passes. 

They saw he was slumped over as he rode toward them, the butt of his lance being the only thing holding him upright. He seemed to have wedged the lance underneath himself for just that purpose, to keep him upright, and he was hanging on to it as Vala ran to pull him down off of the horse. 

“Cam, Cameron, wake up, Cameron,” she was saying as she struggled with his head weight, the lance not only holding him upright but pinning him to the horse.  Teal’c and Adrienne rushed to help her, dragging him to the ground beside the animal, pulling off the helmet.  

“Can’t breathe,” he whispered hoarsely as Teal’c began undoing the armor.  Vala sat on her knees, Cameron’s head in her lap, smoothing his hair, Adrienne rolling up the tunic the minute that Teal’c pulled the chest plate away, her eyes widening. 

“What?” Vala asked, “What’s wrong?” Shaking her head, Adrienne cut her eyes silently at Cameron’s chest and back at her friend.  Vala leaned in and could see a large black bruise spreading across his sternum, Adrienne looking Vala directly in the eyes, mouthing no. 

“That’s better,” Cam said, interrupting the women’s silent communication, pulling from Vala as he tried to sit, but she held him down, raising her eyebrows at Adrienne. 

“Val, girl, I’m fine. That damn armor was just too tight,” Cameron tried to argue, looking up to Adrienne for support and over to Teal’c, who was standing with the horse shaking his head no as well.  

“CameronMitchell, you cannot ride again,” Teal’c stated but the colonel sat up, shrugging off Vala and pushing Adrienne aside.  

“Yes I can, just tie the armor a bit looser,” but as soon as he was up and the words were out of his mouth he reached for his chest, his face telling everyone that he now understood their objections. Seeing in the others that they didn’t have to heart to tell him, Adrienne leaned over him gently, taking on the task herself.

“Shug, you aren’t going anywhere,” she said, pulling him back down to lay on the ground and he let out a sigh, allowing her, adjusting his position to help him breathe easier on the ground.  

“It’s a lot harder than it looks like on the damn movies,” Cameron admitted, breathing in and out slowly as he reached for his rapidly blackening chest. Vala shook her head and stood, brushing off her pants as she looked back at the group.  

“I’ll go tell Daniel, unless you want to go over there and kiss him first to make it better,” she looked at Adrienne.  

“Nuh uh.  I date him and I don’t like giving him bad news.  You can be my guest mon ami,” Adrienne replied.  Scowling, Vala peeked over at Teal’c who was starting to pull the horse away from them and back over to the stable and to Adrienne who instead of running to inform the other squire that her knight resigned, was standing there, staring out into space. 

“Suit me up,” she declared, her gaze clearly locked on Daniel who was looking in their direction, trying to figure out the cause of the delay. Unable to believe her ears, Vala whipped her head around, shaking her head.   

“No way Addy, not happening. You do realize that if you get smashed to bits this will somehow get blamed on me!!” she hissed. Ignoring her, Adrienne turned to Teal’c.

“ We need this, suit me up,” she ordered and held her arms out but Teal’c hesitated, peering around her shoulder over to Vala. Angry, Adrienne spun around to look at Vala who had kneeled once more by Cameron.  

“Can YOU ride a horse?” Adrienne asked and Vala shook her head, giving Adrienne the answer she wanted, so the cajun now turned back to Teal’c.  

“And you?” she clarified.  

“Riding such a beast is primitive AdrienneRowan,” Teal’c responded, Adrienne nodding, crossing her arms across her chest. 

“Look, this is our only shot at getting this trade agreement, ok? And in case you two have not noticed, we haven’t been doing that great in that department. I get to hear about it daily,” Adrienne kneeled over Cameron herself this time, starting to pull the armor off of his legs.   

“Addy, that asshole hits hard,” Cam warned, pointing to his chest, trying to sit up so she could see, to make her understand the mistake that she was about to make. 

“Hopefully, I’m not as big of a target,” Adrienne grinned a bit, hoping her shorter build and smaller frame would work to her advantage and hoping to hide her fear. Knowing this was a battle that they were not going to win, her friends looked at her and then looked at each other before kneeling down to start removing the rest of the armor from Cameron.  

*****

“I hope your friend is not hurt badly,” Ailwin leaned over to Daniel stating quietly enough for the other nobles not to hear but loud enough to get his point across.  

“No, I’m sure he’s fine,” Daniel replied, trying to see what was going on over by the stables.  Cam had taken a pretty powerful blow to the chest and Daniel had seen him retreat to the sidelines.  This is why he wanted Teal’c to do it, the Jaffa could take a blow better than anyone he had ever seen, but his inability to ride a horse prevented that.  Daniel was just about to excuse himself to check when he saw the brown stallion reenter the arena once more and he breathed a sigh of relief as Cameron seemed to ride the horse effortlessly, as if he had not taken a major hit at all.  Smiling, Daniel looked back over to Ailwin. 

“There we are, everything’s just fine,”  Daniel said, sitting back, relieved, to watch the contest continue.  Cameron lined the horse up again, carefully, expertly, but he looked like he was struggling a bit with the lance, probably a result of the earlier blow. Knowing this was something that he just had to accept, Daniel just sat there hoping that his friend had everything under control.  

The small squire entered the arena once more and blew the trumpet to indicate the second bout. There was no hesitation in the colonel’s movements and Daniel saw Cameron pull the horse a bit to begin his pass once more.  Lances up,  the two horses, the brown steed of Cameron, the black steed of Orbert ran strongly to face one another. advancing closer and closer when Daniel saw the tip of Cameron’s lance falter slightly Shit, he thought to himself, that blow must have bruised his arm too, but Daniel didn’t have time to dwell on it since the men were at one another once more, however, just as the two men should have had impact, Cam dipped down, not striking Orbert but also dodging his lance completely, pulling the lance over his lap, as his horse passed on by.  He ducked, Daniel thought, is ducking even allowed in jousting, as Ailwin was laughing loudly beside him.  Daniel turned, slightly embarrassed to face him and apologize for Cam’s little stunt. 

“Your Mitchell is a tricky man!! A tricky man.  But Orbert will not be fooled into slipping off of his horse by his own accord,”  Ailwin said, thankfully not angry, but Daniel still frowned, glancing back to see Cameron turning around to make his second pass returning him to his teammates.  He looked down the line to see if maybe the others were in on this little tactic that Cameron was trying now and saw Teal’c and Vala standing there waiting, but not Adrienne.  Odd, where did she go, he thought, maybe she was behind this madness, she usually was.  Daniel shook his head, hoping that his assistant, his girlfriend, the woman he loved, was not doing anything too drastic to try to improve their current situation, focusing ahead on Cameron to watch him make the next pass.  

The colonel was adjusting himself awkwardly and appeared as if he was struggling to hold the lance.  Daniel saw him pull it back into his lap a second time, reaching to mess with the helmet again.  It was strange, it looked as though he was adjusting the armor as if it was too big for him.  Maybe Cameron had removed the under padding because it was pushing in on him too much, Daniel thought, knowing that the woolen undergarments under armor were not very comfortable nor light.  If he did, he hoped Cameron knew what he was doing because knights wore those garments for a reason, Egyptologist or not even he knew that.  There was the sound of the trumpet once more and the horses tore off towards one another, Cam galloping toward Orbert, his lance holding strong this time, leaning forward on the horse, preparing for impact.  Good, Daniel thought, he’s actually going to joust this time and not play.  His teammate came riding in faster and faster, the sun blaring down on the two men and their horses when Daniel noticed a flash of red light, and looked over at his friends, hoping no one decided to use the P-90 as a distraction or some other form of cheating, the ducking before was bad enough.  As the sun shone brighter, some overhead clouds being whisked away by a light breeze, Daniel saw that is wasn’t a red light, it was a red sparkle, in the shape of a teardrop, or a drop of blood. His heart stopped as Daniel stood from his seat, his eyes wide.  

*****

Adrienne continued to hold up the lance, determination in her face, riding toward the large and experienced knight.   She couldn’t see his face, only his eyes, black as night and piercing. He was utterly terrifying, but Adrienne didn’t look away just rode on, knowing this was something that had to be done. 

*****

Daniel was petrified with fear; he had no idea what to do.  Should he stop the joust and reveal the deception, thus saving Adrienne from whatever was about to happen? Why did she do things like this? Why did she insist on, again and again, behaving in this way? Yes, she was tough, the toughest Earth woman that he had ever met, but Adrienne didn’t have the experience that Vala or Sam had, even two years later she still took unnecessary risks and put herself into harm’s way in a moment’s notice. She had been off world sure, plenty of times, but Adrienne’s ideas often came from something she read, or worse, saw on one of her TV shows not any of her actual SG experience. She was going to kill herself, his heart was racing, he felt like he was going to be sick as he stood again, unable to speak.  

*****

Don’t falter, don’t falter, Adrienne repeated the mantra inside her head, keeping her gaze on Orbert and aiming her very sore arm at his chest.  This thing is so damn heavy, she thought, but forced herself to focus, repeating don’t falter to herself once more.  

*****

Daniel couldn’t watch but he couldn’t tear his glance away, his heart beating so loudly in his chest it was a wonder that no one had heard. They were almost at one another when time itself seems to slow to a crawl, Daniel only able to focus on the necklace, the small droplet of gemstone blood, hoping that it wouldn’t soon be covered in droplets of its real counterpart. The hooves were beating faster and faster, the only thing faster was the beating of his own heart, the necklace bouncing off of her chest plate in the same rhythm.

 And then they hit.  

There was no way that Adrienne could have prepared herself for the sheer force of impact that came from the lance, no amount of reading, fighting with Teal’c or Ronan, or other experiences with her friends could have given her any idea of the pain that she was experiencing right now.  Had she known that it would have hurt this bad, she never would have hopped on that horse like she had a clue as to what she was doing, but she hadn’t, and she did, and here she was, her chest throbbing uncontrollably. She looked down at her arm to see that the lance was gone and went to move it to see where her staff had fallen, but she couldn’t move her arm, she couldn’t feel her arm and the ground was fuzzy and then she was falling....

Daniel saw that Orbert’s lance missed it mark, instead of slamming Adrienne in the chest, possibly cracking a rib or worse, it had hit her upper right arm.  He saw her stay true to target at long as she could, but her lance just tapped his torso, bouncing to the ground and he glanced up, seeing that Adrienne was still on the horse.  He had no idea how, but by some miracle she was still upright.  The crowd was screaming and yelling, the judges were trying to determine points since she was clearly still on the horse and had hit something and he was leaning over the edge trying to listen in on the shouting when out of the corner of his eye he saw her move her head, looking at her arm. It wasn’t moving, he noted as he glanced back at her again, to see that she was looking at her arm like she was willing it to move. 

And then she fell; she just toppled off the horse, her body slowly cascading to the ground. No longer caring about appearances, Daniel leapt to his feet. 

“Addy!!” Vala was screaming and running down the sand path, heading straight for her.  She saw Daniel leaping over the stands making his way to the arena as well, so apparently he had figured out that it was Adrienne that was on that horse, not Cameron.  He was going to kill her.  Reaching Adrienne first, Vala ripped off the helmet, finding her friend unconscious.  

“Addy, Adrienne,” Vala repeated her name over and over, slapping her face, “Ad, wake-up.  Wake-up dammit! Wake the FUCK up!” She was screaming as Daniel almost fell into her, skidding on his knees over to Adrienne, grabbing her face in his hands.  

“Adrienne, ja-wer, please, please wake up.  Why do you do this to me? Adrienne, please wake-up,” Daniel was pleading with her, tears forming in his eyes, as a crowd began to form, Orbert taking center standing over him.  

“That’s a woman,” he stated, looking around him to the people beginning to gather.  He shouted up to Ailwin, “they made me fight a woman!!” He seemed angry, angry that he had been put in a position to possibly hurt her, dropping to his knees by Daniel. 

“Undo her chest plate,” he ordered, “give her some air.”  Vala did as she was told, while Daniel began to quickly unfasten the armor at her arms and she started to stir, the rush of air was waking her as Orbert had suggested.  Adrienne looked over just as Vala tossed the breastplate aside.  

“Vala, did I do it? Did I knock him off?” Adrienne asked, her voice weak and Vala snorted. 

“No, and you almost got yourself killed.  Why don’t you listen to me? Ever?” Vala responded harshly, beginning to unfasten the wool under armor. Turning her head, she now noticed that Daniel was looking down at her, and she took a deep breath.

“Hi sha,” she said, trying to smile, “Can I preface this with an I love you?” 

Daniel started to answer but he was interrupted by Orbert laughing loudly, slapping him on the back.  

“This is your woman!! Your woman!!”  Daniel couldn’t tell if Orbert was asking or declaring but he began to laugh louder.  For the life of him Daniel couldn’t figure out what was so funny as he looked at Adrienne laying there in pain, the hand lifting from his back and Orbert peering over his shoulder at Ailwin who was not joining the crowd that had gathered.  

“Majesty,” Orbert addressed his liege lord,”This is a woman.  You saw, was I not fighting a man?!” 

Ailwin nodded his head in agreement, looking over at Cameron who was now approaching, hanging onto Teal’c’s shoulder, still in obvious pain.  

“I thought I hit you hard enough to knock you off!! But then you stayed upright and rode on!! I thought to myself what a man!!!” Orbert was roaring with laughter now as he addressed the injured colonel, turning his attention now to Daniel.

  

“But your WOMAN stepped in for him!! She rode with the lance and faced me with no fear!!!!”  He declared, slapping Daniel on the back a second time before dropping to his knees at Adrienne.  

“This is a WOMAN!!!” he declared, looking around at the other knights in attendance who were nodding their heads in agreement.  Daniel was shocked; they were actually impressed that she stepped in for Cameron.  What in the world was going on? Shoving Daniel forcefully out of the way, Orbert leaned over Adrienne, gently taking her hand into his own. 

“My lady,” he began, “where do you ail?” he asked politely and Adrienne smiled.  

“Everywhere,” she tried to joke, her face wincing in pain. Smiling himself, he leaned over lifting her up into his arms and turned to face the healers on the sidelines.  

“Get over here you fools! We have a jouster down on the field, what are you fools starting at?!” He shouted as he walked Adrienne over to his personal prep tent.  Confused for only a moment, the healers grabbed their bags and rushed over to follow him while Daniel stood, watching the opposing knight carry Adrienne gently and respectfully to the tent in complete shock.    

“Trade with our world must mean a great deal to your people if your woman would pretend to be a man and face Orbert,” Daniel heard a voice behind him say, turning to see that it was Ailwin, looking as equally impressed but Daniel still worried about Adrienne did not reply.  Ailwin sensed his hesitation.  

“Do not worry.  Orbert is quite impressed; he will see that she is cared for.  However, I would worry about him trying to steal her away,” Ailwin joked and Daniel finally eased just a bit, looking over at his host.  

“Yes, yes this trade deal means a great deal.  We need that mineral for our starships and to protect our world and worlds like yours,” Daniel conceded honestly. Ailwin smiled.  

“We are agreed then.  Any people that would not only face the joust, but have a woman amongst them brave enough to step in for her companions are a people with courage and valor.  Let us go to my tent and discuss this trade agreement,” Ailwin spoke, placing his hand on Daniel’s back to lead him to finish the negotiation.  Pausing for a moment, Daniel looked at where Orbert was ducking down, carrying Adrienne into the tent, Ailwin glancing back, laughing once more.  

“Again, do not worry.  They will care for her,” Ailwin assured him just as Vala walked up beside Daniel.  

“I’ll go deal with her.  If you botch this after what she just did, she’ll kick your ass,” Vala warned, dashing off after Adrienne.  Frowning, in worry still, Daniel let Ailwin lead him away.

*****

Adrienne was sitting in her quarters trying to figure out how to turn the pages in her book while her arm was in a sling and fortunately her arm hadn’t been broken, however it had been painfully dislocated.  Orbert had put it back into place for her and that had hurt more than getting slammed with the lance. Once she’d been patched up, Vala and Cameron, barely walking himself had returned to base while Teal’c and Daniel worked out the trade agreement.  Thankfully, Dr. Beckett met them at the gate so Adrienne didn’t have to endure another lecture from Carolyn, who had informed her that each time she had to repair Adrienne based on what she called her own stupidity she was going to insure that Adrienne felt every stitch, every swab, and every repair.  Adrienne knew she just worried, Carolyn was quite a caring person inside, she just used her grumpy exterior to try to keep them all in line. Adjusting herself yet again to no avail, she had just about given up on reading at all when there was a knock at her door.  

“If you don’t know the code I probably don’t want to talk to you!” she shouted, knowing only her fellow team members could really get in.  There was tapping, the familiar bing bong of buttons and the door opened, Daniel slipping in through the entrance.  He must have just gotten back from the planet and he didn’t look happy.  

“Oh no, did the trade agreement fall through?” Adrienne asked, tossing the book aside to give up completely. 

“No, it went well. Better than expected.  Apparently, everyone was quite impressed with your little performance,” Daniel said as he approached the bed, Adrienne scooting forward to let him sit.  He sat and she tried to move her body to lean against him, but he stopped her, shaking his head slowly.  She looked up at him surprised for a moment and then understanding, realizing that her little performance was about to blow up in her face.

“Daniel, look, I know what you’re gonna say, and once again, I’m sorry. It’s my Daniel mantra ‘I’m sorry’,” she said, looking into his eyes.  

“Adrienne, I’m not looking for an apology.  I’m,” he said quickly and started to sit up straighter, pulling away from her even more.

“You’re what?” Adrienne asked confused.

“Ad I’m not sure what to do.  Before, well, before us, yeah I worried about you of course I did, we all worried about each other.  But things are different now,” Daniel began, his voice faltering. Concerned, she reached out for his face but he grabbed her hand, setting it aside, far away from himself before he took a deep breath and continued.  

“Adrienne I love you, more than I have ever loved anyone else in my entire life, but I’ve had a few days to think about everything. To think about what happened, what you did and I’ve realized that I can’t do this. I can’t spend every mission, every waking second wondering if you’re doing something stupid, something reckless, something that will take you away from me. It’s not fair to me, I just can’t do this again Adrienne, I just, I just can’t. And it’s not fair to the team, they are worrying about us and this more than, well, just more,” Daniel kept talking, finding the words hard to say, Adrienne growing sick.  No, she thought, not after everything, no, she couldn’t lose him like this, over this. She felt tears in her eyes and glanced up to see Daniel looking at her, appearing as if he was going to start crying himself.  Sniffing in, he stood quickly, taking a breath in and out. 

“Ad, I don’t think this is a good idea anymore. Under other circumstances maybe, but, I,” he choked up a bit and started to leave, pausing at the door. 

“You will always mean the world to me, like no one else ever will,” he added quickly, a thin stream of liquid racing down his face as he opened the door and he left, closing it behind him. 

It was then that Adrienne started to cry.  

*****

Vala struggled with the tray of food as she keyed in Adrienne’s room code, trying to balance the assortment of insanity that she had collected for her friend. Finally the light turned green and Vala reached for the doorknob, letting herself in, yelling as she stepped.

“Addy I did the best I could but I have no idea if I got the right amount of carbs or proteins or whatever the hell else you need,” Vala explained, kicking the door behind her to face Adrienne. who was laying on her side, the good side, in the bed, not speaking or moving.  Sighing, Vala set the tray on her desk and walked over to her, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.

“Addy, if you’re hurting I’m sure that Carson will be happy to give you some more meds,” Vala offered, leaning forward, placing her hands on her knees to brace herself, examining her face to see if Adrienne was trying to hide the pain and saw that she was crying, and it looked liked she had been crying for a while.  

“Adrienne, this is stupid. No one is doubting how tough you are.  I’m going to call Carson right now,” Vala said and stood when Adrienne started crying again, harder, a heavy mournful sob that was painful to watch let alone to experience. Shaking her head, now angry at Adrienne’s stubbornness, Vala started over to the phone when she heard Adrienne mumble behind her. 

“It’s not my arm,”  she said and Vala stopped, whipping around, slamming her palms to her hips. 

“Whatever, there’s nothing wrong with some good pain killers every now and then.  And anyway, you’re gonna want me to call and ask before Dr. Lam gets here because she’ll say no,” Vala replied and Adrienne picked her head up a bit.  

“Vala please, don’t call the docs ok.  It’s not my arm. It’s Daniel.”  

“What did that asshole do this time? Did he come in and fuss at you? He’ll get over it; he always does.  I have told you a million times that you can’t show weakness with him, he’ll just walk all over you,” Vala responded, approaching Adrienne again but she just cried harder, curling herself into a ball.  Vala looked at her in shock, watching her friend as she convulsed and shook, having a complete emotional melt down, a melt down that could only mean one thing.

“No,” Vala began, shaking her head, “there’s no way. Adrienne did he come in here and?” Vala didn’t want to say it; there was no way that he would just march in here and end it all after everything they had been through, had gone through to be together, but  Adrienne was nodding her head slightly and crying harder.  At a loss for words, Vala walked over and sat on the bed with Adrienne, comforting her until she was calm.  

*****

Daniel heard boots coming down the hallway, fast, and he didn’t look up, assuming it was Sam coming to get the report on what had happened.  He didn’t have it ready, he’d been staring at the computer screen for two hours at least and had typed nothing; he couldn’t bring himself to even type her name so he just sat there, staring, trying not to cry.  The boots entered the lab, approaching him swiftly, but he continued to stare as the screen, trying to compose himself before addressing Sam. 

“Daniel?” it was Vala’s voice, surprisingly, and he looked up to see what she wanted when he saw a fist heading toward his face.  He didn’t have time to duck, to speak, or to move, and her fist hit him square on the cheekbone sending him, still in his desk chair, crashing to the floor. 

“What in the HELL is wrong with you?”  she screamed.  Daniel started to speak but Vala cocked her fist again. 

“One word and I make the other side match,” she said, “you will sit there and you will listen to me. Do we understand one another?” Daniel nodded, holding his cheek.  

“We don’t choose a lot of things in life.  Sometimes awful goddam things happen to us and we can’t do a damn thing about it.  And those things shape us, they make us who we are. Adrienne has spent her entire life worrying and caring about other people.  She doesn’t do things like jump up and joust or work her way into a slave facility or any other thing she has done that pisses you off for attention, she has done them FOR YOU. Or for ME. Or for SOMEONE ELSE.  Of all of the people I have met in my life that woman in one of the most caring selfless people that I have ever known.  So, you don’t love her anymore, that’s fine, then end it but what you just did to her is cowardly and disgusting,”  Vala raged and Daniel started to try to speak, Vala kicking his leg hard, painfully hard, and he shut his mouth quickly.

“Did I say I was finished? You and I have been through a lot together, and I think I know you pretty well.  I know you well enough to know that you do love her, and, although I do not understand for the life of me why, she loves you too, madly.  You’re just scared, scared of losing her, like Shar’e, like Janet.  But Daniel that’s life.  Is it even worth living if you spend it trying to shut yourself off from caring about anyone just so you don’t get hurt? So what, are we next? Daniel’s going to cut everyone off so he can just go about his business, a big cold mass of flesh, not caring about anyone or anything. If there is some big man in the sky making people or something like those people on TV say, he made Adrienne for you.  If you are too stupid to see that you don’t deserve her.  To be honest, I don’t think you deserve her anyway, ” Vala spat, turning to leave when she stopped once more, facing him as he was crawling from the floor. 

“And if you go to Sam to get her removed from the team, make sure you add me to the list.  We can start a club.  Daniel’s exes. And every time we do something good we can laugh about how much of an ass and a coward you are and how we are all much better off without you,”  she added, crossing her arms and remaining as if she decided to stay and await his response. Not speaking, Daniel stood quickly, hand still holding his face, shoving past Vala and storming out of the door. 

***** 

Sam couldn’t seem to find anybody, which was pretty rare.  Cameron and Adrienne were not badly hurt and they had secured to trade agreement, however, come report time there was no one to be found.  Cameron was no longer in the infirmary and since he and Teal’c were both off base Sam figured they had gone for drinks, drinks she had to agree that he needed considering his temporary foray into the middle ages.  Much to her surprise thought, the lab was empty and Vala was not answering either of her phones, so Sam decided to just go get what she needed from Adrienne, who she knew was in bed trying to keep her arm still so it didn’t swell further.  Rounding the corner to Adrienne’s room, she found Daniel, standing at her door, not entering, not moving, transfixed at the keypad.  His arms were crossed and he was just staring, his face a slew of emotions.  Sam smiled, walking over to him. Of course he was here, she thought, I should have tried here first. What she couldn’t figure out, however, was why he was standing outside with that look on his face. 

“Is she asleep?”  Sam asked as she reached him, trying to gauge what was going on. Lifting his head slowly, Daniel looked up and over at her.  

“I don’t know,” he answered quietly, diverting his eyes away quickly.

“Well, I need to talk to her so let’s go find out,” Sam said stepping forward, expecting him to enter her key code, but he didn’t, just stood there, staring again. 

“Is something wrong?” she asked but Daniel simply breathed in, not answering, sniffing in slightly.

“Are you two alright?” Sam pushed, although she was fairly certain she knew where this was going.  Still silent, Daniel shook his head.  

“Why?” Sam continued.  

“Because I can’t go through it again.  That man could have killed her,”  Daniel answered and Sam nodded.  

“He could have. Maybe tomorrow she gets shot or next week poisoned.  Hell, I could go home and find Jack dead in our bed.  Your point?” Sam replied, Daniel lifting his eyes back to the keypad. 

“I want to marry her Sam,” he whispered, the words crossing his lips for the first time, the reality of them making him tear up again. 

“I know you do,” she answered, reaching for his shoulder. 

“I’m worried of losing her, to this, to him, to, I don’t know, it’s just easier if I have nothing to lose,” he admitted looking down to the floor. Releasing his shoulder, Sam leaned across him, typing in Adrienne’s code on the keypad. The light went green and Sam turned the knob, stepping back and out of the way. 

“I would REALLY like to have a report by tomorrow night, if at all possible,” Sam requested, smiling once more before walking away.  

Daniel entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him, to see Adrienne laying on her side in the bed.  There was a tray of food untouched on the desk, a tray someone, probably Vala must have brought her, but she didn’t seem to even know it was there. Letting out a deep breath, he made sure that the door was locked and walked over to the bed, stopping at the end. She didn’t look up at him, didn’t even acknowledge that he was there, just lay there in silence, her hands tucked under her cheek. He started to speak but couldn’t bring himself to form the words, his heart broken as he looked back down at her. Finally she glanced up at him, her face red and tear streaked and she didn’t speak, just scooted back on the bed, making room.  Without a word he got in beside her and rolled over to face her, wrapping his arm around her waist, trying to hold her to him the best he could without hurting her wrapped arm.  He wanted to say something, to beg her to forgive him or admit he was wrong, or at least that he had handled it wrong but he said nothing.  Sniffing, her dark eyes gazed up at his, red, swollen, hurt, making him vow inside to never hurt her like that ever again.

“I want cheesecake for breakfast.  With dark chocolate crust,” she finally said, leaning forward to bury her head in his chest.