A/N - Yeah, I know, my list of applicable genres is a little...unusual, and Trio was an Atlantis episode, not SG-1. Just go with it, okay? Also, this tag assumes the infamous deleted scene from Trio was never cut. If you've been living under a rock and haven't seen it, just search for "Trio deleted scene" and enjoy!

With thanks to BethanyActually and MidKnight Rider for the beta.

Chapter 1

Jennifer smiled at Rodney as he set his tray on the commissary table and took a seat across from hers. She couldn't help but notice that eating lunch together was starting to become a regular thing, at least since they and Colonel Carter had almost died in the abandoned Genii mining facility several weeks ago.

Perhaps even more interesting, though, was that she was actually starting to look forward to their meals together. In fact, she had been thinking a lot about their experience over the past month, and while she was reluctant to examine her feelings for Rodney too closely, she had given a great deal of thought to her conversation with Colonel Carter, someone she admired greatly but, if truth be told, feared just a little. Still, when they'd been in that rickety structure together, she'd let down her guard, and from that point on, Jennifer couldn't stop wondering about the woman behind the officer.

Jennifer leaned across the table toward Rodney, her voice low. "So, ever since we fell in that hole, I've been trying to figure it out."

Rodney took a large bite of his sandwich. "Figure what out?" he asked, with a mouth full of food.

"Who Colonel Carter is seeing," Jennifer replied in a conspiratorial tone.

"What?" Rodney exclaimed, and immediately began choking.

Jennifer pushed a glass of water his direction. "Colonel Carter. She's apparently got someone back home. Any idea who it is?"

"No," Rodney replied, with an emphatic shake of his head. "I mean, no, she's not seeing anyone."

Jennifer scowled at him. "How do you know?"

"I just know," he stated definitively.

Jennifer leaned in again, as if sharing a great secret. "That's not what she told me. She said she was seeing a man who lives in Washington who is close to retirement. She said it was 'complicated.'"

Rodney looked genuinely surprised. "She did?"

"Yep. So do you know who it is?"

"I...no," he responded, clearly flustered by the news.

Something about the way Rodney refused to believe that Colonel Carter was involved with someone else rankled Jennifer, but she was saved from having to explore that particular reaction further by the arrival of Colonel Sheppard, who plunked his tray down next to Rodney's.

"Hey guys," he greeted the two of them, and immediately began to dig in to his lunch. That's when Jennifer realized she now had another potential source of information. She wasted no time.

"Colonel Sheppard, do you know any older men who live in Washington who might know Colonel Carter?"

John looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, there's General O'Neill, though I certainly wouldn't call him old, at least not to his face."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She had heard of the infamous General, of course, but she had never met the man behind the legend. "So, they're close?"

"Well, yeah," John continued. "They go back to the beginning of the program. He was her commanding officer for...well, for a long time, first on SG-1, then later as commander of the SGC, all before he became head of Homeworld Security."

"Really..." she replied, clearly intrigued.

Rodney began shaking his head again. "Uh uh. No way. It's not him. Trust me; I'd know."

"Why couldn't it be him?" Jennifer asked, slightly indignant - on Colonel Carter's behalf, of course.

The scientist drew himself up tall, as though expounding on the virtues of base 8 math. "Well, for starters, she's way too smart for him. He's typical military - all muscle, no brains." He glanced sideways at John. "No offense."

John just glared at him. "That's right, Rodney - no brains required, not even for generals."

"Is he handsome?" Jennifer asked John, completely ignoring Rodney.

The military man looked slightly uncomfortable. "Uh, not really my area."

"It's not him!" Rodney insisted.

But John was saved from further interrogation by the arrival of Teyla, who sat down next to Jennifer.

"Teyla," Jennifer began, "you've met General O'Neill. Would you say he's handsome?"

"Yes, he's quite handsome," she replied without hesitation. Rodney rolled his eyes. "Why?"

Jennifer grinned. "I think he and Colonel Carter are an item."

"Oh?"

"Sorry Dr. Keller," John interrupted, "but I don't think so."

"Why not?" Jennifer asked, this time genuinely curious as to his answer.

"He and the Colonel are both military. They're in the same chain of command. That's a big no-no in the Air Force."

"See!" Rodney exclaimed, clearly excited by his unexpected ally. "I told you."

Jennifer, however, was unwilling to give up the idea of Colonel Carter and General O'Neill so easily. "But maybe that's what makes it complicated. And that's why she's waiting for him to retire." She was warming to her subject now. "Think about it - all those years serving together, by each other's side through thick and thin. They've probably been in love for years..."

"A forbidden love," Teyla added with a sly smile.

"Right!" Jennifer became downright dreamy-eyed. "It's so romantic..."

"She is NOT in love with him," Rodney insisted.

John shook his head. "Yeah, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I have to agree with Rodney."

Jennifer glanced at Teyla, who gave her a quick nod, before turning to face John and Rodney. "Care to bet on it?"

John and Rodney exchanged a glance of their own, before John replied, "You're on."

"Okay," Jennifer paused to think of a suitable reward for her insight. "If we're right, the two of you have to give Teyla and me your dessert rations for the next six weeks."

John nodded his agreement to their terms. "And if we're right, you and Teyla have to-"

"Rub our feet every day for the next month!" Rodney interjected.

"Ew, no!" Jennifer exclaimed, before even Teyla had a chance to object.

"What? You're a doctor, aren't you?"

But John spoke quickly to avoid certain disaster. "You have to buy us the first round at every happy hour for the next six weeks."

"Deal," Teyla responded immediately.

"So," John asked. "How do we find out if Colonel Carter and General O'Neill are an item?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No idea."

At that moment, John's radio crackled to life with the voice of Colonel Carter herself. "Colonel Sheppard, can you join me in the control room?"

John stood. "On my way."

"Is McKay with you?" she asked.

"He is."

"Better bring him, too."

With a hasty good-bye to their friends, John and Rodney quickly made their way to the control room, where they found Sam standing at Chuck's side, looking at the console with a furrowed brow.

"Problem, Colonel?" John asked as he approached.

Sam turned to address him, somewhat less than gracefully since she still had a walking cast on her right leg. "I'm not sure. We were just running some diagnostics on the City's systems, when we came across something strange."

Rodney muscled his way to the front to get a better look at the console. "What?"

"It's this here," Sam replied, pointing to a numerical display. "It indicates that the City is currently occupied by 352 individuals."

Rodney shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"According to our records, we only have 351 people on Atlantis."

"So, that would mean-" John began.

Sam nodded. "We have an intruder."

TBC...