Hello everyone! It is time for a new story. I have had this one on the back burner for a while, so now that I have it nearly finished, it's time to post it! Please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I only own the original characters. Stargate SG-1, miscellaneous products, services, stores, and vehicles belong to their respective owners. Enjoy!
Sam watched the gate's inner ring spin, reminiscing on times past. It was a number of years ago when she first stepped into this very gate room, O'Neill at her side. So many things had changed; Jack leaving for a post in Washington, the addition of Mitchell to the team, being given command of Atlantis and then losing the position, and the fall of the final system lord had sent her life in a new and different direction:
There were no more bad guys to fight and it was back to recon of unvisited planets with Mitchell, Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c at her side.
"Earth to Sam…" a faint voice called.
Sam blinked as Mitchell's rough hand passed before her eyes again. "What?"
"You ready?" Mitchell asked excitedly as they stepped through the gate, following the others.
The planet was like most they had encountered: trees, trees, and more trees. Sam looked up at the sky; it looked like it could rain and there was a slight chill in the air.
"Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c, head for the ruins; Sam and I will scout around," Mitchell ordered and started walking with Sam closely following.
"You got it," Vala said with a cheery smile; Daniel and Teal'c followed her towards the ruins as Sam and Mitchell headed for the tree line. As the larger group disappeared into the surrounding ruins, Sam quirked an eyebrow at Cameron.
"Date tonight? Anyone we know?" Sam asked, dragging her petite hand along the knee-high grass. Mitchell stopped short to look at her and check his bearings, but more to do the first.
"How do you know?"
"You're trying to get off this planet ASAP. It's kind of suspicious, Cameron," Sam said, a small twinge of laughter lining her voice, "Who is she?"
"She's a civilian contractor," Cameron said, pulling absently at the grass as they continued, "Elizabeth Khushrenada. She's a computer scientist and sometimes goes off-world with SG-3."
"Yeah, I've heard of her, but I never got to work with her though."
"She's excited for our date tonight. We're going to see a movie and then dinner."
"Don't lose your pants," Sam laughed quietly, her blue eyes fixed on Cameron, who was looking up at the tree line.
"You never know." Mitchell looked sideways at Sam, eyebrows waggling.
"Ahh, too much info," Sam said and giggled lightly as she heard her radio crackle to life. "Sam," she said and waited a brief second.
"Yeah, it's Daniel; I've got something you need to see."
Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c were in a grove of what looked to be oak trees, carefully extracting something from a hole in the ground. Cater and Mitchell joined the group, looking over Daniel's shoulder as he removed the box from the hole.
"What is it, Jackson?" Mitchell asked, eyebrows rising in curiosity. As the box was heavily placed onto the ground, some of the dirt fell off as Daniel searched for any symbols that might adorn the container.
"It's a box," Vala said flatly.
"Yeah, I got that." Mitchell rolled his eyes.
"The question is: what's inside the box?" Daniel asked as he finished his examination. "This is an Ancient planet; normally, they hide their technology, and there could be something significant in this box." Sam looked at Mitchell, who looked very unexcited.
"We should open the box!" Vala said enthusiastically, digging through her field pack.
"Does anybody have a…" Daniel stopped when Vala handed him a crowbar. "Seriously?" he asked, looking up at the former treasure hunter.
"One must always be prepared to liberate treasure, Daniel!" Vala smiled and Daniel just shook his head.
"I've got ten bucks on a weapon of some sort," Mitchell said aloud, "anyone else?"
"Plans for some sort of technology," Sam offered as the box was opened.
"Jewelry," Teal'c said stoically as Daniel lifted out a precious looking necklace. It was adorned with a lion's head crest that was hanging from a golden chain. "Very medieval looking," Teal'c added.
"I'm glad I brought the crowbar. Hand it over Daniel," Vala ordered and held out her hand.
"What?" Daniel instinctively held the necklace out of Vala's reach.
"I supplied the crowbar and helped to dig the hole, I want my cut."
"No."
"What?"
"We should take the whole thing back to SGC and run some tests. My instruments show that it's emitting very faint radiation," Sam said and checked her device again.
"You heard the lady, pack it up!" Mitchell ordered.
"Find anything, Jackson?" Mitchell asked as he took a seat next to Daniel, who was bent over the find from that afternoon's mission.
"It's emitting some sort of radiation; Sam wasn't able to determine what kind yet," Daniel said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes, "But it is safe to say this isn't your usual ruby from the jewelry store."
"Mitchell picked up the necklace, running his thumb over the smooth surface of the crimson gem. "It's a rock; that's for sure."
"Yeah, well, I need to put this away so I can grab Vala and go home." Daniel picked the piece out of Mitchell's hand, and placed it in a black, foam-filled box that canceled out the radiation.
"Gotta go and get ready for my date. See you tomorrow, Jackson." Cameron hopped off the stool, giving his teammate a pat on the back before heading towards the locker room to get his things.
Mitchell wiped his palms on his dark wash jeans as he approached his date's front door. He was nervous for the first time in a while; his usual flyboy charms would not work on this girl. She was above that, she knew the military type, and was generally unimpressed by the uniform he wore on a daily basis. She was interested in him, the jeans and t-shirt Cameron.
Making the final, deafening approach towards the front door, Mitchell rang the doorbell, trying not to fidget in the cold Colorado fall night. He looked up as he heard the door swing open, catching a glimpse of his date. Elizabeth Khushrenada was a six-foot tall brunette. "Hey," he said happily, his teeth chattering slightly as he warmed his hands in his jacket.
"Hey!" Elizabeth said and smiled, her green eyes twinkling as she reached out to give him a hug. "Let me get my coat," she said in her slightly southern way and ran back inside, grabbing her coat and purse off the couch.
Leading his date down the walk to the car, Elizabeth almost squealed in delight as she saw Cameron drove a new model Mustang GT. Opening the passenger door, Mitchell waited until Elizabeth had settled herself to close the door. Walking around to the driver's side, Mitchell slid into the toasty warm, black vehicle.
"I love the car, Cameron," Elizabeth said and adjusted her long legs to sit more comfortably, "The new models look so nice," she continued as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Thanks, she runs fast too," he smiled and shifted in to drive. As they pulled out onto the main road, Elizabeth began a conversation.
"So, what movie are we seeing?" she asked.
"I was going to let you pick," Mitchell said, shifting the manual transmission.
"I've wanted to see Eagle eye." She smiled, her brown curls bouncing as she twisted around in her sear, resting a petite hand on his knee.
"Eagle Eye it is."
They chatted idly as they raced down the highway, discussing everything from the weather to work. As they pulled into the parking lot, Elizabeth's phone rang. They both looked at each other, hoping the screen did not show it was the SGC. Peering at the display, Elizabeth sighed as she waggled the phone at Mitchell. "It's my friend Alexis; I need to answer this really quickly," she said and slid the LG Shine open. "Hey there!" she said and a pause followed as Alexis talked briefly; Cameron watched as Elizabeth toyed with her hair briefly.
"No, you didn't leave anything in my car. Hey, I need to go; we're going to watch Eagle Eye and then get some food. I'll call you later," she said, quickly shutting her phone, "We went shopping the other day and she can't find one of the bags," Elizabeth explained and Mitchell smiled.
In reality, that was Alexis' cue that the date was going well, and that she didn't need a rescue.
"Ready?" Mitchell asked, opening his door.
"Yeah," Elizabeth grinned. As they walked across the parking lot, Mitchell pressed the key lock and the car blipped at them. Nearing the old two-screen movie theatre, Cameron laced his fingers with hers and Elizabeth smiled at him. Getting to the doors, they saw the line for tickets was long and Elizabeth loosed her hand long enough to button her trench coat; the air was cool, and the nippy temperature made her want to move closer. Leaning into Mitchell's shoulder, he responded by wrapping an arm around her waist. As they moved closer to the ticket counter, Elizabeth made a suggestion.
"Let's get balcony tickets," she said, giving Cameron a side-glance.
"Got somethin' in mind?" Mitchell smiled and winked at her.
"I always have somethin' in mind, Cam."
"I don't doubt it," Cameron said and fished for his wallet as they reached the ticket booth. "Two balcony seats for Eagle Eye, please," he requested and slid a ten dollar bill under the glass and received the two tickets.
An hour later, Cameron and Elizabeth sat in the balcony; Elizabeth was comfortable as she leaned her head on Mitchell's shoulder. Cameron looked down at her, accidentally catching a glimpse of her black, lacy bra. "Nice," he sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, in the other theatre next door, Daniel Jackson and Vala happily watched The Women; Vala had wanted to see it for a while.
"Nice."
Daniel furrowed his brow. He hadn't just though that. He looked around, trying to determine the source of the unknown word.
"Hmmm," he thought and shrugged, "I must be hearing things."
"Hmmm."
Cameron looked down at Elizabeth, who was still enthralled with the movie. He hadn't just hummed to himself, and no one was around them. There was something else going on here.
"Who's there?" he thought.
Daniel blinked a couple of time. "Cameron?"
"Jackson?"
"I think we have a problem."