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"D'Diamar?" the voice she had longed to hear said from behind her. She turned to face the owner of that voice with silent tears running down her cheeks.
"It wasn't a dream?" she asked in a wavering voice.
"No. D'Diamar it wasn't a dream."
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3 weeks earlier
Daniel saw her in the commissary eating lunch with her nose stuck in a book oblivious to the rest of the world. It was a look he knew well, although he was generally the one oblivious. She didn't look military although she was in the standard issue BDU's; she must be a civilian. Her long brunette hair was pulled haphazardly away from her face with a clip and he could see that she wore no makeup. He looked at the title of the book she was reading and was surprised, it was one of his favorites on basic Egyptology. He wondered what department she worked in. He was abysmally behind on reading his non-essential memos and hadn't paid attention to the announcements of new personnel. Maybe Sam knew who she was; he would ask her when she finally got through the chow line.
His seat gave him an unimpaired view of the woman across he room and he found himself watching her. He was smiling to himself as he saw her make a face at the food on her tray and push it away then go back to her book and coffee. He felt the same way about military cooking most of the time and could relate. She was pretty, and the face she had made was cute. He was still smiling that little smile as Sam sat down across from him.
"What's so funny Daniel?" Sam asked as she looked around.
Embarrassed to be caught Daniel stammered, "Oh. Nothing Sam." and had to force himself to drag his eyes away to face Sam.
"So what do you think of General Hammond's latest pilot program for the SG teams?"
"Huh? What pilot program?"
Sam sighed, "Daniel do you read any of your memos?"
"Occasionally."
"All of the SG teams are going to start rotating a fifth member, namely a civilian scientist."
"What? Haven't we hashed this out already a million times?"
"Yeah. Don't even get Colonel O'Neill started. He's a little irritated about the whole thing."
"Is this Hammond's idea or is it coming from Washington?"
"Washington of course. They seem to think that the SG teams are in danger of getting stale and that fresh blood will help keep us all on our toes and help us see things from other disciplines."
Daniel was stewing about the whole thing as Sam ate and his attention drifted back over to the brunette. She was concentrating hard on something in the book and he could see her lips moving trying to pronounce something over and over. She must have finally been satisfied with her pronunciation because she said the word a final time and smiled. And Daniel just stared with his fork halfway to his mouth.
Sam caught him staring this time and followed his gaze, chuckling she teased, "Earth to Daniel."
"What? Oh sorry Sam."
"Have you met Dr. Cooper yet Daniel?"
Daniel was still fighting his urge to stare, "Um no, who is he?"
"She is the brunette you're staring at."
"I'm not staring Sam. What department is she in?"
"Exobiology. She specializes in botany. And you are so staring."
"So she's new?"
"Yeah, she just got here last week. Do you want me to introduce you?"
Daniel, the man who made first contact with alien races and prided himself on being able to communicate with just about anyone was suddenly very intimidated by the idea of speaking to the woman that he had been admiring and he couldn't put a finger on why exactly. "No thanks Sam. I'll say hello another time. And actually I think I'll see you later too, I've got something to finish in my office." And he left the commissary in a hurry but paused at the exit to glance back at Dr. Cooper one last time before heading for his office much to Sam's amusement.
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Daniel found himself heading for lunch at the commissary at the same exact time he had the day before. And sure enough there was Dr. Cooper with her nose buried in another book. He ate alone and spent an enjoyable lunch watching her pour through a book on hieroglyphics, he was intrigued at her choice of reading material as both yesterday's book and today's were both titles he recommended as essential reading for anyone starting at the SGC. He really wanted to know what color her eyes were, he couldn't tell from where he was sitting. He still didn't speak with her.
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The third day Daniel tried to tell himself that he wasn't consciously timing his commissary visits and it was just coincidence, yet he found himself watching the clock all morning. Teal'c sensed that Daniel was a little anxious about something and decided to accompany him to the commissary for lunch. He noticed Daniel in line looking around expectantly, as if looking for someone, and when he apparently saw the person he was looking for Teal'c saw the back of Daniel's neck grow red and flushed and saw his breath catch. As they sat to eat Teal'c followed Daniel's gaze to see a pretty young woman surrounded by books as she ate her lunch.
Daniel was taken aback by the piles of books surrounding her. He knew them all intimately, they represented the entire recommended reading list he had put together years ago. No one had ever taken it seriously before though, so why was she? He enjoyed watching her work out more pronunciations and she had a habit of chewing on her bottom lip when she was concentrating deeply. Her hair was down today, long and thick down her back. His hands itched to play with it. That particular thought really surprised him, as he didn't even know the woman. He realized at some point that Teal'c was attempting to talk to him and he hadn't heard a word.
Teal'c gave Daniel an amused look and repeated himself, "I said that perhaps you should speak with her as opposed to merely staring at her from across the room DanielJackson."
"I'm not staring Teal'c."
Teal'c raised eyebrow called him a liar without saying in it words.
"Okay I'm staring. But we'll just leave it alone. I have no luck with women. But I am curious to know why she's reading my entire list of books."
"Would that not be a suitable question to initiate conversation?"
"It would be if I were planning on initiating a conversation which I most adamantly am not."
"Understood. Although I would warn you that she is an attractive woman who will most likely not be unattached for long."
"Thanks." was Daniel's flat reply.
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The fourth day found Daniel in a state of nervous energy prior to lunch that it even managed to catch Colonel O'Neill's attention. Given Daniel's obvious inattention in the meeting he called a break for lunch and the rest of SG-1 insisted on accompanying Daniel to the commissary.
Looking around even more expectantly than the day before his disappointment in seeing the empty table that she had occupied for the past three days was immediately written on his face for his teammates to see. Not wanting to be subjected to twenty questions he made a quick excuse to leave and go back to his office where he could be disappointed in private.
He didn't see the looks Jack, Sam and Teal'c shared as he left, nor did he hear Sam say to them, "I think Daniel has it bad for one of the new scientists."
Daniel had his head down as he walked to his office with his hands in his pockets. Why would not seeing her affect him this much? He hadn't even met the woman. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings and as he approached his office it didn't register right away that there was someone sitting on the floor near his office door.
"Dr. Jackson?" a gentle voice asked.
Realizing that it came from a person sitting on the floor he turned his attention to the owner of the voice and almost gasped out loud. It was Dr. Cooper. Sitting there surrounded by the books on his reading list. She had green eyes. Green. He didn't realize how much he had wanted to know that until that moment.
When he didn't say anything right away she asked again as she tried to stand up, "Dr. Jackson?"
Unconsciously he offered her a hand to help her up, but he still hadn't said a word.
"Um, if this is a bad time I can come back." she said with a concerned look on her face.
"No, no it's fine. I just didn't expect to see y…anyone sitting on the floor." he thought he covered that well.
"Sorry about that. I was told that you were in a meeting this morning and I was hoping to catch you before you went to lunch. Sorry, I'm Dr. Candice Cooper, Exobiology by the way."
"Please call me Daniel Dr. Cooper. There are enough Ph.D.'s and medical degrees in this building to trip over."
"Well Daniel I can do that if you call me Candice." She said with a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Doing some light reading?" he asked indicating her stack of books on the floor.
"Just catching up on the required reading so I can pass your class this semester Professor Jackson." she teased with her green eyes flashing with humor.
She was teasing him? This woman that he was leery of even being introduced to was teasing him? "I can't believe you took that memo seriously. I've been trying for years to have people at least take a glance at some of the books on the list. It would certainly make my job easier at times."
"I tend to take recommendations about the knowledge I might need to stay alive very seriously Daniel. And I have been working like a fiend to get through them all. I feel like I'm back in college cramming for exams."
Daniel looked at her in surprise for a moment, "Are you going to be on the SG Team rotation?"
"Yes, starting next week actually. Which is why I'm here. I have some questions about certain things I've read and trying to reconcile them with the information presented to me about the history of the Stargate program."
"I'd be happy to answer anything I can for you. Do you want to come into my office?" he gestured more than a little excitedly.
"Actually I just stopped by to see if you had a free appointment in the next few days, you don't have to give up your lunch and drop everything this afternoon."
"It's not a problem. I'm not really hungry today anyway." Daniel's stomach decided to make a liar out of him at that moment by growling very loudly.
Candice looked down at the noisy offender then back to Daniel's face with an amused look on her face. "Maybe we could talk while we eat?"
A few minutes later a very happy Daniel was escorting Candice into the commissary, his SG-1 teammates all chuckling into their hands at his reappearance and suddenly peppy demeanor. Sam in particular thought it was very humorous and nudged Teal'c, "Told you so."
Daniel and Candice had a very pleasant working lunch. He found her questions to be valid and was amazed at the amount of information she had absorbed in such a short period of time especially since she admitted that she had absolutely no head for languages and hadn't much interest in archeology or ancient history. He went into full bore teaching mode and was rambling on and on when Jack made his way over to the table. He clapped Daniel on the shoulder, "Sorry to break up your afternoon lecture Dr. Jackson but we do have a meeting to finish up sometime today."
"Oh yeah. Sorry Jack. Oh by the way have you met Dr. Cooper? Candice this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, head of SG-1 and second in command of the SGC.
Jack noticed that she had respectfully gotten to her feet and stood at almost a parade rest and he extended a hand, "I've read a lot of good things about you Dr. Cooper from some friends at Area 51, I hope we'll be able to keep you busy here."
"Thank you sir. I'm really looking forward to getting started."
Jack looked hard at her posture for a minute then smiled, "Okay spill it, you have all the makings of a military brat, so was it Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines?"
"That obvious sir?" she smiled, "My father was a career Marine. I guess old habits die hard."
"See that Daniel, that is respect for my rank. She gets extra points for that. Take notes."
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The next few days were spent preparing for an off world mission, the MALP had reported back that the planet appeared completely deserted although it was picking up a couple of advanced energy signatures that warranted further examination. There was also an extensive set of ruins that were in incredible shape and covered in writings. All in all it the makings of an easy yet informative mission if all went well.
Colonel O'Neill was busy sorting through the files of the civilian scientist pool. To placate him General Hammond was letting him hand pick who he wanted for SG-1. He flipped through them all and kept going back to one in particular, Dr. Candice Cooper. Her file was impressive in many ways but one thing caught his attention and he went off in search of her.
He found her in her office struggling through more of Daniel's reading list. After chatting for a few minutes she happily accompanied him to the firing range and he put her through her paces. When he read in her file that she was certified on a variety of weapons he honestly couldn't picture it and had to see it for himself. After an hour on the range he had to admit that he was impressed. She told him that her father had insisted that she learn and that she found out she was good at it, good enough to win competitions. A geek that could handle weapons and respect the military Jack could learn to like and Candice was assigned to SG-1.
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Daniel had not seen Candice since the day he found her outside his office and was had just decided to remedy that by visiting her office when there was a knock on his door. He yelled, "Come in." and was pleased and surprised to see her walk in.
"Hi." was all he could manage to say.
Her eyes were dancing and she could barely keep her excitement in, "Did you hear the news?"
He raised an eyebrow, "No. What news?"
"I've been assigned to SG-1!"
Daniel couldn't decide if that were good or bad. Good in a sense that she would be a great addition to the team, but bad because you couldn't get romantically involved with a teammate. Looking at the excitement in her face he couldn't help but be happy for her and smiled, "Hey that's great."
She saw something flash in his eyes briefly that didn't jive with the words he spoke but she shrugged it off. She was probably just reading something into it. Her history with men read more like a what not to do manual and she when she had taken the job at the SGC she had promised herself that she would concentrate on the work and not be sidetracked into another bad relationship. But she found herself very attracted to Daniel, and not just physically, his intelligence and intensity drew her in and his willingness to teach and share made her want to be the one he shared with. And, she had to admit to herself, the man was just damn sexy. His eyes, his mouth, the way he carried himself, it was disserting in a good way. She had enjoyed watching him when he wasn't looking in the commissary for a couple of days before plunking herself down outside his office. But now her becoming a member of SG-1 had effectively killed any possibility of anything personal occurring between her and Daniel. Teammates didn't get involved. And maybe it was for the best. But she did find it to be a niggling thing in her brain that Daniel was the first person she wanted to share her good news with. That wasn't just a teammate thing was it?
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SG-1 was given the night off prior to the mission and Candice found herself dragged off base with her teammates to their favorite bar. She liked how comfortable they were with each other and soon the teasing and jokes were flying around the table.
Daniel had introduced her to Sam and Teal'c yesterday and they had spent some time getting to know each other and she found the Jaffa to be an interesting man with a sly sense of humor and she really looked forward to working with him. She and Sam hit it off instantly, both were a little surprised at that if the truth be told, neither of them had many female friends given their careers and they looked forward to getting to know each other better as time went on.
The Colonel was still a mystery and she was a little uncomfortable sitting next to him at the table. She relaxed a bit though as the rest of them teased Jack and he teased them. Relaxed until Teal'c left to play pool with some airmen, and Sam dragged Daniel off to the dance floor and Candice found herself alone with the Colonel and didn't know what to say. He by rights was a very attractive man and extremely self-confident. He reminded her of her father in many ways, not in appearance, just in personality. Must be the alpha military personality thing she thought. She wasn't prepared when he leaned in and said, "You can join them you know," and he nodded towards Sam and Daniel dancing to some be-bop oldies tune, "I won't feel left out." The Colonel was a charmer, no doubt.
She smiled warmly and went to join Sam and Daniel. They welcomed her onto the dance floor and they all danced.
Teal'c rejoined Jack at the table and Jack laughed and pointed to the dance floor, "Daniel's got his very own harem. We'll never hear the end of it."
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Candice was nervous. She had checked and rechecked her pack six times to be sure she had everything she needed. She was in the locker room and Sam was chuckling as she watched her, "Candice you've got everything you need. Don't be nervous."
"Nervous is an understatement Sam."
"First time through is the hardest. Then it's old news."
Standing in the gateroom as the stargate was activated Candice wasn't aware that all of SG-1 was watching her, they all secretly loved seeing the look of awe on the face of someone seeing it for the first time. And her look of rapture didn't disappoint them.
Walking up the ramp to the gate Jack quizzed Candice, "Okay Doc Cooper what is SG-1's number one rule?"
She laughed as she remembered them beating that into her head at the bar, "Dr. Jackson is not allowed to touch anything sir."
The whole team laughed and Jack, Sam and Teal'c walked calmly through the gate. She was standing next to Daniel as they were the next to go through and she felt a warm thrill as he turned to her and asked, "Ready?"
She couldn't speak she just bit her bottom lip and nodded, and they stepped through the gate.
The sensation was nothing she would ever be able to describe. And her eyes were huge on the other side. Then it hit her that she was in fact on another planet and her eyes tried to be everywhere as she looked around.
The rest of the team started clapping for her as she walked down the stone ramp. Jack asked Daniel in a loud voice, "You did tell her about the tattoo that she has to get now that she's been through the gate right?"
The horrified look she gave Daniel was too much for Sam, Teal'c and Jack and they all started howling with laughter. Daniel scowled at Jack who broke from laughing to say, "Joke. I was JOKING."
They split up, Sam and Jack heading for the source of one of energy signatures, with Daniel, Candice, and Teal'c investigating the ruins.
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Candice was really looking forward to seeing Daniel in action around the ruins. She had never had a vested interest in archeology but his curiosity was infectious and had peaked her own. She and Daniel carried on a very animated conversation as they made their way towards the ruins.
Teal'c walked behind them with a bemused look on his face. He found it interesting that he now had two sets of teammates that appeared to be fighting the inevitable. He wished the Tau'ri government would realize that these types of bonds were not inappropriate and they in fact strengthened the team.
They reached the ruins and all three were awed. They were perfectly preserved. There was one large main structure that looked like a temple of sorts and a couple of small outbuildings. These appeared at first glance to be living quarters, and were so well constructed that other than needing new thatching for the roof and a quick sweep they would be habitable and cozy.
They entered the temple and made a cautious initial sweep for weapons or booby traps. Finding none the three started looking around the main room. The walls were covered with writings and pictures. Candice was drawn to one set of pictures of the temple depicting what she believed to be the seasons, they were beautifully done and highlighted with brushed gold. She was studying them so intensely she did not hear Daniel step up behind her, "Beautiful aren't they?" His voice sent a pleasant shiver up her spine that surprised her.
Not trusting herself to speak she merely nodded and he moved to stand next to her to get a better look, and in the instant that they were side by side a blinding flash of yellow light enveloped the temple.
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