Title: Dinner

Author: Pegasus

Fandom: Magnificent Seven

Rating: PG-13 - language

Summery: This is a Magnificent 7 story, set in relatively modern times

Disclaimer:The Magnificent Seven is owned by Trilogy, Mirish and MGM. Stargate/Stargate Atlantis Characters are owned by Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions

Seattle Late 1999

Chris had arrived in town, and drove out to the house, only to find she wasn't home yet from University of Washington. Ben was there and starting to get worried since she wasn't normally late, especially when Chris was coming, so Ben suggested they go out to UW and make sure she was ok.

For some reason she was still trying to fathom, she agreed to teach Old World History and Physics (with a lab) at UW this semester. Today was only both lecture classes. As she was getting to her car, she remembered what the date was and looked at the time. 'Oh hell,' she thought, 'I'm late and he's probably already at the house waiting for me. This, of course, has to be the one day the schedule someone to come give a talk – and why in the hell an Archaeologist that hasn't been around in a few years.' She started to close her car door and noticed someone standing there.

"Dr. Jackson isn't it?" At his nod, she asked as she stood "Was there something I can help you with?"

Having noticed earlier during her class that she was either watching someone speak, reading their lips, or was being signed to, he looked at her directly and said "Yeah, actually. Call me Daniel, please, and I was wondering if you had plans tonight."

Finding it nice that he actually looked at her when he talked, she said "I'm sorry but I do. In fact, before you ask again, I'm flattered," 'and you're cute,' she thought to herself, "but I'm already seeing someone and it's serious."

Smiling, he said "I'll remember that, but if you have time before I leave town, I still would at least like to buy you lunch or dinner." He stopped when he noticed she turned her head and smiled.

Walking up to the car were two men, and neither looked overly happy. The taller of the two, Ben – her uncle, asked in a language that the two of them thought only they understood of the four of them. "Little one, is everything ok?"

Falling into the old language easily, she replied "Yeah, fine. I was just getting ready to head home. Dr. Jackson was speaking to my class and it took longer than expected."

As she told Ben about Daniel speaking to the class she motioned with her head to Daniel and got a brief glimpse of him smiling. Turning to him now, she slid just as easily back to English when she asked "Are you understanding us?"

"Actually, yeah, I, um, speak about 23 different languages and that happens to be one of them." When he said that, she suddenly got a chill up her back, like she would get around the race that forced them out of Atlantis, but they were all still asleep or else she would have known, and those beings that believed they were Egyptian gods. Another man, that wasn't with Daniel in the class, walked up.

She realized it was something about the man that just walked up.

Ben and Chris didn't like how pale she suddenly got.

"DanielJackson, are you ready to go?" The man asked.

"Yeah, Murray," he said also noticing the color difference on Brandi. Looking at her, he said "Anyway, I happened to look down and saw some of what you've gone over, or are going to go over and I wanted to talk to you about it. I'll be around all next week, so let me know if you change your mind."

She could only nod because she felt like she wanted to pass out.

As soon as Daniel and his friend left, Chris sat her down and said "You ok, babe?"

Shaking her head, she whispered "He's one of them, or is a host for one. Something, but I don't know."

"Who, the one you were talking to?" Ben asked.

"No," she croaked out "his friend, the one he called Murray."

Looking up and seeing them about a quarter of the way down already, Ben said "I'll be right back."

Ben came up behind them quickly and with neither knowing it.

"Teal'c," he heard "I told you I would come get you when I got through with that lecture. You're supposed to keep a low profile."

"Who the hell are you and where is he from?" Ben asked.

Daniel and Teal'c turned, saw Ben and wondered how he came up on them so fast without either hearing him.

Before either got the chance to answer, a car pulled up next to Ben. From inside the heard in a different language, but still recognized by both Daniel and Teal'c "Ben leave it. I'll be fine once Chris gets out of the lot. Besides, it won't do any of us any good if you get in trouble, by Alex or my father."

Before answering her, Ben looked at Chris who just shook his head. Ben knew with that shake why she stayed out of site, she was in the process of changing. With a sigh, he came down so he could look at her in the car, and said "I'm sorry little one, but I'll take my chances. You do need to leave, but I'm going to take care of things here. If Alex wants to say anything to me, he can later. If your father tries to, he can go to hell." Seeing her nod, he stood up so they could go. He didn't want her seen like that, since most people either got scared or thought she was a witch.

Turning back, he looked at Teal'c and said "You came through the ancient Gateway, didn't you?"

Daniel looked around at the lot and said "I don't think this is a good place to talk about it.

"No one will here us, and if they do, they will think we don't speak any English. Now, please answer the question."

Teal'c only nodded, so Ben asked "Are you one of the things that think they are gods, or are you a host for one of them?"

"I was a host for one, but no longer believe them to be true gods. To help me live I still carry the symbiote I was given at a young age."

"That is what caused her problems then. Why are you here?"

"I came to do a series of lectures for some classes here and I happened to be in Dr Stewart's today. I had asked her to dinner just before you two arrived and she had just told me she had plans and that she was in a serious relationship. As I told her, I still want to treat her to lunch or dinner to talk about some of the cultures it looks like she has already taught on, or will be teaching on. It would be on a strictly friendship level since she made it clear she wasn't interested in anything else."

Ben smiled to himself, liking this man and knowing that he would be a good friend to Brandi, and a very well placed friend. "I'll tell her and Chris that you are looking at establishing a friendship with her, nothing more. Thank you for being honest with me also."

They parted company, with Daniel and Teal'c wondering just who the two of them were.

By the time Brandi and Chris got back to her house, she had returned to normal. Looking at her with a smile, he asked "Up for going to dinner tonight?"

Smiling in return, she said "Yeah, just give me a chance to shower and change."

Nodding, he got out of the car and came around to open her door.

They got to the restaurant an hour or so later, and were seated. Brandi kept feeling like something was up with him.

Giving him a quizzical look over the table, she asked "What's going on Chris?"

He just raises an eyebrow at her and says "What do you mean, Dee?"

"You're acting different then anytime before. It's like you're trying to win me back." Seeing his eyebrow go up farther, she continued "No, I didn't read your mind, though I thought about it. This is nice, but I know you. You have some reason for it. What is it?"

"When I got drunk and said what I did, I screwed up. As soon as I started walking on the beach, I knew it, but by the time I got back in you were gone. I saw the note and even with out you saying it I knew where you went and it was my own damn fault for letting you go. I figured I'd try winning you back the right way."

Tilting her head, she asked "Who are you trying to win me back from, yourself? If you knew where I was, why didn't you fly over or try to get a hold of me sooner?"

"I was thinking I was trying to win you back from him, but I guess not. I didn't know what to say, or how to fix what I broke. And I thought you wanted to be there, or else you wouldn't have gone back to him."

"I thought about going back over to Hawaii and staying on the estate, but, I guess, it just wasn't far enough away for me. I went to Paris because I had to get away from the hurt I was feeling and yeah, I still had, have, feelings for him and I wanted to see if things would be different. But, he and I both knew that wasn't where I really wanted to be, or at least not with him. If you had come to Paris, or called while I was there and asked me to come home, I would have been on the next plane. I didn't think you wanted me in your life anymore."

"I want you back in my life, more than ever. I love you and I want to be with you." He wasn't asking her to marry him, but he hoped to soon, he just wasn't sure when that would be.

She smiled and said "I'm glad since that is all I have wanted. I love you. Always have, always will."