Title: Old Friends
Author: Josephine
Email: Lovellama@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Codes: SG-1, OC, others
Summary: Daniel meets up with someone he left behind.

~~~~~

"Oh my God-- Daniel!"

The shriek of joy echoed through the airport concourse, barely giving Daniel warning before a slim woman hurled herself against him. Only the fact that Teal'c was there to provide support prevented the two people from crashing to the floor.

The rest of SG-1 watched in amusement as the woman stepped back and reached up to take Daniel's face in her hands, a wide smile gracing her own face. Her dark brown hair was cut in a long bob with a heavy fringe, the color echoed in her slightly magnified eyes behind large wire glasses. She was smartly dressed in a brown and green tweed skirt and an Oxford shirt. However, at second glance she wasn't just slim, but rather on the too thin side, and while her clothes were clean and pressed, they were a tad threadbare and had seen better days.

"Where have you been? When you disappeared after your speech in New York I thought something happened to you; I looked in all the hospitals but there was no trace, nothing! Your landlady was no help, that old bat said she kicked you out that morning! I knew I should have gone with you instead of on that dig!"

"Hope… ?" Daniel smiled back at her.

Her hands dropped to Daniel's; she was practically bouncing in her enthusiasm. "What have you been up to, you look great! Do you have some time? I have so much to tell you."

"Um, I think so… " At Jack's nod, Daniel let himself be pulled over to a nearby cafe. Conversation was halted as they ordered and took their cups over to a small table.

"So what did happen to you, Daniel? Two years with out a word, after all we'd been through, and now to see you by chance through a crowd in La Guardia… " Hope's voice held more than a touch of hurt.

"Ah, you see…" Daniel took a sip of his Kona blend, buying time, trying to think of a reason she would accept.

"Well let me show you what I've been up to." Hope dug in an oversized messenger bag, emerging with a thick portfolio and a triumphant grin. "I've spent all my time traveling to different digs, working for nothing as long as they let me do my own thing every once and awhile. I was with Grupe in Macedonia, and Chung in the Yangzee province… I was even with Miller in Swaziland for a few months." Unzipping the heavy leather case she handed it to Daniel. "Those strange markings we could never figure out what they stood for, I've collected all the ones we ever found and the ones I discovered since you left into one database. I still haven't been able to translate them, but now that you're back—"

Daniel mumbled reassuring platitudes as he flipped through the massive amount of information Hope had given him, stunned at all it contained. There were pages after pages of Goa'uld writing, cross-referenced to when and where it was discovered along with sketches of the medium it was found on.

" --I'm on my way to meet with the Jude Society, they're going to cut my funding, can you believe that?" Outraged, Hope pushed up her glasses that had slid down in her fury. "It's not like I get very much from them anyway, you think that for something of this magnitude they could somehow find a little money to throw my way— " She paused, something in Daniel's manner as he studied the writing causing her to get suspicious.

Hope stared at him, eyes going wide with excitement. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You found it, didn't you? The proof! Where? How? You have to tell me!"

" –Daniel!"

With a start Daniel looked up at Jack who jerked his head toward a gate. "Last call for our flight. We gotta go."

"Oh, right." Glancing over at Hope, Daniel saw she had just noticed Sam and Jack, and sat blinking in awe at Teal'c, who had what he thought was a reassuring smile on his face. "Sorry Hope, our flight's leaving… " Yanked up by Jack, Daniel stumbled to his feet, still clutching the portfolio. "I'll give you a call, ok?"

" –uh, yeah, sure Daniel… "

"It was great to see you again!" Still pulled by Jack, Daniel gave a small wave, watching as a stunned and lost looking Hope was swallowed up by a mass of travelers.

~~~~~

Sam glanced over at Daniel, who was still absorbed in the Goa'uld writing and ignoring the stewardess' instructions on what to do in case of an emergency. "So who is she?"

"I'm sorry, what?" He looked up at her in confusion.

"The woman that nearly assaulted you," Sam said with a smile. 'Who is she?"

"Oh," Daniel replied, closing the portfolio but marking the place with his finger. "Hope Kylie. We started working together after I left Dr. Jordan. She had some theories about the true age of the pyramids too, so it seemed natural to combine our efforts."

"But you never told her you were working on decoding the Stargate."

"Well, how could I? I was whisked away to an underground fortress, signed a confidentiality agreement, and within two weeks had gone through the Gate to Abydos. Besides, Hope was on a dig in Egypt for a few months, there was no way to reach her in the little time I had before I went to Colorado."

Sam frowned at him. "You didn't even think to have the Air Force drop her a note? She seemed pretty stunned to see you."

Shaking his head, Daniel went back to the Goa'uld writings in front of him. "I'm sure she was fine."

A sigh escaped Sam as she once again thought that for an extremely smart guy, Daniel could be very dense.

TBC