Passage of Time Pt5: Departures

Chapter One

2 Feb 2009

~*~*~*~

Propped up on one elbow Colonel Cameron Mitchell smiled to himself as he contemplated the early morning scene that was laid out before him.

From the foot of the bed the sheet, duvet and quilt disappeared downwards towards floor. Moving along the bed the covers continued upwards hiding what he knew was a pair of very sexy legs and an equally sexy behind before the covers stopped at the point just below the curve in the small of Anna's back. The rest of her was exposed to the crisp cool air that was in the room and to Cameron's appreciating gaze.

An expanse of creamy white skin stretched out next to him, dipping in then curving upwards, partially obscured by the long red gold hair that flowed over it. A woman's back was, he thought, a beautiful thing, especially when it was Anna's. His eyes flickered up to her face which was peaceful in sleep, her right hand curled up loosely and tucked underneath her chin, a few wayward strands of hair draped across her cheek and arm.

His smile getting broader he carefully leaned over doing his best not to wake her and placed kiss on a spot of smooth skin in the small of her back before he nuzzled it slightly with his nose and lips, moving up several inches to place another kiss, this one firmer than the last, his left hand coming around to hold her gently at the waist as he did so. Moving up a bit more, he felt her giggle before he heard the sound of it as his fingers moved a strand of long hair aside so that he could place a third kiss on a spot between her shoulder blades.

Knowing that she was now wake, Cameron lifted his head up to see her slightly scrunched up face looking at him as she tried to hold back another giggle, a half smile, half smirk on her face.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" Anna asked, laughter in her voice as her gaze met his.

"I have a beautiful, naked woman in my bed. What's not to enjoy," replied Cameron smiling as he brushed more of her long hair aside and placed a kiss on the edge of her shoulder.

Legs became entangled as they rolled together so that Anna was on her back with Cameron laying on top of her, the two of them giggling and laughing in the process. Cameron placed a kiss on a spot above her right breast, followed by another and then another as he moved downwards, Anna's squeals and giggles mingling with Cameron's own quiet laughter as he proceeded to make love to his wife.

~*~*~*~

SGC, Cheyenne Mountain

"Morning Sunshine."

"Mmm..." Caught up in his reading, Doctor Daniel Jackson made a vague reply, his mind focused on the file he was reading and the mug of coffee he was drinking, before he glanced casually up to see Cameron coming out from another corridor, intersecting with the one that Daniel was walking along.

With his attention now focused on Cameron, Daniel gave a more in depth response, "Oh... Good morning. Running a bit late, aren't we?" he asked, knowing full well the latest of the morning as the two of them fell into step with each other, shutting the file and glancing at his watch to confirm this and seeing that Cameron was in fact now a little over half an hour late.

"Yeah. Sorry about that," replied Cameron, not looking all that sorry with a boyish grin on his face, "But don't worry the Odyssey's not going anywhere without me, which means it won't leave without you and Vala."

"Oh, I'm not worried. Vala on the other hand..."

"Well, look who's finally managed to get himself out of bed this morning," said Vala, coming up behind the two men, "You know some of us have better things to do than wait around for you all morning. Some of us in fact, are packed and ready, waiting to have this meeting over with so we can beam aboard the Odyssey. Some of us haven't had breakfast yet." Giving a few sideways shakes of her head, pursing her lips at the same time in a look of disapproval Vala continued, "This really isn't how someone in command should behave."

"Look in four years I have never once been late. Something ...."

"... came up?" said Vala, flashing Cameron a cheeky smile

Cameron gave Vala a quick glance backwards, his face revealing nothing, his voice cautious. "Yeah... we got a flat tyre."

"Oh, well that's strange... because I just spoke to Anna and she said that the reason you were running late was because she'd left her laptop behind by mistake."

Cameron said something quietly to himself as he walked slightly ahead of Daniel and Vala.

Vala leaned over to Daniel whispering but loud enough for Cameron to hear, "You know what I think? I think they were busy having ..."

"Vala!" Daniel gave her a warning look.

"WHAT? You know you were thinking it too," said Vala as they all walked into the briefing room"

Doing his best to keep his composure Cameron replied, "Can we change the subject?"

"You see, I told you so," Vala said smugly, looking from Daniel to Cameron, "While we've been waiting here, having dragged ourselves out of a warm bed on absolutely freezing morning, he and Anna ... "

"Vala, I think we're all quite aware of what you think," said Daniel, coming to Cameron's rescue. Turning to Cameron he gave his friend a smile. "You know, you really did bring this on yourself. I mean it's Anna's last day before she goes to the Pegasus Galaxy. The two of you aren't going to see each other for months. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."

"Don't you mean one and one together," called out Vala from the other side of the table, her face barely able to hide the huge smile that was threatening to over whelm it.

"Okay, okay. Give me a break," cried Cameron in defeat as he saw the two of them trying to hold back the laughter, "Can we just pretend this never happened and get back to work and please, please stop talking about my love life."

With that Cameron took a seat and sat down, putting an end to the matter as Daniel and Vala followed suit and sat down, the teasing smiles still on their faces.

~*~*~*~

The Odyssey - Currently in orbit around Earth

Two hours later they all sat in the mess hall of the Odyssey as Vala watched Anna reach across the table with her spoon, dipping it into Cameron's red jello, popping the spoonful of food into her mouth.

"Hey! You never let me do that." Vala looked at Cameron, indignant.

"That's because she...," said Cameron, giving a nod towards Anna, along with a smile and a wink, "...happens to be the woman I love and we're married."

"Mmm... That seems just a little unfair." Looking slightly put out, Vala looked across at Daniel, her expression changing as she eyed his plate of food.

"Don't even think about it." Daniel looked up from his reading, giving Vala a stare.

"Darling, I know we're not married but you love me. Surely that counts for something. Just one little bite? Pleaseee!"

In reply Daniel pulled his plate closer, putting the file he was reading between his plate and Vala.

"Well, that's not very nice. We're a couple too. And couples share."

"I don't think that's going to work. Maybe you should just ask the guy to marry you." Cameron couldn't help but tease.

"Nooo!"

Speaking at the same time, Vala and Daniel shook their heads, panic in their eyes as they looked at Cameron and Anna.

"Okay, that's not the reaction I was expecting. I would of thought you wouldn't have had a problem getting married. You've both been married before." Cameron was amused by their response, who would of thought that just mentioning marriage would get that kind of reaction.

"And look at how they all ended," said Vala, giving Daniel a smile which he returned, giving a shrug of his shoulders in agreement, "Daniel's wife was taken over by a Goa'uld. And my track record is no better, none of my relationships have ended on the best of terms. It's feels better this way."

"Vala and I have talked about it and we've decided we're happy as we are. Marriage isn't that important to us, anymore."

"Of course, if I had known that being married meant that I was entitled to a share of Daniel's food I might have considered it a bit more carefully..."

With her hand now laying next to Daniel's plate, Vala quickly pulled the plate of waffles towards herself, grabbing a fork and taking a bite.

Daniel gave her a slightly exasperated look as she grinned back at him. Chuckling Cameron shared an amused glance with Anna, her own face showing a smile as she took a sip of her tea.

~*~*~*~

"It's a lemon," said Anna.

Standing in their quarters Anna looked at the large lemon in Cameron's hand, confusion in her voice and on her face. Of all the gifts that Cameron might of given her as a going away present this was unusual to say the least. Obviously there was some meaning behind it, but whatever it was it escaped her for the time being. Still it was the thought that counted, she thought, reaching out for it and holding it in her hand.

Seeing her confusion and the slight hesitation she gave before she took it, Cameron smiled. "If McKay gives you a hard time, just wave this about. It's guaranteed to send him running in the other direction."

"Oh?"

"Apparently he's allergic."

Anna felt a smile forming on her face which she struggled to hold back a little by gently biting down on her bottom lip, causing the smile to stop half way, though the evidence of her good humor was apparent by the sparkle in her eyes and the heightened laugh lines on her cheeks. "I'm sure he's not that bad. He seemed nice at Sam and Jack's wedding. Maybe you just met him on a bad day."

"Maybe," Cameron grudgingly admitted, smiling, "Doctor Keller certainly seems to be a good influence on him. But just in case, take it, you never know when it might come in handy. Either that or you could always just shoot him."

Giving a laugh Anna saw Cam's smile and knew that it wasn't really about Doctor McKay but that instead he was just making sure she was going to be okay while she was way from him. Knowing this she placed the lemon inside her jacket pocket, giving it a pat.

"See, safe and sound. I'll keep it by my laptop. If he gets out of hand I'll just point to it, that should do the trick. Though I'm sure I won't need to. Remember I've been yelled at by the best. If I can handle a four star general doing his nut at me, I'm sure I can cope with Rodney," said Anna, leaning over to kiss him.

They had been lucky so far. It was the first time that they were going to be apart for any length of time since they had first met a little over a year ago. And though they accepted it as part of their jobs, it still didn't make it any easier for either of them. For the next 12 weeks there would be no more long talks or companionable silences that came from two people who were not just husband and wife but best friends. No more glances and random touches that spoke of their love for each other. From tonight onwards until they saw each other again they would be sleeping alone, the other side of the bed cold and empty.

"Good. Just let him know if he upsets you, I'll kick his butt," said Cameron, returning the kiss.

Leaning forward he rested his forehead against hers. For a moment the two of them stayed like that, looking at each other, faint smiles on their faces as they kissed gently again before they moved apart as Anna went over to the bed, slipping her laptop bag over one shoulder and picking up her other bag.

"Got everything Doc?" asked Cameron

"I think so."

Cameron went over to her taking the bag from her hand. As the two of then walked out the door he reached out with his free hand taking her hand in his, pulling her closer to his side. In response Anna reached across her chest with her left hand, taking hold of Cam's upper arm and leaned into him as they walked along the corridors of the Odyssey.

~*~*~*~

Standing in a spot where the corridors of the Odyssey intersected to form a crossroads Anna stood with Cameron saying her goodbyes to Vala and Daniel.

Vala gave Anna a hug. "Now don't you worry about a thing. We'll keep an eye on Mitchell and I promise we'll do our best not to get him into too much trouble. And remember don't work too hard, eat right and get plenty of sleep... oh and don't go sticking your head in any strange Ancient devices just because it's a helpful thing to do..."

"What Vala means is that she's going to miss you. We all are," said Daniel going up to Anna to give her a hug as Vala moved away. As she had with Vala, Anna returned the hug, holding Daniel for a moment. Since their ordeal at the hands of the Furlings the two of them had become close, something that everyone else around them accepted and understood, knowing that a bond had been created between them when they had witnessed the torture of the other.

As Vala and Daniel stood back a little, Cameron spoke into his comm link, "Marks we're ready to beam down."

In an instance they were gone in a flash of white leaving Daniel and Vala standing there. As Daniel moved away, heading back to one of the science labs, he stopped after only taking a few steps as he realised that Vala wasn't following him and was still standing in the same spot, a wistful and slightly sad look on her face.

"Hey, you okay?" he said, peering at her with concern.

"I'm fine." Vala turned and gave Daniel a smile. "It's just first Sam and now Anna, everyone's leaving again. You know how much I hate goodbyes."

"I know, but Anna will be back in a few months and Sam will be back before you know it. The General Hammond just going on it's first run, checking that all it's systems are working smoothly. You'll have plenty to catch up on when you see them again. And there's one good thing...," said Daniel moving closer to Vala to stand right in front of her, his face alight with mischief and desire.

"Oh?"

"Yes, we can spend time together alone, just you and me..."

"... and the other 150 members of the crew along with Mitchell. Not exactly alone, Darling, unless of course you're thinking of holey up in our quarters the entire time we're on board."

"Well, maybe not the entire time," said Daniel, leaning down to give her a quick kiss, "But I'm sure no one will even notice if we disappear for a few hours." With that Daniel suddenly swooped Vala up into his arms and turned heading towards their quarters

Laughing Vala flashed Daniel a saucy grin. "Only a few hours. Oh I'm sure you can do much better than that."

~*~*~*~