DISCLAIMER: "Stargate SG-1/Atlantis" and its characters are the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film Corp., Sci-fi and USA Networks, Inc. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.

Spoilers - Written as a missing scene for the end of Episode 11 (Season 10) - The Quest Part 2. Contains spoilers of what happens in the episode. You have been warned.

The Waiting Game

Looking over at Cam, he merely raised a brow slightly before giving a slight shake of his head and wandered along the corridor himself. Sam looked further over her shoulder to Teal'c, always her solitary companion when it came to the waiting game. They would sift through reams of gate addresses stored by the buffers, make futile attempts to connect with gates and be met by more disappointments. Both she and Teal'c knew it was a hopeless dance they both knew how to execute perfectly in order for them to at least feel like they were doing something to help get Daniel back.

Both Vala and Cameron still had a lot to get used to, Sam knew it was a given fact Cameron knew how to deal with it better than Vala did, but even he was buckling under the stress of it all, and with the General now posted in Washington, he was in a whole waiting game of his own, possibly sitting as near to a phone as possible, juggling decisions he probably didn't give a rats ass about under the circumstances and doing it all stoically alone. Sam knew she was lucky, at least she had Teal'c, who albeit was stoic, but his silence was always a comfort. Jack she'd call later, Cameron she knew would deal with it, but Vala, well the way the woman had been punching into her computer keyboard like it just knew the secret of Daniel's whereabouts and just another hard swipe would make it give up its secret, Sam knew Vala wasn't coping and although Cameron had told her he'd dealt with the situation, Sam knew how it was to have to play the waiting game better than he did.

Sighing she gave the computer screen a harsh glare before typing in a few more commands, and still coming up empty she wondered if it really did have a secret vendetta and was working with the Ori; keeping Daniel's whereabouts secret and leaving the whole team desperately wondering where he was and what had happened to him. She turned away from it, lest she start punching its keyboard as harshly as Vala through sheer frustration. She couldn't get the words 'I'll be right behind you' out of her head. Deep down inside, the moment Daniel had said those words she knew that they weren't true the way he was facing up to Adria, in fact he probably knew they weren't true even as he said them. Yet they'd all turned about face and went through the gate anyway. Leaving him alone, abandoned and facing possibly the most powerful being in the Universe.

For a moment Sam yearned for the previous years of fighting the latest system Lord to have risen through the ranks. At least they'd seen light at the end of the tunnel back then; she'd gotten used to the fact that they'd been able to come up with something in order to defeat them. She'd even lived a little of those good old days only a few hours before, she still felt a slight twinge in the knuckles but god it had felt so good to take the cheap shot at Baal. At least the General had gotten a chuckle out of the quick report she'd given him over the phone, she made sure at least that part of the story was in full detail.

Peering over at Teal'c, who was still staring at computer figures and was trying to make himself useful she gave a small smile. He was only hanging about in order to make her feel better and make sure she was ok, and she appreciated it. Theirs had always been a quiet unspoken kind of friendship. They could be in each other's presence for hours and silence would never be uncomfortable, not in the latter years at least and she appreciated his company especially in these situations. But she was rather concerned about another member of the team as she stepped over beside Teal'c to look over what he was doing. The computer was reaming through the gate addresses in the buffer since they'd last arrived and he was watching the figures dance merrily up the screen lost in thought. She lay a hand on his arm gently and he inclined his head ever so slightly in response.

"How are you doing?" she asked him, although she was sick of being asked the question herself.

"I am ... well" replied Teal'c with a pause indicating that he could be doing better but under the circumstances he knew he couldn't be feeling anything but as well as he was. "How are you?"

"You know, you'd think after ten years of this, I'd have gotten used to waiting around wondering...but nope, it never gets easier. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that Daniel does this to us every now and then and still ends up turning up at any given time right as rain as if nothing has happened"

"Indeed" Teal'c agreed, taking his eyes off the screen for a moment to look over to Sam who had started to shift through some papers "Daniel Jackson does seem to find his way out of extraordinary situations without seemingly the slightest of efforts"

"Yeah, I guess its just his...thing" Sam shrugged setting down the papers who were offering up no more clues than the computer as to where to start in order to search for him. "You know, you're the warrior, I'm the brains, Daniel finds his way to of extraordinary situations with a click of his fingers, usually learning a new language in the process and once or twice getting ascended as well"

Teal'c inclined his head once more and Sam could read the smirk which appeared at the edge of his lips. One day she imagined, perhaps in the distant future, but nevertheless, they'd manage to get the jaffa to laugh out loud at some earth humour. Sam smoothed the papers down with her fingers before making a loud sigh of defeat.

"You know what, we've been at this for hours, I need a break. I also think I should go see how Vala is doing"

"She does not seem to be coping well" Teal'c said stating the obvious

"Well she's not used to worrying and waiting like we are" Sam shrugged turning for the door "Are you headed for the com? Blue jello always helps me clear my head"

"I shall return to my quarters and meditate, unless you wish me to accompany you" Teal'c replied as they vacated Sam's lab and headed down the corridor.

"No you go ahead, I'll may stop by later see how you are"

Teal'c dropped a hand on her shoulder for a moment before turning down the corridor as Sam swiped her card at the elevator, deciding to stop at Vala's quarters first before heading to the com. She knocked at Vala's door upon arrival but received no answer, she tapped again before opening the door slightly and sticking her head around, the light was turned off but as light filtered through from the open doorway she could see Vala's bed was empty. Closing the door once more Sam gave a frown of concern as she headed for the commissary, perhaps the woman was in there although she doubted under the dark cloud Vala was currently camping under that she'd be around that many people.

Giving a quick glance over the faces in the commissary Sam noted that Vala certainly wasn't present, and it was as she picked out the last blue jello from the counter that she figured where she was. Picking up red jello also and armed with two spoons, she headed back out of the commissary and back to the elevators. Heading down the maze of corridors and finally arriving at the large expansive space of Daniel's office, come library come mini museum of all things alien and ancient. Vala was sulking in the corner in Daniel's chair staring at some old fragments of rock. She picked a piece up and started rolling it around in her hands. Sam made a slight tutting noise as she entered the office; Vala spun round in her chair to look over at her.

"You know, he really doesn't like people touching things in here" Sam smiled, holding out the red jello to Vala. Vala gave a soft sigh and set the rock back on the counter before taking the offered glass of jello; Sam also handed her a spoon before sitting down herself. "Thought I'd find you in here"

"Got tired of staring at the four walls of my room" Vala muttered before taking a spoonful of jello. She savoured the taste before giving Sam a frown "How did you know I'd be here?"

"Oh when Daniel first started his disappearing acts, I would always end up in here eventually. In fact had I not been so busy filtering through gate addresses from the buffers and trying to come up with any way to getting back to that planet, I may have ended up here earlier myself" Sam replied, taking a mouthful of jello "How you holding up?"

"Mitchell told me this is what is to be part of the team," Vala said, knowing deep down he was right, but it didn't make it any easier

"Well he's right, and get used to it, it happens on a regular basis." Sam replied matter of factly, in these circumstances she didn't see any point in sugaring the truth "Look I know how hard it is at first, believe me and it doesn't get any easier no matter how many times you go through it. You just have to remember that there's more than one member in the team. When one member goes missing for whatever reason, the whole team suffers, and the whole team has to cope with it. We all cope in different ways, but we all know that we're all there for each other"

Vala stayed silent, this whole team-bonding thing was an entire new experience for someone used to relying solely on themselves in any given situation. But there were pros and cons to new things and this one of them.

"It doesn't get any easier at all?" she asked looking slightly hopeful. She wasn't sure she'd be able to feel this way if it happened regularly.

"Well, I guess maybe in one sense it gets easier, and yet no not really. It's the waiting game, and it sucks and well to be honest, Daniel has gotten himself into quite the situation on numerous occasions. Well we all have, but none more so than Daniel, but everything's turned out alright in the end, after all, we're all still here. I guess I'm used to the fact that shit happens and I can either come up with a solution or wait until one presents itself. Either way I'll probably cry about it, wonder why I didn't do something different, talk it over with the team, bury myself in my work and wait until the light appears at the end of the tunnel and Daniel comes strolling through the door like nothing happened"

"Wow, you really have done this a lot haven't you" Vala replied, before finishing off her jello

"Have you read any of our reports?" Sam chided with a soft smile

"Well" Vala set the empty glass down on the desk and picked up the rock she'd been studying before "I guess I've done the crying thing, the wondering why thing, this probably constitutes talking it over with the team, so now I bury myself under work?"

Sam gave her a smile; at least the woman took what was said to heart, no matter how zany she could be. She glanced at her watch knowing the tiredness she was feeling had every right to be nagging at her.

"Actually now, we go get some rest, then we can continue our search in the morning."

Vala looked a little disappointed at the thought of sleeping.

"Look Vala, if we don't rest we'll be too tired to do anything if we do come up with something and the General would never allow us to carry out whatever we come up with. Best to get rest now and then he can't hold it against us later"

Vala seemed to want to disagree, but she also looked tired and instead looked a little deflated as she set the rock down on the counter once more before standing picking up the empty glass.

"I guess you're right" she yawned, putting her hand over her mouth "To bed, and then tomorrow, rescue mission" she looked excited at the prospect of a rescue. Sam knew she had every right to be slightly nervous at the look but decided not to say anything. Instead the two women vacated Daniel's room and headed for the elevators. After al, thought Sam, Daniel could be home by tomorrow.

finis