A/N: Okay, so here's another piece Lorne spawned in my mind. I'll admit, it was originally going to be a much longer piece. However, I've decided to experiment with something.

In any case, I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Don't worry, there will likely be more in a new series I'm probably going to call "The Cursed Colonel". lol

Chapter One

"You know, Colonel, when I woke up today I could have sworn you said something about this being an easy day," Major Lorne told Colonel Sheppard over lunch. "Exactly what part of that did I misunderstand?"

Sheppard smirked as he inspected his turkey sandwich. "Okay, so I might have exaggerated the easy part."

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Lorne poked around at his own sandwich half-heartedly.

"What? Is the bread stale?" Sheppard asked, eyeing his second in command critically.

There was no doubt, both of them were tired. Everyone on Atlantis was tired. In the weeks since their return to the Ancient city it had been nothing short of chaos. They had been re-setting up everything that had been taken down, moved, or returned to Earth when the last of the un-ascended Ancients had returned to reclaim their city. Now over the shock of the surprising turn of events that lead them back to the city, things were finally beginning to slow down. But, that just meant more work of a different kind.

"Nope, just not as hungry as I thought I was," Lorne replied, reaching for his coffee instead.

"Well, you better hope it stays relatively easy today. Your team is scheduled to be off to M3V-169 in a couple of hours."

"Yep, Doctor Weir says the Tiors haven't renewed their communications with us, and would like me to see if they're still up for trading."

"You have fun with that," Sheppard said, never one to enjoy diplomatic missions. Those he happily fobbed off on the more personable Major.

Lorne just smirked again, tiredly. He wasn't all that fond of diplomatic missions, himself. They usually involved a lot of sitting around being polite while someone with more letters after their name than good sense did all the negotiating. He preferred to be exploring something. But, then again, the negotiations were already a done deal. Now it was just a matter of resuming open communication. So, all in all, a cake walk mission like this on a planet with an easy-going medieval-era civilization in a comfortable climate might be just the thing for his team. Since their return Lieutenants Keane, Cayton, and Shingleton had all been a bit restless with the never-ending list of unpacking they had to accomplish. If they were lucky, they'd be gone no more than a few hours. At worst, they would be coming back to Atlantis for Weir to renegotiate the trade agreements and be back in a couple of days.

"Atlantis to Lorne. You in there?"

Realizing he had tuned out his CO while mulling over all this, Major Lorne gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Colonel. What was that?"

Sheppard sat back giving the Major a closer examination. "You look like hell."

"Why thank you, sir," he shot back with a cheeky grin that showed off his dimples.

"No, I'm serious. When was the last time you actually slept?"

"Sleep? What is this thing of which you speak?"

Sheppard frowned. He didn't like it when his men were in less than top performance standards unless they were in a crisis and had no choice. Suddenly he was rethinking today's off-world mission.

"Don't worry about it, sir. We've all had a long few weeks. And, before you take me off this mission, Iet me assure you that this is probably just the thing my team needs."

"How so?"

"A quick hike, a quiet village, some fresh air, and an easy mission. What more could we ask for? Besides, who else would you send? You're not likely to find more than two people in the whole city right now that aren't just as run down; yourself included."

"Fair enough. But when you get back, I want you and your team—"

"Don't say it!" Lorne warned with an icy blue-eyed glare. "You know if you tell us we're off duty to relax all hell will break loose."

"Major, I didn't realize you were so superstitious."

"I'm not. You're just a curse," he muttered making the Colonel laugh. Gulping down the last of his coffee Lorne said, "I've got an upbrief with SGA4 in a few minutes. We'll discuss downtime when we get back, safe and sound and in one piece."

"Have fun," Sheppard couldn't resist calling as the Major took his tray and left.