Chapter 1
"You ready?" asked General O'Neill. He'd requested to come to the SGC to personally see the new recruit through the gate and give me a briefing about going through.
"Hell yes sir!" I answered. I never got the job working at the SGC. Russian Lieutenant Ivan Dwaski got the job. He was given a place with SG-3. General Landry decided that my skills would be useful elsewhere.
When the seventh chevron was encoded I wasted no time. I only hesitated for second to admire the blue, watery wormhole that transported people to other planets and galaxies before I passed through it without looking back.
Seconds later I emerged from the other side of the Stargate. Atlantis. It was more amazing than I could have imagined. Such a beautiful sight; I couldn't wait to explore the city and the planet it was on along with the rest of the galaxy. It took me a few moments for the fact that I was in a different galaxy sink in.
"Welcome to Atlantis," said the woman that I've always strived to be like: my idol, Colonel Samantha Carter. I stared dumbly for a few moments as I realized who was welcoming me to Atlantis. This must all be a dream. My dreams can't actually have come true…
I managed to snap out of my daze when Colonel Carter raised her eyebrows and gave me a closed mouth smile. "Uh, thanks!" I answered her excitedly.
Colonel Carter turned her head to face a decent-looking black-haired guy wearing a black shirt who was standing behind her. "Major Lorne, would you mind showing Lieutenant Jarrett to her quarters?" she requested.
"Yes Colonel Carter," he said stepping forward.
We walked side by side through the corridors of the great City of Atlantis. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. "I'm Evan," he said to break the silence. "It's good to see a new face around here."
I smiled at him and said, "I'm Samantha. It's nice to meet you."
He smiled back and said, "So I was thinking. After I show you to your quarters and you put your things away, maybe I could show you around the city and we could go get lunch while we're at it?"
Was that his odd way of asking me out or does he just want to hang out with me? Either way I decided to say, "Yeah sure. That'd be awesome!"
We walked the rest of the way to my quarters in silence. I was mulling over whether or not Evan found me attractive and Evan was smiling gleefully for some unknown reason.
Finally we got to my quarters and Evan opened it for me by swiping his hand in front of some kind of motion sensor and the door slid open. I peered in to find a huge room containing an unusual looking bed, a triangle shaped desk in a corner with a laptop on it, and a plant blooming with yellow alien flowers.
"I thought you might like some colour in here since it looks so plain, so I added the flowers myself," said Evan. Well that was sweet of him, considering that he hadn't even met me. He was right though, the room was pretty empty.
"Thank you," I said. "They're very beautiful."
He smiled and said, "I'll leave you to it then. I'll find you later for the personal tour." Then he turned and left.
I stood there for a while, examining the yellow, spiky petals of the alien flowers. They somehow managed to look beautiful, but also menacing at the same time. The flower seemed to have a pleasant conflict between its petals.
I walked over to what looked like another door near the desk and swiped my hand against the panel as Evan had before. It slid open to reveal a small, square space inside. Deciding that it was safe to assume that that was the storage base for my quarters, I took my bag off and settled in right up against the wall.
oOo
That afternoon I had gotten lost in the halls of the city when I ran into Evan again. Literally. "Oh hey," Evan said after we both recovered. "I was just coming to find you for that tour! What are you doing here?"
"There was no way I was going to sit in that room all day. I was going crazy just staring at a plant!" I told him.
A wide smile slowly spread across his face. "So you like the plant then?" he asked, and I realised that I'd just complimented him without knowing it. But that's okay. He deserved to know his sweetness is appreciated.
"Yes. Yes I do like the plant, it's lovely." I answered him. He's such a sweet guy.
"Would you like to come and get some food with me?" he asked.
"I'd love to." I said smiling up at him. "But afterwards you'll have to show me around this place, and show me the way back to my room for that matter because I have no idea where I am."
oOo
After we'd had lunch Even showed me round Atlantis and explained about how it rose from the sea. At the end of the tour we walked down a corridor lined with doors that looked much like the one that lead to my quarters.
Evan stopped us in front of one of the doors and said "These are my quarters. If you ever need anything this is where you can find me. Would you like to come in?"
"Sure." I answered. He swiped his hand against the panel and the door slid open as expected, but his room was so different from the one I've been given. It looked so welcoming and far from empty or hollow. It was filled with beautiful paintings on canvases of every size. An art easel was standing close to the window with a half-finished painting balanced on it.
I closed the distance between me and the art until I stood right in front of it. It looked so very familiar… The painting was an image of a petite woman with very light blond hair in a ponytail that hung long and straight down her shoulder, and eyes the colour of murky sea.
I turned round to see Evan facing away from me looking guilty and flushed.
"You're painting me?" I asked.
"I… err… forgot about that." he answered.
I was quite flattered. This gorgeous, sweet guy was painting a portrait of me. "It's beautiful! You're certainly talented."
He shuffled me out the door after that and led me back to my quarters in silence, leaving in a hurry as soon as I got to my door.
