Two

Jeez, why did Dernier have to go home suddenly? Now the explosives lab has no head anymore and someone has to organize it because apparently no one else feels responsible for it. So she's stuck with loads of paperwork. Schedules, supply lists, reports… seriously, how did she end up doing this?

Okay, so yes, this thing serves pretty nicely to distract her from Evan's issues with the aftermath of the Goa'uld… well, and her own issues. Dammit, she really thought she'd gotten over it after the almighty crying spell she'd had at her parents' but… it just doesn't really stop. She still wakes up panting at night – thankfully usually when Evan isn't there because the last thing she wants is to burden him with her problems – and she still feels even more short-tempered than usual.

Aw, fuck. Sighing, she pushes her laptop a little to the side and puts her head on the arms on the table. If she could just… "Ma'am?"

Dammit. Why does Simmons always have to startle her like that? She nearly fell off her chair… again. And God, that must have looked stupid how she jerked up... oh, great, he brought the rest of the team as well. Not… good. "Yes, Lieutenant… Sergeants? What… can I do for you?"

They look at each other and both the Sergeants seem to give Simmons a little nudge. "Right, uh… ma'am… can we talk to you?"

Uh-oh, that doesn't bode well, considering the very serious look Simmons wears… and both the Sergeants, Meyers included. But they helped her take down the rogue Trust cell… and it must have been quite the effort for Simmons to go to her. So she nods. "Sure. Just… come in."

They look at each other again and finally enter her lab. She gestures for them to sit down and after another moment of hesitation they take the seats. Simmons takes a short look around… and when his eyes fall on the picture of Evan and her that found its way to her desk a few weeks ago, he takes a deep breath. It starts to dawn on her what this could be about. "We're… we're really sorry to bother you, ma'am but… it's about… it's about the boss. Major Lorne, I mean."

Yeah, that's what she'd suspected. And she wishes they wouldn't have come to her about it. It's enough she has to talk to Obanashi about him. So she takes a deep breath herself. "Look, Lieutenant… I'm sure you didn't come here because of trivialities but… I don't think… I don't think Major Lorne would appreciate me talking to you about him behind his back."

Really, he of all persons should know. And he hadn't even been privy to the worst of the fight she and Evan had about her meddling in his professional relationship with Simmons. At least… he seems to know that very well himself. "We… we know that, ma'am. And we really wouldn't do that if it wasn't… if there wasn't…"

"The boss hasn't been quite himself lately, Cap," Meyers interrupts Simmons matter-of-factly and… the Lieutenant looks almost grateful for that. She starts to feel a little sorry for him.

Right. Apparently either Evan's issues perpetrated into his professional life or his team knows him better than he thought. Either way, it must be bad if she isn't the only one noticing it. "Guys…" she's about to tell them that she can't talk to them about Evan but… the thing is… Meyers was right and she's probably their last resort. And she remembers Simmons telling her that you just don't let down the boss… or any other team members. So she massages the bridge of her nose and says, "I know… I know."

She catches them looking at each other again and it's Simmons' turn again. "I mean, he's… he's still doing his job and he's keeping us all in shape and everything but…"

"He's not Evan… I mean, not the boss anymore." They nod. Yeah. He's really not Evan anymore. The helplessness in their faces – even in McPherson's face to a certain degree and that scares her a little – gets to her… because in some way it mirrors her own helplessness. So it's probably time she opens up a little. "Look, guys, I'm sorry but I just… I don't know what to do, either."

Running her hand through her hair, she looks down at the table… so she doesn't have to look at Evan's team. Goddammit, she's still so thin-skinned and it just doesn't get better. "We're sorry, ma'am."

Surprised, she looks up again. That was… McPherson. "You don't have to be. I mean, you came here to find some help and I just…"

"Actually, we also came here to see if you need some help." Oh. Oh, that came… unexpectedly, not just because it was McPherson who said it but also because… because.

Blushing, she puts an errant strand of her behind her ear. "That's… really decent of you but… I'm okay, really. Just a little… busy is all." Of course Dr. Obanashi would have something else to say about it but Dr. Obanashi is not in the room right now.

The guys look at each other again and… does Evan know how much they have perfected those little "our superiors are nuts" looks? "I was just thinking... Kassandra and I did some playing around with scheduling subroutines. Maybe you could need one."

Uh, why is Simmons… "And I'm sure the Camp Boom thing next month needs a little polishing. I'll look the tent plan over, Cap. Dr. Dernier always forgot that you should never put Heinemann and Derijkje in the same tent because if you do they keep arguing about German and Dutch soccer the whole night."

Did Meyers just… "I'm quite good with sorting through all kinds of stuff, ma'am."

And with that, McPherson starts digging through the first supply shelf in his reach… while Simmons starts happily hacking away on the keyboard of the computer opposite to her and Meyers starts going through the chaos that are the plans for the three day explosives exercise for the Atlantis NCO corps on the mainland next month they'd been planning for the last three months.

A little overwhelmed, she shakes her head. "Guys, you don't have to…"

"But we want to, ma'am," Simmons simply says, without looking up from the screen… in a tone that tells her that objection is not an option.

Realizing she won't get rid of the team for the rest of the day, she resigns herself to it and answers still a little perplexed, "Right… right." But, yeah… maybe she should just get back to what she had been doing before. "Okay… Meyers? Let's go through that tent plan…"

A/N: Sorry for the slight delay... I've become a little distracted by discovering Leverage (it's the first new fandom in ages that made me enthusiastic enough that I felt the urge to write fanfic... I don't even know when the last time was that that happened) but I promise I won't forget the Stargate fandom. It's the one I feel most at home at. I just need mac to nag me a little so I won't forget posting and writing for Stargate entirely ;)