Jess had mixed feelings about two weeks leave. She was glad to get the break and looking forward to spending some time at the ranch. Still, she was growing use to her new life, and didn't like the idea of an extended break from it. Two weeks was a long time, upgrades to the ship or not.

As with everything in her life as of late, things started and ended at the SGC. Prometheus dropped off all non essential crew there along with SG1. There would be a medical check and short debriefing before they would be dismissed.

Jess didn't have a car at the base and was hoping to bribe Hank for a ride home by promising him some of her Aunt Maggie's home-cooking. Divorced old general's rarely passed up a meal prepared by someone other than a hair-net wearing food service worker.

She knocked on the general's door and stepped in when invited.

"Come to pawn a ride home?" Hank asked the young pilot. He had been planning on it anyway. He wanted to have a little chat with her about a certain outburst with a particular Lt. Colonel.

"I called Maggie and she said there's a bowl of peach cobbler in it for you," Jess tried to butter up her old friend.

"Peach, huh, I've always been more of a cherry cobbler kind of guy myself," Hank answered rubbing his belly absent mindedly.

Jess just waited. Gen. Hank Landry never turned down a sweet, regardless of the flavor.

Hank smiled knowing Jess wasn't buying it.

"I've got a couple of things I need to finish up first. Meet me topside in half an hour," he dismissed Jess.

Jess wandered the hallways trying to decide how best to kill the time. Most the crew from Prometheus had already scattered, leaving her on her own.

"Hey Jess," Daniel quickened his steps to catch up with her.

"Hi Daniel," Jess smiled. She was glad to see at least one member of SG1 was still talking to her.

Jess hadn't had a chance to apologize to Cam yet for her misbehavior. She wanted to keep her promise to her CO, but there just hadn't been the right opportunity yet. It seemed there was always someone else around.

"Hi. Listen, we're off for the weekend so Sam, Cam and I are planning on going to O'Malley's to shoot some pool tonight. Would you want to join us?" Daniel asked.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Jess declined, wary of intruding on a team outing especially given her standings with said team's leader.

"Because of what happened with Cam on Prometheus?" Daniel asked. He didn't understand the combativeness between Jess and Cam, but he was willing to bear the olive branch. Daniel hoped a little off base interaction might help the two find some common ground. The tension between the pair wasn't doing anyone any good.

"I just wouldn't want to intrude," Jess tried to dismiss Daniel's spot on conclusion.

"You know, he's not such a bad guy once you get to know him," Daniel kept trying. "It's up to you, but I think you should come."

Jess thought about it, carefully weighing Daniel's advice. Finally she decided it would probably be an opportunity to make nice with SG1s commanding officer. Like each other or not, they did need to work together. Crow wasn't exactly Jess' favorite flavor, but she could swallow it when she had to.

"Yeah, you're right. At least it can't hurt to try," Jess accepted Daniel's invitation. "What about Teal'c?"

"He's taking the couple of days off to go visit his son Rya'c," Daniel explained.

"So do you want me to pick you up?" He added trying his best to sound casual about it.

"Thanks for the offer, but my place is pretty far out of the way. It'll probably be better if I just meet you there," Jess carefully maneuvered around the situation.

"Ok then, we'll be there about 8 o'clock. Oh wait that's 2000 to you military types," Daniel teased.

Jess laughed lightly at Daniel's joke, "I'll probably be running late, but I'll get there as soon as I can."

Hank turned the key in the ignition and pulled his truck out of the parking lot. Neither he nor Jess broke the comfortable silence until after they passed the last security check point.

"So, you want to talk about it?" Hank questioned his passenger.

"Sir?" Jess played dumb.

"Jess, I'm asking you as a friend not a superior officer," Hank looked over at her.

She sighed. Jess knew he'd have heard about the row, and figured he'd ask her about it. She just wasn't sure how to explain why Cam irked her so badly.

"I know I shouldn't have lost my temper with Lt. Colonel Mitchell," Jess tried to explain her misconduct. "I just couldn't help it. He puts his team at risk during every mission and more times then not, that means we get deployed to go save their butts. But then he has the audacity to call me reckless? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!"

"Jess, Cameron Mitchell is one of the best officers I've ever had under my command," Hank tried to explain. "The nature of SG1's missions means they have to take risks everyday. But it also means they need to rely on the other teams to safely bail them out on occasion."

Hank paused picking his next words carefully.

"Listen kiddo, I know you didn't want to get pulled back into all this military crap. But I need you, your squadron relies on you and the other SG teams need to know they can count on you. Find a way to make nice with Mitchell," Hank used his military commander voice for the last sentence.

Jess sat silently mulling over his words. He was right of course.

"Did you just call me kiddo?" She tried to relieve the tension that had built between them.

"Jessica," Landry was trying to be serious.

"I know. You're right. I've already got plans to make nice with the Lt. Colonel, I promise," Jess reassured Hank.

Dinner was warm and comfortable and relaxing. Maggie had out done herself. She worried that Jess didn't eat enough while away and was trying to make up for it all in one meal.

Stuffed to the gills, Jess helped clean up the kitchen then excused herself so she could get ready.

For the first time in a long time, she struggled to find something to wear. She wasn't even sure why she cared, but she did, very much. Finally she settled on a pair of dark blue jeans, a cream-colored satin camisole and her favorite tan corduroy blazer. She was pulling on a well worn pair of cowboy boots when Maggie knocked at her door.

"You look nice," Maggie tried to remember the last time she'd seen Jess with make up on. Jess had even left her hair down, to fall softly to her shoulders. "What's his name?"

Jess gave Maggie a sarcastic look, "Why does it have to be about a guy? Maybe I just felt like dressing up a bit."

That was the truth too. Jess wasn't sure exactly what was motivating her, but what she did know is that she was feeling more confident in her self then she had since getting back from Iraq. She turned to her dresser, removing her dog tags and giving one last look at her reflection in the mirror.

Maggie walked into the room and rested her hands on Jess' shoulders. "Something's different about you?"

"I kept my hair down," Jess caught Maggie's eyes in the mirror.

"No, that's not it," Maggie gave Jess one of her proud mother type looks. Regardless of bloodlines, Maggie was the closest thing Jess had to a mom and their bond reflected that.

"I don't know what they have you doing for months at a time under that mountain, but it's put the life back in your eyes," Maggie said with an unmistakable air of relief.

Jess turned so she was facing Maggie, "I've told you all along, I'm going to be alright. I just need time."

The two women hugged, and then Jess grabbed her keys off the dresser.

"By the way, don't wait up for me," she said as the pair walked out of the room.

"So there is a guy!" Maggie exclaimed.

Jess's only reply was a side ways grin and a shrug.

It was closer to 2100 by the time Jess drove back into town. She walked into O'Malley's and quickly spotted Daniel and Sam playing pool. Cam was watching the match from a near by table, nursing the final sips of his beer.

'No time like the present,' Jess thought to her self and walked up to the bar.

Jess was greeted almost immediately, "Well hello there stranger!"

"Hey Charlie," Jess adored the grandfatherly bartender, and leaned across the bar to give him a peck on the cheek.

"So, what'll it be?" Charlie asked.

"To pints of Harp," Jess ordered.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Two-fisting it from the get-go? Should I alert the cab company?"

"Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Jess laughed. She leaned in as if to tell Charlie a secret, "They're not both for me."

The two carried on while Charlie poured the beers.

Jess paid and took the two pint glasses, walking up behind where Cam was sitting. She gave herself one last deep breath before moving in to break the ice.

Cam saw a beer sliding across the table toward him, and looked to see who was doing the sliding. He was surprised to find a certain hot-headed 302 pilot standing in front of him. Daniel and Sam hadn't bothered to tell him Jess had been invited.

"What's this?" Cam pointed to the beer.

"Peace offering," Jess said taking a nervous sip from her own glass.

"I see," Cam eyed the glass then the woman.

He hadn't seen her out of uniform before and was surprised at the change. She actually looked soft and feminine rather than like the tightly wound soldier he'd come to know. That's not to say that Cam hadn't noticed she was beautiful, he'd picked up on that fact straight away when they first met. He was after all still just a guy.

He'd also quickly discovered that she was a willful pilot who was bound to get herself killed if she didn't learn how to curb her risk taking impulses. Based on his recent conversation with Matt, her CO agreed with him. Still, her fearlessness was part of what made her such a stellar addition to the 302 team, and so intriguing to Cam on a more personal level.

"So, truce?" Jess asked by way of an apology.

Cam picked up the glass.

"Truce," he offered. Like he'd explained to Matt, as long as she made an effort, he wouldn't pursue any disciplinary action against her. It wasn't worth it to him.

Jess relaxed a little. Cam was smiling at her like he had that first day in Hank's office; as though he knew something Jess didn't. Only this time it didn't bother her.

"Jess, you made it! Get over here and help me, Sam's kicking my butt," Daniel broke up the peace accord that he and Sam had observed from afar.

"Duty calls," Jess smiled. She shrugged off her coat, leaving it draped over a chair, and headed over by Sam and Daniel.

Several hours and a few games later, the foursome had given up on pool and was sitting at the table amicably trading stories over another round of beer. With each anecdote, the tales became increasingly exaggerated and the tellers all the more animated in typical one-upmanship fashion. Jess was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to watch SG1 interact in such a casual setting.

"So O'Connor, we've all been talking our heads off and once again, you've managed to avoid saying much of anything," Cam was feeling emboldened by the beer.

Jess knew that tone of voice well by now, but decided she had enough moxy to meet his challenge. With both of them out of uniform, it seemed safer to blur the line between their individual ranks.

"What can I say, I'm a good listener," she gave him her best innocent look.

"Oh you are not getting out of it this time. If you're going to drink with us, you need to start giving up some of this mystery persona of yours," he wasn't backing down.

"Okay Sir, in the spirit of our newly formed accord, you get one personal question, which I swear, on my Girl Scout's honor, to answer as truthfully as I can," she flashed him a sly smile, holding three fingers up in the Girl Scout salute.

"You were a Girl Scout?" Daniel interjected, which got both Sam and Jess giggling.

"Ok, here's my question," Cam shuffled in his chair and leaned in on his elbows very dramatically. "What were you doing for the nine months that are blocked out of your official record?"

"Can't tell you, it's classified," Jess was miffed, though not all together surprised. She'd been hoping for something easy like where did you go to school or did you always want to be a pilot. She should have known better.

"Oh come on O'Connor, you might not be able to supply the details, but you can at least generalize," Cam was not going to loose this golden opportunity.

Jess matched Cam's posture, and eyed him up.

"Ok, fine. The cliff notes version," she conceded.

"My language skills got me recruited for a special ops mission that…let's just say it didn't go as planned," Jess stumbled slightly over what exactly she should or shouldn't say. "It cost me a three weeks stay at Club al Qaeda."

"You were a POW?" Daniel asked for clarification.

Jess nodded, then continued, "Once I was rescued, I spent a few months in the hospital recovering, and after that was given an honorable discharge."

She shrugged trying to look casual about the whole affair and failing miserably. Jess grabbed her beer intending to swallow down the last gulp.

"Is that when you got the scars?" Sam half choked back her question.

Jess froze with the glass almost to her lips. She moved just her eyes to catch Sam's. Unable to verbalize an answer to the sensitive question, she simply nodded, then finished her drink.

"What scars?" Cam was intrigued that Sam knew something that visibly rattled Jess.

"Oh, sorry, thanks for playing, but the rules clearly stated that you received one question, and only one question," Jess waved him off in as joking a tone as she could muster. "But we do have a lovely parting gift for you Sir."

Without a pause Jess was up and out of her chair, falling back on a tried and true defense mechanism, "I need another drink, anybody else ready?"

She walked toward the bar before anyone had a chance to answer. She needed a moment to compose her self.

"Sam, what scars?" Daniel was concerned. He knew very little about Jack's time as a prisoner of war, but knew it had been a horrifying experience that still caused his friend nightmares.

Sam regretted bringing it up, clearly Jess wasn't comfortable with the topic.

"I saw them one day in the locker room when Jess first started," Sam sighed. "From mid shoulder blade to the small of her back, there's a row of horizontal tick marks, almost like a tally."

"What are they from?" Cam didn't like the sound of it.

"I never asked. I figured it was probably something she wouldn't want to talk about, and obviously I was right," Sam answered.

"I don't understand, that sounds like torture, and I thought the Geneva Convention protected POW's from things like that," Daniel's brow was furrowed with confusion.

"Daniel, don't be so naive," Jess berated him as she walked back up to the table. "Look, the Iraqis I met were good and honorable people. I still count several of them as friends. But these were terrorists, not soldiers who obey international rules of engagement. For Christ sake, they cut peoples' heads off on TV as a form of propaganda. The Geneva Convention isn't even in their vocabulary. Now can we please drop it?"

Jess sat back down with what she'd already decided would be her last drink of the evening. She didn't want them to think they'd run her off, but she didn't want to be there anymore either. She figured one more drink and then she could go.

Mercifully, Cam changed the topic to something less depressing. He carefully matched her drinking pace, ensuring to finish his beer the same time she was done with hers. Cam wasn't an idiot and knew Jess was looking to make a quick escape.

She'd tried earlier in the night to smooth things over between the two of them, and now his prying had put them right back at square one. He wanted a chance to say he was sorry, but felt it was something he should do in private.

Beer finished, Jess casually announced she needed to go. She stood up and put her jacket on.

"I'll walk you out," Cam stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.

"Thank you Sir, but I'm fine," Jess tried to say it in a way that wouldn't leave room for argument.

"I've got to get going anyway," Cam ignored her tone of voice and motioned for her to lead the way. "Ladies first."

Jess decided it was better not to make a scene and just gave Daniel and Sam one last wave goodbye before marching quickly toward the door.

"Hey slow down there soldier," Cam caught her arm as they exited the building.

Jess stopped and turned toward Cam, shaking his grip off her arm. It had started to flurry and there was a dusting of white clinging to the cars.

"Sir, I appreciate the gesture, but I can find my car just fine on my own," Jess tried again to escape his company. Cam was the last person she wanted to talk to at the moment. She gave him a half-hearted smile and turned to walk away, only to have him follow her.

"So why do you do that?" Cam shoved his hands in his pockets and tailed her like a lost puppy.

"Do what Sir?" Jess was exasperated and didn't stop walking till she reached her car. She dug her car keys out of her pocket and leaned against the door. It was clear that Cam wasn't going to let her leave without saying what was on his mind.

"All night it's been Sam this and Daniel that, but I'm still Sir," Cam made air quotes around the salutation.

"Daniel is a civilian," Jess pointed out the obvious.

"But Sam's not. As a matter of fact, she's the same rank as I am," Cam leaned against the car next to Jess. He purposefully slid closer to her to see what she would do.

Jess moved over so there was a more comfortable amount of space between them.

"On base I follow standard protocol, but off base Sam's my friend," Jess said pointedly.

"And I'm not," Cam shifted closer again.

"No, Sir, you're not." Jess stopped leaning on the car, re-establishing the distance between them for a second time.

"I see, well I'll just say what I have to say then," Cam reached up and brushed off some of the snow that had fallen on his hair.

"I'm sorry I put you in an uncomfortable spot in there. I hope it won't bring an immediate end to our little truce, because I would like to think we could be friends too," Cam looked at the woman across from him. She was masking her emotions again.

"Thank you Sir. Apology accepted. Now I really do need to go," Jess tried to brush past him to put her key in the lock, fully expecting him to move. But Cam stood his ground putting them close enough that Jess could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"Excuse me Sir," she said with out giving him the satisfaction of eye contact.

Cam leaned in just the slightest bit and whispered in her ear, "Goodnight Jess."

Then he walked over to his own car, leaving one very frustrated major still standing in the snow.