At quarter to midnight, Elizabeth was still in her office chewing on her pen and staring into space. Dinner had been forgotten and, below her, the control room was minimally staffed. She looked at the piece of paper in front of her and sighed.

Don't let McKay start any new experiments.

Persuade Caldwell that they should send as few teams as possible through the gate until the review is over.

There was so much that the IOA could find fault with, yet this was all she could come up with as a plan of action. If John had still been her second in command she would have been sat sharing this with him. Caldwell was a different story though; she was torn between the obvious pleasure he took in his new job and the possibility that he might be after her job. Could she risk inviting him to join her little plan of action? Or would he accuse her of trying to distort the facts? Was she trying to distort the facts? Maybe. She just wanted to make sure that the IOA saw the city operating well, and not on the verge of a disaster, so they could fill in their little forms and leave the city in peace.

An instant message appeared on her lap top; 'You promised to visit again today. Only thirteen minutes left...'

Crap. She had promised to visit John again before the day was out and in the midst of worrying about the IOA she had completely forgotten. Her fingers typed 'ten minutes' into the keyboard and she semi-jogged to a transporter to try and fulfil her promise and not be late. As she got to the infirmary she checked her watch. Three minutes. She peeped round into the infirmary to check that she couldn't be seen then scuttled into John's room, hoping she wouldn't be caught. The medical team were the only people in the city, bar John, that could order her around.

'Just in time.' He said.

'I'm so sorry. The IOA have decided to come and review us so I've been a little preoccupied.' Elizabeth apologised.

'It's fine. You're here now.'

Elizabeth reached out for a box of chocolates on the bedside table and took one that looked like it didn't contain a nut.

'These are good.' She said in surprise.

'Yeah. Jessica, one of the nurses, thought they might cheer me up.'

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, 'I'll bet she did.'

'Is that a hint of jealousy?' John asked mischievously.

Elizabeth threw a chocolate at him which he caught, mid-air, and ate happily. 'So how come the IOA are gracing us with their charming presence?'

'Because of your injury. They want to review the military contingent, although I don't put it past them to be keeping an eye on me as well.'

'You'll be fine.'

'If I can get Caldwell on side. Part of me expects him to undermine me and get the IOA on side.'

'Then you'll just have to make sure he doesn't.'

'And how am I supposed to do that?' Elizabeth asked.

John gave her a pointed look, 'I'm sure you have the necessary tools at your disposal...'

'Wha-? No. No way. No.' Elizabeth said, completely aghast.

'I didn't mean that – just a little harmless flirting.'

'I can't do that.'

'Sure you can. You'll have him eating out of your hand.'

'I'm in a position of authority here – I can't go round manipulating people!'

'Fine. But if you want to keep that position of authority, you might want to give my little idea some thought.'

As Steven Caldwell strolled into Elizabeth's office, Elizabeth began to wonder whether the plan John had cooked up for her was really a good idea. She had approximately two seconds to decide before Caldwell would be sat down in the chair that had so often been occupied by John.

'Good morning Elizabeth.' He said.

'Good morning Steven. I wanted to let you know that in two weeks time we'll be hosts to the IOA for a review. Given your impromptu employment to the Atlantis expedition they decided that they wanted to perform a review. I'm sorry, but the decision was out of my hands.'

'Well that's absolutely fine by me.'

Flirting it is then, Elizabeth thought to herself.

'I'm just glad that I'll be going through this with you by my side.' Too heavy, she cursed herself.

Caldwell sat up slightly, 'Oh?'

Or maybe not. 'You know what I mean. We may have had our ups and downs, but I know you are going to be a fantastic addition to the Atlantis team and I must admit, I'm looking forward to the new dynamics you will bring.'

'I have every confidence that we're going to make a fantastic team Elizabeth.'

Elizabeth cringed slightly, but maintained the fake smile on her face. 'General Landry had a personal request for you. With the Daedalus returning to earth in a week, he would like you to appoint your acting replacement.'

'I'll be on it immediately. But first, do you want to go and get some lunch?'

'I'd love to.'

Okay, she was feeling incredibly guilty about manipulating Caldwell's feelings once again, but...it seemed to be working.