CHAPTER 13 LEARNING TO TRUST

She found Carson a little later, still in the research lab and staring slightly bemused at the computer screen.

"Something else coming up Carson? I'm starting to recognise that look."

He smiled then, and patted the chair beside him. "The machine has run a complete analysis of all the compounds. The only anomaly is the trelium. And that is of real concern to me. I've thoroughly gone through your notes, compared the properties of the components that you have used on earth, with the samples I still have here, and if anything, your samples are more unstable that the ones we originally tested. I'm concerned that the instability of the mineral is increasing, either with exposure to the compounds it has been blended with, with time... or something more sinister. Prolonged exposure to something on earth has increased the instability perhaps. I also suspect that your application is not the only one using trelium. I have been in contact with the SGC and General O'Neill advises that the original sample is still kept secure at Area 51, so the amounts that you have secured, along with any others that are in production on earth with other applications? We need to find where they are being channelled from, and stop them immediately. It is potentially dangerous."

Stephanie bumped shoulders with him as she reached across to pick up some of his notes. "Is it possible that some anomaly is occuring on the planet where the trelium is mined? Something that is compromising the integrity of the mineral?"

"Also a possibility, lass. I've spoken to Colonel Carter, and while reluctant to do so, she will however authorise a return to P7T451 so that we can reassess the situation there. It will likely be in the best interests of the people living there. If that mineral has somehow changed integrity, they need to be warned and possibly precautions need to be put into place with regards their mining procedures."

"Carson? That's only part of the problem, isn't it? That drug I was producing... what did they intend to use it for?"

"One thing at a time lass... one thing at a time. We get to the bottom of the how... then maybe we can get to the why.."

"May I try something, Carson?" When he raised an eyebrow in question, she went on. "I want to test the mineral against a selection of other compounds. I'm starting to get a glimmer of something that may be useful... can you get me a little more of the trelium to work with?"

"I can... we do keep a little more down in the storage facility on the lower levels, in a climate controlled facility. What other compounds do you need? Give me a list and I'll see if we can locate them for you."

She grabbed a pen and paper and hurredly ran off a list, pausing near the end. "Do you have a safer area where I can work? Just in case...?"

A frown quickly found it's way onto Carson's face. "I don't want you taking unnecessary risks, Stephanie. I can give you an assistant to help you, and we do have a flame proof room that is climatically controlled - it's a small lab, and is not being used at present. I can set you up down there for the afternoon if you promise me that you'll adhere to our standard base protocols, which I'm sure are no more or no less than what you would normally have worked with in your own laboratory."

Having come to a decision, Stephanie needed to talk to John. She detoured to her quarters, opened her handbag and pulled out a flashdrive, turning it over and over in her palm, before closing her hand and leaving the room. She found him in the jumper bay, going over the control panel of jumper one with Rodney and Lorne and she saw the easy smile that came to the Major's face when he saw her, quickly waving a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Stephanie - did Doc Beckett send you down here for a flying lesson?" He was quick to joke with her, reading something a little strained in her expression and wanting to get her to relax. He saw the look that passed between her and the Colonel and had the feeling that trouble was already brewing between those two and gave a mental shake of his head. It would be nice if the Colonel could leave the field open now and again... but judging by the set of her small shoulders, it would seem that the field was rapidly closing.

"I wish, Evan. John? Can I speak to you, please?"

John had seen her walk in and seen also, the interest that Lorne had shown. The part of him that did not want to acknowledge the attraction between the two of them, gave a mental fist pump, thinking that he could ease some of those feelings in another direction. But the part of him that had tingled when he had seen her walk into the jumper bay felt immediate jealously and it was this feeling that he had to work to push down now.

He moved her away from the others. Rodney had barely aknowledged her beyond a cursory glance, and simply continued with his work. He stopped when they reached a corner of the jumper bay, out of sight and stood looking down at her.

"I didn't know if I could trust you...I'm sorry..." His glance sharpened when she opened her hand and he saw the flashdrive nestled there.

"Steph?"

"I took a picture... that's all I had time to do, in case someone found me in there."

He picked the flashdrive out of her palm, finding it warm and clasped it in his own hands. Hers dropped to her side and she looked up to meet his eyes.

"The report?"

"I think I got most of it... it made no sense to me, but it might to you. Your name... was in there. So, I didn't know if I could trust you. I needed to be sure."

He crowded her now, pushing her back slightly against the wall, the flashdrive held tightly in his hand, and a grim look on his face.

"You trust me now?"

She dropped her eyes, unable to meet the almost calm anger she saw simmering in his.

"Maybe... but I don't have a choice. I have to trust somebody with this. So, take it."

"Damn it, Steph. What will it take for you to trust me? Have I given you reason not to?"

"Wait a minute John... put yourself in my shoes for a moment. I see your name in a file, along with other information that means nothing to me. Then you turn up in my hospital room to 'talk' to me, but the moment you turn up, others also arrive - so who's agenda is the right one? I have your word only. And yes, you bring me to this place and mostly I feel safe... but trust? Something is going on with the drug that I have spent two years working on, so no... I won't give that trust easily."

He took her hand and pulling her along he headed toward the nearest computer terminal, clicking on his radio as he went. "Sam? I need you to meet me down in the jumper bay. We might have some information that might be useful."

He pulled her in front of him, almost as though blocking her from running, and reaching around her with one hand he inserted the flashdrive into the computer. While it hummed to life and he gave the command to open the files, he looked down at her, her bent head and the tense hands that rested on the table top, effectively blocked in by his body and very aware of his nearness - touching but not quite. He ran one hand down her arm, stopping on top of one hand and resting there, feeling the tension.

"It's important that you trust me. I can't help you if I don't have that trust." His voice was soft and near her ear and she shook her head slightly, choosing not to answer, watching the screen as the files that she had saved on there were displayed.

Lifting the hand that was not covered by his, she pointed at the screen, to the last file.

"That one. It's only a quick photo of the report. It may be a little blurry, I didn't get time to check it."

He clicked on the file icon and watched as it opened, a snapshot of a typed report and he immediately noticed that part of it had been blacked out by a marker of some sort.

"Damn... we may not pick up very much from that."

"John?"

Sam had arrived and stood behind them, as much fascinated by their body language as by the report that she could see on the screen.

"Our little scientist here... was playing detective as well it seems. Enough to have the foresight to take a digital of the report that she saw. Unfortunately some of it has been blacked out, but I'll get a copy made and we can go over it in detail." His hand hovered over the print button and Stephanie heard a nearby printer whir to life, and then John's body was gone, his hand removed as he turned and moved toward the unseen printer, leaving Sam standing nearby looking at her with curiousity.

"You had this on you all the time, Stephanie?" She didn't hear disappointment so much in Sam's voice, as curiousity.

"I needed to be sure, Sam." Stephanie faced Sam now, watching as John came towards them. He was looking down at the paper and a frown marred his forehead.

"Dammit, Sam. I'm the one that brought that trelium shipment to earth. With me! Remember last year when my father died and I returned to earth with Ronon? I also accompanied a shipment of items back to the SGC - well guess what I was accompanying? Trelium. It's here, in black and white. The date of shipment, and the fact that I would be the one accompanying it. The wraith section... that's the part's that's been blacked out. What the hell have the wraith got to do with trelium? As far as I know, they have nothing to do with any of the minerals that we have shown any interest in in this galaxy."

He thrust the paper out to Sam, and looking down at Stephanie in bewilderment, he asked. "The director of the Founder Institute. He's the only one with access to that secure file facility in your lab?"

At her nod he swore. "According to O'neill... they can't run him down. He's gone, disappeared. Nothing at his home address. And when they went back to the lab with an order to get into those files, the room is empty. Everything is gone."

"I can't believe that he had anything to do with this? We've been friends... for a long time."

John gave her a hard look, hearing something in her voice.

"Just friends... Steph?"

"Not your business, John. He didn't come to the hospital.. when I was taken there. I wondered about that. He'd just throw me to the wolves, so to speak? And now? If he's gone... does that mean he's simply run, or is it possible that someone has gotten to him, the way they tried to get to me."

She put a hand to her head, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

And just like that his hand was back at her hip, calming and she was able to take a deep breath and redirect her focus.

"So many questions and not a lot of answers. Sam? When can Carson and I go to the planet where the trelium is mined? I have some tests I want to do here... was supposed to get started on them this afternoon. No doubt Carson is wondering where the hell I got to."

The hand squeezed slightly. "You need to get your answers here first, and then we'll sort out the offworld side of things. Maybe in a couple of days. I want to do a bit of my own digging. Find out who put that trelium in with the shipment I accompanied to earth. Someone here knows what's going on. Someone who had access to the mineral. Sam? I need access to the personnel data base - everything, all files. I'll go through all the backgrounds, find a likely candidate. Scientist? Would they need to understand the application of the mineral? Or just a courier service...You've just opened a larger can of the proverbial worms, Steph and if anything, just managed to widen the net."

"I'm going to find Carson, and get started on my testing. You do what you need to do. One way or another we'll find a way to get an answer to this. It's just another chemistry problem, a calculus algorithm. It just needs careful calculating and approach. Follow logic and procedure..."

She moved away from his hand and withdrew her flashdrive from the machine. "We don't want this falling into the wrong hands... do we?"

And she missed his smile of surprised respect. She was not the same woman he'd dragged protesting and kicking through the stargate. It seemed her true nature was asserting itself and he fought even harder to push down that strong spark of attraction that shot to attention whenever he was with her.

When this was over she'd go back to earth, and for the sake of a few days fun? Better just not to go there...