}~{ Gild the Lily }~{
"Dial the gate! Dial now!" Jack called out with Captain Hagman at his side, aiding him through the terrain with his bum knee. Sam and Teal'c stood waiting at the Stargate, caught off guard by their sudden return. They were currently on P2X374, trying to discover whether the natives were friendly or hostile. It appeared they were hostile by the wound on Jack's right leg.
"Dial the damn gate!" Jack called out again more heatedly, seeing Sam's hesitation. Sam quickly raced to the control panel and began dialing as Teal'c raised his staff weapon in preparation for battle. He shot out at several natives that were peaking the hill.
"Where is Rosalina Levana?" He asked as Jack hobbled by with the help of Captain Hagman.
"She's right behind us." Jack waved a hand to where he had come. Rose appeared over the hill, racing down it. "Her and that damn warrior outfit."
Her clothing was what Jack had deemed inappropriate for the situation; brown buckle boots, black campaigner leggings, black peasant top with a sapphire blue satin faux corset. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun with several small braids decorating it. To her and her people, this was perfectly appropriate for this situation and actually required for an Upper Gunda. It was the approved dress; functional in combat yet still proper for a meeting.
She raced up to where the others stood and looked back at the natives who followed in hot pursuit. This mission had been a disaster. A total train wreck in her eyes. She looked at Jack's leg, shaking her head and then met his gaze. Again she shook her head. She had told Jack not to bring the Captain along, that there was someone else more worthy and capable. He hadn't wanted to listen though. So instead he paid the price.
The Stargate came to life and they all raced through, heading back to Stargate Command. Once there Rose and Teal'c aided Jack in walking down the ramp. A spear shot through the gate after them, barely making it passed the iris. It soared passed Rose, nicking her left upper arm and ripping her shirt. She hissed, but didn't flinch or fall from helping Jack.
"Good thing we're already heading to the Infirmary." Jack grumbled as Teal'c and she led him down the hallway.
"Just shut up." She grumbled back and shook her head. "I told you, Jonas would have been a better choice.
"Oh shut up." Jack shot back as they helped him hobble down the hall to the Infirmary.
Rose had walked away from the Infirmary with nothing more than a cleaning and a bandage. Jack, on the other hand, wouldn't be walking right for a while. He had suffered partial ligament damage in his right knee because Hagman had gotten a few translations wrong, mistaking 'peace pipe' for something that obviously had meant 'let me carve your leg.' Jack wasn't happy to say the least and Rose was frustrated that he was unwilling to give Jonas a chance. She felt he deserved it.
"Rose!" Sam called from down the hallway. Rose looked over her shoulder and slowed down so she could catch up. "How's your arm?"
"It's fine." Rose rubbed a hand over the dressing peeking through her ripped shirt and smiled. "Jack's the one you should be asking after."
"He'll live."
"It could have been worse." Rose ceased her stride and turned to Sam in the hall. They both stared at each other, Rose's expression serious. "I could have been much worse. Captain Hagman was not suited for the mission. If the situation had been different, he could have gotten someone killed."
Sam nodded her head.
"Jack's vendetta against Jonas is not only juvenile, but unreasonable."
"How so?"
"Sam," Rose began. Her expression grew softer. "He's upset with Daniel, but Jonas is the only one from the whole incident that he can blame."
"I don't think–" Sam began and stopped herself. She had meant to sat that Colonel O'Neill would never act like that, but past experiences said otherwise.
"Daniel once gave me a book of Tau'ri quotes. I just remembered one. It went, 'Circumstances cause people to act a certain way. It's from those circumstances that a person's attitude is affected followed by weakening of character. Not the reverse. If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others and judging their lives as either black or white, good or bad. We all live our lives in shades of gray.'"
Same looked at Rose, understanding exactly what she was getting at.
"Don't you feel that we all deserve a chance at redemption?" Rose's voice was soft, her eyes seeming to plead to Sam's good nature. "Even Jonas Quinn?"
"I suppose you're right." Sam nodded, agreeing with her. They both stood eye to eye, height's equally matched. "I can't get Colonel O'Neill to change his mind though."
"And I have tried. Many times…" Rose shook her head and began walking once more with Sam at her side. They walked in silence for a long moment before an idea occurred to her.
"Where are you heading anyway?" Sam asked as a mischievous smile began on her lips. "It wouldn't be to see a certain Kelownan, would it?"
"Yes, why?" Rose had no idea what Sam was getting at. She was on her way to see Jonas. None of the others ever went to him unless they needed his help. Rose actually enjoyed his company. Both of them had found something in the other that they could not get with anyone else on the base. They were both stuck on Earth, unable to return home and neither knew what was happening with their people.
"Oh no reason." Sam's smile never left as the two walked in silence the rest of the way to Jonas' office. The stereo played Vivaldi's Autumn as the National Weather Channel listed the forecast for the week. Boxes resided in a corner with the U.S.A.E stamp on their side and stacked three high. Jonas sat at the counter, deep into his research for the SG-1 team on Babylonian translations. The headphones sat around his neck, pen positioned snuggly atop one ear as he popped a green grape into his mouth.
The two walked in. Well, Rose walked in. Sam meandered a bit at the doorway. It had been a while since she had stepped foot into Daniel's old office. Rose walked to the fish and picked up the bottle of food, shaking it to get Jonas' attention. He looked up and shook his head; a signal they had developed silently for asking if the other had fed the fish yet.
"Hey, Jonas." Sam spoke up as Rose dropped a few flakes into the water. She had learned that they were fantail goldfish. They were pretty enough with their orange and white and their fancy fins.
"Major." Jonas greeted simply and leaned away from the book he had his nose within. "How's Colonel O'Neill?"
"Partially torn ligament in his knee. He'll be okay though." Sam replied and walked closer to the counter. Rose sat down and pulled the book Jonas had been looking through closer.
"What language is this again?" Rose knew he had told her already. She just couldn't seem to remember it though. The markings were so strange, so foreign.
"Babylonian." Jonas replied, glancing back at her. She nodded her head without returning the look. "And Captain Hagman?"
"Found unfit for active duty." Rose answered, nose firmly in the book. She couldn't understand any of the words, but she liked to try anyways. "Otherwise he's fine. Resting from the primitive tranquilizer dart he was struck with."
"How many does that make now?" Jonas turned in his seat and looked at Sam fully.
"Eight." Rose piped up again, holding up eight finger to emphasize.
"Nine." Sam interjected, earning Rose's stare. "If you count the two hours Captain Mathieson lasted."
Rose rolled her eyes and passed the book back to Jonas. He took it and flipped through several pages.
"So, there's no need for me to be going through Ancient Babylonian." He closed the book and pushed it away. Rose could hear the dejected tone in his voice. He was good at hiding his emotions, especially the ones men seemed to believe would make them seem weak. He had a habit of covering it up with smiles. She had learned to notice the signs though. She wished she hadn't. It only made her sad.
"Not exactly." Sam tapped her fingers on the book a moment, looking away from Jonas. She looked to Rose, seeing her subtly nodding her head towards Jonas. She then mouthed at the older woman, 'ask him.'
"Do you think you could spare a few hours?" Sam asked, looking back at Joans.
"What for?" He asked as he removed the headphones from around his neck and pulled the pen from his ear.
"Field trip." Rose smiled at him.
"Really?" Jonas spun and looked between the two women excitedly.
"Uh, yeah. Kinda." Sam admitted with a smile of her own at Jonas' enthusiasm. "You've been here over three months and General Hammond thought you might finally want to leave the base for a while."
"Yes! That would be great." Jonas picked up several books from the counter and moved them to another table, opening up space. "Where are we going?"
"Nevada."
"Oh, clear blue skies. 73 degrees." Jonas smiled and turned the television off. Rose gave a small laugh and shook her head. He was such a… what was it Jack sometimes called him? A nerd.
"There are at least five hundred other stations." Sam looked between him and the television.
"Even I tried to tell him that." Rose mumbled and leaned an arm on the counter. She didn't watch television. She found it uninteresting other than the moving images. She preferred the movies Jack used to show her. Jonas stopped at the counter beside her and gave her a light, playful smack with the rolled up magazine he held in his hand.
"But this one is fantastic. You have all of your weather from all over your planet right there. Even a long range forecast. It's like predicting the future." Jonas grinned and tapped the magazine against his hand. Rose shook her head and gave a small snort of a laugh once more. A nerd indeed.
"Aren't you curious as to what's in Nevada?" Rose interrupted the silence and looked up at Jonas. Their arms gently grazed each other as she turned in her seat. Sam noticed. Jonas looked down at her and nodded his head, looking back at Sam.
"Do you like surprises?" The mischievous smile was back on Sam's lips again.
"Sure, I love 'em." Jonas replied and walked over to where his messenger back sat. He slid the magazine inside and clipped the bag closed. Sam bounced her eyebrows up and down, smiling lingering and then turned towards the doorway. "Hey Major?"
Sam looked back at him to find him pointing between himself and her. Rose knitted her eyebrows together in confusion.
"How do I know what color to wear?" His question made Rose and Sam both laugh, leaving Jonas to search for an answer between the two of them. Sam walked out of the room and headed down the hallway.
"Rose, you're coming too!" Sam called out, her voice echoing through the halls. Jonas turned to Rose, who only shook her head and laughed again.
"You gonna tell me?" Jonas pointed the previous question at her.
"They call each other." Rose finally relinquished. She laid her arms on the counted before her, leaning against the edge of it.
"They don't call you?" Jonas asked as he picked up his messenger back and shrugged it onto one shoulder. Rose pushed herself back from the counter and motioned to what she herself was wearing.
"They do. I just choose not to wear what they wear." Her answer was simple and short. She stood from the counter and pushed in her seat.
"I can see that."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Whether Jonas had known it or not, Rose had picked up on the undertone. To her it sounded scornful, but he hadn't meant it that way at all.
"I just meant that you don't wear 'Tau'ri' clothing."
'I'm not a Tau'ri." Again she responded simply. She wasn't quite understanding what Jonas was getting at.
"But you'e o' the team."means we should all match?"d? picked up on the undertone. To her it sounded ed herself back from the counter and re on the team." Jonas tried to stress his point as he moved closer. Rose narrowed her eyes in pure confusion.
"And that means I should dress as a Tau'ri warrior?"
And there it was; the source of the misunderstanding. Jonas closed his eyes and shook his head, giving a small laugh.
"No," Jonas ran a hand over his mouth. He realized that, having been a Gunda, to her that just because she was a warrior on someone else's team didn't mean her uniform changed. Just her perspectives. Jonas stared at her a moment, seeing the confusion turn to bewilderment. "Of course not. You're a Gunda. You should dress as one."
"My outfit is the proper uniform for a warrior of my status." Rose looked down at herself and tugged gently at the lose corset around her waist. She looked off to the side and then met Jonas' gaze slowly. She narrowed her eyes in question. "Do you think I should I be wearing Tau'ri clothing?"
She was having trouble assimilating. Jonas, despite having less experience with Earth than she, had seemed to have done it seamlessly. That was not the case though. He had seen it as that Earth was his new home now. He could never go back to Kelowna. So, why hold on to something he could never have again? Thus, he changed himself; his clothes, his hair, even some mannerisms. He guessed that Rose had never needed to do such a thing before. Her stays had never been so… permanent as they were now leaning towards. She was questioning whether or not she should forego what differentiated her as Luximan and instead appear more Earthling. Especially, if Earth was to be her new home.
"No, Rose. I think you should wear what makes you, you." Jonas shook his head at her and placed a hand on her arm. She squeezed one eyes shut in a brief moment of pain and Jonas quickly retracted his hand. "Are you hurt?"
"Coming through the gate one of the natives on P2X374 threw a spear and it made it through the Stargate as the iris was closing." Rose placed a hand over the bandage peeking through her shirt. "It was just a nick."
"Did they make sure it wasn't carrying anything? Like a toxin?" Jonas asked and looked at her arm as though trying to see the wounds through both shirt and dressing. "Who knows what might have been on it."
"You didn't read all of the profile reports." Rose suddenly surmised and stared up at him, he was a good three or four inches taller than her, but his size never intimidated her.
"What do you mean?" Jonas knitted his eyebrows together at her. Now it was his turn to be puzzled.
"If you had, then you would know." Rose's lips curled into a playful smirk. Things were about to get fun, she thought as she chewed on her bottom lip. She patted his chest playfully as she walked passed him. "Well, you said that you love surprises."
"You can't just not tell me!" He called after her as she headed out into the hall. Jonas collapsed into the swivel chair and looked at the clutter that laid there. He knew exactly what she had been talking about, at least the part about the profile reports. He had read through everyone's profile report on the team, except for hers. Hers had been missing. When he had inquired about it, the records manager had simply told him that it had been checked out to Daniel Jackson and never returned. So, he checked Daniel's office three times and the file had never shown up. He thought it strange, but until it did pop up there was nothing he could do. He would just have to wait till either he found the file or Rose fessed up to whatever it was she had been hinting at.
"Come on Jonas!" Rose called from the hallway, her boots slapping against the cement floor. She poked her head back into the room with a smile on her lips. "Don't want to keep Jack waiting."
Jonas quickly followed after her through the hallway to where the SG-1 Team was awaiting the two of them at the entrance to the base. Two jeeps sat running behind them.
"'Bout damn time." Jack called out and limped around the jeep to the passenger side, opening the door.
"Sorry." Rose piped up before Jonas had a chance to. She didn't mind enduring the wrath of Jack O'.Neill. She could handle him. "I was running my mouth. If Jonas hadn't stopped me, we probably wouldn't have gotten here when we did."
Jonas opened the door for Sam, who thanked him and hopped inside. She slid all the way over so Rose could get in. Jonas met Rose's look and mouthed a thank you to her for taking the blame. She nodded and looked through the driver's seat window passed the driver and at Jack.
"You getting in?" Jack's tone was playful yet mocking. She shook her head, hair firmly contained in the bun at the back of her head.
"I'm going to ride in the other one with Teal'c." She smiled at him and walked towards the other jeep. Jonas stood by the door he still held open and watched her. She stopped by the back of the jeep Jack and Sam were in and looked back at Jonas. "Go ahead. Get in."
"I can't take your seat." He stated, hand still holding onto the door. He was very uncomfortable with this arrangement. If anything he had expected to be sitting in the second jeep alone.
"The strong, silent types are riding in the second jeep." She gave a small laugh, one arm behind her back, holding the other at the elbow. Jonas looked at the jeep door he held and then shut it.
"So, lead the way." He outstretched a hand for her to go ahead of him. Sam watched as Rose and Jonas shared a look before they walked away to the other jeep. Sam was having a tough time controlling the smile growing on her lips and had to look out her window instead, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Something you you'd like to share Major?" Jack asked without needing to look at her. He had seen the same thing she had and he didn't like it. Sam shook her head and cleared her throat.
"No sir."
"Good." Jack replied and pulled on his sunglasses. "Let's go."
The drivers pulled out and the group was on their way to a surprise that only Jonas was not clear on. Rose, every now and then, looked over at Jonas, who practically had his face smushed against the glass. She realized then that this was the first time he was seeing Earth outside of Stargate Command. It was a big deal for him and she respected that, keeping quiet and allowing him to marvel.
Rose herself appreciated the beauties that Earth had to offer, but nothing compared to Luxima in her eyes. She missed the trees that reached the skies with trunks as thick as three of Earth's telephone poles. She missed the smell of wet dirt and the wildflowers. She missed the crisp, cool waters of the rivers and lakes and the sound of the Falls. She missed home.
"Do you see this, Rose?" Jonas' voice caught her off guard. She looked over at him, unsure what he was meaning. He pointed to something outside the window that she couldn't see passed him. She said nothing and he never turned around, meaning he was too preoccupied to truly care if anyone else was seeing what he saw. She gave a small laugh and shook her head, looking forward through the windshield. Teal'c turned his head slightly and she caught his gaze. She shrugged and smiled back at him, assuring him enough to face forward once more.
Rose had usually ridden with Teal'c and Daniel when they had places they needed to visit. Even though Daniel was gone it was nice, for both of them, to have a third person. Someone who had that same curiosity and wonderment for the world.
Rose looked back out her window again and leaned her elbow on the small edge, fingers touching her lips. The drive was much longer than she would have liked. So, to occupy herself, she began to hum softly, the lyrics resounding in her head like a chant.
"What is that?" Jonas asked and pulled himself from the window. Rose glanced over at him and then looked down at the jeep's floor.
"A requiem hymn." Rose replied and met his gaze once more.
"It's beautiful." Jonas commented, earning Teal'c's interest. He didn't look back, but an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I mean for a song sang at a funeral and all."
"I know what you mean." Rose began the requiem hymn again softly and looked back out the window. The song's purpose was for a Mass of the Dead, but she too found it oddly soothing and beautiful; hauntingly beautiful.