"Oh Indy! I've got a surprise for you!" Adrienne shouted at the open doorway hoping he would hear her because in her hands was something he had been complaining about for a while, something he had been whining about just last week.

He would love her forever.

Damn Daniel, Adrienne thought to herself, momentarily annoyed by how much of her thoughts Daniel took up now. He was her first thought when she woke up and her last thought before bed, effectively making her the kind of woman that she swore she would never be. She had become one of those women, daydreaming, hoping, planning, waiting until they could be alone again...

And, now that she was working on her intimacy issues, those times alone were getting more and more enjoyable.

In baby steps.

Nothing that Vala would find too interesting just yet.

Ducking around the corner to the lab, Adrienne discovered quickly that she needed to set down the tray in her hands before her little gift spilled itself all over the floor.

"So apparently, if you want a pumpkin spice latte after Thanksgiving, all you have to do is ask! I just threw it out there and the lady had no problem making this for you. Now, you must bow down low to worship that greatness that is Adrienne!" she declared, setting the items on the desk in front of her and grabbing Daniel's drink.

She turned around smiling and paused.

"This must be Dr. Rowan," an accented voice spoke. A tall, thin, blond woman, with long wavy hair was looking right at her as she stood beside Daniel, very very close to Daniel and Adrienne's stomach sank to the floor. This was someone Adrienne hoped she'd never have to meet.

Ever. Ever. Ever.

Daniel nodded his head at their visitor and smiled, stepping forward and sweeping his hand in her direction.

"Adrienne, I would like you to meet Dr. Sarah Gardner. We did some work together at the tail end of my graduate studies," Daniel explained as if Adrienne didn't already know who she was.

She knew everything, she was his best friend, and Adrienne knew exactly who Dr. Sarah Gardner was.

In fact, if the woman hadn't been standing right there, she would have made a joke about his harem.

Forcing herself to be professional, she walked the drink over to Daniel, reaching out her hand to offer a greeting.

"Nice to meet you," Adrienne kept it short and sweet, pulling her hand back as she passed the latte over. Gratefully, Daniel took it, cutting his eyes at Adrienne, before taking a sip and swallowing. There was a pause, as he teased her with a delayed reaction and then he smiled.

"All hail queen Adrienne," Daniel joked, walking back over to his desk.

"I prefer Empress, but that'll do," Adrienne kidded right back when she heard Sarah laughing from beside her.

"Since when do you drink lattes?" she asked, flirtation in her voice, causing Adrienne to roll her eyes.

Harem.

Smiling Daniel cocked his head back over at Adrienne, taking another quick sip before answering.

"Since Addy introduced me to the wondrous things one can do to flavor their caffeine," he responded, still smiling at her.

"Hey, only after you got me hooked on those chocolate covered coffee beans Indy," she played back, intentionally using his nickname.

Their guest looked puzzled, glancing back and forth between the two of them before going to sit on the corner of his desk. Ignoring Adrienne, who was calling up her work from yesterday again at her computer, she peered back down at Daniel.

"Indy? Wow, a lot has changed over the years hasn't it?" she asked smoothly, while Daniel, forever oblivious to everything in life, smiled once more, glancing over at Adrienne.

"Sarah's here at Sam's request, considering the Anubis fiasco and all. She volunteered to help us go through some things that SG-13 had picked up with Vala last week. I thought it would save us some time," he explained, as Adrienne nodded.

"Sure, the stack on the center table needs to be started," Adrienne replied, indicating a pile of papers with her finger, however, rather than move to attack said items, Sarah looked over to her and smiled.

"Actually, I'm helping Daniel with what he was working on, but I'm more than happy to go through those things afterward," she responded coolly.

Meanwhile, her poor boyfriend barely noticed.

This is why Vala is my only female friend, Adrienne thought to herself, at least Vala owns it instead of being a bimbo flirt.

"Great, thanks," Adrienne said and watched the two old friends, the two exes, begin to work away. Adrienne heard a giggle, and caught Sarah placing her hand on Daniel's shoulder.

She was never going to let him live this down.

She also didn't want to stick around watching Daniel's ex-girlfriend try to woo him until he figured it out and fumbled and mumbled his way into telling her no.

Desperate for escape, Adrienne opened her computer and pulled up her chat box, disregarding real work and messaging the only person she could think of.

HELP! PLEASE BE THERE!

What in the hell is wrong with you so early in the damn morning?

God bless Vala, Adrienne thought, her go to person to whine about Daniel, which was weird enough, but it worked. Relieved, Adrienne began to type feverishly.

I need you to come up with a classic Vala excuse to get me out of the lab, like five minutes ago.

Why?

Adrienne went to type and stopped. DAMMIT! Vala would never let her hear the end of this, ever, escaping yet another ex of Daniel's would be moved to the top of the harass Adrienne till the end of time list. Changing her mind, starting to type back that she just had a stomach ache and needed a soda, Adrienne heard Sarah giggle again and peeked over just in time to see adjust her stance, standing in a way that no woman on Earth could find comfortable but sure as heck shoved her body closer to Daniel's.

Oh no, Adrienne thought, better Vala any day than this.

Yet another one of Daniel's exes is here. I need to leave before I go insane.

There was a pause, a pause long enough to make Adrienne start to panic again as she forced herself to not eavesdrop into their conversation. Binging, her headphones alerted her to her friend's delayed response.

Sorry, I needed to look up how to say this: ROTFL

Adrienne made a face at the reply when she heard Sarah's tinkling laughter again. She was now doubly annoyed; translation is not that funny...

Can you just be a good friend for once!? Help me!

Adrienne waited for an answer, watching the little indicator bubbles on the screen light up as she knew Vala was typing back.

There's a simple solution to this...

Thank God, Adrienne thought to herself, Vala always had an out. True, the woman might not be an academic, but her gift for weaseling was Nobel worthy. Now it was Daniel speaking as they were going through the file, Sarah whispering like she was trying to keep it between the two of them. Vala better come up with something good, Adrienne thought, as she typed her reply.

What? Simple is good.

You simply walk over there, slam him against the desk and take him.

A loud sighed escaped her lips and Daniel looked up, confused.

"Everything ok over there Ad?" he asked, Sarah joining him in his stare. Dammit Vala, she thought, as she shook her head in response.

"Oh nothing, just the circle of death on my screen, trying to work around it," she answered, playing it off and covering her face to hide the flush of her cheeks. Flustered, she typed back to Vala.

I can't do that!

Why the hell not? He's your boyfriend.

Adrienne frowned. Vala knew exactly why she couldn't do that.

Exactly why she couldn't do that.

Besides the fact that I could lose my job, I'm not a dog that needs to mark my territory.

There was no response. Grumbling to herself, Adrienne shot off another message.

Please help me Vala.

Normally Adrienne wouldn't beg, but she needed to get out of here, in the least conspicuous way possible, and she needed to do so without saying something snarky. She stayed glued to the screen, hoping Vala would respond but there was no answer.

It was the ringing of Daniel's desk phone that broke her trance.

"Hello?" Daniel answered, Adrienne peeking over at him curious as she watched Daniel's eyes widen and him leap from his seat.

"You did what!?" he was starting to shout, "Why?! No, Vala, I don't even want to know. Oh no, Adrienne's not doing anything, she just sits around waiting for you to screw up expensive electronics. Fine, she'll be right there," Daniel finished, slamming the phone into its cradle.

Adrienne tried to act surprised as Daniel looked over at her disgusted.

"You just had to wire everything in her room didn't you?" he asked, acting annoyed with her now. Not exactly the reaction she wanted, especially considering the present company, but Adrienne would just have to go with it.

"It was either that or keep finding remotes and fixing multiple broken electronics as opposed to just one thing," Adrienne replied, hoping the smartness in her tone would serve as a warning, "What did she do?"

"She says she spilled soda all over the router box and now nothing will communicate," Daniel explained, Adrienne instantly making a face.

She hoped Vala was just making the entire thing up and hadn't really poured a coke into the router Adrienne had just installed.

She stood from her desk and walked over to her messenger bag, packing up her geek tools as Daniel liked to call them, pausing at the door to peek over her shoulder.

"You do realize that I've become her babysitter?"Adrienne teased.

He smiled back, the annoyance from earlier gone.

Good, she thought to herself, that's my Indy.

"Better you than me; you think it'll take long?" he asked and with those words Adrienne's entire mood changed.

Even together, she still liked when he missed her.

"This is Vala we're talking about Indy..." she replied, tossing the bag over her shoulder, not making any promises about how long it would take. It will take as long as I need to avoid this uncomfortable situation, Adrienne thought. She was trying to leave again when Sarah, who had remained silent during this exchange, glanced at Daniel and then back at Adrienne.

"Take your time, we've got this under control, right Daniel?" she interjected and Daniel, the most oblivious human being in the galaxy, nodded his head.

"I keep forgetting we have a third set of eyes. Yeah Ad, get her taken care of so you can be ready to go off world uninterrupted," he added.

Holding the growl she wanted to make inside her throat, Adrienne just gave him a thumbs up, walking backwards out of the lab.

She made it to the stairwell before she couldn't wait any longer, pulling her phone from her pocket and typing furiously.

Please tell me that you didn't pour a beverage into your router!

The response was instant.

Did you make it clear who you were to that stuck-up bitch?

No.

Then I should have.

Adrienne rolled her eyes and jogged up the four flights of stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevators.

When she got to the housing floor, she opened the door and made a quick dash down the hall to Vala's room, keying in her access code. It was 252433, or in numbers on the phone, Alcide, her favorite character on True Blood. Vala had suggested using her birthday, October 31, the one Adrienne had given her, but Adrienne insisted that it was too easy to figure out, especially since Adrienne had intentionally made her birthday on Halloween, a joke that only her friends from this world seemed to fully understand. The light flashed and Adrienne twisted the doorknob to let herself in, nearly walking into her friend.

"I can't keep getting you out of trouble with him, you know?" Vala was waiting for her, hands on her hips and eyes rolling. Not responding, Adrienne made a face and walked over to her bed, dropping the bag onto the tile floor, flopping onto the comforter.

"Why couldn't I have fallen for, I dunno, Dex, someone that wasn't my boss, wasn't on the team, or not fallen for anyone at all..." Adrienne whined, rubbing her face with her hands. Shutting the door behind her, her face drawn into a scowl, Vala waltzed over and laid down beside her, staring up at the ceiling.

"I still can't figure out for the life of me why you chose Daniel over Dex, but we both know you are full of bad choices."

Adrienne smacked Vala's arm.

"He's disgustingly in love with you. I fail to see why any of this is such a crisis," Vala responded, refusing to acknowledge Adrienne's whining. Rolling to her side, Adrienne sighed out again, hugging her friend and resting her head on Vala's shoulder.

"It's the whole secret girlfriend thing, I dunno, it just makes situations like this awkward," Adrienne replied, her voice annoying and nasal.

"You mean like it is for anyone else around you. For fuck's sake Addy, you two act like a damn married couple anyway," Vala replied, shoving her away. Allowing her growl from earlier to escape, Adrienne threw herself onto her back, holding her hands in the air while she picked her nails.

"Ech! Donna say dat! The last gawd damn thing I need is a gawd damn husband. Aunt Barb'd have her damn dreams come true. NO HUSBANDS," Adrienne replied, having told Vala all about her aunt and Aunt Barbara had been right.

Well, not exactly, her exact words were something along the lines of "Addy wun dey ya gunna fine ah gud man whose gunna put up wit ya and ya nonsense," but the message was clear.

She'd found him.

He put up with her and what scared Adrienne more than anything was that she could see herself walking down the aisle with him, in some big damn dumb church wedding, with her redneck family just smiling away.

"I liked you better when you hated him. And when you weren't whiney and kicked ass. What happened to her?" Vala teased, not really disliking this side of Adrienne, if anything, it gave her more fuel for the fire.

"I never hated him."

"Oh, I'm sure your exact words were washed-up pompous asshole."

"He is an ass," Adrienne noted, laughing.

"Your ass now," Vala replied, "Your problem now."

Adrienne groaned again.

"Thank you for listening to me whine, especially, you know, given ya'll's history," Adrienne continued and felt a hand grabbing hers, peering down to see Vala clenching her palms and squeezing it tightly.

"I like to think of that as a very sad and depressing time in my life where I thought that being with a boring old stick up the ass man was what I needed. I have since learned that I need a big, dark skinned man, with muscles. Lots and lots of muscles. Men you seem to throw away like it's nothing," Vala answered and Adrienne just laughed.

Vala really had set her sights on Ronon.

That was Adrienne's next order of business; play matchmaker between her dear friend and the handsome Sateadan.

"You're a bad friend," Adrienne accused, not meaning a word.

"Are you still in the lab with that snotty bitch?" Vala asked.

"No," Adrienne replied.

"Then I'm a fantastic friend. Now, we need a plan," Vala concluded. Puzzled, Adrienne rolled back to face her.

"So I read about this thing called sexting…"

"Nope," Adrienne countered, "Next idea…"

"Ok fine, that does take some sort of creative writing skill," Vala admitted, raising her eyebrows, "Why not send him a picture of your boobs?"

"Nuh uh."

"Prude," Vala snapped, but continued, "Ok, when's the last time that you two had sex? Just mention that. Men have special brain storage places for that kind of stuff."

Adrienne didn't reply.

Vala screwed up her face at her.

"Wait, you two haven't…"

"We're not discussing this…"

"But you've been together for what, at least two months now if not longer…"

"It's not middle school; I'm not counting weeks…"

"Addy, you can't expect me to believe that you haven't even seen the man naked yet!?"

"I said we're not discussing this…"

Vala sat up, peering down at Adrienne with seriousness on her face, "Did he do something?"

Adrienne sighed out, reaching her hand out to her friend.

"No, he hasn't done anything but be wonderful," she clarified, "In all aspects."

"Ok," Vala accepted that answer, but paused, "You've at least kissed him, right? Outside of that stupid Addy TV game shit we were stuck in?"

Adrienne laughed.

"Often."

"Ok," and her friend left it alone, laying back down beside the archaeologist.

"I still kick ass, you know. His ass to be precise," Adrienne added, hoping Vala really didn't think she had become one of "those" women.

"I know and I find it to be hysterical every single time we train," she replied, standing from the bed to go grab the TV remote.

About an hour later, her phone was buzzing in her pocket. Vala had moved over to her desk, better known as her makeup station, to concoct a plan of sorts while Adrienne just sat on her friend's bed playing with her computer ignoring the movie Vala had put on because she said the lead actor was hot, some dumb flick about some damn dumb giant snake. The hot guy didn't even do a Southern Accent correctly, so she just popped in her headphones and watched some preview clips from her zombie show. Distracted by the sudden movement of the gadget, she reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone, looking down at the name. It was Daniel of course, the word Indy and a manipulated picture of her boyfriend's face over a fleeing Indiana Jones body plastered across the screen. She slid the bar over to answer it, a tiny bit of glee racing through her system.

"Yes..." Adrienne answered, playfully, drawing out the word dramatically.

"Are you almost finished? We've got something," Daniel replied on the other line.

"Yeah, she didn't do too much damage," Adrienne lied and heard some talking on the other end, accented talking.

Ugh.

"Good, well hurry back," he replied and ended the call.

Standing and packing up her things Adrienne glanced over to meet the eyes she felt watching her.

"Daniel, I love you," Vala said, trying to do so in a mock southern accent, "and since we are finally together, get in my bed and make me scream."

"Keep your phone on," Adrienne ordered, not acknowledging her comment.

Rolling her eyes, Vala turned back to her desk, resuming her sorting of eye shadows as Adrienne scurried back down to the basement.

When she arrived at the lab, Daniel and Sarah were leaning over the center table, excitedly like they would normally do and Adrienne instantly wanted to turn back to go whine to Vala. Instead, she took a breath in, tossing her bag onto her chair and casually shoved her hands into the pocket of her uniform pants, strolling over to the center table.

"Ok, so what's the good news?" Adrienne asked, raising her eyebrows and shrugging cheerfully. Daniel went to speak but Sarah placed her hand lightly on his arm, looking at Adrienne smiling.

"It appears that your friend Vala has stumbled upon a Goa'uld weapons cache," she replied. Adrienne nodded, wanting to add that her friend Vala probably didn't stumble onto anything, she probably knew exactly what she was looking for, but refrained.

"That's great," Adrienne replied, walking over to stand behind Daniel since Sarah was clearly not going to move to let her see. Adrienne debated for just a moment and then leaned forward, onto Daniel's back, like she would normally do were this visitor not here. Daniel didn't even notice as she peered over his shoulder, her palms resting on his shoulder blades, but Sarah apparently did.

I should kiss his back, just for good measure...

"Here Dr. Rowan," she said, a look of disgust on her face as she moved over to let Adrienne in. Still oblivious, Daniel pointed to the photos while Adrienne scooted in beside him, to what looked like the foundation of a pyramid complex. Peering over to examine them carefully, the pictures not that great in quality, Adrienne saw a small segment covered by large stone slabs with hieroglyphs as Daniel leaned in close to her and pointed.

"Assez stupide pour marquer qu'il armes," Adrienne commented (Pretty stupid to label it weapons).

Daniel laughed.

"Personne n'a dit qu'ils étaient intelligents, simplement signifier. Un peu comme vos Romains ..." he answered. (No one said they were smart, just mean. Kind of like your Romans)

Chuckling, Adrienne bumped his hip with hers, shaking her head as she leaned in, grabbing his magnifying glass to peer closer, trying to read the glyphs.

"Les Grecs étaient intelligents, les Romains simplement roulé dans leur gloire. Quand partons-nous?," Adrienne replied. (The Greeks were smart, the Romans just rode in on their glory. When do we leave?) Anticipating her question, Daniel stood, tapping the photos with his finger before gathering them back into the folder.

"Dès que je montre Sam. Elle va probablement nous glisser entre certaines équipes sortantes pour obtenir emballés et appeler l'équipe, voir qui peut partir à court préavis," he answered. (As soon as I show Sam. She'll probably slip us in between some outgoing teams so get packed and call the team, see who can go on short notice).

It was then that Sarah cleared her throat, reminding Adrienne of the white elephant in the room.

"Pensez-vous qu'elle va me permettre de venir aussi?" Sarah asked. (Do you think she will allow me to come?).

Adrienne held back a groan.

Of course she speaks French, why would Adrienne have expected less?

So much for her and Daniel's secret language; she'd have to try Spanish next since there was no way that Sarah spoke as many languages as she did, or so she hoped. Realizing their error, well his error since Adrienne didn't care, Daniel stood and looked at Sarah, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Ad and I do that a lot, without thinking. We'll stick to English; it gets on everyone else's nerves as well," he apologized, walking over to the phone at his desk.

Sarah smiled and leaned back against the table once more.

"It's quite alright," she answered, nicely. Adrienne looked for a tone and got none; she actually seemed to be acting nice and had a genuine interest in their work.

Maybe she'd cool down on the awkward flirty too.

His mind already through the Stargate, Daniel walked over to his phone and dialed Sam's office, knowing that a store of Goa'uld weapons would be something she could not pass up.

He was exactly right, Sam felt this was a find that couldn't wait and slipped their party in between an incoming and outgoing team later that afternoon. Vala came up with some excuse not to go, which Adrienne knew was intentional, and Teal'c was away with the Jaffa council so that meant Cam was the one available team member to accompany them.

With Sarah in tow, because Sam had of course thought that was a splendid idea as well, it was a team of four which the general saw as an acceptable number. She reasoned that Adrienne plus staff weapon was akin to a mini-Teal'c and while Adrienne was annoyed that with Sarah there, she had been downgraded to grunt, she refrained from raising a stink, deciding that she would just stick to Cam like glue and let Daniel and his former flame enjoy one another's company.

Their planet was dialed at 1400 hours, thankfully right on time, and the foursome went through, Sarah acting as if she had done this a million times before. Letting her walk ahead with Daniel and rattle on about the find, Adrienne hung back with Cam, discussing their race last weekend and what other upcoming events they could find in the weeks to come.

Once through to the other side, the flowing sound of molecules and energy zapped away like some kind of intergalactic zipper, Daniel pulled out the iPad himself, from his pack. Rather than asking for Adrienne's help, he started to muddle through and try to pull up the information. He was having some problems it seemed, but when Adrienne stepped forward to assist him she was cut off by Sarah, who was more than happy to help.

Disappointed, Adrienne slunk back beside Cameron, unable to hide the expression on her face.

'What's wrong girl, 'fraid of losing your job?" Cam teased, reading Adrienne's face, "He's just a clueless moron," the colonel added quickly, "but he loves you, so I wouldn't stress too much about it."

There was a light laugh ahead of them and Adrienne glanced up to see Sarah grab Daniel's arm, just like she did. It was enough to make Adrienne want to turn around and dial home but instead, she decided to take comfort in her friend, whine a little and garner some sympathy. Peering over at Cam, Adrienne shrugged.

"I just don't like women who act like that is all, the flirting. I might act like that with Daniel when we're just being stupid, and mocking people like that," Adrienne explained, "but I sure as hell don't do it and mean it, and I'm his damn girlfriend now."

"It's so weird to hear you say that," Cam laughed, the cajun woman shrugging.

"It's weird to say that," she added.

"Let's make him jealous," the colonel joked, slipping his arm through hers, and pulling her close, walking along as her escort.

Feeling better already, Adrienne laid her head onto his shoulder.

"Oh Colonel Mitchell, my true love," she teased and arm in arm, they followed behind the two archaeologists.

The group was only about twenty minutes into their walk when Daniel stopped, looking back at Adrienne.

"Ad, come take a look at this please," he requested. Adrienne had been letting Daniel and Sarah do the work, lagging back to talk to Cam about anything but the weapons cache since Daniel hadn't seemed to need her. Secretly excited, she contained her reaction and excused herself from her running partner to jog over to him.

"What's up shug?" she asked. Frowning, a clear indicator to Adrienne that something wasn't quite right, Daniel opened the folder and pointed to a few aerial shots.

"We should be there, according to these calculations, but we aren't. Can you take a look at this?" he asked, and she nodded, scanning the penciled in notes on the side.

They were not in Daniel's handwriting.

Which must have meant that Sarah made them.

Adrienne was silently pleased.

Her brain kicking into gear, she ran the figures through her head, grabbing the folder and falling to her knees, setting it on the ground. It was simple trig triangulation, but Adrienne really only knew how to do it because of her dad, who in his attempt to push her away from archaeology and to his field, engineering, had made sure she learned early. Since he never really got to continue his career as an engineer after her mom died, he just annoyed Adrienne with endless math lessons.

More things that made her the proud nerd she was today.

Laying on her stomach, Adrienne crunched a few numbers, tapped some things into her phone and stood again, handing Daniel the folder, pointing west.

"That way," Adrienne stated, "probably another half mile or so, give or take."

Confused, Sarah glanced over at her.

"How can you be sure? I was certain my math was correct," Sarah argued. Smiling, Adrienne tried to keep her reply professional.

"Normal mistake, it wasn't a right triangle," Adrienne answered, as politely as she could, and started to walk, Daniel following. Hustling to catch up, Sarah took the folder from his hand, opening it to scan over her work once more. She was nodding as she walked.

"She's correct, what a foolish mistake. I hope I have not impeded our plan," she said sweetly and sensing her disappointment in herself, like he always did, Daniel stopped, reached out for her back, rubbing it lightly. Christ, where is Cam, Adrienne thought and kept walking in the direction of her calculations, trying to ignore the conversation going on behind her.

So much for being in love with me, she thought, feeling stupid the moment she did, when she heard footsteps behind her, coming quickly. Thank god Cam knows me so well, Adrienne added as she stopped and turned, half tempted to do something Vala-like to their team leader, but there was Daniel, a look of concern on his face.

"Hey, what's the hurry? We have plenty of time to get there, MALP gave us the all clear," he asked, curiosity directed at his colleague who had been power-walking toward their new destination.

Adrienne just shrugged.

"Just collecting weapons and leaving, nothing else right? No reason to hang around," she answered dishonestly again because more than anything she wanted Sarah to leave before she burst with jealousy.

Ugh, she felt like an idiot.

Why was she jealous!?

Adrienne turned to walk again, looking ahead in the distance, trying to see if she saw the ruins from the photos when she felt her arm grabbed, gently. She didn't even have to turn to see who it was.

"Dime lo que está pasando contigo," (Tell me what is going on with you) Daniel requested, quietly and in Spanish.

Sarah must not speak Spanish.

Good, Adrienne thought.

"Nada, segura. Solo que tenemos que regresar pronto," (Nothing, really. Only that we need to get back soon) Adrienne answered curtly, regretting her words as she hadn't meant to convey that attitude.

She began to walk on quickly, Daniel trying to catch up again.

"Mentirosa," he accused and Adrienne tried not to laugh. He sounded like a child on a playground calling her a liar, but she wasn't about to start a fight with him here, off world, with these witnesses in particular.

"Indy, es todo. Segura," she answered.

"Tienes celos," he continued, trying not to laugh. First mopey in front of her family and now jealous.

He was touched.

"De qué!?" Adrienne stopped, whipping her head around.

How dare that asshole accuse her of being jealous!

Jealous of what!?

Daniel saw her reaction to his words; she was angry. She really is jealous, he thought, I've never seen her react like this. He decided not to tease, reaching out for her arm tenderly and changing his tone.

"De nuestra huéspeda," he responded, cutting his eyes in Sarah's direction, and Adrienne froze.

Caught.

Damn him.

"No, es que tengo un trabajo aquí. Recuerdas cómo te sentías cuando llegué. Que nadie tenía confianza en ti todavía. Es como siento ahora," Adrienne spat. (I have a job here. Remember how you felt when I arrived? That no one had any confidence in you anymore? That is how I am feeling right now.)

That should do it, she thought, letting him be slightly correct without doing any personal damage. It must have worked because Daniel let out a sigh, his expression changing.

"I'm sorry Ad. You're right; I was doing to you exactly what I complain happens to me. I'm sorry," he apologized, as Adrienne tried to avoid eye contact a moment longer, giving the tears building up in her eyes the opportunity to dry.

As her head was turned, she saw Cam and Sarah still heading in their direction, pitifully behind.

She really must have been walking fast.

Eying Sarah cautiously, why she wasn't really sure, Adrienne walked back over to Daniel, reaching up to hug him.

"It's ok. I should have told you and not pouted like a spoiled brat. I'm sorry Indy," she kissed his cheek softly and backed away, looking forward to their destination.

Sarah and Cam stared ahead as they walked side by side, Cam having caught up with the temporary team member when Adrienne and Daniel slipped away. It seemed that the pair had finally stopped, the two of them embracing, before Adrienne pulled back, kissing Daniel's cheek lightly. Adjusting her pack awkwardly, the woman glanced over at Cam confused.

"They have an odd relationship," Sarah noted but Cam just nodded. Their relationship wasn't anyone else's damn business.

"Yeah, they're close. They bicker and feud but you better watch your ass if you mess with one of them," he responded, not thinking that this woman needed to hear anymore particulars of his friends' relationship.

The colonel didn't seem surprised by their behavior, but, given her own history with Daniel, Sarah still thought it was strange. He obviously wasn't with the woman, or was he? He was acting in a way she had never seen before, even when they were in their twenties and the way he stood with that colleague of his ahead, it looked as though he might kiss her at any moment. She walked on, her train of thought coming to an abrupt halt when she saw some structures on the horizon. Jogging to catch up to Daniel, Sarah went crashing to the ground as the world began to shake.

"Take cover!" Cam shouted, the two in front hitting the deck at his order. The shaking continued and Daniel, having gone to college in California, recognized immediately what was going on.

"Earthquake!" he shouted out, looking for Adrienne first but she was alright; she let him know by grasping his hand and holding it tightly. Whether she was scared or not he didn't care, he just wanted to touch her to know she was there. Holding her palm firmly, he looked back toward Cam and Sarah and saw Cam had grabbed Sarah's arm and was holding her to him when the shaking stopped.

"Stay down everyone," Daniel ordered and leapt to his feet, gazing out to the ruins that lay ahead. Remaining on the ground as he requested, Adrienne followed his eyes, squinting into the blinding sunlight.

"Everything ok?" she asked, not daring to move until she was told it was ok. Frowning without answering, he reached to help her up, breaking his stare to look her over carefully as she stood.

"I'm fine Indy, it was just a quake right? Not like we haven't been in one before," Adrienne responded and the earth beneath them tremored slightly once more and there was a crack in the distance. Daniel gave Adrienne a strange look.

"Ad, do you have the geology on this planet on the iPad?" he requested, hoping to avoid digging through his own papers. Nodding, making a frown of her own, Adrienne turned him around, grabbing the iPad from where he had slipped it into his bag and began to tap around.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked as she and Cam caught up, watching Adrienne make some motions on her device. Giving Adrienne time to find the requested information, Daniel started to explain.

"That wasn't a normal quake, aftershocks aren't usually that soon after and the sound wasn't normal either," he answered, walking to look over Adrienne's shoulder.

"Here, typical survey from the MALP, looks clear, is there something I'm supposed to be seeing?" Adrienne asked, passing the iPad over to him. His eyes scanning the images as well, Daniel signaled Cam over hoping he would see something.

"No, it's normal, not a damn thing out of place, why?" Cam spoke, as Daniel was already shaking his head.

"So, there's no reason for that to happen. No fault lines, nothing?" Daniel asked, Cam sighing, re-examining the gadget before looking up at him a second time.

"Not a single one," Cam answered, the world shaking around them once more, less intensely this time.

"Is it not safe to stay?" Sarah asked.

Stupid question, Adrienne thought, don't you think he is trying to figure that out now? She must want some physical reassurance, like a typical needy woman, the kind of woman Adrienne refused to be. Leaning to peer over Cam's shoulder, Adrienne caught out of the corner of her eye that Daniel, of course, had placed his hand on Sarah's arm.

When we get back Indy, I'm going to seriously school you on being so clueless, she thought, reading the scan again.

"Something's wrong, but what we came for is right there," Daniel answered without answering, indicating the structure that Adrienne was just now noticing was close enough to read the glyphs on the nearest obelisk.

"Let's do this. You keep going, go get the guns and whatnot and I'll head back and get a puddle jumper, jet back out here just in case we need to make a fast getaway," Cam suggested, checking his watch to judge how long it would take him to jog back to the gate.

"I'll go with Cam, you two can go scope out the ruins," Adrienne started, automatically volunteering for anything that involved a run back.

Not expecting that reaction, however, Daniel looked over at her surprised.

"Ad, I'd really like for you to stay behind with us, just in case we need a third set of eyes," Daniel stated and Adrienne wanted to run up and kiss him right there.

He wanted her to stay.

But then her worry set in; does he just want to make sure that he's not offending me professionally? Adrienne sighed, wanting to just run away to the gate, hop back on home and go whine in Vala's room like she had been before.

What was going on with her!?

"Nah, stay with your fellow geeks girl," Cameron said, as if he wasn't a nerd himself, "I'll jog back and go get my toy."

Daniel just nodded in agreement as Cam winked at Adrienne, taking off in the direction of the gate.

Stupid Cam thinks he's funny, Adrienne thought, peering up to see Daniel waiting for her.

"You really do try to squeeze those runs in whenever you can," he teased and Adrienne shrugged.

"Can't blame a runner for trying," she replied, walking to catch up with the two archaeologists.

As Adrienne had claimed, the ruins lay west, at just the exact distance Daniel had originally estimated. Adrienne wanted to make a comment about how good of a team she and Daniel were, but again, refrained, trying to play nice. Sarah really wasn't that bad or arrogant and she had been filling in Daniel about some of the other people they had worked together with in graduate school, most of which had made quite a name for themselves while Daniel had disappeared after becoming a laughing stock.

Adrienne felt bad for him, but he seemed to take it all in stride, genuinely inquiring about everyone's well-being. Sarah had adjusted as well too after her stint under Goa'uld control and Adrienne learned by chatting with them that he had helped her secure a teaching position at UPENN. She was currently on sabbatical which is why she had been able to come and help and visit.

Not all of the conversation was as reassuring, however, as Adrienne learned that Daniel had gone to post traumatic counseling with her too, which tore Adrienne up inside the minute she heard that. Not only did she have yet another reason to think he was the perfect man, but she had another reason as to why she was the outsider.

Adrienne was quiet for most of the rest of the walk after that revelation.

Finally, much to her relief, the ruins were no longer shadows in the horizon, but a reality of rocks at her feet.

"We're here, just as Dr. Rowan said," Sarah complimented. She was trying to be nice, Adrienne thought, maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"It's Addy, please call me Addy," she corrected nicely, Sarah smiling at her words and Adrienne felt bad for hating her. She was a nice person and Daniel had told Adrienne what had happened, hell he told her everything. She hadn't done anything wrong in their relationship, it was Daniel being, well, Daniel that had messed things up. Adrienne needed to stop thinking about this before she drove herself crazy, needed to stop analyzing every little detail of Sarah's words and Daniel's body language but like clockwork, the source of all of her turmoil spoke.

"Let's split up, see if we can find this storehouse. North, south, east and meet west?" Daniel suggested. Relieved at his suggestion, Adrienne just smiled quietly and started to walk away, giving her mind a new task upon which to focus.

Only two steps away from her comrades, the earth shook again, sending Adrienne cascading to the ground, bruising her elbow as she caught herself on her forearms. She heard shouting behind her and looked to see Daniel up and pulling debris from Sarah, who wasn't hurt, thankfully. Seeing that she was alright, Daniel helped her stand, dashing over to Adrienne the moment Sarah was upright.

"Ad! Are you alright?" Daniel asked, falling to his knees. Wincing at the throbbing in her arm, Adrienne crawled up as the trembling began once more, Daniel grabbing her arm, holding her protectively to him. It passed quickly, but not before they heard a crash in the distance and together, they looked out to see some of the taller ruins come crumbling to the ground.

Reaching for his radio, Daniel sat up, letting Adrienne go.

"Cam, you headed our way?" he asked, taking a risk, hoping that the colonel had left some line of communication open. There was a pop and crackle and a voice came over the radio.

"Sir, Colonel Mitchell is in the loading bay, running through the opening check. Estimated time of 2 hours to departure," Walter responded from Earth.

"Thanks," Daniel answered, not entirely happy with the timeline given the circumstances. Biting the inside of his mouth in concern, Daniel glanced back at the women, Sarah having walked to join Adrienne.

"I think we should stay together. Let's take a look at those photos one more time and see if we can determine where this place might be," he instructed. Adrienne didn't need to be told twice, opening her backpack and pulling out the original folder with the printed MALP photos passing them around.

"There!" Sarah shouted out, having only looked at the photos for a brief moment, starting to move in the direction of a large statue of Thoth laying on its side, the beak broken violently from the face. Adrienne followed, remembering feet to a statue beside the photos she had translated with Daniel, Daniel himself trailing behind her.

They climbed over the statue and there it was, the stone slab marked weapons, just as Adrienne had made fun of earlier. Daniel almost cheered, but Adrienne stood back, shaking her head.

"Help me get this off," he said, directing Adrienne to his side.

"I don't like this Indy," she answered, looking around herself cautiously, "this was too easy. Why was this so easy to find? Why is it labeled weapons? And why did the shaking stop? I don't like anything about this."

"Ad, most of these planets are uninhabited because of the Ori, uninhabited and sometimes destroyed. We don't know why this is where it is, or labeled like this, but this intelligence comes from both Vala and the Tok'ra," he argued, but Adrienne just stood there, worry in her face.

"Daniel, shug, listen to me a sec. What if this is a trap?" The cajun woman tried to reason with him, but he didn't even acknowledge her second argument, signaling Sarah to join him in removing the stone cover. She rushed over, reaching underneath the slab and beginning to lift.

The stone was massive and heavy, and Sarah was clearly struggling, Daniel peering up at Adrienne with a silent request in his eyes. Never able to say no to him, Adrienne walked over to the end Sarah was lifting, tapping her on the shoulder and she moved, letting the cajun get a better grip. She peeked up at Daniel one more time.

"If your best friend shows up," she warned, "Behind me. Got it?"

Daniel laughed.

"Yes ma'am," and though he didn't mean it, he understood and appreciated the sentiment. Together they shifted it over, setting it carefully on the sand, while Sarah watched, Daniel eagerly peering into the case before Adrienne could stand straight again.

"Nice work Vala," Daniel said out loud to their absent teammate, making Adrienne too curious not to look. Peering into the small concrete hole, she saw that it was exactly everything that they had expected, hand devices, rings, bracelets, items that looked like Egyptian jewelry but had another purpose, a more sinister purpose. Adrienne had never seen so many before and watched as Daniel and Sarah both stared on in amazement.

"Can you? Would you?" Daniel asked, peering slowly over at Sarah, her look of amazement quickly turning to one of concern. Adrienne was confused for a moment, just a moment, when she remembered why Sarah had been volunteered to help in the first place, and it wasn't to annoy her.

"I think I still have enough left in me," she replied and reached in, grabbing a hand device. Running her fingers cautiously through each tip, Sarah stretched her hand to make it fit, pointing her open palm to the statue that had fallen and closing her eyes.

A blast emanated from the center of her palm, scaring Adrienne to death, and she quickly forgot her worry from earlier. She had never seen anyone do that and out of the corner of her eye saw Daniel squinting his eyes, making Adrienne remember the only thing he had ever told her about those devices. She squeezed his arm supportively, getting his hand slid over her own in return while Sarah sat back on her heels, seemingly pleased with her ability.

"It works, so I assume that most of them will work as well," she stated, saying without directly saying it that she had no intention whatsoever of testing the remainder of the cache.

Breathing in deeply, she removed the device from her hand and set it beside her.

Adrienne couldn't say that she blamed her; Sarah had been invaded, violated as well, albeit in a different and maybe even more horrible way. Despite being spooked by the display in front of her, Adrienne grabbed the folded up protected canvas bag from her gear and opened it up, filling it carefully with the ancient items. Coming back to reality, the reality that they were not being attacked, Daniel leaned over to help her. Sarah stayed carefully back, her eyes gazing out into the horizon rather than examining their find. Guilt washing over her for the third time today, or was it the fourth, Adrienne leaned over closer to Daniel, whispering softly in his ear.

"That bad?" she inquired.

"Yeah, Tok'ra is one thing, but system lord? It messed her up pretty bad for a while. She's not Vala, nowhere near as strong," Daniel mumbled back, under his breath. He was looking back at her, worried, that look Adrienne had come to know so well.

"Te necesita?" Adrienne asked. She didn't want to send Daniel running into her arms, but he needed to go and if he wanted to go, he needed to. She had to stop being selfish; if this man really loved her, then there was nothing she needed to worry about. His eyes heavy, those telltale blues no longer able to lie to her, Daniel peered down at her, reaching his hand over her own.

"Estás segura?" he asked, trying to ascertain if he should go over to Sarah, who had left the pit of tools she had been so anxious to acquire and was standing looking back in the direction of the gate.

Knowing they were alone, and hoping Sarah didn't turn around, Adrienne reached for his face, kissing his lips softly.

"Yeah," she whispered as she pulled away.

"What was that about?" he asked with a smile, standing and holding out his hand to help her.

"Give you a reason to come back to me," she joked, and he let his hand linger, their fingers lightly interlocked.

"I thought being in love with you was a pretty good reason," he said, squeezing her fingers quickly before walking over to Sarah and putting his arm around her. Adrienne continued to pack the bag, that feeling in her stomach rising once more, but this time not over their guest, but rather another, deeper worry.

"Work faster Addy," she told herself, slamming the weapons into the bag.

Gathered the items as quickly as possible, Adrienne caught snippets of the conversation, Sarah apologizing for thinking she could handle it and for coming back while Daniel assured her it was alright and that he was glad to see her while Adrienne kept fiddling with her radio, hoping to hear Cam's voice coming over it, because something just wasn't sitting right with her.

And it wasn't Sarah.

Swallowing strongly, Adrienne reached down into the pit once more, the ground shaking lightly as it had done before, sending her tumbling forward into the hole, her hands instinctively thrusting themselves in front to catch her. She felt a stop, but rather than be rock or stone as she expected, it was soft.

Squishy.

Wet.

Confused, she pushed a small stack of zats aside, shrieking at what that action revealed.

His heart stopped in his chest at her scream, a shout of sheer terror that sent chills to his core. He tore away from Sarah, even though the ground was shaking, the fear of anything happening to Adrienne overtaking the rest of his senses. She was partially in the cache itself, her left shoulder leaning in, her hand unseen, her right holding onto the ledge, her knuckles white as she clamped her palm onto the stone.

"Jaffa, it's a Jaffa, Daniel, it's, right, trap, Jaffa, dead, I," she rambled, looking over at him, her face trembling as her ebony eyes met his, lifting her left hand slowly. It was covered in gore, humanoid flesh, decomposed, and she held it in front of her face, her expression on the brink of falling apart. Daniel didn't think, didn't hesitate, just ripped off his tac vest and jacket, using the material of the coat to wipe the blood and flesh from her hand the best he could as the ground started shaking again.

"Daniel!" Sarah was shouting behind him, and he glanced quickly over his shoulder to see that she was unharmed, having retained her balance and making her way toward them.

"Sarah, just stay put, don't come over here," he ordered, not wanting her to see this, this that he could now see himself with Adrienne back on her heels, holding her left arm as if it were contaminated, shaking as she stared into the hole. The woman froze, walking over to a broken side wall, sitting down to wait.

"It's one of his, he's killing his own. You were right Daniel, you were right, he wants you, it's, it's, a message," Adrienne's babbling started up again, and he peered into the cache to see what she was talking about. Unloading the remainder of Zats, he was able to reach the body, or what was left of it, the symbol of Anubis tattooed carefully on his forehead. Turning his head to breathe, the stench too much for him as well, Daniel caught an image, meticulously drawn onto a sheet of papyrus tucked underneath the late warrior's arm.

"Sarah!" Daniel shouted out, knowing the glyph, the picture, the assertion; it was Petbe, the god of revenge, and Daniel could only imagine what that could possibly mean, for him or his friends.

For the love of his life.

Shoving the canvas bag away, he reached for Adrienne, drawing her into his embrace, "SARAH HEAD FOR THE GATE NOW!"

"Daniel, he's killing them, there's an extra hand in there, that was a free Jaffa, he is wearing red robes, Daniel this is a message, he's trying to prove a point," Adrienne babbled into his chest, shaking violently, pointing back at what he now saw was a loose hand, the skin darker than that of the body in the hole and he knew that she was correct, this had all been too easy and Anubis knew they were here. He stood, drawing Adrienne to her feet with him, when the tremors started again, taking every ounce of power that he had to hold her upright.

"Run Adrienne, run," he ordered her, wanting her away, the tremor unlike the last, unlike any earthquake he had ever felt. He was coming, the moan in the air of ancient technology, coming at them, heading straight for them and she must have heard too, her eyes widening as she started to shake her head.

"No, you're not gonna stay here," she spat back, reaching for his hand, pulling him along. Checking over his shoulder quickly, he noted there was no visual for the sound yet and allowed her to take his hand. Standing behind her, he pushed her forward first and dashed after her, waving for Sarah to continue her sprint as well.

The earth beneath them trembled again and there was a loud boom, a large crack appearing in space behind them Daniel saw as he looked back, realizing that the moan had not been from an aerial attack like he had expected.

It was a booby trap; the entire cache had been a trap like Adrienne suggested and based on the sounds crashing around them, there were bombs buried beneath the surface.

"Don't you DARE stop Daniel!" Adrienne screamed, noticing his pause, her voice bringing him back to reality. Peeking at his watch, he saw they still had at least fifteen minutes before Cam would arrive, fifteen minutes to hope that Anubis didn't rig the entire planet to explode.

Daniel stood, powering on, keeping a close eye on the two women racing to safety in front of him.

It's an explosion, Adrienne thought, an explosion from under the ground. The entire thing had been a ruse, Anubis knew that Daniel and Sam couldn't resist and there wasn't a more perfect way to kill what members of SG-1 would be tempted by an unscathed collection of Goa'uld weapons. Another crack, blast and she went cascading to the ground, slamming her face onto the compact sand, bruising her cheekbone painfully in the process.

"Ad, get up!" he ordered behind her, and she scrambled to her feet, glancing over her shoulder to give him a silent yes in return when there was another loud clap, a sound of rock breaking from rock and movement, behind Daniel, under Daniel and Adrienne watched as Daniel just slipped down, sinking in the abyss.

"NO!" she screamed, tripping and scrambling, falling down to her knees, crawling back to him, back to the edge where Daniel was hanging on.

"Indy, grab my hand," Adrienne ordered but Daniel shook his head.

"No Ad, you can't hold me and yourself," Daniel answered, digging his fingers into the sand and rock the best he was able. Looking back up at Adrienne he saw Sarah running over to join them, falling to her knees as well and reaching out for him.

"Daniel, dammit, listen to me, you stubborn ass. I can lift you. Trust me. Sarah can help," Adrienne answered, looking back over her shoulder. Sarah didn't look too thrilled to be volunteered; she looked terrified at the prospect of having to lift a six foot tall man from a ravine. More booming, more thunder under the ground, and the motion of the earth rattled all three of them, Adrienne leaning further into the gap to reach for Daniel.

"No Adrienne. Cam should be back with the ship anytime now, don't risk it, back up," he hissed, her body too close to the edge, close enough where one more tremor would send them both over but Adrienne cut her eyes and placed her hand over his, reaching down for his wrist.

"Adrienne, I can hang on, it won't be long," he pleaded, the fingers on his right hand growing weaker.

"Don't you dare leave me Daniel," Adrienne hissed, tears forming in her eyes, as she lay down onto her stomach and grabbing his other wrist, digging in her fingertips before glaring back at Sarah.

"Brace me," she ordered and the other woman did as she was told, holding Adrienne down by her calves. There was a seriousness in her dark eyes as she brought them back to meet his own.

"I've got you, just hold on to me," she ordered gently and, again, Daniel shook his head.

"No Ad, I won't risk you. Let go," he replied but Adrienne held his wrists tighter, tears now streaming down her face. Daniel felt his fingers slip again and he fell slightly, his right hand now being held up only by Adrienne. She was holding strong and started to try to get to her knees to pull him back over the edge as Sarah backed away, unsure as to what to do.

Dragging him with all of her might, Adrienne wasn't able to move him at all, despite how good of shape she was in, Daniel, dead weight hanging over the edge was just too heavy and she felt more tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Stop, Ad, Cam will be right here," Daniel assured her, as he was feeling his other hand begin to slip and Adrienne must have too, grabbing his wrist tighter, squeezing so hard he felt what little fingernail she had digging into his flesh. He was about to speak, lie to her once more about help that wasn't going to make it in time, help that he had to now hope would make it for her, when he lost his grip completely on the rock and fell further, pulling Adrienne toward him, toward the edge of the ravine. She was straining to hold on to him and he looked up into her eyes, the eyes of his best friend, the eyes of the love of his life.

He couldn't let her die.

"Let go Adrienne," he said, "Please. I can't let anything happen to you."

Adrienne was trying not to cry, trying instead to focus on pulling him up, holding onto him, her body slipping forward even more as she was shaking her head, sucking back tears.

"No, Daniel, stop, just hold onto me," she pleaded, slipping forward again, "Please, I love you…"

She felt hands at her ankles and saw that Sarah was trying to hold her up, but she was a small woman and Adrienne knew that it was in vain.

"Adrienne, listen to me. We're both going to die if you don't let go," he reasoned but Adrienne just continued to shake her head.

"I don't care," she answered, angering Daniel. He wasn't going to let her throw her life away for him, because as much as she loved him, he loved her too much to let that happen.

"Adrienne Margaret, you listen to me. I'm not going to let you die. Let go of me now!" he screamed at her, rage, panic, every extreme emotion he could experience welling up inside of his soul, but she ignored him, squeezing tighter. Daniel felt them both move more, gravity pulling him downward, more so as the ground shook again, Adrienne's chest now leaning over the edge.

They would both go over soon.

Heartbroken, because the person he never thought existed, never thought could exist was right here at the end of it all, Daniel tried to hold on. He loved her, more than anything, more than he had ever loved another person in his entire life and even if he could never hold her ever again, never kiss her, never be with her, he wasn't going to let her die.

"Jack always says I've got nine lives. I think I should have at least three left," Daniel said instead and let go.

Without his help, Adrienne couldn't hold on any longer, especially with the ground shaking again around them, and she felt herself being pulled back by her legs as he slipped from her grasp, his wrists, his hands, his fingers...

"I love you," she saw him say, and he fell into the ravine and out of her sight.

"No!" she stood screaming and sobbing, "No, no!" There was a clap of thunder, the sky falling to black and laughter, deep evil maniacal laughter. It was him, it was all a trap and she didn't see it, didn't catch it and Daniel was gone, forever. She stepped forward, ready to throw herself off of the edge after him, choosing to die with him when she felt a hand at her wrist, and there was Sarah, tears in her eyes, understanding what Adrienne had intended to do.

Instead, Adrienne stepped forward and hugged the woman and they stood there, both crying, so much so that they didn't even notice the beam of light around them.

"Two now," Adrienne heard as the light dimmed and their surroundings changed. She turned and saw Daniel sitting on the floor of the puddle jumper, smiling slyly at her. Her heart stopped and she ran over to him, falling to her knees, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him, not caring for a moment who was watching. He kissed her in return, before pulling away but not completely letting go, reaching to wipe tears from her face.

"You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid tchew," she swore at him, pushing him away and wiping her own face. She pulled back, gazing into his eyes, trapped there for a moment in the realization that he wasn't dead, that he was right here, that he was going to be alright. Slipping her hand behind his neck she pulled him closer, turning her head to press her lips to his again when she froze, feeling eyes on her.

Leaping back, Adrienne remembered where she was, Cam and Sarah both staring at the two of them in disbelief.

"I didn't know Ad, I just hoped. Now stop," he said, playing it all off deftly and peering over at Sarah who was crying as well, "both of you stop. I'm fine."

"And could somebody please waltz down to McKay's lab once we get back to inform him that adding beaming tech to the puddle jumpers was a good idea and that it was my idea," Cam added, standing with his arms across his chest, smiling brightly.

Sarah wiped her own face but didn't move, stepping closer to Cameron, "So they…"

"Uh huh," he agreed, given their display moments ago wasn't something he could explain away.

"That explains their behavior…"

"Yep…" Cameron answered, as he looked at the two archaeologists sitting on the floor, still holding onto one another like no one else was in the room.

"I feel as if we should leave," Sarah added, Cam nodding in agreement.

"Please," the colonel replied, resting his hand on her back to lead her to the front of the jumper.

Daniel watched Sarah and Cameron take a seat in the jumper's front, still sitting on the floor holding Adrienne.

When they arrived back, Daniel insisted on going to the lab to go through the items they had found, the few they managed to beam aboard, before quitting for the night. Adrienne was about to volunteer to join him when Sarah stepped up and started talking as though the two of them had already decided that they would be the ones going through the find. Before, Adrienne might have been jealous, but she was actually relieved by the woman's presence, needing to take some time to think about what had almost happened, both on the edge of the ravine and in the puddle jumper.

She'd almost lost him.

And she wasn't sure what she would do if she did.

Daniel glanced up from the file Sam had given him at the briefing to tell Adrienne that she might as well fire up that coffee maker of hers, that it was going to be a long night, when he saw that she was gone.

He chuckled, knowing exactly where she was going and to expect her back in the lab in a little over an hour.

"Where did Adrienne go?" Sarah asked from behind him, Daniel paused his stride to peer over his shoulder.

"For a run," he explained, "She'll be back and ready to go soon."

Refocusing on the weapons, Daniel indicated with his hand the direction of the lab and let Sarah lead the way.

"Does she do that a lot?" Sarah asked confused, watching her old friend shrug as if everything that was happening between him and that strange punky woman was completely normal.

"Less often than she would like, but it's like her Xanax," he replied, reaching in front of her to code himself into the lab. The green light shined and he opened the door to let her enter ahead of him.

"So you and she are?" Sarah asked as she entered.

"Together, yes, and evidently without any professional restraint in the face of a crisis," he laughed, walking the retrieved items to the center table.

"How long?" and here came the questions, ones Daniel was now growing more and more accustomed to answering.

He laughed.

"Longer than we both realized," he admitted.

"She's not…"

"Yeah, the outward appearance tends to be shocking to some," Daniel answered, laughing, "and the athlete thing, and her being cajun," he stopped his ramble, laughing again, "Apparently my type was actually not my type."

She laughed in response, noting the expression on his face, a look in his eyes she had never seen before.

"How long will she run for?" she now asked, Daniel peering over at the clock to note the time.

"Let's see, I nearly died, again, times us kissing in front of someone divided by her work ethic, I'd say an hour, tops."

Sarah laughed again and straightened her jacket, walking back over to gather her things from the center table.

"Then go get a bottle of her favorite wine, and be waiting when she's done," Sarah stated, but Daniel didn't appear convinced.

"She'll insist we work, trust me," he replied, knowing where she was going with this, but she just smiled.

"She wouldn't be the one for you if she didn't," Sarah admitted, "But give her the choice," she now advised, gently, in hopes that he would stop working, something he had never done for her.

Ready to go, she looked back at him one last time.

"Thank you. Again, for everything," she said. He stood and walked over, hugging her tightly and then stepped away.

"I hope you'll let yourself be happy Daniel," she offered one final piece of advice, walking out of his lab, and his life, forever.

Adrienne sat crying in the locker room shower stall, wrapped in a towel, having finished her shower ages ago. Despite Carolyn suggesting that Adrienne take it easy after everything that had happened, she had decided instead to go for a run.

A long run.

She had set out on the treadmill to just do three miles, but when the machine shut off at thirty minutes, Adrienne just got angry and went up to the track. She lost track of the miles by then, she just ran until her sides hurt and she felt herself starting to cry.

She'd watched him go over the edge and almost went with him.

Tears streamed down her face, burning past the marks her last set had already made. She had never felt this way about another person before, she had never allowed herself to be so vulnerable to her feelings. She loved him like she loved no one else in her life and hated him at the same time. He was reckless, careless, marked by the one entity in the galaxy that was hunting them down. Standing and raging, at both the fact that he wasn't here, but also at the fact that it seemed that even if he was he would just be ripped away from her, she grabbed her bottle of shampoo, launching it to the floor. The green plastic top popped open and a thick white liquid began to ooze out onto the ground.

"Fuck you!" Adrienne screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing herself onto the bench, sobbing into her hands.

"Ad, what's the matter?" she heard a voice, a man's voice. Of course, he has to come in here. She didn't look up, she couldn't look up.

What would she say?

Daniel, I'm crying over you, because I love you so much and you almost died.

I'm going to have to watch some evil movie-like villian kill you in front of me.

I can't breathe...

"I thought you learned to stay out of the girls' locker room?" Adrienne asked from her hands, trying to pinch her nose and wipe the tears away when she felt Daniel sit down on the bench beside her.

"Well, when Dex calls and says that you're killing yourself on the track for no good reason, I like to find out what's wrong," he replied.

And I'm worried as hell about you, he added in his mind.

Shaking her head, Adrienne stood, walking back through the empty shower stalls to the dressing area, not saying a word and Daniel followed, remaining silent. Adrienne stood at her locker, doing the combination and pulled out her neon orange gym bag, tossing it onto the bench behind her. He sat down and began to open it, handing her the jeans and tank top inside.

"I got it Indy, thanks" she said, pushing his hand aside and quickly grabbing her undergarments keeping them out of sight, a pointless gesture. This man loved her, he didn't just want to sleep with her, he loved her, and this was just care and concern. She walked the clothes over to the curtained dressing area, slipping inside to change.

"It was just a rough mission Daniel, no worries. You might be used to dying or being damn close, but I'm not. I just needed a run to clear my head," she answered from the stall, feeling herself choke up as she thought about how close she was to losing him, how very close, cursing herself again for her weakness.

Daniel sat on the bench, silent for a moment.

"Sarah left," he finally spoke, wanting to smack himself in the head right then and there. He heard Adrienne make a noise from the other side of the curtain that he could not tell was a laugh or a sound of disgust. The curtain opened and Adrienne came out, orange tank top and jeans, shaking out her wet hair as she passed by him heading to the dryers.

"She's not gonna stay and help?"

"No, I think it was a lot for her too," Daniel began, watching Adrienne dry out her hair, "And Cam's never gonna let us live that down," he tried to joke and she laughed.

"Did he mention those damn reports again?"

"No," Daniel chuckled, "Thankfully."

He paused, considering Sarah's words.

He never used to put aside work for anyone.

Now, given the choice, he would always choose Adrienne.

"Sam's out for the night and won't be back until tomorrow, late afternoon," he noted, as Adrienne stood, shaking out her hair.

"Ok…"

"And, I'd like for her to be here when we start analyzing what we have, in case we need to have Vala and a team sent off immediately."

"Sounds good to me," Adrienne responded, watching Daniel smile and take his phone from his pocket.

"Mexican delivery?" he suggested, "Or something else? I don't wanna drive home and I would really like to just eat, watch something terrible and hold you," he asked, completely disregarding the pile of artifacts stacked onto his desk.

He would rather be with her, just her, always with her.

Work could wait.

And his words surprised him, as he had never said anything like that to her outside of the confines of their apartments or quarters.

"Yeah, and you can pick, nothing horror," she joked and Daniel laughed.

"Don't worry about that Ad, you've officially desensitized me to all gore," he said and started walking for the door again, "I'll figure it out and head to your room shortly?"

"Ok," she answered and he pushed it open and headed out into the hallway, hoping there was some wine in his own quarters that he could take down for them to enjoy.

Adrienne stood for a moment, lost in thought.

Just a little over a year ago she had taken a job that she could have only dreamed of, for a man that technically didn't want her around.

Now, she was planning on spending the evening with him, most likely in his arms.

She thought back to their friendship, when she started to notice him more, in that way, and when she realized that she loved him.

She remembered how many times already he had nearly died in front of her, times that had to compound before she could even admit to him how she felt about him.

And, now, yet again, he had almost been taken from her.

Her entire life, from the death of her mother, to her father's illness, to that horrible night, even every major event here working for the Stargate program, had been dictated by some terrible fate that Adrienne seemed to be beholden to.

She was tired of that.

It was time to take matters into her own hands.

Shoving all of her gym gear into her locker, she clicked the lock in place, jogging down to the elevators.

Daniel was kneeling at his trunk, hoping he had something wine or wine related since he knew that DC would not allow the delivery of alcohol. The look on her face had been enough, and run aside, he planned on just letting Adrienne relax and not think about the events of earlier today. He had just tossed aside a jacket he needed to take back to his apartment when he heard beeping at his door, the tones of his access code, and saw his door open. Confused as to why she was here, he stood, when Adrienne barreled through the door, marching up to him and grabbing his face, her lips on his as he heard the door slam behind her.

He hesitated only for a moment out of sheer surprise before he kissed her in return until she pulled away, leaning in to rest her head on his chest.

"I almost lost you," she muttered from his chest, and he thought he heard a sniffle.

"I'm here," he noted playfully, trying to ease her fears and while she did laugh lightly, she pushed him back, shaking her head.

"That's not funny," she chided.

"Sorry."

"I can't keep doing this," she sighed out.

Taking a breath, Daniel let go of her arms, but didn't relinquish her hands just yet, holding on lightly to her fingertips.

"I understand," he said words that he only somewhat meant, because while his brain did, his heart did not.

"No, I can't keep letting the universe dictate my life while I just go along for the ride," she continued, Daniel peering at her confused.

"I take that back, what?"

She laughed, smiling up at him.

"I'm done waiting to see what'll happen next," she explained, "I'm gonna be in charge of my own life."

"Still totally lost Ad," he admitted as she pulled her hands from his, reaching for his waist.

"How 'bout now?" she asked as she undid his belt buckle.

"No I think that's pretty clear," he laughed but reached down, taking her hands back into his, "Adrienne, we don't have to…"

"Oh I'm aware," she cut him off, "And your love and kindness and patience just makes me fall that much harder for you. But this isn't about you, well, I mean it is, but what I'm trying to say is I'm sick of waiting for fear to subside, to let someone else own a part of my life."

Daniel nodded, understanding, but still not relinquishing her hands.

"And I wanna see my gawd damn hot boyfriend with no damn clothes on," she joked, unable to hold back. He laughed, redness forming in his cheeks.

"That sounded better in my head," she added, "Had a little Sookie attitude going on when I pictured it in my head."

He shouldn't be laughing at her, at this, but here she was, in true Adrienne fashion, not being what he could have ever expected. He let go of her hands, but only to reach for her shoulders, gazing right into her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Very much so," she replied, "For reasons running through my head that articulated out loud would not sound very lady-like."

He laughed again and felt her hands at his belt, pulling it out of the loops and tossing it aside before he could respond. He smacked her hands away, garnering a glare, that cajun glare…

"Then let me do this right," he whispered and reached her chin, turning her face upward toward his own and he didn't say another word, just leaned in carefully and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her slowly and gently and then broke away, looking down at her, asking her with his eyes if she was ready. There was something different about her as Adrienne kissed with more passion that she had ever kissed him before, hoping that he could read in her kiss that it was alright.

Adrienne reached behind his head and pulled his lips more forcefully to hers, sliding her tongue out and into his mouth, kissing him frantically. She could taste coffee on his lips, able to tell he had used some of her hazelnut creamer rather than his own. When his tongue met hers, she continued to explore his mouth, running her hands sensually down his back. They broke apart once more and looked at each other, breathless in the dim light of the room, Daniel taken aback by her behavior, but she nodded her head slowly.

"It's ok cher. I'm ready," she whispered quietly, taking his face into her hands. Lovingly, he gazed down at her one final time making sure it was alright, making sure that her gorgeous brown eyes understood that he was going to take her to his bed and show her how he had felt about her for all of these heart wrenching months.

Standing on her toes, Adrienne wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him lightly on the mouth, the cheek, his ear and neck, lingering there for a moment, pecking lightly up and down his throat and he turned his head, letting her lips caress his skin, before jerking back suddenly. She was startled for a moment until she felt him lift her into his arms, like he had done so many times before, sometimes playing with her and other times to save her, but this time he was lifting her for a different reason, one she wanted now more than she had ever wanted anything else in her entire life.

He carried her over to the bed and laid her there gently, pausing as if he were uncertain what to do next and a part of him didn't know, frozen in time still unable to believe this was happening, that she was going to be his.

Smiling, Adrienne sat forward, reaching out for his waist, lifting his shirt from the bottom, starting to undress him ever so slowly. Breathing in, he stepped closer, letting her pull it over his head and toss the black fabric aside as he crawled on his knees into the bed with her.

Now it was her turn to freeze, not at the sight, Adrienne had seen him without a shirt more times than she could count, but at the feeling, because never before had she been filled with such desire. She wanted to touch him, to run her hands all over his chest, all over his body. Reaching out for his hips, she pulled him forward, scooting herself back onto the bed so that he would have to climb on and straddle her, which he did, throwing his knees on either side of her thighs as she sat up to meet him.

Once he had moved himself close enough, she began to kiss his chest and work her way down to his stomach, feeling him shiver with tension as she moved lower and lower, but when she got her lips to the waist of his pants, she felt his hand gently touch her cheek and bring her back up to face him. Shaking his head he scolded for a moment and didn't allow her to respond, kissing her lightly again and laying her onto her back.

He brought his face close to hers again but didn't say a word, simply turned his hand and ran his fingers lightly down her cheek, her jawline and her neck. She shivered herself now at the soft touch of his long fingers against the smoothness of her skin, and he just smiled, bringing his lips back to hers.

This time he led the kissing, licking her lips so carefully with the tip of his tongue and then moving in to explore himself. As he ventured in her mouth she could feel his hand on her waist, then the hem of her tank top and he gently slid his hand underneath the thin orange fabric to reach behind her back. Sensing what he was trying to do, she brought her body up a bit, allowing him to arrive at his destination. He fumbled with the clasp for a moment, swearing in French under his breath, but was finally able to undo the hook, letting go, sliding his hands gently back to her stomach.

"Can I take this off?" he asked as he was sitting up from her, his gentle hands waiting at the base of her shirt, wanting to go slowly with her, to make sure it was ok, to make sure that she knew that she was here with him and no one else and that he wasn't going to do anything that she didn't want him to do.

"Yea," she whispered, sitting up to allow him to pull the top over her head and toss it to the floor. Unfastened, her bra hung lightly at her shoulders, but he left that in place for the moment, returning his lips to her neck and kissing it slowly. Daniel moved his way to her collarbone, then back over to her shoulder, the skin of his mouth so very soft against her own. When he reached her loose strap, he guided it away gently with his palm, kissing each patch of skin it passed over and she began to tremble once more, a combination of nerves and being ticklish, making him laugh lightly at her shoulder. Knowing what was wrong, he chose not to stop but just kept kissing her softly, torturing her playfully.

He was going to kiss every inch of her tonight to make up for every second he wanted to take her into his arms and sweep her away but never had the courage to do so, until now, until he no longer cared about what would happen, what anyone would say, until she understood that she was safe with him.

He loved her, he wanted her, he needed her and he was going to make her his.

The strap now down her shoulder and past her bicep, he sat up on his knees once more, sliding both hands under the thin black strips, pulling the garment towards him. Gathering it up into his hands, Daniel tossed it to the floor, looking back at the beautiful woman that he fell in love with, that he was going to make love to now. He leaned over, pecking lightly at her collarbone, tracing it with his tongue, all the way to the base of her throat, when he changed direction slowly, kissing down toward her breasts. He slid a hand gently to cup one of them while he kissed his way over to the other, ever so slowly, making his way to the nipple when he hesitated, realizing this was the most intimate they had ever been and began to back away.

"What's wrong?" she sat up, taking her palm and laying it on his cheek as he sat up gazing into her eyes.

"There's no going back from this Ad. No pretending that we didn't, no undoing this," he said, the nerves clear in his perfect voice.

"I know," she answered, running her fingers down his jaw, "I'm alright with that if you are."

He took a deep breath, terrified of hurting her, she could tell, so as tenderly as she could, she slipped his glasses from his face, placing them gently onto his nightstand before guiding him back to her lips, kissing him deeply. She could feel his body relax again so she reached in between the bodies and began to unbutton his pants, lightly, one BDU button at a time, pausing at each one to make sure it was alright.

He didn't fight or tense at her touch; he let her slowly undress him while he returned his lips to her chest, running his tongue lightly around the hardness he found there. Trying to retain focus but unable to, she shoved him away, giggling, arriving at the last button and reaching for his hips so she could pull his trousers from his waist. He let her pull downward and crawled off of her for just a moment, kicking them out of the way and creeping back onto the bed with her, where he saw she was smiling, shaking her head, giggling, as she brought her hands to his hips again, letting them run down his backside, pulling him onto her as she laid down.

"What?" he asked, stopping his advance toward her neck.

"I was just thinking these are a sexy choice," she whispered to him, "I'll have to buy you more of these."

Running her fingers inside the waistband of his black boxer briefs and pausing just under his stomach, she teased there lightly for a moment. Laughing himself, because only he and Adrienne would have a conversation during something like this, he brought his lips to her ear.

"I'm glad you approve; all non-sexy underwear gets thrown away tomorrow, first thing," he muttered and returned his lips to where he left off, kissing her neck and then collarbone.

"Especially those awful yellow ones," she teased, but he didn't laugh, running his tongue around her nipple lightly as his hand made it back to her breasts, making her gasp and remove her fingers from his boxers. He gave it a few more quick flicks with his tongue and then began to kiss downward slowly, exaggerated, down her stomach, making her quiver with anticipation. When he reached the top of her jeans he stopped kissing just long enough to undo the top button, pulling down the zipper with his teeth.

Adrienne laughed.

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

He popped his head up, smiling and caught.

"I was trying to be creative."

"Take my damn jeans off ya cooyon," she said with a giggle, feeling Daniel grab the waist of her jeans pulling them downward, feeling bare flesh exposed against his knuckles as he moved them to the ground, noticing as he removed the fabric from her feet that Adrienne was giggling again, much to his complete bewilderment.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, worried, gazing up at her. It had been a while for him, much longer than he cared to admit and he would hate to think he was messing any of this up, especially with her, especially after everything she had been through.

He wanted this to be special for her.

"I think you took off more than you intended," she replied, pointing to the floor and in the dim light he could see her panties stuck inside the jeans, quickly realizing that she was naked in his bed. He smiled again at her, the smile he only gave her, and laughed a bit.

"I meant to do that," he lied, having made other plans for those black Victoria Secret panties she liked to wear, the ones that he pretended not to notice on missions when they had to share quarters, ones he had pretended not to notice every time he saw her less than fully dressed, the ones that drove him wild.

"Sure Indy," she laughed and pulled him toward her, wanting his lips again pressed to hers. He kissed her with intent and with love, in a way he could only do with her, that he only ever wanted to do with her.

Kissing her deeply, he slid his hand back to her leg, which she had brought up and wrapped around his waist to grind herself against him. His heart racing, he ran his hands up to her bare hip and around her butt, tight and firm from running, and squeezed, feeling himself begin to lose control a bit as he reached down to the top of her thigh and let himself slip his hand between her legs. She arched her back, breathing in, murmuring some French of her own, allowing him to slide his fingers inside of her. He did this slowly as well, wanting to tease her, to touch her, to enjoy her reaction as he made her grow wetter and she moaned softly as he continued to run his gentle touch all around her, rubbing her lightly on the outside and then slipping into her once more.

Her breathing became more labored and she sat up slightly, reaching for him frantically, desperate to remove their last impediment.

"Cher, are you plannin' on participating in this," she joked, pointing at his boxers, his erection pushing them forward, revealing his body's intent even if his mind hadn't caught up to it. Smiling in embarrassment, he reached down for the waistband to remove them, but she pushed his hands aside, intent on doing this herself, pulling downward slowly, carefully around the swell, and he quickly kicked them to the floor.

When he looked back at her, she was reaching forward to touch him, so he crawled closer on the bed to allow her, wanting to feel her hands on his body. Taking him gently into her palms, she clasped him lightly, working him in an upward and downward motion, lightly squeezing him at the tip. He let out a groan and started to push down onto her shoulders, trying to get her to lay into her back, finished with teasing, with waiting and heeding his request, she let go, reaching up for his face to bring him into a kiss before bringing him into her body. He kissed her long and hard and positioned himself in between her legs where he needed to be, checking once more with his fingers to see if she was ready and she hissed again, arching her pelvis toward, begging him with her hips.

"Adrienne, I want you to be sure," he whispered softly, stopping his exploring for a moment and running the outside blade of his hand down her cheek, visions of that night coming into his head, the night where she cried in his arms thinking that she was broken, damaged, and wanting her to know that he loved her and wanted to show her, not hurt her. Rubbing her nose lightly against his, she pecked his lips, bringing her lips to his ear.

"I love you. I'm sure Daniel, because it's you," she murmured in response and unable to wait any longer, he reached under her waist, pulling her closer and slowly, carefully, lovingly, pushed his way into her, making her throw back her head and gasp out.

"Oh god Daniel," she panted, bending her back to allow him to drive in deeper. She wanted to scream, she wanted him to thrust harder, the feeling was so amazing, like she had never experienced before, the feeling of ultimate closeness with someone you love, the way it was supposed to be, the way it was supposed to feel.

Despite her writhing underneath of him, he tried hard to pace himself, knowing it had been a long time since he had been intimate with someone and fearing inside he would lose control too soon, but she was so warm, so inviting, and every time he pushed into her sensations ran through his body that he had never felt before. It was all so perfect, this was perfect, she was perfect, so, in contradiction to what his body was telling him to do, he made love to her slowly, never wanting it to end.

In total ecstasy, Adrienne reached for his shoulders as he thrust into her, to bring him closer to her body, wanting him as close as possible if he was going to make love to her this slowly, desiring his touch on every inch of her skin.

He came to meet her, their bodies now moving slowly as one, each of them gasping for air and moaning one another's names as if they needed to constantly remind themselves that this was happening; that they were making love to their best friend, who was really so much more.

He tried to hold onto her as he moved his way in and out of her while she clenched him so tightly inside, but she slipped from his grasp, laying back down on the bed, his bed, dear God she was in his bed with him, making love to him, and he pushed in harder and faster, holding onto her hips as he pumped into her.

She watched him as he made love to her, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of the lamp and she ran her hands lovingly down his cut jaw and over to his lips, where he would lightly kiss her fingers before she pulled them away and even occasionally would open his mouth to suck one finger lightly and then release before she could start to giggle. Daniel was so relaxed here with her, so open and playful, watching her smile as he kissed her fingertips or gasp as he pushed in further.

Adjusting his position, the urge to kiss her taking over once more, Daniel moved his torso still closer to hers bringing his lips to her neck where he kissed and nibbled in contrast to his thrusting, causing her to giggle in pleasure and gasp in ecstasy.

Suddenly, as if they were completely in sync with one another, both of their paces quickened, Adrienne bucking her hips and squeezing him so tightly inside of her and Daniel's thrusts became more forceful, pushing into her, pushing her backward onto the bed, no longer as clear an in and out motion.

There was a tingle deep inside of his stomach, an amazing climbing feeling and he knew he couldn't contain himself much longer.

Sensing the same sensation inside of herself that she knew he was feeling, the expression on his face giving him away, she pulled him closer and further into her body, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, beginning to rock into him.

He threw back his head for a moment to breathe, driving himself harder before gazing back into her eyes. He loved her, more than he had loved anyone else before, anyone, ever and he had never imagined that love like this was even possible, but here she was, right here, with him, in the closest way two people could be together. He let himself go and she screamed out underneath him, grabbing hard at his shoulders, holding on as she panted his name rhythmically. He almost laughed, of course Adrienne would scream, but he was so caught up in his own ecstasy that he just gasped out and pushed harder, muttering things in Egyptian that he couldn't even comprehend. He felt her relax before he did, but she didn't try to back away, just continued to clench him and rock until she was certain he was finished, kissing his neck and whispering his name.

Breathing out heavily once more, the build came to a crashing end, a wonderful crashing end, and he leaned forward onto his arms, holding himself over her, not wanting to hurt her in any way and he smiled again, laughing, as she shook her head.

"Come here," she fussed, pulling his full weight onto her and wrapping her arms around him but not satisfied with the inability to hold her as well, he grabbed the best he could and rolled them to their sides, cradling her carefully in his arms on the tiny bunk. She laughed again at the gesture, so he leaned in to kiss her softly, pulling back, his face mere breaths from hers.

"Are you…?" he asked, trailing, Adrienne kissing his lips softly again.

"I'm good," she answered, breathless, "That was amazing."

"It was." he answered, taking a deep breath himself, "I was so afraid that I would hurt you."

She shook her head.

"You were wonderful," she whispered, reaching her hand for his face to bring him into another long kiss. They kissed for a moment when she stopped, making a face and biting her lower lip.

"Uh Daniel."

"What?" he asked, concerned.

"I need a…"

"Oh," he sat up, "Right, sorry, we maybe should have thought that through."

He glanced down at the bed, yep, those sheets would need to be changed, before dashing to the bathroom. He grabbed two towels, taking care of himself while throwing the other in Adrienne's direction.

"Hit in the head with a towel after our first time," she joked from the bed, "How romantic…"

"Sorry, I was trying to rush."

He cleaned himself off, exiting the bathroom to see her sitting in his bed, still naked, her legs crossed and her arms draped across them.

"Indy?"

"Yeah," he answered, walking over to the bed and sitting beside her.

"I'm hungry…" she said with a smile, laying her head on his shoulder.

"And I'm shocked," he joked as she laughed.

"Can we still order in?"

"That means I have to put clothes on and I thought that Sookie-you wanted to see me naked?" he teased and she shoved his arm.

"You can go get us Mexican and then come right back here and remove them," she said, biting her lip.

"If I must," he sighed out and stood, walking over to his dresser.

"I'll clean up while you're gone," she offered, "And can I borrow some clothes?"

"Only if you promise they're temporary as well," he joked, hoping he hadn't pushed too far but she just smiled.

"I think that's a fair trade."

He pulled on a tshirt and jeans, not bothering with underwear since he kinda hoped she was serious. Reaching into his dresser, he grabbed one of his smaller shirts and a pair of basketball shorts, tossing them over to her. She pulled the shirt over her head, just in time to see Daniel peering down at her as her head peeped through the collar.

"I love you," he said before leaning down to kiss her again, "Margaritas too or just food?"

"Surprise me," she smiled and kissed him, biting her lip as he reached the door.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah," he paused, phone in hand to call and place the order.

"I love you too."

He smiled, bringing the device to his ear as he stepped out of the room.

Adrienne changed the sheets, stuffing all of their dirty laundry into his hamper. She straightened the rest of his room, making sure they had a place to create a Mexican picnic on his bed, and some hand towels on his nightstand in case they were to make love again tonight. She rushed around trying to make everything perfect when it all came crashing down. Beginning to sob, Adrienne sat down on the bed, trying to take in what had just happened. She was starting to do what she did best, overanalyze, be hard on herself when she heard a buzz and saw her cell phone dancing on her nightstand. Sniffing, she grabbed it, seeing it was a message from Daniel.

Sitting in the lobby and waiting. It should be here soon.

She smiled, hoping he meant the waiting area where deliveries would be brought to the Pentagon and not that her poor empty stomach would have to wait much longer. She was about to respond with an ok when the screen buzzed, a much longer message this time.

Thank you for trusting me and believing in me. I never imagined that someone like you existed. I love you Adrienne, more than mere words can express.

A tear escaped the corner of her eye, racing down her cheek.

She paused for a moment, wondering what to respond when it hit her, because she was the one in charge of her destiny, and no one else.

Thank you for fixing what was broken. You made me whole again Daniel.

She smiled again, feeling better and wiping her face when the phone buzzed again.

Me too Ad. You fixed me too.