The members of SG-1, both past and present, sat in the briefing room as Chaka was escorted to the infirmary by Dr. Cassie Frasier.
"This doesn't make sense," Vala began, "All of my intelligence is pointing to worlds that we haven't been in contact with in a while, worlds that were mostly destroyed during the war with the Ori."
"Dollars to donuts," Jack interjected, "he wants the naquadah on 403 and he knows that the leadership is on 888."
Sam nodded, "I agree. Vala, I think your intelligence is correct, but with the way it seems that he's amassing ships and other equipment he's going to need a power source and 403 isn't as frequently visited as 888 anymore, given the connection between the two worlds."
"And Chaka said," Daniel continued, "That it wasn't a full-scale attack but rather an intruder similar to what we've already experienced. I think that at least bodes well for our understanding of exactly how powerful Anubis has become, or not become at this point."
"So what are you thinking Sam?" Cameron asked, "Send SG-3, a full Battalion, what are we gonna do?"
"I think our best bet would be to send SG3 and SG12 to 403. Vala I'd like you to accompany them with a few of your intelligence staff to survey and secure the area and see what we can come up with."
Vala nodded in understanding
"As for P3X-888," Sam continued, "I think it's best we just send SG-1 back through and see if there's anything that we could have possibly missed in the last couple of checkups."
Everyone appeared to be in agreement again.
"I'm going to need a translator on each team as well, so Daniel you'll head to 403 and Addy you'll go to 888. Do you feel comfortable enough with your Unas if Chaka is there?"
"I do," Adrienne answered but Daniel was already shaking his head.
"I disagree," he replied, "There's no need for Adrienne to go back to P3X-888. We just came from there. A security team is all that needs to go."
"Right Indy," Adrienne said calmly, "but in a little under 3 hours all hell broke loose so I probably should go back there and talk to Chaka and get some information from the locals, in a language that the security team doesn't speak, ya think?"
"It's not safe," he answered flatly, Adrienne frowning at him.
The rest of the team remained silent.
Mostly...
"Oh this is not gonna be good," Vala muttered to Teal'c who was sitting beside her.
"Indeed it is not," he agreed.
"And since when is anything we ever do safe?" Adrienne questioned, crossing her arms across her chest and staring him down in front of everyone in the room.
"This is Anubis," Daniel answered, "And you have no experience in dealing with Anubis. I'd prefer someone who has that experience."
"And who pray tell has that experience and speaks Unas!?" the Cajun snapped.
Daniel didn't reply.
Frowning, Adrienne scanned the other members of the team, making a mental note as to who was present before continuing.
"I'm going," she stated simply.
"No," he replied, "You're not."
"You're not my boss anymore," she answered, stopping before she mentioned that her current boss was the one ordering her to go.
"But I…" he trailed, Adrienne cutting her eyes at him with that cajun glare that he knew meant business.
"Cher, I want ya to take a moment and evaluate da words that are 'bout ta come out of ya mouth, very carefully,' she warned.
"Adrienne…"
"Dit mon la verite'!" Adrienne began to raise her voice, "And ya reasoning bedda nah be because I'm ya damn gaienne."
"Gaienne?" Cam leaned over, trying to whisper to Vala.
"Pretty sure that means girlfriend," Jack clarified.
"Muscles, you might wanna prepare to make sure she doesn't beat his ass," Vala whispered, the Jaffa already sitting forward in his chair just in case he needed to do just that.
"Adrienne," Daniel didn't seem to be backing down anymore, "We've had this discussion, in detail, that not even everyone in this room knows and there is no way that you are prepared in the case that Anubis, or any of his forces, whatever they may be, decide that 888 is their destination after 403."
Adrienne stood there, rage in her face, staring him down.
"So, no, you're not going," he replied, "I'll use the Odyssey and beam between the two worlds as needed."
"Ya cannah stop me."
"Yes I can," he concluded, "I may not be your boss anymore but I'm the head of the department, so you're damn right I can."
"You know what Daniel? I'm starting to think the problem with us going public isn't really about me being sent anywhere," Adrienne raged, but made certain her words and voice were clear, "It's the fact that I think you're too emotionally immature to be in a relationship with another professional."
"Damn," Vala muttered, sitting back in her seat.
"I really like her," Jack noted, "She puts up with none of his shit."
"Enough!" Sam finally spoke, glaring at the two archaeologists, "Daniel, you will be going to 403, Adrienne you will be going to 888 and that is the end of the discussion. I need teams ready and at the gate in an hour. Dismissed."
Uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a minute, before Adrienne finally stood, storming out of the briefing room.
"Someone's gonna be sleeping alone for a while…" Vala said aloud, standing and exiting behind her.
Daniel shot a glare at Vala, rising and leaving the room in silence.
Cam waited until he left to look over at Jack and Sam, shaking his head.
"That is exactly what I was afraid of," he admitted, "You see that look he gets? This isn't he and Vala having a spat because she wanted to go away for the weekend at some damn expensive hotel. Adrienne is his entire world, one that doesn't seem particularly stable right now."
"Which is the exact reason I'm not even broaching it with Ratface until I have to," Jack added, "because if he got one whiff of this," the general swirled his finger around, "he'd ship Addy off to uncharted territories faster than lightning. And Daniel or not, Dr. Perky does a damn good job and I'd hate to lose her."
"She does. And I want him to be happy," Sam said, sighing out, "I do, he deserves to be, but maybe allowing this isn't such a great idea."
Without a word Teal'c stood from the table.
"You missed a lot in the past few weeks, big guy," Cam said with a shrug, "It's getting to be a bit of a mess."
But Teal'c shook his head.
"DanielJackson has lost more than any of us in this room," Teal'c finally spoke, "He has suffered, and endured and then suffered and endured."
Jack sat back sighing, understanding.
"While his actions were not correct, they are understandable," the Jaffa continued, "And he must be given time to realize his mistake."
"And Addy?" Sam asked.
"AdrienneRowan can care for herself," Teal'c replied, "She will not be swayed by him."
"And if we get another Vala-scale breakup?" Cam asked, visions of cafeteria punches flashing through his head.
At that Teal'c laughed.
"Her strength is why DanielJackson loves her as he does," the Jaffa concluded, "And I am certain he is already on his way to reconcile with her."
"Ad!" Daniel was shouting down the hall, running after her, barely seeing her turn the corner to head down the hall to the lab.
She wasn't stopping.
"Adrienne, please stop!"
He heard beeping, the code to the lab, but not a verbal response. He made it around the corner to see her entering their workspace, slamming the door behind her. He raced to the door, taking a breath and pausing before coding himself in and entering.
She was at her locker, packing up her gear.
"Ad?" he asked cautiously, "Ja-wer can we please talk?"
She kept packing, "Daniel I think you've said enough to me for today."
"Adrienne," he kept talking anyway, "Please try to understand where I'm coming from…"
"Oh I do," she replied as she shut her locker, "You made your stance on that quite clear that being in a relationship with you means you get to dictate what I do and do not do in my job based on your own personal comfort level."
"Come on Adrienne," he argued back, "How's that fair? You know what Anubis did to me, things I've never told anyone but you and I want to protect you from that and somehow I'm the bad guy?"
She pushed past him, heading for her desk.
"So you get to embarrass me and act like an ass in a briefing and claim that's ok because you're protecting me?"
Daniel hung his head, torn between anger at the assumption that he was trying to control her and sheer terror of what might happen to her.
"Fine!" he finally spat, "Yes, it's selfish," his voice started to crack, "But I can't lose you…"
She continued to pack, choosing not to reply.
"I love you," Daniel continued sincerely,"And I'm not sure if I can live without you."
Adrienne paused and sighed out, "Look Daniel, I love you, I do, and I'm not sure if I can live without you anymore either. But you know what your biggest problem is in relationships? You've never had anybody challenge you. From what I know, you've always been in a relationship with someone where somehow you get to dictate what's safe or what should be done…"
She paused, watching his eyes dart downward.
"But me?" she continued, "I'm not gonna fall in line with a speech or a declaration or even some strong-arming. There's professional consideration and discussion and then they're orders. I don't take orders from my partner, boyfriend, whatever. Partners discuss, rationalize and respect, and when shit hits the fan, even when they don't like it, they have one another's backs."
Daniel swallowed.
"You didn't have my back back there," she added, "You just threw a damn fit and tried to take over."
Daniel remained quiet.
"So, if you'll excuse me, my supervisor General Samantha O'Neill asked I be ready to leave in an hour to translate for my team and I need fresh underwear from my quarters in case we're trapped there for a while," she concluded, shoving a composition book into her duffel and making for the door.
"Adrienne?" he finally spoke, the cajun pausing at the door.
"What?"
"I love you," he said again, "And I'm sorry. Please be safe."
"I love you too," was all she said in reply, her tone short and curt.
Adrienne readjusted her pack and left Daniel, standing in the lab alone.
Cam waited until they were safely on the other side, Chaka and Rithe racing ahead to the village, before he even brought it up again.
"How bad didya let him have it?" he asked, not looking for gossip but genuinely inquiring, she could tell.
"I said what I had to say," Adrienne answered simply.
"Am I gonna have to write a report?" Cam joked, trying to lighten the mood, and it worked, Adrienne switching her staff weapon to her left hand to smack him with her right.
"You and those gah damn reports," the archaeologist answered, "I didn't slug him, if that's what you're worried about. Tempted, but I didn't do it."
Cameron and Teal'c chuckled.
"AdrienneRowan I was prepared to ensure that you did not," the Jaffa quipped, Adrienne flashing him the finger.
"You're right though," Cam noted, "Any of us that have known him know that he's more used to, well, a certain type, I dunno, compliant, for lack of a better word."
"AdrienneRowan is not one to comply," Teal'c added, full of sass this evening.
"Verite shug," she said nodding, "Verite. Unless ya writin' my paycheck."
"Speaking of," Cameron took the opportunity to change the subject, "You and Jackson really didn't notice anything unusual today? Or the day before?
"Not a thing," she replied, "Same thing as last time, yields, with a dash of those soil samples we sent to Rodney. I mean, my soil knowledge is limited to things to pay attention to when setting up a dig site, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. And certainly no signs of any uninvited guests."
"Then perhaps SamanthaONeill is correct," Teal'c added, "And Anubis is going to P3X-403 as it is less frequently visited."
Adrienne swallowed, because that is where Daniel was right now.
Pissed at him or not, she did still love the stubborn idiot.
"He'll be ok," Cameron said, noticing, and setting his hand on her shoulder, "Remember, nine lives? And he's probably finding nothing but what the Langarans found after their intruders and instead is obsessing over how to get you to forgive him."
Adrienne nodded, "It's gonna take a lot of Mexican and wine, just for starters," she tried to joke.
Her friends laughed, and she looked ahead, focusing on the village that was coming in sight and attempting to not think about Daniel.
Cameron was at least partially right.
The stack of bodies, clearly Ori soldiers with bad forehead tattoos indicated this was slightly more coordinated than the attack on Langara.
But not by much.
"Dan'al Unas ko tak Onac," the settlement leader, Kacha, stated with pride. Daniel nodded.
"Sho eyay jay. Onac totak nona Unas," Daniel conceded. Normally, he was adverse to killing in all forms, but lately it seemed that they were quickly headed to a place where it was again kill or be killed, which is exactly what the Unas had done to protect their home.
What he hoped he wouldn't have to do to protect his.
He tried to hide a shudder.
"A Onac?" he now asked, wondering if anyone had escaped. The bodies here were shot with zats and badly beaten, so the Unas were not playing around, but one could have escaped just as they had at the SGC.
"Sha," Kacha confirmed, Daniel nodding.
"Ok everyone," he announced to the group, SGs 3, 12 and Vala with two young people dressed in Lucian attire he did not recognize and knew that was completely intentional, "Let's do a second sweep, back to the areas where they appeared. Can I get the engineers to check the gate and DHD for me again, just to be safe. Afterwards, meet back at the colony headquarters and we can set up watch shifts and discuss next steps."
He watched the teams leave as directed, Vala whispering something not in English and too quiet for him to decipher what to the two seemingly teenage spies, who pulled out their guns and jogged off into the distance. Surveying the scene one more time, Vala nodded to no one in particular, walking back over to Daniel.
"I think it's secure," she stated, "I sent Gio and Sava to do another sweep as well but I don't think they'll find anything. But," she added, pointing to the pile of at least 10 bodies, "This time it was a little more than just testing the defenses."
Daniel nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I think it's safe to say that even though a squad of this size couldn't take over or take a lot, they were here to ensure that Anubis got his hands on something."
"You ok?" she inquired with concern in her voice, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Full of PTSD flashbacks and a sick feeling in my stomach, but other than that, I'm great," he joked, in a way that was uncharacteristically open with her.
"And Addy?" she now added carefully.
"Didn't leave me, so I guess that's a plus."
Vala laughed, "Nah, she's not gonna leave you. But put you in your place? She's been doing that since before you two were hopping in bed together, and I don't see her stopping that now."
Daniel frowned.
"It's more than that and you know it."
"Oh I do," she agreed, "You just need to not screw it up like you're so good at."
This time he glared at her.
"Don't give me that look when you know I'm right," she responded, reaching for her radio and heading for the gate.
"Sam," she called back, peering at the still open event horizon a group of marines had been guarding, "I think the Unas got them all. Daniel's talked to a couple of them and their leader and it looks like the coast is clear."
There was static over the radio, before Sam finally answered.
"Ok, I want to send a transport team to recover the bodies. How many are we talking?"
Vala looked over at Daniel, who was trying to count from a distance.
"Ten, twelve or something in that area," he called out, "You're gonna need a jumper."
"Did you hear him?" Vala asked.
"Yeah," the general replied, "I'll get Shepard and Ronon to get a jumper and bring Carson over."
Vala was about to answer when Daniel was at her shoulder, grabbing the radio.
"Sam, have you heard anything from Adrienne?"
Vala stood as he used her radio, rolling her eyes.
"Not yet Daniel, but I will inform your team of SG-1's status as soon as I have any information."
Vala raised her eyebrows, noting Sam's choice of words.
"We'll gate back as soon as everyone completes the second sweep," Vala continued, "And I'll leave SG-3 behind in case Shepherd and Dex need support."
"Thank you Vala." Sam ended the communication as Vala looked back at Daniel.
"She's not gonna put up with your shit either," the pirate noted, "So I suggest that if you plan on being in a relationship with Addy for any extended period of time you start evaluating your behavior."
She looked ahead to the settlement, walking ahead, leaving Daniel to ponder her words.
Cam sat as the base of the DHD, using yet another find from Atlantis to determine last activiations. He'd run it a couple of times, but he just wanted to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Teal'c stood just feet away, his gun at the ready.
"Is there an indication of dialing CameronMitchell?" Teal'c asked as he heard the machine beep the indicator that its scan was complete.
"Nope, not a thing T," the colonel sighed, "They must know we come here more and like Sam said, just went for the one Unas mining colony that wasn't as well guarded."
"Then shall I get AdrienneRowan so that we can return?"
"Might as well," Cameron replied, "I'll get this unhooked so we can dial back and tell Sa-"
There was a howling sound, coming from west, making Cam halt his own words and squint into the night sky.
"Did you hear…"
There was a loud boom and a flash of light, just on the outskirts of the village, the moons illuminating three ships, what looked to be an Ori fighter, a Death Glider and another unknown ship.
"Fuck!" Cam shouted, "Teal'c! Head to the village, get the Unas out of there and head to the main building. There should be some big damn canon or something in there we had sent over ages ago. We gotta get those ships outta the air!"
Teal'c turned without a word, headed straight for the village.
"Addy!" Cam screamed into his radio, "Addy girl do you read me?"
"Kinda under fire right now shug!"
"Addy! Ask Chaka to take you to the gun! There's some big gun or other weapons in case this happens."
"On it!"
Heart racing, Cameron turned to dial home.
Daniel sat in Sam's office, waiting. It has been hours since anyone heard from the half of SG-1 that was on P3X-888 but Sam said that Cameron couldn't dial out while he used the address tracing machine, so he tried not to be worried.
Try being the optimal word.
He was as worried as he was before, with the added anxiety of the last words exchanged between him and Adrienne being words he wished he could take back.
And words of hers that hurt, but were true.
Sam came back from the briefing room, where the IOA contingent was waiting as well to hear back from P3X-888, as Carson began the autopsy process on the bodies, a task he was completing from the special med lab on the Odyssey.
"I have a feeling that this is going to be yet another dead end," she said as she sat in her chair, "He's either doing an excellent job covering his tracks or is still so disjointed in his organization that there is really nothing to track."
"I just wish we knew which," Daniel replied, sighing out.
"Daniel," Sam said, leaning forward to make clear eye contact, "This is gonna get worse before it gets better."
"I know," he replied as he reached to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"And earlier…" she led, hoping that he would catch on without her having to scold him too much.
"Yeah, I know," he said as he sighed out, sitting back in the chair across from her, "I was wrong. I don't get to dictate Adrienne's life or choices to her, even if I don't agree with them."
"Right," Sam agreed, "You don't. I hope you apologized to her."
"I did."
"And?"
"She didn't tell me to get my shit out of her apartment and quarters, so…"
Sam just nodded, dropping it.
"We should hear something soon," she noted.
"I hope so," Daniel sighed out, peering back in the direction of the gate.
"Chaka!" Adrienne shouted as she heard another blast, "Kekata? Ska nat Unas!"
"Kekata no na Chaka," he said, nodding, grabbing Adrienne's hand and pulling her toward a large hut in the village center.
"Wait, Chaka, the gun is in your house?" she shouted confused, "Why?"
"Sha, kekata, gun in Chaka no na, in Chaka house," he insisted, pulling her along as Teal'c appeared in the doorway of the hut that Daniel and Adrienne had, or were supposed to have slept in, the night before.
"AdrienneRowan, CameronMitchell says there is a large defensive weapon somewhere in the village."
"Evidently in Chaka's damn house? What in the hell kind of defense did we leave these people with?! That's it? No perimeter weapons? What's he got it hangin' ova a damn fireplace!?" Adrienne shouted, not at Teal'c, but at the fact that this very situation seemed to prove Daniel's continual point about what the IOA and the Pentagon truly valued.
"Sha, gun in Chaka home, no na," the Unas repeated, urging Adrienne to follow as another boom crashed around them.
"How many ships Teal'c?" the archaeologist asked.
"Three that we could see, but perhaps more."
Adrienne nodded, "Ok, you go with Chaka, get whatever the gah damn de'pouille decided was enough ta defend an entire damn village! I'm gonna get these villagas to da forest, because running to da caves will let Anubis shoot dem like fish ina barrel."
"Addy Unas nay a tok. We fight," Chaka argued.
"Yep, you, Teal'c, Rithe, go and fight," Adrienne agreed, "But if the gun, the kekata, in ya house, ya no na, there's not enough for all of ya to fight, for unas ko keka. No."
"CameronMitchell is dialing for help," Teal'c added, "Reinforcements should be on the way."
"Ok, you go with Chaka," she suggested another blast hitting, dangerously close, screams of most likely hurt Unas echoing around her, "Imma gonna try ta get at least the children and elderly to the forest."
Teal'c nodded, racing out of the hut, Chaka and Rithe following.
The ground shook, a closer blast, Adrienne grabbing her staff weapon and heading out behind them.
The scene she walked into was total chaos. She could see the three ships, in the distance now, looking like they were trying to clear the village rather than destroy it, and she could only guess why. They swooped in no particular formation at all, a Death Glider flying haphazardly, as if the pilot didn't know what they were doing. It was strange, and the ship even seemed to drop as if it was going to fall out of the sky, and then regain control quickly.
Something was going on, something odd.
Either way, she needed to at least get the most vulnerable out and leave the rest to fight with the pitiful supplies given to Chaka's people while Cameron went for help.
"Unas!" she shouted, "Kal! Hass! Bernar! Ko no nay!"
Repeating the phrase as she ran through the village, dodging terrified Unas women holding children, pointing her staff weapon to the forest.
"Ko no nay!" she yelled again, grabbing a few Unas to point to the forest, far closer to the village than the caves, "Ska nat! Ko no nay! Kal bernar!"
It was enough for them to understand, Unas women gathering their families, racing for the forest as Adrienne monitored the skies. More and more villagers were headed to the wood, fewer left in the village and those that were were headed to the center, presumably warriors ready to fight for their friends and families. She began to run herself, alongside the fleeing Unas, holding her staff weapon pointed ahead in case there was anyone in the forest anticipating the group that she needed to take down. As they approached the edge of the wood, the gate in sight to her left, she was relieved that there appeared to be no one waiting for them. In fact, in their mad dash to the area, a good quarter mile at least, not one shot had been fired in the direction of the retreating Unas.
She heard an explosion again, dropping to the ground and throwing up her hands for cover, thinking she might have been incorrect in that last thought, but the shot was coming from the ground, from the center of the village.
Teal'c must have found that gun.
Another shot rang out and the Death Glider looked as if it had taken a hit, a flaming ball soaring into the distance.
"Cho co T! Blast those fuckers!" she shouted, thrusting her staff weapon into the air when she heard a sound at her shoulder.
"Addy please tell me some of those booms are us," Cam radioed, the cajun grabbing her shoulder.
"Yep, Teal'c got one of 'em."
"Where are you?"
"Just west of the gate," the archaeologist answered, "I led the women, children and anyone that was unable to fight to hide in the forest. Cam, I don't think whoever this is is trying to kill them, they just want the village cleared. And there's something wrong with the ships..."
"Are they safe there? In the woods?" he now asked, Adrienne surveying the scene again. The last of the Unas fleeing the village were entering in between the trees, more booms coming from the ground as an Ori fighter swooped dangerously close to the center building.
"Yeah, Cam, there's an Ori fighter and some other ship now, I don't recognize it but it's red in color, maybe purple, almost like a tie fighter or something, but they are after the village center."
"Get to the gate, now," he ordered.
"But Cam, I can't leave the Unas!?"
"Adrienne, I'm dialing. I'm gonna get SG-3 and some back up but we are gonna need YOU to tell us everything you have seen and translated. We need your information NOW."
"But Cam, I-"
"Dr. Rowan this is an ORDER from your TEAM LEADER," Cam shouted back at her, Adrienne peering back at the Unas who were watching her, looking for an answer.
"Yes sir," she responded before addressing the Unas, "Ska nat te. Uman ta tok Onac. Cha. Lota. Addy," she said the last word pointing to herself, "ka nay. Kel Addy. Addy nan kan."
Some of what she said must have made sense, she hoped her memory was correct, and that they understood to trust her and that she was going for help.
"ADDY!" her radio screamed, Adrienne glancing back one more time.
"Kel Addy!" she shouted as she ran for the gate, "Addy nan kan!"
Adrienne turned her body in the direction of the gate, running at a full sprint, ignoring the pain that tore through her hips as she stumbled into a small hole, just picking herself up to keep running.
She saw the gate ahead, Cameron waving her on.
"We gotta get the Odyssey and help! Move your cajun ass Addy!"
"I'm coming," she cried out, her hip in pain, pushing herself forward as more booms emanated from the ground.
She saw Cameron dash through the blue, squinting as she limped up the stone stairs to follow.
Daniel stood in the observation room, the sirens blaring, his heart racing, the entire base at red alert.
Sam reached for the red phone, picking it up and doing an all call.
"Drs. Lam and Fraiser please have a med team ready outside of the gateroom doors."
The siren sounds changed, the gate shifting into place.
"Offworld activation, SG-1, emergency call sign, it's Colonel Mitchell," Walter reported, Daniel's jaw dropping.
He didn't wait, pushing past Richard Woolsey, Sam and General Telford, racing for the metal stairs. He heard the event horizon, but barely, the sucking sound competing with the beating of his own heart. The gateroom doors opened, Carolyn, Cassie and the med crew rushing in, SG-3 behind him, as Cameron came running down the ramp seemingly uninjured waving frantically.
"Ships! Attacking the village, send the Odyssey and where's SG-3? Or the cadets?"
"Where's Addy?" Daniel yelled as he pushed his way through the growing throng of people as Vala came running to the gate room leading Ronon and some Jaffa cadets, all armed to the teeth.
"She was right behind me," Cam stated, looking back himself, worried, making it to the base of the ramp and meeting Daniel who was frantic. Before he could say anything else Adrienne came through the event horizon, staff weapon in hand, appearing to be unharmed as well.
"Ad!"
Not thinking, Daniel didn't care anymore, the archaeologist raced up the ramp as the gate closed, reaching for Adrienne's face and kissing her, in the gate room…
...in front of everyone.
The cajun dropped her staff weapon, bringing her arms up and wrapping them around his shoulders, kissing him as passionately as he was kissing her.
"Guess she's not pissed at him anymore," Cam noted as he peered back at the observation room windows, where he saw Sam with her face in her hand, the remainder of senior leadership standing and watching the scene unfold in shock.
"Walter!" Vala was screaming, "Shut it down and dial it back!"
The gate tech complied, the gate shifting into position to send a wormhole back in the correct direction as Vala led an attack team back up the ramp.
"Outta the way you two," she shouted as she pushed past the archaeologists. Daniel felt a shove at his shoulder, the only indication that anything else was happening outside of his lips pressed against Adrienne's.
He pulled away, watching Vala lead the forces through the gate.
"I'm ok. Go Indy," Adrienne stated, reaching down to grab her staff weapon, "Go help Chaka," she added, passing over her own beloved weapon. Nodding, Daniel took the staff, racing off behind Vala and the rescue team. She watched him disappear into the blue, turning to limp down the ramp, unable to hide her hip pain any longer.
She looked up to see Dr. Carolyn Lam standing there, frowning.
"So, I now understand Cameron's report complaining…" the doctor stated, leading the blushing Cajun over to the side.
"Yeah, I know, I'm full of bad choices," Adrienne replied.
Surprisingly, Carolyn laughed.
"For once," she replied as she shined a light into Adrienne's eyes, "I don't think you made a bad choice. A risky one but not a bad one. At least not with Daniel. Continuing to walk on this hip however..."
Adrienne grimaced in pain, taking another step and wincing.
"Carolyn?"
"Yes?"
"Can I get a stretcher?" Adrienne whined softly.
"Wonders never cease," the doctor said as she shook her head, waving over and orderly. She stepped forward to reach out for Adrienne, helping the larger cajun woman the best she could down the rest of the ramp.
"Addy!" Sam was shouting as she came down the metal stairs, "Cam! What happened?"
"I'm heading back Sam," Cam replied, "But Addy can fill you in."
The cajun nodded, wincing, Carolyn cocking her head to indicate Sam follow.
"She might have torn something, I need to do a scan right away and check for internal bleeding so she doesn't do permanent damage to the leg," the doctor ordered, "Follow us."
Sam nodded, chasing down the stretcher, Adrienne leaning back to talk.
"There were three ships, looked like an ole Death Glider, a smalla Ori fighter, and somethin' else, red or purple in color. It looked kinda like a TIE fighter from Star Wars, but wit da wings horizontal instead ah vertical."
Sam held out her radio, closer to Addy.
"Walter, is everyone getting this?"
"Yes ma'am, but can Dr. Rowan speak more clearly?"
"Sorry," she replied with a wince, calming her accent, "They seemed to have no real organization, they were flying together, but no formation or anything, just as if they happened to be in the air together. The Death Glider was all over the place until Teal'c shot it down."
"You sure it wasn't a distraction?" Sam asked, keeping pace with the stretcher.
"I have no idea," Adrienne replied, "It just looked suspect. And they weren't shooting anyone or anything. I got the villagers that weren't helping Chaka and Teal'c to head for the forest since it was closer than the caves and not a single shot was fired in their direction. I don't even think that they hit anything in the village. It's as if they were just trying to clear the place out."
"Walter!" Sam yelled into the radio, "Radio to Daniel that we want to try to take these ships not just destroy them. Relay that information to Shepard as well. We want to try to get a pilot alive!"
"Yes ma'am."
The general slowed her pursuit, as the orderlies turned the stretcher into the infirmary.
"Anything else you can remember, Addy?"
The cajun shook her head "I don't think so."
"Got it," and Sam turned to head back to the gateroom.
"Sam!" Adrienne yelled, leaning back on the stretcher. Sam stopped peering back.
"Please get Daniel back ok?"
Sam nodded with a soft smile, turning and dashing back to the gateroom. She had just made it to the door where she found Robert Woolsey standing, his arms crossed across his chest.
"General O'Neill," Woolsey sneered, "A word…"
Sighing Sam followed the IOA liaison into her office.
With the situation on P3X-888 under the control of Cameron and John Sheppard, Daniel radioed back to Sam what intel he had, which was little. Once the Odyssey had arrived in orbit the two remaining ships dashed out into space, as fast as they had arrived, leaving no trace.
Teal'c was leading a team of Jaffa cadets and Unas to try to recover what they could of the Death Glider he had taken down with the hand-held cannons kept at the village center.
It was then Sam informed him that Adrienne was in the infirmary, with a possible tear to her gluteal muscles. No more encouragement needed, Daniel let Cameron know he was headed back, racing for the gate.
When he arrived at the infirmary Adrienne was sitting in a bed, gown and all, playing with her phone and frowning.
"I tore a damn muscle," she muttered, Daniel's jaw dropping.
"How? Are you ok?" and he was at her side in an instant, the cajun shrugging.
"Yeah, Jennifer's got some cool Atlantis stuff that repaired it without surgery, but I gotta take it easy for a few days. She said I can be discharged tomorrow."
Sighing, he took a seat beside her, smiling, "I heard you evacuated the entire village."
"I guess so," she whispered modestly, changing the subject, "Did ya get all of them? Able to capture anyone?"
Daniel shook his head, "Unfortunately, no, but Chaka's people are, thanks in part to you. We're increasing patrols, leaving some forces there and on 403 for a while, just in case."
"So how they have decided on a bedda defensive system then a gun in Chaka's damn house!?" she asked smartly.
"Evidently," he said with an eye roll of his own, agreeing with her completely.
He paused for a moment, gazing down at her.
"Adrienne," he continued, "I want to really apologize, again, for the way I behaved in the briefing and then when you came back through the gate…"
She chuckled as he trailed.
"I got a little carried away…"
"Just a bit," she agreed, reaching for his hand, "but thank you for apologizing."
"I have no right to tell you what you can and cannot do," he continued, "But especially because of my own fears."
She squeezed his hand and pulled him to her, "You don't, but I know you meant well, even if the execution was terrible." She leaned forward and kissed him softly, disregarding the number of people milling around the infirmary, before relaxing back onto her pillow.
"So…" she continued, "I guess we don't care anymore about what Woolsey or anyone else says?"
Daniel laughed, "I guess not."
"I'm glad you're okay," she added and he squeezed her hand again.
"I'm glad you're okay too," he whispered.
Sighing out, Adrienne reached for him again, "Come here cher," she ordered gently, "I forgive you for being an idiot."
Laughing lightly, he did as she asked, pushing his chair closer so she could wrap her arms around him.
"But ya owe me for being a tchew," she added as he cuddled close, "I'm thinking Mexican in bed when I'm discharged tomorrow."
"Anything you want," he whispered back, happy to have her home.
"Well," Jack noted as the last IOA official left the briefing room, "that could have gone worse."
"How exactly could that have gone worse Jack?" Sam asked, taking a seat at the head of the table and letting her face fall into her hands.
"None of them said a damn word about Daniel laying one of Dr. Perky in the middle of the gateroom."
Sam laughed, peering up and shaking her head.
"It only took Anubis attacking two allied planets and getting away, yet again, to get the IOA to not notice blatant fraternizing," she joked, "Hooray."
"Carson got anything from the autopsies yet?" Jack asked with a shrug, changing the subject as he was still apprehensive about possible firings as a result of said fraternizing.
"No, not a thing. Just some random soldiers, some with Ori tattoos, some without, all appearing to have sworn some sort of fealty to Anubis by virtue of that forehead tattoo. All killed by the Unas it seems, no suicide like the ones on Langara. We might as well have the bodies of ten random people from ten random places with a costume on," she explained as Jack nodded.
"And T said nothing survived of that one he took down," he added, "they found some charred pieces behind the main cave system, and what was left of a badly burnt body. He was having some Jaffa cadet help load to get that transported to the Odyssey as well."
"He's close Jack," she whispered, "I can feel it. These aren't failures, they're tests. He's just poking a little at a time until the dam breaks."
Jack sighed out, "I know, we're never this lucky. Hell, that damn hail did worse damage to the village than those ships."
Sam took a moment, her face furrowed in concern.
"And Daniel," Sam finally added, "He's going to do whatever he can to destroy Daniel," she closed her eyes, "And just when we got him back from that dark place…"
But Jack shook his head.
"We know better this time, all of us, and there are more of us in that know."
"I hope so," she answered as Jack stood, adjusting his jacket.
"Where are you going?" she asked since he didn't seem as upset as she felt, wondering if there was something she should know.
"To give Daniel the good news that no one is shipping Dr. Perky…"
"Addy…" she corrected, laughing.
That was where he was going.
"Fine," he rolled his eyes, "No one is shipping Addy to Siberia."
"Ok," she sighed, turning to face her computer screen.
"I'll let you know if I hear anything before you do," he said before exiting.
"Thanks hun," she said, opening her email, her brow furrowing in worry.
The magnifier slammed onto the floor, it's glass shattering into a million pieces across the lab, the noise from its impact on the floor echoing throughout the room. Adrienne's heart stopped at the sound and she looked back at Daniel, panicked, who had stopped his motion, releasing his tight grip from her bare hip, his pants at his ankles.
"You did that," she said quickly, realizing that it might not have been the wisest idea to let him throw her up on the table, as fun as it seemed at the time, as good as it was, as very very very good as it was.
"No, you started it. You locked the door and waltzed over here with one thing on your mind," he accused, pulling back from her, his face red with embarrassment as he knelt quickly, pulling his pants back up, suddenly unable to believe he had let them get carried away like that, at work no less.
Damn tight running shorts, he thought, damn Adrienne.
"No, you slammed me up onto the table with one thing on your mind," she replied, slipping away back over to her desk, trying find where they, well where he, had thrown her shorts, but gave up, laughing now in embarrassment, rushing to her locker to grab her spare BDU's.
"I said let's go back to my quarters, you obviously didn't want to wait," he teased, not really mad about the magnifier but still regretting this little indiscretion.
This wasn't like him, what had Adrienne done to him, but then she smiled, that smile she only gave to him, slowly turning around as he buttoned his pants, walking over to help him clean up the magnifier mess.
She changed my life is what she did, he thought, she brought me back from the brink.
"Sorry, ok, fine, my fault," she said, laughing, returning to the scene of the crime to help him pick up the mess, "I just didn't feel it was my place to stop all of this amazing apologizing you've been doing since Carolyn freed me, and it's nearly two a.m. who's even up…"
He laughed, "Just as much my fault as it is yours."
Kneeling beside him to help clean, another thought popped into her head.
"What are you gonna say happened?" she asked, worried. They had really crossed a line here, a line they should have known better than to cross…
The last thing Adrienne wanted was for Woolsey to finally have an excuse to ship her to Area 51 or to fire her, since it seemed that he had overlooked the big kiss in the gateroom, which was still the hottest basewide gossip.
Funny part was, she didn't even care and neither did Daniel.
Let them talk.
However, the all-important Daniel Jackson or not, she wasn't supposed to be sleeping with a team member, period, and she was fairly certain that having sex on a mission, and now in the lab was a fireable offense.
"That I was having my way with Dr. Rowan on my desk and she knocked it over," he teased, trying to be funny, seeing the worry in her eyes, the same worry that was ripping through him at the exact moment.
They needed to cool it, at least here, and fast.
Making up for a huge fight and yet another life and death scare or not...
Forcing a laugh, Adrienne shoved him playfully and he shook his head, having finally come up with a real excuse.
"That I was trying to use it, but it's gotten so old that the clamp broke. I was pushing down on it to get a closer look and it popped up and fell over, end of story. I've been asking for a new one of these for a while now so I guess I owe you a thank you," he said, leaning up to kiss her lightly.
She returned the gesture and backed up, sitting on her heels, smiling again.
"In that case, you're welcome," she replied, hoping it was that easy and stood, returning to pack her things as Daniel went to grab the broom from the corner of the lab. Her items shoved away, she looked over her shoulder as Daniel was pouring the last of the pieces from the dust pan into the large metal trash can.
He peered over his shoulder, biting his lip.
"Wanna head to my quarters…"
"Yes, please," she replied quickly, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the lab, Daniel barely shutting out the light and closing the lab door on his way out.
Adrienne woke up, peering over Daniel's back to see his alarm clock shining, a time that made her sick to her stomach.
5:04 a.m.
She hated anxiety.
Her nightmares tonight has been plagued by visions of Unas dying all around her, and then Daniel, standing at the gate, screaming for her to come and Adrienne running, her hip going out and her body crashing to the ground, peering up to see Daniel impaled from behind by a cloaked figure, a cloaked figure she had never seen but that he has described to her in detail.
It had been some version or another of this same thing over and over since she had been released from the infirmary just a few days ago and she had barely gotten four hours each evening.
Even fewer tonight.
"Ad," she heard a whisper in the dark, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," she whispered, cuddling into his arms, "I'm ok."
"Was it that dream again?" he asked as he held her tighter, kissing her head softly.
"It was," she muttered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't be sorry," he whispered sweetly, "We're here, safe and everything is alright. I was awake anyway."
"Bad dream?"
"No, just thinking about something Jack said is all," he whispered back.
"About?" she led, Daniel adjusting her closer in his arms.
"About us being together."
She sat up, now worried for a different reason, one that was not some stress induced nightmare, "Shit, are we in trouble? Am I gonna lose my promotion?"
"No," he laughed lightly, "Nothing like that. It's just, and please excuse me for saying this, but at first I thought that he just wanted me to 'get laid', his words ja-wer, not mine. But when I got back from P3X-403, before you did, and he saw how worried I was, I guess he figured out how serious we are and he was oddly supportive," Daniel answered, "And he's really been different the past couple of days, about the entire thing."
"So we're serious?" Adrienne asked, taken aback by the statement, even more so than Jack being supportive.
Granted she knew that they weren't just having a good time and she loved him more than she had ever loved someone else before, but she hadn't really thought about the future, past their day to day interactions. She had used the word serious before and she thought that didn't scare her with Daniel, but to hear him actually say it, just out of the blue, made her heart race.
He's serious...
How serious is serious...
Could he be thinking...
She began to pull away slowly, Daniel looking over at her strangely.
"Of course. I mean, we have our nights, but we're pretty much living together now; I would say that's serious," he explained, sounding a little hurt.
Was there something she wasn't telling him?
Adrienne was quiet for a while, still in shock because with his words he made it all real.
This wasn't a quick I love you, a declaration of forever in a moment of passion, Daniel wanted a future with her, a 'this is it for me' kind of future.
"Are we not on the same page with this? Does it have to do with what I said at the briefing?"
It didn't.
What it had to do with was Adrienne laying here, now questioning everything she had ever believed was not for her...
"No," she whispered, curling back into his arms, "We are. It's just late and you know my brain doesn't fire on all cylinders this late without coffee."
Worried, but accepting her answer, Daniel adjusted himself back on the pillow.
"Try to get some sleep before we're at it again ja-wer," he muttered into her ear, Adrienne trying to do as requested.
"General O'Neill," Robert Woolsey peered around the door to Jack's office glad that he was here. With everything going on, and SGC leadership back and forth between the research station now set up on the Odyssey to investigate Anubis's latest intrusion, it was hard to know whether or not Jack was going to be working here or there over the past few days. It seemed, however, that this afternoon he had lucked out, thankfully, because he really didn't want to be discussing this with anyone else.
"What do you want, Woolsey? I actually have work to do other than attend poorly planned meetings that are preventing me from actually helping my wife find Anubis," Jack hissed from his desk, his head aching already at the mere suggestion of another meeting.
"General, we need to have a conversation about Drs. Rowan and Jackson, and their, um, relationship," Woolsey began, treading lightly since he knew that he was talking about one of Jack's closest friends, someone he thought of as family more than a work colleague.
"Yep, heard about the kiss in the gateroom, and the infirmary, and everyone all over base is somehow suddenly offended that two geeks are in love with one another. Let me handle that, they've done nothing wrong, it seems they have been together for a while now and no one has been the wiser," Jack replied, not looking up from the mess strewn across his desk.
Taking a breath, Woolsey cleared his throat and stepped closer, holding up a small plastic case in his hand.
"Not exactly General, there's something you need to see," he started, Jack's eyes finally making contact with his own, curious as Robert handed him a DVD.