Thanks again to all those reviewers (decidedly repetitive, aren't I?) We're getting there...at the half-way mark of the weekdays!

Lol to whoever mentioned Daniel needs more coffee! I'll see if I can arrange that! :D

DAY THREE, PART ONE: WEDNESDAY

'You really should calm down.'

'I can't calm down, I'm too worried.' Sam paced around Daniel's office, which was where she seemed to spending a lot of her time. Although Daniel was basically on his feet again, he was snowed under with filing.

'Hey, I'm worried, too.'

'Aren't you confused that the Colonel's giving Kinsey the so-called fifty cent tour?' Sam asked, stopping her pacing for a moment to see Daniel's reaction. He nodded.

'Yeah, that's strange. I wouldn't be surprised if he called it the fifty dollar tour, though, and actually charged Kinsey for it.' Sam had to smile. Daniel saw it and gave a half grin. 'Don't look so amused, he'd probably do it, too.'

'So, did the Colonel ever tell you Plan B?' Sam asked, stopping her pacing to face Daniel. Daniel shook his head, walking with a limp over to the bookcase.

'No, he didn't.' Daniel paused. 'He gave me back my artifact, though.'

'Well, that's something,' Sam commented. Silence met that statement. 'Daniel? You don't seem happy about this.'

'Oh, I am happy about it, I'm just worried about Plan B.'

'All things considered, I was more worried about Plan A.' Sam grimaced. She never, *ever* wanted to repeat the process of going through the 'gate without permission. If she ever did it again, she'd have an ulcer before her next birthday.

'Yes, but we knew Plan A,' Daniel argued mildly, sitting back down again with a book on latin placed in front of him. 'Plan B we know nothing about and is probably being carried out right now.' This was enough for Sam to looked panicked for a second, but then she relaxed.

'We're just all worked up because Kinsey's here,' she said animatedly. 'Once this meeting's over, we'll be able to relax and get back to our usual state of...'

'State of?' Daniel asked as she trailed off.

'What? Sorry, got sidetracked there. Usual state of work, you know.'

'I can't wait until this week is over,' Daniel commented, rubbing his eyes. 'That's when Janet says my ankle should be properly better.'

'Personally, I can't wait until everything's back to normal here,' Sam told him. 'Is it just me, or does everything seem...off?' Daniel thought for a moment.

'It always seems strange when there's a strange person in the mountain. Like when Major Davis is here, or Kinsey, in this example.' Sam shook her head.

'It's probably just us being paranoid,' she decided aloud. She checked her watch. 'Well, the meeting's not for a couple of hours, I'll just head to the laboratory and do some work. Meet you...?'

'Outside the laboratory,' Daniel said. 'It's closer to the briefing room.' Sam nodded and left, walking calmly down the hallway. At least, on the outside she looked calm. On the inside she was stressing and probably blowing everything out of proportion. But she couldn't help that annoying little question. What if...?

Upon reaching the laboratory, she saw all the planet reports and papers regarding the device waiting for her.

'Why can't somebody else do this?' she grumbled, flicking through the manila folders, each with information on a different planet. 'No...no...no...no...' She couldn't find the one the device had come from, and it was turning into a royal...

'Did you say something, ma'am?' Sam turned towards the doorway, where one of the lab. assistants was standing, looking worried.

'No, just talking to myself.' The lab. assistant didn't look any less worried, so Sam decided a change of subject was in order. 'Would you happen to have the mission report for P4C-510?' The assistant shook her head, finally stepping into the laboratory.

'Quite a few mission reports have been taken to General Hammond's office.'

'But I haven't entered all the information into the computers!' Sam said, more to herself than to the assistant. 'Who took them down there?' But the assistant just shrugged, placing a folder on the desk.

'This is from SG-13,' she said. 'They returned yesterday, I believe. Found some kind of chemical in the soil.'

'Are there any samples?' The assistant checked a note she had in another folder in her hand.

'Yes, a small sample, that was brought to the lab. yesterday,' she told Sam, looking around. 'I believe that while you were in Dr Jackson's office a couple of people analysed the sample.'

'And I'm left with the official records?' Sam asked. 'Entering the data into the computer?' The assistant nodded.

'Sorry, Major, if this is inconvenient. If you like, next time we'll let...' Sam shook her head, waving a hand.

'No, no, I'm not annoyed, I'm just inquiring.' She smiled encouragingly. 'It's fine, I was just wondering.' The assistant nodded, then looked towards the door.

'I need to be...'

'Go ahead, I'll be a while here,' Sam told her.

'Thank you, Major.' The assistant turned and left, and Sam picked up the folder she'd been given. Okay, so putting information in a computer wasn't the most thrilling thing to do to pass time, but she'd do it. After all, it had to be done. And if it had to be done, then she wasn't about to say no.

***

'I believe you are incorrect.'

'Mr Teal'c, you are not permitted to take this weapon out unless authorised by personnel.' The technician was quite adamant. Teal'c was not impressed.

'I will require this weapon. I do not understand why you do not hand it over.'

'I'm sorry, sir, but the zat guns are to be locked up unless authorised by a...'

'I have you heard you say that many times, but I still do not believe it.'

'Look, I'm going to have to call someone if you don't let this up,' the technician warned. They were in armoury, and Teal'c was attempting to get a zat'nika'tel to have during the meeting with Kinsey. Colonel O'Neill had jokingly suggested it, but the more Teal'c thought about it, the more he thought it would be a good idea. He didn't trust Kinsey, and would feel better if he had some sort of weapon against him. Unfortunately, the technician in armoury was making this quite difficult.

'I am not going to leave.' The technician glared at Teal'c, then reached for the phone. Teal'c remained where he was, the calm look that was ever-present on his face not wavering once.

'Can Colonel O'Neill please come to armoury?' the technician asked, keeping a close eye on Teal'c. If he turned his back, he knew the Jaffa would probably just grab a zat and leave. 'Oh, is he? Ah...okay, Major Carter, is she busy?' There was another silence. 'Thank you, this is much appreciated.' The technician hung up the phone. 'Major Carter's on her way.'

'As I am aware,' Teal'c said in a voice that people save for when talking to idiots. The technician scowled at the condescending tone but didn't say anything.

They stood in silence for a couple of minutes until Sam walked through the door.

'What's going on?' she asked, looking confused. 'Teal'c?'

'I'm sorry if I interrupted you, Major, but Teal'c doesn't seem to understand that he can't take a weapon.' A surprised look appeared on Sam's face.

'Teal'c? What do you want a weapon for, we're not going anywhere.'

'I believe I will need it for the meeting with Senator Kinsey,' he said, holding his head slightly higher. 'I do not believe he is to be trusted.'

'That may be so, Teal'c, but I don't think we'll need weapons against him,' Sam offered. 'After all, General Hammond will be there, and all the people outside the door.' Teal'c bowed his head to one side.

'But Kinsey is not to be trusted. If he was to be faced with a weapon, he may co-operate.' Silence met this. Realisation seemed to suddenly hit Sam.

'Has Colonel O'Neill been talking to you?' she asked. Teal'c looked at her.

'Yes he has,' he replied. 'He was the one who suggested I carry a weapon.' Sam shook her head.

'That was a joke, Teal'c, he didn't mean it.'

'As he explained,' Teal'c told her. 'But after consideration I believe it would be wise if one of us was to carry a zat'nika'tel.' Sam didn't know what to say to that. 'The technician here tells me I must have the permission of authorised personnel.'

'Teal'c, if he knows you're carrying a weapon, the entire outcome of this meeting could change,' Sam told him. 'I think we've got to be careful of what we say and do from now on in Kinsey's presence. If one of us carries a weapon, he'll know we don't trust him, and be more determined than ever to break us up.' Teal'c didn't say anything, but turned to the technician.

'I will no longer argue with you,' he said simply. He turned and bowed his head slightly at Sam, before leaving the room, obviously not happy. Sam let out a breath. She gave the quite startled technician a small smile before also leaving armoury, feeling only temporary relief. That was *one* hurdle out of many. She just wished this whole meeting with Kinsey had never been organised! It was way more trouble than it was worth.

That was something else, she realised as she headed along the corridor, nodding to the appropriate people as she passed. Colonel O'Neill hadn't been seen all morning, and he'd been giving Kinsey the grand tour. She tried to ignore her instincts, which were telling her this was strange.

'Get some sleep,' she muttered to herself.

'I'm sorry, ma'am, did you say something?' *Why do I always talk to myself when people are around?* Sam inwardly berated herself, while on the outside she smiled at the lieutenant.

'No,' she replied. 'Just ta...you must be hearing things.' Before the lieutenant could argue with her, she saw Jack coming down the hallway. 'Colonel!' She left the quite bewildered lieutenant behind her and nodded at her CO. 'Where've you been all morning?' He was in his uniform, a small smile on his face.

'Giving Kinsey the grand tour, Carter, I thought Daniel would have told you that.'

'As a matter of fact, he did,' she replied, falling in step beside him. 'What time's the meeting scheduled for?'

'Ten-thirty hours,' he told her, checking his watch. 'You have an hour to get into uniform.' Then he took a double take, as if seeing her for the first time. 'Whoa, what are you doing down here?'

'Teal'c was causing problems,' she told him. 'Wanted to take a weapon from armoury into the meeting.'

'Weapon?'

'Zat.' Jack rolled his eyes.

'Wish I'd thought of that.'

'As a matter of fact, you did.'

'He didn't take that seriously, did he?'

'How else would he take it?'

'Oh, I don't know!' Jack shook his head, then shrugged. 'Oh, well. It'd serve Kinsey right if he got zatted.'

'Where is he now?'

'Oh, with Hammond or something.'

'There's always an 'or something', isn't there, sir?' Sam noted, grinning slightly so he'd know she was kidding.

'Carter, where there's a...damn.' She shook her head, grinning properly. 'Should've thought ahead.'

'Yes, I imagine you've said that to yourself on many occasions.' She jumped into the elevator before he could say anything. Once the doors closed, he stared at them for a second.

'I really should court-martial her, one day,' he muttered.

***

'Jack, if you tug at your tie one more time...'

'Daniel, if you say that one more time, you'll no longer have the capacity to warn me about tugging my tie one more time.'

'If I no longer have the capacity to warn you about tugging your tie, you'll no longer have the capacity to tell me I'll no longer have the capacity to warn you about tugging your tie.' Silence met this.

'Yes, well, now we've got that sorted,' Jack said, clearing his throat. 'What's happening?' SG-1 were all assembled in their usual seats in the briefing room. Daniel was by the window, staring out at the Stargate. Jack was sitting next to Teal'c, and Sam was sitting opposite him.

'Not a whole lot.'

'Teal'c, you didn't bring...?'

'I did not. I was advised against it.'

'Yeah? By who?'

'Major Carter.'

'Carter? Future in diplomacy?' She gave him a 'don't go there' look and he immediately backed off. Daniel was amused. He loved it when that happened, Jack had no idea how amusing it was.

'I am still unsure as to why...' The door to the room opened, and everyone looked towards it. Kinsey and General Hammond walked through. There seemed to be an unsaid agreement amongst SG-1, as none of them stood up...except for Daniel, who was already standing up, but he leant back, trying to look casual. Which was easy for him. General Hammond noted this, and realised Kinsey was going to have an even tougher time than was expected. Kinsey glared at them all.

'Please have a seat, Dr Jackson.' Daniel didn't move.

'Dr Jackson,' General Hammond said warningly. Daniel moved slowly to his seat, sitting down and exchanging a glance with Sam.

'Now, I think we all know why we're here...'

'I'm not sure about the rest of my team, but I'd like a quick run-through.' Kinsey, at the head of the table alongside General Hammond, didn't look impressed. 'For old time's sake.'

'It is believed that socialising during work-time can destroy team dynamic during...' He trailed off suddenly, his attention wavering. No one said anything for a time.

'Kinsey?' General Hammond said finally, and he jumped out of his reverie.

'Sorry, where was I?' He coughed. 'Ah, socialising during work-time can destroy team dynamic during missions off-world...had many off-world missions lately, Major?' Sam looked up sharply.

'No more than any of the others,' she replied carefully. 'Why do you ask?'

'Just wondering...' He seemed on the brink of day-dreaming, then snapped himself out of it. 'This is, of course, reason for concern, as it means work would not be done to a suitable standard.'

'Refresh our memories, what is a suitable standard?' Jack asked casually. Kinsey gave him a sharp look, and Jack noted he was starting to wring his hands. He was actually wringing his hands. 'Just for old time's sake.' General Hammond glared at him, but Kinsey didn't seem to mind.

'Oh, in on time, Colonel, we'll settle at that for your work.' Kinsey was out of his day-dreamy state for a moment, then seemed to fall back into it.

'Permission to pass copy of suitable work to Colonel O'Neill as an example?' Sam asked suddenly. General Hammond nodded, and she passed her folder across. Taking it, Jack saw a note pinned in it. Just a simple note.

*'What the hell did you DO?!'*

Hiding a grin, he studied the folder for a few more minutes.

'I see, Major, but wouldn't there have to be...' He scribbled on it for a few seconds, then nodded. 'I think that's satisfactory work.' Daniel watched the whole exchange with interest, having seen the note Sam had written extremely subtly. 'Sorry, just had to know.' He passed the folder back.

*'Suspicious much?'*

'Right,' Sam said, nodding slowly. 'Sorry I missed that.'

'May we continue with the proceedings?' Kinsey asked.

'Oh, for crying out loud! It isn't a court-case, Kinsey!'

'Colonel, if you're not careful...you understand the consequences.'

'Oh, absolutely.' Sam and Daniel both sent him warning looks.

'O'Neill, if I had...'

'No, Teal'c.'

'Very well. But it would have been a very successful means.'

'Trying to stay away from...'

'If the meeting could continue,' General Hammond said firmly.

'Yes. I believe Kinsey was saying how well SG-1 work together on missions and on the base,' Sam said, and everyone seemed to hold their breath. Sure, Kinsey was out of it, but would he buy it?

'Was I? Ah, certainly Major...are you sure?' Kinsey asked her, desperately trying to remember.

'Yes, I'm sure,' Sam said, trying not to sound overly confident.

'You were also congratulating us on our mission reports,' Daniel added. 'How they're on time. Well, except for Jack's.'

'Oh, you had to say that, didn't you?' Jack muttered. General Hammond scrutinised them all for a moment, then stood up.

'Senator, could I ask you to wait outside while I speak with SG-1 for a moment?' he said, and they could all sense his underlying anger. Sam was already flinching before he'd even closed the door behind Kinsey.

'What are you playing at? That's Senator Kinsey, in case you hadn't realised! If you'd just acted as you would for these types of meetings, there would be no problems!'

'Sir...'

'I don't want to hear it, Major. I want you all to stop this ridiculous act this instant. Do not take advantage of Senator Kinsey, and act like proper adults!' Silence met this.

'So if I were to ask him...'

'Do you want Major Carter to lose her job, Colonel?' Jack looked at Sam for a second, then turned back to Hammond.

'No, sir.'

'Good.' Without another word, General Hammond went back to fetch Kinsey, and the meeting resumed. In his absence, Kinsey had seemed to improve. His 'hand-wringing' had stopped, and he didn't look so nervous. But within five minutes, it was all back.

'I'm concerned about the time spent socialising. This is not a social place. If you are fraternising in your spare time, then it is a court-martial offence.'

'But we're not fraternising,' Sam told him. Kinsey turned to her, and she suddenly realised he was unable to meet her eye.

'That's fair enough, Major. I don't believe you'd...have you had your hair cut?' Had she had her...

Oh, God.

Oh, absolute *hell!*

Barely containing her anger, Sam replied calmly,

'No, I have not.' As she was opposite Jack, she felt free to give him a sharp kick. He winced slightly, and didn't dare meet her gaze.

'New conditioner?' he asked her weakly.

'Your hair does look nice, Major.' Kinsey even managed a small smile. Sam didn't reply, she just continued shooting daggers at Jack. Teal'c raised his eyebrows, recognising Kinsey's behaviour. Daniel just rubbed his eyes, shaking his head, trying to be subtle at the same time. General Hammond hadn't seemed to have noticed anything yet. Which was strange in itself.

'You were saying?' Daniel said, trying to distract Sam so that Jack wouldn't end up a cringing shadow on the ground.

'I was saying...are those new earrings?' Sam raised her hand to her ears, confused, her anger nearly reaching as high as it could go before exploding. General Hammond must have finally noticed something, because he also stared at Jack.

'Fraternising,' he reminded Kinsey.

'Ah, yes, too much fraternising.' Okay, now he couldn't even look Sam in the eye. *How long will it take General Hammond to realise?* Daniel thought to himself, surverying the whole scene with a due sense of dread. 'This can be bad for team dynamic...not that I can see a problem with the Major's team. Did you dye your hair? You must have done something, it looks lovely.' Jack coughed slightly, catching Daniel's eye and grinning through his fingers, which covered his mouth.

'I have not done anything to my hair...General.' Sam stood up, and General Hammond nodded.

'This meeting is adjourned until...'

'Have you had your uniform dry-cleaned? It's a very nice uniform, isn't it, Major?'

'Call the infirmary!' General Hammond ordered loudly to anyone outside the door who may be listening.

'Why the infirmary? Is that where the Major got her hair done?'

'No, I have not done anything to my hair,' Sam snapped, reaching the end of her patience. 'But do ask the Colonel where he's gone in the past to be decapitated. And if he has their number, and if they work on Wednesdays.' No one, except Kinsey and possibly Teal'c, missed the tone in Sam's voice, and Daniel flinched slightly.

'Nowhere special, Carter,' Jack replied. 'Just a little place that has half-price weekdays.'

'How convenient.' Dr Fraiser and a couple of nurses finally arrived. There was a knock at the door.

'Sir?'

'Come in, doctor.' She entered with the nurses.

'What seems to be the problem?'

'Major Carter has new earrings,' Kinsey told her. There was a momentary look of shock on Janet's face, until she recovered and took his arm.

'Shall we go to the infirmary? There are a couple of things that need to be checked,' she told him.

'Do you work there? Your hair looks nice. Suits your uniform.' Janet looked around at them.

'I'll take him to the infirmary, and report back later,' she told General Hammond, who just nodded and waved her off, listening to Kinsey compliment her, the nurses and especially, Major Carter.

Once she'd left, he turned back to SG-1, his anger apparent.

'Once you've sorted this out amongst yourselves, I will come back. And see which one of you is mature enough to tell me what the HELL is going on here today!' And with that, he left the briefing room, the door slamming behind him. There was enough silence to hear the door to his office slamming as well. SG-1, now standing, all looked at each other.

'What. Did. You. Do?' Sam asked slowly and carefully, her hands in clenched fists. 'And why the hell did you do it?'

'Come on, Carter, what were you going to do to help today?'

'Gee, I don't know!' She exploded. 'I certainly wasn't going to expose him to that...to that device! What was that possibly going to achieve? We don't know the long-term effects! For all we know, people could drop dead ten days after being exposed!'

'Still failing to see the problem here,' Jack muttered. Unfortunately, Sam heard it.

'Failing to see the problem? Do we have to hit you over the head for you to understand!'

'I don't know, maybe you should try it!' Jack shouted back at her. 'We all know you're way smarter than everyone, what else do you expect us little people to do? Bow down to you?'

'Excu-use me?!'

'Listen, Major, this meeting was only going to go downhill from the start. When you're down, you can very easily pick up a shovel and dig. And believe me, Kinsey was going to get some serious digging done. He reads every mission report, I've been told. Straight from the horse's mouth. Sooner or later he'd find something. This meeting had to be stopped no matter what.'

'I thought making things difficult would just make him give up,' Daniel said.

'Stay out of this, Daniel,' Sam snapped. 'I may as well go pack my bags now, shall I? I'm out of the SGC, now. Thank you so much, Colonel.'

'Hey!' Jack slammed a fist onto the table. 'Look at those people in the infirmary. None of them remembered a single thing from when they were all 'ga-ga'.'

'Oh, Kinsey just wakes up in our infirmary, great. How do we explain that? He tripped and fell?'

'I don't know! I hadn't thought that far ahead!'

'Again!'

'Um, hello?' Daniel said, interrupting. 'Have I missed something really important here?'

'No, Daniel, it's just the Colonel being more worried about his career than anyone else's.' Sam turned to leave.

'Major Carter, you move one more step, I swear, I will have you court-martialled!' He didn't use that extreme commanding tone very often, but when he did, Sam had no choice but to listen. She turned back.

'Yes?' Her voice was frosty.

'I believe that O'Neill was correct in the actions he took,' Teal'c said.

'Please take no offence, Teal'c, but I do not want to hear that,' Sam said through gritted teeth.

'Carter, you understand we were all in serious trouble, right?' Jack asked her.

'Yes. But exposing him to...' She shook her head, so furious all she could do was sit down and try and control her anger and 'harm Colonel O'Neill severely' reflex.

'You alright?'

'I'm only more furious than I've ever been in my life, I'm fine.'

'Yeah, me too. Yelling at people has that affect.' Sam had to smile slightly at that, although she hated herself for it. She was still angry, angry beyond belief. She just wanted to punch him right in the no...

The door to the briefing room opened, and as if it had been rehearsed, SG-1 all looked towards it. General Hammond walked through.

'That didn't take long,' Jack commented, but General Hammond held his hand up.

'None of you speak.' Dead silence. 'Wow, you actually followed orders. Sure you're not the robots?' Sarcastic General Hammond. Uh oh.

'They're...'

'I am absolutely shocked, dismayed and horrified about what has happened today. By all of you.'

'All of...'

'What happened to none of you speaking?' No one said a word, they just exchanged glances. 'Except for Dr Jackson, you have all broke rules and created difficulties for others.' He took a deep breath. 'Shall I list them? I'll start with Teal'c, since it's minor. Namely, trying to get a weapon out of armoury. Teal'c, this is a high security meeting, we do not need weapons.'

'On the contrary, General Hammond. I believe that...'

'Major Carter. I still do not know whether you have anything to do with Kinsey yet, but I intend to investigate. Also, this impromptu shouting match with Colonel O'Neill. Unprofessional, unneccassary and disgraceful.' Sam didn't say anything, she just glared at Jack. 'Colonel O'Neill. Exposing Kinsey to the device, endangering the whole base by doing so. Engaging in an impromptu 'shouting match' of sorts with Major Carter. Leading the shocking behaviour exhibited by SG-1, minus Teal'c, this morning.' The General paused. 'I don't quite know what to do, I'm simply too angry to think properly.'

'Sir, I would like to apologise for my behaviour in the meeting today,' Daniel said finally. 'But I really do believe that...'

'What do you believe?' General Hammond's gaze was enough to make Daniel back down.

'Nothing.'

'I think on behalf of SG-1, I'd like to apologise,' Jack offered, determined to give it even if the General didn't take it. 'But we were just concerned for the team.'

'No, you were concerned for the team, and they followed.'

'With all due respect, sir, we did think for ourselves,' Sam added. 'Colonel O'Neill did not affect *our* behaviour in any way.' Jack didn't miss the dig she shot his way, nor did anyone else in the room.

'And it wasn't really planned, how we acted, just sort of unanimously decided amongst ourselves.'

'I too agree with Daniel Jackson, and understand the wrongness of our actions,' Teal'c said. He bowed his head. 'I apologise.' General Hammond just stared at all of them.

'Don't even think I'm anywhere near forgiving any of you,' he said sternly. 'I am so angry I don't want any more to do with any of you for today. Or the rest of the week. The meeting with Kinsey will go ahead, don't you worry about that. Dismissed.' No one moved. 'Dismissed! NOW!' They all jumped into action, heading for the door.

***

Jack slammed a folder on his desk, glaring at the opposite wall. This was bad. This was very bad. It had all gone spectacularly ba...well, actually. If he was honest with himself, he knew this would happen. Okay, so exposing Kinsey to the device had been stupid, but amusing at the same time. Not that he'd been able to show his amusement, but it had been there. The look on Sam's face when she'd realised had been priceless.

Unfortunately, if he was permitted to be poetic, in a way, for a moment, there was now a very high price on it. General Hammond was so annoyed, he was surely facing a court-martial. Immediate removal from SG-1? Which seemed so ridiculous, when all they'd been trying to do was *save* SG-1. Damned if they did and damned if they didn't. What an annoying little complication.

What had surprised Jack the most, though, was just how damn easy it was to expose Kinsey. I mean, he got into the quarantine easy, with big, powerful (*snort*) Senator Kinsey with him. And getting the device to activate had been slightly tricky. So basically he told Kinsey to have a look and press a couple of buttons to see if the genius could work out how it worked.

'Thank God for stupid people,' Jack muttered to himself, remembering how Kinsey had stood, looking 'important' in the lab. coat, pressing buttons on the device. It had whirred into life, and Kinsey had gotten a good dose of whatever it was before the scientists ran in and dragged him out of there, forgetting their Hazmat gear in the process. Miraculously, the device had turned itself off, and Jack had been yelled at by Kinsey before Kinsey walked into a door when a female officer walked past.

Jack grinned, remembering. His grin faded as he remembered how everyone was so angry with him. Practically no one was talking to him anymore. And Jack felt like a caged animal in his office.

Daniel. He'd head to Daniel's office. Thankfully, General Hammond had been so furius he hadn't put any restrictions on them yet. Jack grabbed his jacket (he was back in his fatigues) and headed out the door.

Upon reaching Daniel's office, he heard the clinking of a coffee mug. Grinning to himself, he tapped on the door lightly.

'Caffeine kid? Can I come in?' Daniel opened the door, back on his crutches again. He'd braved the meeting without them, but decided his ankle hurt too much.

'Caffeine kid?' he repeated, letting Jack in. 'Don't you think that's slightly...'

'Come on, Danny boy, how many cups?' Daniel only looked slightly guilty as he sat back down again.

'Since the meeting?' Jack checked his watch.

'An hour, yeah?'

'This is my third.'

'And before the meeting?'

'Two.'

'Daniel?'

'Okay, three.'

'Daniel!'

'Alright, alright, I had five, happy now?' Jack grinned.

'Just making sure you were healthy. Making sure there's not too much blood in your caffeine system.' Daniel just gave him a 'look', and Jack held his hands up.

'Whoa, relax, Daniel.' There was an expectant silence, where Daniel just stared. 'Alright, how's Carter?'

'You're avoiding her, Jack.'

'I am not!'

'You visit her office every hour,' Daniel told him calmly, noting Jack barely contained his shock. How had Daniel...minor detail, he wasn't avoiding her!

'I'm not avoiding her, Daniel, she said she was having a shower and freshening up.'

'She also said she was going to rip you limb from limb. Or send you through to the Tok'ra to live with them for a few months,' Daniel reminded him. 'Not to mention...'

'Okay, Daniel, I heard all her threats,' Jack interrupted. 'You don't need to give me a word by word account of a conversation I was present for.'

'It wasn't really a conversation, it was more...'

'Daniel! Drink your coffee and shut up!' Daniel didn't say any more, taking a sip of coffee and regarding Jack.

'You can't ignore her forever.'

'I am not!'

'You're worried.'

'Yeah, sure.'

'You're worried because she's really annoyed and you know what she's capable of.' Damnit, why did Daniel always hit the nail on the head? It was a really unsavoury habit, Jack decided. And one Daniel should get out of.

'For your information, Daniel, you are extremely off the mark. You are so off the mark you're on the other side of the universe.'

'Are you sure about that?' he asked. 'Surely you didn't miss the really annoyed expression, understatement, on her face?' How could Jack have missed it, it was aimed right at him!

'Daniel, are you trying to make me feel better? Because, just by the way, it isn't working!' Daniel didn't reply for a moment.

'I'm just saying, be careful.' Jack made a face and left abruptly, storming along because he was angry. How dare Daniel threaten him! Okay, so maybe he wasn't threatening him, but he didn't need to be warned about Carter's attitude. He knew full well she was damn furious with him. It's kind of hard to miss when someone's sending you looks that could make you drop dead on the spot.

Making it up to his office, he passed Sam outside his doorway.

'Carter, what...' BANG! He went flying into the wall, holding his hands out to prevent himself re-bounding off the wall.

'Oops. Didn't see you, you should be more careful.' Jack looked up and saw a pair of extremely angry blue eyes staring at him. She stormed off down the corridor, and Jack entered the safety of his office, locking the door behind him. One couldn't be too careful.

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I can't believe it, we're already at the end of chapter three!...well, *I'm* happy about it!

Wednesday's turned into a two-parter, because it turned out a LOT longer than I was expecting :D

The next chapter may take a while to be completed, because I've got exams in a couple of weeks...actually, in just over a week, so studying furiously may interrupt my fic-writing time! (I know, I know, priorities!) And mine are way out of whack...but there you go!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed ;)

Jolinar of Malkshur