Thank you to Twilight and my faithful reviewer stoko981 for reviewing, it's greatly appreciated :)
Making The Future
Exactly forty-five minutes after Anna's call to Mike, her team arrived at the base and were immediately given the appropriate clearance into the base.
Mike, Steele, Vin and Anna sat on one side of the briefing room table, SG1 on the other and General Hammond at the head of the table.
"So what's the deal? Why are we here?" Steele asked curiously, in his surprisingly friendly voice. His blue spiked hair gave him a seemingly teen-punk look, despite his thirty plus years of age.
"First of all gentlemen," Hammond began, not including Anna in his address, "What you are about to be briefed on is totally top secret-"
"What? You mean the stargate?" Vin interrupted, his hands resting casually on the armrests of his chair. SG1 and Hammond regarded him suspiciously.
"You know about the Stargate?" Major Carter asked warily. Anna seeing the tension mounting decided to answer the question for her team.
"You guys would be surprised to know exactly how many people know about what goes on here." She said not missing the looks of genuine surprise on their faces. SG1 was silent.
"So anyways, we all know about the stargate and what it does yadda, yadda, yadda; we can get down to business." Anna said coolly, trying to ignore the looks of total distrust coming from Daniel and his team. Hammond shook his head slightly as if coming out of a daze and glanced around the table at everyone.
"Alright then, as you know what I'm asking you to do is totally on a volunteer basis. I cannot guarantee safety or if you'll return alive from this mission, should you decide to involve yourselves." The General watched Anna's team carefully, only to find they were all staring back at him with indifference. He went on to explain the situation as best he could. Telling them more about the Goa'uld and about what to expect when off world. Also, about weapons and standard operating procedure, seeing that none of his latest 'recruits' had official military operations training. Finally finishing he looked at Mike, Vin and Steele expectantly.
"Well guys it's up to you" Anna said turning her chair to face her friends. Her team all shared looks amongst each other, and then each faced their leader.
"We're in Boss-Lady" Mike said with his trademark grin, and they all faced Hammond who was obviously relieved they had agreed to help out the SGC.
"Good. You'll leave in four hours; that'll give you enough time to eat and get packed up, as well as becoming accustomed to our field weapons" Hammond ordered.
"Sweet" Mike commented, gaining a smile from Jack and eyes being rolled from Sam and Daniel. Just what we need: another Jack, Daniel thought as he left the briefing room to get a bite to eat.
~ ~ ~
"… Chevron seven, locked" The computer technician's voice rang out over the intercom.
Anna, her team and SG1 were all waiting in the gate room for permission to go.
"SG1, you have a go," Hammond acknowledged and with a small nod goodbye from Jack, the group went up the ramp. Anna, hanging back after almost everyone went through stopped just before the event horizon and gently touched it, watching the small ripples vibrate along the surface.
"This is unbelievable," she said in awe. Daniel came up beside her, having been told by Jack to make sure everyone got through before going through himself.
"Yeah," he responded dully, waiting for her to go through. Part of him wanted to smile at her fascination with the alien technology, but the rest of him was furious that she hadn't felt she could tell him who she really was. Finally she stepped thorough and with a deep sigh he went through behind her.
On the other side Anna, not expecting the force at which she would be pushed from the gate to be so strong, stumbled down the two-step dais and fell to her knees.
"You gonna be okay?" Jack asked grabbing her elbow and helping her to her feet. Brushing dirt from her hands and pants, Anna nodded and offered a smile.
"That was so not fun" she muttered, making sure her P-90, hand gun, knife and pack were alright after the trip through the gate.
"Oh, I don't know boss, I thought it was kinda fun" Mike said having heard her comment. She glared at him playfully and he raised his hands defensively before going over to where Steele and Vin were standing after they finished a perimeter check with Teal'c.
"The area is clear O'Neill" Teal'c reported. Jack nodded and turned to Anna.
"You're up" he said, noticing her team was subtly glancing around the area, quietly talking amongst each other. Anna hearing Jack looked at him like he'd grown a second head.
"Huh?" she asked, not quite clear at what he meant.
"Which way are we going?" he clarified, making a wide sweeping motion with his arm in question of the direction.
"North" Anna replied pointing towards the forest that seemed to occupy much of the northern and eastern skylines.
"North?" Sam questioned, "but there are cart trails going up that way" she protested, pointing south, the opposite direction of Anna's order. Daniel nodded his agreement with Sam.
"North" was all Anna said and her team began walking north, fully alert for anything that might decide to surprise them. SG1 reluctantly followed.
~ ~ ~
"So what's wrong?" Mike asked Anna as they trekked into the forest, weaving their way around trees and bushes. She glanced at him raising an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" She asked dully, continually scanning the area for hostiles.
"You're mind is somewhere else today-"
"I can do the job," she protested defensively, interrupting him.
"I never said you couldn't, I'm just saying that you seem to have you mind on something other than the mission, and… you're not exactly being the nicest person to everyone else" he said in a hushed voice so the rest of the group who was about nine yards behind them couldn't hear. Anna looked back at SG1, Vin and Steele. Vin was asking Teal'c question after question about himself and the Goa'uld and Steele was trying to talk to Sam, receiving lethal glares from Jack as he did so. Daniel walked alongside Jack, silently observing their surroundings.
"Really?" she asked, realizing he was right. She tucked a couple of loose strands of hair behind her ear.
"I wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't true…is it about him?" Mike asked in an even quieter voice, not using Daniels name, just in case anyone could hear. She nodded slightly, still scanning the area in front of them, listening intently for any signs of unwanted visitors. She heard leaves crunching slightly to their right and she tightened her grip on her gun, and a small squirrel-like creature scurried across their path. Anna let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding.
"He seems like a nice guy by the way," Mike said, hoping if she saw he liked the guy she would tell him what was wrong.
"I ruined everything by keeping this - who I am – from him" she admitted sadly, not looking at Mike.
"You were just doing your job," he pointed out honestly. Stepping over a huge log she didn't answer. Mike easily stepped over the bug infested dead tree and continued what he had been saying. "He'll get over it, and realize that you did what you had to, right? I mean you didn't lie to him about anything else did you?" Anna shook her head no. Feeling a little bit better she offered a small smile to her friend who grinned triumphantly at having gotten her to talk to him, which in his experience over the years was not an easy feat.
Anna suddenly stopped and held up her hand indicating everyone to stop. She ran behind a large rock outcropping. Everyone else hid as well, behind bushes, and trees.
Jack from behind his tree looked around the area, trying to figure out what would possess Anna to make them hide. He glanced over at her ad saw her kneeling down placing one hand on the ground and peering around the edge of the rocks she and Mike were behind. She quickly took her hand off the ground and grabbed her P-90 ready to use it if necessary. Jack looked to where she was staring and saw a small squadron of Jaffa came traipsing through the trees and undergrowth, heading the way that his team had just come from. How the hell did she know they were coming? Jack thought, readying himself for attack if by chance they were spotted. The jaffa passed by, not noticing them and once they were long out of sight everyone met behind the rocks where Mike and Anna had hidden.
"How did you know they were coming? Sam asked incredulously. Anna opened her mouth to answer, but Vin jumped in before she got any words out.
"Vibrations in the ground, she felt their footsteps." Jack looked impressed. He had only ever heard of just a handful of military men who could do that, and he was surprised that somebody with little military training could do such a thing.
"How'd you learn to do that?" Daniel asked, momentarily forgetting he was mad at her as his curiosity got the best of him. He was oblivious to the small smiles the group, sans Anna and Teal'c, were displaying at his first words to her since finding out she wasn't actually in the Air Force or an archaeologist.
"My dad taught me," she answered; obviously somewhat relieved he had spoken to her.
"Army?" Jack guessed.
"Air Force" she answered back before suggesting they keep moving in case the jaffa came back from where ever they had gone and found them. She got up, and seeing that the coast was clear to go, they began moving in the direction the jaffa had come from. Anna hoped it would lead them to the missing teams quickly, because she had a really bad feeling about the mission that just wouldn't go away. Pushing aside her worry, Anna took point.
Daniel jogged to catch up to Anna, slowing so he was walking beside her. She casually glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and then focused her eyes straight ahead.
"…So what you told me about yourself over the last week was all true?" he came right out and asked.
"Yes" she answered pushing back a branch and holding it so Daniel could grab it as he went under it. She kept walking and Daniel let go of the branch to catch up to her again.
"OW! Son of a… Daniel that hurt!!" Jack complained, rubbing his forehead where the branch had swung back and hit him. Making sure he wasn't bleeding Jack glared at his friends back, as the younger man caught up to Anna, mumbling an apology for hitting Jack in the head.
"So it was all true?" Daniel restated his question.
"Yep, it was all true... well except for the Captain and archaeologist thing." She said looking him in the eye briefly. She hopped down a small dirt ridge and kept walking, calling "watch your step" back to the others.
"So you were just doing your job then? He asked coldly. "Befriend the staff and fish out the moles, mission accomplished?"
"Daniel," she sighed running a hand over her hair tiredly, then looking at him. "I became your friend because I wanted to. You were interesting and seemed genuine, and I wanted to get to know you better. It had absolutely nothing to do with what my assignment was." Daniel was silent for a moment, and then looked at her skeptically.
"Really?"
"Yes really," she answered bumping her shoulder against his playfully. Daniel smiled whole-heartedly and they resumed their walking in a companionable silence.
Mike who was walking beside Jack now muttered, "It's about time" when he saw Daniel and Anna talking.
"Damn straight." Jack added quietly.
~ ~ ~
"All right kids, let's set up camp and settle in for the night," Jack ordered, as he noticed the sky was becoming darker.
"Daniel, Anna and Carter set up camp, and the rest of us will get fire wood and do a perimeter check."
"Yes sir" was what Sam replied, everyone else either nodded their heads or gave grunts of agreement.
Within no time they had three tents erected (eight people: two per tent, two on watch) and a strong fire going. MRE's were heated up and distributed and everyone sat, eating in silence except Jack and Mike who were chatting amiably about hockey.
"This macaroni tastes like chicken" Anna commented looking down at her dinner. Sam laughed, remembering Daniel making similar comments when they first were a team.
"You get used to it." Daniel said, looking at his own food.
"You know, Jack shouldn't have gotten Mike started, he can talk for hours about hockey." Anna leaned in and whispered to Daniel and Sam. Sam smiled and Daniel chuckled, and replied,
"At least they're not talking about fishing"
"Jack likes fishing?" Anna dramatically dropped her head into her hands. "So does Mike." She said looking back up at Daniel.
"Greeeat" Daniel groaned looking over at his friend who was animatedly replaying a goal for Mike.
Jack and Mike, both fully aware that Daniel and Anna were talking about them, each inwardly smiled, both happy for his own friend.
"So where are you from?" Daniel asked, realizing he had never actually asked her that before.
"I was born in Egypt and lived there until I was eight, but my parents were American and when my dad got transferred back to the U.S., we left."
"So you speak Arabic then?" Daniel asked curiously.
"Yeah, it's one of the ones I know." She replied dismissively.
"How many?" he continued to pry.
"Twenty two spoken languages, and a few other ancient written ones" she said humbly.
"Impressive" he complimented. She raised an eyebrow, very much like she had seen Teal'c do so often.
"Impressive my ass, you probably speak like fifty"
"Not fifty" he protested.
"But I'm close right? I mean between Earth languages and alien ones, I'd say your vocabulary is ginormous"
"Ginormous?" he laughed.
"So I use weird words, sue me" she said playfully, "After knowing me for a while you'll see that I am full of weirdness' like that."
"Then I guess I'll have to get to know you better then," he said catching her off guard. Recovering from her surprise she answered back with a small smile,
"I guess you will."
TBC…For those of you who haven't been bored to tears and stopped reading, I promise that the next chapter will have some fighting and action, and of course more Daniel/Anna.
Please review, it makes my fingers type faster ;)