Tossing and turning in her bed, Joanna tried to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. After spending the rest of the day hashing out a plan of attack on Anubis' weapons factory, she had turned craven and went to the gym, running on the treadmill as the others ate dinner. She was hiding, and she knew it, and it pissed her off.
Now her knees ached, and if she was honest with herself, her heart ached too. Well, she thought, if he thinks he can have a girl at every Gate, he has another thing coming. Jerk.
Joanna beat the lumps out of her pillow and willed herself to go to sleep.
"I'm not going with you." Getting up, Joanna put her chair between her and the Asgards, her knuckles while as she gripped the seat's back.
Thor looked at her with pity. "I must insist."
A cold hand of fear closed over Joanna's heart. "No, I— " But before she could finish, a blinding white light flashed through the room. When she opened her eyes, she was still in the now empty conference room. The shimmering blue light from an active gate rippled against the walls; going to the large picture window she looked down into the debarkation room.
Hammond and the human members of SG-1 stood at the base of the ramp in full dress blues, looking up at the Gate as Teal'c and Ishta were about to step through. Teal'c was out of uniform, wearing his robes from Chulack, and with a growing sense of disbelief Joanna realized he was never coming back.
"No no no… " Joanna chanted to herself, banging on the glass to get someone's attention. Turning back into the conference room, she made for the stairs, but stopped short as there was nothing but a gray concrete wall where they used to be. Frantically she looked around, but all the doorways had disappeared too.
The familiar sounds of the event horizon closing echoed through the room, panicked now Joanna went back to the window to stare in shock at the debarkation room in shadows. Somehow the Gate lay in pieces, the other machinery shrouded by large tarps; a thick layer of dust blanketing it all.
~~~~~
"Did Dr. Fraiser give you any insight as to the reason why Drana and Kol'ig are unable to metabolize the tretonin?" Hands at the small of his back, Teal'c strolled down the corridors with Ishta. It was close on 0200, and the area around the guest quarters was deserted.
"Yes, she had a few suggestions, and Major Carter was able to give Salet some advice on 'fine tuning' the extraction process. Rak'nor has gone to bring back the sample I forgot."
"You have had much on your mind in the last weeks." Teal'c smiled as the hint of a blush stole over the warrior's cheeks, the dichotomy amusing him. "I saw no indication of such a deep bond during my sojourn."
Ishta smiled back, her eyes turning inward as she remembered. "It was both gradual and sudden. He was always there, helping us adapt to becoming part of the Resistance. Then one day, I realized what he had truly come to mean to me." She laughed. "Apparently he already knew."
The pair walked further until Ishta glanced up at him. "And yourself? You said she arrived a few days before your visit. But already you have such a strong connection?"
Teal'c didn't pretend to not understand who 'she' was. "It is a mystery even to myself. She is… alike in character to O'Neill, however that would not account for all. I have often meditated, attempting to discover why, but enlightenment eludes me."
"Does it really matter?"
"No," he replied, as if a burden had been lifted. "It does not."
~~~~~
Halfway out her door Joanna stopped, realizing where she was going. Waking up from the new nightmare, still sleep muddled, she had automatically headed for Teal'c's room.
She stood, part in her room, part in the hall, cold from the concrete floor seeping into her bare feet. Not wanting to go back to bed, but not having anywhere else to go, Joanna sighed and set off down the corridor. Maybe a walk would get her tired again. There was always warm milk… Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't see Teal'c and Ishta until he spoke.
"Joanna." Her head jerked up at her name. "Has the nightmare returned?" Concern was in his eyes and voice, but she ignored the response in her it brought forth. Defensively she wrapped her arms around herself, staring at a point in the middle of Teal'c's chest.
"Not exactly." Kicking herself for being such a milquetoast, Joanna stood up straight and looked him in the eye again.
"I do not believe you have met Ishta yet." He turned to the blonde woman. "This is Joanna, my tau'ret."
"Yeah, that's me," said Joanna with a wry smile. "Good ol' tau'ret."
"I'm pleased to finally meet you." Ishta held out her hand. "A Tau'ri custom, correct?" she asked as Joanna stared at it, thrown for the moment. "Am I not doing it properly?"
"Yes, of course." Reaching out, Joanna shook her supposed rival's hand.
Teal'c frowned at her. "Are you certain you are well? I will be returning to my quarters soon, would you care to spend the remainder of the evening there?"
Joanna couldn't believe he dared ask her that in front of Ishta. "I'll be fine." Her voice was curt. "I'll see you tomorrow." Walking around them, she made her way back to her room.
Still frowning, Teal'c watched her until she had turned the corner, facing Ishta he saw she was smiling at him.
"Don't tell me you've never seen a jealous woman before."
Puzzled, he glanced back to where Joanna had disappeared. "Indeed I have. But I am unaware of any reason she would have of being jealous of you."
"Well," said Ishta, pretending to think. "There was the kiss you gave me when I arrived, and we are walking together late into their night." She shot a look up at him. "She doesn't seem to know what tau'ret means. Forgive me for saying so, but you need to talk to her."
Teal'c nodded. "I had thought my intentions were apparent, however it seems that they are not."
"She is young," Ishta reassured him as they continued down the corridor.
~~~~~
Sitting on a stool in Daniel's office early the next morning, Joanna bounced her knee with pent up energy as she waited for him to arrive. She fought the urge to pace, and instead just watched the door like a hawk.
"Daniel!" When the archeologist did appear she was up like a flash, closing the door behind him.
"Wha--?" Lifting his head out of the old book he had been absorbed in, Daniel looked around myopically, a little puzzled as Joanna pulled him further into the room, ending up in a back corner.
"Umm… " She glanced at him nervously, frowning as she wasn't quite sure how to circumspectly ask him what she needed to know. "What does 'tau'ret' mean?"
"Oh! Well… " Daniel shifted into his 'confident lecturer' mode as he always did when explaining something he was knowledgeable about. Joanna thought it was cute. "Tau's root word means 'person' or 'one', it is also, of course, where the beginning of Tau'ri comes from, and ret's root word means 'within' or 'inside'. So the literal meaning is 'person within', the syntax of the word refers to the 'person who is within' the speaker; of course words evolve from their literal meanings all the time, now I believe it has a more colloquial meaning of 'beloved'."
Listening to Daniel's rambling explanation, Joanna was becoming more and more confused. "Is it used… casually? You know, just tossed out?"
"No, not at all." Daniel shook his head emphatically. "In fact it's part of the word 'tauret'nor', where 'nor' means 'for all time', i.e. the pair is bonded. Rothman is convinced 'nor' means 'for ever and ever', but as usual he doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyway, it has a significant meaning. Why do you want to know? Did you hear Rak'nor call Ishta it?"
Joanna was still trying to wrap her mind around Teal'c using that word for her. "I'm sorry, what? Why would Rak'nor use it for Ishta?"
"They're going to be married," Daniel said slowly. "That's what tauret'nor means. Teal'c didn't tell you?"
"I thought she was—I thought there was something between her and Teal'c." Joanna was beginning to feel very stupid.
"I think you need to talk to him." They sympathy in Daniel's voice just made her feel worse.
"Yeah. Thanks Danny."
~~~~~
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and that certainly was certainly the case for Joanna that day. Either she or Teal'c were always busy or with someone else; eventually she gave up on speaking to him immediately and decided to do it after the visiting Jaffa had gone back that evening.
She did, however, manage to talk to Ishta that afternoon, catching up to her in a corridor outside the infirmary.
"I wanted to apologize for being such a bitch earlier," Joanna got out before Ishta could say anything.
Ishta smiled at her. "I was surprised you didn't challenge me," she said in a teasing tone.
"Well, I part of me figured I was the interloper while the other part was ready to step up. Actually, he was the one who was messing around; I should have kicked his ass."
"You've spoken with Teal'c?" asked Ishta as the women continued walking.
"No, I can never get him alone." The frustration was apparent in Joanna's voice. "I'm going to try tonight."
Ishta nodded, both of them lost in their own thoughts as made their way to the conference room, the other male Jaffa and Jack setting up battle plans. They sat down, the men soon bringing them up to speed.
Jack shook his head. "That one distraction isn't going to work. We'll need another one. Inside would be best, but I don't see how we're going to get in."
"I'm familiar with the place, I could do it once in there," Joanna spoke up, "but how to get in…. " Hyper aware of Teal'c as it was, a slight movement he made drew her eyes to him, then up to the golden seal on his forehead as a kernel of an idea took root.
"Hey!" Joanna came back to the feel of Jack's elbow in her ribs. "Focus, ok?" He glanced from her to Teal'c.
She sighed, then turned to the Jaffa. "If we were able to cover up your seal, we could paint Anubis' crest on you, and you could bring me in as a prisoner. Once in, we could create that diversion."
"Intriguing," Teal'c replied, raising his eyebrow. "I believe that it would succeed."
"Okay," said Jack. "Let's figure out how to get you two inside then. And what the diversion will be." He thought a moment more. "Might as well see if the Tok'ra want in, we could use the help."
