Joanna watched Teal'c approach a door in the wall that looked like every other door they had gone by. "In here?"
"Verily."
She looked at him. "Verily?"
"For your New Years, I received from Daniel Jackson a calendar that offers a new word each day. Today's is 'verily'." Teal'c slid open the door as he explained, Joanna alternating between staring at him in amusement and listening for approaching Jaffa.
"All right then. Verily it is." They fell into silence, the only sound made by their feet on the metal floor as the pair approached the computer terminal. Teal'c stood in front of the screen and quickly hacked to the secondary systems using the codes Jacob had gotten from the Tok'ra agent in Anubis' ranks.
"I thought that last patrol nearly had us," Joanna said to break the silence, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door was really closed. Wandering over to stand next to him, Joanna peered around Teal'c and watched as his fingers flew over the alien keyboard. "So what are we doing again? Flushing all their toilets at once? Piping in Captain and Tennille's 'Muskrat Love'?"
Teal'c kept his eyes on the display. "We are activating the emergency combustion suppression system."
"The sprinklers! Sweet."
"Not exactly, Joanna." A few more keystrokes and he turned to her. "It is complete. I only await O'Neill's command."
Joanna looked up at Teal'c to catch him staring at her. The smile on her face faded at the tension radiating from him. "What is it?" She held her breath as he lifted a hand, his fingers lightly trailing over the cut on her cheek the Jaffa commander had made.
"You should not have provoked him." Teal'c's voice was low, the rumble sending familiar shivers through her.
"Yeah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I'm a resistance leader. That's something they'd do, right?"
He continued to look at her, concern clouding his eyes. "I comprehend now why the Goa'uld do not allow women on the battlefield." His large hand moved up to cup her injured cheek, his thumb tracing her bottom lip. "I had believed I would be able to cope with your fighting by my side, but I find myself more concerned with your safety than with the matter at hand."
"Don't," Joanna whispered back, her voice intense. Her slim hand came up to cover his, their fingers interlacing as she reluctantly removed his touch. In the dim light of the room she could barely see the details of his face, but knew it was taut with unease. "I'm trained for this. You wouldn't be worried if it was Jack, would you?"
"I do not have love for O'Neill. I do have love for you."
A cold flush went through Joanna at Teal'c's confession, leaving her lightheaded and giddy. "You decide to tell me now?"
"I wished for you to know lest we did not survive this battle," Teal'c gravely informed her.
"We are gettin' out of this alive. I am not dying a virgin."
A small smile tugged at his mouth. "I will do everything in my power not to let that come to pass, tau'ret."
"I'm counting on it," she smiled back.
A soft chirp interrupted the lovers; reaching behind her, Joanna eased a small radio out from under her waistband where it rested in the small of her back and thumbed the talk button. "Jack?"
"You guys in position?" The radio crackled, the signal weak this far deep in the fortress.
"Ready when you are."
"Ok, give us five minutes, then set it off."
Joanna glanced down at her watch before noticing it wasn't there. "Dammit."
"D'you copy?" Jack's impatient voice nudged her into action.
"I didn't bring a watch," she hissed at Teal'c. "Ah, Jack, can you make it five minutes, thirty-two seconds?"
"What? Why?"
"Can you?" Joanna began tapping her foot. "Saw this in a movie once," she smiled at Teal'c.
"Yeah. But it better be good! Ready, mark!"
As soon as Jack broke off, Joanna tapped her foot a few more times before starting to sing to herself. "Would you like to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar…" She shook her head at Teal'c as he frowned in confusion, continuing to chant. " … and be better off than you are..."
Halfway through the second stanza the tromp of bootsteps in the corridor gave them a scare, Joanna and Teal'c hid as Joanna continued to sing to herself, both of them ducking behind two of the many struts that circled the room.
Once the patrol had passed, Joanna held up four fingers, and indicated to Teal'c to get ready. "You could be swingin' on a star!" With each beat she dropped a finger, Teal'c sending the command on the last one.
Immediately the air was filled with klaxons, a low hissing sound under the blare as the room was flooded with a fire suppressing gas. "Let's go!" Joanna yelled, opening the door and taking off, Teal'c close behind.
Wearing her robe over her pajamas, Joanna sat on the edge of her bathroom counter, a wide headband holding her hair back as she watched Teal'c set a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a few gauze pads next to her.
"It should come right off, right?" Lifting a hand, she touched a fingertip to the temporary Anubis symbol.
"Theoretically."
She grimaced at his tone as Teal'c stepped between her legs and placed a large hand under her chin, angling her head up to stare at the black mark on her forehead. Joanna dropped her eyes, letting them wander over his bare chest, settling on a square bandage that covered a staff weapon burn he had gotten on his shoulder when a patrol had surprised them.
"Does it still hurt?"
"No."
Blinking at his brief answer, Joanna followed Teal'c's movements as he opened up the bottle and folded the gauze square, pouring the rubbing alcohol on it. She closed her eyes as he took her face in his hand again, enjoying the warmth of his palm, the slightly rough texture against her skin. He was a gentle as he could be, but it took some scrubbing before all trace of the symbol was gone. A quick swipe with a wet washcloth and Joanna opened her eyes again.
"Better?"
"Infinitely, Beloved."
The warmth in his gaze and voice settled low in her belly. She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling their bodies together. Teal'c wrapped his own arms around her as she rested her cheek against him.
"It went pretty well, didn't it? I think Desmond was the only serious injury for the humans, and doc says he should be fine in a week or two. What about the Resistance?"
"I believe they all will survive as well."
Looking up at him, Joanna smiled in relief. "Planning. It'll do it every time. That and lots of big honkin' guns."
Teal'c smiled back at her. "Indeed."
fin
