Author's Note: The character of Daniel Jackson does not belong to me… :( If you stay tuned, all of SG1 should show up eventually; it just might take some time. Also, please keep reviewing; criticism (constructive, of course), is especially welcome.
Dr. Kurt Pendry stretched and beckoned with a hand as he walked forward. Daniel followed and the two approached a small building, which looked about as ramshackle as they jeep they'd ridden in, if not more so. The town, if it could be called that, certainly was in the middle of nowhere. Daniel supposed there might be more that he couldn't see, since it was in fact nighttime, but couldn't quite stretch his imagination that far. There were lights coming from the building before him, in addition to some stretching maybe a few hundred yards down the way, but not much else. As he entered the building, the activity suddenly increased ten-fold, which, interestingly enough, still wasn't anything exciting. Daniel's subconscious quickly took everything in, making a note of the unfamiliar faces and then spotting a more recognizable one.
"Daniel?" A slightly older than middle-aged woman was coming forward. "Daniel Jackson." Pendry stepped aside as she pulled the younger man into a hug. "Kurt said he was bringing you, but I didn't believe it." She stepped back, surveying him in much the same way her associate had. "But now here you are."
"Dr. LaVoie." The shy smile was back. "Yes. I uh – I had some time off." Daniel decided to leave it at that, hoping no one would feel the need to ask questions about his work or his life.
"What is it that you do now?" Daniel cringed inwardly as Dr. LaVoie jumped square onto the topic he'd wanted to avoid.
"I – I travel a lot." Ill-defined as it was, it remained the truth.
LaVoie narrowed her eyes, which now had an inquisitive glint. "We've all been keeping an eye out for you, you know. We haven't seen any research projects or papers…" she craftily left off, hoping the young man wouldn't pick up on her probing.
"No." she wasn't crafty enough, or at least Daniel was equally so. "No, I haven't been doing anything that anyone would have seen."
"And everyone thought you had so much promise." Focused as he was on answering Dr. LaVoie's questions, or rather, trying to avoid them as discreetly as possible, Daniel hadn't noticed the stalwart man a few yards off to his left.
"Dr. Bailey." Daniel did his best to hide his initial shock as he stared rather ungraciously at the tall man, who still looked imposing even as he leaned heavily on a doorframe. "It's uh – it's good to see you." Daniel took a step forward and proffered his hand.
"Ah, yes. Good to be back among the well-respected, is it?" Bailey sauntered over. Though almost twenty years had passed, he was still harsh-looking as ever Daniel had remembered him. "Don't get too comfy." He whispered loudly before sauntering back the way he had come.
Daniel frowned, casting his eyes down to his still-extended hand for a moment before crossing his arms tightly.
Pendry cleared his throat, as if his action would also clear the awkwardness that had settled over the room. "Don't let him bother you;" he muttered an aside. "He started early tonight."
His brow furrowed, Daniel looked over at his friend and couldn't muster much confidence. "Yeah." He replied, not a little lamely.
"Let's go find Elena and Otto." LaVoie also gave cheerfulness a go, grabbing hold of Daniel's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "They'll want to see you for themselves."