I'm sorry I'm taking so long to post. I got a terrible case of writer's block followed immediately by spring break and family visiting (there are currently five adults two kids and an infant living in my two bedroom house but I love it just the same) so I haven't had much 'puter time. This is a short one and it's not very polished but I wanted you to know I didn't quit. It will probably be several more days (maybe a week) before I post again, so don't hold your breath but don't lose all hope either. I'm sorry about the cliff hanger. That's the writers block kicking in. (I'm not sure how SG1 will be received by the 'boss')

Thanks to all of you who are still putting up with my ramblings. You are all wonderful, fabulous, and fantastically patient people!!!

And Finally…

Chapter 6

Sam and Shay went to the lab to work on Sam's experiment. Shay's primary contribution was to ask her 'boss' for stuff while Sam watched. Meanwhile, Jack and Daniel decided to teach Teal'c the finer points of cooking for a barbecue. The guys stopped at the store on their way to Jack's house. They bought enough food to feed at least fifty people including chicken, steaks, burgers, brats, chips, dip, four different kinds of salad (but not potato) and a very large package of paper towels. They spent the rest of the afternoon setting up Jack's deck for a picnic and talking about everything but work.

Back at the SGC…

"The guys were really excited about this barbecue, weren't they Sam?" Shay was sitting backward in an office chair, twirling back and forth and watching Sam.

Sam was alternating between typing at her computer and fiddling with a device she was trying to build to send a signal through the wormhole the 'boss' used to keep it open longer. "I guess they were" Sam didn't even look up.

"I'm really looking forward to it too. I haven't been to a real barbecue in at least two years. When was the last time you went to one?"

"What… Oh about six months. My last barbecue was a family get together last fall." Sam finally paused and looked at Shay. "It was great. Everyone was there and we just talked and laughed. I was disappointed though."

"Why was that?"

"There wasn't any kind of desert. No one thought to bring any." Sam suddenly got an idea and smiled mischievously at Shay who just grinned.

Sam and Shay left in a hurry so they could shop and still have time to get ready for the picnic.

When the girls arrived at Jacks house Daniel was waiting out front to meat them.

"You're late! We were beginning to think you were a no show."

"It took longer to get our stuff together than we thought it would." Sam said in her defense. "Here, help me with these." Sam handed him two enormous cake boxes, which he obediently carried to the house. Shay, who was only carrying a largish bowl, hurried ahead to get the door.

They walked through the house and out the backdoor onto the deck. When Sam stepped out she almost dropped her stack of bowls. The deck had been decorated with strings of garden lanterns and oil lamps. Even though it wasn't quite dark yet, the lamps glowed brightly, illuminating not only the deck, but the yard nearby. The picnic table had been covered with a red checkered tablecloth. The grill was also going and Sam goggled at the amount of food Jack was cooking. "I guess I'm not the only one who overdid it." Sam said as Jack took her bowls from her.

"What's in the boxes?" He asked.

"A cake and some pastries and Shay has the potato salad. These are pudding and a Watergate salad."

"Maybe we should have invited more people." Daniel said from the kitchen where he was gathering up the side dishes they had made.

"Either that or we should have made less food." Shay replied smiling. "Here let me get that." She took the tray he was trying to balance on one hand and placed it firmly on top of her head. She then picked up a bowl wit each hand and headed for the deck.

Her fooling around earned her a few more stares from Jack and Sam who were tending the grill. "Just another silly skill I picked up, don't mind me."

Once the food was ready, everyone sat down. It only took about six seconds for Jack and Daniel to start comparing their favorite barbecue sauces. Sam rolled her eyes and tried to turn the conversation to something else but she got sucked into the discussion (which was rapidly turning into an argument) when she tasted the chicken and complimented Jack.

Shay finally got a pause in the conversation when she asked "So what do we have to drink?"

Jack looked at Daniel and Daniel looked at Teal'c who just looked puzzled. "Oops!" Was the unanimous look seen on the three faces.

"You did bring something to drink, right?" Sam asked suppressing a grin. The girls both looked at each other enjoying the expressions on their friends' faces. With out saying a word, Jack got up and walked into the house. They could hear the front door shut and then his truck starting. About fifteen minutes later he returned with three kinds of soda including the Diet pop that he knew Sam liked.

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch and everyone enjoyed the party. They packaged up the extra food and everyone took some home with the exception of Teal'c who declined on the account of not having a refrigerator.

"You know, your welcome to stay with me while you're here." Sam told Shay who was commenting to Teal'c on the accommodations, or lack there of, available on base.

"That would be really nice." Shay replied, "But only if it's no trouble. I definitely don't want to intrude. Heaven knows I slept worse places than a military base."

"It's definitely not an intrusion. I relax better when you're around."

"Okay, lets swing by the base and I'll pick up my stuff."

Jack walked them to Sam's car. "I had a really great time." Sam told him. "We should do this more often, you know, getting together and talking and, well, stuff."

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Well, I guess I should go"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, 'Bye Carter."

"Goodbye Sir." Sam got in the car and Jack watched until she turned the corner.

"What are you smiling at?" Sam asked Shay when she finally pulled out of the very pleasant thoughts she had been basking in since she got in the car.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing."

"I thought you knew everything about us?" Sam challenged her.

"I do, I just wondered what your answer would be." Sam didn't dignify that with a response and turned the radio on instead.

When they arrived at Sam's house Shay set up in the spare bedroom and slept more soundly than she had in months.

The day's that followed fell into a sort of random pattern. The barbecue seemed to have been the kick the team needed to start relaxing. Daniel was still examining artifacts and translating, but mostly stuff that had nothing to do with the Stargate. Sam, likewise, was spending her days in the lab but she tended to leave by mid-afternoon. Jack was alternating between watching ball games and going fishing and Teal'c had headed back to Chu'lac to visit family. Meanwhile General Hammond was looking very pleased with himself. Not only was everything running smoothly, but he had actually managed to get SG1 to take a vacation. He should have known it couldn't last for very long.

After a little more than a week, Sam made a huge breakthrough. She called the rest of SG1 and General Hammond in to her lab to explain what she needed. Shay was once again sitting backward in Sam's computer chair while the general sat at a table and Daniel and Jack leaned. Sam stood at a large marker board that was covered with equations.

"What do you have for us Major?" General Hammond asked.

Sam smiled and ran her hand through her hair. "Well Sir, I've been working on the technology that the 'boss' utilizes and I think I know how it works. You see the mechanics of the Quantum Mirror allow us to bend reality…"

"In English, Carter?" Jack interrupted, eliciting another smile from his second in command.

"Yes Sir. Basically, the portals, for lack of a better word, actually are a cross between the effect created by the Quantum Mirror and the wormholes created by the Stargate. I can duplicate the portal but I haven't been able to design a way to make it appear in a particular place."

"Something must allow the 'boss',,, do we have to keep calling him that?" Daniel broke off on an unrelated thought.

"I can't think of anything better" Shay shrugged.

"Anyway, why can't use whatever the 'boss' uses to lock onto Shay?" Daniel finally finished.

"I have searched Shay and her belongings and I can't find anything in particular to 'lock-on to."

"So what do you propose, Major?"

"I can't created my own portal without an endpoint. I can, however, trace the signal when a portal appears here. If I trace the signal when Shay receives a shipment I should be able to connect to the portal on the other end and, theoretically, sen something or someone through."

"Like a MALP, or SG1?" Shay asked.

"Exactly. And once I've established one portal I should be connect anytime I like without having to trace the signal every time."

"Well what are we waiting for? I hate to admit it but I'm actually starting to get bored with all this vacation time. What do you say General?"

"I don't see and reason not to. We'll send the MALP through at 08:00 tomorrow morning. Rest up team, I'll see you in the morning."

At 07:30 SG1 and Shay met in a briefing room with General Hammond. The team was in full gear in anticipation of a successful MALP run. Shay was again wearing her khaki and boots and carrying her bag with her everywhere. The team was watching on the monitors as the MALP went through the portal. Sam had trained some of the staff to run her equipment in an attempt to take a more hands off approach when she wasn't needed. She was actually doing really well, only flinching occasionally.

The portal was established at exactly 08:00 and the team waited anxiously for the telemetry to come back. What they saw was an empty lab. The air was breathable and there didn't seem to be any one there. They didn't have much maneuverability since the lab was full of equipment but they could see a lot and the General decided he knew enough to send SG1 through. Sam was practically drooling to get her hands on that equipment and Shay was nervous so Jack tried to lighten the mood by whistling. He failed to lighten the mood but he did get the group moving. The group stepped up to the shimmering white space and, taking a deep breath, stepped through.