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SPOILER: Touchstone

Acquisition

Part one

Jack stormed into Hammond's office, barely waiting for a response to his knock on the door and flung himself into a chair.

'General, Daniel is supposed to be a member of my team - that means he should be available to go on our missions in a reasonable condition. He needs some help - we both know him by now, he'll work himself into the ground if this goes on much longer,' Jack raged. 'Daniel fell asleep in the middle of his watch and if it wasn't for Teal'c…' Jack shuddered at the thought of those vicious monkey creatures that would have seriously injured or killed them all had Teal'c not been alert.

'It's not really Daniel's fault, sir,' Jack avoided looking at Hammond at that point - they were both aware of the blistering verbal tirade the archaeologist would have received following this incident. 'So what are we going to do about it?' He demanded.

'Colonel, I agree with you,' Hammond glared at Jack to silence him. 'The archaeology department has been getting busier these last few months and Dr Jackson has already asked for an assistant. If he hadn't, I would have made sure he got one anyway. Dr Jackson is a valuable member of one of my best front line teams and I want to make sure he continues to be able to fulfil that role. Will that satisfy you Colonel?' Hammond concealed the smile that began to form on seeing Jack's expression.

'He has? Your would?' Jack was taken aback for a few moments, but in typical O'Neill fashion he soon recovered and continued with: 'Well why the hell didn't he say something before I…' Looking a little sheepish at the realisation that Daniel hadn't had chance to say anything, he decided to change tack. 'So, that's great. What will he be doing, exactly?'

'She,' Hammond emphasised this, 'will carry out most of the routine examinations and translations of artefacts prior to them being shipped to Nellis allowing Dr Jackson more time for other things - such as sleep.' Hammond grinned at Jack, dismissing him.

XOXOXOX

Daniel had stopped by to see how his new assistant was getting on after returning from a mission that had lasted rather longer than usual, wanting to see how she had fared in his absence. She'd been with him a month now and seemed to be shaping up nicely, although she was still coming to terms with the whole concept of the Stargate and that the vast majority of the artefacts they were studying were relatively recent.

'How's it going?' Daniel greeted her.

'Hey, Dr…Daniel,' Alison said, remembering the first rule Daniel had mentioned, informing her that he had no time for formalities between people who worked closely together. 'It's going well, actually. This tablet which we originally thought was a derivative of Latin is actually a combination of ancient Celtic, Hebrew and Egyptian.'

'You're kidding?' Daniel leant over Alison's shoulder, one hand gently tracing the markings on the tablet in front of her.

'There seemed something odd about it, and it did look so much like Latin but I've spent a lot of time on this and it suddenly hit me why I couldn't quite get the hang of it…Look…' As enthusiastic as Daniel, Alison excitedly pointed out the phrases that had helped her reach her conclusions.

'You're absolutely right - that's amazing.' Daniel stood up straight again, thrusting his hands into his pockets, looking thoughtful. 'So…does it say what we thought it might?'

'I'm not sure - we were making assumptions on what the eroded parts of the tablet said and I've got a feeling it may be something other than a religious artefact,' Alison paused, biting her bottom lip nervously. Daniel waited for her to continue, then realised they'd hit that brick wall again, the one he'd been working to break down. Alison didn't feel comfortable questioning his theories and he was still working on breaking down this barrier.

'Look, Alison, I know this has all been a bit of a shock - being landed with all this top secret stuff - but you're here because you're one of the best people around,' Daniel looked earnestly at her, noticing that she seemed a little uncomfortable at this praise coming from him. 'I'm just as capable of making mistakes as anyone, and I've got so much on my plate at the moment, I'm more than happy for you to point out anything I've missed. It's why you're here. I expect you to work on your own initiative, if you're not sure of something then ask, but you're smart enough to know when you're right about something and I'm wrong.'

'I know, Daniel, it's just…' Alison hesitated then decided she may as well say what was on her mind. 'I'm used to my own field, you know, and this is all so complex, nothing like I've ever come across and I can't help wondering sometimes if I'm heading in the right direction. Don't get me wrong, I love my work here, it just gets overwhelming at times - and I've only been here a month.'

'Don't I know it,' Daniel grinned at her reassuringly. 'You're doing a great job so far and if you carry on as you have been, you'll continue to do well. Just remember, nobody will ever get it right all the time and as long as you're ready to accept that and adapt to each situation as it arises, you'll get better as well. Now…'

'Oh yes. Well, I'm convinced that this is actually a set of instructions on how to use some kind of device. I don't suppose you brought anything else back with you did you?'

'No, sorry,' Daniel shook his head. 'The temple collapsed shortly after we retrieved the tablet and I didn't realise at the time that it might say something like this. I don't think we're ever going to find it. Anyway, can you let me know what you turn up? No hurry though,' Daniel smiled at her as he recognised a fellow workaholic about to settle in for the night. 'It's late - get yourself home. It'll still be here in the morning.'

Alison considered protesting but as a yawn overtook her, decided to take his advice and began tidying up and shutting her computer down.

'I'll walk with you to the elevator, I've got a couple of things I need to take care of…'

'So, Daniel, this is where you've got yourself to,' a familiar voice floated through the open door. 'Glad to hear you can give advice about going home even if you don't take it yourself. Fortunately for you, you have a guardian angel, actually, make that guardian Colonel.' Colonel O'Neill strolled into the room, looking distinctly uncomfortable among the alien artefacts lying around amidst open books and pages of notes.

'I'll just…' Alison tried to make herself appear inconspicuous and sidle out of the room without anyone noticing but the Colonel didn't miss anything - not even the sight of his team-mate's new assistant trying to make an escape or that said assistant seemed uncomfortable around most of the military members of the SGC.

'How you doing, Alison - Daniel not working you too hard is he?' Jack smiled at her warmly. Daniel spoke highly of his assistant and Jack was willing to make an effort with anyone who was able to lift some of the burden off Daniel's shoulders.

'Fine thanks, Colonel. I was just off home. I'll just…' Alison's voice trailed off as she once again tried to sidle out of the door, only to be prevented by the Colonel moving casually into her path.

'That's alright, we'll walk together - we were just leaving as well weren't we Daniel?' Jack glared at Daniel, daring him to challenge this.

'Actually Jack, I was just going…' Daniel's voice trailed off as Jack finished his sentence for him.

'To go home and get some sleep before our briefing in the morning.' Jack spoke with a finality that would be difficult to argue with and Alison took in the scene with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

'Did I say something funny?' Jack hadn't missed the look.

'Uh, no, well, actually,' Alison mumbled, her face red with embarrassment, 'well, it's just that you sound like my dad telling my brother off for staying out late on a school night and, well, anyway…'

'And anyway what?' Jack asked in a deceptively mild manner, arching an eyebrow quizzically.

'Well, er…you are older than Daniel and I guess the grey hair makes you look even older and well…' Alison blushed again as her voice trailed off.

'And you thought I sounded like Daniel's dad? Hey, you're not the first one to make that kind of comment, isn't that right son?' Jack looked at Daniel and ruffled the younger man's hair. 'Don't worry - I'm not offended. C'mon, let's follow the yellow brick road and head for Oz.' Ignoring the mystified looks on Alison's face, Jack led the way to the elevator, knowing that Daniel was trying to explain what he had just said.

'Don't worry about it,' he could hear Daniel whispering loudly enough to be heard. 'This kind of thing happens when you get old - you start reliving your childhood.' This was accompanied by some stifled laughing and he could see the two behind him relaxing in each other's company while he continued to ignore the apparent insult with what he felt was extreme dignity.