Title: Take a Chance on Me Rating: PG Season: Season 6 Archive: Hey, knock your self out. If you like it enough to archive this puppy, go for it. Just drop a line to let me know where it is. (I like to see my work in different places. It makes me feel all warm and tingly.) Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters are owned by people who are not me. No money was made from this (story of my life). The titles of the diplomatic books are real and are owned by the authors. Not having actually read the books however, the comments made about said books can in no way be construed as factual.

Author's Notes: This is my first real attempt at fiction writing so I appreciate any words of advice that will help me to improve my writing. A huge thanks goes out to Dena who, in addition to being a great storyteller, helped me to revise this into the new and improved version that it has now become. I also want to mention that as soon as you all get the opportunity, you should visit the Stargate FanFiction Awards to vote for your favorite story. (This is not a plug - Not having completed a story, I wasn't even remotely eligible for nominations.)

Jonas picked up his coffee from the counter and turned around to scan the cozy coffee shop. There were a number of empty wooden chairs, but after that last mission, Jonas didn't think he was quite up to sitting on any kind of hard chair. There had been a minor power surge in the Stargate at the SGC when a defective power coupling blew in the circuitry running to the base computer. Fortunately, it hadn't caused much damage - at least according to the engineers. It had, however, launched Jonas into the gate room at a much-accelerated speed, resulting in him crash-landing into several startled SF's. Jonas was very happy to submit himself to the tender care of Nurse Rush. He hadn't been quite as happy to submit himself to the not-so-tender care of Nurse Rush's boyfriend. Jonas winced at the recollection of the Marine's meaty fist; something he had had the opportunity to examine at rather close range.

He shook himself out of his reverie and spotted a pair of unoccupied wing chairs in the corner. The back of one was towards him, but the other afforded a good view of the door. He could wait for the Colonel quite comfortably there. He plunked down on the green upholstery just as he glanced over at the other chair and realized that it wasn't quite as unoccupied as he had originally presumed.

Jonas bounced back to his feet. "Sorry! I didn't realize that you were sitting there." The young woman nodded her head, almost imperceptibly, never looking up from her book.

Jonas flushed slightly before stammering, "So - do you mind if I sit here? I won't be here long. I'm just waiting for someone." The girl mumbled something that vaguely sounded like, "Whatever stirs your coffee, dude."

Jonas wasn't entirely sure that that was in fact what he had heard, but took the answer as an affirmative, grinned, and sat down. He glanced at his watch and then at the door. He still had 15 minutes before Colonel O'Neill arrived to pick him up. Jonas had practically had to twist the Colonel's arm to get him to take him out for a bit of shopping. He wanted to get Sam a birthday present, and being somewhat unfamiliar with the customs, wasn't sure what would be an appropriate gift. He still wasn't sure why the copy of the Kama Sutra that he had given to Siler hadn't gone over well. Jonas had found it to be fascinating, but after he had given it to him, Siler seemed to disappear every time Jonas came near him.

Jonas took a sip of his coffee and sighed. He studied the girl next to him. She had her auburn hair pulled back in a short ponytail, out of which stuck two pencils and a pen. Jonas wasn't really able to see her face, but he did notice that she had very fair skin with a smattering of freckles. She sat with her knees bent, her book resting against them. She had slip- on sneakers, which she had, in fact, slipped off, a pair of jeans, and a University of Colorado sweatshirt. She glanced up, caught Jonas staring at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Take a picture, it lasts longer," she said peevishly, and went back to reading her book.

Although he couldn't possibly know her, Jonas felt a jolt of familiarity as he looked at her. He couldn't put his finger what it was, but there was just something about her. Not wanting to be caught staring, he turned his gaze toward the books that were lying on the table between them. He was pleased when he realized that he recognized a few of the titles. A Handbook of International Peacebuilding : Into The Eye Of The Storm, Peacebuilding: A Field Guide, and Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures. The only book that he didn't recognize, but was fascinated by, was The Ultimate Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. "That would come in handy," thought Jonas.

He carefully removed the Guide from the bottom of the pile. "This would come in handy," he said aloud.

His table companion sighed wearily and asked, "Don't you know that it isn't polite to touch other people's belongings without asking?"

"Oh, sorry," Jonas replied distractedly - without putting the book down. "It's just that I've read these other books, but I've never heard of this one."

The girl stared skeptically at Jonas. "You've read the 'Syracuse Study on Peace and Conflict Resolution' but not 'The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy?'" She asked, skepticism filling her voice.

"Yes. However, I found that Lederach's point of view was a little too biased to be put to practical use. He makes assumptions about the pre- conceptions people have towards one another, based entirely on his own Western perspective. While it may be true that most people do have pre- conceptions of some kind, a secondary party cannot in any way predict them. Unless, of course, said party is telepathic." Again Jonas grinned. "By the way my name is Jonas. Jonas Quinn."

The girl studied Jonas through narrowed eyes, deciding whether or not this guy was for real or if he was just another nutcase. "I'm Rayne," she finally answered.

"Rain? Spelled like the weather phenomenon?"

"No."

"Oh."

They sat in awkward silence for a moment. Rayne looked Jonas over. He was still dressed in his BDU's "So, you're military then?"

Jonas was pleased that she was starting to warm up to him. She actually seemed interested in his work! "No, I work as an advisor though, at Cheyenne Mountain. I'm a scientist for their - Deep Space Radar Telemetry Project." He picked at invisible lint on his trousers. "I wear these to blend in. Those military types can smell a scientist a mile away."

"Ahh. I see." Rayne paused. Figuring that she wouldn't get any more reading done with this guy sitting next to her, she figured that talking to him wouldn't be *that* bad. "How could you have read all of these books about diplomatic relations, but not Douglas Adams? Don't you want to kick back with something a little lighter than foreign policy when you have some time off from stargazing?"

Jonas smiled - she was talking to him! "Oh. Well, my team and I occasionally do some liaison work with various international organizations. Apparently, the rest of the world seems to think that we would prefer to monitor Earth's communications to those in deep space. I figured it would be best to be prepared." Jonas paused so that Rayne could get her mind wrapped around his story. He was proud that he was able to put together a cover story so effectively, but he wanted to shift Rayne's attention away from what he did. He didn't think that "Classified" would go over well as a response to a question. "So what do you do?"

"I just started working on my doctorate in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy at the University of Colorado. I had done my Master's work in Boulder, and I was planning to continue there, but I could only get my teaching assistantship at the Colorado Springs branch." She paused, considering whether to go on. She didn't believe Jonas' story for a minute. She had some field experience in diplomacy and the U.S. Military *never* allowed civilians to negotiate for them. Why on Earth would they choose a scientist to go on a diplomatic mission anyway? It isn't as thought he could provide technical details about classified information. Knowing what she did about the military though, she figured that this was his cover story. She mentally sighed and rationalized that it was often easier to talk to a stranger about some things. She certainly wasn't getting any work done. "I wasn't very happy about the move."

"Why not? Colorado Springs is a great place, at least from what I've seen so far. I just moved here myself." Jonas was making large gestures as he spoke. He was clearly eager to share some commonalities with this person.

Rayne interrupted him, somewhat reluctant to get caught up in Jonas enthusiasm. "Oh, I'm sure it's great, it's just that I - "

Just as Rayne was about to open up to him, Jonas looked up to see Colonel O'Neill walking through the front door. Jonas sighed heavily and slowly began to gather his things.

"Listen," he said apologetically, "I'm not trying to run away or anything, but I have to go. Colonel O'Neill is doing me a favor, and I can't keep him waiting." Rayne looked over at the door and then back at Jonas, wide- eyed. Busy clearing up his trash, Jonas didn't seem to notice her discomfort. O'Neill caught sight of his team member and began to walk over towards him.

Rayne began tugging at her ponytail elastic, hoping that her hair would disguise her face a bit. Jonas was distracted by what she was doing but continued, "Is there any chance that I can give you a call sometime? Maybe we can see some of the sights of the town together."

The writing utensils that had occupied her hair clattered to the ground. Both Jonas and Rayne bent to pick them up. "Right, right, sure. That would be good." Rayne stammered looking down at the floor as Colonel O'Neill came up beside her chair.

"Colonel!" Jonas greeted happily as he popped to his feet. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. Rayne, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill. Colonel, this is Rayne. um, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name."

Rayne sighed and stood up. She knew that she couldn't really put it off anymore. She held her hand out to take Colonel O'Neill's.

Colonel O'Neill's brow furrowed when he looked at her face. Jonas looked back and forth between the two, confusion crossing his face.

Rayne turned to Jonas. "My last name is O'Neill."

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