Take a Chance on Me - Chapter 15
P5X-789
Jonas had avoided Colonel O'Neill as much as possible during the week, which was surprisingly easy considering there were only four people on the planet. The planet was, on the whole, warmer than Earth, but the Stargate was located near its north pole, so the temperature hung around a pleasant 70 degrees the whole week. Jonas suspected that would make the temperature at the equator about 160. Fortunately, there were no signs of Goa'uld activity and there was evidence of large naquadah deposits. Unfortunately, most of the planet was covered in water, and all signs pointed to the ocean as the largest area of the deposits. It would take a huge operation to mine it. Little wonder that the Goa'uld stayed away. Jonas kept himself busy helping Major Carter take samples while Teal'c and the colonel inspected the area's potential to be used as an off-world base.
As for Colonel O'Neill, he noticed that Jonas seemed a bit twitchy, but he was too preoccupied by a discovery he had made on the first night to pay much attention to him. The electro-magnetic activity of the area lent itself to a rather spectacular showing of lights in the sky, similar to the Aurora Borealis on Earth - but better. As soon as he made the discovery, he sent a message through to the SGC to request a telescope and he spent his evenings enjoying the night sky.
Still, when Thursday evening rolled around and they were packing up their gear, Jack noticed that Jonas seemed to be acting exceptionally odd around him. Finally, he cornered him and demanded to know what was going on.
"Jonas, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting weird all week." Jack asked the younger man.
Jonas looked up at the colonel from where he was sitting and gulped. He'd been planning to tell Jack what was going on, but he'd never found quite the right time to do it. "Uh, Colonel, there's something that you should know going on at the base."
That raised Jack's suspicions very quickly. There was very little at the base that he didn't know about, although her pretended otherwise. He'd noticed that people were acting a bit strangely just before they left for the planet, but Sam had kept him so busy with her technobabble that he hadn't had time to ask what was going on.
Jonas continued. "There are, uh, some rumors going around and I want you to know that they are absolutely not true. Well, not completely, anyway."
Jack smirked. "If this is about you and Teal'c, I already know there's noth." Jack stopped at the baffled expression on Jonas' face. "Never mind. What were you going to say?"
Jonas shook his head to clear the questions about what the colonel was going to say from his mind and continued on. "Well, it seems that somehow, someone got the impression that, uhhhhh, thatRayneandIarewellyouknowbutIswearnothinghappened. Really, Colonel, nothing happened." Jonas looked up at Jack hoping that he believed him, but also preparing himself for a fist to fly.
Jack's face went pale for a moment. "And what, pray tell, would give them the impression that anything was going on?" he seethed.
Jonas drew back. "Ummmmm, well, Rayne was really upset on Saturday and she, well, she kinda asked me to stay with her and we fell asleep. And the base knows about it because Sam saw me when I got back and asked me what happened just as Tyler and Wesson were coming around the corner."
Jack's face went slack. Rayne was upset on Saturday? He remembered the argument that they had gotten into. Why had he been so callous? She just wanted to know what her father was like as a kid. Who else was going to tell her? Who was he to hold back? He loved his brother - even named his son after him - and they had some great times together when they were young. But why would she turn to Jonas of all people? But then, who else was she going to go to? She'd just moved here and was at odds with her entire family.
Jack noticed that Jonas was still looking up at him, a fearful expression on his face. Well, good. He should be scared. If he ever did anything. But somehow he didn't think that he would. "I understand, Jonas." He said quietly. "While I would prefer Rayne to not date anyone I work with, I can see that's not really my choice. Do me a favor and bring her to Sam's party. There'll be enough personnel there to quash any rumors of your imminent demise." Jonas stood up, an astonished expression on his face.
"And Jonas?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"If you do anything to hurt her, I'll send you to another planet and lock out your GDO code. Got it?"
Jonas grinned nervously. "I understand, Colonel. Thank you."
***********
"Rayne, it's Jonas." Jonas said breathlessly into the phone. He'd dashed up to his office right after the debriefing to call.
"Jonas, I'm so glad that you called. You just got back then?" Rayne asked pleasantly into the phone. "I've been thinking about you all week."
She'd been thinking about him? Jonas' breath caught with delight. "We just had our debriefing and I wanted to talk to you. You are planning to go to Sam's party tomorrow, right?"
"Oh, I don't know. I think I'd better talk to Jack first. I don't want to go barging into his house and make him feel uncomfortable."
"I don't think you need to worry too much. He asked me to make sure that I brought you. There. were some problems here at the base."
"What? Is Jack okay? Is he hurt?"
"No! No, he's fine. Not those kinds of problems. Just some, um, rumors to quash."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed."
"Well, I thought that he wanted me to come because he wanted to see me, not because he has to protect his reputation."
"Oh, Rayne, he does want to see you. He cares a great deal about you. He even threatened to. well he threatened to do something really bad to me if I ever hurt you."
"Oh, Jonas, that's great."
"Thanks a lot, Rayne."
"I didn't mean it like that. You know I don't want to see you get hurt. But it's nice to know he cares."
"I understand. I knew what you meant. When do you have class tomorrow?"
"Actually I don't. There's some sort of huge workshop that most of my students are supposed to attend, so class was cancelled."
"You don't want to do something tomorrow then, do you?" He asked, shyly.
"I'd love to Jonas, but I really do want to talk to Jack, maybe see if I can help him get ready for the party tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay. I guess I'll see you at the party then." Jonas replied glumly.
There was a pause on Rayne's end of the line. "I don't suppose you'd want to come over tonight and. stay again. You could tell me about your trip and we could maybe go out for breakfast."
Jonas was a bit surprised. Granted, he'd stayed before, but she was upset at the time. But she did invite him and well, after their breakfast conversation, he knew that this wasn't something she did often. He remained silent, pondering what he should say.
"Jonas? Are you still there? I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea - that includes you, by the way. I've not been feeling overly well this week and I'd like someone familiar to be near and I really want to spend time with you. Between my schedule and yours, that doesn't seem very likely to happen often. If you're not comfortable."
"No, I'll be there in an hour or so. I have some things that I have to do before I leave, but I'll come as soon as I can."
*********
Jonas tossed a few things in a bag, making sure to pack his own shampoo and a change of clothes. He'd requisitioned a car from the motor pool and was just walking to the elevator to sign out when he met up with Colonel O'Neill.
"Going somewhere, Jonas?"
There was very little point in lying. The colonel would see through it in a minute. "Rayne said that she wasn't feeling well and asked me if I'd come over and stay with her."
The colonel was not happy with this news. "Anything else I should know about?"
Jonas shrank under his glare. "She, uh, said that she wanted to see you tomorrow. She wants to help get ready for the party. And she want to talk to you."
"Tell her to come over as soon as she's free. The earlier, the better." Jack counted his breaths to calm himself down. "And Jonas - remember what we talked about earlier. I know how to get to Netu, you know."
Jonas gulped. "I remember. Nothing will happen. I promise."
P5X-789
Jonas had avoided Colonel O'Neill as much as possible during the week, which was surprisingly easy considering there were only four people on the planet. The planet was, on the whole, warmer than Earth, but the Stargate was located near its north pole, so the temperature hung around a pleasant 70 degrees the whole week. Jonas suspected that would make the temperature at the equator about 160. Fortunately, there were no signs of Goa'uld activity and there was evidence of large naquadah deposits. Unfortunately, most of the planet was covered in water, and all signs pointed to the ocean as the largest area of the deposits. It would take a huge operation to mine it. Little wonder that the Goa'uld stayed away. Jonas kept himself busy helping Major Carter take samples while Teal'c and the colonel inspected the area's potential to be used as an off-world base.
As for Colonel O'Neill, he noticed that Jonas seemed a bit twitchy, but he was too preoccupied by a discovery he had made on the first night to pay much attention to him. The electro-magnetic activity of the area lent itself to a rather spectacular showing of lights in the sky, similar to the Aurora Borealis on Earth - but better. As soon as he made the discovery, he sent a message through to the SGC to request a telescope and he spent his evenings enjoying the night sky.
Still, when Thursday evening rolled around and they were packing up their gear, Jack noticed that Jonas seemed to be acting exceptionally odd around him. Finally, he cornered him and demanded to know what was going on.
"Jonas, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting weird all week." Jack asked the younger man.
Jonas looked up at the colonel from where he was sitting and gulped. He'd been planning to tell Jack what was going on, but he'd never found quite the right time to do it. "Uh, Colonel, there's something that you should know going on at the base."
That raised Jack's suspicions very quickly. There was very little at the base that he didn't know about, although her pretended otherwise. He'd noticed that people were acting a bit strangely just before they left for the planet, but Sam had kept him so busy with her technobabble that he hadn't had time to ask what was going on.
Jonas continued. "There are, uh, some rumors going around and I want you to know that they are absolutely not true. Well, not completely, anyway."
Jack smirked. "If this is about you and Teal'c, I already know there's noth." Jack stopped at the baffled expression on Jonas' face. "Never mind. What were you going to say?"
Jonas shook his head to clear the questions about what the colonel was going to say from his mind and continued on. "Well, it seems that somehow, someone got the impression that, uhhhhh, thatRayneandIarewellyouknowbutIswearnothinghappened. Really, Colonel, nothing happened." Jonas looked up at Jack hoping that he believed him, but also preparing himself for a fist to fly.
Jack's face went pale for a moment. "And what, pray tell, would give them the impression that anything was going on?" he seethed.
Jonas drew back. "Ummmmm, well, Rayne was really upset on Saturday and she, well, she kinda asked me to stay with her and we fell asleep. And the base knows about it because Sam saw me when I got back and asked me what happened just as Tyler and Wesson were coming around the corner."
Jack's face went slack. Rayne was upset on Saturday? He remembered the argument that they had gotten into. Why had he been so callous? She just wanted to know what her father was like as a kid. Who else was going to tell her? Who was he to hold back? He loved his brother - even named his son after him - and they had some great times together when they were young. But why would she turn to Jonas of all people? But then, who else was she going to go to? She'd just moved here and was at odds with her entire family.
Jack noticed that Jonas was still looking up at him, a fearful expression on his face. Well, good. He should be scared. If he ever did anything. But somehow he didn't think that he would. "I understand, Jonas." He said quietly. "While I would prefer Rayne to not date anyone I work with, I can see that's not really my choice. Do me a favor and bring her to Sam's party. There'll be enough personnel there to quash any rumors of your imminent demise." Jonas stood up, an astonished expression on his face.
"And Jonas?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"If you do anything to hurt her, I'll send you to another planet and lock out your GDO code. Got it?"
Jonas grinned nervously. "I understand, Colonel. Thank you."
***********
"Rayne, it's Jonas." Jonas said breathlessly into the phone. He'd dashed up to his office right after the debriefing to call.
"Jonas, I'm so glad that you called. You just got back then?" Rayne asked pleasantly into the phone. "I've been thinking about you all week."
She'd been thinking about him? Jonas' breath caught with delight. "We just had our debriefing and I wanted to talk to you. You are planning to go to Sam's party tomorrow, right?"
"Oh, I don't know. I think I'd better talk to Jack first. I don't want to go barging into his house and make him feel uncomfortable."
"I don't think you need to worry too much. He asked me to make sure that I brought you. There. were some problems here at the base."
"What? Is Jack okay? Is he hurt?"
"No! No, he's fine. Not those kinds of problems. Just some, um, rumors to quash."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed."
"Well, I thought that he wanted me to come because he wanted to see me, not because he has to protect his reputation."
"Oh, Rayne, he does want to see you. He cares a great deal about you. He even threatened to. well he threatened to do something really bad to me if I ever hurt you."
"Oh, Jonas, that's great."
"Thanks a lot, Rayne."
"I didn't mean it like that. You know I don't want to see you get hurt. But it's nice to know he cares."
"I understand. I knew what you meant. When do you have class tomorrow?"
"Actually I don't. There's some sort of huge workshop that most of my students are supposed to attend, so class was cancelled."
"You don't want to do something tomorrow then, do you?" He asked, shyly.
"I'd love to Jonas, but I really do want to talk to Jack, maybe see if I can help him get ready for the party tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay. I guess I'll see you at the party then." Jonas replied glumly.
There was a pause on Rayne's end of the line. "I don't suppose you'd want to come over tonight and. stay again. You could tell me about your trip and we could maybe go out for breakfast."
Jonas was a bit surprised. Granted, he'd stayed before, but she was upset at the time. But she did invite him and well, after their breakfast conversation, he knew that this wasn't something she did often. He remained silent, pondering what he should say.
"Jonas? Are you still there? I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea - that includes you, by the way. I've not been feeling overly well this week and I'd like someone familiar to be near and I really want to spend time with you. Between my schedule and yours, that doesn't seem very likely to happen often. If you're not comfortable."
"No, I'll be there in an hour or so. I have some things that I have to do before I leave, but I'll come as soon as I can."
*********
Jonas tossed a few things in a bag, making sure to pack his own shampoo and a change of clothes. He'd requisitioned a car from the motor pool and was just walking to the elevator to sign out when he met up with Colonel O'Neill.
"Going somewhere, Jonas?"
There was very little point in lying. The colonel would see through it in a minute. "Rayne said that she wasn't feeling well and asked me if I'd come over and stay with her."
The colonel was not happy with this news. "Anything else I should know about?"
Jonas shrank under his glare. "She, uh, said that she wanted to see you tomorrow. She wants to help get ready for the party. And she want to talk to you."
"Tell her to come over as soon as she's free. The earlier, the better." Jack counted his breaths to calm himself down. "And Jonas - remember what we talked about earlier. I know how to get to Netu, you know."
Jonas gulped. "I remember. Nothing will happen. I promise."
