This is part of an RP game over at Livejournal. The characters are sometimes made up and rarely canon.

You can find it under "thesgc" at

Shannon Weiss couldn't sleep. She took her time wandering through the halls of the SGC. She knew someone was bound to be suspicious if she was caught, but she was beyond caring.

Seeing a light at the end of the hallway she was in, her curiosity got the better of her and she poked her head in.

"Oh, Doctor Jackson," she said, looking at her watch. "Up a bit late tonight, or do you always keep these hours?"

Distracted, Daniel Jackson looked up and saw the woman standing in his laboratory doorway. He pushed his glasses up a bit on his nose and sat back, stretching. He glanced at the clock.

"Is that the time?" he asked her. She nodded. "Once I get into my work, I have a hard time coming up for air. Speaking of being up so late…" He motioned to indicate that she, too, was awake. Shannon smiled and shook her head.

"I couldn't sleep. Too much going on, I guess. I'm still not used to all the gray." She paused, looking at the dull walls. "Do you mind if I ask what you're working on?" Daniel chuckled.

"Don't forget the Air Force blue. And this?" he said, nodding to the work on his desk. "It's a tablet that we recovered from the last dig site. It's really quite fascinating because it's written in Sanskrit from two different eras and um.." He laughed. "Sorry, once you get me started, I'm not likely to stop. It's kind of a passion for me."

Shannon took two steps into the room. "Actually, ancient Egypt and its accompanying artifacts intrigue me." Taking another step into the room, she continued hopefully, "Tell me about it?"

"Really?" Daniel was visibly delighted to have someone to discuss it with. "Oh, I'm sorry! Please come in."

Daniel jumped up and hurriedly cleared off a pile of papers and journals from the other chair in the room before dragging it closer to the desk.

"There you go," he said, then indicated an electric coffee pot nearly hidden in a corner of the room. "Would you like some coffee? I could make a fresh batch." Shannon held up a full bottle of water.

"Not a coffee drinker, actually, but thank you," she replied. She smiled at him again and moved to sit in the chair he had cleared for her. Curious now, she leaned over to look at the tablet.

"Wow," she said, after a minute. She paused, and then said, "Bes?"

"That's right," Daniel said, taking his chair once again. "According to Weidermann, the name Bes is derived from besa, a word designating one of the great feliae, the Cynaeurus guttatus, whose skin formed his clothing. Incredible, really, because…" he stopped suddenly, stunned. "Wait a second. You could read that?" Shannon shrugged one delicate shoulder.

"I have hobbies." She smiled. "Bes… he was a god of protection against evil. He used the tambourine or harp, swords, maces, knives…" she broke off, unsure of herself. "Right?"

Daniel was extremely impressed.

"Exactly right! It was originally believed that Bes was the deity directly responsible for protecting Pharaoh, but always depicted as a dwarf. Very fierce little guy! He was thought to have been able to strangle bears, lions, antelopes and snakes with his bare hands. He's often thought of as a demon, but he was a supporter of Rah and helped defeat his enemies." He stopped to take a breath. "What's so interesting about this tablet is that there's never been any real clue to indicate whether the cult of Bes was Semantic or African in origin. Until now. I think it's on there, somewhere."

Daniel sat back and looked at her a bit admiringly. "Not many people would have been able to pick that name out right off the bat."

"I like to read," she told him. "A lot." Daniel laughed.

"That makes two of us then." He folded his arms over his chest, clearly interested. "If it's not prying, do you mind if I ask whatother interesting hobbies you have?"

"I play a killer game of chess," she told him laughingly. "I'm not that interesting." She thought a moment, then said, "I'll try anything once, I love to cook…." She trailed off. "I think that's it."

"You've got me on the cooking," Daniel told her. "I'm a restaurant or microwave kind of guy. But a killer game of chess? I'm not too bad at the game myself; care to put it to the test?"

"Cooking and baking are passions for me, although I doubt I'll be doing much of either while I'm here," Shannon said wryly. "Chess? Anytime."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I get so caught up in my work sometimes I forget to go to the commissary much less cook," Daniel said. "But chess? You're on!" he challenged her. "Now all I need to do is find the time!"

"Whenever is convenient. Hopefully, you can scratch out some time before I have to leave," Shannon said.

"You have to leave," Daniel said, puzzled and a little bit disappointed. "I thought you'd only just arrived."

Shannon shrugged.

"Eventually. I'm only temporarily assigned to the SGC. It seems like a fantastic place to be, though."

"Really," Daniel mused. "I don't know why I got the impression that you were permanent staff." He smiled at her. "Wishful thinking on my part?" Shannon blushed. "But yeah, it isa great place to be, not just because of the work, but because of the people."

"Doctor Jackson, your work is great. I'd love to see everything you have," Shannon exclaimed without thinking.

Daniel realized what she had said and blushed when it dawned on him that he'd taken her comment way out of context. Shannon realized it at nearly the same time and blushed even more.

"Would you," Daniel said. "Umm, thanks. So, uh, listen. I was just wondering, I haven't had anything to eat and um, I don't suppose you'd be interested in a trip to our lovely, fashionable and still open commissary?"

Still inwardly cringing from her previous comment, she nearly missed the dinner invitation.

"That would be wonderful," she said shyly. Daniel stood and offered her his hand to help her out of the chair.

"Awesome," Daniel exclaimed. "I hope you like meatloaf. Or Salisbury steak. This late in the day, that's pretty much all that's left on the menu worth having. Not exactly haute cuisine, but its close and its open." Shannon took his hand and stood.

"Both are favorites. I heard… THINGS about the meatloaf," she claimed, winking at him.

"There aren't any dogs missing in the neighborhood, if that's what you mean," Daniel said, laughing. He reached over to turn off the desk lamp, leaving the room in darkness except for the light from the hallway. "After you."

Shannon dropped his hand to enter the hall and turned in a slow circle, trying to remember which way she'd come from when she'd arrived.

Stepping around her, Daniel led her down the corridor towards the elevators. "I know. It takes some getting used to. I had to leave a trail of breadcrumbs when I first arrived." He grinned at her. "One of the nice things about the military -- they don't change things around very often. Once you get the hang of getting around you're pretty much set for life."

"Hopefully, I won't be here that long," she said, again without thinking. She closed her eyes, cringing at her own rudeness. "Not that it isn't a great place to be. I meant what I said earlier," she stammered, then she sighed. "Welcome was less than warm and after this, well, I don't think they think very highly of me." Daniel nodded sympathetically.

"I know it seems that way and I'm sorry for that. Everyone's been on edge lately, with the refugees for one thing. And there's been some past history that, well, CIA or NID aren't exactly going to be met with open arms, no matter how well intentioned. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything you or anyone else can do about that right away. It's going to take time. They're going to have to learn to trust you," Daniel said apologetically. "I wish it were different. It's got to be hard on you. Hard on them, too, not knowing who to trust."

"I understand their position, I really do," Shannon said. She took a deep breath. "No more work stuff tonight. At least not mine. I'd still love to hear you. I mean, yours. Hear about your work." She cleared her throat.

Daniel suddenly felt very awkward, and more than just a bit pleased. "Tall you what. No more work stuff tonight. At all. Period. I'd really rather get to know you better."

"Really?"

"Really," he said again, pushing the elevator button. When the car arrived, he said, "Ladies first." He followed her into the elevator and pushed the button for the mess level. "Breadcrumbs only work until you get to the elevator." Shannon laughed.

"At least I know how to find you again when I want to." She paused. "Need to." She paused again. "Want to."

Oh, screw it, she thought.