Staring down at his plate, Sergeant Tiller had to laugh at how much had happened—before lunch. First mission off world, CHECK. Lose the civilian and almost lose the Lieutenant to friendly fire, CHECK. Insult the one person you're supposed to be looking after and make a rift in the team, CHECK. Eat lunch, CHECK.
It was almost comical…almost. At least the briefing had come and gone without incident and it didn't seem that anyone picked up on the fact that Doctor Martin had gone the entire briefing without speaking to him. Thank god Lieutenant Connelly wasn't at the briefing, that was one prayer answered today…
Leaning on his elbow, Tiller pushed his fries around to find one that looked appetizing as he remembered how the Lieutenant stumbled out from the woods. He almost laughed out loud at the memory but pushed it aside and ran over his mental checklist for the outpost. But as he picked the last fry that didn't appear to be burned, a familiar sound caught his attention and he looked up to see Colonel Bedard standing across from him.
"Sir?" he asked, swallowing the fry and attempting to stand when Colonel Bedard held his hand out to stop him.
"It's alright," Colonel Bedard said sitting across from him. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course not, Sir," Tiller said, sitting back down in his seat with perfect posture.
Bedard sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy request. "We need to talk."
Before another word was spoken, Tiller nodded. "Doctor Martin," Tiller said, keeping his voice low so that anyone nearby couldn't hear.
"The outpost," Bedard said folding his arms on the table. "I need you to…"
"Baby sit?"
Bedard shook his head. "No—I don't want her to get use to it. She has to learn. Just--make sure she doesn't shoot anyone else," he said, pausing for Tiller to respond.
Tiller nodded. "Understood."
Bedard stood and pushed in his chair before walking away.
Tiller reached for his glass but set it down before taking a sip. He was going to have to smooth things over with Doctor Martin or things were only going to get worse. His fingers pulled away from the glass and he stared back down at his plate again. He knew what needed to be done, in fact it had been done for him early on in the Marine Corps—he just wasn't looking forward to it. It was going to take something that he didn't have…something he lacked…understanding.
It could be done, that much he knew. But whether or not it would work was another question. As he dumped his tray and headed for the door he saw the coffee pot in the corner and had an idea…
Moments later he was walking down the hall towards Doctor Martin's room with two cups of scalding hot coffee in his hands. Maybe it would be enough of an icebreaker. Maybe she wouldn't throw him out into the hall again.
Rounding the corner, Tiller dodged two technicians before stopping at her door. Looking down at his hands, as though a third would suddenly appear, Tiller looked from side to side trying to find a place to set one of the cups but settled for the floor.
He knocked twice but knocked again when there was no answer—still nothing. Remembering how easily Doc got lost Tiller sighed and looked at his watch—it was only 1530 she wouldn't be asleep yet. Determined to find her, he set down the second cup and opened the door. "Hey Doc?" he called out into the empty room. The lights were on but the room was clearly empty. He took a final look around the room and began to imagine the worst. Had she tried to skip out of the base? Surely if she tried to leave the guards would have asked for her clearance papers. Where in the world could she be? Anxiety was gripping him now. She was a civilian. She could have done anything if mad enough. He had to find her before she did something stupid and with an aggravated grunt, Tiller slammed the door before heading down the hall in search of Doctor Martin.
Thirty minutes later, Tiller was searching one of the last halls that Doctor Martin could be hiding in but something was telling him that she had left the base. He was trying not to think that—how in the world would he have explained that to Colonel Bedard or General O'Neill? He was just about to start yelling out her name. That's when he heard the voices coming from a nearby room…
Daniel sat at his desk as the soft light illuminated his face. "Well—I didn't shoot anyone, but I hold the record for getting the first SG team stranded off world. And I'll tell ya, it was rough until I figured out the seventh symbol—then they liked me." Daniel's voice was soft and warm as he spoke; clearly he knew the situation and was trying to help.
Doctor Martin wandered around his office looking at the various artifacts around the room. "Will it ever be easier?" she asked, picking up an artifact and setting it back down.
Hearing the fear in her voice, Daniel remembered his first days and just how he had butted heads with the military. "Everyone has their own way—you'll just have to get used to them just like they are going to have to get use to you."
Martin nodded at Daniel's advice and smile; she had heard it before. "Is Colonel Carter used to you yet?" she asked looking over her shoulder. She waited for Daniel to respond and smiled as Daniel fumbled over his train of thought.
"Well, Colonel Carter is also Doctor Carter, she's an astrophysicist so we had some common ground right from the start—General O'Neill on the other hand…"
The tone in his voice caught her attention and Doctor Martin walked back over to the desk as she spoke. "You aren't friends?"
Another memory popped up and Daniel had to laugh. "Not at first," he said, drifting off for a moment. Remembering how everything started out made him nostalgic. "Let's just say it's taken me a while to break him in…"
Out in the hall Tiller listened intently as he walked closer to the door. He heard Doctor Martin laugh and he felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he realized that he should be the one having this conversation with her—not someone that wasn't on the team.
Martin's laugh turned into a yawn and Daniel walked over to a small stack of books at the end of the bookcase. "Here, when you have some free time you can read these-" he said, setting the stack of books in her arms. "…they might help."
Looking for a title on the blank covers, Martin squinted up at Daniel. "What are they?"
"Mission logs—and mishaps…" he said pushing up his glasses—almost blushing as he remembered the young man he once was.
Suddenly captivated with the information that would be within the pages, Martin wasn't even looking at Daniel anymore. "Oh, thank you," she said through another yawn.
"Well it's not Shakespeare but it'll give you an idea of what's to come."
Nodding again, Martin turned for the door. "I should get some rest, it's getting late and I have a big day tomorrow."
"I'll see you in the morning—" he said as she reached for the door knob. "And Doctor Martin?"
"Yes?" she asked, turning back as her hand rested on the door knob.
"I'm almost always here—if you need to talk."
For a split second, Martin felt at home in the dark office as she looked around. "You might learn to regret saying that in the future," she said, pulling the door open and stepping out into the hall.
Daniel watched as the door closed—there's my good deed for the day…
On the other side of the door, Tiller listened through the door. Through the crack he saw Doctor Martin walking towards him and in an instant he stepped back from the door and sprinted down the hall…
Doctor Martin walked out into the hall feeling lighter than she had an hour ago when the weight of the world was bearing down on her. The whole day had seemed to get worse with every moment that passed and all she could think about was running for the nearest escape hatch—it didn't matter where it led. But then Doctor Jackson had stopped by. He said he going for a walk, and as simple as that, she had made a friend. Someone she could talk to about all the silly little things that seemed to be so big and horrible.
The walk to back to her room was silent but as she turned the doorknob she noticed something that she knew hadn't been there when she left. Two cups of coffee sat by her doorway. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she set the books down in her room and came back for the cups. Picking them up, she examined them as though they were from a crime scene. But just as she tried to think of where there came from—it hit her and she knew who had left them. But why would he leave them here? she asked herself. It just doesn't make sense—yet. Closing the door behind her, Doctor Martin began walking down the hall with the cups of coffee in her hands.
Without spilling a drop, she arrived at Sergeant Tiller's room and promptly kicked the door with her foot. That would have to suffice for a knock, she thought as she waited for the door to open. It was silent for a moment and then she heard footsteps approaching the door—and then it opened.
He looked worn out. The little mop of hair left on top of his head went in every direction imaginable and there was that look in his eyes again. The unmistakable, 'what the hell do you want' look. His eyes drifted down to her hands and his eyes scrunched as he saw the two cups of coffee. He tried to look away, but his eyes locked with Doctor Martin's as she glared at him.
"Were you looking for me?" she asked.
The question hit him square in the chest and he looked away. "Me? Looking for you? No—why?" he asked leaving the door open as he walked back into the room.
Taking the hint, Doctor Martin walked into the room and left the door open behind her. "See, I found these outside my room and it took me about a minute to realize that there was only one person on this base that could possibly know how I drink my coffee." Setting the cups on the dresser she leaned against the door jam—staying within a respectable distance of the door if anyone should walk by.
Hands on his hips, Tiller turned and feigned remembrance. "Oh—that, yeah I was looking for you earlier."
"I see. Was it important?"
"NO—just uh, we're scheduled for the out post at 0700 tomorrow."
"Oh, so it was work related?"
"Of course it was."
"Oh—ok I was just wondering because, normally when you bring a girl coffee…it's—you know…"
"Look—" he said, instantly defensive. "Don't read into it—"
"Hey—" she said cutting him off and walking away from the door. "Don't get all huffy with me just because I caught you snooping around my room."
"I was not snooping."
"Oh, right…you were going to come by and tell me about the mission—with two cups of coffee," she said turning back to the door, slamming it as she walked out in to the hall.
Tiller stood dumbfounded as he stared at the door. How did THAT just happen?
The shuttle for Patterson-Wright Air Field left at 0700. Along for the ride were Daniel Jackson and the members of SG-4. Doctor Martin made a point to sit next to Daniel and away from the members of her team. It was a small gesture but fully understood by Sergeant Tiller. And not totally unnoticed by Colonel Bedard.
Once at the airfield, the expedition group boarded a C-130 for the first leg of their endless journey out to the middle of Nowheresville, Antarctica. Doctor Martin had bundled up in more layers than she could move through as the pilot called back that they would soon be landing at their mid-point drop.
"Hold fast!" the pilot called out as the landing strip came within sight.
After a quick departure, the group boarded a CH-46 Helicopter for the last leg of their trip to Antarctica. The passenger sitting area was cramped at best, and with Daniel on her right side, Martin was right up against Tiller as he sat on her left. But the annoyance of having him at her side was a close second to the knot forming in her stomach as Lieutenant Connelly sat across from her, his knees meeting hers. She couldn't avoid eye contact without being obvious and she offered a half smile with a head nod as her greeting—to which he replied with a glare and looked out the window for the rest of the trip. Time…she repeated silently, It's just going to take time…
By that afternoon, Doctor Martin had cordoned herself off from the rest of the expedition and was quietly working away on uncovering yet another unknown area of the out post. But as her stomach rumbled she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide for much longer.
She tried to ignore it. Tried to tell herself that she could wait a little longer. Then everyone else wouldn't be crowding around the main area and she could get an MRE without running into anyone she didn't want to see.
Her stomach rumbled again and Doctor Martin stood abruptly from the icy ground and tossed her notebook into the top shelf of her tool case before heading down the path to the main room. The path led right into the main room and there was no way she could avoid saying hello to a few people as she made her way to the oversized crate with the MRE's. She wasted no time in grabbing the first one she could reach before walking back to the pathway and back to her seclusion.
Like a child stomping off to her room, Martin was pounding her boots into the ground so hard that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. Almost mumbling under her breath as she entered the small cul-de-sac Martin let her frustrations flame to life as she fought to open the outer packaging of her MRE. Despite the "pull open" tab, the plastic was resisting her attempts at opening it. Everything came to a boiling point as she pulled one last time at the plastic. It didn't give and she threw the MRE bag across the cul-de-sac.
It was just too much. Everything was wrong and look where she was now, at the bottom of an ancient cavern trying to uncover an alien outpost. What the hell am I doing here? She screamed inwardly as she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her knees.
All was silent, and Doctor Martin could feel tears brimming at the corners of her eyes but she didn't know why. Just as she was about to give up and let the tears come, the silence around her was broken with footsteps coming down the path toward her. She didn't move but watched the entrance as Sergeant Tiller appeared.
He didn't say a word. Only stood in the entrance a moment before looking down to the floor where she had thrown her MRE. She watched him silently as he walked down from the path, but averted her eyes as he walked into the cul-de-sac. Still silent, Tiller picked up the MRE package and sat beside Doctor Martin. She still refused to look at him and stared straight a head.
Tiller sighed as he pulled his utility knife from his ankle sheath and cut the bag along the length of it. After a few second of fussing with the contents, he pulled out a package that had "chicken and salsa" written on the front. Turning slightly, he held the package between them so she could see his actions without making eye contact with him. "You have to squeeze the stuff to the bottom of the package first," he said, squeezing the contents to the bottom of the package. "Then you put it into the heater," he continued, pulling out the plastic heater pack and sliding the meal package inside. "Now the trick is to not put too much water in the heater pack," he said, taking his canteen and pouring a small amount of water in the package before folding over the top portion and laying it against the wall between them. "Let it set for about two minutes and it should be hot enough."
The room fell silent again and Doctor Martin could feel the tension crushing her chest but she still refused to speak to him. It wouldn't get her anywhere anyway—they would just end up fighting.
Tiller's foot started bouncing back and forth and he sighed. "I came looking for you," he said, looking around the small room as his words echoed into the corners. "But, you weren't there and I got worried—thought you might have left the base and gotten lost again." His voice faded and he folded his arms over he chest as he shifted on the ice. "I heard you talking with Doctor Jackson."
"You were spying on me." It was an accusation and he knew it.
Still looking anywhere but at her, Tiller continued to explain. "It's not what you think." Tiller said, trying to organize his thoughts but only getting more frustrated by the moment. He sighed, "Marines are very odd people. We ignore everything that has the possibility to disturb the chain of command—anything that could disrupt the cohesion of the unit we set it aside and focus on the mission, everything else is meaningless."
Martin's face instantly contorted as she gaped over at Tiller, "Okay…and that means what in English?"
Frustrated that he even had to explain this, Tiller tried to resist the urge to shake Martin by the shoulders. He knew he had to be calm; this was going to take finesse. "I should have been the one to talk to you—not Doctor Jackson." It was meant as an explanation, an apology even—but that's not how it was received.
Standing abruptly, Martin kicked the ice from her shoes. "I'm not some kid that you have to baby sit Sergeant," she attempted to storm off, but came crashing down on the ice as Tiller took hold of the back of her vest and pulled her down beside him.
Still holding firm to her vest, Tiller made sure she knew not to move as he spoke. "No, you aren't some kid—you are a member of my team and I should have treated you like a person and talked to you."
Martin tried to fight against his hold on her but gave up quickly and let her shoulder collide with his. Silence. She was still furious with him—she couldn't remember why she was so furious with him but she knew that she was right and she wasn't about to back down.
"I just wanted to say that—if you do need to talk, about anything—I'm here." His words still echoed in the chamber as he released his hold on her and got to his feet. He stood above her and looked down as he adjusted his gear on his back. "Give that another 20 seconds and it should be ready," he said, pointing to the heater package before disappearing into the passageway.
Martin watched him and leaned back against the ice wall behind her. Well, that was something…she thought as she looked down at the heater package and counted to 20.
Chapter 11It had been two weeks since Doctor Martin was tossed into the icy caverns of Antarctica and forced to deal with her own shortcomings. Two weeks since Colonel Bedard had taken his team on their second mission and he was still counting the days until something went wrong. To his surprise, the bad news came in an ice storm that settled over the outpost--preventing any transports in or out.
Daniel took the opportunity to take Doctor Martin with him as he explored the outer catacombs. Sergeant Tiller was in tow for security as they made their way over the rocky terrain.
"The structure should be just a little farther down this way," Daniel said stepping over a small gap in the ice as Doctor Martin followed close behind. Sergeant Tiller kept close to her, watching her every step as he tried to anticipate the slightest off balance step she might make.
"You're hoping to find a ZPM here aren't you?" Doctor Martin asked, stepping over the small gap in the ice.
"Well, there were no EM spikes on the scanner but—one can hope," Daniel said, unable to mask the childish glee in his voice.
"You think they'll ever get back to Earth? I mean, if they had the resources to come back through the gate they would have done it by now—right?" Martin asked, bracing her hand along the wall as she walked.
"Well—I don't know, if it was me, I wouldn't come back… right away," Daniel said, grinning at the thought of being at Atlantis.
"Do you think the Goa'uld are out that far?"
"Oh, I don't know—but I bet they've met their share of bad guys," Daniel added, again smiling at the idea of what lay beyond the known universe.
"True, I guess the Pegasus galaxy would have its share of uber-villains," she said looking over her shoulder to see Tiller staring straight at her. Meeting his eyes caught her off guard for a moment and she tripped over the next gap in the ice—Tiller grabbed her before she could hit the wall and pulled her into his chest as best he could. Her back slammed into him and he fell against the wall with his arms wrapped around her shoulders.
Hearing the commotion, Daniel turned and saw their predicament. "Whoa, you alright?" Daniel asked, offering a hand to Martin to pull her off of Sergeant Tiller.
"Oh yeah…I landed on something soft and cushy," she said, taking Daniel's hand as she pushed away from Tiller with her free hand. She slipped on the ice again but before she could actually fall Tiller reached out and propped her up. This time she didn't say anything, only looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled warily before continuing down the path.
In the main alcove, Colonel Bedard was overseeing the security detail rotation until the next transport could get through. It had been a long day for everyone—but at least no one had been shot…yet.
"Hey Connelly!" Colonel Bedard yelled over to Lieutenant Connelly who was helping to carry in a crate of ammo. "You seen Tiller or Doctor Martin?"
"No Colonel, they're still in the outer catacombs with Doctor Jackson. They should be back with in the next few hours," he said setting down the crate and walking over to his commanding officer.
Looking back down at his roster, Bedard waited for Connelly to stand at his side before continuing. "All right. Make sure the working party takes a break soon—have they had chow yet?"
Connelly replied without even having to think about the answer. "Not yet Sir—I'll send them in shifts."
"Good to go. Just make sure they actually take a break—I admire their stamina but in this temperature the last thing we need is 20 frostbite cases."
"Will do, Sir," he said walking back down the catacomb.
Colonel Bedard took a quick look around at the activity around him and realized how much he was starting to agree with General O'Neill's insistence that they come here—at least if anything did happen it would be easy to get in reinforcements.
A half hour after Doctor Martin fell into Tiller's arms she could still feel the warmth from his arms around her shoulders where he had held her. She was trying to keep her thoughts away from where they wanted to go—the last thing she needed was an "in office romance." Besides, Tiller was not a good guy to get mixed up with. The second to last thing she needed was another emotionally closed off male to break her heart.
"Hey, there it is," Daniel called out as he stepped down from the path and over to peer into a small tunnel.
Stooping at the entrance, Doctor Martin leaned over and reached out beside her for the wall—only to grab hold of Tiller's hand. It caught her off guard and she looked over her shoulder at him as he nodded for her to climb down into the tunnel. A few awkward steps and some sliding later, she was in the larger room with Daniel and Tiller was soon at her side as they looked at the pillars.
"This is amazing—look at this detail," Daniel said rushing over to wipe the ice off the inscriptions as Doctor Martin and Tiller stood watching him. "Hey, Martin—come look at this, see what you make of it." He said waiving her over.
Glancing up at Tiller, Doctor Martin pulled out a small flashlight and walked over to Daniel, "What is it?" she asked leaning down at the pillar. "Oh my—" she said running her gloved fingers over the inscription as she shown the light with her free hand.
Clearing his throat, Tiller was trying to think of something to say if just to be included in the amazing conversation. "Is it…eh…meaning of life stuff?" Tiller asked as he leaned against an outcropping of ice. No sooner than he propped his elbow on the ledge, the walls of the catacomb began to vibrate, causing small chunks of ice to crash to the floor. "Uh, that doesn't sound good," he said moving back to the entrance.
Ignoring the warning in Tiller's voice, Daniel began to pull out his tools, "It's just the ice shifting. We should be fine," Daniel said as a faint groan echoed through the room followed by a more powerful tremor.
Tiller wasted no time in crossing the distance of the room and pulling Doctor Martin to her feet by the back of her vest, "Doctor Jackson—we really should leave this area," he said, glaring down at Doctor Martin as she pushed his hand away from her. She tried to kneel back down, but Tiller brought her back to her feet, "Don't fight with me," tightening his grip on her vest, Tiller stared her down until she gave in and gently pulled his fingers from her vest.
Daniel heard the commotion and felt like he should say something in her defense, even if it wasn't his place. "Really Sergeant, this happens all the time—" he said as a third tremor shook the room, bringing a shower of ice down on them. "Okay, maybe we should get out of here," he said walking over to the opening as Doctor Martin climbed in ahead of him only to come sliding back down and into Daniel's arms as another tremor shook the foundation. Daniel steadied her, "I'll go first and pull you up," he said bracing his feet inside the small tunnel as he climbed up to the path.
Martin watched and waited until Daniel stopped and reached out for her hand then climbed into the tunnel. Just as her feet slipped again, Tiller came up behind her and braced her feet, "Just grab his hand and let him pull you up," he shouted, as another more powerful tremor shook the room. Ice began to fall from the ceiling and the tunnel was quickly falling apart. A knot formed in Tiller's stomach and he slid out of the tunnel. The tunnel was falling around Doctor Martin and in an instant he grabbed her feet and pulled her free of the tunnel. The tunnel exploded and knocked Tiller off his feet. The room fell silent as the tremors settled. Tiller jumped into reaction mode and searched for Doctor Martin until he realized she was lying under his legs. "Doc?" He asked, standing to his feet as he rolled her over to her back. He knelt down by her and saw that she was conscious, but there was already a knot forming on her forehead where she had hit it on the ice, "Look at me Doc," Tiller said, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Hey! Stay awake!" He said, as he stood and pulled Martin to her feet. Her balance was off and she swayed before him.
Shaking her head, Martin stepped into Tiller and braced her hands on his arms, "I'm…ok…ok…" Martin said as her knees gave out. She crashed head first into Tiller's chest. He caught her around the waist just before her knees hit the ground and pulled her into a hug as he stood straight, her feet dangling above the ground. Holding her, Tiller searched the room for a place to lay her as the light posts around the room began to flicker. Tiller's mind raced with the possibilities but all he could think of was that the only way out had just fallen in on itself—damn those stupid engineers for making such an easy trap. The ice settled again where the tunnel had been and the last flickers of light beamed across the room, Tiller was standing in darkness…
He adjusted Doctor Martin in his arms and thought of what to do next when he heard another shelf of ice break free from above. In the second he had to react, all he could think to do was to push Martin away from the sound…and then everything fell silent once again.