Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews and sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I should. It's great to hear from you…thanks! Here's another chapter. I'm hoping the next one will be posted soon too, but it may take another couple of days.

Cheeky.

Chapter Five:

"So, what do you think?" Dr. Elizabeth Scott whispered in my ear as we looked at our new team members.

"About which one?" I whispered back.

Beth shot me a look. "The cute one!" she hissed.

I laughed, then bit my lip when the two men turned towards us. They shared a look and went back to talking with Major Blake and Captain Donaldson. Major Mackenzie (from my training camp) was my new CO, as the leader of SG-9. Dr. Elizabeth Scott was tagging along as the resident archaeologist, with me as the other scientist member. Captain Frederick Morgan made up the fourth member of our team.

"Which one?" I asked again, since I thought both my team mates were rather cute…but I had to admit, if only to myself in my head, that Alec was cuter than both of them. Damn, I had it bad. Ever since that kiss at the airport…

Beth groaned in frustration. "What's with you today? You seem to be on the moon or something!"

I blushed at her words. "Nothing." I denied.

Elizabeth raised both her eyebrows. "Really?" she said, a slow smile curving her lips. "Do tell."

"I…" I began, not sure whether to just blurt it out or not. Then I caught sight of Major Mackenzie and Captain Morgan walking towards us. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"You'd better!" Beth warned in a low voice.

"So, how are my two scientists this morning?" the Major asked as he got within earshot.

"Excited. Do we really have a mission?" I asked.

"Yep." The Major grinned at my obvious enthusiasm. "The briefing's in an hour."

I clapped my hands together and grinned. "Yes!" I said.

Behind the Major, the Captain laughed. "You don't even know where we're going yet." He said.

"I don't care." I replied. "I'm going to travel through a wormhole to another planet. It's so cool!"

Mackenzie and Morgan shared a glance, before the Major shook his head. "You'll loose that attitude after a few hours of looking at rocks." He said.

"Oh, I don't know." I replied with an impish grin. "I kinda like rocks."

Beth laughed. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?" she asked.

I grinned at her. "Nah." I said. "You like that alien technology stuff, remember. Rocks bore you to death."

Mackenzie and Morgan laughed at my teasing, knowing full well that as an archaeologist, Beth really did like looking at rocks. It was her profession, after all. Major Mackenzie shook his head. "Don't you two have some work to do?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!" we both parroted, before snapping salutes at him.

And, with almost identical smiles of mischief, we turned and fled before he could retaliate.

"So, you never told me what was making you so dreamy this morning?" Beth said softly as we studied the alien ruins in front of us.

"We travel half way around the Universe, and are in the middle of decoding an ancient security system that could lead to untold treasure and fame, and you want to talk about my love life?" I asked her.

"Come on. I need a break." She said. "And who mentioned your love life?"

Damn. I walked into that one. I shot a glance at our other team mates and found them keeping watched a little distance away. "What about it?"

"Who's the mystery man who put that dreamy smile on your face?" Beth asked. "It wasn't there before the weekend!"

"He's just an old friend." I said, trying not to blush. "He came up with another friend of mine and stayed for the weekend."

"Oh." Beth said, with a wink. "I get it."

"It wasn't like that!" I said.

"Sure." Beth smirked.

"It was just a kiss!" I snapped and moved further down the wall, away from her and her smirking.

I ducked my head as Major Mackenzie ambled over, obviously having heard my last comment. Great, just what I needed. He seemed amused. "I see some serious gossiping is going on over here." He said. "Or do you just going around kissing everyone, Carter?" he teased.

I growled in annoyance, both at the teasing and at my blush. "No." I said, glaring at them.

"Ah, so it was someone special." Major Mackenzie mused. "What's his name?"

I gaped at him. Mac had a teasing glint in his eye and I swear he was just as much a gossip as Beth was. Wasn't he supposed to be telling me to hurry up or something?

"None of your business." I answered.

Beth, however, felt the need to enlighten him. The traitor. "He's an old friend apparently. Came up for the weekend."

"I see." Mac said, his tone the same as Beth's had been.

"Look, it wasn't like that!" I said, putting my hands on my hips and forgetting about the wall for a second.

"Well, how do we know if you won't tell us?" Beth asked pointedly.

I glared at her. "I did tell you. It was just a kiss." I snapped. "Or two…" I admitted softly.

Beth laughed delightedly. "What's he look like?"

Before I could answer and tell Beth to mind her own business, Morgan's annoyed voice echoed over to us. "If you guys are going to gossip, could you at least do it within earshot? Some of us have to keep watch over here!"

We all laughed, and Mac turned to leave. "This isn't over, Carter." He said. "I want to know all the details later."

"Yes, sir." I said dryly.

He just laughed. "So, how's the wall coming?" he asked.

"Well," Beth began. "So far all I know it that this structure was built by the Ancients. It depicts some sort of story, but I'm not quite sure of what yet. I'll translate as much as I can before we leave, but I think it might be best if we suggest the General send one of the archaeologist teams for a long term study."

"Good idea." Mac agreed. "What about you, Carter?"

I sighed, looking at him. "I wish I could give you some good news, but I haven't encountered technology like this before. Not even in the lab." I said. "It's a complex and intricate locking system that seems to need some sort of outside trigger to unlock it."

"In other words?" Mac asked.

"I don't think the key to the lock is out here." I clarified. "I think it needs to be brought with you."

"Well, keep working on it anyway." Mac said, before walking over to join Morgan again.

"Yes, sir." I called.

I turned back to the large doors that blocked the entrance to the structure. They looked and felt like some sort of metal, kind of like the alloy the stargate was made of. Definitely something built by the Ancients. The locking mechanism itself was built in the delicate and detail decorative pattern covering the doors. I hadn't figured out how it worked yet. Maybe if I had a few more days, but we'd been here two days already.

I sighed and focused my attention on what seemed to be the centre of the pattern. In the middle of the doors was a plain, flat piece of metal that seemed to be part of an arm that cut across the doors, kind of like a bar. There didn't seem to be any cracks or breaks in it, so I guessed it moved independently of the doors – especially since you wouldn't be able to open the doors unless you moved it.

I reached up a hand to the small plate and trailed over the cool metal. Strange, but it seemed exactly the right size for a hand…I stretched out my fingers until my palm lay flat against the metal. And suddenly the metal began to glow white. As I watched in terrified fascination, the white glow spread along the pattern covering the doors until the metal had a glowing white pattern covering it.

"What the hell…?" Mac said, jogging towards us. "Carter, what did you do?"

"I just touched it…" I trailed of as there was an echoing clank and I took a step back.

As we all watched in fascination, the plate where I had first put my hand began to rotate and the bar slid backwards. Then the doors quietly swung open revealing a pitch dark interior.

"Morgan!" Mac snapped, drawing his gun.

Morgan jogged over, also holding his gun in front of him. "Everyone, be careful." Mac ordered, before walking into the building.

"Yes, sir." Morgan answered, following him.

I walked into the pitch dark building after Mac and Morgan. As my gaze followed the torchlight sweeping the interior, I felt a tug from somewhere deep inside me. Frowning in puzzlement, I followed it and walked to the wall on the side of the door. I reached up and placed my hand on a similar metal plate to the door.

As I watched, it also began to glow slightly, the light spreading out in a familiar pattern away from the plate. Except this time, doors did not swing open. Instead the glow brightened until it illuminated the whole room.

"Damn it, Carter!" Mac snapped. "Don't touch anything else!"

"I can't help it." I said. "I just do without thinking about it."

Mac gave me a concerned look, as did Beth. "Does anyone else feel an unconscious urge to touch anything?" he asked.

Beth and Morgan shook their heads. "Alright. Carter, tell me if you feel like you need to touch anything else, okay?"

"Uh, Mac?" I said. "I'm feeling like I need to touch something."

My gaze flickered about the room, as if searching for something. The room was large and empty except for an ornate altar on a slightly raised platform at the opposite end of the room. It was towards the altar I began to walk.

It was a weird feeling, almost as if I wasn't responsible for my actions, but then I also was. Still, no matter how I tried I couldn't stop myself walking over to the altar. It was almost as if something in my mind was overwriting the commands my brain was giving my feet. Like some higher part of me knew this was something I had to do.

"Carter, stand still." Mac ordered.

"I can't."

I walked faster as he reached out to me, and climbed the steps to stand behind the altar facing my team mates in the room below. "Cater, come here!" Mac snapped.

"I can't!" I replied again, more desperately this time. "I can't stop myself doing this! And I don't want to either."

Mac must have heard some of my fear in my voice, because he jogged towards me, obviously of the mind to physically removing me from near the altar. I didn't like this feeling of being out of control of myself, and was grateful for it.

But before he could reach me, my hands stretched out of their own accord and I placed my palms flat against the cool stone of the altar. They were evenly spaced apart and pressed into the stone. I felt something surge inside me, and then everything went black.

My eyes flickered open and I pushed myself up from the stone floor on which I lay. Smiling down on me was a beautiful woman, who glowed white. Her long blonde hair fell over the shoulder of her flowing white gown and her brown eyes smiled warmly down on me.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"In your mind." She said, her voice soft and musical. "Children of old hold untold power in their minds. I thought it was fitting."

I frowned at her. "Who exactly are you?"

"A teacher and a guide." The woman replied.

"Do you have a name?" I asked dryly.

She laughed at my words. It was a beautiful and haunting sound. "You sound just like your father." She said. "I am known as Oma Desala."

I blinked, the name sounding oddly familiar. Then something in my head clicked. "You're an Ancient!" I said.

She just smiled. "You have the potential to do so much, young one. But then the unexpected usually accomplish great things."

I frowned at her confusing words. What was she talking about?

"Sleep, child." She said. "And remember this when it time for you to know."

I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but the darkness came again and swallowed me. And slowly, I felt the dream begin to fade as if it had never happened.