June 7th, 2004

7:00am

Daniel walked into his office, surprised that a light was on. Sighing, he noticed that Alexia was asleep at his desk, her head on a book. "Not again," he muttered, bending down beside the chair. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her awake, "Alex, wake up."

Alexia forced her eyes open, and groggily lifted her head. "Hi," she said quietly upon seeing who had woken her up. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was concerned about her. However, what bothered her the most was the fact that she wasn't sore. Usually, when sleeping like this, her neck and back were sore when she woke up. She knew it was happening too often if nothing was sore.

"Alex, we've talked about this," Daniel said, "it's not healthy for you to fall asleep here." The first time he had found her was about a month ago and he had sent her to bed, only to have her reappear 20 minutes later, showered and dressed. He had found her again the next morning, sleeping on his desk. He ignored those two times and didn't say anything. The third time he found her, they had talked about it. Since then, he'd only found her once, and she had apologized for it. Now, it seemed she was making a pattern out of it again, and frankly he was worried about her. Since she had come to the command center, she had wrapped just about everyone around her finger. For the first month or so, she was very wary of every male on the base, but now she had loosened up with him, Jack, and Teal'c. He did notice she was still leery of other men though, but didn't ask. She had become fast friends with Sam and Janet, found a father figure in Jack, who also looked on her as a daughter, and was one of the few that could draw a smile out of Teal'c. And Daniel, well, he knew that she had quickly become one his best friends and he knew more about her than anyone else at the base. They had become confidants, and developed a bond that many envied.

Alexia woke up fully, and looked into the eyes of the man who had quickly become her best friend, "I'm sorry Daniel," she said, "I just have trouble sleeping. When I was in college and had trouble sleeping, I would study. When I studied myself to sleep, I wouldn't have the nightmares. That's all it is, I promise," she said, rubbing her eyes.

Daniel nodded, this was the same explanation she had given before, but something different struck him this time, "Nightmares?" he asked. She had never mentioned that she had nightmares before. He could tell from her 'deer in the headlights' look that she had said more than she had intended.

'Crap,' Alexia thought, 'I shouldn't have said that.' She stood up quickly, "Um, I'm, uh, going to go shower. See you in a few minutes," she said, heading for the door.

Daniel blocked her, "Oh no you don't. What nightmares?"

"Just nightmares. You know, normal things," she said, trying to get passed him.

"But, you said 'THE' nightmares, which means these are specific. Alex, if you're having trouble sleeping because of these nightmares, maybe you should talk to someone. I'm sure Dr. McKenzie wouldn't mind," he paused, then continued, "And you know that I'm always willing to listen."

Alexia stopped fighting and stared at the ground, "I know, Daniel, I just don't want to talk about it, not right now, ok," she said, looking into his eyes.

"Ok, Alex, just so you know that I'm not going to forget this," Daniel said, "now, go shower, we're going off-world today."

Alexia's eyes lit up. She had been at the SGC for almost 2 months and she hadn't been off-world yet. She had seen the rest of

SG-1 go and come back numerous times, and more often than not, one of them came back injured. Still, being with them had to be better than staying on the base worrying about them. She didn't know how Janet and General Hammond put up with it. It was driving her crazy, "We?" she asked.

Daniel smiled, knowing that she had been looking forward to this, "Yes, Alex, you get to go this time. Sam says that you know more about self-defense than most new recruits and that you can shoot a gun better than me, so General Hammond says you can go. Besides, this is just something simple. SG-4 found something that they need help translating."

Alexia grinned, "Ok, what time do we leave?"

"Briefing's at 8:30. Do you need to get some more sleep?" he asked, concern coming back into his eyes.

Alexia squeezed his hand, "No, I'm fine, Daniel, I promise. I am going to go and shower now. See you in a few minutes," she said.

Daniel nodded, "General Hammond asked me to go over a few things with you before the briefing, so we'll talk about that when you get back," he said, and she was gone.

When she returned 30 minutes later, Daniel noticed that she was much more awake. She sat down across from him. "Feel better," he asked.

"Much," she said, bringing her shoulder length blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Ok, now these are the rules for off-world. Jack is in charge. What he says goes, no matter what. You are not to wander off by yourself, understand? Stay with one of us," he said.

Alexia nodded, "I'm not going to be babied, am I," she asked.

Daniel smiled, "Of all things for you to be worried about," he joked, then turned serious, "Actually, on some level, you probably will be. When I started at the SGC, I was babied a little. It's not because we don't think you can handle yourself, but because you aren't trained to deal with it fully. Experience is the only thing that can train you, and after a while, you will be fully own your own."

Alexia grimaced, but nodded.

Daniel grinned, "How did I know that you weren't going to like that?" he said, "Next, do not attempt to bring anything home with you without telling someone. We've had severe accidents with stuff getting brought back from off-world, which is why we get poked and prodded when we get back."

Alexia shuddered, "I hate needles," she said.

"Well, you'll get used to it," Daniel said, "but don't expect to get out of it."

"Yeah, I know. I've seen ya'll do it enough times. Besides, I don't really want to see Janet angry, especially with needles," she said.

Daniel smiled, "Good, because it's not pretty," he said, "Also, while hopefully you will always be with one of us, if for some reason you get separated from us, use your radio. Also, if you meet up with something that you feel uncomfortable around, do not hesitate to defend yourself or use your weapon, ok."

Alexia looked at the ground, "I don't think that'll be a problem," she whispered, and Daniel had a feeling that she was speaking from experience. He got out of his chair and went and knelt beside hers. He placed a hand on her knee, "Hey, are you ok?" he asked.

Alexia was lost in her thoughts and was surprised to hear his voice coming from so close. She started, and looked at him, "I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts," she said, trying to smile, "What did you say?"

Daniel knew something was wrong and that she was trying to hide it. He was really getting worried about her, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Alexia's smile disappeared, she knew she wasn't fooling him and to be honest, she no longer cared to try, "Not right now, ok. Maybe later," she said, looking back at the floor.

Daniel could see what this was doing to her and decided that, for now, he would just let it lie. But not for much longer. He lifted her chin with his finger, "After we get back we are going to have a little talk, or, if you don't want to talk to me, maybe to Sam. But, Alex, you have to get this out. It's eating you up inside, and it's killing me that it's doing this to you, ok," he whispered.

Alexia nodded, "Thank you, Daniel. After we get back, I promise," she said, grateful that he wasn't going to push her further just then.

Daniel nodded, stood up, and looked at his watch, "Ok, well, it's time for the briefing. You ready?"

Alexia stood up, "Yep."

The briefing was just that, brief. Before she knew it, Alexia found herself standing on the ramp in front of the Stargate. She couldn't help feeling a little excited. Jack turned to look at her, "So kiddo, you ready for this," he asked.

Alexia smiled at him, "I hope so," she said.

Sam smiled at her, "The first time you make the journey, it's liable to make you a little nauseous, but it doesn't last long."

Alexia nodded, and Daniel was astounded at how good she was at covering her emotions. He could see in her eyes that she was still half thinking about whatever he had triggered that morning, but her face did not betray that. She looked eager and focused, and maybe just a little apprehensive, but that was to be expected. He was a little nervous the fist time he had gone through the Stargate himself. In fact, he couldn't think of one person who wasn't their first time. He just hoped she could keep the two separate.

"Do not worry, AlexiaMiller," Teal'c said, "you will be fine."

"Ok, people, let's go," Jack said, walking through the Stargate. Sam followed him. Taking one last glance behind her, Alexia followed Sam through the Stargate, wondering, and a little apprehensive as to what awaited her on the other side.