AN: I sincerely apologize for the delay in updating on here. I'm still getting used to formatting it in a way that I like. The updates will be coming much quicker in the coming days as most of the story is written.

We learn a little more about my original character, Michael Wong, in this chapter. I feel like SG-1 would need someone almost as equally brilliant as Sam in order to get out of the jams the team found themselves in early on in the series. His background story on why he joined the military is based off of my grandfather. Per the request and desire of my great-grandfather immigrated, my grandfather and his three brothers each served in a different branch of the military.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 2

Although Jack hadn't seen Dr. Carter since yesterday morning, she was everywhere he went. There was a buzz around the base and it was all about her.

In the hallways.

"I heard she was handpicked by the President," said one of the scientists as Jack happened to fall in step behind them.

"I heard they're bringing her in to be Dr. Langford's successor."

"Either way, she's definitely going to be a big deal around here."

In the control room.

"I think we should ask Dr. Carter," said Siler.

"But we've fixed problems like this ourselves before," replied another technician.

"Yeah, but last time I ended up in the infirmary."

"And the gate almost blew up. So yes, please go ask Dr. Carter," he heard Walter implore.

In the locker room.

"You meet that new scientist?" asked a young Lieutenant.

"Not yet, but I'm looking forward to it," replied another with a grin.

"Yeah, she is easy on the eyes."

"How old do you think she is?"

In the elevator.

"And she's only 32!" said one of the nurses on the way down to the infirmary.

"She's done more already than I'll probably accomplish my whole life."

"Yeah, but you have to wonder how she got this position so quickly," the nurse said lowering her voice a little.

"I heard she knows someone in Washington," a third nurse said out of the side of her mouth although Jack still heard.

And even in the bathroom.

"What are you wearing?" asked Dr. Coombs.

"What? What's wrong with this?" replied Dr. Felger looking down at his flowery shirt.

"You look like my mother's drapes."

"Well Dr. Carter said she liked the one I wore yesterday."

"She was being nice."

"Oh what do you know."

They were still bickering as Jack washed his hands and left. Gah, is no place sacred anymore?! He thought as he huffed his way around the base. This was one of the rare moments Jack wished he had an office.

Most of Sam's stuff arrived at the SGC from Area 51 early that morning. She was busy unpacking in her lab behind a mountain of boxes that she didn't hear or see the petite Dr. Fraiser enter.

"Hey there!"

"Oh hi! Sorry I didn't hear you. Please, excuse the mess. I don't believe we've met yet."

"No problem. I'm Dr. Fraiser, the CMO here at the SGC. But you can call me Janet."

"Sam. It's nice to meet you," she replied while accepting Janet's handshake.

"I just wanted to remind you about stopping by the infirmary by the end of the week for your baseline physical."

"Ah, yes, I will do that. Tomorrow. I promise. Thank you."

"I also wanted to see how you were settling in."

"It's coming along slowly," Sam replied looking at the clutter around her. "I have no idea where I accumulated all this stuff. Unpacking my apartment has been even worse."

"Well if you need any help or just want to have a girls' night out, let me know. I'd be happy to show you around Colorado Springs a little with the free time we actually get out of this mountain," Janet said with a small chuckle.

"That's very kind of you. I will probably take you up on that offer one of these days."

"Great! I'll give you my number. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you know where to find me."

"Yes, ma'am. Actually—"

There was a knock on the side of Sam's doorway as Daniel walked in. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come back—"

"That's alright, Daniel. I was just about to head out. I have a couple of appointments in about 10 minutes. I'll see you tomorrow for yours, Sam?" Janet confirmed.

"I'll be there," replied Sam with a nod.

As Janet left, Daniel walked in and took her place inside the lab. His eyes scanned the room at the stacks of books and gadgets laying around.

"What can I do for you today, Dr. Jackson?"

"Oh, please call me Daniel. I was just dropping by to check on how you were settling in, but I see I'm not the only one," Daniel answered with a little chuckle. He knew it wouldn't take long for Dr. Fraiser to seek out and befriend Dr. Carter.

"Yes, well the unpacking would definitely be going faster if I didn't keep getting interrupted."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. It totally didn't occur to me that you might be really busy. I can go—"

"Oh no, no!" Sam exclaimed when she realized how her words came across. "That's not what I meant. Really. Truthfully I'm grateful for the company. I wasn't quite sure how I would fit in around here especially after the warm welcome from Colonel O'Neill."

"Ah, yes. Don't mind Jack. He takes some time to warm up to. I wouldn't take it personally."

"It's kind of hard not to."

"Yeah, I can see how you would feel that way."

"What does he have against scientists anyways?"

"Um, nothing specific...I don't think," Daniel replied while actually pondering the answer to the question. He had never really spent too much time trying to figure that out.

"So it's just me?"

"Definitely not. It's more about new things, different things that he doesn't fully understand right away."

"So it's a defense mechanism."

"Your words, not mine," Daniel grinned. There was something about the blonde astrophysicist that he liked. She was smart and funny and obviously not intimidated easily as evidenced by her initial interaction with Jack. She'll fit in just fine here. As long as Jack doesn't do anything too stupid. "Well, I'm sure Janet's already offered, but if you want any help with anything, I'd be more than happy to assist in any way I can."

"Thanks Dr. Jack—Daniel."

The conversation was interrupted once again by another knock on the door. Daniel and Sam's heads simultaneously turned to see Captain Wong and Teal'c peeking their heads through the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt. Teal'c and I just thought we'd stop by and see—"

"How Sam was settling in?" Daniel interrupted as he shot a nodding grin over at Sam.

"Uh, well yeah actually. How did you..." Wong replied eyeing the others trying to figure out what it was he was missing.

"It looks like Dr. Carter's progress is going slowly," observed Teal'c. "If you require assistance—"

"Aren't you all leaving for a mission later today?" Sam questioned eyeing them all in a playful, suspicious way. "For like several days?"

Daniel and Wong shifted their eyes around the room looking guilty in the same playful manner that made Sam smile.

"You are correct. I was actually going to volunteer Sergeant Siler," replied Teal'c.

For some reason, the response from the tall, serious Jaffa juxtaposed next to the other two men made Sam laugh out loud. Her laughter was soon joined by Daniel and Wong which caused Teal'c to raise a curious eyebrow at them.

"Thank you guys. I appreciate it; but I think I can manage. If I'm still not unpacked by the time you come back, I will let you know."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. How about we go grab something to eat?" asked Daniel.

"I could definitely eat. Dr. Carter, care to join us?"

"I'm sure you could use a little break from all the distractions," Daniel said quickly when Sam hesitated.

"You know what, you're right. I have to eat at some point."

Sam sat in the commissary with Daniel, Michael, and Teal'c enjoying a comfortable conversation. With the exception of Teal'c, they all agreed to do away with the formalities and were on first name bases now. Occasionally, people would pass by and whisper while staring at her. At first she didn't really think anything of it; after all, she was new so people were probably just asking who she was. However, after the fourth time, Sam couldn't take it anymore.

"Ok, do I have something written on my face?!" Sam exclaimed causing the three men to stare at her intently and confused.

"You do not," replied Teal'c seriously.

"Then what is everyone whispering about when they stare at me?"

"Don't mind them. They're probably just taking bets on if Colonel O'Neill is going to yell at you or not," Wong answered nonchalantly while taking another bite of his sandwich.

Sam held her breath shocked for a moment. "Why would he yell at me?"

"Oh, nothing serious at all. He's just known to be a little possessive of his—our—table and you're essentially sitting in his seat."

"Don't worry. He won't yell at you. If he does, I'll just yell back at him," Daniel assured her when he saw the continued concern on her face after Wong's explanation.

"That's very reassuring," Sam replied sarcastically which elicited a smile from Daniel. "Michael, tell me you're secret. How'd you get the Colonel to like you?"

"Uh, actually I think it's cause he thinks of me more as an engineer than a scientist. Except when he needs a scientist but won't admit it; then all of a sudden I'm an engineer who's an expert in geology or volcanos...or astrophysics," he said with a smirk.

"He does know that we studied a lot of the same sciences to get where we are, right?"

"Perhaps it is the fact that Captain Wong is in the military and therefore sees him as a solider first."

"I actually considered joining at one point."

"Really?" asked Daniel in mild disbelief as he tried to imagine an alternate reality.

"Yeah, my dad was in the Air Force, and I always wanted to be an astronaut when I was little. But I saw how the military life affected my family and I just didn't want the same thing to happen. But look at me now; still working for the military with a job an astronaut could only dream of."

"Do you ever think about what your life would've been like if you had decided to join the Air Force?"

"Well I can only hope I would've ended up in a similar position as Michael. I mean not your exact position on SG-1 or anything, but hopefully here and maybe on any SG team."

"No, you would definitely be on SG-1."

"Oh, I don't know about that. You're brilliant. I've read your file.

"I've read your file too, Sam. You're much, much smarter than I am. Trust me. You'll be saving our asses sooner than later. That also tends to get people to like you."

"Oh come on, you graduated from Stanford at age 16 and were on the fast track to whatever job you wanted because of your theoretical paper on creating a generator capable of producing clean and safe energy."

"Not so theoretical anymore," Wong replied with a smile.

"Exactly! I mean you basically drew the blueprint for a naquadah generator before we even knew what naquadah was. I heard Elon Musk wanted to work with you, but then you suddenly decided to join the Air Force instead."

"I don't think I knew that about you, Mike."

"Sure you did, Daniel. I know I've told you before."

"I mean I knew you graduated from Stanford at an early age, but I had no idea what you gave up to be here."

"What is an Elon Musk?"

"Elon Musk is a person, Teal'c. A very smart—and very rich—person," Wong replied with a chuckle. "And yeah, he may or may not have reached out to me a couple times."

"So what made you decide to enlist?"

"My dad. He grew up in rural China with very little and immigrated here to escape the communists. He had a very strong sense of duty that he felt he owed this country for what it provided him and our family; so he wanted my sister and me to serve at least one term in a branch of the military. When I was working on my doctorate, my dad got sick suddenly and passed. To honor him, I decided to put all of it on hold and enlisted the next day."

"Your father sounds like an honorable man, Captain Wong."

"Thanks Teal'c. He really was. Anyways, I was almost done with my four years and had every intent to go back to finish my degree when I met Catherine. She brought me on to study the mechanics of the Stargate and needless to say, I was hooked. I even volunteered to go on that first mission to Abydos, but Catherine wouldn't let me. She said she couldn't let me risk not coming back and leaving my mom and little sister. But then one day, Apophis came through the Stargate and the rest is history."

"That's a pretty amazing story Michael. What—"

"Dr. Carter, Dr. Carter!" yelled Dr. Lee as he came running through the commissary to their table out of breath. "Dr. Carter, we need you immediately up in the lab. Dr. Felger did something and now there's a beeping noise and flashing lights and I think something might explode."

"Ok, ok slow down Dr. Lee. What's going on?"

"There's no time to explain. You just need to see it for yourself."

"Ok...looks like unpacking will have to wait," she said as she stood up from her chair. "Have a good mission guys. Stay safe out there."

Fifteen minutes later, Jack entered the commissary and found his team sitting at their usual table. Oh look, they even got me something to eat. Mindlessly, he walked over and plopped himself down in the empty seat.

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you guys," Jack said as he stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and reached for the plate with a piece of cake on it. Why is there a salad on this tray? Wait, why is there a bite missing from this cake? "Whose food is this?"

Daniel and Michael exchanged looks as if to say 'I'm not telling him.'

"Dr. Carter was sitting there before you arrived."

Jack dropped the fork. Ugh. Thank goodness they were going off world in a couple of hours. He really needed to get away from all things Samantha Carter.