"So then Hammond goes--" Jack frowned and stopped his story mid-sentence as he noticed that Daniel's attention was directed elsewhere. "What is it, Danny?" he asked, hoping that, this being the cafeteria, there was little chance of it concerning a rock, artifact, ancient text, or anything else that would normally interest him.
"I think he's actually going to take it this time," Daniel said, intrigued.
Jack and Teal'c turned in their seats to follow his gaze to the counter where Mike, a fairly new recruit to the Stargate program, stood in front of the cups of red and blue jello, clearly struggling to make a decision between the two. The three men of SG-1 had picked up on his hesitation at the jello counter a few days ago, though as far as they had seen, he had always gone for red, just like everyone else. Everyone, that is, but Carter.
"He took the blue," Daniel whispered unnecessarily, as they all had seen it. The trio watched in awe as the first lieutenant carried the cup of jello to a table some distance away. "Now what do we do?"
Jack turned back around to face him. "Well, we can't let 'im do that, that's for sure," he said emphatically.
Daniel nodded. "Blue's Carter's color."
"Yeah, we'd better move fast," Jack said, getting up from his seat.
Daniel nodded and fell in behind as he walked over to Mike's table. Teal'c quirked an eyebrow slightly but said nothing as he followed suit.
"Hey, there," Jack said, approaching the table as he stuffed his hands into his pockets in an attempt to look nonchalant. "It's Mike, right?"
"Um, yeah," Mike replied, looking slightly baffled as he set down his spoon. He glanced around him quickly as Jack slid into the seat across from him and Teal'c took his standard folded-arm guard position directly behind him. "Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson…Teal'c." Mike glanced uncertainly behind him at the Jaffa.
" 'Ello," Daniel replied with a short wave as he took the chair next to Jack.
Teal'c responded with a silent nod and a slight smile that didn't seem entirely friendly to Mike.
"You're, uh, not planning to eat that are you?" Jack asked, making a vague gesture toward the cup of blue jello.
"Well, I was," Mike responding slowly, his expression showing his increasing bewilderment. "Why?"
Jack glanced briefly over at Daniel with a look that said, "play along". "Well, it's just that Walter had the blue jello earlier, and he got really sick."
"Yeah," Daniel added slowly with a slight frown. "Very sick. He…well, Hammond almost sent him home."
"Really?" Mike asked in surprise, glancing between them before regarding his own cup of jello dubiously.
"Oh, yeah," Jack said confidently. "He was throwing up so much he could hardly stay out of the bathroom. And when he--"
Daniel gave Jack a sharp look that warned him he had gone far enough. "You get the picture," he said with a shrug.
"Yeah," Mike said, sitting back in his chair to critically regard the blue jello in front of him. Until he remembered Teal'c was directly behind him, after which he sat forward immediately.
"Well," Jack said, "just thought you should know." He gave Mike a friendly pat on the shoulder before heading back to the table they had left.
"Uh, nice talking to you," Daniel offered, before getting up and rushing after him.
Teal'c gave Mike another polite nod and followed at a slower pace.
"Think it'll work?" Daniel asked anxiously.
"Yeah, it'll work," Jack replied as they sat back down. "I give him ten seconds. Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…
Just as Jack reached "one" Mike got up from the table and, with a disdainful look at the cup of jello, pitched it into the trashcan before leaving.
Daniel sighed audibly in relief as Mike disappeared.
"It appears your mission was a success, O'Neill," Teal'c said, a hint of amusement gleaming in his eyes.
"Yep," Jack said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head contentedly. "Carter's blue jello is safe."
"Once again," Daniel said, the relief evident in his voice.
"Why do you insist on saving the blue jello for Major Carter?" Teal'c asked.
"Well, uh, it's Sam's thing," Daniel said haltingly.
"Yeah," Jack added. "Because Carter's…special. And so's the jello. Special," he said, somewhat losing momentum as he spoke. "In a good way," he added quickly.
At that moment, the object of their discussion entered the cafeteria. Pausing in front of the jello, she glanced briefly at the blue before picking up a container of red.
"What are you doing, Major?" Jack asked, expressing the thoughts of all three others.
"Eating jello, sir," Carter replied, raising an eyebrow as she sat down by them.
"Well, yeah, but that," Jack pointed at the container, "is red."
"Yes, sir," Carter replied tolerantly. "I am quite aware of the color, thanks."
Jack's frown deepened as she lifted a spoon of red jello toward her mouth.
"What?" she asked, stopping when she saw the strange looks all three were giving her.
"Well," Daniel volunteered, "You never get red. You always have blue jello."
Carter set down the spoon, a bit surprised at this. "Yes, well, I just got a memo about someone getting sick from the blue jello," she slowed, noting the change in their expressions to that of guilt. "Alright, what did you guys do this time?"
"Now, just remember, Carter, any lying or deception we might have been involved in was all for you," Jack began in their defense.