Chapter 2
Isaac was last out of the door after class. After his speech, which he had to admit he thought he'd done a damn good job at, Dr. Bower had assigned him a seat on the very front row. It made him wonder if all doctors were power mongers. With Frasier it had always been sit, eyes open, mouth open, and usually followed by a shot. God, he missed her. He'd definitely take her over Bower. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of his old friends, of Jack's friends, and headed down the hall. That was the only class he was taking. His frequent trips to Area-51 didn't leave any time for more classes. Now he was off to the gym. He heard the click clack of shoes on tile coming up rapidly behind him.
"Isaac O'Neill?" Questioned the sweet voice from behind him.
He stopped and frowned. Please, don't be the redhead. He had gone through high school, going on dates only a few times. It always felt really weird being attracted to anyone so much younger than him, even if it was only in spirit. So he hadn't pursued dating much, but he couldn't deny it was at times a boring, lonely life. He'd been forced to leave everyone close to him behind in Cheyenne Mountain, and the void had not been filled. Still, dating a woman in her 20's surely couldn't be as weird as dating a high school girl. Slow down, you don't even know who's talking to you, and she's just asking your name.
"Yeah, that's me," he said, turning around. He gave her a smile. Of course, it was her, and he found himself grateful.
She returned his smile and reached up to tuck a straying red curl behind her ear. "Hi, sorry. I was in the "Advanced Battlefield Medicine" class. That was a good speech. Sorry that you had to go through that."
"Yeah, well I've got some experience having to make stuff up off the top of my head." He gave a roguish grin. "I've had worse." Quick flashes of Sokar's hell and Ba'al's torture chamber flashed through his mind. Maybe those things hadn't really happened to him, but his memories of them couldn't be any more real.
She nodded. "Yeah, I bet. You must be first or second class? Which I must admit is odd, since I've never seen you here before."
Isaac glanced at her uneasily. Did she know something? "What makes you say that?"
She tapped her nails on the black helmet tucked under his arm. "Third and fourth class cadets aren't allowed vehicles. So, that means you're either first or second class, or," she arched an eyebrow and gave a slight smile, "you're breaking the rules."
He chuckled. He liked her. "Perceptive."
She blushed. "So which is it?"
"It's classified," he replied nonchalantly, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.
"Ah," she replied with a mischievous smile, "looks like we have something in common then. Listen I want to talk to you, but I've got class now. Some of us are going to Arnold Hall tonight for movies. You want to come by for a few minutes?"
Watching a movie with junior cadets, he had to admit it didn't sound that appealing. He realized his hesitancy was obviously apparent on his face when she looked away nervously. He felt a little ashamed. "Maybe I could come by. For a few minutes anyway."
She glanced at him. "You're related to Jack O'Neill aren't you?" She asked uncertainly, studying his face curiously. "That's all I wanted, really. Listen, I've got to go. Come by if you want. I'd like it if you did." She gave a curt wave and turned her back to head down the hall.
He let out a heavy sigh as he watched her walk away. " Seven o'clock?" He called after her.
She stopped, turned, and smiled. She gave him a small nod and vanished around the corner.
He stood there for a few moments considering her offer. He had to go and find out what she knew about him, if anything. Maybe a movie would be relaxing, in the company of an attractive woman no less. All he did was study up on classified material the Air Force sent him to prepare for his upcoming assignment. That's why he'd taken this class, to do something useful with all his free time. He could use a relaxing break, especially since he still couldn't buy beer for another three months.