Jack eagerly waited for the plane to land, as he couldn't wait to get to the SGC. Daniel had finally returned home, and he had been sent to discuss the new alien at the base, who claimed to have a tablet for Daniel to translate. She'd been there for several months, driving everyone insane, according to General Landry. Apparently she knew Daniel, and had been kept at the base until his return. Now Jack and Daniel were to interrogate her and find out what she knew, or didn't know.
Entering Daniel's lab, he could almost believe that the past year or so, never happened. The shelves and desk were littered with books, documents and bits of scrap paper with a few words scribbled on them.
"Jack!"
"Hey Daniel."
"You got here fast!"
"I came as soon as I could. Well, that's not true. I came as soon as I received the order to do so."
"Oh."
"We did know you were coming 3 weeks ago. Plenty of time to get here."
Jack grinned at Daniel as the two men embraced.
"So you had 3 weeks to plan and you're still late?" Jack knew Daniel was only joking.
"You've only been back, what, 2 hrs and your office is already a mess."
"I don't think I cleaned up before I left. Just trying to check all my mail. You guys changed the emails, and I can't access the old account."
"Yeah, done a year or two back. Had some problems with security so those that know of such things suggested the entire base get new emails."
"Any way of accessing the old ones?"
"Probably. Ask Landry."
"So, anything new here?"
"Nope. Not really."
"Why are you here?"
"I was sent to say hello."
"Jack."
"Daniel."
"There's another reason you're here."
"Ah, yes. The other shoe."
"Daniel." This time the voice wasn't Jacks. It was silky smooth and definitely female. Daniel turned towards the door not wanting his eyes to confirm what his mind thought.
"Vala?" Damn.
"Who else were you expecting?"
"Anyone else. What are you doing here?"
"I came here looking for you, only you weren't here."
"When was this?"
"About 6 months ago." Jack had met Vala before and wanted to laugh at Daniel's reaction. It was a mixture of hatred and impatience.
"I came to get your help on a translation I need. These fine people offered to let me go back to another planet, but without my tablet, so I stayed."
"Why did you stay?"
"In a little room. Don't worry, they let me out sometimes to frolic."
"Not where, why?"
"I wanted to see you Daniel. I tried telling them I was pregnant to get you back here faster, but obviously it didn't work."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack as Vala sent him a huge smile. Jack was now curious to why Daniel was acting this way towards her. He was usually chivalrous and courteous to all women, and to see him treating her like a small child was unique.
"Fine, I'll look at the translation later."
"You'll need my help too."
"Why?"
"It's in code."
"Yeah, so."
"I have the cipher."
"Of course you do."
Her response was to smile brilliantly at him again.
"I know where to find you when I need you."
The airman escorted her out of the office as Daniel sat down, and put his head in his hands.
"Old friend?"
"Funny Jack. Remember that time I was on Prometheus?"
"When you were hijacked?"
"Yes. That was her."
"Her?"
"Don't say anything. It was several years ago."
"Uh huh."
Daniel returned to his computer and continued checking his email. Jack left to go see Landry for a few minutes, seeing as Daniel would be occupied with his hundreds of unread emails. At the office, Landry waved him in.
"Jack. I hear Daniel met our newest guest."
"Yeah. So what have you got for me today?"
"Ba'al's Jaffa have been spotted all over the place. They're growing in numbers, but haven't yet claimed a home world."
"Great. Any other news on the other System Lords we haven't found yet?"
Ever since the replicators and System Lords were defeated, the SGC had been helping the Free Jaffa search for the rogue goa'uld. There were many minor system lords still out there, somewhere, but the biggest player was Ba'al. So far, they hadn't been able to trace him, just his Jaffa. Nothing violent yet, but Jack knew it was only a matter of time.
"SG-3 found signs of recent activity on P1K 6S2."
"What kind of activity?''
"Surya."
"Isn't that the one who..."
"Yes. He's risen quickly as we feared. He's been planet hopping, collecting Jaffa without a god and claiming them as his own. As far as we are aware, he doesn't have a home planet yet, but the Tok'ra are still looking."
The two men discussed the recent missions and findings. Jack, while he had read most of the reports, found the information stuck in his head a little longer if he could chat with someone about it. As the two men wrapped up their discussion General Landry gave Jack a folder.
"What's this?"
"It's a request."
"For?"
"We're going to need some assistance with the gas we've been working on."
"The one that kills goa'uld?"
"Yes."
"Why can't the Tok'ra help?"
"We haven't had chance to ask them, and we haven't heard from any of them for a long time."
"What about Area 51?"
"They couldn't get it right either."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Remember that company that tested the new fuel for us?"
"Yeah."
"I'm suggesting we bring them in on this."
"Hank, that's a huge risk."
"I know but we're running out of options."
"I'll pass it along."
"Thanks Jack."
"Oh, one more thing, Daniel was asking about his old email address."
"We had the emails forwarded to his new account."
"Ah."
Jack left his old office and wandered back to Daniel's office, to find him still pouring over his emails.
"I've got some old emails here. They sent the ones to my old address here."
"Yeah, just asked Landry about it."
"Got a few from Sam."
"Oh?"
"One a few months ago, just a short one."
"Ah." Jack started fiddling with several objects on the desk, not really wanting to hear how she was doing.
"Said she's not with Pete anymore."
"Really?" Jack was surprised but tried not to show it. When had this happened, before or after he had run into her?
"Yeah, over a year ago. Are you still acting like she doesn't exist?"
"Daniel, drop it."
"Jack."
"Daniel."
"She was your friend. Aren't you at least a little curious how she's doing?"
Jack told Daniel of his encounter several weeks ago, in a few short sentences. When he was done, Daniel stared at him in shock.
"She thought I was dead, Daniel."
"It's like you have been though. You haven't spoken to her since she left. Why?"
"You know the reasons."
"But they no longer exist."
"Doesn't change much right now."
"C'mon Jack. We all know how you felt about her, so why don't you just..."
"Stop Daniel. I know what I should just do and I don't want to, not anymore. I've moved on, I'm a different guy now."
"That's a pretty stupid way of looking at this."
"Oh, and you're the expert?"
"Jack, all I'm saying is that she's probably in need of a friend."
"No Daniel. I walked that road once, not going to do it again."
"Fine, but I replied to her message."
"Good for you. Now how about some lunch?"
Daniel shrugged off the change in subject and followed Jack to the commissary.
Sam dropped her purse on the table by the door, relieved to be home. It had been one hell of a day. The lab next to her had started a small fire and the sprinklers had kicked in, and everyone had evacuated. Once the fire department had declared the building safe, she had entered her lab to find everything waterlogged. All her notes, her laptop and the tests she had been working on were all ruined. Scott and Vikki had helped her clean the mess up, but she would have to start anew the next morning. As she walked past the computer she turned it on, and went into the kitchen to start dinner.
Dinner finished, and the dishes cleaned up, she grabbed her glass of wine and sat down in front of her computer. She rarely checked her personal email anymore as no one used it. If Mark wanted to get hold of her, he'd call, as would most of her friends. All emails for work went to her address at the lab, and she never had any interest in the junk that was sent to her personal account. She skimmed through the messages that had accumulated in the past week since she'd last checked it, fully expecting to get to the end, and click on delete all. A name jumped out at her. There was an email from Dr. D. Jackson.
She opened the message, curious as to what it could say.
Sam:
It's great to hear from you! Sorry it's been so long but I've been 'away', and have only been back for several hours.
Where are you living now? Still in Trenton? Where are you working?
It's been so long since I've talked to you that if I keep going this email will be longer than a novel.
If you're up for a visit, let me know, and I'll stop by.
Gotta go, think I hear Jack returning.
Daniel
Sam read and reread the email. In her reply she included her phone number and asked him to call. She would love to get together with him as it had been a long time since she'd seen or heard from him. Turning off the computer she mused over his 'trip'. She assumed he had finally been able to go to Atlantis, and smiled when she remembered the attempts he had made previously to go. Sam turned on the TV and relaxed before going to bed early, as she expected a long day tomorrow.
When she arrived at her lab, she found Vikki and Scott waiting for her. The lab had been cleaned completely by the cleaning staff that came in at night. She smiled at both and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Hi Sam. How was your evening?"
"Good. So any ideas on where to start?"
"I dunno, but there was a guy here looking for you."
"For me? Who?"
"Didn't leave a name, just said he'd be back."
"Great. Well, I suggest that we check our notes and see if we're missing anything. I don't want to start new tests without all the information."
"Ok. You need anything from your office?"
Yeah, I'll go grab it. You two stay here."
Sam left the lab and took the stairs up one floor to her office. It was a tiny space with a desk, computer, filing cabinet and shelving unit. The door was ajar and she opened the door cautiously, as it was supposed to be kept locked, unless she, or one of her team, was in there.
"Hi Sam."
"Daniel!"
"Long time, no see."
Daniel stood up as Sam dashed to hug him.
"You're looking great Sam."
"You too. How have you been keeping?"
"Good. Why are you here? Not that I'm not happy you aren't, but I thought when you mentioned visiting, you meant at home."
"I did. Then I was asked to come here."
"Why?"
"We need your help."
"With what?"
"First I need you to sign this."
Daniel slid a folder over the desk towards her. She picked it up, opened it, and immediately recognized the confidentiality agreement for civilian personnel at the SGC. Signing it immediately and handing it back to Daniel, she took a seat, indicating he do the same.
"So what's up?"
"We've run into a little problem with a gas."
"A gas?"
"The one that was developed to kill symbiotes."
"What kind of problem."
"We need to 'dilute' it."
"For what?"
"We don't want to kill thousands of Jaffa, and we want to question any goa'uld we capture."
"So you need it to knock them out for a while, not kill them."
"Yes."
"What about Area 51 or our allies?"
"They couldn't figure it out and we haven't heard much from our allies. Obviously we don't want the Free Jaffa trying to do anything with it, and we haven't heard from the Tok'ra in ages."
"But why me? I'm not a chemist!"
"You have some great people working with you, and you did work on another project for the SGC recently."
"The fuel. I knew it."
"Plus, the SGC needs to develop an efficient way to deliver the gas throughout the base evenly, and in weapon form, off world."
"Am I going to have to move?"
"Not if you don't want to. You can stay here while you figure out how to dilute it, but if you choose to take part in the delivery method, you'll have to go to the SGC."
"I'm not sure about that Daniel."
"Don't even think about it yet. It could be a ways off."
"What about the project I'm currently working on?"
"The supervisor I talked to earlier mentioned there'd been a fire yesterday and you had lost some of your work."
"Yes."
"He's going to reassign that project to another group."
"Do I get to pick my own team?"
"Yes, but they all have to sign the confidentiality agreement. The only request is that you keep your team to a minimum."
"No problem. I've got two I work with now and they're the ones I'd pick for this."
"Good. Got any plans for lunch?"
"I hope so."
"What about work?"
"I don't have any project on the go right now." Sam gave him a cheeky grin which he returned.
"Ok, but it's still too early for lunch."
"I'll just go ask Vikki and Scott to get their notes together for the next team. They can do that without me. I'm owed several days, so no one will fuss if I take today off."
"Sounds like a plan."
Daniel followed Sam in his rental car, back to her place. She'd insisted on going home to change before going anywhere. Daniel browsed the pictures on her wall as she changed, recognizing many of them. There were many pictures that had been taken while she was at the SGC. He saw Cassie, Janet, Teal'c, himself and Jack. Looking at one frame with several spots for pictures, he couldn't help but notice that the only ones with Jack in them, were ones with the entire team. He saw one of him and Janet sitting together at one of Cassie's early birthday parties, several of Teal'c and Cassie, and a few pictures with one of them at an unsuspecting moment. It was obvious that the only reason Jack was in any of the pictures, was that there was no way she could've removed him from them without ruining the picture, and even those were few and far between.
"Done."
"Sorry, just looking at some pictures."
"Back in the good ol'days eh?"
"Yeah."
"It's still early for lunch, any suggestions on where you would like to go?"
"As long as they serve coffee, anywhere is good."
" I know a great little place, and they won't mind if we're there for a while."
"Your car or mine?"
"Mine, I know the area."
Sam took Daniel to a cozy, yet fairly busy, restaurant. When they entered, the woman greeted Sam as a friend and Sam indicated a booth towards the back, with few other tables around. That way they could discuss business without too much concern of being overheard. When the waitress brought them their drinks, Sam's questions began. She asked about his trip to Atlantis, but he couldn't tell her everything, as she hadn't been given complete clearance. She understood, and didn't push him for details when he said he couldn't elaborate. He told her about Vala, and how she was driving him crazy. He'd been back around a month, and this woman had been continually on his case about a translation she needed. As he was busy catching up on everything he had missed when he was away, he hadn't had much time to do any translating. He admitted to Sam, that had anyone but Vala brought him the tablet, he would've gladly jumped right in, but there was something about her that made him put if off.
After they had finished their lunch, Sam got the the question that had been bugging her since she'd seen the confidentiality agreement.
"Daniel, why did they send you to talk to me?"
"You wanted someone else?"
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad they sent you, but I would've thought they'd send some Air Force personnel down. This is more up Davis's alley than yours."
"He was supposed to come and brief you, but I asked to come instead."
"Was it General Landry?" Daniel had told her of the changes at the base, the new General, and CMO.
"No, another General though."
"Oh. You know who?"
"Oh yes, I know him well. As do you."
"General O'Neill." She couldn't hide the sigh that came out with the words.
"Yes. He mentioned it to me, and I asked if I could do it."
"I'm glad you did."
"Me too."
"Will I be seeing much of you guys now?"
"Probably not right away, not unless you agree to participate in the second phase."
"Ok."
"Why did you ask? Not wanting to see some of your old co-workers?"
"It's not that, I just don't want to see how things have changed."
"At the base, or with a certain someone?"
"In general, you know."
At that time, one of the waiters came over to chat with Sam. Daniel escaped to the bathroom to give them some time to chat. He took as long as he could, and returned to them still talking. The man excused himself as Daniel sat down.
"Who was that?"
"A friend."
"Just a friend?"
"Yes, just a friend. Don't read anything into it."
"Is there anyone..."
"No. There hasn't been since Pete."
"What happened with Pete, if you don't mind me asking?"
Sam told him some of what had happened in a few short sentences, her voice absent of any emotion. Daniel felt terrible for asking and apologized to her.
"Don't worry about it. I don't talk about it at work, or to anyone, really."
"Are you okay though?"
"Yes."
"So you're against men now?"
"I wouldn't say against men. Just much more cautious."
"What about old friends?"
"What are you getting at Daniel?"
"I'm talking about Jack. He mentioned he'd run into you."
"He did, did he."
"Yes. He told me you thought he was dead. Why?"
"It was silly really. I misread a stamp on a letter returned to me. Besides it was like he was dead. I haven't heard from him in years."
"We tried to get him to come visit but he always had some excuse."
"It was probably for the best. I'm surprised he mentioned the encounter, as he seemed in such a hurry to leave."
"You know Jack. Situations like those and he runs."
"Situations like those! Two old friends running into each other and he runs away! At least I know where I stand with him now."
Daniel swore to himself. He hadn't intended for Sam to get upset, just find out what she was thinking. He tried backtracking and apologizing.
"Sam, I didn't mean it like that. You know how he felt towards you."
"Then why didn't he say anything?"
"Regulations."
"He didn't say anything, so I thought I'd made the whole thing up. If he had just said something, maybe our lives would be different."
"I think he realises that now."
"Too late for that. I'm not interested anymore."
"In him, or in relationships generally."
"Either or, take your pick."
"So if you end up working together?"
"Strictly professional."
"As long as we can get along."
Sam changed the subject to a more pleasant topic and they finished their day without mentioning Jack or Pete again. Daniel informed Sam that she couldn't talk to Vikki or Scott until their background checks had been done. Before he got into his car, Sam gave him a parting hug, thanking him for coming. Going back into her apartment, she sank into her couch. Did she really want to go back to the SGC? It didn't need an answer right now, but someday, she would have to make a decision.
AN: Thanks for the reviews so far, and I'm glad you are enjoying this story. The ones I recieved for the last chapter got me all abuzz to write and post this one. This was origionally supposed to be two chapters but I felt it time for a longer one. Let me know what you think. :-)