As she joined the group that had convened by the gate, Elizabeth was hit by a wave of uncharacteristic giddiness. After years of being the leader, the sensible one, she felt as though she was being freed from the restraints of the IOA and the responsibility that came with her job. Not that she would even change what she did for a living – being able to command and negotiate a project of this cultural and technological value was incredible, it was just that sometimes it could get a little frustrating that they were out there meeting new people and exploring whilst she was sat playing solitaire when she was supposed to be ploughing through paperwork.

At debrief, Meredith had not seemed overly enamoured by the fact that Elizabeth and John were joining Jonathan's team on the mission – arguing that they had not be involved in the early stages of communication and that it wasn't appropriate for him to be responsible for what were, in actual fact, Elizabeth's people, and at this point Jonathan had 'helpfully' pointed out the dispensability of Colonel Sheppard in this mission, earning him a well-aimed glare from Elizabeth. Putting all her tact and negotiating ability into use she had detailed the range of agreements that she and John had been able to achieve, despite the threat of the Wraith, and how important it was to have somebody there who could ensure they were able to ensure a fair deal, whilst not putting them off with a military persona. She soon had him convinced.

So, by 09:00, both she and John were equipped for the trip – she could never quite get over how strange it felt to hold a gun – and met Jonathan and his team at the gate. Without the inclusion of Teyla and Rodney, the team was far from the one that she was used to at home, and incited a rather poignant memory as she looked on the youthful excitement of Aiden Ford. On seeing him, she had immediately tried to measure John's reaction, but he had played it calmly – putting out his hand and greeting his old friend without a hint of the heartache that he had suffered. Beside Ford, stood Laura Cadman who was Lizzie's replacement while she was on maternity leave and Zelenka who seemed to assume the role that Rodney did for John's team.

When the wormhole stabilised, John put his hand on the small of her back and gently encouraged her as if he realised the nerves she was experiencing at 'going on a mission'. For his, it was probably almost as natural as breathing by now. On the other side, Elizabeth was charmed to see a quaint, stone little village. A quick overlook told her that their technological knowledge placed them at the stage of Earth in the seventeenth century – not quite at the stage of electrical generation, but developing means by which they could farm on an efficient scale, with fields filled with crops and animals which looked vaguely sheep-like, and materials which enabled them to live safely through changes in the weather.

'Hallo!' A man said, approaching.

As he reached them, he enveloped each of Jonathan's team in a hug, which left them looking rather uncomfortable before stopping at John and Elizabeth with a perplexed look on his face.

'You are new?' He asked.

At this point, Jonathan stepped forward.

'Yes this is Elizabeth Weir, who is going to help us along with our trade negotiations and this is Kirk; my brother.' He explained, with his mouth twitching slightly.

'Kirk! Elizabeth! Welcome to Gargreya. I am Toma. I'm sure the Guardian will much appreciate somebody of intelligence with whom he can negotiate. Come along.' He said, clapping his hands.

Elizabeth looked over to Jonathan who just grinned at her, obviously used to the perkiness of this gentleman who had greeted them. Given the way they had been greeted so appreciatively, Elizabeth was hopeful that a deal could be negotiated without to much tension between the two parties.

Toma led them into the largest stone building, and the only one with two levels. Above the door there was a symbol which looked much like one of the animals she had seen grazing in the field, and Elizabeth wondered if this was some sort of government building for the community. They were led inside to wait, whilst Toma called upon the Guardian to see if this was an 'appropriate time'.

'Given what we are prepared to offer them, I'd say this is an 'appropriate time'.' Jonathan muttered.

'Yes, I'm afraid you may have your work cut out with the Guardian.' Zelenka said, to Elizabeth.

'Does he have a name?' Elizabeth asked.

'The Guardian prefers to be addressed by his title.' Laura explained.

'And what is he like?'

'Arrogant, petulant, moody…' Jonathan began.

'How kind of you to invite me along.' Elizabeth said, curtly.

'I take it he's no threat, militarily?' John asked.

'We did a sweep of the place and they have knives, bow and arrows, but nothing that'll trouble us.' Jonathan said, tapping his gun.

At this point, Toma came through the large wooden doors, wringing his hands and looking rather nervous.

'The Guardian is ready to commence negotiations – I must warn you though, he is very temperamental this morning – you may prefer to postpone your negotiations…' Toma said, warily.

'We'll be fine – there's no way he can be as bad as last time.' Jonathan said, walking towards the doors.

'What happened last time?'

Elizabeth shouted after him, but Jonathan had already boldly stridden through the foreboding door and they had slammed resolutely behind him. With no other option, Elizabeth followed the rest of the team with no knowledge about how would be the best way of negotiating with the Guardian. It didn't escape her notice that Jonathan had arrogantly expected her to get them a good deal without informing her about the man she would be deal with.

Inside the room, Elizabeth had been given the chair directly opposite the Guardian, who was immediately commanding in his posture; relaxed, yet comfortably aware of the control he conducted in the room. Seeing this, Elizabeth decided the best way to secure what they wanted would be to stroke his ego and make it look as though they were almost on a begging mission, knowing that he would revel in the feeling of power it would give him.

Elizabeth looked round at the team to check they were ready to commence and finally turned to Jonathan as he was the leader of this mission. It seemed that securing a trade agreement was not particularly high on his list of priorities though, given the way he was smiling at the rather attractive woman sat on the left of the Guardian, who was coyly returning his appreciation with a smile. Feeling a wave of irritation, Elizabeth struck her foot out to kick his leg. Wincing slightly, he gave smirked to himself, but did at least manage to tear his eyes away.

'Thank you for accommodating us here today, I appreciate that you must be an incredibly busy man. I'm Doctor Weir and I will be leading the negotiations between our two teams today.' Elizabeth said, with a winning smile.

'It's good to meet you. As part of our governmental procedure, I require you to sign this scribe that my wife will bring to you.' The Guardian said.

The lady next to the Guardian rose, and given that she was at least twenty years younger than the Guardian, Elizabeth tried not to show her shock as the scribe was laid down in front of her. She looked over the agreement which basically prevented her from speaking of the agreement with other planets or all trade agreements would be ended, and signed the form. Although she would have to inform Earth of the agreement in her mission report, she hardly thought this counted given that it was in another universe.

As she had expected, the negotiations were tedious and certainly not helped by Jonathan's constant stream of sarcastic mutters. After the first hour had passed, the Guardian insisted they take a break and she had rounded on Jonathan the second the team was alone in the room. His defence – that the Guardian was being obnoxious and making things as difficult as possible – was actually true, but, as she had pointed out to him, he had absolutely no right to criticise the Guardian for it when he was acting in exactly the same way. Realising that he wasn't going to win this argument, Jonathan soon returned to his chair with a sulky expression on his face.

Returning to her own chair, Elizabeth wondered if she'd be so hard on John and the honest answer was that she probably wouldn't. But then again, John would never act so ridiculously. It was undeniable though; there was something about Jonathan that really riled her.

Over the course of the day, which was creeping ever closer to evening, Elizabeth was satisfied to assume the position of control in the room and begin to start securing some trade agreements with the Guardian who seemed to detest and admire her in equal measures. Despite his efforts to push Elizabeth into an unreasonable concession, which caused Jonathan to resume his flow of sarcasm, she stood firmly and the Guardian reluctantly backed down and accepted her terms. It was easier than she had expected and the satisfaction she took from the power she had over him worried her a little, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that she was just doing her job.

During their latest break, she found herself alone with John as the others left for the restroom.

'Dr Weir, who knew you were such a tough cookie?' He said with a smile.

'I didn't expect it to be so easy.' She admitted.

'You're doing great. Hopefully we might actually get out of here before tomorrow.'

'We're nearly finished here; you're welcome to make your way back.'

'I said I'd take care of you.' He said sincerely.

Elizabeth felt a blush rise to her cheeks, 'I'm sure Jonathan won't let any harm come to his star negotiator.'

'Still. I think he's a little preoccupied with the Guardian's wife at the moment.'

'Yes. He's not exactly subtle, is he?'

'I wonder what they call her. Mrs Guardian? Queen Guardian? Guardian-ess?'

Elizabeth chuckled slightly and looked up at the door to see Jonathan returning with his usual self-satisfied smirk. Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth turned to resume her conversation with John. She really wasn't in the mood for battling Jonathan as well as the Guardian. Gradually, the rest of the team returned to join them and Elizabeth began to grow anxious as the Guardian still hadn't returned. Prior to this break, he had always been incredibly punctual in returning. Just as Elizabeth was about to voice her concerns to Jonathan, the room was filled with the sound of a crash and Elizabeth was missed by the falling door by millimetres.

With a feeling of genuine feeling of panic, Elizabeth looked up at the doorway, her eyes wide with fear. Marching into the room were several men wearing what looked like armour and holding bows and arrows. Instinctively, the rest of the team were holding their guns, and Elizabeth fumbled for her own and held it up, no idea whether it was even loaded. The Guardian's imposing demeanour filled the doorway, his eyes burning into Jonathan.

'You have pursued my wife and for this you shall be punished.' He said coldly.

'What? Me? I think you'll find that it takes two to tango – or kiss in this case.'

Elizabeth was suddenly hit by a wave of inspiration, which may or may not work, but she was going to have to give it a shot and maybe have some fun doing it. Returning her gun, she turned and slapped Jonathan across the face.

'How could you? We are going to be married and this is how you treat me?' She said, trying to look hurt.

'Wha-?' Jonathan said, looking confused.

'You told me you loved me,' she said, pummelling his chest, 'How could you? I am going to kill you. I hate you.'

From the corner of her eye, she saw that the guards were so entertained by the spectacle before them that the weapons in their hands had mindlessly dropped slightly. This was their chance.

'Run!' She shouted.

Pulling away from the room, she kneed the Guardian in the balls as she dashed out of the room, pulling her gun out again. As she had expected, all the guards in the hallways had been designated to terrify them so she was able to get away without prevention. Although she didn't have time to look back, the footstep behind her told her that the team had listened and were following her to the gate. Hopefully, they could make it away without being caught. And they had been so close to clinching the deal. She'd reprimand Jonathan when they were back in the city.

Thankfully, based on the way she was panting, the gate was only a short distance from the village and she dialled the gate and entered the temporary IDC she had been given. Once on the other side, all she could do was wait. Immediately after her were the two Johns, and shortly after they were joined by the rest of the team much to her relief. Her plan had been a gamble, but it had paid off.

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update, I've had exams and then went on holiday.