It's lunch time and Logan's no where to be found. He's made it habit of joining us for lunch and this is the first time he hasn't shown up. It's been nice to chat with him and to have the extra hand. But I manage to get everyone their lunch all right and we're halfway through eating when he shows up.

"Hey." He says, sitting across from me.

"Hay is for horses." I reply.

"Sorry for not joining you right away, I was-"

"Busy." I say finishing his sentence for him. Everyone around here has been busy lately; Marc has been picking up Maria later and later in the evening, the other parents look like they're constantly short of sleep, poker night keeps getting cancelled, and I haven't seen Lydia or Crysta in what feels like ages. "What's going on?" I ask, hoping to get an inkling.

"What do you mean?" Logan replies, a bit too casual for my tastes.

I just look at him and say, "You know what I mean. Everyone's walking around here like they're suddenly short on sleep and incredibly short tempered." Yesterday I walked past Rodney and another scientist and he was yelling something fierce and she looked equally pissed. Even Elizabeth has looked worn out when she's picked up Patrick and Kelly. If she's like that then I know that something must be going on. "Something's up."

"Well yea, the IOA has been stepping up the heat on us lately and I guess that it's just getting to people."

"If that was true then I'd be feeling the heat as well. I continually have to justify my presence here and so far it's stayed a high 90 instead of the 120 you say it is."

Logan opens his mouth to reply when a number of Airmen come through the doors of the cafeteria and say, "Mail Call!" Huh, the Daedalus must have arrived either late last night or early this morning. Everyone's head swivels towards the airmen and there's almost a stampede as people rush towards them and I smile. I wonder if there's anything for me this time. Last time mom had sent my costume and forgot to send everything else. Logan turns back towards me and I say, "Saved by the mail?"

He just glares at me and leaves.

I'd love to get up and join the crush of people mobbing the poor airmen but since I have the kids I can't. They're all but finished with their lunches so I get them cleaned up and we head back to the room. I set Stuart to some work and sit down. The others are playing quietly and it stays that way for an hour or so. Kelly, Maria, and Jamie had just fallen asleep when there's a chime at the door. I'm not even halfway to the door when it chimes again. Ok now I'm pissed, they're gonna wake the kids and when that happens they're not happy campers. I open the door and my mouth to yell at them when I see that it's an airman. I shut my mouth and force a smile. It's not his fault; he's just doing his job. "Yes?" I ask.

He holds out a package and says, "Mail ma'am." I take the box and he bends down to pick up another one.

"How many are there?" I ask, slightly astonished.

"Just these two ma'am." He says.

Oh, but what's in 'em? I wonder. "Just set it down here." I say, moving back a bit. He nods his head, enters, and sets the box down.

"Ma'am." He says, nodding his head and exiting the room.

"What's in them?" Jason asks.

"I don't know." I say. "They just came today." I'm slightly disappointed because there weren't any letters and the boxes had 'official use' stamped on it. But hey, it's better than nothing.

"Are you gonna open 'em?"

"Them. It's 'are you going to open them.'" I say correcting Jason's grammar. It never huts to start early teaching them.

He scowls but says, "Are you going to open them?"

"No not yet."

"When?"

"Later."

"When is it going to be later?"

"When it's not now." I can't help but smile. I'm re-enacting a classic scene from 'Spaceballs'.

"Oh." Jason says, looking crest fallen.

"Don't worry, you'll see what's in the boxes soon enough." Jason looks somewhat happier and I suggest that he go play with Patrick.

The rest of the day continues quietly and soon it's time for the kids to be picked up. Five minutes pass and no one's shown up yet. Ten minutes pass and they still haven't shown up. Just as I'm about to call Elizabeth and ask what's going on, I hear a 'Max are you there? It's Elizabeth.'

"I'm here. What's up?" I ask, moving towards the balcony and talking in a soft tone. I don't want Kelly and Patrick to know that I'm talking to their mom.

"Something's come up and we need you to look after the kids tonight."

"Anything I should be worried about?" I ask, fishing around to find out what's been going on.

She pauses before answering and I swear I hear someone in the back ground say, 'Replicators.'

"No. I'll have someone drop off the kids' overnight stuff."

"Ok, we'll all bunk down at my place."

"Alright." There was a slight click telling me that Elizabeth had cut the connection and I sigh. I might not have the highest clearance out of everyone here, but what am I going to say when I tell the kids that their parents can't pick them up tonight? Replicators? What the hell are Replicators? I must have gotten lost in thought because the next thing I know Jamie's pulling on my pant leg. I look down, smile, and ask, "Yes Jamie?"

She looks at me with her chocolate eyes and says, "When's mommy and daddy gonna come?"

"Yea," Jason says, looking at me. "When's dad gonna show up? I'm hungry." By this time the others are paying attention to me.

I smile at the last part, kneel down and say, "Well they're busy. You ever have a sleepover?" Jamie shakes her head no, as does everyone else.

I put on a smile and say in a fake happy voice, "Well we're gonna have one."

It's silent for a bit as the news sinks in, then the tears start. Well at least for the girls. They boys just take the news and seem truly excited about the sleepover. I quickly calm the girls by saying that we're gonna have fun; I can ask Alex if she could make us a pizza and we can watch a few movies and maybe play a few games. That seems to quiet them and they go back to working on a puzzle. I activate my headset and say, "Alex you there?"

There's a crash and cursing. Lots of cursing.

"Yea I'm here. What do you want?" I hear Alex snap.

I'm taken aback for a few seconds. Usually Alex isn't like that towards me, she only saves that for Rodney and a guy named Kavanaugh. "Uh, I have to look after the kids tonight and as was wondering if you could make us some pizzas." I say. There's a pause and I quickly add, "But if you're too busy we can just have whatever you're serving."

"Sure I can make some pizzas for you guys. What'll it be?"

"I don't know; let me ask." I say looking towards the kids. They seem like a plain cheese and pepperoni crowd to me, but you never know. "What do you guys want on your pizzas?" I ask them.

"Cheese!"

"Sausage!"

"Pepperoni!"

"Pineapples!"

Pineapples? I think, raising an eyebrow. That suggestion had come from Jason, so I guess I have John to thank for that one. "How about Cheese for one and half-sausage half-pepperoni for the other?" I suggest, hoping to please everyone. They agree to that and I relay the order to Alex. "Is that alright?" I ask, still on edge from earlier.

"Can do doll. Where do you want it delivered?"

"You deliver?"

"Yup. Anywhere in the Pegasus Galaxy in 30 minutes or less or it's free. So where to?"

"How about in the lounge? I figured we can do the whole 'pizza and movie' thing."

"Ok, they should be ready in an hour or so."

"I thought it was 30 minutes or less."

"You can't rush art."

"Should I tip the delivery boy?"

"Depends on what the tip is."

"Alex!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist."

I smile and laugh a bit. Now this is like the Alex I know. "Thanks Alex. You're a gem, you know that?"

"Actually I do, but thanks for telling me. I'm sorry I snapped at you when you first called. There're a lot of things going on lately."

"Don't I know it." I think while saying, "That's ok." I cut the connection and say, "The pizzas should be ready in an hour or so. What do you want to do until then?"

"Operation!"

"Play-Doh!"

"Chutes and Ladders!"

Before I can suggest something that everyone will agree on there's a chime at the door. Must be whoever with the kids' stuff. I walk over to the door and open it. It's Logan. "What are you doing here?" I ask, slightly surprised.

He holds up a number of duffel bags and says, "Got stuck with collection duty." He holds the bags out to me, looking annoyed. Like he had something more important to do. Or maybe he just hates kids. Or both. "Here, take 'em."

Gee, don't I feel so loved? I take the bags and casting a glance back to make sure the kids aren't watching, and step out into the hallway. "What's going on?" I ask in a hushed voice.

Logan gives me a confused look and says, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on; I'm not blind. Everyone looks like they haven't slept in a month, Marc keeps picking up Maria later and later until she almost spends the night at my place. If something's going on that could put me and the children in danger than I need to know what it is so I can protect them from it."

Logan just gives me a look that tells me more than him not saying anything. So something is up. And it somehow involves the Wraith. But what is it?

"Have you considered the fact that no one's told you anything maybe because there isn't anything to tell you? Like I said before the IOA has been putting a lot of pressure on us to give them reason's why they should continue to give us the same amount of funding."

I glare at Logan and say, "Fine, don't tell me. But when one of their kids gets killed, you get to tell the parents that you couldn't be bothered to tell their teacher what was going on so she could find a way to protect them."

Logan glares at me then turns around and walks down the hallway. I watch him walk away and only after he turns the corner and disappears do I close my eyes and sigh. If I'm supposed to be a "vital member" of the expedition then why am I left out of the loop of something important? Something that could possibly result in lives being lost. Talk about trust issues. Taking a deep breath, I plaster on a smile and go back inside. "Why don't we figure out what to do before the pizza is ready and then we can drop your stuff off at my place? Sound good?" I say. They agree so I set the bags down and sit down on the floor saying, "Ok what do you want to do?" A flurry of suggestions come my way; Operation, Candyland, read 'The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales', Memory, get out the Gak and Floam. I stand, an idea suddenly coming to me and say, "How about 'Monopoly Junior?'" I dig around the board game pile looking for it. Where is it, damn it? I know that I brought it with me. Ah, there it is. It's slightly smushed but all the pieces are still there. They look at the box for a bit, then each other, and finally agree.

"Ok," I say, setting the box on a table and going over to my desk. "get your stuff and we'll head over to my place and then the lounge." They comply and are ready before me since all they have to do is pick up their bags and I have to put all my papers and laptop into my backpack. But I'm soon set and in no time we're walking down the hallways. As we do I can't help but notice how serious everyone is. And that there are a lot more soldiers around and that they're heavily armed (more so than usual). But these facts seem to be lost on the kids and that's fine with me; fewer awkward questions for me to answer. I press the crystal, the door to my room opens and we go in. Turning on the lights I tell the kids to set their stuff down by the couch and to take turns washing their hands (They've been playing with Play-Doh all day). As they do, I set my backpack down and walk back out into the entryway. I see something on the floor and notice that it's mail. Must have come from today's mail call and they didn't think to send it with the boxes. I pick the envelopes up and quickly flip through them as I walk back towards my bedroom. There are a few from Mom and Dad, a couple from Tori and Hugh, one from Missy, but none from Dave. I sigh at the lack of mail from my boyfriend. I haven't gotten a letter from him since I arrived. Oh well, he must be too busy to write. Christmas is only two months away and Elizabeth's promise of letting me go back home for the holiday is still out there, so I can catch up with Dave then. I enter the bedroom and set the mail on my nightstand. I can look at it later when the kids are asleep. They've finished washing up by now and I enter the bathroom and stop in the doorway. "What the frell?" I ask, stunned at the sight. There's water and soap everywhere, towels on the floor, on the sink, and on the rim of the tub but not on the rack like they're supposed to be. I sigh, there could only be two people, kids actually, who are capable of something like this. "Jason, Patrick," I call out. "Come here please." They do and I ask, "Did you do this?"

"No?" Jason says, giving me a smile.

Oy, the boy is so much like his father. He'll be a ladies man for sure when he grows up. "Haha, very funny." I say, without laughing. "Now go clean it up."

"But-"

"Or do I have to talk to your dad and mom about this?" Patrick snorts and I look at him and say, "That goes for you as well, Patrick." They suddenly find the "inspiration" to clean up right away. Once that's done, there's only fifteen minutes until the pizzas are done so I open up my DVD case and leaf through the movies that would be 'kid appropriate'. Hmm, let's see; 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'? Definitely not. 'Doctor Who'. Nope. 'Princess Bride'? Maybe, although they might not get some of it. 'Firefly/Serenity'? No and No. 'Dark Angel', 'Lone Gunman', 'Van Helsing', 'Casablanca', 'Torchwood', 'Queen of the Damned', 'Chronicles of Riddick'? No, No, No, No, No, No, and No. Agh; why didn't I bring any of my kid movies? I'm gonna make a list of the movies I need if there are going to be more nights like these. 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'? Another maybe. I end up choosing 'Princess Bride' and 'Hitchhikers'; a princess story for the girls and a space adventure for the boys. Well that and those are the only two movies that are really age appropriate (somewhat). I then gather the kids (which feels like rounding up horses or herding sheep at times) and we tromp on over to the lounge where we settle down. "How about 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'?" I suggest. We have the entire room to ourselves (obviously) and the boys are currently trying to play foosball but since they're to short it's not really working.

"Did someone order a pizza?" Someone says.

I turn around and see that it's Mick, who's carrying the pizzas; one in each arm.

"Thanks." I say as he sets them down on a nearby table.

"No problem sweetheart." He says, flashing me his trademark smile. "Anything else you kids need?"

I think and almost hit myself when I realize what I forgot to get. "Drinks." I say, sheepishly.

Mick just smiles and says, "Don't worry, Mick'll get them for you. What'll it be?"

"Soda!" they call out almost together.

Mick just looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I shake my head and say, "Milk and an iced tea."

"Right-o. Be back in a jiff." Mick then exits the room and I let the kids play until he comes back with the drinks as well as plates, napkins, and silverware (although I don't know that we're gonna actually use them. Well ok, maybe to cut the slices up).

"You're a lifesaver." I say as he hands me the stuff.

"I know. Now about that tip…" he says trailing off and smiling.

I just roll my eyes and say, "How about an IOU? And tell Alex that I'm not like that, I was just having a bad few days."

"Un-huh, sure you were sugar." Mick says in a tone that told me that he didn't believe me. But he just leaves it at that and exits the room. As he leaves I can't help but smile, the man is such a flirt. By this time I'm having trouble keeping the kids from hovering around the food like vultures so ask who wants what. They mostly want the cheese so that's quickly demolished, leaving the half and half for me. After sitting them down, cutting up the pizza for the ones who want it, getting them silverware, handing them their drinks, arming them with a mound of napkins, turning on the player, putting in the DVD, and closing the drive I'm finally able to pick up a few slices for myself. Skipping the previews the main screen pops up and I press 'play'.

It's an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, Man had always assumed that he was the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the third most intelligent. The second most intelligent were of course dolphins. Dolphins had long known of the impending destruction of earth and had on many occasions tried to alert mankind but their warnings were mistakenly interpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs or whistle for tidbits…

Opening my iced tea, I settle down on the couch next to Maria and Jamie and watch the movie. I occasionally have to get up to get someone another slice or pause the movie for a bathroom break. Around the time Arthur and crew arrive to Magrathea the natives start to get restless, so I stop the movie and say, "Who wants some ice cream?" They all agree with the idea (who wouldn't?) and we head for the door. Just then an alarm goes off and the door locks.

"What's going on?" Jamie asks, her voice filled with fear. The other kids look equally worried and I give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure that everything's going to be alright. Why don't we watch the rest of the movie? We can get the ice cream later."

They reluctantly agree and I resume the movie. Making sure that their attention is on the movie and not on me I walk over to the edge of the room and activate my headset. "Dr. Weir?" I ask into it quietly.

"Weir here."

"It's Max. Anything going on that I should be worried about?"

"Nothing to be worried about, we're just having a few technical problems."

Uh-huh. "Any idea when it'll be fixed?"

"Not long. Rodney should be able to fix it."

"Ok, thanks for the info." I say ending the transmission. I stare out the window for a bit, thinking. As I look out the window, I see the Daedalus lifting off of the pier. That's strange, it's usually here for at least a week. My mind keeps on wondering what's going on. Certainly not tech issues. After a bit the alarm shuts off and I walk towards the door and test to see if it's working. It is.

"Ewwww!" I hear the kids exclaim and turn to see what's going on. I smile when I see that it's the part with Arthur and Tillian kiss. I remember when I was at the age when I thought kissing was disgusting. Not anymore. I sit down to watch the rest of the movie with them but I find it hard to concentrate so I get up and clean up the pizza boxes and other stuff. The movie finishes and I look at the time, 9:30pm, and then glance at the kids. They're looking a bit sleepy so I figure that it's time for bed. We head on back to my place and they change into their pj's, as do I. Elizabeth must have sent over some sleeping bags and pillows while we were in the lounge because they were in the living room when we got back, so I unroll those and get everything set. After making sure that they brushed their teeth and everything I ask, "Want me to read a story?" They nod and I grab one at random. It's 'Spilt Milk'. I'm almost finished with it when they fall asleep. I glance at the clock and see that it's five after ten. They must have been more tired than I thought. I look at their peaceful expressions and can't help but smile. Oh to be a child again; none of the worries of an adult. I get up and quietly lower the lights, but don't turn them out. I make my way into my room and turn on a lamp. I then turn on my laptop and climb into bed. Accessing my music player, I flip through my collection until I find 'Carmen' and hit the play button. I then put on my glasses (I'm nearsighted but can get away without wearing them so I don't wear them often), and start a letter to home. I'll read the ones that just arrived later. I type away for about an hour or so, listening to opera when I spot movement out of the corner of my eye. Pressing pause, I look up and see that it's Maria. "What's wrong, sweetie?" I ask, turning off my laptop and setting it onto the nightstand, moving over to make room and pat the space I just made, so she could come up next to me.

She does and says in a tearful voice, "I'm scared."

"Did you have a bad dream?" I ask. She shakes her head no and I realize that she's still not over the fact that Marc couldn't pick her up.

I put an arm around her and she moves closer to me. "Are you worried about your dad?" She nods her head and I say, "There's nothing to worry about; he knows how to take care of himself."

"Really?" Maria asks in a small voice.

"Yup. How do you think that your dad got to be such an important person in the Air Force if he didn't know how to get through impossible situations?" That seems to reassure her a little, but she doesn't move. Guessing what she wants I say, "You want to sleep here?" She nods her head and I can't help but smile. They're so cute at that age. "Alright, I'll go get your stuff and then turn out the light." I then get out of bed, turn off my computer, take off my glasses, and go into the other room where the rest of them are sleeping soundly. I gather Maria's pillow and teddy bear up and head back to the bedroom. I stop at the doorframe and look at the sight before me. She's already under the covers curled up, asleep. She's found Commander Bun-Bun and is hugging him tightly. I sigh at the cuteness of it all and quietly move into the room. I set her bear on top of the laptop and when I move her over to make room for me, she doesn't stir. I ease into bed, turn out the light and am soon fast asleep as well.

A/N: I am nearsighted but hardly wear my glasses like I'm suppossed to. I wrote this before 'The Return' aired in the US so it's AU (if you couldn't tell -rolls eyes-). I'm doing my happy dance right now because nwfairy put Max in her own OC story (which you all should read btw). Alex and Maria belong to Reefgirl, Crysta belongs to Nenya (hey! I remembered this time!), Logan belongs to James Cameron, and Lorne, Wier, and Rodney belong to TPTB. I own everything else (which is like Max and the kids). Tell me what you think of the chapter.