A/N: Timeline? Well, I started writing the beginning of this while season four(ish) was airing, then went on to the end, middle and more beginning all the while the series was progressing. So let's just say it's Stargate-verse, with series-focuses a little jumbled.

Chapter 5

As the work on the specialised equipment progressed Sam and Noli found that they could cover more ground by dividing the work between them, Sam doing the hands-on installments in the lab and Noli calculating in the office. They were now so in tune with where they were going they didn't need to do everything together. Mostly they would meet up in the morning and at lunch, chatting away about the project, then moving on to any subject big or small. They had fun and Sam found Noli to be friendly and open, except for one area - when she touched the subject of Noli's own research, she became reserved. Not about the practical parts, that Sam knew pretty well anyway, but about what was behind it all, her ideas. She just didn't seem to want to talk about it, and Sam found that odd. She tried to bring it up with Daniel, who besides herself was the one who had spent most time with Noli, seeing as the colonel and Teal'c weren't directly involved with the project (although that didn't stop them from bothering her in the lab).

Daniel was mostly growing frustrated over Noli's precsense in his office. He liked her, he did, but she was constantly disrupting him from his texts, making him lose concentration with questions and general noises. And she had started to play music, because he had said it was alright. Not that it wasn't good music, it was diverse and a lot of it he'd never heard before, and it wasn't loud, but it was quite enough to be distracting. He hadn't noticed anything mysteriously sealed off in Noli's personal sphere, since their conversation had mostly been about linguistics and aliens. And the universe as a whole.

"She's like a restless buddhist", he said. "She's got her mind gathered but she won't stop moving around, and leaving crumbs on my desk." Sam chuckled. Daniel had an afterthought.

"It's almost as if she's been getting more and more restless since she got here."

"Huh. I hadn't noticed." Noli had been acting perfectly normal around Sam, no more of that probably-not-so-strange touching of foreign objects. It was just that little bit of unspoken circumstances around her work that bothered her now.

In fact, Noli had been getting more and more restless working in Daniel's office. It culminated ten days after her arrival, the day the team was scheduled for departure to PXG-465. She was double-checking her digits before pronouncing the energy analysis equipment ready. Daniel was sitting at his desk, trying to read up on some things, and Noli was sitting across from him wagging her foot under the table. She was shifting around, drumming her fingers, changing songs on her playlist and generally making Daniel send her looks under his brow. He tried to return focus to his text and thought he would be allowed to when things finally went quiet for a while. Then, after a few minutes of staring into his book trying to regain his calm, he heard her voice:

"Hey Daniel."

He looked up, tired. "Yes?"

Noli's voice changed into that of a mexican villain and went: "Sey hello to mah litto frien'", as a sock puppet appeared over the stash of books in between them. Daniel finally snapped.

"Noli, please!" he called out. "I'm trying to work!" He surprised himself with his tone and closed his eyes, trying to regain composure. The sock puppet was slowly withdrawing. "It's just, a little quiet would be nice."

"Sorry", said Noli quietly. She really did become still, and after a few minutes she closed her computer and left for the lab.

Daniel felt bad that he had snapped at her, but at the same time the peace and quiet she left behind was great. Hopefully she'd have her own office done by the time they got back from the planet and she wouldn't be getting on his nerves anymore. If she were to stay on as a member of the staff he'd be happy to get to know her better, just without her nervous energy all over his office.

Within a couple of hours the team was ready to depart. They were assembled in the gate room together with the russian team, whom general Hammond had made them bring along. Jack was grumpy, whining quietly to Teal'c about the russians. Teal'c in his turn was standing patiently waiting, mildly amused by his friend's childish sarcasms. Finally a couple of engineers rolled some pieces of large equipment in on a MALP, closely followed by Noli.

"I had to come see it off", she said, patting a large metal box covered with switches. "And you too, of course. Feel good to finally put this baby to use?"

Sam smiled. "Let's just hope it actually works."

"It'll work." Noli was confident.

"I'm just happy to get off the planet", said Jack, rolling his eyes.

"Indeed." Teal'c turned to Noli and explained: "It is unusual for SG-1 to be earth-bound for such an extended period of time."

"'Earth-bound'", she said, "I like that. It's pretty. The whole extended meaning of it", she added when she saw nobody really understood what she meant. Daniel smiled to himself. There it was again, a little glimpse of something hiding underneath the annoying surface.

"Yeah, well", said Jack, "It's pretty boring."

The gate was activated and Noli admired the shimmering event horizon. "So beautiful", she said in a low voice, mostly to herself. The russian team went through, and Noli turned to the SG-1 making their way up to the gate with the MALP. "Good luck", she said, adding: "And don't jump the switches." Sam giggled at the incomprehensible inside joke. Jack rolled his eyes, Teal'c and Daniel exchanged amused glances and they were off.