Kage tugged at the band keeping her hair up as she descended the ramp. Bentley called their encounter with the race known as the Jibta a 'minor scuffle' – and maybe it had been for someone who hid in the rear the entire time – but Kage had come away from it a little worse than what she would have liked. It was nothing even a basic white magic spell couldn't cure, but her hair had gotten matted in tangles and it was driving her insane. With one final tug the strands broke free around her shoulders.

"Do you attract trouble or what?" Ramirez teased as she came to a halt next to the other woman.

Kage gave an annoyed huff. "Considering I'm only brought on missions where there intends to be trouble, I'd say that's an unfair assessment." Combing her fingers through her hair she straightened the strands back out and gave a smirk over her shoulder. "But, yes. It does tend to follow me."

"Get yourselves cleaned up and to the briefing," Connors ordered as he swung his weapon off of his shoulder.

There was a collective nod from SG-11 as they began to file their way out into the hallway, but Hammond approached Connors with hushed words before they'd gotten far. The team leader turned to lock eyes on Kage. She swallowed hard, mind racing back towards the mission and what she could have possibly fucked up this time.

"Kage, Hammond's office. He has something he wants to address before the meeting. Let's check our weapons back in to the armory quickly," Connors spoke plainly. There was no hint of anger in his voice, but Kage had learned that instincts meant nothing with him.

Kage gave a nod and followed on her leader's heels to the general's office. The door was not shut behind them as it usually was in such serious conversations, so the Spiran felt her heart ease its wild thumping. "Is everything ok?"

Hammond tilted his head in astonished confirmation. "I'll cut to the chase since I'm sure you're both tired and would like to get cleaned up. Kage, I'm surprised to tell you that Colonel Connors's request for your off-base access was granted – far quicker than Kashoku's."

Kage was shocked. She hadn't even known that Connors had put in the request, let alone that it would come back so quickly. A part of her lit up with hope of finally being able to get out of the dungeon, but there was still heavy skepticism. "Why? It's been easier for me at every turn to be a part of the SGC once the ball got rolling than it ever was for Kashoku. I had to go through similar psyche tests, but from what I can tell, not as many and they were nowhere near as difficult or as invasive as she said hers were. And now you're telling me your government has given me permission to explore your planet without so much as a stutter. Why?"

"I wouldn't exactly say there was no stutter," Hammond hedged, staring at her with veiled irritation. "Your clearance is limited and subject to reevaluation at any moment. I'll give you the paperwork detailing the demands you're to agree to follow in a moment, but for right now I'll just paraphrase: you're not to go off-base without your team present, nor are you allowed off-base overnight. If there are any incidents, you can kiss the sunlight goodbye. Off-base, you are still under employ of the SGC and will act in a dignified manner. Furthermore, there is to be no magic or mentioning at all of anything alien. Your team has no doubt informed you before, but the people of Earth are not in the know of what this program does. Failure to keep this secret will have dire consequences."

"Yeah, yeah," Kage sighed, holding her hand out for the paperwork Hammond was pulling from the folder in front of him. Two copies were given to her and Connors, one left in front of Hammond. "Can I take this and sign it later or do I have to read it now?"

"Now, I'm afraid," Hammond said, having already signed the copy before him. "The paperwork needs to be filed before you can be allowed off-base and I believe your leader already has something planned for you."

Kage darted her gaze over to Connors, but the man didn't bother looking at her, concentrating instead on the paperwork before him. It reminded Kage that she needed to commit herself to yet more promises if she wanted to get off this damn base and if she couldn't take the paperwork to study and exploit later, then she needed to read it carefully so she could remember it all. Once she got down to it, it wasn't all that bad, basically the rules she'd agreed to when allowed to stay on base. Don't attack anyone, don't draw attention to yourself, don't talk about aliens where you'll be overheard, don't blatantly be an alien. Kage snorted, unkindly wondering how Teal'c ever got off base. Then again, the big guy never seemed to be anywhere but on base. The thought made Kage uncomfortable so she quickly scribbled her name on the last page and her initials at the bottom of each of the previous ones, trading with Connors and Hammond so her signature was on each copy. Given how damn many Hammond had, you'dthink he'd have printed her a copy. But no, the man simply glanced them all over, nodded, and filed them away in his folder. It seemed like in his mind the matter was settled. Not so for Kage.

"Now that that's out of the way, think one of you can actually answer my damn question?"

"What question would that be?" Connors drawled beside her, raising a brow. The motion broke loose a scab of dried blood that had trailed down from a cut just under his hairline, the wound minor and already scabbing over but serving to remind her that the both of them were filthy and no doubt getting muck all over the esteemed general's furniture. Kage smirked back.

"The one where I asked you both why the fuck the authority outside this base are practically wetting themselves giving me passes and shit when they made Kashoku jump through more hoops than a prized chocobo. Don't think I didn't notice you changing the subject earlier with the paperwork," she said dangerously. "What's the deal?"

Hammond straightened, his hands folded tightly together. It was obvious to anyone in the room that he was choosing his words carefully. It caused Kage to scoff angrily inwardly. Connors, however, didn't seem nearly as concerned with not hurting feelings.

"It's because you are a weapon," he said simply, eyes deadlocked with hers. "The Pentagon will always fast-track weapons."

Kage raked her tongue across her upper teeth, eyes hardening as she thought that over. "So then why all the fuss about how I wasn't allowed here in the first place?"

Connors laughed, the unfamiliar sound sending chills down Kage's spine after how long she'd spent having him yell or be cool towards her. "It was never the Pentagon that refused to have you here, Kage. It was General Hammond."

Hammond sucked in a breath, but he didn't refute the comment. There was no regret or shame in his posture at all; if Kage had to bet, she'd say the man still didn't want her around. "Colonel Connors is correct. Had I ever mentioned in any report interest to keep you here, they would have jumped on the opportunity."

"But," Connors continued, "the more dangerous the weapon, the quicker they will cut the cord. Kashoku will always have greater leniency than you ever will here, because she is far less dangerous."

Kage had several thoughts and emotions running through her brain. She was unsure whether to be bothered by this classification or – well – be honored. It could, in many ways, be played to her advantage. "Okay," she offered, backing down with a disinterested shrug. "Can I go now? Caked blood is kind of starting to itch."

Hammond looked like he wanted to somehow correct what Connors had said, but instead he waived her off in dismissal. Kage turned on her heel and casually walked out. She could feel Connors right behind her. "If Hammond was the one that refused to have me here, then who convinced him to let me on a team – you?"

"I did," Connors admitted with a grin. "Not long after you almost broke my second in command."

"If I'm such a threat, why risk having me around?" she scoffed. She turned her head to look at him, trying to read something in the taller man's profile, but he seemed as impenetrable as always. There was caked blood and dirt all over his face, enough it had to have been irritating, but she hadn't seen him rub at it even once except when the blood had trailed too close to his eye during the mission. Connors was just like that, she acknowledged, taking the shit life threw on you in stride until it became a problem, and then handling it as efficiently as possible. It didn't escape her notice that his team, with the exception of the generally well-liked Rafe, seemed to comprise of the most annoying marines on the base, and yet they still got shit done and were more often than not the ones called in to bust other teams out of bad situations. Even Kage was beginning to listen to his orders more, and not just because Ramirez and Bentley were still being big enough dicks that she worried she'd kill them if they gave her more shit over disregarding something Connors said. She was beginning to respect the man and, to her surprise, genuinely wanted to know what he saw in her.

"We are all weapons," he answered, unaware of the direction of her thoughts. "It's simply to what degree. Everyone here on this base belongs to the Pentagon and is only here for a special skill set. You're not as different as you think."

They rounded a corner, their pace slowing as to be able to talk to one another. It made sense, what Connors said, but that still didn't really answer the question. "Hammond has seemed dead set since the beginning to never let me on. How did you convince him?"

Connors smiled and folded his hands behind his back, more open the farther they were from his superior officer. "I played the game. You see, that is the key to getting everything you want while maintaining career success around here."

"The game," Kage murmured, thoughts racing. Sounded a lot more like just manipulating people, but if that were really the game she'd be able to learn it quickly, starting with the rules binding her actions off base. They approached the locker rooms and stopped in front of their respective doors. "So, when do I get to have my first outing? Hammond said you had something in mind already?"

"Tomorrow," he responded. "Ramirez will make sure you have all the necessary equipment for the outing."

Kage raised an eyebrow, personally wondering if Ramirez wouldn't 'forget' some part of that necessary equipment out of spite. Getting Rafe hurt had dried up the woman's good will towards Kage, but if it was an official outing, maybe she'd keep herself in line. "What are we doing?"

Connors opened his door with a dangerously toothy smile and ducked inside with a few ominous parting words: "It'll be a surprise."

Great. With a heavy sigh she pushed her way into the locker room and began stripping off her clothing. Once she had scrubbed all the blood off her body and been given an okay by the infirmary and through the thankfully quick debriefing, she headed off towards SG-15's office. Kashoku was at her desk, staring absently at the computer. Her teammates all had headphones in with similar bored looks. Considering what her day had consisted of, the vacant looks were more than a little irritating, but she pushed that aside. "You okay?" she asked bluntly.

Kashoku jerked at the sound of her voice before letting out a breath of relief. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. How was your mission?"

Kage raised a brow at the lie, but let it slide as she pushed Kashoku's mouse and keyboard aside to settle on the desk. "Bloody. Just how I like it, but everyone came out okay." Kashoku merely hummed in response, starting to stare into space again, so Kage went for broke. "So… I got clearance."

That regained Kashoku's attention, her newly blonde head snapping back up in surprise. "What? That's great!"

Kage shrugged casually. "It's more like supervised prison. I'm only allowed out for certain time periods and it more or less has to be with the entire team at this point, who if you recall are still mostly pissed at me. I'm pretty sure the only time I'll get to go anywhere is for some team-bonding bullshit Connors has planned."

"But, Kage, you get to leave regardless! This is great news! Give it some time and you'll have more freedom soon enough," Kashoku assured. "And as soon as you do, we'll go have some real fun! There are so many places I want to take you."

"As long as that real fun includes alcohol," Kage agreed with a small smile. "I've really missed the taste of that stuff." Kashoku beamed back, until something in her desk drawer buzzed and her face took on a pinched look. Letting out a sigh, Kage folded her arms and looked straight at her friend. "So… How are things?"

Kashoku hesitated. "Um. Things are great. Why?"

Kage kept herself very still and kept her gaze steady on the other woman's face. When the blonde began to fidget a little, she struck. "Kashoku. Don't lie to me."

With a groan Kashoku let her face fall into her hands. "They are terrible. I thought I was doing the right thing last night, but I only made things worse and now… Read this." Kage twisted her legs out of the way when Kashoku reached for the top desk drawer, pulling out her phone and handing it to Kage.

It was already in the message screen, the tiny digital letters simply reading Let's talk. Kage had to swallow the laugh that wanted to come out. "Ouch. From Daniel, I'm assuming? You know that's the code for 'I want to break up', right? What are you going to do?" The back button revealed a new message she quickly opened. Are you free around lunch?

Kashoku took the phone back and held it close to her chest. "We can't. Not yet. I feel like I can still fix this."

Kage rolled her eyes as she let herself lean up against the desk. "Kash, you've been complaining about how things have been going south for weeks now. Don't you think maybe this is a sign?"

"No," Kashoku snapped firmly.

Kage's eyes narrowed, contemplating if she should argue it, or just let her friend figure it out on her own. Seeing as she had tried route A before, the latter seemed best. "Fine. What exactly are you going to try to do to 'fix' things?"

Kashoku gave a half shrug in uncertainty. "Well, I haven't fully decided yet, but I know part of Daniel's frustration is that I'm kind of exploring and doing new things without him. So…I figured I'd think of something I hadn't done yet and we'd go do it."

"Hmm," was the only response Kage could muster. "Well. Good luck with that." She anticipated a high rate of failure for this event, and kind of hoped for it. It would be better for everyone involved if their fling just ended. "Too bad we aren't on Spira. I'd have the greatest date idea for you."

Kashoku shot her friend a look. "I don't want to know."

Kage responded with an amused snort. "Yeah, yeah. Well, definitely let me know how it goes. I'll start placing some bets with the others." Kashoku shot her another deadly glare, but Kage easily waved it off as she casually made her way out of the office. It would definitely be interesting to see how things panned out. But before she left…

"Ne, Kashy, you may want to figure out that date plan soon. Looks like Jackson's trying to get you pinned down for a nice public breakup."

"What? No!" Kashoku cried, her team jerking at the noise as she stared down at her phone frantically. "Crap! Brandon, hey, let's go get lunch!"

Maybe it was mean, but Kage laughed all the way to the elevator.

Kashoku had found it: the perfect thing to go do. She and Daniel both had half days tomorrow, and although it wouldn't leave a whole lot of time, it was enough. She avoided Daniel the rest of the day, not wanting to give him any excuse to possibly corner her and have their conversation before she could succeed in their outing. The next morning she timed everything perfectly, down to the second. She caught him on his way down to the locker room to change out of his uniform for the day.

"Daniel!" she called cheerfully, waving to him to grab his attention.

He looked surprised, and his brow furrowed as she approached. "Kash, hey… Did you not get my messages?"

Kashoku ignored the question and grabbed his hand to help drag him towards the locker rooms again. "Let's go to the zoo."

Daniel's eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn't help but freeze up in shock. "The… zoo?"

"Yes," Kashoku beamed. "You said you wanted to be the one to explore Earth with me, so let's explore! There are so many animals your planet has that we do not, and who better to see them with than you? You can teach me all about them!"

There was a long hesitation, and Kashoku was sure that he would turn down her offer. "Kash, we really…" Daniel sucked in a deep breath, and Kashoku gave him the best pleading face she had to offer. She needed this, this one last chance. Closing his eyes he let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go to the zoo."

Kashoku had to bite her lip to contain her excitement. "Good! I'll change and meet you at your car. The weather should be perfect!" She turned and hurried into the locker room, her heart thumping out of her chest. Daniel could have taken the moment and turned it into what she had feared, but he wanted to make this work as much as she did.

The zoo was actually on the mountain and a short distance from the base. Kashoku was thankful for it, as the drive was mostly silent which fueled her nerves. They paid for their tickets and passed through the gates. Kashoku looked at the map and all the different areas. She was only familiar with a few of the animals listed. "Hmm. What should we go see first? Have you ever been here before?"

"Actually, you know, I haven't," Daniel answered thoughtfully. "I can't even remember the last time I went to a zoo. On my travels, I got to see a lot of them up close and personal in their natural environments."

"That must have been so exciting! Well, what was your favorite animal to see?" Kashoku asked, trying eagerly to spark conversation.

"I guess I was always partial to African animals since I spent a lot of time over there," he shrugged.

Kashoku looked at her map. "So the African Rift Valley it is, then. Apparently they have 'giraffes, giraffes, and more giraffes'. Which ones are those?"

The afternoon went far better than Kashoku could have ever hoped for. Kashoku couldn't contain her excitement with each new animal they approached, and Daniel looked like he was thoroughly enjoying explaining everything he knew about each of the animals from habitat, to mating rituals and their place in many religious beliefs. She was genuinely interested, but when the opportunity to potentially pet some of the animals presented itself, she had to take it.

"Look! We can feed the budgies! What are those?" Kashoku asked curiously as she spotted the sign.

"Budgerigar… also known as the parakeet. They are small birds," Daniel explained. "Native to Australia."

"Are they pretty?" she asked.

"They are colorful. Not like a parrot, but they are definitely one of the better looking kinds."

"Come on, let's go feed them!" She tugged at his arm and gladly pulled a couple of ones from her purse to pay for the feeding sticks. Daniel waved on the proffered stick for himself, and told her to keep it for herself. She didn't mind it, excited to have a greater opportunity to get up close and personal. There were very few creatures on Spira that weren't fiends. It didn't take long for several blue and green birds to hungrily make their way for her outreached stick. A blue one landed on her stick and began munching away happily while a green one landed on her shoulder. It cocked its head in curiosity and let out a chirp. Kashoku giggled in delight and brought the feeding stick closer to her face so that she could get a better look at the bird. It lifted its head and reached out its beak, giving Kashoku's nose a slight peck before returning to the food.

"They are so friendly!" Kashoku spoke in awe as birds continued to come and go until the seeds were gone off the first stick. She turned her head towards Daniel, who was offering her a pleasant smile, but the look in his eyes caused her heart to sink. She was unsure of what it was going through his mind at that moment, but she was certain it was not what she was hoping for. With a heavy heart she lifted a hand and gently stroked the bird that was still happily perched on her shoulder. Kashoku was glad that they were almost back to the beginning of the zoo, for she had lost all interest in seeing anything else.

To say Kage was curious was an understatement. When Ramirez showed up at her door, she'd been instructed to wear her least favorite shirt and pants as they were likely to get ruined. Considering all of Kage's clothes except for a few things Kashoku had bought her were issued to her by the base, it wasn't exactly a dilemma finding something. Ramirez herself was wearing an ensemble that closely resembled their SGC uniforms, but had obviously seen some wear and tear. There were interesting random splotches of bright colors Kage figured were some sorts of stains.

"Ready for your first taste of fresh Earth air?" Ramirez grinned as they headed for the outside gate. The Latina's attitude towards Kage that afternoon had settled back into the friendly teasing she'd actually been enjoying up until this last week. Kage wasn't sure how to take it, but decided to cautiously play along. Ramirez didn't seem the type to hold a grudge long, so maybe she was over her protective snit.

Kage shrugged in response, acting like it was no big deal, but she was actually quite relieved to finally be getting out of the SGC, even for a little while. She received a few looks as they passed through security, but she was given the green light and they headed into the garage. Kashoku had told her about their automobiles and she had to admit she was curious how they handled and ran. They came in various sizes, shapes, and colors in the SGC lot, and honestly Kage was glad she had someone with her to keep her on track. Her fingers just itched to take some of them apart. Ramirez led her to a smaller one, its body sleek and the color a loud red that stuck out amongst the rougher, older looking automobiles around it. Of course the woman had an expensive, flashy transport, Kage thought with an inward snort.

"You still won't tell me what we are doing?" she asked as she took her seat on the passenger side, mimicking Ramirez's actions with the seatbelt.

"Nah, where would be the fun in that? I wanna see your face when it sinks in." She grinned as she shifted the car into gear and they were on their way.

There was little in the way of conversation on their journey, Ramirez turning the beat heavy music up loud enough to blow out Kage's ears, and the Spiran was rather occupied taking in the sites. They never travelled very close to the city below, but Kage could see it in the distance. It was large, like Zanarkand, but with a lot more buildings crammed into a single space. They stayed mostly in the mountains, eventually turning off on a dusty side road that didn't seem distinguishable from any of the others they'd passed. There seemed to be absolutely nothing around for several minutes before an arena appeared off to the left, giant multi-colored obstacles within its confines. To its right was a small building with several other vehicles part out front.

Ramirez pulled in next to them and turned off the engine. "Alright, chica, it's game time." She smirked at the Spiran before getting out of the car and popping a hatch in the back. It was filled with guns, different models than the SGC used and strange, but distinct in their design, and masks. Ramirez pulled out the green mask and one of the guns and handed them to Kage. "These will be your best friends for the rest of the day."

Kage settled the mask under her arm and took the gun, inspecting the equipment curiously. What kind of ammo did you use in something like this? The physical bullets the SGC favored wouldn't work, she could tell that immediately. Curiosity began to eat at her. "This is a gun," she stated, but she glanced up at Ramirez as she did so, wanting confirmation that she wasn't holding some sort of prank, something that looked like a gun but wasn't.

"What an astute observation, babycakes," Bentley purred as he came up behind her.

Kage rolled her eyes at his comment, but paid it no real attention. "So what, we're doing some target practice?"

"Yeah, and you're the target," Bentley grinned, something threatening behind the smug look.

Kage frowned, not understanding. She was all about shooting up some people, but she had been told more than once that murder was highly illegal on this world, and she didn't see a single healer around. And even with the bullying her teammates had been giving her, the predatory looks on their faces weren't ones of murder. Still, "You're going to shoot at me with live ammo?"

"Nah, girl, it's just paintballs," Rafe assured her, having pulled up next to Ramirez just a moment before and currently digging through his own gear in the backseat of his large vehicle.

Paintballs? That still made no sense. "I don't –FUCK! OW!" There had been a loud 'pop' before Kage's leg lit on fire, or at least it felt like it had. She looked down and saw a bright green splash of paint where the pain was centered. "What the fuck was that!?"

"WHOA, WHOA, HEY!" Rafe shouted angrily, glaring at Bentley, who had apparently fucking shot her, what the fuck, she was going to murder him. "Safety kill, man! Colonel Connors would destroy your ass if he saw that shit!"

Bentley only giggled with an innocent shrug while Ramirez rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath in Spanish. She didn't look all that pissed though, a faint smirk on her lips. Kage cringed, swallowing the impulse to attack the asshole back, but that left her with nothing to distract her as her leg pulsed heavily in pain. It may not have been fatal ammo her teammate shot her with, no real damage to her flesh, but that shit hurt like a bitch.

"Speaking of the Colonel, where is he?" Bentley mused as he put the safety back on his weapon.

"Watching everything you idiots have been doing from inside," Connors growled as he exited the small building. "I'll let that one go, just because she deserves it after the last mission." Bentley gave a cough and straightened under the other man's glower. "I think I'll sit this one out, play referee, while the four of you kill each other."

Bentley shot up his hand and bounced up and down eagerly. "I pick Margarita!"

Ramirez let out a loud and irritable groan. "God dammit! No!"

Rafe snorted with amusement. "Nah, that's cool, I'll take Kage. I think the two of you will do great together. Besides," he gave Kage a playful slap against the chest, "this one needs a second chance at watching my six."

Kage cringed at the comment, still guilty for what happened despite the fact Rafe had long since forgiven her for the incident. "So how do we play?"

Connors went through the rules of his game, and although he made it clear that anything within fifteen feet was to be labeled a safety kill, Kage knew that Bentley would probably shoot her point-blank again. The pain had subsided, but she knew the shot would leave a massive bruise and it was going to be stiff to walk on. They put on their masks and gloves and the two teams took their positions on separate ends of the arena, Ramirez having gone through the motions of how to load her weapon with the paintballs.

Rafe lowered his mask as he leaned against the inflatable barrier. "Don't take any mercy, because they won't. Bentley will test his limits on that fifteen feet rule until the Colonel throws him out for being an ass."

"Yeah, well, two can play that game," Kage promised him, lowering her mask and getting in the ready position, waiting for Connors's cue to begin. There was a moment of silence before Connors's voice boomed across the arena.

Rafe instantly gave a hand signal and Kage responded with a curt nod before moving. She was crouched low, and was much swifter than Rafe in moving between the obstacles. Her finger twitched, instincts telling her what she should do next, but she knew there was a point to all of this, and she waited for Rafe's orders. From across the way she saw him point to his eyes and then off towards her right. With a nod she turned swiftly on her heel and laid on the trigger as she spotted Bentley.

The arena erupted in the sounds of chaos, and it was game on.

The drive home was filled with a heavy silence, and when they entered the apartment, Kashoku knew that she had failed. She watched as Daniel dropped his keys on the counter and kicked off his shoes before making his way towards the bedroom. There was no use in putting it off any longer. With a hard swallow she followed him into their bedroom and leaned against the doorframe. "I got your text."

Daniel froze, halfway through unclasping his watch.

Kashoku hung her head. "I got your text, and I knew what it meant, and I wasn't ready for it. I wanted to give us one last chance, because I kept telling myself we could make this work. I thought it was going to work, and then…The way you looked at me." She couldn't bring herself to look at him as her eyes got cloudy with tears. "Where did we go wrong?"

Daniel lifted her chin to look at her and cupped her face in his hands. "We knew this might happen, Kashoku. We took a chance and hoped it would work, but we just," Daniel paused, trying to find the right words, but could only settle with, "We just aren't working."

"But why?" Kashoku asked with an exasperated huff. "There are times when I'm around you that I am the happiest I can remember being, but others I just…"

"I know, believe me, I know." He let out a small laugh. "But, Kash, we are in two completely different places in our lives, and until we catch up with each other this will never work."

"I thought I travelled halfway across the galaxy so that we wouldn't be in two different places," she offered playfully, but she couldn't stop the tear from rolling out of her eye.

Daniel couldn't help but chuckle as he took her into a tight hug. "You aren't ready to give up on the type of living you had on Spira. You still want to go out and have fun until the early hours of the morning, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just not what I want."

Kashoku pulled away with a nod, knowing that everything Daniel was saying was true, and she had known it. Wiping away at her tears she smiled bravely. "So maybe in a few years?"

There was an upwards twitch of his lip. "Give or take."

"I don't regret it, you know," she assured him. Even though she had given up everything to come to Earth to be with him, he had opened up so many more doors and opportunities that would go on without him.

"Me either. Not for a second," he agreed.

Kashoku nodded gratefully. Shifting her weight nervously she asked, "Just one more night? I just...just want to be with you. Nothing more."

Daniel took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Come on. Let's go see what I have on hand. I think I have enough to teach you some homemade tempura."

To say that Kage got completely obliterated would have been an understatement. Ramirez and Bentley both paid Rafe little attention and had instead double-teamed her. Rafe hadn't been joking when he said Bentley would test the 15-foot rule, and she had even been a victim of Rafe's friendly fire. Friendly fire her ass. She was certain he had done it on purpose. Her pride would be wounded for months. Dark black and purple bruises splotched her skin, but she didn't have the guts to face anyone in the infirmary. The fewer people that knew about her defeat, the better. Instead, she waited until the following morning and hobbled slowly to SG-15's office.

"Kage, are you okay!?" Kashoku cried in concern as her friend limped in. With a wince Kage lifted her shirt to show off several of her bruises. Kashoku gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Carr and Wells let out a collective whistle.

"You played paintball, didn't you?" Wells asked, cringing at the sight, while Carr gave a disbelieving laugh, "Your first trip off-base and you went for that? Damn, girl. I give you props for bravery."

"Three against one isn't fair," Kage moaned, lowering her shirt.

Kashoku's eyes widened. "Wait, this is what you did on your outing with SG-11?"

"Yeah, they've got an interesting way of team bonding," Carr nodded, using air-quotes for emphasis. "They totally hazed you."

"Which, they could technically get in severe trouble for," Rodd mused in between fiddling with some device on his desk.

With a disappointed frown Kashoku reached out a hand and had Kage's skin back to normal with the slightest of touches. "I don't like it. You were really hurt."

Kage let out a sigh of relief as her muscles relaxed and the pain subsided. "Yeah, well, I guess I deserved it. And they probably thought I'd go to get healed after they dropped me off. It's whatever, I'm better now, and it was… actually kind of fun when I wasn't getting pelted. So," pulling up a chair she plopped down in it next to Kashoku. "Dodeshita ka?"

Kashoku's body tensed at the question and she bit at her lip before responding, following Kage's lead gratefully in speaking their language. "We had a lot of fun yesterday, but…" She shook her head and gave a shrug. "We talked and… It was mutual."

Kage perked up at what her friend was insinuating. "So the two of you are done?"

Another shrug. "I suppose, but I'm not even sure we were really ever together, you know?"

Kage was giving herself an internal high-five at the news. Finally. Though, when she really looked hard at her friend, she wondered, "You don't seem all that upset."

"Well," Kashoku tucked a curl behind her ear and rested her chin on her hand. "I guess…I'm not. Not much will really change in our relationship bynot being together other than me living here again. We're still friends and that's what really matters."

Kage gave an amused huff. "If you say so. Does your team know yet?"

Kashoku shook her head. "No. I didn't really see much point in advertising it. I guess if someone asked, I'd tell them though."

"Well, at least we get to hang out more, now, neh?" Kage grinned, glad that she finally would get her friend back.

Kashoku gave a genuine smile and they switched the conversation back to English. "Right! You should try and see if you can convince Colonel Connors to have your team bonding at McCabe's with us one night. It would be so much fun!"

"I have a feeling Kage would be the type to start bar fights when she was drunk," Wells mused.

"She is," Kashoku agreed. "There are several incidents on Spira I could recount. It might be wise to let her win at pool every time."

"Hey!" Kage snapped defensively, "I'm not a sore loser… much." Kashoku laughed, and Kage eased comfortably into the seat. Carr began spouting out stories that Michelle had told him from the bar, and Kage finally found herself becoming part of the SGC.

"You don't need a ride do you?"

Kashoku turned towards the other end of the hallway to see Ellis in his civilian clothes headed her way. She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm fine, but thank you for the offer."

Ellis raised a questioning eyebrow. "I saw Jackson leave about thirty minutes ago. Don't lie to me."

Kashoku opened her mouth to argue, but let her shoulders slump and her eyes fall to the floor. "I don't need a ride because I'm living here at the SGC again."

It was the difference between Ellis and Connors in the way he showed sympathy in his stance and expression. "Are you two…okay?"

Kashoku smiled honestly, hands clasped together behind her back. "We're fine, truly, we just…We're just better as friends right now."

"For what it's worth, I am sorry. I know it's rough when you really think things will work out," Ellis spoke, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But, you're a fun and cute girl. I wouldn't worry about it."

Kashoku chuckled, "That's real sweet of you. I really appreciate it." She barely managed to catch the flying object that was tossed her way. She blinked rapidly before zoning in on the item in her hand. It was a pair of keys. "What's this?"

"Go get changed, and then you're driving me home where Amy will have an awesome dinner waiting," he said casually.

"But-" Kashoku began to protest, staring at the keys with confusion.

Ellis spoke over her. "You have your license, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Only way you are going to get comfortable is by doing it." He grinned mischievously. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you crash my car."

Kashoku turned the keys over in her hand a few times, the jingle echoing in the empty hall, before nodding. "Okay! I'll be right back!"

"Yeah, don't take too long. She's got a warm pie waiting and I'm hungry!" Ellis called out.

Kashoku giggled as she waved back in his direction. It was probably the fastest change she had managed to do, almost forgetting her jacket for the cooler weather moving in. She loved Ellis's kids, and Amy did make the best food she had ever tasted. With Ellis's keys firmly in hand she made her way through security and out towards the parking lot where he was waiting for her.

"You ready?" Ellis asked as he secured his seat belt.

With a deep breath Kashoku put the keys in the ignition and started the car. "Let's go."