Author's Note: Here's the next entry, coming in at 500 words without this little note. Hope you enjoy! If I run a little late and don't get something posted for the first, Happy New Year's to everyone! ~lg

oOo

That evening, Jennifer sat in the mess hall, watching Evan fill his tray with the daily mystery meat. She picked at her own meal and wondered just how she should ask him on a date. Should she play coy, like so many other women on base? Or should she just come out and ask? Neither option sounded like her, and she let out a deep sigh as he headed her way. Why did she insist on making such resolutions? She always failed.

"Hey, Doc." Evan sat down across from her, his face unreadable. His team settled at the table, followed by Sheppard and Ronon, and she didn't read too much into it. Teyla appeared some time later, and the group wound up laughing.

Finally, the crowd thinned. Ronon and Sheppard took off to spar, and Coughlin and Reed joined them. Teyla left to get some extra rest. With just Evan at her table, she tried to speak. She really should ask him, now, before the new year began. But she couldn't find the words.

"So, Doc, are you going to the New Year's bash?"

"What?" Jennifer had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't quite understand the question even though her mind comprehended the words. "Sorry. I was. . . thinking."

"I noticed," Evan said dryly. "I asked if you were going to the base-wide New Year's bash."

"Oh." She stared at him for a moment. "Wasn't planning to."

"Why not?"

"No reason." Liar, she scolded herself. "You going?"

"I haven't decided." He also shrugged. "New Year's has never really been my thing. The whole kissing at midnight just doesn't seem right when I don't know the woman all that well."

So that dispels one rumor about him, Jennifer thought. Then, she wondered what it would be like to be kissed by Evan Lorne. Her mind couldn't conjure up anything to which to compare it. "Yeah, having someone grab you by the shirt and plant one on you can be rather embarrassing."

He blinked at her. "Is that personal experience talking or a worst case scenario?"

She flushed so deeply that he must have felt the heat radiating off of her face. "Last New Year's, at the SGC. Colonel Mitchell caught the guy as he did it, and the poor lieutenant found himself transferred off the base. But I just. . . . I'm not sure I could handle something like that again."

Rather than laughing, Evan nodded understandingly. "I think I can understand."

Ask him now! Her mind screamed at her, but she couldn't find the right words. Instead, she started gathering her silverware. "Well, I should let you get on with your evening."

Leaving him sitting at the table, Jennifer made her escape. As she did, she resolved that she would ask Evan out on a date, even if it took the entire year to do so!

~TBC