July, 1997
Daniel Jackson, completely unsurprisingly, found Captain Sam Carter in her lab. The team had only been together a few weeks, but it hadn't taken long for him to figure out how easily she lost herself in her work.
It was one of the many things they had in common.
But her science was completely different than his, and he watched her for a moment as equations flowed out of the end of her dry-erase marker as easily as water. One whiteboard was already full, and the second was in serious danger, half-written on and quickly losing ground. And though it was almost entirely letters, he had absolutely no idea what any of it meant. Hers was one language he didn't speak.
"Doctor Carter."
Clearly surprised at the sound of his voice – at having a visitor at all, most likely – she spun to face him, the marker still ready in her hand. "Doctor Jackson," she greeted. "What can I help you with?"
"Hmm? Nothing."
Yet still he stood there, and an amused grin crossed her face as she clipped the cap on the dry-erase pen. "Okay..."
"What are you working on?" he asked.
Before she could answer, Colonel O'Neill stepped into the room, and she straightened. "Sir."
"Captain. Daniel, I was looking for you."
"And I was about to come looking for you as soon as I'd collected Doctor Carter."
Immediately, her face fell flat. "Collected?" she growled. It had only been a few days since they'd returned from the tribal planet where she'd been sold to a man who saw her as little more than a possession, and she'd been a bit touchy since.
"Oh, sorry," the doctor pressed. "I mean, I was about to-"
"What is that?"
The tone of voice brought both of their gazes to the colonel. "Sir?"
"That," he answered, waving a hand at the whiteboards behind her. "What is that?"
"Oh. Well, see, when I first designed the iris, it was all based on a theoretical event horizon, and they installed it from those original designs because they wanted it done so quickly. But we've learned so much about the way the Gate demolecularizes and reintegrates matter since I was at the Pentagon that I figured a second pass at it could only improve the way it-"
Colonel O'Neill stopped her with a hand. "I'm sorry I asked."
Daniel caught the flash of hurt in her eyes and winced on her behalf. "He doesn't really like scientists," he offered.
"I know."
Uncomfortable, the younger man cleared his throat. "So, anyway, I was looking for you both because the new guys got done with their training today. And it's lunch time, so I thought maybe we could go play nice."
"Oh, right." One of the things Daniel liked most about his new teammate was her cheery disposition. Within seconds, she had apparently forgotten his faux pas - and Jack's; she set the marker on her lab table and crossed the room to join them. "How many teams are we up to now?"
"Nine. The last three teams will be here within the month," Colonel O'Neill answered. "And you go 'play nice' all you want. I have a reputation to uphold."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "A completely misbegotten one."
"Don't you tell people that!" he shot back, and Sam laughed, earning a curt, "you, either."
"Yes, sir. Come on, Doctor Jackson – I'll go with you."
"Call me Daniel, please."
Pleasantly surprised by that, she shot him a brilliant smile. "Okay, Daniel. Call me Sam."
"Call me Colonel," Jack added grouchily.
"I think I'll stick with 'Jack,' actually," Daniel smarted back. For some reason, his friend's gruff image was incredibly important to the man, even though – maybe even because – he was such a softie on the inside. "And did someone not get their coffee this morning? Come to lunch with us."
"Busy."
"Jack."
"Daniel."
"Jack."
"If nothing else, Colonel, it'll give you a chance to set the right tone from day one," Carter suggested.
The older man mulled that over with obvious interest. "You think if I intimidate them now, they'll just leave me alone?"
"There's an excellent possibility of that, sir." If she hadn't been assigned to his team, she would've run for the hills weeks ago. Probably.
"All right, then. I'm game. Campers." He swept out a gracious arm, allowing them to lead the way.