As was the norm when the Gate was active, most everyone on the lower levels was either in the Control Room or the Gate Room itself, leaving the Briefing Room empty. Except for one.

Jack wasn't surprised to find her there, staring down from behind the safety of the glass. And though he knew exactly what he would see, he stepped up beside his teammate, watching SG-9 retrieve their weapons and finish checking the gear on the F.R.E.D. they were taking with them.

Not looking at her, he ventured, "So... P3X..."

"293, sir."

"Right. And the caves SG-3 found, they thought they might still have some of that, uh..."

"Naquadah."

"Yeah, that."

Ordinarily, she would've jumped straight into extolling the virtues of the stuff, Jack knew, but she was silent. He figured that went to state of mind, really, but her face in the reflection of the glass was carefully neutral. Was she not happy to see him go? It hadn't taken him long to know that Hanson wasn't good for her – the way he'd backed her into a corner and didn't seem to understand the word 'no' – but relationships were messy, and true love didn't always have a lot to do with it. He knew that well.

"Y'know, they think there are miles and miles of tunnels on that planet. Exploring them could take months."

The tiniest of smiles quirked at the far corner of her lips, a move so small he nearly missed it in the shadowy mirror image. "I know."

So she was happy about it. That was a good sign.

She turned her head to look at him, but all he gave her was a profile, quickly diverting his eyes back to the Gate so she wouldn't know he'd been watching her. "And I don't believe for a second, Colonel, that SG-9 was chosen at random."

It was his turn to smirk a little. "I don't know what you're talking about, Captain."

It hadn't been his decision – he didn't make those calls. But he had gone to the base commander with a concern: namely, that an officer under his command was being harassed. He'd been pretty surprised at the strength of Hammond's reaction to that, actually. Unless his gut was wrong (and it rarely was), Carter and Hammond had a past, too.

But he'd dug far enough into his second's personal life for one week, so he'd let it go. After suggesting that this mission was the perfect opportunity to get rid of a certain troublesome officer for an indeterminate amount of time.

Below them, the Gate burst into life, and her gaze returned to the team at the foot of the ramp. When he glanced at her reflection again, she wore a full-fledged grin.