Eleanor

I had agreed to attend another summit meeting on Angdar by the request of the chancellors. Lonnie, Lt. Erickson, Sgt. Carlsbad and Sgt. Kilmer had agreed to go with me as a ragtag group of escorts. I was looking forward to going off-world with Lonnie, he and I had been having a lot of tension as of lately, and I hoped that this would allow for quality time to rebuild the friendship I felt I had let slacken.

The morning before the jump I had rolled over in my bed to see Daniel asleep, work undershirt still on and face smashed against the pillow. He hadn't come home from his off-world jump until about 2 in the morning, and as much as I appreciated him choosing my house to crash instead of his apartment, I knew he would wake up alone either way. I was counting down the days until December when we had planned on moving in together. He had asked me to just cut my lease short by a couple months, but I had a garden in the back I still felt responsible for. My broccoli was almost ready to be harvested and I had worked so hard on it. I did however put most of my belongings already into his apartment. I agreed on his place, there was something that felt so right there, like it was our home instead of just mine or his.

My lips planted a kiss on Daniel's temple before leaving for the office. He stirred and I lulled him back to sleep, I'd be Earthside from the jump by that afternoon, and he had promised we would go antiquing to pick out a hutch for my books and hobbies to rest. It felt so absurd to have my IKEA bookcases cohabiting with the scrolls and special edition prints of books in languages I couldn't decipher. Like a large white particle board beacon among all the natural woods and fibers. It would have been somewhat fitting though, a manifestation of how I often felt walking around the SGC. These halls had been filled with so many accomplishments and here I was, a doctorate program drop out with crippling daddy issues in a fling with the archeologist who cracked the Stargate himself.

I scribbled a love note on the side table for him and walked out, work bag in hand and hiking boots in a satchel slung over my shoulder. When I dropped off my work bag in my office Lonnie was waiting by the door for me.

"Early morning eh?" He chuckled as I yawned back.

"I was up past bedtime reading, that's on me. I'm not used to 4am jumps." I weakly smiled back and went to tug off my loafers and slip on my hiking boots. This was just a public relations meeting, no need for me to be in gear like the rest of the SG team. I had an easy stretchy pair of ankle cut black pants, a gray and tan slouchy argyle sweater and my hair was tucked neatly into a chignon. I had my black knee length wool pea coat draped over my shoulders in preparation for the temperate spring weather their planet was facing.

"You have to wear those boots? Because they're a real boner killer." He pointed out my clunky soil encrusted boots and I pulled the strings tighter.

"I've read enough reports of men and women both twisting their ankles due to improper footwear when going off site." I shrugged, "I'll bring the nicer shoes once we're out of the woods."

"I feel like a twisted ankle might be worth not seeing those."

"Suck my dick," I muttered standing to my feet.

"Wow Elly, Jackson kisses you with that mouth?" He blew out a puff of air in mock astonishment.

"Much more than that," I walked out of the room giving him a rude gesture in return, and his laugh filled the hallway. It was warming to have him back in our sibling adjacent banter. I had thought of Lonnie like a surrogate brother here. He had reminded me so much of my own.

We walked down to the gate room and saw the gate tech, I gave a quick wave and he reciprocated as he announced the locked chevrons. I continued to the ramp making a mental checklist of everything in hand. Binders of information to swap with each union, my office shoes to change into, easy enough. It was just a morning out, and I'd be back by lunch Colorado time. The gate kawooshed and I stepped through in between the SG team with Lonnie in the back.

Daniel

I woke up to my work phone buzzing on the side table. The clattering vibrations cut off my groggy sleep as my hand stumbled around trying to find it and flipped it open.

"Dr. Jackson," I mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"Where are you?" I heard Jack on his end of the line.

"Jeez Jack it's only what, 7?" I checked the small alarm clock on the table next to me. "We just got home a few hours ago. I'm in bed, like you should be." I paused, looking over at the empty bed next to me.

"I'm heading to the SGC now, there was an incident this morning during the jump. I'll pick you up on the way."

"No, I'm at Eleanor's, I can drive." I got up and clamored around for my glasses.

"I'm around the corner, I'll be there shortly." The line cut off and I felt my body freeze. She was at the jump this morning, it was going to be an easy meeting among politicians about exchanging data, what possibly could have gone wrong. I stumbled putting my pants back on, my dusty work jacket from yesterday I had hung up by the front door, and as I reached for the handle to walk out Sam was there mid knock. Her eyes were equally as confused and angry as mine looking back. Once Jack had filled us in with all he knew the drive to the base was silent. The three of us there simmering in our own thoughts, fears and confusion. Sleep deprived and fueled solely on rage at this point.

Jack had explained that he received a call from Hammond on his way into the SGC. The gate tech received a message from the planet that Eleanor and her team never arrived, but he knew they jumped, he saw them, he put the address in himself. However, they were missing. The gate had permanently been placed in a neutral outdoor location, a quick hike from the summit site. It shouldn't have taken them but an hour to walk it, but now hours later no one was there. Hammond had called Jack to request SG-1 act as search and rescue, knowing I had a vested interest personally to locate the team. Nguyen's team were already on the ground at the location site, and agreed there was no trace of them. However, she was working on going through the former gate address dialed in to see if there was a reason the team had left. None of it sat well, and as we got to the base and down to suit up immediately I felt the charged air in the gate room among us all.

Eleanor

We stepped out of the gate and felt the crisp morning air kissing our cheeks. The setting moons always sparked something in me as the rising sun spread a glittering display of pale purple against the contrasting stark crimson mountain range. We took a moment to wait for the gate to shut behind us as Carlsbad was going on about how she was looking forward to the fruit tarts they always served for breakfast meetings here. I had to admit the amount of times I tried to recreate the custard cream in them alone haunted my dreams.

"They are good," was Lonnie's only response when in one swift pull of his side pistol he shot Kilmer next to him in the temple, spun around and shot Carlsbad who was behind me in the neck. Both collapsed to the ground and I fell with them in shock. "Get up Eleanor." His tone was unmoving and cold.

Erickson gawked and took off running into the woods, a shot rang out from Lonnie's gun again in his direction. I shook my head no, no. What had happened, what was going on?

"Should I..." my voice was shaking as I stayed on my knees, "What just happened?"

"They were in our way." He replied blandly. "Get up."

"You just killed your teammates Lonnie, what is going on?" I crawled over to the woman behind me. She was gurgling for air like a fish in a puddle looking to breathe. Her body was starting to flail and I took her hand knowing there was nothing I could do. He walked over to the woman and pointed the barrel of his gun down at her forehead, and shot. A scream broke through me and I looked back at him. She had a fiancé, she was planning a wedding, and just like that in cold blood she was dead.

"Your friend is gone."

"Who are you?" I hissed back standing to my feet.

"System Lord Maher," he sneered. "Drag their bodies here in front of the gate. We're flushing them when we redial."

"They deserve to be sent back to their families." I pleaded. He pulled his gun back on me and cocked the hammer.

"Put them in front of the gate." I did as he asked while he stood there looming over me, gun in hand. Every thought racing through my head. How would I tell their families what happened, how could I protect the people here from the being who was once my friend. How could I get out of this? He dialed and the blue waves of the flush incinerated their bodies, my heart lurched into my throat as he nudged me to the gate. We both stepped through and my thoughts went to Daniel.

When he had gone missing to find the time device I went through his file and his next of kin was Jack O'Neill. I had given him such a hard time about it.

"You can't have Jack as your next of kin, you're on the same missions. If something happens to you, he will be there."

"Well I thought about Catherine Langford but she's getting up there in age." He had joked. I was serious, he needed a friend or someone that would have been earth side.

"Make it someone at home that's like family, Catherine will work just fine if you'd like, but it can't be Jack." The next week I had a form requested to be completed by the legal floor. He had changed his next of kin to me and I had to sign an authorization for it. I barged into his office waving the paper around in anger.

"This isn't Catherine." I had snapped at him.

"You told me to take care of it," he said, not looking up from the papers of translations scattered around his desk.

"That's not why I had this conversation with you. So it would be me. It is supposed to be someone important to you, like family."

His face looked back at me, his glasses perched on the end of his nose, his eyes clearly annoyed. "You are my family. At some point I imagine we'll get engaged if you'll have me, we'll get married, and I'll have to do this paperwork all over again. Might as well have it done now." He turned back to his work and circled an image on one page cross referencing it with another. I was stunned. I stood there for a moment collecting my thoughts until he turned back to me. "Is there something else?"

"Married?" I whispered back.

"We don't have to if you don't want to. I'm perfectly content just being with you whichever way you want to label it." He tapped his pen against the table. "But, I like the sound of calling you my wife someday."

"I do too," I swallowed.

"Perfect," he flashed a grin and I still couldn't breathe. "Now, next of kin is taken care of. I have to translate these by the end of the day."

"I love you," I had replied and he turned back to his computer.

"And I you."