Eleanor

The rest of our trip had gone by in a haze. I watched as people walked along the streets of towns that I never thought I'd see in person. We sat at cafes while Daniel and I sipped on coffees, looking out frosted windows toward the souls that would be consumed by the same void I ran from. In the Staatliche Museum, the last leg of our trip in Munich, I stared at a carved mural dating back to the Mesopotamian era and thought about how it would all be gone. Centuries of history, lineage, and humanity prevailing through this all was going to collapse in on itself and according to Rodney McKay, who was always right with these things, I was the catalyst. I saved Daniel, he saved the world, I followed him and doomed us all. I gazed at this mural that withstood the years as Daniel tried to keep my mind busy with explaining what was written across it, the stories that it held, and I silently wept. For the children that would never be born, for the families in the markets getting gifts to celebrate the upcoming holidays, for the wars that were fought and the bloodshed that had brought nothing but spoils in the pockets of rich men, for the stories and songs and laughter in timelines that ended. I silently stood there weeping and Daniel wrapped me in his arms as I looked on.

Every shower I took I laid in the bath and felt the pelting of stones against me and my sins. Even the morning before our first day back in the office Daniel held me as I sobbed, feeling as if I was a shell of the woman he had a week before.

"What have I done? I have damned you." I shakily whispered back.

"You are not to blame, and we will find a way around this, both of us." He cooed in my ear until I had been rung of all emotion. I took in a breath, collected myself, and reapplied a clean mask of makeup that would falsely present some semblance of confidence. I watched as Daniel slipped his blue coverall work jacket on and realized then the armor it truly was. He was my Daniel, but when he had that uniform on he was Dr. Jackson. If he could do it, so could I. Instead of coveralls though I belted my plaid wool circle skirt and buttoned up the hand knit charcoal cardigan I had bought on our trip in Prague.

We walked hand in hand down the halls of Stargate Command, nothing unusual or different even than any other day. He gave me a tight squeeze and a soft understanding look with a silent affirmation of love between us. My door was unlocked and as I turned the light on I noticed a small white box on my desk. A hand written card was tucked underneath and I opened the box revealing a plain white cake inside. A shaky smile escaped me as I went back to the card and saw a short note.

Every wedding needs cake,

Jack

"I can't believe he went out of his way to get a wedding cake made." I smiled and looked over at Daniel who kissed the top of my head as a laugh echoed through him.

"It's from the commissary."

As the day progressed and I finished my request forms, emails, and catch ups I felt myself rooting back into daily life once more, not forgetting about the problems I faced but knowing we would work around them. Janet stopped by my office to congratulate me, and I handed over a book I had read on the flight I knew she'd love. By the end of the day I felt a semblance of normalcy, or at least could fake it.

Daniel

"She got the cake?" Jack gave me a pointed look and I nodded back. "She likes cake. She's a cake person." He looked over at Sam who tried to hide a laugh. "I'm a cake person."

"Who doesn't like cake sir." Sam took a drink from her coffee and I leaned against the workshop table in her lab.

"Was your trip successful Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c's surprisingly gentle look cushioned some of my pent up resentment back.

"Up until the untimely meeting it was wonderful, lots of sightseeing and amazing food. After, not so much." I sucked in my top lip biting down before I said too much.

"Bill thinks that we can redial the gate to your timeline." Sam said cautiously, "and if it does dial with the remote you had, we can go from there."

"It's been put back together then?" I asked and she pulled open a drawer setting the very piece of machinery out that I both hated and was indebted to. "When are we dialing back?"

Jack made a face over at Sam who echoed his discomfort but finally answered, "Thursday while we are off world."

"That's convenient." I rolled my eyes and took a seat on a nearby stool. "I'm assuming McKay is opening it?" Sam gave another grimace as an answer and we stewed in the shithole of a problem we found ourselves in.

Cam Mitchell

My grandma always said to stick to the blessings the good Lord gave you, and I was given the blessing of a determination to succeed and a high flying career. Flying was in my blood. From flying crop dusters on my parents farm in Kansas, to test piloting secret projects in Nevada now for the military, flying was what was expected of me. However, when Lt Colonel Young gave me a call three months prior about a position opening at Stargate Command he thought I'd be interested in, I did a little digging. After smooth talking my way through several avenues along the secret pipelines I managed to stack my resume on General Hammond's desk, and landed here. The few files I got my hands on regarding the Stargate program made me feel like this was the adventure I had been craving, and although the position wasn't a guaranteed permanent slot, I knew I'd do the best of my abilities to make it all worthwhile.

I had spent the morning getting a new ID badge, filling out forms for temporary housing, and going over security briefings. The main points of interest for me though was getting to meet SG-1. From all the mission reports Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, and Carter would be easier to persuade than O'Neill to have me. I looked down at the map I was given at inprocessing and saw Dr. Jackson's office was two floors down and decided that would be my next stop.

The door was open and I poked my head in to see a woman standing at a desk covered in papers. She looked to be about thirty, golden red hair curled and half pinned up with freckles dotting along her lean nose. I knocked on the door and she turned in my direction holding up a finger and turning back to the man in his dress blues across the desk from her she rubbed her temples and let out a breath of annoyance.

"You know I adore our chats when you're here, and I respect you as an inbetween. It can't be easy dealing with the SGC and the Pentagon, but I'm going to need you to go back and tell whoever came up with this budgetary proposal that they need to rethink their contracts. Kelowna is our only supply of naquadria. No gate jumps to Kelowna to maintain friendship with them, no naquadria. I don't like arguing with them myself, it's not really my department. However, I seem to be the only one willing to make this deal happen and I owe it to Jonas Quinn to get this done for the sake of both our worlds."

"You know I can't do that Eleanor." He made a face of discomfort back to her and she clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"I'd like to think that you would be able to word it in your own special way. I know you Paul, I know what you're capable of." She paused to sign another form he handed her and looked up. "Thank you, you are indispensable. When is your flight?"

"Tomorrow morning." He grumbled and she gave him a small hand squeeze when returning the paper.

"You need to come by for dinner tonight then." He opened his mouth to object but she stopped him. "I insist Paul, I will not let you spend another night eating the shopette's roller dogs and passing it off as a proper meal. Now, our place 6pm, no need to bring anything." He took the collection of papers from the desk and she called out a thanks as he walked past me and down the hall.

"So sorry about that, Major Davis is only here for a short time and when he is General Hammond's staff often has him." She motioned for me to come in and I had to stifle a smile as I took a moment to get a full look of her. I could see how she managed the position of head of researcher here, and Dr. Jackson had made quite the reputation for herself.

"I'm sorry if this comes across wrong, but I expected you to be in uniform." I took in her wide legged navy overalls with what appeared to be white embroidered leaves on the front panel and a butter yellow knit sweater underneath.

She gave me a quizzical look and held a hand out for me to shake. "Why?"

"I just assumed all SG teams were in uniform, civilian or not." I shook her hand back warmly and her emerald eyes narrowed in on me.

"Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell," I smiled back, sliding my hands into the pockets of my own uniformed pants.

"Why do I know that name," she thought out loud to herself for a moment and so broke the questioning pause.

"It's a pleasure Dr. Jackson, I've got to say I'm a big fan of your work."

"Are you now?" Her lips quirked to one side and she raised a brow. "I'll be sure to let him know. Do you prefer to go by Cameron or Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell?"

"Uh, just Cam is fine, who are you then?" I looked around the room. It appeared to be Dr. Jackson's office. A nameplate on the desk, artifacts and books in piles on every surface. It seemed to be exactly what an archaeologists office should be.

"Eleanor Jackson, I run the cultural analysis database, deal with the SGC side of artifact cataloging, and according to half of this building I am Daniel, er Dr. Jackson's secretary taking care of his more tedious work when he's out of office. Anyway, I can shuffle some things around here for you if you need help. Seems that is what I've been doing the majority of the day anyway."

"I can wait for him." I chuckled back watching the woman minimize what looked like ten separate internet pages before clearing the screen. "It's about SG-1."

"He is in a meeting for another hour or so. Daniel has a lot of catching up to do before their jump tomorrow. Sam, uh Carter may be available if you have immediate questions." She guided me out the door into the hallway and closed the office behind her.

"Perfect, would you be able to point me in Carter's direction?" I flashed a smile and she gave me another knowing look.

"I'll take you myself, I need a light walk and you can tell me all about your background."

After she walked with me down to the gate room I stood slack jawed, this was it. This gorgeous hunk of metal was the key to intergalactic space travel. "I have actual goosebumps," I whispered in awe.

"I thought it was going to be bigger when I first saw it," she led me over to the ramp and I stood reveling in its presence. "Go touch it."

"I couldn't."

"This is the only time they won't think it's weird." She waved up at the man in glasses in the control room who returned the greeting back to her. "Siler," she asked a man with a welder mask on in the corner working in conduits, "can we touch the gate?" He gave a thumbs up and we ascended. I walked up the ramp reaching my hand out and felt the cool metal beneath me. The intricate carvings, the perfectly placed star signs, it was all so surreal like an electrical charge of adventure pulsed against me.

"Sam!" Eleanor called out from across the vast room. "This is Colonel Mitchel, he's here to speak with you." She turned to me and rubbed my back as I stood at the mercy of the gate. "Welcome to Stargate Command Cam Mitchell."