Author's Note: I stumbled across this story in my WIP folders, and found it had a few chapters written so I've decided to finish it. Enjoy.
The small office was quiet in the early morning with only the sound of the computer keys tapping. Maddie looked up when her boss walked in, pushing the box on the corner of her desk towards him in greeting without stopping her work.
"Your mother knows I love her, right?" he asked, lifting a coffee cream doughnut out of the box.
Maddie smiled up at him, "She knows and will continue feeding you cakes as long as I have a job."
Dr Daniel Jackson grinned down at his assistant, "Well since I can't get anything done without you, neither of us has to worry."
"Messages are on your desk," Maddie told him, "Along with three mission reports from Stargate Command for you to go through. Joe will be here at about eleven to discuss the next show as well as the lecture tour."
Daniel sighed, "I'm just hoping they'll finally agree to my request."
Maddie tilted her head sympathetically, "You're the public face of the Stargate project, they are never going to let you go through. You know that."
Daniel sighed again, "Remind me never to come to you for a pep talk."
"You don't pay me to be optimistic," she reminded him with a smile.
Daniel rolled his eyes at her while he snagged another of the pastries from the box before he headed into his office.
x
Placing the two cakes onto his desk Daniel dropped into his chair trying to remember what it was like to be an actual archaeologist and not a glorified lecturer. It had been a long time since he'd been able to participate in a dig and just discover something for himself.
Unfortunately ever since he'd stumbled into being the poster boy/PR rep for the Stargate programme, he spent most of his time reading about other people's findings and presenting them to the public. What really annoyed Daniel was the fact all his theories, the 'crazy' theories he'd been laughed out of academia for, were shown to be true a few years after the lecture that destroyed his career.
By a translation he did.
It had been pure luck he'd run into Antonia Cain, who lived across the hall from him, just after his lecture. She was working on a documentary series on Ancient Egypt and needed someone to look over the information so that it was accurate. Daniel had accepted her offer, since it gave him a paycheque for an afternoon out of the rain reading and making notes.
Antonia then asked him to present the information to her bosses as a stand in for the presenter she was still trying to find. At the beginning Daniel gave a high level summary, he quickly saw their eyes glaze over and stopped. The next thing he said became his catchphrase, which he wished ever since that he'd put more thought into, 'So, what does that mean?'
Somehow he ended up with the job of presenter of the series of documentaries which became extremely popular then, when the Stargate was opened and revealed to the public, Daniel was asked to present the findings of the off-world explorations to the world. This was partly due to the fact the Stargate proved his theories and how popular his documentaries were.
With a sigh, Daniel picked up the first file on his desk and started to read.
x
Maddie looked up from her work a few hours later to see Joe Maxwell, the show's executive producer, wander into the office. He made a beeline for the box of cakes on her desk, frowning when Maddie moved them away from him.
"Just answer me one thing," she said with a slight smile, "Will you leave him in a good mood or bad mood?"
Joe chuckled, "A very good mood."
Maddie moved the box back, "Then you can have the coconut cream finger I made sure I brought for you."
"Do me a favour," he asked, helping himself to the pastry, "Call Margot and get her to order three boxes of your mother's best cakes for my meeting tomorrow morning."
Maddie smiled, "No problem."
He grinned at her before he went over the Daniel's office and headed straight inside.
Maddie quickly called Joe's assistant, chatting with her for a few moments. Returning to work she jumped when Daniel suddenly yelled her name. With practised ease she grabbed her pad and pen before heading into his office.
x
"Can you say that again?" Maddie asked stunned.
Daniel's grin somehow got wider, "They're letting me go through, Maddie. I'm getting to go through the Stargate."
Maddie turned to Joe, "Are you serious? This isn't a joke? Because April was months ago."
Joe shook his head, "We've been thinking about this for a while. There's been some rumbling that the show is not as big a draw as it was. So when Daniel suggested going through, again," he rolled his eyes at the other man, "It was decided it would be a great idea and we could build an entire event around it."
"We're going to keep it quiet," Daniel took over, "If anyone asks we're doing a special within the SGC itself spending time with the SG teams, speaking to the scientists and getting to know the staff."
"Except you'll actually be on another planet," Maddie noted, still trying to get her head around this concept.
"For a week of it anyway," Daniel nodded, his grin still as wide as it had been, "We'll need you to make sure no one knows that outside the base."
"I'll lie through my teeth as always," Maddie chuckled, "When do we go?"
"Daddy, hurry up," Charlie O'Neill called from the couch, "It's starting."
Jack rolled his eyes as he picked up the hot chocolate he'd made for them, it was so ironic that he went through the Stargate but Charlie was in awe of the host of the show who told him all about it.
Taking a seat beside his son Jack listened to the narrative at the beginning of the show. He liked this bit; it was the high-level explanation of the shows topic before Jackson broke everything down and explained fully.
Jackson was good at this but Jack wasn't quite sure if it was a good idea to take the guy off world with them. Unfortunately he had absolutely no choice as the top brass had ordered it so Jack now had to babysit a TV presenter for a week on another planet.
He chuckled softly as he listened to Charlie ohh and ahh at the things he was being shown. When the show finished Charlie turned to him.
"Do you know Dr Jackson?" Charlie asked.
Jack chuckled and shook his head, "I've never met him but I'll let you into a little secret. He's coming to the base soon to visit."
"Wow," Charlie's eyes widened, "Can I meet him?"
"We'll see," Jack pulled him off the couch and over his shoulder, "Time for bed."
x
The next morning Jack sat in his office reading the file on Daniel Jackson and the plan they'd been given for taking him off-world. He had argued against it but lost so suggested Abydos as the destination for the one, and only, off-world trip for Dr Daniel Jackson and his TV show.
"Morning, sir," Carter smiled as she stepped into his office, "Ready for our guest?"
Jack frowned at her, "No. What about you?"
She shrugged, "I'm just hoping he doesn't disrupt this place too much."
Jack sighed, "Nice to know I'm not the only one dreading this."
"When is he due to arrive?" Carter asked.
"Couple of hours," Jack replied, "I'm meeting him and his 'team' to go over the plan."
Carter chuckled, "Well I'm due to help in lab 3. Have fun."
"Traitor," Jack called after her as she disappeared from the room leaving him to stare at the file again.
x
Maddie checked her messages while they waited for the representative from the SGC to meet them, seriously thinking about knocking her boss unconscious. He was high as a kite and had been since he'd picked her up. Looking up she saw someone arrive finally to escort them inside, smiling as she recognised him.
"Paul," Daniel greeted the other man with the same grin he'd been wearing all day.
Major Paul Davis the liaison to the show shook the other man's hand quickly before he turned to Maddie and gave her a quick nod hello.
"Welcome to the SGC," Paul said, "Where are the rest of your team?"
Daniel shrugged, "It's just us."
"What?"
"We were told that when we go through then the camera would be operated by a member of the SGC," Daniel explained.
"But you're still here for a few weeks before that?" Paul reminded him.
Daniel shrugged, "For the interviews with the staff we'll use a camera on the tripod and anything else Maddie can do. We want to be as unobtrusive as possible."
Paul looked as though he was about to ask something but obviously decided against it. He took one of the bags and motioned them to follow him.
After signing in and receiving a visitor's pass they headed deep down into the mountain using two elevators, through a mile of corridors and into a large conference room.
x
Daniel was trying hard to remain calm as they finally entered the SGC. He had about two weeks until he was allowed to step through onto another planet. A planet that was like the home he'd spent the first eight years of his life.
"Dr Jackson," Paul's voice interrupted his musing as a bald man with sharp blue eyes wearing a uniform the same as Paul's appeared, "This is General George Hammond."
Daniel offered the older man his hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, General."
"You too, Dr," Hammond replied, "My granddaughters are both big fans of your show."
Daniel gave a slight smile, "I hope they're learning from it. This is my assistant, Madeline Denver."
Hammond turned to the young woman standing quietly to his side, "Miss Denver, welcome to the SGC. Please take a seat so we can discuss the schedule for the next few weeks."
Daniel nodded in agreement as he and Maddie both took their seats. He listened intently to the information on what they were allowed to film and where they were allowed to go, asking a few questions. As always Maddie sat at his side making notes quietly. If there was something they'd missed she would pick that up but until that moment she remained silent.
"General," Daniel spoke up once the other man finished talking, "As the cover story we're using is that I am covering the SGC for the next three weeks therefore when I do…" he paused trying not to sound too excited, "Go through the Stargate, Maddie needs to maintain that cover."
Hammond nodded, "Miss Denver is more than welcome, and I will personally ensure she is comfortable within the base."
x
"Have I missed anything?" Daniel asked when Hammond left them alone for a few minutes.
Maddie shook her head, "You are amazingly focussed considering the fact you've probably not slept in a week with excitement."
"You remember I'm your boss, right?" Daniel demanded trying not to sound amused.
Before she could retort Hammond returned this time with another man and Maddie returned to her laptop.
"Dr Jackson, Miss Denver," Hammond said, "This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, the leader of SG1."
Daniel stood and offered his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you, Colonel."
"You too, Doc," O'Neill shook his hand before turning to Maddie, "And it's nice to finally put a face to the voice, Miss Denver."
Maddie smiled back, "And you, Colonel."
O'Neill took his seat at Hammond's side sitting directly across from Daniel and leaned back.
"Colonel O'Neill will be accompanying you to Abydos, Dr Jackson," Hammond explained, "When you are there you will need to follow his orders to the letter. That is the agreement made with Mr Maxwell."
Daniel nodded, "Of course, I completely agree with that."
He glanced at Maddie relieved that she didn't say anything or make any sound at the thought of him following orders.
"Your guide on Abydos," O'Neill took over, "Is the daughter of the Chief Elder. Sha're spent several months on Earth recuperating after an accident so she's pretty fluent in English. She also knows everything you'll be interested in."
"That sounds great," Daniel nodded, "I'm looking forward to meeting her."
"We still have to get through the next two week first," Hammond said, "I've looked over the list of people you want to talk to and we've drawn up a schedule. Colonel O'Neill has this for you."
"Thank you for this," Daniel said sincerely, "I promise we will keep out of the way as much as possible."
Daniel looked around the small office he and Maddie had been given to use while they were here. The schedule O'Neill had given him meant he would get time to speak with everyone he wanted to as well as spend some time training for going through the Stargate. They'd also been given rooms to use, although Daniel tried to insist Maddie book into a hotel, so she saw the outside once in a while. His assistant simply shrugged and pointed out she'd be fine in the base especially as she had to look after him and keep him focussed.
"Okay," she looked up from the small section of the room she had taken over as her own, "I am going to go get some coffee from the commissary, assuming I can find my way there and back. Do you want anything?"
"Coffee," he smiled, "We'll go over the schedule for the next few days once you're back."
"Sure," she smiled back before disappearing.
Daniel leaned back and grinned because he was finally here, he was getting to go through the Stargate. Fine, it was only one trip, but it was happening.
x
"Are you happy with everything?" Maddie asked once they finished several hours later.
Daniel nodded, "That's great. Colonel O'Neill has arranged for the first interview tomorrow morning, are you sure you're okay to work the camera?"
"I've done it plenty of times before," she reminded him.
A fond smile touched Daniel's lips, "Go and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."
Maddie nodded and disappeared leaving him alone once more in the small office. He looked at the information he'd been given regarding his trip about a dozen times already today but decided to go over it just once more before heading to the gym for an hour. In all honesty he was a little taken by the picture of his guide for Abydos. Daniel had studied her file several times and each time he'd spent ages just staring at the beautiful woman in the picture. Thankfully Maddie hadn't caught him doing it. With a sigh he shut down the computer and headed to the gym for a while to work off some of his nervous energy.