ShaViva's Stargate Fan ... Stuff

Chapter 01: Accidents will happen
Thursday 19th March | 0630 hours | Balcony, outermost tower

Lieutenant Laura Cadman jogged down the corridors of Atlantis in the early morning, marvelling that after three months she was still thrilled to be posted back to such an awe inspiring place. She hadn't decided on a set route for her daily run, choosing instead whatever path took her fancy on a given day ... at times that meant her return journey was a little longer than expected. Atlantis was a huge place and it was easy to get turned around - end up somewhere you hadn't intended to go.

Like this morning for example. Instead of taking the turn that would put her on a heading for the East Pier she'd somehow managed to end up a few levels up in one of the outermost towers. Making a note to leave transporters out of her runs in the future, Laura stopped to take stock. If she wasn't mistaken the door to her right would lead out to a balcony - from there she'd get a better idea of the fastest route back to the main tower. Besides, it'd be a nice place to take a break before heading home.

Swiping a hand over the door controls, Laura stepped on to the balcony, letting the doors swish closed behind her.

"Now this is more like it," she thought, gazing out at the view presented to her. From there she could see most of the city sprawled out in front of her in all its early morning glory. Without conscious thought Laura took the last few steps necessary to bring her to the balcony edge. Resting her hands lightly on the railing she breathed in the ocean air, smiling because it was just that kind of place.

It was the faint sound of grinding that warned her ... that along with her innate Marine sense of impending doom. Cadman was halfway through the motion of leaning more heavily against the railing when that warning hit ... not enough time for her to pull her weight back, just enough for her to tighten her grip.

Abruptly the entire section she was holding on to broke away at each end, leaving her holding onto something that almost in slow motion folded forward towards the ocean. Afterward, Laura wouldn't be able to describe how she did it - just that somehow she'd managed to let go of the broken section and grab the wall directly underneath before she ended up on her way down to the ground a long way below her.

Hanging by her hands Laura kept the panic at bay, taking a few deep breaths before swinging her legs deliberately back and forth until she had enough momentum to get a foot over the wall.

Untold moments of groaning, sweating effort later Laura lay panting on the balcony floor.

That had been too close.

Once her heart rate had returned to almost normal Cadman dragged herself to standing, moving cautiously to look more closely at the damage. She hadn't noticed when she'd walked out onto the balcony, so taken with the view had she been, but the whole area showed signs of water damage. Clearly it had been one of the sections affected when the shield had collapsed on their arrival. Laura wasn't an expert but to her eye it looked like the railing itself was corroded - hardly visible in places but much worse in others, including around the spots where the section had broken away.

It had just been a stupid accident and Cadman had been the unlucky person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, she had to report it and given the nature of the incident and the fact that the balcony would have to be closed off as off limits it was serious enough to get the city's leaders involved.

"Colonel Carter, Colonel Sheppard, this is Lieutenant Cadman," Laura began.

Sam glanced over at the clock. She was accustomed to rising early and had been awake for almost an hour. She leaned back away from her notebook PC, removing her focus from the paperwork she was getting an early start on. "Yes Lieutenant," she replied. "What can I do for you this morning?"

Colonel Sheppard was standing at his bathroom sink with a towel wrapped around his waist as he focused on dragging the razor over the curve of his jaw and down his throat when the radio beside his bed squawked. He swooshed the razor in the standing water and tapped it on the edge of the sink as he listened. His earpiece was on the shelf in front of him and he donned it with a quick movement and began to shave again. "This is Sheppard... go ahead, Lieutenant."

"I'm sorry it's so early Sir, Ma'am, but something just happened that I thought warranted your attention." Laura then gave the details and her location, and waited to hear back on what she was authorized to do next.

The Colonel frowned. She was fairly certain she knew the location the Lieutenant was describing. It was, as Cadman said, a rather close call. She wasn't aware there were areas remaining in the city, not yet restricted that were in such disrepair. "Hang tight Lieutenant," she said. "We'll be there in a few minutes." Sam pushed up from the desk and reached for her uniform jacket, hanging over the back of the sofa.

"No pun intended of course," John remarked about Sam's "hang tight" comment. He splashed water on his face and towelled off the remnants of the frothy foam and went into this bedroom to don his uniform. "Be there in ten."

Lieutenant Cadman paced the corridor waiting for both leaders to arrive ... barely refraining from biting her nails in agitation because surely one of them would have something to say about her being all the way out there by herself. Colonel Sheppard arrived first, followed closely by Colonel Carter.

Several minutes later, Carter was joining Cadman and Sheppard in the corridor outside the balcony. She nodded to each of them, then she took a moment to survey the damage. "This is odd," she commented. "I've been up here a dozen times and I've never noticed the corrosion being this severe." She glanced at Sheppard. "I'll need to look over the survey reports that were done after Atlantis was found, and again following Oberoth's attack, but I thought this area was cleared for safety."

In a city as large as Atlantis, with as little personnel as they had - by comparison at least, it would be easy to overlook or to miss something. But surely, Sam thought, she would have noticed. Granted, the location was one of her favourite thinking spots. The view alone made it worth visiting on a regular basis. Sam couldn't believe that with her own training and experience she would be oblivious to her surroundings. Particularly in Atlantis. Even after all this time there was a part of her that was still in an 'off world' frame of mind. Even now that this was home.

John shrugged slightly as he stared almost unfocused at the rail's broken end. "Nobody's perfect, Colonel," he said and then turned to her with a slight grin. Then he looked at Cadman and tilted his head slightly, "At least nobody got seriously injured. You should check in with Dr. Keller or Beckett." He inspected her palms where they'd been scratched a bit. "Don't want those getting infected or anything."

Laura glanced down at her palms, noticing for the first time how red and sore they were. "Yes Sir," she acknowledged.

"Send a team out to inspect this area of the city again," Colonel Carter told Sheppard. "I want a thorough cataloguing of the parapets and balconies. If this one was in such disrepair, others may be as well." That would take time, she knew, but it needed to be done. "In the mean time, let's restrict access to the survey teams only."

John listened to her with an expression of indifference and then nodded, pursing his lips. "You got it," he replied. "This place is pretty big, Colonel... you can't expect that every single inch of the place has been covered with a fine tooth comb. I'd put out a friendly reminder to all personnel to remain diligent, especially when wandering around in new areas." His last comment came out as if leaning blame for the incident on Cadman for taking safety for granted especially in a place she'd never been before.

Lieutenant Cadman looked down at the ground, embarrassed to be called up on her apparent carelessness but knowing she deserved it. To her the balcony had been new territory and she should have been paying much better attention ... luckily for her the only consequences of not doing that were a couple of sore palms and a less than impressed CO. It could have been a lot worse.

"I'll get the engineers on this... right away," Sheppard nodded then looked at Sam with a smile. "We done here, Colonel? I promised Eliz... Dr. Weir I'd take her to breakfast."

A brow rose as Sam regarded him. "I realize how big a city this is, Lt. Colonel, but that is no reason to become lax in our duty to make sure that each and every person in it remains safe. Lieutenant," she turned to Cadman. "Report to Medical. We're done." The Colonel's head inclined as she wondered how much of John's sudden impatience had to do with his meeting with Dr. Weir.

"Yes Ma'am ... Sir," Cadman acknowledged both superior officers before turning on her heel and heading straight for the infirmary.

It was John's turn to raise his eyebrows at Sam addressing him by full rank instead of the customary "colonel". He hadn't meant anything more than the fact that everyone should always remain diligent and nothing more. Apparently Colonel Carter had a burr under her blanket he figured and just casually dismissed it with a slight facial shrug.

As Cadman was dismissed and headed off John remained, regarding Carter with a strange expression. "You okay, Sam?" he asked now that they were alone.

"Am I okay?" Her face took on a peculiar expression. "You all but took her head off. I understand your lack of patience in wanting to get to your breakfast meeting, John, but I need you to not lose focus of your duties. The world doesn't end because Elizabeth Weir returns. You have responsibilities to the rest of the city as well."

"Excuse me, Colonel?" John curled his lip in utter defensive. "I hardly took her head off," he stated, in fact he hadn't even raised his voice. Things like this happen, he was just glad Cadman was safe. "And what is that supposed to mean? I know exactly what my responsibilities are, Colonel. I do not need to be reminded of them," he told her. His posture had changed instantly, from relaxed and upright to a forward and somewhat aggressive lean-toward. His confused scowl lending the wrong impression of anger. "And how does Elizabeth figure into any of this? All I asked was if we were finished. I wholly intend to address this issue first... before breakfast."

Sam took a half step back, surprised by his sudden shift into hostility. "John!" She shook her head at him. "I don't know what's gotten in to you, but get a handle on it." He was certainly acting oddly. In the past she'd seen him passionate, even irate, but never to the point of hostility - at least, not directly toward herself or another member of the command staff.

Sheppard recoiled a bit from her words and tampered down his frustrated anger. Straightening his posture he took a deep breath and paused as an engineering team came upon them. He thought that was rather quick, but someone must've been monitoring their radio transmissions of course.

Sam frowned at this change in him. It seemed to be directly related to Dr. Weir's return. She wondered if he wasn't the only one finding her return awkward. "We will meet later this afternoon to discuss the engineering team's report once they've had an opportunity to evaluate the balcony."

John kept her gaze with his and a moment later he seemed to deflate and lowered his eyes, chewing a bit on his lip before nodding. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied respectfully before they both were distracted by Mallory's very-McKay-like rant.

Dr. Bruce Mallory passed the Colonels in the hall, nodding with a irritated look on his face as he and his team headed down towards the accident. He took one of look at the area and swore. "This is... What in the-," he said, his Australian accent thick with his anger. "Who approved this area? I didn't think... Oh well, leave it to the careless to almost get crushed and leave me and my team with this mess!" he ranted as he started working, looking to see what could've happened.

"Yes, well I look forward to reading your report Dr. Mallory." Sam sent one last glance at John before she strode away from the balcony.

John caught the glance tossed at him and he remained in place for a good minute allowing his CO to take her leave without him strolling along behind her. He took another deep breath and let it out. He had no idea why she took his every word or action as hostile. John was sure that he was more confused about her right now than she could be about him.

0800 hours | Mess Hall

Major Evan Lorne walked into the Mess Hall for breakfast, distracted with the palm pad he was reading as he made his way over to the serving table. Grabbing the basics - cereal, fruit and coffee - Evan turned to assess table availability. It was pretty early and most of the larger tables were empty ... picking the nearest one Lorne took a seat facing the entrance. Focusing half his attention on his meal and the other half on the latest status report from the SGC Evan was soon absorbed in his own world.

Daniel had hoped to make a morning breakfast date with Sam but by the time he dragged heavy eyes opened, showered, shaved and dressed for the day, she was already out and about her duty. At least that was his assumption when getting no answer to his chiming the door to her quarters. It did not bother him since it had been spontaneous and unplanned on his part. He left a sorry I missed you note wedged by her door and headed on for the Mess Hall.

As he made his way through the serving line, he assessed the room for open tables and immediately spotted his CO. Flashing a grin that way, Daniel stopped by the coffee service and filled an extra large mug with the aromatic brew before heading to Lorne's table. Daniel felt that he was settling into his new team assignment well, although still getting his balance as an official second-in-command. It helped that the other two military officers on the team were many years his junior making acting as their superior officer easier and more natural. All-in-all it was working out well and the archaeologist was enjoying the new challenges and new relationships ... not to mention the opportunity to turn new heads of hair gray ...

Setting his tray down, Daniel settled into the seat opposite his CO, "Good morning. Anything on tap for the team today?" He always checked for team activities first if he did not have FLASH mail in his inbox with specific team assignments or missions. After that, he concentrated on the many tasks his position as Director of Cultural Sciences imposed upon him.

"Morning Daniel," Lorne looked up and greeted his team mate distractedly. Registering the other man's question, Evan blinked. "Ah ... team tasks? Nothing specific planned yet. Colonel Carter mentioned something about restarting the schedule of regular check in visits with our friends and allies so we might catch a mission in the next couple of weeks."

Daniel nodded as he doctored his coffee with cream and a small amount of sugar, "If it turns into routine meet and greets with allies and the like, we should take a member of DipOps with us. Maybe even Elizabeth ... get her feet wet again on off world travel." He paused to take a bite of his omelette before adding, "Other than that ... how's life in general?" Due to his on base duties as a departmental director, Daniel had had little time to spend with Lorne and the rest of his new team. SG-1 had made it a routine to hang out in either his or Sam's office/laboratories at the SGC which kept them all in touch. He would have to find a casual way of letting the new team know that he welcomed the company and that it would never be considered an intrusion.

"Doctor Weir being included in a meet and greet mission is a good idea Daniel," Lorne nodded thoughtfully. "I think we'll have to get in line though ... I have a feeling it'll be a while before Colonel Sheppard let's Elizabeth go anywhere without his personal protection." Glancing around the room casually, Lorne smiled when the man himself appeared in the doorway. Looking back at Daniel, Evan answered the question he'd posed. "Life's good thanks. You know - we really need some kind of team ... thing. When everyone gets busy with other duties it's a little hard to keep up on all the personal stuff."

Daniel nodded in between bites of his breakfast, "SG-1 used to have movie nights or a get together at O'Malley's...until we were asked not to come back...but...there's the Thirty-Nine...pool night? And," he added, "my office door is almost always open ..."

"The Thirty-Nine pool night," Lorne repeated thoughtfully. "You any good? We could play for choice of watch on he next off world mission."

The archaeologist grinned in response, "I won't lay claims to being a pool shark, but I can hold my own. Played a lot in college, low-rent wagers and the like."

After assigning a security team to cordon off the balcony, Sheppard alerted the engineers to the construction issue and got them on the task. Once that was done he headed to the Mess to grab a bite to eat. He no sooner grabbed a tray and was picking out silverware when Ronon came in behind him.

"Mornin'," Ronon grumbled as he reached over John's outstretched arm instead of waiting his turn.

"Yeah, morning," John replied distracted as the line moved along slowly.

"What's with you?" Ronon asked.

"Nothin'," Sheppard replied and got a scowl from his friend. "Well ... I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe. Probably."

"What?"

John looked over his left shoulder and then his right, allowing the person in line in front of him to move a short distance away before he told Ronon quietly, "Something's odd. Carter's got some kind of burr today." Ronon frowned because he had no clue what he was talking about. "She called me Lieutenant Colonel this morning."

"You ARE a Lieutenant Colonel," Ronon pointed out logically. John gave him a dry grin and shook his head.

"Yeah, but you don't address a Lt. Col. as Lieutenant Colonel unless you're trying to emphasize that you outrank him or her. Proper address in the military is to address a Light Bird as Colonel, regardless of the "L.T." before it. And she's never done that before ..." he added.

Ronon nudged him to move forward with the line as he stopped whispering his reasons for being a bit agitated. "You're being paranoid," Ronon told him as he reached past him again to grab a plate from the warmer and then he picked one for John too who was too busy eyeballing the dining area. "Pay attention would ya?" he nudged his team leader again. "And stop that, you look guilty of something."

"What?" John asked.

"Whispering and looking around. You're making ME nervous. Cut it out."

"Oh. Sorry," John replied.

They finally got enough items on their trays, Ronon's was chock full of all kinds of fruits and sweet snacks wrapped haphazardly around his plate of eggs and ham. John, meanwhile, had a cup of coffee, a glass of orange juice and bunch of grapes set on his tray. Ronon shook his head at the so-called meal and realized why his CO was so skinny.

They walked into the dining area and John took a bead on a table a few rows beyond Lorne and Jackson's. As he passed them though he gave Lorne a nod. "Major," he greeted and then looked to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson."

"Morning Sir," Lorne greeted his CO promptly. "Ronon."

"Daniel," Daniel reminded automatically, "Good morning, John, Ronon." He would have asked the two men to join them, but they seemed to have other plans, quickly moving on rather than lingering to talk more.

Ronon shadowed Sheppard to the table and sat down across from him as John seemed overly focused on the two men. Ronon looked over his shoulder toward Lorne's table and looked back at Sheppard. "What?"

John shook his head absently. "Nothing. I was just wondering if Daniel knows whatever has Carter in an odd mood. You know they used to be on the same off world team together ... for ten years or something."

"Just eat," Ronon told him and dug into his meal.

From the breakfast line Lt. Moreno went through slowly, grumbling. The cause of her displeasure was that her personal tea supply had seen its last days yesterday. So she, begrudgingly, had to select the general issue tea along with her egg, toast, and grapes. She sighed in an attempt to shake off her mood. She had never enjoyed morning. It always came too fast. Granted it was usually her own fault for catching so little sleep.

Scouting the tables she noticed two members of her team sitting at a table together, with Colonel Sheppard and Ronon Dex at another close by. She swallowed, realizing she really had to get used to this. Holding her posture she strode over to the table as casually as possible.

"Room for one more?" She asked.

Major Lorne waved a welcoming hand at one of the empty seats. "Sure, pull up a chair." Waiting for Lt. Moreno to settle herself at the table Lorne continued. "I've got paperwork ... reams and reams of paperwork, and Daniel's busy being all ... cultural. What's the status on your research work with Doctor Zelenka?"

"Well, we've almost got things sorted out again." She said, plopping a grape into her mouth. "We're just trying to keep checking over things. Some nasty shocks came from the last tests."

Before Ronon had a chance to really dig into his meal, John slid out of his seat and headed toward Lorne's table. Okay, this probably wasn't good - he was acting really weird today, Ronon thought to himself. He grabbed up his tray and John's too and moved off after his team leader.

"Hey there, do you mind?" John asked as he dropped into the seat beside Lorne. Ronon set his tray down in front of him and then grabbed a chair to pull up alongside him on the end of the table. Ronon stared at John for a minute and then glanced at Moreno with a nod before digging into the heap of food on his tray. "Morning Lieutenant," Sheppard greeted her with a nod and then pinned Daniel with a serious gaze. "Daniel? Have you noticed some ... bizarre ... reactions from ..." he glanced at Moreno and realized suddenly this wasn't a good time or place to point out their CO's odd behavior. "Never mind," he sighed and pulled a grape from the bunch in front of him. "So what's on the agenda for your team today, Major?"

Daniel frowned at the abrupt change of subject that occurred before John even finished questioning him. While his mind turned over numerous items that Sheppard might have brought to the archaeologist's attention, he could not land on any one thing that would have brought the younger man to their table only to have him clam up and change the topic. Giving a mental shrug, he glanced at Lorne who had known John far longer and better than Daniel had, hoping to gauge his CO's response to what seem decidedly strange behavior.

"I've still got mission reports to finalize Sir," Lorne replied, keeping his expression bland. Inside he was frowning, surprised by the Colonel's unusual behaviour. It wasn't like him to be so changeable - one minute deliberately choosing to ignore an implied invitation to join them and then the next turning up without giving anyone a real chance to comment. Add to that Sheppard's aborted question and you had one concerned 2IC. Lorne knew that Elizabeth's return had thrown his CO somewhat ... that the Colonel was still working out how to be. Evan just hoped it was nothing more than that.

Glancing at Daniel mischievously Lorne continued. "I think Daniel's planning on culturing 'something' and Lt. Moreno here is helping Radek with his puddle jumper mental interface project. I think we're all looking forward to our next off world mission."

Daniel chuckled softly as Lorne chose to deflect the oddness of the situation with light chat and a bit of humor. 'Perhaps,' Daniel thought, 'everyone was just having a bad morning.' "Ummmmm," he added, "drop by my office anytime you need some...culture."

"What?" John asked a bit surprised. He frowned at Moreno and asked, "What's he doing to my Jumpers?? What's the matter with the mental interface component in the Jumpers?"

Ronon stopped shovelling the food in and sat back looking at Sheppard as he chewed down the mouthful he already had. He looked from John to Moreno and waited.

"Oh, nothing to worry about now, sir!" Moreno emphasized. "Some of the jumpers simply had a little fungal problem. Like barnacles on a ship. Except this weed was getting into the energy supply and making some of the mental commands unresponsive. We took care of that and are making sure things are back to normal. Also, we've taken precautions to spread the jumpers with a repellent the biology and botany departments developed for us. Non-toxic to anything. It just makes the plant not want to grow there. Something about faking a toxin? I'm honestly not sure about that part, sir. Uh..." She paused for a moment, looking at her C.O. She didn't want to step on toes.

"I'm pretty sure we all filed a report on this, sir." She said, knowing full well they did. She then quickly added, as to not seem like she was degrading the Lt. Colonel "But we've all been a little busy in the paperwork department."

Elizabeth entered the mess hall glancing around a bit. She seemed to not find what or who she was looking for and shrugged it off, deciding to enter the line before that last waffle was gone. She swore, being a corporeal consciousness was going to make her fat. She had eaten quite poorly since she returned, quite happy with being reminded of the wonderful tastes of the world.

Glancing about again she noticed this time Major Lorne's table and he quite a crowd gathered... including the one she'd been searching for. Just as she saw him, John looked over and seeing her he smiled bright and excused himself.

"Excuse me, guys, I have a breakfast date and she's here," John said as he got to his feet. He left Ronon sitting with Lorne's team as he trotted down the steps to greet Elizabeth.

"Morning!" he greeted with a big smile. He then squeezed into line behind her, getting a bit of a look from the tech behind him. He gave her the "command has privileges" look and reached back to get a tray and accessories for himself.

As they moved through the line John looked ahead to see what was on offer and noted as Lizabeth grumbled slightly at there being only one waffle left, he stretched forward with his fork and snagged it up still three feet back in the line. That earned him a scowl from the Gate tech in front of Elizabeth and a frown from the tech behind him who he'd cut off in line.

"There ya' go. I know how much you like the waffles," he said as he deposited it on her plate.

"Thank you!" She chirped, obviously pleased with her prize. He may have been teasing, but she really did adore her waffles!

They finished filling their trays and John gestured for her to go before him and he followed her, as he always had, without issue and allowed her to choose her own table for them.

Selecting a table by one of the windows she slid the chair back with the heal of her foot before pulling it back as she sat down. She didn't feel like formality quite this early in the morning. As her late work nights showed, she was much more of a night owl then an early bird when she was working. Not that she didn't think that mornings couldn't be wonderful if she had a reason to get up.

"Sorry to drag you away." She apologized but really didn't feel all that guilty as she picked up the juice she had selected to take an appreciative sip.

"Huh?" he asked, then understood and tossed a quick glance back to Lorne's table. "Oh that. I was just passing the time until you got here. Not a big deal at all," he said as he settled himself across from her. "So how was your night? Got any plans for the day?" he asked.

"It was well. I've started to dream again," she thought she'd add and John swallowed quickly as that comment caught him off guard and he put his coffee mug down as he listened.

Ever since returning Elizabeth's greatest challenge had possibly been sleeping. Throughout the day she was fine as long as she had something she could touch or sense. Sleeping was entirely different. Luckily that was starting to get a little easier.

"I have a meeting around noon, status report. But other than that, it's just a day of paperwork, visit scheduling, and treaty proofs." She actually enjoyed the regularity of her new position. It was relaxing in some twisted form of the word.

"Yourself?"

"Nothing much of interest," John told her with a shoulder shrug as he relaxed across from her. "I have some mission reports to go through to be sure they're ready for transmission, I have to check the armory to be sure the inventory is updated and sign any requisitions for ordnance..... the usual..."

His itinerary trailed off as he started his meal and then he asked through chewing, without lifting his head up, "So you wanna meet for lunch?"

With that the two talked casually and quietly for the next forty minutes and then John walked her back to her office before excusing himself to go about his military duties. He grinned as he walked down the corridor toward the armoury at the thought of a military command officer and a diplomat.... eh, he just let the thought simmer somewhere in the back of his mind.

Wednesday 25th March | 1400 hours | Control Room

At fourteen hundred hours precisely Chuck dialled Earth for the regular weekly check-in. Colonel Carter stood in her usual place in front of the view screen, ready to greet General Landry back at the SGC.

The Stargate kawhooshed and then settled into its usual shimmery pool as the connection was established.

"Carter!" the amused countenance of General Jack O'Neill popped up on the screen abruptly.

"Sir!" Surprise lit Carter's eyes. "This is a surprise. To what do we owe the..." She paused purposefully and glanced at Chuck, as if truly searching for the correct word. "Honor?" She was smiling again when her gaze returned to the screen.

"Well it's been more than a week since I left Daniel there permanently," O'Neill replied with a faint smirk. "Thought I should check in and see how much trouble he's managed to get himself into."

Daniel trotted up the stairs to the Command Centre only to check his step momentarily as he saw Jack's grinning countenance on the view screen. He had a packet of information that needed to go to his replacement at the SGC who was still getting her sea legs as the Senior Cultural Expert and director of his old department. Daniel had been given to understand that Sarah Gardner ... Dr. Sarah Gardner ... was doing a great job, but it would take her awhile to come up to speed on some of the alien languages ... besides Goa'uld and Jaffa ... of course. He had been expecting to see her waiting with General Landry for his portion of that meeting's reports and updates.

Col. Sheppard trotted up the last few steps of the landing and checked up as he saw Gen. O'Neill's face on the viewscreen and Col. Carter and Dr. Jackson standing there in conference.

A couple of technicians glanced up at him and went back to work as John simply slid into the console area and held back to give the former team members some time. He watched as Daniel turned to Chuck and handed something to him.

Daniel handed the data crystal over to Chuck with his databurst for Gardner encoded on it, "Hello, Jack," he said slowly as blue eyes gazed at his long-time friend wondering what was up. "General Landry take a much needed vacation finally?"

John watched and listened from a stealth position, curious to what the group might have to talk about. He'd come forward if called upon but he saw no reason to interfere.

"Daniel," O'Neill acknowledged his former team mate with just a faint hint of teasing present in his voice. "I see the city's still standing and you're still in one piece. Maybe it's you who's taken that much needed vacation?"

"Funny, Jack. Actually, things are going well here, thanks for asking," Daniel responded with a wry note in his voice. "Still doesn't explain why we're seeing your smiling face and not General Landry's and Dr. Gardner's."

"I'm crushed by your lack of enthusiasm Daniel," O'Neill joked before relenting. "They'll be here in a minute ... Hank was kind enough to let me commandeer the beginning of the weekly check-in." Noticing for the first time the figure hovering in the background, Jack raised an eyebrow in interest. "Is that Sheppard?"

John stood up straight from where he was resting his backside against the console as the other two turned to look at him. He gave Sam and Daniel a nod. "Uhh, yes Sir, General."

Sam glanced back, surprised. "Apparently, it is." She hoped whatever was bothering him would be kept in check in front of the General. "Are you joining us today?" That in itself was surprising. He wasn't normally interested in the goings on of the SGC, and she couldn't recall his joining the weekly check-in before - not when they weren't involved in some crisis or another. He was certainly acting... oddly, lately. Sam resolved to mention it to Daniel later, to see if he'd noticed anything.

"Umm, no, I, uhh ..." he stammered a bit. He hadn't intended to disrupt their usual goings on. "I was just ... in the area ... and didn't want to interrupt."

"Colonel," Jack greeted the other man. "How's Doctor Weir settling back into Atlantis?" Sure - he could have asked Daniel and Sam that question but they didn't know Elizabeth as well as Sheppard did. If anyone had a take on the real status it would be the Colonel.

John glanced at Sam, unsure of which Colonel he was addressing but when Sam continued to give him a creepy stare he stepped forward a bit hesitantly. "Dr. Weir's settling in as well as can be expected, Sir. She's a bit out of her element, of course," he mentioned casting a glance at Sam, "but she's looking forward to beginning her new assignment in the DipOps section."

"Well that's good to hear Colonel," Jack replied, not missing the unusually stilted interactions between Carter and Sheppard. Putting it down to the transition of having Weir back still being a work in progress Jack moved to conclude his part of the days business. "I trust you'll inform me if there's any cause for concern Colonel."

"Oh yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. You'll be the first to know," he said and then amended that. "Uhh, the second, after Colonel Carter... and me... so I guess that'd make you third actually...... Sir," he ended realizing he was babbling.

Dr. Leia Mahanay stood in the background, absorbing the interactions between the old teammates. She was in the control room, passing through, but couldn't resist seeing the infamous old guard speaking with each other.

Private Cain Abels walked past the woman as she gawked, a smile playing upon his lips. "It's not polite to stare, Ma'am," he whispered to her as Leia got a little flustered.

"It's not staring. It's watching history," she said tartly.

"Whatever you say, Ma'am," he said, walking on.

There was no warning ... all of a sudden, the view screen started to crack, falling forward as if to crush the people standing before it.

General O'Neill had the strange feeling that he was falling as a view of the Atlantis control room floor rushed up towards him.

"What the hell?" O'Neill exclaimed, just resisting the urge to flinch out of the way even though he himself wasn't in danger.

Abruptly his visual connection with the Pegasus Galaxy was severed, presumably at the point when the screen itself was disconnected from their system. Shooting a glance up at the Stargate to check that the wormhole was still active Jack turned to Walter with a questioning look.

"We're still connected Sir," Walter confirmed.

"Colonel Carter, what's the situation there?" Jack asked. The only immediate response he got was silence ... waiting had never been his strong suit but given what he'd seen before the screen went blank he knew it might be a few moments before anyone was able to respond.

Daniel's eyes widened and he reacted instinctively by grabbing Sam and throwing them both out of the way of the falling viewscreen. It was doubtful it would be a lethal blow, but it could cause considerable injury.

She fell back with him, even as the sound of the large view screen hitting the deck vibrated through the room. There were gasps and yells, and the sounds of electrical cracks and sparks. The air smelt singed with the scent of electrical wires burning. Someone, one of the SFs stepped forward, having grabbed a fire extinguisher and gave the view screen a couple of short sprays, to dampen any fire before it could really get started.

The sound of the odd cracking and the movement of the large monitor caused John to take a step backward. That was all he really needed to do since he'd stopped just short of the distance that would become the danger zone. He watched a bit taken aback as Daniel dove onto Sam and shoved them both out of the way as the viewer fell toward the floor.

Sam looked around as she climbed to her feet. "Is everyone okay," she asked almost in unison with her 2IC's comments.

He raised his eyebrows at them as they got their feet under them and pulled themselves together again. Sheppard looked at them and then to the viewer then back again. "You two all right?" he asked. "Looks like we should get some techs on that too, huh?" John cocked his head toward the damaged screen and looked to Sam for a nod.

Daniel had climbed back to his feet as well and looked around, still blinking as he took in the damage. Glancing down, he spotted his glasses and retrieved them from where they had fallen underneath a nearby console. He looked around at everyone else and then at John, "Yeah...yeah...looks like we're okay." He glanced over at Sam and shook his head slightly as if trying to sort out what had happened.

"Carter, Sheppard - what the hell's going on there?" General O'Neill, tired of waiting for a response, spoke with more than a hint of impatience in his voice.

John tapped his ear quickly and reported in on the audio channel, "It's nothing, Sir. Our view screen seems to have fallen from its mooring. We'll be right with you."

General O'Neill frowned, surprised. The Ancients built things to last ... everything in the city had stayed exactly where they'd installed it for ten thousand years. And now view screens were just falling off their moorings?

"If you say so Sheppard," he replied. "You might want to get McKay up there just the same ... sounds a little ... odd to me."

"What's odd about it, Sir? The brace we put up to hold the flat screen seems to have some sort of... defect... maybe?" he said as he leaned toward it to inspect it visually without touching it.

"So it was one we installed - not the Ancient version," Jack commented, checking that he'd understood the Colonel's comments. When Sheppard confirmed that to be the case, O'Neill sat back, reassured that it wasn't as odd as he'd initially thought.

Rodney was late for the weekly check in, and it wasn’t his fault for a change. He had swung by to talk with Dr. Mallory about the new inspection details and their progress and got into a bit of a yelling, pissing match with Mallory over engineering qualifications of the teams and safety protocols that got his blood pumping quite nicely.

He decided he needed to start mornings like that more often. Especially with the feisty Australian – the man wouldn’t back down even if facing a wounded wolverine, and Rodney appreciated that immensely.

A quick glance up at control confirmed the meeting had started so Rodney actually took the stairs two at a time. And he almost made it to the top of the first set before the cool dry tickle of an impending cough made him slow down. He wondered if that would ever go away. Damn bronchitis anyway. He hadn’t been that flat out sick sick in a long time. Been shot in the ass with an arrow, yes, shot in the arm by John, had an alien jellyfish invade his brain, even been possessed….

Rodney’s thoughts were snapped back online by the crash of the screen coming down. He charged across the landing and up the last set of steps. “What the hell!?!” He coughed dryly a couple times as he joined the others, his throat even more irritated by the sharp, acrid smell of burnt plastic and mixed with extinguisher chemicals. Daniel what just putting his glasses back on when Rodney fixed him with an accusatory grimace. “What’d you do?” Then he fixed the same look on Sheppard.

"Huh?" Daniel gave McKay the look he often reserved for Jack's more outlandish expressions and comments. "It attacked us, not the other way around, McKay."

John blinked and did a double take. "Don't look at me. I was just standing here."

Rodney waved them off and stomped around the downed screen to where the base of the monitor had been attached. Chuck was already there, and Rodney just pretty much shoved him aside to inspect the damaged area himself. The bracket’s base was still attached securely in place, but the bracket itself was broken off at a ragged angle. “Huh. Might have been a stress fracture brought on by a flaw in manufacturing.” Rodney tapped it with a finger and a few small flakes of paint and metal drifted down.

"Yeah, that was it," John agreed, pointing a finger at Rodney's summation hanging in the air.

Leia gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she watched, well out of harms way. Private Abels hurried to her side, pulling her back almost before anything happened and still had an arm protectively over her as he watched the event unfold.

Colonel Cameron Mitchell double-timed it down to the Control room, having been on his ship. There had been some sort of weird hiccup with the engines and they asked for a little extra time to check it out before they took off. The results had been inconclusive, but his people were confident with the engines. He meant to be there at first check in to report his ship's status and give an update to his Itinerary but the engineer's reports had gone long.

He strode into the room and his jaw dropped in surprise as he saw the downed view screen. "Is everyone ok?" he asked, wondering what had happened.

John turned to nod a greeting at Cam as he came down the steps from the hangar bay. "Yeah, everyone seems fine. Shaken up but... okay..."

"Everyone is fine, Cam." Sam added to John's comments and let out a small sigh. "Just a mishap with faulty mooring. McKay is looking into it."

Cam nodded, returning John's greeting. He joined Sam, looking at the fallen piece of equipment. "Good. I'm glad... Looks like you guys need to fire your decorator," he joked, slightly, relieved that everyone was ok.

"Carter, you wanna postpone this morning's update?" the voice of General O'Neill broke into the ongoing noise of more than one conversation.

"That won't be necessary, General," she replied. "It was a minor incident." Although the balcony and the view screen coupled together did make for an interesting coincidence. She pushed it aside, deciding not to borrow trouble. The two incidents were more than likely completely unrelated. "We'll continue with the audio link. McKay will do a thorough inspection of the view screen and the mooring, but it's doubtful that it was more than faulty construction."

Rodney was crouching by the monitor now and wiping extinguisher foam away from the other half of the brack. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he snapped white stuff off his hand, then wiped them on his pants leg. "Probably sooner."

"O-kay," Jack returned, glancing over his shoulder to see both Hank and Dr. Gardener had arrived for their part of the briefing. "Listen, Hank and Dr. Gardener just arrived. I'll fill them in on your situation and then leave you all to it. Carter ...," Jack hesitated, not sure how to phrase what he wanted to say without giving the wrong impression. "Ah ... let us know if you need anything ... a new viewscreen, stronger moorings, this week's crosswords ... whatever. And Daniel ... behave."

Daniel didn't bother to feign looking affronted at Jack's words. After all, the man could no longer see him. Instead, he replied affably, "Will do. Take care yourself, Jack."

"Certainly Sir." Sam replied. "You will be the first one I call the moment Daniel stops behaving himself." She smiled at him, but Jack's meaning was not lost on her.

Stepping aside Jack motioned for Landry to take his place, muttering "broken viewscreen" to explain the lack of a visual.

"Let us know when you're ready to begin Colonel Carter," General Landry instructed.

"We're ready now General." She nodded to Daniel, so that he could begin his portion of it.

John was watching Rodney and nodded to Sam's comments. When he turned back to look at her he gave her a small smile. "Must be the week for accidents, huh? I guess we'd all best be on our toes ... they say they come in threes. Wouldn't want anyone to fall off a pier and drown now ... would we."

Sam's brows climbed into her brows. It certainly sounded ominous enough. "Let us hope not, Colonel."

Private Abels overheard Colonel Sheppard's remarks, an odd look crossing his face as he narrowed his eyes slightly at the man's words.

The weekly check-in proceeded without the usual visual, most of those in the Control Room not required for the briefing quickly drifting away to other duties. Within a day one of the little used view screens from a nearby meeting room had been transferred in to replace the damaged one, leaving no evidence that the accident had ever happened.

Saturday 28th March| 1730 Hours | Dr. Daniel Jackson's Office

Daniel let himself into his office, intending to grab some notes for a presentation on Monday. He reached for the file that contained his notes and raised an eyebrow when his sleeve brushed something leaning against a book on his desk. Glancing down he saw an envelope with his name neatly written in Colonel Carter's handwriting, sitting pristine in the centre of his work area. He picked it up with a quiet smile and pulled out the carefully folded sheet of stationary inside to read the note that had been left.

Daniel,

Could use a pick me up. Would you meet me in the Underwater Labs at 1800?

-Sam

He smoothed the note with long fingers, folded it and put it away in his pocket and headed out, deciding he would come back for the presentation notes later. Since their first date and their hesitant admission of deeper feelings for one another, Daniel and Sam had spent as much time together as duty allowed. Most evenings they would meet in his quarters or hers, fix themselves a light meal, and spend what little down time they had together. To date, they had not taken the relationship to the next level of intimacy. They were content to explore what this change meant to them personally and professionally. The last few days, however, had been hectic keeping Daniel and Sam from doing more than having a quick, quiet dinner, talking for a little while and then taking their reluctant leave of one another.

Daniel paused just outside his office door, waiting for it to slide shut so he could secure it. This act made him pause. No doubt Sam had override codes for all labs and offices on Atlantis. He just wondered that she would find needing to see him so urgent she would use that power to access his office.

Now a slight frown of concern marred his face as he hastened to the nearest transporter that would let him access the level he needed.

A few minutes later, Daniel was approaching the Underwater Labs ...

oOo

John had sidled down the corridor heading toward the DipOps and Cultural offices when he saw Daniel come out of his office. He paused in step and was about to sidestep out of sight when Daniel glanced up at him. John stopped and blinked at him, then glanced around as if perusing the decorative walls before looking back at Jackson and offering him a nod.

Sheppard chewed on his bottom lip for a moment and then realized he was holding the note in his hand and he slipped it into his pocket as discreetly as possible. He glanced toward Liz's office door and then tossed Daniel another glance. He stepped over to Weir's office door as casually as he could muster which wasn't all that good. He swiped his hand over the door chimes and waited. There was no answer though and John slid his gaze sideways as Daniel checked his own office door to be sure it had locked and then he walked away.

Once he was out of sight, John relaxed letting out his breath and leaned against the wall. Looking around, from one end of the corridor to the other he finally went back the way he'd come in, pulling the note out of his pocket to read it again.

1800 hours | Underwater Oceanography Research Laboratory

Apart from the Underwater Puddle Jumper Bay, Atlantis also had two other areas where direct access to the ocean depths was possible. One of them had been designated Oceanography Research and was the site of investigation into the many differences between the waters of M35-117 and what was recorded in the database about the city's original home.

It was a must see destination for anyone wanting to explore and learn about the sea dwelling inhabitants of their new home ... but was also popular with those seeking a romantic date location with a difference.

The underwater lab was twice the size of a standard Atlantis research lab but still much smaller than the underwater puddle jumper bay. Dominating the centre of the room was the moon pool, looking much like a swimming pool in the floor but providing access to the ocean below the city. Along the walls were individual consoles for accessing the Ancient database or conducting various research activities.

Because it's location was below the waterline, the entire lab had to be airtight - the air pressure inside the room the only thing preventing water from rising in the moon pool all the way up to sea level. The only access point from within the city was through the airlock, a small square 'room' that stood between the door leading in from the corridor and the one leading into the lab. Safety systems were in place to ensure the early detection of any air leaks that could result in flooding, and to lock down the lab to contain the water should a flood occur.

Having to travel through the airlock was a minor inconvenience when compared with the beauty of the pool and the chance to observe sea life sometimes up close and very personal ... hence its popularity as a meeting place.

Arriving at the underwater lab, Daniel swiped his hand over the door controls and walked into the airlock, waiting the few required moments as the outer door closed and the room was sealed. The inner door slid open with a faint swish, revealing the room beyond.

Daniel stepped out into the main area, noting the minimal lighting, most of which was centred around the moon pool. The other thing he noticed immediately was that Sam had not yet arrived. Still, he wandered the perimeter of the room, glancing about and even said softly, "Sam?", immediately feeling foolish as it was readily apparent she had not yet arrived. Certain that duty had detained her and that Sam would be along as soon as possible, Daniel moved about restlessly, looking at the various consoles before letting his eyes light on the rippling depths of the moon pool.

He had turned away from the moon pool for only a moment when he felt a dampness around his feet. Looking down, Daniel's eyes widened as he noticed the floor was now about an inch deep in water. Looking over at the moon pool, he saw that the water was rising slowly, yet steadily, and spilling over the lip of the pool into the room. The first concern that flashed through Daniel's mind was electrocution as the highly conductive salt water reached the edges of the workstations and consoles that lined the lab. That fear was quickly allayed as he noted the power seemed to be off to all of the electronics in the room.

Daniel's eyes flew around the room as the water rose steadily, now wetting his pants legs at mid-calf. The thick portholes that provided views to the ocean beyond reflected back the dim lighting in the room but offered its sole occupant no answers. Finally, the gears started turning and Daniel waded through the chilly water to the airlock and glanced at the readouts. The gauge showed a slow, but steady decrease in the pressurized air in the lab. Still only mildly concerned, Daniel keyed the airlock's access and set his hand to the control intending to exit and notify someone. He knew from briefings in the past regarding the accessible parts of Atlantis that the underwater labs would set off alarms should there be a breach to the outside ocean or moon pool flooding.

The opening mechanism on the internal airlock door did not respond to Daniel's touch. Looking around, he noted the inset light panel above the door blinking rapidly red. The audible alarms had been disabled somehow and only the warning above the door was active. Serious concern for his continued existence set in and Daniel waded back to the lip of the moon pool, looking at the rising water in growing dismay. Staring steadily into the pool's depths, Daniel reached up and tapped his comm-link, "Jackson to Command." There was a sharp crackle and snap of static, but no response from anyone monitoring Atlantis communications.

"Daniel to Sam," Daniel tapped the comm-link again and was again greeted with static and a feedback whine. Pulling the comm-link from his ear, he inspected it for obvious damage and frowned as the thing to be in good physical shape. He made a couple more attempts to reach someone but when static was his only response, he pulled link out of his ear again and dropped it in a pocket. He still had his subcutaneous transponder implanted in his forearm. 'At least,' he thought dryly, 'they will be able to recover my corpse for burial.'

For several long moments he hesitated, considering diving into the moon pool to try and make his way to open ocean and the surface. Yet Atlantis was roughly the size of Manhattan Island and the underwater lab was located may yards away from the perimeter. Daniel was in excellent health and physical shape as well as a strong swimmer, yet even a champion professional swimmer or free diver would not survive a swim to the ocean beyond the city...on one held breath. Resolutely, Daniel turned from the edge of the pool and waded back to the airlock...the water now up to his thighs and serious chill starting to set in. He stood a better chance of someone seeing the alarm and coming to check the lab than in surviving a swim to the surface. Certain death versus maybe, most probably death.

Daniel was not a technician by any stretch, but the airlock mechanism on the lab door was not greatly different from the ones he had dealt with aboard a ship during a marine archaeological expedition. But none of his knowledge aided him. The panel remained stubbornly inoperative and the door remained resolutely closed as the pressure crept inexorably downward and the water rose. Pulling an all-purpose tool from his pocket, Daniel opened the flat head screw driver segment and tried to work it behind the panel that controlled the airlock's opening and closing mechanism...to no avail.

By now the water had reached Daniel's waist and he was beginning to shiver from the cold. Instinct kept him close to the airlock door because should anyone come to his rescue, they would not be able to battle the force of the water. Determinedly, Daniel kept his mind off the pathophysiology of drowning. Looking around the door frame, he noted that it and its door was far more utilitarian than in many other areas of the city. Inset in the door frame to either side of the airlock door, Daniel could see metal loops. He took a moment to test the ring for security and sturdiness before reaching with shaking hands beneath the water and removing his belt. Looping it through one of the rings, he then looped his arm through the belt making sure that he could grasp it and hold himself near the door.

Pushing panic and desperation aside, Daniel returned to his attempts at getting the airlock controls to respond.

The water was rising more rapidly now and the chill of it was causing Daniel's teeth to chatter as he worked at the stubborn latch in a now desperate attempt to free himself. He now had to take gulps of air and duck below the surface in order to see the control panel. Fortunately, the sea water was crystal clear and, despite the initial sting of it in his eyes, he was able to see the control panel and continue trying to pry its air...and water tight seal off.

All of his efforts were of no use and Daniel had to accept his impending fate. As the debilitating cold water continued to rise, Daniel turned his efforts to conservation and not fighting the inevitable. Instead, he tried to remember everything he had heard and read about drowning. Daniel had trained for his PADI Master Diver's license in order to accompany a marine archaeology expedition many years before. The instructor had taken them through the physio-pathology of drowning in great detail...much to Daniel's current dismay.

The minute he had submerged his face into the icy water the first time, the mammalian diving reflex was triggered. All mammals carried this reflex although it is most highly recognized in aquatic mammals such as whales and seals. The purpose of the reflex is to protect the body by putting it into an energy saving mode to maximize the amount of time it can stay under water. Daniel's body had already experienced the effects of bradycardia, a slowing of the heart rate. In humans this portion of the reflex can drop the heart rate up to fifty-percent although it is often offset by the panic induced by drowning. Secondly, Daniel's body had undergone peripheral vasoconstriction, the restriction of blood flow to the extremities in order to increase the blood and oxygen supply to vital organs, especially the brain. The third effect was the shifting of the blood supply to the thoracic cavity, the region of the chest between the diaphragm and the neck, to avoid the collapse of the lungs under higher pressure during deeper dives. Thus Daniel's body had automatically prepared itself to the best of its ability.

As Daniel moved his legs slowly to tread the rising water, he fought the urge to panic. Panic would use more oxygen and diminish the natural reflex actions his body was taking for its own survival. There was barely head room for between the surface of the water and the ceiling of the lab and it was getting harder and harder to maintain his position and keep his bearings in relation to the airlock door. While knowing what was to come, Daniel fought to give himself every chance of revival and survival that he could. With air space decreasing, Daniel braced himself in the corner nearest the airlock and exhaled rapidly, attempting to purge as much of the carbon dioxide in his system by hyperventilating as he was physically able to do. The more carbon dioxide he could flush from his system, the further he could push his breath-hold point and delay the breathing reflex. Taking a last deep breath, Daniel exhaled it partially before refilling his lungs to capacity. As he did the water closed over his head.

Extreme exertion would speed up his need to breath, therefore Daniel slowly pulled himself down to the submerged airlock door and pulled the loop of his belt around his arm, tying it as best he could around one wrist, but leaving it loose so, dead or alive, he would slip free easily. With his other hand he made another effort to find a weakness in the airlock door...again to no avail.

Daniel's last hope and battle cry was Sam. The note had indicated she would be there. Surely she would arrive soon and find her way to him! Even if he had already suffered the physical effects of drowning, there was still a chance he could be revived. The colder the water, the better his chances of coming back with minimal or no brain damage from oxygen deprivation. With his decision made, Daniel made himself relax and continue to hold his breath as long as possible. Inexorably, his eyes were drawn to his durable...and waterproof...military issue chronometer. A full minute ticked by and he started to feel the tightness in his chest heralding a soon to be need to breath.

Tightening his hand around the belt holding him secure near the airlock door, Daniel felt himself reach his tolerance level. Darkness floated in front of his eyes and the need to breath overcame his ability to stave off his body's breathing reflex. Opening his mouth, his body automatically tried to suck in gulps of air instead receiving the icy cold sea water. Autonomic reflexes took over and he tried to cough the water from his throat and lungs. With the next deluge of water, his body kicked in with another attempt to save itself as his larynx constricted in an attempt to seal off the air tube and forcing the water into his stomach instead. Daniel's body convulsed again in a last ditch effort to save itself before oxygen deprivation sent him into unconsciousness...and beyond.

Again, as it had when Daniel had gone walk-about in his subconscious while Elizabeth Weir controlled his body, the Path to Ascension unfurled in front of him. It appeared as a bright, silvery white road that beckoned him to follow it over the horizon. It was tempting. Whatever the text books said, drowning was neither fast nor without pain and Daniel's spirit was dimly aware of the pain. Ascending would be easy. It was right there...calling to him.

Blinking with surprise, Daniel realized that he was floating several feet away from his body. This would have been alarming except for the shining road he could see unfurling into infinity beyond where his near lifeless body floated in the water. The road called to him...as did a bright spot several feet away from the path. The same options Oma had given him last time each beckoned to him. Ascension or True Death.

Daniel's decision on his next step floated as did his body pulled this way and that by the subtle currents of the ocean within the small room. He turned resolutely towards the Path to Ascension. The Others might stop him from returning again but he was not ready for death. Uncertainty slowed his spirit's progress. His mind and heart railed at the universe and his spirit stopped...hovering in indecision again. And then he heard a call far stronger than the lure Ascension offered him. This voice reminded him that there were still things that mattered far too much to leave behind.

Sam!

1805 Hrs | Oceanography Labs

Another long, insanely hectic day. Sam stepped into her quarters and rolled her head around on her shoulders. She wasn't finished. Not by a long shot, but she'd craved a few minutes alone, and the only place she could attain that was in her quarters. There was one last task to get through before she could call it a day, but even after that she intended to spend some time in the science lab. There was research she'd left unattended for far too long.

Sighing softly, the Colonel opened her eyes and took a moment to allow her shoulders to droop tiredly. A few more seconds, and then she'd go back out there. The last week had been absurd. Elizabeth Weir's return had sent a cascade of awkward tension through many. It was a transition. Not one that she was personally aggrieved by, but she recognized that they all needed the opportunity to adjust. It would take time. They all simply had to remain patient, with the transition as much as with each other. Then there were the accidents. While minor in nature, the two on the heels of each other were bothering her. It was like an annoying little itch between her shoulder blades, one she couldn't quite reach. Sam didn't like to believe in coincidences, but sometimes, they just occurred.

Shaking her head, she turned with the intent to return to her office for the last bit of business that needed done for the day. That's when it caught her eye. An envelope sitting on her personal desk. Her brows lifted in surprise. Her name was written on the front, in Daniel's very neat, deliberate print.

Sam-I-Am,

Meet me in the Underwater Labs at 1800. I'm missing your smile.

-Daniel

A smile graced her lips, although it was quickly followed by a frown. She wondered how he'd gotten the note into her rooms. She couldn't recall having given him the override for the door. She realised, of course, that Daniel could be very resourceful when he put his mind to something. Obviously if he was wanting to see her, and not wanting the whole of the city aware of it... he would leave the note in an inconspicuous place. Sam smiled again. Then she looked at her wrist watch. 1805! She was already late. She reached up, intending to tap her earpiece, but caught herself in time. No sense spreading it all over Atlantis when he'd gone to such lengths.

She carried the note with her as she left, turning in the corridor to go not to the command tower, but instead to the underwater labs.

When she arrived, she was still thinking of Daniel, and wondering at his note. She swiped her hand over the controls for the outer airlock door and stepped inside the small square room. Through the small window in the door, she noticed that the lighting seemed to be subdued in the lab itself. That had her brows rising. When the door behind her had slid closed, and effectively locked, she reached out and waved her hand over the controls that would open the inner door. Nothing happened. Her brows drew into a frown. She waved her hand over it again, to no avail.

It was then that she took a step closer and peered into the room. As she did, she placed her hand against the door itself. It was cool to the touch, and as she pulled it away, her palm felt slightly wet. She looked at her hand, puzzled for just a second. Then her mind flipped over, and she realised why condensation would have built on the door. The room had flooded. Her heart flopped over as she looked into the room. That's when a hand floated past the window itself. Daniel! She could see him, floating near the door.

"Daniel!" Instinct had her hand slapping against the door, as if that would get his attention, but in the airtight environment, no sound would permeate through.

Her throat tightened, while her chest burned with the sudden onset of adrenaline. She reached up, tapping her earpiece. She knew she would be patched through the communication console, which at this time of day would be manned by Chuck. "Medical Emergency. Oceanography lab. Get a team down here, now!" As she spoke, she moved to the control panel on her side of the door. "They are going to need a crash cart, warming blankets, and an oxygen tank."

"Colonel?" Chuck was puzzled by the request, but had already waved Amelia to make the call.

"The lab is flooded. Dr. Jackson is inside."

For just the space of a heartbeat he and Amelia stared at each other, then they both began moving. "Yes Sir."

"Dr. Keller," Banks was already speaking. "Medical Emergency, Oceanography lab..." She began repeating the Colonel's instructions.

In the pocket of her utility pants she had an all purpose tool, but quickly realised it wasn't going to get the job entirely done. Turning, she hurried back through the outer door. Thankfully, it opened. There would be no risk of them both drowning when she opened the inner door. Sam hurried through it, and recalled that there was a utility closet just down the corridor. She ran. Her skid to a stop at the door and stepped in, grabbing the tools she would need before sprinting back. Her first order of business was popping open the motor housing on the outer airlock door. She cut the leads, feeding the motor and then heaved as she pried open the door itself.

Her arms and back burned with the strain. It was very nearly too heavy for her alone, but she managed it, adrenaline fuelling her actions. When it was open, she moved to the inner most door, but stopped just short of opening it. She would need to anchor herself. She wouldn't do Daniel any good if she was swept along when the water rushed through. Much as he had, she stripped off her belt and affixed it through one of the metal rings lining the door frame. It would be a tricky operation. So she tore off her jacket, and the t-shirt underneath, leaving only a plain, military issue tank. The t-shirt she ripped in two, and anchored to a metal ring on the other side. Then she worked, diligently to begin cracking open the motor housing. She cut the leads, and began prying at the door. As it moved, centimetres at a time, water began seeping through.

It was cold, like ice. Her fingers ached, and the tips became numb. The door opened slowly, it was almost like torture, and she could tell how long she'd been working at freeing him. Not long, she hoped, as help was yet to arrive. As the door slid open, more water began to flood through. She was anchored at an odd angle, and in the back of her mind she kept reminding herself she would need to let him out, then close it again to prevent that entire level of the city from flooding. It was not going to be an easy feat.

"Come on damn it!" She swore at the door as she pushed, water rushing out to surround her legs now. When there was enough room, she grabbed the belt, leaned in to the wall, and used her feet to push. It slid thankfully open. Water flooded through it, along with Daniel who had slipped free of the loosely tied belt when his body was pulled by the current of rushing water. Sam pushed across the door, grabbing hold of the second anchor, and then began shoving at the door to close it. It was much harder than opening it had been, but it moved, and using her feet as a brace she threw her shoulder into it. It slid, thankfully closed.

She dropped to the deck, chest heaving, body aching. "Daniel!" She spotted him, lying some feet away, well beyond the airlock. Sam pushed to her feet and moved quickly to his side. "Daniel..." She rolled him on to his back. "Don't you even think about it," She warned. "I'll tell Jack..."

She had no way of knowing how long he'd been trapped in there. Her only hope was that with the temperature of the water so perilously low, hypothermia had slowed his bodily systems. She tipped his head back, her mind falling somewhat into autopilot as she cleared his airway and began CPR. The seconds ticked by like hours. Her arms and back, already aching from previous exertion burned as she went through the cycle of compressions.

She went through it again, and again, until she heard the sounds of hurried steps behind her. Footfalls splashed through water coating the deck as - what she hoped - was the rescue team arriving. She bent to deliver two more rescue breaths when she heard the sound of Dr. Keller's voice.

"Colonel, you can move aside..." She felt a hand on her shoulder, tugging her away, and then Daniel's body spasmed. His chest contracted and water was pushed from his lungs.

Daniel was rolled to his side. "Let's get some suction," Keller said. A tube was placed in one side of his mouth. They began cutting away his sodden clothing and warming blankets and packs were applied. Keller bent over him, "Dr. Jackson, can you hear me?"

Reason and reality returned with a rush...almost at the same time Daniel felt himself heave the water from his lungs. He was cold...so very, very cold...but aware and alive. His hand fluttered weakly as did his eyelids. "Sam?" He asked hoarsely around the tube in his mouth as a paroxysm of coughing shook his body. His throat was raw and his chest ached abominably...but he was alive. That one thing sang through his mind. He was alive and somewhere nearby was Sam.

"Good, he's conscious." Keller was still leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder to keep him on his side. "Don't try to talk," she said gently. When she was assured that he was no longer in any danger of drowning from what remained in his body, he was rolled onto his back again. An oxygen mask was placed over his nose and mouth. "We're going to take you to the infirmary," she told him. "We don't know how long you were out, so we're going to check you out. Do you understand?" At his nod, Keller looked at the team she'd brought. "Let's get him on the gurney."

Sam watched anxiously as he was slid onto the gurney. More warming packs and blankets were tucked around him before they strapped him onto it. "Daniel." She moved into his line of sight. "I'm here." She slid her hand beneath the blanket at took his. It was still ice cold to the touch. She gave his hand a squeeze before drawing back. Someone draped a warming blanket around her as well, and she looked up in surprise. "Thank you," she told the medic.

The Colonel turned, prepared to follow them to the infirmary, and spotted a figure lurking. Her brows drew together when she realised it was Colonel Sheppard. Unbidden, his words from days before echoed through her mind. "Must be the week for accidents, huh? I guess we'd all best be on our toes ... they say they come in threes. Wouldn't want anyone to fall off a pier and drown now ... would we."

oOo

Colonel Sheppard walked down the corridor toward the transporter once he was sure that Daniel would be clear of the area. He didn't want anyone to see him still on this level when nobody else was around. He took the paper out of his pocket and read it again before checking the time on his watch and looking over his shoulder. He stepped into the transporter and headed down to the sub-levels. He was sure enough time had gone by and it'd be safe.

Stepping out of the transporter in the sub-levels he heard a commotion going on down the hall near the underwater lab. John frowned and then recognized Keller's voice and Sam's and they both sounded urgent if not a tad panicked. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself and moved quickly in that direction.

Upon reaching the scene, he noted Daniel lying on the floor drenched in a puddle of sea water. The entire emergency medical response team was there with a stretcher and crash equipment and working diligently on Dr. Jackson. John scowled and let his gaze wander the air lock system and he could see the room behind the glass walls was flooded with ocean water.

Glancing around quickly he realized that Elizabeth might be down here too since he was going to meet her here... secretly. He turned in a circle and leaned to the side to check a few alcoves nearby, no sign of her. He looked back down at the scene and saw Sam looking back at him with an unusual expression.

Carter drew in a breath. He wouldn't? Would he? It was certainly damning, his ominous warning in light of what just happened. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to think that a man she'd come to trust, to rely on would do something intentionally to hurt one of their own. One of her own.

Sam didn't know which emotion she felt the most profoundly at that thought. Anger. Or hurt.

She continued to watch him as they wheeled Daniel down the corridor. Her eyes didn't leave John's face, even as she walked right past him. She couldn't let him know of her concerns too quickly. Instead she stopped beside him, for just a moment. "Colonel. The moon pool flooded. It looks like there was a malfunction in the alarm system. Could you get a team down here to look at it? I'd prefer Dr. Zelenka, I think McKay is busy on another project." McKay would have been her first choice, but she didn't know who she could trust anymore. Rodney was as close to... Sam nearly drew in another breath as she realised where her thoughts had gone. He was as close to Weir as John was, well, perhaps not as close. "I want everyone together in the morning for a full briefing."

John had stood back quietly, trying to make sense of what was happening as Keller's team moved past him with Jackson on the gurney. He looked back to Sam and waited to see if she'd take a moment to catch him up. As she did, John scowled and looked back at the flooded room and the puddles reaching down the length of all the corridors. He nodded at her request to get Zelenka on it.

"You got it, Sam. Is he gonna be okay?" he asked nodding toward Daniel. "I'll get right on that, Colonel," he assured her.

Sam gave a brief nod, then she walked quickly down the corridor to catch up with the medical team and Daniel.

Sunday, 29th March | 1100 Hrs | Conference Room

Colonel Carter's call for a staff meeting went to all invited parties early Sunday morning. While it wasn't usual to hold briefings on Sundays, it had been done and Major Lorne didn't give the timing much thought. No, what had him frowning in confusion was the fact that he himself had actually been invited at all - and by Colonel Carter personally. Usually as Colonel Sheppard's 2IC he didn't attend senior staff meetings, being briefed on aspects pertinent to his role after the fact. If there was ever a reason for him to attend, it was always Colonel Sheppard who let him know.

Something was going on and clearly Evan wasn't going to find out what is was until everyone was gathered in the Conference Room. Lorne had left his own office early with the intent of stopping by Daniel's office on the way there ... he knew Daniel and Colonel Carter were close - good friends. Maybe Daniel would know more about the reason for the meeting. Unfortunately Daniel's office had been locked tight with nothing to indicate where the other man had gotten to.

Arriving at the Conference Room a few minutes later Lorne wasn't surprised to find himself first there. Swiping the lights on he proceeded to a chair at random, pulling out the palm pad he carried around habitually and calling up the schedule for the week. Might as well get some work done while he waited.

He heard Radek before he saw him, the man's Czech a steady stream. He couldn't tell if it was cursing or not -- but from the tone, it seemed more mocking than cursing.

Radek walked in and blinked. "Huh. We are alone, then? I am surprised the senior staff is not yet here."

"And why's that, Doc?" Sheppard said as he strolled in. He checked up with a pause to see Major Lorne sitting at the conference table. "Major?" he asked, indicating he was requesting an explanation for his unusual presence at the emergency senior staff meeting.

"Sir," Lorne returned. "Colonel Carter issued an order for me to attend, so ...," trailing off he gave a shrug, feeling just a tad awkward that his CO obviously hadn't known he'd be there. Not sure what else he could say since those decisions weren't his to make, Evan turned back to Radek and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What had you muttering to yourself Doc? Nothing wrong I hope."

"Oh, okay" was all John could think to say for a second and didn't really get a chance to add anything else as Lorne turned his attention away from him to speak to Radek. John frowned a bit at the seeming dismissal and just shook it off to take his seat to the right of where Sam would sit.

Radek looked at Evan, then chuckled. "No, not to my knowledge. I have a habit of automatically translating reports and other information into my native tongue and repeating salient information to myself. Out loud. Also..." He leaned over and whispered, "I was taking the liberty of mentally dropping one of your new men down a peg or five. He heard me muttering and greeted me with 'Hey, Ruskie'. If the new ones don't know the difference between a Russian and a Czech, then I seriously wonder about the mentality of---"

He broke off, looking absolutely stricken. Leaning back in his chair, he breathed a phrase that Evan had learned meant that Radek was more than likely breathing the name of God. He went on, in a horrified voice, "I just sounded like McKay. I have been working too hard."

"Yeah Doc," Lorne teasingly agreed. "Maybe you should get in some downtime before that becomes a permanent condition."

Daniel walked slowly into the Conference Room carrying nothing but his notebook PC and ubiquitous cup of coffee. Keller had only kept him in the Infirmary long enough to make sure everything seemed to be operating as it should. It had been late night when he was released and Sam would brook no argument regarding him returning to his own quarters. She had ensconced him in her quarters and gone to raid his for clean clothes as he was shivering in the scrubs Keller had provided him. He had been too exhausted to do more than write out a brief sketch of what had happened. The note was now gone with his clothing from the previous day.

By morning, Daniel was still feeling chilled and overall out of sorts, but recovered enough to attend the briefing Sam had mandated. He had made use of the facilities in Sam's quarters to take a very hot shower before dressing in the jeans and warm USAF sweatshirt Sam had brought from his quarters. She had also provided thick socks and his favorite old pair of hiking boots. When he had come out ready to go, Sam had coffee ready. A brief discussion on whether or not he was in any shape to go ensued and Daniel had won by simply stating he was not ready to be left on his own.

And that was the basic truth of it. Daniel was very sore from his body's response to the near-fatal drowning incident. His chest was sore from the CPR and ached from heaving up the seawater he had breathed in. His throat was sore and what little voice he had was very hoarse. Occasional bouts of coughing added to the general aches and pains and he felt an internal chill that he felt he would never shake. The worst of it, though, was the knowledge that someone had purposely tried to murder him...maybe even him and Sam both. Daniel had been targeted as an enemy by the Goa'uld, by the Ori, and by some of the aliens they had encountered over the years of service to the SGC, but never had the attacks been personally motivated.

Nodding to the others assembled in the room, Daniel settled in one of the two seats nearest where Sam normally sat. He took a small sip from his coffee and leaned back in the chair trying to ease some of his protesting muscles. "Good morning," he croaked out hoarsely to Lorne, Radek, and John.

Sheppard looked up to see Jackson enter the room. His face screwed up a bit as he looked at the members of Lorne's team trying to figure out precisely when had their positions leveraged up to "senior command staff" status.

"Morning..." he returned looking a bit perplexed.

"Daniel?" Lorne frowned at the tortured sound of the other man's voice, noticing too how carefully his team mate lowered himself into his chair. "What happened to you?"

Radek didn't say anything fully aloud, but the curse of shock under his breath was clearly picked up by those on either side of him.

Daniel looked at Lorne and shook his head. No way was he up to explaining the entire incident. So he pointed to his throat and shook his head again. Pulling his laptop over, he quickly typed in a very brief explanation and turned it so Lorne could read. Underwater Lab flooded, trapped. Am okay now...just tired and sore.

"Holy-," Lorne reacted in stunned surprise. "You almost drowned?" When Daniel nodded once, Evan sat back with a frown, casting a glance at his CO with new eyes before looking at Daniel again. "I guess I know why this meeting was called now ... and why I got a personal invitation direct from Colonel Carter."

"Yeah," Sheppard concurred with a nod, leaning forward in his seat. "But it doesn't explain why I wasn't told about this not being a usual staff meeting."

Although Lorne was somewhat disappointed he hadn't been called down to the infirmary the previous evening - Daniel was after all his team 2IC - he understood that everything had probably happened so fast that informing anyone else had been the last thing on their minds. A million questions were running through Evan's head, the most pressing being how Daniel could have almost drowned. The other man was in no shape to satisfy his curiousity so Lorne was back to waiting for Colonel Carter to arrive and start the briefing.

Colonel Mitchell entered the room, on the last legs of his stay but invited due to his status as Commander of the Hammond. He couldn't fathom how this had happened. Sure, they were in danger every day of the week, but... there was, supposedly, no enemy presence here. He took a seat, armed with a cup of coffee, his laptop and what he hoped would turn out to be a fresh perspective on what happened to his friend.

"Morning, Jackson, Major, Shep, Doctors..." he greeted. "How you holding up, Daniel?"

Daniel nodded at Cameron and gave a thumbs up sign to him. That had Lorne frowning even more ... he was Daniel's team leader and he hadn't known of the other man's woes and yet Colonel Mitchell had? Keeping his own counsel, Evan sat back to observe everything closely.

"Cam...." John returned and then sat back in his chair to survey those present, a bit confused. Daniel was sitting with Mitchell on the other side of Sam's seat instead of with his team. John looked at Radek and Lorne but said nothing.

Cam nodded back to Sheppard, getting settled.

Dr. Keller strolled easily in to the room. She didn't have to guess what the meeting was about, but certainly an accident - horrible as it had been - was no reason to call everyone together? It was just an accident, she didn't want to believe otherwise. "Good morning," she said quietly, and took her usual seat near Colonel Sheppard.

John gave her a nod. "How you doing, Doc?" he asked as she took the chair two spots away, leaving one open for Rodney beside his team leader. She gave him a quick smile that she didn't seem to feel and he understood that too.

Dr. Leia Mahanay entered, frowning worriedly as she had been invited to some sort of staff meeting. She had heard what happened in the underwater lab and wondered if this had something to do with that. God, she couldn't believe that this had happened. This was not what she had in mind. At all.

When Rodney finally hustled in, his hair still damp from his shower, his eyes were fixed on his data pad. At the last second he looked up in time to keep from running into Lorne’s chair. Then he suddenly stopped and blinked when he noticed it was the Major he nearly ran over, and Zelenka was sitting next to him. He glanced around the room noting the other unexpected faces present and flashed a quick, inquisitive frown at Sheppard. He took his usual seat next to the Colonel and said under his breath, “What the hell?” He sat his data pad on the conference table and leaned back in his chair, his right arm draped over the back, and looked like his normal, belligerent self.

"I have no idea," John replied, knowing precisely what Rodney was referring to.

Lorne didn't miss the look shared between Colonel Sheppard and McKay ... clearly Rodney wasn't aware of the guest list for this meeting either. That fact only made the Major even more curious to find out what the hell was really going on - too many people were behaving strangely for Evan to take anything at face value.

One of the later arrivals was Elizabeth Weir herself. Her appearance was dishevelled, looking as if sleep had been possibly non-existent. Her face was marked with worry. She had overheard the story of Doctor Jackson's almost drowning late the previous evening while out walking. Two medical technicians who'd attended the incident had been discussing how close it had been and how terrible it would have been for the expedition if the worst had happened. Daniel had earned everyone's respect quite quickly.

When she had received the invitation to the meeting, Lizabeth had become even more concerned. She had heard the stories of all the mishaps. She couldn't help but fret. No one could deny that by this point. They all must know. Her stomach tied in knots, realizing that all this would do was stir suspicion and light the city afire with blame.

John stood up and gave her a nod as she walked by him. He reached out and grabbed her elbow and asked, "Are you okay?" She gave him a wavering smile and then moved out of his grasp to an empty chair.

Leia caught Elizabeth's eye, seeing how worn she looked. "Ma'am," she greeted her as was her custom.

"Dr." Elizabeth nodded, far more impersonal then usual. She hoped the assistant director could forgive her. All she wanted was that open chair at the moment. Though she admitted seeing it a strange gathering of who had been called.

Leia frowned, furrowing her brow. Dr. Weir was never that formal. Although by the look of her appearance, she was a little undone. Weir was never out of place... They'd only been together for a short time, but Leia knew how Ambassadors worked. Usually. She was different, sure, but image was everything. Why was she so dishevelled? Leia's frown deepened and she looked at her Director worriedly, as her eyes calculated.

Chuck had been instructed to let Sam know once everyone arrived. When he did, she strode in to the Conference room and set her notebook PC on the table as she took her usual seat. She looked at Daniel, then at Cameron. They were the only two in the room that she currently trusted. Which was why Cameron had received the late night call, informing him of what happened, and asking him to be at the briefing. There was an obvious separation in the room, the three of them, and the Lanteans. It had her seething.

Sam opened her PC without speaking. Outwardly, she appeared calm, it was a facade she'd worked on all morning. When she did finally lift her gaze, she let it circle the room, resting on each person. "Thank you all for coming in on a Sunday morning," she began. "Normally, you wouldn't be disturbed today, but... I'm afraid we don't have that luxury this morning. By now I'm sure rumors have begun circulating, some of you were present or personally informed. There was an incident last night involving the underwater Oceanography lab. Dr. Zelenka, I'd like to thank you for the promptness at which you provided your report." She nodded to the man.

Rodney jumped as if goosed and he suddenly straightened up in his chair. His head whipped around to face Zelenka, his expression somewhere between surprised and pissed, and the Czech also jumped. It took only a second for Radek to realize that Rodney had no idea of what had been requested of him and his mouth dropped open. Rodney slowly swivelled his gaze back to Sam as she continued, his arm now resting on the table and his fingers tapping away softly, evenly.

"For the rest of you, it is with profound dismay that I have to tell you that the failure of the airlock systems was deliberate."

Rodney glanced at Radek again and received a nod. His scowl grew even darker and his lips disappeared in a slanting line. The rhythm he was tapping out grew spastic.

Major Lorne had been quiet for some time, carefully observing as was his usual practice. At the news that Daniel's almost accidental drowning hadn't actually been an accident, Evan's glance shot straight to Daniel. The other man looked back, his expression morbidly serious, without words conveying the grim situation they now found themselves in. Someone had tried to hurt Daniel ... maybe even kill him. Had Colonel Carter invited everyone she thought could help find them ... or the group she considered most likely to contain the culprit? Assessing the expression on her face, Lorne feared she was leaning more towards the latter than the former, which wouldn't be good for anyone.

Sheppard leaned forward, tilting his head with a frown. "Are you sure about that?" he asked. He didn't like the thought of a saboteur in the city and wanted to be certain before the rumours sent everyone into a panic.

Cam watched the faces in the room, his sharp blue eyes lighting on Sheppard as he leaned forward, asking if Colonel Carter was sure. He frowned, not quite sure the man's response was what it was seeming. He knew the Colonel had been hanging around the area ... then he was asking if she were sure?

He then slanted a gaze over to McKay as he tapped out a frantic rhythm on the table with his pen. Cam's face darkened for a moment as he looked at the others, wondering who exactly was trying to kill his friends.

Carter keyed a few commands into her PC and the view screen behind her lit up. The Colonel rose and moved to it. "The systems were disengaged here," she pointed at the schematic. "The safeguards put in place to prevent this were disabled first, along with the alarms. The entire system was then rigged on a timer. Daniel and I both received notes, ostensibly from each other - although neither of us actually sent them, asking us to meet in the lab at 1800 hours. Once Dr. Jackson or myself arrived - preferably both of us, the inner airlock door would seal, and begin venting pressure - allowing the water level in the lab to rise. More disturbing than this, is the fact that this was done by someone here. Someone on Atlantis." Her gaze circled the room again. "I'm sorry to tell you, I don't know who. More sadly, I can't even begin to tell you who in this room I trust any longer."

"What??" Sheppard and Rodney both barked in unison.

Cam tensed, sitting up and ready to stop Sheppard if he went off on her.

Leia scoffed softly before schooling her features into something more neutral, sitting there in complete disbelief at the situation that had been created.

Seeing the others react almost angrily, Lorne realised instead of anger he felt ... hurt. He'd been assigned to the SGC for more than a year before coming to Atlantis. Colonel Carter knew him and Evan was more than a little disappointed she couldn't decide whether to trust him or not. Frowning, Lorne tried to shrug it off ... Sam was understandably upset and angry - someone had tried to kill Daniel and quite possibly her as well. Maybe he should cut her a little slack and not take her comments too personally.

Sam held up a hand before anyone could interrupt. "Last night's incident coupled with some others is why I'll be contacting the SGC and requesting an outside investigation be conducted. Obviously as I was involved in last night's ordeal, as both a participant and a target, I'm hardly in any way objective enough to conduct the investigation myself. Which is why I will be putting it in the SGC's hands." Her eyes flickered to Daniel. She'd told him she would tell Jack.

Daniel returned Sam's glance with a slight shrug. She had told him the night before, once he was settled in her quarters, of the other incidents and that she would be contacting Jack. He also thought that telling Jack might have been a threat levered at him when he was so near death as well, but he was not certain on that.

Rodney noticed the exchange and both hands shot up in the air as he rolled his eyes and snorted. “Figures,” he muttered disgustedly.

Sheppard's expression had turned from a frown to a scowl and he stood up slowly to face his commanding officer. "Why would you think that it was anyone on your senior staff?" he asked. Of all the people on this base, they were the last people she should suspect. He couldn't help but wonder if her reuniting with her former teammates had sent the colonel into a rift of "them" against "us".

Cam frowned heavily at Sheppard as his behavior became more assertive but he didn't move, letting Sam control her own people. He glanced around quickly, watching the others and waiting for it to play out. Sheppard's anger was expected, just knowing the man, but there was just something about it that didn't sit right.

"I don't know Colonel, possibly because it's incredibly odd, and entirely coincidental that these accidents would begin happening the very moment that Dr. Weir returned?"

"What??" Sheppard exclaimed again. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

”What in the hell does that have to do with anything?” Rodney interjected. Sam’s eyes flicked to him briefly and he just leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed and jaw set. “Total load of crap,” he mumbled.

"All of them seem to be directly geared toward myself, or anyone else who transferred here from the SGC."

"You're being paranoid, Colonel," John tried to reason, his voice was firm but trying to keep the situation calm. He heard another loud, disgusted snort from Rodney and he lifted his hand faintly to signal the scientist to be quiet.

"Really?" Sam asked, then pointed out, "Accident number 1, the balcony where I spend a great deal of time thinking, alone, suddenly collapses, where previously it showed no signs of distress or being in such ill repair. Accident number 2, a control room viewscreen mysteriously falls while Dr. Jackson is joining me for my weekly check-in with the SGC. There was no previous reason to believe the mooring was in anyway faulty or damaged, and yet... there we have it. Add last night's incident and there seems to be a pretty strong feeling that someone inside this city wants us gone, permanently." She met his scowl with her own glare. "I don't want to believe that any of you are involved. I certainly don't want to think this has anything to do with Dr. Weir's return. The fact still remains that these things are happening, and last night someone almost died. I cannot and will not ignore that."

"Neither will I! But pointing at us as prime suspects -? Just because Elizabeth has come back...?" He rubbed a hand across his forehead, "I can't believe you're thinking this." He looked over at Cam and Daniel then and then back to Sam. "So am I relieved of duty? Is that what this is about? You got your old teammates rallying around you and me and those of the original expedition are all suspect? Is that it?" he asked, pointing out the obvious rift just in the room.

”Oh, so on the nose,” Rodney grumbled. This time John actually turned briefly and raised a finger in warning.

Lorne frowned again ... was Colonel Sheppard including him in that? He hadn't been a part of the original expedition but he wasn't a part of the ex SG-1 team either. Evan wasn't sure where he fit in ... one thing he did know though - today had been a crappy start to his being included in senior staff meetings. This was definitely an invitation he could have done without. Lorne was pretty sure he'd much rather have just heard the summary and seen the end result than bear witness to open dissent between the city's leaders.

"That is not what this is about. Have I not already stated that I am not involving myself in the investigation at this time?" Carter shook her head at him. "As Commander of the General Hammond, Colonel Mitchell is a senior member of the staff, which is precisely why he is here. Is this the first thing you thought of, John? That it was your people against mine? I tell you that someone on this base is actively attempting to murder other members of the crew, and your first thought is that it's you against us? That's very odd coming from someone who just accused me of being paranoid, Colonel." She looked at him, as if she couldn't really recognize who she was seeing. "To answer your question, yes - I believe someone is using Dr. Weir's return as a means for furthering their own agenda. What that agenda is, I'm hoping the investigators can find out before anyone is actually killed." To Sam, she couldn't imagine it actually mattering if they were suspects or not. If they knew they were innocent, wouldn't they simply want to get to the bottom of all of this as quickly as possible? Or was John truly guilty? Did he want Elizabeth back in command so terribly?

"My first thoughts?" John echoed, narrowing his eyes at Sam. "You're the one who just stated... "I don't want to believe that any of you are involved. I certainly don't want to think this has anything to do with Dr. Weir's return."" So how does my question make it look like I'm the one jumping to conclusions here? You said it, not me, Colonel."

John wondered if she'd even realized she had actually said it, and whether she did or not the fact remained that she obviously thought it.

"Who else am I going to suspect?" Sam fired back at him. "Colonel Mitchell was aboard ship, while Dr. Jackson and I have been the targets. Who else is there, Colonel Sheppard? Certainly you don't believe that Daniel and I were attempting to drown ourselves, do you?" Her eyes flashed at him, indicating he should tread very carefully. By each passing second, he only made himself look guiltier.

John studied her carefully. He had no idea who he was dealing with right now but her entire finger pointing was unjust and unfair. He never would have thought she'd had it in her. He lowered his gaze a bit as he thought about his next words and he quelled his temper long enough to answer her question. "Perhaps considering the other 250 people on Atlantis before ... or besides ... your senior staff. But apparently that never occurred to you, Colonel." He really had no idea how to fight the suspicions she obviously held for him and his team. It rocked him to the core and he found himself speechless at this point.

Sam's brows lifted at him in surprise. "Yes, I have considered them. Instead of being informed by my second in command of just how paranoid I am, it was my hope coming into this that you, or another member of the senior staff, might have some idea as to who our saboteur might be, or some way we might go about separating that person or persons from the rest of the crew. As Senior Staff, those in this room are the direct representation of the other 250 people in the city. You are responsible for them, just as I am responsible for you, just as Colonel Mitchell is responsible for his crew, should any of them be involved." Her cool gaze swept the room. "Does anyone else have anything they'd care to add?"

Rodney carefully uncrossed his arms and swivelled back and forth in his chair a few times as he looked over all the faces in the room, his jaw set in that undershot bulldog manner of his. “Well, first off, I’d like to say my definition of ‘senior staff’ obviously differs greatly from yours.” His blue gaze rested the longest on Mitchell and the young DipOps officer whose name he couldn’t recall, but only cursorily passed over Major Lorne and Radek. He huffed and shook his head. “And the way this little meeting was set up? C’mon, Sam – I’m a master of paranoid! This….” He indicated everyone with a little circular motion. “This is like paranoia icing on a conspiracy cake! You call a staff meeting with no agenda – and please, since you’ve been here our agendas usually fill at least a screen and a half of print – we come in and see faces we don’t expect, then you tell us about the accidents and proceed to announce to everyone assembled that you ‘don’t know who to trust’?” The hands flew up in the air again. “Hey, it’s like a new season of X Files!”

Lorne hated to admit it but McKay had a point, buried somewhere in the midst of that rant. While Evan could see Colonel Carter was driven to find the culprit and expected everyone in the room to feel the same, the way she'd gone about it - setting up such a mysterious meeting and then announcing her trust issues up front - probably hadn't been the best approach. She'd put everyone on the defensive and now they were all struggling to see past that. Feeling that it wasn't his place to say anything, Lorne kept quiet, trying not to look untrustworthy or angrily insulted by what had gone on so far.

Cam scowled at McKay's little jab towards him, and sighed softly. They, everyone in the room, were a fair representation of all the people on the base. It wasn't about pointing fingers, it was about trying to find, from the representatives of the groups around, who exactly could be capable of this sort of thing. Since Sam's call last night, he'd been looking and looking hard at his group and there was nothing that stood out. He had several on board his boat that could be capable, but he knew for a fact that all his crew had been on ship, dealing with the engine troubles that had started after they got there. His people, from all looks, were clean. Which brought it down to the people on Atlantis, including the returning and new personnel that he'd dropped off.

Leia frowned at the glare Dr. McKay had leveled at her, slightly insulted. She didn't want to be here, but she was the assistant director of the Diplomatic department. It was bad enough that someone was trying to kill off Dr. Jackson and Colonel Carter.

"Colonel Carter." Elizabeth's gaze was stuck to the table throughout the entire encounter. It was plain to her exactly what the Colonel's primary suspicions were. But for now, she had to do damage control before John and Rodney made matters worse. "If I may?" She looked up, asking for permission to speak.

"Go ahead," Sam told her. It was interesting, the only other person in the room capable of thinking with a calm head at the moment, turned out to be the number one suspect. Although Sam was still not convinced Elizabeth was the actual culprit. It was just all very coincidental and... interesting.

"While it is a shame such suspicion has come to be, let me reassure others who may not be as aware of our policies that you have only done what protocol would ask of you. Given the timing of these incidences I think it would be even more unwise if we did not comply with the regulations set by the SGC and the IOA." Elizabeth sat up straight in her chair, looking directly at all of those who had spoken up as she continued.

"I can't imagine this being easy for anyone here. I must admit I'm very unsettled with these events occurring directly after my return and stationing. This is a frightening coincidence that I'm sure does not look well on my part." Weir tried her best to put in her own complaint as politely as possible. She wasn't going to take an accusation lying down, but she had to recognize Sam's concerns. "But the fact of the matter is, these are events that are putting our city and our people in danger. One way or another, we must deal with this issue. Colonel Carter has only done what she believes will lead to the quickest resolution." She let her words settle for a moment.

John listened to Elizabeth's words and took the cue from her. Sam's words and anger toward his own surprised response to her accusation had him reeling. He was her Second in Command and he hadn't been the first one she brought this to. She suspected him and then argued with him in front of others... he sat down, staring unfocused at the tabletop as he tried to get a handle on his hurt and disappointment. He vowed to himself to tear the city apart to find the saboteur.

"Colonel." Elizabeth turned back to Sam. "Are we sure that the saboteur is alone? These tasks seem a little difficult for one person to accomplish, at least without someone noticing several off-key behaviors. And the inner intelligence required to bypass so many systems as they did, there are limited people capable of doing this as far as we know. Yet, that can't be a cause to target just our science program. In order to pull any of this off the person or persons in question would have to be talented performers."

Leia looked at the Dr. Weir, face purposely blank. "If I may ...," she started, looking around. She was new and they didn't really know her, but she wanted to help, be a part of this. "Dr. Weir is correct. It would have to be some sort of Mastermind to engineer this entire affair. Using personnel as pawns perhaps. It would have to be someone who knew the people of the city and the city itself well," she said, her words suggesting someone who'd been here for awhile.

Sam lifted both hands before anyone else could respond. "First, before this continues, everyone in this room needs to calm down." Her gaze swept the crowd, finally settling on John and then Rodney as they'd been the most vocal in their outbursts. "I've stated once that I was rescuing myself, and this is why. There are any number of ways that any of these incidents and the evidence we have on them could be tied to any one of us. Maybe I'm trying to get rid of Daniel because I don't want him in my new sandbox..." Okay that was a bit farfetched, but as far as analogies went - it was the best she had at the moment.

"Secondly, this is not what I expected from any of you." Her disappointment was clear. "You are in this room because you are my eyes and ears out there," she pointed to the exit, including the rest of the city. "I cannot meet with 300 people individually and ascertain their innocence or guilt. It just isn't possible. I don't even know half of their names, although I'm ashamed to admit it. The simple fact remains, these things are happening. No one, in this city, or in this room, is capable of handling this objectively, that's just been proven ten times over. Do I think that Elizabeth is involved?" She looked at the woman, addressing her by name for possibly the first time. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I want to think not, but you may be involved and not even realize it. The same could be true for all of us," she said, before John or Rodney could have another outburst.

"Elizabeth is correct, what's being done takes an intricate knowledge of the city and it's systems. It's someone who either has a great deal of understanding of how the city works, or someone who's been here for quite some time. It could be both. That is why I cannot afford to trust anyone in this room where this situation is concerned. It could be one or all of you, you could be knowingly involved - although I would very much like to think otherwise. More importantly, you may not know you're involved at all." She looked directly at John who just sat now with his gaze lowered to the table. He'd been acting strangely, strangely enough to have her concerned, ever since Weir's return.

"But I am disappointed. In all of us," she told them. "Because this had to devolve into a shouting match. I know that I am too close to this situation, which is why I'm removing myself from it. But I will apologize if this was not handled as well as it should have been. The truth is, I needed to see your reactions. I needed to know if I could trust you, despite what is written in the rule book for this situation." John looked up at her with a pained expression as Sam's gaze circled the room again and fell on Rodney.

"To answer your question, Major Lorne is here because he is Daniel's team CO. That made this briefing within his purview. Dr. Mahanay is here at Dr. Weir's request, since she is her direct CO, it was her decision to bring her or not." Although Sam found it somewhat odd, she kept that opinion to herself. "I've already stated why Colonel Mitchell is here, but apparently I must do so again. He is here because we rely on the General Hammond, if the Daedalus were present, I would have invited Colonel Caldwell. Or Colonel Ellis if his ship were present. I consider them to be Senior Staff in the Pegasus Galaxy and I welcome counsel from both." Not that she was required to explain herself, of course, but McKay was... well... he was McKay.

Daniel had remained quiet during the entire meeting mostly due to the fact that his voice resembled a very hoarse Kermit the Frog at the moment with talking being a bit painful. Beyond that, he had wanted to quietly observe everyone in the room. Like Sam, Daniel did not want to believe any of the upper echelon of Atlantis would be knowingly involved in trying to harm anyone...let alone Sam or himself. Yet whoever had perpetrated the incidents had to have exceedingly high clearances or the ability to get past the best security that existed in order to tamper with the airlock in the Underwater Lab. They also had to have had inside knowledge regarding his and Sam's budding romance. Sam had told him her note began with the Sam-I-Am, one of the affectionate private names he used for her. It was not something he would have ever said in front of witnesses only in private...and in private e-mails or instant messages with her. Someone had the ability to get intimate knowledge regarding Atlantis' leadership.

Restless blue eyes considered each person in the room. Daniel would not peg any of them as a knowing accomplice in a murder conspiracy. But what about unknowing? The IOA had rather eagerly signed off on allowing the Odyssey's Asgard technology to be used in cloning Weir's original human body. The IOA had also been behind the attempt to use Replicators to destroy the Ori. Was there a link there? Had they found a way to hide nanites within Elizabeth's system? It seemed as farfetched as thinking John Sheppard had some sort of reason for murdering Daniel...yet the man had been loitering outside Weir's office when Daniel left for the Underwater lab and had conveniently arrived after Jackson should have been most thoroughly and sincerely dead...along with Sam.

Finally, Daniel coughed and spoke up slowly and hesitantly as he tried to force his voice to work properly for a few moments, "At the risk of reiterating all that has been said to this point...We do have to look at ourselves as potential suspects as well as the rest of Atlantis and maybe even some of her allies that have access to the city. It would not be the first time that outside influence has altered behavior of someone associated with the program with or without their awareness. And if TV is to be believed, I could easily be a suspect as well...I have the security clearances and accesses and maybe I wanted to implicate someone by faking a murder attempt on myself." Blue eyes glimmered with humor at that last statement although Daniel took the entire situation very seriously, "It may only be a coincidence that these events occurred upon the heels of Dr. Weir's return to Atlantis...most likely it is. But we would all be remiss if we ignored the timing as I'm sure Elizabeth herself would agree." Daniel flashed a smile at the woman trying to take any sting out of his words. "An outside investigation is going to assume we're all guilty or all have an extracurricular agenda until they can prove otherwise. Until an answer is found, we all need to have faith in ourselves and one another." Daniel subsided with a soft cough and apologetic look for his barely audible and understandable narrative.

Daniel's quiet words seemed to settle everyone for the most part. No doubt some of them taking note that it was the man most nearly killed that had called for peace and faith amongst one another. He offered up a warm smile of support for Sam as well knowing that this incident had frightened her badly on his behalf. There was a bit more discussion, a few details requested and given on all three incidents before Sam dismissed everyone about their Sunday duties or free time. By the end, everyone seemed to be in support of the colonel's decision to call for an outside investigation.

Once everyone was gone and they were alone, Daniel put his arms around Sam and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "You did just fine, Sam. Everyone's tempers are running high with worry and suspicion and worry about being suspected," he whispered hoarsely, "let’s get what you need to work and go home...yours or mine...doesn't matter." Daniel urged her quietly. After a moment, Atlantis' CO agreed with a gentle smile and worried eyes. Daniel knew that Sam had had difficult decisions to make throughout her career and during her first year in command of Atlantis. Having been gone a year and then summarily replacing Woolsey in January had to have been hard on all involved. Constant changes in command did not make for smooth operations.

With any luck, the SGC could send someone that would quickly get to the bottom of the current incidents. For everyone's sake and for the sake of the expedition, Daniel hoped whoever handled the investigation knew how to do it without putting everyone further at odds with one another. Only the future would tell that...

On to Part 2