Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

Manipulating the Major
By
Denise

Sergeant Siler walked down the halls of the SGC trying not to let the general mood get him down.

Things were bad, the atmosphere of the SGC hadn't been this depressed since…he stopped and thought. Since about two years ago when part of SG-1 had been MIA for over a week leaving Doctor Jackson behind to fret from his hospital bed.

This situation was oddly reversed. Now it was Colonel O'Neill that was missing and the rest of his team trying desperately to pry some clue out of the pansy assed Tok'ra.

Sly had never totally trusted the blended aliens, not that he disliked them or anything, but he sure as heck wasn't going to turn his back on one. Especially after hearing how they wanted to just write off O'Neill and Kanan as lost. Right now Sly had an overwhelming desire to play Bop the Mole with his wrench and some snakes.

Hearing voices, he slowed, turning his head so he could hear better. It was 0300 and judging by the voices coming out of Major Carter's lab, they'd been reading the grudgingly given mission reports all night.

"What about this one?" Major Carter asked. "Kanan infiltrated Osiris' troops to rescue two captured Tok'ra.

"They were killed before he arrived," Jonas said, his voice negative.

"Revenge? Maybe they were friends of his?" Carter insisted.

"If one of them had been Kanan's mate, perhaps," Teal'c said. "However, the Tok'ra seem to prefer sacrifice over loyalty."

"Ooh," Sly heard Carter groan punctuated by the squeak of her chair. "You're right, Teal'c." She broke off and yawned. He heard the heavy slap of a hand on a folder. "Ok. Next one," she said, yawning again.

"Perhaps we should take a short respite?" Teal'c suggested.

"What? No. We don't have time," she insisted.

"Sam, you've been at this all day," Jonas said.

"And we'll keep at it until we find him," she answered. "Every hour we waste is another hour some goa'uld has to…" she broke off. "We need to keep going. Who knows when Thoran will demand these mission reports back?"

"Major Carter, I feel the need for a beverage," Teal'c said. "Jonas Quinn, would you not benefit from some tea?" he asked pointedly.

"Huh? Umm, yes actually. I could use a refill. This is…cold."

He heard Carter sigh. "Ok. I'll go get us something to drink."

Sly turned his back to the door, finding a small access panel that he quickly pulled open to cover his eavesdropping. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her walk out of the room. She sighed heavily and rubbed the back of her neck, rolling her head to work out the kinks. She headed straight towards the elevator at the end of the hall, not even noticing that he was observing her.

"I take it there's a reason for your sudden thirst?" Siler heard Jonas ask softly.

"Indeed, Jonas Quinn. Major Carter is a most capable warrior, however her one failing can be what O'Neill terms 'tunnel vision'."

"So, you distract her," Jonas said. "You're not thirsty at all are you?"

"No. And I will not be hungry or in need of meditation in a few hours either."

Shaking his head, Siler turned and closed the access port. He continued down the hall, suddenly feeling in need of a snack as well.

He made his way into the commissary. Even though the SGC operated 24/7, the commissary didn't, going to a cold meal, 'serve yourself' status during the off hours.

Mackie, the cook, always made sure to have plenty of sandwiches and even plates of the night's dinner leftovers packaged up and ready to be micro waved into edibility. He knew Teal'c and Jonas were also allowed limited use of the stoves and such since the base kitchen was also theirs.

He entered the room, not surprised to see Major Carter standing beside one of the large coffee machines, her foot tapping impatiently. He could smell the aroma of brewing coffee and figured that she was making a fresh batch. She had three large mugs on her tray and a small assortment of tea bags. He could see her exhaustion on her face and in the slump of her shoulders. It reminded him of when Colonel O'Neill had been trapped on Edora and how she'd worked so hard then to both get him back and get the Edoran refugees home.

Spurred on by a sudden memory, he slipped into the kitchen and quickly dug into the large walk-in pantry. Mackie was a great chef, and had gone to the old school of army cooking…which translated to never letting anything go to waste. He'd recycle anything. Yesterday's baked potatoes became today's hash browns or mashed potatoes. The over cooked hamburger patties showed up in his famous chili. And over ripe bananas were turned into homemade banana nut bread.

Mackie always had a supply handy, and he knew that more than one SG team smuggled some off world with them. Quickly grabbing a loaf and a small container of cream cheese, Siler hurried out just as Carter placed the last mug of coffee on her tray.

"Major," he called out, causing her to turn back. "Mackie umm…this is gonna be out of date in the morning and he's going to have to throw it away. Maybe you'd like to take it, that way he doesn't have to have his feelings hurt when he comes in and it's still here?" he suggested.

She frowned, and then smiled slightly. "Sure, sergeant. I'm sure that between Jonas and Teal'c we can make it disappear before he gets in." She held out the tray and he set the plastic wrapped loaf on it, shifting the coffee cups aside. "Thanks," she said, smiling again.

He watched her turn and leave, shaking his head as he watched her go. His daddy always said folks thought better on a full stomach. And it was nice to know the aliens weren't the only ones that could manipulate the officers.

~Fin~

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