Ambassador Joe Faxon followed the major down the barren gray corridors his nose picking up the unmistakable aroma of institutional cooking. It reminded him of college, the dorm kitchens always managed to smell the same. They must all get their supplies from the same source.

His stomach growled reminding him that it had been hours since he'd eaten, actually a pastry and Starbuck's coffee in the airport this morning. He just hadn't envisioned a mess hall for lunch. He'd heard about a nice Thai restaurant with a great view of the mountains from a friend of his that used to be stationed in Colorado Springs. Originally he'd planned to check it out, but he found the prospect of spending time with Major Carter far more appealing.

"So this is where you eat all your meals?" he asked as she led the way into the large room.

"A few," she answered with a sheepish roll of her eyes.

"Let me guess, you're on a first name basis with half a dozen take out restaurants?"

"Closer to a dozen," she admitted with a smile. "Cooking is not my strong point."

"Mine neither. Eighteen of the twenty speed dials on my phone are restaurants, half of which deliver."

"Eighteen?" She handed him a tray. "You must like variety."

He accepted it and picked silverware from the plastic containers. "It depends on what I'm hungry for. Leonardo's has the best lasagna, Golden Pavilion has Sweet and Sour chicken but Ming Dynasty has the best Sesame chicken."

"Oh I don't know about that. Did you ever try Jade Garden's Sesame Chicken?" Sam interrupted as they got in line behind a pair of nurses.

"No I haven't. You used to live in DC?" He asked recognizing the name.

"Two years. I worked on the Stargate Project at the Pentagon. My team and I were trying to figure out what the gate was but Daniel beat us to it."

He shot her a glance surprised that there was no animosity in her voice. Heck if he'd spent two years working on something only to have someone else figure it out, he'd be ticked. "And then?" he asked as she steered him away from the Salisbury Steak.

"Mystery Meat," she explained aiming for a 'make your own sandwich' display. "I was due to transfer out here to work on the gate but then Colonel O'Neill came back telling everyone that Daniel was dead and Abydos was a nuclear wasteland so….I stayed in DC." She picked up a Kaiser roll and dressed it with some sliced smoked turkey and cheese. "How about you ambassador? What do you do when you're not negotiating intergalactic treaties?"

He shrugged. "This and that. Wherever the State Department sends me. Paris, London, I just got back from Germany." He built his sandwich and then followed her example in grabbing a bag of chips and a soft drink.

"Really? I was at Ramstein for about a month."

"That's a short posting." They claimed an empty table and sat down.

"It wasn't exactly a posting. I ran into a little trouble in the Gulf and was sent to Ramstein to R&R."

"Nothing too serious I hope," He said surprised to discover that she'd been in the Gulf War.

She shook her head. "No. Not too bad. It did have its downfall, I got hooked on Swiss chocolate." She smiled and picked up her sandwich.

"So aah…have you been here from the beginning?"

"Pretty much. I went on the mission to retrieve Daniel from Abydos, then the trip to Chulak."

"Chulak? Isn't that the equivalent of dropping into downtown Kabul?"

She laughed. "Yeah. But we didn't know that at the time. And they didn't know us. We actually got invited to dinner and the whole royal treatment. Then of course we ended up in the dungeon. That's where we met Teal'c. He was going to kill us." She tore open her bag of chips.

"Kill you? Teal'c? The big guy?" He held his hand slightly over his head. He hated to admit it but he'd felt more than a little claustrophobic with the three members of SG-1 looming over him in the briefing.

"It was a misunderstanding, sort of. Don't let him intimidate you. He's really one giant teddy bear, just don't tell him I said that, it'll ruin the whole 'Jaffa Warrior' image," She said, holding her hands up to make quotes in the air.

"Really?" He tried to imagine working side by side with an alien every day, especially an alien that had tried to kill you. It wasn't easy. He attributed it to only finding out that morning that aliens even existed.

"Teal'c is…unique. Off world he's such a great person to be with. I mean he was traveling to other planets before I was born. He knows so much. But when we come home he looks on everything with the enthusiasm of a child. He's absolutely fascinated with earth culture. It took us weeks to convince him that everything you see on TV isn't real or that we use video games for entertainment, not battle simulations.
When I show him stuff I'm able to step back and look at it from a different perspective," she said enthusiastically.

"How does he like it here? Oh, I used that word again," he teased.

She laughed. "I spent too many years explaining things to people. The colonel is right, asking me 'how' is like asking Daniel 'what does this say'?"

"Doesn't it ever bug you when he cuts you off like that?" Joe asked, remembering the comments in the briefing room earlier.

"No…well sometimes. It's just…let's just say no one will ever accuse the colonel of being too patient. Actually it's sort of a back handed compliment. If Daniel says the inscription reads 'stay off the grass' we stay off the grass. The colonel doesn't need proof, he trusts him."

"And you too from the sound of it," he said, captivated by her smile and the faint blush that tinged her cheeks. It had been so long since he'd spent time with a 'normal' person. Spending his days in the artificial world of politics he wasn't used to such open honesty. It was refreshing.

"We've been through a lot in the last few years. These guys…I literally live with them for days on end. We've seen each other at our best and our worst. It's like I suddenly acquired three big brothers," she said, rolling her eyes slightly. He glanced around the room noticing the curious looks of more than a few of the personnel. More like three brothers and twenty big burley cousins all likely trained how to kill a man bare handed. "How about you?" she asked. "Any family?"

"Not anymore. I lost my parents in a plane crash about ten years ago. I'm an only child. There are a few cousins here and there…" he finished with a shrug.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok, like I said it was a long time ago. You?"

"Me?"

"Brothers and sisters," he prompted.

"Just my brother and I. Mark has two kids but they live in San Diego so I only get to see them once or twice a year. My dad's…away a lot and mom died when I was in high school."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Like you it was a long time ago."

"Excuse me Major." They turned to see a Sargent standing by the table holding a bowl of…something blue. "We ran out early ma'am." He set down the bowl.

"Thank you Sargent," she said, blushing again.

"Something I should know about?" Joe asked staring at the bowl of bright blue Jell-O topped by a swirl of whipped cream.

"Oh umm…I," she laughed nervously. "I like blue Jell-O so Sargent Keller saves me some whenever he can," she said self-consciously.

"I didn't even know they made blue Jell-O." He stared at the oddly colored wiggly treat.

"Blue raspberry. Please try some," she invited.

He pulled out his spoon and dug out a small bite. Frowning at it slightly he concentrated on getting it to his mouth without dropping it on his suit. "It's good," he said reaching for another bite.

"It's my favorite flavor," she admitted licking a bit of whipped cream off her lower lip.

"So. Anything I should know about before going through the Stargate in the morning?" He asked still not quite believing that in less than 24 hours he was going to be on a different planet.

"Just, eat a light breakfast. And to the colonel, 0700 is really 0655. If you're late you'll hear about it for a week or three," she warned.

"Excuse me Ambassador." They looked up. Sargent Meyers who'd escorted him and the rest from Peterson AFB to the SGC was standing there. "Arrangements have been made for you to have quarters at Peterson for the night sir."

"Thank you Sargent. I'll be along in a minute." The man nodded and retreated back to the entrance to the commissary. "I hate to eat and run but duty calls. Thank you for the advice Major. And the introduction to blue food."

She smiled broadly. "It was my pleasure Ambassador. I'll see you in the morning."

He made his way to the exit glancing back to see her clearing the table seemingly oblivious to the speculative glances of the others. Maybe he'd try out that restaurant later. That is if a certain major would consent to eat with him again.

<><><><><>

Joren watched the harvester float away then bent down and picked up the small satchel of supplies. He knew others journeyed into the settlements to pick up their food but his fields were so far into the mountains that the Aschen delivered it to him.

They were such a kind people and they took such good care of him. He fingered the scar under his stubbly hair. They'd cared for him when he'd been injured in an accident, the same accident that wiped out most of his memory. Once he'd been well again they'd brought him to this world and given him a large plot of land all his own. He did a few minor things, pulled weeds, removed rocks from the field and they provided him with a home of his own along with clothing and food. It was more than he could have bargained for. He paused for a second, a vague recollection of bargaining, negotiating flitting through his brain. He shook his head and continued on. It happened sometimes, a flash of a dream. Perhaps he bartered for trade goods where he'd come from?

He set the satchel down on his porch and picked up a small bowl. The sun was starting to set but he could make it to the patch and back if he hurried. Just a few hundred yards from his house was a small patch of wild berries. He'd discovered them weeks ago quite by accident and they were his hidden luxury. By all rights the berries were seen as weeds and should be chopped down. But he just couldn't see how something so good could be a weed.

Quickly picking some he turned back to his house, eager to beat the gathering darkness. It was almost his favorite time of the day, sunset over the mountains. This was his time, a few minutes of the day that he kept as his own. He knew some of the other tenders worked until the sun dipped below the horizon but he chose not to.

Seating himself on the stoop he picked up a jug of sweet water and took a swig, relishing how it burned his throat. He popped a few of the berries into his mouth, squashing them with his tongue and almost moaning aloud as the sun warmed sweet juice trickled down his throat. He took another swig of the drink and held a berry up in the waning light. It's dark red color was now more of a blue in the gathering dusk. Somehow that looked more right to him than the rich red.

He leaned back and crossed his feet at the ankles staring a moment at his sturdy work boots. 'They're gonna get ruined.' Where had that thought come from? His boots were appropriate footwear for working.
Dismissing the odd thought with a shrug he leaned back on his elbows watching the moon rise over the mountains.

~Fin~

Ambassador Joe Faxon followed the major down the barren gray corridors his nose picking up the unmistakable aroma of institutional cooking. It reminded him of college, the dorm kitchens always managed to smell the same. They must all get their supplies from the same source.

His stomach growled reminding him that it had been hours since he'd eaten, actually a pastry and Starbuck's coffee in the airport this morning. He just hadn't envisioned a mess hall for lunch. He'd heard about a nice Thai restaurant with a great view of the mountains from a friend of his that used to be stationed in Colorado Springs. Originally he'd planned to check it out, but he found the prospect of spending time with Major Carter far more appealing.

"So this is where you eat all your meals?" he asked as she led the way into the large room.

"A few," she answered with a sheepish roll of her eyes.

"Let me guess, you're on a first name basis with half a dozen take out restaurants?"

"Closer to a dozen," she admitted with a smile. "Cooking is not my strong point."

"Mine neither. Eighteen of the twenty speed dials on my phone are restaurants, half of which deliver."

"Eighteen?" She handed him a tray. "You must like variety."

He accepted it and picked silverware from the plastic containers. "It depends on what I'm hungry for. Leonardo's has the best lasagna, Golden Pavilion has Sweet and Sour chicken but Ming Dynasty has the best Sesame chicken."

"Oh I don't know about that. Did you ever try Jade Garden's Sesame Chicken?" Sam interrupted as they got in line behind a pair of nurses.

"No I haven't. You used to live in DC?" He asked recognizing the name.

"Two years. I worked on the Stargate Project at the Pentagon. My team and I were trying to figure out what the gate was but Daniel beat us to it."

He shot her a glance surprised that there was no animosity in her voice. Heck if he'd spent two years working on something only to have someone else figure it out, he'd be ticked. "And then?" he asked as she steered him away from the Salisbury Steak.

"Mystery Meat," she explained aiming for a 'make your own sandwich' display. "I was due to transfer out here to work on the gate but then Colonel O'Neill came back telling everyone that Daniel was dead and Abydos was a nuclear wasteland so….I stayed in DC." She picked up a Kaiser roll and dressed it with some sliced smoked turkey and cheese. "How about you ambassador? What do you do when you're not negotiating intergalactic treaties?"

He shrugged. "This and that. Wherever the State Department sends me. Paris, London, I just got back from Germany." He built his sandwich and then followed her example in grabbing a bag of chips and a soft drink.

"Really? I was at Ramstein for about a month."

"That's a short posting." They claimed an empty table and sat down.

"It wasn't exactly a posting. I ran into a little trouble in the Gulf and was sent to Ramstein to R&R."

"Nothing too serious I hope," He said surprised to discover that she'd been in the Gulf War.

She shook her head. "No. Not too bad. It did have its downfall, I got hooked on Swiss chocolate." She smiled and picked up her sandwich.

"So aah…have you been here from the beginning?"

"Pretty much. I went on the mission to retrieve Daniel from Abydos, then the trip to Chulak."

"Chulak? Isn't that the equivalent of dropping into downtown Kabul?"

She laughed. "Yeah. But we didn't know that at the time. And they didn't know us. We actually got invited to dinner and the whole royal treatment. Then of course we ended up in the dungeon. That's where we met Teal'c. He was going to kill us." She tore open her bag of chips.

"Kill you? Teal'c? The big guy?" He held his hand slightly over his head. He hated to admit it but he'd felt more than a little claustrophobic with the three members of SG-1 looming over him in the briefing.

"It was a misunderstanding, sort of. Don't let him intimidate you. He's really one giant teddy bear, just don't tell him I said that, it'll ruin the whole 'Jaffa Warrior' image," She said, holding her hands up to make quotes in the air.

"Really?" He tried to imagine working side by side with an alien every day, especially an alien that had tried to kill you. It wasn't easy. He attributed it to only finding out that morning that aliens even existed.

"Teal'c is…unique. Off world he's such a great person to be with. I mean he was traveling to other planets before I was born. He knows so much. But when we come home he looks on everything with the enthusiasm of a child. He's absolutely fascinated with earth culture. It took us weeks to convince him that everything you see on TV isn't real or that we use video games for entertainment, not battle simulations.
When I show him stuff I'm able to step back and look at it from a different perspective," she said enthusiastically.

"How does he like it here? Oh, I used that word again," he teased.

She laughed. "I spent too many years explaining things to people. The colonel is right, asking me 'how' is like asking Daniel 'what does this say'?"

"Doesn't it ever bug you when he cuts you off like that?" Joe asked, remembering the comments in the briefing room earlier.

"No…well sometimes. It's just…let's just say no one will ever accuse the colonel of being too patient. Actually it's sort of a back handed compliment. If Daniel says the inscription reads 'stay off the grass' we stay off the grass. The colonel doesn't need proof, he trusts him."

"And you too from the sound of it," he said, captivated by her smile and the faint blush that tinged her cheeks. It had been so long since he'd spent time with a 'normal' person. Spending his days in the artificial world of politics he wasn't used to such open honesty. It was refreshing.

"We've been through a lot in the last few years. These guys…I literally live with them for days on end. We've seen each other at our best and our worst. It's like I suddenly acquired three big brothers," she said, rolling her eyes slightly. He glanced around the room noticing the curious looks of more than a few of the personnel. More like three brothers and twenty big burley cousins all likely trained how to kill a man bare handed. "How about you?" she asked. "Any family?"

"Not anymore. I lost my parents in a plane crash about ten years ago. I'm an only child. There are a few cousins here and there…" he finished with a shrug.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok, like I said it was a long time ago. You?"

"Me?"

"Brothers and sisters," he prompted.

"Just my brother and I. Mark has two kids but they live in San Diego so I only get to see them once or twice a year. My dad's…away a lot and mom died when I was in high school."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Like you it was a long time ago."

"Excuse me Major." They turned to see a Sargent standing by the table holding a bowl of…something blue. "We ran out early ma'am." He set down the bowl.

"Thank you Sargent," she said, blushing again.

"Something I should know about?" Joe asked staring at the bowl of bright blue Jell-O topped by a swirl of whipped cream.

"Oh umm…I," she laughed nervously. "I like blue Jell-O so Sargent Keller saves me some whenever he can," she said self-consciously.

"I didn't even know they made blue Jell-O." He stared at the oddly colored wiggly treat.

"Blue raspberry. Please try some," she invited.

He pulled out his spoon and dug out a small bite. Frowning at it slightly he concentrated on getting it to his mouth without dropping it on his suit. "It's good," he said reaching for another bite.

"It's my favorite flavor," she admitted licking a bit of whipped cream off her lower lip.

"So. Anything I should know about before going through the Stargate in the morning?" He asked still not quite believing that in less than 24 hours he was going to be on a different planet.

"Just, eat a light breakfast. And to the colonel, 0700 is really 0655. If you're late you'll hear about it for a week or three," she warned.

"Excuse me Ambassador." They looked up. Sargent Meyers who'd escorted him and the rest from Peterson AFB to the SGC was standing there. "Arrangements have been made for you to have quarters at Peterson for the night sir."

"Thank you Sargent. I'll be along in a minute." The man nodded and retreated back to the entrance to the commissary. "I hate to eat and run but duty calls. Thank you for the advice Major. And the introduction to blue food."

She smiled broadly. "It was my pleasure Ambassador. I'll see you in the morning."

He made his way to the exit glancing back to see her clearing the table seemingly oblivious to the speculative glances of the others. Maybe he'd try out that restaurant later. That is if a certain major would consent to eat with him again.

<><><><><>

Joren watched the harvester float away then bent down and picked up the small satchel of supplies. He knew others journeyed into the settlements to pick up their food but his fields were so far into the mountains that the Aschen delivered it to him.

They were such a kind people and they took such good care of him. He fingered the scar under his stubbly hair. They'd cared for him when he'd been injured in an accident, the same accident that wiped out most of his memory. Once he'd been well again they'd brought him to this world and given him a large plot of land all his own. He did a few minor things, pulled weeds, removed rocks from the field and they provided him with a home of his own along with clothing and food. It was more than he could have bargained for. He paused for a second, a vague recollection of bargaining, negotiating flitting through his brain. He shook his head and continued on. It happened sometimes, a flash of a dream. Perhaps he bartered for trade goods where he'd come from?

He set the satchel down on his porch and picked up a small bowl. The sun was starting to set but he could make it to the patch and back if he hurried. Just a few hundred yards from his house was a small patch of wild berries. He'd discovered them weeks ago quite by accident and they were his hidden luxury. By all rights the berries were seen as weeds and should be chopped down. But he just couldn't see how something so good could be a weed.

Quickly picking some he turned back to his house, eager to beat the gathering darkness. It was almost his favorite time of the day, sunset over the mountains. This was his time, a few minutes of the day that he kept as his own. He knew some of the other tenders worked until the sun dipped below the horizon but he chose not to.

Seating himself on the stoop he picked up a jug of sweet water and took a swig, relishing how it burned his throat. He popped a few of the berries into his mouth, squashing them with his tongue and almost moaning aloud as the sun warmed sweet juice trickled down his throat. He took another swig of the drink and held a berry up in the waning light. It's dark red color was now more of a blue in the gathering dusk. Somehow that looked more right to him than the rich red.

He leaned back and crossed his feet at the ankles staring a moment at his sturdy work boots. 'They're gonna get ruined.' Where had that thought come from? His boots were appropriate footwear for working.

Dismissing the odd thought with a shrug he leaned back on his elbows watching the moon rise over the mountains.

~Fin~

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