Disclaimer: Don't own, don't earn, don't sue.

Chapter one

As the non-exciting debriefing of the non-exciting last mission was ending, general Hammond had an announcement to make.

"Before you go, I'd like you all to meet someone who you will be working closely with on your next mission. Her name is doctor Brennan and she's been producing some very interesting work in wormhole mechanics, among other things. I recruited her myself from the university", he said, with a slight air of pride over having done all - or at least most of - the work to single out the candidate best suited for the job. "She's been assigned to help Major Carter manufacture and set up the equipment needed to analyze the energy emissions we picked up on PXG-465." He turned to Sam. "No offense, Major, we'd just like to get this show on the road as soon as possible. I thought you wouldn't mind some new input."

"Not at all", Sam answered. "I've read some of her work, I think she's brilliant. And I could always use another pair of hands."

An airman knocked on the open door and stuck his head in.

"Sir?"

General Hammond nodded.

"Show her in, Jensen."

Clicks from sturdy heels echoed outside the room before a distinguished woman in her fifties entered. Although dressed in a grey, strict skirt suit and wearing her hair in perfectly permed short locks, she had a kind face that took the edge off the mean-librarian look. She smiled and the group directed their attention to her and prepared to start greetings. She, however, turned to the door opening as if she expected someone else to join her.

"Here you are", she said and a second woman entered the room. Jack shot a quick look of confusion at Sam across the table. This one was wearing jeans and a snug t-shirt with some worn print on it, and a large white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was in a tousled ponytail and Jack caught a quick glimpse of bright red basketball sneakers eyeing her over. All and all, she didn't fit his mental picture of a "professor".

"Thank you", said the second woman warmly to the first. "I'm a sucker for getting lost", she stated to the room as her older guide from Accounting left her to be inspected by the curious group of people. She locked eyes with general Hammond and smiled with recognition.

"Welcome, doctor Brennan", greeted the general. "May I present to you Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Dr Jackson and Teal'c." The woman sat the bunch of papers she was carrying on the table and went up to shake hands with Jack and Sam, then leaned over to reach the hands of Daniel and Teal'c, exchanging hellos with everyone. Shaking hands with Teal'c seemed to startle her though, as she interrupted her movements the moment their hands met and rested her eyes on him, raising her other hand to place it on top of his. It lasted only a second and she let go, returning her focus to the whole room as if nothing had happened. The others exchanged amused glances.

"Teal'c isn't your ordinary airman, as you can see", general Hammond said with a gesture to the large Jaffa. Teal'c himself gave professor Brennan a stoic look.

"The marking tends to throw people off", Jack helpfully explained.

"Oh yes, of course", doctor Brennan said quickly, looking at Teal'cs forehead as if that was what had bewildered her all along. "Jaffa, right?" She waved a finger. "I've been briefed just a little bit on what goes on here. Honestly, I think it's amazing. I can't believe you guys actually travel through a wormhole on a regular basis." She sent an awestruck look around the group. Daniel smiled and exchanged looks with his friends across the table.

"It is pretty cool when you think about it", he mumbled. Actually, going off-world as often as they did, the gate travel was effectively losing some of its former fascination. Especially with all the hassle that so often followed, what with angry aliens and near-death experiences and all. Or actual death experiences. It was nice to hear someone that saw the basic wonders of the gate as they once had. Perhaps it would spread some new enthusiasm around the teams.

General Hammond interrupted Daniel's train of thought. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to get settled in as soon as possible, doctor Brennan", he said, standing up. "Major Carter, why don't you show the doctor around the facilities. I'm sure you have lots to talk about."

"Sure", Sam answered. She turned to doctor Brennan. "Why don't we go down to the lab and I'll fill you in..." She interrupted herself, her eye caught by the print on the doctor's t-shirt. She frowned lightly in confusion. "Is that a... caffeine molecule?"

"Yup." Doctor Brennan just smiled softly, offering no excuse for the unorthodox attire and Sam continued. "Um, fill you in on where we stand on the tripolar amp project."

"Absolutely. Hey, am I right that you've actually been using titanium fusing?"

Sam and the professor proceeded down the hall in enthusiastic discussion. As they went on, Sam started to feel more and more giddy about her new colleague. At last, someone who seemed to be every bit as interested in science and mechanics as she was. Someone who seemed to be totally on her level. Someone she could actually talk to without dumbing down or having to explain simple basics to before they'd get the important stuff. And on top of that – she seemed nice.

Sam had often missed having a real girl friend around. She spent so much time at work she hardly ever saw any of her old friends, and the base showed a sorry lack of potential new ones. She loved her boys, she did, and she had fun with them. She knew she could talk to any of them about anything, but it wasn't the same thing as relating to a close female friend. They simply didn't have the perspective it meant to belong to her sex, just as she didn't have the perspective that came with belonging to theirs. If this new person turned out to be as friendly as she seemed right now, Sam would maybe even ask her if she wanted to go for a beer or something. But she didn't want to raise any expectations and put that thought in the archive for Later.

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c followed behind as they made their way down towards their offices. Watching the women walking some ten yards ahead of them, Jack said hesitantly:

"She's an unusual ph.D..."

"Yeah..." Wrinkles formed above Daniel's nose. "She must have raced through college or something."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "Is there something unusual about doctor Brennan?"

Daniel turned his head to him and back, raising his eyebrows in a nothing's-the-matter kind of fashion. "No, no... nothing unusual..." Then his eyebrows fell together again.

"She just seems a little young to be a professor at a university doing all that heavy science stuff", Jack concluded.

"Perhaps she is older than she appears", Teal'c suggested.

Jack didn't feel convinced. He had a gut, and he trusted it, and his gut said there was something about this doctor Brennan that was a little bit... off.

Actually, professor Brennan was young for her position. She knew she didn't look like the typical doctor of quantum mechanics, and she knew people noticed. Her normal uniform looked more inspired by teenage geeks than the hallways of a renowned university. Perhaps she should cut her hair short and start wearing tweed. Get some orthopedic shoes. But she liked her sneakers. They were nice and red. And she liked her jeans and men's shirts, they were comfortable, and she shouldn't care what anyone might think anyway, so what the hell. She'd been doing her research for years now, and the ones who counted knew she was very good at it. She just hoped these people would know it too – she had landed an absolute dream, and wasn't prepared to let it go for anything.

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A/N: Reviews are love.