Caldwell walked beside her for the entire trip to the Brenye colony. She might have tried to slip away if she hadn't noticed the relieved looks on the faces of her people. As long as he was talking to her, he wasn't bothering anyone else. Rodney would have gone out of his way to annoy the man, Ronon didn't trust him, Teyla barely tolerated him ever since he had made it clear that Sheppard's life was expendable, and John...well, ten miles of John Sheppard having to play nice with Steven Caldwell would have required more miracles than the Pegasus Galaxy had hungry Wraith. So Elizabeth stayed by his side, discussing events from both home and Earth.

Occasionally she looked around at the group, watching how they interacted with each other. They had been met at the gate by members of the security team, some of them from Atlantis and others from the Daedalus. The latter had been an offer by Caldwell, another subtle maneuver that she couldn't refuse without creating more trouble than she needed. John's eyes were everywhere: studying the perimeter, ensuring that the people under his command were doing their jobs. He was subtle about it, with a lightness of tone that kept people at ease, but he was also dead serious. He moved around a lot, checking in with various members of the expedition. He served as referee for one of Rodney and Zelenka's inevitable arguments before moving away to walk with Carson for awhile. When the group broke for lunch she watched him settle beside Teyla; whatever he said to her made her smile. Elizabeth cast a concealed glance at the albatross who was sitting beside her, obliviously eating an MRE, and sighed. Sometimes being the leader sucked.

Even as she thought it, she shook her head. It was just part of the job, a job that she loved dearly. She knew Caldwell struggled with the same feeling of isolation; it was one of the reasons that he sought her out for conversation. A little voice in her mind whispered that it wasn't the only reason, but she firmly squashed it. If she could keep her people happy by dealing with Caldwell, then she'd talk until she was blue in the face. He wasn't exactly bad company, anyway. He was intelligent and dedicated. If she could ignore the queasy feeling of spending several hours in the company of someone she couldn't trust, then she actually had a decent time. When they reached the river John had talked about she let the water calm her, the gentle sound reminding her of Atlantis. She was glad when they reached the colony. It was late when they arrived; she participated in the necessary introductions and retired to her room as soon as possible to prepare for the next day.

The initial meeting went well. The Brenye were a quiet group of people who exuded peace. They tended towards a slender build laced with wiry strength that could only come from having lived off the land for many years, and they had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. The prevailing color seemed to be light green, with the occasional blue or pale grey added to the mix. What made their eyes so delightful wasn't the color, however, it was the contentedness that shone from within them. The Brenye were at peace with themselves, and it was unbelievably calming.

The meeting room they were led to was a reflection of its creators: simple, functional, and incredibly beautiful. There was an elegance about the entire place, a feeling of having lived a certain way for a very long time and having become very good at it. Elizabeth slipped into her chair with a feeling of homecoming; this was the part of her job that she loved the most. She was prepared to reach out a hand of friendship to these people, to learn some of their secrets and share the best parts of her world with them. This was her highest purpose, and she never, ever got tired of it.

It was interesting to watch the reactions of her people as the day progressed. It wasn't as obvious with Teyla or Carson because they ware always gentle spirits, but the others were decidedly better behaved than usual. The peaceful atmosphere seemed to have rubbed off on them. Rodney wasn't talking a mile a minute, didn't challenge Zelenka with every other breath, and had even stopped to listen politely when the Brenye scientists spoke. There appeared to be no trace of the sarcastic arrogance from a few days earlier in Atlantis. Elizabeth knew that John had to be bored half to death with the negotiations because the Brenye needed nothing in the way of military training or weaponry, but he didn't show it at all. There were no fidgity hand movements, no wisecracks...just exemplary manners and an apparently limitless supply of patience. Caldwell had miraculously stayed quiet and supportive throughout all of the discussions, and even Ronon seemed softer around the edges. Elizabeth wondered if she could arrange to take some of this peaceful spirit home with them as part of the trade agreement. Would they need to take an actual Brenye, or could Beckett come up with some way to capture the essence in a bottle? Maybe he could even synthesize it...

With a start, Elizabeth realized that the Brenye leader, Arin, was apparently awaiting her response to something. Before she had time to panic, John came to her rescue. "We would be honored to have dinner with you this evening," he said smoothly even as he shot her a questioning glance. It was that wide-eyed look of his, and she could almost hear his voice in her head: It's not nice to daydream during the Very Important Meeting, Doctor.

She added her agreement to the dinner arrangements, steadfastly refusing to look at John again. They stood, pleased with the results of the day's work and looking forward to what would undoubtably be an excellent meal, if the lunch they had been served was any indication. It was as they were walking to the dining area that it happened: there was an outburst of angry voices at the other end of the hall and Elizabeth noticed that several people were having to be restrained. "Arin?" she asked quietly as John tensed by her side.

The Brenye leader was watching the events unfolding at the other end of the room. "I apologize, Elizabeth. There are those among us who questioned the wisdom of interacting with other beings. I thought we had addressed their fears--"

"Apparently you thought wrong." John's voice was dead even, a sure sign that he was about to get seriously pissed off. Elizabeth shot him a glance, warning him to tread carefully.

Arin sighed. "Apparently we did."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" John pressed, relentless.

The other man turned to meet John's angry glare. "I didn't realize there was a problem when you were here before. I knew that a few people had voiced opposition to your visit, but I thought it could be dealt with peacefully. You are the first outsiders we have had significant interaction with; I had no idea that the response of a few...a very few...colonists would be so volatile." For the first time all day, Elizabeth saw the peace in the man's eyes diminish; something inside her cried out at the loss. Before she could say anything, Arin responded to a gesture from someone across the hall. "I'm afraid I must ask you to excuse me for a moment. Please...stay. Enjoy your meal."

"Yeah right," John muttered under his breath as the other man walked away at a pace that was just short of a full-out run.

"John," Elizabeth said softly, not wanting to be overheard.

He turned to face her, his eyes dark and uncompromising. "He lied to me," he said, quietly furious.

"We don't know that," she countered.

His jaw clenched. "I trusted him. I brought our people here because of that trust; I brought you..." His voice had been increasing in volume as he spoke; now it died away as he looked at her, helpless.

She felt something warm take life in her heart. "And I'm here," she replied gently. "I'm here, and I'm safe. I'm fine. We'll finish the negotiations and return home, safe and sound."

He shook his head firmly. "We're returning home, alright. Right now."

"No, we're not," she countered.

"Elizabeth," he said warningly.

"No, John. We're here, and we'll finish the job we came to do. Besides," she continued, "what are we talking about, anyway? A few dissenters, a handful of people who don't like the current administration's policies? We have the same problem on Earth...and on Atlantis." For a moment she pictured a note with maliciously scrawled handwriting, but then she pushed the thought away. "If we allow, even encourage that freedom of speech from our own people, why should we expect any less from others?"

"We don't know that it's just speech," John argued.

"We don't know that it isn't," she fired back.

He studied her face, considering. Finally he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"It's hard to tell," she replied. "He seems to be sincere, but that's just appearances. Plus there's something about these people...something calming..."

He nodded. "You felt it too, then."

"Yes. The question is whether it's real or some kind of trick to soothe us into being careless." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't know. Diplomacy isn't an exact science."

He grinned, and she knew he was conceding the battle...for now. "No, it's not. However, dinner is about as exact a science as one could hope for. Feed John Sheppard...make him happy. Just be sure to avoid the Lygra grapes from Trielste because when he eats them he--um...you know what? Never mind."

Was he blushing? "You don't have to explain, Colonel Sheppard. I read the mission report, remember?" Yep, that was definitely a blush. Smirking, she walked past him and headed to the table. "Let's eat."