Eleanor
It had been an early morning for me, I secured tickets to a museum exhibition later this afternoon before it closed to celebrate the start of Spring. There was a collection of impressionists, and something about Monet felt very springtime to me. I knew that I had three new crates of artifacts that had been sent from Area-51 for a project the science department needed in a few weeks. When I walked into my office back from lunch I noticed that Daniel's was partially open. The schedule had him home sleeping due to his late night coming back from a trip to DC with Sam. They were acting as liaisons to discuss possible security leaks of information that had been written up in the back pages of a national tabloid. It seemed to put a lot of stress on Colonel O'Neill who would send icy glares at me when I sat in occasional debriefing meetings. I knew his level of distrust was high due to all the altercations he had dealt with over the years.
I heard a small ding from the bell I'd installed at my desk chime for my attention as I was working between shelves.
"One moment!" I called back hoisting a box into place and scribbled down the label on the corresponding paperwork. I came around the corner, setting the clipboard down on the table in the center of the room, and saw Daniel standing there with two paper cups in hand and a pleasant smile.
"Coffee?"
"You're an angel among us. I've been at the new crate from PX4-236 all afternoon." I rubbed my temple and took the steaming paper cup from him.
"Then I suppose it would be too much trouble to ask for a moment of your time."
"I'm easily bought." I took in a deep sip and momentarily closed my eyes to savor the sweet combination of caffeine and cream. "What is it I can assist you with?"
"Next door?" He motioned to his office and I followed him into the cozy museum of a cave he studied in. Whenever I walked into the room I felt as if I were wrapped in an oversized flannel, the soft warmth and comfort was such a stark contrast to the sterile compound we worked in. His ugly collection of furniture that had been strategically gathered from abandoned sections of the base all were being used for more than their original purpose. Shelves that when constructed had no possible idea they'd house both Plato and alien texts. A corduroy loveseat was pushed against one wall with multiple patterned blankets shrouding the rips in it just so there could be somewhere to crash in the late evenings. The tang of stale bergamot and earl gray from forgotten kettles of tea tickled the air, swirling with old parchment and an ancient earthen smell. My eyes always darted around to the visual feast that was wall hangings scattered almost haphazardly wherever there was a blank space to be found.
He pulled out an avocado colored mid century looking metal chair with a gray wool field blanket from across his desk. "You don't have any afternoon meetings do you? I may need you for a while."
It took everything in me to restrain the girlish smile that threatened to escape from me. I could kick myself for being so blindingly obvious of what I feared was a workplace crush delving into dangerous waters.
"Completely clear, for the greater good of humanity." I gestured to maps spread across his desk and sat down. Watching him slowly ease into his own rolling chair, the only thing in this office aside from his computer that was made within the last decade.
"You worked with Dr. Yoke for a short period?"
"I did, that opened the door for my work at Area-51." I took another drink from the coffee, letting it wash over my insides.
"Where all did you go?" With a capped pen in his hand he mimicked a circle over a map of North, Central, and South America.
"Well, that's a bit of a hard answer. The Mojave here," I used my index finger to circle but he uncapped and handed me the pen as I circled points in. "Argentina, Guadeloupe, where we apparently were not asked to go and that ended in a mess," lastly I circled back up to Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada. "And that's where I was last when I requested transfer."
"But to your knowledge that's it?" He took another drink from his cup and I nodded.
"I know he was studying the cenotes in the Yucatán for um, any kind of carved notations of ancient Mayans last year. But that's it. To my understanding the US military had contracted him for the position. Now going over documents he's turned in quite a bit of old Goa'uld tech. However, I have told General Hammond privately," I looked back at the door again to make sure no one was passing and Daniel stood up quickly to close it. He nodded understandingly and sat back down. "I believe he kept some pieces. Or didn't give them to Area-51 as obligated. I didn't see many of them, but there were times he wouldn't allow me to photograph or even document items. There would be things missing from the inventory, everyone's notes would be different in areas that didn't make sense."
He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "That's what I'm concerned about."
"It was more like jewelry or a few tablets that he had kept. I mean, I believe he had kept." I grew quiet and swallowed. I looked down at my hands, feeling childlike. As if I were a pupil in school being reprimanded for my behavior, but it wasn't my fault. I hadn't been the one neglectant on my contract at the time, but I still felt responsible. "He wasn't a nice person Daniel." My voice was small, and I felt my face grow hot in embarrassment. I was an adult woman, and I still felt so weak talking about it. "When I requested transfer, it was because he was growing more and more frenzied and obsessive with his work. He'd accuse us, me, of stealing from him, or jeopardizing the trek. He would spend days locked away scribbling in languages we couldn't decipher. Towards the end he was, well, he became physically hard to restrain." Daniel's eyes softened, but I saw his jaw tick as if he were holding back his own thoughts. I sat for a moment in silence wondering if I was being too candid with my coworker, but he had asked, and I continued. "When there was such a small group of us in remote locations what could we do? Especially with the future promise of positions like, this one." I felt my skin crawl. Like a dog who had endured a beating just for the promise of a future meal. Perhaps, like I didn't fully deserve the position. "It was strange, he would push some into dangerous situations, and it was hard to say no. I remember one woman, she was told to go into a tight cavern, she should have broken her leg from the fall she took. He screamed that we all leave and get a medic from camp, but when we came back she was completely fine, better than fine even."
"Most of the documentation he filed was yours under his name." He put his glasses back on and ran his hand over his mouth.
"Uncredited." My voice a whisper now as I nursed my warm drink.
"Yeah, but anyone with a brain can tell. Comparing the papers I have that you wrote, your recent compiling here, and then his edited ones. They're too similar. One of them alone got him a large sum grant and it was very clearly your work."
"No one was going to listen to a woman without a doctorate who was told to just take pictures and scribble down notes." I shrugged. "And anything I did publish the government blocked, so I was a laughing stock amongst peers." I saw in his face he knew all too well that feeling. "I tried, but once he was on one of his episodes, we were pressured to give our findings in order to continue receiving funding. Once we were done in Utah and I attempted to publish my own papers again, I was contacted by the SGC and asked to put in my application to Area-51. When it was accepted I left as quickly as possible. I'm not even sure he is aware that he signed my letter of recommendation." The way he looked at me, the recognizable guilt in his eyes, made my stomach lurch.
"I had no idea."
I plastered a smile as a bandage between us, "who doesn't suffer a little abuse in this field?"
"No one deserves that." He held my gaze and I could feel the world around us come to a still in the small bunker of his office. My own thoughts for him started to feel tainted in this moment. I didn't want him feeling sorry for me, there is no longing to be had in someone you pity. This man went through hell and back on a monthly basis it seemed, and here he was looking at me, with those sad eyes, at a woman who said her old college professor used to yell obscenities at her out of frustration on military funded glorified camping trips. My embarrassment was acrid in my throat and I took in a quick breath.
"Is that all you needed then, or should I start paying you for my therapy sessions?" I mustered a chuckle again, but it clearly hid nothing.
"I think that about answers it," he had the courtesy to ignore my obvious discomfort. "You're technically off the clock now. Anytime you stay here you don't get paid overtime."
"You're staying? Today is your day off." I had thought at that moment to ask him to join me this afternoon. I could get him another ticket, or I could ditch the museum all together, but that deceptive voice in my head reminded me if he said yes it would not doubt be out of pity.
"I have some reading I need to try and translate or it'll eat me alive, plus I have some emails to try and send out."
"George Keaton over at my old office, he can get you in touch with Dr. Yokes more recent expeditions." I stood up and walked to the door. "See you in the morning." I saluted at a painful attempt at lightening the mood, and he returned the gesture smiling back. The walk back to my office felt like forever. Each of the 5 footsteps it took was a mile in length. When I opened my door I saw the days worth of everything laid out on the table. It could wait. I'd come in earlier in the morning tomorrow and finish it. I grabbed my bag and keys, turning off the lights and locking the door behind me.
The next Monday I placed a bakery fresh cream cheese streusel and hot Americano on his desk along with the phone number to some other offices that I thought may help with his search for Dr. Yoke. I had taken it upon myself to reach out to a few of my past team members, all dead ends choosing to not look back. I couldn't blame them. There was a sense of embarrassment for what we allowed ourselves to be subjected to in the idea that it was for science and preservation of history. All of that led to sitting here at Stargate Command, located in a small office codex room across the hall, unnoticed.
Currently in my office I was typing away at a new mission case that General Hammond had expressed interest in due to the mineral deposits and the religious implications for the people on that planet. The almighty US government had a desire to mine the mountains for the ore, but because of past altercations with other civilizations in this exact predicament he did not want to spark another conflict.
I heard the drumming of fingers and a loud, "ahem," from the doorway and I stopped to turn around. "I'll be there in a moment, sorry for the wait," I called back. I minimized the screen and came to the table I had created as a makeshift front sign-in desk. "Hello," I smiled politely at the thinning brunette who was glowering in my direction.
"Weren't you hired to assist?"
Keeping my polite smile I felt my eyes widen slightly and return to a dead lackluster stare back. "Yes, and how can I assist you, sir?" My voice had gone sour matching his tone.
"I need files on," he started snapping in the hallway at someone and my neck craned to see who he could possibly be treating so lowly. I saw Major Carter with a look that could kill, whip her head back to him and away from the other three officers she was speaking with. She rolled her eyes and cooly walked towards us both.
"Good morning Major," I smiled at her, sharing compassion now knowing the reason for her uncharacteristically sour mood.
She returned the look apologetically, "good morning Eleanor, this is Dr. McKay. He is here to assist Dr. Lee with some items that we found on..."
"PXF-259, PC3-985, and 974." He interrupted us and smirked. "Those are the files."
"Right, thank you Dr. McKay." I sucked in through my teeth and watched as he grabbed a hard candy from the bowl on the desk, unwrapped it, and paused.
"Are these spearmint?"
"They're assorted." I replied blandly.
"But, one would assume green stripes would be spearmint, not lime or citrus?"
"One would assume."
"Because I'm allergic to citrus."
"I wouldn't know Dr. McKay. I know the gold foiled ones are butterscotch. I'm partial to those." I turned around and went to the filing wall and collected the three binders he had asked for. When I returned I saw Sam bickering with him about a particle displacer and he was grinning just shaking his head no in her direction as she held back a restrained stream of insults. I gracefully handed him the files and asked, "is that it?"
"I didn't catch your full name." He cocked his head eyeing me over and I felt the urge to fold my arms across my chest.
"Eleanor Owens."
"Do you have dinner plans Eleanor? It isn't often that I come this way out to Colorado, and although you're not exactly my type, you seem like you'd have the time to show me around." I could not help the audible gasp that squeaked past me as he waited unaware or just not caring about the obvious uncomfort I felt in his brashness.
"She has a boyfriend," Sam swooped in and my eyebrows rose as I nodded in return.
"Yes, I do. Broad, tall, jealous type." I grit down on my teeth and managed another polite smile, "if that is it Dr. McKay, Major Carter, I have reports I need to get back to filing. Thank you." I gave a curt nod and watched them walk away quickly before I turned back to my desk and continued with my assignment.
Sam
Once again I was tasked with watching Rodney McKay parade himself around the SGC. Going from science lab to lab egregiously insulting everyone in the room and then walking on like he had done them a favor. He was contracted this week to come in and help with the creation of a new device that we thought may already have been created but tucked away in hiding by the Ancients. There was an idea of using a small remote button when going through the wormhole during a solar flare, we could pinpoint the exact time to travel through and land. It would only be used in the case of an extreme event, but it seemed too good to pass up.
Unfortunately I was unable to work on it alone, and that's when McKay was called in. He swore up and down it was possible, but only because my calculations needed to be altered. He had this disgusting smirk when he spoke to me, but I couldn't disagree with his results. As much as I hated to admit it, as big of an ass that he was, he was equally brilliant.
I walked into the ready room with a small journal of notes ready for the meeting that McKay had insisted on. Daniel was early, sitting at the table going over another book in a language I couldn't differentiate, as Teal'c walked in from the other entrance. He gave me a courtesy nod and I returned the gesture. We sat in silence going over our notes when Eleanor popped her head into the room.
"Oh thank goodness." She blew out and Daniel jumped up to get the door for her as she wheeled in a cart stacked three crates high. "If you see Dr. McKay at your get together here, I have the bins and binders he requested. I'm trying to avoid another encounter." She parked the cart against the back wall and set the wheels to lock.
"I see you've met Rodney." Daniel mused sitting back down and reopening his book, her only response a grunt of disdain. "Must have gone well."
"Yes, he was a real dream to speak with. Even told me I wasn't his type before asking me then to go to dinner." She batted her eyes playfully fanning herself and I saw Daniel crack a smile in return.
"You should be so lucky, he's been chasing Sam for ages." He flipped another page of his book and wrote something down on a notepad.
"Leave me out of this," I grumbled back, slumping deeper into my chair.
Jack and Hammond walked in together talking, both seemed tense and dropped the conversation as they entered.
"Where is Dr. McKay? He was the one who asked for this meeting." Hammond was clearly as annoyed as the rest of us.
Jack glanced over at Teal'c as he slipped into a seat and muttered, "hopefully sucking on a lemon."
Eleanor opened the door to leave but Rodney bumped into her. "Elizabeth!"
"Eleanor."
"Yeah, do you have those folders ready for me?" She gestured to the large collection of boxes. "Excellent," he clapped his hands together. She went to move past him and he snapped in her direction. "Aren't you going to pass them out?"
"That's not her job." Daniel called out, closing his book calmly and setting it on the table. His eyes met McKay's as he stood up from his seat. Eleanor continued down the hall and Rodney shrugged. Jack and I looked at each other from across the table and I could see the gears ticking away and connecting behind his eyes.
Daniel instead offered to pass out sections of paperwork around the table and pulled each item from the box as McKay instructed. It took him three hours to explain it, theoretically the design for a handheld device was possible for pinpointing a place marker destination on our timeline. If we found the location, to which Daniel brought up, he had a short list of ideas on where to find the initial product, including the location of Atlantis. We could do this, but I hope we had enough time before Anubis caught on.
Eleanor
My loafers were rocking back and forth against the polished concrete floor as I waited patiently for the lift to come down to our level. It always felt like a small eternity for the doors to open and take us up to the ground floor so we could go home. I heard the bell ding, and in the same breath my name was shouted down the hall. I spun around to see Daniel running up to the elevator doors as they closed and dropped back down.
My face scrunched to keep from cursing and turned back to him, "heading home as well, we can catch the next lift." I said as I tried to remain composed. The day had been difficult with the new douchebag doctor requesting I pull every artifact out of storage, instead of the detailed paperwork I had written about them, and then decided he didn't in fact need them.
"Uh, not quite yet. But, I have a favor to ask." He pressed his palms together and pointed at me in a pleading motion, "I have an old colleague who works at Berkeley and sent some boxes of manuscripts that I need to scan and have uploaded here in the archives. They're at my house, he doesn't trust sending them to, the government." He finished up with air quotes and rolled his eyes. I felt the fluttering in my stomach of assumption. With no idea where this was leading my mind already started buzzing with potential. "That being said, would you be interested in swinging by and grabbing some to take with you into the office in the morning? We can use it as an excuse to blow off some steam about the day, and I'll have dinner ready as a thank you."
My body was all trembling nerves wanting to melt into a soupy puddle on the ground at his feet. "I'll bring dessert." The blush crept up my neck and down my arms, suddenly very grateful for the charcoal cardigan sweater I chose today as I tugged at wrists.
"Perfect, around 7 then, and Chinese takeout good?"
I nodded as he pressed the elevator button beside me and turned to briskly walk back down the hall. I could feel the goofy look on my face spread as I stared at the elevator doors waiting for them to open. Maybe I'd have McKay to thank after all.