Eleanor
Months had passed since we acquired the device. The planet formally referred to as PC5-143 we retrieved it from was now known in the records as Angdar. There had been no known time jumps since we took the device and rehoused it. They moved the ring to a neutral zone between the three countries and we had common emissary meetings in place now for the future of our two planets' kinship. Because of the work that I had done on the planet, General Hammond had asked if I wanted to continue with the off-world summits only pertaining to Angdar. I journeyed there twice more to meet with the other two countries' representatives and then stepped down allowing for SG teams that were more comfortable with diplomacy to further deal with trade and relations. However, I kept in frequent correspondence with all three municipalities chancellors of history at their respective universities finding a trove of information to compile for their respective files.
Summer had come and gone, and with it Daniel and I had quietly grown closer. June was filled with lazy rainy days in bed together, curled up watching movies and eating take out while we debated over whether historical accuracies in film mattered when taking artistic vision into consideration. In July near his birthday, we had turned a work trip Daniel had to take to his old stomping grounds at the University of Chicago into a long weekend away together. Seeing hand in hand around the city and relishing in time dedicated to him. August the SGC had brought Dr. McKay back to work on the time device in an attempt to figure out how to stabilize the crystal and the remote piece together. He was tormenting the science department to the point I had to step in and play psychological punching bag when Sam was off world.
By September most afternoons I was cataloging and compiling reports from my laptop in Dr. McKay's shared lab with Dr. Lee to keep the peace between the two. Bill had left early for an appointment and it was just McKay and I working in silence. I had debated leaving to go back to my office, but I found that when I would leave he often found someone else to berate. If I just sat like a sandbag working on files while he shot arrows at me every time he was frustrated, things ran smoothly. He needed someone to boost his egos to problem solve, and although at one point I suggested therapy for him I found if I just sat with headphones in ignoring him, he was none the wiser.
"... many common people like you assume Newtonian physics is hard because of that and it's not. My 2-year old niece could grasp the concept." He was muttering to me as he was soldering pieces together.
"Please, explain in further detail," I replied back, yawning and continuing to comb through the last planetary jump records tuning him out. Daniel walked in, hands in pockets and messenger bag slumped over one shoulder.
"Ready to head out?" He asked, eyeing McKay in the corner.
"I am wrapping up an email, give me about five minutes." I smiled back and he took up on a stool next to me, pulling a book from his satchel and cracking it open. McKay popped up from his work and looked back at us.
"Are," he paused, eyeing between us, "she has a jealous boyfriend you know." He said very matter of factly. Daniel tried to restrain a smile and pursed his lips together.
"So I've heard," he continued reading his book while I snapped my computer shut.
Colonel O'Neill came walking in, red and black checked flannel shirt and jeans on, clearly ready to shed the work week away as quickly as possible. "I'm going up north to the cabin with Teal'c and Carter for the four day weekend. Want to join?"
Daniel looked up, "thanks but no thanks, I have plans," his hand gently nudged against mine on the desk and I felt a flush creep over my freckled cheeks. Something about the small display of affection in such a public place felt so comforting. Like it solidified our relationship. I knew most everyone in the office knew we were dating, everyone aside from apparently McKay. But, we made a point to keep our work life very professional and our private life separate. To the point where during group meetings we would sit at opposite ends of the room. However, we often rode into work together or took lunch in one another's office when he was Earth side.
Jack's eyes seemed to catch the small motion and the corner of his mouth twitched up before shrugging. "Your loss, Eleanor?" The levity in his eyes was a final confirmation I had somehow made it in his good graces and I mirrored it back.
"Thank you Colonel O'Neill but I also have plans that will keep me busy all weekend." I felt the brush from Daniel's fingers against mine at my admission. "But, some other time would be lovely."
"Jack is fine. I don't need formalities." He gave a small wink and started back to the hall.
"I'm free," McKay called out and Jack ignored him heading out. "What are your plans Eleanor?" He turned back to me.
My eyes widened at his remembering of my name. He had so often called me variations of E names like Emily or Edna that it was startling to hear my actual name from him. I softened putting my computer away. "We're flying to Seattle for the long weekend, their new museum of pop culture has an exhibit on Wormhole X-treme we're dying to check out."
"You've got to stop telling people that's why we're going. We're not seeing that." Daniel took my bag for me and slung it over his free shoulder.
"Why else would we be going? I'm very excited, do you think they'll have a cardboard cutout of Dr. Levant I can pose next to?" I bat my eyes at him.
"You're both going to Seattle together?" McKay's eyes shifted again between us finally connecting the pieces.
"Have a nice weekend Rodney," I chuckled and followed Daniel out the door to his car.
The following Tuesday I walked into Dr. Lee's office and set up shop. I noticed McKay wasn't in yet, but Bill was busy plugging away at his own projects.
"I brought you back something," I tossed a bucket of sour candies to him with the World of Warcraft logo on it. "The guy at the Pop Culture Museum said this was funny. I don't know why but," I shrugged, "now we're even for the Tardis chocolate bars from that comic-com."
He beamed back at me, "this is perfect."
McKay walked in seeming grumpier than usual, setting a mug of coffee down on the desk and muttering something under his breath.
"Good morning sunshine, have a nice weekend?" I dug around my bag and slid a box of maple candies down the table to him.
"What's this?" He looked down and back at me.
"I took the liberty of guessing what you'd want. It's authentically Canadian. Like you." I blinked back trying to maintain my look of innocence. He picked up the back of the package and checked the ingredients list. "Not even citric acid. Just in case."
"Thank you, I don't really like maple, but I appreciate the joke behind it," he nodded awkwardly and opened up his computer. "We have a bigger problem though," he turned to Bill who had already opened up the can of sour candies, mouth puckering. "Over the weekend I came in and managed to finally get the crystal stabilized on the remote, however it needs a compatible conductor. Specifically a quartz trinium hybrid would work, but I can't find anything remotely similar to work with. So, we are out of options for furthering the time remote."
"Quartz trinium? Like the healing bracelet?" I began opening my emails to check on what I had missed this past weekend and there was silence in the room. I looked back up, "right?"
"What bracelet?" McKay squinted at me and I heard Bill choke on his hard candy.
"It's in the database. Maybe you don't see it because it's off limits for checking out of my office." I replied casually and went back to my emails.
McKay came over and snapped my laptop shut, "what bracelet?"
"Eleanor almost died bringing Jackson back to life with an Ancient made cuff she inherited from an old professor of hers." Bill responded in between coughs.
"We don't need to go that in depth with the story," I mumbled scrolling through my personal database on the Asgardian tablet I had.
"Why am I just now learning about this tech?"
"Did you not hear me? It's off limits. She almost died." Bill looked at McKay like he had grown a second head.
"She misused it, she's not qualified to be using tech here anyways. She's a librarian not a scientist." McKay waved his arms in my direction and I glared back.
"If anyone was qualified to use it, McKay, it was me, I had background knowledge of it. I have seen it in use. Anyway, it's quartz trinium, take a look." I pulled up the file on the tablet and handed it over to him. His eyes darted around the screen and he handed it back to me.
"How do I get a hold of it?"
"Ask General Hammond to smelt it down." I reopened my laptop and swiped the mousepad to get the home screen back online.
"Smelt it down?" Bill gaped.
"That cuff is nothing but trouble, this device is actually helpful. If you can't even use the cuff, you might as well smelt it down."
"It's an artifact, doesn't that go against everything you do?"
I looked back at Bill sternly, "there are artifacts, and then there is that. That cuff," I looked back down at my computer feeling a wash of shame sweep over me, "it needs to be destroyed. It's dangerously addictive to use, Dr. Yoke's journal entries about his experience using it were all frantic and crazed towards the end. I felt the endorphin rush when I used it, I felt the need to keep using it, and sometimes I still feel the need to try and use it again. My brain is chemically altered forever. It can never be used again, by anyone." I could sense McKay and Bill's empathetic looks back at me and it made my skin crawl. I stood up from my seat with the Asgardian tablet in hand and walked to the general's office, I would take this upon myself to get done.
Sam
Daniel and I had been called to the briefing room to talk to Hammond about the time remote. When we walked I saw Eleanor sitting there with McKay to her left, a determined look on her face and a stack of files to her right.
"Take a seat Major Carter, Doctor Jackson," Hammond welcomed us in and I glanced over at Daniel who seemed just as confused as I was.
"What's this all about?" Daniel asked, looking at Hammond.
"It was your idea Ms. Owens, Dr. McKay," he replied and I glanced over at the two.
"The time remote needs a conductive material that is compatible with the crystal and the tech together. I was only informed this morning that you have such a device." McKay spoke pointedly at us and Eleanor rolled her eyes.
"What Dr. McKay is saying," she sighed, "is that he said he was close to giving up when I told him about the healing bracelet. The one off limits. It is made of quartz trinium, a material very difficult to find, but readily becomes available if we smelt the cuff down." Daniel's eyes widened and I looked at Hammond. She continued, "we've agreed that we're not using it, it's never going to be used again. However this device," she pulled out her files and opened them up one at a time, "I can point out multiple times where SG-1 specifically has gone through time loops where this remote would have been helpful. Where you wouldn't have had to risk your lives or the timeline in order to fulfill the mission."
"Dr. Jackson, the cuff was used on you, what are your thoughts?" Hammond asked.
"I, well," he rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment. "Usually I wouldn't condone tampering with artifacts but, I have to agree in this case. It seems like it's the most logical solution. However, what would the side effects be when altering the cuff's design?"
"Theoretically," I started, "nothing would affect anyone that has worn the bracket or had it used on them. Their organic bodies wouldn't be changed. That being said, because this is a relative physical time device, there is the possibility that when smelted down and used it would be taken out of the timeline, every timeline. The remote is an object that is moving someone from a timeline that doesn't belong in another, in order to stop a paradox of time folding into itself over and over there is a failsafe in the solar flare device we retrieved to make this. The failsafe being that it is unable to exist in other timelines once in use, there can only be one. So, possibly, anything combined with that device is also adapted to the failsafe. You're taking something that already alters a timeline by bringing back the dead, by changing the makeup of the device you are cutting it from those timelines all together."
"This time remote thing will save more lives than that bracelet." Eleanor said plainly. "And I would argue that the future lives of others are more important than a device we have promised to never use." I nodded in agreement and McKay seemed surprised he was being given the go ahead.
"Alright Ms. Owens," Hammond took the Asgardian tablet and put his clearance code in it to allow access to the bracelet. "Hand it over to Dr. McKay. You have a go." He stood up and left the room.
"That seemed easy enough," McKay grinned as the cuff appeared on the table between us. Daniel's eyes looked back at Eleanor who was looking directly back at him, almost refusing to even acknowledge the item in between them.
"You okay?" He mouthed at her and she nodded. McKay cheerily swiped it off the table and walked back to the lab.