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Title: Barista 37 -- The Messenger Author's Notes: I drop hints in this one. I know - I'm as bad as Frankenstein, messing around with Kira like this. Sorry! Heh. A little. I check my watch for the third time in twenty minutes and sigh. There was just no denying it – Daniel was late. And not just, "Sorry Kira, I got wrapped up in a project" late. He was late. Daniel has been helping me out on thorny translating assignments and editing history papers for me for almost two years now. At times, I just wish I could touch that brain of his, and absorb what he knows through osmosis (yeah, he's that smart), but Daniel is also a good teacher. He asks just the right questions, and basically turns everything around so that I'm the one doing all the work (very sneaky), even though he's the one who knows the answer. I'll bet you money he's taught at a university somewhere… Absently I start humming that funny Christmas song about Kris Kringle and putting one foot in front of the other. Haven't a clue why that odd ditty came into my head. Considering the fact that summer isn't even over yet (Labor Day is next weekend); I am forced to reach no other conclusion than I've gone completely bonkers. Hey! It's been known to happen. After all, what sane, rational woman spends her well-earned scholastic break trying to work out a Sumerian riddle? I'm just having the darndest time getting the difference between the prefix "mu-", (the animate one) and the prefix "ba-" (the inanimate one). This really should be straight-forward, but for some reason… I look at my watch again and frown. Twenty-five minutes now. I don't know why I'm so concerned. Daniel has been late before. Actually, he's late a lot. And there have even been times when he hasn't even shown up at all! I wonder if he does that with Jack? Or is he the perfect not-really-military-I-just-work-with-them genius up at that mountain? I shake my head trying to dispel the image of Daniel with a gun. Boy, does that just seem wrong! Daniel may be late a fair amount, but he has always given me a heads-up if he knows he might be out of town or something. We exchanged cell phone numbers last year - much to my mother's considerable glee I might add. I loaned her my phone one afternoon and she proceeded (in true motherly-fashion) to "accidentally" nose around in my phone book. She immediately glommed onto Daniel's name (it was the only non-family member she didn't recognize) and now keeps calling him my mystery boyfriend. I've thought about trying to explain who he actually is, but I kind of like the idea of having a mystery guy. It keeps mom from continually asking when I'm going to find a nice boy and settle down. Jewish mothers… I look at my watch again; only three minutes have passed. If Daniel knows he's going to be running late, he usually gives me a call, or sends me an email. If he thinks he's going to be out of town, he likes to give me a head's up on the off chance that he might be delayed. Again, he does this a lot. Not that we meet up a lot or anything (maybe two or three times a term), but if there is just a slight possibility that he might not make our meeting… Let's just say, that sometimes I get a one-line email telling me he's out of town, and the very next day a much more leisurely email telling me he's back and he'll see me next week. Geeze Daniel! He seriously needs to take a course in time management or something. A trip to Denver or Cheyenne is not (unless it's mid-winter) usually going to result in being late to a meeting with me the following week! Obviously some of these business trips are pretty close to town, so why does he even bother? Once, Daniel even sent Jack to track me down at the café where we usually meet. I had forgotten my phone, and Daniel apparently was recovering from "bad dreams" or something like that, and didn't feel up to going out. Jack was sent out to explain everything to me. This consisted mainly of, "Daniel isn't feeling well. Bad dreams", and the eating of pie. I smile at the memory. And then frown. Where was he? I stare hopefully at the front door, and will Daniel to walk through it. He doesn't. However, someone else does. I haven't a clue who he is, but there's a definite military air about him (the starched white shirt with the blue shoulder thingies gives him away). He looks around the room like he's searching for someone in particular. I look at my watch. It's now 3:30. I bite my lip and wonder how much longer I should wait. "Excuse me miss," the military guy say kindly, stopping at my table. "Are you Kira Meyers?" Instantly my blood runs cold. I never actually understood that phrase before now. "Yeah, that's me," I reply cautiously. With my eyes I tell him it's okay to sit down. I don't know who this guy is yet, but he has this very gentle air about him that quickly puts me at ease. At least about him that is; the fact that he's here and not Daniel has me very worried. "My name is George Hammond," he says introducing himself. "General George Hammond." I know I should be impressed that he's a General, but right now I'm just worried about my friends. "You work with Daniel and Colonel Jack, don't you?" Colonel Jack. It's funny how we tend to go back to diminutives and nicknames when we're feeling vulnerable. "I do," he answers nodding. I just look at him with fearful eyes and wait. "I bet you're wondering why I'm here, aren't you?" Well, duh. "I'm kinda hoping it's to tell me about a promotion for Jack or Sam," I pause and look at him expectantly. Ever so slightly, the general shakes his head. "Or maybe," I continue grabbing onto the first thought that pops into my head, "Daniel won some sort of civilian medal for discovering some cool archaeological find deep inside a meteor or something." I can't think what else could have Daniel so enthralled up there in ‘Deep Space Telemetry'. Sure, Daniel has told me that he does translations and the occasional archaeological dig for the military, but that doesn't really explain much. The general gives me one of those looks I've noticed Jack give me before; a cross between enigmatic and incredulous. What can I say? I do have an active imagination. "Not this time, Ms. Meyers," the general says with a touch of humour. "Why are you here?" I ask cutting to the chase. The general sighs. "Colonel Jack O'Neill and his team are missing," he states. "Just missing?" I repeat. Missing is way better than dead. "At this time, that's all I am prepared to accept," the general says firmly. I look into his eyes and for some reason begin to feel a bit better. This kindly-looking man who could probably play a passable Santa during the holidays (as long as someone gave him a wig and beard), honestly believes that my friends (and his too, I imagine) are "just missing". I like this General George Hammond. "How did you know I would be here waiting for Daniel?" I ask. "Occasionally, a member of my command falls ill or is incapacitated in some manner that prevents them from doing their job. It has become standard procedure for assistants to go through the calendars and email of department heads to make sure there is nothing important that needs to be delegated to another team member." "You went through Daniel's calendar?" I ask, a little wide-eyed. I might not know that much about the military, but I am pretty certain generals don't, as a rule, look through archaeologists' email and read their reports. The General gives me a soft smile and shakes his head. "His assistant took a look at Dr. Jackson's calendar. He didn't understand what "Meet Kira – Diablo" meant and brought it to me to make certain it wasn't anything important." "It wasn't anything important," I say shaking my head. I can't imagine meeting me at Café Diablo was something Daniel just had to do. "It was something important," the general corrects me. "This meeting was important enough for Dr. Jackson, that he recorded it both in his paper appointment book and his electronic calendar." Wow. This surprises me. I mean, I knew Daniel considered me a friend, but it isn't that big of a thing if he blew me off. I mean, not in the big scheme of things. "How'd you know what it meant?" I ask. The general laughs outright. "Everyone in Dr. Jackson's sphere of influence knows you Ms. Meyers," the general explains. "It seems only your coffee is allowed to be brewed in Dr. Jackson's coffee pot." I can't help it – now it's my turn to laugh. "It isn't like I actually make the coffee you know," I explain. "Besides, it's Victor's coffee shop.." "Doesn't matter," the general interrupts, shaking his head. "To the people under my command, it is you who supply Daniel with the espresso he is so fond of. In fact," the General leans in almost as if he is telling me a secret. "On more than one occasion, we have sent Daniel a very special care package of your coffee." He smiles again as if this were really a big deal. I guess it wouldn't be too kosher to spend a hundred bucks to FedEx a pound of Victor's Sumatra-roast coffee to Egypt or someplace. "I knew exactly what that message meant," the general concludes, eyeing my books and iced tea. "I just wanted to let you know where Dr. Jackson was myself." "Where is Daniel?" Hey, it doesn't hurt to try, right? The general shakes his head. "I can't tell you that Ms. Meyers," he says sadly. "But I can tell you we are doing everything we can to bring him home." The general didn't stay long after that day nearly two weeks ago. He assured me he'd have Daniel give me a call or email after he returned, and I trusted him to give Daniel the message. For a while, I was constantly on the lookout for Daniel, but after the first week or so, I became fearful and willed myself not to think about either him or Jack. I kept telling myself that the General would let me know if something truly unspeakable happened to my favorite guys. Well, I told myself this anyhow. Just when I was seriously considering tracking down the General Hammond's number, my fears were laid to rest. Naturally it would be on a day when I was half-hidden behind the counter placing coffee bean orders. I might be facing away from the counter, but this doesn't always stop some folks from asking me questions. Unfortunately. "Excuse me Miss, do you have…" Oh, here we go again. "Jonah.." Hey! I know that voice! I whip around just in time to see Daniel looking a bit sheepish at Jack. "Jack," Jack says absently back at Daniel. "Jack!" I shout, dropping my clipboard and running around the counter. I throw my arms around him and give him a big hug. "You've been found!" "I was lost?" he replies, smiling as he returns my hug. "You were lost," I answer in a muffled voice. It is so good to have them back! "Hey, no hogging my barista!" Daniel says, taking Jack's place and giving me another hug. Wow. If it wasn't for the fact that these guys had me worried to tears, I could get used to this. "How've you been, Kira?" "Better now," I reply reaching up on my tiptoes and giving Daniel a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry about that," Daniel says contritely. "I'm afraid it could not have been helped." "Well, it could have been helped," Jack adds, once again supplying me with information without really telling me a damn thing. "But I'm afraid we didn't have much of a say in things." "Well, you're back now, and that's all that matters!" I say in return. We stand there smiling stupidly at one another for several seconds. I stare at my guys for a few seconds and realize that wherever they were, there must have been a gym or something. Both Daniel and Jack look like they've buffed up a bit. Especially Daniel. It really is a good thing that I've completely gotten over my crush on him. Absently, I wonder if he has a girlfriend. They seem to notice my starring and I instantly begin to blush. "What?" I ask, trying to regain control. "You've been gone for three weeks, can't a girl stare a little?" "You were looking at my chest, Kira," Daniel says teasing. "Hey don't knock it, Danny," Jack replies. "It's better then checking out your ass." "Jack!" Daniel and I say in unison. "I'm just saying," Jack says shrugging. "We're meeting Thera and Murray for dinner in a few minutes, but we wanted to stop by and say howdy first." Thera? Who's Thera? Judging by how casual Jack seems to be just standing there, he must think I should know who this Thera person is. Next to him, Daniel looks like he swallowed a live toad or something. "Thera?" I ask aloud. "Friend of the family," Daniel says quickly glancing worriedly at Jack. Jack in return frowns and lets out an exasperated sigh as his shoulders seem to sag a bit. "Friend of the family," he repeats sullenly. Whoa. Talk about a mood breaker. "We really need to be going, Kira," Daniel says a little too quickly. "It was great seeing you!" He leans down and gives me another hug. Heh. I've gotten so many Daniel hugs that I've now officially lost count. Sweet! "I'm really glad you stopped by," I say to them as I walk them to the front door. "Say hi to Sam for me, okay?" I ask. "Sam," Jack repeats almost to himself. He seems to shake his head a bit and then shoots me a quick smile. "We'll definitely tell Carter you said ‘hi'," he says. "Take care of yourselves and try not to go 'missing' anytime soon, all right?" "Next time I promise not to ask for a demonstration," Jack says mysteriously. "Jack!" Daniel chastises as they walk outside. "I'm just saying…" I smile to myself as I head back to work. Author's Notes: I know – very sneaky. You realize, it's just going to get worse, right? Please let me know what you thought of my General Hammond inclusion! * Noam Chomsky – Professor of Linguistics at MIT. Famous for his views on syntax, semantics, and the philosophy of language. Completed January 8, 2005 |