Not What He Seems

There was knock at the door. This struck the man inside the room as rather odd, since his guests usually just let themselves in and asked things of him that were thinly veiled commands. Such was the your life when you were seeking shelter under the roof of those who were once your enemy. They didn’t trust him, and he could not blame them, but just as they gave their word that they would grant him shelter from his fellow System Lords he would keep his part of the bargain by helping them any way that he could.

“Enter.”

The door opened to admit a Tau’ri female. Her face was one that he did not recognize, and as she came closer he detected a familiar presence. The distinct ‘hum’ of Naquadah could be felt within her, something that should not be possible for an Earth-born human with the noted exception of Lt. Colonel Carter. If memory served him, a human girl now living on this world would also have the metal within her, a remnant of the time Nirti had tried to use her as a weapon to destroy the Tau’ri Stargate. This woman was not Carter and she was too old to be the girl, so how had she come to be in this state?

“Lord Camulus?” He nodded in answer. “I’m Dr. Jennifer Copeland. I was hoping I could enlist your assistance.”

He rose from his chair. “Doctor? More tests, then?” Would the Tau’ri ever grow tired of poking him with their needles? To be fair, he knew that by remaining here, within their ‘Stargate Command’, he was treated less harshly than if he had been turned over to other agencies. He knew that General O’Neill had argued to keep him here for strategic reasons, citing that another body, the NID, already had a Goa’uld in their possession and therefore did not need another.

The woman smiled. “I’m not that kind of doctor. My strengths are anthropology and archeology, primarily the Norse and the ancient cultures of the British Isles. SG-17 brought back data that is clearly from a civilization that evolved from the Celts or someone before the Celts, but I’m having a bit of trouble with the translations. The language has evolved since it left Earth.”

“I am pleased. I have grown weary of needles.” He let his eyes move over her. She was just a bit taller than most Tau’ri females he had seen since his coming here, but not too tall and from the short hemline of her skirt it was clear that her length was in her legs. Her figure was curved enough to make her interesting, but not lush. The thick mantel of brown hair hung smoothly to her waist and large blue eyes sat perhaps a bit too far apart within a face that was marked by a high forehead and high, prominent cheekbones. There were certainly more beautiful women on the base, Lt. Colonel Carter among them, but there was a youthful enthusiasm and intelligence in Dr. Copeland that made up for any physical flaws she may possess. “Where is your data?”

“Oh, it’s in my office. It’s all right. I asked the General before I came here. He said it’s okay.”

Camulus nodded for her to lead the way. The woman seemed a bit uncertain of how to start off, but she did exit his quarters after a false start. He followed, pointedly ignoring the guards who detached themselves from his door and took position behind him. Her office was seven floors up from where he was housed; apparently General O’Neill kept most his small but skilled collection of scholars on the same level. The room they entered was about the size of the first holding cell he had been kept in when he arrived here, but it seemed more crowded because of the artifacts and files stacked everywhere.

“Pardon the organized chaos.” She scooped up a stack of files to clear a chair for him. “Everyone else calls it a mess, but I know my way around. Have a seat.”

He accepted the chair, looking around the room. Many objects were familiar to him from his time on Earth when he was known as a god of war. His eyes fell upon a stone tablet with a familiar carving, one that brought a smile to his lips. He rose and crossed the room to take it from the wall, holding the tablet in his hands to study it more closely. “An excellent likeness.”

The woman turned her head to see what he was speaking of. “Oh, please be careful with that. I can’t replace it if it breaks.”

“I miss that blade.” He looked up to find her wearing a rather eager expression.

“Then invincible sword of Mars Camulus. What few legends I’ve been able to find of it relate that as long as you carried your sword, you could not be defeated.” She came forward and gently took the tablet from him, returning the weathered depiction of himself in armor and bearing his sword of old to it’s place on the wall. “I suppose, though, it was the fact that you’re a Goa’uld that made you invincible.”

“And the sword.” He returned to this chair, folding his arms on the cluttered worktable and leaning forward to study the Tau’ri female.

“There was something special about the sword?”

“Yes. It was a blend of naquadah and iron, mixed with Goa’uld technology that made it appear to catch fire in the hands of a Goa’uld. It would cut through normal iron blades as though they were nothing more than twigs and struck fear in the hearts of those who opposed me.”

“You actually joined in the battles.” She brought over another folder, thick with papers. “I understood that the Goa’uld usually did not enter the battlefield until most of the enemies were destroyed, if they did at all.”

Camulus gave her a smug, superior smile. “How can one claim to be a god of war if one does not join his soldiers in battle? The faithful remain faithful when their god fights beside them rather than hiding on a golden throne somewhere high above.”

“I take it, then, that you don’t approve of the way the other System Lords wage war.” She walked around the table, pulling another chair with her so that she could sit next to him, placing the folder between them.

“It is cowardly.”

“And yet you requested asylum from us.”

“When one of them can come and face me himself in battle, rather than sending an army of Jaffa to wear me down first so he doesn’t have to put his own life in danger, then they will have earned my respect. Until then, I side with those who are true warriors, those worthy of my company.”

“Oh, well that last part sounded just like what we know of the Goa’uld.” She reached out and opened the folder, taking the first five printouts and laying them out in a straight line. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

She reached for a clean notepad and pencil. Together they worked four hours. Camulus only assisted with the parts she clearly didn’t understand, where the language had drastically changed from the original, and in recalling histories that were written but in which the text on the stone the pictures were of had worn to the point of being illegible. It was a history of great battles that had taken place on the planet, some of which he remembered clearly because he had been there. It didn’t take long for him to recognize the world as one from his former domain, populated with a proud race of fighters he had… cherished. Goa’ulds were not supposed to be overly fond of their human slaves, but he had always enjoyed a strong warrior. His own host had been one of his best generals in his mortal life, a prodigy when it had come to planning campaigns and waging wars.

The woman often stopped him to request further detail in matters. She wanted specific details of the weapons used and the ranks of command. She used his knowledge of his people to correct some minor misconceptions regarding the Celts and how combat and the honors of war influenced their lives. The changes in the language were the apparent result of the humans taking a few parts of the Goa’uld language and adapting it to their own over time. Camulus recalled the peculiar accent their tongue had given the words, hand how, over time, it had changed the words to something unrecognizable. But after going over photos of aged inscriptions for so long he began to grow tired of the task.

“Dr. Copeland…”

“Oh, call me Jenny. Dr. Copeland is too much of a mouthful.”

Camulus nodded. “Jenny, how did you come to be here?” He closed the file between them. “Why have you joined these warriors?”

She rubbed her eyes. “I was part of a two-for-one deal. There aren’t a lot of scholars willing to let themselves be shut up in a top-secret base and be part of history altering events that they’ll never get credit for. I just happen to be one of the few while also being married to a first class soldier.”

“Married?” This news gave him a surprising stab of jealousy. He quashed it as quickly as it appeared, knowing that it was misplaced towards a woman he had only met less than five hours earlier. ‘Jenny’ pointed to a photograph on her desk, the frame currently doubling as a stylish paperweight for a stack of papers. In the photo she was smiling, a handsome man holding her from behind, his cheek pressed against her own.

“Major Thomas Copeland, or has my father likes to call him, ‘That Rat Bastard Who Conned Me to the Altar’.” She tidied the file folder and carried it back to her desk.

“Your father disapproves of your choice in husband?”

“It’s… a long story. And one I really don’t feel comfortable in sharing.” She avoided his gaze, for the first time since she had come to his quarters.

“I understand.” It wasn’t deception; she wasn’t lying to him. He could tell she was uncomfortable. Her entire demeanor had changed from the lighthearted, studious manner just a moment ago to one of sadness. “Do you enjoy exploring the galaxy?”

“Me? Oh, not me. I’ve never been off world.”

That surprised him. “Never?” If she had never been off world, then how had she come to have naquadah in her system at all?

“No, I’m strictly a researcher. I’m sure you’ve heard of the infamous Dr. Daniel Jackson. He goes off world, finds lots of things he wants to study more closely, but they drag him off world again and it falls to the regular scholars like me to do the grunt work. Of course, I only speak nine languages compared to his repertoire of twenty-three, so I’m only one of about three who get to play with the discoveries.”

“But there are other Tau’ri scholars who travel to the gate.”

“Again, we’re passing into that realm of uncomfortable subjects.”

He was about to be rude and inquire further, until the door to the office opened. To his surprise, General O’Neill entered. “There you are. Been looking everywhere for you.” He gave a smile towards Jenny. “Mind if I take him back? I’m sure our guest would be willing to come out and play again some other day. Besides, I believe SG-19 is due back in a couple of hours.”

She turned around and looked at a square unit with a series of blinking lights. It made no sense to Camulus, but apparently she understood them perfectly. “Crap, it’s that late all ready?” She dashed across the room to a wall locker and pulled it open.

“And that, as they say, is that. Come on, Cam. I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Sorry, Camulus, but I really should take a chance to freshen up before Tom gets back. I would like your help again, though. If you don’t mind, that is.” She pulled out a bag from the wall locker, presumably with a change of clothing inside.

Camulus nodded. “I would enjoy that.” He was rewarded with a genuine smile.

“Come on, let’s give the lady some privacy.” Jack motioned that they should leave and they left the office, walking down the hallway towards the commissary. “Please tell me you aren’t suffering from it, too.”

“Suffering from what?”

“The ‘Copeland Effect’. I figured an all-powerful Goa’uld like yourself would be immune to it. That’s why I said yes when she asked if she could grab you for a while.”

“And what exactly is the ‘Copeland Effect’?”

“It’s the cause of various members of this post sporting random bruises and black eyes. Pretty young girl like that walking around in civvies that often include short little skirts, and the men tend to stop paying attention to where they’re walking. Thank Heaven she’s married. I’d hate to think what would happen if she weren’t called for.”

“The true pitfall of a warring man; a beautiful woman. More than one battle has been lost because of sexual attraction leading to the divulgence of secrets.”

“A truth that holds across the galaxy for as long as there has been a sex drive.” They rounded a corner, bringing the commissary into view. “Still, this is you we’re talking about. I mean, you’d have no interest in a mere human, right?” Camulus gave no answer as they entered the commissary.

~***~

Jenny was still working away in the kitchen when the front door opened. Her husband’s voice rang out through the house. “I’m in here!”

“As I should have known.” Thomas Copeland put his sports bag down beside the doorway to the kitchen before coming up behind his wife and wrapping his arms about her. “Whatever you’re making, it smells wonderful.” He pushed her hair to one side and pressed his lips to the side of her neck.

“Thanks. Hope you’re hungry enough for enchiladas.”

“I just spent three days eating nothing but freeze dried rations and MREs. Dog food would be a blessing right now.” He used one hand to crane her neck around so he could reach her mouth. She returned the kiss. He growled deep in his throat and turned her around, pulling her close to him.

Jenny broke the kiss and tried to grab control of her husband’s hands. “Tom, I’m in the middle of cooking, here.”

“That can wait.” He gripped her waist and turned them both around so that he was able to lift her up onto the butcher block.

“Tom, it’s almost ready. It’ll burn!” She yelped as his hands reached up underneath her skirt and jerked her panties down and off.

“We’ll order out.” He put one arm around her and pulled her closer, almost pulling her off of the butcher block. He captured her mouth with his own, kissing her deeply even as she heard the sound from his other hand unzipping his jeans. The metallic chatter made her shiver. She gave a small whimper, knowing that even as excited as she was at this moment, it hadn’t been enough time for her to be truly ready. He did this sometimes now, right after he returned from being off world.

As she anticipated, his entry was rough. She gasped and he sighed. She knew the drill by heart. He paused as though savoring the sensation, like a man who had been denied his favorite meal for far too long lingering over the first bite when he was served it again. Then he began moving within her, his actions demanding and forceful. It didn’t take long for her to catch up with him, her body quickly becoming wet enough to make his thrusts smoother.

She felt his fingers grip her hips with enough force to leave bruises. The legs of the butcher block squeaked against the tile floor as the force of his movements made it scoot across them. From this angle she usually got more benefit from the friction and it wouldn’t be long before she reached her climax. It wouldn’t be enough for him; the first one never was when he came back from a mission in this state. Dinner would be forgotten and she would spend the rest of the evening underneath him until he grew weary and she was too tender to continue.

There was a time when she would have been more verbal in her protestations, made more of an attempt to get him to wait until after dinner. That was before last year. That was before he spent most of his time away from home and in the beds of other women. Before all the nights she had spent crying herself to sleep because her marriage was failing. Now she was just thankful that her husband came home instead of seeking out another. For a time she had begun to feel ugly, undesirable and unwanted. She had blamed herself, believing with all her heart that it had to be some failing within her. That Tom had finally come back to her, had finally become a husband again with more passion and desire than even after they were first married, had been more than she had ever hoped for.

~***~

He turned off the lights to his quarters, far superior to what he had been given right after he had requested asylum. General O’Neill had kept him in a relatively bare room at first. After a time he had been given a room among the quarters set aside for important visitors. A bit of silent prodding on his part and the inadequate bed that had been here upon his arrival had been replaced by one that was larger and more comfortable. He had been given a television, though they restricted what he could see. Mostly he used it to watch their new broadcasts so that he could better understand this world. So far he had become fascinated with how the Tau’ri managed to defeat the Goa’uld time and time again but could not find peace amongst themselves on their own planet. So it was when he ruled here as a god, and so it remained.

His removed the clothing provided for him by the Tau’ri. It felt unsubstantial when compared to the breastplate of blood red leather that had become his symbol over the millennia, but he had no need of armor here. Most of what had been provided was the same as that worn by the soldiers here, with pants patterned to help them hide in brush and cover accompanied by lightweight shirts made from cotton. He did not mind dressing in the same clothing as these warriors. They were worthy of his presence and his cooperation. These men and women pushed aside their fears to charge out among the stars where they were facing enemies with greater numbers and technologies, their only advantage being their sharp wits and courage.

Camulus lay down on the bed, not bothering to cover up, enjoying the cool air on his naked skin. Now he had something to deal with. “Calum.”

The presence that was his host stirred within their shared mind. Shortly after coming here he realized that the fact he maintained dominance over the body disturbed the Tau’ri. He had been questioned a few times by the Tok’ra, always with Selmak/Jacob present, the liaison to the Tau’ri and father to Lt. Colonel Carter. The humans were uncomfortable with the idea of symbiotes in general, but they were less so with the Tok’ra and their practice of equal ownership of the body. In his own mind, he had always known that Calum was there. The general was a part of him, sharing in his victories and his pleasures, but rarely had they actually spoken.

“I thought you were going to sleep.”

“What was that?”

“Hmmm?”

Camulus smiled. The trouble with young warriors is that more than the lust for battle drove them. “That bit of anger earlier when we learned she was not available. She has a husband, Calum.”

“Since when has that mattered to us? Remember that pretty little thing we had during our war with Menalaus? I believe her name was Katrin. She was married.”

“To a man her father had shackled her to and who was old enough to be his father. We did her a favor by bringing her to us. This is different.”

His host gave a mental snort and fell silent. Calum had never liked being denied what he wanted, especially when it had come to women. He knew that the more time they spent in the presence of Jennifer Copeland, the more his host would attempt to tamper with their self control. Camulus did not understand why it was this woman; he would have thought Samantha Carter or one of the female soldiers would have appealed to Calum more,

“I wasn’t the only one thinking how easy it would be to push that scrap of cloth she called a skirt out of the way. Tell me you didn’t think how it would feel to have those legs wrapped around us.”

“Be silent. I wish the sleep.”

“Then sleep. I’ll supply the dreams.”

Calum always did come up with the best dreams. He filled them with victories and grand battles. He also filled them with the spoils of war. He conjured a vision of a defeated general giving over his daughter to them, a proud woman whose face was that of Jennifer Copeland. Together they took her to their tent and into their bed, celebrating the victory by enjoying the glory that was found in the body of a woman.

In the dark, a smile played upon the lips of the war god.

Jenny looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror hung on the back of the bathroom door. A frown creased her forehead as she pivoted to the left and ran her hand lightly down the lower part of her ribcage. Darkened, finger-shaped bruises were splayed on either side of her lower torso, contrasting sharply with too-pale skin.

“Oh Baby, I’m sorry about those. I guess I got a little carried away last night.” Thomas came into view, already dressed in his BDUs, and wrapped his arms about her. “Do they hurt?”

“Just a little tender. No big deal.”

“Any trouble breathing?”

“No, nothing’s broken.” She heard him make some sound of acknowledgement just before he started to place a line of kisses on her shoulder. She willed herself not to tense up. Last night had been unscheduled. He usually got calmer as the week went by, after he’d ‘broken his fast’ upon returning home. After a week of regular sex, he was usually more docile in spite of still being demanding. Her hips still ached from being stretched apart, her lower back still sore from spending too much time in awkward angles.

His fingers began to move the strap of her bra down, sending alarm bells ringing in her head. “You’ll be late.”

He lifted his head and turned to look at the clock. A low, feral growl came from him and she felt his fingers tighten on her shoulders. “Damn.” His grip lightened and he turned her to face him. “This mission may be a bit longer, a week or two, but then I’ll be home.” He gave her what she was sure he thought was a reassuring smile. She tried to return it.

“Be safe. Remember, you don’t have to be the fastest runner…”

“I only have to run faster than the rest of my team. Not very marine-like, Mrs. Copeland.”

“I’m not the marine. That’s your job.”

His smirk was reflected in the glass, but he moved away to pick up his belt and thread it into his pants. “What are you going to be doing to entertain yourself while I’m gone?”

She was grateful for the chance to pull on her skirt and top. “Cataloguing some artifacts SG-12 brought in this week.”

“Sounds thrilling.”

“Well, it’s hardly on par with getting shot at by Jaffa all day, but it has it’s merits. General O’Neill’s going to let me borrow Camulus to help with some of it.”

“Camulus?” There was something off in the tone of his voice. She turned towards him. “Why would you be spending time with him?”

“He’s an invaluable academic resource. Most of what we know about the Celts and the Gauls is guesswork and speculation based on archeological digs. Camulus is a first hand source of information.”

“I don’t like the idea of you being alone with a Goa’uld.”

She took up her stockings and began checking them. “Tom, he’s not about to endanger his place here by trying anything. Besides, there are always guards posted outside the door.” One of the stockings proved to have a run in it, and she didn’t have another pair. She’d have to swing by someplace on the way to work for some more.

“Why not inside the door?”

“Because I’d bore them to death talking about dusty, old artifacts.”

“I don’t want you going near him.” Now his tone was definitely wrong. He’d never spoken that way to her, like he was about to erupt into true violence. Jenny looked at her husband again to see him frowning at her.

“Thomas, I have a job to do. In order to do it in the most efficient manner possible, then I need to use every resource available to me. Besides, it’s not like he has much of anything else to do.”

She backed up quickly as Tom took a quick step towards her. “I told you not to go near him!” She saw one of his hands rise and felt her heart jump into her throat. He had never struck her, not once since their marriage, but at that moment he looked as though he could. She couldn’t deny that she was relieved when there was the sound of a car horn from outside. Tom’s ride had arrived. He turned to look at the window, and then turned back, pointing a stern finger at her. “We will discuss this when I return.” His words were sharp, enough so that she could almost feel them cut into her. He turned from her and walked out of their bedroom.

She tried to tell herself that it was an irrational fear that kept her back flush with the wall and made it difficult to breathe. Thomas had been her husband for five years and never once had he physically harmed her. He may have broken her heart more than once and made her doubt her own self-worth with his philandering, but he had never struck her. Still, it wasn’t until she heard the front door slam shut that she relaxed enough to step away and have a seat on the bed.

She couldn’t lie to herself any longer. Something was definitely wrong with Thomas. He wasn’t the same man she had married; he wasn’t even the same man who had cheated on her. He seemed to be growing more and more possessive, more forceful while at the same time becoming less and less concerned with her own feelings. It was almost caveman-like, and she wasn’t entirely sure that he wouldn’t have hit her if they hadn’t been interrupted.

Perhaps she had been too quick to back out of the divorce.

~***~

The custom of ‘knocking’ was not one he was yet familiar with, at least when it came to himself. Camulus, therefore, did not remember to do so before he entered ‘Jenny’s’ cluttered office. He paused at the sight of the young scholar with her skirt bunched up, apparently so that she could put on some type of undergarment. The door swung close behind him, the noise startling her.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you knock.” She quickly pulled her hemline back down.

“I didn’t.”

This seemed to make her falter. “That explains it. Better that than being afraid I’m going deaf.” Her skin was flushed a deep pink from embarrassment. “Uhm… could you turn around?”

“Turn around?”

“And face the wall for a bit.” He stared at her in silence. “I have to put my other stocking on still. Please?” He decided to humor her and turned to face the wall. “Thanks.” There was a rustling of plastic and the sound of something skidding against the floor. “What have you been up to this past week?”

“Men from your Pentagon came to speak with myself and General O’Neill.”

“That sounds horribly dull. How were they?”

“I found them arrogant and foolish. I believe the general did as well.”

“So nothing out of the ordinary. Okay, I’m done.” He turned back around as she was crumpling up a package and tossing it in the wastebasket. “I hope you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.”

“Warriors do not concern themselves with dirt.”

“Good, because most of these pieces have about one thousand years of the stuff covering them.” She gathered up her notebooks and pens. “Come with me.” They left her office and started walking along the hallway. Jenny looked behind them with a puzzled frowned. “Where did your baby sitters go?”

“It was determined that I could be trusted with… limited… access to the base. I no longer am required to be under guard at all times.”

“That’s got to be a relief. Did they take the camera out of your quarters yet?”

“That was done some time ago.”

“They might start treating you like a real person yet.” She swiped her card through the security lock and opened the door to a room loaned out to store the artifacts.

“Why, exactly, did you request my help with this?”

“Just a theory I have. That sword of yours, what happened to it?” She set her notebooks down and crossed her elbows atop them to brace herself as she leaned forward. She looked up at him with that same excitement she had when they were working on the translations the week before.

“It went missing while I was still on Earth. I have always suspected theft. Why?”

“I think you’re right. About the theft, that is.” She crooked a finger at him, beckoning him to follow her. Further down the table was the tablet from her office. “Okay, this is a tablet with a representation of you with your sword. A little worn by age but a beautiful representation that I’m very lucky to have. This particular tablet was uncovered in a dig in Northern Ireland.”

“You let it out of your office. I am impressed.”

“Don’t be cute. Anyway, at first I figured this was just a depiction of you done by one of the faithful, but last week I was given a new set of photographs from a different planet, in the same language. Those, too, were accompanied by a depiction of you and the sword. Here.” She indicated the tablet next to it. “Now, they’re two different poses, one with your sword held out, the other with it held up. I didn’t think of it at first, figuring it was just a world that had been within your domain.”

“What changed your mind?”

“These.” She pulled some photos from inside her notebook and handed them to him. “As you can tell, the first set of engravings were the same, detailing a great battle. However, the other engravings are in ancient Greek, which was not somewhere you had influence. There was, however, a Goa’uld who did.”

“Ares.” Camulus felt rage beginning to boil within him. He read over the language of his faithful here on Earth and saw that a traitor wrote it. “One of his followers infiltrated my ranks.”

“That’s what I suspected when I saw this. Something didn’t feel right about it. Something kept nagging at me, so I pulled some files from last year. We found two other depictions of you, each with a tale about some great battle you fought and won, but fenced in by text about another Goa’uld. One was in praise of Ra, the other in praise of Kali. There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it. It’s almost like whoever was behind the placement was trying to throw people off his trail or was going a bit mad.”

“A man who would steal from a god of war would have to be mad.” Camulus’ dark eyes were roving over the photographs. “What is your current theory?”

“Well, madness after a fashion. I think whoever took your sword was hoping to use it to get into someone else’s good graces, but wasn’t having much luck in doing it. Maybe a minor Goa’uld or a human slave who knew how to use the stargates.” She leaned against the table, arms crossed before her. “I’ve managed to translate the Greek and I called in a favor to get a translation of Egyptian. In both cases the guy was toadying up to the Goa’uld in question. So far I’ve been working with the thought that your sword was too unique, something that you would have noticed had another Goa’uld taken possession of it. Kind of like stealing a one-of-a-kind piece of art; there aren’t many who’d want to dirty their hands with it.”

Camulus turned his gaze upon her, considering the idea. “It would have been a human or a Jaffa. Another Goa’uld would have tried to use the blade himself, and thus unlikely to be willing to part with it.”

Jenny frowned. “I must be slipping. I didn’t even catch that one.”

“Is there a hope that somewhere in all of this,” he waved his hand to indicate the hundreds of pieces neatly arranged in the room, “might somehow lead to the current location of the sword?”

Jenny shrugged. “That’s what I’m hoping. Most of the other linguists are tied down to other projects, so I thought I’d go to the only person more fluent in this than me. Do be gentle with the pieces. We can’t replace them if you break them and I’ll be force to have the cost deducted from your allowance.” She gave him a genuine smile as she pushed away from the table. She claimed two chairs and brought them forward one on each side of the table. “Make yourself comfortable. We’ve got plenty to keep ourselves occupied.”

She had to instruct him in the proper manner to go about examining and cataloguing the various artifacts. In truth, he found it dull, even demeaning, work. Jenny, however, seemed to thrive on it. She appeared to have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Their progress was slowed more than once by her desire to discuss one piece or another in greater detail. Her hands were quickly stained with the dust and dirt from the artifacts and ink from her pen when she stopped to jot down notes.

Sometime later, far too long by his reckoning, a soldier rapped sharply on the wall next to the open door. Jenny jumped and looked over at him. “Something up?”

“No ma’am. The rest of your team just asked me to stop by and remind you to eat.”

Camulus kept his attention focused on the woman who seemed quite confused by this simple statement at first. She gave the soldier a quizzical look and then looked at the watch on her wrist. “Oh. I forgot.”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s why I was sent to remind you, ma’am.” The soldier gave her a smile and ducked out of the room again.

“I’m sorry, Camulus. I didn’t even stop to think about breaks. We’ve been at this for six hours.”

The apologetic expression on her face was somehow endearing. “You were distracted.”

“Yeah, a bit. Tell you what, how about I make it up to you?”

He arched one dark brow. “What did you have in mind?”

“Don’t eat in the commissary. Go and get yourself cleaned up while I procure dinner. Trust me; you won’t regret it.” She gave him an impish grin as she closed her notebook. “Something from off-base, my treat.”

“Agreed.”

Jenny rewarded him with a smile and stood up. “This should take me about… an hour and a half. It’s worth it, though.” She reached over and reclaimed the tablet from her office. “See you soon.” And with that she was gone, leaving him to look down at the multitude of objects they had reviewed.

He was certain there was a pattern to the clues hidden within these bits of stone and clay, but he could not detect it yet. Something told him that Jennifer would be instrumental in unraveling this mystery and, perhaps, returning his property to him. Mother ships and ribbon devices were all well and fine, but he enjoyed the poetic beauty of a perfectly balanced sword. His own blade, coupled with the Goa’uld technology he had built into it, had sliced through his enemies like a scythe through ripened grain. He missed those days of blood and victory.

This work that Jennifer did, it was demeaning for a System Lord, but also useful. If he had possessed the knowledge that this puzzle was out there, he would have thought to ‘acquire’ one of Earth’s scholars years ago and set them to the task of solving it. Now, even if he uncovered the secret, it wouldn’t be easy for him to gain a chance to reclaim the sword himself. This would take careful planning.

He tore himself away from the artifacts, interrupted by the sound of the base klaxon and the loud speaker shouting “Unscheduled off-world activation.” Deciding he should get moving he journeyed through the gray corridors of the base to his quarters. Jenny had said she would need an hour and a half, and his contemplations had taken up nearly one third of that time already. He still had time to rid himself of the dirt collected in the ridges of his hands while working. He was showered and dressed far before a rapid knock sounded on his door. “Come.”

Jenny opened the door and entered. She had taken the time to clean up as well. To his disappointment, she had forgone her usual short skirts for a pair of jeans that rode low on her hips, paired with a red, form fitting top. In one hand she carried a large blue satchel of some kind and there was another case slung across her shoulder by a long strap. “I hope you like good food. I’ve brought one of my favorites.”

He only smiled as she set the cases down on the table provided to him. The larger, blue one was opened and a rich aroma began to fill the room. “I called in to O’Malley’s. It’s the best steak place in town. Don’t tell the general about this, though. He and the rest of SG-1 were banned from there a while back and I still haven’t been able to figure out why.”

“You go there often?”

“Not so much. Tom doesn’t feel like going out when he’s home, and when we do I have to be careful what I eat.”

Camulus frowned. “Why?”

She pulled out two covered plates. “Because I like Steak Oscar and Tom’s allergic to shellfish.” She set the plates out, one before each of the two chairs. “A very nice filet mingon topped with crab meat and a hollandaise sauce. It’s the crab that’s the problem. I cant’ risk kissing him after I’ve eaten it in case there’s enough to send him into shock.”

Camulus sat down in one of the chairs, feeling a bit more at home now. He had grown used to having people serve him over the millennia, of having the best of everything. The Tau’ri had begun treating him as a prisoner and only over time did he earn little freedoms and privileges. Still, however, he was not allowed to leave the base without an armed escort and had not seen the outside world in months. He watched as Jenny laid out service ware for the both of them and uncovered the meals. Even without tasting it he could tell that is was far superior than the swill served in the commissary.

“I didn’t know if you were the kind who drank wine or beer with his steak, so I brought both. Just don’t tell the general or anyone else. I’m willing to bet you’re not supposed to have it.” She opened the other case and retrieved two delicate glasses and a green glass bottle. He observed as she opened the bottle and set it aside. “We’ll try this first, after it breathes a bit.”

“Do you always treat your… assistants this well?”

“Nah, most of my assistants actually enjoy the work. I’m just feeling guilty about subjecting you to my obsessions and manias.” She finally sat down. “And I was having steak cravings. This is a good excuse to indulge them.” She unfolded a burgundy napkin and smoothed it over her lap. “Please, help yourself.”

Camulus cut into the meat on his plate and took his first bite. The steak was tender enough it hardly needed a fork, the crab sweet and salty all at once and the sauce blended the two together perfectly. A carnal creature, given to enjoying pleasures of all sorts, he closed his eyes to savor it. “Excellent. I’m beginning to feel quite compensated for my labors.”

“Yes, I do pay well, don’t I?” She grinned and gave a flourish with her fork before pouring the wine. “Now remember, if you rat me out to the higher ups I’ll never do this for you again.” She handed him a glass.

“They will never hear of it from me.” He sampled the wine and nodded his approval. For the first time since he had sought asylum here he felt comfortable, perhaps even close to free. General O’Neill and his pentagon could learn something from Jennifer Copeland on how to treat a guest such as himself. “Do you honestly think you’ll be able to locate my sword?”

“Hard to say, actually. We haven’t found any of the tablets in order and it may take me a while to figure out what the sequence is. Then we’ll have to find a way to use that information to determine the path the thief took.” She frowned as she pondered her current quest. “If he was trying to use the sword as a bargaining chip, then he probably kept it near him so that he would be able to present it if commanded to do so.”

“Meaning it could be wherever he died.”

“Most likely.” A tiny smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I think it’s high time I took the general up on his offer to start going off world. I’m not sure I want to trust this to anyone else.”

“You’re certainly enjoying yourself.”

“Aren’t you? It’s a mystery that’s thousands of years old! How can you not see the importance of that?”

Camulus shrugged. “I admit that it would be pleasing to know what happened to my sword.”

“You surprise me, sir. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a materialist.”

They finished their meal in relative silence and emptied the bottle of wine. Camulus relaxed in his chair, the epicurean in him satisfied, as Jenny cleared the table, stowing items in the cases and pulling out two bottles. “I wasn’t sure if you were the kind to drink beer. Want to try it?” Curious he reached out for one of the bottles. She twisted the top off of it before handing it over. “It’s Harp. I got spoiled on imports back in college, although some of the microbrewery stuff comes close.”

“Thank you for the meal, Jessica. It’s nice to be treated with civility for a change.”

“This must be hard on you. You’ve been held up as a deity for so long and then you landed with us. I’m afraid that most of the old beliefs have fallen to the wayside since our ancestors kicked you guys out.”

“And what of you?”

“Me? I was raised a Christian, Southern Baptist, although I’m not a very good one. I still hold to most of the rules, but I don’t remember to pray and I haven’t set foot inside an actual church since… my wedding come to think of it.” She leaned back with her own bottle. “It’s hard to make yourself get up on a Sunday morning when you’ve been working all week.”

“Do you believe in nothing, then?”

She was about to answer when the door opened behind them. Jenny turned her head to look over her shoulder as Camulus frowned at the unannounced visitor. General O’Neill gave them both a quizzical look as Jenny turned back around, her cheeks flushed. “Busted.”

“Beer? You gave him beer?” O’Neill walked over and took the bottle out of Jenny’s hand.

“Technically, it’s a lager.” The general was inspecting the still open cases.

“And you fed him O’Malley’s? I don’t even get O’Malley’s any more!”

Camulus smirked and took another pull from the Harp. “Perhaps you should volunteer to help her with her artifacts. She’s a firm believer in fair compensation.”

The general gave him a scathing look. “Don’t get used to it. I’m not about to let anyone on this base eat better than I do.” For some reason, this struck Jenny as amusing. She bit back a giggle. “I think you’ve reached your limit, Doc.”

“I quite agree, sir. However, since I’m flying solo this week, I can make use of the cot in my office without any feelings of guilt.” She smiled, unrepentant. “Did you need something, General?”

“I have to borrow Camulus for a bit. The Tok’ra are here and we need his help.”

“Oh, well. I don’t think I can think up anymore torture for him.”

“Torture by steak and beer. You’re pure evil, Copeland. Baal could learn something from you.”

Jenny sighed and stood up. “Thank you for putting up with me today, Camulus.”

He nodded his head towards her. “It was no burden, Dr. Copeland.”

“That’s sweet of you to say.” She reached into one of the cases and pulled out four more bottles of Harp. General O’Neill frowned as she walked over and placed them in the mini-fridge in the room. “After you’ve recovered from today’s mind numbing session of archeology you know where you can find me for another.” She smiled at claimed her cases, draping them over her shoulder. “Have fun with the Tok’ra.”

General O’Neill frowned. “Are you going to be okay getting home?”

“I’m tipsy, Sir, not drunk. And I’m smart enough not to drive, which is why I’m going to sleep on my cot. Good night, General.”

“Good night, Doctor.” O’Neill waited until Jenny had left before turning his attention back to Camulus. “I can’t believe she fed you steak and beer.”

Camulus shrugged. “And wine. She was grateful for my help. It is a shame that all Tau’ri are not as polite.”

“Yeah, well, she’s a civilian. She doesn’t know any better. Let’s go.”

They went through the complex to the briefing room where two members of the Tok’ra resistance were waiting along with the rest of SG-1. One he recognized as Jacob Carter, host to Selmak and father to Lt. Colonel Carter. The other was unknown to him. O’Neill made his way to his chair at the head of the table. Samantha Carter sat in the chair directly to his right; the chair to the left was reserved for Camulus. He sat down next to the Tau’ri general, keeping a wary eye on the Tok’ra. The distrust was mutual.

“Now that we’re all here, Jacob and just filling us in on a little problem that has been discovered. It seems that there’s a Goa’uld gone missing and the Tok’ra believe he may be hiding out in the SGC.”

Camulus frowned. “Another Goa’uld? I have not felt the presence of one.”

Carter nodded. “We were discussing that. Between the American soldiers and the ones from other countries now taking part in the Stargate program, there are so many people in and out of this base that those few of us who could sense the presence of a Goa’uld don’t come into contact with them that often. Just yesterday I met an airman for the first time who had been here for four months. Even with the mandatory examinations after each off-world assignment and yearly CAT scans, there is a possibility that a Goa’uld could infiltrate the base.”

“You took no other safeguards?”

O’Neill seemed to be thinking the same thing, but he still responded. “No offense, but usually the nature of a Goa’uld doesn’t allow them to keep a low profile. You guys tend to brag.”

Camulus pondered this a moment and nodded. “What Goa’uld is missing?”

“Zeus.” Selmak was speaking.

The general looked over at Camulus. “Anyone you know?”

“Cronus had more than one child named ‘Zeus’. He killed all but the last. System Lords are always watching for the possibility that their offspring may try to usurp them, but the last Goa’uld named Zeus fled with a contingent of Jaffa loyal to him before Cronus could have him executed.” Selmak nodded.

“We were tracking him until about ten Earth months ago. Since then we’ve gotten a few, sporadic reports of Jaffa who left Cronus' service when Zeus fled meeting with a human male. We’ve been able to get little information about the man other than rough descriptions that make it sound as though he could be a Tau’ri soldier.”

Camulus fell silent, his eyes focusing on the table before him. That would explain Dr. Copeland quite neatly. “Major Copeland.”

“What was that?”

Camulus looked up at the general. “The Goa’uld. It’s Major Thomas Copeland.”

O’Neill frowned. “Cammy, I know that the doc’s a nice girl and all but leveling accusations against her husband…”

“Jennifer Copeland has naquadah in her blood. I have sensed it.”

Dr. Jackson frowned. He had remained silent so far, but now chose to speak up. “Dr. Copeland has never been off-world. She hasn’t been in a position to be exposed to a symbiote.”

Camulus smirked. “There are other ways for it to have gotten there. I have enough experience to assure of that.”

The Tok’ra shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. From the corner of his eye he saw Selmak’s host shudder as Jacob took control of the body. “You’re saying that Dr. and Major Copeland are married?”

O’Neill frowned. “You don’t mean…”

“If sexual intercourse is frequent enough and over a long enough period of time, it’s possible. Eventually enough naquadah would leach into her through bodily fluids that it could be detected. It’s not unheard of for human concubines of Goa’ulds to possess detectable amounts.”

O’Neill turned his attention back to Camulus. “Enough experience.” Camulus shrugged, his expression still smug. “I’m not going to jump to any conclusions without a medical exam. Daniel, you’re her direct superior. Dr. Copeland should be sleeping in her office. Go down and escort her to medical, but don’t… fill her in on exactly why yet. Let’s confirm that there is naquadah in her before we tell her that her husband may be… this Zeus guy.” Daniel nodded and pushed away from the table. His eyes were concerned as he left the room. O’Neill looked back at Camulus. “Next time you sense something like this, tell somebody.”

~***~

There was precious little sleep obtained by any of them while they waited for the medical evaluation to be completed. In the meantime General O’Neill had sent a team to search the Copelands’ home for anything out of the ordinary. They were still waiting for the search results when the Tok’ra, SG-1 and Camulus reconvened in the briefing room, along with Dr. Atwater and Dr. MacKenzie.

“Gentlemen, what have we got?”

Dr. Atwater opened the medical file. “We have confirmed traces of naquadah in Dr. Copeland’s blood, less than what is present in Colonel Carter’s or in Cassie Frazier’s, but detectable. A CAT scan ruled out the presence of a symbiote and there is no sign of the explosive device such as what was in Cassandra. Outside of that there is little physical difference with the exception of some… bruising.”

“Bruising?”

Dr. MacKenzie cleared his throat. “Most of the bruising appears to be from Dr. Copeland being… gripped too harshly. Other bruises are indicative of rough intercourse. I’ve spoken to her about it and she has admitted that sexual relations between herself and her husband have been growing increasingly aggressive from his part. She’s not, however, suffering from battered wife syndrome. She’s fully aware of the situation and has already been weighing the possibility of distancing herself from the marriage.”

The general frowned, as did Camulus. O’Neill leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes. “Daniel, please fill us in on Dr. Copeland. I know she’s smart, has most of the men under twenty-five tied up in knots and crappy taste in men, but not much else.”

Dr. Jackson nodded. “Jennifer Copeland is the daughter of Captain Frank Rice, United States Navy. She has a doctorate in both archeology and anthropology and speaks nine languages. She was brought into the SGC along with her husband, then Captain Thomas Copeland who was part of the SG-3 Marines until he was promoted and given command of his own team six months ago. Initially, Dr. Copeland was to be assigned to a team for off-world missions but shortly after she completed her training she was confirmed to be pregnant.”

“Okay, this seems familiar to me. She was beaten, lost the baby and almost died. I remember that part.”

Dr. Atwater nodded and flipped through her file. “A mugging, early in the third trimester. The physical and psychological damage of the event delayed her assignment to an off-world team. There were also marital problems following the incident that appeared to be resolving in the last bit. According to Dr. Copeland things began to turn around shortly after she filed for divorce. Then Captain Copeland asked for a second chance. That’s… uhm… a couple of months after that was when they began to have marital relations again.”

“Does she have any idea when he started acting… different?”

Dr. MacKenzie shook his head. “According to Jennifer the past two years have been an emotional roller coaster for her, with her husband changing personalities more than once. First he failed to be there for her when she was struggling through the attack and miscarriage, then there was rampant infidelity followed by his pleading that she not leave him. I believe she was trying to excuse his increasingly aggressive sexual behavior as his desire not to lose her, although that self-delusion is quickly fading. Now that we’ve advised her of the situation I believe it’s faded all together.”

O’Neill’s lips tightened. “How’s she taking it?”

“She’s still in shock, but she’s waiting outside.”

“Bring her in.”

Camulus watched as an airman escorted Jenny into the room. She was no longer smiling and the sparkle about her seemed to have been smothered. Dr. Jackson quickly got to his feet and pulled out a chair for his fellow archeologist. Camulus saw the other human placed a comforting hand on her shoulder after he pushed her chair back in. When O’Neill spoke his voice was soft, as though he were afraid the wrong word might crack the woman’s psyche.

“Dr. Copeland, I believe that Dr. Atwood has explained to you what we believe has happened.”

Jenny nodded. “Yes, Sir. You think Thomas has been taken by a Goa’uld as a host.”

“It’s not definite yet. There just happen to be a few scraps of information the Tok’ra have uncovered that indicate this Zeus guy might be hiding out in one of our soldiers.”

“Coupled with the physical evidence in me.” She was staring at a fixed point at the table, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Yeah, that too. Has he… said anything out of the ordinary? Anything particularly… not-human?”

“My marriage doesn’t really involve a great deal of talking anymore, General. It hasn’t for a while.”

“I see. Let’s start with the most recent. Was there anything unusual about him before he left on this last mission?”

Jenny shook her head but paused. “He was angry.”

“About…”

Jenny’s eyes came up from the table. She seemed surprise when she realized that Camulus had been watching her all this time. Her eyes locked with his for a moment before she turned them to O’Neill. “About Camulus. He asked me what I was going to be doing while he was away and I mentioned that I was going to ask Camulus to help me out with a project. He… he got scary. Thomas has never hit me, not once in the five years we’ve been married, but that time I really thought he might.”

The general looked at the Goa’uld to his left. “Any ideas why Zeus wouldn’t want you near her?”

“Most likely for this very reason. He knew I would be able to sense the naquadah and might question how it came to be there.” He shrugged. “Or jealousy.”

“Jealousy?”

Camulus arched a brow at him. “In his mind, everything that once belonged to his host now belongs to him, to keep or discard as he desires. More than one Goa’uld has decided to keep the wife or husband of their host.” He flicked his gaze over to the woman in question, not bothering to hide his perusal of her. “It would not be too hard to imagine that he decided to keep Dr. Copeland. Having an attractive and nubile woman sharing his bed would make his time here more… comfortable.” To his amusement Jennifer’s expression hardened under the heavy-handed compliment.

O’Neill gave him a quelling look; surpassed only by the scathing glare Colonel Carter threw his way. He ignored them both as the general spoke again. “All right, so we can’t be sure how long he’s been here, or how much knows or even why he was here in the first place. Regardless, I want a security team standing by when that team comes back through the gate. Take Copeland into custody and give him a full medical eval. Let’s confirm or deny that this Zeus really has him. If so… Jacob, can we count on the Tok’ra to get him out?”

Jacob Carter nodded. “You can. We’ll return Copeland to you, but we will need time to question the Goa’uld first.”

“Just try not to do too much damage. If he’s even in there.”

The Tok’ra liaison to Earth nodded in agreement. “If he’s even in there.”

She had not been in her office. Nor had she been found in the labs or workrooms. Camulus had overheard this from two soldiers who apparently were assigned to locate Jennifer Copeland. They knew she had not left the base, they just didn’t know where she was within the base. He gave the passing soldiers an irritated glance before turning to Dr. Jackson. “Where would someone go if they wanted time alone with their thoughts?”

“You mean within the complex?” The scholar thought a moment and shrugged. “Probably one of the lesser used sublevels. Someplace used for excess storage or for emergency housing when needed. There are about nine of them below us.”

He nodded and left the man to continue on to his office alone. As he made his way to one of the lifts he noted that many still threw looks of suspicion his way. It did not concern him, not now that he was given more freedom within the complex. His passkey allowed him to access the lifts without supervision and granted him entrance to the sublevels below. He had searched three without success, moving slowly through them and waiting for the tell tale hum of naquadah nearby. He found her on the fourth floor. She had entered a storeroom crammed with filing cabinets. She was sitting on a stool, staring at the far wall with her chin resting on her hand.

“I felt guilty, the first time that I met you face to face.” Her voice was soft, but his hearing picked it up perfectly.

“Why should you feel guilt?”

“Because when I got around you I felt the same sensations inside that I feel around Thomas. The feelings that started after it looked like our marriage was finally starting to turn around.”

Camulus stepped further into the room. “That was the naquadah. Those who have it in their bodies can sense it’s presence.”

“Yeah, I know that now. But then I was afraid it was… attraction. That’s why I felt guilty. It didn’t matter that he had… what he had done wasn’t important. Even when I knew he was with some other woman I never broke my vows. I come from a very old fashioned family. We don’t cheat and when we vow to stay together until death do us part, we stand by that vow.” She swiveled around on the stool to face him. She had been crying, but the tears had stopped some time ago, enough so that the redness was fading. “I almost decided not to ask for your help again. I didn’t want to put myself in the path of temptation. I tried to tell myself that what I was feeling was just a natural, biological response in the presence of a handsome man.”

“And I thought you saw me merely as an academic curiosity.”

“It was my academic curiosity that made me ask for your help the second time, in spite of my other concerns. You lived much of the history that I’ve made my life’s passion. I found I couldn’t pass that up.” She ran her hands through her hair, her expression one of pain. “Am I just the most colossally stupid woman on the face of the planet? How could I not know that my husband was a Goa’uld?! How could I not have seen that?”

Camulus shook his head. “From what I have learned over the past few hours, Thomas Copeland was not himself long before Zeus took him as a host. He took advantage of an emotional upheaval in your life because his chance to remain within this facility, to collect information on the Tau’ri, was in jeopardy.”

Jenny frowned. “Jeopardy? I don’t understand.”

“O’Neill contacted General Hammond regarding the situation. Apparently, Hammond had spoken with your husband and advised him that if the two of you could not work amicably during and after the dissolution of your marriage, then he would be transferred out of the SGC. It appears that soldiers are more easily replaced than qualified scholars. You were the more valuable person.”

She blinked, processing this new bit of information. “When did this conversation take place?”

“Nine months ago, around the same time it is suspected that Zeus had taken control of the host.” He stepped closer. “Clearly, it would have been suspicious had you died afterwards. Salvaging the marriage was the most logical action.” He reached up with one hand to brush her hair back away from her face. “It would have also had benefits.”

“Yeah, seeing to his ‘comfort’. Not exactly flattering.” She sighed. “I should have known. When he… when everything seemed to start getting better it was too perfect. He quit most of his annoying habits, was patient and attentive; even stopped spending Sundays’ watching football to spend time with me. It should have tipped me off.”

Camulus allowed his hand to stroke her hair gently. That she was allowing him to do so was a sign of trust. “General O’Neill has soldiers looking for you. I believe he wants your help when Zeus returns through the gate.”

She turned her clear, blue eyes to him. “I don’t suppose you could go back and tell him I’ve come down with a sudden flu or vanished from existence all together.”

“And miss out on your chance at revenge?” He took her by the hand and tugged her into a standing position, taking a seat on the stool himself before pulling her back so that she was half-seated on one of his thighs. When she did not move away or chastise him he knew he had guessed correctly. She didn’t need solitude at this moment; she needed comfort. “I am unaware of what the Tau’ri law might dictate, but I would consider what he has done an act punishable by death.”

“I’ve never killed anyone, and I doubt I could kill Zeus with Thomas’ face looking back at me. He was the soldier.”

“And yet, he failed his duty by you.” He felt her tense up a bit but kept a hand at the small of her back as she turned to look at him. Her expression was one of confusion, which he countered with his own inquiring look. “The past two years of your life were just carefully scrutinized by General O’Neill and the Tok’ra. The attack and how it brought about the loss of your unborn child. How it nearly ended your life as well. As your husband, it was the duty of Thomas Copeland to exact revenge by killing the man who almost killed you. Did he do this? Has he done anything to help bring him to justice? According to what is known, your attacker was never captured.”

“Camulus, things are different here. The laws…”

“Then what of his actions afterwards? His wife needed him and he failed her.” He lifted his other hand to keep her face turned towards him. “You needed him by your side to help you mourn the loss of your child and instead he made a mockery of your marriage. He proved himself unworthy of you. Your husband had left you a long time before Zeus sought to exploit your suffering for his own gain. Do not let the face of a traitor keep you from seeking the justice you deserve.”

“You see things very black and white, don’t you?”

“I have the benefit of not being as close to the problem as you.” He smoothed her hair. “Come. You should clean away your tears before you speak to O’Neill. Do not let anyone see you as anything other than in complete control.”

That got him the smile he was looking for. “You’ve seen me.”

“Yes, but I also know that being kind to you is likely to ensure that I will see more of you, and so far you have treated me better than any of the other Tau’ri. My motives are not selfless.”

“At least you’re honest.” He felt her shift her weight to stand up and moved his hand to assist. He heard her sudden intake of breath and felt her twist away, a frown creasing her forehead. He reached out and took her arm gently.

“Let me see.” She let him pull her back to him so that he could smooth her top upwards. The marks were still dark and ugly against her pale skin. Apparently Zeus could add ‘inexperienced’ and ‘clumsy’ to his growing list of failings. Human lovers, while able to take a great deal more abuse than one would have thought possible, were still breakable. He could have easily crushed her ribs and dealt her a mortal injury.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just bruises.”

“It should not have happened.” He let his hand travel over the marks once more before lowering the garment. “And it will not happen again.” He stood up and turned her towards the door, escorting her back to the levels above.

~***~

Camulus left her to her own devices as far as refreshing herself, heading back towards the conference room. He was given pause when he saw the Tok’ra and General O’Neill hurrying from there to the command center. Frowning, he followed them. The iris to the Stargate was closed, but the gate itself was still active according to the soft light flickering behind it. O’Neill, however, was watching a monitor that received the signal from the other side of the gate connection. Camulus positioned himself so that he could clearly see the face of a Tau’ri soldier, crouched low to avoid the staff weapon fire behind him.

“We’re pinned down, Sir! Johnson’s dead and we can’t find Major Copeland.” The Tok’ra exchanged dark looks.

O’Neill hit the intercom. “Security teams stand by! They’re coming in hot!” He looked at the soldier on the monitor. “Get ready to make a run for it on my mark.” He tapped the soldier in control of their makeshift dialing system on the shoulder and began to count down silently using his fingers. He reached one, the soldier entered the command for the iris to open and O’Neill snapped, “Mark!”

The iris slid open. Moments later three soldiers emerged from the event horizon, energy blasts shooting around them. Two Jaffa managed to make it through after them, only to be gunned down by the security forces. The iris closed, the gate disengaged. There was silence for a moment before the three survivors began to shout their disagreement with this.

“General! The Major’s still out there!”

“Stand down, Marine! I want you three to report to medical immediately.” He didn’t give them time to respond, but turned to the Camulus instead. “What are the chances that this was coincidence?”

Camulus shrugged. “There is always a chance, although it is unlikely. Zeus has fled; doubtless to join with Baal and give him any information he may have gathered during his time here. You have been compromised.”

“I know that.” O’Neill glared at the now silent Stargate before signaling to a random soldier. “Tell SG-1 I want to see them in my office.” Jacob/Selmak approached the general.

“How much could he have learned?”

“With at least nine months? There’s no telling what he’s got. We’re going to have to overhaul security from top to bottom.”

Camulus knew that he was forgotten. He backed out of the room silently, his jaw tight. If Zeus did go to join with Baal, then Earth may no longer be safe for him. Nor may it be safe for Jenny. Without the chance to interrogate the Goa’uld, there was no way of knowing what, if any, value he placed in his host’s wife. Many could simply forget the mortal spouse and dismiss her from memory. Others, however, would see her as a possession and plan to retake her.

He returned to her office and let himself in without knocking. He found her sitting at her desk going through papers. A glint of silver caught his eye from the wastepaper basket and he looked down to see that she had tossed the photograph of herself and her husband into it. “SG-19 has returned.”

Jenny blanched and looked up. “Already? They weren’t due…”

“Zeus is not with them. There was an attack by Jaffa, no doubt staged to help him escape.” He watched her take a deep breath and heard a sharp snap. The sound made her jump and look down at her hand. The pen she had been holding was now broken. She tossed the broken pieces into the wastepaper basket and pulled some tissues from a box in an attempt to clean the ink from her fingers. “He is not coming back.”

“Can you be sure?” She looked up at him, her expression pinched. “Can you promise me that?”

“No, but I will promise that should he return, he will not harm you.”

Her smile was sad. “I suppose they don’t need my help any longer.” She straightened up in her chair and nodded to herself. “Thank you for coming to tell me. Now I can at least go home and sleep without worrying that he’ll come walking through the door.”

Camulus leaned up against her worktable, folding his arms over his chest. “What will you do now that you’re free of him?”

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually. I would like to join an SG team, but first I have to convince the shrinks that I’m not a mental case. After this latest little nightmare, I’m not certain I can do that. They think I’m about two steps from a complete and total breakdown, and I can’t fault them for believing it. Hopefully I’ll at least be allowed to keep my present job.”

The thought that they might feel her incapable of continuing to work here due to the current events alarmed him. He needed her to remain. He couldn’t trust any of the other scholars here to solve the puzzle that might lead to his lost blade. And he did not want to go back to being barely tolerated and wholly mistrusted. He could not be trusted, of course, but it was still pleasant to have someone who did not treat him like a high level prisoner. “I doubt they would let you leave. You would be too difficult to replace.”

“Perhaps.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “Now that Zeus is gone, maybe they’ll let me go home and get some sleep. It’s been a trying night.”

“Then you should go. I only ask that you make sure to speak with me when you return. I would know that you are well.”

“What? You think I’m going to crack up, too?”

“I think you’ve undergone a great many trials. A weaker person would have already ‘cracked’.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She stood up, stretching her arms over her head. “I think I will make a break for it while I can, tell Dr. Jackson that I’m taking the day off. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.” She opened her desk drawer and retrieved her purse from it before ushering him out of her office and turning out the light. “Try not to let the Tok’ra get on your nerves too much while I’m gone.”

Camulus smirked. “I can tolerate the Tok’ra as much as they can tolerate me.”

“That’s why I mentioned it.” She gave him one last smile. “Good night.” He inclined his head in acknowledgement before watching her walk away.

~***~

It had taken four months and three psyche evals before General O’Neill signed off on putting Jenny onto an SG team. After that point, Camulus found that his time with the Tau’ri was no longer as pleasant. She still sought him out for his assistance and his company whenever she was on Earth, but it seemed the more and more often she was on some other world, searching for her secrets and her clues. When she did come home, however, it was usually with breathless enthusiasm and excitement. Without her sham of a marriage holding her back, she was blossoming into the woman he had known she could be.

“And the last one was… here.” She circled a planet on the star chart now taking up one wall of her office with a grease pencil. He was half listening to her, half admiring her. It wasn’t a normal working day for her and she hadn’t bothered to dress in attire more suited for her job. Instead she had come dressed in a pair of short pants that left most of her long legs exposed and a brief top that left her arms bare. She had been forced to reach up onto her toes in order to make the last mark, defining her legs beautifully.

“You feel that you are getting closer?”

“I believe I just might be. His writing is becoming more and more erratic, more desperate. I believe he was reaching the end of his rope. He’s starting to ramble on about something as well, something about finding that the sword was useless in another’s hand. The way he carries on, I’m not certain he realized that only another Goa’uld could use it to it’s full potential.”

Camulus feigned ignorance, not wishing to reveal anything further. The sword couldn’t be used by another Goa’uld or by anyone who wasn’t in this particular host body. “You said that you suspected madness. Clearly you were correct.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps.” She closed her folder and gave him a bright smile. “So, what have you been up to while I was gone?”

“Tolerating idiots and fools. Your pentagon has asked me to assist in the development of naquadah based weapons.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“I’m sure it pales in comparison to digging up dusty artifacts on distant planets.”

“I’m sure it does, too.” She gave him a look that was calculated innocence. “Are they being very mean to you?”

“Very. The moment you set foot through the gate they throw me back into a cramped cell and give me nothing but stale bread and water to eat. I believe it is General O’Neill’s revenge against me for that time you brought me dinner.”

She affected a sugar-sweet pout. “Poor baby. Do you want me to beat up the big, bad General for you?” He laughed, full and deep. She gave him one of her brighter smiles in return. “I have a favor to ask.”

He arched a brow. “A favor. What is it? I might be inclined to grant it.”

“How noble of you! I want to learn how to speak Goa’uld. Fluently, not the mishmash I have now.”

“That’s a rather large favor to ask. What can I expect in return?”

She blinked. “My never ending gratitude?”

Camulus shook his head. “Not good enough. I’ll need something better.”

“Like what?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He smirked as she put her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Just to be crass he allowed his gaze to rake over her figure, lingering on her long, tapering legs.

“I’ll admit you’re gorgeous, but you’re not that gorgeous.” She threw her grease pencil at him, only to give him a glare when he caught it perfectly. “How about I make sure that you never have to have dinner in the commissary if I’m in the base?”

He appeared to consider this for a moment before nodding. “That would be a good start.”

“But you’ll be at the mercy of my cravings.”

“Which are?”

“Right now? I’m craving a large pepperoni pizza with a cheese-stuffed crust.” She didn’t wait for a response but grabbed the phone off her desk and dialed an outside number. Camulus twirled the grease pencil in his fingers as she placed an order. When she was done she reached for her purse and claimed her wallet. “It’ll take them about thirty minutes to get it here. I’ll have to meet the driver at the gate.”

“And what am I do to until then?”

“You could think up a lesson plan. I’ll bring the food down to your quarters.” She took the grease pencil from him and began to wave him out of her office. “Trust me! If there’s one thing I know, it’s food.”

He said nothing but made his way back to his rooms, rudely ignoring a ruddy-faced scientist who tried to catch his attention on the way. These over-excitable children annoyed him and he had spent enough time with them already. He had been cooperative and patient in Jennifer’s absence. His time with her was a well-deserved reward. He would not be interrupted.

True to her word she arrived at his door bearing a large, square box and a case of ‘Dr. Pepper’. “No Harp?”

“Harp with pizza? You drink the cheap stuff with pizza, but I didn’t have time to run to the liquor store.” She sidestepped him to get into the room, setting the box down on the table. Camulus shut the door and turned to watch her as she put the box of drinks into his small refrigerator, taking out two for them before shutting the door. “Stick with me, Cam. I’ll teach you all there is to know about living on Earth. Hey! That could be fair payment for my language lessons.”

“That doesn’t really interest me.” He claimed a chair at the table, still watching her as she opened the cans.

“You’re a tough customer, Camulus. I should take you with me next time I need to buy a car.” She offered him one of the drinks. It was sweeter than he was used to and the carbonation took him by surprise. The second drink was far better than the first, but he would have preferred another beer.

“Why do you want to speak fluent Goa’uld?”

“Because we have an annoying tendency to run into them when we’re off world. I figured that since I’m supposed to be the linguist on the team I should learn how to understand the enemy when I hear them. How will I know to feel insulted if I don’t know when they’re insulting me?”

“Do you always treat everything with such humor?” He took up one of the slices of the ‘pizza’. It was messy and by no means as good as the steak she had treated him to before, but the cheese and meat combined were oddly satisfying.

“Lately I have been. I thought long and hard about it and I’ve decided that I’ve shed too many tears over the past couple of years. Life’s too short to be sad. I refuse to be beaten down again.” She wiped a bit of grease from the corner of her lips. “Besides, I have enough stress in my life right now.”

“Oh?”

“Given the unusual circumstances of my marriage at this time, the military is pulling some strings to muscle my divorce through. However, since there is the possibility that… Zeus may be captured; I have to keep in mind that everything Thomas and I had together is equally ours. The house is already sold. Luckily we had less than half of it’s value still financed so I came out quite nicely on that. I’ve paid off what was owed on his truck and my Wrangler and our credit card bill. Half of all our liquidated assets are being put into an account in case the Tok’ra are able to remove Zeus from Thomas’ body so that he has something to start over with. The other half I’ve put down on a smaller house in a quieter neighborhood.”

“Why leave him anything at all? Didn’t he forfeit any claim to it when he betrayed you?”

Jenny shook her head. “That would be like kicking him while he was down. And I never intended to make it a messy divorce, not even when I was mad at him. It would have been petty, anyway. As a civilian consultant my paycheck is a great deal more than his. That was one of several reasons why I blamed myself when our marriage went south; not many men could handle their wives making more money than they do. I can manage without him, but it will be tougher for him to manage without me.”

He found himself reaching for another slice of pizza. It seemed that the food tended to ‘grow’ on a person. “You are a far kinder woman than many would be in your place. Even after all he’s done to you, you can still find it within your heart to forgive him.”

She gave a delicate shrug. “My father says I’m too soft hearted. He keeps wanting to keel haul him. I have to keep reminding him that they don’t do that sort of thing any longer. It went out with wooden ships powered by wind.” She gave a little laugh. “Dad’s very ‘Old Navy’. I think he blames himself for my lousy choice of a husband.”

“Because he did not see it himself?”

“Because he was never home. He’s a captain of his own ship, but even before that he was always out to sea. He used to complain that every time he came home I’d grown into a different person again. I believe he thinks that had he been around to be the threatening, fatherly presence, he would have seen Thomas for what he was. But it’s hardly fair. We had a good marriage until the attack.”

“But he would have no cause to blame you for the attack. I seriously doubt that you are the kind to willingly put yourself in harm’s way.”

“It wasn’t the attack itself. It was what happened after the attack.” She sighed, setting a half-eaten piece of pizza down, a frown creasing her forehead. “Thomas and I really wanted that baby. We were both looking forward to being parents. It was hard enough to wake up in a hospital and find out that I’d lost him, but after I’d had a chance to heal from the injuries…” She broke off and took a breath. Camulus could tell that this pained her, could see it in the tightness that had taken root at the corner of her eyes and lips. “The doctors told us that there was too much physical damage, that there was a lot of scarring. Technically I can still conceive, but I could never carry to term. That’s why Thomas went off the deep end like he did. He wanted to be a father… and I couldn’t give him that any longer.”

He regretted pushing the issue because the smiling woman who had sat down to share a meal with him was gone again. He had seen many young women, human and Jaffa, relegated to less important positions within society because they proved to be barren. There were few opportunities for them to still be useful members of their villages such as Jenny had as a scholar of Earth. Many a warrior under his command had decided to have their marriages removed when their wives continuously failed to provide them with a child. This part of Thomas Copeland he could understand, even if he did not agree with it. It would have been kinder to release Jennifer of her marriage vows than to force her to watch as he sought to replace her with someone who could bear his children.

He reached across the small table and took her hand. “Come.” He pulled and she left her chair without protest, allowing him to guide her to him so that he could pull her into his lap, cradling her head upon one of his shoulders. “It is unfortunate that there will likely be no children to whom you can pass on your brilliance, but you do not have to let that define you. There are still those who can benefit from what you have to give.” He felt her relax in his arms and encouraged her to remain where she was by shifting his arm so that she was supported. It had been too long since he had held a woman this close. Jenny was warm and soft, and there was a light, fresh scent upon her skin that was enticing without covering up her own, natural fragrance.

“You know, it’s times like this I can almost forget that you’re supposed to be the enemy.”

“Enemy? I thought I was an ally.”

“You requested asylum. You were a System Lord, and you’re still a Goa’uld. They make sure to remind us of that, often. I think they want us to be sure we don’t let our guard down around you.”

“So your generals and your leaders are intelligent after all. I was beginning to wonder.”

She tilted her head upwards. “But I still can’t figure you out. What do you hope to gain by staying on Earth? We don’t trust you and the Goa’uld will kill you the first chance they get. What is there here for you?”

He considered his answer carefully, deciding whether to be serious or charming. In the end, serious won out. “The satisfaction of guiding the Tau’ri in the destruction of Baal.”

“Simple revenge, is it?”

He gave a careless shrug. “It’s a start.” This got him an amused, almost musical laugh. He watched the sparkle return to her clear, blue eyes as she gave him a light smack on his forearm. “There are other things to recommend Earth, however. I find that the more scholarly pursuits have much to offer.”

“Yes, we brainy types are quite interesting.”

He moved his hand so he could tilt her head upwards. “Very.” She looked as though she was about to ask him something, but he cut her off with a kiss. He felt her give a little jump in surprise but did not pull back. Instead he pressed forward and was pleased to note that the slender fingers of one of her hands curled into the fabric of his shirt as though to keep him from escaping. He could taste the soda and pizza, but there was a sweetness to her that was all her own. He deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him as he did so. He was so intent on experiencing the moment that he almost missed when she stopped being so willing and started trying to pull away.

He released the kiss and his hold on her, allowing her to scramble up from his lap. She distanced herself from him, facing away with her hands covering her eyes. “Shit! I can’t believe I just did that.”

He rose cautiously from his chair. “Jennifer…”

She turned around. “This can’t happen again. Ever. I shouldn’t have let it happen this time.”

He stepped forward and reached out to grasp her shoulders gently. “And why not? What harm is there in two people finding comfort in one another?”

“The harm? To begin with I could lose my job!” She wrenched herself away from him, shaking her head. “This is my fault. I let things get too comfortable. I should leave.” She turned to the abandoned food, closing the pizza box. “I… I don’t think I should come here any more.”

What? “Jenny, it is I who have overstepped my bounds. I should not have taken such liberties.” She shook her head and said nothing as she cleaned up the table. “Jennifer, you are the only thing that makes my stay her tolerable any longer. Do not shut me out.”

That got her attention. She paused and looked towards him, her expression confused. He could not let her slip through his grasp. If she shut him out, she took his hopes of reclaiming the sword with her. “Everyone on this base treats me like an enemy, someone barely trusted. You are the only one who has shown me a modicum of civility, the only one who shows me any real kindness. Do not abandon me.”

He wasn’t sure if he had convinced her. She looked wary, uncertain. He watched her pull her bottom lip under, worrying it with her teeth for a moment before she took a breath. “We have to keep things professional. No more sitting in your lap and definitely no more kissing. We have to be responsible. Don’t get me wrong, those things were nice and you gave them to me when I needed them most, but they can’t happen again.”

He nodded in agreement. He would do as she asked; pull things back to a ‘working’ relationship. He felt his host grumbling in the back of his mind but even Calum knew that this was only a temporary settlement. They would give Jenny the extra time she apparently needed, give her space until she was ready for something more. “When is your next mission?”

“Not for another three weeks. Major Davies’ wife is having a baby. They’ve got her scheduled for a C-section in two days and the General gave us all some downtime so he can be there to help out afterwards.” She picked up the pizza box. “I’m going to spend the time working on a few projects.”

“Such as your little mystery regarding the sword?”

She smiled. “Among others. If it’s not too terribly awkward now… I’d still like those language lessons.”

He inclined his head slightly. “I’m still willing to give them to you. When would you like to begin?”

“I have to finish a report for Dr. Jackson tomorrow and then help catalogue some artifacts the two days after that. How’s Thursday afternoon?”

“As far as I know there are no interrogations or torture sessions planned for me. A dull day. I could use the distraction.”

“Thursday it is, then. I’ll bring lunch. Something better than pizza.” She walked towards the door, opening it herself. Camulus watched her as she left, reclaiming his abandoned drink without thinking.

He was running out of patience.

~***~

Jennifer slid her key-card through the slot to summon the elevator. To her surprise, General O’Neill was inside when the doors opened. “Copeland! Fancy seeing you here. Come on in.” She stepped inside, the doors sliding shut. Before she could reach for the buttons to select the ‘Geek Level’, O’Neill pushed the button leading to the level the Gate Room was on. “I hate to ask this, but are you having problems with Camulus?”

She felt the back of her neck heat up. “Problems, Sir? Like what?”

“Anything at all. You know, the Military takes things like sexual harassment very seriously. If he’s stepping out of line in any way…”

She sighed, her face heating up along with her neck. “There’s still a camera in his quarters.”

“Actually, there’re three.”

“So you saw everything.”

“Uhm… yeah. I got a little worried there for a moment. It didn’t look like he was going to take ‘no’ for an answer.” He leveled his steely gaze at her. “Do I have a reason to be concerned?”

“We discussed it, General. It won’t happen again.”

The General gave a sigh. “I wish I could be that certain, Doc. You see, it concerns me that an attractive, intelligent woman, such as yourself, seems to have caught the attention of an alien that we know has no qualms about having sexual relations with humans. He’s admitted as much.” He gave a shrug. “He’s bigger, faster and stronger than you are, even without the Goa’uld strength added in. I don’t want to see one of my people get hurt.”

Jenny shifted uncomfortably. “I appreciate your concern, General, and I promise I’ll be careful. Besides, you’ll have us under constant surveillance. If things get out of hand just send in the Calvary.”

“How about I just send in Teal’c with a Zat?” O’Neill gave another sigh. “Look, if it were anyone else I’d order you to stay the hell away from him. But it’s you, and as much as I hate to admit it, you’re the only one who seems to get that guy to loosen up.”

An uneasy feeling started to nip at the back of her mind. “How long have you had us watched, Sir?”

“Since we figured out Zeus was inside Thomas and Camel-Ass made that smart-aleck comment about you being a ‘benefit’. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. Carter didn’t either. I believe she wanted to have him gelded.”

“And all this time we’ve been under surveillance. Why?”

The General looked decidedly uncomfortable. “At first it was just so I could make sure he played nice. However, certain officials in the pentagon now wonder if you can’t get him to be a little more… forthcoming with the details of Goa’uld technology. I told them that he wasn’t likely to fall for it, since it would be off beat for an archeologist to be asking about such things, but they’re hoping he’s… interested enough to be more talkative.”

Jenny gave a snort. “Just call me ‘Mati Hari’. That has to be one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard.”

O’Neill put his hands up in a placating gesture. “I agree. I told them so, myself.” The doors to the lift opened and the General stepped out, turning around to hold the door open. “Just… be careful. And if he tries to get grabby again, hit him someplace vulnerable…hard.”

 

~***~

“What?”

“I said, could Cammy come, too?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

General Jack O’Neill narrowed his eyes as he studied Dr. Copeland closely. She didn’t look as though she was kidding, not even a little bit. “You want me to let him out of the base and into suburban America?”

“It’s just my new house! If you want me to keep him all warm and kittenish, then it would be the height of rudeness for me to have a housewarming party and not invite him.” She leveled one of her get-your-butt-in-gear-and-finish-that-report looks. “You know I’m right.”

Jack sighed. “Okay. Okay. You can invite Camel-Ass, too.”

Jenny grinned. “Thank you, Sir. I trust you’ll make sure that he’s there on time.”

“With bells on.”

~***~

The residences of the Tau’ri were strange to him. They seemed flimsy and ill suited to grant shelter, but he did not dare to pass judgment so quickly. These humans never ceased to surprise him.

Camulus glanced at the other occupants of the vehicle. General O’Neill was there, as was the Sholva, Teal’c. He expected that there would be guards already at Jenny’s residence, it was what he would do, but he would not allow that to dampen his mood. To be allowed out of the base to go somewhere that wasn’t a laboratory or a room filled with tiresome generals was a new experience to him. He was looking forward to the change of scenery.

They arrived at a modest dwelling in an area where the homes sat on relatively spacious land, at least more so than some other places they had passed. These homes appeared to be older but well kept, and many of them had larger toys that indicated children. Jenny’s home, however, was devoid of any such things. Their driver pulled up close to the house, almost as if everyone had left this space clear for them, and shut off the engine. “Okay, we’re here. Now remember, be on your best behavior or I’m sending your butt to Baal with a big, red ribbon tied around it.”

Camulus gave an annoyed look to the General. It would serve no purpose for him to do anything to upset Jennifer at this time. “I am an invited guest, just as you are, General. I will be a gracious one.”

“Just so we’re clear.”

They exited the vehicle. Camulus had been given different clothing better suited to the event. He found the ‘blue jeans’ comfortable, but not as roomy as the BDU pants he normally wore. To the casual observer he could just be another human male, nothing that would arouse suspicion. He caught sight of a young girl who was washing a vehicle a few doors down. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen summers in age and scantily dressed. At the moment she was no longer paying attention to her task, too busy staring in his direction. The affect this body had on females had always been pleasing, but he was not interested in mere children.

O’Neill pressed a button beside the door and they heard the faint sound of a chime from somewhere inside the house. A few moments later the door was opened by Jenny. She had her hair pulled back and was wearing a light dress and seemed well suited for the heat of the day. Her smile was bright and genuine when she saw who had arrived. “I was beginning to wonder if you guys were going to show. Please, come in!” She stepped aside to allow them entry, accepting a bottle of wine that O’Neill had brought with them as a gift. “Be careful. Davies has commandeered the grill.”

O’Neill growled. “That man couldn’t boil water! Don’t worry. I’ll save dinner. Which way?” Jenny pointed to the East and laughed when the general headed off to stop Major Davies from destroying the food.

“Thank you for inviting me into your home, Jennifer Copeland.”

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Teal’c. Please, make yourself at home. I could give you the nickel tour if you like.”

“I would be honored.” The Jaffa bowed slightly, which took his eyes off of both of them. Jenny gave Camulus a silent glance of welcome, her blue eyes bright.

“This way, if you please.” The house was two stories, but none of the rooms were overly large. However, since she had liquidated most of what she and her husband had owned jointly, she had been able to purchase furnishings that were better suited to such a place. Upstairs were her bedroom, a guest room ‘for when my father decides to drop by’ and a bath. Downstairs was home to a spacious ‘living room’ that opened to a small dining area with an attached kitchen, another bath and a third bedroom she had opted to use as an office instead. Camulus gave this room an appraising glance. Every wall was hidden by bookshelves which were already half filled. There was a heavy desk in the center of the room with a computer and office supplies. He couldn’t help but comment on it.

“It’s so clean and orderly.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I know. I can’t find a thing. Give me a week or two and I’ll have it looking more like me.”

Camulus laughed, but his eyes were busy. He had noted which of the soldiers present looked more like guards. One of them had taken up a position by the front door when they had arrived and he had spotted two more through the glass of the doors leading from the kitchen to the back yard. As he suspected, O’Neill was taking steps to ensure he did not escape.

From somewhere outside Dr. Jackson’s voice rang out, calling for Teal’c. The Jaffa hesitated. “Oh, go on. We’ll be fine.”

“Perhaps I should take Camulus with me.”

“Teal’c, he’s not going anywhere. Go ahead.”

The Jaffa hesitated a moment longer but eventually bowed to Jenny and exited. Camulus waited until he was out of earshot to speak. “Thank you. He was starting to wear on me.”

“They’re just afraid you won’t behave yourself.” She fixed him with a stern gaze. “You will behave yourself, won’t you?”

“Of course.” He helped himself to the chair at the desk. “Is this sort of thing common among the Tau’ri?”

“A Housewarming Party? It is in America, not so much elsewhere. People usually give gifts to the new homeowners to help them decorate the place. I have plenty on my own already and asked that people just bring themselves so we can break the place in properly.” She leaned up against the heavy desk, her stance relaxed and at ease. “The best part is the food, in my opinion anyway.”

Camulus chuckled. “I have wondered how it is you remain so graceful, as much as you appear to enjoy eating.”

She reached out with a playful swat towards his head, but he avoided it easily. “Brat. If you must know, I often forget to eat, so when I do, I eat well. And then there’s tennis and the physical training I have to do in order to keep my certification to go through the gate.”

“Physical training? And you didn’t ask for my assistance? I believe I may be insulted.”

Jenny rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Somehow I don’t think that me in skin tight spandex alone in a room with you would be a safe thing.”

“Perhaps not, but it could be enjoyable.”

“Behave.”

“I am.”

“Yeah, badly.” She stood up straight. “Remember what I said. We can’t take this any further than co-workers.”

“I remember.” He smiled, keeping his eyes on her face. “Come, let’s join the others before your reputation is damaged.”

O’Neill had taken over the grill, Major Davies looking on with his arms folded over his chest and a put-upon expression on his face. Music was playing from a portable sound system overseen by Walter and small groups of people were chatting together throughout Jenny’s fenced in back yard. Jenny claimed two bottles of beer, handing one to Camulus as she led him over to a set of chairs off to one side.

“Thank you for agreeing to come. I’m sure this will all seem rather silly and boring to you.”

“On the contrary, the more I observe of the Tau’ri the more I am puzzled as to how they continue to thwart all attempts to defeat them. You bicker amongst yourselves constantly, you fall at one another’s throats over something as significant as the color of skin, your tendency towards self-destruction is unmatched by any other sentient race in the galaxy. I don’t see how you’ve lasted this long.”

“Gee, thanks for the compliment.”

He grinned and took a drink of his beer. “Then there is the occasional exception. The clever humans who appear to carry the dead weight of the others. Those few who could actually hold their own against the Goa’uld.”

“Like Colonel Carter and her never ending ability to outsmart the lot of you?” Jenny batted her eyes sweetly as the general hollered out that the food was ready. “Stay put, I’ll get it.” Camulus leaned back in his chair, ignoring the suspicious glances thrown his way by multiple members of the SGC and not bothering to hide the fact that he was keeping an eye on Jennifer. From the angle between them the sunlight illuminated the simple dress she wore, silhouetting her long legs beautifully through the cloth.

He had been without a woman for far too long and the object of his intentions was proving increasingly uncooperative.

She returned after a time with two plates burdened with aromatic foods. She handed one to him with a smile and reclaimed her seat. “Bar-B-Q’ed ribs, a delicacy from the South. Don’t try eating them with silverware or I’ll lose all respect for you. The fork is for the coleslaw and potato salad.”

“Understood.” He put down the bottle of beer and examined his meal. The sauce on the meat seemed… messy, but he saw that Jenny had no qualms about picking up the ribs and biting the tender meat from the bones. The food was good and went well with the cold beer. What drew his attention, however, was when Jenny stopped to lick the sauce from her fingers every now and again. She seemed completely oblivious to the attention she drew, not just from him, but also from several other young men present. It didn’t seem to occur to her that watching her lick at her own long, delicate fingers