�I�m in,� John said without hesitation.
�Good,� Sam nodded. �1300, full gear, in the Gateroom.� She gave him a push toward the door. �Now leave. I have a lot of work to finish up before I move and not a lot of time to do it in. And you lot coming with two damaged Naqueda generators certainly didn�t lighten my load.�
�Yeah, sorry about that. It�s been� a hellova year,� John said sheepishly.
Sam arched an eyebrow at him. �So I�ve heard,� she said before turning back to her work. �1300,� she reminded him as he headed for the door.
�See you then,� John called over his shoulder.
Sam entered the control room, her eyes searching for her target. Finding her, Sam crossed the room and caught Elizabeth�s attention. �Doctor Weir, you wouldn�t happen to know where John�sorry, where Major Sheppard�is, would you?� Sam asked. She was having trouble remembering that almost no one knew that she and John had been friends for over fifteen years. Most people didn�t even know that they knew each other before he had come back from Atlantis.
�Not off hand, no, but Rodney found an Ancient device that he was quite eager to test out. That usually means that Major Sheppard is stuck playing guinea pig,� Elizabeth said. �Do you mind if I ask why you�re looking for him?�
�He�s joining SG-1 on the mission we�re scheduled for today,� Sam said. �We�re heading to P9T-934. There are some ruins that Daniel wants to take a closer look at.� She looked at her watch. �John was supposed to meet me in the Gateroom twenty minutes ago.� She frowned. �Punctuality has never been his thing but this is pushing it,� she muttered.
Elizabeth cocked her head to one side slightly. �Colonel, do you know Major Sheppard?�
�John and I have known each other for years,� Sam said. �And you can lose the �Colonel�, Doctor. Sam�s fine. Or Samantha.�
Pieces of a puzzle that had been plaguing Elizabeth since before she had returned from Atlantis began falling into place, and she really didn�t like the way the picture was turning out. Still, she put her best act on and hid everything she was feeling behind several layers of diplomatic pleasantry. �In that case you can lose the �Doctor�� Sam,� Elizabeth said.
Sam smiled softly, and then looked down at her feet for a moment before meeting Elizabeth�s eyes. �I�m sorry about that meeting. I was rude and you had done nothing to deserve it,� she said.
�This program has been your secret to keep for nearly a decade. I�m the interloper here. I get that,� Elizabeth said honestly. �I think that Rodney was assigned a temporary lab somewhere on Level 19. I�d look for Major Sheppard there, first.�
Sam nodded. �Thanks. I will,� she said. �You�re� you�re heading to Washington now, right?�
�My ride leaves for Peterson in about half an hour. The IOA has set up an exhaustive series of meetings for me,� Elizabeth nodded. �Some people higher up the chain of command don�t seem able to accept that the Wraith are a clear and present threat to both Atlantis and, quite possibly, this galaxy as well. I�m supposed to meet up with General O�Neill. Thankfully he�s in our corner on this.�
�Well, hopefully they�ll be easier to convince than the people we had to deal with the get the Stargate Program up and running in the first place. No one wanted to believe that the Goa�uld existed, not to mention the fact that just burying the �Gate would only delay an attack until they could get their ships here,� Sam said. She shrugged. �Maybe the work we�ve done here will help soften them up,� she suggested.