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END FLASHBACK
�Is there anything I can help you find, ma�am?� a twenty-something blonde woman asked, drawing Elizabeth out of her memory.
�Uh� I need a gown,� Elizabeth said. She smiled softly. �Obviously,� she added, seeing as the boutique she was in sold nothing but gowns.
Twenty-Something smiled back. �For a specific event?�
�Black-tie dinner party. Governmental,� Elizabeth said, her tone letting the other woman know that she was not at all thrilled at the prospect. She had been to hundreds of black-tie dinner parties during her career, all of them as boring as the last, and she didn�t relish the thought of going to on when she was exhausted, nursing a growing headache, and valiantly trying not to think about the massage she had had to cancel that she had hoped would temporarily cure her back pain.
�Alright. When is this dinner party?� Twenty-Something asked.
Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh. �Tonight.� Twenty-Something arched an eyebrow at Elizabeth. �It�s a work thing. I didn�t find out I was required to attend until an hour ago.�
�Okay� well, why don�t I take a few quick measurements and we�ll go from there,� Twenty-Something said. �You realize that you won�t be able to be very picky on such short notice, right?�
�Never really been the picky type,� Elizabeth said as she followed Twenty-Something toward the back of the store, shedding her coat and suit jacket along the way.
�Good to hear,� Twenty-Something said as she grabbed a measuring tape and a sheet of paper to note Elizabeth�s measurements on.
Ten minutes later Twenty-Something headed off in search of dresses in Elizabeth�s size while Elizabeth took the chance to check in with the SGC.
After jumping through fifteen different hoops Elizabeth was patched through to John, which she was thankful for, considering all the scheduled missions he was signed up for with various SG teams. �Hey, it�s our fearless leader,� John said by way of greeting. �How�s life with the sharks and minions of the devil?�
�Same as usual,� Elizabeth said. �How are things back there?�
�Same �ol, same �ol. Caldwell�s having some trouble with his baby so he�s still over a week away, but other than that nothing to report,� John said. Though her cell phone had more security protocols than the average Radio Shack piece of hardened plastic and wiring, the line was still more or less unsecured, leaving them little choice but to speak in carefully couched sentences and loose code.
Elizabeth frowned. �Anything serious?� she asked, worried that they wouldn�t be able to get back to Pegasus if the Daedalus was having trouble making the trip.
"Nothing for you to worry about,� John said in his most reassuring tone. �What�s with the elevator music?� he asked.
The music in the boutique was not good, Elizabeth had to admit, and she didn�t recognize any of the songs that had played over the sound system since she had arrived�though she figured that they had simply been released since she had been away. Crinkling her nose, Elizabeth said, �I�m shopping for a ball gown. No one told me I was going to be roped into a black tie affair while I was here. I haven�t had such short notice since my cousin eloped�and even then I had a full ten hours to find a dress, shoes, get my hair done, and take care of all the other stuff I needed to do.�