It was a good time, Sam decided, to check in with Daniel. She caught Woolsey's eye and nodded towards the entrance, barely waiting for acknowledgment before escaping the stifling atmosphere.
Her teammate was leaning against the cave entrance almost casually, though Sam knew better. He looked up at her approach and raised his eyebrows in question.
She shook her head. "Just taking a break from them."
"You want to switch places?"
"No," she said, waving him back into his sentry position. "I only need a minute."
"International policy discussions not holding your interest, I take it," said Daniel, quirking a half-grin.
Sam rolled her eyes. "That would be an improvement over the death glares. But you've always been the only diplomat I could stand, anyway."
He snorted. "Considering how terrible I am at playing one, I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."
"Maybe you should've gotten a fourth doctorate in international relations," teased Sam. Actually, Daniel was also one of the only soft scientists she could stand, but she wasn't about to start up that debate. Again.
"It might be more applicable to my job these days," admitted Daniel with a sigh. "What am I going to say to people now? 'Stay away from the Priors of the Ori, they'll send killer bugs'?"
"I'm sure Dr. Shen can help you with the wording," said Sam brightly, and if there was a touch of bitterness in her voice, she would chalk it up to stress.
Daniel gave her a narrow glare but didn't budge. "I have a feeling she'd rather catalogue my diplomatic failures for her report, actually."
Shaking her head, Sam leaned against the opposite wall. "What was Landry thinking, anyway? Everyone knows the best way to get in trouble off-world is to go with SG-1."
“Well, they did want an authentic experience,” Daniel remarked. "I think Landry still has a few things to learn about running this place."
"Can you imagine what General O'Neill would've said?"
"Oh, God, we'd have had an international incident before we left Earth," said Daniel, laughing softly. Sam relaxed into the solid rock behind her, eyes drifting to the unchanging terrain before them. Daniel voiced their thoughts: "Think they've made it yet?"
She shook her head. "No, they haven't been gone that long. They're probably still en route."
"Ever wonder what they talk about together?"
She hadn't. "You think Cameron can get Teal'c to do small talk?"
"Good point. But I'll bet he tries."
"Guess he's got a few things to learn, too," commented Sam, drawing another smile from Daniel.
"We'll get him trained eventually."
"When should we tell him that the team leader isn't actually required to provide the beer?"
"Oh, I think we can drag that one out for another month, at least."
Sam grinned. "As long as you're volunteering to break the news and take the fall."
He shrugged. "I'm supposed to be the diplomat, right?"
"Speaking of which..." Sam sighed and jerked her head towards the cave's depths. "I should probably get back to them." As nice as it was to pretend with Daniel that the chances of them ever having movie night again weren't looking slim to none….
"Maybe you can get them to play I Spy," suggested Daniel.
"Espionage might not be the best choice of topic."
"See? You're already better at diplomacy than I am."
With a smile and another shake of her head, Sam pushed off from the wall. She squeezed Daniel's shoulder briefly before heading back into the cave and to her waiting charges.
Diplomacy. Right. She looked back before rounding the corner to see her teammate shift his weight in the entry. From the back, by looks alone, she would never take him for anything but a soldier.
But if Daniel Jackson could play a role, well, so could Sam Carter. She turned her back to the entrance, forced what she hoped was a neutral expression onto her face, and reminded herself that there were worse things out to get her than diplomats.
And those ones, she was allowed to shoot.
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