"Ow! Come on, Jack! Have a little sympathy here!"
"Wuss," O'Neill muttered as he helped Daniel into his apartment. "Hey! I had that spear thingy in my shoulder and I was pretty cool about it, while you guys went off and...and translated or something. So, don't tell me about pain. It's just a broken leg."
"In three places! And a dislocated shoulder," Daniel added sullenly.
"This isn't a contest," Carter complained, easing Daniel's good arm from around her shoulders as Jack lowered him to the sofa.
"Well, he could've stayed at the SGC." Despite his seeming annoyance Jack carefully shifted a few pillows until Daniel was comfortable.
"At the base? For six weeks?" Daniel asked, looking shocked.
Jack only shrugged while Sam went to fetch a glass of water for Daniel to take his pain meds. "So, have you given any thought to the general's suggestion?" she asked as she returned, handing him the glass.
"About a replacement?"
"It's not a replacement," Samantha reminded him. "They wouldn't be going through the Stargate with us. Just assisting in the translation of all those tablets you recovered."
O'Neill snickered. "You mean all those tablets we recovered, along with Daniel here."
Both his friends frowned and he sighed, slumping down in a chair.
"Well, we do need another translator who's actually competent," Daniel muttered. "And I do, or did know this guy back in grad school, Adam Pierson. He was a research assistant in the Near Eastern studies department, working on his Ph.D. in Proto-Cuneiform. If anyone could translate those tablets it'd be him. He dropped off the radar a few years back, just before Katherine approached me."
"Think he'd pass muster?" O'Neill asked curiously.
Daniel tried to shrug and winced. "Don't know. I think he's British, or maybe Canadian. Nice guy, actually. Pretty laid back. I don't think he'd be any kind of security risk, if that's what you're asking. And he's the best when it comes to what we're looking for. Absolutely brilliant mind."
"So why drop out of sight?" Sam wondered.
"He was painfully shy. I mean, he never publishes, never applies for grants. The last time I saw Adam was at a symposium in Paris. He said he was thinking about taking a job for one of those obscure foundations that's funded by big corporations in need of a tax write off. Said they'd let him work out of his apartment."
"Sounds like a real winner," O'Neill sighed.
"Well, I liked him," Daniel insisted. "And he's open minded. The kind of guy, once you get to know him, that really means it when he says he's your friend."
"So he didn't turn his back on you when you went out on a limb in the scholarly community?" Sam smiled.
Daniel carefully shook his head. "Not Adam. He once told me there was more to history than mere mortals could probably imagine and that if I were right it would mean a whole new way of looking at the past. He was a good friend when I really needed one."
Jack nodded slowly. "Sounds like a stand up guy. Okay," he added getting to his feet. "We'll tell the general. He'll get security to check him out."
"Are you sure about this, Methos?" Joe Dawson asked dubiously.
"It's only for a year, Joe. And the work will be really interesting," he responded. "Besides, it's not like I'm doing anything at the moment, now that I've left the Watchers."
"Pretty boring between lives, huh?"
Methos shrugged. "It is what it is. And Arizona is nice this time of year. Paris is so damp in the winter."
"Old bones aching?" Dawson grinned.
The other man smiled. "It'll be a paid vacation for me. You know, do a little translating, catch a few rays, party with the undergrads at night."
"Aren't you a little old for them?"
"I'm a little old for everybody," Methos grinned into his beer. Joe shook his head and finally sighed. "All right. It's not like I can stop you."
Methos gave him a kind smile. "Remember, it's only for a year."
"A lot can happen in a year," Dawson cautioned.
"Not from my point of view," the ancient Immortal reminded him. "And anyway, you know where to find me if you need me, right?"
Dawson nodded. "U of A, huh? Good school?"
"So I've heard. Although I'm more interested in its sun bronzed beauties."
Dawson chuckled and went back to wiping down the bar, chatting up the other customers as he watched Methos depart. Maybe it would be good for the old man to get away from Paris for a while. Ever since Alexa had died he'd been pretty quiet. More so than usual. Ah hell, Dawson thought, it was only for a year.
Go to next part.