"Can't find any." Dr. Lee shook his head. "See here?" He pointed at a spot on a printout he was pursuing. "There's a four-hour window, which you might stretch to five, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Damn it, we need a decent look at those ruins," Daniel fidgeted. "We really need to know if the planet has always had these extensive seismic disturbances, or if they are a relatively recent development."

"That information would be crucial in deciding what methods to try in countering these seismic events," said one of the geologists. "We've got all sorts of ideas for stabilizing unstable geologic configurations, but thing is, we can't experiment on Earth -- we don't want to sink San Francisco by mistake, for instance."

"Perfect playing ground, huh?" Daniel remarked, once he'd gotten over the image of San Francisco sinking.

"Yes, indeed," the geologist smiled back.

"Right. So." Daniel went back to pursuing the various screens. "About finding ourselves a six-hour window..." He trailed off as he frowned at the video feed. "Um, what's this?" He tapped a corner of the screen.

A technician immediately tapped a few keys and the image zoomed in to the spot Daniel indicated.

"Is that smoke?" Daniel asked as he squinted at the top of the cone-shaped mountain.

"Could be forest fire," Dr. Lee suggested doubtfully.

"Okay, call up the control room and get them to dial in to the planet again, we need to point the MALP for a better look," Daniel ordered.

"But sir," the technician said. "We need the General's authorization for an unscheduled dial-out, unless it's a Class D or above emergency."

"Right." Daniel slapped his forehead. "Damn budget cuts. Okay, where's Jack --" His pursuit of Jack's whereabouts was interrupted by the ringing of the phone, which he snatched up. "Lab Four. Dr. Jackson speaking."

"Dr. Jackson," said Walter. "I, um, I have the President on the line, and..."

"So? Get Jack," Daniel said.

"Well, sir, the thing is, the General's informed me he's going fishing."

"Fishing," Daniel repeated.

"Yes, sir," Walter confirmed, and waited uneasily for Daniel to say something.

Daniel scratched his head. *He* knew that the transfer order for the poor soul who had interrupted Jack's last 'fishing' break had been signed before the incident, but the base grapevine couldn't be convinced otherwise. His eyes fell on the smoking mountain on the video screen. "You know what?" he said to Walter. "I'll take that call. Just keep him on until I get there."

"Yes, sir," Walter responded, his voice light now that Dr. Jackson seemed to have a firm handle on the situation.

"Okay, um, I'll just..." With a distracted half-wave at the other scientists, Daniel rushed out the door.

-----

As Jack approached the access shed with Jim and Blair in tow, a security guard saluted and held out a folded piece of paper. Jack gingerly shifted the unwieldy bundle cradled in his arm to accept the note, and the bundle squirmed and wiggled, poking its head out from under the bunched up jacket to reveal itself to be a barely-weaned puppy. The guard followed the puppy's movements with his eyes before catching himself and snapping back to attention.

"Like dogs?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir," the guard responded.

"This one needs a home," Jack suggested expectantly.

"I live in the single men's housing, sir," the guard replied, keeping correctly at attention. "No pets allowed."

"Oh." Jack leaned back. "Too bad. Well, let me know when you get your own place. I'm sure Ellison here," he tilted his head to indicate Jim, "will fish you a puppy out of the woods in no time."

"Yes, sir!" the guard said, snapping even more rigidly to attention.

"Right. As you were." Jack smiled at the man and proceeded on through the access door. Jim flashed an apologetic smile at the guard as he passed, and Blair flashed a friendly wave as he, too, followed.

"Okay." Jack's eyebrows lifted as he glanced at the contents of the note. "Change of plans. We're going to my office first."

"What is it?" Blair asked.

"Walter says Daniel's talking to the President."

"The President? As in...?"

"The President," Jack confirmed. "Come on, we better hurry, or Daniel would sell him a bridge on Alpha Centauri Five."

The trio rushed through the halls and corridors of the base, unheeding of the startled glances and double-takes they attracted along the way, and trooped into the briefing room, only to freeze to a halt as they took in the sight of Daniel sitting in the General's chair in the General's office, talking animatedly into the red phone.

"Ellison?" Jack asked hesitantly. "What are they talking about?"

Jim tilted his head. "Budget," he reported. "Congressional committee, fiscal projections, risk assessment."

Jack stared at Daniel as if he were an alien creature. "How can he look so... happy, talking about that stuff?"

Blair shrugged and pulled a face and Jim shook his head, both indicating they had absolutely no idea.

At that point Daniel noticed the men in the briefing room. He tilted his head up to catch Jack's eyes, then made an emphatic 'stop' gesture, followed by an urgent wave that clearly said 'scat, go away.'

Jack carefully handed the wiggling puppy to Blair and started to go forward anyway, but stopped when Daniel waved him away again, even more emphatically than before. Sighing resignedly, he turned to Jim. "Just tell me," he begged, "he's not selling him a bridge on Alpha Centauri Five?"

Jim cocked his head and listened again. "No," he finally said.

"Thank --" Jack started to say.

"But he's selling him Colonel Carter's new power reactor," Jim cut in.

"What? Awww." Jack spun around and grabbed a handy notepad off the briefing room table. He furiously scratched a note and marched into the office, where he shoved the pad in Daniel's face. Daniel glanced at the note and nodded acquiescence without breaking a stride in his talking. Jack tapped Daniel's shoulder, trying to get further confirmation that he understood the importance of whatever the note was about, and got shooed away for his trouble. Jack persisted further, and Daniel grabbed the notepad, scribbled something, and shoved it right into Jack's face, banging Jack's nose in the process. Jack gingerly rubbed his nose, stared at Daniel for a moment more, then reluctantly admitted defeat and retreated out into the briefing room, where he sank into a chair and threw the notepad across the table.

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Blair tilted his head at the notepad while trying to keep the crawling puppy from falling off his shoulder. It read: Carter. First Priority. THERAPY!!!

Underneath it, in Daniel's distinctive scrawl, it said: SHUT UP AND GO AWAY!

"So... General?" Jim said, his voice brimming with suppressed laughter.

"Awf!" Jack stretched his arms and shook his head like a dog shaking off water. "Let's just leave General Jackson there to his battles," he said, shooting one last disgusted look at Daniel, "and go find a home for this baby, shall we?" He crooked a smile at the puppy in Blair's arms.

"Actually, Chief," Jim said as the three of them walked out of the briefing room. "I need to go have a word with Colonel Carter. Why don't you and O'Neill go ahead and hoist this guy," he placed a gentle hand on the puppy's head, "on some poor, unsuspecting schmuck?"

"And whose fault is it that we're hunting for a schmuck to take this puppy?" Jack grumbled. "I swear, Ellison, your senses manage to find trouble anywhere."

Jim just laughed and walked away.