Elias knocked lightly on the door to Rowen's office. When she called for him to enter, he twisted the knob and stepped into the room. "You wanted to see me?"

"Take a seat, Elias."

"That sounds ominous."

She sighed. "Sit."

He sat with a shrug. "All right, I'm sitting. Now what?"

She clasped her hands in front of her on the desk. "You see this pile of folders?" She indicated a stack sitting beside her left hand.

"Yes."

"These are complaints filed with the IOA against you by General Carter."

He snorted. "She wants me out because I have pointed out on numerous occasions her lack of ability to keep SG-1 in check. They have repeatedly put not only the base but Earth in danger."

"And while I agree with you, unfortunately, the President does not. He has taken General Carter's side. You need to take a step back, Elias. You are there to police the SGC as a whole, you can't keep your focus solely on SG-1, it reeks of bias."

"They're the so-called flagship team! They are on the team that is on the front lines most often, of course, my focus lands on them the most! Am I supposed to ignore their blatant disregard for rules or how many times they've been captured by enemy forces?"

"No, I'm not saying you should but you need to keep your eyes on the entire picture. I'm sure SG-1 isn't the only team with issues."

He slumped slightly in his seat. "They're the biggest problem and they need to be handled."

"I agree, but I'm not the one in charge. I want you to take some time off."

"I can't take time off, if I take my eyes off SG-1 lord knows what would happen!"

Rowen sat back in her seat. "It's not a request, Elias. You either take two weeks to relax and get your head straight or you walk out that door and never step foot in the IOA again."

"So the powers that be have decided to punish me for SG-1's bad behavior." He snorted. "Good to know my hard work is appreciated."

"You hate your brother, I get it. I have a cousin I'd love to see get hit by a truck but I have other more important things to worry about than plotting her demise. Take the two weeks, refocus, and come back better or there's nothing I can do or say that will keep you in this job. Understood?"

"Fine, if that's my only choice."

"It is."

"Is that all?" he asked stiffly.

"Yes. Don't spend your two weeks sitting around stewing, take the time to decompress and refocus."

He nodded, stood, and stalked from the room. This was Malachy's fault. That bastard refused to get the hell out of his life. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake Malachy off, couldn't make him vanish, not permanently anyway. He thought he'd succeeded when he had SG-1 locked out but they found a way back. His brother was crafty and no matter how much Malachy protested, he was certain the asshole's entire goal was to make his life hell. He was happy to return the favor.

"I don't want to take a fucking vacation," he muttered as he tossed things into his briefcase, snapped it shut, and left the building. He sat in his car staring blankly at the building while his anger simmered. When his phone rang he flinched. A check of the display told him it was his father calling. With a deep sigh, he answered the phone. "Hello, Dad."

"Eli, my boy, how are things?"

"Good, just getting ready to leave work."

"So early?" his father asked.

Leave it to his father to notice something like that. "I decided to take a couple of weeks' vacation. I needed a break."

"That's wonderful, why don't you fly out and spend a few days at home. We'd love to see you."

He hesitated but he knew if he didn't agree his father would pester him until he did. "Sure, I can take a couple of days to come home."

"I'll let Kassidy know, I'm sure she'll want to plan a big dinner to welcome you home."

"She doesn't have to do that, Dad. I'm fine with us ordering pizza or something," he replied.

"Nonsense! She loves planning things like that. Let us know when you're coming."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Bye, love you."

"Love you too." He disconnected and slumped forward until his forehead hit the steering wheel and released a groan. Going home to see his dad and Malachy's mother was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't want to endure any questions about his job or hear anything about Malachy from Kassidy. She seemed to enjoy shoving in his face whatever fabulous thing Malachy had done recently. "Right, I suppose I have some packing to do."

Lee sat back to lean against the tree behind her. "Isn't this great?"

Mal snorted. "We're supposed to explore the planet, Captain."

"Sit back, enjoy it for a few minutes, sir. The weather is perfect, Van and Oliver are off happily exploring the abandoned buildings, and Elias is out of our hair for two whole weeks. What's not to like about this day?"

He chuckled. "I thought you were going to plan a party to celebrate the fact Elias is gone when the General told us about it."

"I thought about it."

He took a seat beside her. "It's sad that we even need to celebrate such a thing. I don't understand why he can't get over whatever snit he's been in since our parents got married."

"Come on, sir, he comes up lacking in every possible way when put up beside you. Naturally, he'd be jealous."

Mal burst out laughing. "He's a lawyer! He has a degree! What do I have? I entered the Air Force straight out of high school. I didn't go to college. What's to be jealous of?"

"Come on, Colonel, you're a colonel!" She laughed at herself. "Sorry, that could have been phrased better. The point is, you may have skipped college but look at you, you're successful and you're a damn fine officer. You're also a pilot. You save lives, sir. What does Elias do? He works for the IOA, the biggest brother of all the big brother organizations. His job is to babysit the SGC and get whiny when he thinks we've done something wrong. No comparison, you are way more important than he is."

"Thanks, I never thought of it that way."

"You're welcome. Now, I'm going to lay here on the soft grass and take a nap. I will enjoy the peace and quiet until one of the nerds comes to destroy it by attempting to explain something to me that I could care less about."

Mal laughed. "Go right ahead. I'll keep watch."

"If Prince Charming shows up to kiss me awake, tell him to screw off. I'm gonna nap for the entire two weeks that Elias is gone."

"Sure thing."