Chapter 6

Barely two minutes later the Airwoman was back with Felix; she knocked at the room door where the women were still talking with Colonel Sheppard about Felix.

They turned as the knock was heard and the Airwoman said, "Excuse me sir, ma'am - we can't get into the room where you said ... this person is supposed to go, and I'm not sure what to do with him."

Sheppard looked at the two women and said, "I'll go sort this out, and I'll find you later, Elizabeth." He rose from the chair and said, "Okay, lets go see what the problem is."

As Sheppard and Felix left the infirmary Felix asked the Colonel, " Could I get some normal clothes to wear? I would prefer not to be walking around with my dork hanging out all over the place like these sweats are doing."

Sheppard smiled and replied, "Yea, I guess we should get you dressed in some semblance of normal clothing before the people see you and wonder what the cat dragged in this time."

"Sounds good - sir."

"You don't exactly sound as if you like officers very much by the way you say 'sir' Sergeant."

Felix stated, "For starters sir, we barely know one another and I refuse to judge a person I know bugger all about. Second, I have encountered too many stupid pointy-heads that think they know what is going on but don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. It is nothing personal, Colonel, but in our army people of your rank don't have the time of day to talk to people like me - even if I am the person in the know. Do you understand where I'm coming from, sir?"

Sheppard shook his head and replied, "Not really, no - I can't say that I can."

They arrived at Michael's old room where Felix would be staying temporarily; he waved the door open but it didn't open as it was supposed to. He stood back from the door and tapped his headset and then talked to the control centre for a minute and got the door unlocked.

He looked at the Airwoman and said, "They were waiting for my okay on the door, Airwoman, so don't worry - there was nothing you could have done about it anyways." He then looked at Felix and asked, "Shall we go in and see your temporary accommodations?"

Felix nodded and entered the now open room and slowly looked around to see what the room had to offer.

The Airwoman asked Colonel Sheppard, "Did you need me for anything else, sir?"

Sheppard answered, "No, thank you."

Felix asked, "Are all the rooms like this, sir?"

Sheppard replied, "Like this - how?"

Felix looked at him and said, "With cameras, sir - this room has 5 that I've spotted so far. So I assume that I'm not to be trusted until you give the word - correct, sir?"

Sheppard answered, "Well, you said it yourself earlier - would you trust you in these circumstances?"

Felix lowered his head and replied quietly, "No sir."

Sheppard showed him the clothing that would most likely fit Felix, and then watched the smaller man as he changed into the utilities uniform that Weir and Sheppard wore.

Sheppard finally answered Felix; "I get the distinct impression that you have been burned in the past by higher-ups - am I correct?"

Felix replied, "You could say that, sir - I was hung out to dry to cover an officer's butt when he should have been thrown out of the Army for his ... lack of action."

Sheppard asked, "What happened?"

Felix sighed softly and said, "You can read it in my file when it gets here, sir - I'm sure you will send me back to Earth as soon as you read the file."

Sheppard caught his own reaction before he gave anything away and asked, "How do you know if your file is coming, Sergeant?"

Felix gave a small smile as he looked at Sheppard and replied, "My ears still work and I can read lips quite well, sir."

Sheppard deflected that one by continuing, "This is just temporary, Felix - just until we confirm exactly who you are. I remember you, but that has only so much influence with the SGC, if you know what I mean."

Felix replied, "Yea, I know what you mean, sir. By the way - my ghillie suit? Can I get it back?"

Sheppard said, "I'll tell you what - why don't we go get it right now, give it a quick wash, and hang it to dry somewhere it won't offend people's nostrils. That smell was something else. Haven't you washed at all?"

Felix looked embarrassed as he replied, "Not really, not until today. I haven't had much of a chance to wash except when crossing a river or at some water when I could. But I did find that natural body oils combined with dirt create a waterproof layer to help keep you afloat when crossing rivers."

Sheppard looked at Felix in amazement, shook his head and said, "Let's go see about your ghillie suit before someone throws it out."

They went to the infirmary, Colonel Sheppard leading, and found the ghillie suit still in the plastic bag that it had been placed in earlier when the security team had to remove it from Felix. Felix picked it up without opening it, and followed Sheppard along hallways until they came to a large room that looked like it was for decontamination. There were large hoses and spray hoses as well as a couple of big tubs; Felix chose a large tub and got Sheppard to partially fill it with water. The Felix opened the bag, turned his own nostrils away from the bag and almost coughed as he said, "Ripe."

Sheppard commented, "Yea, the security team wasn't too thrilled about the odour either."

Felix emptied all the inside pockets of his tools and sundry items gathered during his years off world, and placed them on the floor.

Sheppard was amazed at the items that Felix was placing on the floor and knelt to look at some of them. He asked about the various things Felix had and asked what they were for or where he got it from and why.

Felix answered all the Colonel's questions and finally had the nerve to ask Sheppard the one that had been nagging him since he got picked up. "Sir, I have to know something - do you actually trust me, or is all this just a charade and something happens to me?"