Little Miss Fix-It
Rating: free for all
Spoilers: none
Disclaimer: not mine
A/N: No beta for this one: all mistakes are my own
She doesn't get it. Why is it that when she's expected to fix every crisis on base with scientific or technological roots, whether the problem lies within her area of expertise or not?
It's not as if she minds, exactly. In fact, it's comforting to know that she's making an effort when things seem hopeless – there's no question that she'd prefer to be doing something useful rather than sitting around, trying not to panic. It's just that the base manages without her when she's on an away mission – the mountain hasn't blown up yet, after all – so surely there must be someone else who could give her a hand and take some of the pressure off her. It's not as if she's the only scientist in the SGC.
When she sits in the control room, fingers racing over her keyboard, trying to avert disaster for not just the facility but the whole planet, she doesn't know that she's going to succeed. She hopes she will, she has faith in her abilities, but she fears that one day something will come up and she won't be able to find a solution for it. That thought scares the hell out of her and keeps her working in her lab late at night when she should be asleep.
Of all her team, Daniel is probably the one best understands the pressure she feels. He's all too familiar with being the number-one expert in his field and they've collaborated together on far more hopeless endeavours than she likes to admit. He understands what it means to work as hard and fast as you can on some obscure but suddenly life-threatening problem, and he appreciates that a solution won't present itself just because someone's breathing down your neck.
She welcomes Teal'c's attitude on these occasions. He's always willing to offer his knowledge and assistance, but recognises when he can't help and doesn't interrupt her thought processes till the crisis is over. She's used to having him standing by, watching silently, and has grown to find his presence comforting. It's tempting to think of him as a safety blanket, though she can't decide whether that description is ridiculous or merely funny.
And then there's the colonel. He seems to regard her as his Little Miss Fix-It and it drives her crazy. He refuses to make any effort to understand the basic principles of physics or any science and constantly cuts off her explanations, only to argue with her conclusions. He won't listen to practicalities and badgers her for solutions when none are possible. The worst thing is that he seems to think his pestering contributes to her unlikely success rate, and refuses to listen when she tries to explain that it hinders more than it helps.
Lately when the pressure's on and he's standing over her shoulder, demanding that she do the impossible, she's started to fantasise about standing aside and offering to let him fix everything if he thinks it's so easy. It's similar to the way she dreams of standing up and walking out of a dull briefing, or singing halfway through a presentation, or doing anything just as a token protest against the boredom. In real life she's too much the professional to dream of even interrupting, but she has a wonderful imagination and the daydreams keep her entertained. In particular, visualising him sputtering in horror and outrage keeps her grounded when she thinks she can't take it anymore and longs to sock him in the jaw just to get him to shut up.
Every success piles on the pressure for the next time. On the other hand, just one screw-up might be the end of the whole game, so she grins and bears it – having to bear everyone's expectations is just a consequence of being so good at what she does, and deep down she knows that she's the best. Failure is not an option for her but she's on a winning streak, so maybe things will be alright. Still, she really wishes she knew who does her job when she's off world, if only so that she could shake his hand in appreciation of how he keeps things going. Or maybe she could kick his ass for never offering to help out when all eyes are on her and an extra pair of hands would be worth their weight in gold. Either way would work for her.