Author: MegTDJ
Category: Missing scene
Rating: K+
Pairing: Daniel/Janet friendship
Spoilers: There But For the Grace of God, Politics, Within the Serpent's Grasp, The Serpent's Lair.
Summary: Missing scene for The Serpent's Lair; Janet's POV as Goa'uld ships are hovering over Earth, and the SGC are evacuating through the gate. #6 in the Love Comes Softly series.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, its universe and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.
Evacuation
Janet had only just settled into her new office at the Air Force Academy Hospital when the call came. Goa'uld ships were hovering over Earth, and the SGC was evacuating as many people as they could before the attack began.
Her first thought was for Cassandra, but her fears were soon relieved - General Hammond had put both of their names on the evacuee list. She also had plenty of time to pick her up from school and get to the SGC, as they were to go to the Alpha Site in group 15, and group 1 hadn't even left yet.
That left her with thought number two - SG-1.
The last she had heard from them, Daniel was going on about having been to an alternate reality where this very thing had happened and everyone had died. Once the Stargate program had been shut down and she had been moved on to her next assignment, she hadn't had the chance to speak with any of them. Now she'd been told that they'd gone on an unauthorized mission to the coordinates Daniel had brought back with him from the other reality. She just hoped they'd made the right decision and weren't dead or dying somewhere out there.
"So much for keeping my resolution," she muttered as she drove to Cassie's school. During the whole fiasco with Harlan's robots, she had resolved to maintain an emotional barrier between herself and all of her patients from that day on. It was something she should have been doing all along, but the life of a Chief Medical Officer on a busy military base is a lonely one, and allowing four people to slip past her radar hadn't seemed like such a bad thing.
Now that she was faced with the possibility that the entire planet was about to be destroyed and SG-1 captured and killed by the Goa'uld on some unknown world, it made her realize that whether it was a good thing or bad, it was pointless to fight it. She cared about them. They were her friends, and Cassie's makeshift family. By extension, she supposed that made them her family, too.
She just hoped she wasn't going to lose them on the very day she finally came to terms with how she felt about them.
The drive to Cassie's school was a short one, so by the time she arrived and found herself walking through the halls looking for her daughter's classroom, she still hadn't decided what she was going to say to the girl. How do you tell a twelve year old that her adoptive world, the place they'd told her she would be safe and happy, was no safer than the one she'd been "rescued" from? How do you tell her that just as before, all of the friends she'd made and the life she'd built for herself were soon going to be no more? There was just no easy way, no matter how hard she tried to think of one.
She winced as she passed the gymnasium and heard the children rehearsing for their Christmas pageant. One week until Christmas break, she realized. Cassie had been so excited about her first Christmas, eagerly soaking up any and all information about the annual traditions and the history behind them. The memory of Daniel talking her ear off for hours just a few days earlier about the differences between Christmas and Hanukkah brought a fleeting smile to her face.
It vanished when she arrived at Cassie's classroom.
Taking a deep breath, Janet tapped on the door and opened it just wide enough to poke her head inside. Every eye in the room had turned towards her, so she quickly motioned to the teacher at the front of the class, trying to communicate without words that she wanted her daughter.
The teacher seemed to get her meaning. She nodded and said, "Cassandra, your mother would like to speak with you."
Cassie was out of Janet's line of sight, but she heard a chair scrape against the floor and moments later Cassie opened the door wider and stepped out into the hall. "What's wrong, Mom?" she asked when she saw her mother's face.
Janet's mind went blank. She still had no idea what to say, and even if she did, she knew she couldn't explain about the threat to Earth right there in the hallway. "Get your coat, sweetheart," she said. "We have to go."
"What? Why?" Cassie said as Janet ushered her away from the classroom.
"I can't explain to you right now, Cassie," Janet said. "Just get your coat. I'll tell you in the car."
If only she could keep stalling forever.
"Mom, what about Leroy?"
Janet's heart broke at her daughter's quiet question. It was the first thing she'd said since Janet had told her about the evacuation and the reasons behind it. "He's... he's a pretty resourceful dog," Janet said, trying to make her voice sound light. "I'm sure he'll be okay."
Cassie turned her head to look out the car window. "He won't be if they destroy the whole planet."
Janet had to hold back a shudder at the resignation in Cassie's tone. She hated to think the girl was getting used to this. Twelve years old and already used to the idea of evil aliens destroying entire planets full of people she cared about? It was a thought too horrible to comprehend.
Cassie was silent for the remainder of the drive, and held tightly to Janet's hand as they entered the SGC minutes later. Her little face was so devoid of emotion that Janet just wanted to scream. She hated the Goa'uld more than she'd ever thought it possible to hate anything for doing this to her.
There was a lot of bustle and noise around them as everyone prepared to either leave through the gate or fight, so Janet took Cassie to a quiet room of the infirmary to wait until their group was called to disembark. It wasn't an easy wait. Hours passed, and Cassie just sat there with her arms around her legs and her chin on her knees while Janet alternated between pacing the room and stepping out into the main infirmary bay to help pack things up for transport to the Alpha Site. Piece by piece, she heard from the other medical staff of failed attempts to bring the ships down, and failed attempts at going after SG-1 to bring them home. It wasn't looking good, and they all knew it.
Finally, Janet and Cassie were called to a briefing that they really didn't need to attend, but was better than just sitting around doing nothing. Janet barely even listened to what she was being told. She already knew what was happening and where they were going. All she wanted to do was get it over with. Leave this world behind and concentrate on getting things organized on the new one.
"Now, if you'll just follow me into the embarkation room..." the lieutenant said at the end of his speech. The group of evacuees did as they were asked and filed out of the briefing room and down the stairs to the gateroom.
Cassie sucked in a frightened breath as they came within sight of the Stargate. Janet looked down and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. Cassie didn't look very encouraged. The last time she'd been near the Stargate, she had nearly died. Janet knew she was still a little paranoid that she was going to explode if she ever went through it again.
"It's going to be fine, sweetheart," she said. Even though she knew it was a lie.
The group had just lined up in front of the gate when a sudden commotion up in the control room caught their attention. Janet turned around to look at the large window above them, and gaped in astonishment.
Everyone in the control room was cheering, laughing, clapping their hands, and embracing each other.
"What's going on?" she asked along with the dozen other people in the gateroom with her. Had they won? Had the Goa'uld ships somehow been beaten?
"All personnel," General Hammond's voice boomed over the intercom, "stand down from defensive positions and cease evacuation efforts. The Goa'uld ships have been destroyed. I repeat - the Goa'uld ships have been destroyed!"
Janet almost fainted with relief. The ships had been destroyed! The threat to Earth was over! She laughed out loud as someone grabbed her in a fierce bear hug and practically lifted her feet from the floor. She had never felt so overjoyed in her life.
Moments later, the off-world activation alarm began to sound, and Janet, Cassie, and the others were ushered out of the gateroom and into the adjoining corridor as a group of SF's hurried in with their weapons ready. Janet's mind came crashing back down to Earth as the jubilation ceased and everyone returned to their posts. What if the Goa'uld were angry about losing their ships? What if they were going to try attacking through the gate? What if...
General Hammond jogged past her towards the gateroom, interrupting her worried thoughts. "Dr. Jackson!" she heard him exclaim.
Daniel... Daniel was back. SG-1 was safe!
"Mom, it's Daniel!" Cassie said excitedly, moving as if to run back into the gateroom.
"I know, sweetheart. Let's just wait here, though, okay?" Janet said, holding onto the girl's arm and pressing her back against the wall in hopes that they would be overlooked and not be forced to move along with the rest of their group.
"Where's the rest of SG-1?" Hammond was asking.
Janet strained to hear Daniel's answer. Just when she thought she'd missed it, she heard him say quietly, "I... I think they might be dead... Sir."
Her heart sank down into her shoes. Dead? Sam, Colonel O'Neill, and Teal'c... dead? She glanced down at her daughter, and saw that the girl's grin hadn't faded. She hadn't heard. Thank God.
"I was injured and insisted I be left behind," Daniel said, his voice getting louder as he and General Hammond walked closer to the door. "There was a sarcophagus on board, so I..."
"Daniel!" Cassie cried as soon as he was in sight.
Daniel's mouth opened in surprise and then a wide grin as Cassie pulled her arm free from her mother's grasp and ran over to throw herself at him. "Hey!" he said as he swung her up into his arms. "Where did you come from?"
"You saved us, didn't you?" Cassie said, her arms clamped so tightly around Daniel's neck that he appeared to be having trouble breathing. "You killed them, didn't you? It was you!"
Daniel hugged her tight and kissed her cheek. "You bet it was us," he said.
"Dr. Jackson, you said you were injured?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, I was," Daniel replied, shifting Cassie to a more comfortable position, as it seemed her arms and legs were now permanently wrapped around him. "But the sarcophagus healed me, so..."
"I'd like you to get checked out in the infirmary just to be sure," Hammond said. "Then I'd like you to come to the briefing room and fill me in on everything that happened since you've been gone."
"Yes, Sir," Daniel said. He looked over at Janet as the general patted his shoulder and then hurried back to the control room. "I guess that's your department," he said.
Janet smiled softly at him. She could tell he was trying not to let on that he was upset over the fact that his friends probably weren't coming back. She just wasn't sure whether it was for Cassie's benefit or his own. "The infirmary has been all but dismantled, but I think I can manage a quick exam," she said as they started towards the elevator. "Providing Cassie will let you go for long enough."
Cassie lifted her head from Daniel's shoulder at hearing her name. "Sorry," she said, embarrassed. She lowered her legs from Daniel's waist and slipped back down to the floor.
Daniel laughed. "That's okay," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so glad to see me before."
Cassie grinned up at him and took his hand. "Where's everybody else?" she asked innocently.
Daniel's face immediately fell. "Um... they're... they're not back yet," he stammered. He looked over at Janet then, and she saw the pain in his eyes for a brief moment before he lowered his head and entered the waiting elevator.
"Wait! Dr. Jackson! Dr. Fraiser!"
Janet quickly reached out a hand to hold the doors open as General Hammond hurried towards them. "What is it, Sir?" she asked.
"Dr. Jackson," the general said breathlessly, "the rest of SG-1 have just been found. They escaped the Goa'uld ship in gliders. Endeavor is picking them up as we speak. They're on their way home, Son."
Daniel let out a loud breath and sagged against the wall of the elevator. "Thank God!" he said. He laughed and raised his free hand to his head. "Are they okay?"
"As far as I know, they're just fine," Hammond said. "Bra'tac is with them. They should be home within hours."
"Thank you, General," Daniel said. He seemed incapable of saying anything more for the time being.
General Hammond smiled and nodded, and then turned to go.
Just as the doors were closing, however, Daniel stepped forward and opened them again. "General?"
Hammond stopped and sent Daniel a questioning look.
"Could... could you just... not tell them anything about me, Sir?" Daniel asked hesitantly. "I, uh... I want it to be a surprise."
Hammond looked confused at this request, but he nodded anyway. "If that's what you want, Dr. Jackson," he said.
"Thank you," Daniel said with a sigh as he stepped back and leaned against the wall. He glanced over at Janet as the doors closed and the elevator started on its way to the infirmary. "I kind of liked the feeling of having people surprised and happy to see me," he said, squeezing Cassie's hand and winking conspiratorially at Janet.
Janet laughed, though she wasn't surprised. Even in the short time she'd known him, she could see that Daniel had always had a flair for the dramatic. "You do realize that once they get over being surprised and happy to see you, Colonel O'Neill will kill you," she teased.
Daniel shrugged. "Maybe. Either way, I'll never live this down. I've been presumed dead so many times I'm starting to lose count. I may as well have some fun with this one."
Janet smiled and shook her head. Yes, she was definitely starting to see the wisdom in breaking her resolution for just these four precious people. She wouldn't want to miss out on their antics for the world.