DISCLAIMER: Not mine. I don't own either Stargate SG-1 or Sanctuary. I wish!

Thanks to my amazing beta, Arones, and also to MajorSam for her help.

CHAPTER 1: SO IT BEGINS

After saving the SGC from Hathor, the female personnel had decided to have a ladies-only night out. After the recent events, neither the men nor the women were particularly comfortable in each other's company and so Dr Janet Fraiser had decided that this would be a good opportunity for some feminine bonding by the all too few females in the SGC. The evening had been very successful and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. The opportunity to dress as women had been appreciated, large quantities of alcohol had been drunk, and many experiences and much laughter had been shared; now only Samantha Carter and Janet were left in the bar, deep in conversation.

"I know that our job is all about the unusual but I really hope we don't have to go through something like that again," Sam was saying to Janet, with an expression of distaste on her face. "I always knew it would be tough trying prove myself as a woman in what's still regarded as a man's world and I'll willingly do whatever it takes to do that but I didn't expect this. I can't say that I appreciated knowing that the only way to resolve the situation was to pander to the guys' libidos."

"There's nothing wrong with being a woman, you know, Sam."

"I know but using feminine wiles felt, I don't know... manipulative. Playing on primitive instincts was just a bit too feral. It has bad connotations for me."

"Feral? Aren't you over-reacting a bit, Sam? Ultimately, it was just some harmless flirting. There was nothing wrong with it, especially under the circumstances. Unless - has something happened to you in the past? Were you...?

"No!" Sam interrupted quickly. "Nothing like that. It's just..." she sighed.

"Sam?"

Sam was silent for a few minutes, staring deeply at the drink in her glass, lost in thought. Eventually she raised her eyes and looked at Janet. "Hypothetically speaking, if a member of the SGC told you something medically unusual about themselves but they didn't want it to become part of their official record, would you be obliged to report it to General Hammond or would it come under doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"Well, that would depend on the nature of the irregularity, I suppose. Is it something that would affect this hypothetical person's ability to do their job? Is it something about which General Hammond should be aware?"

"Off the record?"

Janet started to reply, then stopped and just nodded resignedly.

"The former, I don't think so, no. The latter, very possibly yes," Sam reluctantly admitted. "If it weren't hypothetical, that is," she added hastily.

"Is there something you should be telling me, Sam?"

Sam sighed and then spoke very quietly. "Janet, apart from the teams already on long-term assignments, you've put the SGC on stand-down until you're sure Hathor's influence has completely worn off and there won't be any side effects. The next mission isn't scheduled to leave until the end of next week and if the off-world teams get into trouble in the meantime, I'm sure your staff can handle any medical emergencies. Do you think there's a chance you could get some time off while things are reasonably quiet? I'm planning to go away for a few days and I'd really like it if you would come with me."

"Would this road-trip have something to do with the hypothetical irregularity we weren't discussing?"

"There's someone I'd like you to meet: a medical doctor with some unusual areas of expertise. I think you'd find getting to know her and what she does interesting. Possibly even useful, given the types of things we seem to have to deal with."

"General Hammond is feeling generous towards us at the moment," shrugged Janet. "It's probably a better time than most to ask for a few days off."