Family Ties
By
Denise
Muffled giggles float across the commissary and I look up, glancing over at them. There's a group of women gathered at one of the far tables. That's unofficially 'their table', the six of them. Two nurses, three techs from the labs and one member of SG-9.
Sometimes, they change a bit, at different times of the day there are different nurses and occasionally Captain Harris from SG-8 joins them, but, for the most part, it's the same group.
They spend their breaks there, often eating their lunch or dinner together. Over the years, I've seen impromptu birthday parties and the occasional baby shower or bitch session. We've even had a bridal shower over in that corner, sans stripper I'm sad to say.
Right now, they're just talking, or gossiping if I want to be honest. And I have a funny idea what the topic of the day is. It's a popular one, especially among the women, what few of them there are at this base.
They're talking about THE GUYS.
And not just any guys. This is an Air Force base, there are no shortage of 'guys'. Their topic of choice is usually SG-1.
The women raise their voices, quickly dissolving into poorly stifled laughter and, even though I'm not there, I know what they're saying. I've heard it all before.
They think Daniel is cute and they're wondering about him and Sarah. Are they just friends or are the pair of them rekindling what they once had?
Colonel O'Neill, well they just think he's hot, the ones that aren't afraid of him, and I hear there's a general consensus that he needs to wear the next size smaller of fatigues. Can't ogle his ass if his pants are too baggy after all.
And Teal'c? With Teal'c there is a constant curiosity about whether or not all of him is Jaffa sized and no shortage of volunteers to find that out. Pictures and documentation optional.
It's a little different with Sam. For the most part, they seem to be torn between jealousy that she gets to spend time with and sleep with them—no, not THAT way—and danged grateful that they miss out on most of SG-1's more harrowing moments.
Maybe that's another reason I never joined them. If I did, then they'd ask me. See, I'm supposed to know it all, either because I've worked with these guys for seven years or because, at one time or another, I've slept with each of them, according to the grapevine anyway. And, it'd really be no fun to settle the endless 'boxers or briefs' debate with definite and first hand knowledge…although it would be fun to see the looks on their face when they discover which member habitually goes commando.
They all see them as something different, something special. Larger than life and twice as good. They put them up on some kind of pedestal, usually talking about them rather than to them.
The nurses may enjoy his ass, but most of the men look at the colonel in awe. Not just because he's a good officer, there are a lot of good officers around her, but because he just has this knack of knowing just how to work things out for the better. And he's also damn good at intimidating people.
Really, all of them are, in their own ways.
The colonel does it with his rank and reputation. Daniel just wears folks down until they see things his way, Sam technobabbles them into submission and Teal'c…well Teal'c just glares until they surrender, or have an accident, whichever comes first.
It used to work on me, I'll freely admit that.
The first time I saw the colonel in the infirmary I half expected him to be ten feet tall. Of course, I think Teal'c IS ten feet tall.
It took me a while to see them differently. And it wasn't just the seemingly weekly visits to the infirmary. Or the fact that I was always patching up one of them. And where there was one, there was the others. They all care for each other, just like other members of other SG teams care for each other.
It's something that they don't warn you about in medical school, but that you learn pretty quickly. No one is closer than the members of a team. They literally live and die for each other. 'Giving my life for my buddy' isn't a cliché to them, it's a fact of life, a knowledge that gives them strength for the bad times and makes the good times that much sweeter.
I'm used to the devotion, used to them sneaking in pizza at 0200 or taking turns crashing at someone's bedside. I'm even used to dirty looks and death threats from shocked and scared officers, unable to do anything but throw their weight around in an effort to encourage me to save their friend's life.
What made me see SG-1 as something different was when I witnessed them rallying around a terrified twelve year old girl.
It didn't surprise me when Sam bonded with Cassie, that much was obvious from their first meeting on Hanka. Both she and Daniel have an air of gentleness and compassion around them that just screams 'trust me'.
Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c however, they caught me by surprise. It's not often that you get to see the gentle side of a warrior, watch hands that can carry a rifle and manipulate C4, dry tears. Witness a man that can kill in the blink of an eye exercise limitless patience pushing a swing for hours on end.
It's because of Cassie that I started to see them in a while new light, started to see the people behind the uniform. Sam, well Sam may say she likes being 'one of the guys' but I know there's a part of her that enjoys being a woman. She knows that her three teammates are all gentlemen and, while she never takes it too far, she does like it when they treat her like a lady. And she knows that she has a certain degree of power over them which she's used upon occasion. She's a mother, big sister, little sister, and platonic girlfriend all rolled into one blond haired, blue eyed bundle.
The colonel has a lot of pull over his team, and not much of it comes from the eagles on his shoulders. They all respect him, just like he respects them. He may not show it, but it's there. He's rude, arrogant and danged annoying at times. Not to mention embarrassingly irreverent and astonishingly observant. But, when push comes to shove, you know he'll be there.
To this day, I honestly don't think the rest of his team knows how hard he campaigned to get Cassie all legal and able to live outside the SGC. He and General Hammond pulled a lot of strings and called in a lot of favors. I'm not sure, but I think blackmail may have even been involved.
Teal'c may be the size of Fort Carson and able to reduce a Marine's knees to jelly, but inside he has all the fortitude of a marshmallow Santa. I don't think I'll ever forget the sight of him playing with Cassie in the park, both of them so incredibly different, but both bound by their alienness. I think they've enjoyed learning about their new home together. And I don't think I'll ever forget that a young girl ordered the First Prime of Apophis around. And he dutifully obeyed her, better than that silly dog the colonel stuck us with.
Daniel's probably the most complicated one of the bunch. He knows what it's like to be an outsider trying to fit in and he used that empathy to bond with Cassandra. He, perhaps better than anyone, knows what it's like to give up all that you have to live on a world that's not your own.
And I know that there is a part of Daniel that longs to recreate the family he lost so many years ago. And it wars with the part of him that is desperately afraid of forging that bond, only to lose it and be alone again.
I don't think he realizes that it's too late. That he already HAS a family, whether he's ready for it or not. That we're all a family. We're definitely not traditional and more than a little dysfunctional, but a family nonetheless.