Deep in the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain, there sat a large, flat, oblong box covered in dust and cobwebs. It was standing on end leaning against the farthest wall. The boards that formed the front top of the box were nailed snugly to the sides, preventing any unauthorized meddling. On it was a large paper sign glued to the front. TOP SECRET.
Suddenly, without warning, the lid exploded from its container, splintering and careening across the room. Smoke issued from its interior and a small form rocketed out of the box to impact against the far wall, lying unconscious and still on the concrete floor. Then the glowing light from the box winked out.
xxxxx
General Jack O'Neill came to work in the normal way on what he thought would be a normal day. He was wrong.
He signed in at the security desk, then boarded the elevator that carried him down twenty-seven levels to his office. As he entered the hallways of the SGC, everyone seemed to be moving a little bit faster than normal. There were no sirens, no klaxons, or smoke in the air but there was a tenseness that raised the hair on the back of his neck. Something had obviously happened to trigger an adrenalin rush in the personnel. He needed to get to his office; he needed to talk to Colonel Reynolds his 2IC or Walter his aide.
As he hurried to his office, everyone he passed in the hallways of the SGC nodded to him and he nodded back, recognizing their faces if not remembering all their names. George Hammond had taught him that. If you're going to send men and women to their deaths, you owe it to them to know who and what they are. George obviously had a better memory for names than he did.
When he reached his office, SMSgt Harriman met him at the door with a cup of coffee and a folder. Colonel Reynolds stood up from where he'd been sitting on the couch.
xxxxx
Doctor Daniel Jackson was having a rough start to his day. He had stayed up too late working on a translation for SG12 to use on their foray to P12X27. They were leaving this morning and he was running late. The debriefing with the team and Jack was only an hour away and he hadn't had time for either coffee or breakfast. As he approached the security desk at the entrance to the SGC, the Security Forces Staff Sergeant looked at him grimly.
"Morning, Doctor Jackson. Can I see your ID card please?"
"Uh, sure." He glanced at the man. It was unusual for him to be carded going into the SGC. Most of the SFs knew him by sight so he didn't normally have to produce proof of identification. Something must have happened. "What's going on Sergeant?"
"I'm not sure," the man replied with a frown as he flipped the card over to check the expiration date, "but we're at Threatcon Beta. We're doing 100% ID checks to get in. Something's going on, but they're not telling us up here."
"Well, it's not a lock down at least." Daniel tried to smile encouragingly at the young NCO. "Is the General in?"
"Yes, sir. He got here several hours ago."
"I guess I'd better hurry." He nodded at the impossibly young face before him and put his ID card back into his wallet.
"Good luck sir." The Sergeant smiled at him. "We're counting on you."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
As he exited the elevator on level 18, he headed for his office. He really needed that cup of coffee before facing Jack and whatever was happening. But before he made it into his door, he heard his team chief's voice call out to him.
"Daniel, wait!"
He turned to see the woman coming toward him down the hallway. "Oh hi, Sam. What's going on?"
She looked at him grimly. "We've had an incident on base this morning."
"I knew something was up." He unlocked his door and entered the darkened office, flicking on the light as he entered. "What kind of incident?"
"There was an explosion in Room 17K."
He looked at her in surprise. "That's a storage room, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," she answered him affirmatively.
"So . . . what was in there that could explode?"
"Well, we'd just received a shipment back from Area 52." She frowned in thought as he started the coffee maker. "The General was concerned about one or two items that were supposedly destroyed but turned up again during an unscheduled inventory."
"Oh, really?" He looked at her curiously. "What items?"
"There were some Goa'uld ribbon devices, a Tollan matter transfer device, some unidentified artifacts, . . . and the Quantum Mirror."
He snapped his head quickly around to look at Carter. "But they assured General Hammond that it would be destroyed."
"'They' also assured us that the second gate was safe and you know how that turned out." she responded, shaking her head. "The General didn't want to take the chance of The Trust getting their hands on it or anything else of any importance so he had it brought back here."
"So, what?" He asked as he poured them both a cup of coffee. "Did the mirror explode?"
"No, actually the box it was stored in did. Apparently it was shot by a staff weapon from another reality when their mirror was turned on." She looked at him grimly. "Someone came through."
"Who?" he asked curiously as he handed her a large mug of coffee.
"Come on down to the General's Conference Room. We'll fill you in on everything," She took a sip and turned to go still carrying the cup.
"Sam! Who came through?" he pressed.
She looked back at him over her shoulder. "It's Janet . . . or at least, a Janet, and she's been shot by a staff weapon. She's alive, but she hasn't regained consciousness yet."
The group that was gathered in the Briefing Room was grim. General O'Neill looked around at his gathered experts of SG1, his Chief Medical Officer and his Second In Command. He then indicated the folders in front of them all. "Good morning everyone. It seems that we had a little excitement on base this morning. Colonel Reynolds, will you do the honors?"
Jack's second in command opened up his folder and began to speak. "Okay. Here's the background as far as we know it. Early this morning, at 0437 to be exact, there was an explosion on floor 17, uh, storage area K. The alarms went off and the sprinklers came on. When base maintenance got there, the box holding the Quantum Mirror was blown open and there was an injured person lying on the floor. She was immediately identified as Captain Janet Fraiser of the US Air Force. She was also wearing an SG1 patch on her fatigues." He passed the embroidered cloth around the table. "She had obviously turned the mirror on in her own reality and came through while under fire from the Goa'uld . . . or their equivalent."
Doctor Brightman looked at the patch. "We know she's a doctor because she's wearing the medical caduceus insignia. But if she's a member of SG1, she's not the base CMO there . . . wherever there is."
Colonel Reynolds frowned. "So, we don't actually know where she came from?"
Daniel took the patch from Brightman and turned it over to look at it. "I can say that she's from an SGC and a reality relatively close to our own, though obviously not identical. However, we have no idea how many alternate universes with SGCs there are. We've only seen a couple." He passed the scrap of embroidered material to Carter who nodded in agreement.
"We know that Daniel traveled to reality where the Goa'uld took over Earth. Then later, an alternate me and Major Kowalski came through from another one. We were able to help them to defeat the Goa'uld in their time line."
Teal'c took the cloth from his team chief. "We may safely assume that she is not from either of them. We have no idea what type of background this woman comes from."
"Then what do we know about her?" Jack asked impatiently.
Reynolds picked up the conversation again. "Her uniform is pretty much identical to our BDUs. She looks like the Janet Fraiser we all know, apparently the same age, race, and size. She is a Captain, which is a slight difference. At her age she should be at least a Major so there have been some career differences." He shrugged. "I didn't know her that well before. You all may detect more variations than I did."
Doctor Brightman spoke up. "Medically we know that she's not a host or a Jaffa, and she was wounded by a Goa'uld staff weapon. She's totally human. That gives us something to go on right there."
O'Neill nodded. "And apparently someone didn't want her to leave wherever she was," he said grimly. "And that someone has Goa'uld technology, so we can safely assume that the snakes, or someone very much like them, are hostile to her SGC."
Daniel looked down at the patch now lying in the center of the table. "And she was on SG1, so theoretically one of the four of us wasn't."
"They could have five man teams, Doctor Jackson," Reynolds put in. "Wasn't four personnel kind of an arbitrary number decided on by General Hammond based on the first SG1 and 2?"
Daniel nodded. "I wasn't even supposed to be on Jack's team, so it could even be three people. But then I wasn't in any of the other alternate realities either so it's probably me."
Jack shook his head. "These things always make my head hurt." He looked at the Doctor. "So will she be okay?"
"All my tests confirm is a badly burned shoulder so I will say yes, she will recover." Brightman shrugged. "At this point I will continue the physical support and wait until she regains consciousness."
"I guess the good news is that she won't suffer from Entropic Cascade Failure," Carter remarked. "My duplicate had a difficult time with it." She glanced at Daniel who shrugged.
"I never had it, but I think I was dead in my other reality experience. They had already taken over the Middle East and I was probably killed there on a dig."
"Was Doctor Fraiser there?"
"Yes, but, well, it can't be that Fraiser." He looked around the table. "They were all killed. That Earth was destroyed."
"Yeah, there is that," Jack responded.
"So we're talking a third alternate universe?" Reynolds asked in amazement.
"Looks like," O'Neill responded uneasily. "I guess we'll have to wait until she's conscious to find out."
xxxxx
Her head hurt abominably. Her body was sore and every time she tried to move she was reminded that whatever had happened to her was bad. As she lay there with her eyes closed, she could only tell that she was in a medical facility. The sounds and smells were inimitable. She lay there for a while just relaxing in the arms of drugged bliss. Then, she remembered.
She remembered the ships landing. She could see the armored figures that broke into their stronghold of Cheyenne Mountain. She saw her friends in the SGC making their last stand. She heard the fighting. She watched them fall. She felt them die. She turned and fled to the only hope she had. Had she failed in her escape and been brought back to her own facility as a prisoner, or had she made it to safety?
A woman's voice spoke softly, cutting through the grey indecisiveness. "Doctor Fraiser? Are you awake?"
Janet slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The clinic looked like the one in her old life, but there were a few things that were different. A slight color scheme variation, a minor matter of the placement of equipment and instruments, and some unfamiliar faces. It wasn't the clinic that she knew. It wasn't where she worked with the CMO to save her teammates lives when things went wonky.
Tears came unbidden at her thoughts about her team. What had happened to them? Where was her Colonel Charlie Kowalski, the team chief, the Special Ops trained commander? Her best friend Sam Carter, the genius who loved knowledge more than life itself; and Robert Rothman, the brilliant pragmatic Archaeologist. Were her friends all gone, all dead? Had Anubis killed them all? Just like Anubis had killed Earth?
She only had one way to find out. She opened her eyes and looked at the woman standing over her bed.
"Hello, there. I'm Denise Brightman. I'm only guessing, but I assume that your name is Janet Fraiser." Janet didn't recognize her, but she knew the uniform of an Army doctor.
Janet tried to force a smile for the woman. "Hello." Brightman manipulated the bed's controls and raised her to a sitting position. "I don't know you."
"No, I'm relatively new here," the Doctor replied in a friendly manner.
"And where's here?"
The brunette smiled at her question. "You're at the infirmary in Stargate Command," she replied calmly. "You came through the Quantum Mirror to us."
"So, I did make it to another universe?" She looked around curiously.
Brightman nodded. "Yes, you made it through and bashed yourself into a wall. The mirror turned itself off before anyone else came through. You're safe now from whoever attacked you."
She looked up at the strange woman. "The Goa'uld aren't here?"
Brightman nodded. "They're present in the universe, but they're not here. We've been fighting them on their own ground for years now." She smiled. "But I'll let the General tell you all about that. He and the other senior members of the SGC are much better versed in what's going on out there than I am."
"Oh." Janet took a moment to breathe. Another SGC. Another Clinic. Another General. Another chance for her to live. "General Hammond?" she asked.
"No," Brightman answered as she checked Janet's pulse, heartbeat and pupil dilation, "General O'Neill. General Hammond is now head of Home World Security."
"O'Neill?" She scrunched her eyes trying to think through her headache. "I know the name . . . "
"Don't worry about that now." The doctor patted her hand gently. "It will all be explained to you later. Now . . . you just need to rest." Brightman picked up a syringe from the bed tray and injected something into the IV port. "Try to relax and get some sleep, okay?"
xxxxx
The next time she opened her eyes, there was someone sitting in the standard issue plastic chair by her bedside. She didn't recognize the man who had his nose buried in a thick book. She took the opportunity to look at him carefully. His light brown hair was a bit messy and the fatigue uniform he wore was rumpled. His glasses had slid down his nose and as he reached to push them back up, he noticed that she was awake and watching him.
"Hello, there." His smile was warm and friendly; his eyes were an amazing shade of blue.
"Hello," Her voice was rough and barely audible even to her.
"Let me call Doctor Brightman." He put the book down and reached over toward her. She shrank back from his touch. "Oh, don't worry;" he said with a reassuring nod, "I'm just pressing the call button. I know how painful staff weapon wounds can be." He was careful to not touch her burning skin.
"Thank you," she managed to get out.
"Do you know who I am?" the man asked gently.
She shook her head no and regretted it immediately.
"That's interesting, but not surprising. I'm Daniel," he replied comfortingly. "But I do know who you are. You're Doctor Janet Fraiser, aren't you?"
She nodded.
"You've come through the Quantum Mirror, Janet. You're in an alternate universe. Sam can explain it better than I can, but suffice to say, you're safe here. No one will hurt you. You can relax."
Doctor Brightman appeared wearing her doctor's coat and a frown. "Doctor Jackson, you were supposed to call me immediately when she woke up."
He stood up and stepped back out of the physician's way. "I did, Doctor Brightman. I hit the call button right away. You must have been busy."
She frowned at him, and then started to examine her patient by pulling a small flashlight out of her pocket. "I was, but never mind." The other woman smiled down at her encouragingly.
"Why don't you go and tell the General that she's awake and to give me about an hour? I'll have a report for him by then."
Doctor nodded seriously at Brightman then got up to leave. He turned to look down at her. "I'll see you after while, Janet. Don't worry about a thing."
She could only try to smile and nod. Then the other doctor bent over her and clicked on her pen light. Brightman smiled encouragingly. "Let me check you out quickly so I can tell the General how you're doing."
xxxxx
One hour later Daniel, Sam, Teal'c, and Doctor Brightman were again seated around the conference table in the General's office. General O'Neill entered, sat down, and looked to Brightman. "Okay, so how's she doing?"
The doctor smiled at his directness. "She's regained consciousness but she's sleeping again. I've got her on some strong pain meds." Jack nodded; he could sympathize with their guest. "The wound is not too bad. She should recover nicely in a few days."
O'Neill looked over at Daniel. "So, you talked to her? What do you think?"
Jackson took a deep breath then started. "She didn't recognize me, so I'm not a part of their SGC. She was very groggy and in a lot of pain so she didn't say much."
"Do you think she's a threat to us?" Jack asked his friend.
Daniel looked thoughtful. "No, I don't. I really don't have much to go on, just a gut feeling." He looked up helplessly. "But, well, she's Janet . . . just not our Janet."
Jack shook his head. "Daniel . . . never mind. Carter, will you do the threat assessment on our guest please? I'll drop down later to see her myself."
Sam smiled slightly. "General, I don't think any of us can properly threat assess Janet. We're all too close to the problem."
O'Neill scowled at her, tapping his pen on the table. "All right, make me the bad guy. I'll be down this evening, Doctor Brightman. And please, give me your opinion then . . . if you can manage it."
The physician nodded and jotted something down on her ever present notebook. "Yes, sir. I'll have something for you when you get there."
Jack looked at her suspiciously, nodded, and got up from the table. "Why do I think I'm going to regret this?" he said as he turned and went back into his office.
xxxxx
She awoke to the comforting sounds of monitors and smells of antiseptic. Janet was slightly surprised that she'd slept so soundly even with the pain meds. She shifted in the bed to a more comfortable position and then realized that she wasn't alone.
A man wearing a name tag and stars that announced he was General O'Neill was sitting in the chair that had been occupied earlier by the other man. He looked tired, his grey hair adding to the image of age and wisdom. He squinted at the sheets of paper he was reading. She must have made some small sound as he looked up from the paperwork to smile easily at her.
"Well, there you are. How are you feeling, Doctor Fraiser?" He put the documents down and leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees.
She looked up at him. "Confused," she admitted. "Sore."
He nodded. "I can understand. A staff blast will certainly do that to you." O'Neill looked at her quizzically. "You don't know me do you?"
Janet shook her head marginally so as too not hurt her shoulder again. "No Sir, I'm sorry. Should I?"
"I don't know exactly. Probably not. These Quantum Mirror things always give me a headache." He put down his paperwork and looked searchingly at her. "I'm General Jack O'Neill in charge of this facility. Who was the CO in your universe?"
"General Hammond was the head of the SGC. Colonel Kowalski is . . .was my team chief."
"So, it was Charlie." He looked thoughtful. "But there was no me and no Daniel?"
Brightman popped her head into the room. "General! You were supposed to call me when she woke up."
He turned to look at the physician with a feigned expression of surprise on his face. "Oh, Doctor Brightman look, our patient is awake."
The woman strode into the room with a frustrated expression on her face. "General!"
"Doctor!" The man repeated back at her in a similar tone. "I have to talk to Doctor Fraiser. She's awake and fine."
Brightman continued on to the bed and stepped between the General and her patient. Pulling a penlight out of her white coat pocket, she looked into the other woman's eyes, hummed, then clicked it off and put it away. She took Janet's temp, pulse and blood pressure in quick sequence. Finally she turned to General O'Neill. "Five minutes."
"Oh, for crying out loud, I need to TALK to her."
Brightman nodded. "I understand that General, but she needs to recover from a serious injury. I cannot allow you to harass my patient."
Janet had to smile at the discussion. "Doctor. I'm fine, just a little tired. Let the General ask his questions. I'll tell him when I'm too worn out." She looked at him sadly. "It's not like I have anything to hide."
The doctor frowned at her, then at him. "General O'Neill, fifteen minutes. That's the best you're going to get for now."
He returned her look but then nodded. The physician nodded at the clock on the wall to make her point then left the room.
When Brightman was gone, Jack turned back to her. "I really don't want to tire you out . . . "
"I understand, sir. Please, ask your questions."
He nodded, then looked at her curiously. "What happened to your SGC to make you leave it in such a hurry?"
"We were overrun by the Goa'uld Anubis' soldiers." She frowned. "They were different from normal Jaffa, stronger, faster. Not normal people, if you know what I mean. They looked almost artificial."
O'Neill nodded. "We've met them. We call them Super Soldiers."
She continued. "They got through the Stargate first. General Hammond and Colonel Kowalski mounted a defense and we were holding our own but when the mothership landed on Cheyenne Mountain, well, that was just about it."
Jack nodded. He could finish the scenario from there. "So Kowalski ordered you through the Mirror?"
Janet spoke softly. "They had activated the Gate from their side so we couldn't leave that way. We tried to get as many people through the mirror as we could to a reality that we'd found that apparently didn't have a Goa'uld presence. We figured that we could always go to a more suitable place if it didn't work out. Anything was better than being possessed or killed in our own universe." She continued looking down at her hands as they twisted the green army blanket on the bed. "I was the last one with my group. Robert and Sam had already gone through. The Jaffa found us and I was caught in the firefight. I had to make a decision and I took my chances with the mirror. I guess the controller changed channels when Walter was hit. I don't remember anything else until I woke up here."
"That would make sense." He mulled it over in his mind. "You don't know where your team members went?" he asked gently.
"No, Sam was the one who had set the controls." She shook her head. "And we weren't supposed to wait for anyone either. Once the mirror shut down that was it." Janet looked at him sadly. "Sergeant Harriman had the controller and his orders were not to allow Anubis access to the technology of the mirror. I don't know what happened after that." Janet took a deep breath. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."
O'Neill tilted his head at her and smiled. "I don't believe that will be a problem," he said easily. "But first we have to get you well enough to answer some questions . . . for security's sake you understand."
She nodded and immediately regretted the action. "You mentioned Daniel. That was Doctor Jackson who was here?"
"Yeah, he's the one who opened the Stargate in this universe." He studied her for a moment. "Who did it in yours?"
"Oh, of course," she said with a sudden flash of memory. "That's where I know your names from." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I had never met either of you, but I do remember reading about you two. Doctor Jackson did open the Stargate, and he went with Colonel O'Neill, you I suppose, on the first mission with Colonel Kowalski, and several others."
Jack nodded, then asked, "Daniel didn't come back?"
She shook her head. "Jackson was killed on the planet they found. O'Neill left the service again and when his wife divorced him, he . . he uh . . ."
"He ate a bullet?" O'Neill finished for her. "I'm not surprised."
"You're not?"
"Nope, I was close to it myself at one point." He shrugged. "But things, events, and archaeologists changed my mind."
She managed a smile. "I'm glad." She didn't know why, but she was.
"I am too, now." He returned her smile with a grin of his own.
Brightman entered the room again and stood with her arms crossed in front of her, glaring at him. O'Neill managed a straight face and turned to look at the doctor. "Gee, has it been that long already? How time flies when you're interrogating a guest." He looked back down at Fraiser and nodded. "I guess I'd better leave you in our good doc's hands for now, but I'll be back later."
Janet nodded and managed a small smile of her own. "I'll be expecting you."
O'Neill got up from his chair and fled the small room. Brightman came over and checked the monitors. "Well, now you've met the heart and soul of our operation, O'Neill and Jackson." She reached to manually take her patient's pulse. "I imagine Colonel Carter will be in next."
"Samantha Carter?" Janet looked at her in surprise.
"Yes. Do you know her?"
"She's my, well, she was my best friend . . . before."
"She and Doctor Fraiser were very close here, too."
Janet heard the slight pause."Were? They're not any more?"
"No. Doctor Fraiser . . . our Doctor Fraiser was killed almost a year ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"I didn't know her myself. I came after her death." Brightman continued the examination. "She's greatly missed by those who knew her though."
"How did she die?"
Brightman looked at her strangely. "She was killed by a staff weapon blast by a Jaffa."
Janet blinked. "Oh,"
The other woman smiled down at her. "Kind of ironic, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
xxxxx
O'Neill saw his team members in the chow hall. He pulled out a chair and settled down at the table with them. They all looked at him expectantly. Jack kept a straight face as he looked around at them. "How's the meatloaf?"
Daniel said it first. "Well?"
He shrugged. "I always did like Shirley's meatloaf."
Carter shook her head at his teasing. "What did you think of her?"
"Oh, you mean Fraiser?" he asked as he took a big bite of his food. "She's little, has a slight southern accent, and big brown eyes. I like her."
Even Teal'c was beginning to look frustrated. "Is that your threat assessment, O'Neill?"
"Yup."
"Yup?" Sam looked at him as he chewed his food. "So . . . she can stay?"
He swallowed his food. "If she wants too. I don't see a problem. She's a refugee from another universe. She's a Doctor Fraiser and I'm short one . . . no pun intended."
"But, sir, she's . . ."
"Dead?" He pointed his empty fork at Daniel. "Heck, Danny here has been dead and gone several times and he keeps coming back." He smiled at the expression on his Archaeologist's face. "I'm getting good at the paperwork and the Personnel Department is used to it by now."
"So . . . we can keep her?"
"Yes, Carter, we can keep her if she wants to stay," he repeated with a nod. "I've already talked to George and he'll brief the President. Since we've had experience with this type of thing, he doesn't see any issues."
"You did not detect any problems, O'Neill?" Teal'c pressed him.
Jack put his fork down and frowned. "No, I didn't say that. There are a few things. Her universe was obviously a bit different from this one." He shook his head. "She's never met Daniel or me. We're both dead in her old reality. She's never met you, Teal'c, but she knows what Jaffa are so she'll be scared of you, I'm sure. Carter, you'll be the only familiar person here for her so it'll up to you to help her out."
"But she was on SG1?" Sam pressed.
"Yes, but it was made up of Kowalski, your counterpart, Robert Rothman, and herself. It's going to be a big adjustment for her. She's going to need lots of help from us. There will be plenty of people who think they know her but don't. We'll have to give her all of our support." He shrugged. "And she may want to try and find her team. She's here because she got separated from them."
Daniel looked surprised. "Can she . . . find them, I mean?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Right now, she doesn't think so." He shrugged. "But . . . we'll just have to see . . . about a lot of things."
"Like what?" Daniel asked.
"She'll need to be debriefed; find out her attitude, her training, her skills, her strengths."
Sam nodded in comprehension. "She's a doctor, but of what? Janet's specialty was rare and exotic diseases. She may be a gynecologist for all we know."
"True," O'Neill nodded, "But I don't think there's a lot of call for that on a first contact team." He finished his meal and slid his piece of pie in front of him. "So, go, enjoy." He looked at the eager faces in front of him. "Go! Go!"
Carter was gone in an instant. Teal'c followed. Only Daniel stayed behind. "So, we're dead in her world?"
Jack nodded. "You of all people. Imagine that. "
"Yeah, I guess I should be used to it . . . especially in alternate universes."
"That's why I'm keeping you around."
"Oh?"
"Yep, wherever you aren't, we lose." Jack took a bite of his apple pie. "You're my secret weapon."
"Really? Is that why?"
"No Atlantis for you Dannyboy. As long as I'm here, you're here."
Daniel frowned. "Then I'm stuck."
"Like super glue, Daniel. Live with it."
xxxxx
Two days later Captain Doctor Janet Fraiser nodded, turned, and walked over to her bed in her new quarters. She had been poked and prodded, interviewed and interrogated, challenged and cleared, secured and finally released into her new life. Her medical condition didn't warrant her staying in the clinic, but she really had no place to go. General O'Neill had been more that fair and very solicitous to her present state of affairs. So she had been welcomed into a new life, but she had no place to go.
Doctor 'call me Daniel please' Jackson had made arrangements for the suite to be assigned to her on a semipermanent basis. He'd told her that he'd lived here the last time he came back from the dead. Or was it the second to the last time? He'd seemed a little vague about that but was very kind and concerned that she would not be overwhelmed in her new world.
Sam Carter had not come to see her yet. Maybe she was shy. No, more than likely, afraid. They had been best friends with each other in both universes, but this Sam had seen her Janet die. And knowing her own Sam so well, the other woman understood. Survivors often did that, she knew from her background in counseling and treating PTSD. This skill had been useful in her former life. She hoped to use it to continue to be valuable here.
She had met the Jaffa warrior, Teal'c, in the chow hall. The huge man had spied her and had come to her table to introduce himself. He'd been very polite and as non- threatening as someone twice her size could possibly be. His solicitude had reminded her of a Rottweiler trying to convince a baby lamb that he wouldn't eat her alive. He'd been slow to move, soft of voice, and very gentle in his concern. The gold mark on his forehead had been especially intimidating to her, having seen it on countless enemies, but the General had assured her that the man was firmly on their side and was in fact, working to free other Jaffa from the rule of false gods.
As she sat musing, a light knock was heard on the door. She hurriedly smoothed the bed where she'd been sitting and went to receive her guest.
When Janet opened the door, she found the tall blonde woman she would have called Sam in a previous life. The woman was carrying a small white bag. She looked Janet in the eye, smiled nervously, and stuck out her hand. "Hi."
Janet looked up at her and took the extended handshake and smiled just as nervously."Hi."
Lieutenant Colonel Carter looked up and glanced around the room. "Uh, my name is Sam Carter."
A slight giggle escaped before she could do anything about it. "Hum, yeah, I know. I'm, uh, Janet."
"Yeah, I know." The two women stood there another second in nervous anticipation then Janet realized that she was being ridiculous. She stepped back a pace and cleared the doorway. "Uhm, come on in."
Colonel Carter hemmed a bit more. "Well, if it's not a good time, I can come back later. I just wanted to be sure you had everything."
"No, please, come in." Janet smiled invitingly. "The only thing I do need is someone to talk to." She waved around the room. "General O'Neill said he'd get your Sergeant Siler to bring me a television, but Magic Dave hasn't appeared yet."
Carter laughed at the nickname. "That's cute. I'll have to remember it." She entered the room, looking around. It was a spartan room, looking very much like any hotel room.
Janet led the way over to the small table that was on one side of the space. "Would you like some coffee? Doctor Jackson brought me a coffee maker and all of the trimmings." She laughed. "He said that no civilized culture did without one."
Sam smiled and nodded. "Well, we all have our priorities. Daniel's is coffee," she lifted up the small paper bag, "mine are chocolate cookies."
"Well, have a seat then. I never turn away chocolate in any form."
"Good." Sam smiled and pulled out a chair to settle next to the table. Janet carried the coffee pot into the small bathroom, dumped out the remaining coffee, rinsed the pot, filled it with water, then returned to the dresser that held the coffee machine and began to prepare a fresh pot. "These grounds are wonderful. Doctor Jackson is obviously a connoisseur."
Sam had been fascinated by the smaller woman's previous actions. She couldn't begin to count the number of times her own Janet had done the exact same thing. "Yeah, he is. Lives on the stuff. Janet used to . . . I mean, the other Janet, our Janet . . ." Sam stopped in mid-sentence, not sure what the other woman's reaction would be.
But this Janet Fraiser turned and looked at her purposefully. "Well, if your Janet was like me at all, she'd warn him repeatedly of the dangers of overindulgence in caffeine and then do it herself," she finished the sentence for the other woman. "I know because I've done it to Robert Rothman many a time."
Sam nodded and smiled. "Robert Rothman was your archaeologist?"
"Mister 'I don't get along with live people because they're too recent'." Janet nodded as she brought two cups to the table and sat down across from Sam. She sighed. "I hope they made it through the mirror all right."
The other woman nodded her acceptance. "So, your Sam found a safe universe for them?"
Janet nodded. "For those who made it. It was just a handful. We were trying to send the civilians and younger people through first." She shook her head. "The Gate was blocked. General Hammond had already started the self destruct sequence. Charlie had stayed with him." She stopped talking and picked up a cookie. "I don't even know if my Earth survived." Heaving a deep sigh, she looked at Sam. "I'm sorry. It's just a bit hard to accept."
Sam reached over and took the smaller woman's hand in her own. "I know, but you're safe now."
"I know that." Janet smiled at her with suspiciously damp eyes. "But what'll happen to me now?"
Sam looked at her in surprise. "That? That part is easy. It's all up to you now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, General O'Neill has gotten permission for you to stay here if you want. You can start over and begin a new life." Carter smiled at the smaller woman. "Cassie has just started college this year, but she kept your house."
Janet looked at her in confusion. "Cassie? Who's Cassie?"
Sam looked at her in surprise, then realized what she had assumed something that was obviously not the case. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "Cassie is our Janet's daughter."
"She had a daughter?" Now Janet was surprised. "Who's her father?"
"Oh, this is harder than I thought," Sam said as she shook her head angrily at herself. "She adopted Cassie seven years ago. She's the sole survivor from P8X987. We brought her back to Earth . . . "
"Oh," Janet looked distressed, "I remember her. Was she a little girl with brown hair and eyes about nine years old?"
"Yes, that's her." Sam caught the expression on the other woman's face. "You found her too?"
Janet took a deep breath. "Yes, we found her and brought her back, but . . . she had a bomb in her body. We tried to save her, but Doctor Warner couldn't deactivate it." The smaller woman turned and walked away a few steps. Carter could see her wiping her eyes with her hands. "She died." Janet sniffed and turned back to her. "She was a sweet little girl."
"You didn't save her?" Sam asked surprised.
"Couldn't. We tried. Bill tried but we couldn't do it." The doctor blinked back her unshed tears. "You did?"
"Janet did. She performed the surgery and removed the bomb." Sam looked at her in surprise. "Why couldn't you . . . ?"
"Oh . . . " Fraiser shook her head then looked at Sam. "You think . . . you think I'm a surgeon?"
"Aren't you?"
"No, no, I'm just a General Practitioner." The smaller woman sat down at the table and shook her head. "My specialty is contagions and biological warfare, with some experience in combat medicine. I have some expertise in counseling, specifically for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. But I'm certainly no surgeon." Janet looked up at Sam. "I couldn't save her. I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Oh." Carter looked down at the table. "I guess we all assumed that you had the same training as our Janet."
"If your Janet was a skilled surgeon, what was she doing on an SG team?"
Sam looked uncomfortable. "She wasn't." She took a deep breath. "We had several teams off world involved in a firefight with some Jaffa. Janet volunteered to go in with the rescue team. She was trying to stabilize a young man so he could be transported back to the SGC. Daniel was with them, helping her, when she took a staff weapon blast to the chest." She wiped her eyes with her hand. "Daniel did everything he could but she died instantly. He brought her back in his arms."
"Oh," the other woman looked sympathetically at her. "Did he love her?"
Sam smiled sadly. "We all loved her. She'd done so much for so many, saved us all at one time or another. I think they were special friends and I know that he cared for her a lot."
"As did you."
"Yeah, Colonel O'Neill was hit too. It just seemed like everything had gone wrong that day." She cleared her throat. "But her death took the heart out of us. I'm not sure we've ever really recovered from her loss." She sat a moment in silence.
"So, tell me about Cassie," Janet prompted hoping to change the atmosphere. "Is she going to like me or hate me immediately?"
xxxxx
Janet Fraiser opened her eyes and looked around her room. It was still plain, with only a few decorations that she'd recently picked up on a shopping trip to the Base Exchange. But it was safe and it was hers. It was a new start to her new life.
Checking the clock on the bed table, she climbed out of the bed and began to dress in her new uniform. She'd been approved, stamped and labeled as property of the SGC. It felt good. No . . . it felt wonderful. Janet was beginning to feel like she was fitting in. Occasionally people still expected her to be able to do something she couldn't and once in a while she could do something that no one expected. It was a double edged sword, but she felt that she could make a difference here and that made her feel good again. She still missed her own universe and her lost friends, but she felt confident that most of them had made it to a safe world. Janet knew she couldn't find them, short of a miracle, so she was doing the best she could to fit in here.
As she walked down the corridor toward the Dining Facility, several people smiled and nodded good morning to her. She could now find her way around by herself without an escort. SG1 had made it their prerogative to insure that she was well acclimated to the SGC.
Even if she got turned around someone would appear and point her in the right direction. Sgt. Siler was particularly adept as a roadmap, and occasionally the General would appear out of nowhere, coincidentally heading to the same place she was going.
Suddenly the alarm klaxons went off. Walter's voice came over the loudspeaker announcing an unscheduled Stargate activation. Everyone began to run to their duty stations. Not really having one yet, she headed for the gate room in case they needed some assistance. At the medical post outside the blast doors she met Doctor Brightman and the trauma team. The two women nodded but waited alertly, not bothering to speak due to the noise.
From upstairs in the Command and Control Room, she could hear the sound of General O'Neill's voice over the loudspeaker. "Okay, heads up everybody. They're coming in hot!"
The iris spun open and the gate room was immediately filled with the sound of gunfire and staff weapon blasts. One of the Marine sentries went down and was pulled to the side by a comrade. The seven figures burst from the wormhole and tumbled down the ramp. It was SG1 and SG15.
As soon as they cleared the matter flux field, the General shouted to shut it down and close the iris. Carter was shouting to get everyone off of the ramp and out of the line of fire. She then started to call for the medics.
Brightman led the trauma team into the room and immediately directed someone to the downed Marine. She headed for Teal'c who was still at the top of the ramp trying to support Major Pierce who was unable to walk. Janet ran toward Doctor Jackson. He was still standing and was coming down the metal grating slowly, seemingly under his own power. He appeared unhurt until she got to his side and noticed a bloodstained area along his ribcage where a uniform shirt used to be.
"Daniel?" She wrapped her arm around his good side and motioned for a stretcher to come their way. "How are you doing?"
He looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Janet?"
"Daniel, how do you feel?"
"Fine. I'm fine. I just . . ." As his knees began to buckle, a corpsman appeared with a gurney and helped her to get him down flat on it.
"You don't look fine, Doctor Jackson." She scolded him gently. "You look like you ran into something out there."
"Janet . . . is it really you?" He seemed to be confused. "Janet . . . "
"It's me, Daniel." She knew she was lying to a patient but thought it best at this time. "We've got you and you're going to be all right. Just relax for me, okay?" She motioned for another gurney to be brought in.
"I thought . . . " He blinked hazily at her. "You were . . . "
"I'm right here, Daniel. Just rest now and we'll get you to the clinic." He reached for her and she took his hand momentarily before laying it down next to him. "I'll be right there."
She nodded to the medic who took the gurney and headed for the infirmary. Janet looked back to the ramp to see Sam leaning against the railing of the ramp gripping her arm. She was looking around in a dazed fashion. Janet could tell the symptoms of shock. She quickly walked over to the woman and motioned for a corpsman. "Sam, come on honey, we need to get you to the clinic.
She glanced back at Doctor Brightman who was working on the commander of SG15. The other doctor motioned her to go on to the infirmary. She took Sam by the elbow and escorted her down the hallway. As she walked along the corridor she thought of her deception of the injured man. Janet knew that there would be hell to pay when Daniel realized who she really was, but she didn't care. If a little white lie would help her patients rest easier while their hurt was fresh, it would be worth the bill they would have to pay later.
Fraiser entered the clinic, handed off Carter to a nurse an headed to the ER. Most of the injuries were minor ones that she was able to treat easily. Teal'c and Major Pierce were the most seriously injured and they had required surgery. Carter was one of the lesser injured that was able to be treated in the ward and released.
Sam looked at Janet as she deftly applied silvadine ointment to a burn on her shoulder and wrapped it for her. Then she applied a sling. "Now, keep that still and dry."
"How're Daniel and Teal'c?" Sam looked around for her teammates.
"Doctor Brightman said Teal'c would be okay after the projectile was removed," Janet replied with a smile as she stepped back to admire her handiwork.
"You're not assisting?"
She shook her head. "Not in surgery. I helped with Doctor Jackson's burn wound. He took a pretty good shot with a staff weapon."
"Will he . . .? "
"He should be fine barring infection but he won't be going anywhere soon." Janet smiled. "I only hope he'll forgive me for lying to him out there."
Sam looked confused. "Why? What did you say?"
"It's more like what I didn't say." She turned to put her instruments back where they belonged. "He thought I was his friend. I let him."
"No, you are his friend." Sam slipped off the table and put her hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. "You're just a different one."
"He thought I was his Janet. I'm not." She turned back to look up at Sam. "I'm a stranger that wears his friend's face."
"It doesn't matter. You made him feel better just by being there."
The door to the clinic opened and General O'Neill strode in with an anxious look on his face. "How's everyone doing?"
"Brightman's in surgery with Teal'c. Major Pierce and Doctor Jackson are in the recovery area," Fraiser answered him succinctly. "They should all recover completely."
"Good." He looked at SG1's team chief. "Carter? How ya doin'?"
"A burn on the arm. No problem."
He nodded. "Go and get cleaned up. I want a debriefing in, say, two hours."
"Yes, sir." The Colonel turned to leave.
"Keep that arm dry," Fraiser called out after her.
Sam waved as she ducked out the door.
O'Neill looked down at Fraiser. "Where's Pierce and Daniel?"
She looked at him in confusion. "They're in post op."
He nodded and started toward the recovery room. "Sir, they're both still asleep. They won't know you're there."
He spun around to walk backwards a few steps as he continued to head to the doorway. "Ah, but I will." He turned and pushed the door open then disappeared into the room as it swung shut behind him.
In a few minutes, Doctor Brightman came in with Teal'c and headed for post op. The big man was still anesthetized and unconscious. She looked to Janet. "Is he there yet?"
She nodded. "Yes, he is."
"Damn, I hate it when he beats me in, but with Daniel there, there's no help for it." She nodded as the orderly pushed the gurney bearing the Jaffa into the room.
"He told Colonel Carter he wanted a briefing in two hours."
"Good. It'll get him out of my hair for a little while anyway." She shook her head. "Let's go."
Entering the room, Janet could see that O'Neill was sitting beside Jackson's bed trying to balance a kidney tray on the end of a pen. He put both objects down and watched the orderly and the two doctors transfer Teal'c to a hospital bed. After they were through, he looked at them in askance.
"So?"
"So, he's good," Brightman said with a nod. "No problem. The projectile lodged itself in his left shoulder." She smiled. "It almost got lost in all that muscle mass."
O'Neill nodded. "And Pierce?"
"A bad burn on his leg. He'll be uncomfortable but it's not life threatening. I'll release him tomorrow to his wife's care."
"And Daniel?"
She sighed and shook her head. "His was the worst and the simplest of the lot. The blast hit him in the upper back. If he hadn't been wearing a vest, it would have been a lot worse. He'll recover with rest and therapy . . . and some care."
"So, I'm going to have a houseguest for a while."
She laughed. "Yes, I guess you are. And he won't be a pleasant one either. That wound is going to be painful for a good long while." She smiled at the two men. "If you'll excuse me, sir. I'm going to get a cup of coffee and put my feet up. It's been a busy day."
He nodded his excusal. "Ah, well, it's not like he hasn't done it for me more times than I like to think of." O'Neill glanced down at his watch. "Oy, I'd better get up to my office and put on my General face." He looked at Janet. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Of course, General."
"Keep an eye on Daniel. He doesn't do well with anesthesia. If you have any problems give me a call. I'll be back as soon as I can." Jack glanced at Teal'c, "I suppose that he'll sleep a while yet?"
"Yes, Doctor Jackson should regain consciousness soon. Mr. Teal'c will take a while longer to wake up."
"Drugs make him sick," the general continued. "Janet always watched him for side effects. They keep him under too long, then when he comes to everything comes up." The man shrugged. "One of us normally sits with him, but," He glanced at the still sleeping Teal'c then waved his hand in the air. "This time it's not possible. I've got to find out what went wrong so I can't postpone the briefing."
"Certainly sir, but why me?"
"Cause you are Janet." At her expression he nodded knowingly. "Look, when he's totally awake he knows that you're not her, but when he wakes up all groggy and sick, he'll still feel better having you beside him."
She nodded, accepting his explanation, then looked at him questioningly. "Sir, I have to ask. Did they have a relationship? Why do you and Colonel Carter believe that my presence is so good for him?"
"No, not a romantic relationship," O'Neill said softly. "But she was one of the people that Daniel really trusted. And now, well, his head may know you're not our Janet, but his heart won't. Just take my word for it. If I or Carter or Teal'c can't be here when he wakes up, you're the next best person for the job."
She looked up at the much taller man and nodded. "If you think it would help, I'll be glad to stay."
Jack O'Neill smiled at her. "Oh, yeah. It will help. Thanks."
As the silver haired man walked away, she turned to check on her patient.
xxxxx
Janet found some make work while she waited for Daniel to regain consciousness. She was still trying to find a niche for her talents here. She wasn't a surgeon, nor was she an expert in severe trauma wounds but she had seen many staff weapon burns. She was basically just a good GP with some combat experience. If everyone hadn't been so insistent about how important she was to everybody here, she might have gone back through the mirror and taken her chances in the unknown alternate universes.
Here she'd been welcomed with open arms, and even though there were still obstacles to be overcome, she'd felt as if she had a chance to matter again.
She glanced over to the bed where the man called Daniel lay badly wounded. She hadn't ever met him before. He was one of the differences between the two universes. But he had known her alternate self and had evidently cared a great deal for her. The General had told her that he had carried his Janet's dead body back through the worm hole and mourned her deeply.
Daniel had also been one of the first to welcome her here. He'd gone out of his way to make her feel safe and comfortable, greeting her when she regained consciousness in the clinic. Then he had arranged for her to have a VIP suite until she decided on her plans. He had made her feel like she belonged here.
Doctor Brightman had come in and asked her to refill the cabinet in the post op room since she was going to be there for a while anyway. She was replacing the supplies in their marked areas when she heard a sound come from his bed. Janet quickly closed the glass door and crossed the small space to his bedside. The amazing blue eyes were still only half open and bleary from the sedative he'd been given. She could tell he wasn't quite awake yet, but she smiled and picked up his hand so that she could check his pulse and temperature.
"Well hello there, Daniel. I'm glad you've decided to wake up." She lay his hand back down on the linens just in time to see a distressed expression cross his face.
Remembering that the General had said that he didn't do well with anesthesia, Janet pushed the call button on the bed then quickly reached for the kidney bowl on the table next to the bed.
She helped him roll over on his side to vomit into the container then stroked his cheek and made sympathetic noises to his retching.
After he was through, she helped him get back into a comfortable position and wiped his face with a damp cloth.
He looked at her dazedly. "Janet?" He croaked.
She leaned over the bed so he could see her clearly. "Yes, Daniel. I'm right here. Do you need anything?"
Daniel swallowed. "Thirsty."
"Oh, here let me get you some ice." She patted him on the hand. "Don't go away now. I'll be right back."
He nodded then closed his eyes. Janet took the opportunity to go out into the main infirmary to get him a cup of chipped ice. As she exited the room, Doctor Brightman came hurrying down the hall. "He's awake and semilucid." She told the doctor. "His pulse is 61 and temp is a little coolish. He did throw up just as he regained consciousness."
"That's fine," Brightman looked at her. "That's quite normal for him. You can go ahead and call the General's office. Let him know that Daniel's awake. Are you getting him some ice?" The doctor turned and pushed the door open.
"Yes, I was going to wait for you to give permission though." She called after the doctor as Brightman entered the room. Janet went over to the nurse's station and called O'Neill's number. Walter picked up the phone and she delivered her good news. The Sergeant told her that he'd be sure the General and the Colonel got her message as they were still in their meeting with SG15.
When she reentered the room, Doctor Brightman was just finishing her exam and the patient was looking more alert. "Well Daniel, you've managed once again to come out a whole lot better than I expected." The other woman was saying. "That vest saved your life this time. The blast should have taken your whole left ribcage off, but you got away with a bad burn right where the pads separate. You'll be sore and very tender there for a while, but with a little TLC you should make a full recovery."
The man nodded, and then asked groggily. "How's everyone else?"
Brightman noticed Janet waiting with the cup in her hand. "Why don't I let Doctor Fraiser tell you? I've got to get back to SG8. They just came back and need to be cleared." She smiled at the two and hung her clipboard back on the foot end of Daniel's bed. "Next week I'm putting her to work full time so she'd better enjoy her freedom while she can."
After she had gone, Janet pulled a chair up to the bedside and held the cup for Daniel to get some of the chipped ice in his mouth. "Colonel Carter received a burn on the outer portion of her left upper arm. Mister Teal'c was shot in the shoulder and Major Pierce was injured in the leg. The Security guard in the gate room received a slight wound. They are all going to be fine."
Daniel looked at her and nodded, swallowing the melted ice water. "Could I have . . .?"
She leaned over again and tipped the ice into his mouth. He nodded his thanks and smiled wanly at her. Then he sighed.
"What's wrong, Daniel?" She brushed her hand over his forehead.
"This is what our Janet died of." He said softly. "A staff weapon blast to the chest." He closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I couldn't save her. I tried everything I knew of, but she died anyway."
She brushed it away and smiled gently down at him. "She was very brave. She must have been a great person."
"She was one of the bravest people I ever knew." He said softly. "I've missed her. She was one of my family."
Janet didn't know quite what to say.
He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I'm glad you're here." Before she could speak, he continued on softly. "I know that you're not Janet, that you're a different person, but I know you're the same kind of person as she was . . . brave, strong and gentle." He looked at her hopefully, "I hope you're going to stay with us."
She smiled at him. "Thank you. I'm very glad for your welcome here. I feel like I have friends already . . . even though we really don't each other yet, especially you and the General." She felt tears gathering in her own eyes. "I miss my team. I miss my Sam, Colonel Kowalski and Robert but I don't know where they are or even if they're still alive. You've all made me feel like I belong here."
Janet heard a noise behind her and saw Daniel's eyes flick to a point over her shoulder. She turned and saw General O'Neill and Colonel Carter both standing inside the doorway.
"And we feel like Daniel does too, doc." The General came over to the opposite side of the bed so that he could stand by his friend. He looked down to where his friend was lying. "Did you throw up on her yet?"
Daniel blushed to the root of his hair. "Yes, I'm afraid so."
O'Neill smiled. "Well, you've been baptized then. If Daniel hasn't bled on you or thrown up on you, it's not official. But looks like you passed the test."
It was Janet's turn to blush. "Glad to be of service."
Sam put her hand on the seated woman's shoulder. "Now, all we need is Teal'c's approval and it'll be final."
A deep voice spoke from behind them. "If that is all that remains, then she has indeed been accepted."
Janet jumped to her feet and rushed over to the big man's bedside. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize that you were conscious yet. How do you feel?"
He looked from her over to where Daniel lay and O'Neill and Carter stood at his bedside. "I am satisfied."
The next day, she watched Daniel and Teal'c leave the infirmary. Both of them had been released from the clinic, Daniel to recover at the General's home and Teal'c to his quarters on base.
As he started to push Daniel's wheelchair to the elevator, O'Neill turned to her. "So, whatcha doing Saturday night?"
Janet looked at him in surprise. "Well," she glanced at Carter. "Sam was going to take me clothes shopping."
"So, no hot date or anything?"
Inexplicably she felt her face got hot pink. "No, no hot date."
"Well, we're having a 'Pizza and movie' night on Saturday. Why don't you come? We can see if your universe has a Star Wars franchise."
That confused her. "What's Star Wars?"
Teal'c who was beginning to make his way out of the clinic with the assistance of Carter looked surprised. "You do not know of the Jedi Knights and their use of the Force to combat evil in the galaxy?"
"Uh, no."
"Ah! No?" O'Neill made a face of horror. "Well, that settles that. You can not possibly live on this planet without knowing about Luke Skywalker and the Millennium Oldsmobile."
Carter looked up at him with a grin. "That's Falcon, General. The Millennium Falcon."
Daniel shook her head. "There are literally billions of people on Earth who don't know about Star Wars. Please, don't corrupt this poor woman. She's only just got here."
"I bet you don't know about Wormhole Extreme either." Jack continued on, feigning shock when she shook her head. "Star Trek? The Sentinel?" She shook her head again. "MacGyver?"
Carter smiled. "I have all the DVDs of MacGyver."
"Marathon!" O'Neill crowed. "Come early, bring beer. I've got the pizza."
Daniel looked at her sorrowfully. "Run, run very far and very fast."
Janet only laughed. "No, I won't. It sounds like fun."
the end