Chapter Two
Janet's preparations at the SGC
As Janet walked away from the general's office, she began to mentally list everything she'd need to bring with on the mission.
"We'll need the standard off-world emergency gear. I'm so glad we set up the protocols for that years ago, so that we have several of the kits packed and ready to go at all times. We just never know when a team will get into trouble, and a medical team will have to gate out. I know we've saved more than one life over the years because we were able to leave within minutes. It helps that this time, since I know the exact nature of the problem, I can narrow down the actual items to take. Still, it won't hurt to take the entire kit; there could be other injuries among the crew that they didn't mention. We'll take the portable CAT scanner, and the specialized stretcher that we'll use if we want to bring her through the gate. I wonder how far from the gate the Prometheus will have to land? I better check with the general before we leave and find out how far we'll have to haul the equipment. Actually, come to think of it, if it's not too far, we wouldn't have to bring anything other than the CAT scanner. If I decide that we shouldn't risk gate travel, we won't need the stretcher, just whatever I'll need to treat her during the trip home on the Prometheus. That means I'll have to bring enough meds to cope with whatever I may find. And since it's Sam, that means I better check her records to make sure I adjust according to her altered chemistry..."
At that thought, she stopped. "Oh God, it's Sam." Up until then, she hadn't allowed herself the indulgence of worrying about her friend. She recognized that her mental rambling was an avoidance mechanism, a way to keep her personal concerns at bay. By concentrating on her professional responsibilities, she could maintain her detachment and refrain from thinking of how badly injured Sam might be.
Janet had been extremely relieved to hear that the Prometheus was safe. The last few days had been stressful for the entire SGC. They lived with risk all the time, saw their friends and comrades injured and die, but somehow, not knowing the fate of a team or crew was worse. The thought of a ship or a team just disappearing, never to be heard from again, was a haunting fear. This was an environment where individuals risked their lives daily, but with the bone-deep understanding that no matter what, they wouldn't be left behind. Not knowing if the Prometheus was intact or not, or if its crew was alive and in need of rescue had created a sense of tension which permeated the entire base. Closure might seem to be a psychiatric buzzword or a cliché, but for this group of people, it was a necessity.
The fact that this time Sam was one of the missing individuals only increased the general despair. She was a valued member of so many of the disparate groups making up the SGC. As a brilliant scientist and as an air force major, she had a boot in both military and science camps. She was the unofficial head of the scientists on the base, since they not only respected her work in her field, but could count on her to act as a go-between with the military minds when they clashed. Similarly, the vast majority of the military personnel on the base respected her abilities as an officer, knew she had proven herself in combat time and time again, and appreciated all the work she had done as a scientist to make their lives easier. As the resident gate expert, she'd become friends with all the gate personnel, helping run diagnostics, tweaking the dialing program to make it more efficient, coming to their aid whenever a glitch occurred.
And then of course, there was SG-1. Saying that the team was close was an understatement of massive proportions. Most SG teams didn't stay together for as long as this one had, for a variety of reasons. There were the unfortunate deaths, forced retirements due to injury, reassignments to less hazardous duty, and realignment of teams because of personality conflicts. SG-1 had stayed intact for seven years now, six, if you didn't count the year that Daniel was "wherever." Their bond was incredibly tight, and when one of them was missing or injured, the others were relentless in the quest to aid their teammate.
The last time Janet could remember things being this gloomy in the SGC had been when Colonel O'Neill had gone missing with Maybourne during his attempted escape to paradise. At the time, she had commiserated with Sam about their failure to find the colonel. Sam had talked with Janet about her confrontation with Dr. Lee, explaining that she knew it was fueled by frustration with her inability to find the colonel, but that she was also angry that the man just didn't seem to understand the concept of leaving no one behind. Sam also confessed to Janet the emotional scene with Teal'c in the women's locker room. To Janet, it was confirmation of just how much SG-1 cared for and supported each other. Janet knew how much Sam kept her emotions in check. As a woman in the military, it was a necessity. Janet felt the same pressure, but as a doctor, not in a command track, didn't have to deal with the problem as much as Sam did. It was a no-win situation for women in the military. Show emotion and be accused of being ruled by hormones, or show no emotion and be accused of being an unfeeling witch. That Sam felt comfortable enough with Teal'c to show her emotions spoke volumes about the strength of their friendship. Their mutual concern for the colonel had only served to solidify that connection.
Now, when Sam was missing, the colonel's feelings must have been much the same, but being the man he was, he had no outlet. The man's reaction to his inability to keep one of his team safe was painful to watch. She knew that SG-1 had visited countless planets in proximity to the scheduled flight path of the Prometheus, with no success. Daniel, ever the optimist, wanted to keep gating to more planets, convinced that they would find the ship if they just kept trying. But Janet had sensed that the colonel was preparing himself for the worst. He was closing down emotionally, even more than usual, and she knew that was his way of dealing with painful situations. Teal'c was harder to read, however over the years she had discovered that the man had strong emotions, but had trained himself to keep them under control. His loyalty and affection for his teammates was undeniable, as evidenced by his support of Sam when the colonel was missing. His distress when one of them was missing or injured was obvious to someone who knew him as well as Janet did now. A furrowed brow on Teal'c meant major emotional turmoil, and his brow seemed to have developed a permanent crease in the last week.
As for herself, Sam had become one of her best friends, and certainly her closest confidante. It was an incredible relief to be able to talk with someone about the highly unusual life that they both led. First as women in a very masculine environment and second in a dangerous line of work. The top secret nature of their work meant that Janet couldn't indulge in idle chit chat with the book club about what she did at work that day, and Sam couldn't explain to the neighbor lady why she had those hideous bruises all the time. The two of them often joked that the nosy woman in Sam's neighborhood probably would have reported Sam as being an abuse victim if she ever had any boyfriends around. The topic of boyfriends and the inherent problems that their respective jobs created in that department was a common topic between them. The last week or so had been rough on Janet, as she worried whether she'd ever have one of those conversations again. If Sam's head injury was really serious…
"No, I'm not going to start thinking that way. I've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it, so I need to focus. Ok, where was I? I need to check Sam's records to find the proper dosages. Come to think of it, her records are probably still on my desk. Damn it, the woman is still recovering from trying to go one-on-one with a super soldier, and now she's hurt again. I sure hope she didn't re-injure that shoulder. Lieutenant Pickens didn't mention it, so probably not, but I'll double check when we get there."
"I need to check with the general to see how far from the Stargate the Prometheus will land. I need to decide how many of my personnel to take along, and find out how many airmen the general will send with us besides SG-1. I know he wouldn't be able to stop them from coming along, and knowing the general, he won't even try."
"So, if Sam is well enough to gate home, we'll need the stretcher, and we'll be back within a few hours if all goes well. If not, I'll need to bring enough personal provisions so that I can stay on the Prometheus for a few days. Good thing I keep some extras here for when I need to stay with a patient. That's another thing I need to do, make the usual arrangements for Cassie to stay with a friend if I end up staying on the Prometheus. Cassie, oh my god! I need to tell Cassie that we heard from Prometheus."
Janet had been forced to tell Cassie that Sam was missing when Sam hadn't shown up for one of their standing appointments, a girl's night out. Cassie was accustomed to Sam cancelling when 'something came up', her code for having to go off-planet, but this time, Sam hadn't called personally, which was unusual. When a couple of days went by with no word from Sam, Cassie confronted Janet.
"Something's wrong, isn't it? You've been anxious for days, and trying not to show it. What's wrong with Sam?"
Janet thought to herself, "She's getting way too observant. This is one of those times that I wish she could act more like a normal teenager and just be completely absorbed in herself."
Out loud, she said, "I'm sorry, I know that I should have said something sooner, but I kept hoping that she'd get back. She's on the Prometheus and it's overdue in reporting in. It may be nothing, but we are getting concerned."
Cassie was surprisingly calm, accepting the fact that Sam was MIA without any of the melodrama which she sometimes exhibited. "Mom, she'll be back. Chances are, it's just a mechanical problem, and you know that Sam is the absolute best person to figure out how to fix it and bring them home."
Janet hugged her for that, even though she was well aware that Cassie was at a stage in her life when hugging her mom wasn't one of her favorite activities. This time though, Cassie reciprocated, understanding that Janet needed the comfort of physical contact.
Just as she reached this point in her recollection of the scene with her daughter, Janet reached the infirmary. She quickly briefed her staff about the upcoming mission. As they scrambled to assemble the necessary equipment and prepare for a trip off-world, Janet moved into her office to place a quick call to Cassie.
"Cassie? Hi hon. How was school?"
"Listen, I might have to be gone for a few days, so we need to find a place for you to stay just in case. You think it will be ok with Karen's mom if you spend a few nights again? If not, we'll talk to Mrs. Roberts next door. I'll call them now and call you back once I know, but I wanted to let you know first."
"No, it's not certain, and I won't know until I've checked on the patient."
"Yes, it is Sam, and I won't know if she's ok until I see her and run some tests. I'll have General Hammond let you know as soon as we find out anything. In the meantime, try not to worry too much."
"Ok, I'll try to take my own advice, and thank you for being so understanding. When did you get so mature? I'll talk to you soon. Love you."
As she hung up, she was more determined than ever to bring Sam home safely. Her daughter needed Sam almost as much as Janet did, and Janet didn't intend to deny her this particular need.
She made the necessary calls to make sure that Cassie wouldn't be alone for the next few days if necessary, then began getting her own off-world gear ready. As soon as her staff reported in, she'd talk to the general to find out the rest of the details about the planet they were gating to. For now, she immersed herself in tasks which would help keep her mind from useless worrying about Sam. After all, the sooner she finished preparations, the sooner she could determine Sam's condition and take care of her.