After keeping a close eye on Sam and Janet for the first twelve hours, Dr Francine Michaels ordered that the CCTV be switched off. "I'll take full responsibility," she explained to the tech team. "But there's no need for it now, they're fine."
In truth, Michaels found it uncomfortable watching the two women in their isolation room, and felt a little seedy having to observe their behavior, even though she knew she was only doing her job. The virus had stripped them of all inhibitions, and they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. It seemed that when they weren't sleeping, or eating, they were making love. And, once Michaels was assured that they weren't going to hurt each other, she concluded that the best thing was to give them some privacy.
She still checked them twice a day, and while still obviously feral, they were calm and almost docile. The only time she sensed any aggression in either of them was when she got too close to the other, or drew blood. But she was careful to explain to them, in simple terms, that she was only caring for their health, and that what she was doing would help them. So they allowed her to do her work, while watching carefully for any untoward actions.
"What are you going to tell the general?" Sharon asked Michaels on the morning of the second day.
"Nothing," Michaels replied. "At least, nothing that he doesn't need to know. The relationship that's developing between Captain Carter and Dr Fraiser doesn't impact their medical treatment in any way, nor does it help to find a cure for the others. I'll just tell him that they are relatively calm, though still infected. We can't let this get out, Sharon, it could affect their careers. This is a private issue between them."
Sharon nodded. "You can count on me," she told her. She liked Janet and Sam a good deal, and would do nothing to compromise their positions with the SGC. She, too, was relieved not to have to observe them on the CCTV any longer.
SGSGSGSGSGSGS
Sam and Janet were both very confused and disoriented. They knew that something was wrong, badly wrong, and they felt frightened and agitated. The regular visits from Michaels and Sharon were reassuring, as they told them on every visit, that they were suffering from a sickness, and would soon be cured. In their Neanderthal states, they found it hard to retain information, or to process facts efficiently, but the gentle tones and calm manner of the medical team were a great comfort. Twice, when they were particularly agitated, they were given a light sedative, which helped them to sleep, always entwined in each other's arms.
The reality was that the 'feral' Carter and Fraiser had become completely inseparable, and spent every waking, and sleeping, moment together. Despite the clumsiness of their movements, and lack of language, they were tender and sweet with each other. Michaels was saddened to realize that this tender partnership had only been able to develop as a result of the virus. She wondered whether they would be able to remain together once a cure was found, as the military environment was hardly a favorable one for such liaisons.
SGSGSGSGSGSGS
Four days into the outbreak, the medical team had a breakthrough. This was due in part to Janet's notes, which stated that the virus was a histaminolytic, and worked on histamines in the body. Thanks to O'Neill offering himself up for experimentation (he had become infected shortly after Sam), it became clear that large doses of clorpheniramine maleate was effective in treating the virus. O'Neill was back to his old self, despite being very fatigued, and it had worked on one of the other airmen as well.
Michaels let herself in to Sam and Janet's ISO room, and was touched to see the two women curled up like baby kittens in each other's arms. She hated to wake them, but knew it was her duty.
Gently, she touched Sam on the arm, and the young captain roused herself and blinked blearily at the doctor.
Michaels explained the situation, and Sam nodded slowly, seeming to grasp the concept. She put out her arm for the injection.
Once Michaels had injected her, she approached Janet, but Sam blocked her way. Shaking her head vigorously, she managed to convey to the doctor that she didn't want Janet to be injected until they were all sure that it was safe.
"You'll likely sleep for about eight hours after," Michaels told Sam, "or at least that's what Colonel O'Neill did. And, we hope, when you wake up you'll be completely cured."
Sam looked at her for a few seconds, her gaze unwavering. Then she nodded briefly, and carefully but firmly pushed her toward the door. Michaels took the hint and left, and Sam returned to the bed she shared with Janet, and climbed in next to her, wrapping her longer limbs round her smaller lover.
SGSGSGSGSGSGS
A couple of hours later, Sharon entered the ISO room, leaving a full set of BDUs and underwear for Sam. So when Sam woke up, just over seven hours after receiving the treatment, the clothes were ready waiting for her.
As she awakened, she wondered briefly where she was. Then she looked down at Janet in her arms, and it all came flooding back to her. Then she started to panic; had she really let her sexuality come out into the open, after hiding it so well all these years?
She climbed off the bed, showered swiftly and dressed. She then rapped on the door to the ISO room, "It's me, Carter," she called. "The drug worked. I'm okay."
Sharon came to the door. "Captain Carter," she smiled. "It's good to see you back to your old self. Dr Michaels would like to see you, before taking you to the infirmary for a few tests, is that okay?"
"Sure," Sam pretended a confidence she didn't feel. She was shaking with trepidation by the time she reached Michaels' office.
"It's nothing to worry about," Michael told her, as she closed the office door behind her to ensure privacy. "I just wanted to reassure you that there was nothing in your behavior that I felt warranted reporting to the general. Or to anyone," she saw the relief that passed over Sam, though she tried to school her face into a neutral expression. "It's okay, Sam" Michaels continued, in a gentle voice. "There's nothing in the notes, nothing on the CCTV tapes. Nobody need ever know about you and Janet."
"I'm not gay," Sam whispered, trying to convince herself more than anyone, "it was just the virus."
Michaels looked at her straight in the eye. "The virus doesn't change your sexuality, Sam," she told her. "It just lowers inhibitions."
"I'm not!" Sam insisted hotly.
"It doesn't matter what you are," Francine Michaels just wanted to put her arms round the vulnerable captain and give her a hug. "Your private life is just that; private. And it's gonna stay that way, you have my word."
"Thank you," Sam tried to keep her voice from cracking. "I appreciate that."
SGSGSGSGSGSGS
After a battery of tests in the infirmary, Sam was declared fit, and sent home for the rest of the week to recuperate, with strict instructions not to return until the following Monday. Normally, she would have objected, but she was uncharacteristically keen to get off base. Only Michaels and Sharon guessed that this was because she wanted to avoid any awkwardness with Janet.
Janet was given the antidote shortly after Sam had woken up, so Sam knew that it wouldn't be long before she was up and about. So she was relieved to reach her house, and to lock the door behind her. Her mind was a turmoil; part of her was still full of love and tenderness - and passion - for Janet Fraiser, but another part just couldn't face up to reality. She wanted to sweep it all under the rug, to resume her brilliant military career, to continue to go offworld, to be part of the military machine which was so important to her.
Once she got back in her house, she was restless and agitated. So she went to the market for some groceries; she wasn't hungry, but she wanted something to fill the time, and as she'd been banned from working, shopping was as good a displacement activity as any. But she still couldn't settle when she got back, so she changed into her running clothes, and let herself out of the house, determined to run until she was physically exhausted; maybe then she could sleep and forget all about the last few days?
She ran for miles, only returning two hours later, dripping with sweat, her heart pounding. She stripped off and got into the shower, where she turned the water up to an almost unbearable heat, almost scalding her skin, and stayed in for ages. When she finally emerged, she climbed into her pajamas and crawled into her bed. So she didn't know how long she'd been in there when she heard her doorbell ringing insistently.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'," she muttered grumpily, as she shrugged on her robe and made her way to the door. Looking through the peephole, she was shocked to see Janet standing on her doorstep. She opened the door.
"Janet!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"We need to talk," Janet came straight to the point. "I needed to see you, Sam."
Sam ushered her into the house, and pointed dumbly at the couch. Janet sat down.
"Want something to drink?" Sam said, eventually, breaking the silence between them. Her tone was brisk, she was trying desperately not to show any emotion.
Janet shook her head. "I needed to see you," she said again. "After the last few days."
"It was the virus," Sam's words overlapped Janet's. "I'm so sorry about what happened. I'm not gay, Janet," even to Sam's ears this excuse sounded thin. "I mean, we're not gay. It's just something that happened because of the virus."
"That's not true, Sam," Janet's voice was small and shaky. "I am gay; I always have been. I just never told you. And I think you are too, you just can't admit it to yourself."
"Damn it, Janet," Sam's voice was harsh. "Are you not listening to me? I told you I'm not gay. I've never... slept with a woman before," she could barely keep the disgust out of her voice. "D'you really think they'd have let me in the military if I'd been gay?"
"They let me in," Janet whispered. "I just didn't tell them. And my guess is the same goes for you. You may not have slept with a woman before, Sam. But you have now. And we've got to work out where we go from here."
"We go back to how it was," Sam was shaking. "We're friends. Good friends. But we're not lovers. We'll forget about this in time. You may be gay Janet, and I won't tell anybody. But I'm not. I'm really not." She struggled to contain her tears.
"So that's it?" Janet asked. "That's how you want to leave it?"
"That's how it is," Sam's voice was cold. She couldn't bring herself to tell Janet - or even herself - the real truth.
Wordlessly, Janet got up from the couch and headed for the door. She turned and gave a final pleading look at Sam. "Sam..." she started.
"I'll see you Monday," Sam cut in. "Get some rest, Janet, you look exhausted."
So Janet left the house and climbed into her car. Sam watched her from the window, and it was only when she heard the ignition start, and saw the car pull away, that she allowed the full horror of what had just happened to seep through to her mind. "Oh God," she cried out in an anguished tone, emotion flooding through her, "Janet I'm so sorry." And she slid to the floor, wracked with sobs. She felt her whole world crumbling beneath her, and wondered how she could ever be happy again.