3. Pre-Mission Physicals

Sam and Janet exchanged the usual small talk at their next pre-mission physical. Was everything feeling ok? No unusual symptoms crop up overnight? And how were the niece and nephew? Were Mark and her dad still talking?

"How was your day with Jonas? Cassie told me you showed him around life outside the base."

"Really good," Janet said honestly, then paused to listen to Sam's breathing through the stethoscope. "I think he needed the fresh air."

"What did you do?"

"He specifically requested something in nature, so we hiked Garden of the Gods in the morning, ate lunch, wandered around some shops, and then he came with me to Cassie's scrimmage."

Carter waggled her eyebrows and grinned cheekily, in a very Jack O'Neill fashion. "Sounds like a date."

Janet must have waited a moment too long before responding.

"Wait, was it a date?"

The doctor's eyebrows furrowed and mouth contracted to a very thin line as she concentrated unnecessarily hard on the clipboard in her hands. "Not exactly."

"But…?"

Janet took the clipboard over to the desk as an excuse to glance around the room and make sure no one was in earshot, then turned and leaned back against it, eyes shut. "He kissed me."

Sam's mouth fell open. "No."

"Yes."

"And?"

"And…nothing." She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Right as I was dropping him back off here, he kissed me, apologized, and got out of the car. That was it."

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"I've barely had 12 hours to process, Sam, I don't know what I'm going to do," she snipped.

"But do you like him?"

Janet bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I mean, yes, of course I'm fond of him. But the prospect of a serious relationship never crossed my mind until the other night at Cassie's party." She chewed on her thumbnail instead of her lip for a moment. "Regardless of how I may or may not feel, I don't think we can go any further."

"Why not?"

"Doctor-patient relationships aren't exactly encouraged in the medical field, Sam."

She nodded, turning the idea over in her mind. "He's not military, though."

Janet shook her head briskly. "That doesn't matter. Jonas is my patient. I can't in good conscience treat him when my judgment might be clouded by emotion. What if he comes back from a mission seriously wounded or ill? Would I make the right decision with a risky treatment?"

"What about Cassie? You're her mother and her doctor."

"That's different; I assumed guardianship after she became my patient, and I'm literally the only person with the security clearance and expertise to treat her anyway."

"Aren't you also the only person with the clearance and expertise to treat Jonas? I mean, his physiology is also alien."

She sighed. "Yes, you're right. But romantic relationships are different. The American Medical Association expressly forbids patient-physician relationships, and I don't feel comfortable reading extenuating circumstances into that policy. I could lose my medical license."

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry, Janet."

"I know." She smiled tightly. Sam, of all people, understood the tension of respecting well-intentioned regulations in spite of personal feelings.

"Oh, Doc!" a voice rang out from the far end of the room. "Am I going to get poked and prodded any time soon or not?"

Sam and Janet rolled their eyes in unison. "Coming, Colonel."

"Morning, Jonas," Dr. Fraiser said in her most businesslike tone as she pulled the curtain aside for her last physical. "Everything feeling OK?"

She bustled around with the rolling tray of medical instruments, meeting his gaze only briefly. They didn't speak as she listened to his breathing through the stethoscope, took his blood pressure, and timed his pulse — just a touch higher than usual, though not enough to warrant a report. Besides, she had an idea as to the cause.

Lastly, she checked his temperature. "All right," she said as she checked the reading. "You're in perfect health as usual and clear for the mission."

Jonas hesitated before getting up from the gurney. "Dr. Fraiser, I know I —"

A sharp glance and shake of her head silenced him. "Not here, please." She extended a hand to take the blood pressure cuff from him, then softened and smiled slightly, hoping she imagined the flicker of hurt at her sharp tone. "Have a good mission, Jonas."