Planning

Everyone slept the night away and awoke feeling refreshed and better than they had in ages. Colonel O'Neill had called General Hammond and sg-1 had been given 2 weeks leave so that Sam could take her time recovering unless some major threat to the planet decided to rear its ugly head. Everyone ate breakfast together and then head in different directions. Daniel automatically went to the library where he was joined by Will. Colonel O'Neill went with Henry and spent his time playing video games. Teal'c had discovered that Ashley had decent fighting skills and so he went with her to spar and to teach her what he knew. This left Sam, Helen, and Janet to their own devices. Sam managed to get some time alone with Janet so they could talk.

"Sam, I can tell something is on your mind. Just tell me what it is."

"Janet, I…I, just don't know how to do that. Ok, here goes…I think I like Helen."

"Well, I don't blame you, I like her too."

"No, Janet, I mean that I like like her."

"Oh, well that is different. Why are you telling me this?"

"You are my best friend Janet and I don't know what to do. I needed to talk to someone and I certainly can't talk to any of the guys about this. I just don't know. I don't want to give up the SGC but I don't know why I'm even thinking about that because I don't even know how she feels. I don't want to lose her. Whether we are destined to be simply be friends or more than that, I don't want to jeopardize anything. I just don't know what to do."

"Well Sam, I don't know what to tell you. You need to find out how she feels about all this. You can either ask her out right or just spend more time her. Maybe things will become clearer the more you are around each other. I know those probably aren't the answers you were looking for but that is all I can tell you for now."

"No, that works. It did give me some ideas. Thanks for listening Janet."

"That's what friends are for Sam. I am always here for you when you need me."

Just after Sam and Janet parted ways for a little while Helen found Janet and decided that now would be as good a time as any to talk to her about Sam.

"Hey Janet, I hope you are enjoying your stay here with us." began Magnus.

"This place is amazing. I don't know how you did it but I love it here. Thank you for letting me stay. I don't like being away from my favorite sg team for too long. They seem to always find more trouble when I'm not around and I'm terrified that one time I won't be able to get there fast enough. But they do keep me on my toes. They are always bringing me alien viruses and all sorts of problems I wouldn't find with any other job, or any other team for that matter."

"Janet, what can you tell me about Sam?" asked Magnus.

"What do you mean exactly?"

"She just seems like a fascinating person and I would love to learn more about her. I can tell that the two of you are close and I thought you might be willing to tell me a little about her."

The gears began spinning in Janet's head. She was now pretty sure that both parties liked each other but didn't know what it would take to get them to admit it to each other or what the repercussions would be. She decided to tell Helen a little about Sam and then simply send her to Sam to get any other answers she wanted.

"Sam was raised in a military family. Her father was an Air Force general. He wasn't around a lot and when Sam's mom died she blamed him. She joined the Air Force, became a pilot, and got her PhD in Astrophysics. She is the one who got the stargate to work and is the leading expert in wormhole theory. Her father got cancer and she convinced him to blend with a symbiote and become a Tok'ra. She is kind, caring, smart, and strong. In fact, she is one of the strongest people I know. In any crisis we find ourselves automatically looking to her, always expecting her to pull something brilliant out of her ass. She never lets us down but I know that the stress gets to her sometimes. She puts so much of herself into her work I don't think she ever has time for anything else. I often have to order her to sleep or eat because she won't stop. In fact, we have had to look her out of her office several times in the past year. And she loves blue Jell-O." Hearing this Magnus started to laugh. She and Sam were very much alike when it came to work it would seem. Janet paused for a moment and then continued on.

"Sam has been captured and tortured more times than I can count. I can't tell you how many times she has been carried through that gate and I thought she was gone. She has been through more than anyone person should ever have to, all of sg-1 has, but Sam doesn't let that stop her. She is always there ready to take on the next impossible mission, to study the next potentially harmful alien object, to take on the universe. At the SGC we all try to be there for each other and help each other through the hard times, we are a family. But sometimes I feel like Sam needs more. She needs someone who is there for her alone, who will keep her grounded in reality instead of her work. We can't give her that, but I hope she finds it soon." Janet paused so she could take a moment to let everything sink in and to give herself time to breath. Finally she looked at Magnus and said, "So, how was that for Sam 101?"

Magnus chuckled quietly and said, "Wow. She is even more amazing than I thought she was. I know she has been through a lot. When I was fixing her up the other night I saw the scars. There are so many, I would have never believed that a person could suffer so much and still fight for something like this. She is stronger than I could ever hope to be."

"I doubt that is true Helen. You are just as strong as Sam. She has been though enough physical torture to last a lifetime. You have been though far more emotional trauma than she has though. Everyone you go grow to love dies while you stay the same. Friends, family, you out live them all. You have to be just as strong to endure that and not cage yourself up. That would drive most people crazy. But instead, here you are, not only a functioning member of society but trying to protect abnormal all over the world. You are just as strong as Sam and just as amazing. I would also wager that you need someone to keep you grounded and make sure that you sleep and eat. Am I right?" asked Janet, with a grin slowly growing on her face.

"You know you are right Janet."

"Why don't you go talk to Sam, learn more about her. There are some things that I can't talk about because it just isn't my place. But I think that you need Sam and she needs you. So, go talk to her, maybe you can help each other out." With that Janet turned and head toward the library with a smile on her face. She would do whatever she had to make sure these two knew how the other felt. They would deal with the consequences later.

Helen set off through the Sanctuary to find Sam. Her gut instinct told her to search the top of the north tower because that was her favorite spot. They were so much alike that she figured that was where Sam would go. Her gut didn't let her down. Helen found Sam at the top of the tower, looking out over the edge. She seemed deep in thought and Helen was loath to interrupt her. So, Helen just stood there and looked at this gorgeous woman standing before her. Before long Helen walked up to stand behind her. She wrapped her arms around Sam's waist and simply said, "Hey."

Sam leaned back into Helen, taking refuge in her strength. They just stood there in silence taking in the view. They stood there for a long time and then Sam finally responded, "Hey."

The two stood there and talked about anything and everything until it was dark. By that time they felt like they knew everything about each other. They wandered back downstairs, deep in conversation, to join the others for dinner.

The next two weeks passed quietly. There wasn't really much activity from the Cabal and the Goa'uld were too busy fighting each other to worry about earth. As sg-1 prepared to leave Helen started wishing she had more time with Sam. Neither of them had told the other of their feelings.

As their departure drew closer, Sam called General Hammond to ask if Dr. Magnus could come to the SGC, maybe consult with them on a few cases, anything she could do to convince Hammond to grant this request. Hammond agreed and Sam left to tell Helen and hopefully convince her to join them.

"Helen, there you are. I spoke to General Hammond and he would love it if you would come back with us to the SGC and consult on some projects. That is of course, if you want to join us."

"I think that would be fantastic. I can leave Will in charge while I am gone and if anything happens I am only a phone call away."

And with that they suddenly had more time together, more time to muster up the courage to tell the other how they feel.