Part Four (Post Heroes)

It had been two months since Janet Frasier died, and the infirmary didn't feel the same. The new CMO, Brightman, was a competent doctor, but she lacked the personality and flare that Janet Frasier brought to the job. The infirmary seemed just that little bit more depressing without her bright smile and quick-witted comments.

Jack never used to enjoy staying in the infirmary overnight, but having Janet there had made it almost fun; he used to delight in riling the small doctor up by making paper airplanes with his medical notes, gluing tongue depressors together to form swords to play against Daniel (his most frequent infirmary buddy) or playing basketball with strategically placed cups and cotton wool. He always managed to irritate Janet, but she always got her own back, jabbing him harder with the needle at post mission medicals, bringing forward his annual physical and making him be her demonstration model for an incredibly long and boring lecture on the importance of wearing biological hazard gear, where he'd had to correctly display correct wear of all SGC hazard uniforms to the new recruits. She'd then surprised him by using him as an example subject on how to correctly collect biological samples off world, most notably demonstrating a throat swab and actually letting a green recruit draw blood from his arm. Evil, Napoleonic, power mon…. He missed her though, she'd been one of the most selfless, hardworking and dedicated people he had ever met. And a good friend as well.

He especially missed her tonight. SG1 had gotten quarantined when they all developed an itchy red rash following their return from PJ2 450, though Doctor Brightman suspected it was just a reaction to a local drink they had sampled at the trade negotiations. Just to be sure, she'd ordered them all into quarantine overnight while their blood samples were double-checked and a sample of the alien drink was acquired for analysis.

So Jack was relegated to a night of four gray walls… and Carter's company. Daniel and Teal'c were in the isolation room across the hall while he and Carter shared Iso- room one. Carter wasn't much company though, she'd curled up onto the bed as soon as Brightman left the room and closed her eyes. Jack had tried to get her to play a game of swords after Siler had slipped a box of tongue depressors and a small glue stick through the quarantine drop hatch, but she hadn't been interested. Sighing, Jack gave in and lay down on his bed, eventually falling asleep.

He wasn't sure what woke him up hours later, but when he glanced over to Carter's bed, he found it empty of the major. Concerned, he sat up and looked around the room, not seeing her anywhere. They had a small private bathroom, but the door was closed and he couldn't see a light coming from under the door. His worry gave way to annoyance for a moment; if she had managed to break out without him, he was going to be having some words with her.

It was then that he heard the sniffle, coming from behind the bathroom door. He got up quietly and knocked on the door, "Carter? You in there?"

"Go back to sleep, sir." Her voice sounded muffled, but Jack could hear the tears in it.

His concern returned in force at the sound of her badly hidden distress,"Not until you tell me what's going on. Do I need to get the Doc?"

There was silence for a long while and Jack was about to go for the call button when the door opened, revealing Carter, looking pale and small. Her face was dry but Jack could see that her eyes were red.

"Carter?" he questioned her gently again as she pushed past him, her head lowered, avoiding his gaze as she got back into her bed.

"It's nothing, sir, go back to sleep." She turned her back to him and curled up again on the bed.

He watched her for a long time, sitting on the edge of his bed and watching as she tried to feign sleep. She kept her breathing even and her body was still, but Jack could see the tension in her figure and knew she wasn't asleep. He could only guess at what was bothering her, though he suspected it might have to do with the person he had been missing earlier tonight. Janet Frasier had been Sam's best friend, they were practically parents together. Now Sam was left to raise the almost-grown Cassandra on her own while losing the closest female friend she had.

Jack knew Sam was struggling with her new-found responsibility as a parent. Cassie was stubborn and it was difficult losing a family once, but Cassie had experienced it twice. The young woman had just left for college but Jack knew she kept in nearly daily contact with Sam as she struggled to settle into dorm life. Sam had asked for a week off when Cassandra had left for college; she'd only managed to stay with Cassie for three days before an emergency Stargate malfunction brought her back into the SGC. Jack had been furious when he'd found out that she'd been recalled, but she was already at the computers, fixing the issue; she simply shrugged when he told her that she should have called him. At the very least he could have gone and stayed with Cassie if he couldn't arrange for another egghead to deal with the gate. However, that wasn't how things were between them, not with their ranks and the judgemental eyes that watched them, plus relying on other people was not a trait Sam Carter had ever had. He'd settled for bringing her coffee and cake while she worked on the gate and phoned Cassie himself to make sure she was doing okay. It didn't seem like enough, but it had to be.

He listened quietly and heard Sam sniff, saw her head burrow slightly into the pillow and his stomach hurt at the image of her crying, alone in the dark. It wasn't fair that they had to lose Janet, someone so important not only to the program but to SG1, to Sam and to Cassie. It was hard enough for him to spend a night in the infirmary without Janet there, it must have been torture for Carter.

He slipped off the bed, unable to stand her quiet tears. It wasn't right to just stand by and let her cry. He couldn't do much, but at least he could make sure she wasn't alone. He pulled up a stool next to her bed and put a gentle arm on her shoulder. She flinched, and he gripped her firmly, "It's all right, Carter, I miss her too."

She didn't turn to face him but he felt her relax slightly into his grip. He stayed like that, close to her, long after she finally drifted off to sleep.

***

End Part Four