Author's Note: Written for 'World Physical Therapist Day' (8 September). Alternate reality; set shortly after the events of S02E07, Message In A Bottle.
"Oh, there's not a chance in hell."
"I really don't care, colonel," Janet Fraiser replies as she sets the clipboard down, folds her arms across her chest and meets the steely glare of the man sitting on the infirmary bed. "Either you go willingly on my recommendation, or you don't, but either way you are going."
A beat passes as he studies her.
"So," Janet continues with far too much glee for his satisfaction, "what's it going to be?"
"I'm not going."
She refuses to back down.
"The human body is remarkably easy to damage and break, Sir," she explains with more patience than she feels she has, "and no more so than when participating in strenuous physical activity… or when you're pinned to a wall by your shoulder by an alien device," she adds pointedly as Jack continues to stare.
"For the last time Janet, I'm fi–"
"You're going," she interrupts firmly as she turns on her heel and heads for her office.
"You can't make me."
It's a childish argument but he doesn't care. He doesn't want, nor need, physical therapy. Hell, he's sustained far worse injuries in the line of duty and never needed half of the recovery program he now supposedly needs. He's stopped from arguing further though whenever Janet pauses and before she can even finish turning to face him, Jack knows he's going to pay for this at his next physical.
"Actually," she smirks, "I can. It's called doctor's orders."
She starts walking again and as she reaches the threshold of her office, calls over her shoulder.
"And just to make sure you go to your appointment I'll be driving you there myself. Be ready to leave in thirty minutes – they're expecting us."
Jack lets her unspoken threat hang in the silence for a few seconds before he swipes his jacket from the bed.
"For crying out loud," he growls.
"Would it be insubordinate of me to tell you to shut up?"
Jack's eyebrows rise. "Oh, now you want to talk about insubordination? What about earlier when you pulled all that doctor's orders crap?"
"It was for your own good," she fires back, then presses her lips together.
"Got something else you want to say, Doc?" he asks as he studies her out of the corner of his eye.
"You have done nothing but complain all morning," she states as she leads the way through the corridors of the USAF Academy Hospital, "and I can't even threaten you with the big needles because you're no longer my patient for today."
At this declaration, Jack smirks but his amusement quickly fades when Janet turns and smiles evilly at him. "But you are Dr Carter's patient."
When they finally reach the area of the hospital they need, Janet pushes Jack towards the seats while she goes to let Sam know they've arrived.
He settles into his chair and is thankful that the waiting area is empty. It means he'll not have to wait long to be seen by the therapist: in and out within the hour so he can get back to the SGC, he tells himself.
He resists the urge to sigh as he idly rubs at his shoulder. Rationally, he knows that it shouldn't hurt because the puncture wound from the orb has fully healed but the pain is still there and, as much as he's reluctant to admit it, his mobility is slightly reduced. He hasn't told Janet any of this but he knows that she knows, even if she hasn't directly said anything either. He also knows that he'll be fine in a couple of weeks but "another injury from another alien device" was enough for Janet to call in a physical therapist, "just to be safe".
"They'll be right out," the woman herself says brightly as she sits down beside him, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Great," Jack mutters, right before he hears her sigh.
"Colonel –"
"Relax, Janet," he says. "I'll be on my best behavior."
She suddenly chuckles. "Oh, of that I have no doubt."
But before Jack can ask her what that means, or what she finds so amusing, she adds: "If it makes you feel any better, Sam Carter is the best I know. Plus, General Hammond is working on their security clearance, so with any luck –"
Jack groans at the thought of having a physical therapist based at the SGC and the overwhelming likelihood that he'd never be able to get away from them, going by the number of scrapes and fights he and his team seemingly manage to find on a majority of their missions.
"Look, don't get me wrong; physical therapy helped… before," he says honestly, knowing he doesn't have to go into the details of his Black Ops days with Janet, "but this isn't the same. I know how my shoulder feels and it feels fine. Well, it will," he adds at Janet's sharp look.
"We can't be too careful, Sir. We still don't know what we're dealing with in these kinds of situations," she adds quietly.
He knows she has a point, as does Hammond, because if his commander had disagreed with the doctor in any way, Jack knows he wouldn't be sitting here right now. But it doesn't mean he can't pass the time by being a pain in the ass.
"All I know is that I don't need some kid poking at my shoulder."
"I'm actually a fully trained physical therapist with seven years of study – not to mention five years of successfully treating patients – under my belt."
Jack's head snaps up at the voice and swallows. "Uh –"
"And we actually work to undo the damage to your body, educate a healthy behavior, and restore lost or damaged functionality. We don't poke people in the shoulder."
As hard as he tries, Jack finds himself unable to form a coherent sentence as he continues to stare at the woman. Her words are firm, but can see a sliver of amusement – or perhaps it's something else – in her eyes and he smiles sheepishly. He's saved from embarrassing himself further, however, when Janet gets to her feet and gives the other woman a hug.
"Sam," she smiles, "it's good to see you again."
Jack slowly stands, his intrigue over the gorgeous blonde standing in front of him winning out over his previous reluctance to attend his PT appointment.
"You too," Sam smiles before her gaze switches to Jack, "and this must be the patient. Colonel O'Neill?"
He manages to give himself a shake and reaches for her outstretched hand.
"Yeah, but you can call me Jack."
He ignores the smirk Janet throws in his direction.
"Well, Jack," she says, then gestures towards a set of double-doors, "I'm ready to see you, if you want to come on through."
"Sure," he nods, and he winces when he comes across as a little too enthusiastic and Janet pins him with a look. He decides to try and divert her attention away from him and asks, "Are you going to stick around, doc, or –"
"Oh, no," she chuckles. "Sam has plans for you."
Jack's eyes widen. "I – uh – I don't –"
"Relax, Colonel," Sam smiles, "although I can tell from your panicked expression that Janet conveniently forgot to mention that this is a two-hour session?"
"Two hours?" he parrots.
Janet simply shrugs in response, but she's unable to hide her grin and Jack narrows his eyes.
"You set me up," he accuses.
"You'll thank me later," she utters quietly as she turns back to her friend and pointedly adds, "don't go easy on him, Sam."
"Absolutely not," she smiles and Jack swallows hard.
Then, Janet is wishing him good luck and says that she'll catch up with him again when his session is finished, and as he watches her walk away, he finds himself left alone with Sam and realizes that he is suddenly nervous. He clears his throat quietly.
"So," he says, rocking back on his heels, "I'm guessing it's too late to apologize for my earlier comments."
Sam raises a brow and he shrugs. "You know, the whole… 'poking shoulders' thing?"
She ducks her chin as she laughs softly and Jack feels some of the tension leave his body.
"I might be able to let that one go today," she smiles.
"Today is all I need," he smirks.
"Don't get too confident," she warns as she gestures for him to follow her. "Janet's told me all about you."
His interest is piqued. "Oh yeah?"
"Yes," she nods as she comes to an abrupt stop outside the therapy area and turns to face him. "She also told me not to fall for your charm."
There's just inches between them now and Jack throws her what he really hopes is his most charming smile. "I have no idea what she's talking about, doc," he replies lightly.
She chuckles as she pushes open the door.
"Ya sure, you betcha," she murmurs as she meets his eye and, in that moment, Jack decides that he is going to do exactly what Sam tells him to – and without argument – for the next two hours because he has a feeling that this could be the start of something pretty special.