"How is Cassie?" Daniel asked.
"Coping." Sam said. "A lot better then me, actually. Janet's parents are here, looking after her. She's going to university soon, and she'll spend half the holidays with them, and half with me. I am so amazed by her strength. This is the second time she's lost her mom. At least I only lost mine once.". Sam closed her eyes in pain, and rested back, on Jack's shoulder.
"Okay." Jack said, trying to dispel the pall of grief hanging over the room. "Favourite Janet moments, let's see." He mused, trying not to think of how he really remembered Janet. All the times he'd bought Sam, or Daniel, or Teal'c in here, to this room, close to death, dying, and Janet had saved them. That would be his memory, Janet bent over Sam, dragging the life back into her body, fighting as hard as he had ever fought on the battlefield. He'd only ever trusted SG1's lives to her. Only felt that they were save, that he could finally hand over responsibility for them when he handed them over to Janet. He'd never trust anyone outside his team like that again. But now was not the time to mourn a loss, but celebrate a life.
"Ok, the foothold situation?" he told them. "Major Davis and I managed to knock out the alien pretending to be Janet. And I had to undo her shirt, to find the alien disguise thingy." He said quickly, in response to Daniel's surprised glare. "and I kept saying to myself, as I unbuttoned her shirt, it's not the doc, it's an alien, only an alien, but I was also thinking that if she ever finds out I put a hand down her shirt, I'm a dead man. Well, I don't know how, but she found out."
Sam giggled. Obviously she'd heard this story before, but from Janet's angle.
"What did she do?" Daniel asked.
"She told me, very sweetly," Jack told him, "that she understood I'd had to do it, and once was ok, as she had had her hand up my shirt and down my pants a number of times...in a purely medical way. But, if I did it again, then every shot I ever got from her, would be with a blunt needle. In the butt. A big blunt needle."
Sam laughed, and Daniel smiled, and the mood lightened.
"I remember..." Daniel started to say, but Jack interrupted,
"Waking up in the infirmary so many times Janet was going to put a plaque above the bed? Daniel Jackson slept here, a lot?"
"No." Daniel said, laughing. He could just imagine Janet saying that, exasperated. "I remember, when I had all those beings in my body, from that ship. It was only a few months ago. I was trapped inside, and I thought I'd never get control of my own body again, and I'd never fight through all these entities to the surface. I thought, I've only just come back, and now I'm going to die again. But there was one moment, just a few seconds, when I managed to break through, and she was there, Janet, right in front of me. I called her name, I reached out to her, and she tried to hold on to me, but I slipped back again, they pulled me away from her, all those people, but I knew it was ok. I knew if Janet was out there, I'd survive. And I knew she'd get me back, somehow. I held on, because I knew, with Janet on my side, I'd win. I'd live."
The room was silent. All four were lost in their memories, the memories Daniel had stirred up. Of the face bent over their bed as they awoke. Being battered and sore, but knowing they were home and safe as soon as they saw her. The arms that reached out for them as they stumbled down the ramp. A friend laughing with her and her daughter. An alien feeling peace and belonging as she saved him. A friend - a loved one - looking back as he died and knowing he did not want to leave her.
"Why are you all in here?"
"Jonas?" Sam cried, reaching out to him, but by now too drunk to get up. He came over and gave her an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek, ignoring Jack's glare. Sam leaned back, her head resting on Jack's shoulder. She was aware, somewhere inside her, that this was inappropriate, but she could hear Janet saying 'to hell with the regs' and she decided to stay where she was.
Daniel shook hands with Jonas, honestly pleased to see him, and handed him a drink.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get away earlier, and make it to the service. I'm not actually supposed to be here now."
"Thanks for coming." Daniel told him. "We appreciate it."
"Well, I had to say goodbye. She was good to me. When you died, I thought she'd blame me, like others did." Jack shifted uncomfortably. "But she didn't. I liked her. You know, she was all tough and formal on the surface, but underneath it, she was sweet and gentle and understanding and..." Jonas trailed to a stop, aware the others were looking at him oddly. "I liked her." He finished lamely.
"Your tribute does both her and you credit." Teal'c assured him. Jonas nodded, and drunk his whisky, but he was unused to alcohol, and he started to choke. Daniel was clapping him on the back as General Hammond walked in.
He looked around. His primary team seemed to be drunk, apart from Teal'c. On base, while still on shift. There was an unauthorised alien choking in front of him, and two of his senior officers lying on the bed, one with her head nestling on the other's shoulder. If Kinsey could see this, he'd have the Stargate program shut down in minutes. Hammond knew what action had to take.
"Coping." Sam said. "A lot better then me, actually. Janet's parents are here, looking after her. She's going to university soon, and she'll spend half the holidays with them, and half with me. I am so amazed by her strength. This is the second time she's lost her mom. At least I only lost mine once.". Sam closed her eyes in pain, and rested back, on Jack's shoulder.
"Okay." Jack said, trying to dispel the pall of grief hanging over the room. "Favourite Janet moments, let's see." He mused, trying not to think of how he really remembered Janet. All the times he'd bought Sam, or Daniel, or Teal'c in here, to this room, close to death, dying, and Janet had saved them. That would be his memory, Janet bent over Sam, dragging the life back into her body, fighting as hard as he had ever fought on the battlefield. He'd only ever trusted SG1's lives to her. Only felt that they were save, that he could finally hand over responsibility for them when he handed them over to Janet. He'd never trust anyone outside his team like that again. But now was not the time to mourn a loss, but celebrate a life.
"Ok, the foothold situation?" he told them. "Major Davis and I managed to knock out the alien pretending to be Janet. And I had to undo her shirt, to find the alien disguise thingy." He said quickly, in response to Daniel's surprised glare. "and I kept saying to myself, as I unbuttoned her shirt, it's not the doc, it's an alien, only an alien, but I was also thinking that if she ever finds out I put a hand down her shirt, I'm a dead man. Well, I don't know how, but she found out."
Sam giggled. Obviously she'd heard this story before, but from Janet's angle.
"What did she do?" Daniel asked.
"She told me, very sweetly," Jack told him, "that she understood I'd had to do it, and once was ok, as she had had her hand up my shirt and down my pants a number of times...in a purely medical way. But, if I did it again, then every shot I ever got from her, would be with a blunt needle. In the butt. A big blunt needle."
Sam laughed, and Daniel smiled, and the mood lightened.
"I remember..." Daniel started to say, but Jack interrupted,
"Waking up in the infirmary so many times Janet was going to put a plaque above the bed? Daniel Jackson slept here, a lot?"
"No." Daniel said, laughing. He could just imagine Janet saying that, exasperated. "I remember, when I had all those beings in my body, from that ship. It was only a few months ago. I was trapped inside, and I thought I'd never get control of my own body again, and I'd never fight through all these entities to the surface. I thought, I've only just come back, and now I'm going to die again. But there was one moment, just a few seconds, when I managed to break through, and she was there, Janet, right in front of me. I called her name, I reached out to her, and she tried to hold on to me, but I slipped back again, they pulled me away from her, all those people, but I knew it was ok. I knew if Janet was out there, I'd survive. And I knew she'd get me back, somehow. I held on, because I knew, with Janet on my side, I'd win. I'd live."
The room was silent. All four were lost in their memories, the memories Daniel had stirred up. Of the face bent over their bed as they awoke. Being battered and sore, but knowing they were home and safe as soon as they saw her. The arms that reached out for them as they stumbled down the ramp. A friend laughing with her and her daughter. An alien feeling peace and belonging as she saved him. A friend - a loved one - looking back as he died and knowing he did not want to leave her.
"Why are you all in here?"
"Jonas?" Sam cried, reaching out to him, but by now too drunk to get up. He came over and gave her an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek, ignoring Jack's glare. Sam leaned back, her head resting on Jack's shoulder. She was aware, somewhere inside her, that this was inappropriate, but she could hear Janet saying 'to hell with the regs' and she decided to stay where she was.
Daniel shook hands with Jonas, honestly pleased to see him, and handed him a drink.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get away earlier, and make it to the service. I'm not actually supposed to be here now."
"Thanks for coming." Daniel told him. "We appreciate it."
"Well, I had to say goodbye. She was good to me. When you died, I thought she'd blame me, like others did." Jack shifted uncomfortably. "But she didn't. I liked her. You know, she was all tough and formal on the surface, but underneath it, she was sweet and gentle and understanding and..." Jonas trailed to a stop, aware the others were looking at him oddly. "I liked her." He finished lamely.
"Your tribute does both her and you credit." Teal'c assured him. Jonas nodded, and drunk his whisky, but he was unused to alcohol, and he started to choke. Daniel was clapping him on the back as General Hammond walked in.
He looked around. His primary team seemed to be drunk, apart from Teal'c. On base, while still on shift. There was an unauthorised alien choking in front of him, and two of his senior officers lying on the bed, one with her head nestling on the other's shoulder. If Kinsey could see this, he'd have the Stargate program shut down in minutes. Hammond knew what action had to take.