By CuppaJo
AN: As you may have noticed, I've left this fic hanging randomly with no end for some time. I realized, much to my chagrin, that I was indeed on the verge of Mary Sue-ing my character and it's taking me some time to try to rectify the situation. I'm also in the very bad habit of inventing characters without giving them anything to do. Consider this a draft and an occasionally stalled WIP. I really will attempt to write a bit more once I rein in Josephine a bit more. Please let me know if I start to go overboard again. Oh, and if anyone has a burning desire to be a beta, let me know. I could use one.
And for those of you who inquired - no, my name is not Josephine. grin .
SG-1 minus its newest member sat grim faced around the conference room table, standing when General Hammond and Dr. Frasier breezed into the room.
"How is she Janet?" Sam asked, worried expression on her face. She didn't realize until she asked that she had broken protocol by speaking.
Janet shot her a confused and slightly angry look that surprised the team. "Aside from a completely unnecessary shot of morphine that she received in the field and a few bruises from being manhandled, she's fine." She said icily. "I'd really like to know just what you were all thinking out there."
Sam looked at her, a shocked expression on her face. She turned to look at her teammates who looked equally bewildered. Even Teal'c's typical cool expression was replaced with a look of concern.
"Lt. Crosby had no signs of injury when Teal'c brought her through the gate." The general informed them grimly. "Colonel, what happened to make you all react like this?"
"Sir, Lt. Crosby had burns on her arms so severe as to require amputation." Carter interrupted again, unwilling to allow the issue to go overlooked. She and Crosby had developed a good rapport off world and she was worried about her.
"Easy Major." Jack admonished quietly. "We'll figure it out." He turned to address the general. "She's right, sir. I've seen burns like that before – amputation was required. You're saying she showed no signs of injury at all?"
Janet's expression softened with relief when she realized that whatever had happened on that planet, SG-1 was not intentionally responsible for the state of her patient. They really thought they were acting in her best interest – which was worrying enough in itself. They were all well aware of the dangers as well as the benefits of morphine. "Her temperature, BP, and heart rate are all a little low – nothing to significantly worry about at this point – but there was no trace of burns anywhere. Her arms are fine – not a scratch." Janet paused a moment as if realizing what she had said, a thought creasing her brow and she began flipping through the lieutenant's medical file.
"Something wrong, Doc?" Jack asked, frowning.
"Maybe." Janet mumbled searching through the thick file. It was then that Jack realized that the file really was thick – thicker than that of non-field officer and certainly thicker than that of a newly graduated cadet.
Just as he was about to comment, Janet found what she was looking for and her frown of concentration turned into one of concern.
"Janet, what is it?" Daniel prompted.
She looked up at the general, eyes clouded. "All SG personnel have had their scars mapped for identification purposes and for – other reasons." She informed them, referring in the latter to Goa'uld entry marks. "Lt. Crosby had a five inch scar on her inner right arm from a minor accident two years ago. It's not there anymore. There really isn't a scratch on her arms. Not anymore."
"What exactly are you saying, Doctor?" General Hammond demanded.
"I'm not sure, sir, and I don't want to jump to conclusions but quite frankly I can only think of two possibilities – either Crosby developed some awfully remarkable healing powers on that planet or this isn't the same woman who was here for the pre-mission exam."
General Hammond stormed to his feet and over to the briefing room phone. "I want SF's posted to the infirmary now!" He barked into the phone. "Lt. Crosby isn't to be left alone for any reason." He replaced the handset of the phone with a bang and turned back to the table at large. "Now, people, I need to know everything that happened on the planet from the moment you stepped through the gate."
Lt. Crosby's eyes creaked open, sticky with medication-induced sleep. A wave of fear coated by a more physical one of nausea washed over her. Her chin trembling, she gathered her courage. She could feel the limbs that she knew couldn't be there anymore. Her father, an electrical engineer in the Army Corps of Engineers, had died of burns like the ones she had suffered. She remembered the putrid scent of burned skin assaulting her nostrils as she sat by his bedside as he lay dying. Burning like that was the only fear she was willing to admit to herself. And then she watched as it happened to her. A whimper escaped her lips as she bit her lip as she sat up to look.
She gasped and hot tears prickled at her eyes in amazement. Her breathing increased and she found herself choking on her sobs of relief. As the alarms went off to alert medical personnel, she was distracted from wondering why her surprisingly intact arms were in restraints. Then, as she felt the warmth of a sedative rush beneath her skin, she ceased to wonder about anything.
"Jo? Are you awake?" She heard the words through a haze. For the second time since her arrival in the infirmary, her eyes slid open and she squinted at the overhead lights, vaguely registering the voice of Daniel Jackson. "Ev'one 'kay?" She mumbled.
Daniel grinned and looked over at the rest of SG-1. "Yeah, Jo, everyone's okay. Including you…"
Her eyes fluttered open and her head bobbed up so quickly it made black spots dance in front of her eyes. What if it had been just a dream before? She had to see for herself. She tried to lift her arms, but couldn't; panic began to set in once again.
"Shh, Jo, it's okay. You're arms are okay." Daniel soothed, grabbing a cup of water from the bedside tray.
Crosby took a deep shuddery breath. "Can't move…" She muttered as Daniel held the straw out for her to drink.
"Lieutenant, they had to put you in restraints. We weren't sure what happened back there." Carter informed her seriously. "Do you remember?"
"It burned." The young officer said, her eyes screwed tight. "The wall – it grabbed me." She shook her head at how strange that sounded, but knowing it was true. "At first it was, I don't know, not bad – like rubbing your hand over rough concrete, but then it, started getting hot." She gulped and she tried to control her rapidly increasing breath.
"I think that's enough for now." Dr. Frasier stepped in. Josephine hadn't even noticed her in the corner.
"No. Please. Let me just finish." She calmed her breathing and continued. "I could smell my flesh burn and I panicked." She looked up at the other members of the team. "What happened? It couldn't have been a dream." She said more to herself than to them. "They've never been that vivid." She mumbled under her breath. Only one person heard her. Everyone else was looking at Dr. Frasier.
The doctor ignored the looks and began checking Crosby's vitals, frowning as she wrote down the numbers; Crosby noticed and paled.
"Are you feeling okay, Lieutenant?" Despite having just taken her temperature with an ear thermometer, the doctor placed her hand against her patient's forehead.
"Maybe a little… um, cold." She suggested without conviction. "Okay otherwise."
"Everything okay, Doc?" Col. O'Neill asked.
"It could just be a side effect of the pain meds, but her stats are still a little low. I'm actually a little surprised she's awake right now." Dr. Frasier replied.
"She is right here." Crosby grumbled.
"It could support one of the theories." Dr. Frasier told him quietly.
"You know, it's just occurred to me that it's not exactly SOP to strap burn patients to the bed. Does anyone want to clarify for the one who's been asleep?"
"Just a precaution." Janet dismissed her with a pat on the arm and a smile.
Crosby frowned. "Oh, God, I didn't hurt anyone did I? Is that why I'm strapped down? I don't remember hurting anyone."
"You did not, Lieutenant Crosby." Teal'c informed her. "You have been unconscious since we returned through the stargate."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "I remember you carrying me. That did happen, didn't it?"
"It did indeed."
"Did you see what happened – how my arms healed?" She asked quietly, as if sharing a confidence.
"I did not. Your arms were heavily bandaged." Teal'c uncharacteristically hesitated. "You have dreamed of being burned before." He stated succinctly.
SG-1 and Janet, who had been conferring quietly, turned back to the bed at this mention. Crosby looked away from them, embarrassed.
"Yes." She muttered.
"Any particular reason?" Jack asked gently.
Crosby shot him a dirty look. "My father died of electrical burns." She griped at him. "It's not a pretty way to go."
She moved to cross her arms across her chest but couldn't because of the restraints.
"Why am I restrained again? I haven't hurt anyone, and it's not SOP. What's the deal?" She asked petulantly, eager to change the subject.
"Maybe the wall projects our dreams, or our fears." Daniel suggested.
"And it reacted to Crosby and not to you, why?" Jack inquired.
"Maybe Ancient technology is selective." Daniel suggested with a shrug.
"It wasn't Ancient technology." Crosby blurted drawing attention away from the approaching argument. She could make a pretty good guess as to why it had reacted to her and not Daniel.
"'Scuse me?" Jack asked, eyebrows raised.
Crosby looked shocked by her outburst. "I don't know how I knew that."
"Something cruvis with your frond, perhaps?" Jack asked facetiously.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"Nothing."
Daniel gave him a look of annoyance. "Is anything else popping into your mind – something that you don't think you knew before?"
The lieutenant pursed her lips in concentration. "No. I don't think so."
"It's not Ancient's technology. It's…" Daniel tried to lead.
"Nox?" Crosby asked.
"It's Nox technology?" Carter asked, clearly surprised.
"Nooooo… That's not right." She frowned in concentration, but she couldn't seem to willfully call up information. "Tell me more about the Nox; maybe I can remember that way."
"The Nox are pacifists…" Daniel began.
"Not all of them." She looked up at them in surprise, an edge of excitement creeping into her voice. "Tell me more."
Daniel cottoned on to what she was trying to do, and he worked to dig into the puzzle. "The Nox we met were pacifists. Apparently some of them aren't though. These Nox…"
"Aren't called Nox anymore; they left their home world."
"And they went…" Daniel asked excited.
"To many different worlds."
"Including PR9-161, where they built the hangar."
Crosby nodded. "They needed a long distance attack base to fight the Goa'uld."
Jack interrupted with his own question. "They also went…"
"To Earth." Crosby looked up at him in shock, the consequences of what she said sinking in.
"In order to…" Jack continued, dreading the answer.
Crosby whispered her final reply, her face horrified, "Colonize."