Categories: kind of gen, kind of Daniel/Janet, angst
Season/Spoilers: Season 6; spoilers for Meridian, Redemption parts 1 and 2
Summary: Jonas is injured on a mission and pays a visit to Dr. Fraiser.
Colonel O'Neill stormed down the ramp a mere ten minutes after he had left it, frustration and anger seething from every bone in his body. Behind him, Major Carter and Teal'c came through the wormhole, supporting a limping Jonas Quinn.
"Report, Colonel," ordered General Hammond as the medical team surrounded Jonas.
"He stepped in a hole, sir," spat O'Neill, jerking his head towards the humiliated newest member of SG-1. "We had only made it twenty feet from the gate, and he had to step into a freaking hole!" The Colonel stormed out of the room without waiting to be dismissed.
"Major?"
Carter studied her feet for a moment before meeting the General's eye. "He just…" She trailed off and waved a hand after O'Neill. The end of the sentence, 'misses Daniel,' hung in the air as tangibly as if she had spoken the words. Hammond nodded slowly and turned to the injured man.
"And how are you, Mr. Quinn?"
"It's really nothing, sir," insisted Jonas, despite inhaling sharply as Dr. Fraiser prodded his ankle. "Just a little sprain or something. I'm fine."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" suggested the doctor, the tone of her voice quelling any argument.
"Agreed," answered the General in Jonas's stead. "Mr. Quinn, report to the infirmary." He turned to Carter and Teal'c. "The two of you are dismissed."
"Yes, sir," answered Carter dully as she plodded out of the room.
Jonas had to admit that his ankle did hurt, but the physical pain was nothing compared to his consummate embarrassment. He thought the Colonel was beginning to accept him, but their abortive mission today seemed to be a step backwards in their relationship. The planet had seemed so interesting, and he was looking around him instead of at the ground in front of him…
The click of heels entering the room drew Jonas's attention away from his self-pity. Dr. Fraiser walked toward his bed, followed by a nurse wheeling a cart full of bandages. "Well, Mr. Quinn," announced the doctor briskly, "you'll be happy to know that your ankle is not broken. You do have a fairly nasty sprain, though, so I'd like to bandage it up and keep you off of it for a few days."
Jonas nodded indifferently. It was more or less what he expected. He watched the petite doctor begin to select bandages for his ankle and wondered what she must think of him. He knew she was very close to his new teammates, so no doubt she was on their side. He had also heard rumors that she and Dr. Jackson had been involved. Jonas sighed with frustration.
Dr. Fraiser studied him for a moment and then dismissed her nurse. "Okay," she said after the nurse had gone, "would you like to tell me what's bothering you?"
Jonas hesitated. He certainly wanted to tell someone what was bothering him, but he wasn't sure Dr. Fraiser was the right choice. Before he could rationally sort through the pros and cons of establishing a confidence with this woman, however, he found himself confessing his frustrations. "I'm such an idiot," he began, "and a klutz. I can't believe I stepped in a hole and sprained my stupid ankle. I mean, how can I expect the Colonel to take me seriously if I do that sort of thing. What could I ever have been thinking? This is a military operation; Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter and Teal'c are all experienced soldiers. Maybe I don't belong here after all."
As he finished speaking, he realized that the doctor had paused in the middle of wrapping his ankle and was studying him with an inscrutable expression on her face. Her lips were pressed thinly together and herface was strained, but her eyes were soft and fond. Jonas looked at her questioningly.
"Sorry," she said suddenly, quickly resuming her work on his ankle. "You, uh, reminded me of someone just then."
"What, you know someone else who is as big an accident-prone idiot as I am?"
She laughed hollowly, and again Jonas detected the blending of pain and affection in her face. "You could say that," she answered ambiguously. Jonas didn't get it, and it evidently showed because a moment later she clarified softly: "Dr. Jackson."
He didn't know how to respond. Dr. Jackson was a hero and a genius, larger than life, single-handedly responsible for saving the lives of Jonas and everyone on his planet. "But not the Dr. Jackson I met," he finally protested.
Dr. Fraiser's warning expression told him in a glance that he did not know Dr. Jackson like she did. Nevertheless, an instant later her face softened. "Do you have any idea how many times, especially in the early years, Daniel managed to injure himself on some routine mission? I lost count after a while. The scene was always the same: the Colonel would come back furious, ranting about rocks and geeks, and Daniel would give me a speech very much like the one you just gave. But at the end of the day, they both knew how much they needed one another."
Jonas was alarmed to see Dr. Fraiser's eyes grow misty and for a moment he feared she might start to cry. Instead, she pressed her lips together and efficiently finished wrapping his ankle. Her body language indicated that the conversation was closed, which was just as well, since Jonas couldn't think of a thing to say to her.
"I'd like you to stay here for a few hours until the swelling goes down; that way I know you're keeping off of it. Ring the bell by your bed if you need anything." She gave him a forced smile before turning and leaving the room.
Jonas napped for a while and was awakened a couple of hours later by voices in the doorway. He turned his head slightly to see Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Fraiser talking softly; neither noticed that he had awakened.
"I think you're forgetting how you felt about Daniel at first," Dr. Fraiser warned softly. Jonas had to strain to hear her.
"No," answered O'Neill, looking a little upset, "that's just the problem. It's like déjà vu in some ways. It's not fair."
"He can't help it, sir. And it must be so hard for him, knowing that we all wish that," she paused and took a deep breath, "things were different."
The Colonel nodded after a moment and placed a hand on Fraiser's shoulder. "How you holding up, Doc?" he asked, his concern evident in his face and voice.
The doctor looked down at the floor for a moment. "Some days are harder than others," she admitted.
"Yeah," O'Neill agreed.
"Well, I've got some paperwork I need to finish."
O'Neill nodded and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "I think I'm going to go sit with him for a little while."
Jonas quickly shut his eyes again, not wanting Colonel O'Neill to know that he had overheard them. He heard the older man settle himself in a chair near the foot of the bed. "Glad you're okay, Jonas," he muttered under his breath.
The End