Hammond sat in his office staring at the report in front of him. He'd been staring at it for over an hour and he still had no idea what it said. All he could see was Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson… changed. He didn't know why this seemed so much more shocking than the multitude of other things they'd faced over the years. But this thing had changed them at such a basic level. They had always recovered before and come back stronger than ever. He wasn't so confident that was going to happen again. A soft knock at the door caused him to look up. Walter Davis stuck his head in.
"Dr. Fraiser is getting ready to move them, sir," his voice was quiet. He was one of the few people on the base besides those directly involved who knew what had happened.
"You've arranged for the halls to be cleared?" The general knew that news was going to get out quickly enough. It was hard to keep a secret in their little community, but he would do what he could to safeguard his people's privacy for as long as possible.
Walter nodded, "Yes, sir. It's late, there's not many people around to clear. We're running a foothold drill."
"Good." Good man. Hammond knew he wouldn't be able to run things at the SGC without him. "Did you have someone get two of the VIP rooms ready for them?"
"Yes, sir. It's all taken care of."
"That's good." He turned back to the report he'd been trying to read.
"Sir?"
"Yes?" Hammond looked up to find Davis still standing uncertainly in the door.
"They'll be alright won't they? Major Carter and Doctor Jackson I mean."
The general smiled a little, pushing aside his own concerns for the moment, "Of course they will. They're SG-1."
Davis brightened a little, "Yes, sir. Of course, sir. You're right."
"I'm always right, Sgt. I'm the general, remember?"
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir."
"Thank you, Walter."
With a small smile, Davis shut the door behind him, leaving a profound silence behind him.
Would SG-1 be alright?
He might be a general, but he didn't have that answer. He just did what he could for them. Somehow assigning them two of the VIP rooms seemed like such a small thing. And then he hoped they would sort it out. Come up with yet another miracle. Their luck was sure to run out sometime, but Hammond hoped it held out one more time.
With a frustrated sigh, he shut the report and slid it aside. It would have to wait for tomorrow. Tonight he needed to go home and hug his granddaughters. They helped to remind him that there were still ordinary people in the world that were depending on him and the SGC to keep them safe. It helped to balance the sacrifices they made on a daily basis to know that his granddaughters would grow up in a world that never knew of its peril.
Daniel awoke, the room dark around him. Remnants of a nightmare clung to him as he tried to gather his scattered wits. Used to waking in strange places off-world, this felt even stranger than most. It took him a moment to realize he was in one of the VIP rooms on base. Why?
He sat in the bed, reaching up to pinch his nose with his fingers. The second his hand hit his face he remembered. In the darkness he explored his new face with his fingertips.
The skin under his hand was smoother than he remembered…
The lines of his face softer, his chin should have been rough with stubble...
His mind whited out, refusing to consider that who he was could have been changed on such a basic level. He couldn't fathom that he could really be a woman, no, no, no.
He scrambled from the bed, clutching the comforter to him to cover his body, couldn't see, didn't want to see.
He pressed himself into the darkest corner of the room he could find, where he didn't have to see what he now was. He rocked himself gently and pulled the blanket tight around him, to keep the world from invading too close.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the escape of sleep returned.
Jack stood at the door of the commissary. He surveyed the tables crowded with people having breakfast before they went on duty. He'd stopped at the door of Carter's VIP room only to find that she was already up and out. All was quiet in Daniel's room and the colonel had decided to leave him alone. If he could sleep, let him.
Looking across the room he spotted a blonde head and headed that way. He stopped short to contemplate the change that had been wrought in his female second-in-command. He'd never thought much about her femininity, it was just something that was. She had proved from the beginning that she was the equal of any man, and smarter than most. If there was a situation that she couldn't fight her way out of, she would think her way out of it, she and Daniel. He wondered briefly what this change was going to mean to his team, then pushed the thought from his mind not wanting to go there yet.
For the moment, he was just hoping to get through breakfast.
Sam was there, seated, a plate full of food in front of her. She seemed a little taller now, if that was possible, her face strong and masculine. He could see the wide shoulders and muscles rippling under the black t-shirt. He caught some of the women in the room casting covert glances in Sam's direction, wondering about the identity of this handsome stranger in their midst. So much for privacy, this was going to make it through the base's grapevine in no time flat.
Jack picked up a tray and put a bowl of fruit loops and a carton of milk on it. Carrying the tray over, he sat at the table with Sam.
"Hey," was his brilliant opening remark.
"Hey, yourself, sir," was her bright rejoinder.
Jack was relieved to see that she at least looked like she was doing okay.
"So?" He couldn't bring himself to ask the question out loud. What did it feel like being a man when you'd spent your entire life being a woman. It made Jack itchy just to think about it.
"So?" She blinked at him while shoveling her breakfast down.
Maybe it really was true that men's IQ's were lower than women's. He couldn't ever remember Samantha Carter using words with less than 3 syllables.
"How are you feeling today, Carter?" Jack poured the milk over his cereal and picked up a spoon.
She considered the question, her head cocked, a typical Carter mannerism. It was reassuring to see it. "Actually, sir, I don't feel that different. Maybe a little uncomfortable in some strange places." She grinned at him companionably. "I can probably live with this until Janet figures out how to reverse it."
That sounded more like the Sam Carter he knew. "So, you going to go down and help her out with research and 'stuff?' he asked cautiously.
She shrugged, "Sure, but I thought first I'd go down to the gym and work out a little. You know kick the tires of my new body, find out what it can do." She grinned in anticipation.
"Be careful, Sam. Things work a lot different in a male body."
She gave him that 'you're as dumb as shit, but you're my commanding officer so I can't say that' look. He'd seen it in scientists and people who considered their brain superior to his military brain. It was a big part of the reason he'd objected to them so long ago when he'd first met Daniel.
Since then Sam and Daniel had changed his mind about scientists and really smart people in general. He didn't think he remembered ever seeing that particular look from her even when he was playing the dumb shit and deserved it.
And she didn't say it today, instead she settled for, "I think I know that, sir. I'm the one in the new body."
Then, before he could call her on it, she switched gears on him and went into Carter hyper-scientist mode, "Sir, I've been doing some research already, and sure there are people who've had a sex change operation, but none of them have experienced it as completely as Daniel and I have. Think of it. We have the chance to study something completely new in the human experience.." She scooped up more eggs and casually added, "Once Daniel's finished freaking out, I think he'll see that, too."
Once Daniel's finished freaking out? The contempt in her voice chilled Jack to the bone, "Come on, Sam, cut him some slack. I think I would be a little freaked waking up in a women's body, too."
"Give me a break, sir. I've been a women all my life and it's not that hard. I'd tell him to just suck it up."
"Major Carter, I think you need to hit the infirmary and see the Doc. I think they gave you a personality switch back in that alien lab."
"Oh, come on, Jack."
He didn't miss the emphasis on his name. Had Carter ever called him by his name? There were only one or two times that he could think of and those were extreme circumstances.
Her voice rose, "We've been babying Daniel for years now. Maybe we're all the right sex now. I mean maybe I'll finally fit in around this 'boys club'. And let's face it, my job will be a lot easier as a man."
For once in his life, Jack O'Neill was speechless. Not only did he not know what to say, but he didn't think he knew this person sitting across from him. At last he found his voice, "Cut the crap, Carter." His voice was hard, cutting like a knife, "Daniel has always pulled his own weight, and we've never treated you as anything but an equal. You've gotten nothing but respect from the men of SG-1."
Around them the room had quieted. Jack was aware that all eyes were on them.
She shook her head, startled, "Where did that come from? I don't know why I said that, sir. I really don't feel that way. I just feel so hyper, kind of like, I don't know, kind of... twitchy." There was fear in her eyes.
Suspicion was beginning to form in Jack's mind, "A little like you did when we had those Tokra armband thingies?"
"Well, ya, a little."
"Can you say testosterone, Carter? Don't you always accuse us guys of saying stupid stuff all the time, speaking without thinking? How does it feel to have the shoe on the other foot?"
She pushed her tray away and stood abruptly, "I'm going to the infirmary and see if I can help, Janet."
She stalked out of the room, leaving him sitting there alone, eating his fruit loops. This was going to be so much fun. They really had to find a way to get his team back to normal.
My apologies for being so long with this update. Life kind of ambushed me. Hopefully the rest of the story will come along faster now!