Teal'c would never admit it, not even if tortured, but he was worried. As First Prime of Apophis he had seen much, but he had never seen this 'change' that had affected his team members. What worried him wasn't the change itself. He knew that the Goa'uld were a depraved race capable of cruelty beyond imagination, it did not surprise him that the System Lords made use ofthis 'change'for their own pleasures and to torture their human slaves. No, what surprised and alarmed him was the reactions of his team mates to the 'change.'
To Teal'c it made little difference what gender the two humans were. He knew them as courageous warriors, male or female it made no difference. It seemed to make a difference to them however. It troubled him that they would view it as a weakness to be other than they knew themselves. He knew himself to be Teal'c inside and whatever he looked like outside, that would not change, so too were Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter the same inside. It did not matter what they looked like on the outside, it was their heart that mattered. That the Goa'uld could not change.
Over their years together he had seen SG-1 face many dangers. Together they had faced those things, and defeated them as a team. This time there was no enemy to face, no battle to be won, and it frustrated Teal'c. All that he and O'Neill could do for their comrades was to support them and hope that they could adjust to this difference in their lives.
O'Neill had asked him to look after Samantha Carter and that was what he intended to do. Once he found her. Normally he would have located her easily in her laboratory or perhaps helping Doctor Frasier as she searched for a way to fix what could not be fixed, but she was in neither place.
He widened his search to include Daniel Jackson's office and the control room and still no one had seen the absent major. When it finally occurred to him that not many people knew of the change that had befallen SG-1, he began to ask if anyone had seen a new recruit anywhere. It was then that he located the errant major quickly.
If he had not already known that she was inside, Teal'c would have known by the shouting coming from the gym that Major Carter was to be found there. He entered to find the major circled by the marines of SG-3. She looked fairly battered and bruised, but the marine opposite her looked as if he had taken the worst of the beating with a swelling black eye and a bloody nose dripping onto the floor.
"What is going on here?" he inquired of the nearest onlooker.
The man shrugged. "Some new guy," the man said. "He took exception to something one of the marines said about SG-1. He's already beaten two of the marines, this is the third one that's faced him. Don't know who he is, but I hope we get him on our team."
"That will not be likely," Teal'c growled as he shoved his way through bodies. When he finally made it to where the action was, Major Carter was facing a fresh opponent. Teal'c decided it was time to put a stop to things.
"Major Carter," he snapped, "that is enough."
She didn't move from her spot, just glanced around at him. "Care to join me, Teal'c? The marines are helping me warm up." She bounced on the balls of her feet, fists raised.
However the marine standing opposite her paled, "Major Carter?" he squeaked. It would have been comical if the situation were not so serious. "But…"
Teal'c realized then that since there was nothing on base that would now fit the major, she was wearing fatigues that had no name on them. None of these people had known who she was. That was now changed as a murmur went through the room. Teal'c could feel the speculation running rife as he stepped in to grab the major's arm before she could swing again.
"Either join me or let go, Teal'c," she said in a dangerous voice.
"Major Carter, did not Doctor Frasier advise you to remain close to the ground for the present time until she could decide how best to help you?"
"I think she said keep a low profile. And what's the use of being able to beat the snot out of someone if you don't do it?" She gave an ineffectual tug on her arm.
She might be a match for the marines, but she still wasn't his equal in strength, not yet. With the proper training she would be an even more formidable opponent than she already was. When the time was right, and if it was required he would give her that training, but now was not the time or the place.
"Samantha Carter, I do not believe you are yourself today. Now stop this activity at once or I will be forced to make you stop."
"You'll make me stop?" She turned slowly and he could see the danger in her eyes. He knew the madness that some of his men experienced, the lust for blood that fed them during battle. He saw that in the familiar blue eyes of the major. Then she blinked and it was the Samantha Carter that he knew. She glanced around at the gym full of men, all watching them intently. Her cheeks became blotchy with color.
"Oh, geeze, Teal'c. What have I done?" she asked as her eyes rolled up and she fainted into his arms.
He glared at the men surrounding them as he hoisted the major's not inconsiderable new weight over his shoulder. They parted in front of him as he strode through them. He heard the instant buzz that broke out as soon as he was out of sight.
Yes, it was plain that the cat, as he had heard Daniel Jackson say, was out of the bag.
Sam shifted uncomfortably on the bed as Janet gently examined her face. When Janet clicked on her pen knife and shone it into her eyes, Sam winced and knocked it aside, "Shit, Janet, what did you do that for?" she asked roughly.
"I was checking for eye reaction. You know, Sam, signs of concussion," Janet said calmly as she went right back to the eye exam.
Sam fidgeted but didn't knock the hand with the penlight away again. "What's wrong with me, Janet? I feel like I'm going to explode."
"Just a guess, but I'd say you have too much testosterone in your body," was Janet's cheerful answer.
Or so it seemed to Sam, "I'm glad to know you're getting such a kick out of this, doctor, but can't you give me a shot or something. Make it go away?"
"Sam," Janet turned the light off and absently slipped it into her pocket, "this isn't just going to go away. You're going to have to learn how to control yourself. You can't just take on a room full of marines..."
"It wasn't a room full of marines," Sam began, only to be interrupted by Teal'c who was standing quietly observing at the head of the bed.
"Indeed it was, Major Carter. I was told that you had already engaged two marines and you were facing a third when I arrived. If I had not stopped you when I did, you might have been seriously injured."
"It's not me who's going to be seriously injured," Sam muttered darkly.
"Sam!" Janet's exasperated huff caught the major's attention.
"What?" she asked sullenly. She scanned the room for a way out, but Teal'c was standing close enough that if she made a move to escape he would stop her.
"You need to take a step back and look at the way you're acting," Janet said as she continued her exam. "It's completely driven by testosterone and only you can control that."
"But how?" Sam wailed plaintively. "Men grow up dealing with it, how am I suddenly supposed to know how to deal with this?"
"Major Carter," Teal'c surprised both women by speaking, "I have watched you deal with many things that you have never known before: the existence of aliens, a war that was not your choosing, being a host to a Tok'ra. There is no manual for how to deal with these things, but you have done it, better than many men I have known. You are one of the bravest people I know, and you will deal with this."
He spoke with such passion and conviction that for a moment Sam was convinced, but then she felt the strange itching within herself, the need to move, to act. She shook her head, "No, Teal'c, I don't know how to be a guy."
"Sam," Janet shook her head with a sad smile, "don't you remember we talked about this once. You don't have to be one of the guys. You kicked Hathor's ass straight out of the SGC and you didn't need the guys help with that…"
There was a sound from Teal'c, it might have been a cough and Janet amended her statement, suppressing the grin that wanted to break out, "Okay, so we let the guys help us a little bit. But if it wasn't for us, our guys would now be serving Hathor and Earth would be just another Goa'uld-controlled world. You did that, you saved Earth. Sam Carter. So it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, you can deal."
"Are you sure?" She didn't look entirely convinced.
"I am." Janet told her firmly. "Now it doesn't look like you've done anything irreparable, but you can really use a shower." The doctor wrinkled her nose.
Panic appeared in Sam's eyes, "No, Janet, don't make me, please. I just really don't…"
"Sam, I've seen you build a naquada reactor from scratch. What's a shower next to that?"
"You know you really are a napoleanic power mongerer," Sam told her evenly.
"Just say sir when you call me that," Janet said as she handed Sam a towel. "And I think you might want to take a razor," she added.
"Why?" Sam flashed her a surprised glare, "I'm a guy now remember? I don't have to shave my legs."
"It's not your legs that need shaving, my friend," Janet patted her own cheek before leaving Sam alone with Teal'c.
Sam's hand automatically went to her chin, and she ran her fingers over the skin there. Her own skin was supposed to be soft and smooth. She didn't do anything special to achieve it, she'd just been blessed with good genes. That smooth skin was gone now and she found her chin rough and scratchy under her questing fingers, all the way down her neck. She'd tried to ignore the changes in her body, to try to put it in a best-case scenario, but she just couldn't anymore. She was in a man's body and she hated it. She met Teal'c's gaze, "I don't think I know how to shave my face," she confessed softly.
"I looked forward many years to the first time that Rya'c would have to shave. I was going to teach him as my father taught me."
His reminiscing tone took her by surprise. Teal'c so very rarely opened up about his family. She asked, "What happened?" if only to delay the inevitable.
"I did not get to teach him, Major Carter. I assisted you in your escape from Apophis. I was here on Earth when Rya'c achieved his first growth and had to shave. Another man taught my son this thing."
Sam swallowed a lump, "I'm so sorry, Teal'c. I knew you gave up your family to help us, but I never thought…"
Teal'c held up a hand to stop her, "I did not tell you this to make you feel guilty, Samantha Carter. What we did gave my son a chance to grow up free of the Goa'uld. This is more important. I was simply going to say that I would be honored to assist you in this."
Sam sat a momentcompletely overcome by gratitude that he understood she needed what he offered before she even knew it herself. She nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Teal'c I'd like that." She hopped down from the gurney, swaying a little from the sudden shift in gravity. He steadied her with a hand on her shoulders.
Brothers in arms, somehow that didn't sound so bad anymore.
Thanks so much for the excellent feedback ;-)Hopefully I can use it to make my story better. Only time will tell.