Chapter 3: Napoleonic Power Monger
In the hall outside the Gate room, Daniel hesitated, first glancing at their new companion. Horsie walked in the middle of the group, its head turning this way and that, taking in the sights. Although the underground complex left little to be seen with its long tunnels and drab gray concrete walls, the stick horse didn't seem to find it the least bit dull. Its happy blue face remained unchanged and it seemed content to be surrounded by its new friends.
Daniel cleared his throat, and Horsie's head turned toward him, a quizzical moo in the ever-present conversation bubble above its head. "Uh, Stick Horsie, before we take you to your quarters, there's something we need to do first." Horsie cocked its head to the side and nodded, so Daniel continued. "We just have to stop by the infirmary first, and get you checked out, make sure you're healthy." A slightly worried expression appeared on Horsie's face.
Seeing the worried look, Sam hastened to reassure it. "It's ok Horsie, we all do it, every time we come back through the gate. Dr. Fraiser will be there, you'll like her."
"Oh yeah," muttered O'Neill under his breath, "it'll love the Napoleonic power monger with her big and honkin' needles."
Unfortunately, Horsie overheard O'Neill's offhand remark. Its eyes grew large, and its mouth formed a surprised 'o'. "Mooooooo?" appeared in the bubble, the letters looking a little bit fuzzy. In fact, the Horsie seemed to be shaking just slightly. And was it their imagination, but had Horsie shrunk a little bit? Its head now seemed to be level with their heads.
"I can assure you, StickHorsie, that you will come to no harm from Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c spoke, and the stick horse turned at the sound of the deep voice. "It's really not that bad, Horsie," added Sam. "We can even stay with you the entire time. The Colonel," and Sam shot a quick glare at her CO, "was just exaggerating about the needles."
Although Horsie appeared less apprehensive at their words, it still seemed a bit uncomfortable, and wedged itself in between Sam and Teal'c. A hesitant smile appeared on its face. Sam smiled reassuringly, and Teal'c did his best to appear as unthreatening as possible.
Clearing his throat, Daniel drew their attention. "Well, ok. Uh, lets go see Janet." He turned and led the way to the infirmary. Horsie followed, flanked by Teal'c and Carter. If its steps were just a little hesitant, no one made any comment. There were many curious looks along the way, and more than one double take, but Horsie seemed to take it all in stride, returning the glances with a big smile. There was more than one person wearing a goofy grin inside the mountain that day.
The group arrived at the infirmary, and was immediately greeted by a short reddish-haired woman wearing a lab coat over her air force blues. She greeted them with a big smile, having been warned with a phone call from General Hammond to expect the unusual group. He hadn't mentioned who was accompanying the new being, but she wasn't surprised to find SG-1 in the thick of things.
"So this must be Stick Horsie." She beamed at the this creature standing in front of her and wondered silently what it ate for nourishment, as it didn't seem to be getting enough. Daniel was quick to make introductions, and Stick Horsie bobbed its head, grinning. The one the others called Sam had been right, Horsie did like this Dr. Fraiser.
"Uh, Janet," Sam interrupted, before the petite doctor could lead their new guest behind a curtain. Janet paused, waiting for Sam to speak. "Horsie's a little, um…" she shot another look at the Colonel, who tried to look innocent, before finishing. "Nervous. We promised we'd stay with it."
Janet didn't miss the look, and understood immediately. The Colonel griped to anyone and everyone that would listen to him about needles. The way he went on, you'd think that she saved extra large needles just for him. Although sometimes, she was sorely tempted to use the biggest one she could find. But that wouldn't be ethical. Giving herself a mental shake, Dr. Fraiser turned back to the matter at hand. "We can just start with a basic exam, then maybe a scan next. Sam, why don't you come in with us? The rest of you can wait out here." Horsie seemed to be glued to Sam's side. Sam smiled encouragingly at it and entered the cubicle Janet indicated, the thin blue stick horse hesitating only briefly before following them trustingly.
Janet was gentle, but efficient, explaining everything she planned to do before doing it. They quickly discovered that Horsie was surprisingly soft to the touch, despite its slight metallic shine. They also learned that it was ticklish on its tummy, liked to be rubbed behind its ears, and touching the spot at the base of its tail caused it to quiver all over.
All the equipment in the infirmary fascinated Horsie, so it was easy to get it to agree to several different non-invasive scans. The ultrasound showed nothing, either Horsie's internal organs were so different they didn't appear as organs, or it wouldn't work because Horsie was so thin. The x-ray and CAT scan proved equally uninformative. Sam looked over Janet's shoulder at the latest scan, and exchanged a glance with the other woman. The film looked like a perfect line drawing of Stick Horsie.
Finally, Janet and Sam led Horsie back to the others. It was time for trying a blood test. Since the blood exam would involve a needle, Janet thought it would be best to let Horsie have all of its new friends nearby. The happy grin that had been on Horsie's face wavered slightly, and it clearly looked worried again, especially when Janet returned with a tray bearing the dreaded needle and a few small vials. The doctor frowned when she saw Horsie's face. She didn't want to cause the creature undue stress, but the blood test was necessary. Everyone that came through that gate had to be tested for any potential pathogens among other things, so she couldn't skip the blood test.
"It's not bad Stick Horsie, it's just a tiny little prick, and then we can take a little bit of blood to make sure everything is ok. It'll be over before you know it." Janet tried to sound reassuring, but Horsie still looked worried. All the same, it bravely propped one of its front stick legs on the table when instructed. After all, Sam had said they all did this, and the large one, Teal'c, had promised that it would come to no harm. Horsie knew it liked Teal'c and Sam already, and wanted to trust them. Still, the needle did look rather large, and the grumpy man's comment drifted back into its head just as Janet located a lighter blue marking that seemed to be vein and prepared to quickly insert the needle.
Just before the needle could puncture the skin, Horsie's thin blue leg morphed and flexed, fluidly flowing out of the way of the sharp tip. Janet blinked, wondering if her eyes had deceived her. But no, when she tried a second time the same thing happened. Horsie looked perplexed, obviously not having full conscious control over its ability to stay away from harm.
"Oh for cryin' out loud, its too scared to hold still. Here, let me show it that it's not that bad." Jack pushed in front of Daniel and Teal'c, rolling up his sleeve, the others staring at him in surprise. It was very unlike Jack O'Neill to willingly consent to being on the receiving end of one of Janet's needles, let alone actually volunteer. Jack just glared in reply, holding out his arm.
Recovering quickly, Janet opened another blood drawing needle, and cleaned the Colonel's arm, Jack pointedly watching anything else. Horsie watched with interest as the doctor quickly inserted the needle and filled one of the small tubes up with a bit of the Colonel's red blood. As soon as the vial was full, she covered the site with a cotton ball and withdrew the needle. The Colonel held the cotton ball on and looked smug. "There. That wasn't so bad. You're turn." Janet just rolled her eyes, and fussed with her tray.
Horsie blinked, and cocked its head to the side, looking appraisingly at the usually grumpy man, and back to the nice red haired woman that had been so kind so far. Coming to a decision, it placed its leg back on the table and closed its eyes reflexively, turning its head away for good measure like it had seen the gray haired man do. Janet moved fast, briskly cleaning the site she had identified earlier. Moving to insert the needle, she frowned when at first it did not seem to be able to penetrate. Suddenly, Horsie's skin seemed to morph again, however this time instead of moving out of the way, it seemed to flow over the needle, accepting it. Moments later, an odd blue liquid flowed into the vials. Within seconds, she was done and the needle was out, another cotton ball covering where the needle had gone in, even though the puncture site seemed to have sealed off on its own already. "There, all done," she announced. Horsie opened its eyes in surprise; it was still waiting for the test to be started! But the two full vials were evidence that it was all over. Horsie touched the vials with its nose curiously; it had never seen what was inside it before.
Janet removed the cotton ball, and found no evidence that she'd even inserted a needle there. Amazing. Janet shook her head, filing the puzzle away for later. "Well, we're all done here. Be sure to come back if you feel at all unwell Stick Horsie." Horsie bobbed its head in agreement, and then surprised her by tentatively reaching out and nuzzling her hand, taking the unsoiled cotton ball in its mouth with a hopeful expression on its face. Janet blinked in surprise, but recovered quickly. "Horsie, would you like to keep the cotton ball?" She'd certainly encountered odder things in her years at the SGC. Well, maybe not much odder. Horsie responded by bobbing its head up and down enthusiastically. Janet just smiled and shrugged helplessly at SG-1.
Happily holding onto its lovely bit of soft fluff, Horsie looked expectantly at its new friends, wondering what was next.
The man with the glass circles over his eyes, who Horsie remembered was called Daniel, suggested that now they could take Horsie to its quarters, so it could rest. Blinking, Horsie was caught off guard by another yawn, and decided that sleep would be a very good thing. Willingly, Horsie followed the four people as they led the way to the promised bed.