Two chapters within almost a week. Weird. But hopefully it'll be more common in the near future.
Disclaimer: Let me check . . . nope! Still not mine! sigh
Acting One's Age
by Keaira
Chapter 14 – A Little Vigil
Janet Fraiser was mad. Seething mad. Mad enough to- to-
Scream through clenched teeth apparently.
After that she felt a little better.
With a sigh she leaned against the wall and wondered where the normally cool, professional doctor had gone on her.
She knew her reaction to Martouf was a little extreme, but she couldn't help it.
She'd voiced her concerns and as usual they'd been ignored and now Teal'c was unconscious in her infirmary. Hopefully Junior could work more of that symbiote magic and pull him through, but she hated having to rely on a creature she very much considered the enemy.
Did they think she came up with these ideas because she got some perverse pleasure out of making things as difficult as possible? She wanted an answer just as much as the next person, but not at the expense of her patients' health.
With a deep breath and a few moments with her eyes closed she managed to calm herself and regain her control.
Martouf was just trying to do the job he'd been asked here to do which was help them find an answer to the problem of SG-1's regression in age. It wasn't his fault they were kids and he probably really had thought there would be no harm.
She spent a guilty moment wishing Anise were the Tok'ra representative who'd suggested using the memory recall device. It would be the perfect excuse to punch the Tok'ra Tart right in her perfectly proportioned lips.
But it wasn't her and wishing it was didn't solve the problem either. Besides, if she were here no doubt she'd use this as an excuse to conduct some other experiment on SG-1.
A horrifying thought of the younger SG-1 with the Ato'nik armbands on flashed through Janet's mind and caused her to shudder.
Not even the chance to punch Anise would be worth that experience.
She didn't think it was actually possible, but it was scary enough that she wasn't about to spend any more time contemplating it.
With a final shake of her head to clear it she focused on the task she'd told the general she'd be doing.
She noted with a somewhat amused smile that she'd already begun listening closer when she approached the room where the three were located. She didn't hear anything unusual though and nodded to the SF before entering.
Inside she found a sight that shouldn't have been surprising but was.
Sam sat at the table quietly scribbling on a sheet of paper and occasionally leafing through the book that had accompanied her electronics set, the box of which sat at her feet.
Daniel was on his stomach on the floor, several of his books opened and spread around him, his finger tracing a line in one before moving to another book.
Jack had built a Lego fort which his GI Joes were currently storming against the heavy resistance offered by the combined defense forces of the Lego people and little green army men, size disadvantage notwithstanding.
The fact that no one was screaming, giggling, or filling the air with anything white and fluffy caused her to pause in her tracks and she watched them for a few minutes, smiling at the simple, soothing picture they presented.
Right then Janet felt a pang of regret for some of the choices she'd made in her life. She could have been at home doing this with her own children right then if not for some of those choices.
Jack noticed her first and brought her out of her reverie.
"Hi, Janet."
At his words, both Sam and Daniel looked up from their own distractions.
"Hi!" Sam said with a smile and a small wave.
Daniel regarded her solemnly for a few seconds, then with his characteristic ability to see what someone was hiding, said, "Are you okay, Janet?"
Now Jack and Sam looked more closely at her, Jack frowning and Sam's smile fading.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.
"I'm fine," Janet lied automatically. She didn't need to trouble them with her problems, especially since they didn't seem to know there was a problem. She stepped forward and sat on the floor between Sam and Daniel.
"What are you reading?" she asked Daniel and looked at the books.
Daniel looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging and explaining that he was comparing the differences between the two books in the telling of the Egyptian creation myth.
It wasn't long before the sounds of 'battle' and Sam's scribbling resumed as well. She silently released the breath she'd been holding and let the calming influence of the three of them soothe her frazzled nerves.
They were SG-1. They had the luck of a thousand-four leaf clovers and rabbits' feet combined. Teal'c would live; Junior would pull him through somehow. And SG-1 would be returned to their normal adult selves with their memories intact.
She didn't have the answers right now, but she'd get them eventually.
She just had to be patient.
oOoo
She left a few times to check on Teal'c but he had yet to awaken and that had Janet worried. She'd check his vitals and monitor the progress of the tests being run, occasionally ordering another one or a repeat of a previous one.
When she got too frustrated she'd drop by the iso room and spend some time with SG-1 who were always willing, ready, and able to bring her into their simple, happy little world.
All too soon real life would intrude and she was either called away or her persistent nagging doctor's worry for a patient would kick in and she'd go back to the infirmary to spend more time working on the crises of the week.
She ate lunch with SG-1 in the iso room then spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out why Teal'c was still out. He had no obvious signs of trauma. His brain scans, though erratic just after the incident, had returned to normal. She was close to declaring him officially in a coma, but could give no reason for it.
She didn't dare give him anything to wake him up, deciding that his body had decided sleep was what it needed. She wasn't going to argue the point.
She was just finishing a sandwich for dinner when a light knock on her door caught her attention, bringing her back from an analysis of SG-1's blood results.
One of the corpsman on duty was standing there with Daniel at her side.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Ma'am, but-"
Janet held up a hand to cut off the excuse and swallowed the bite of sandwich she'd been chewing.
"It's all right. What did you need, Danny?"
Danny looked up at his escort and thanked her politely, then entered the office and came around the desk as she left.
Janet turned to look at him and he simply stopped and held up his arms. She successfully resisted the urge to arch an eyebrow and picked him up, settling him in her lap.
Before she could ask again what he needed, she was engulfed in a hug.
When he pulled away a few moments later and slid down to the ground, she blinked at him.
"What was that for?"
He shrugged. "You looked like you needed a hug."
She ducked her head and turned to straighten up the remains of dinner to hide the tears that threatened behind her eyes. She wondered again if he was recalling adult memories or if it was just in his nature.
She would put money on the latter.
When she was sure she had her composure in hand she turned back.
"Thank you, Danny. Is there anything else?"
"Is Teal'c okay?"
"He's fine. He's just sleeping."
"Why is he in a hospital bed then?"
Again Janet blinked in surprise at his keen observational skills.
"Well he wasn't feeling well earlier. But I checked him out and he seems to be fine now."
She told herself he was fine. He just wasn't ready to wake up yet.
"Can I sit with him?" Janet didn't answer immediately and he shrugged again. "My mom sits with me when I'm not feeling well and it always helps."
She smiled, pushing aside the sadness at the mention of his mother. She'd never met the woman of course, but she'd heard a lot about her from Daniel. Claire Jackson had to have been a very good mother to raise someone like Daniel Jackson, especially since she only had the first eight years of his life to do so. Her work had carried on, though, and still showed clearly in who he was.
"Sure, Danny. Let's go get you settled."
Standing and taking Danny's offered hand she walked with him out into the infirmary and found him a stool with a back to sit on. He thanked her then turned his attention to his unconscious friend.
She retreated to her office, pausing at the door to look back. No matter how many times she saw it she was never less than amazed at the friendship these four had created in such a short time. Even with no conscious memory of who they were or what they meant to each other, they still pulled together.
With a last smile she returned to her desk and her reports, her heart a little lighter.
oOoo
When she took a break later that evening to check on SG-1 and return them to the VIP room, she found Danny had crawled onto the bed and fallen asleep cuddled up to Teal'c's side. Whether he'd done it on his own, or with Danny's assistance, Janet didn't know, but the big arm was curled around the much smaller form, keeping him close.
She reluctantly disentangled Danny and made sure she hadn't disturbed Teal'c then carried the sleeping child out into the hall and down to the elevator for the ride back to the room.
Sam and Jack had apparently already been taken as the iso room was empty and unguarded when she checked.
She made her way quietly back to the room, savoring the calm of the SGC this late at night, the halls empty and peaceful.
Arriving at the VIP room, she found the SFs in place. One reached for the handle to open the door and told her in a hushed voice that they'd brought the two of them back an hour before and had set them up with a movie. It had been quiet since then.
She nodded and thanked him, then entered the room.
Sam was asleep, but Jack was still sitting up in his blanket in the middle of the floor. Even though someone had come in earlier to remake the beds and straighten up, the arrangements were much like the night before. They had even laid out Danny's bed for him between their own blankets.
Jack looked over when she entered the room and smiled at her, but quickly went back to the movie.
Carefully so as to not awaken her sleeping charge, Janet transferred Danny to the floor as he was, deciding that falling asleep in the pants and t-shirt he was wearing wouldn't kill him. She was unwilling to change his clothes and risk waking him.
"Is Teal'c still asleep?" Jack asked quietly, startling her.
"Yes," she said softly.
"He's probably afraid if he wakes up you'll check his temperature. He hates it when you do that."
Janet arched an eyebrow. "He does?"
Jack nodded. "Yup. He says that Junior will make sure his temperature never gets too high. And he doesn't like the way the thermometer pokes him."
Janet has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud and waking Sam and Danny.
"I'll have to remember that."
"Just don't tell him I told you."
"I won't."
She stood and looked around to make sure nothing else needed to be attended to.
"Do you want me to turn off the lights?" she asked as she went to the door.
"Yes, please," he said without looking away from the movie.
"Goodnight, Jack."
"Goodnight, Doc."
With one last smile she left.
Thanks for the reviews and for reading! Until next time . . .
"Every day of your life you should do something absolutely insane . . . and then run like hell." - Anonymous
-Keaira