five.
Janet feels like a fish out of water. The infirmary, a place she always considered her patch, has changed subtly in the time she's been away. Stores have been moved around, the cart with the missing wheel has been replaced, and her staff have all changed. Hammond never told her exactly what her position would be, what she was supposed to do, and how things were going to progress.
She's tucked herself out of sight in the commissary but she can't convince herself to enjoy the sandwich on her plate. She used to love the wholegrain ham sandwiches, but for some reason today she can't swallow it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone sitting here."
She looks up to see a tall, slim woman with dark hair and green eyes holding a tray.
"Aren't you a little young to be here?" the woman asks, confused.
"I'm a lot older than you'd think," Janet says tiredly, pushing the sandwich around on her plate.
"I bet," the woman agrees, dropping her tray to the table and moving into the booth to sit opposite Janet. "I'm Liz, by the way."
"Janet."
Janet watches as Liz carefully unwraps her knife and fork, and tucks a napkin onto her lap before she starts eating. "You're new here," Janet says, studying the woman.
"I am," Liz agrees, taking a bite of pasta. "This is really good. You're not hungry?"
"No," Janet sighs, pushing her plate aside.
"Bad day?"
"You could say that," Janet agrees. "How long have you been working here?"
"I just transferred," Liz explains, taking another bite. "Only got here a few hours ago, as a matter-of-fact."
"That's soon," Janet murmurs, frowning.
"Soon?"
"I didn't think the new brass would start transferring people in so soon after General Hammond left. I thought they'd give us time to settle first."
Liz's fork drops to her plate. "Who are you?" she demands.
"Janet," Janet repeats. "Janet Fraiser. I used to be the CMO."
"But you died," Liz says blankly, then bites down on her lip. "I'm sorry, I really didn't meant to sound so insensitive. You just caught me by surprise. I didn't expect…"
Janet laughs, but even she can tell there's no humor in the expression. "Don't worry about it," she says. "It's not like it's something you'd expect to really happen."
"I'm sorry," Liz says again. "No one said anything about… well…"
"It's recent," Janet explains, eyeing the woman. "I'm sorry, what exactly is your position at the SGC?"
Liz shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and then smiles. "I'm in command."
"You're Dr. Weir?" Janet realizes.
"Yes," Liz nods. "Now, while we're sitting here, would you mind explaining exactly what I've missed out on?"
Janet pauses, looking at the woman. This soft spoken, slim woman was is command of the entire SGC? She isn't even military, Janet realizes. "Are you aware of a cloning incident about a year ago, with an Asgard named Loki and Colonel O'Neill?"
"I remember reading a report on that, yes," Liz says, nodding. "I understand the clone is attending a state high school several hours from here."
"So were the rest of us," Janet agrees humorlessly.
"The rest of you? You mean there are more clones?"
"What do you think I am?" Janet asks bluntly.
"How many more, and who?" Liz asks quietly.
"Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Teal'c and myself are the only others besides Colonel O'Neill, but you already knew about him."
"And where are they all?"
"I'm not entirely certain," Janet admits finally. She hopes, hopes with everything inside her, that they haven't gotten themselves killed. Janet's not a dependant or weak woman, but she doesn't think she should live with being the only clone left out of all of them. Not now, when everything's so different at the SGC. "They were with Colonel O'Neill – the original, that is."
Liz looks almost as confused and lost as Janet feels, and Janet studies her hands in front of her. "General Hammond was reassigning us all to the SGC," Janet continues. "We agreed to be cloned because we thought that we might be needed at the SGC again one day. Well, that's what Major Carter said anyway," Janet says, smiling. "Sam and Daniel are far too convinced of their own importance."
"You agreed to be cloned," Liz points out.
"Yes. I'm not sure how I let Sam talk me into it, much less how she talked General Hammond into it. It's not like I'm irreplaceable."
"What would you like to do?" Liz asks.
Janet shrugs. "I don't know. I never thought it would be like this."
"What did you think it would be like?"
"Are you a psychologist?"
"No," Liz says, smiling in amusement.
"I thought it would be completely different," Janet admits. "I assumed it would be years before we were 'recalled', so to speak. I thought maybe we'd live our own lives until they needed us."
"And now?"
"It feels like I've been away on holiday and come back, only no one else seems to see it that way," Janet says quietly. "I look like a child. I've been living like a child for the last year, so things are bound to be different."
"Have you been officially reinstated?" Liz asks quietly, obviously thinking.
"I don't know," Janet admits. "I was supposed to meet with General Hammond before all of the chaos started. Obviously now, I won't be meeting with him, I'm supposed to be meeting with you."
"And you are meeting with me."
They settle into silence, and Janet thinks this is perhaps the strangest meeting she's ever had with a commanding officer.
"Do you want to stay here?" Liz asks as she finishes her pasta.
Janet doesn't want to say she wants to be where the other clones are – that will make her sound far too young and dependent, but she really can't imagine not being with them. They've been together for a year now, constantly in each other's company. They're the only people who know what it's like to be old in young bodies, to be a copy of something important but not be important enough to rate in their own right.
"I'll let you think about it," Liz says, gathering her dishes and standing up. "For what it's worth, Janet, I think General Hammond must have thought very highly of you and your work if he agreed to let you be cloned."
Janet smiles, and gathers her dishes too. "Thank you," she says. "And thank you for listening."
They leave their used dishes in the assigned tub and separate at the commissary doors. Janet watches Liz as she walks down a corridor and disappears around a corner. She wonders what Jack and Sam will make of the new woman, and whether they'll want to stay now that Hammond isn't in command anymore.
She bites on her lip and heads to the infirmary; maybe she'll have a look around and see what else has been changed while she's away.
---