Chestnut eyes cracked open, and Jessica Monevata blinked at the painfully bright lights above her. She stirred on the bed, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. When she realized that wasn't possible, as she was experiencing all different kinds of pain all over, she stilled the rest of her body and took inventory of her surroundings.
Light source above. Unfamiliar. Definitely not on a Goa'uld ship or encampment.
Walls, a light shade of aqua. Bed...
Definitely like the ones in the infirmary back home on Earth. 'Oh gods, if only…' came the unbidden and unwelcome thought. Same lump right at the small of the back that makes you want to kill the manufacturer, though...
Just then, an Asian woman walked into the room. Her dark hair was pulled back into a small bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore wire-rimmed glasses and a nurses' smock.
"Oh, hello there!" the woman greeted Jessica cheerily. "Good afternoon, Dr. Monevata! How are you feeling?"
"Nevaaahe..."
The woman's eyebrows creased in confusion. "What?"
"Tosa'e..." Jessica coughed a little, as her throat was horribly dry and scratchy.
The nurse moved to the one side of the bed and poured a partial glass of ice water. "Here, I'm sure your throat's a bit dry." She slowly moved the bed to a little more of a sitting position, and Jessica grunted as her head and entire body protested the movement. Loudly.
"I know you're most likely in a bit of pain at the moment," the woman spoke soothingly as she held the glass with a straw in it to Jessica's mouth. "We'll take care of that in a moment." Jessica took a few shallow sips and let go of the straw, then the cup was put down within reach of her uninjured arm and the bed lowered.
"Now, I'm sure you're full of questions, and we have quite a few for you too, young lady..."
"Tone'še eho'oesta?"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Tone'še eho'oesta?" Jessica was starting to get really frustrated. What the hell was wrong with this woman! Why couldn't she understand a simple question?
The nurse shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I only understand English and Japanese. Let me go get Doctor Beckett. I'll be right back." She quickly moved to the door of the room and leaned out into the hallway for a moment. When she didn't see who she was looking for, she stepped out of the room entirely and walked down to the main part of the infirmary.
Jessica was dumbfounded. What did that woman mean, she only understood English and Japanese? Wasn't that what she was speaking... English? She felt her thoughts begin to get fuzzy as consciousness started to slip away, and she fought to keep her eyes open. She wondered if it was all a dream, or some sort of hallucination. Maybe she was being tortured again at this moment, and this was her mind's way of trying to protect itself.
But usually that involved Jessica being back at SGC's infirmary, or even at her grandfather's place back on the res, not this… odd place.
A minute later the nurse came back to the room with a stocky man in tow. "Here's Doctor Beckett, Doctor Monevata."
Carson smiled wearily at seeing his patient awake. "How are ye feeling, lass?"
Jessica blinked. Ah, he was Scottish. Her eyes finally drifted shut, despite her attempts to keep them open, and she slipped back into a restless doze.
Carson came to his patient's side and checked her out. "Well, at least she was able to stay awake for a little longer this time," he commented to the nurse.
The Next Day
Jessica could feel their hands all over her, hurting her. She fought back with everything she had. They weren't going to take it!
Her gaunt body thrashed weakly on the bed, the alarms on the monitors alerting the staff to Jessica's distress. Two nurses rushed to the bedside, as well as the doctor covering the night shift.
"Doctor Monevata? Jessica, you're safe!" Dr. Price tried to calm the distraught woman, but she was still caught in the throes of her memory/nightmare. "I'm giving her a sedative," he called over his shoulder to the one nurse, and injected the contents of a prepped syringe into the IV. "Make a note on her chart," he advised as his patient slowly ceased her struggles.
8 Hours Later
Jessica's eyes cracked open. 'Hm, same aqua paint,' she remembered, wondering if she was still hallucinating, and simultaneously cursing herself for hoping that it was real. 'Oh, to be around my people for once,' she mourned.
"Dr. Monevata? Jessica?" Carson Beckett's voice drifted through her befuddled haze. "How are ye feeling now, lass?"
"Napevomohtahe?" She looked around and then down at herself, noting the prevalence of bandages, and realized that her left arm as well as her entire right leg was encased in a cast. "Na'ahtse," she murmured. "Eonenês˘eotse."
Carson blinked in confusion. "Dr. Monevata, Jessica, do ye realize that yuir not speaking English?"
Jessica frowned, only now realizing that she'd lapsed back into her native tongue. "Netsêhesenêstsehe?"
"I'm sorry lass, I dinna speak that language. What is it, Cheyenne?"
Jessica managed the barest of nods. "Heehe'e."
He frowned thoughtfully. "Do ye think ye can speak English?"
Jessica tilted her head to the side and huffed a little in impatience. "Nahene'ena." She scowled. "Oha... nasaatonê˘sevehe." She growled her impatience and looked pleadingly at Carson. "Nehvestâhemêstse?"
He smiled and patted her free hand. "It's all right, Jessica. More than likely this is temporary, and from having yuir head knocked around so much. Ye've got a pretty severe concussion. Look, ye just relax, and I'll check if any of our linguists can speak Cheyenne, okay? Otherwise, we'll just have to see if ye can write in English." He rummaged around in his lab coat pockets, coming up with a small notepad and pen. "Here ye go. Would ye like to give it a whirl?"
The fragile looking woman slowly blinked. She tried to raise an arm, but it shook violently after only being lifted a couple of inches. She grunted in frustration as she felt the strength already fading along with her consciousness.
Carson watched Jessica closely, recognizing that his patient wasn't strong enough yet to attempt writing. "Tis all right, lass. We'll try again later today, all right?"
Jessica smiled in relief, and gave in to her body's demands for sleep.
It wasn't until that evening that she was able to lift her arms for more than a few seconds.
'Well, here's hoping,' she thought wryly as she carefully reached out for the pen and paper, but frowned deeply when her left arm barely moved. She'd forgotten about the cast.
Carson seemed to understand immediately. "Ye're left-handed, aren't ye?"
Jessica slowly nodded in deference to the pounding in her head. "Heehe'e."
"Well, we've made some progress," he smiled comfortingly. "I now know what the word is for 'yes'. Learn something new every day."
Jessica snorted. Just what she needed... a comedian. She tried to hold out her right arm for the writing implements, but hissed when her broken collarbone impeded her progress. Carson rolled over a tray table and helped the woman move her arm so that it was resting in a writing position after carefully raising the head of the bed enough so she could see what she was doing. Jessica awkwardly held the pen for a moment, trying to figure out the logistics of writing with the wrong hand. She worried at her lower lip as she shakily printed out a few words that her burning eyes could barely focus on and handed the pad back to Carson.
He read out loud. "'Can ye read me now?'"
Jessica's battered face lit up with relief.
Carson returned her tentative smile with a bright one of his own. "Well, looks we might be able to make this work while Nurse Saito contacts our linguists." He looked over at the nurse and nodded, and she left the room to complete her task. "Now, let's have another look at ye, shall we?"
The next day, there was a small meeting held in the infirmary. Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, and Rodney McKay entered the room, with Sergeants Bates and Stackhouse guarding the entrance.
"Where's Beckett?" Rodney asked impatiently.
"Right here," Carson answered as he entered from the other side of the room, followed by Nurse Saito. "If ye'll follow me, we'll be able to talk to Dr. Monevata now."
"Really?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said that none of our linguists were able to speak her native language."
Carson smiled. "True, true, but we've managed to work out a system. The communication problem should work itself out in time, as Jessica's brain unscrambles itself and she gains her strength back."
Everyone followed him to the small private room off of the infirmary, with Rodney muttering from the back of the line, "How very exciting. Here's hoping she has the time."
The group all crowded into the room, with Carson standing directly beside his patient. "I'll warn ye all now... we need to keep this short. She's still got a lot of recovering to do, and needs her rest."
Jessica scribbled something on the pad of paper and gingerly pushed it over for the doctor to read.
Carson chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment, lass."
Elizabeth tilted her head to the side questioningly, and Carson explained. "She said I sounded just like Dr. Frasier, back at SGC."
"This is all well and good, but can we get to the Q & A portion now?" Rodney snapped irritably. "I've a hell of a lot of work to do here, trying to save our asses and all."
"Easy, McKay," Sheppard warned.
Jessica blinked at Rodney before writing on her notepad. Carson read it and replied, "No, Doctor. Ye didn't bring the Goa'uld down on us. We've got a shield up on the Stargate, and the two Jaffa warriors that'd followed ye were either killed or knocked back through the Gate."
"Seshat... emo'ooxhesta?" Worried chestnut eyes regarded Carson as he shook his head in confusion.
"šE'šenovôtse..." She made shaky undulating motions with her right hand before pointing towards the back of her head. "Me'ko," she finished impatiently.
"I dinna understand, lass. Write it down, remember?"
With a frustrated huff, Jessica dashed the words down as quickly as she could on paper.
"Who is Seshat?" Carson asked as he watched her write. Jessica wrote her answer as Rodney's eyes widened in recognition.
"Seshat was known as the Egyptian Goddess of Reading and Writing," Rodney said in a gruff tone. "She was Thoth's wife."
Jessica nodded, and Carson read her note. "Jessica says Seshat was also known as the Goddess of Architecture and Arithmetic."
"Yes yes yes, all very nice, but what does she have to do with... this?" Rodney curtly gestured at everyone in the room.
Jessica sighed in frustration and wrote some more.
After long moments, Carson read, "Thoth and Seshat were actually Goa'uld scientists. Jessica's companion was a temporary Host to Seshat."
All eyebrows in the room rose. "Really?" Sheppard asked. "I'd wondered if all the Egyptian gods were Goa'uld."
Jessica took the pad back and wrote some more. "More than likely," Carson interpreted. He lowered the pad and looked his patient in the eye. "And the lad that was with ye... was he one of yuir team mates?"
Jessica shook her head sadly before writing again.
Carson's face softened in sympathy as he read. "I'm sorry, lass, neither of them made it."
Jessica lowered suddenly shuttered eyes briefly before looking up to Elizabeth. "Netonês˘evehe?" She cocked her head to the side with a frown.
Carson translated. "Ah, I believe she's asking yuir name, Doctor."
Elizabeth smiled softly as she stepped up to the end of the bed. "My name's Dr. Elizabeth Weir. We met a few years ago at the United Nations."
Jessica's puzzled expression cleared into understanding, and she wrote onto the notepad.
"Ah, yes, she'd been wondering where she remembered meeting ye," Carson replied for the woman. "She wants to know what base she's on, and when she can get back to Earth to make her report."
Everyone's faces firmed as Elizabeth answered. "I'm sorry, Doctor," she began, but Jessica interrupted her with a curt gesture. "Jessica," Elizabeth continued with a nod of understanding. "Our location is in the Pegasus Galaxy. You're in Atlantis, and unfortunately there's no way home from here just yet."
Jessica's eyes became almost impossibly wide. "At... lan... tis?" she managed to grate out. Her gaze turned guarded, and she wrote on the notepad before shakily sliding it and the pen back to Carson. She closed her eyes in apparent exhaustion as she slumped back into her pillow.
He frowned at the brief words before turning back to the small group. "She's not gonna talk to us any more," he said quietly.
Rodney threw up his hands. "Why the hell not?"
Carson continued watching his suddenly stone-faced patient as he replied. "I dinna think she believes that she's truly safe here."
Rodney snorted. "Of course she isn't. None of us are right now."
"That's enough, Rodney," Elizabeth warned in a stern tone. She strode over to the hospital bed and sat in the chair beside it. "Dr. Monevata... Jessica..."
Jessica wrenched open her eyes.
"I realize that you've been through a great ordeal the past couple of years, and are understandably wary of new surroundings. It must have been hard for you to not know whom to trust. For reasons I can't explain right now, we're in the middle of a situation of our own. We'll talk more once you're feeling better, though, so until then, I ask that you relax as much as you can and let our doctors help you. Okay?"
Jessica had watched Elizabeth very closely during her speech. She narrowed her eyes, and gave a brief nod. "Ooxhesta."
It was obvious from the woman's pallor and drooping eyelids that she had used up what little strength she had just from this small gathering, and Carson shooed everyone out of the room.
"Now, young lady, I expect ye to take a nice long nap now, understand?" His tone gave no room for argument, and Jessica flashed a brief, weary smile. He really did remind her of Janet Frasier. Now if she could only believe this wasn't some sort of trick being played on her mind...
Her troubled thoughts followed her as she succumbed to the darkness of drugged sleep.
Cheyenne
Nevaaahe? Who?
Tosa'e? Where?
Tone's˘e eho'oesta? What time is it?
Napevomohtahe I am fine
Eonenês˘eotse It is broken
Na'ahtse My arm (includes hand)
Netsêhesenêstsehe? Do you speak/talk Cheyenne?
Seshat... emo'ooxhesta? Seshat... is she okay?
Me'ko Head
ŠE'enovôtse Snake
Netonês˘evehe? What is your name?
Ooxhesta. All right.