TITLE: "A Day Behind"
AUTHOR: Verb
RATING: T, I would think.
CATEGORY: Humor, Daniel/Janet, shameless Asgard jokes.
SUMMARY: Timing Is Everything
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable Stargate SG-1 characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment only and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. This story and other publicly unrecognized events or characters therein are copyrighted to the author and may not be used or reproduced in entirety or in parts without express permission of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I always have problems with naming my stories. This one owes its title to a Bowling For Soup song, entitled "Belgium". It is, quite possibly, the funniest parody of a love song I've ever heard. This song made me think, write, and laugh so hard that people on the bus gave me funny looks. This is the result. Please enjoy!
DEDICATION: Again, to Dessert Blossom-by-the-Sea, for encouragement and kick ass beta'ing. Also? To everyone who reads this little story. Yes, you! You're brilliant. What do you mean, 'Why?' Because I wrote the story, and I said so!
Chapter 2 – Nothing Important
Janet forced herself to pick her head up off of the pile of medical files cluttering her desk, rubbing her forehead as the motion caused a dull throbbing in the space between her ears. It had been an interesting week, made all the more difficult with Sam's injuries from off-world several days ago. She had been worried about her friend's recovery, and had been relieved when Sam had awakened this morning.
She sighed as she looked at the calendar, trying to squish down the feelings of disappointment she felt as her eyes caught the date circled. The intensity and resulting worry of the last week had caused her to momentarily forget the importance of the date, and she suddenly felt the pull of sadness as she realized she wasn't the only one to forget.
Not that that man could ever remember anything once he's immersed in some artifact of his. Janet couldn't help but smile at the thought of the SGC's resident anthropologist. She had been grateful for Daniel when he had found her in the commissary late at night, thankful for his understand of how difficult it was to constantly see her close friends in some kind of life threatening danger. But, his forgetfulness while engrossed in any number of interesting artifacts brought back through the 'gate by SG teams was legendary. A number of times Janet herself had had to order Daniel to consume something other than a cup of coffee, more often then not joining him in a meal. She rationalized these impromptu dinners and lunches as being borne out of a medical concern, placating her inner voice with the argument that it was the only way she could ensure Daniel ate something. But more and more, Janet had to admit that she enjoyed the company and conversation that she got in return. She was even willing to admit that her feelings for the anthropologist had grown past the simple definition of doctor-patient, or even that of a friendship. Daniel's often lengthy stays in her infirmary had caused a shift in her emotions, and she often found herself feeling overly concerned for her most frequent patient. Which is probably why you hugged him in the middle of the hall.
Janet blushed as she remembered the impulsive hug she had given Daniel that night after he had walked her back to the infirmary. Daniel's kind words of comfort and support had created such a warm feeling that she had reached out and wrapped her arms around him before her brain had time to catch up with what she was doing. She had been surprised when he had returned the hug after a few moments, wrapping her in his strong embrace. These thoughts gave Janet hope that, perhaps, Daniel's feelings were similar to hers. Shaking her head, Janet tried to push her thoughts to the back of her mind and get back to her paperwork.
"Dammit, Daniel! I tried to warn you!"
The sound of Jack's voice pulled Janet out of her chair and into the main part of the infirmary. There, standing on the other side of the bed that Sam occupied, were Jack and Teal'c. That wasn't the problem, however.
There was Daniel, his face red, sitting on the floor and rubbing his backside.
Janet turned to Jack. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
Janet fixed him with her best 'I'm-your-doctor-and-I've-got-the-big-needles' look. "Nothing?"
Jack grinned. "Just a little payback, Doc." He gestured to where Daniel sat on the floor. "He tried to sit in my chair. Couldn't let that happen."
Janet shook her head. Despite the fact that Jack and Daniel were one half of the SGC's flagship team, and as such often found themselves responsible for the fate of the galaxy, they certainly acted like four year olds.
"Well, next time, do you think you could eject him a little more gently? I don't need the two of you in here with injuries."
Daniel, still embarrassed from his tumble to the floor, shot Janet a grateful look. "It's ok, Janet. I guess I did kind of ask for it."
"No, it was mostly my fault," Sam admitted from her current post on the infirmary bed. "Daniel came to visit and I started asking questions about the tablets SG-7 recovered and what kind of information was on them-"
"- and I got distracted and kind of sat down in the first chair I saw," Daniel interrupted to try and minimize the amount of details Janet heard.
No dice.
"At which point the big guy and I walked in," Jack said while pointing at Teal'c. "So, naturally, I had to remove Daniel from my chair. After all, all's fair in war and comfortable office furniture."
Daniel glared at the man from his spot on the floor. "He's just mad because I wouldn't let him sit in the chair in my office earlier today."
"You deserved it." Jack shrugged. "How else am I supposed to prove my worth to Hammond when the brainiacs are taking over my turf?"
"What is turf, O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired.
"He meant that Daniel's trying to take over his chair," Sam explained.
The Jaffa looked at her for a moment, then nodded his head as if to say the explanation was sufficient.
Janet couldn't help but laugh at the exchange between the two teammates. She loved SG-1, but she was sure they would be the death of her someday.
"Well, whatever it was, Colonel, I'll have to ask you to refrain from dumping my patients on the floor in the future." She stuck out her hand to help Daniel up off the floor, doing her best to keep a neutral expression.
Daniel grasped her offered hand and began to pull himself up, and in the process somehow ended up standing closer to Janet than he had intended. He was suddenly caught by the feel of her hand in his, its soft warmth bringing a blush to rise again on his cheeks. He could detect the faint scent of her perfume, and it immediately put his mind and his body into overdrive. Daniel looked up from their clasped hands and found her gazing right at him, a look in her eyes he couldn't quite read. He had to force himself to listen when he realized she was speaking.
"I don't need any more of you in the infirmary for injuries that I already do," Janet said. She was having a hard time forming coherent thoughts as she came to the realization that Daniel had yet to let go of her hand. She could feel the warmth radiating up her arm, a sensation made even more pleasant by his close proximity to her. She couldn't help but stare up at him, finding herself a little confused at the emotions she saw flickering in his blue eyes. Maybe he remembers she found herself hoping.
"So, is she going to survive, Doc?"
The sound of Jack's voice broke the moment, causing Daniel to gently remove his hand from Janet's. He was surprised at the feeling of loss the action brought.
Janet felt the same loss as Daniel let go of her hand. The absence of warmth seemed to be almost painful. She realized that Jack's question was directed at her.
"She's going to be fine, Colonel." She turned to face Jack. "We were able to remove the arrow and we minimized the bleeding as best we could, and now that she's awake, everything looks good." Janet smiled at Sam, relieved that her friend was out of danger.
Sam smiled back. "It's good to be awake, not that I didn't appreciate the nap." She paused to stretch out her body, raising her hands high above her head and wincing with the little bit of pain the action caused. "What did I miss?"
"Not much," Daniel answered. "I've been keeping busy with those tablets. Teal'c's been giving me a hand with that." A small but slightly evil smile crossed his face. "And Jack moved his chair over to your bed, so he's spent the last few days in here watching over you."
Jack glared at the young archeologist. Daniel cleared his throat and continued. "But, other than that, you've missed nothing important. Nothing I can think of, anyway."
Janet thought for a split second that one of them would mention something about the importance of the date, but Daniel's answer was far from what she expected.
"Right, nothing important," Janet said. "Well, I'll just leave you guys alone." With that, she walked back to her office and closed the door behind her.
Sam stared at the closed door. "Guys, did you do something to Janet while I was out?"
Teal'c appeared to be searching his memory. "I cannot recall any instance where I myself have upset DoctorFraiser."
"Yeah, Jack said he felt something was wrong." Daniel scrubbed a hand though his hair as he spoke. "But we can't think of anything that we have done either."
"Hmm"
"Oh, here we go," Jack sighed and settled into his chair.
Sam looked up at him. "What?"
"You've got that 'I know something's wrong and I'm not going to give up until I figure it out' look on your face."
Sam smiled at her CO. "Well, sir, Daniel said you first noticed her behaviour was a bit off, right?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, was she upset, mad, pissed off, what?"
Jack shifted in his chair, trying to think up the answer. "Well, she seemed more . . . sad if I had to describe it." He paused, rethinking the day he had noticed that the base's CMO was not acting like the sparky fireball that he had come to respect and consider one of his friends. "She looked like she had forgotten something important."
Sam's eyes widened at the Colonel's last statement. Jack had known his 2IC long enough to know that that look never meant good news. "What is it, Carter?"
"What day is it?"
"The tenth. Why?" Daniel asked.
Sam turned as best she could to face him while stuck in an infirmary bed. "Think, Daniel. What important event happens every year around this time?"
All three men stared at her, clear confusion written all over their faces.
She shook her head. "Guys, Janet's birthday-"
"Was yesterday." Daniel cut off Sam's sentence as his brain reengaged. He stared at the other members of his team, sheer disbelief at his own forgetfulness clearly visible on his face.
Teal'c eyebrows rose all the way to where his hairline would be if he had one. "I was not aware that such an occasion was so close in proximity to today's date."
"I can't believe this." Daniel turned so his back was facing his team. "How could we have forgotten? I mean . . . this . . ." Daniel's voice grew quieter as he tried to figure out just how he had let this important bit of information slip his mind. "This is not good."
"No, it's not," Sam replied. "Because not only did you forget, apparently everyone else did, too."
Daniel turned to face Sam, a determined look on his face. "We have to make it up to her, Sam. She needs to know how I – um, how we all feel about this." He cleared his throat, and looked as if he were trying to reign in all his thoughts. "How important she is to all of us."
"I, too, feel I must make amends. It is not fitting to forget an event that is of great importance to a fellow warrior." Teal'c added.
Jack looked at his friend. "Uh, well, I certainly don't want Janet to think we don't care." He paused. "Especially when she's the one jamming the needles into my rear on a regular basis."
"Sir!"
Jack held up his hand at his 2IC in a placating gesture. "Sorry, Carter, but it's the truth. Well, mostly the truth." He scrubbed a hand through his hair, and with one look at the expression on Daniel's face he came to a decision. "Let me call O'Malley's and see what I can do – they have a room in the back I might be able to reserve it if it's available."
"That's a start." Daniel looked relieved.
"We should use the telephone to enquire as to JanetFrasier's plans for this evening."
Sam nodded at Teal'c. "Good idea. Colonel? Think you could get me phone access?"
Jack's smile could only be described as mischievous. "You go it, Carter." He walked purposefully to the main portion of the infirmary. "Hey, Dr. Swanson. Got a minute? Because I've got this strange rash I need to talk to you about . . ."
xxxxxxx
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