Jacob Carter was in a bad mood; Janet could tell that from the moment he stepped into the infirmary. Her eyes shifted to Teal'c, trying to glean some sort of idea of what she'd missed. But getting non-verbal cues from the Jaffa was like getting blood from a stone. Come to think of it, verbal cues weren't much better. "Gentlemen," she greeted with a carefully polite smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Doctor Fraiser," the other human greeted, withdrawing a vial from his pocket. "The Tok'ra have synthesized a chemical that seems to temporarily paralyze a symbiote. We've tested it on several Tok'ra, but Teal'c has agreed to help us, as well."

The Jaffa started to roll up his sleeve.

"That won't be necessary, Teal'c," she told him with a tight smile.

"General Hammond has approved this experiment, Doctor Fraiser," he explained, though he let his shirt back down.

"I'm sure he has," she reassured him, crossing her arms firmly across her chest, "but under no circumstances will I be injecting you with some magical, mystery alien chemical until I know a helluva lot more about it."

"It's applied topically, for the moment," Jacob corrected, pulling a tablet from his vest. "The testing results so far. Anise believes it's perfectly safe, so the sooner we can -"

She cut the older Carter off with a hand. "You can go, Teal'c." To Jacob, she said, "I'll take that. And I'll thank you not to try and compromise my medical ethics in my own infirmary or, frankly, anywhere else. Sir."

He dropped the vial into her palm.

~/~

Janet Fraiser topped off her own wine glass before refilling the empty one beside it. "Somehow I've known you needed this drink since about two this afternoon."

Sam plucked it off the table and only bobbled it a little, which was pretty decent, considering she'd had a generous serving before dinner and polished off another with her takeout. "I didn't see you all day."

"No. But I spent a few hours with your father, and he was… terse, to say the least. And now, instead of going to dinner with him, you're guzzling wine on my couch." Tucking her feet beneath her, she grabbed the loose corner of the throw blanket on Sam's lap and spread it to cover her own, as well. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

The other woman considered that for a moment and decided, "I'd hardly call it guzzling."

Janet frowned at her.

"And he's having dinner with General Hammond. Who is taking his role as my godfather very seriously today, apparently."

One dark eyebrow crept up. "General Hammond is your godfather?"

"I really need to stop drinking." Dissatisfied with herself for letting that slip, Sam ditched the glass on the coffee table. But Janet just stared at her, and she groused, "It's Anise. Freya. Whoever."

"Ah. She does tend to wreak havoc, doesn't she?"

Sam's eyes closed for a second. "Those were the exact words Colonel O'Neill used, actually. Before he started to recount all of the ways in which she has done so."

"All of them?" Janet asked with a cringe.

"All of them. General Hammond stopped him before he said anything really damaging, but Dad knows there's blood in the water. And he's circling."

The doctor chewed on that, sipping her wine. "Well, my lips are sealed. The General's, too, apparently. So we ride it out, do the testing, and he goes home and hopefully forgets all about it."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're not the ones I'm worried about."

"The only thing Colonel O'Neill stands to gain from opening his big mouth is a fist to the face." And she felt bad about it, but the thought made her chuckle. "Fallout for you aside, would that be the worst thing in the world? Come on, Sam, I know you like him, and he's a good CO, but he can be kind of an asshole. I wouldn't mind seeing him get his comeuppance. Just once."

Sam reclaimed her wine glass and took a sip. And then another one. And then answered carefully, "While you're not necessarily wrong…. I could say the same about my father. I have said the same about my father. So I really don't need them taking shots at each other. Besides, it wouldn't be a fair fight."

"Wouldn't be fair? Because of Selmak?"

"No." Her fingers spun the glass in her lap, making the liquid ripple. "I, uh…. I don't actually think he'd fight back."

Janet blinked. "Your dad?"

She shook her head. "The Colonel. I think my father may be one of the few men on this planet that Jack O'Neill wouldn't punch."

"Because he's yours?"

Sam shrugged and sipped her wine.