A/N: Still own nothing. Thank you to all those who have reviewed.
Having opened her eyes only to quickly snap them shut again at the bright light, Hermione tried to once again to pry them open. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light, she began to scan the room. The sterile atmosphere and medical equipment surrounding her answered any question she might have had of where she was.
She tried to sit up, grimacing. Her body was obviously weak and her head still felt slightly rattled from Steven's blow, but she managed the task without too much difficulty. For a moment she tried to examine herself to find out what condition she was in. Wiggling toes, flexing her legs, and peeking under her hospital gown convinced her she wasn't seriously injured. Before she could attempt to stand, a nurse entered the room and hustled her back into the bed.
"I need to use the loo. I'm pretty sure that I can manage that," Hermione said, a little irritated with the coddling.
"I'll be happy to help you in just a minute, but I have strict orders to contact the doctor as soon as you're awake. I will be right back," replied the nurse in a calming tone.
Noticing her American accent, Hermione asked, "What orders? And by the way, where am I? Last I remember I was in Egypt, but this doesn't look like a hospital in Cairo…" Once again Hermione took in her surroundings. Where was she? Remembering the alien - was it really an alien? And the firefight in the temple! She did not feel all that safe waking up in a strange hospital, having no idea where she was.
Already walking away, the nurse responded, "You can ask the doctor, please just be patient for a bit."
By the time the doctor arrived, Hermione's unease had increased. Noticing a military presence at her door did nothing to relieve her fear. Before she could begin a well-ordered list of how bad the situation was, a woman in a signature white lab coat strode into the room. It was one of the women who had been in the temple with Dr. Jackson.
Probably noticing her unease, the doctor sent her a reassuring smile. "Hello, I'm Dr. Fraiser. How are you feeling?"
Trying to feel out the situation, Hermione answered with a bit of humor. "Fine, but I would like to know when I can use the loo."
"Don't worry, let me just look you over and the nurse can come back in to help you out." Taking the time to check the chart and monitors, Hermione could feel Dr. Fraiser observing her out of the corner of her eye. Trying to appear at ease, she was not sure if she was successful in fooling the doctor.
In an uninterested tone, Hermione asked, "I was wondering if you could tell me where I am."
She could tell that Dr. Frasier didn't want to tell her too much, but didn't confront her about her evasiveness; she wanted to get as much information as possible before she did anything. "At the moment, you are at the U.S. Military Hospital in Hamburg, Germany." Dr. Fraiser told her. "Someone else will be by a little later to answer more of your questions." And with a quick deflection added, "I'll go get the nurse to help you to the bathroom."
Once the quick trip to the bathroom was accomplished, Hermione was left to wait again. Were they going to lock her up for stumbling upon an obvious military secret? Did they suspect that because she was there, she was an alien as well? Did they have some way to wipe her memories? Cursing her big mouth, Hermione knew that they would not buy that she knew nothing, not after her earlier ramble. Could she have been possessed and not have realized it?
18 hours earlier
The flight coming back was made more difficult with the inclusion of Dr. Granger and Dr. Rayner. Janet had sedated them both for transport to the Military Hospital run out of Germany on the same air transport they had used to arrive into Egypt on. Both had needed emergency surgery and were now stable enough to transport to a better facility for recovery and the coming interrogations. It was still unclear to the group what had happened before their arrival at the temple, and they all wanted some answers.
After Osiris had departed, Sam had radioed in their location, obtaining local support to help secure the area and take the archaeologists to the hospital for Janet to continue treatment. While both she and Sam had been tossed around by Osiris and Daniel subjected to a hand device, those injures had been minor compared to the gunshot wounds the two archaeologists had received. It appeared that they had both had injured the other in a firefight and were therefore to be kept separated for safety reasons. At first, it had not been apparent Dr. Granger was injured until the adrenaline had begun to wear away and they did not find Dr. Rayner's weapon until he had been moved onto a stretcher.
Janet and her team had all been staring at the wounded figure of Steven Rayner when Dr. Granger's voice grabbed their attention. "I take it that aliens exist then." Turning, the trio had become aware that they were not alone. Dr. Granger had been standing leaning against the far wall, halfway in the shadow of the entrance into the back corridors of the complex.
After Daniel's shocked revelation of her identity no one had spoken, both parties studying the other. Janet and Sam had kept their weapon trained on the armed figure and let Daniel speak for the group. "Hermione, uh, look, I can explain, but could you put down the gun first?"
The woman seemed to notice for the first time that she was holding a revolver at her side. Giving them an unnerving stare, Dr. Granger slowly let the weapon drop from her fingers and kicked it away as directed by Sam.
The girl had then proceeded to stare at the floor and to talk to herself, ignoring their presence in the room. "...and since you're involved with this, Dr. Jackson, I'm guessing that paper you wrote about the pyramids being built by aliens is true. You must have found proof. Proof that aliens exist and have been to Earth before. But-but they're back." As she babbled, Janet could see that shock was beginning to settle in. "They're back and you lot fight them. Have fought more than one by the sounds of it. Sara-Osiris-whoever mentioned enslavement. An-and Sarah told me she hadn't spoken to you in years, that it was like you had fallen off the face of the planet." Bringing her focus back onto Daniel, she asked, "Did you?"
Trying to soothe the agitated archaeologist, Daniel spoke to her. "Dr. Granger, I know you have questions, but I think it would be a good idea to wait until the shock has settled. That way you'll have a clearer mind, agreed?"
Taking a few deep breaths, Janet could see that Hermione was calming down some. Hermione gave Daniel a contemplative look and replied, "That would probably be best. It's just a lot to take in." Janet could see that the girl was starting to waver, faltering back against the wall. "I think my body agrees with you."
Frowning, she stepped closer to Hermione's position just as she slid down the wall. Rushing over and taking into account the blood running down one side of her face she asked, "Are you alright? Did you hit your head when you fell?"
Janet could see that she was trying to focus unsuccessfully, "I don't believe so." Hermione held her side, replying slowly as the dizziness got worse. "I-I think I hit...my side though."
As Hermione was talking, Janet leaned closer, moving her hand aside to find a mess of blood. She snapped an order at Sam: "Major, I need my med kit. It looks like she's been hurt."
Janet watched as her patient blinked, trying to stay awake, and sunk into oblivion. Quickly cutting away Hermione's clothing, Janet was able to identify that the injury was the entrance wound of a bullet.
What the hell had happened to the girl before they got there?
Doing the best she could to stabilize her patients, Janet prayed that they could get to a hospital in time to save them.
After finishing their preliminary report to General Hammond over a secure line, both Sam and Daniel set about completing their background checks on Dr. Granger. They needed to know if she could be trusted with keeping the knowledge of Osiris a secret, especially since she had already begun to figure out more than they had anticipated. Steven was mostly a non-issue; a simple non-disclosure agreement and threat of jail time would be enough to curb his curiosity. Daniel found that to be immensely satisfying, knowing with Steven's personality he would find the situation unbearable to endure.
However as their background checks on Dr. Granger progressed it had become evident that she was a perfect recruit for the SGC.
According to her file, she was a bright student who had some difficulties as a teen, but overcame them to attend the University of Rome. Graduating in two years with a double major in Egyptology and Occult Studies, and going on to obtain dual PhDs in those same fields. Sam had been curious about the inconsistencies in her formative years, but after a few phone calls they had discovered the reason for her erratic schooling.
For over a year, the entire Granger family had disappeared from the public records.
With Sam's persistent hacking it had become clear that there was no record of their whereabouts during that period. The only explanation they could come up with was the family had been placed into protective custody somewhere. It would be hard to confirm it however, calling the local agents for witness protection would be futile, as it was their policy not to release information on any case, open or closed.
It had not come as quite the shock to then discover that her file had been flagged by MI-6 back in Britain for potential recruitment. They apparently were quite interested in her language abilities and her current employment in the Middle East. Her file had listed twelve languages to her credit, quite an accomplishment for someone so young; Daniel had only mastered eleven at the same age.
Also, anyone who could figure out a way to translate Goa'uld only a few weeks after discovering it would be an asset. Daniel and Sam keep their research up for a few more hours before being told Steven was awake.
The proceeding interrogation about the events leading up to their arrival only confirmed his opinion that Dr. Granger should be offered a place working at the SGC.
Sam was not nearly as convinced as Daniel that Dr. Granger should be recruited. A lot was still unknown about the young doctor. Sam had used all of her computer knowledge to try and find out about the mysterious year the Granger family had disappeared for. She had also taken to calling various officials in England to try and find anyone who could tell her more. After hitting one dead end after another, she resigned herself that the only way she was going to find anything more was to ask the source.
As she entered the hospital room, with Daniel following, she studied the enigma that was Hermione Granger. The archaeologist was sitting up in the bed and appeared to be flipping through a book someone had brought her. Janet had told her that Dr. Granger had been quite guarded earlier, and had been found nervously pacing the room. In an attempt to calm her, one of the nurses had given her a book, as she had refused a sedative. To Sam's eye, Dr. Granger was looking better, considering the bleeding mess she had been back at the temple. She now had a bit more color to her pale complexion; her hair however remained a tangled mess and Sam could see sweat beaded along her brow, betraying the pain she was still in. According to Janet the girl had been shot at close range, but had sustained only minimal damage in her small bowel and liver.
Frowning, Sam began her introduction. "Dr. Granger, my name is Major Samantha Carter of the USAF." Gesturing toward Daniel, she continued, "I believe you already know Dr. Jackson," Hermione inclined her head slightly and Sam continued, "We would like to ask you what you remember of the events which took place at the Stevart site."