Chapter seven

The two women followed Dr. Frasier down the dark hallway and into her office, where they were told to sit down. Only a desk lamp was turned on, leaving the corners of the room bathed in darkness and making the meeting seem clandestine and dangerous. Sam knew that it was just that; if this woman wanted to, she could have Sam thrown in the brig or sent to those mines she kept hearing about.

Janet closed the door and sat down on the edge of her desk, facing them, and then she began to speak.

"Dr. Kenyon told me that you asked to see the device that was found in the isolation lab the day you were first discovered on base. Even though you couldn't have gotten that machine in here past the guards, she suspected that you had some knowledge of device and what it could do, so she became determined to find out more about it. She called in Dr. Tso, who is our resident expert on alien technology."

Sam heard Amie gasp, but she looked down at the floor, wondering if they had figured out what the device was. And if they had, what might that mean to her and Jack?

"Dr. Kenyon is very intelligent, but it took a mind much smarter to figure out what that machine is used for. Dr. Tso is the person who created the memory stamp to which you were subjected," Janet added, nodding at Sam.

"And Dr. Tso figured it out?" Sam asked.

"You tell me! Dr. Tso believes that it can shift matter out of phase and make it disappear, but she has no idea why anyone would want to do such a thing."

"I have an explanation, but what's important is that you believe what I told you is the truth. I'm from an alternate reality that exists parallel to yours. Coming here was a mistake. You see, someone came into the lab while I was working on the device, and they accidentally activated it."

"And that someone is the man with whom you were found?" Janet asked.

"Yes! His name is Jack O'Neill…General Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force. He's a decorated hero and a great leader in my world, and it's my responsibility to get him home. I'm a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, and I really am a doctor. PHD, not a medical doctor. My degree is in theoretical astrophysics. And in MY world Doctor Janet Frasier was in the Air Force too. She was a great hero who was killed a couple of years ago while on a rescue mission. She was my best friend," Sam added sadly.

"Wow! So seeing me here must have been quite a shock to you," Janet said, voicing her thoughts aloud.

"Yes, it was. In a way it's been like having my friend back, except…" Sam didn't want to say anything that might hurt this woman's feelings. Nor did she want to do anything that might sway her away from wanting to help her and Jack get home!

"Except what? I'm different from your Janet Frasier? How?" Her eyes glinted with what Sam hoped was only curiosity.

"She was one of the kindest, most compassionate human beings I've ever known. She always put her patients' health and safety first, no matter who they were. No matter whether they were human or alien, male or female, she always remembered her oath to do no harm."

"To you I must seem like a poor imitation of your friend," Janet said quietly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Sam replied, hoping that Janet's calm demeanor meant that she wasn't getting angry or turned off by what Sam was telling her. Then she decided to go one step further. "The Janet Frasier I knew would never rob men of their rights, or try to change them by manipulating their genes."

"I can tell you've not lived through the things we've had to endure here in my world….the violence toward women, the wars men have started, the restrictions placed on women in the work place as well as in their private lives, the over-population caused by men's innate and unrelenting craving for sex," Janet replied somewhat angrily. "But I can see how living in another environment could give you a different perspective on things."

Sam had seen some pretty uncaring, cruel and downright violent behavior here from these women, but she wasn't about to point that out to the doctor just now, not when she seemed to be on the verge of helping her and Jack get home.

"I try never to judge the alien life forms that we come across while exploring the galaxy. They have a right to live as they see fit, even when their laws or beliefs don't agree with ours. As long as they aren't hurting anyone but themselves, I don't believe in intervening. So I feel it is only fair to treat you in the same manner. Therefore I am willing to overlook our differences of opinion and help you get back to your reality."

Sam sprang up out of her chair, elated by the news. She had sensed an innate kindness in this woman. Even when Sam had seen this Janet Frasier do things that she knew her Janet would never have done, there was still something about this woman that Sam liked.

"Oh, Janet, thank you! This is wonderful news!" She couldn't help but take Janet's hand in hers and squeeze it. The doctor didn't pull away.

"There's just one catch, and I'm afraid it's a big one," Janet said seriously, squeezing Sam's hand in return.

Sam froze in place, while Amie just sat there, totally awed and more than a bit confused by the things the two women were saying. Janet looked at Sam's expectant face and then down at the frightened face of the younger woman.

"Amie, I want you to go back upstairs and stay there. And don't tell anyone what you've heard here," Janet told the young woman.

"I won't say a word, Doctor. I promise!" Amie rose as quickly as she could and exited the office, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, the moment Amie was out of the room.

"I might NOT get into too much trouble if I let you go home, but for one very small, yet significant fact. You may be carrying the hopes and prayers of our world in your womb," Janet reminded her.

"Oh!" Sam hadn't even thought about the baby she was carrying, at least not in that regard. But now that Janet mentioned it, she could understand how helping her to return home might cause the doctor a lot of trouble.

"What if you simply look the other way? I can escape on my own, and then they can't blame you. I know how to get into the isolation lab," Sam admitted.

"It's not just that. You see, I need to know the results of this experiment. I wasn't kidding when I said I could be sent to the mines, if I don't find a solution to our problem," Janet insisted.

"I could report back to you after my baby is born," Sam suggested. "I could tell you everything you want to know about it, and then you'd know whether or not you succeeded." Sam didn't like to think about the fact that they may have altered her baby somehow, so she pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

"Hmmm. That could work! I'm glad I never told General Taylor that you're pregnant, or she'd be very upset about you getting away. Plus, Amie's baby is due to be born soon. That will keep the general from dwelling on your loss, and hopefully keep me out of hot water for a while longer. Okay, I'll allow you to escape, if you'll promise to inform me about the child?"

"Yes I will, I promise! Now I need to find Jack…General O'Neill. But I have no idea where to look. Chairwoman Jennings was very angry with him, the last time I saw him. I'm afraid she may have sent him to the mines," Sam said sadly.

"You can be thankful that he is such a well-endowed and vigorous man for his advanced age." Here in her world most men were dead by fifty, so at his age Jack was well past the median age of their other test subjects.

"He's just down that hallway, right here in the lab. He's a sperm donor. In fact, he's the father of your child."

Sam saw stars and quickly sat down on the chair behind her, thankful that it was there. Before she knew it, Janet was pressing a wet cloth to the back of her neck, as she pushed Sam's head down between her knees.

"Just relax and breathe, Samantha. Everything will be alright," Janet assured her.

Sam lifted her head and looked into the kind face of her dead friend. Then she smiled through tear-filled eyes.

"I'm not so sure about that, Janet," Sam told her.

TBC