Janet Frasier watched Dr. Van Huisen carefully. It was always a risk to tell a person that there were aliens among us. Many would refuse to believe, regardless of the evidence. Some would totally freak out. Janet hoped that Carel Van Huisen would be one of the few who would take it in stride.
She watched as the man blinked several times, then swallowed hard. "You're serious?"
With a gentle smile, she responded, "Absolutely."
"But how can you expect me to know how to treat an alien? Does he even have a digestive system?"
Janet sighed. "Carel, I don't think you understand. Jonas is human, just like you and me. The fact that he grew up on a world several million light years doesn't change that fact."
Pressing a hand on his eyes, Van Huisen tried to come to grips. "So Egyptian gods came to Earth and kidnapped people to be their slaves."
"Yes."
"So this alien is of Egyptian descent."
"No. We think his people were likely Anglo-Saxon or Norse."
"Wait, I thought the Norse gods were the good guys…"
"Well, yes, they are, but we think the abduction of Jonas' people pre-dates the Asgard intervention."
"And the Asgard are little green men from Mars."
"No, they're gray, and from another galaxy."
The doctor stared at Janet for a long minute, chewing on his lower lip. "Where do the Vulcans fit into all of this?"
Janet kept a straight face. "They don't. Vulcans are fictional, but believe me, Jonas is very real, and in desperate need of your help."
"Well, I've reviewed the records and…"
"Not all of them, Doctor," Janet interrupted. She pulled a file from her desk. "What I sent you before was edited for obvious reasons. Now that you're here, you can see his full file."
"Doctor, how did you expect me to make an accurate diagnosis if you withheld information?" Van Huisen asked severely.
Janet sighed, and opened the file, pulling out a particular page. "These are Jonas' baseline values."
Van Huisen took the page and scanned it, his eyes widening. "Surely this can't be right!"
"Believe me, Carel, it's all correct. When Jonas first arrived here, we did the tests three times to be sure. He's human, but the centuries on another planet have changed his people substantially from what we would consider within the range of normality."
"Apparently," Van Huisen remarked dryly. "Okay, I can see why you wouldn't have sent me this. I would probably have asked why you were contacting me instead of the coroner."
Janet smiled. Van Huisen seemed to be accepting the situation. The two doctors spent the next hour going over Jonas Quinn's records. At the end, Carel shook his head. "This is definitely malabsorbtion. I don't understand it. You're sure these pancreatic values are correct?"
"As you can see, we've run the tests on a daily basis. His pancreas is working perfectly."
"Yes, I can see that it says that, but it makes no sense. Janet, his system is totally shutting down but his pancreas is just chugging along without showing any of the effects. There is something very wrong here."
"We were thinking it's environmental. Something missing in Earth's atmosphere that he needs."
"No, you're not listening to me. This has nothing to do with environment." Dr. Van Huisen grew quiet, staring at the reports. Janet watched as the man sat deep in thought. Suddenly, his head snapped up. "May I see the patient?"
"Of course, Doctor." Janet got up, hopeful that the man's demeanor meant that he was on to something. She led him out through the quiet ward. Her eyes flickered to Colonel Ibrahim as they passed his bed, taking in his color and relaxed breathing. When they reached the other end of the ward, she couldn't help her feeling of dismay. In just the few hours since she saw him last, Jonas seemed to have slipped further.
Nodding to Teal'c, she said, "Teal'c, this is Dr. Van Huisen. Doctor, this is Teal'c." She noticed Van Huisen's eyes stray to the golden tattoo on Teal'c's forehead, but for the moment, she ignored his curiosity. "This is Jonas Quinn. Jonas, this is the doctor I told you about."
The Kelownan made no acknowledgement, and in fact, Janet was unsure if he was even aware of their presence. Van Huisen moved up, lifting Jonas's wrist in a practiced move, checking the pulse. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Quinn."
Janet stood back and watched as the doctor ran through a very professional examination. After standard palpation of the abdomen, he asked Jonas to breathe out hard, but the Kelownan gave no indication of having heard. The doctor took it in stride, instead leaning close, and sniffing Jonas' shallow breath.
Twenty minutes later, Van Huisen straightened. "I want 200cc of Diagase."
Janet's eyebrows climbed. "Doctor, surely that is contraindicated! His enzyme levels are…"
"Doctor, this man's pancreas has stopped functioning, pure and simple. Now, either you allow me to treat him, or tell me to go home."
Janet frowned. "Carel, every test we have run has said his pancreas is working fine. If you inject him with Diagase, it will run wild."
Van Huisen stood staring at her. "Are you telling me to go home, Doctor?"
Janet stood, her heart beating hard in her chest. Dr. Van Huisen was at the top of his field, but Diagase was a very dangerous drug, only used in the worst cases of pancreatic collapse. She looked down at Jonas and took a deep breath, shaking her head. "We don't keep Diagase in stock. We'll have to go the Academy for it."
"Well, get it. In the meantime, I want to try some insulin."
"Yes, Doctor." Feeling like an intern again, Janet hurried to the medications station. Glancing around, she found Rush and Ortiz watching her from the nurse's station. "Fee, contact Dr. Hadley at the Academy. We're going to need a vial of Diagase. Tell him we're sending someone to pick it up. Candy, go get it." When the two nurses didn't jump, Janet barked, "Move, ladies!"
