Chapter 21: Chocolate

Sitting at the end of one of the chaise lounges and facing the back of the house, Sam bounced a small rubber ball against the pavement, moving only to catch the ball as it bounced off the wall and returned to her. She'd picked up the ball while idly wandering around her room earlier when they'd gotten home. Without conscious effort, it had ended up coming with her when she'd slipped out the back door to escape Jack's worried frown. Somehow, she'd managed to avoid talking to him about the day, but she knew that it wouldn't last long.

The afternoon was clear and warm, the cloudless blue sky allowing the sun to shine brightly upon her, in marked contrast with her mood. She knew that she was behaving in a manner unusual for herself. It wasn't her style to sit and brood, at least not without doing something productive. Usually she turned to her work, burying herself in some mathematical or scientific problem. She'd tried of course, but she wasn't able to go to her lab, seriously limiting her prospects. Reduced to what she could do using her laptop, she was only reminded of her current state every time she had to stretch her small fingers to reach the right keys. Added to the fact, her mind was just too preoccupied to concentrate on anything else.

Sam sighed, sending the ball against the pavement again when a dark shadow fell over her. There was a rustle of fabric, and a large bulk settled on a nearby chair. "Greetings Samantha," spoke a deep familiar voice.

She sent the ball on another arc, not bothering to look up. "Hey," she paused briefly, before getting her mouth around the unfamiliar name. "Mr. Murray."

"You are troubled," answered Teal'c, getting right to the point.

Still not looking up, she narrowed her eyes slightly, and continued to put the ball through the little circuit she had going, attempting to hit the same brick over and over. It was all about angles. She was doing fairly well when a large fist shot out, capturing the ball before she could, forcing her to look up. Her teammate's face was his usual mask, but she could see the concern in his dark eyes. She looked away, staring down at her lap, studying her small, unfamiliar hands. The silence lengthened and she sighed.

"I'm not sure I can do this," she said softly. She could feel Teal'c watching her, and smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her jeans. Biting her lip, Sam frowned, still not meeting the gaze that she knew Teal'c had on her. "I don't have any control. I can't even leave the room without permission and a chaperone," she added, frustration leaking into her tone.

Teal'c remained silent for long enough that Sam glanced over at him, only to find him gazing out over the yard as if trying to find something. Finally he spoke. "You will prevail," he stated calmly.

She shook her head. "At least you're confident," she told him.

"Samantha, you have already accomplished the most difficult part of this mission, you have successfully infiltrated. The rest will come in time."

"But what if I never get out of the classroom?" she asked.

"Then we will accommodate," he said. With that, he held out a hand, and Sam put hers out for Teal'c to drop the ball back in. "Come," he said, "I wish to see what we will consume tonight." Standing, Teal'c waited for her to gain her feet, following her back into the house. She took them through the kitchen. The Colonel had barely begun meal preparations and various ingredients were scattered over almost every level surface. He and Daniel were obviously in the middle of a discussion about her because Daniel nudged Jack's arm as soon as he saw them in the doorway, and both men stopped talking to turn around and look at her.

Shrugging off their scrutiny, she entered the room. "Sir, Daniel," she greeted, spying her backpack at one of the chairs at the table.

"Hey Sam," Daniel greeted as Sam began poking through her bag. Both men watched her curiously.

"Uh, Sam?" Jack asked as she withdrew her folder.

"I thought there'd be a letter in here," answered Sam, pulling out the note. She passed the letter over. "You'll probably have to sign it sir," she said. Jack gave her a long look before finally looking down at the letter. Daniel moved so he could look over the other man's shoulder.

Jack scanned the letter, pausing at the end, obviously rereading the last part. Sam shifted and waited, worrying at her lower lip. Finally, Jack looked up, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "You hit the teacher?" he asked.

"It was an accident," she replied, glancing up at him, then looking away, avoiding the concerned gazes of her teammates.

"Cursing, back talking, leaving the room without permission?" Jack shook his head, looking back down at the letter as if he couldn't believe the contents.

"Did you really hit the teacher?" Daniel asked, adjusting his glasses.

"I didn't mean to," she replied.

"Sam, you've barely been there a week," Jack stated in disbelief. Daniel coughed, and Teal'c remained silent behind her, but she could feel his eyes on her nonetheless.

Sam sighed. She could feel Jack's speculating gaze on her as well. After a moment, she heard the letter rustling and the sound of a pen on paper.

"I've told Mrs. Guilford that I had a stern talking with you," Jack explained after a moment. Sam looked up to find her CO holding the note out for her. She took it and noticed Jack's lips twitching as he fought back a smile. "Really Sam, you've only been at this a week, and already you've hit the teacher."

She made a wry face. "Oops?" she shrugged. What could she say?

Jack paused, watching her for a moment. "So," he said, neatly changing the subject, "Who wants dinner?"

With a relieved smile, Sam dragged over her step stool, immediately taking over the salad preparation. Daniel and Teal'c both jumped in as well, and the note from the teacher was almost forgotten. Almost that is aside from a bit of teasing by everyone, and a few stories. They all seemed to have at least one story, even Teal'c, who told them about a time he had been upset with an unfair decision made by an instructor.

Eventually, the discussion wound around to the school and their mission. Daniel and Teal'c had both had successful insertions, and no one seemed the wiser. Neither man however had discovered anything at all unusual about the school yet, but Jack cautioned them not to become discouraged. After all, they had only just infiltrated and hadn't really been there long enough to find anything strange going on. After all, Seshat had managed to keep under the SGC's radar long enough that it was unlikely there was anything unusual enough to alert the casual observer.

It wasn't long until the conversation left their mission behind and slid into familiar SG-1 territory, particularly after Jack put a game on, and Daniel decided to cheer for the other team just to be contrary. Sam joined Daniel, and somehow Jack managed to drag Teal'c over to his side. Snacks were hurled at the screen and several times, Jack had to jump up, waving at the TV as if the players could somehow see or hear him.

By the time the game was over, Sam could barely rouse herself to help with the clean up, picking up an armload of empty bottles and cans and the half empty bag of M & M's she'd been munching. A girl needed a little chocolate after the day she'd just had after all. She managed to wish her teammates a good night as they departed before dragging herself to bed. As she got comfortable in bed, she thought briefly about the day, and then decided that she had the weekend to worry about it. For now, she'd sleep.

Looking up as she heard a soft footstep approach, Janet smiled when she saw who it was. "Sam," she greeted warmly, "Here for your checkup?" she asked.

Sam smiled. "Hey Janet. How are things?"

"Oh, not too bad," Janet replied, and then frowned as she watched her friend come further into the infirmary. Immediately, she put down the chart she was working on and walked around the table. "Sam, you're limping," she stated.

Sam looked surprised. "What?" she asked.

"You're limping," Janet repeated. "What happened? Did you fall?"

If Janet hadn't been so worried, the confused look on Sam's face, young as it currently was, was priceless. "I didn't fall," she answered.

"Then why are you limping?" Janet asked, pausing in front of Sam and looking down at her, arms crossed.

Sam bit her lip. "Honestly, I didn't know I was. I guess I'm a little sore," she admitted.

"Sore how?"

Now Sam wouldn't meet her eyes. "My hip," she said.

Janet sighed. Turning around, she picked a gown off the bed, and tossed it to her friend. Sam was forced to look up. "You know the drill," Janet told her in a no-nonsense tone. Not waiting for a reply she pulled the curtains closed, pausing outside until she heard a sigh and a rustle of clothing, confirming that the Major was following orders. While waiting for Sam to change, she retrieved the woman's chart, refreshing her memory on Sam's last checkup.

When she felt Sam had had enough time, she called out, "You decent?"

"Yeah," came the rather unenthusiastic response. Janet smiled, and slipped into the cubicle. Her smile grew larger when she found Sam, dressed in the oversized gown. It didn't help that Sam had tucked her legs up under the gown, and had wrapped her small arms around them over top the gown. Still, she cared too much for her friend to make any remarks.

"Let's take a look," she said instead, sticking to calm professionalism and getting down to business. She waited until Sam nodded before she moved the opening of the gown to take a look. "Sam," she said in surprise, "there's swelling back here."

Sam shifted slightly. "It's not really bothering me," she said, not making eye contact. "It's just a little sore."

"Hmm," she murmured reservedly. Without warning, she pressed down firmly on Sam's right hip. As predicted, Sam jerked away with a yelp, glaring up at her.

"Janet!" she protested.

Janet merely leveled a gaze at her. "A little sore?" she asked. Sam bit her lip and turned away. Shaking her head, Janet turned back to her exam.

"I'm just going to palpate a bit, Sam," she said. When Sam didn't reply, she continued with her exam. She didn't need to be watching Sam's face to see that even light pressure was uncomfortable, and her expert fingers located three lumps, two on the right hip and one on the left. "Well at least you're rotating sites," she said, putting Sam's gown back in order before moving on to the rest of the exam, including a set of vitals.

"Hmm, you're running a low grade fever," she said, checking the thermometer.

"I am?" Sam asked.

"When was the last time you took some Motrin?" she asked. Sam frowned, and Janet narrowed her gaze. "Tylenol?" Sam looked away and Janet sighed. At her sigh, Sam looked up.

"I didn't think it was that bad, Janet, honest," she said. "It was just an injection after all. Besides, have you ever tasted that stuff?" From Sam's face, she knew the elixirs were pretty bad. But even still, she knew her friend likely found it hard to admit that she couldn't handle something like a little shot without having to resort to using pain-relievers. But Janet was used to that mindset. Soldier first, human being later. Still, she didn't have to like it.

Janet sighed again, and began to pepper Sam with questions about her general state of health, deciding to leave the issue alone for the moment. When she was through with her exam, she gestured to the pile of clothing that Sam had left neatly folded on the bed. "You can go ahead and dress, Sam, I'll be right back." Sam nodded, and Janet slipped back out. When she returned, she found Sam standing at the side of the bed, and pulled the curtains open.

"Here," she said, handing Sam an oral syringe full of orange flavored Motrin. She suppressed a smile at the face Sam made, but was happy to see that she obediently swallowed the thick elixir, making another face. Janet wordlessly handed her the carton of juice she'd brought, and Sam took it gratefully. Taking a seat on the bed, Janet reached out and gently turned Sam to face her. "You know, I'm very tempted to stop the injections," she said.

Sam's eyes widened. "You can't, you know…"

"But I'm not going to," Janet interrupted. "I think it's just a local reaction, due to your smaller size and altered metabolism. Teal'c isn't having any problems, and you didn't either in the tests we ran. I want you to take another dose of Motrin later this afternoon, and another before bed. Make sure you have a snack or something to eat when you take it. I think the Motrin will relieve the symptoms you're having. You should feel better by morning." She paused, and placed her hands on Sam's shoulders, making sure she had Sam's undivided attention. "If you aren't feeling any better, and I find out you didn't tell me, I will stop the injections."

Sam swallowed. "I understand."

Janet let go, and Sam stepped back. "Good," she said, getting up. "So tell me, how's kindergarten?"

Sam groaned, stepping back from Janet and turning partially away. "Aw Janet, can't we talk about anything else? How's Cassie?"

Frowning, Janet looked down at her friend, before getting to her feet. "Sam, did something happen at school?"

Sam just frowned, and Janet wondered if she was pushing too hard, but she felt Sam needed to talk. "Sam?"

Her friend closed her eyes briefly. With a sigh, she reopened them. She picked up the pen from the clipboard that Janet had set down and began to fiddle with it. "Kinda," she said softly. "I got sent home early yesterday."

Her brows creased, Janet sat forward in concern. "Was something wrong? Were you feeling ok?"

Sam wrinkled her nose. "It wasn't that, not exactly. I sorta hit the teacher," she admitted, meeting Janet's eyes briefly before looking back down at the pen she was fiddling with.

"You?" Janet exclaimed in disbelief. "What do you mean you sorta hit the teacher?"

She made another face. "I didn't mean to. It just, well it just kind of happened. It was a bad day really."

Now Janet was torn between laughing at the thought of Sam being the holy terror of the kindergarten class, or sympathy for her friend. "For you, or for your teacher?"

Sam looked at her in surprise. She seemed to consider the question, and then she replied, the hint of a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth. "Probably bad for both of us. Janet, I got sent to time out twice! And before lunch too!" Amusement was beginning to win out, and after a brief moment, she joined Janet in laughing.

When they had both calmed down, Janet looked down at her now small friend. "Sam, were you this much of a challenge when you were growing up?"

In reply, Sam grinned. "Probably worse," she admitted ruefully. "I never meant to cause trouble, but things usually happened. I used to let my curiosity get the better of me more often than not."

Janet laughed. "Well, I probably wasn't much better. Look, Sam, I hate to cut this short, but SG-12 is due back soon, and I need to finish this paperwork. Maybe we can meet for dinner sometime this week." She was rewarded by a big smile.

"Sure Janet, I'd like that," Sam told her.

"Take care, Sam. And try to stay out of trouble."

Sam merely stuck her tongue out at her friend, making Janet laugh. Deftly, she reached down and lifted the pen out of Sam's hand. Sam gave her a sheepish look just as the warning claxons began to sound, coinciding with the likely return of SG-12. "Bye Janet!" she called. Janet gave her a distracted wave as her team filed in.

Distracted or not though, before the petite doctor got down to business, the thought of Sam in the time out corner was more than enough to bring a smile to her lips.

Besides, such information was bound to come in useful one day wasn't it?

A/N: I'm out of town, but I took this with me, but no promises I'll get much done. (I'm on vacation!) I'm glad you liked the last chapter, going from the review response. I enjoyed it as well.