THE HERE AND NOW
CHAPTER IV
" HEROS "
One week passed and Janet was still sore. Not to mention in the SGC infirmary. Now she knew how colonel O'Neill felt when he was stuck on base for so much time. She had been for a week and she was already bored out of her mind. Jack of course could already walk and be around for a while, but she wasn't allowed to even sit up for fear she could hurt her skin graphs.
"Doc, doc, doc…"
"What is it now colonel?"
"Oh, just wanted to say hey and I brought you this…"
"Your game boy, sir?"
True, it was just a simple toy, but to him it was one of his most priced posessions, right up there with his yoyo and Simposon DVD collection. She was touched that he was going to lend her his game boy. Not a new one, not a borrowed one but his. The man was sweet.
"Yes. And just for being such a good patient I got a cartige with over fifty games, even operation."
She smiled and shock her head. He was such a nut but she loved the way that compenasated for his darker side. She knew all about his dark days when he killed just because he was ordered to kill and she had no problem with his past. Because the man standing in front of her was Jack O'Neill, a man who was nice and caring and looked out for his people.
"Thank you sir."
"No problem doc. So… anything I can get you?"
"Umhhh… some water."
"Ah ah! Ice chip for your doc. You took a pretty nasty hit there."
She saw a partial flash of fear cross his face, but it was hideen as soon as it had appeared. She smiled and closed her eyes. She knew it had been close. To close a call for that matter. If it weren't for Tealc's quick thinking, he and she would probably be dead by now.
"Here ya go doc. Eat all you can…"
Feeding her ice chips was not that embarrasing for him. He was used to her feeding him the frozen liquid. But even tough he had no problem feeding her the ice chips, he knew she did. Janet Fraiser was a woman who didn't like to be trapped or useless, even if it wasn't her fault that she was down. She always wanted to be active and depend on no one. She didn't want to be taken care of. She was the one who took care of others.
Triying to ease the tension Jack began to tell her what had happened while she was out of it. Cassie was ok and had visited every day, but was unable to do so in the last couple of days due to school related occupations. Mainly her graduationg preparations and all that. And since the doctor had said Janet was not going to wake up for at least another week, Cassie had been convinced to go home and rest while she also straigthened everything out.
Too bad the doc who was treating Janet was not as good as the petite woman on the bed. Janet had woken up a week early and had been out of it for quite some time. And now, hearing this story about how SG-1 saved the day again and he didn't get a party, she realized just how close they had come to being killed and how much Jack had risked.
"Why do you always put yourself in those situations?"
"Come on doc!"
"Sir you can't possibly…"
"Carter is getting married, Teal'c is with Ishta, Daniel is… I think well… I guess he has Sarah… and you and Cassie have each other… I'm expandable…"
She frowned but continued to listen. So Sam was getting married. Shaking her head she continued to listen to the colonel's rant and smiled at the jokes and tid bits of puns he put on his story.
Telling her how every one was doing, she smiled remembering the man she had saved was okay and had a baby girl named Janet in her honor, which made her smile.
"Don't let it go to your head doc, ok?"
"Well, how can I not?"
"Funny!"
"And how are you? After the big freaze and all"
"I'm okay. Actually feel a lot better. Knees don't hurt as much and you know, all that… "
She smiled and nodeed. Jack was a pretty resiliant man. It took a lot to keep him down and by the roumours she had heard runing around he was on his way to becoming the next General of the SGC. And his ancient abilities were some what of a myth. Just a rumour he had healed bratac using ancient abilities. She knew the rumours but to believe them, it was hard.
What suprised Janet was the lack of attention Sam was showing towards them. She had only seen her for a while, and now Jack was keeping from mentioning her. Janet knew Jack was hurting, but it seemed that it was more than that. For him to be avoiding her so much, it had to be something else.
"Hey mom, Jack."
"Cassie, nice of you to come."
"Yes, indeed, we were just talking…"
"Ah, Daniel and Uncle George want to talk to you…"
He frowned and said good bye. Cassie smiled and sat beside her mom, who looked at her daugther with a confused look. It seemed Cassie was having a rough couple of weeks. She smiled and Cassie held her hand smiliming at her. It was hard to almost lose her mother, but Janet could feel there was something more.
"What's wrong?"
"I've been staying with uncle jack."
"He told me...why?"
"I can't stay at Sam's place... Pete is always there and it feels weird. Besides she is busy for us…"
"Cassie I'm sure she is…"
"I'm sorry mom, but I feel as if dont even know her anymore... she is with him all the time and..."
Janet frowned. This was not like Cassie. Sam was like a second mother to her and now Cassie was talking about Sam as if she was just a stranger. Janet knew that relationships changed people. She tought Cassie was over reacting, but from the lack of metion of the woman by colonel O'Neill she knew it had to be something more. And as Cassie continuend to talk, she knew why something was diferent.
Sam was speding more time with Pete and much to her disapointment, she didn't go out of her way to help Cassie in her time of need. It seemed from what her daugther was telling her, Jack had went to great lenghts to accomodate her and confort her when she was in a coma. While Sam took refuge in the arms of her fiance, she left the girl high and dry.
"Mom…"
"I'm sorry I worried you so much."
"It's ok. I'm just glad you're going to be ok."
"Still it was quite a scare."
"We almost lost Jack too... it was scary."
By the look on Cassie's face she was still upset about something. Sam's attitude had been no help. Of that Janet was sure. She just hoped that thigs would get better from here on.
A week later and Jack O'Neill was the new comander of the SGC and Janet Frasier was back to the surface. Not at home, but in the Academy hospital and now starting her rehabilitation. She was suprised at how the colonel had taken it to heart what had happened to her and how much he had visited. And as she tought things with Sam were starting to get better except with Cassie.
The girl had gotten her stubborn streak from O'Neill and when she got hurt she was the one who held a grudge like no other. Janet suspected she had made her mind up about Sam while she was in a coma. She still didn't know all the details of what was going on, but Cassie refused to talk about it, even to Jack who was as confused as Janet was.
"Hey mom."
"Hey Cass. How are you ? "
"I'm ok. Brought you some real food and Jack says he and the team can't make it. Something happened at the SGC I guess is something big…"
"I hope no one got hurt."
"Mom, Jack told you not to worry. Your temporary replacement is doing ok and you should focus on relaxing and getting better."
She smiled and nodeed. Cassie was excited as her college orientation tour was going to begin soon. She was taking Daniel while Teal'c and Jack moved Janet to Jack's place. Much to the disapointment of Janet, she was not going home. She was going to Jack's place, thanks to Cassie's suggestion, to which the colonel had fully agreed.
She wasn't happy but couldn't deny she could use the help. Her injuries were healing, but it was taking too long to do so and she was not up to working yet. She was tired most of the time and the bandages nedeed to be changed constantly. That's were Cassie and the general came in. And yet Jack was so busy now, she wondered if he had given in out of guilt.
There were times when Janet Fraiser believed to be just another military woman who had gotten lucky and made a family instead of making friends. She knew it was wrong for people to care so much about one another, but she also knew that this were not ordinary people. The colonel, she suspected, was how he was because he was triying to atone for his past actions. Daniel was a natural nice guy and Teal'c was an honorable warrior.
Sam was her best friend a sister, but lately she had been having problems and even tough Janet knew Samantha Carter deserved a life of her own she had hoped that life it would include them. As it seemed Sam's new life did not include them and that hurt. After all they had been trough, her and the team she was cutting them out.
Jack, she could see, was taking this as he always did. Working hard and making the best out of what the job had to offer. He helped them, helped her. Even if his schedule was busy, he would always find time to help with what he could. He even confessed to her that he was doing his paper work as fast as he could to get home.
She felt flattered, but still nedeed to find the time to find out why he was doing this. Why was he being so acomodating. She knew it had something to do with guilt and with the notion of losing one of his family. She also knew she nedeed to make him talk to her or it would eat him up.
That was why she had decided to meet with him out side her room. She had one of the nurses wheel her out towards the outside court yard that was located behind the hospital. She knew that there would be no other people around. That was why she had wanted to wait for him here and as he arrived she noticed his tired expresion and for a second reconsidered talking to him.
"Hey Jan. How you doing ? "
"I'm ok. How's the job treating you?"
"Let's say Hammond had it hard."
"Oh? Busy week ? "
"Let's just say Anubis is back in a cloudy kind of way, then there's the whole Daniel being traped off world again, then the fact that Teal'c got traped in a video game and is acused of murdering some one, all in the same week."
"So hard week ? "
He smirkes and sit down beside her. There are tables here and chairs. That was good. She wanted him to feel confortable because she knows the discussion they are going to have might not be that confortable for him.
"That's only half of it… "
"Oh right… the whole Stargate going public thing. They were some people who were pretty freaked out here in the hospital."
"Oy, don't even get me started with that guy! You know Carter actually tought we could trust him?"
"Wasn't he a flight risk ? "
"I trust Carter. Turns out her hunch was way off. Weird part of all of this is… telling the truth seems to have turned out good… "
"What ? "
"Ok not good as in good but if it weren't for them the Stargate would have gone public and Teal'c would be in jail, so I'm thinking they are in the grey area…"
"Grey area ? "
"Not so good, not so evil "
"Didn't they kidnnap Sam ? "
"She kidnaped herself. Funny story actually… she jumped the gun which is weird for her. "
A lot of things were going weird for Sam. She was not focusing on the job, Janet could see that the colonel had reached the same conclusion, but he didn't know how to bring it up to her. Pressing the asguard transporter with out knowing were it was going to take her was a clear indication she had not been thinking straight.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I dont know ...things really got weird when ..."
"If you need to get it out…"
"Fifth made a replicator Carter and it was close Janet, real close."
Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath explaining what had happened. Janet was taken aback. Sam Carter was not that gullibel. She was not fooled easily. Something else had to have happened for it to have happened, and now aperently the only known weapon who had been able to defeat the replicators was gone. Yeah something was defently wrong with Sam.
" On a ligther note, Rya'c got married."
"I know. Daniel told me. It makes me wonder when…"
"Ah ah ah…"
"Come now! Cassie is a woman now, we can't always protect her Jack…"
"No, but she needs school first then she can go get married. She's still a kid you know?"
She saw something there, she heard his voice trail off a bit at the mention of cassy as being a kid. The way he adverted his eyes told her that there was something more going on. Something deeper than what they had been telling her. In truth she suspected they hid somethings from her to help her out, to not worry her about what they were doing.
Yet this this involved her daugther and best friend. Reaching out slowly, she gently made him look towards her and she saw every thing in his eyes. His worry, his concern and uncertainity. He was hiding something. She was angry, but something in his eyes made her understand.
"Cassy and Sam?"
"Yeah... I dont know what to do Janet…"
"Have you talked to them?"
"Cassy ...is stubborn. She is angry. I never seen her this way and Sam, she is evasive and ...I don't know… she's been acting off."
"It's a mess, but why do I think you know something more than what you're telling me?"
"Theres is something with Carter... I don't know. It's Cassie thinking that by hurting Carter she is helping her and I can't put my finger on it but…"
"I think I understand."
"You do?"
"No, but there is something wrong with both of them. I was hoping you could have given me an insight."
"This whole thing stinks, Janet. All I know is they fought, but both of them… I dont even know any more."
There had been something more to this and Janet could feel that Jack had an idea of what that something was, but he didn't want to admit it, or wasn't all that sure of it. She wondered just what was going on with her friend and daugther. They were so close and for them to have a fall out of this magnitude, she just didn't know what to think any more. Being in the hospital unable to talk to her friend, it was like seeing a car crash and unable to do a thing to stop it.
Looking at Jack, at the colonel, she wondered how he really was taking all of this, how he was handling it. This was not his area of expertise, Janet knew it. So she decided to change the subject and just dive right to buisness with him to clear the air and see were it lead to.
"Jack... why are you doing this?"
"Doc?"
"We... we were never close... and now your come visit me every day, you're going to help me while I recover and well it's weird."
"I'm not feeling guilty if that's what you mean."
"How did…"
"I'm not as dum as you guys think I am."
"I'm sorry I shouldnt have…"
"I guess you deserve an explanation... thing is… with Sam having a fiance and Daniel off taking care of Sarah and Teal'c with Ishta I feel as if we're drifting apart. SG-1, Hammond, you… it's all diferent."
She could understand that it was hard to move into new grounds, specially when there was nothing wrong with how things were. She took a deep breath and nodeed. She could relate. She was losing her best friend and Daniel was with Shara. Yeah she was feeling alone, she could relate to he colonel. After all, Jack was the lonliest of all of them. That lonliness had been lost thanks to SG-1 and good friends.
Now however, after being trough that, it was hard to return to being alone. After all Teal'c had always had a family whom he visited on down time, Danie had his books and even she and Cassie had Sam. That left Jack the only one who spent his down times alone.
"I... I just SG-1 and the SGC… they became a refuge from my home."
"It's ok… I understand... I guess I was just suprised that you… Well it's weird talking about it…"
"Yeah, I guess it is weird…"
Yeah it was weird, but now they had gotten past that and the tension had evaded and now they could relax with one another. True, things were changing, maybe for the better, maybe for the worst, but trough it all Janet didn't feel so alone anymore thanks to a certain gray haired colonel.
continued