Chapter 3

It had been a week since Janet's off-world trip. It had gone surprisingly well, except for losing her cheese and crackers upon exiting the Stargate. She didn't think that she'd ever get the hang of gate travel, but she was damned well going to try. In her week at the SGC, Janet had already encountered an alien cold virus, alien medicines, and alien poison ivy. 'Alien' had become a part of her everyday vocabulary. On this particular day, there were no teams due back and Janet was particularly grateful for the reprise. SG-1 was embarking on a mission to P3X- whatever and they weren't scheduled to return for three days. She planned on using the free time to re-stock the infirmary and start putting her office together. Janet thanked her lucky stars that she had not had to deal with moving to a new home as well.

While unpacking her medical journals, Janet's thoughts wandered to Captain Carter again. Throughout the week, SG-1 and a few other teams had been coming to see how the new doctor was doing and introduce themselves, most likely in the hopes that by being nice to her, she would in turn be nice to them when it came time for their physicals. Janet was so unusually busy that she had to kick out the well-doers. Most had learned their lesson, but O'Neill had bothered her so frequently that she threatened to strap him to a bed and lock him in a store room. He only whined that he was bored because Daniel was trying to translate some alien text and Carter was busier that usual working in her lab. Janet mentioned that he should think about doing the same thing, and she was left well enough alone after that.

Though she had more company than she ever needed, the one person that she wanted to see was scarce. Captain Carter had not visited her once. Janet began to think that maybe the woman was avoiding her. Sam was acting funny. Well, at least she thought Sam was acting funny. The actions of her team only supported her theory. Janet did not really know what was normal for Sam. All she knew was that she could get lost in those eyes forever. The temptation to run her fingers through that blonde hair and trace those lips with her thumb was almost more than she could stand. Janet shook herself out of her trance and realized that she was still holding the first pile of journals. She sighed and pushed an errant strand of hair out of her face. 'How am I ever going to get anything done with Sam Carter around?' she thought.

...

The next afternoon SG-1 and SG-3 returned early from their planet. Janet was waiting patiently for the briefing to end so she could finally do something other than inventory and unpacking. She glanced at the clock to see about how much longer and realized that the briefing had only been going on for twenty minutes. Janet picked up Sam's file to read again. She was not going to let the woman weasel out of her physical this time.

Before she was able to finish looking over the file two large security guards hauled an even larger marine though the doors to the infirmary. Janet immediately jumped to her feet and made her way quickly toward the men.

"Sergeant, what happened?" She snapped into doctor mode.

"I dunno, Ma'am. He went crazy during the briefing and attacked Teal'c," the young man replied.

"Well, let's see if we can get him into the shackles." Janet headed toward a gurney.

"I don't think that'll hold him, Ma'am," the other SF, a senior airman, said as he struggled to keep his grasp on the lieutenant, whom she had now identified as Johnson, as he continued his attempts at escape.

"Do you know where the holding cells are?" Janet asked and the first SF nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am, we'll take him there." Between the three of them and one of Janet's nurses, Lt. Johnson had blood samples taken, was sedated, and locked in a holding cell.

"Will you take this to be analyzed, please?" Janet handed the blood sample to the nurse. "Hopefully then we'll be able to tell what's going on here." Janet sighed, wiped her brow, and headed back to her office. Before she even made it to the door, Hammond entered the infirmary.

"Doctor," he said to get her attention. Janet whirled around.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Do you know what's wrong with Lt. Johnson?"

"It's too soon to tell, Sir." Janet met the general in the middle of the room. "I took blood samples and they're currently being analyzed. Lt. Johnson has been sedated and placed in holding cell twenty-one ten."

"Let's go have a look." Hammond left the infirmary and turned left towards the holding cells. Janet quickly followed him and when they turned the corner, a loud banging could be heard. Janet rushed forward to find the marine behaving primitively in his cell. He was jumping around on the beds, turning over furniture, and banging on the wall, leaving smears of blood from where the skin on his knuckles had already broken. The huge man lunged toward the door and Janet noticed that his facial features were different. His brow ridge was more pronounced than it had been five minutes previous. At least she thought it was.

"I thought you said he was sedated!" Hammond raised his voice to be heard over the commotion.

"I did, Sir, the maximum dosage!" Janet looked at the marine incredulously.

"Can you give him any more?" Hammond was concerned about his officer.

"I don't dare, Sir. Exceeding the maximum dose could. . ." Janet stopped when she realized that she was going to give more information than her commanding officer needed or wanted.

"Well, keep an eye on him. I want a guard posted just in case he hurts himself." Hammond turned and stalked out of view. Janet peeked in the cell one more time before she hurried back to the infirmary. Lt. Johnson was still trying to bring the wall down with his fists.

...

Not more than two hours later, Janet's infirmary was overflowing with previously civilized people, now behaving like animals. Whatever kind of disease this was, it spread like wildfire. The latest victim, one Captain Samantha Carter: Colonel O'Neill had carted her to the infirmary after she attempted to seduce him in the locker room. 'The poor man.' Janet snorted at that thought. But it was not lost on Janet that Sam was going after a man. 'Why then,' Janet wondered, 'was the Captain acting so strangely around her?' Perhaps Sam was straight after all. Janet became increasingly confused and vowed to approach the other woman about the issue, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' be damned! She figured that broaching the topic couldn't possibly make things any more strained between them than they already were.

A loud growl, a howl even, resonated from corridor two. Janet sprinted toward the sound and discovered none other than Captain Carter involved in a knock-down drag-out fight with her cell-mate Lt. Astor. Then Janet saw the blood. Lt. Astor had broken a mattress support rail off the bed and slashed Sam across her stomach.

"A little help here, Airman." Janet motioned to the guards on duty. The two men came over to assist her.

"You hold back Astor. Be careful, she's armed." Janet pointed at the first man. "And you help me grab Carter. She's got a wound on her side so be gentle but firm. We're going to haul her to the infirmary and strap her down, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the second man replied and readied himself. The three of them burst into the room. Amazingly, Sam was well behaved compared to Astor. Getting Sam out of the room was no great feat; the woman had all of her attention focused on Janet and followed her out. Keeping her tone gentle, Janet began to coax Sam toward the infirmary.

"It's okay, Sam. You're hurt and I want to help you." Janet used the familiar name that her team used and walked backwards and Sam followed her, almost stalked her. The two guards, having secured Lt. Astor in the room, fell in slowly and quietly behind Carter, prepared to jump in if Sam attacked the doctor. None of them were prepared for what Sam did next.

"Mine," Sam growled and reached for Janet. The airmen reached for their guns, but one look from Janet made them pause and relax again. "Mine," Sam repeated and grabbed Janet's wrist.

"That's right Sam. Come with me." Janet began pulling the taller woman along, and much to her surprise, Sam followed willingly. They rounded the corner toward the infirmary and Sam jerked when the noises from the room became more distinct.

"It's okay, Sam, we're just going into the infirmary. Co-operate with me a little longer." Janet turned her hand so that she could stroke her fingertips across Sam's wrist in a calming gesture. Her skin was so soft to the touch and Janet briefly wondered if her entire body was that smooth. Sam's grip on her loosened a small bit and Janet could feel the other woman's pulse slow slightly. When they entered the infirmary, Sam saw all the people and panicked.

"Okay, time to get her strapped down." Janet and the two young guards hoisted Sam onto a bed. The men held her down while Janet fastened the shackles. Sam struggled for a while, yowling furiously, until she realized she was not going to be able to free herself. When Sam quieted down, Janet made her move to try and inspect the wound.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but you're hurt and I have to look at it." Janet lightly stroked the blonde's arm and after a minute, Janet even thought she could hear purring. Slowly and gently the doctor moved the captain's shirt up to reveal a toned stomach with a raw, bloody gash across the left side. It wasn't life threatening, but it needed stitches.

"Laura," Janet softly called for her head nurse. The older lady approached slowly, motioned to do so by Janet. "I need you to bring me a 3-0 silk kit, please." Janet kept her voice low and never stopped stroking Sam's stomach with her thumb. "Oh, and bring a syringe of haldol too, five milligrams," Janet added as an afterthought. A little sedative never hurt anyone.

"Yes, Ma'am," Laura replied as went to round up the requested materials. Janet looked down at the woman on the bed and sighed. The skin on her stomach seemed even smoother than her wrist. With her other hand, Janet gave into her previous temptation and ran her fingers through the limp, blonde hair. She did it again, trying to convince herself that it was to comfort the woman. That is certainly how it would appear to anyone watching. Laura soon returned with the materials and Janet got to work stitching up her new favorite patient.