Three weeks later, tragedy struck the SGC. Daniel Jackson was dead. SG-1 had come back form a routine mission short one member. Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, and Teal'c were all in shock, and Janet, though she was able to help them physically, was at a loss of what to do for them mentally. Seeing Sam wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on a lumpy bed in a grey, sterile infirmary nearly broke Janet's heart. She wanted to take the woman in her arms and hold her, telling her it would all be okay. She couldn't do that, not at the base, not in front of so many people. So Janet did all that she could. She looked at Sam with kind eyes and pulled the blanket around her a little tighter.
Janet made her way down the hall talking with General Hammond and when they reached the elevator, she went for it.
"Sir, I believe that given the circumstances, SG-1 should be given some downtime."
"Absolutely not. They're a military unit, and the best thing for them is to get back in the field." Hammond seemed like he was not going to budge. Janet didn't want to pull the 'medically unfit' card, but she would if it became necessary.
"Sir, they don't need to be anywhere in their emotional state except at home where they can rest and deal with this. I'm worried about what mental ramifications this could have on them. Give them a week, I insist." Janet held her breath, praying he would just go with her.
"Fine, one week." Hammond stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, effectively ending the conversation. Janet sighed and hurried back to the infirmary. She wanted to get SG-1 as comfortable as possible and try to keep them from going into shock.
...
The service had gone off without a hitch and Janet found herself holding back tears when the trumpeters played "Taps," the notes echoing off the concrete walls. When the service was over, everyone was given the rest of the afternoon off. Janet went looking for Sam and found her curled up in the corner of her lab, dress blues still on and becoming more wrinkled.
"Oh, Sam." Janet hurried to her side and wrapped an arm around the taller woman. Sam turned into Janet's embrace and began to sob, her tears staining Janet's pristinely cleaned jacket. Janet knew that Sam and her teammates were bottling up their emotions. Letting out that pent up grief was helping Sam deal with the loss of Daniel and Janet welcomed her tears.
"Janet," Sam whispered and clung more tightly to her.
"I'm here, Sam, let it out. I'm here. You're coming home with me tonight and we can talk and I'll hold you as long as you want." Janet tried to soothe Sam and stoked her hair lightly.
"Please take me home," Sam said and looked up at Janet. Her eyes were red and puffy and her makeup was smeared. There was no way that Janet was going to say no to those eyes. She stood and helped Sam to her feet. A quick stop by the infirmary to grab her purse, and Janet was leading Sam to the surface and to her car.
...
The drive home was long and silent. Once home, Janet led Sam to her bedroom and pulled out a t-shirt and boxers for her to change into.
"Sam, I'm going to be in the kitchen fixing up a light lunch. Are you going to be okay in here?" Janet wasn't sure if Sam was ready to be left alone yet.
"Yeah, go ahead." Sam started pulling of pieces of her uniform and dropping them on the floor. Janet quickly excused herself before Sam could remove anything that would reveal too much. Janet cursed inwardly; SG-1 was finally getting into a routine of missions, none of them too dangerous, except that ordeal with Apophis. Why did something have to go wrong? And why so soon after the program started? There was bound to be an investigation after this and Janet could only hope that the government wouldn't shut down the Stargate Program entirely.
Janet entered the kitchen and put on a pot of tomato soup. Her mother had always made it for her when she wasn't feeling good. While that was heating, she pulled out sandwich fixings and quickly threw together a couple of cheese and turkey sandwiches. As she was slicing them diagonally, because they tasted better like that, she heard a noise behind her. She turned to see Sam slumping into a chair at the table in the adjacent dining room. Janet pulled out a couple of bowls and filled them with soup. She placed Sam's food in front of her and pulled up a chair of her own. They sat in silence, Janet eating and Sam staring into the bowl.
"Sam, you need to eat something," Janet said.
"I'm not hungry." Sam continued to stare, as if deep in thought.
"That may be, but you still need to eat. Just a little soup and half the sandwich, please." Janet sat and waited to see if Sam was going to do as told but she remained motionless. "Sam, don't make me make that an order. I'm still your doctor, okay?" Sam picked up the spoon and took a small sip of the soup. Janet watched her pick up the wedge of sandwich and start nibbling. 'Well, it's a start,' she thought.
"I can't believe he's gone." Sam suddenly spoke up but kept her vision focused on the soup.
"I know Sam, I know." Janet tried to soothe her.
"You can't know," Sam spat. "You could never know. You weren't on his team, you weren't there for everything we've been through."
"I know that, Sam. But I worked with Daniel, I saw him on a regular basis, and I considered him a good friend. I know what it's like to lose a good friend Sam. I know it hurts and. . ."
"You don't understand!" Sam turned her eyes to Janet and in them Janet saw anger, hatred, and grief. It was a classic reaction to the death of a loved one. Janet didn't want Sam to think she was alone, but any attempts she made to reassure the woman fell on deaf ears. Janet sat quietly and tried to finish her lunch, hoping Sam would do the same.
"I'm sorry, Janet." Sam dropped her spoon in the bowl and walked into the living room. Janet quickly stashed the remains of lunch in the fridge for later and followed Sam. She found her curled up on the couch wrapped in her fleece blanket. Janet plopped down beside Sam who turned around so that her head was in Janet's lap. The fact that Sam was allowing Janet to be close was a good sign. Janet stroked Sam's head and ran her fingers through blonde hair. After a few minutes Sam's breathing became more regular. If Sam was going to sleep, it wasn't going to be cramped up on the couch.
"Sam, honey, I need to get you to bed." Janet roused her friend and managed to steer her to the bedroom and get her under the covers. Janet leaned down and kissed Sam's forehead and turned to leave, but Sam reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Stay, Janet. Please stay?" Seeing Sam begging almost broke Janet's heart. She'd never seen Sam so weak and fragile as she was now. Janet hoped that the boys of SG-1 were doing okay. If they were in the same state as Sam, Janet didn't know who would be able to help.
"Okay, Sam. I'm not going anywhere." Janet turned and headed to her dresser to pull out something to change into. She turned her back to Sam and quickly changed, feeling Sam's eyes watching her intently. She crawled into bed with Sam, snuggling under the covers. The bed was already warm from Sam's body and Janet could smell Sam's shampoo on her pillow. This was all new to her. They had never shared a bed before, for any reason, and now here they were in the most intimate of settings. Janet's body seemed to fit against Sam better than any lover she'd ever had. Once she figured out how to position her arm so it didn't fall asleep on her, Janet reached out with her other arm to brush some hair out of Sam's face. Sam was still watching her and waited until Janet was comfortable.
"Thank you." Sam brushed her lips across Janet's temple and closed her eyes. Janet sent up a silent prayer that everything would be okay sooner rather than later; she hated seeing her friends suffer like this. She lay there for what seemed like hours, listening to Sam's breathing even out again, and then listening to her heart beat. So focused was she on the rhythmic beats that Janet didn't even realize she was drifting off to sleep too.
...
Daniel was alive. He was back and in near perfect condition. Janet was still in awe at the circumstances surrounding the events of the previous few days. Colonel O'Neill was back to his usual sarcastic self, Teal'c seemed to be in a more cheery disposition, and Sam was smiling again. Apparently Daniel's death had been faked by an alien creature so that he could keep Daniel to do his biding. Janet still was not sure exactly what has transpired on the planet, as Daniel seemed less that eager to discuss it.
"Well, Doctor Jackson, it would appear as though you are free to leave my infirmary once again." Janet plopped his chart down beside him on the bed.
"Thanks Janet," Daniel said and smiled. "At least it wasn't my fault this time around." He hopped down and his boots made a nice 'thud' on the floor when he landed. The infirmary was more desolate than usual and Daniel was sick of being alone in it for the last day and a half.
"Hey, if you see Sam, could you tell her I need to speak with her?" Janet asked as Daniel was heading toward the door.
"Will do," the man replied without missing a step.
"And Daniel?" At that sing-song tone of the doctor's voice, Daniel went rigid and hesitated before turning to look at her. "If you see the Colonel, tell him that next time he tries to talk me into letting a patient go early, I'll have a full regalia of tests ready for his next physical instead of just the usual.
"Um, sure thing, Janet." Daniel blushed and double-timed it out of the infirmary. Janet had to chuckle at the poor man. It really wasn't his fault that O'Neill had coerced him into going along with that plan. Janet went back into her office and sank into her chair, her eye catching the calendar. It was twenty days until the rodeo championship and she still hadn't made any plans to go. She would have to talk to the general about that. She should have asked for leave a week ago. Janet rubbed her temple. She had no idea if she would even be going, much less how she was going to get to Austin with Tah. Janet sighed and headed up to speak with General Hammond.
...
Janet knocked once on the door to Hammond's office.
"Enter." She heard a voice inside command. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. "Well, Doctor, I hear Doctor Jackson is on the mend."
"Yes, Sir. He was discharged a few minutes ago."
"So you came up here to tell me that?" Hammond raised an eyebrow. Janet stifled a giggle at what a likeness of Teal'c he was.
"Ah, no Sir. I came to speak with you about a different matter. The rodeo championship, Sir, it's in less than three weeks." Janet took another breath, trying not to babble too much.
"And you wanted leave time to go?" Hammond was three steps ahead of her and Janet silently thanked him for that.
"Yes, Sir. I've been keeping up on my riding in my off time, and I've been getting pressure from various members of a certain team. Actually, I can't help wondering if you'd put them up to it, but that is silly for me to think, right?" Hoping that she wouldn't get a reprimand for that one, Janet waited for his answer.
"Well, I have to admit that I had discussed it with SG-1, considering they were at the state championship, but it's too late for you to request leave now, Doctor Fraiser." Janet's stomach turned over; she had feared this.
"Well, thank you anyway Sir, I'll be. . ."
"So it's a good thing that I put it in two weeks ago," Hammond said and pulled a sheet from his desk, handing it to her with a smile. It was her leave approval form. "Do us proud, Janet." Hammond gave her a little wink and a nod that she was dismissed.
"Thank you, Sir," Janet almost whispered. She smiled back and left his office. Gazing over the form on the way back to her office, she noticed that she had an entire week off. Now she wouldn't be rushed trying to get to Texas, but it would still be a long drive.
...
"Doc!" A voice called from behind her. Janet stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to face Colonel O'Neill. "Hey, I hear you might be in need of assistance next week." He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Well, news just spreads like wildfire around here, doesn't it?" Janet gave a little grin.
"Yeah, well, the general knows I have an old horse trailer, so he called me up and ordered me to volunteer it to you." O'Neill tried to play it off that he was apathetic toward the competition.
"Ahh, he voluntold you, did he?" Janet raised an eyebrow and O'Neill stopped the rocking.
"Not really, but if you need it, I'd be more than happy to join ya. Nothing quite like a rodeo to boost your spirits, and Lord knows that SG-1 is due some good spirit boosting. I'll be dragging them along as well, whether you take the trailer or not." O'Neill had completely put Janet out of her element. The man had never been quite this sincere and supportive toward her since that first physical.
"Sir, it's wonderful that you. . ."
"And we're not taking no for an answer. We've been talking about this for the last couple of weeks, and the team consensus is that there's no way in hell you're going alone. You need a cheering section, ya know."
Janet laughed inwardly at the thought of the boys of SG-1 in cheerleading outfits.
"Okay, Colonel, you've got yourself a deal. We leave in ten days." Janet turned and walked down the corridor leaving an open mouthed colonel behind her; apparently he wasn't expecting it to be that easy.
...
When Janet got to the infirmary Sam was sitting in her office chair waiting for her. Janet stopped before she could be seen by the other woman. Sam was looking at the books on the shelf beside the desk. Janet couldn't fathom what had her so interested; they were just medical journals and handbooks. She started walking again and Sam looked up when the small doctor entered the office.
"Hey, Janet! Daniel said you wanted to see me."
"Yes, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Now that Daniel's back, all of SG-1 seems to be back in perfect condition." Janet eyes Sam and waited for a response. Sam stood and turned to stand before her.
"Janet, I'm fine. Daniel is okay, he's alive and he's back. Most of the things we felt when he was 'dead' are not there anymore. The depression of losing a close friend is completely gone because he's not lost. Does this make any sense?" Sam hoped that she wasn't going to have to go through any more mental interrogations about Daniel; it was all over now.
"Yes, Sam, it makes perfect sense. I just wanted to be sure you were okay. I care about you," Janet paused, "and all of SG-1 for that matter," she added as an afterthought.
"I'm okay, Janet, really." Sam grasped Janet's hand and squeezed. She wanted nothing more than to sweep the woman off her feet and kiss her silly, but that would have to wait until they got home.
"Okay, Sam. I know you are, I just worry too much, and I'm sorry for that." Janet squeezed Sam's hand back and released it. "Hey!" Janet's voice lightened and she put on a million watt smile.
"Huh? What?" Sam wore a look of confusion.
"Guess where we're going in a week?" Sam tried to think of what missions they had planned for the next week. Coming up empty, Sam shrugged. "A mostly all expense paid trip to Austin, Texas." Janet waited for it to sink in. Sam stared at her dumbfounded and still confused. Then the gears began clicking into place and Sam grinned like an idiot.
"You're going to do it?!" Sam's eyes lit up as she waited for an answer.
"Yes. I talked to General Hammond a few days ago, and then Colonel O'Neill caught me in the hall and loaned me his trailer this morning. I think it's just about set in stone. I'm leaving in ten days to drive down there, and I was hoping you wouldn't mind accompanying me. The boys will have their hands full with Teal'c and his first trip out of the state, I figure I'll need someone to keep me company too." Janet looked up at Sam and when their eyes met she saw something new in those blue depths. It scared her and excited her all at once.
"Janet, I'd be more than happy to go with you. You know, I've never been to Austin, only Houston, and that was way back when I just knew I was going to be an astronaut." Sam chuckled at the thought. "Who would have known, huh?" she thought out loud. Janet laughed too, thinking just how close Sam had been.
"Well then, we leave in ten days, best start getting ready." Janet smiled at Sam and the blonde smiled back.
"Yeah, I'd better get everything finished up so I don't feel bad about abandoning work for a week." Sam gave Janet one last look and headed out of the infirmary. Janet sat down and began writing up the report on one Doctor Daniel Jackson. An hour later when she had put the final touches on it, she put it in the ever growing file on the accident prone man.