Heard It Through the Grapevine
Who: Dr. Callie Torres, Dr. Miranda Bailey
When: Sunday, May 6, mid-morning
Where: Base Hub/Admin initially
Invited: Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill eventually
Status: Complete ( Read more... )
When: Sunday, May 6, mid-morning
Where: Base Hub/Admin initially
Invited: Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill eventually
Status: Complete ( Read more... )
(And Jon never felt that Cassie initially rejected him in favor of "finding the original.") Daniel knew where so much of the tension, so much of the awkwardness came from, that initial period of time while they dealt with the fact that the teenager they thought was Jack was actually a clone. If he could have done things differently, Daniel thought that he would have. But concern for Jack had come first, science had taken the floor and the Jack fishing on the side of the river hadn't been Jack.
Life, however, didn't give do-overs. For not the first time as his thoughts replayed the past, Daniel envied Ami's empathy. He seldom saw the woman react or interact badly; being forced to deal with the emotions of others had to put an end to situations that led to this sort of tension.
Pulling his mind back to the present, Daniel gave Cassie a squeeze before the young woman put some distance between them, putting on her brave grown-up face. Unfortunately, all Daniel saw was a bright eyed, smiling young girl. It was probably what he would see when she was middle-aged and married with a few kids, too.
"Calvin caught me en route," Daniel told her. "I sent him home to bed." She'd probably wonder where the young man was; he was probably as close to Jon as Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were to Jack. At least as close as Jon allowed. Daniel wasn't really surprised that Calvin went to Cassandra first. It was that whole age and association thing, or lack of association, rearing its head. "However, the hospital had already given me word. They can't find Jack.
"He's at his cabin," Daniel finished before Cassie could ask. "I wanted to come see Jon first before I went to see Jack." Not that he didn't trust the doctors. Dr. Bailey, in particular, Daniel knew of her reputation. She was a tough as nails no nonsense dynamo who ran a tight ship, but also had the skills, both medical and bedside, to back it up. "I haven't seen Sam yet this morning."
Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose, "God. I miss telephones."
He gave Cassie an indulgent grin as she held up the game system and announced why she brought it. "I'm sure he'll be happy for something to do other than make the nurses crazy."
Daniel wrapped an arm around Cassie's shoulders and urged her to walk with him to the other bed. He didn't treat her like a child; she would always be his "neice," and somehwat of a little girl, but logically she was an adult and there was no reason to keep anything from her. If there had been anything to keep. "No major organs were damaged, he got lucky. A perforated bowel or ruptured spleen and it would have been nasty. The man who did it was drunk, and Jon knows self-defense which was probably what saved him.
"What did this," Daniel pointed to Jon's prone form, "Was his decision to walk to the hospital. He lost blood and aggravated the wound. He's been stitched up, but it is an abdominal wound so he'll need to take it easy." Daniel paused a beat, letting that pass between them. They both knew how well that would go over. "The blood loss will actually help. He's going to be tired for a few weeks.
"I assume the MP's will have a full report for Jack soon enough."
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But now?
She'd worked so hard to be alone, to be self-sufficient; to not need anyone, or rather, in some cases, felt that she was a burden. So, when she'd gone off to school in Nevada, it was her 'maiden flight'. Of course, it didn't go that smoothly, but once the dust blew over, she knew she could do it alone-- no... she could support herself... if she had to.
Since coming here, though, she came back into full contact with her family (not that any of them had 'lost' contact). It was easy to fall back into that feeling that Uncle Daniel would help, or that Uncle Jack would take care of whatever problem there was for her... or that Aunt Sam would always drop almost anything if she truly needed her (not always literally, of course).
The hug was... wonderful. She was lucky to have what she did, and now that she was older, she could begin to appreciate it. When she was a headstrong teenager, though? Not so much.
"Okay... Good. He looked pretty beat." Of course Calvin wouldn't have taken her advice... it had to come from one of the others. At least the man was smart enough to know when to 'fold' and just crash. Mom used to threaten... well... mom had a lot of firepower behind her.
"However, the hospital had already given me word. They can't find Jack..." That brought a look of concern to the young woman's face as her regard flashed back to Daniel. It was relieved soon after, thankfully, as relief replaced it. "Yeah... I told Calvin the same thing." To look for either the archaeologist or Aunt Sam first. She didn't mention the braincell thing, however...
Cassie smiled ruefully, a bit of humour entering her eyes. "You miss them?" Hey... young woman here with girlfriends! "Of course, if we had them here, there'd be no way I could come home late on a Friday night..." She grinned, "Did I just say that out loud?"
The young woman shifted, and tucked easily under her uncle's arm, the security washing over her again. She didn't know half of what Daniel'd been through in his years of service with the SGC. Mom made sure she led a 'normal' life... away from most of the action. Still, she'd seen enough, experienced enough, had heard enough... and believed in him enough that everything would be okay with him here.
Cassie appreciated being treated as an adult, too, obviously. It was a funny line, but all walk that, don't they? As they moved towards the bedside, she looked down at the sleeping figure, nodding as Daniel ticked off the injuries for her. "So, he'll be fine." The upshot.
She exhaled softly, again, with no little relief, and looked back at Daniel. "It sounds like Jon." There was a chuckle, one born of the knowledge that it'd be okay. "I can do what I can to keep him off his feet? I'm sure I can think of something... but you know how he gets when he gets an idea in his head. Hell... and highwater."
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Standard issue white and cream walls, white ceiling, yellow-white lights. Crisp sheets beneath him, the tang of crisp, clean, sterile in the air. Head stuffed with cotton, mouth dry as the desert, Jon put the pieces together slowly: Hospital. Bed. Hurt.
(Great.)
He tried to remember. What planet had it been? Had it been a Goa'uld or something else? Was his team -
(Not me.) The memory pushed its way to the fore, all the memories did and Jon slumped into the pillow. He wrestled briefly with the melancholy, the renewed sense of loss, turning instinctively to a familiar voice calling his name.
"Jon, you awake?"
"Mostly," Jon croaked. He blinked. Daniel's face focused, blurred, focused again. Beside him, Cassandra. "Hey, Cassie." He took a breath, released it. Good, that meant it wasn't as bad as he feared. (Or I've got really good pain meds.)
"So." Pause. A swallow to work some moisture into his mouth. "What's the damage? How bad?"
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Cassie stood beside the bed as Daniel checked on Jon. She had no idea as to why Daniel would try to rouse the man; security clearances, cover stories... her own was now as natural as breathing. Jon's, well... she just watched her words. Beyond that? It never occurred to her that Jon, in his state, might say more than he should... and that it was much better that Calvin wasn't here.
"Hey," Cassie responded, her tones soft. "You're awake." How's that for obvious? She sighed, the sound quietly exasperated. "That was dumb. How're you fee--" She exhaled again, audible. "Don't do this again." She just wasn't used to it. Daniel might, but her?
"You were in surgery. Calvin said you were knifed in a fight." Cassie paused, her eyes narrowing, her tones slightly reproachful. "The nurse said you did more damage by actually walking to the hospital." Funny how blood pumps faster when the heart rate is up?
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The nurses and residents scurried, they sent errand boys and gophers. They threw names around like confetti at parties. All about calling Dr. Weir and finding General O'Neill. Miranda merely looked at them, gathered up Mr. O'Neill's chart, located his room and started down the hall.
"When I hear Dr. Weir or General O'Neill stop me from doing my job, that'll be fine. Until then, I have a patient to check on. Or do you want to explain to the General as to why his nephew did not have his chart updated by the operating surgeon?"
Miranda knew that she got lucky. This time of day, most of the staff was not military.
"Full house," Miranda noted after knocking twice, then entering without waiting for an answer. Two people, other than her patient, occupied the room and to her way of thinking, that was one person too many. Still, she knew how the game was played even if she didn't enjoy playing it. She didn't reply to the overheard comment, though she did file it away. "And someone's awake."
She strolled up to the bed, Dr. Jackson - yes, she knew the man by his pretty face and reputation - and O'Neill's pretty little girlfriend temporarily ignored. Her manner and mein softened as she looked down at the (reckless, foolish, rash) young man in the bed. Glassy brown eyes blinked back at from beneath a mop of dark blonde hair. She took his wrist gently and began counting his pulse. "Mr. O'Neill, I'm Dr. Bailey. Do you know where you are?"
"Not Disneyworld?"
"Pincushion with a sense of humor, I don't get many of those." She dropped his wrist, "Want to try it again?"
There was a pause, and then he evidently decided to put his comedy routing aside. "Gatetown General."
"We prefer Gamma Prime General, but that's good enough. Do you know how you got here?" Miranda reached into her lab coat and produced a pen light. O'Neill blanched as though she announced she was going to give him a spinal tap. "You don't like the pen light?"
"I just never understood how shining one of those in my eyes helped figure out what's wrong with me," O'Neill explained. "I was stabbed in the gut."
"Yes, you were, and you walked all the way to the hospital, with a little help from your friend." Miranda turned on the light and looked in one pupil and then the other. "And this little gospel light of mine is making sure that you're not concussed and that your brain is not swelling and pushing on your optical nerves."
"That'd be bad," O'Neill deadpanned.
Miranda suppressed a smile. If this was his typical personality, then it was a good sign. Though his words were quiet and somewhat slurred, she knew that had more to do with the last vestiges of drugs in his system than any injury.
"You are a very lucky young man, Mr. O'Neill. Lucky that you're here and not on a morgue slab. The knife missed all your major organs, and you did the worst damage to yourself walking." She looked to Dr. Jackson and the girlfriend and back to O'Neill. "I'm going to let you talk to your friend and your girlfriend. Then when they're all done with you, I'm going to give them all the dirty details on your anticipated discharge, recovery and how long you get to actually rest."
She gave the very lucky young man a pat on the leg, and with a nod to Dr. Jackson and the girlfriend, departed the room.
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If she knew then how Jon... Uncle Jack used to act, she'd have been a whole lot more sympathetic when mom came home tired and cranky. Perhaps one day she'd make the connections in her head, but today just wasn't the day.
"Brain swell.. that'd be different than a head swelling." Cassie couldn't help interjecting. How many times had Jon gotten that proverbial 'swelled head', crowing over something or other? Okay.. he'd called it 'pride in accomplishment'...
Cassie was honestly okay, her fears relieved even more as the doctor spoke in a matter of fact tone. That meant that everything was fine, really fine, and that all that had to be done was to--
Wait--
Did she just--
"Um.." Cassie shook her head, her hand raising before Daniel took a step to the side, bumping into the young woman, the briefest of looks given to her in warning. It'd be a whole lot harder to explain the actual relationship, in terms of cousin, second cousin twice removed through adoption... so, if Cassie wanted to stay 'in the loop', as it were, in regards to Jon's care? She had to keep her mouth shut.
She... was perceptive, and she knew when to trust Uncle Daniel (which was pretty much most of the time)... and she closed her mouth, ending whatever complaint she may have had in regards to her mis-identification.
Jon? Dating Jon would be like.. well.. no. It'd be like dating Uncle Jack... and that was just completely out of the realm of possibility. He, like Uncle Daniel, were like fathers to her... and Jon?
No.
She was able to keep her mouth shut until the doctor left the room before slouching and twisting around slowly to watch her departure. When she was out of the room, Cassie finally responded. "Oh god. No."
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However, the smile came easily, now that he knew with certainty that Jon was out of danger. Dr. Bailey, and she really had the bearing and no-nonsense attitude that Daniel heard all the rumors about, hadn't been concerned. When doctors were concerned, it was hushed voices and private conferences in the hall. A quick check up and rapid departure were good signs. Despite the whole awkward factor of the relationship, Daniel really didn't want anything bad to happen to the young man.
"You still with us, Jon?" Daniel asked.
Jon nodded, eyes closed. "Just enjoying the sight of the inside of my eyelids."
Daniel shook his head, "You know that I'm going to have to find Jack and tell him, right?"
"Where's Calvin?" Jon's eyes opened, and the look was so Jack that it took Daniel by surprise. Even struggling against the medication, there was a familiar intensity in Jon's eyes, a note of command to his voice that while being out of place on a man so young, was hard to ignore.
"I sent him home," Daniel said. "He needed to get some rest."
"Yeah, probably," Jon agreed, closing his eyes again. Just as quickly, the career military soldier vanished, and Jon's features schooled themselves back to more of a deceptively unworldly appearing young man. "You don't have to tell The Old Man."
"Someone is going to tell him." Daniel folded his arms across his chest, leaned against the extra bed. "And he'll want to know."
Those eyes opened again, old eyes set in a youthful face, shadows and wisdom beyond his years hinted at. Daniel saw in that look all the objections, all the arguments that Jon wanted to give him, but the dark eyed gaze rolled away from Daniel and onto Cassie.
The battle went unwaged in Cassie's presence. Jon's eyes closed again.
"Tell him to bring cake. They only give you Jell-O and I heard a rumor that it's the sugar free stuff."
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Now, she's spent more time with Jon than Daniel had lately, so she really wasn't quite so surprised when he'd asked after Calvin. There was the intensity behind it, but other than concern for his friend, and the fact that this was, technically, a secure area... why it was an issue escaped her. She'd been sheltered from 98% of the cloak and dagger work of the SGC; that 2% only had to do with her being an alien and knowing about the Goa'uld. Well, now, everyone knew about them, and the whole 'alien' bit... not quite as daunting. Still, it'd been driven home again by the three before she'd left for Gamma Prime that her cover story held.
Cassie remained quiet, then, during their conversation, even when Uncle Jack's name came up. Again, she didn't know half of the problems and baggage that came. She could see the differences, whether she was imagining things, of course, was subject to interpretation, but she accepted him easily as being both Jon and Uncle Jack... but not really Uncle Jack.
Yeah.
Weirdness.
Now, Cassie was perceptive, certainly. She'd shown some of it only moments before, and so, there was that hint that there'd have been a much longer... debate regarding the merits of the presence of Uncle Jack here, but...
Yeah... but for her.
"Tell him to bring cake. They only give you Jell-O and I heard a rumor that it's the sugar free stuff."
Cassie sighed. When were they going to treat her like she was an adult? Wasn't she acting like one? How many times had she asked that question, and that was the answer invariably given, 'When you start acting like one!' It made the fact that she had a Nintendo DS in hand a little more...
Sigh.
"Jon? I brought you my DS. It's got crossword puzzles loaded, but I've got a few other games if you wanted it." She leaned over to set it on his bedstand, within reach. "I'll leave it here."
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"Yes, that should give you something to do instead of worrying the nurses," Daniel remarked.
"Donworry . . .th . . . likeit." Jon didn't make an attempt to open his eyes that time. Between the blood loss, the surgery and the pain killers, it would be a very short amount of time before the young man was out cold again.
"You just keep telling yourself that." Daniel caught Cassie's eye and gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'll stop back later, but I'm going to go talk to Dr. Bailey." (And yes, tell Jack.)
Jon's hand lifted about an inch from the bed sheet and his lips moved. If he said something, Daniel neither heard nor understood the words. Something told him Jon would be sleeping soundly before Daniel reached the hall.
"Don't stay too long, Cassie," Daniel said softly, "He needs his rest. And I'm sure Calvin will be back later. And Jack." The last was as much a reminder as it was a warning. There was a roomful of tension and baggage, and Cassie probably wanted to skip that reunion.
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She straightened quickly and reached out to touch Daniel's arm. "I'm leaving too. I promised a friend that I'd be by later, and it's my turn to do the shopping for the week at the market." She had a roommate too, though it was one that had been assigned at the onset once reaching the Gamma Site. Over the year or so, while they weren't best friends, they had an equilibrium, and neither were particularly motivated to break in a new roomie. "Need anything?"
EXIT CASSIE
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