Heard It Through the Grapevine

[fikgirl]

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

Comments

[Bailey]

[fikgirl]

No, they did not try and keep her from seeing her patient. All that talk about secured sections and the SGC and transferring her case to Doctor Renner. Maybe, just maybe if they said Torres, Miranda might have backed down, but not to shutting her out and putting that fat, rutting full of himself prick in charge of her patient. Not on her watch.

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.

[Cassie]

[lost_mckay]

Cassie slid off to the side and took a step back as the doctor approached. She glanced at the woman, then to the prone form on the bed, shifting her weight on her feet, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Jon's responses to the questions. What did she know? She'd never been in the same room with a wounded Uncle Jack... and had no idea that this, essentially, was the way it'd played out many, many... many times in the past. Only then, it'd been her mother who was on the receiving end.

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."

[Daniel]

[fikgirl]

Daniel tried, and failed to suppress a mild grin at Cassie's mutterings. Yes, there was no way in hell that Cassie would ever be Jon's girlfriend - it was a disturbing thought on more levels than Daniel could contemplate. It was really best not to think about it.

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."

[Cassie]

[lost_mckay]

Cassie had, at least, a little bit of a clue that something was going on in front of her. That somehow, the chances were good that there were multiple layers of conversation happening and that she was suddenly on the outside.

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."

[Daniel]

[fikgirl]

"Wha . . . oh yeah, thanks, Cassie." Jon's words were not nearly clearly enunciated, more rather they were slurred and running together. It was only from context that Daniel was able to piece them together and understand them.

"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.

[Cassie]

[lost_mckay]

Cassie couldn't help but agree with Daniel. She nodded and straightened, looking at the drony form on the bed. Leaning over, she placed a kiss on his cheek, as a child might give one to a treasured adult... dutiful, and affectionate. "Going now. Have a good rest, Jon," was whispered. There were times when those weird lines were drawn, whether knowingly or un-. She'd have to ask later if Jon wanted her visits when he was 'down', or if he'd rather Uncle Daniel and Aunt Sam... and Calvin, when he was more aware.

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