Gen Fic Day/Alphabet Soup: "X is for X-ray"
Title: X-rays
Author: aelfgyfu_mead
Word count: 1797
Rating/Warning: G
Spoilers: Singularity
Prompt: Sam and Janet friendship; X
Author's note: No beta; apologies! If you see any errors, feel free to let me know.
Summary: What happened between Cassie in the abandoned facility and Cassie in the park?
"The object continues to be reabsorbed at a regular rate. Just the way it grew in the first place. It should be gone by late morning." Janet saw reflections of her own relief in the tired faces of SG-1. They'd verified that the object was getting smaller before they could even move Cassandra out of the old nuclear facility. Here at the Air Force Academy Hospital, they had the equipment to observe it with more precision.
"And that process will continue to happen even if you all sleep for what's left of the night," Janet said firmly. "You've all been through the wringer, and you should go home now. Doctor's orders, sir," she added, singling out O'Neill. If he went, the rest of his team would follow. Most importantly, O'Neill didn't need to be at a hospital again worrying about yet another child.
She could see him wavering, about to protest despite his obvious discomfort at the place. She pitched her voice low. "I'll still be here, and it might be less frightening for Cassandra if everyone she knew on this planet did not hover around her."
O'Neill's eyes flickered between her, the nurses' station, and the room she wasn't letting them enter now. The little girl was exhausted too and didn't need that much company. "Okay," he said, and soon enough he was moving away, Daniel and Teal'c following after saying quick goodbyes.
Captain Carter did not move. "I know they're a little loud," she said quietly, "and that might be a bit much right now. But can I go back in and see her? I won't bother her."
Carter was no less tired than the others, but she didn't look like she would sleep any time soon. Daniel had told Janet about Carter's refusal to follow orders and leave Cassandra.
"I'm sure she'd like that," Janet said.
"I told her I wouldn't leave her," Carter said for the fifth or sixth time that night as Janet led her the short way down the hall. "Oh, she's asleep!" she whispered.
Sure enough, the girl's breathing was low and regular, and she didn't stir when they drew near her bedside. It had only been a few minutes since the last x-ray.
"Maybe I can just sit here with her?" Carter said so quietly that Janet could hardly hear her. The look on her face spoke louder: a mix of longing and fear. Or perhaps Janet could read it so well because she felt it herself, and she was afraid she knew what caused it.
"I was going to do the same," Janet said, waving her to a chair while she quietly pulled another one in from a nearby room.
The minutes ticked away with occasional voices from the hallway or the sounds of carts being wheeled past. A nurse came in to do checks and Janet waved her off; the nurse wasn't happy, but Janet was in charge here. They had no need to wake the girl now.
"She was so brave," the captain said finally, her voice cracking a little. "And I left her-"
"And went right back," Janet said as forcefully as she could in a whisper. "She told me all about it."
"She's too smart not to know that something was wrong. She asked me if we were going to die."
Janet nodded. Their little conversation didn't seem to disturb Cassandra at all. "She was afraid that she really had the virus, and that you were leaving her so she wouldn't infect anyone else. She didn't care that you left for a minute. She cared that you went back."
Carter sat very still and breathed slowly and deliberately. She was no doubt willing herself not to cry. Or Janet was projecting a lot tonight. She didn't much care which.
"So I talked to the General about her."
Janet had too, but only very quickly, as they did exhaustive tests. They were confident that the little girl would not explode now, and they were increasingly sure that she would be healthy when this whole ordeal ended. At least physically.
"I . . . when I was little, I wanted a family." Carter paused and took a deep breath. She wasn't looking at Janet. She was looking at the girl in the hospital bed. "When I got older and decided what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, I realized that might not . . . happen."
That wasn't what Janet had expected her to say at all. She wasn't going to give up her place on the team, was she?
"I thought I wouldn't miss it; the excitement at the Academy, and then even in DC, and then here! And mostly, I don't." Another deep breath. "I decided that I don't need to have a baby. I don't think I even want to have a baby."
She shook her head. "But I kind of want. . . ."
Janet didn't know if she should probe further or just give her time. She didn't know Captain Carter very well. Since she'd been assigned to the SGC, she'd had very little downtime; she had only just finished unpacking in the little house she'd bought. She hadn't talked with anyone outside the medical staff a whole lot.
Just when the silence had become long enough that Janet had her mouth open to ask, Carter blurted, "I wish I could adopt her."
Janet had her mouth open to respond when the other woman continued, "But I don't want to give up my place on the team. I can be gone for days, weeks at a time. I promised I wouldn't leave her. . . . But sometimes I'd have to."
"You'd always come back," Janet said, then realized it was a mistake.
That made Captain Carter turn her head.
"No, I know better than that," Janet corrected herself. "You don't want her to lose a second mother."
"I couldn't put her through that."
"Well, I thought I could have a family and a career in the Air Force," Janet confessed. "And maybe I could have, if I'd met the right man. Unfortunately, I met the wrong one." It hadn't always been bad. It just hadn't been good enough to keep going. She missed him sometimes, but less than she'd thought she would.
She didn't usually talk about her ex-husband to anyone outside her closest friends. She mentally retraced her path. Then she realized that Carter had either delivered a total non-sequitur, or she hadn't finished talking about General Hammond. "So what did the General say?" she asked neutrally.
"Someone with clearance for the Stargate program could take her." Carter's eyes flicked back to the bed but were now mostly on Janet, catching the little bits of light left in the mostly dark room.
"I just . . . I might be totally out of line, Doctor, and just tell me-"
"But you saw the way I looked at her too," Janet finished for her.
Even in the low light she could see Carter's forehead crinkle in surprise.
"Sorry. I just put things together for myself," Janet said, which probably didn't make things any clearer. Carter surely wasn't aware how much her love for the girl had been showing on her face. She had, however, been fishing to see if Janet might want a child. She must have noticed that Janet never wore a ring.
"I hadn't even thought of it until now," Janet admitted. "I've just been busy making sure she isn't going to blow up-and also, that she hasn't overstressed her heart, that she still has no trace of the virus, that there wasn't some other cause for her coma. I haven't had time to think beyond the additional tests I'm going to run."
She looked at the little girl in the bed. Cassandra. She was, as Carter said, a very brave girl. She had listened and cooperated and sometimes even asked questions as Janet and others examined her. She'd only cried a little for her lost parents-her lost planet. Janet's heart had gone out to the girl when she first laid eyes on her. She had felt terrible sending her off to an abandoned facility to die, but she hadn't been able to find anything she could do for her.
Now she could see no limit to the end of things she could do for the little girl. She just had to stop thinking as a doctor. But was it too much to hope for? Her dreams of a family had died some time ago. Limiting the pool of potential adoptive parents to people with clearance on the Stargate project sounded small, but really, many people worked at the SGC and knew they went to other planets. Maybe one or two of them had been waiting to adopt. Maybe one of them had two parents, even a stay-at-home mom or dad. She'd never be that.
"So I could be . . . a foster mother," Janet said hesitantly. "She'll need someone right away, before they have time to clear a potential family for her."
"And I can help," Carter volunteered. "I mean, I don't know much about kids, aside from having had a brother growing up, but-I'm really good at research."
They both laughed very softly.
Janet looked at the girl on the bed, seemingly carefree now in sleep. Cassandra. Cassie? Would she want a nickname?
Janet had to smile. "I don't know a lot about kids either, but I'm pretty sure it's easier once you're past the baby and toddler stages. And it doesn't have to be long term! But temporarily, until General Hammond can find someone else."
Janet suspected that the other woman knew she might not be satisfied with temporary custody, but she wasn't ready to get her own hopes too high. It was far too early for that.
"Wait-did you already talk about me with General Hammond, Captain Carter?"
"Oh, no!" Sam said hastily, and a little louder than she'd been talking. They both froze for a moment. Cassandra didn't even stir. "I wouldn't do that before talking to you, Doctor. But you know, my friends call me Sam."
"And mine call me Janet."
"So, Janet: did you ever think about adopting? Or at least fostering?"
"Not really. But now I'm thinking there's some appeal in not having to go through the diaper stage."
Sam laughed almost silently, her shoulders vibrating. "You won't mind the lack of baby pictures?"
"I don't think so. No, I've got some spectacular first x-rays."
Janet was surprised she could laugh about it already, but apparently Sam could too. Maybe it was the exhaustion making them giddy.
Or maybe it was the start of something really good. Only time would tell.
FIN
Author: aelfgyfu_mead
Word count: 1797
Rating/Warning: G
Spoilers: Singularity
Prompt: Sam and Janet friendship; X
Author's note: No beta; apologies! If you see any errors, feel free to let me know.
Summary: What happened between Cassie in the abandoned facility and Cassie in the park?
"The object continues to be reabsorbed at a regular rate. Just the way it grew in the first place. It should be gone by late morning." Janet saw reflections of her own relief in the tired faces of SG-1. They'd verified that the object was getting smaller before they could even move Cassandra out of the old nuclear facility. Here at the Air Force Academy Hospital, they had the equipment to observe it with more precision.
"And that process will continue to happen even if you all sleep for what's left of the night," Janet said firmly. "You've all been through the wringer, and you should go home now. Doctor's orders, sir," she added, singling out O'Neill. If he went, the rest of his team would follow. Most importantly, O'Neill didn't need to be at a hospital again worrying about yet another child.
She could see him wavering, about to protest despite his obvious discomfort at the place. She pitched her voice low. "I'll still be here, and it might be less frightening for Cassandra if everyone she knew on this planet did not hover around her."
O'Neill's eyes flickered between her, the nurses' station, and the room she wasn't letting them enter now. The little girl was exhausted too and didn't need that much company. "Okay," he said, and soon enough he was moving away, Daniel and Teal'c following after saying quick goodbyes.
Captain Carter did not move. "I know they're a little loud," she said quietly, "and that might be a bit much right now. But can I go back in and see her? I won't bother her."
Carter was no less tired than the others, but she didn't look like she would sleep any time soon. Daniel had told Janet about Carter's refusal to follow orders and leave Cassandra.
"I'm sure she'd like that," Janet said.
"I told her I wouldn't leave her," Carter said for the fifth or sixth time that night as Janet led her the short way down the hall. "Oh, she's asleep!" she whispered.
Sure enough, the girl's breathing was low and regular, and she didn't stir when they drew near her bedside. It had only been a few minutes since the last x-ray.
"Maybe I can just sit here with her?" Carter said so quietly that Janet could hardly hear her. The look on her face spoke louder: a mix of longing and fear. Or perhaps Janet could read it so well because she felt it herself, and she was afraid she knew what caused it.
"I was going to do the same," Janet said, waving her to a chair while she quietly pulled another one in from a nearby room.
The minutes ticked away with occasional voices from the hallway or the sounds of carts being wheeled past. A nurse came in to do checks and Janet waved her off; the nurse wasn't happy, but Janet was in charge here. They had no need to wake the girl now.
"She was so brave," the captain said finally, her voice cracking a little. "And I left her-"
"And went right back," Janet said as forcefully as she could in a whisper. "She told me all about it."
"She's too smart not to know that something was wrong. She asked me if we were going to die."
Janet nodded. Their little conversation didn't seem to disturb Cassandra at all. "She was afraid that she really had the virus, and that you were leaving her so she wouldn't infect anyone else. She didn't care that you left for a minute. She cared that you went back."
Carter sat very still and breathed slowly and deliberately. She was no doubt willing herself not to cry. Or Janet was projecting a lot tonight. She didn't much care which.
"So I talked to the General about her."
Janet had too, but only very quickly, as they did exhaustive tests. They were confident that the little girl would not explode now, and they were increasingly sure that she would be healthy when this whole ordeal ended. At least physically.
"I . . . when I was little, I wanted a family." Carter paused and took a deep breath. She wasn't looking at Janet. She was looking at the girl in the hospital bed. "When I got older and decided what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, I realized that might not . . . happen."
That wasn't what Janet had expected her to say at all. She wasn't going to give up her place on the team, was she?
"I thought I wouldn't miss it; the excitement at the Academy, and then even in DC, and then here! And mostly, I don't." Another deep breath. "I decided that I don't need to have a baby. I don't think I even want to have a baby."
She shook her head. "But I kind of want. . . ."
Janet didn't know if she should probe further or just give her time. She didn't know Captain Carter very well. Since she'd been assigned to the SGC, she'd had very little downtime; she had only just finished unpacking in the little house she'd bought. She hadn't talked with anyone outside the medical staff a whole lot.
Just when the silence had become long enough that Janet had her mouth open to ask, Carter blurted, "I wish I could adopt her."
Janet had her mouth open to respond when the other woman continued, "But I don't want to give up my place on the team. I can be gone for days, weeks at a time. I promised I wouldn't leave her. . . . But sometimes I'd have to."
"You'd always come back," Janet said, then realized it was a mistake.
That made Captain Carter turn her head.
"No, I know better than that," Janet corrected herself. "You don't want her to lose a second mother."
"I couldn't put her through that."
"Well, I thought I could have a family and a career in the Air Force," Janet confessed. "And maybe I could have, if I'd met the right man. Unfortunately, I met the wrong one." It hadn't always been bad. It just hadn't been good enough to keep going. She missed him sometimes, but less than she'd thought she would.
She didn't usually talk about her ex-husband to anyone outside her closest friends. She mentally retraced her path. Then she realized that Carter had either delivered a total non-sequitur, or she hadn't finished talking about General Hammond. "So what did the General say?" she asked neutrally.
"Someone with clearance for the Stargate program could take her." Carter's eyes flicked back to the bed but were now mostly on Janet, catching the little bits of light left in the mostly dark room.
"I just . . . I might be totally out of line, Doctor, and just tell me-"
"But you saw the way I looked at her too," Janet finished for her.
Even in the low light she could see Carter's forehead crinkle in surprise.
"Sorry. I just put things together for myself," Janet said, which probably didn't make things any clearer. Carter surely wasn't aware how much her love for the girl had been showing on her face. She had, however, been fishing to see if Janet might want a child. She must have noticed that Janet never wore a ring.
"I hadn't even thought of it until now," Janet admitted. "I've just been busy making sure she isn't going to blow up-and also, that she hasn't overstressed her heart, that she still has no trace of the virus, that there wasn't some other cause for her coma. I haven't had time to think beyond the additional tests I'm going to run."
She looked at the little girl in the bed. Cassandra. She was, as Carter said, a very brave girl. She had listened and cooperated and sometimes even asked questions as Janet and others examined her. She'd only cried a little for her lost parents-her lost planet. Janet's heart had gone out to the girl when she first laid eyes on her. She had felt terrible sending her off to an abandoned facility to die, but she hadn't been able to find anything she could do for her.
Now she could see no limit to the end of things she could do for the little girl. She just had to stop thinking as a doctor. But was it too much to hope for? Her dreams of a family had died some time ago. Limiting the pool of potential adoptive parents to people with clearance on the Stargate project sounded small, but really, many people worked at the SGC and knew they went to other planets. Maybe one or two of them had been waiting to adopt. Maybe one of them had two parents, even a stay-at-home mom or dad. She'd never be that.
"So I could be . . . a foster mother," Janet said hesitantly. "She'll need someone right away, before they have time to clear a potential family for her."
"And I can help," Carter volunteered. "I mean, I don't know much about kids, aside from having had a brother growing up, but-I'm really good at research."
They both laughed very softly.
Janet looked at the girl on the bed, seemingly carefree now in sleep. Cassandra. Cassie? Would she want a nickname?
Janet had to smile. "I don't know a lot about kids either, but I'm pretty sure it's easier once you're past the baby and toddler stages. And it doesn't have to be long term! But temporarily, until General Hammond can find someone else."
Janet suspected that the other woman knew she might not be satisfied with temporary custody, but she wasn't ready to get her own hopes too high. It was far too early for that.
"Wait-did you already talk about me with General Hammond, Captain Carter?"
"Oh, no!" Sam said hastily, and a little louder than she'd been talking. They both froze for a moment. Cassandra didn't even stir. "I wouldn't do that before talking to you, Doctor. But you know, my friends call me Sam."
"And mine call me Janet."
"So, Janet: did you ever think about adopting? Or at least fostering?"
"Not really. But now I'm thinking there's some appeal in not having to go through the diaper stage."
Sam laughed almost silently, her shoulders vibrating. "You won't mind the lack of baby pictures?"
"I don't think so. No, I've got some spectacular first x-rays."
Janet was surprised she could laugh about it already, but apparently Sam could too. Maybe it was the exhaustion making them giddy.
Or maybe it was the start of something really good. Only time would tell.
FIN