Janet got the page as she stood around the infirmary, keeping a distant eye on Sam. She didn't need to hover too close to her best friend as Jack had been by her bedside for the past couple of hours. She looked down at the flashing message.
'Daniel's lab. CGSJFFL'
A CGSFFL meeting? Now? She glanced round the door. Jacob had arrived, and he and Jack stood at the foot of Sam's bed, talking quietly, with almost identical anxious expressions on their face. Janet walked over to Sam's bedside and read her vitals, turning to see both men looking at her, both trying not to look desperately worried, both failing miserably.
"She'll be fine." Janet reassured them. "She'll probably wake up soon."
Janet slipped out, ordering the on-duty nurse to page her immediately if Sam's condition changed, and went to Daniel's lab, calling at the commissary on the way.
"I bought you coffee." She said, squinting as she entered the dark lab from the bright corridor. Daniel, as usual, stood over his desk, a parchment in each hand, and a stone tablet in front of him. He was frowning, also as usual, an expression Janet had told him would eventually make him look sixty when he was forty.
"Thanks." He said, looking up in surprise. He shuffled the parchments from one hand to another, until eventually he put them down and reached for the polystyrene cup Janet was holding out. For a moment they both appreciated their caffeine rush in companionable silence, then Janet said,
"So, why'd you page me?"
"I didn't" Daniel told her, looking, (in her eyes at least) adorably confused.
"Yes, you did. Why do you think I'm here, just to bring you coffee?"
"Yes." Daniel admitted. "And tell me how Sam is."
"About to wake up. You did page me, you told me to meet you in your lab." Janet insisted.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't." Daniel told her.
"He did not. I sent the page." Teal'c said, walking in. "I have some news that I believe it is imperative for the CGSJFFL to know."
"Why my lab?" Daniel groused. Teal'c looked at him as if the answer should be perfectly obvious.
"I do not have a lab." He told Daniel. Daniel glanced round at Janet, who was grinning, and muttered,
"Oh well, that makes perfect sense."
"The news, Teal'c." Janet gently prompted, hitting Daniel lightly on the arm to remind him why they were all there.
"As you know, while many people were searching for MajorCarter at the alpha site, it was only O'Neill and myself who found her." Teal'c said.
"Yes, we know." Daniel told him, leaning forward, anxious to find out what happened. Teal'c, aware of his audience's eagerness to hear his story, smiled maddeningly, glanced round to ensure no-one else was listening, and continued his tale.
"MajorCarter was sitting in the dust, face to face with one of Anubis's drones. It was about to fire, and kill her. I shot at the drone, knowing I could not harm it, but drawing its attention away from MajorCarter. While I engaged the creature, MajorCarter dived behind some rocks, and O'Neill joined her there. Using MajorCarter's weapon, he fired at the creature, and eventually killed it. It was a most heroic moment." Teal'c reminisced, a far away look on his face. Daniel and Janet exchanged exasperated glances, waiting for Teal'c to continue. Eventually they prompted,
"And then?"
Teal'c shook himself back to the present.
"And then O'Neill threw the weapon to me, telling me to check on the creature. After I confirmed its death, O'Neill stayed behind the rocks with SamanthaCarter, who appeared white and shaken. She had done an valiant task, avoiding the drone, and even the most stoic warrior, once the mission is completed, must rest and regain their spirit." Teal'c said softly. Then he seemed to remember where he was. "I had my back to them, so I could not see them, but I heard SamanthaCarter mutter that she needed to rest, and O'Neill reply 'Come here'. I knew that was what was happening between them was private, nevertheless, I turned for a moment to see them."
Teal'c leaned forward, pitched his voice even lower, and Janet and Daniel leaned in too, elbows resting on the desk, eyes firmly fixed on Teal'c opposite them, breathless with anticipation.
"O'Neill had his arm around SamanthaCarter. Her head was resting on his shoulder, his head on top of her head. It was most touching."
"Touching?" Daniel teased. "You sound almost emotional, Teal'c."
Teal'c looked offended.
"I am a Jaffa, not a Vulcan." He reminded Daniel, who retreated back to his coffee. "And there SamanthaCarter stayed, wrapped in O'Neill's arms until he could be reassured that you," he said, leaning very close to Janet and staring into her eyes, "only you, Dr. Frasier and no-one else was waiting for at the bottom of the ramp to treat SamanthaCarter."
"Oh." Janet said softly. Daniel watched Janet and Teal'c for a moment, both staring deep into each other's eyes, lost in the romantic image of Sam in Jack's arms, then decided to break the spell.
"So, this is good, right?" he asked. Janet shook herself and turned back to Daniel. Teal'c stood upright once again, and glared impassively at Daniel a moment, before unbending to say,
"It is indeed most hopeful. As O'Neill passed by me he said to me 'She was hurt. I had to hold her'. I believe this to be a good sign. He placed her own emotional needs above the regulations. "
"He sat by her bed again." Daniel added.
"There's still Pete." Janet reminded them.
"May his bones be eaten by wild dogs in the darkest corner of the pit of Hades." Teal'c said pleasantly.
"And his soul.his soul be forever tormented by.umm..by endless reruns of 'Saved by the Bell!" Daniel finished triumphantly. "I've been practising." He explained in answer to Janet's incredulous look.
"Practice more." She said dryly. Daniel retreated back to his comfort, coffee. Unfortunately, his cup was empty, and he was reduced to playing with it, Jack O'Neill style. Janet turned back to Teal'c, trying to ignore the sound of polystyrene been broken off and snapped.
"I was under the impression Pete had gone back to Denver." Teal'c said.
"Crawled back to his hole." Daniel murmured.
"He did." Janet admitted. "But they've been emailing each other every day."
"Maybe their messages will be consumed by Yahell." Teal'c observed. Janet shook her head.
"No, they've been getting through all right. He's been ..oh for God's sake, have mine!" Janet finally snapped, handing her coffee to Daniel to quieten down his fiddling. He took it with an alacrity which suggested that had been his plan all along.
"He's been funny, charming, witty, concerned with her well-being, but not too intrusive. Perfect, in fact."
"How do you know?" Daniel asked. Janet, surprised, just said,
"What?". Daniel repeated his question.
"I may, " Janet admitted slowly, "have accidentally hacked into Sam's email account."
"You?" Daniel asked.
"Cassie." Janet said. "Cassie may have done it, and while I was telling her off for it, I may have accidentally read all Sam's private emails." Janet told her friends sheepishly, looking back from one to the other.
"You used your daughter to spy on your best friend's private email to find out if she still loves her boyfriend whom we all dislike?" Daniel asked. Janet nodded slowly. Daniel and Teal'c exchanged glances.
"Good." Daniel said cheerfully, sipping his (Janet's) coffee.
"We will need ingenuity like that if the CGSJFFL is ever to achieve its objective." Teal'c added. Janet grinned and relaxed. Maybe if they were ok about this she should tell them about..no, maybe not. That might be going too far. That was a secret best kept between her, the four walls and Sgt Siler.
"What's her answers like?" Daniel asked.
"Cheerful. Relaxed. Happy. Doesn't sound like her at all." Janet said glumly.
"She'll get bored of him." Daniel said confidently. He looked round at the unsure faces around him. "Look, " he explained, "We all met her previous boyfriends, didn't we?"
Janet and Teal'c nodded.
"And did we like any of them?"
They shook their heads.
"In fact, after a while we found them all intensely boring."
"Safe." Janet replied scornfully.
"Colourless." Teal'c agreed.
"And, knowing Sam as we do, it's safe to assume she would have found them boring too after a while."
Again they nodded.
"In fact, the only reason they didn't is because they all, well, you know."
"Died." Janet finished.
"Exactly. But Pete didn't. so, given time, she'll get used to that, and find him very very VERY annoying."
"As we do." Teal'c finished. Daniel didn't answer, but nodded as he drained his coffee cup. Janet's pager went off, and both men looked towards her.
"Sam's woken up." Janet told them. "See you guys later."
"At the next CGSJFFL meeting?" Daniel asked.
"Hopefully sooner." She said, leaving Teal'c and Daniel alone.
"A hug." Daniel said, smiling. "She got so excited over a hug. I've hugged her, and she never got that excited."
"For O'Neill and SamanthaCarter, a hug is only the beginning." Teal'c told him.
"Today a hug, next year.?"
"Next year, true love." Teal'c said, as he left.
Story Notes: CGSJFFL; Spoilers, Death Knell, Chimera
Author's notes; The CGSJFFL were first introduced in the story 'outside the lift'. The letters stand for Committee to get Sam and Jack to Finally Fall in Love. It was founded soon after Daniel descended to co-ordinate and strengthen efforts to get Sam and Jack to Finally Fall in Love. It's main members are Daniel, Janet and Teal'c. However, other members of the base are aware of it's existence, and sometime participate in the CGSFFL meetings and activities. There are a thousand stories in the CGSFFL conspiracy, this is just one of them.
Author's notes; The CGSJFFL were first introduced in the story 'outside the lift'. The letters stand for Committee to get Sam and Jack to Finally Fall in Love. It was founded soon after Daniel descended to co-ordinate and strengthen efforts to get Sam and Jack to Finally Fall in Love. It's main members are Daniel, Janet and Teal'c. However, other members of the base are aware of it's existence, and sometime participate in the CGSFFL meetings and activities. There are a thousand stories in the CGSFFL conspiracy, this is just one of them.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]