Over The Threshold
Spoilers: Mentions of "Threshold " and "Entity"
Content Rating: 12
Type: Drama
Characters: Sam Carter and Janet Fraiser
Summary: This was an answer to a challenge Mesh threw out there on Abydos Gate, hopefully I've done it justice.
After the SG-1 ep "Threshold". how do Sam and Janet deal with conflict?
Content Rating: 12
Type: Drama
Characters: Sam Carter and Janet Fraiser
Summary: This was an answer to a challenge Mesh threw out there on Abydos Gate, hopefully I've done it justice.
After the SG-1 ep "Threshold". how do Sam and Janet deal with conflict?
Disclaimer : The characters from Stargate SG-1 aren't mine. They belong to MGM, Gekko, Double Secret and a whole host of other people, who are an awful lot richer than me. This fanfic is purely for fun, not a bean has or will be made from it. I promise to put them back when I'm done playing. Oh, there's no point suing me, cause I'm skint and it would be pointless. LOL.
********
Over The Threshold
©Kelspook 2004
********
Janet sighed, and shook her head. She didn't know how much longer she could let this go on. Teal'c's condition was steadily worsening, and although his symbiote was surviving just fine for now, all the monitors were telling her that the same couldn't be said for Teal'c. The big Jaffa's immune system was rapidly breaking down, fever ravaging his body, and from experience she knew he didn't have much time left.
Sam walked into the infirmary, and seeing Janet standing lost in thought beside the clear tank holding Teal'c's symbiote, moved over to join her. She gently touched her small lover's arm, and Janet glanced up, not having seen the blonde enter the room.
"How's Junior doing?" asked Sam, nodding at the tank. She had used Jack's term deliberately, hoping to lighten the smaller woman's mood. She saw instantly, however, that it hadn't worked. Janet's eyes caught her own, and the tall blonde could clearly see the pain there.
"Well, the symbiote is fine for now, although I don't know what we're gonna do with it if they let Teal'c die." She shook her head slightly. "But.... That won't be my problem. I'll have already resigned if they let it go that far."
"Janet.... I know how you feel," said Sam, wincing inwardly at the bitterness lacing the little brunette's tone.
Janet glanced over at Teal'c, then focused on Sam once again. No, she thought, I don't think you do....
"I'm a doctor, Sam. This goes against every part of me to just... stand by and do nothing."
"I don't think we're doing nothing," Sam argued, trying to make Janet see that what they were doing was necessary. Knowing the big Jaffa as she did, she knew he'd rather die than remain subject to a false god.
"Yeah..." said the petite brunnette noncommittedly, effectively both closing the subject and ending the conversation. They could talk about this later, if and when the situation was resolved. One way or the other. Either way, she wasn't going to get into an argument about comparative morality and the hippocratic oath in the middle of her infirmary. She had a feeling that this one could get quite heated.
Sam nodded and went over to join the rest of SG-1, leaving the Doctor to her own thoughts. Knowing the little doctor as she did, she knew this would be continued, and that Janet simply didn't want to talk about this right now- neither of them were the type to let something fester, it was one of things that Sam loved about Janet, for all it could drive the tall blonde insane at times. At least we shouldn't ever get accused of a lack of communication, she thought as she went over to see if the others had made any progress.
"So, is it working? Has he said anything?"
******
Sam drew up to the house, and hit the garage door opener on her keyring. She'd seen that the house was all in darkness as she approached, which had confused her slightly. She knew Janet had signed out of the base, and as the door quietly rolled open, she saw that Janet's car was already there. Damn, she thought, she must have already gone to bed. Sam parked her bike and shut it off. The thought that Janet was already sleeping disturbed her slightly, and she'd been a little hurt when she'd found out that Janet had left the base without letting her know.
She instinctively knew that they needed to talk through the recent events, and one of the pieces of advice that both her Dad and Selmac had given her when she'd told them about her relationship with the little doctor had been to never sleep on a problem.
"Never let the sun set on your wrath," Selmac had said. "Problems will only grow if you allow your subconcious to work on them while you sleep, and the longer you leave them, the bigger they will become."
Jacob had resurfaced then, and put his arm around his daughter. Though he'd been somewhat surprised and shocked when Sam had told him about herself and Janet, the blending with Selmac had stopped his more old fashioned opinions from being problematic.
There was certainly something to be said for having someone as old and wise as Selmac share his thoughts. As his old, deep-seated prejudices had surfaced, Selmac's silent laughter had made him feel somewhat ashamed of himself.
If they love each other, that's all that matters, Selmac had said, wry amusement lacing her mental tone. Life is too short, too precious, and true love too rare, to worry about something as inconsequential as gender.
Jacob had been surprised to find himself agreeing. Then again, sharing Selmac's memories probably helped with that- the symbiote had been paired with both male and female hosts, so Jacob had experienced many things by proxy, and was far more broadminded than he had been prior to the blending.
"The old girl's right, Sammy. If you're happy, I'm happy." he said, pulling her into a hug. He let her go, and grinned. "I'd say you're gonna have your hands full though... the doc's a firecracker."
"I know," grinned Sam, hugely relieved to have her Dad's approval. "But I wouldn't have her any other way."
Sam smiled a little as she remembered the conversation, and decided that if Janet was sleeping, it wasn't a problem. They would still be able to talk about this tonight. The little brunette was an incredibly light sleeper, and invariably woke up when Sam entered the room they now shared.
Sam opened the connecting door and padded quietly into the darkened kitchen. She dropped her keys onto the countertop and shrugging out of her leather jacket, moved on through to the living room. She had just laid it over a chair back when a hint of a breeze touched her face, and she saw that the doors leading out onto the deck in the backyard were open slightly. As she looked out through the glass, she could see a small shape sitting on the steps, just visible in the moonlight. Her heart clenched- Janet looked so small, so vulnerable, sitting there with her face buried in her hands. The little brunette straightened up, letting her hands fall into her lap, and looked up from the ground at the stars shining brightly in the cloudless sky.
"I know you're there, Sam," said Janet, still not shifting her gaze from the heavens. "You may as well come on out."
Sam smiled a little ruefully, and opened the door. She had no idea how Janet did that, but she always seemed to know when Sam was nearby.
Sam sat down behind her petite lover, her legs running down either side of Janet's, and wrapped her arms from behind around the smaller woman's waist. Sam gently kissed the side of Janet's neck, and Janet, after a moment's hestitation, leaned back against her.
"You okay?" murmered Sam.
"Not really, no."
"You know that it couldn't have gone down any other way."
Janet stiffened, and Sam loosened her arms as the little brunette twisted around to regard the tall blonde.
"How can you say that?" she said, her eyes blazing. "I almost had to stand by while someone in my care died tonight. I made an oath a long time ago, Sam, first do no harm! I can't say I stuck to that today!"
"But he didn't die..."
"That's not the point, and you know it!"
"Janet, Bra'tac was right. Teal'c would rather die than be subject to Apophis again."
"Have you any idea what it did to me today?"
Janet got to her feet, and began pacing the yard. "It was bad enough when I had to let Apophis die.... and he was one of the enemy! Having to stand idly by when someone I cared about suffered, that was a hundred times worse!" the little brunette rounded on Sam, the fury pouring from her almost a palpable force. Sam glanced nervously back at the house.
"Janet, you need to calm down- you don't want Cassie to hear, do you?"
"She's out with Dominic," snapped Janet, "Stop trying to change the subject."
"I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
"Janet, I wasn't." The tall blonde squeezed her eyes shut, and tiredly massaged the bridge of her nose. "I know it was hard for you- It was hard for all of us, but you're probably the most caring, compassionate person I know. I was so proud of you when you were fighting to save Apophis, even though you knew he was a monster."
Opening her eyes, she looked back at Janet. "Teal'c would never have forgiven us if we'd let him stay the way he was," she said, with finality. "Maybe the way it was done wasn't the best way, but did you have any other ideas?"
The little brunette's shoulders slumped slightly, the anger beginning to slowly drain from her at Sam's words. She wrapped her arms around herself. "No," she sighed resignedly, "I didn't."
In a moment of clarity, Sam realised what the problem was.
"That's what's bothering you the most, isn't it? That you couldn't think of a less painful way to solve this."
"I'll admit, if I could have thought of any other way, I'd have done it." Janet cocked her head to one side slightly, and eyed her partner. "For someone who says they don't understand people very well, Sam, you have a habit of making incredibly astute observations at times."
The tall blonde shrugged, a tiny half smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Standing up, she closed the small distance between them, then gently pulled Janet into a hug. Ducking her head, she tenderly kissed Janet's forehead, then pulled back to capture the eyes with her own.
"Only when it comes to you. I had good reason to learn what makes you tick. With everyone else, I'm a moron." Sam grinned, then guided her diminutive partner back to steps. They sat back down, Janet snuggling into Sam's side, the blonde feeling the soft whisper of Janet's breath against her neck.
"Yes, well...." Janet chuckled softly, before realising what her soulmate was doing. She pulled back slightly and glared up at the tall blonde. "You're trying to change the subject again!" she said, her eyes beginning to flash.
"Nope, I already did." Sam raised a finger as Janet opened her mouth. "Uh-uh. Hang on before you go off at me again. There wasn't any other way to deal with this."
Janet sighed. "I know. But you're right, the fact that I couldn't think of another way was driving me insane. Seeing the pain Teal'c was going through ripped me to pieces. The last time I felt this way was after the entity had taken you over.... hell, that time I almost killed you- If the colonel hadn't gotten me to wait a few minutes before shutting off the life support......" she trailed off, and Sam felt the smaller womans arms tighten around her waist. "Having Teal'c die when I knew I could prevent it would have been more than I could cope with."
Sam winced, they'd spoken about the night in question a few times, and more than once she'd had to wake her lover during a particularly bad nightmare.
"You're amazing, you know that? The way you care for everyone around you... It's a moot point now, anyway. The rite worked, and we have Teal'c back." Sam smiled down at Janet.
"I guess... but I hope I never have to do something like that again."
"Believe me, I don't want to have to go through that again myself."
Janet leaned into Sam again, resting her head against the tall blonde's shoulder.
"Do you feel any better?" Sam murmered, placing a gentle kiss on the little brunette's temple.
"Actually, I do." she said, smiling back. "You're far better at this than you realise, you know."
"All part of the service," grinned Sam, "So you going to come to bed, or are you gonna sit here and freeze all night?"
"That depends," said Janet, a wicked glint appearing in her eye. "What do you have planned?"
"Well... I'm sure I can think of something," said Sam, raising an eyebrow seductively. Sam got to her feet and grabbing Janet's hand, pulled the petite brunette along with her.
Janet moaned as Sam's hands roamed over her body, the blonde's talented mouth nuzzling at her neck. Then hearing a noise, she froze.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"What?" said Sam, her mussed blonde head rising to regard Janet.
"There it is again!" said Janet urgently, as the sound of soft footfalls were heard on the stairs.
Sam frowned, then grinned as she realised who it was. "Didn't you say Cassie was out with Dominic?"
"Yes, but..." she muttered as she twisted around to see the clock on the nightstand. "She should have been back an hour ago!"
She began to throw back the covers. "She is in SO much trouble..."
Sam grinned, and pulled the duvet back down, clasping the back of Janet's head and capturing her lips in a searing kiss that made Janet's heart pound.
"I think Cassie'll keep to the morning, don't you?" she murmered, a lazy smile playing on her lips.
Janet's eyes were dilated, and she nodded, before kissing Sam soundly.
"I think you may be right at that..... Yeah, it'll keep." She smiled, her hand making lazy circles on Sam's back as their embrace tightened. "Yup, it'll DEFINATELY keep....."
*****************FINI**********************
********
Over The Threshold
©Kelspook 2004
********
Janet sighed, and shook her head. She didn't know how much longer she could let this go on. Teal'c's condition was steadily worsening, and although his symbiote was surviving just fine for now, all the monitors were telling her that the same couldn't be said for Teal'c. The big Jaffa's immune system was rapidly breaking down, fever ravaging his body, and from experience she knew he didn't have much time left.
Sam walked into the infirmary, and seeing Janet standing lost in thought beside the clear tank holding Teal'c's symbiote, moved over to join her. She gently touched her small lover's arm, and Janet glanced up, not having seen the blonde enter the room.
"How's Junior doing?" asked Sam, nodding at the tank. She had used Jack's term deliberately, hoping to lighten the smaller woman's mood. She saw instantly, however, that it hadn't worked. Janet's eyes caught her own, and the tall blonde could clearly see the pain there.
"Well, the symbiote is fine for now, although I don't know what we're gonna do with it if they let Teal'c die." She shook her head slightly. "But.... That won't be my problem. I'll have already resigned if they let it go that far."
"Janet.... I know how you feel," said Sam, wincing inwardly at the bitterness lacing the little brunette's tone.
Janet glanced over at Teal'c, then focused on Sam once again. No, she thought, I don't think you do....
"I'm a doctor, Sam. This goes against every part of me to just... stand by and do nothing."
"I don't think we're doing nothing," Sam argued, trying to make Janet see that what they were doing was necessary. Knowing the big Jaffa as she did, she knew he'd rather die than remain subject to a false god.
"Yeah..." said the petite brunnette noncommittedly, effectively both closing the subject and ending the conversation. They could talk about this later, if and when the situation was resolved. One way or the other. Either way, she wasn't going to get into an argument about comparative morality and the hippocratic oath in the middle of her infirmary. She had a feeling that this one could get quite heated.
Sam nodded and went over to join the rest of SG-1, leaving the Doctor to her own thoughts. Knowing the little doctor as she did, she knew this would be continued, and that Janet simply didn't want to talk about this right now- neither of them were the type to let something fester, it was one of things that Sam loved about Janet, for all it could drive the tall blonde insane at times. At least we shouldn't ever get accused of a lack of communication, she thought as she went over to see if the others had made any progress.
"So, is it working? Has he said anything?"
******
Sam drew up to the house, and hit the garage door opener on her keyring. She'd seen that the house was all in darkness as she approached, which had confused her slightly. She knew Janet had signed out of the base, and as the door quietly rolled open, she saw that Janet's car was already there. Damn, she thought, she must have already gone to bed. Sam parked her bike and shut it off. The thought that Janet was already sleeping disturbed her slightly, and she'd been a little hurt when she'd found out that Janet had left the base without letting her know.
She instinctively knew that they needed to talk through the recent events, and one of the pieces of advice that both her Dad and Selmac had given her when she'd told them about her relationship with the little doctor had been to never sleep on a problem.
"Never let the sun set on your wrath," Selmac had said. "Problems will only grow if you allow your subconcious to work on them while you sleep, and the longer you leave them, the bigger they will become."
Jacob had resurfaced then, and put his arm around his daughter. Though he'd been somewhat surprised and shocked when Sam had told him about herself and Janet, the blending with Selmac had stopped his more old fashioned opinions from being problematic.
There was certainly something to be said for having someone as old and wise as Selmac share his thoughts. As his old, deep-seated prejudices had surfaced, Selmac's silent laughter had made him feel somewhat ashamed of himself.
If they love each other, that's all that matters, Selmac had said, wry amusement lacing her mental tone. Life is too short, too precious, and true love too rare, to worry about something as inconsequential as gender.
Jacob had been surprised to find himself agreeing. Then again, sharing Selmac's memories probably helped with that- the symbiote had been paired with both male and female hosts, so Jacob had experienced many things by proxy, and was far more broadminded than he had been prior to the blending.
"The old girl's right, Sammy. If you're happy, I'm happy." he said, pulling her into a hug. He let her go, and grinned. "I'd say you're gonna have your hands full though... the doc's a firecracker."
"I know," grinned Sam, hugely relieved to have her Dad's approval. "But I wouldn't have her any other way."
Sam smiled a little as she remembered the conversation, and decided that if Janet was sleeping, it wasn't a problem. They would still be able to talk about this tonight. The little brunette was an incredibly light sleeper, and invariably woke up when Sam entered the room they now shared.
Sam opened the connecting door and padded quietly into the darkened kitchen. She dropped her keys onto the countertop and shrugging out of her leather jacket, moved on through to the living room. She had just laid it over a chair back when a hint of a breeze touched her face, and she saw that the doors leading out onto the deck in the backyard were open slightly. As she looked out through the glass, she could see a small shape sitting on the steps, just visible in the moonlight. Her heart clenched- Janet looked so small, so vulnerable, sitting there with her face buried in her hands. The little brunette straightened up, letting her hands fall into her lap, and looked up from the ground at the stars shining brightly in the cloudless sky.
"I know you're there, Sam," said Janet, still not shifting her gaze from the heavens. "You may as well come on out."
Sam smiled a little ruefully, and opened the door. She had no idea how Janet did that, but she always seemed to know when Sam was nearby.
Sam sat down behind her petite lover, her legs running down either side of Janet's, and wrapped her arms from behind around the smaller woman's waist. Sam gently kissed the side of Janet's neck, and Janet, after a moment's hestitation, leaned back against her.
"You okay?" murmered Sam.
"Not really, no."
"You know that it couldn't have gone down any other way."
Janet stiffened, and Sam loosened her arms as the little brunette twisted around to regard the tall blonde.
"How can you say that?" she said, her eyes blazing. "I almost had to stand by while someone in my care died tonight. I made an oath a long time ago, Sam, first do no harm! I can't say I stuck to that today!"
"But he didn't die..."
"That's not the point, and you know it!"
"Janet, Bra'tac was right. Teal'c would rather die than be subject to Apophis again."
"Have you any idea what it did to me today?"
Janet got to her feet, and began pacing the yard. "It was bad enough when I had to let Apophis die.... and he was one of the enemy! Having to stand idly by when someone I cared about suffered, that was a hundred times worse!" the little brunette rounded on Sam, the fury pouring from her almost a palpable force. Sam glanced nervously back at the house.
"Janet, you need to calm down- you don't want Cassie to hear, do you?"
"She's out with Dominic," snapped Janet, "Stop trying to change the subject."
"I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
"Janet, I wasn't." The tall blonde squeezed her eyes shut, and tiredly massaged the bridge of her nose. "I know it was hard for you- It was hard for all of us, but you're probably the most caring, compassionate person I know. I was so proud of you when you were fighting to save Apophis, even though you knew he was a monster."
Opening her eyes, she looked back at Janet. "Teal'c would never have forgiven us if we'd let him stay the way he was," she said, with finality. "Maybe the way it was done wasn't the best way, but did you have any other ideas?"
The little brunette's shoulders slumped slightly, the anger beginning to slowly drain from her at Sam's words. She wrapped her arms around herself. "No," she sighed resignedly, "I didn't."
In a moment of clarity, Sam realised what the problem was.
"That's what's bothering you the most, isn't it? That you couldn't think of a less painful way to solve this."
"I'll admit, if I could have thought of any other way, I'd have done it." Janet cocked her head to one side slightly, and eyed her partner. "For someone who says they don't understand people very well, Sam, you have a habit of making incredibly astute observations at times."
The tall blonde shrugged, a tiny half smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Standing up, she closed the small distance between them, then gently pulled Janet into a hug. Ducking her head, she tenderly kissed Janet's forehead, then pulled back to capture the eyes with her own.
"Only when it comes to you. I had good reason to learn what makes you tick. With everyone else, I'm a moron." Sam grinned, then guided her diminutive partner back to steps. They sat back down, Janet snuggling into Sam's side, the blonde feeling the soft whisper of Janet's breath against her neck.
"Yes, well...." Janet chuckled softly, before realising what her soulmate was doing. She pulled back slightly and glared up at the tall blonde. "You're trying to change the subject again!" she said, her eyes beginning to flash.
"Nope, I already did." Sam raised a finger as Janet opened her mouth. "Uh-uh. Hang on before you go off at me again. There wasn't any other way to deal with this."
Janet sighed. "I know. But you're right, the fact that I couldn't think of another way was driving me insane. Seeing the pain Teal'c was going through ripped me to pieces. The last time I felt this way was after the entity had taken you over.... hell, that time I almost killed you- If the colonel hadn't gotten me to wait a few minutes before shutting off the life support......" she trailed off, and Sam felt the smaller womans arms tighten around her waist. "Having Teal'c die when I knew I could prevent it would have been more than I could cope with."
Sam winced, they'd spoken about the night in question a few times, and more than once she'd had to wake her lover during a particularly bad nightmare.
"You're amazing, you know that? The way you care for everyone around you... It's a moot point now, anyway. The rite worked, and we have Teal'c back." Sam smiled down at Janet.
"I guess... but I hope I never have to do something like that again."
"Believe me, I don't want to have to go through that again myself."
Janet leaned into Sam again, resting her head against the tall blonde's shoulder.
"Do you feel any better?" Sam murmered, placing a gentle kiss on the little brunette's temple.
"Actually, I do." she said, smiling back. "You're far better at this than you realise, you know."
"All part of the service," grinned Sam, "So you going to come to bed, or are you gonna sit here and freeze all night?"
"That depends," said Janet, a wicked glint appearing in her eye. "What do you have planned?"
"Well... I'm sure I can think of something," said Sam, raising an eyebrow seductively. Sam got to her feet and grabbing Janet's hand, pulled the petite brunette along with her.
Janet moaned as Sam's hands roamed over her body, the blonde's talented mouth nuzzling at her neck. Then hearing a noise, she froze.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"What?" said Sam, her mussed blonde head rising to regard Janet.
"There it is again!" said Janet urgently, as the sound of soft footfalls were heard on the stairs.
Sam frowned, then grinned as she realised who it was. "Didn't you say Cassie was out with Dominic?"
"Yes, but..." she muttered as she twisted around to see the clock on the nightstand. "She should have been back an hour ago!"
She began to throw back the covers. "She is in SO much trouble..."
Sam grinned, and pulled the duvet back down, clasping the back of Janet's head and capturing her lips in a searing kiss that made Janet's heart pound.
"I think Cassie'll keep to the morning, don't you?" she murmered, a lazy smile playing on her lips.
Janet's eyes were dilated, and she nodded, before kissing Sam soundly.
"I think you may be right at that..... Yeah, it'll keep." She smiled, her hand making lazy circles on Sam's back as their embrace tightened. "Yup, it'll DEFINATELY keep....."
*****************FINI**********************
Post a Reply
Back to the Forum