The Other Woman
by Wonderland
Summary: A discussion about the need for a new Chief Medical Officer led me to invent a female Jack O'Neill. She smokes, she drinks, she cusses.
How could Daniel resist her? And how would Sam react to her?
Category: Romance
Episode Related: 101 Children of the Gods, 514 48 Hours, 521 Meridian, 622 Full Circle, 717 Heroes, 807 Affinity, 810 Endgame
Season: Season 8
Pairing: Daniel/other
Rating: 13+
Warnings: language
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 12/15/05
When Samantha Carter heard Dr. Forest's voice coming from the infirmary, she gritted her teeth. And realized that she was doing that a lot when she encountered Dr. Veronica Forest. Plastering a smile on her face, she prepared to simply pass by. And her smile disappeared when she caught a glimpse of Daniel sitting on the edge of a bed, so she altered her path to enter the infirmary instead of breezing by.
"Daniel! What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing." He turned toward Sam, shrugging his jacket back on. "Dr. Forest was just giving me my allergy shot."
"It just makes more sense for Dr. Jackson to take the shots twice a week, that way he can cut down on other medications. You really should have been doing this years ago, Dr. Jackson."
"Daniel," as he leaped down.
"Daniel," she nodded.
"Thanks."
"Colonel Carter?"
Sam turned from following Daniel out the door.
"Did you need something?"
Sam started to speak, then just shook her head. "No, not a thing."
Sam knew it was illogical to resent Dr. Forest. But she still did. Okay, someone had to take over after Janet; Sam realized that. What she couldn't live with were what she perceived as little criticisms of Janet's abilities. Janet had been a good doctor; dammit, she'd been a great doctor. Like that remark about Daniel and allergy shots. Where did Forest get off, thinking she was better than Janet had been?
So when Sam walked into the mess, later that morning and saw the doctor eating with Jack, her mood only grew darker. Wondering if she were a masochist, she got a cup of coffee and invited herself to join them. And promptly wished she hadn't. They were dissecting a basketball game from the previous night.
"If they don't field at least one more big man who doesn't get shoved around, they're never going to win any kind a championship."
"Yeah, that's true, but," Jack glanced up. "Carter." And promptly plowed on. "They don't need bigger players, they need better players."
"Oh, I agree with that, but," Veronica glanced over. "But we're boring Colonel Carter to death."
Sam tried to smile. "Okay, maybe not to death. But.."
"Okay, subject change. Dr. Forest, what do you think of our little home away from home here?"
"I must admit, the no windows environment was a little hard to take at first. And excitement wise, I don't think you could ask for anything more thrilling than working here."
Her remark struck Sam's last nerve. "There's more to this place than just excitement." Sam jumped up, surprising all of them, including herself. "People die here, Dr. Forest. Is that exciting enough for you?" She headed for the door.
"General?" Veronica looked up at Jack, clearly stunned.
"I'll talk to her."
"Colonel Carter?"
Sam swallowed hard and turned, she had known this conversation was coming when she received the summons to O'Neill's office. "Yes, sir?"
"About your little outburst in the mess this morning.."
"Sir, I intend to apologize to Dr. Forest for what I said. It was completely uncalled for."
"That's good, Carter. But what I want to know is why?"
"Just having a bad day, sir. If that's all." She started for the door.
Jack frowned. "I'll take that. For now."
As if things weren't bad enough, when Sam finally forced herself to the infirmary to make that apology, she found Daniel there. Again. Instead of getting a shot, he was giving Veronica some books.
"Sam. Dr. Forest wanted to learn about Egyptology, I'm just loaning her some books."
"That's good." Sam took a deep breath. "Dr. Forest, may I have a moment?"
"Certainly, Colonel." Even Daniel noticed the drop in temperature.
"I'll just, uh, leave you to it." Daniel backed out the door.
Sam waited until she was sure that he was gone. "Dr. Forest, I wanted to apologize for my remarks in the mess hall this morning. It was completely uncalled for and I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted, Colonel. May I ask why you said what you said?"
"I'm sorry." Sam repeated as she walked out the door, without a backward glance.
Daniel really needed to bring Sam up to date on some samples he had been looking at. Well, not really, but he wanted to pump Sam for what had happened between her and Veronica. Daniel might not have noticed a lot of what went on around him, but this, he had noticed. So he strolled, trying to be nonchalant, into Sam's lab later that day.
"Sam, here's what I was able to figure out from those markings, hope this helps."
"Yeah, just leave it there, I'll get to it." She didn't even look up.
"'Oh, yes, thanks for the help, Daniel.' `You're welcome, Sam.'" He stood there till she glanced up.
"I'm sorry, Daniel, I do appreciate the help, really I do. It's just that I'm kinda swamped right now." She applied herself to her work, hoping he would leave.
"Sam." She jerked sharply at his tone. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong! God, why does everyone keep asking that?"
"Because we care about you. And you've been shouting at everyone for the past week. Starting with Veronica."
"Oh, yes, Veronica! By all means, let's all get cozy with her, shall we? She talks basketball with General O'Neill, gets you to teach her about history. And she's probably got Teal'c showing her how to fire a staff!"
"Sam? Do you hear yourself? You're making no sense."
"How can you all just make friends with her when.."
"When what?"
Sam started to stomp away but Daniel grabbed her arm. And she snapped. "When all she's trying to do is take Janet's place!"
"Is that what this is all about?"
"Oh, come on, Daniel, even you can see what she's doing! She's buddied up to all you guys. God, I can't stand to hear her make those cracks about Janet!"
Daniel shook his head. "Sam, I've never even heard her mention Janet."
"How can you be so blind? And how can you forget Janet so easily?"
Daniel flinched as if he had been struck. "How dare you?" He whispered, all color washing out of his face. "Do you think I go a day without thinking about her?"
Sam closed her eyes. "God, Daniel, I didn't mean..."
He pulled away when she would have held on. "It should have been me!"
"Daniel?"
His eyes were full of pain. "Admit it, Sam. We would all be far better off if it'd been me instead of her."
Sam was stunned. "You don't mean that."
"What good have I done, really? All those people, lost. And it was all my fault."
"Daniel, you know that's not true!" Sam tried to comfort, distraught at the pain she had unleashed.
"It is true!" He was shouting now. "I lost Sha're because I wouldn't bury the gate. My arrogance with Anubis cost all of Abydos, the whole damn planet! And Cassie's an orphan, because of me."
"Daniel, I know how you..."
His shout was down to a mere whisper. "No, you don't. Thousands of people aren't dead because of you."
Sam blocked his way when he would have bolted from the room. "Don't talk like that! What you've done here is..." She was at a loss for words. "You would never have been able to ascend if Oma hadn't believed in you."
"Well, she was wrong, wasn't she? All I had to do was nothing and I couldn't even get that right!" He jerked away from her and sprinted for the door.
She slumped onto a stool. "Way to go, Sam." She muttered to herself.
Daniel was being quiet, far too quiet, Jack thought. All anyone had gotten out of him were very short answers. He spoke only when spoken to, said only what needed to be said and then clammed up. Jack sighed to himself. What was with his team? As soon as the briefing was over, Daniel shot out the door; Teal'c trailing him. Jack barely caught Sam before she fled in the other direction. "Carter? A word? In my office."
"Of course, sir." Sam nearly dragged her feet as she followed him in.
"Carter, I would love to know what the hell is wrong with you all. First, you're biting everyone's head off. Now I can't get two words out of Daniel. What gives?"
"Sir, it's my fault. I.. we had a fight. I hurt his feelings."
"How?"
"I accused him of forgetting about Janet. I just didn't realize how truly..wounded Daniel is. Sir, he thinks it would have been better if he had died that day instead of her."
"That's nuts."
"That's Daniel, sir. He blames himself for that. And so much more."
"Abydos? That translation thing with The Trust?" She nodded and he frowned. Jack knew as long as he lived, Daniel would never forgive himself for Abydos. "He couldn't know what was going to happen."
"Try telling that to Daniel."
Sam and Daniel were still speaking, just barely, when SG1 took off for their next mission. She hadn't yet figured out how to ask Daniel, beg if necessary, for forgiveness. Sam had berated herself over and over for opening up old wounds for Daniel, little realizing how badly she had hurt him. He had come into her office for a little friendly chat, completely unprepared; she had let him have it with both barrels.
Their last argument had also stayed with Daniel. He knew Sam hadn't meant to hurt him, but, dammit, she had! So he had protected himself the only way he knew how, by bricking the wall around his feelings just that little bit higher. Daniel was following Teal'c and Sam back toward the gate when Sam heard Daniel shout something, but when she turned toward him, it all seemed to happen in slow motion. She heard gunfire, and then, to her horror, saw a Jaffa, whose staff was swinging away from her.
Taking aim on Daniel.
"Daniel!" Sam shouted when he went down. Teal'c turned, with a look of shock on his face before swinging back around to mow down the Jaffa who was attacking them, only to find Daniel had already done so. They both gasped as Teal'c rolled Daniel over. The front of his vest was smoking from the staff blast. Sam forced herself to stay calm.
"Teal'c, take him, head for the gate! I'll cover for you! Go!"
Teal'c was already lifting Daniel and running for the gate. Sam followed him, keeping a sharp eye for any more Jaffa. Teal'c shifted Daniel while he dialed the gate. When it opened, he shouted into his communicator. "A medical team will be required immediately, Daniel Jackson has been injured." As soon as he saw Sam come into view, he rushed for the gate.
Dr. Forest was running into the gateroom when Teal'c came through, easing Daniel to the ramp. She knelt beside him, feeling for a pulse, fighting to get his vest open. "What hit him? Christ, what a mess, I need an airway, now!" She didn't dare even try CPR without knowing how badly damaged his chest was. She slapped his face, shouting. "Daniel? Daniel, don't do this, don't!"
Sam had to look away when Veronica shoved Daniel's head back, holding it as the nurse thrust a tube down his throat. The nurse quickly secured a bag on the end and began pumping. "Come on, come on! Breathe, dammit!" All her focus was on Daniel; she didn't see anyone else in the gateroom. "Got anything?" She looked up at the nurse working on Daniel, saw the answer on her face; she just shook her head and crawled off him. "Okay, get him on the gurney. One, two, three." As soon as he was loaded, the team rushed for the door.
"I believe Daniel Jackson was attempting to draw fire away from Colonel Carter when he was struck by a staff weapon." Teal'c stood ramrod straight, looking down at Daniel through the observation window.
"Carter?"
"Teal'c's right, sir." She spoke softly. "It was my fault."
"That is not what I said, Colonel Carter." Teal'c frowned at her. "If the circumstances were reversed, would you have not done the same?"
Sam looked at Daniel lying motionless, tubes and wires sticking out everywhere. Of course, she would have. "But it's still my fault. The fight we had distracted me. If we hadn't argued, if Daniel hadn't thought his life was worthless, he wouldn't have..."
"Carter, that's enough! Did you know that when we went on that first mission to Abydos, he took a staff blast for me?"
"I read that in your report, sir."
Jack rubbed his face, reliving that moment. "I'll never forget him just jumping between me and a staff weapon. And he would have done it for you or me or Teal'c or anyone else in this building. Understood, Carter?"
She nodded, turning back toward the window. "Yes, sir. But I still failed him."
Jack glanced over at Teal'c and tilted his head. Teal'c nodded. "I will sit with Daniel Jackson."
"Okay, Carter, what kind of nonsense is that?"
"I failed Daniel. Not just today. When he needed me, I couldn't," she swallowed hard, "I couldn't do what might have saved him."
"What are you talking about, Carter?"
"When..after Kelowna, I should have tried the healing device as soon as we got back. But I couldn't, I was too scared. I might have saved him, sir, but I didn't even try. I just let him lie there and die in agony!" Her voice broke.
"Okay, that's enough! Stop beating yourself up, you did the best you could do that day, Carter. You got him home quickly, you let Fraiser know how much he had been exposed to. You did the right thing."
"Did I?" She walked out the door.
"The first twenty-four hours are always the hardest, General. I can honestly say that Dr. Jackson's chances are better now than they were this time yesterday. But I am a bit concerned because he hasn't regained consciousness." Victoria walked back toward Daniel's room, with Jack at her side.
"Should he have?" Jack stilled her with a hand on her arm.
"The wound to his neck was serious, but it could have been so much worse. I don't have to tell you how lucky he was that it was just a glancing blow, that the vest took most of the impact. A direct hit.."
"Would have taken his head off." Jack forced himself to admit what he knew.
"I don't know how long he was without oxygen, but I'm hoping it wasn't long enough to do any permanent damage. We're just basically in a waiting game right now."
"Hi, Teal'c. I'll take over now."
"Is Daniel Jackson improving?"
"Yes, Teal'c," she lied without blinking. Daniel's vital signs had slipped a bit, but it wasn't enough to seriously concern her. Yet.
"Go home, you need some rest." She patted his massive arm.
"As do you, Dr. Forest."
"I'm okay, go on now, doctor's orders." She smiled as he left.
"Good evening, Daniel, I hope you're up for some more Egyptian history." Veronica seated herself at his bedside, knowing that speaking to unconscious patients could only help. "Let's see, where did we leave off? Oh, yes, chapter three, hmmm, lesser Egyptian deities. Wonder who decided who was lesser and who was, what would you call them, major? I can't wait to have you explain that. And here we go.." She began reading out loud to him from one of the books that he had loaned her. This was the scene into which Sam walked later that night. She had bunked down at the base and suspected that Jack hadn't left either. And so when she woke in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep, she had dressed and crept down to check on Daniel. And found Veronica reading to him.
The observation room was shrouded in darkness save for the lamp light that encompassed Veronica, seated at Daniel's bedside, with a book on her lap. Even the lights from the machines tracking his every breath seemed to have been muted. Unbelievably moved, Sam wearily leaned against the doorframe and watched. This is what Janet would have done, Sam realized. Janet had fought to save Daniel more than once; Veronica was doing no less.
"God, no wonder you're still asleep, this would bore anybody to death. Well, anybody but you, I guess. Let's see what else we have here," she shuffled through the books and magazines that were stashed in the bedside drawer, "Who left this here?" She held up a romance novel and giggled, "Better not read this, don't want to raise your blood pressure."
Sam snickered before she could stop herself. Veronica leapt up, dropping her book and putting herself instinctively between Daniel and the intruder. "Who..who's there?" Sam stepped into the light. "Oh! Colonel, you scared me to death."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep and wanted to check on Daniel."
Veronica couldn't help but notice how neat Sam looked and sighed. It took her at least an hour every morning to get ready to come to work and then she was rarely satisfied with her look. Sam could have stepped out of the pages of a magazine. Granted, it would have been something like Air Force Woman instead of Vanity Fair. "I've just been..." Veronica stopped, knowing how stupid it would sound.
"Reading to Daniel? Does that really work? With patients, I mean."
"There have been quite a few studies with coma patients, stroke patients, that indicate it can't hurt. If I knew what kind of music he liked, I'd bring some in here."
Sam shook her head. "He likes all kinds. He plays the piano."
"Really? Let me guess, Bach and Beethoven? I can't really see Daniel playing boogie woogie, can you?"
Sam snickered again. "No, I can't either."
"Drag up a chair and join me, Colonel. And we'll talk to Daniel. Or better, let's talk about Daniel."
"I will, if you'll call me Sam."
"Okay, Sam. So what kind of Daniel secrets can you tell me?"
Sam pulled her chair close to Daniel's side. "Well, there was that time..."
The first thing that penetrated the fog that was Daniel's mind was the unbelievable sound of girls giggling. Okay, what kind of a dream is this, he wondered as he struggled to wake up. And why does my head hurt so badly? As he slowly returned to consciousness, he realized it wasn't just his head. It hurt to breathe; he'd swallowed the business end of a P90 (and it seemed to be permanently imbedded in his throat) and Teal'c was sitting on his chest. He tried to move and found he couldn't dislodge whatever was actually there; although he was reasonably certain it wasn't Teal'c. But he did discover he could wiggle his fingers. So he did.
"Did you see that, Sam? I think he moved his fingers. Daniel, if you can hear me, move your fingers again." He managed to move them just a fraction. "Come on, Daniel, wake up. Show us you're still there somewhere." It seemed to take forever, but Daniel slowly opened his eyes.
"Hi, welcome back. No, don't try to talk, you've got a breathing tube in." Veronica leaned in close so he could see her; so she could discreetly check out the response in his eyes. She could see that he was trying to understand, fighting for it. She grabbed his twitching hand, knowing from experience how quickly a confused patient could jerk out a tube.
"No, don't do that either, I don't want to tie your hands down. Promise me you won't start jerking tubes out? That's my job." Daniel blinked in something that approached understanding.
"Keep talking to him, Sam, I want to call General O'Neill. And don't let him jerk on that tube, okay?"
Sam perched on the side of Daniel's bed and took his hand. "Hey, how are you feeling?" His blue eyes took awhile to find and focus on her. "Oh, I guess they have your glasses around here somewhere. Do you want them?" He shook his head slightly, giving her a quizzical look. "We were ambushed going back to the gate; a staff blast hit you. You don't remember?"
"No," he tried to whisper around the tube.
"You took one above the vest." She held his hand as he instinctively tried to find the injury.
Veronica strode back in, followed by a couple of nurses. "Daniel, it's time to put you to work. We're going to take that tube out, okay?" She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Daniel." She smiled when she saw his eyes finally focus.
"You're gonna feel like you can't breathe, but I promise you, you can, okay? And if we have to, we can put it back in. You're making me look good, Daniel." She glanced over. "Sam, do you want to step outside? This may seem a little disturbing. Okay, why don't you hold onto his hand, then." She nodded as Sam swallowed hard, took Daniel's hand. "On three, let's see if this will come out the easy way. Gently, gently. Daniel, when you feel the tube moving, cough and breathe out. And you let us know if we need to stop, okay?"
Sam forced herself to watch, to keep Daniel's hand in hers. She covered her mouth with her other hand as they started pulling the tube out. Sam felt his hand tighten on hers as he choked and gagged. "Easy, Daniel, put him on his side." Veronica gently rubbed his back as he gasped. "Just breathe, Daniel, you're doing great. Okay, lie him back down now. Let's jack this bed up a bit, I don't want him lying flat. As high up as he can take it. How's that, Daniel?" She stuffed a pillow under his neck, and gently lowered his head. He struggled to breathe. "You're doing fine, Daniel, just take some slow deep breaths. Now, isn't that much better than that tube?"
"Yeah," he croaked.
"Okay, now let's see if you can take some ice. Slowly." She fed him a few chips and smiled at him. "See, you can breathe and everything, all by yourself. You're going to be up and around in no time at all."
"Really?" He hoped this talking thing would get less painful.
"You'll surprise even yourself, I promise you." Veronica turned as Jack bounded in the room, followed by Teal'c. "Well, General, what do you think of our patient?"
Jack thought he looked a bit green around the gills. Come to think of it, Carter didn't look much better, although she seemed to have a death grip on Daniel. "I think he's faking it. You got me up in the middle of the night for this guy?" Jack bent over Daniel.
"So, you gonna stay this time?"
"Thinking about it."
"Sleeping should be a bit easier now, without the tube."
He tried to roll over to face Veronica, and found he couldn't. So, he rolled his eyes instead. "Can't sleep. Too much giggling."
Jack's eyebrow shot up and Veronica blushed. "Sorry, that would have been Sam and me, we were just passing time."
Sam realized she might have to re-think Veronica. She hadn't quit trying to save Daniel and her bedside manner was as reassuring as Janet's had been. Maybe, just maybe...
She headed for the infirmary to visit Daniel, to find he was fast asleep. Leaving him some cookies as a substitute for the coffee he wasn't yet allowed, she was slipping out when she heard an odd noise from Janet's office. Dammit, it wasn't Janet's now; it was Veronica's. Sam stopped, heard nothing and started to leave when she heard it again. It sounded suspiciously like someone crying. She hesitated, realizing she might be the last person Veronica might want to see, then eased the door open anyway. Veronica was bawling her head off. She stepped inside and eased the door closed behind her.
Hesitantly, she whispered. "Dr. Forest?"
Veronica sat up with a jerk. "God! Doesn't anybody knock around here?" Frantically trying to stem her tears, she was failing miserably.
"I'm sorry, I thought.."
"Go away!"
Sam shook her head. "Sorry, can't do that." Then a horrible thought hit her. "Is it Daniel?"
"Yes, I mean, no." Veronica hiccuped. "Do you know how close it was with Daniel? My first real emergency and I almost lost one of the most important people on this base. You were right, when you said people die here; he almost did."
"But you didn't lose him, Daniel's alive. Because of you, you wouldn't let him die."
"It wasn't me, it was all Daniel. If just one thing had gone wrong, we would be having an entirely different conversation, I promise you. I just don't think I can do this." The tears re-started with a vengeance.
Sam was stunned. She had never considered the anguish that doctors lived with. And she realized she probably never appreciated how Janet faced this on a daily basis. Someone was almost always coming in the gate with injuries, known and unknown.
"Dr. Forest,"
"Dammit, if we're gonna fight, at least call me Veronica."
Sam smiled. "We're not gonna fight. In fact, I'm gonna apologize. Again. I never thought about how hard this stuff is on you, doctors and the medical staff. I think about all the times I've sat at Daniel's bedside, praying for him to live," she sank down into a chair beside the desk, taking the box of tissues out of Veronica's clutches, "and it was always just about us. His friends, his team. Never once did I realize what it does to other people."
"You know, I could cheerfully learn to hate you." Veronica blew her nose.
"Why?"
"Why? My God, all I've heard was Carter this and Carter that. And then to meet you! I was so hoping you would be a dumb blonde so I could really feel superior. Hoping that brilliant thing was just a myth. Well, you blew me out of the water pretty quickly." She tried to catch a breath that came out as a shudder. "Do you know how intimidating this place is? I've got a guy laying in a bed out there who came back from the dead, for God's sake! And then there was Dr. Fraiser."
"What about Janet?" Sam's voice turned cool.
"If I thought you were hard to live up to, imagine trying to come in on her heels. She's saved everyone in this whole building at least once, and some of you more than once. I know I can't live up to that ideal. No matter how hard I try, I'm never going be Janet Fraiser!"
Sam didn't even realize her cheeks were wet with tears. "No, no, you're not. And we're wrong to expect you to be. She wasn't perfect. And she was my best friend and it's hard for me to say that, but she wasn't. She was a great doctor, gifted and compassionate and dedicated, but she was just human like the rest of us."
Veronica snickered. "Like most of the rest of us."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, most of us. Listen, let's try starting over. I have a feeling you could use a friend." She passed the Kleenex box back over.
"Thanks, Colonel," she nodded at Sam's expression, "Sam."
"Does anyone call you Ronnie?"
"Never the second time."
Sam patted her shoulder. "You're gonna be okay, Veronica. Listen, I'm going to sit with Daniel for a little while, if you want to.."
"Get myself together? We don't have that kind of time."
Sam smiled as she eased the office door shut and walked back to Daniel's bed, only to be met with a pair of anxious blue eyes.
"Hey, you're awake."
"Yeah, are you alright?" His voice was still a bit husky.
"Oh, Veronica and I were just talking, you know, and we kinda got emotional." She smoothed his covers, avoiding his eyes.
"Sam." He chided.
She looked at him, her eyes watering again. "Daniel, it was pretty damn close again. How many times are you gonna do this?"
"I don't really know, as many as it takes to get it right, I suppose." His attempt at humor fell flat as the tears slid out of her eyes.
"Sam, I'm kidding. Don't cry. Please."
She boosted herself up on the side of his bed, he automatically scooted over to give her room. "You don't remember what happened, how you got hurt?" She stroked his forehead just because she wanted to, needed to touch him.
"Not really, I assume we ran into some Jaffa."
"No, you ran into one, because of me. Because of those stupid things I said to you,"
"I might not remember what happened but I don't think I was trying to kill myself."
"Can you be sure of that?"
His gaze never wavered from hers. "Sam, if I had wanted to kill myself, I think I'd pick a less painful way than a staff weapon."
He smiled slightly. "Kidding again."
"Daniel, I'm so sorry for what I said, I had no right. I never meant to hurt you, you have to know that."
It all seemed so inconsequential now. "I do, Sam, it's okay." She smoothed his hair from his forehead before she hopped down. "You need to rest. I'll be back later. Need anything?"
"Glasses. And I was working on some translations,"
"Yes to the glasses, no to the work." Veronica walked up behind Sam. Daniel thought she looked even more wrecked than Sam did, although she had tried to hide it with an application of make-up. As if that had ever fooled anyone. "Listen, if you two are gonna keep me awake with all the giggling and the crying, I might as well get something accomplished."
So they hadn't fooled him after all. "Oh, you're going to get something accomplished, alright." Veronica smiled wickedly. "The nurses are drawing straws over who gets to give you a sponge bath."
Daniel looked horrified, opened his mouth and couldn't make a sound.
Six weeks later
Veronica slid out of the huge SUV she hated but found out was a necessity here and hit the ground with a jar, just managing to stay vertical. At her height, sliding out was the only way to exit the vehicle her brothers had gleefully insisted she needed. And getting in, well, that was always an adventure, especially if she was wearing a skirt. "I would love to know whose stupid idea it was to put this stupid base in the middle of a stupid ski resort!"
"Good morning, Veronica." Daniel had been listening to her tirade. She swung around slipping on the snow-covered asphalt. "Whoa." He grabbed her arm and they both nearly fell. "Come on, let's skate to the door." Together, they slipped and slip till they made it to the door. Daniel shoved her inside and quickly followed, then waited for his glasses to un-fog. "I take it you don't like Colorado winters."
"And you do?" They headed to the elevators.
"Oh, I don't mind them."
She muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "bunch of damn idiots." He pretended not to hear as they departed the elevator and started down the hall to catch the other one.
"Good morning, Dr. Forest, Dr. Jackson."
Veronica smiled winningly at the young man behind the desk as she signed in. "Good morning, Airman Wilson, how are you?"
"Just fine, ma'am. Poison ivy's clearing right up." His voice was pure Southern.
"Airman, where are you from?"
"New Orleans, ma'am."
"New Orleans," she sighed longingly. "Glad to hear you're feeling better." They headed to the next elevator, Daniel looking back at him with a puzzled expression as they waited.
"Poison ivy?"
"I don't even want to know how he got poison ivy this time of year. Damn winter."
"I believe you said that before."
"And I believe you said you liked them."
"No, what I said was I don't mind them. I pulled six months at Antarctica, so this is nothing."
"And you actually liked it?"
"I liked the work, it was..amazing." His eyes lit up.
"But did you like Antarctica?" She drew the last word out slowly.
"Oh, well," he rolled his eyes. "No. Actually, I treated myself to a long weekend in Mexico on my way back from that assignment."
"Please tell me you laid on the beach and drank tequila?"
"Okay, I did." She gave him a yeah-sure-you-did look. "Okay, I didn't. But I did sit in the sun and," he muttered, "worked on my lap-top. At a dig."
"God, Daniel, you're pathetic!"
"So Jack's always telling me and Sam. I don't know how many times he's ordered us to get a life."
"Well, you need to. There's a lot more to life than what's at the end of a computer connection."
"And you would know?"
"If I were in Mexico for the weekend, a bunch of dusty ruins and a damned lap-top would not be my constant companions." The elevator stopped and she started out, toward the infirmary, only to be stopped by his hand. "Canteen, come on, I'll buy you breakfast." She glanced at her watch. He held her coat sleeve as the doors shut. "Come on, you can tell me what you would have done in Mexico."
Daniel made a face at the collection on her tray. Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns. And a Pepsi. "How can you?"
"What?" He winced again as she waterfalled salt all over her plate.
"Uh, a bit heavy on the salt, don't you think? And Pepsi, for breakfast?"
"Don't drink milk, only like juice if it's got vodka in it, so it's either this or water."
"I think I'd prefer the water."
"No caffeine in water." An officer stopped to chat and Daniel watched in fascination as he tried to ask Dr. Forest out. And she firmly, but oh-so-nicely turned him down.
"Does that happen very often?"
"What?"
"Getting asked out?"
"Oh, all the time." She laughed. "Now, that sounded very...conceited."
"Well, not..okay, it did!"
"I mean, I expect it. This place is mostly men, mostly military. That pretty much decimates the dating pool for these guys." She studied him. "Does that bother you?"
"What?"
"These guys, I mean, we could be on a date or something."
"You and me?" He seemed to have absolutely no ego. At least, not when it came to women.
"Stranger things have happened."
"Name one."
Daniel studied her again as yet another guy tried his line out. He certainly saw what attracted them to her. She might have been short, but her curves made up for it. Shoulder length hair, pulled back in a complicated braid; a streaky brown-gold that glowed even under the commissary lights. The orange sweater she was wearing reminded him of one of those Mexican sunsets. He bit his lip as she glanced up at him with those big brown eyes, those long, dark lashes. Daniel might not have known a lot about women, but he knew that they knew what they had. They probably had that figured out in kindergarten.
For some reason, he remembered being talked into taking Cassandra to pick up a dress for some dance or something. Even Cassie, at that age, knew what she had. And she was trying her smile out on every guy in the mall, even the ones who weren't in her age group. He was never, ever taking a teen-age girl to the mall again. Well, not without a zat strapped to each hip. And he sighed, as he usually did, because thinking about Cassandra made him think about Janet.
"Daniel?" He blinked as she snapped her fingers in his face. "You okay?"
"I was just thinking," he ducked his head, "about Janet."
She reached over to touch his hand. "Want to talk about her?"
He withdrew his hand, and she let him. She stood up, gathered her coat and purse. "If you need me, you know where I am. Thanks for breakfast." She started to walk away.
"Veronica?" She turned back. "Thanks." She blinded every other man in the room with her smile. Daniel didn't notice.
"I can't believe it. Every guy here asked her out and who's she eating breakfast with? Dr. Jackson, of all people!"
Sam's ears perked up as she got herself a cup of coffee. And she unashamedly eavesdropped on a conversation at the next table.
"What's so odd about that? Half the women on this base, hell, more like three-quarters of them, would jump him in a heartbeat. He does have damn good taste, though. Dr. Forest is one fine looking woman."
Jack sat down. "Carter," only to stop at her hastily whispered "shhh."
"Carter?"
"Sir, they're talking about Daniel." She whispered.
"What?"
"Listen."
But the two soldiers, realizing the base commander was nearby, hastily changed the subject.
Carter had to know what was going on between Veronica and Daniel. So she casually suggested that the two meet for lunch. Sam pleaded work and had salads sent from the commissary. She knew eating in the mess was not conducive to heart-to-heart talks.
"I have to tell you I love that sweater."
Veronica glanced down, self-consciously. "You don't think it's too bright?"
"Oh, no, I think it's beautiful, especially on you." Sam glanced over enviously, she knew what that color would do for her. "You know you and Daniel are the talk of the base, don't you?"
Her fork stopped short of her mouth. "What?"
"You and Daniel. Breakfast, commissary, talking, I heard there might even have been a laugh or two."
"Oh, my God, this is awful." She dropped her fork altogether.
"Why?"
"I'm here to work, not be the object of gossip." Veronica caught the gleam in Sam's eyes. "Are you yanking my chain?"
Sam bubbled over with laughter. "Yes, I am, I only heard two guys talking about you. Evidently, they were jealous of Daniel."
Veronica leaped up. "Can you believe this place? There I was, we were, sitting there eating and two different guys came up and asked me out. Like Daniel wasn't even there."
"Some of the more gung-ho military guys around here tend to look through Daniel. He doesn't make friends easily, so some of these people just don't want to know him."
"Well, they don't know what they're missing." Sam lowered her eyes to keep Veronica from seeing the gleam in them. "What I mean is, I admire him tremendously. He is so smart." Veronica picked up her fork, played with her salad.
"And is that all?"
"Hmm?"
"So you like him for his brain?"
"Of course, he's brilliant. And very sweet."
"And?"
"And?" She finally got it. "Sam! Honestly, we're just friends."
"Where have I heard that one?"
Veronica leaped up again. "You don't think he thinks..? Oh, my God, I'll just die if he thinks..!"
Sam couldn't stop the laughter. "You ought to see your face. I should apologize for teasing you, but it's just so much fun. And you can't tell me you don't think he's attractive?"
"Oh, he makes my top five. But we are just friends, honestly, Sam."
"I believe you Veronica, I really do. So who are the other four on your list?"
"There's that guy from the Pentagon?"
"Paul Davis?"
Veronica fanned herself with a napkin. "God, what a pair of eyes!"
Just a few days later, Veronica was seated in Jack's office, waiting for a report from P2X-199. SG15 was overdue and SGs1 and 3 had gone for backup. A medical team was waiting on stand-by, just in case. For the fourth time, she jumped up to look out at the Stargate.
"Relax, Dr. Forest, we'll know the minute they get back."
"You know, it's times like this I really regret giving up smoking. Damn surgeon general, where the hell is he now anyway?"
Jack laughed sharply. "Oh, me, too. There are times I'd kill for a smoke."
"So what do you do instead?" She turned back to face him, the big window framing her from behind.
"Drink."
She made a face. "Interesting method."
"Try it, you'll like it."
She laughed. "Oh, I already do."
"White wine doesn't really count."
"So I look like the white wine type?"
He eyed the black sweater, pearls and black slacks she was wearing under her lab coat. And a pair of sensible flat shoes; she'd learned long ago about the foolishness of heels and dashing for an emergency. "As a matter of fact, you do. So what's your poison?"
"Jack Daniels, black label, straight up." She saw his eyebrows shoot up. "Shocked you, have I?"
"I sometimes host gatherings of a social nature at my home. You'll have to come to the next one. I think we'd.." The Stargate interrupted him. Veronica was already out the door and dashing for the gateroom.
"What have we got?" She ran up the ramp as the teams came through.
"Could have been worse, a couple of bad staff burns, some cuts and bruises. Oh, and Dr. Jackson's got a black eye."
Veronica turned from her position kneeling over a soldier. And saw a rapidly swelling face. "Daniel, what now?"
"Uh, Teal'c kinda misjudged where I was, whacked me with his staff."
She turned back to her patient. "I'll take care of you later, help me get this guy on a stretcher."
"Oh, yeah, you're gonna have a shiner alright." There was also an unsightly cut where his frames had impacted his face.
"Dr. Forest, are you quite certain Daniel Jackson is uninjured?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say uninjured. But he will be okay. He'll have to stay Earth-side for a week or so, because that swelling will affect his vision." She patted his arm. "Teal'c, he's fine. He could have gotten worse playing hockey."
"Hockey?" Daniel's eyebrows shot up.
"Um, hockey, some game a bunch of nuts play on ice. Speaking of ice," Veronica eased an ice pack on Daniel's eye. "Just lay down here for a few minutes and keep that ice right there. I'll get you something for the headache."
"Daniel Jackson.."
"I know, Teal'c." He moved the ice pack off his face, only to be confronted by Teal'c's frown. And hastily replaced it. "It was an accident, I know you're sorry."
Veronica parked her car down the street from Jack's house; judging by the number of vehicles already parked there, Sam' s birthday party was in full swing. She pointed her remote toward the car and locked it with a flick, blessing the arrival of spring; she had left the tank at home.
Daniel answered the doorbell.
"Hey, are you the designated driver?" Before he could answer, she started to put her keys firmly in his hand. Then stopped, looking at his still colorful eye. "You know you're not supposed to be drinking while you're on meds, right?"
He took her keys and ushered her in. "Yeah, I'm not drinking."
"Good, cause I am." She breezed by him.
"Of course you are." Daniel said to no one in particular.
She sought out Sam to give her her present, hoping she'd like the sweater. "Sam, happy birthday." Veronica handed the beautifully wrapped box over.
"Veronica, thank you, but that was not necessary."
"Open it. I wanna see what you think." Veronica tried not to wince as Sam ruthlessly ripped the elegant wrapping.
"Oh, Veronica, it's beautiful!" She gasped as she pulled the ice blue sweater out. And rubbed it on her face. "Is that cashmere?"
"Yeah, I love cashmere."
"Oh, I do, too, but it's far too expensive."
"No, I know somebody, I got it at retail."
"But even at retail,"
"Sam, thank the lady nicely." Jack stood behind her.
Sam reached down to hug her. "Veronica, thank you, it's beautiful, I love the color."
"Hold it up, see, I knew that color would suit you. Damn, I'd love to be able to wear pastel but I look like a week-old corpse when I try."
"Oh, I don't know," Sam held it up to her, then shook her head."You're right, it looks.."
"Awful." She spied Jack's pained expression. "General, why do I not have a drink in my hand?"
"Coming right up, and tonight, it's Jack, okay?"
"Okay, Jack, you know what I like?"
"Do I ever?" He waggled his brows.
"God, you men are all alike, so pathetic."
Jack found out three things about Veronica that night. That she could probably drink any man in the place, including him, on his ass. That she could sing like nobody's business; she knew every word to every song that had ever been recorded. It didn't matter what type of music was playing, rock, pop, oldies, she knew the words. And she had a winning way with people. He had seen her dancing with Teal'c (and that was a picture he would never forget, who knew T could move like that?) and, of all people, Siler! She had even persuaded Daniel to dance with her, over his vehement protests.
"Listen, anybody can slow dance. Okay, put your hand here." She squinted up at him. "Are you drunk?"
"No." He replied shortly.
"Okay, maybe I am, cause you're not supposed to have your hand on my ass." She giggled as he tried to jump away from her.
"God, can't you take a joke? Okay, your hand stays here, and we just kinda walk in circles."
Daniel was very much afraid that if she walked in many circles, she was just going to fall over. "Veronica?"
"Hmm?"
"How much have you had to drink?"
She leaned back to smile up at him. "Not nearly enough. Do you know, you are very tall?"
Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm not. You're very short."
She seemed to study that seriously. "Okay." She slid her arms around his waist, fitting her head nicely under his chin. He had no choice but to slide his around her back. "See this works very well, don't you think?"
"Veronica, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, kid."
His eyebrow shot up. "Kid? I think I'm older than you."
"Nope, I'm three years older than you. Kid." She smirked. "So?"
"So what?"
"You were gonna ask me a question. Don't try to mess with me, I'm not that drunk. At least not yet." How much more could she drink, he wondered. If she and Jack were in a contest, Daniel wasn't entirely sure he'd bet on Jack. "Daniel?"
"Yeah."
"Are you trying to confuse me?"
"What? Oh, no." He paused. "I was just going to ask you what perfume you're wearing." He knew that scent, from somewhere.
"Chanel #5. It's my favorite." She held her wrist up to his face.
"You like?"
He sniffed obediently. And felt the bottom drop out of his world. "Yes," he managed to say. "It," he took a deep breath. "My mother wore that. Just for a moment there.."
She stopped moving and leaned back to look at him. Daniel kept his arms firmly around her waist; he told himself it was to keep her from falling, but the truth was, he just needed to hold onto something, someone. "God, Daniel, I..."
Looking down at her, he saw the compassion in her eyes. "I need to..." She just managed to grab the back of his shirt as he charged away and let herself be dragged onto the back deck. Thankfully, it was deserted. He took several deep breaths. "Sorry, I just had to get out of there. To clear my head."
She sank into one of the chairs. The fresh air was having the opposite effect on her that it was having on Daniel. She tried to gather her thoughts. "Daniel, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
"How could you? But just for a second, it was like she was.."
"Here?"
"Yeah," he leaned on the railing and looked up at the stars. When he was a kid, he liked to think that's where they were. Up there on some star, looking down on him. He sighed. Then he felt Veronica slide her arms around him, press herself into his back.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No," he whispered.
"Okay, wanna get drunk?" She felt what might have been a bark of laughter.
"As tempting as that sounds, no, my doctor would have my head if I did."
"Okay, so you can watch me get drunk. That's usually good for a laugh or two." They stood like that for a few minutes. "Daniel?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the ladder go?" She slid around him and walked around the deck.
He turned so that his back was leaning on the railing. "On the roof, Jack's got a telescope."
"Really?" He winced at the eagerness in her voice.
"Yes. No. You're not going up there. You'd probably fall off and break your neck."
"Please?" She drew the word out into several syllables that ended in a distinct whine.
"No!" He said firmly.
"Party pooper." Daniel managed to grab her as she darted toward the ladder, easily lifting her off her feet.
He hauled her back toward the door; she was very likely to try the ladder the moment his back was turned. "Oh, God, let's go back inside. Contrary to popular opinion, I am not a party pooper." Those last words were uttered in Jack's kitchen as he shoved her, still protesting, back in.
"Daniel?"
He turned to see Jack getting himself another beer. God, how did these people do it, Daniel wondered. And he spitefully hoped they all had terrible heads in the morning. Veronica buzzed past him.
"Little girl's room?" She looked at Jack, pleadingly.
"Down the hall, last door on the left. Daniel, what did you do to her?"
"What makes you think I did anything?" His dark mood mysteriously gone, he grinned at Jack.
Veronica ran into Sam as she fought her way down the hall. "Bathroom?" Where did Jack say it was anyway?
"Oh, that one's occupied." Veronica bit her lip. Sam took her arm.
"Come on, I know where there's another one." She led Veronica into Jack's bedroom and pointed out the master bath.
"Thank God!" Veronica dived for the door.
Sam sat on Jack's bed and waited for her to come back out.
"Whew! That feels so much better. Okay, let's go!"
"Veronica, don't you think you've had enough."
"No, see I hadn't intended to get shit-faced drunk tonight. Just, you know, happy drunk. But now I have to." She had such a forlorn look on her face that Sam patted the bed beside her. Veronica sat obediently and immediately leaned her head on Sam.
"I really have to get very drunk. And it's all Daniel's fault."
"Daniel?"
"Evidently, I remind him of his mother."
Sam giggled. "That's just...wrong."
"I don't really have a good track record with guys. My ex let me know how..inadequate I was." Sam could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
"Why do we let guys do that to us? Here we are two attractive, professional women and we still let this happen." She leaped up and Veronica just stopped herself from falling flat on her face. "Do you know, I actually had a guy call me a dumb blonde to my face?"
"Did you kill him?" Veronica's eyes widened in shock.
"No, actually, Daniel," Sam smiled with relish. "Daniel got him transferred to Russia."
"Daniel again. See, I've gotta get drunk now."
"Veronica, you're not driving home, are you?"
"No, gave my keys to...no, let me think, I remember. Blue eyes, oh, yeah, baby blue!"
She sighed. "Dammit, I wonder if there's any whiskey left?" She bounced up off the bed and stopped at the door. "Well, Samantha, are you coming?" Sam shrugged and followed her out the door.
There were very few people left when Jack stepped over Sam and Veronica huddled together on the stairs. "And then he said..wait for it, you're just gonna die. He said," spying Jack, she leaned over and whispered in Sam's ear.
Sam shrieked. "No, he didn't!"
"Swear to God, he did!"
"Ladies, isn't it past your bedtime?" They both looked at him momentarily before breaking into gales of laughter. Jack shook his head as he headed into the kitchen. With a devilish grin, he spotted Daniel standing by the fireplace, watching the two women with an expression Jack could only describe as equal parts of fear and fascination. Jack knew just who was getting saddled with that pair.
Daniel had no idea how he had ended up with two women who were giggling like teen-agers. Sam had decided that Veronica would be better off staying with her. Of course, Daniel had to help Sam get her into her house. She was still walking. Just barely. He wondered if it wouldn't just be easier to carry her in, than try to help her walk. And he wondered how Teal'c did this so often; since he didn't drink at all, he always ended up driving a bunch of drunks home.
"Daniel?"
"Yes, Veronica." He held her as Sam unlocked the door.
"Down the hall, Daniel, if you'll dump her on the bed, I'll take it from there."
He took Sam at her word and let Veronica drop on the bed. "Are you two going to be alright?"
"I don't know about her, but I think I'll survive."
"Daniel." He crouched in front of Veronica as she slowly sat up. "Don't forget your meds." And promptly fell back down on the bed.
He stood up. "And on that note, I'll say good night." Sam walked him back out to the door. He leaned over to kiss her cheek.
"Happy birthday, Sam."
"Thanks, Daniel. Take care, see ya tomorrow."
He turned as he walked away. "You mean today."
"Oh, God," she groaned as she locked the door, watching Daniel drive away. With a sigh, she walked back down the hall.
Veronica was lying on the bed with a dazed expression on her face. "Okay, let's get you into bed, Veronica."
A few hours later, Sam groaned as the alarm shouted viciously in her ear. "God, no," she moaned as she reached over to shut it off. She slowly sat up, hoping her head wouldn't fall off. And realized that she smelled coffee. "What the?" She slid out of bed and followed the scent to the kitchen.
"Morning, Sam." Veronica was perched on a stool at the island, wearing one of Sam's robes, sleeves rolled up more than once and a towel around her head. "Did I wake you?"
"Alarm," she mumbled.
Veronica smiled. "Sit down, I'll get you a cup of coffee."
"Coffee?" Sam could have wept.
Veronica poured a cup and set it in front of her. "Can I fix you anything to eat?"
Sam grimaced. "Eat? How can you?" As the coffee finally sank in, she peered at Veronica, who was happily munching on toast.
"How..how can you be so damn cheerful? I saw you last night, Daniel poured you into bed. I saw you?" She repeated.
"Got a head like a rock, Granddad always said. He was Irish, you know, we're famed for being drinkers."
"I've heard." Sam slowly came to life. "So last night, did you get, how did you so colorfully put it? Shit-faced drunk?"
"Oh, yeah, that's the drunkest I've been in a very long time. As long as I don't do it very often, I'm okay. How are you?"
"Well, the coffee helps. After a shower, I might resemble something alive."
"You look like you stepped out a magazine right now."
Sam blinked. "Are you kidding?" She could see Veronica wasn't.
"You always look so great. All nice and neat and..and pressed."
"Pressed?" Sam wasn't sure that was a compliment.
"I hate ironing, so I always try to buy stuff you can just yank off the hanger."
Sam drained her cup. "And you always look like something from a movie set. Perfect hair, perfect make-up."
Veronica laughed. "Not right now, I don't. And unless I find the keys to my car and fetch my purse, I will look like something from a movie set. Frankenstein's Bride."
"Daniel still has your keys, although he did bring your purse. It's in the guest room."
Veronica quirked an eyebrow at her. "He's very conscientious."
"Okay, I guess that will have to do. I can always grab some clothes at the base."
Sam looked at the clock. "Speaking of Daniel, he's picking us up so we can get our cars. I'd better hit the shower."
Veronica frowned, then ran for her purse. She dressed hastily and set about trying to fix her hair. Without a dryer, a flat iron and multiple products, the best she could hope for was braiding it before it dried. Looking in the mirror, she sighed in relief. It was still pretty damp; maybe she wouldn't have to re-wet it. She quickly braided it and then set to work with her make-up. When Daniel rang the door fifteen minutes later, he was chiding himself for hoping the ringing was loud and annoying. He was disappointed when Veronica opened the door with a smile. And looked like the movie set product that Sam had accused her of being, even if she was wearing last night's clothes. Her hair was tightly braided away from a perfectly made-up face. Her eyes didn't even look blood-shot.
She smiled broadly as she stepped aside. "Good morning, Daniel. Sam's not quite ready, would you like some coffee?"
"Oh, um, yeah, sure." He followed her down the hall, with a puzzled expression on his face. She caught him staring at her as she handed him his coffee.
"Something wrong?"
"Forgive me if this seems to be a bit personal. But you look pretty good for someone who put away a hell of a lot of whiskey," he looked at his watch, "a very few hours ago."
Veronica topped off her cup. "Hard head. Irish roots. Works every time. And never, ever, ever mix your poison. Changing off is," she rolled her eyes, "dangerous."
"I would have said drinking as much as you drank last night was dangerous."
She peered at him over her cup, flipping her lashes. "Do I look dangerous to you?"
"Oh, yes." He murmured before he could stop himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Good coffee," he sipped. "Actually, excellent coffee." He took another drink. "Wow, that really is good."
"It's coffee, Daniel, you put it in there, add water and cook it. How hard can it be to make good coffee?"
"Have you had the coffee at the base?"
"In the commissary? Wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole."
Daniel looked up gratefully as Sam walked into the kitchen. "Sam, good morning, how are you?"
"Awful."
Daniel tried not to smile. "I spoke to Jack this morning. He sounded a bit rough, too." He glanced at his watch. "Hadn't we better move if you girls are gonna pick up your cars?"
Daniel tried to tune out the conversation, he really did. They had both climbed into the back seat of his SUV and had their heads together.
"So he said you were.."
"Inadequate. Yeah, that was the very word he used."
"I hope you killed him. Or worse." Daniel didn't want to know what Sam thought was worse than murder.
"Nah, after I kicked his ass out, I sold his collection of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. I kept telling him, half the stuff in there wasn't even real. Plastic, brother, plastic." Daniel choked.
Sam smothered a laugh. "Maybe we should change the subject, I think we're embarrassing Daniel."
He glanced at Sam through the rearview mirror. "Oh, no, you're not. I love to hear women talk about their..romantic history and," he stopped. No way was he going down that road. He turned onto Jack's street with overwhelming gratitude and pulled into the drive. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Veronica's keys.
"I don't see your truck."
"Oh, I left the tank at home. That one's mine." She pointed toward a very small, very bright red car. She smiled up at him as she slipped on sunglasses. "Thanks, Daniel, you're a pal." He sat there and watched as she and Sam walked to their cars.
In the next few days, he was Earth-bound, the black eye was healing nicely, thank you very much; and Daniel tried to avoid Veronica as often as possible. He was pretty sure you didn't impress a girl by telling her she reminded you of your mother. So he was dragging his feet as he headed to her office for a final check of his vision.
"Hey, Dr. Jackson, that looks a lot better."
He fingered his cheek, self-consciously. "Thanks, Margaret." As much time as he spent in here, he was on first name basis with the entire medical staff. "Just here for my last check-up."
"Have a seat. Dr. Forest just finished sewing up a cut, as soon as she's cleaned up, she'll be ready for you."
Actually, Veronica was piddling around, trying to put off seeing Daniel. She had heard the conversation between him and the nurse; those curtains were only fabric, after all. She realized Daniel had been avoiding her, and she concluded that it was because she was making him uncomfortable. Not a good thing for a doctor-patient relationship, she mused as she moved the instrument tray back to the table. Her foot slipping, she dropped the tray and the instruments went flying. That's when she made the mistake that not even a first-year medical student would have made. She tried to catch them. And ended up with a pair of extremely sharp scissors firmly jammed in her hand.
And that's when she made the second mistake. She jerked them out. "Shit!"
Daniel leapt up from his chair and pulled the curtain back to see Veronica standing there, scissors in one hand, the other hand streaming blood. "God!" He grabbed a sheet that was folded on the bed, ready to be re-made. "Margaret! Margaret! We need some help here!"
He heaved her onto the bed. Margaret came running in what seemed like hours later, but Daniel knew it was only seconds.
"Damn, what happened?"
"Dropped the tray, tried to.."
"Bad?" Margaret looked at Daniel.
"Oh, yeah, it was shooting all over the place."
"Hold this right here," Margaret pushed Daniel's hand down.
"Hard, as hard as you can hold it. I've got to page a doctor."
Veronica tried to get up, since his hands were busying trying to keep her from bleeding to death, he held her down the only way he knew how. He sat on her. "You're not going anywhere."
"Just a little cut. Stick a Band-Aid on it."
"I could have sworn that was blood squirting out of you." Daniel was relieved when Margaret came flying back with what seemed like the cavalry.
"Kiss my ass, Dr. Jackson." She snarled.
"That's the best offer I've had all day." Her next suggestion was offered through clenched teeth as someone gave her a shot. "I think that's physically impossible." He felt her start to relax underneath him.
"We've got her, Dr. Jackson."
Daniel stepped back, getting out of their way. Looking down, he realized he was wearing quite a bit of her blood. "She is going to be okay?"
"Yeah, she lost a bit but if you're gonna cut yourself, a hospital's the best place to do it."
Margaret glanced over. "Corpsman, get him cleaned up, make sure all that blood's hers. She might have taken a bite out of him."
Daniel allowed himself to be led to the showers.
The next day, Daniel was sitting in his truck outside Veronica's house, wondering what he was doing. He knew she was fine, that she had seven stitches in her hand and three more in the vein. If her light wasn't on, he was just going to keep driving. But it was, so he stopped.
Thinking this was probably a very bad idea, he rang her doorbell. And just stared when she answered the door. Standing there in sweats and sock footed, he was struck with the ridiculous thought of how tiny she really was. Without shoes or all the make-up, she looked like a teenager.
"Daniel?"
"Oh, sorry, just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing."
"I'm fine, it was just a little cut."
"Just split a vein wide open, blood spurting all over the place."
She opened the door wider. "Come on, have some coffee, then leave me the hell alone."
He frowned, then pointed behind him. "I'll just leave. Sorry."
"Whatever." She turned and left him in the hallway.
Telling himself he was a fool, he shut the door and followed her through the house. And it was a very nice house, old with big doorways and big windows. The kitchen took up the entire back of the house, windows opening into a shady backyard. Veronica was planted at a little table in front of those windows. Daniel picked up the cup of coffee she had poured and joined her. And tried again. "I was just worried about you. I didn't mean to intrude."
She sighed. "Not your fault. Sorry, I'm always homicidal when I'm forced into inactivity."
"Oh," Daniel sipped, then his eyes widened. "Ohhh." He scooted his chair back.
Veronica burst out laughing. "What is it about men? It's not contagious, although it can be dangerous."
Daniel was still eyeing her cautiously. She was still laughing. "God, you're so predictable. My ex, well, he tried to bait me once when I was home with the flu. That is, until I threw a baseball through a window. Of course, it was an autographed baseball and the window was in his office."
"He baited you?" She nodded. "What an idiot."
"Yeah, well, if he'd been smart, he'd have kept me."
"Was he the one," Daniel stopped.
"Who called me inadequate? Yeah, that was him. I should have kicked him out a long time before I did. So, I was an idiot, too."
She got up to refill their coffee cups. "I'm sorry, I didn't offer you anything to eat. I was about to cook breakfast, want some?"
Daniel glanced at his watch. "You do know it's night-time, don't you?"
"You've never had breakfast for dinner? What a deprived life you've led. Having breakfast for dinner is an old southern tradition."
He watched as she awkwardly peeled and grated potatoes. "Onions?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you like onions in your hashbrowns? I do."
"Sure, why not? You know, I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone do that."
"Fix breakfast?"
"Use real potatoes."
She laughed as she took a bag of biscuits out of the freezer. "If I really wanted to impress you, I'd make these from scratch." She arranged them on a pan and popped them in the oven.
"Scratch?"
She stopped. "Don't tell me you've never had a homemade biscuit?"
"Okay, I won't." He grinned.
Daniel leaned back from the table. "God, that was good."
"Glad you liked it." She got up to clear the table and Daniel automatically rose. "No, don't. I'm just gonna put stuff away. I'll clean it up later."
They ended up in a room she called a den. The furniture was big and comfortable, the fire warm and inviting. Jack would have loved the huge entertainment center with an equally huge television. She curled up in a chair and sipped her coffee.
"So when are coming back to work?"
She quirked an eyebrow. "Why? Plan on getting hurt again?"
He shook his head. "I never actually plan on it, it just kinda happens."
"I know, I read your file." She stared at him. "You know, realistically, you shouldn't even be sitting here right now."
He ruffled his hair. "I try not to think about that. Kind of hard not to, really."
"So, how does your family feel about your disappearing acts?"
His face froze. "Jack and Sam and Teal'c are my family."
"But you don't have any parents, brothers, sisters, aunts? Nothing?"
"No."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it's none of my business."
"It's okay." He shifted in his seat. "So what about you? Family?"
"Tons of them. Four sisters, two brothers."
"Then there were.."
"Seven of us, yeah. We wanted to take over the world, but we couldn't agree on who was gonna be President." He laughed. "We moved a lot, my dad was military. Air Force."
"He must be loving this, then."
"Oh, yes, when I called and told him I was working for the Air Force, you would have thought I'd cured cancer or something."
"So, they live around here?"
"Florida. My brothers are in Kentucky, near our grandparents, two sisters in Ohio, one in California and one in London."
"England?"
"I believe that's the name of the country. She's into fashion, helps me pick out my clothes."
"May I say she does a good job?"
Veronica looked down at her sweats. "If she saw me like this, she'd take my platinum card away from me."
"So are you close?"
"Oh, yes, although when we all get together, it's kinda like a riot. What with the in-laws and kids."
Daniel couldn't imagine it. And said so.
"They're all planning on coming out here for the Fourth of July, you'll have to come over. I advise massive amounts of liquor, though."
Daniel realized he had been there for two hours. And he had only meant to stay for a minute. But Veronica had talked and he had listened. She had moved from the chair to curl up in the corner of the big sofa. "I didn't mean to stay this long. Sorry."
She rolled her head back to face him, her face landing very close to his. "That's okay, if I'd wanted you to leave, I'd have kicked you out a long time ago."
He stared at her, trying to read her thoughts. She turned her head, knowing she was too damn easy to read. "Daniel, we can't do this," she whispered.
"Why not?"
"Because it's against regulations."
"We're not in the Air Force."
"Okay, it's against my regulations." He quirked an eyebrow. "Because it would be unethical for me to be your doctor if we were lovers."
"That's putting it bluntly."
"Isn't that where this is headed?"
"God, I hope so!" She laughed at his tone despite herself, allowing her head to drop on his shoulder.
"Listen, why don't we try something first." He leaned over and kissed her. Gently at first, then with increasing passion. They ended up lying on the sofa. "Okay, maybe that was a bad idea."
Her hands were in his hair. "You think?" She pulled his mouth back to hers.
"Oh, yes," he muttered when he could breathe again. "A very bad idea." They stared at each other. "So now what do we do?"
She sighed. "I'll resign."
"You can't do that!"
"One of us has to, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right. I'm not sneaking around with you like, like I'm ashamed of it, cause I'm not."
"I don't want you to resign."
"Daniel, I'm a doctor, it's not like I can't find another job. And you can't resign. You are the franchise."
"Huh?"
"I take it you don't watch sports."
"Only when forced." He rested his forehead on hers. "Let me talk to Jack."
"Are you sure?"
He kissed her again. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure."
Daniel fiddled with his pen all the way through the briefing. When it was finally over, he followed Jack into his office. "Got a minute?"
"Sure, Daniel." His eyebrows shot up when Daniel shut the door behind him then walked over to shut the other one. "I take it this is serious."
"Very." Daniel bit his lip.
Jack threw his pen down. "Okay, I'm all yours."
"Veronica and I are...seeing each other." He blurted it out.
Jack stared, shocked. "You're what?"
"Dating, seeing each other," Daniel leaped to his feet. "I hope I don't have to draw you a picture?"
Jack threw his hands up. "No, please don't."
"Jack, I know it's against regulations. And Veronica says it's against medical..ethics for her to continue to treat me if we..." God, he couldn't say it, not even to Jack.
"So you're not?"
"No!" Daniel stopped, then covered his face with his hands. "Do you know how hard this is for me?"
"Me? I'm enjoying it."
Daniel dropped his hands. "Are you nuts?"
"Daniel, calm down. I'm not going to forbid you to see her, just advise you to think about this. This is your friend talking to you, here, not your commander. What happens if this doesn't work out?"
"Veronica wants to resign. She says I'm the, how did she put it, the franchise?"
Jack grinned. "I knew I'd like that girl. Daniel, if she wants to resign, I can't stop her. I'd hate for her to do that, but I'll understand if she has to. As long as you keep your personal relationship out of Air Force business, I don't care. But, if it starts to intrude in your job or hers, we're gonna have to look at it again, seriously. How's that?"
Daniel considered. "That's fair, thanks, Jack," he jumped up and headed for the door.
"Daniel?"
He had the knob in his hand and turned. "Jack?" Daniel was surprised to see the serious expression.
"Does she make you happy?"
Jack realized he hadn't seen Daniel smile like that in ages. "She does."
Later that day, Jack slipped away from his office, hoping to catch Veronica in the infirmary. His knock at her office door was answered by her "Come in." When she glanced up and saw that it was Jack, she leaped to her feet. "Relax, Dr. Forest, got a minute?"
"Certainly," she waved him to the only other chair in the cramped room.
"Daniel came to talk to me. And I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told him, as long as you both do your jobs while you are on this base, I don't give a damn what you do off-base. That's General O'Neill talking. Now, this is Daniel's best pal talking. Don't hurt him."
"Do you think I would do that?" Her eyes were eloquent with distress.
"If he loves you, you can hurt him. And I'm just saying, I've been around when he's had to put himself back together too many times. I don't want to have to help him pick up the pieces again. Ever."
"I don't want to resign, but if it comes down to it, if it has to be me or him, it has to be me. I understand that."
He rose. "You're a good doctor, Veronica, and I'd hate to lose you. But if it's you or him, I'm picking him."
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