DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, Showtime, Gekko etc.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Pushing Through
By Elfcat255
Staring at the coffee maker as it began to brew, Sam Carter let out a heavy sigh. She sat with her chin propped in her hand, elbow resting on a knee as she stared at the machine, trying to will it into brewing its liquid gold at a faster pace. Even though she knew drinking more coffee right now probably wasn't the best thing her body needed at the moment, it was all that had kept her going for the last three days.
Rubbing her free hand across her face, she suppressed a yawn and sat up straighter on the stool. Stretching her arms above her head she tried to get the blood pumping to her brain again. Her task at hand needed to be finished before she could even think about resting her tired body. The last sounds of coffee gurgling in the maker made her rise from the stool and take a step towards the machine. Just as she was about to grab the pot's handle, the sound of a throat being cleared came from behind her.
She turned around to find she had a visitor. The petite doctor leaned against the doorframe with her arms laying crossed on her chest and a questioning look on her face. "Have you been here all weekend?" she asked the blonde Major.
"No, I invented a transporter and beamed myself home for a couple of hours on Sunday," Sam replied, a little on the wry side but she gave her lover a tired smile.
Janet snorted a laugh and moved into the room where she took a seat on an empty stool. Sam continued with her task of making a fresh cup of coffee and gestured towards another cup, asking the doctor if she wanted any. Janet shook her head and spoke, "No, I've reached my limit for the day."
Shrugging her shoulders, Sam sat back down on the stool in front of her computer and began typing. Janet watched as a grimace formed on the blonde's face as she rotated her neck slowly. Standing up, the doctor moved closer to her lover until she could place her hands on the woman's shoulders. Janet made a tsking noise as she felt the mass of bunched muscle at the base of Sam's neck. Digging her fingers into the knots, she tried to alleviate some of the discomfort Sam was feeling.
Sam groaned and let her head slump forward as the doctor's skilled fingers massaged her aching neck. "If you don't stop, I'll fall asleep, and I have work to finish still," the blonde mumbled.
Moving her hands from the neck to the shoulders, Janet leaned forward and whispered in Sam's ear, "What if that's my plan?"
Shrugging her shoulders out from under the doctor's hands, Sam scooted the stool closer to the table. Janet gave an exasperated sigh and remarked, "Seriously, Samantha, you need to get some rest and probably eat something solid. Don't make me play the doctor card."
Glancing over her shoulder at her lover, Sam replied, "You can try but I've had way too much caffeine to even slow down and for your information, I have eaten." She pointed towards a corner table where a couple of trays with empty dishes sat.
Janet turned to look where the finger pointed and saw the trays. Shaking her head she scolded the blonde, "Sandwiches and jell-o are not what I'm talking about; you need real food.
Swinging her body around on the stool until she faced the doctor, Sam reached out and tugged on the white lab coat Janet wore until the smaller woman stood between her legs. She looked up into the worried face of her lover and spoke softly, "I promise to get some real food and then sleep just as soon as this last simulation is finished running."
Looking into tired but sincere blue eyes, the doctor sighed. She reached a hand up and let her fingers trace the side of Sam's face then cupped her lover's chin. "Fine, but if I come back in a couple of hours to find you still hunched over this computer, I will drag you out of this lab and to the infirmary," Janet informed her in a serious tone.
"Deal," replied Sam as she tugged Janet down and placed a kiss on her nose. Letting the doctor stand up straight she then added, "I should be done in half an hour, though."
"I'll hold you to that. Now, I need to get back to work," Janet said, moving out from the blonde's grip and walking towards the door. Stopping in the doorway, she turned to watch as Sam swiveled back around and began typing. With a shake of her head, the doctor stood there for a few seconds and then left for the infirmary.
Half an hour later, the coffee in the cup sitting beside the computer terminal had grown cold and Sam fought to keep her eyes open while trying to get the power fluctuations in her new invention to level out. The new version of portable naquada generator she'd worked on all weekend would greatly assist in many off world missions when a power source was needed by a team. With a shake of her head trying to clear the cobwebs, she blinked her eyes several times and the monitor's screen popped back into focus. Her fingers fumbled over the keyboard as she input a new series of numbers and she cursed under her breath, deleting them and re-typing the sequence. Once the correct numbers were keyed in, she held her breath and waited to see if this solved the fluctuation problem.
A series of green lights and a welcomed beep as the new numbers corrected the problem was her reward. With a triumphant pump of her fist, she quickly saved the changes to the new program and rose from the stool. Stretching her body, causing a myriad of popping and clicking noises to sound she breathed a deep breath; now that the problem was solved she could go collapse in a corner somewhere and sleep for awhile. With a broad smile at her triumph, the blonde Major reached to turn off her computer just as the warning claxon rang out. Walter's voice announced unscheduled gate activation and Sam's shoulders slumped as she let out a groan as she turned away from the table and took off at a brisk jog out of her lab, towards the elevator.
"Please let this just be a team coming back early," she grumbled as she swiped her key card through the reader. The elevator doors opened and she stepped in, on her way to discover what was going on.
Meanwhile in the infirmary, Janet was busy admonishing Sgt. Siler for what seemed like the millionth time. "Sergeant, now I know why you joined the armed services," she said in a playful tone.
"How so, Ma'am," the man said with a nasally tone, because of the bandage plastered across his nose.
"Free health care," she joked.
A blush spread across his cheeks and he replied, "Funny, Ma'am."
"Now, you rest here until I'm sure the bleeding has stopped. Keep that cold compress on it until I tell you otherwise," she ordered, flashing him a smile.
She turned to walk away from him and the claxon rang out. Stopping she listened to the voice announce the gate activation and with a nod to one of her nurses, motioned that she would be in her office if needed. Walking towards the office, she hoped it was nothing that called for SG-1 to gate out, because there was no way she'd allow Sam to leave, not with her having had no rest all weekend.
Half an hour later, the members of SG-1 filed into the infirmary for pre-mission check-ups and Janet walked out of her office. Motioning for the men to follow Dr. Warner, she pointed towards a screened off bed and Sam moved towards it with the doctor close behind. Once behind the screen, Janet took in her lover's appearance. The tall blonde looked like death warmed over, and this wasn't a medical opinion, it was fact. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes and appeared to be moving in slow motion as she began removing her shirt.
"You can stop doing that," Janet informed her. "There is no way I'm clearing you for gate travel, Samantha."
The blonde's eyes widened and she stuttered a reply, "But it's Dad, Janet. He's in trouble, I have to go."
"I don't care, there is no way you are capable of making clear decisions in this state," Janet said, crossing her arms across her chest and giving the taller woman a hard stare.
"I'll be fine…please, I need to help," Sam said in a begging tone. "It's my dad."
Janet watched as the blonde's face steeled over and her lips set in a hard line. It was her prepared to argue face, one that Janet was very familiar with. Several moments passed with the two of them having a silent battle of wills as they stared at one another. Finally, the doctor threw up her hands and spoke, "Fine, but I'm telling Colonel O'Neill that you've been up all weekend and are defying doctor's orders by going on this mission."
"He already knows, Janet," Sam informed her lover.
"And he is still allowing you to go?" the doctor asked in a shocked tone.
"He knows what this means to me and besides, we have to gate to a planet then catch a ride on a transport ship. I will have plenty of time to catch up on some rest," Sam told her.
Biting the corner of her lip with her teeth the small doctor thought over the new information. If it were for any other reason than to help Jacob she would put her foot down and not allow the blonde off base. Several moments passed and finally with a nod of her head Janet replied, "Very well, if that's the case then just try and be careful, please."
Sam nodded her head quickly. "Oh, I'll be careful, I promise."
"Alright then, strip and let me check you over," the doctor ordered and Sam quickly disrobed.
Four days later, Janet sat behind her desk, working on reports when the claxon went off and she jumped up, nearly spilling a cup of coffee with her movement as folders went flying. Ignoring the mess, she rushed from her office, through the infirmary and towards the elevator. There had been no word from SG-1 other than them checking in to say they'd met the transport, but after that, nothing. The elevator doors opened and she quickly jogged towards the control booth as the bright light of the gate's horizon washed over the room. Coming to a stop near one of the many large consoles, she was in time to witness the members of SG-1 come through the gate.
Colonel O'Neill led the way, looking quite the worse for wear, with Teal'c and Daniel following. They walked down the ramp with Sam supported between them; all appeared to be in the same condition except for the large Jaffa. Reacting quickly, Janet grabbed the nearest phone and ordered a medical team to the gate room. She then rushed out of the control booth and down to the gate room to find out the extent of Sam's injuries.
The blast doors opened after the gate closed and the small doctor strode purposefully into the room but before she could ask any questions O'Neill held up a hand forestalling her.
"Now, Doc, we're all okay, just a little on the ragged side," he told her.
"I'll be the judge of that, Colonel," Janet commented as she brushed past him, heading for Sam who now sat on the end of the ramp.
The doctor heard the man mutter something about overbearing doctors as she knelt before the blonde. "Are you injured?" she asked.
Sam gave her a tired smile. "No, I'm fine, Janet."
Taking in the blonde's appearance Janet shook her head. If anything the circles under her eyes were darker and Sam's face had taken on a gaunt look. Her lover was covered from head to toe in dirt and caked mud. Before Janet could say anything else the med team rushed into the gate room and she stood up. "Take Major Carter to the infirmary and begin a standard blood panel," she ordered. Turning to the rest of the team she pointed towards the doors. "I suggest if you don't want to ride on a gurney that you start walking, gentlemen," she told them.
O'Neill glanced at Daniel and said in a low voice, "Kind of pushy today, isn't she?"
"Just go, Jack, or do you really want to test her," the archeologist said with a sigh.
"Fine," he replied to Daniel and then turned back to face Janet. "Okay, Doc, we'll meet you in the infirmary," O'Neill said to her and motioned for the other two men to follow him.
"I can walk to the infirmary, too, Janet," Sam spoke up as one of the nurses helped her onto the gurney.
"Don't argue with me, Major," Janet told the stubborn woman.
Sam began to say something and then stopped when Janet glared at her. Snapping her mouth shut she lay down on the gurney, letting the med team take her to the infirmary as Janet followed after them.
Laying on a bed in a screened off corner of the infirmary, Sam waited for Janet to finish with the guys. One of the nurses had poked her full of holes drawing blood and after that let her change out of her grungy uniform into a set of scrubs. Then they had stuck an IV line in her arm, pumping her full of fluids. Now she lay here getting ready to take the dressing down she was sure the small doctor was going to give her. There was much she needed to talk with Janet about, mainly trying to explain what had happened during the mission but now that she was finally lying still, exhaustion was catching up with her and she felt her eyes closing. She tried to fight it but to no avail, her body succumbed to the warmth of the infirmary and the softness of the pillow under her head.
Sometime later, Janet finished with the men's exams and now could concentrate on her lover. Colonel O'Neill had told her about the ordeal Sam went through and even though she had been prepared to let the blonde have an earful, the blood tests she'd just glanced over showed that Sam was dehydrated and anemic. There was also a trace of something she couldn't name but she assumed it was the remains of the drink Sokar had poured down her throat. Slipping behind the curtain, Janet opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she saw the blonde sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball with an extra pillow gripped in her arms.
Walking quietly to the edge of the bed, Janet reached out and smoothed out a lock of dirty hair that was sticking up. She took the blanket that the blonde had pushed away and pulled it back up, until the sleeping woman was completely covered. Sitting down in the nearby chair she propped her chin up and settled down to wait until Sam woke up. If there was anything her lover needed right now it was sleep, everything else could wait.
Several times nurses had stuck their heads through the slits in the curtain and Janet would motion for them to go away. Finally, she rose from the chair and slipped out from behind the curtain to tell them that unless someone was in immediate danger of dying, not to disturb her. She walked quickly to her office, where she grabbed a bundle of folders then returned to Sam's bedside. At least she could try to get some work finished while the blonde slept.
A few hours into her vigil there came a noise from the bed. Janet laid the pen in her hand down and leaned in closer to hear Sam making whimpering noises in her sleep. Moving the folders from her lap she stood up beside the bed and witnessed the blonde's muscles twitching in spasms, soft groans and more whimpering came from her lips. Placing a hand on her lover's forehead, Janet smoothed back the sweaty bangs and made a soothing noise. Whatever the chemical had been in Sam's system now seemed to be working its way out but it appeared it was causing discomfort. Checking the blonde's pulse and not liking what she felt, Janet called for a nurse to bring a sedative. The called for nurse appeared and handed the doctor a shot. She quickly administered it and waited a few minutes, re-checking Sam's pulse. The doctor was relieved to note the sedative was working, her lover's pulse slowed and the twitching ceased.
Dismissing the nurse, Janet decided to break the biggest rule they had. Other than the occasional kiss or soft touch stolen during quiet moments, the two women tended to leave all personal relations at home. Work was for work, not fooling around but at this moment the doctor felt it was what Sam needed, just being held would help her sleep better Janet thought.
Climbing into the bed beside the blonde, Janet gathered her lover in her arms and held her close. Sam came to for just a few seconds, long enough to look up into the doctor's eyes. She gave Janet a tired smile. "Hi," she said, her voice sounding scratchy. "Are you mad at me?" the blonde asked her lover.
"No, I'm not mad," Janet told her. "Jack explained everything."
"We saved Dad," Sam stated in a smug but tired voice.
"I know this. Now, go back to sleep. It's the best thing for you right now, sweetie," Janet ordered but smiled warmly at the woman in her arms. Bending down some she placed a soft kiss on Sam's forehead as her lover snuggled closer to her smaller body and her breathing slowed as she drifted back to sleep.
Janet pulled the blanket up around them and settling down, she rested her chin on Sam's head. It had been a long four days and now that she had the woman she loved in her arms, she could rest also.
The End