Chapter One: The Beginning
Page Two3, July 1999 Saturday 6:24 AM Janet started the water running in her shower, firmly closing the door against the dog trying to join her.
She
shuddered, remembering vividly the last time he'd gotten inside with her.
Flashes of a wet dog dragging his sopping tail and fur through her house with a giggling Cassie right behind him took
care of any lingering guilt Janet felt when the whining began.
She hung a clean robe on the hook inside the door after tossing her pajamas into the clothes hamper.
Glancing briefly in the
mirror, her fingers glided over the small bruises now gracing her neck where small, alien hands had tried to squeeze the very life out of her body the day before.
When she'd agreed to take the
post as Chief Medical Officer for the SGC, she'd thought that viruses from other planets would be her main problem.
Annoyance grated through Janet as her mind traveled through the various
times she'd been attacked or someone had gone nuts in her infirmary.
Daniel when he was addicted to the sarcophagus, Sam when she tried to drag off two guards into the autopsy bay when she was
still infected by the Broca Virus, Rya'c when he'd been brainwashed by Apophis, and nearly countless other instances.
Each event reaffirmed Janet's decision to take out a rather large life
insurance policy for Cassie's sake…just in case.
Yesterday had been no exception.
SG-11 had brought in four humanoid refugees.
Their physiology was just different enough that she'd had
the entire infirmary staff working on them, even the new doctor.
Dr. Corvores, as dry and curt a person as she was turning out to be, had been invaluable.
Nothing they'd done, though, had
helped in time to save the first male from dying.
The second male would've lived at least another hour, she was sure, if he hadn't panicked upon seeing his comrade pass away.
He had grabbed
her, his hand wrapping around her entire neck easily, with finger-length to spare.
She had tried to remain calm, using the training Jack had given her off and on for all the years they'd known
each other, but terror had still filled her.
It must've shown in her eyes when the Colonel jumped onto the alien, prying his hand off of Janet while two security personnel pulled the other
over-sized hand from the defibrillator beside his bed in case he managed to cause an explosion or fire.
The offworlder had died abruptly with a short cry when Jack had gotten the hand from
around her neck, almost cruelly shoving the male back onto the bed.
Pulling the shower cap over her hair, now in curlers, Janet quickly stepped under the water, turning so it massaged her
spine for a few moments, recalling how the infirmary had gone silent except for the sound of machinery though activity hadn't ceased.
Daniel arrived to explain what he'd learned from the
female so they wouldn't violate the burial laws of their people unless it was just not possible.
Their world had been completely shattered by the Goa'uld and they'd been lucky to survive as
long as they had.
Orderlies had moved in, preparing the decedents under Dr. Jackson's supervision for disposal in the Gate's event horizon since there was no way to accurately recreate the
rituals and it was apparently sacrilege for any part of their bodies to ever again touch the ground.
Janet slowly stretched out her throbbing muscles, enjoying the warm water and running her
fingers along the tile inside the small shower cubicle.
The other two aliens weren't expected to recover, either, but she hadn't given up on them yet.
Extra restraints had been placed on
them per Hammond's orders after her experience and she had been ordered to go on home and let Dr. Warren finish up.
Jack had dropped by, returning her lawn mower and making sure she was okay.
She hadn't let on how nice it was to have someone over since everyone had avoided visiting lately since it just reminded them Cassie was gone.
She hadn't said a word when he'd finished
his drink and had gotten up to go. ...continue to page three
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