Teal'c Lurks
Teal'c Lurks
by Laura Y
TITLE: Teal'c Lurks
AUTHOR: Laura Y
EMAIL: mrdrdoc@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Humor, POV
PAIRING: Sam/Jack
SPOILERS: D&C
SEASON / SEQUEL: 4
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: none
SUMMARY: Teal'c confronts Janet Fraiser with a few questions about some friends of theirs.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks to Treena for beta-reading this one for me, it needed it. Obviously, Janet rocks, so I hope I did her justice.
I don't know why he came to me. Maybe because I am their friend, maybe because I am a woman. More likely it was because the two of us had witnessed something that we shouldn't have. Had I known beforehand what our conversation would entail, I'd have made myself scarce. When that large silhouette appeared in the doorway, I would have made sure that I was somewhere else. Anywhere else.
"Doctor Fraiser."
Actually I didn't even see his silhouette in the doorway, I was so involved in finishing up Sergeant Randall's chart. I held up my hand when I heard my name, I only had one last entry to make. And I knew by the tone of voice that it was not an emergency, as it so often seemed to be around the SGC. Of course, even in an emergency, Teal'c's voice is pretty much the same as it always is, but I know him well enough now that I can pick up the inflections of urgency.
"Just a minute Teal'c." I jotted the last of my notes and looked up to see him standing patiently, pun intended, by Andy Randall, studying the monitors clustered around the bed of the sleeping man. "What can I do for you?"
"Will Sergeant Randall recover?"
"He'll be fine. It was just a flesh wound." At my smile, he just cocked an eyebrow, and I sighed to myself. "He'll be fine," I repeated.
"His wound appeared to be most serious."
"Yes, it did. However, lucky for Sergeant Randall, it only appeared serious, head wounds always bleed a lot. He's going to be a lot more careful the next time he's playing roller hockey with the boys in the hallways. Honestly, you get injured enough when you're off world; I shouldn't be patching you up from incidents on base." I realized that Teal'c was only half listening to what I was saying. Don't ask me how I knew that, his attention was on me, I just knew.
"You didn't come here just to ask about Andy Randall. Is there something that you need?" As I asked, I gestured for him to follow me across the infirmary to my office, no need to wake up the sleeping patient, he'd be feeling the effects of his encounter with the concrete wall soon enough. Teal'c stood uncomfortably by the door as I moved into my office. It didn't look like he was going to speak without some prodding.
"OK, what's the problem?" So it wasn't gentle, but I usually find that the direct approach works the best, especially with the reticent ones. If you give them too long, they'll convince themselves that they don't need to ask or tell whatever it is they came to ask or tell me. I knew that Teal'c wasn't like that, I mean I can count on no fingers the number of times he has come to me for anything that he didn't have to, and I see him even less than the rest of SG-1 because his symbiote keeps him in pretty good health.
I knew that he'd ask what he had come to ask, but I didn't know when. I was about to ask again when he finally spoke. "I am having difficulty understanding something," he stopped.
"Yes?" I encouraged, leaning back against my desk.
"There are certain regulations in your military that are not very useful."
"Anything in particular?" This was like pulling teeth.
"I am referring to the procedures governing fraternization between personnel."
"Ah." Oh my. Now, I'm not a shrink, so I don't normally get these kinds of questions. If Teal'c was about to ask me about one of the women on base, I didn't know what I was going to do. "Well, you're not technically military personnel, so..."
"I am not referring to myself, " he interrupted.
"All right, then. What exactly are you confused about, and why?" Of course, when he finally came out with it, I knew why he was being so circumspect.
"I do not understand why there are rules about with whom one can and can not pursue a relationship."
"You're referring to..." As if I didn't know. I was just hoping that he wouldn't answer...
"I am referring to Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter. Why are they forbidden to openly acknowledge their feelings for each other?"
Damn. Well, that was direct. I sighed; it wasn't like I hadn't asked myself this question before. I guess I took a little too long to answer, or maybe he hadn't wanted an answer at all, because he continued.
"I have seen many instances in which the way they care for each other has been evident, situations in which one or both of them has risked his or her life for the other, beyond what is expected of them. Major Carter worked until she fell ill when O'Neill was trapped on Edorra. She would not accept that he would never return. You and I both heard their words when they were being tested as zatarcs."
"Yes, we did, Teal'c. And I agree that Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill care deeply for each other. All of you do, and I think that's why the four of you are so good, you're not just any SG team, you're a family." I envied that sometimes, because I didn't have a team of my own, but then again, the entire base was 'my team'. Of course, I felt a little closer to SG-1 than the rest of the SG teams, and not just because I saw them in the infirmary more often that anyone else.
"That is in fact the case. Daniel Jackson lost his wife and I have lost my wife and son to the Goa'uld. The SGC has become my home, and my friends in SG-1 are my family. However, as much as I feel for the other members of SG-1, it is not the same."
"You're right, Jack and Sam have a special bond. They're both military. They have a common background, similar training." What else could I say?
"Yet we have seen alternate realities in which Doctor Carter is not in the Air Force, and they are together." I felt like I was in an alternate reality, having this discussion. "Is it not counterproductive for your military to dictate whom one may love?" I felt my heart leap as he actually used the word we'd all been tiptoeing around for so long.
"Ah, well, it's not as if they actually tell you who to...care about, it's just that...well, personnel are encouraged to pursue relationships outside their immediate circle of...coworkers." Geez Janet, you can do better than that. Get a hold of yourself, this isn't high school. "The main problem is that he's her superior officer. If Jack and Sam weren't on the same team, the conflict would mostly be gone. But you know as well as I do, Teal'c, there is no way they'd split up SG-1 for the sake of their hormones." Oh, very sensitive, Doctor. It's a damn good thing that I'm not a shrink; I'd be driving my patients to suicide.
He gave me one of his looks then, the lifted eyebrow that conveys so much with such little effort. I wish that I could do that.
"Look, Sam is my best friend, and I want her to be happy. She knows the stakes, we all do. And right now, SG-1 is more important to her...to both of them, than anything else."
"As it is to me. However, would it not allow the team to function more smoothly if half of its members are not expending energy to hide something that should not be hidden? And is in fact not a secret at all?"
What could I say to that? "The military regulations are in place to prevent two people from becoming too close, so that they will not lose perspective and unduly risk themselves or any others to the detriment of the mission." Way to go, quote from the rulebook. This was the worst example of the military missing the forest for the trees. Team members, whether in love or not, routinely got 'too close'. That was the nature of the military, and especially the organization of the SGC: the small groups, the dangerous missions and the secrecy. More often than not, this worked to the benefit of everyone involved.
"I do not understand. O'Neill and Carter care deeply for each other already. They have admitted it. I have seen it, Daniel Jackson has seen it and you have seen it. If they were to celebrate their feelings openly, how would this change the team? They would not act any differently. Neither of them has ever unduly risked anyone other than themselves, and I do not believe that they would begin to do so."
"Nor do I, Teal'c. That's just the way it is. And until the regs are changed, which would take nigh on forever, or SG-1 is split up, that's the way it's going to stay. They both know this. This is their decision. They're together, even though they're nottogether." I could tell that the change in my inflection was lost on him. "They see each other every day, they work together and they socialize as friends. Maybe if that weren't the case, there would be a change in the status quo. Who knows what will happen in the future?" Well, I thought that I knew, but of course that was just wishful thinking for Sam on my part.
Teal'c looked like he'd had the same thought, as he tilted his head and thought about what I'd said. There almost seemed to be a small smile on his face when he nodded. And speak of the devil, who knocked on the doorframe and stuck his head into my office but Jack O'Neill himself.
"Hey Teal'c, we're going to O'Malley's for a beer. You coming?"
"Just a minute, Colonel, we're almost done." I almost laughed out loud at his curious statement.
"Thank you Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c graciously nodded to me.
"For what?" The Colonel was like a little kid, he had to know what was going on. Teal'c gave him a bland look and turned back to me.
"For taking the time to explain what I did not understand. I believe that I will look forward to further developments on this subject."
"As will I Teal'c, as will I." This time he definitely smiled, and I smiled back. As they left I heard O'Neill asking, "Developments? What subject?" Then I did laugh out loud. Jack was going to badger him all night, but it served Teal'c right for having brought the subject up in the first place.
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