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Sight Unseen
by Bekah See
Chapter 9 Janet woke covered and comfortable in her infirmary, listening to the steady beeping of the monitors. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear them, and licked dry lips. A cup appeared before her, held by one Daniel Jackson. ‘Well, there are certainly worse ways to wake up,’ she thought wryly, taking a sip of water from the straw. She looked up into Daniel’s ridiculously blue eyes and smiled, feeling the familiar slight flutter in her stomach. “Hi,” she breathed.“Hi yourself.”“Where’s Sam?”“Right beside you.” He shifted so she could turn her head and see the major lying in the bed next to hers. She was pale, but her breathing was easy, and from what Janet could see, her vitals were steady. “Is she okay?”Daniel nodded, still looking at Sam. “Well, she’s pretty beat up. Actually, you both are, but everything is healing nicely. Doctor Warner says she won’t have any scarring, and that you both should make a full recovery.”Janet turned her head back and grimaced a little as it protested this slight change of direction. Daniel saw the expression. “Are you hurting? Do you want something?” He motioned to a passing nurse without waiting for an answer, and she hurried over, looking at Janet. “Doctor Frasier, are you in pain? Can I get you anything?”“What have I got now?” Janet asked.Daniel’s eyes never left her face as Frasier and the nurse exchanged information. Once the nurse had received her orders and moved away, he spoke again. “You had me worried for a while there.”“Oh? How long have we been here?” “Two days.”Janet raised her eyebrows. “Did someone go back to the village to tell them we were alright?”“Yes, and they seemed very surprised that you weren’t both dead. They were absolutely sure that some monster had gotten you, but refused to talk about it until they saw you. What in the world happened to the two of you?”“That is a long story,” Janet said sleepily. Her eyes began to drift shut, and the feeling of Daniel’s warm hand on her own sent her to oblivion. When she woke again, she saw Sam sitting up in her bed, her laptop propped on her legs. “Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”Sam looked up and smiled, closing the lid of the computer. “Hey, you. How are you feeling?”“Don’t dodge the question. Why aren’t you resting?”Sam rolled her eyes. “I am resting.”“No you’re not, you’re working.” The major opened the laptop and turned it so Janet could see. Red and black playing cards glowed in vertical rows across the screen. “Oh,” Janet said, relaxing. “Okay then. I’m feeling much better, thank you.”Sam laughed, then stopped abruptly, her hand going to her stomach. “How about you?” Janet asked, concern coloring her croaky voice.“I’ve had worse. I’ll be fine. It’s actually the various scrapes and bruises that are bugging me more than the large claw marks across my gut.”“I know what you mean,” Janet grimaced. “The drugs just don’t seem to get it all unless you get enough to make you loopy.”“Which can be fun,” Sam joked.“Don’t tempt me,” Janet growled good naturedly. She lapsed into silence for a bit, then turned her head to find Sam still looking at her. “What?”“You did really well out there.”“I didn’t do anything you didn’t do.”“Yeah, but you’re not trained for it like I am. I’m impressed.”Janet colored. She’d never been good at taking compliments. “Well, uh, thank you.”“I just have one question.”“Shoot.”“Before Nemik found us, the Krallik was coming for me, and I thought I was a goner.”“Yeah?”“Then the thing seemed to hunch over, and you ran around and clubbed it in the head.”“And?”“So how did you get it to bend down so you could get to it?”An evil grin spread over Janet’s face. “It seems even Kralliks have sensitive private parts.” Two weeks later, Sam and Janet stepped back through the gate to Rihalliu, and immediately set out for the village. They had declined the offer of an escort, and since the danger was past, they had been allowed to come alone. Janet’s arm was safely in a cast, and most of Sam’s wounds had closed or soon would. The women walked easily, enjoying each other’s company and the beauty of the landscape. Once again the sun was high overhead, bathing them in a rich warm glow, and illuminating the rolling grasses in a golden pool of light. Soon, the village came into view, along with a strange sight. Dozens of colored pennants waved in the breeze, held aloft by the strong bronzed arms of the Rihallians. Seemingly spying them, the villagers began rushing toward the women, waving their flags madly and cheering at the top of their lungs. Very soon, Sam and Janet were overtaken by fifty or so people, all with grins plastered on their faces, their voices raised in shouts of joy and praise.Janet put a protective hand over her cast, but she needn’t have worried. The people were extremely careful as they escorted the women back to the village, never ceasing in their laughter and cries of acclaim. Once inside, the villagers dispersed, but not very far, each going to a different circle of drummers and beginning a ferociously energetic dance that just screamed victory and happiness. As the crowd parted, a tiny figure emerged from within the mass of bodies, walking steadily toward them, her arms outstretched, and tears on her face.Tessa approached Sam first, taking her hands and pulling her down so she could press her wet cheeks to Sam’s in thanksgiving. She looked into the major’s eyes and Sam could see her gratitude reflected there. She nodded in acknowledgement, putting as much friendship into her gaze as she could. Tessa released Sam and looked at Janet. “You have done the impossible, daughter. You believed me even when no one else would have. You sacrificed much,” Tessa gently touched Janet’s cast, “and you won.” The old healer took hold of Janet’s shoulders and pulling her down into a strong embrace, she held her hard for a long time. Finally releasing the doctor, Tessa looked at them both again. “Thank you. You are both always welcome here.” A couple of hours later, the celebration was still going on, and the market was doing a strong business. Sam and Janet had refused an almost constant stream of offerings from the various vendors, knowing that this was these people’s only source of income, as well as the fact that they simply could not hold it all, and did not want to appear to play favorites. As they approached the end of the last line of stall, Janet looked up at Sam. “Do you want to pay Donaldo a visit? Looks like he’s doing a fair business today.”“Sure, why not? Maybe he’ll have an interesting trinket for sale.” Sam smiled wickedly.As they approached the last booth, however, it was not Donaldo and his junk pile inside. Instead, Nemik stood there, proudly displaying his fishing lures to a crowd of eager men, and not a few women. The descended Ancient saw them coming and came out of his booth, his hands outstretched. “Ah, my beautiful wounded birds. You have healed, yes? You look ravishing, both of you.”Sam and Janet grinned at his antics. “Yes, we’re both recovering nicely,” Janet said. “Much of which is thanks to you.”“Pshah. It was nothing. Just a little trick I learned over the years,” he winked conspiratorially at them.“Nemik,” Sam said, looking at his booth, “why are you here? I thought you wanted to stay out of society. I thought it was too hard.”Nemik’s face grew more serious, though he did not lose the twinkle in his eye. “Yes, yes, I did say that, didn’t I? But then in our conversations, brief though they were, I realized that closing myself off from these people that I gave up so much for would only defeat the purpose of my sacrifice. I want to help them, and to do that, I must live among them.” His happy go lucky smile returned. “Do you not love my booth? My fishing flys are very popular, are they not?”The girls smiled and moved closer, examine the riotous colors of the various lures. Nemik continued happily. “Would you like to have one? To remember me by?”Janet grinned and chose a small red fish shaped lure with purple feathers sticking up from where a dorsal fin should have been. “Thank you, Nemik.” she said, catching the man’s eye, and winking at him. He blushed to his toes and turned quickly to Sam. “And you, which would you like?”Sam thought a moment. “Actually, can I have two? I have a friend who might like one as well…” THE END
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