Protective Streak
by Bryn
E-MAIL: buddygirl19@yahoo.com
STATUS: Complete
RATING: G
SEASON: anytime
SPOILERS: Only of Cassie and the evil Ex. Faint
mention of something we learned in RoP.
CATEGORY: D/J romance, humour
SUMMARY: Evidently Daniel has a protective streak
just as big as Janet's...
DISCLAIMER: "All publicly recognisable characters and
places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and
Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction
was created for entertainment not monetary purposes
and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was
intended. Previously unrecognised characters and
places, and this story, are copyrighted to the
author. Any similarity to real persons, living or
dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, since I declared the war, it
only seems fitting that I should make the first attack.
Haven’t written fic in a *long* time and I’m afraid
I’m a bit rusty, so I apologize. **grimaces**
Hopefully with practice I’ll improve.
Mucho thanks to my wonderful cohort and beta, Nike :)
FEEDBACK: would make me very, *very* happy.
“Hey, Doc, can I leave yet?” Jack’s voice carried
across the infirmary easily, inspiring many
exasperated comments from the other occupants and a
glare from Janet.
“I’ll release you when I’m good and ready, Colonel,
and not a moment before,” came the doctor’s stern
reply.
Daniel couldn’t help but notice the greater than
normal amount of annoyance in Janet’s voice and the
extremely cross look on her face as she approached
him. He gulped and braced himself; she was not in a
good mood.
“What happened this time?” Janet asked, forgoing her
usual small talk.
“Jack and Teal’c were moving a tablet for me and lost
their grip,” Daniel answered, indicating his battered
leg, which had softened the tablet’s fall.
Janet closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
obviously not pleased by the answer. “Any other
complaints?” she asked as she began to inspect his
leg.
“No, that’s it.”
“I’m going to send you down for x-rays to make sure,
but it looks like a pretty clean break,” Janet
explained.
Daniel cringed. “Is that going to take long?” he
asked, regretting it as soon as he saw the look on her
face.
Janet dropped the clipboard she’d been writing, and it
landed on the bed with a thump. She stared at Daniel
with a look somewhere between disbelief and rage, and
he had to admit he was a little frightened. “I’m
sorry if tending to your physical health is such an
inconvenience to you,” Janet shot back vehemently.
“That’s not what I meant-”
“And I’m sorry if the infirmary is such a horrible
place to be,” Janet continued, heedless to Daniel’s
protests. “But is it really necessary to run from
here, screaming?”
“Now, Jack only did that once…” Daniel began, but at a
sharp look from Janet recanted the statement slightly.
“Ok, a few times, but it was only a joke. You know Jack.”
Just then, the object of the conversation decided to
make himself heard, not helping Daniel’s defense of
him. “Doc! What’s the hold up?” Jack yelled.
Janet’s expression was an impenetrable mask, but
Daniel could see the anger in her eyes and immediately
felt sorry for her. She was only trying to help them
and none of them - especially Jack - made it any
easier. He watched her stride off to deal with the
annoyed and annoying colonel, and silently decided
that he, at least, was going to try to make her life
easier.
“There. You’re free to go, Colonel,” Daniel could hear
Janet saying. “But in the future I would greatly
prefer it if you would refrain from dropping things on
my patients.”
Daniel cringed again. Her protectiveness was not
going to help dissuade Jack of the misconception he
suddenly had that something was going on between
Daniel and Janet. Despite his continual protests,
Jack refused to believe Daniel when he denied having
feelings for the doctor, and Jack had even insinuated
that Janet might return the alleged feelings.
Jack grumbled some sarcastic remark as he left that
Daniel didn’t catch, but obviously Janet did, judging
by her expression as she returned to Daniel’s bed a
moment later. He looked up at her sheepishly from
beneath his glasses, but she wasn’t even paying
attention to him as she picked up his chart again and
started making notations. “Look, I’m sorry,” Daniel
started, “we really don’t give you an easy time. And,
well, there’s no excuse for Jack…”
Janet looked up from the chart and when she met his
gaze, Daniel was surprised to see only a look of
exhaustion in her eyes. “Don’t feel guilty now,”
Janet said, sighing heavily, “because that will only
make me feel bad for taking it out on you and, as
unfair as it may be, it’s really making me feel better
right now.”
Daniel mumbled an apology again and let her usher him
off to get x-rays. He didn’t see Janet again for
another half hour, when he found himself back in his
usual infirmary bed. She was still frustrated and
slightly annoyed, but in a better mood than before,
presumably because Jack had left.
“Why is it so hard for you to have ONE mission where
you don’t come back broken or bleeding?” Janet asked,
exasperated as she came over with her supplies and
started cleaning up his leg. “Just one, is that
really too much to ask for?”
Daniel scowled slightly. “It’s not like I enjoy this
either, Doc. Despite what some people say, I don’t do
this on purpose.”
Janet stopped suddenly and turned to look Daniel in
the eye. “Who says what?”
“Uh, nothing.” Daniel paled visibly, suddenly aware
that perhaps Janet hadn’t been the victim of the same
merciless teasing he received. Was she really
completely unaware of what their friends thought?
Even Sam gave him “knowing” looks sometimes.
Janet gave him a disbelieving look, but let the lame
excuse slip. She worked in silence from then on,
setting his leg and making a plaster cast. As she
focused on her work, Daniel took the chance to study
her, something he’d never really taken the time to do
before. She looked tired and overworked, the stress
evident in her tense muscles and the exhaustion in the
dark lines under her eyes. Despite all that, and the
death glares she’d been shooting all morning, Daniel
realized her natural beauty still shone through loud
and clear, and he was mesmerized by it.
The silence was finally broken by Janet as she
finished up. “There you go, Daniel. You’ll
definitely be off ‘gate travel for a while, and I’d
advise you to take it easy to help your leg heal
faster. We’ll do another x-ray in two weeks to see
how the fracture’s mending, then take it from there.”
She gathered her supplies and turned to go, but Daniel
felt strangely reluctant to let her leave.
“Janet,” he called. Janet turned around with a look
of mild surprise, and Daniel guiltily realized how
infrequently he actually called her by her name. For
a moment he was at a loss for what to say, but finally
he managed to blurt out: “When do you get off duty
today?”
Janet’s surprise didn’t fade any, but she answered.
“My shift ends at five, why?”
Daniel hesitated, not quite sure himself. “To be
honest, you look exhausted, and I know the majority of
that is due to us, so I was hoping I could do
something nice for you… take care of dinner or
something, so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
A faint smile crept its way onto Janet’s lips. “That
would be very nice Daniel, thank you.”
Daniel watched her walk off then, and wondered idly
what had just happened.
* * *
At 5 minutes to 5, Daniel hobbled into the infirmary
on the crutches a nurse had provided him with earlier.
He found Janet in her office, wrapped up in her
paperwork, so he knocked lightly on the open door to
get her attention. She looked up at him with bleary
eyes, and Daniel was shocked to see her looking even
worse than she had when he’d been in that morning.
“Exactly how long have you been on duty?” he asked,
foregoing pleasantries.
“Nice to see you too, Daniel. How’s the leg feeling?”
Janet replied, unperturbed.
“A little sore and it itches,” Daniel answered
distractedly. “But I’m more concerned about you.
When’s the last time you went home?”
Janet’s brow furrowed as she thought about her answer.
“I was home for a few hours on Tuesday, but then SG-7
had an emergency and I was called back out. It’s been
non-stop since,” she answered.
Daniel gaped at her for a moment. “It’s Friday!” he
exclaimed.
“As I am painfully aware,” Janet agreed. “You needn’t
look so shocked Daniel, as soon as I finish this
paperwork, I’m off for the weekend.”
“And how long will it take to finish it?” Daniel
asked. He wasn’t quite aware of how much like a
mother hen he was behaving, but even if he had been,
he wouldn’t have cared.
“Just a couple more hours,” Janet answered.
Daniel wavered, not wanting her to overwork herself
any more than she already had been, but also admitting
she was a grown woman and could take care of herself.
Had she not at that moment gotten up for a cup of
coffee and stumbled tiredly, he might have left her to
her work, but seeing that was the last straw.
“Nope,” he said adamantly. “The paperwork can wait
for Monday, you’re off duty now, so you’re going
home.”
Janet stopped and looked up at Daniel as though he’d
just grown a second head. “Excuse me?”
“Janet, you’re so tired, you can barely get to the
coffee! Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
“*You’re* going to drive me home?” she said, gesturing
to his left leg in the cast.
“I still have a right foot and an automatic, so let’s
go,” Daniel argued.
“Daniel,” Janet said, attempting to give him one of
her no-nonsense glares. “Really, I’m fine. I just
need a cup of coffee.”
“Janet,” Daniel countered, not in the least affected
by her look and sending her one back just as good.
“How many times have I used that line and you’ve
yelled at me for it? The paperwork’s not going
anywhere, but it’s pretty obvious you’re beyond
exhausted, so please, let me take you home.”
Janet’s expression softened and Daniel could tell she
was wavering. She glanced at the barely controlled
chaos that was her desk, and gave a sigh. “All right,
you win,” she said, gathering up a few things and
putting them in her briefcase. “By the way, when did
we reverse roles?”
Daniel smiled, glad to see Janet do the same. “I’m
not quite sure, but it’s slightly disturbing.”
The pair made a strange sight as they headed to the
surface: Daniel hobbling along on crutches but still
trying to support Janet, who was rather close to
sleepwalking. Daniel didn’t care about the odd looks
they were getting from the airmen they passed, but he
was glad Jack had already gone home. They eventually
made it to the parking lot and both managed to
scramble into the car. Janet was asleep before they’d
passed the last checkpoint.
Daniel hated to wake her as they reached her house,
but there was no way he could manage her and crutches.
Luckily the doctor’s instincts were still intact, and
she woke as the car stopped, so she could walk herself
to the door and let them in. The house was dark and
quiet, no sign of Cassie. Daniel gave Janet an
inquiring look.
“She’s at a friend’s house, she’ll be back shortly,”
Janet answered, intuitively knowing what he was
asking. She put down her briefcase and jacket and
started heading for the kitchen.
“Oh no you don’t,” Daniel said, placing himself firmly
in her way. “Go sit down and rest. Watch TV or
something. I’ll get dinner.”
“Daniel,” Janet began, slightly annoyed.
Daniel could tell she was no less tired, but obviously
not a fan of being babied either. He wasn’t about to
argue with her, so he took the approach that came most
naturally to him. “Please?” he asked softly. “I just
want to help.”
Janet’s stony gaze melted. “Thank you,” she said
sincerely with a small smile, then headed off down the
hall, leaving the kitchen to him.
Daniel managed to put together a respectable meal of
spaghetti, garlic bread and a salad by the time Cassie
got home. The girl was a bit confused when she walked
in the house, but accepted Daniel’s explanation easily
enough.
“Ok, so I understand why you’re here, Daniel, but what
happened to your leg?” Cassandra asked. She stole a
tomato from the salad as she watched Daniel put the
finishing touches on the garlic bread.
“Uh, well, that was a little run in with a very heavy
tablet I had earlier this morning,” Daniel admitted
while concentrating very hard on the bread.
Cassie looked at him sceptically. “Meaning…?”
Daniel sighed. “Jack and Teal’c dropped it on me.”
Cassie burst into a fit of laughter, causing Daniel to
groan. It had been bad enough when Sam laughed when
it happened, he didn’t need it from the teenager too.
The girl slowly composed herself and gave him an
apologetic look. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I bet Mom
gave Jack a good lashing for that.”
“Yeah, actually she did,” Daniel admitted. He looked
at Cassie a bit perplexed. How had she known that?
Cassandra recognized the look and understood his
confusion. She looked around then leaned closer,
conspiratorially. “She’s very protective of you,”
Cassie whispered to him.
“Yeah, I’m beginning to notice that.” Daniel smiled
genuinely. He started setting the table with the
dishes he’d found in the cupboards. “Cass, do me a
favor and go get your mother? She disappeared a while
ago and I think she may have fallen asleep, but I
think she should have some dinner before she’s out for
the night.”
Cassie nodded in agreement and tried to hide her
smile. “It looks like the protectiveness is mutual,”
she said to herself as she headed off towards Janet’s
room.
Cassandra reappeared a few minutes later, and settled
herself at the table. “She’s coming,” she answered
Daniel’s unspoken question.
Before Daniel even managed to hobble his way over to
the dining room table with the last of the dishes,
Janet entered the room. Contrary to Daniel’s
suspicions, she hadn’t fallen asleep; instead she’d
changed out of her uniform and grabbed a shower in an
attempt to wash the smell of the infirmary off. She
now wore a fitted t-shirt and a pair of well-worn
jeans, causing Daniel to do a double take. It was so
rare that he saw Janet out of uniform, it always
seemed to surprise him.
Janet flashed him a tired smile as she took a seat and
he followed suit. Dinner was spent peacefully
chatting away about this and that. Cassie caught
Daniel up on school and her life, and he told her
about some of the interesting planets he’d been too.
Janet stayed pretty quiet but they did manage to pull
her into the conversation more often than not, and
everyone had a nice chance to relax.
After dinner Daniel insisted that doing the dishes was
part of dinner and shooed Janet out of the kitchen,
though he did let Cassie stay to help. Half and hour
and a discussion over dessert later, and the pair
found Janet sound asleep on the sofa in front of the
TV. Cassie found it very hard not to laugh as Daniel
started to fret about what to do with the slumbering
doctor, as he was in no state to carry her to her bed
and he really didn’t have the heart to wake her.
“It’s ok, Daniel, I’ll get her into bed,” Cassie
assured him. “It’s not the first time she’s fallen
asleep on the couch.”
Daniel made a face, obviously still not happy with the
situation. “She’s been working too hard, Cass.”
Cassandra nodded in agreement. “It’s the only way she
knows how to. She’s never been one to give less than
a hundred percent. A good night’s sleep will do her
wonders though, you’ll see. She’ll be as good as new
by tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Daniel asked, doubtfully.
“Positive,” Cassandra confirmed. “If you don’t
believe me though, you can come by and see for
yourself. Sam usually comes over about ten for our
chess game, then we were going to go to a movie, why
don’t you come along?”
Daniel gave her an eager look. “I don’t want to…
impose.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “You won’t, Daniel, trust me.
If you want, invite Jack and Teal’c along and we can
make it an SG-1 day,” she said. “Come by around ten,
you can keep Mom company while Sam and I play chess.
It’ll do her good to relax and have fun with her
friends.”
Daniel nodded, vaguely. “Yeah, ok. That sounds good.
I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Cassie saw him to the door and waved as he drove away.
That was really way too easy, she thought to herself.
* * *
Janet got up groggily the next morning, despite the
fact that she’d had close to twelve hours of
blissfully uninterrupted sleep. She knew there was no
making up for the sleep she’d lost over the last week,
but she did feel quite a bit more human than she had
the night before. After a cup of coffee she felt
almost back to normal. She had just finished a nice
breakfast with Cassie and was wondering what she was
going to do for her first morning off in quite a long
time when the doorbell rang.
“Funny,” Janet commented as she opened the door to
find Daniel standing on the other side, “I had the
strangest notion I told you to take it easy on that
leg.”
“I am. I have these.” Daniel gestured to the
crutches. “Haven’t put any weight on the leg, just
like my doctor ordered.”
Janet smiled at him broadly, always enjoying it when
Daniel was in a good enough mood to joke. “To what do
I owe this pleasure this morning?” she asked as she
moved aside to let him in.
“Cassie didn’t mention that she invited me?” Daniel
asked as he hesitated in the doorway, unsure of his
welcome.
“No, but I’m glad she did,” Janet replied. His
hesitancy amused her because she really couldn’t
imagine anyone more welcome in her home. She gave him
a warm, friendly smile and he finally moved all the
way inside so she could close the door behind him.
“So you’re coming to the movie with us?”
“Yeah, and I’m supposed to keep you company during the
chess game,” Daniel answered, giving her a weak smile.
He was a bit embarrassed by the admission, though he
wasn’t exactly sure why. Most likely because it’s a
weak excuse and you know it, he thought.
If Janet noticed, she didn’t show it though. Instead
she led Daniel into the kitchen and offered him a cup
of coffee. Sam arrived a few minutes later and she and
Cassie set up their usual Saturday chess game on the
dining room table while Janet and Daniel retreated to
the family room. Sam only gave them the slightest of
questioning looks, which both of them chose to ignore.
It wasn’t until they started discussing what movie
they were going to see a few hours later that Cassie
noticed Daniel hadn’t invited the other guys. “Jack
and Teal’c aren’t coming?” she asked.
“Uh, no,” Daniel admitted. “They decided to do
something else...”
Sam and Janet both gave him intrigued looks, but it
was Cassandra who asked, “Why?”
“Uh…” Daniel hesitated, not really sure if admitting
this was such a good idea in front of all three of
them, but since they were all staring at him, waiting
for an answer, he didn’t really seem to have a choice.
“Well, I told Jack he wasn’t allowed near Janet until
he apologized for his behavior yesterday.”
Sam and Cassie found it extremely difficult to hide
their amusement, but Janet had a slight scowl on her
face. Daniel just hoped no one noticed the growing
blush on his cheeks. Changing the subject quickly, he
proposed another movie. He was glad to see the
discussion quickly moved on and no more was said on
the matter, for the moment.
Daniel got out voted when it came to picking the
movie, but he didn’t mind too much, the company made
up for the entertainment. They got lunch at the mall
before going to the adjoining multiplex. For both
activities, Daniel and Janet found themselves sitting
next to each other, though neither of them had planned
it that way. Everyone wisely refrained from
commenting.
“I think we need ice cream now,” Sam declared as they
came out of the movie theatre.
“I definitely agree,” Cassie seconded.
The two rushed off towards Baskin Robbins, leaving
Janet to walk along with the much slower Daniel. “Is
it just me, or are those two *trying* to make up for
the fact that Jack’s not here?” Daniel asked, amused
by their antics.
He didn’t get an immediate reply, and when he looked
over to Janet she was studying the ground intensely.
Finally she said, without any amusement, “You didn’t
have to say that to the colonel, you know.”
“I know,” Daniel replied.
“I can take care of him.”
Daniel smiled at the memories of Janet ‘taking care’
of Jack. “I’m well aware of that. You’re one of the
few people who can.”
“Then why the need to play my hero?” Her voice was
almost expressionless, which in itself was a warning.
Daniel sighed, realizing he was battling the memory of
the long-gone ex-husband. “Besides the fact that he
was annoying me too, I was trying to do something
nice, Janet. You handle his moods almost everyday and
yesterday he was especially bad, so I thought you
could use a break.”
“You don’t have to protect me, Daniel,” she replied
softly.
“Why not? You try to protect me. You nearly took
Jack’s head off for dropping the tablet on my foot,”
Daniel said. He stopped walking and turned to face
her, touching her chin so she would look at him.
“Janet, I’m just trying to make your life easier.”
After a moment she nodded. “I know, I’m sorry.” She
continued looking up into his big blue eyes, and it
was only then that she noticed something she hadn’t
before. It was something she’d so long convinced
herself she’d never see, that she wondered if it were
just her hopeful imagination. “Daniel…”
For his part, he saw it too. The spark that only
yesterday he’d stopped trying to hide from. His hand
slid up her soft face to cup her cheek. Slowly he
leaned forward, ducking his head as she tilted hers
up. The kiss was soft and sweet: a beginning.
“Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” Daniel
asked when they came back to reality. “Just the two
of us?”
Janet couldn’t stop smiling. “Yes, I’d like that,”
she replied. “Right now I think we should go find the
kids though, before they wonder what we’ve been up
to.”
“Good idea,” Daniel agreed. “I really don’t want to
know what their imaginations could come up with.”
The End
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