Cliche 27 2

From Bad To Worse

by Arcturus

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asa/arcturus/cliche02.php
Summary: Sam and Janet try to move on from each other..

It had been four days. Four long days. In that time she had read Sam's letter perhaps a hundred times. SG-1 was currently on day two of a six day mission to P9X 662 and Janet was at an all time low. Even though Sam's residence had been erratic at times, now her things were gone she felt the blonde's absence more keenly. Janet kept telling herself that she had done the right thing, but between the huge empty bed and Cassie barely talking to her, she had to wonder.

Still tonight she was going to go out. Cassie was at a friends until tomorrow and Janet had decided she could not be in the house alone.

***

Janet found herself sat – ironically she thought – in a mellow gay bar called Carter's Place, perched on a stool, drinking a long sweet daiquiri, watching couples on the dance floor.

About thirty minutes passed before she noticed someone observing her; and when a second drink appeared on the bar, the purchaser slipped onto the stool next to her. "Hey, I hope you don't mind, you looked kinda sad."

Janet raised her head and was met by a pair of smoky grey eyes topped by a crop of jet black hair. "I'm Jo, please tell me to go away if I'm intruding."

"No, it's fine; really." Janet smiled, "Thanks for the drink. I'm Janet."

She felt a blush rise to her cheeks; she really had been out of the loop for far too long if she was embarrassed to even introduce herself...

"So Janet, what's a gorgeous girl like you doing here by yourself?"

The doctor turned her head abruptly away, staring into her drink, her throat tightening dangerously. She would not cry. Sam would not have that hold on her...

"Oh god, I'm sorry." Jo apologized, "I am so bad at this. I really didn't mean to upset you."

Janet smiled tightly, trying to ease the hammering of her heart. She could do this; this woman was just trying to be friendly. "No, please don't apologize, it's ok; the whole point of coming here was not to be alone."

They sat looking at each other awkwardly for a few moments, then Jo cleared her throat and smiled, "Listen, why don't we move to a booth and I'll try again. And this time I will attempt not to upset you."

Janet scrutinized the face before her, looking for signs of maliciousness. She found none and before she had really rationalized it, she was slipping from her stool, drink in hand. "OK, let's." she smiled, wandering after Jo.

***

SG-1 stepped onto the ramp and down to the waiting General. The mission, for once, had gone according to plan and they had returned injury free and hopeful of a trade agreement. "Welcome back SG-1." Hammond rumbled. "Report to the infirmary, we'll debrief at 1630. Dismissed."

Handing off their weapons to the SF's on duty, the four team members exited the gate room for the elevator. As the car ascended, Sam leant back against the wall and closed her eyes. It had been three weeks since the break up with Janet and trips to the infirmary were still very uncomfortable. Mostly they tried to avoid each other, but during their inevitable meetings tension was high and conversation strained.

The major had done everything she could to move on, to lock her emotions away; her days on base filled to capacity with experiments, work outs, hand to hand training, target practice, the list was endless. And missions were great, always something to focus on, to keep her mind engaged. But at night, when she lay in her stark quarters, things were different. The hard mattress, grey walls and constant hiss of circulating air provided a constant reminder of what she was missing, and when she closed he eyes, the usual images her mind generated were of Janet...

Sam was brought back from her musings by a gentle hand on her arm. She opened her eyes. Teal'c. "Are you well MajorCarter?" he enquired.

Sam raised a small smile; the team seemed to be the only thing keeping her sane through all this. "Yeah Teal'c, I'm fine, just tired."

She pushed away from the side of the car as they stopped at level 21, silently praying that the CMO would be otherwise occupied.

***

Freshly showered, cleared by medical (Warner to her relief), and debriefed, Sam sat in her lab checking her emails. There was one from Cassie, which she reluctantly opened. It was short and to the point.

'Hey Sam, call me please. I miss you. Cass.'

Knowing that she could not put off seeing the teen, Sam screwed up her courage and dialed the Fraiser house from her cell.

"Hello?"

"Cassie?"

"Sam!!! Oh man, it's so good to hear your voice. Sam when can you come over? I really miss you and mom has been so grumpy recently I can't tell you. You'll never guess what happened..."

"Whoa Cass, slow down, slow down! " Sam managed.

"Sorry...sorry. Listen Sam, please can you come over Saturday, play some chess maybe?"

The major closed her eyes against the lost tone of Cassie's voice. After all, none of this was her fault. "I'll have to talk to your mom first, I don't know if she'll want me there."

"Talk to her Sam, please?" the teen pleaded.

"Alright, listen I'll call you back later, let you know what's happening. Love you."

"Love you too Sam."

Sam flipped her phone shut, sighing heavily as she resigned herself to a tricky conversation.

***

The discussion with Janet – much to Sam's surprise - had gone rather well. That was until the major understood why the doctor was so open to the idea of Sam spending time with Cassie; Janet had a date and Sam would make an ideal minder whilst she was out. Still, Sam had managed to ask politely where the doctor was going and had kept hold of her temper when she had got the reply. Janet and Jo, (who was Jo? Sam mused) were making a trip to the Garden of the God's. Until recently, one of Sam and Janet's favorite expeditions. Not any more.

Sam arrived at the Fraiser house a little after 1215, greeted by an excited Cassie. The teen explained Janet had left around 1100 with 'Jo' – rolling eyes and dramatic sighing for accompaniment.

But the two soon forgot about their angst as they became absorbed in chess and discussions regarding school, the SGC, boys and the terrible trials of adolescent life. They managed sandwiches and ice cream for lunch and a brisk walk with the dog before they settled in for a few rounds of Cassie's latest video game.

This was how Janet found them; sprawled on cushions in front of the couch, yelling good naturedly at the screen and each other.

"Hi Cassie, we're back."

The two jumped from their positions like guilty teenagers, Sam feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. She registered Janet's amused smirk and a flick of irritation fired in her gut. A woman stood next to the doctor in crisp khakis and a silky grey blouse that matched her eyes. Sam glanced down at her worn jeans and faded check shirt and the blush deepened. She ran her hand through her wild hair. "Uh, hi Janet." she managed, chiding herself for her inarticulateness.

The doctor's amusement rose, "Had a good time?" she quipped, glancing casually into the kitchen where the remnants of lunch were still spread across the counter.

The blonde's shoulders dropped. She felt like a naughty puppy being scolded. "Sorry Janet, we got a bit carried away, I'll just..."

Janet waved her silent. "Never mind, Cass can do it later. I want you to meet Jo."

The doctor turned, beaming to the woman at her side, who also wore an amused grin. "Jo, this is Sam Carter. She works with me at the base."

Sam bit hard on her cheek to check her emotions. She needed to be grown up about this. Despite the churning jealousy rising from her stomach, she smiled and offered her hand. "Nice to meet you Jo, I hear you are a doctor too."

"Surgeon actually. Yes good to meet you." Jo replied, taking Sam's hand.

The major felt herself being scrutinized and then abruptly dismissed as Jo broke the shake and turned to Janet to whisper something the blonde couldn't hear. They both laughed and Sam knew she was at the end of her congeniality. "Well, I have to go now. Thanks Cassie, I'll try to catch you next week, maybe we can take in a movie or something?"

Anything as long as it didn't involve this scenario again. She nodded to Jo and Janet and fled to the hall for her jacket and helmet.

***

As it was, Sam was back at the Fraiser house sooner than she had expected. Janet had collared her early Monday morning to ask if she would be willing to 'Cassie sit' Wednesday night whilst she went out to dinner. Of course, Sam had agreed.

Conscious of her 'irresponsible' reputation, Sam made a huge effort to finish work early so she could be at the doctor's house ahead of schedule. Arriving some ten minutes before the 1900 hour deadline, she was greeted by Janet who wore a stunning, low cut purple dress that rendered the blonde speechless. A moment later Jo appeared in the doorway, grinning like the proverbial cat that'd got the cream. Placing her hand on Janet's curvaceous hip, she guided the petite woman down the steps to the waiting car. Sam was able to manage a strained "Have a good time." before hastily shutting the door and slumping against it to steady herself. An errant tear slipped uninvited down her cheek and she swiped at it angrily before making her way into the house.

Cassie greeted Sam warmly and they set to laying the table for dinner. Janet had cooked for them and as they sat munching on her divine lasagna they gossiped about things that had happened since the weekend. Lapsing into friendly silence over ice cream, Sam was startled by Cassie's abrupt, blunt question. "Sam, what do you think of Jo?"

A number of answers, none suitable for young ears tumbled into Sam's mind, but ignoring her jealous side, she said, "Well Cass, I haven't really met her for that long, it's difficult for me to say, but she seems okay."

Cassie scrutinized Sam, looking for deceit, anything that showed her the major was not being truthful. When she couldn't find what she wanted, the teen threw her spoon down in disgust, "I hate her." she spat.

Sam was taken aback by the venom of Cassie's statement, and she fought to keep her own resentment locked firmly away. "Wow, hate is a very strong word Cass, why do you say that?"

"Because she took your place."

Sam looked down at her plate, fighting to control her emotions, letting the silence lengthen. She knew she was no good at this sort of stuff, talking about feelings, but ultimately she would do anything for Janet and Cassie to be happy.

Finally, Sam looked up at the teen, "No Cass, she didn't take my place. I'm still here for you and Janet whenever you need me. Jo is a good person, she makes your mom happy and she can offer you both so much. You should really give her a chance."

Knowing that her time would be limited, Sam continued, hoping to give Cassandra the opportunity to see things as they really were. "There was such a lot of tension between the two of us Janet was right to chuck me out. I treated you both badly, always being here on my terms. It must have sucked for you. Maybe Jo can do a better job. The most important thing is that you and your mom are happy. Please Cass, give her a break."

The more Sam spoke, the more she realized her words were true, and whether she liked it or not, her relationship with Janet was over. Although it hurt to say it, Jo was by far a better bet for the stable family she knew the doctor craved.

Cassie sprang from her seat and launched herself into Sam's lap, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck, sobbing into her shoulder. They stayed like that for many minutes, Sam gently shushing the teen, stroking her hair, letting her cry. Eventually they moved to the couch, where they snuggled together and continued their discussion, opening up to each other about relationships, losing mothers, good times and the future.

***

Janet and Jo walked together to the Fraiser front door, sharing gentle kisses and soft laughter. The surgeons' dinner had been a friendly affair and Janet had felt very at home. They entered the hallway and Janet immediately registered the two people sat on the couch. It was gone midnight and suddenly the pleasure of the evening was replaced by anger. She asked Jo to go to the kitchen to make coffee, before striding into the living room. "Cassandra Fraiser, get up those stairs now." she commanded.

Cass shot Sam a pleading look before hastily scrabbling over the arm of the couch and escaping to the sanctuary of her room. Sam stood and turned to face Janet, ready to explain. She was cut off before she had started.

"Of all the irresponsible things you've done in your time, this is up there with the worst. It's a school night; do you know what time it is?! Do you appreciate what Cassie will be like in the morning? No of course you don't. I bet that thought didn't even enter that magnificent brain of yours."

Sam clenched her fists tightly at her side; she was not going to get into a slanging match with Janet. "I'm sorry Janet. I honestly didn't realize it was so late. Cass wanted to talk; I thought it was important to let her. She has a lot of things going on for her right now, I just wanted to be some help. I'm sorry..."

She dropped her head and pulled in a calming breath.

"What did you talk about?" Janet managed through clenched teeth, her mind already racing as to what had happened.

"You, me, Jo; relationships, emotions, growing up, those sorts of things."

"So I suppose you spent the time turning her against Jo and me?" the doctor raged.

Sam's head snapped up and Janet clearly saw the hurt of her accusation on the major's face.

"Do you really believe I would do that?" Sam whispered, her voice a taut tremble. She felt the sting of tears and knew she had to leave before she broke completely. She brushed past Janet into the hall, retrieving her jacket before stepping to the door.

The doctor had followed her and as Sam made to leave she turned to meet the brunette's eyes. "I'm sorry you think I'm irresponsible, maybe I shouldn't come again..."

She drew a shaking breath and continued, "Give Cass my love. Please don't be too hard on her; she's just trying to make sense of everything."

Sam turned quickly as the first tear escaped down her flushed cheeks. She took the steps two at a time and didn't look back.

TBC

Next: Rock Bottom