fandomhigh | The Library (2/10/06)

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The Library (2/10/06)

Janet unlocked the door to the library, turned on the lights, and sat down behind the Collections Desk. She warily eyed the rather strange-looking romance novel with the centaur and the mermaid on the cover. It was just lying there on the corner of the desk.

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"Janet," Sam whispered, "we are doing this at forty. And I don't know. If we were married, I'd suggest couples counseling."

"When we're physically forty, anyway." She was whispering too. "Ignoring it isn't the way to go. Look at what happens when we ignore things." Janet grinned wryly. "Couples counseling? Is Jack going to be jealous. But counseling might not be a bad idea. Dr. Pevensie seems nice enough. Also, she's not Mackenzie. This is a critical skill for any counselor."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Jack O'Neill is not going to be jealous about not having to go to counseling with me ~~much as we may need it.~~"

"Sooo...do you want to go? Seriously?"

Janet laughed. "I know. Jack's the worst of any of us about counselors. ~~Problems?~~"

"What else are we going to do?" asked Janet. "Avoid everything by changing the subject whenever we start getting somewhere? Which we both do. So let's do this."

"Tell me about it. He's Jack O'Neill."

Sam nodded and looked up at janet. "Okay. So we'll do this. Because this can't continue or I'll lose my mind."

"I don't think you need to," said Janet. "I've heard the rants. ~~What'd he do now?~~"

"No one's losing their mind," said Janet firmly. "Given average life expectancies, we have at least sixty more years of friendship. At least. And neither of us is going to lose our minds during that time."

~~"He was Jack O'Neill. In all his glory."~~

"We've already lost them a few times," Sam said, "and given our average life expectancies? It'll happen again."

~~"Ah. That. Did you zat him?"~~

"What's a little insanity between friends?" asked Janet. "Our average life expectancies are a little more complicated than most people's, aren't they? I had a formula all worked out somewhere. I have to go to the clinic anyway. I can make an appointment then."

~~"No. Stupid weapons ban.~~

"They really are," Sam smiled slightly, "and that's probably a good idea."

"How did my life get to be this complicated?" asked Janet. "I think you'll need to call and confirm the appointment for you, though. Just so they don't think I'm pulling a prank. Which of course I would never do."

"You said 'Yes, I'd love to move to Colorado and work on a classified project'?" Sam nodded and made a note about calling the counselor, then put it in her pocket. "Why would you make an appointment for someone else as a joke? I mean, for me?"

"I might've turned around and ran, but my interest was piqued with that virus my first week. Talk about an absolutely fascinating microorganism." Janet shrugged. "It was worth the tradeoff. And I never would, since the clinic is on my list of 'things we never mess around with,' but someone might. If they were feeling particularly malicious, I suppose."

"I remember that virus well," Sam said, dryly. "The beginning of the end, as far as my life was concerned."

"The beginning of the end?" asked Janet. "Sam, your life's hardly over."

"The beginning of the end of my social life, then," Sam made a face, "not to mention a massive case of denial. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd never been hit with that virus ~~and if I'd never known how he tasted.~~"

"You had a social life? Lucky. I think I used to have one." Janet looked wistful. "Why wonder that? You'll drive yourself nuts. ~~Besides, I managed to fall for someone without even that much.~~"

Sam chuckled. "Okay, maybe social life was overstating things. I spent a lot of time going on first dates and wondering if I'd messed up by breaking things off with Jonas."

"I could have told you then that he was no big loss." Janet grinned. "Of course, my track record those days wasn't exactly impressive."

"He..." Sam fidgeted, "He wasn't always like that. Especially not the way he was, y'know, at the end. And at least you've been married."

"People change, sure," said Janet. "But he was going to end up unpleasant whether you married him or not. Trust me, I wish I hadn't been married--at least not to him. Those were the three longest years of my life."

Sam nodded and leaned forward on the counter. "There were some good times, they were just outweighed at the end. Turns out that I don't deal well with being ordered around if I'm not under fire."

"You?" asked Janet. "I never would've guessed." She grinned. "At least you have the good times to remember, right?"

Sam stuck her tongue out at Janet. "I do. Although, I have to admit that they are very often overshadowed by the fact that he set himself up as a god and enslaved an entire planet full of people, then tried to kill Jack."

Which, you know, she could have ended earlier if she'd been able to pull the trigger. She began playing with the edges of her notebook.

"Well, we're not all perfect," said Janet, making a face at Sam before getting serious again. "Sam, Jonas Hansen had deep psychological instabilities that he was able to hide prior to his placement in the program. There was no way anyone could know that his encounters through the 'gate would exacerbate them to that extent. And let's face it, the two of you were engaged. He knew just what buttons to press."

Sam sighed and put her head in her hands. "I know. Trust me, I had to go through more counseling on this issue that you'd believe."

She looked up at Janet. "Okay, maybe not more than you'd believe, since you ordered it, but more than anyone else would believe. And I was a sucker."

The Library (2/10/06)

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