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Fic: Lying Down With Dogs
Meta and Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter Four
The silence in the council room when Jonas finished his report was thick. Fear and horror, tinged with pity filled the air. Jonas fidgeted with his hat while Mayor Hammond absorbed the information. Jack looked across the table at Miss Carter, whose blue eyes were full of emotion. Sheriff Caldwell, present even though not a member of the council, was looking at his hands, and Elizabeth seemed to look everywhere but at her compatriots. Robert Kinsey’s eyes travelled from face to face, searching for something Jonas couldn’t identify. He was not surprised when it was Kinsey who broke the tableau.
“How do we know she is telling the truth?” he demanded. “She’s wearing Anubis’ mark. For all we know, she’s a spy!”
The responding tumult was equally predictable, as even the Sheriff lent his voice to criticism of Kinsey’s accusations. It took Mayor Hammond a few tries to make his voice heard over the din.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” he roared, finally restoring order. “Please! If even a fraction of what Mr. Quinn has reported is true, there is no earthly way a person would suffer that kind of injury voluntarily. It’s a miracle she isn’t dead.”
Kinsey began to protest, but Hammond kept talking.
“The town of Atlantis has never turned away a person in need, and we are not about to start now!”
“She’s said herself that Anubis would come for her!” Kinsey yelled. “Do you really think that the town can withstand another attack so soon after defeating the Wraith?”
“You know as well as anyone that Anubis would not attack the same way the Wraith did.” Stephen said. “If he does come to town, it will be my problem and not yours, as long as you stay in your precious bank with the door locked and keep away from the window!”
“We should send warnings to the farms around town,” Samantha said. “And someone should ride out to let Teyla and her people know there might be danger.”
“We don’t have the man power!” Kinsey protested. “Even our Sheriff can barely stand.”
“I will stand for as long as I am required to, Mr. Kinsey. And even in his current condition, Mr. Dex can ride with Mr. Sheppard.” Stephen spoke very stiffly, and then paused before looking apologetically at Elizabeth for volunteering John.
“Sheriff, my husband is not likely to forget how to ride a horse.” Elizabeth said the words lightly, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes. “I agree with you and Miss Carter.”
“Very well,” Hammond said. “It is the decision of the council that we will offer sanctuary to Miss Sarah Gardiner, and that we will send out warnings. Anything else?”
There was silence again.
“Let’s go, then. We’ve got work to do people.”
xxx
Laura Beckett was no stranger to injury. As a child, she had fallen victim to any number of mishaps that were not typical of young ladies, and the previous fall, she had been shot. Still, she was almost afraid to go into Sarah’s room alone. She had seen something in the other woman’s eyes that had frightened her, and she was not entirely sure she wanted to face it. When Carson asked her to step in while he went to Janet’s to inquire about the best herbs for the foot wrappings, Laura and hesitated briefly before agreeing. As it turned out, she was only alone with Sarah for a moment before Kate arrived.
“I passed your husband on the street and he asked me to look in,” Kate said.
“I’m glad you’re here!” Laura replied, and quickly filled her friend in on the details she knew.
Kate blanched as Laura told the story, and neither woman realized that Sarah had woken up until she spoke:
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Almost nine o’clock,” Kate replied, only slightly revealing her startlement. “My name is Katherine Lorne, though most people call me Kate.”
“Sarah Gardiner, though I suppose you knew that.” Sarah said. She paused, then asked carefully, “Is Dr. Beckett here?”
“He’s just stepped out for a moment,” Laura said. “I am sure he’ll be right back.”
“No,” said Sarah. “No, there’s something I have to tell you. I couldn’t say it yesterday, not with all those…people about. Please, it’s important.”
Kate and Laura exchanged a brief look, and then Kate took a chair next to Laura’s.
“Anubis will come for me,” said Sarah. “Of that I am certain. But it’s not for the reason I told your husband.”
“Why then?” Laura asked.
“I am the prize he seeks to hold on to,” Sarah explained. “I was not the only woman, willing or held captive, in his gang. But he is dreadfully strict with his men. His word is like the word of a god with them, and he decided that children would weaken the ties between the gang members. Any child born in his camp is killed.”
Kate’s hands went instinctively to her abdomen, and Laura gasped.
“Just before the snow melted, I realized that I was pregnant,” Sarah continued. “I was terrified. But an old woman who did the cooking for Anubis gave me a plant and told me to eat it in secret. I knew what it would do. I’ve never been more ill in my life, but when it was done, I wasn’t pregnant anymore. I escaped as soon as I could walk again, but I overheard two men talking about how I was expecting his child, and what it would mean if one of the rival gangs were to get a hold of the baby.
“That is why Anubis will come. He won’t risk losing the baby, even though it’s already gone.” Sarah closed her eyes for a long moment. “Tell whomever you like. And please, beg pardon on my behalf. I didn’t mean to keep secrets; I just couldn’t…say the words.”
“We’ll tell Miss Fraiser,” Laura said quietly. “She’ll make sure you’re all right, and then she’ll tell Mr. O’Neill.”
Kate rummaged in her pocket for a moment, and withdrew a comb.
“Could you fetch a basin of water, Laura?” she asked, her voice almost unnaturally bright. “I think we should see what we can do about Miss Gardiner’s hair and face. She is likely to have quite a few visitors, and she is in no condition to carry water by herself.”
When Laura had brought the water, Kate moved her chair around behind Sarah’s head. With fingers long skilled at delicate work, she began to tease the knots and clumps of dirt and matted blood from Sarah’s hair. Laura held her hands and spoke of hoop skirts and other inanities. When Sarah began to ask questions about the people she had met already, Laura took it as a good sign, and gave answers freely. Once Sarah was clean, they helped her into a fresh dress, and then Kate braided her hair.
When Carson returned, he heard the sound of women’s voices, and knew that his wife was healing wounds he couldn’t touch. He smiled to himself, and left her to her work.
xxx
It was just before noon when Daniel Jackson returned. He knocked on the door as though it were the door to a house and not to a sickroom. Sarah was laughing when he entered, Laura had been telling a story from her own girlhood, and for a moment, he was reminded of the young lady he had known in Chicago all those years ago before life had changed them so. When she saw him, Sarah’s face darkened slightly, but she said nothing when he entered the room.
“Have you remembered anything?” he asked gently. “From before your kidnapping, I mean?”
“I am afraid not,” Sarah said. “Everything after is painfully clear, but before, there is nothing.”
“Perhaps this will help,” Daniel said, handing her an old photograph.
“You know me,” she said.
“I do,” he replied. “That’s me in the back row, on the left.”
Sarah looked at the photograph. Daniel had carried it with him all the way across the country, and through the years it had seen a lot of wear, but the faces were still clear. Three rows of new teachers, sitting proudly in front of a brick building that was mostly covered in moss. Sarah sat in the middle of the front row.
“Chicago,” Sarah said quietly after a long moment had passed. “I was a teacher. And so were you.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“Daniel, Daniel Jackson. You gave me the necklace.”
“I did,” Daniel’s voice was thick.
“I remember. I went to Oklahoma. You wrote me letters and you got married.” Sarah looked at him directly for the first time. “I remember.”
“If you want to talk to someone you knew then, tell Mrs. Beckett. She can come and find me. “
“Of course,” said Laura.
“I should go,” Daniel said, somewhat awkwardly. “I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thank you,” Sarah said. “Thank you for remembering me.”
Daniel nodded, twisting his hat in his hands, and then quit the room. Outside the door, he met Jonas Quinn.
“Is she awake?” the younger man asked.
“Yes,” Daniel said, somewhat shortly. “She’s awake.”
Jonas watched him walk away curiously before continuing into Carson’s office.
“Miss Gardiner, ladies,” he said, nodding to each in turn. “I wondered if you might join me for lunch.”
“Jonas Quinn, are you out of your mind?” Laura demanded. “You saw her feet. My husband will kill you if you have her walk out of here.”
“It’s only as far as Miss Mal Doran’s,” Jonas protested.
“As much as I would love to get out of here, I think I have to agree with Mrs. Beckett,” Sarah said. “I am not even standing on my feet right now and they hurt. I can only imagine what walking will do.”
“Then you won’t walk,” Jonas said. Without allowing anymore time for argument, he crossed the room and picked Sarah, blanket and all, up off the bed.
“Mr. Quinn!” Kate exclaimed, so shocked she couldn’t finish the sentence. She looked to Laura for some support, but Laura was already beginning to laugh.
“Carson only said she had to stay off her feet,” she pointed out. “And she is off her feet.”
“I probably should have warned you about Laura,” Kate said to Sarah. “She has the most impossible ideas.”
Sarah was laughing too. “If even half the things you have told me about Miss Mal Doran are accurate, I simply must meet her.”
“I am glad we are all in agreement,” Jonas said. “Mrs. Lorne, would you get the door?”
Kate rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. As she and Laura divested themselves of their dirty aprons, and followed Jonas and Sarah out the door, she couldn’t help but wonder what the quilting circle was going to make of this spectacle.
Chapter 5
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter Four
The silence in the council room when Jonas finished his report was thick. Fear and horror, tinged with pity filled the air. Jonas fidgeted with his hat while Mayor Hammond absorbed the information. Jack looked across the table at Miss Carter, whose blue eyes were full of emotion. Sheriff Caldwell, present even though not a member of the council, was looking at his hands, and Elizabeth seemed to look everywhere but at her compatriots. Robert Kinsey’s eyes travelled from face to face, searching for something Jonas couldn’t identify. He was not surprised when it was Kinsey who broke the tableau.
“How do we know she is telling the truth?” he demanded. “She’s wearing Anubis’ mark. For all we know, she’s a spy!”
The responding tumult was equally predictable, as even the Sheriff lent his voice to criticism of Kinsey’s accusations. It took Mayor Hammond a few tries to make his voice heard over the din.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” he roared, finally restoring order. “Please! If even a fraction of what Mr. Quinn has reported is true, there is no earthly way a person would suffer that kind of injury voluntarily. It’s a miracle she isn’t dead.”
Kinsey began to protest, but Hammond kept talking.
“The town of Atlantis has never turned away a person in need, and we are not about to start now!”
“She’s said herself that Anubis would come for her!” Kinsey yelled. “Do you really think that the town can withstand another attack so soon after defeating the Wraith?”
“You know as well as anyone that Anubis would not attack the same way the Wraith did.” Stephen said. “If he does come to town, it will be my problem and not yours, as long as you stay in your precious bank with the door locked and keep away from the window!”
“We should send warnings to the farms around town,” Samantha said. “And someone should ride out to let Teyla and her people know there might be danger.”
“We don’t have the man power!” Kinsey protested. “Even our Sheriff can barely stand.”
“I will stand for as long as I am required to, Mr. Kinsey. And even in his current condition, Mr. Dex can ride with Mr. Sheppard.” Stephen spoke very stiffly, and then paused before looking apologetically at Elizabeth for volunteering John.
“Sheriff, my husband is not likely to forget how to ride a horse.” Elizabeth said the words lightly, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes. “I agree with you and Miss Carter.”
“Very well,” Hammond said. “It is the decision of the council that we will offer sanctuary to Miss Sarah Gardiner, and that we will send out warnings. Anything else?”
There was silence again.
“Let’s go, then. We’ve got work to do people.”
xxx
Laura Beckett was no stranger to injury. As a child, she had fallen victim to any number of mishaps that were not typical of young ladies, and the previous fall, she had been shot. Still, she was almost afraid to go into Sarah’s room alone. She had seen something in the other woman’s eyes that had frightened her, and she was not entirely sure she wanted to face it. When Carson asked her to step in while he went to Janet’s to inquire about the best herbs for the foot wrappings, Laura and hesitated briefly before agreeing. As it turned out, she was only alone with Sarah for a moment before Kate arrived.
“I passed your husband on the street and he asked me to look in,” Kate said.
“I’m glad you’re here!” Laura replied, and quickly filled her friend in on the details she knew.
Kate blanched as Laura told the story, and neither woman realized that Sarah had woken up until she spoke:
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Almost nine o’clock,” Kate replied, only slightly revealing her startlement. “My name is Katherine Lorne, though most people call me Kate.”
“Sarah Gardiner, though I suppose you knew that.” Sarah said. She paused, then asked carefully, “Is Dr. Beckett here?”
“He’s just stepped out for a moment,” Laura said. “I am sure he’ll be right back.”
“No,” said Sarah. “No, there’s something I have to tell you. I couldn’t say it yesterday, not with all those…people about. Please, it’s important.”
Kate and Laura exchanged a brief look, and then Kate took a chair next to Laura’s.
“Anubis will come for me,” said Sarah. “Of that I am certain. But it’s not for the reason I told your husband.”
“Why then?” Laura asked.
“I am the prize he seeks to hold on to,” Sarah explained. “I was not the only woman, willing or held captive, in his gang. But he is dreadfully strict with his men. His word is like the word of a god with them, and he decided that children would weaken the ties between the gang members. Any child born in his camp is killed.”
Kate’s hands went instinctively to her abdomen, and Laura gasped.
“Just before the snow melted, I realized that I was pregnant,” Sarah continued. “I was terrified. But an old woman who did the cooking for Anubis gave me a plant and told me to eat it in secret. I knew what it would do. I’ve never been more ill in my life, but when it was done, I wasn’t pregnant anymore. I escaped as soon as I could walk again, but I overheard two men talking about how I was expecting his child, and what it would mean if one of the rival gangs were to get a hold of the baby.
“That is why Anubis will come. He won’t risk losing the baby, even though it’s already gone.” Sarah closed her eyes for a long moment. “Tell whomever you like. And please, beg pardon on my behalf. I didn’t mean to keep secrets; I just couldn’t…say the words.”
“We’ll tell Miss Fraiser,” Laura said quietly. “She’ll make sure you’re all right, and then she’ll tell Mr. O’Neill.”
Kate rummaged in her pocket for a moment, and withdrew a comb.
“Could you fetch a basin of water, Laura?” she asked, her voice almost unnaturally bright. “I think we should see what we can do about Miss Gardiner’s hair and face. She is likely to have quite a few visitors, and she is in no condition to carry water by herself.”
When Laura had brought the water, Kate moved her chair around behind Sarah’s head. With fingers long skilled at delicate work, she began to tease the knots and clumps of dirt and matted blood from Sarah’s hair. Laura held her hands and spoke of hoop skirts and other inanities. When Sarah began to ask questions about the people she had met already, Laura took it as a good sign, and gave answers freely. Once Sarah was clean, they helped her into a fresh dress, and then Kate braided her hair.
When Carson returned, he heard the sound of women’s voices, and knew that his wife was healing wounds he couldn’t touch. He smiled to himself, and left her to her work.
xxx
It was just before noon when Daniel Jackson returned. He knocked on the door as though it were the door to a house and not to a sickroom. Sarah was laughing when he entered, Laura had been telling a story from her own girlhood, and for a moment, he was reminded of the young lady he had known in Chicago all those years ago before life had changed them so. When she saw him, Sarah’s face darkened slightly, but she said nothing when he entered the room.
“Have you remembered anything?” he asked gently. “From before your kidnapping, I mean?”
“I am afraid not,” Sarah said. “Everything after is painfully clear, but before, there is nothing.”
“Perhaps this will help,” Daniel said, handing her an old photograph.
“You know me,” she said.
“I do,” he replied. “That’s me in the back row, on the left.”
Sarah looked at the photograph. Daniel had carried it with him all the way across the country, and through the years it had seen a lot of wear, but the faces were still clear. Three rows of new teachers, sitting proudly in front of a brick building that was mostly covered in moss. Sarah sat in the middle of the front row.
“Chicago,” Sarah said quietly after a long moment had passed. “I was a teacher. And so were you.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“Daniel, Daniel Jackson. You gave me the necklace.”
“I did,” Daniel’s voice was thick.
“I remember. I went to Oklahoma. You wrote me letters and you got married.” Sarah looked at him directly for the first time. “I remember.”
“If you want to talk to someone you knew then, tell Mrs. Beckett. She can come and find me. “
“Of course,” said Laura.
“I should go,” Daniel said, somewhat awkwardly. “I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thank you,” Sarah said. “Thank you for remembering me.”
Daniel nodded, twisting his hat in his hands, and then quit the room. Outside the door, he met Jonas Quinn.
“Is she awake?” the younger man asked.
“Yes,” Daniel said, somewhat shortly. “She’s awake.”
Jonas watched him walk away curiously before continuing into Carson’s office.
“Miss Gardiner, ladies,” he said, nodding to each in turn. “I wondered if you might join me for lunch.”
“Jonas Quinn, are you out of your mind?” Laura demanded. “You saw her feet. My husband will kill you if you have her walk out of here.”
“It’s only as far as Miss Mal Doran’s,” Jonas protested.
“As much as I would love to get out of here, I think I have to agree with Mrs. Beckett,” Sarah said. “I am not even standing on my feet right now and they hurt. I can only imagine what walking will do.”
“Then you won’t walk,” Jonas said. Without allowing anymore time for argument, he crossed the room and picked Sarah, blanket and all, up off the bed.
“Mr. Quinn!” Kate exclaimed, so shocked she couldn’t finish the sentence. She looked to Laura for some support, but Laura was already beginning to laugh.
“Carson only said she had to stay off her feet,” she pointed out. “And she is off her feet.”
“I probably should have warned you about Laura,” Kate said to Sarah. “She has the most impossible ideas.”
Sarah was laughing too. “If even half the things you have told me about Miss Mal Doran are accurate, I simply must meet her.”
“I am glad we are all in agreement,” Jonas said. “Mrs. Lorne, would you get the door?”
Kate rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. As she and Laura divested themselves of their dirty aprons, and followed Jonas and Sarah out the door, she couldn’t help but wonder what the quilting circle was going to make of this spectacle.
Chapter 5
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I loved Caldwell snapping at Kinsey *relishes* Caldwell is teh awesome.
And Laura and Kate, the fanon dynamic duo, no matter the universe they share. ;-)
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I totally did not write that with you in mind at all. And if you believe that, I have some land in Florida to sell you. :)
Kate and Laura are so great. And they really come to the front, I think in the Wild West and Ren AUs because men and women don't really talk to each other that much in those time frames, you know? Except formally, and sometimes you just need someone to listen to you. It's part of what makes them so appealing.
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Do you have days off? If I tell you what mine are (I don't have any for a while) can we do stuff? I am SO BORED and if I do nothing but sit in Starbucks, I am going to develop a crush on one of the guys that works there, and that would just be stupid.
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I don't have that many days off, and I'm pretty much busy till the end of this month. Next month I'm trying Nano, so...I have no idea what time will be like, actually. I do know I'll be working nearly full time by December. I've got the museum stuff too that starts after TG. Sorry.
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I am trying NaNo too (grav_ity, if you can imagine), so at least we'll have each other for moral support.