Ice Angel

Title: Ice Angel

Author: Geonn

Fandom: Stargate SG-1

Pairing: Sam/Janet

Spoilers: None

Rating: All Ages

The snow drifted down around her in wide arcs, tiny white speckles against a slate gray sky. Her momentum had slowed, her skates carrying her a few more feet before she was standing still in the middle of other elementary-aged kids. She blinked every now and then, when a snowflake got caught on her lashes or landed to close to her eyes. Her mind was elsewhere; on her birthday party this weekend, on being ten... Ten! Two digits!

Maybe she heard the slink of his skates, maybe instinct finally whispered in her ear that she wasn't standing in a safe place. Whatever it was, Sammy Carter looked down just in time to see big Jimmy Clarke from down the street skating right towards her. She brought her mittens up to her face, hoping he wouldn't hit her, hoping she wouldn't turn ten with a black eye, not this birthday, please, don't hit me, Jimmy...

Jimmy hit her. Oh, he hit her hard, his elbow in her ribs and his hand pushing her head back. And he laughed, oh, he laughed and he skated on.

And Sammy was looking up at the sky again.

---

Janet was admiring her new gloves. They were purple, naturally, purple and wool with little strings on the back of her hand so she could tighten them around her wrist. They matched perfectly with her purple parka and pink scarf (they were out of purple). It was because of these gloves that she was admiring her hand rather than watching her feet. She was a nervous skater and was always bent forward, looking down, watching her skates.

But today, she was looking at her fine fingers and the mighty-nice mittens. And so, between her middle and third finger, she saw the little girl get knocked down by the bigger, mean boy. She watched as the little girl in her green parka went down, hitting the ice with her head and laying there and not moving and she was scared. This happened in movies and on TV shows her mommy wouldn't let her watch. Not right in front of her when she was playing and not at her favorite skating pond.

She went out on the ice, for once not watching her feet as she skittered forward. She moved with her legs sliding back and forth, like she was walking and she kept her arms out to her sides for balance. They pinwheeled back and forth as she kept tilting one way or the other and she pushed forward with her whole body to get to the poor little girl. She stopped next to the girl and saw that her eyes were open and there was still smoke over her face that meant she was breathing, she just wasn't getting up.

"Hi," said the girl on the ice.

She couldn't think of anything to say, so Janet dropped onto her knees and patted the other little girl on the head, just like Daddy did when Janet had a fever.

---

Sammy had never seen this little girl before. Or maybe she had, because the other little girl had a wool cap pulled down almost to her eyes and a scarf wrapped around her chin. She had long, brown hair sticking out of her cap, though, and Sammy couldn't remember any brown-haired girls at the moment. Maybe the bump had knocked all brown-haired people out of her brain.

No, Daddy had brown hair and she remembered Daddy.

"Hi," she said. The other little girl had a big purple puff on top of her wool cap that bobbed up and down when she moved. She got on her knees and patted Sammy on the head. It felt good, so she didn't say stop.

There was something warm under her nose and she said, "Am I bleeding?"

The other girl nodded. "Your nose."

"Jimmy hit me."

"He's mean."

Sammy felt tears in her eyes, because they were warm, and tried to ignore them. The other girl brushed her face with her mittens and said, "Don't cry."

She sniffled and said, "Who are you?"

"Janet."

"I'm Sammy."

"Wanna stand up?"

"No, not yet."

Janet looked up into the sky, brushing her hand under her nose as she watched the snow falling. From the edge of the pond, someone called, "Janet!" The purple little girl turned around and waved, then looked down at Sammy. "I have to go."

"Okay."

"Does your nose still hurt?"

Sammy nodded.

Janet bent down, pulling her scarf out of the way and pressing her lips to the tip of Sam's little nose. When she scrambled to her feet, she said, "Better?"

"A lot," Sammy said.

"I'll see you later," Janet said.

---

Janet stumble-skated across the pond, her little body as uncoordinated as a newborn foal, until she reached ground. Her mother wrapped her arms around the little girl, holding her steady as they walked over to a bench to get the skates off. "Who was your friend?" Maryann Fraiser asked.

"Sammy."

"Ooh, is she new here?"

"I dunno."

"What happened?"

"Stupid Jimmy knocked her down. Her nose was bleedin'."

Maryann looked out at the ice, suddenly furious. "Jimmy who?"

"Stupid Jimmy."

"His last name, Janet."

"Clarke."

"We're going to have a talk with his mom and dad, okay? Was Sammy hurt?"

"Her nose. I kissed it and made it better."

Maryann grinned. "Did you, now? Are you going to be a doctor, like Daddy?"

Janet beamed. Daddy was the smartest man she knew! Mommy must think she was smart! "Yep!" Janet said, letting her mother untie her skates. Doctors didn't have to skate, so maybe it would be good for her to be a doctor.

---

Sam blinked slowly, focusing on the dresser next to the bed. What a vivid dream... she hadn't thought about that frozen pond or Jimmy Clarke for years. And she'd completely forgotten about that purple girl... She rolled over and looked at Janet. Her lover was laying face-down, her hair falling over her eyes and her lips just slightly parted. Sam put a hand on the other woman's back, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing through her thin tank top.

She bent down and lightly kissed the pert tip of Janet's nose. The brunette wrinkled her face in protest, breathed out heavily, but didn't wake. She pressed her face into the soft hair, inhaling Janet's shampoo. "My ice angel," she whispered. She stroked Janet's face, lying back down and cuddling against the other woman for warmth as she drifted back to sleep.