The Song Remains the Same

Title: The Song Remains the Same

Author: Geonn

Pairing: Sam/Janet

Category: Romance

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Stargate and characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, etc. Mainly you need to know no one with the name of Geonn owns the deed to these people.

Archive: Yes, just let me know where it's gonna be.

Summary: Janet worries before Sam departs on a mission to a new world.

Janet Fraiser set the bowls out for breakfast, glancing up and finding herself staring out the window. The gravel road passed by this window, the road curving just beyond it and, in the distance, she could see the bright blue of the sea. Shimmering, beckoning, deadly. She shuddered and smoothed her hands over her apron, turning to the stairs. "Breakfast is ready!" Immediately, the sounds of small shoes and one pair of boots sounded overhead. Her husband followed the children down, pecking her on the cheek as he passed.

"It smells delicious," he said. "But I cannot stay."

"Oh," Janet said, only slightly disappointed. She hadn't really expected him to stay. It seemed like ages since they'd had a meal together. "Should I expect you home for dinner?"

He sighed, putting his jacket on. "It is not impossible... but I do not know. Good day, Janet. I love you."

"I love you," the door slammed. "Too."

She walked to the window as her children began eating, planning to watch him walk to work but finding her sights instead focusing on the boat at the harbor. She exhaled and turned, smiling at her daughter and son. "I have to go prepare for school. Behave Nanny while I'm gone, all right?"

"Okay, momma," her daughter said.

Janet kissed both of her kids and grabbed her shawl from the hook. She glanced back at the kitchen, where the children's nanny was watching her. Janet sighed and lowered her eyes for a moment. Nanny nodded her understanding and went back to the dishes. Janet said, "I'll try to be back to walk the children to school."

"Yes, Mrs. Fraiser."

Janet waved her fingers at the kids and stepped out of the house. Her heeled boots sank into the gravel as she walked, following the curving road away from the small school building where she served as teacher. She gathered her dress in her fists, holding it out of the way as she walked, quickening her pace. She didn't have much time for what she wanted to do.

She looked at the harbor, the boat now fully visible. She could see Captain O'Neill on the deck, leaning impatiently against the railing and looking out to sea. On the dock, the African was loading supplies for their trip. They were set to leave in one hour. She quickened her step.

---

"How fast does it go?"

Samantha looked up from her horse, smiling broadly. Janet Fraiser, the schoolteacher in town, was standing in the open door of the stable. "Fast enough," Samantha said, repeating the first thing they'd said to each other months ago. Janet had been awed by the horse and even more awed by the fact it was a woman riding it. She walked into the stable, running her hand down the magnificent beast's neck. "I was wondering if you'd show up," Samantha admitted.

"Breakfast," Janet explained.

"I'm glad you are here," Samantha added.

Janet looked at the other woman. She wore slacks, like the rest of her crew, and knee-high boots. She wore a crisp white shirt and a brown leather vest. Her hair, however, was much shorter than it'd been the last time Janet had seen her. The long blonde curls had been snipped away, now shoulder-length and straight. She looked so much like a man at that moment that Janet had to focus on the horse. "You are leaving in an hour."

"Yes," Samantha said. She was stroking the horse on the opposite side, the animal the only thing keeping her hand from touching Janet's.

"Are you scared?"

"Yes," Samantha smiled.

Janet reached across with her free hand and touched the cuff of Samantha's shirt sleeve. "I..."

"Yes?"

Janet looked at the ground. "I will miss you."

Samantha stepped around the horse's head. "That's not what you were going to say."

"I was going to say a lot of things."

"Like?"

"Like I'm married. Like you're a woman. Like I hate myself for what I think at night, laying next to my husband. Like I wonder what it would be like to kiss you. Like you... are a woman and I am not a man. And how I wish I didn't care about that. Because of how you make me feel. Like I want to get on that boat with you and ask Captain O'Neill to leave us on the first island he passes. Like how beautiful I think your hair makes you look and like how there's nothing in this world I'd like more than the confidence to be something everyone is telling me I cannot be."

Samantha smiled sweetly and touched Janet's hair. It was up, in a bun, like always. Her hand slid up Janet's neck and found the seashell-shaped clasp holding it in place. She released it and let the auburn strands collapse. She touched the freed curls and leaned in. She kissed Janet's cheek and Janet thrilled, gasping and stiffening her spine. She turned her head, almost brushing Sam's lips with her own. Her flesh was energized and the hairs stood up on her arms.

She touched Samantha's sleeve again, feeling the strong muscles below. "I don't know what to curse... that you are a woman or that I love you so."

Samantha stepped back and walked back to her side of the horse. "I have to prepare for the trip."

"The new world," Janet nodded.

"Yes," Samantha said.

"Do you love me?" Janet asked, speaking quickly before she could bridle or perhaps soften the question.

Samantha turned. "I think... I should leave this country before I do something I regret."

"Like?" Janet asked.

"Like ruin your marriage. Like destroy your reputation. Like making it impossible for you to teach. Like doing something stupid like holding you while you sleep and falling in love with you."

Janet touched the horse on the side opposite Samantha, as close as they would get to touching again. "Would you?"

"If I don't leave."

"Don't leave."

"I have to."

Janet closed her eyes. "And when you return?"

"There will be other expeditions."

"Take me with you."

Samantha looked up. "You?"

"On the boat. I will go with you to the new world."

"Your children need you."

"Samantha," Janet said, crying softly.

The blonde stepped away from the horse. "Will you see that she is taken care of?"

Janet nodded.

"The new world awaits."

Janet nodded.

"Janet..."

"Unless you are going to say you're not going... I do not need to hear anything you have to say."

Samantha looked down at her hands, which still held the horse's reins. "I've never told you her name." Janet turned. "Her name is Janet's Heart. It was the only way I could see to... actually have it."

Janet closed the distance between them and rose onto her toes, kissing Samantha full on the lips. They held each other until the kiss broke, their lips connected by a thin strand of saliva that severed as Janet fell back to the ground. Samantha touched Janet's hair, then turned and walked from the stables. Janet sobbed, leaning against the stable door.

---

"Turn your lesson books to Page 34," Janet said, walking down the row of desks in her small schoolhouse. "You'll find four equations, all of which I want completed. When everyone is finished, we'll go over them together." She looked out the small window at the back of the class, watching as the Seagate pulled away from the dock. She could vaguely see Captain O'Neill on the deck, a white-blonde person moving about behind him. She toyed with the locket around her neck and watched as it parted the waves of the blue sea, disappearing towards the horizon.

"Mrs. Fraiser?"

She turned, startled.

"We're all done," a little girl said.

Janet blinked in surprise, wondering how long she'd been watching the boat. "Yes, all right. Michaela, would you like to demonstrate the first equation on the board?"

---

The pale, blue, shimmering water shone brightly on Janet's face. It brightened her eyes as she watched, waiting for the tell-tale ripples that meant her love was coming home. O'Neill appeared first, followed by Teal'c and Daniel Jackson. Janet walked up the ramp, intercepting Sam halfway. "Doc," O'Neill said, surprised. He turned to his team. "Did someone have a medical emergency they didn't tell me about?"

"Hardy har," Janet mocked. "As accident prone as you guys are, I wanted to be safe instead of sorry." She walked down the ramp with the team, taking Sam's hand for a split second and squeezing the fingers. They parted ways, the men of SG-1 heading for the lockers while Sam walked with Janet to the infirmary. When they were alone in the elevator, Janet whispered, "There's something I want to show you in my office."

---

Sam sat on Janet's lap, straddling the other woman and nuzzling her neck. "It's beautiful," she said, turning slightly so she could see the locket that Janet still held. It was open, revealing a faded photograph of a woman wearing an ankle-length dress. It had been faded by time and light and creased drastically.

"I found it when I was cleaning out the attic last weekend," she explained. As Sam continued her nibbling, Janet said, "No one in the family talks about her, even though she's the one I'm named for. Janet Elizabetha Fraiser."

"Elizabetha?" Sam asked, kissing Janet's ear.

Janet nodded. "It's my middle name, too. Although most times people shorten it to Elizabeth."

"I think it's absolutely gorgeous." She found Janet's lips and kissed her hard. They grappled for a few moments, then Janet dropped her hands to Sam's ass and pulled her forward. Sam moaned and pressed her cheek against Janet's forehead. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Janet breathed into the hollow of Sam's neck.

Sam draped her arms over Janet's shoulder, kissing the top of the other woman's head. They held each other until they had to break apart for work, parting with a lingering kiss and holding hands until the last possible moment, when they exited the office and someone was liable to see them.