Clinic, Exam One - Late Morning
Cameron
Cameron kept his eyes closed as he listened to sounds around him, trying to find the odd one out that would confirm that he had just been dreaming and he wasn't really back in Fandom. Or perhaps it was the other way around and the last two years and a half hadn't really happened. It was just all part of a Fandom oddity and when he opened his eyes Molly and Veronica would be there and it would all be alright. He'd get out of the clinic soon and he'll call home. He'd hear his sister's voice and his mother. His father wouldn't come on the telephone, but he'd comment in the background. He wouldn't tell them what had happened. It would just worry them.
He knew he was kidding himself because he could feel the slight ache in his hand when he moved his fingers. He remembered how he got those cuts and Ray kept making soft whining noises, but Cameron didn't quite want to open his eyes and let his thoughts go further than the room he was in. It felt safe and just for a moment he wanted to hang on to that before everything crashed around him.
Sam
Sam crept into the room on careful feet, not wanting to disturb his rest, and stopped still in the doorway when she finally found him. Oh, Cameron. He was so still. No matter how many times she'd visited friends and teammates in clinics and infirmaries, she'd never gotten over the stillness.
She held out her hand for the dog to sniff and hoped he was friendly.
Cameron
Ray whined softly and pushed a wet nose against Sam's palm. He seemed friendly enough as his tail started wagging excitedly, making soft noises as he tried to lick her hand.
It was enough noise for Cameron to know someone else was in the room and before he could debate whether he wanted to ignore them or not, he'd opened his eyes again. At least the hospital didn't fade like he'd expected it to, but he couldn't quite believe his eyes either and maybe he was just dreaming after all.
Sam
Sam scratched the dog's head and gave a small wave when she saw Cam's eyes were open. "Hey, you." She had no idea what he'd been through, but she kept her voice low and as soothing as she could.
Cameron
"Hey," he said softly, watching Ray trying to get more ear scratches and he wasn't sure why now of all moments he remembered being a cub and... He pushed the thoughts away because they didn't quite seem to belong. "Sam." There was surprise and disbelief as he said her name.
Sam
"Welcome back," she sat down next to the bed and reached for his hand. "We missed you."
Cameron
He startled at the touch, but then his fingers closed around hers and he just gripped her hand tightly. "Not... Not as much as I missed you guys," he stumbled over the words. "I've been away longer."
Sam
Ah, temporal differences and shifts and alternate universes and timelines, how she'd missed them. "It's 2008 here," she told him, wondering if it would help or cause more damage. "More than six months after our graduation."
Cameron
There were thoughts at the back of his mind about changing pasts, but they stayed at the back for as he never had been good at it and those sleep pills still clouded his thoughts. Or maybe he was just tired. It was an easier topic to talk about however and he hung on to it, just like he didn't seem to be planning on letting go of her hand.
"December 2009," he said with a slow nod. "Just a few more weeks and it will be Christmas."
Sam
"Long time," she commented, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand. Longer than it seemed, too, from the looks of him. Holy Hannah, his eyes had aged. "Did you at least get the good drugs?"
Cameron
"Knocked me right out," he replied with a crooked smile that disappeared almost right away. He glanced up at her and she'd changed a lot for just six months. "I feel like I slept for ages." He still felt tired, though.
Sam
"Like Rip van Winkle," she teased, then remembered that maybe it wasn't the right time, and sobered, "You can sleep as long as you need, Cam." Even if she had to tie him to the bed to make it happen. "I'll be here when you wake up."
Cameron
He didn't really want to sleep because maybe this time he'd really wake up and Fandom would be gone again and there would be no one there. His fingers tightened around hers and he shook his head. "I slept enough. I shouldn't get lazy. I thought you'd be gone from here by now," he rambled, just to keep talking.
Sam
"You're not being lazy, you're in the clinic," she reminded him, just this side of lecturing. "I'm living in Colorado, most of the time, but Xander called and let me know you were in town. So, I got permission to visit."
Cameron
His face was still tilted towards her, but he wasn't quite looking at her anymore now. He thought he remembered having told Xander not to call anyone. "You're still working for..." he had to think for a moment, try to remember the name of that teacher. "MacGyver? Your hair's too long for the military."
Sam
"For the moment, but that might be coming to an end," she shrugged, thinking of both Jack being free and her complete and utter boredom with her current job. "I could wear it long in the military, but I have to pull it back," she said, wondering why on earth they were discussing her hair, of all things. "Not that I'm going back to the military. One of me is enough."
Cameron
"Says you," he whispered, wondering if it would have changed anything if she'd been there or if it'd just meant another person he'd have lost.
Sam
"Yes, says me," Sam squeezed his hand again. "And you know I'm very seldom wrong, so."
Maybe she'd at least be able to get him to smile again, even if laughing was beyond him at the moment.
Cameron
"I remember," he said softly and there was a trace of amusement. "It's because you're way smarter than I'll ever be."
Sam
"Older," she laughed, "just older. Much, much older."
Cameron
"I just caught up on you," he pointed out as he watched her. Not that he'd forgotten exactly how much older than him she was. It was good to watch her laugh however and he felt guilty for being almost relieved at being here.
Sam
"That's right. You now look older than I do." When life experience was added in, he'd probably gained more than that, but she didn't say that (for once). "I have some good lotion if you're worried about crow's feet."
Cameron
"It's okay," he murmured and it was strange at how almost normal this was. Almost but for the fact that he kept teetering on the edge of... something. "It adds character."
Sam
"You already had plenty of that," she leaned over to press a light kiss to his temple. "The outside finally matches the inside, that's all."
Cameron
His eyes closed and he sucked in a breath as he gripped her hand tightly, trying to hold on and keep from falling. His words got stuck and he didn't quite trust his voice right now anyway.
Sam
God, what had he been through in his year and a half? She squeezed his hand back. "How do you feel about blowing this joint, once the doctor says you're okay to go? I have a spare bedroom, plus I can promise you an insane cat and bad cello."
Cameron
She was good at catching him by surprise and Cameron stared at her for a long moment. "I... You don't have to do this, Sam."
Sam
She met his look with one of her own, trying to tell him that she was being serious about his welcome. "You're right, I don't. You don't have to, if you don't want, either."
Cameron
"It's not that," he said quickly and he wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't like he could go back and maybe that was it as if saying yes was agreeing that his world was really gone. He swallowed and shook his head. "It's not that," he repeated. "I'm just..." He faltered again, not sure what he was going to say.
Sam
"It's okay. Really." She turned so he wouldn't feel like she was staring at him, though she didn't pull her hand away. "Take your time and think about it. Just get better, okay?"
Cameron
His fingers flexed, but he didn't show any signs of letting her hand go either. "Yeah," he whispered hoarsely and it didn't feel like he would ever. "Know how?"
Sam
"Nope." She wasn't overly bothered by that, but she knew she wouldn't be leaving town until Cameron was settled.
Cameron
"Would have been too easy, huh?" he asked, forcing a smile as he opened his eyes again to look up at her.
Sam
"Yeah, and we both know better than that," she turned to look down at him. "Nice dog, by the way. He or she have a name?"
Cameron
"He," Cameron replied. "It's Ray." At the sound of his name, Ray instantly stood up, looking expectantly from Sam to Cameron and back again, wanting either a treat or pets. "He's my family's dog."
Sam
Sam reached down obligingly to pet the dog, making sure to pay attention to his ears and throat. "Ray, huh?" She noticed that Cameron had yet to discuss his family, but she couldn't bring herself to ask, even as she called herself nine different kinds of coward. "Any reason in particular?"
Cameron
"Why he's called that?" he glanced down at the dog who was more than happy to receive the pets. "Emily picked his name. She thought it was funny to call him Sunny which..." he shrugged and his eyes were suspiciously bright, but he refused to look up now. "It's a stupid name for a dog so I managed to convince her Ray was better."
Sam
Had something happened to his family, as well? It was just as well he wasn't looking up, because Sam knew her eyes were a dead giveaway. "I like Ray. It's a good strong name you can yell to get a dog off the furniture, or to call when you need him because there's stray bacon on the floor."
Cameron
"Better than Sunny," he nodded, just talking now so he didn't stop and think. "Dogs are strong."
Sam
"Someone I knew swore every Earth kid needed a dog. Seems like it's true with you, too," she teased.
Cameron
"So why do you have a cat?" he asked, because that fact hadn't escaped him.
Sam
"Because a cat can take care of itself, if I'm not around for a few days at a time," she said, and this time she looked away.
Cameron
Cameron watched her quietly and slowly nodded after a moment. "You're away a lot?" he asked.
Sam
"More than I thought I would be, yes," she nodded. "Turns out there are plenty of threats to the world from our own citizens, too. Who knew?"
Cameron
"Fun," he whispered, a strange expression on his face. "Bet you saved the world," he added even more quietly and while there was some of his usual admiration in his voice, it was harder to find as the words seemed to twist inside him.
Sam
"I helped, anyway," she shrugged it off. "Nothing you won't do in a couple of years."
Cameron
He went rigid, every muscle in his body on edge and he shook his head. "No, I won't," he replied, his tone strangely void of emotion.
Sam
Sam had no idea what she'd said that bothered him, and tried to soothe him the only way she knew how. "What are you talking about? Of course you will, Cameron. I'm sure the SGC will take you the minute you get out of the Academy."
Cameron
He tried to pull his hand back as he looked away, up to the ceiling and he could feel his heart racing. His mouth had suddenly gone dry and he didn't want to say it, didn't fathom how to begin to say it. "There's no SGC, Sam," he finally murmured.
Sam
"Then it's just as well you came back here," she said, figuring he just hadn't been let in on the secret, or maybe his planet hadn't had a dig in Giza, or Daniel Jackson hadn't figured out the symbology, or whatever. She patted him on the leg and figured what she was seeing was just disappointment. "We can keep you plenty busy."
Exactly when had Sam begun thinking of herself as the SGC again?
Cameron
He reached up, his fingers rubbing over his eyes and he didn't have the will or energy to argue.
Sam
"Cam?" Sam finally clued in that things might be more serious than she'd thought. "What is it? What's happened?"
Cameron
His eyes closed and he lowered his hand to his chest. He still was avoiding looking at her. He stayed quiet for a very long moment and just when it might have seemed like he wouldn't answer, he just breathed two words. "The Ori."
Sam
Holy Hannah. "How bad?" That it had been bad wasn't even a question.
Cameron
He thought of the cities he'd crossed trying to get to Fandom, the empty houses and the silence. Nothing but silence. "It's gone. Everything's gone."
Sam
Oh, Cameron. "How long?" She wasn't sure exactly what she was asking--how long it took the Ori to arrive, how long it took them to wipe out an entire planet, how long Cameron fought them (because there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he'd done that), how long he'd been wandering alone. She decided to let Cameron answer what he would. "I'm so sorry."
Cameron
It was strangely easier now to talk and he sounded detached from it all as he just rambled it off, as if he'd been practising this part. "They showed up end May," he replied. "There wasn't much of a fight. They just waltzed over our defenses, took over everything and started converting people. We kept fighting and then..." he let out a breath and his hand flexed restlessly. "We thought we won. They just left, took whoever had converted and left. Then... people got sick. First just a few and it kept spreading until there wasn't anyone left."
Sam
Sam was glad she was already sitting, almost unable to conceive of Earth stripped of all human life. "You survived." Now it was she who wouldn't let go of his hand.
Cameron
"And Fischer," he nodded slowly and he didn't mind her holding on. "He was the carrier. He didn't want to come, I think he went up North."
Sam
She wiped away sudden tears with her hand. "How hurt are you, really? Physically."
Cameron
He glanced up at her and he was almost jealous as he didn't seem able to cry anymore after yesterday. "I'm not sick," he assured her. "I wouldn't have come if I was. Janet... she gave me a vaccine before I left." And he wished he hadn't accepted it now. "I'm just dehydrated. The works."
Sam
"Do you want some water or coffee? Soda?" She could understand the guilt and pain Cam must be feeling. To be the only survivor of an entire planet--how did you recover from that? "No burgers yet, though you could probably use about eighty of them."
Cameron
"I missed cheese burgers," he whispered and it was a stupid thing to say, but he had. "Milk?" he asked. Fresh, cool milk.
Sam
"As soon as the doctors say it's okay, I promise." She blinked back tears this time, not wanting him to see that they were for him.
Cameron
"I would have come sooner if I'd known that," he tried to joke and he squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. Trying to reassure himself.
Sam
"You came as soon as you could." She wasn't in any mood to let go, afraid he'd slip away if she did. "You should try to rest, though."
Cameron
He was too, worried that if he closed his eyes he'd wake up back in Colorado. "You'll... You're staying a while?" he asked.
Sam
"As long as you need me to, yeah." It was a promise she didn't make lightly.
Cameron
It was only when she said it that he realised that he did and he wasn't going to hold it against Xander for having called her. "Thank you," he whispered.
Sam
"You can thank me by getting rest so you can get out of that bed," she scolded him, feeling more comfortable with that. "Don't make me order you."
Cameron
He let out a breath, a tired smile playing across his lips as he glanced up at her. "You can't order me, you're not in the military anymore."
Sam
"Sure, throw that back in my face," she teased, pointedly not bringing up that he wasn't in the military either. "I still remember how."
Cameron
"I'm not surprised," he murmured, his eyes closing as he felt more tired again. There was the sound of the hospital and Fandom around him and the warmth of Sam's fingers around his and he felt safe now.
Sam
She squeezed his fingers and held her breath as she watched him drift off to what she hoped was a dreamless sleep, and prepared to stay for the duration. She did have a moment or two to wish she'd brought a book with her, though. It would have kept her thoughts at bay.
((Preplayed with the awesome carter_i_am. NFI as you can grab him in the clinic.))