Sam and Tammy tell Dr. Keller what they've done, Ronin gets a love interest, and Andi's plan is put to a vote...with an unexpected result...
Confirming Carter Book Two Daedalus
Chapter Three
Interior-Dr. Keller's Suite
0610 Hours
"Jenn...Jennifer, wake up." Carter said, shaking her gently.
"Huh? Sam? What's goi..." Keller sat up, looking around, seeing that she was in her own room. "Is something wrong? Are you..."
"I'm fine." Sam said. "We need to talk to you. Tammy's making coffee. We'll be in the kitchen."
It was almost five minutes before Jennifer came into the kitchen, and Tammy laughed when she did.
"Are you wearing bunny slippers?" She asked, barely able to contain herself.
"Yes, and shut up. I like them."
She poured a cup of coffee and sat down across from them at the table.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"We have to talk to you. Tell her Tammy." Sam said.
"You tell her, it was your idea. I just went along with it." Tammy said back.
"Will one of you please tell me what you've done..."
Keller's mouth snapped shut as she stared at them.
"I guess we don't have to tell her now." Tammy said. "I think she figured it out."
"When?" Keller asked.
"Two weeks ago." Tammy said. "We did five transfusions before I started feeling the effects, then we stopped."
"Are you out of your fucking minds?" She asked. "Is that's why you've been doing daily scans on both of you?"
"Yes and yes." Sam said. She looked over at Tammy. "She's taking it better than I expected."
Keller stared at Tammy. "I can't believe you'd do something that irresponsible. Do you have any idea what a risk you're taking? Why would you do something like that?"
"Because she loves me. And I asked her too." Sam said. "I wanted her to come with me, not just take care of me."
"I know this violates medical ethics, Jenn. But so does everything else we've been doing." Tammy told her. "And I did it because she asked me to come with her on her journey. I want to go with her. We're going to have a long, wonderful life together."
"What if you react differently? What if you die Tammy? Did you think about that?" Keller asked quietly.
"No. Because it's not going to happen, it would have started already. Have you noticed any difference in me over the past week?" Tammy asked her. "Think about it for a minute."
She got up and poured them all a fresh cup of coffee, then got the cream from the fridge, and sugar from the pantry. Sam scooped sugar into their cups as Tammy added cream.
"Is that why you keep blowing me off when I ask about our workouts? You seem livelier after, and you just power right through everything. Are you wearing ear plugs yet?"
"She really should be." Sam said. "I can see her trying to concentrate sometimes. Jenn, we had to tell you because you're our doctor, and you have to know. Will you help us, if we get in trouble?"
"How many of the tests you sent me this week were yours, Tammy?" Keller asked.
Tammy hesitated, looked at Sam, then back at Keller. "All of them."
"I'll be right back." Jennifer said. She left the room and was back a moment later with her laptop and a tablet. "Bring up the first tests you sent me this week, then look at the last tests you know you sent me on Sam."
Tammy went through the reports, then looked up at Jennifer.
"That's right. You're already ahead of where she was at the same time." Keller said. "I'll be your doctor, there's no way I can say no. But I don't know how to handle this." She paused, then looked back at them. "You're sitting here because you don't want me to tell Andi."
"Yes. But Jenn, I don't need to be stimulated like she does, and my hormone and endorphin levels don't ramp up and down like Sam's do." Tammy said. "That's what I've been wondering about."
"You started after her korathis levels had leveled out, she's no longer producing as vigorously, just maintaining. And you're not having to do the stimulations as much, you're down to once a day, or so Andi tells me. Because you two withhold information from me." Keller told her. "You also have a three year history with it, your levels were near constant anyway."
She looked at them as she took her tablet back. "I'm mad as hell about this, but there's not a damn thing I can do about it now." She said, closing her laptop and sliding both machines out of the way. "Go get me complete scans, and a full workup on both of you. Do Tammy first, in case anyone comes in. I want them in half an hour. And I want you to start wearing a bracelet too, Tammy."
She looked over at Carter. "I guess she's been teaching you how to take blood, run tests?"
Carter nodded.
"Good, so I don't have to." She got up and poured another cup of coffee. "Get out of here. I need to think."
Interior-Col. Sheppard's Suite
0645 Hours
"Wha..." Sheppard grunted as she slid into bed with him.
"It's just me." Jennifer said. "It's not time to get up yet."
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing...except your boss and my nurse are a couple of idiots." She said as she pulled the sheet up over her. "Just hold me, and go back to sleep."
"Okay." He said, not completely awake. He put his arm across her, pulling her closer as he laid his cheek against her back, and pressed his hips against her, sighing happily.