Infirmary

[Tracy Jane]

Hermione tried to keep her breathing steady, tried not to show that she was hurting too. It just kept coming, blow after blow and this... no wonder Callista was.... She bit her lip and nodded slowly, processing the information in her mind before she spoke again.

"If you don't want to go back in there, I can handle it," she told Callista, a hand rubbing her upper arm gently. "I'm not going to force you into it."

[Gen Blue]

"No," Cal firmed up and stood straighter, "I told him that I'd be there. No matter what." She blinked rapidly, "And I always keep my word."

[Tracy Jane]

Hermione nodded and leaned back against the wall. She admired and respected Callista's loyalty, she saw how much strength it was taking for her to remain calm and collected. But there was another part of her that was worried about how much strain the sergeant could take before she snapped.

"Callista," she said quietly, "You need sleep. You need sleep and you need food and you need a break. But I still have another question to ask. I need to know, because it's the one thing I'm not understanding right now. Well, there's a lot of things I'm not understanding, but this is pretty key." She shook her head in confusion. "Anyway, the point is that I've got to go back in there and ask this question, even though I'd rather you went straight off to sleep. But I'll let you come in with me. And you can sleep here in the medical bay if you prefer. I can give you something to help it," she rambled, watching the woman with a worried expression on her face.

[Gen Blue]

"Thank you," Cal mumbled, "I need to be there. For my own peace of mind if nothing else." She nodded at the doctor's request. "When we're done, I'll get some chow. And some rest."

[Tracy Jane]

Leading the way back into the room, Hermione stood and frowned at Janus and his host. "The one thing, the single most important thing, that confuses me is your memory. You claim you have no memory as you are young. But the larvae Goa'uld, and Tok'ra, the symbiotes retain the genetic makeup and the memories of their queen. So even as a young symbiote, you should have a full memory."

It was this single fact that made Hermione less inclined to believe him than any other. There was no possible way that Janus would lose his memory, not unless there was an error in the genetic coding, like the forced error they discovered Egeria passing onto her offspring on Pangar, or like the....

"Quadrifrons," she said, suddenly changing tack.

[Gen Blue]

Nick tipped his head to the side like a curious puppy, "Pardon? What is quad-ri-frons? Quadrifrons. Four head?"

[Tracy Jane]

Hermione giggled in spite of herself. It was totally out of place to see the General sitting there tilting his head in a gesture that was pure Kate Howard through and through. Not that Nick would ever want to hear that he resembled the Major in any way, of course.

Resemblence to staff members aside, however, there was something genuine and endearing about the small gesture, yet another demonstration of the symbiote's childlike innocence.

"Quadrifrons," repeated Hermione slowly. "That's right. Four heads." She sighed and flapped her hands in the air. "Is there anything you can tell us, anything at all? Why you can't remember anything, why you're so young, yet not a Goa'uld. Anything that can help us here!"

[Gen Blue]

"I don't know," he slammed his hands on the mattress in frustration, "I know that I should know ... things ... but, when I go to that place in my mind, there's nothing there. It all went wrong," he wailed softly.
After a minute, Nick said, "I think I'm 'dad' to a bouncing, baby snake." He got an absent look in his eye. "Pardon me. A bouncing, baby symbiote."

[Tracy Jane]

At this point Hermione had no idea whether to laugh or cry. His last "daughter" had caused him enough problems, how he was going to cope with a live-in toddler was beyond her.

"Well," she said, barely concealing her grin, "It seems like Junior could do with a feed and putting down for the night. And so could a certain young Sergeant," she said firmly, looking at Callista. As she ushered the woman out of the room, she turned back briefly to add, "If either of you remember anything, let me know."

[Gen Blue]

"You'll be the second to know, Min." Nick agreed. He waggled a finger at the two women, "Cal, no sitting up on the computer. That's an order."
She chuckled slightly, "Yes, sir. I'll obey my curfew."
Nick laid back on the bed and tried to get some sense from the agitated symbiote.

[Gen Blue]

After the two women left the Isolation room and moved out of sight, Cal stopped. Facing Dr. Lancaster, she said, "God knows that I want to believe that story but ...," she shrugged, "What do you think? If it's a Goa'uld, it's a sneaky one. It gave us nothing we could verify, dammit."

[Tracy Jane]

"Well the body language is certainly authentic," Hermione mused. "Very childlike. But you're right. There's nothing to say who he is." She shook her head at the situation. "Even with gaps, there has to be a way to provoke a subconscious memory. I don't know if Howard has one of those... memory device things... in her possession. Goodness knows what 'trinkets' she's hoarding. But it's worth a shot. If not... there's one other thing that could work."

She trailed off, thinking about how to implement the plan, about safety precautions that would need to be put into place.

"But for now, I think we need sleep," she said quietly. "Slip those papers back to the office, Callista. I don't want the wrong people finding out." She sighed, her eyes wandering over to Rowena, aware of how much damage stray papers could cause on a base like this. "Then get some sleep."

[Gen Blue]

Mykonos picked up on what the doctor was possibly planning and pulled a face. "You're really thinking of getting Major Howard down here? She's not ... exactly ... stable on this subject, Doctor. I'm afraid she might try to kill him with her bare hands."
Cal ruffled the papers nervously, "Can we keep that as a last resort?"

[Tracy Jane]

"Actually, I'm rather counting on the fact," Hermione replied to Callista's comment on killing him. "Though I'd advise you not to call her a murderer to her face." She folded her arms and looked at Callista. "Strong emotions invoke memories, it's a commonly known fact. Whether Janus be Goa''uld or Tok'ra, there will be strong feelings towards Nut. It is the best way to determine who the symbiote is, or at the very least, who they are descended from."

[Gen Blue]

Cal frowned, "I get that part. A little shock treatment. Risky but usefull." She poofed out a breath, "That can wait for another day. You're right, I'm whipped," waving the papers again the woman said, "I'll drop these off, lock up and ...?"
Lancaster's look made up Cal's mind, "Go to my quarters for some rest. OK?"