[Blake Warren]

2200
Dr. Warren's Quarters
Vedas Base

Blake was picking himself up off the floor as Steve scrambled off the bed, breathing hard. It had been a somewhat awkward attempt at a date night after Blake's lab work had been done for the day and Steve's evening physical therapy appointment.

Steve backed away for the door, shaking his head. Blake wasn't hurt, at least not physically. The shove hadn't been meant to harm. "I'm sorry, I just, I can't."

"Steve, wait. It's okay, I'm fine." Blake's belt buckle rattled as he fastened it. The door controls made a soft noise as Steve swiped them and all but ran out the door. As the automatic door closed, Blake said wearily. "Please just talk to me."

Blake cursed and put his head in his hands. He knew the bare bones of what had happened to SV-3 while SV-1 were being written off as crazy. But he couldn't help Steve if the man wouldn't talk to him, and Steve refused to tell him anything about what had happened beyond being captured, questioned and escaping. He went to the small cooler and grabbed the partly fully bottle of Captain Morgan. Clearly, it was that kind of night.

Only one person knew the details that Steve refused to share. Blake could guess some of it, from the wounds covering Steve's body and his behavior. But he had to know, no matter what had gone down on Athenda. He couldn't Steve out of the black hole he was falling into if he didn't know. He thought Isabelle was in the infirmary, something medical to do with the baby.

2207
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake had a shot glass and the quarter full bottle of rum as he found where Izzy was on bed rest. The mess hall was on the way, and while she couldn't have any alcohol like that first night they'd all played "Never Have I Ever," he could offer apple juice boxes from the mess. She might be the only person on base who could help him help Steve, Lieutenant Andre and Vanessa hadn't been there for the injuries that Steve bore now.

He tapped gently on the door frame, quiet enough not to wake her if she was sleep, but enough to be heard if she was awake. And held up the apple juice and two shot glasses in a soft question in one hand and gripped the bottle of rum in the other. "Thought you might want some company? Date night was, an unmitigated disaster."

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2207

Infirmary

Vedas Base

She had thought she was done with her time in the infirmary. Every since returning to the base after the nightmare on Athenda, Isabelle had put through a battery of tests, and even though the Fitjins had used their advanced tech to help her wounds, her hands still needed further treatment once she was back on base. Her nose had been fractured when she had been hit, and there was a hairline fracture on her jaw that would eventually heal on its own, besides the swelling and her busted lip she was fine. According to the doctors the only thing that was slightly wrong with her baby was that it was a little underweight. 

Isabelle had been thankful to be able to go back to her own bed, even if the mattress caused her back to ache more, she was mostly thankful because it meant she did not have to sleep alone. Not that she did anymore. At first she thought she was fine and could just put the events of the past mission behind her, but that was not the case. Every she went to sleep she saw something and just about every time she woke up in a panic, usually when she woke up Bobby woke up but not wanting to worry him she just told him the baby was kicking her ribs again. 

But now she was back in the infirmary, this time for dehydration, even though she had been sure to eat and drink enough, her body thought otherwise and decided to show how it felt by letting her feel some lovely not at all uncomfortable braxtion hicks contractions. So there she was sitting on a hospital with a hydration iv hooked up to her arm and a few other scanning devices on her stomach. Now stuck in bed till she was allowed to walk again Isabelle decided to take it easy and work on something she had been putting off, planning a nursery. 

She was seated cross legged on the hospital bed, random papers scattered around her, one of her still bandaged hands resting on her growing stomach when Blake lightly knocked on the door, "Thought you might want some company? Date night was, an unmitigated disaster." Iz looked up to him and could not help but smile when she saw the rum and apple juice, "Company would be appreciated, I am just trying to keep the boredom away since I can not seem to sleep." she said as she gather her notes up, it was not that she could not sleep, but she did not want to. "And your date night can not be any worse than be trying to design a nursery from another galaxy or try to figure out what all I need to buy when I get back to Earth." she might as well give her bank a heads up now. Setting her papers aside she looked at Blake, though she knew his other half better she still knew him well enough to tell something was wrong, why else would be bring a bottle of rum and tell her date night was a disaster, "Dr. Wa- Blake...what happened?" she asked. 

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[Blake Warren]

2208
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake pulled up one of the visiting chairs, as Izzy mentioned she wasn't sleeping.

Considering the nightmares Steve had woken him with every night since being discharged from the infirmary, he could guess.

"How's the nursery coming? My sissy had to get all kinda things when her oldest boy Jethro came along. Don't buy clothes, folks will give you plenty of those and they outgrow 'em fast." As he poured a shot of rum, he wasn't trying to regulate every word and his speech had shifted right back to northern Georgia.

He offered her the other shot glass and the apple juice. "Drink?"

As for what happened, Blake sighed and rubbed his side. "He barely spoke all evening and I managed to spook him earlier and he ran from me. I'm tryin' to help him." Blake shook his head. "Ain't going very well. Want me to pour that up for you?"

<<Isabelle Cooper>>

[Isabelle Cooper]

2209
Infirmary
Vedas Base

The times where here she had heard Blake’s true accent were few and far between, usually the man managed to hide it well, were as others like Sgt. Harper or Major Harris just talked like there was nothing to hide. He had to have other things on his mind if he was not focusing on his accent. She watched him pour a shot of rum, Isabelle wished she could partake but the strongest thing she was allowed to have now days was a baby aspirin, she noticed he had brought her a bottle of apple juice so she wouldn’t feel left out. 

Isabelle reached for the bottle as he kept talking, the top was proving diffult with her hand still being bandaged but even with her fingers still being numb she kept trying. “He barely spoke all evening and I managed to spook him earlier and he ran from me. I'm tryin' to help him." The bottle slipped from her hand and fell to the side, Isabelle sighed and looked to Blake, “Ain't going very well. Want me to pour that up for you?" He offered. 

She nodded, “If I can just get a bed and a few items of clothing then we will be fine starting out.” They could get by with the bare minimum, little babies did not need an entire wardrobe. She gingerly picked up the bottle and righted it, “Please, help would be appreciated. My fingers are still numb..” she replied, the doctor said they might stay that way for a while. 

[Blake Warren]

2209
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake took the bottle of juice and opened it. Sure, Theria hadn't been fun but once Nick had shown Dr. Radon Vedas, and Blake'd had a chance to speak to Algan with no drugs in his system, they'd been able to go free. Even if the planet wasn't ready for any kind of alliance and might not be for years more. But SV-1 was largely unscatched. SV-3, well, Blake had tried once to ask if Steve was going through a MEDBOARD with the Vedas and Shiva medical staff. The complete shutdown for the next whole day made him not ask again.

He positioned the shot glass and poured her a shot of apple juice with all the exaggerated care of someone who'd already had a couple of shots before walking out of his quarters. The colors were pretty similar, really, and he made sure he pulled his own shot glass to him to not mix the glasses, while offering Isabelle hers.

He looked at the two glasses and finally spoke. "Steve ain't doing go-, well. I'm pretty sure even if he won't say, he's being evaluated for medical retirement and I know he tried to resign as team leader, don't know exactly what the Admiral told him to that one. But I know far too little to help him. He make you promise not to tell me anything?"

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2210
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Isabelle picked up the shot glass with one of her bandaged hands, her fingers stiffly gripping the small glass, "Saluti" she said with a nod towards Blake before taking her "shot". "Steve ain't doing go-, well. I'm pretty sure even if he won't say, he's being evaluated for medical retirement and I know he tried to resign as team leader, don't know exactly what the Admiral told him to that one. But I know far too little to help him. He make you promise not to tell me anything?"

Iz stared at her now empty glass, wondering how to best answer him. Yes, Steve had told her to not tell Blake what she had seen but she had been in a bit of a shock and could not..did not want to remember everything clearly. "I learned that day I would not make a good solider." she finally said, "He tells me to not drop my gun, I drop it. He tells me to stay behind him...I step in front, stay quiet, I talk." she sighed fighting the memories of that hellish day as they tried to come out of the corners of her mind where she had forced them, "He never made me promise anything, but that does not mean I want to talk about what happened, it is probably best that some things are never spoken about." 

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[Blake Warren]

2210
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake looked at his shot and downed it. It wasn't as good as the drugs had been on Theria at dulling everything. And it was probably the Captain Morgan that made him think he had a good idea at all. "What if you don't have to talk at all? It'll be a drinkin' game. I'll only ask yes or no questions, only regarding Steve. If I'm right, you drink. If I'm wrong, you do nothing and I'll drink."

It wasn't really the best idea, but the jumpiness and haunted look in Steve's eyes were something he had to do something about.

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2211
Infirmary
Vedas Base


"What if you don't have to talk at all? It'll be a drinkin' game. I'll only ask yes or no questions, only regarding Steve. If I'm right, you drink. If I'm wrong, you do nothing and I'll drink."

If she had been able to drink, his idea would have left both of them downing several shots, but she knew he would be the one drinking. He had questions. Isabelle pour herself some more apple juice and leaned back on her pillows, looking to Blake she rested her shot glass on her stomach, "Ask away, but please note that I am not required to answer you on everything." she replied. 

[Blake Warren]

2211
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake nodded. "Understood."

Yes and no questions only. Blake considered, getting the information he needed to help Steve through this without dragging this out. "I know he won't want me to know this, but here goes. Did he have to kill anyone this time?"

His hand was poised for the glass. "We have something of an understanding. Steve pretends he's never had to kill in the line of duty and I pretend to believe that."

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2212
Infirmary
Vedas Base


"I know he won't want me to know this, but here goes. Did he have to kill anyone this time?"

"We have something of an understanding. Steve pretends he's never had to kill in the line of duty and I pretend to believe that."

He wasted no time in jumping right in, Isabelle could not help but flinch at his question, never had to kill in the line of duty? Did Blake really believe that? Then again, up till a few weeks ago she had believed the same thing, that the Marine Colonel had never actually taken a life in the line of duty, but that was before she watched him slice the throat of a man who was hell bent on destroying them. Isabelle took her shot, "He did what was needed." she said quietly, the memory of that moment flashed through her head and she winced, it no longer made her sick to think about, now it just left her with a cold feeling, "It just now left me with a new fear." she added as she refilled her shot glass. 


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[Blake Warren]

2212
Infirmary
Vedas Base

He'd figured. Though Steve was usually very much up for some "quality time" after combat, loaded up on testosterone and adrenaline. Not pushing him away like this. Which led to other questions that Blake needed answered, even if he didn't want them answered.

Before he could go there, Izzy mentioned a new fear. "Most 'gate missions don't go as badly, as both of ours did this time. And you saw what he's willing to do to protect the people he cares about, that's what he's trained to do. He'd do everything in his power to not let things go down like this again."

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2213
Infirmary
Vedas Base


"Most 'gate missions don't go as badly, as both of ours did this time. And you saw what he's willing to do to protect the people he cares about, that's what he's trained to do. He'd do everything in his power to not let things go down like this again."

Their last mission did not just go bad, it was a living nightmare, "I know that, I knew that going into things. I just don't ever want to be in a position where he would have to use his training on me." 

[Blake Warren]

2214
Infirmary
Vedas Base

For a moment it didn't compute what Izzy had said. Then he got it. "You really think he'd ever hurt you, Isabelle? After the injuries he came back with trying to protect you and the baby?"

Blake gave a small, drunk laugh. "Believe you me, I have made him angrier than you ever could. He's never raised a hand to me in almost fourteen years."

But he did get it, as he pushed his dress shirt cuffs back to show his fine-boned wrists, the left one encircled with a silvertone watch. "If he had it in him to hurt someone physically, more vulnerable, I would have already been bounced off various hard surfaces just here on Vedas."

 His own ego as a man didn't want to say "weaker." Even if he knew there was no way he could stand up to Steve in a real fight, and Isabelle was a foot shorter.

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[Isabelle Cooper]

2214
Infirmary
Vedas Base


"You really think he'd ever hurt you, Isabelle? After the injuries he came back with trying to protect you and the baby?"

No, Steve would never willingly lay a hand on her and she was sure if any man, even her own husband ever did, he'd be willing to step in and do something about it. Even though the man was her team leader and a respected military officer, he was also like the brother she never had. There was a reason she had asked him to be her childs godfather. "Believe you me, I have made him angrier than you ever could. He's never raised a hand to me in almost fourteen years." she glanced at his wrists as he spoke, "If he had it in him to hurt someone physically, more vulnerable, I would have already been bounced off various hard surfaces just here on Vedas."

Iz shook her head, "This was not just anger, this was some...primal rage that came up as a result of being provoked, the look in his eyes was just pure rage, I could not tell if he was in control or not and then like that it was over and he acted like what he had done was no different than killing a bug." never in her life had she seen someone act like that. Then again never in her life did she expect herself to act the same way. 

[Blake Warren]

2215
Infirmary
Vedas Base

Blake thought of his copy of Grossman's On Killing, somewhere in his quarters. The first time he'd been under fire with Gunny Landey and watched the woman dispatch an enemy soldier. He looked at the shot glass but didn't drink.

"The research methodology has been questioned over the years, but a military historian named S.L.A. Marshall posited that 75% of soldiers in World War 2 didn't fire their weapons to kill in combat. Based on Marshall's published findings, a variety of changes were made to military training in the following years. By Vietnam, findings were that 90% of soldiers fired their weapons to kill."

He looked at the shot glass again and drank it, then refilled the glass. "The first time I saw a teammate have to kill, I'd been at SGC for about a month, a week out from the Off-World Qualification Course on SG-11." He stopped there and summarized. "Long story short, a second contact was a trap to capture us, as bait for a 'higher value' SG team for the Lucian Alliance bounty. Gunnery Sergeant Landey was taking me back to the gate, and we were attacked. She shot him with a Mozambique Drill before I could even think about unholstering my pistol. Admittedly, she did it completely cold. I didn't see it bother her until later."

Blake wondered what else had gone down to enrage Steve like that and was afraid he already knew

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