Cassandra's Gift
by John O'Connor

Disclaimer:  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the
property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom,
 MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko 
Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes
only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright
 infringement is intended. The original characters,
situations, and story are the property of the author.

Note: Partial spoilers for "Hathor" and "Singularity"

Rated PG-13

      Janet Fraiser was enjoying a rare third day in a row off
work. There was something almost sinful about laying on a
towel in the backyard, soaking up the sun, while other people
were working. It was a pleasantly warm day in the Colorado
Foothills.
     'Screw 'em!' she thought without a trace of vindictiveness.
     She was laying on her stomach and undid the top to the
small two-piece bathing suit she was wearing. She hated tan
lines and vowed to look as good as she could when she went up
to the mountain resort with Cassandra in a few weeks. Maybe
she should ask Sam if she wanted to go?
     Her eyes closed and her head lying on her crossed arms,
Janet outwardly betrayed none of the wonder and fear that
sudden motherhood had brought. The fear was diminishing
more and more every day as she came to find that dealing with
a young teenager was no worse than a teamful of Marines.
     Her reverie was broken by a scream. Before she could react,
Cassandra leaped over her, followed by the dog. Both were
soaked and drops of cold water hit Janet's bare back.
     With a screech, she leaped up. "Cassandra!"
     "Hey, it's not her fault Janet. I, uh, I sprayed them with the
hose..."
     Janet turned to see her best friend, Samantha Carter
standing there staring at her. "You did? Why?" Janet demanded.
     "Um, Janet..." Sam made some gesture with her hands but
when Janet didn't catch on, she said, "Uh, look, I don't know if
you have some deal with the neighbors but you might wanna
put your top..."
     "Oh God!" Janet yelled as she grabbed the small bra off the
blanket then raced into the house.
Janet Fraiser was enjoying a rare third day in a row off work.
 * * * * * *
     A few minutes later, Janet went to the front door and saw
Sam as she put the finishing touches on Janet's car. The tall Air
Force captain had come by to see Cassandra and made some
snide comment about Janet's filthy car. Janet told Sam to clean
it if it bothered her so much. To the doctor's amazement, Sam
smiled and went to work on both of their cars.
     Off to the side, Cass sat with the dog laying next to her on
the lawn.
     The dog. That was how Janet always thought of Cassandra's
pet. As if it wasn't enough to have to adapt to life with a half-
grown person, she had to open her house to a flea-bitten mutt.
If it hadn't been for the look on the girl's face after Jack O'Neill
had given the dog to her, Janet would've refused.
     Janet had been a cat person. They were great pets. Almost
as easy to care for as fish. They cleaned themselves, you didn't
have to take them for walks, they didn't howl when they were
alone, they didn't slobber all over the place, they didn't jump on
people as they came through the door...
     She had to admit the dog was kinda cute with his little wolfy
face and the brown, black, and white fur. And, for a dog, he
wasn't too dirty.
     Then she remembered the platter with the roast on it two
weeks before. In the beast's opinion apparently, anything that
smelled like food was his. That mistaken canine belief had cost
Janet dinner and a platter. (Not that the platter was much of a
loss, it was part of a wedding gift and dated back to her biggest
mistake.)
     Seeing the dog eye the hose off to the side, Janet could
figure out what had happened a short while ago. The dog, or
Cassandra, or, more likely, both had gotten in Sam's way and
the tall blonde had sprayed them.
     "You almost done out there?" she called from the door. Cass
looked up with a smile on her face, as did Sam from where she
was chamoising the fender. The dog was wagging it's tail. Like
that would make a difference.
     "Yeah. Just a few minutes to finish here and then put the
hose and bucket up," Sam replied.
     Janet nodded then looked at Cassandra. Taking the hint, the
girl jumped up and began to gather the hose. The dog, still
damp, ran up to the door.
     "No, no, no! You are not welcome in this house wet!" Janet
told the little dog. "Cassandra! When you finish with that, find
an old towel in the garage and clean up your dog."
     "Okay, Mom!"
     Stepping back inside, Janet smiled. Mom. She liked the
sound of that. Cassandra had just started calling her that in the
past couple of weeks.
     They had a long talk one night. Cass didn't know what to call
the woman who was looking after her. Doctor was too formal,
Janet was too personal. Especially considering her upbringing on
Hanka. When Cassandra asked Janet if she could call her
"Mom", Janet almost cried.
     Janet went into the kitchen and started to make a light lunch
for the three of them. She knew Sam and her daughter would be
hungry after finishing with the cars.
     Soon, the three were sitting on the back deck eating
sandwiches (cold cuts and various cheeses) with chips and soda
while they chatted about nothing in particular.
     Finally, after finishing a third sandwich, which Janet made
her share with Sam, Cass stood and took her trash to the can by
the garage.
     "Mom, can I go to Tara's?"
     With a mouthful of her first sandwich, Janet mumbled and
nodded. Sam helped out by adding, "Don't be there too long.
You know how tired she's been since..."
     "Okay. C'mon, Boomer!" Cassie ran around the house, her
small dog hard on her heels.
     "God, when did we ever have that much energy?" Janet
moaned.
     "Uh, when we kicked Hathor's butt?" Sam replied.
     "Oh yeah. We did pretty good there."
     "I hear Airman Jenkins has been mooning all over the SGC
since you smacked him on the lips in the cell," Sam chuckled.
     "Sam..." Janet said threateningly, clearly tired of what had
become an old joke. Especially since kissing, to her was
reserved for special people. Changing the subject, she said, "I
wish there was something I could do for Tara."
     "Janet, it'll be okay. I'm sure her parents are doing
everything they can..."
     "Yeah. You're right. I spoke to her mother the other night.
There is a chance but I'm afraid it'll break Cassandra's heart."
     Sam smiled sadly, "All part of growing up."
     "Yeah. Here anyway."
     Now it was Sam's turn to change the subject, "We have the
afternoon to ourselves. Waddya wanna do?"
     * * * * * *
     Several hours later, Cassie returned. She was unusually quiet
and the look on her face concerned both adults. They decided to
let Cass talk to them when she was ready.
     She was ready sooner than expected. As they finished a very
quiet dinner, Cassie looked up, her eyes brimming with tears,
and asked, "Mom? Can you do anything for Tara?"
     Janet reached over and took Cass' hand, "Honey, I'm sorry.
I'm not trained in oncology. She's seeing specialists who can
help her. I really wish I could, but I can?t."
     "It's not fair!"
     Sam looked at her friend and saw Janet trying to hold back
her tears. She blinked back her own tears and said, "No, Honey.
It's not fair. Sometimes life just..."
     "But she's my best friend! I haven't had any friends since..."
     Janet knelt by Cassandra's chair and took her in her arms,
"Baby, there are things you can't change. And this is one of
them. I'm so, so sorry."
     All three women were openly crying now as Sam came and
added her embrace. Boomer lay quietly, somehow
understanding this was something personal between his
humans.
     Several minutes passed, the only sounds in the house were
the gentle sobs and quiet sniffles of the three.
     "C'mon," Janet said. She stood and took Cass' hand. "Let's
go sit on the couch. We can talk about this all night if you want.
Okay?"
     Sniffing, Cassie nodded and let herself be led into the living
room.
     They settled on the couch, Cassandra nestling between the
two women. Several minutes passed before Cass said anything.
     "Why does everyone have to go away? Did I do something
wrong? Am I so bad that...?"
     "No. No...ssh. Don't talk like that," Janet said, cradling her
daughter to her.
     Sam said, "What happened on Hanka was not your fault.
Nurtii did..." Realizing that this was not a time to over-analyze
things, Sam finished simply, "That was not your fault. Okay?"
     Cassie nodded against Janet's breast, her tears soaking into
the woman's sweater.
     Janet tilted her head up and said, "And what's happening
with Tara is not your fault either. She has to go. There are
specialists at the Mayo Clinic that are even better than the ones
here in Colorado Springs. If anyone can cure her, they can. And
then she can come back."
     "But what if she doesn't?"
     Janet had no answer to that. Her best friend took that
chance almost everyday going through the Stargate. What
would she do if Sam was lost forever?
     Sam answered, "We go on. We make new friends and live
our lives. That's what our friends would want for us."
     "I won't forget her! No matter what!" Cassie said in a defiant
voice.
     "No. You shouldn't. She's your friend. Your best friend.
Neither of you should forget that." Sam looked up at Janet and
smiled. Janet managed to smile back in gratitude.
     A few quiet minutes later, Cassie asked, "So, what will they
do at the Hellman's place?"
     The intentional humor was just what the doctor would've
ordered, if Janet could have.
     They ended up talking long into the night.
     * * * * * *
     Sam stayed over in the spare room that night. It was far too
late to go home and then back to the SGC for the morning's pre-
mission briefing. She quietly left just as the sun was peaking
over the horizon.
     Boomer came up to her and whimpered, his tail wagging
slowly. Sam reached down, scratching behind his ears, and said,
"Watch out for them, Boom-boom. 'Kay?"
     As if in response, the small dog nuzzled Sam's hand.
Snickering, Sam mimed wiping her hand, saying, "Ugh. Doggie
snot!" This caused Boomer's tail to wag even faster.
     By the time the Fraisers arose, Sam was across the galaxy
making first contact with yet another tribe of transplanted
humans.
     * * * * * *
     Almost two weeks later, SG-1 finally returned. After the post-
mission physical conducted by Doctor Warner and the requisite
mission debrief, the team members were off for three days.
     Anxious to get caught up at home, Sam begged off joining
her teammates for some cocktails and headed home. Her house,
as usual, was neat and tidy. She had a maid come in one
afternoon every two weeks for just such an eventuality as her
extended missions. Sam denied that it had anything to do with
her hatred of housework.
     The mail was stacked on the dining room table and arranged
by junk mail, bills, and the rare personal mail. Sam smiled as
she saw Janet's hand in this. The small, brunette doctor was
methodical, as always.
     Sam removed her cordless from the cradle and hit the speed-
dial for the Fraiser house. Janet picked up on the second ring.
     "Hi," Sam said simply.
     "He-ey! How was the mission?" came the cheery reply.
     "Okay, a milk-run compared to most. If you need help
sleeping, I'll get you a copy of the mission report. Hey, as usual,
thanks for taking care of my mail."
     "My pleasure. Are you free for dinner?"
     "Sure, I passed on the post-mission beer fest. Need
anything?"
     "Just you. Cass has a big math test though. You might get
drafted to help her study."
     Sam smiled, "Not a problem. What time should I come by?"
     "Whenever you're ready. I have some news..." Janet's voice
broke audibly over the phone.
     "Janet?" Sam said worriedly. The sudden change was scary.
     "I'm sorry. It's just that... I'll tell you all about it when you
get here. Okay?"
     Now determined to get there as soon as possible, Sam
agreed quickly. Then, a quick change of clothes, and she was on
her way.
     Cassie answered the door before Sam could even ring the
buzzer. "SAM!" she yelled, hugging the taller woman.
     "Hey, Kiddo! How's things? God, you've grown some more!
Pretty soon you'll be taller than your mom," Sam said.
     To deflect what was sure to be Sam's next comment, Janet
called from the living room, "Everyone's taller than me!"
     Laughing, Sam came in and hugged Janet. It was the
standard, off-base greeting they had started, after the Hathor
episode, whenever Sam returned from an offworld assignment.
     "So, what's the news you couldn't tell me over the phone?"
Sam said in an intentionally light-hearted way.
     Cassie looked away and Janet glanced towards the living
room window. Dread grabbed Sam's heart in ice-cold fingers. "Is
it Tara? Did something...?"
     Suddenly aware of a missing presence, Sam quickly said,
"It's Boomer! What happened?"
     Janet gave Sam a small, sad smile. "It's okay. You will be so
proud of our little girl..."
     "Mo-om!"
     Sam looked between the two Fraiser women, puzzled. Janet
took Cass' hand.
     "Tara left for Minnesota last week."
     "Yeah, and...?"
     "Cassandra..." Janet swallowed, her smile now accompanied
by teary eyes. "She gave Boomer to Tara to keep her company."
     "I didn't want her to be lonely up there," Cassie said in a
quiet voice.
     "Oh, Honey, you are so sweet! That's wonderful!" Sam said
as she hugged the girl. "That's the best thing you could've
done!"
     "Yeah, I guess. I miss him but I know he's helping her,"
Cassie said. "Keeping her company and all."
     Janet smiled ruefully to herself as she realized, 'I miss that
damned fleabag myself!'
     Sam straightened up and said, "I guess it's time to start
looking for Boomer Jr."
     Janet could only stare at her best friend. Was it possible to
love someone and hate them at the same time?
 (c) John O'Conner

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