Don't Touch My Daughter! 
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.
Rating: R for language.
Note: Takes place soon after "After The Vacation."
The car skidded to a halt at the curb in front of her
destination. Janet sat for a minute at the wheel, her
knuckles white from gripping the wheel, trying to rein
in her anger. She had never been this mad with anyone
before, including her jerk of an ex-husband.
'No one, and I mean no one touches my daughter!' she
declared silently.
"NO ONE!" Janet yelled as she hit the steering wheel
with her fist. The flash of pain distracted her for a
moment and her mind raced back to the moment Cassie
came home.
* * * * * *
"Hi Mom!" Cassie yelled as she headed for the stairs.
"He-ey, come over here and give me a hug," Janet said.
She had just returned from the SGC and had tossed her
uniform jacket and tie onto the couch. She hadn't even
had a chance to sit down.
Cassie hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked back
to the living room. She kept her face slightly turned
to the left as she neared Janet.
Hugging the young girl, Janet could feel her shaking.
Stepping back, she held Cass' shoulders and looked at
her. The right side of the girl's face was red and
puffy.
"What happened?" Janet asked in alarm.
"Nothing. Fell off my bike," Cassie replied, not
meeting Janet's eyes.
"Cassandra..."
Cassie took a deep, shuddering breath than finally
said, "Okay, I didn't fall off my bike. How'd you
know?"
"First, you won't look me in the eyes. Second, your
bike is still in the garage," Janet said quietly.
"What happened?"
"It was Sam..."
"Sam?" Janet whispered, her mind flashing through
images of her friend and lover rapidly. Sam sharing
her bed, Sam fixing their breakfast, Sam playing video
games with Cass, Sam smiling lovingly at her. 'No, not
Sam. Not my Sam...' she pleaded silently.
"Sam? Sam did this?"
"Oh...no, not Sam. Sam Jeffers, Jennifer's dad."
Janet's eyes narrowed, "What happened?"
Cassie closed her eyes. After a moment, she looked at
Janet with tears in her eyes, "I can't...Jennifer
could..."
"Cassie...please tell me," Janet asked, hugging her
daughter tightly.
Cassie sobbed into Janet's uniform blouse for several
minutes. Finally, she looked up, "Jennifer and I were
just hanging, you know? Watching MTV and laughing at
some of the videos..."
"And...?"
"Her dad, Sam, came home. He has everyone, even
Jennifer, call him Sam." She looked at Janet briefly
and the older woman nodded to continue.
"Well, he came home pretty pissed off about
something." Cassie paused again waiting for Janet to
come down on her for her language. When she didn't,
the teenager continued.
"He stormed into the family room and turned off the TV
yelling about the noise we listen to... Jennifer tried
to grab the remote and... And he hi--hit her..."
Janet held Cassie as the girl started to cry again,
"Shh. It's alright. You're okay. Shh." Janet felt her
heart flutter at her daughter's anguish.
After a few minutes, Cassie looked at Janet with
red-rimmed eyes, "She cried and fell down. I stood up
and told him to stop and he slapped me with the back
of his ha--hand. I...I stood there looking at him and
he yelled something about not staring at him and
slapped me again. I got knocked down then and Jennifer
jumped in front of him, screaming at him to leave me
alone... He hit her again."
"The bastard," Janet said quietly, venomously.
"Does he do this often? Does he hit Jennifer a lot?"
Janet almost asked about Jennifer's mother before she
remembered being told that she had died in childbirth.
"I don't know. She's sore sometimes and has bruises
but she always said she fell or crashed on her bike
or...  I never thought that Sss--Sam could do this..."
"Stay here! I'll be back soon," Janet said as she
headed out the door.
After driving across town faster than she normally
would, Janet pulled up in front of the Jeffers house.
Her anger growing with each block, it seemed.
Finally she got out of her car and walked up to the
door. She felt the cool October breeze through her
blouse, she hadn't thought to grab a jacket. Not as
mad as she was.
Pounding on the door, she was ready for the
confrontation. After no one answered, she pounded on
the door again with the side of her fist.
The door finally opened and Sam Jeffers was standing
there. He didn't look like anyone who would abuse his
own daughter. He was not quite six feet tall, in his
late thirties with light brown hair, receding slightly
giving him a widow's peak. He had clear blue eyes and
kept himself in pretty good physical shape.
"Doctor Fraiser, Janet! What a pleasant surprise!" He
stood in the door, the look of fear in his eyes
contrasting sharply with his bantering tone.
Pushing past him into the foyer of the house, Janet
said in a low voice, "Listen to me, you son of a
bitch! Don't you ever touch my daughter again. EVER!"
Janet's shout forced him back a step but Jeffers
recovered and asked, "What has she been telling you,
for God's sake?"
"Don't try and play games with me, Jeffers! You hit
her, you bastard! You hit my daughter! And you hit
your own daughter!
"Your own flesh and blood... How can you live with
yourself?"
"Ja... Janet, you don't understand," Jeffers said in a
pleading voice.
"Then explain it to me!" Janet stood directly in front
of him with her arms crossed, staring at his face.
"I'm under a lot of pressure at work... It's pretty
cutthroat there... I need to get another couple of
commissions and everything will be okay. Fine even.
You see?" Jeffers said.
"You sell insurance! You want to talk about pressure?
I'm a doctor! I deal with live and death every
goddamned day! While you were back here living cushy,
selling your policies a few years ago, I was trying to
save lives in the desert. Desert Storm ring any bells?
And it hasn't changed much since then. So don't tell
me about pressure until you've held a beating heart in
your hand and tried to figure out how to save an
eighteen year old kid from some Kansas farm!" Janet
growled.
"Okay, so I'm not a doctor. But..."
"Listen." Janet held up her hand and said, "This is
how it's going to be. I won't press charges against
you for child abuse and assaulting my daughter. And
you have no idea how much I want to... For this, you
will go into a counseling program. Don't say anything
until I'm finished. You will attend abuse counseling
and learn to deal with your problem. Jennifer will
come and stay with Cassie and I until I know you're
getting help. After she comes home, I will check up on
her to make sure you aren't hitting her again. And,
you will never... NEVER! Hit my daughter again! There
is no debate. This is non-negotiable. You fail in any
of these and I will call the police. Understand?"
Jeffers started to nod but stopped, his face turning a
dark red. He finally managed to say, through clenched
teeth, "Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch? You
can't come into my fucking house and threaten me! I'll
kick your ass so hard..."
"Okay, big man! Come on..." Janet taunted him.
He lunged and she side-stepped. As he hit the wall
with a resounding thud, she grabbed his left hand from
behind and pinched the flabby flesh between his index
finger and his thumb. As she tightened the pressure,
he groaned and fell to his knees. She shifted her grip
and grabbed his thumb, bending it towards the back of
his hand.
"Oooowww! Let go, you fucking bitch!"
Janet jerked his thumb harder, feeling the bones
grating together.
"Are you going to listen to reason or do I break it?"
"I'll sue you for assault!" Jeffers threatened.
"And I'll counter sue for assault on my daughter,
abuse of your daughter, and attempted assault on me,"
Janet promised.
"Goddammit! Alright! You win."
"You oughtta be glad my friend, Sam, didn't come over
here. You would not have gotten off so lucky." Janet
stepped back before releasing his thumb. Jeffers
slumped against the wall, massaging his left hand.
"You will seek counseling. Tonight." Jeffers nodded.
"And Jennifer will stay at my house until I think it's
safe to come back." Again, Jeffers nodded. Janet's
voice again grew low and threatening, "And you will
not touch my daughter again." Jeffers nodded, his
shoulders shaking as he sobbed in shame.
Janet headed up to Jennifer's room, helped the girl
pack for at least a week, and led her out of the
house. The girl clung to Janet in relief.
As they got to the door, Jennifer looked back and
said, "I love you, Daddy."
"I..." Jeffers choked off his statement then said,
"I...uh, I'm sorry, Pumpkin. I'll get help..."
Jennifer ran and hugged him, "It'll be alright, Dad.
Like it was... You'll see. I love you."
Letting her go to Janet, he said, "I love you too,
Jennifer."
Janet led her young friend out of the house, suddenly
feeling pity for the man left behind sobbing in his
misery.
 (c) John O'Conner
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