Becoming her Counsellor
This is the first prequel to my other story The Counsellor and tells the story of how Katie became connected to the personnel of the SGC. Sorry it has taken so long to post, real life got the better of me. Just for reference this is set mid season 3 between Foothold and Pretense but makes no reference to any specific episode.
Katie Woodman was having a bad day. Her work as Head Counsellor at Colorado Springs High School was rewarding but so far today she'd broken up a fight between a group of freshman girls, counselled a boy who was being bullied, and helped a girl through the momentous discovery that at 16 she was pregnant. And it was only lunch time.
Katie made her way to the cafeteria to see what was on offer that day, not overly optimistic about the luxuries of the lunch hall. She walked to the front of the queue – a privilege for faculty members – and nodded to some kids as she passed them. She knew most by name and many by the problems that they'd cried on her shoulder about. Katie had worked in the high school for eight years now and sometimes she just needed the time to walk among the students to feel that this was where she belonged.
Picking up a sandwich, an apple and a drink, Katie made her way slowly back to her office. She was just about to tuck into the food when there was a knock on her door, an occupational hazard. She never got a real lunch hour.
"Come in," she called, quickly putting her lunch into the small fridge she had under her desk for occasions just like this.
The door opened slowly and Katie saw a face slowly peer around the edge of the door. The young girl, whom Katie hadn't met before, looked pretty scared and unsure of herself. Katie stood up behind her desk and smiled, encouraging the girl to come in.
"Hi, I'm Katie. I'm sorry, I don't think I know you. Come on in and sit down."
The girl entered the office, which looked more like a sitting room. There was a sofa along one wall, some bean bags in the middle, a soda machine hummed in one corner, and pictures of world landscapes adorned the walls. She took her time looking around the room as if taking it all in.
"Can you tell me your name?" Katie asked quietly as she watched the young girl cautiously take a seat on the edge of the sofa.
"I'm Cassandra… Cassie Frasier."
"Hi, Cassie. It's nice to meet you. Can you tell me why you've come to see me today?"
"I don't fit in here," Cassie whispered quietly.
"Do you mean at high school?"
"I guess, but I'm not from around here."
"When did you move here?"
"Two years ago."
Katie was a little surprised. There was clearly more going on with this girl if she felt that she didn't fit in even after she'd been here for two years.
"Okay, Cassie, the bell's about to ring for fifth period. It's taken a lot of courage for you to come here and I'm always available for you to talk to. Do you want to stay here now and talk or will I make an appointment for you to come sometime tomorrow?"
"Can I stay for a bit? I don't want to go to science."
Katie sat back. "Sure. I'll just let your teacher know where you are." Katie went across the corridor to the school office. "Hey, Janice. Can you call up to Science and let them know I have Cassie Frasier with me? Then can I get her file?"
"Sure, Katie," the efficient office manager replied.
A few minutes later the two women were looking at a very thin school file. "This can't be all there is," Katie said, "Even the most grounded kids in this place have a thicker file."
"I know, but this is it. She started in middle school two years ago. No background, no prior information, just a letter from the Cheyenne Mountain Complex."
"NORAD?"
"Well, that and other stuff, I think. All top secret according to Marcie. Her husband is stationed there."
"Okay. Who are her parents?"
"Just a mom, a Dr Janet Frasier. You want me to contact her?"
"Yeah, I think it could be important." Katie read over Cassie's file. "Who's the secondary contact?"
"There are two, a Colonel and a Major."
"Okay. She seems troubled so I think it'd be best to have a meeting with her mother as soon as possible. Can you get on that?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll let you know when I've set up a meeting."
"Thanks, Janice. I can always count on you." Katie waved as she left the room. The office hadn't always been as well organised but in the past year Janice had transformed it into something that ran like clockwork.
Katie went back to her office and spotted Cassie curled up on the sofa, sleeping. This was getting stranger and stranger. Katie set about working at her desk and finishing off the tasks that she had left from that morning. The report she had to write about the earlier fight was a big one. At least one of the girls could be excluded and it all hung on her evidence. She also had to send an email about the boy being bullied, as that sort of problem was dealt with by the Principal or his deputies. Then finally she'd have to talk to the mother of the junior whose life had just been dramatically changed. There was a lot to get done.
Katie worked for over an hour while Cassie slept. She'd covered the young student with a blanket and it hadn't awoken her. She'd looked her over as she did so and there was no outward sign of abuse and no physical signs of any attack that could have encouraged Cassie to seek her out today. However, it was clear that the girl needed a safe place. Very few students ever fell asleep in Katie's office and, if they did, there was a serious issue at home preventing them from getting their proper rest.
A quiet knock on the door broke into Katie's musings and she walked to the door and opened it, trying not to disturb the young girl, but noticed that Cassie stirred on the sofa. When she saw Janice she put a finger to her lips and nodded at Cassie.
"Hey, Katie," Janice whispered as she saw Cassie asleep. "I spoke to a Sergeant and then the General at the mountain and they're on their way now."
"They?" Katie asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it was weird. I just told him there was something wrong with Cassie and we wanted to speak to her mom at the school and he immediately said he would send her family. Five of them are coming, apparently."
"Okay, thanks," Katie responded thoughtfully. Cassie must have more love in her life than her file originally suggested. She heard movement behind her and looked around to see Cassie sitting up.
"Did I fall asleep here?" Cassie asked sleepily.
"It's not a problem, Cassie. You were obviously tired." Katie smiled gently at Cassie then stood back from the door and let Janice into the room.
"Yeah, I haven't been sleeping very well the last few weeks." Cassie rubbed her eyes and the blanket slipped from her shoulders.
"Can you tell me about it?" Katie asked, sitting down beside her on the sofa.
"I'm not supposed to talk about it." Cassie seemed to shrink into herself.
Katie's brain was screaming at this comment. She always heard it before abuse was shared by a child. "Cassie, I don't know much about you and you don't know me but I can promise you that it's okay to talk about anything here. You felt safe enough to fall asleep, so try me."
Cassie's eyes welled up. "I can't. I can't talk to anyone." Slowly the tears began to roll down Cassie's cheeks. "I just want someone to know what happened, to know where I come from."
"Shh, Cassie, we can talk. How do you get on with your mom?"
Cassie smiled, again scrambling Katie's mind. "She's great! So are Sam, Jack, Daniel and Murray. But they just don't understand what it's like for me."
"All your family are on their way, Cassie," Katie replied gently.
Cassie sat up straight. "Really? All of them? Aren't they at work?"
Janice, who was still standing by the door, spoke up. "Honey, I just had to say the words 'something is wrong with Cassie' and their General ordered them off the base. According to the Sergeant I spoke to they practically ran out of the facility."
Cassie wiped her eyes. "I hope Sam isn't driving or they might end up flying." She smiled then looked at Katie, someone she hadn't spoken to in her life until today and yet she trusted her completely. She hadn't felt like that since she'd met Sam two years earlier. "Will you help me talk to them?"
"Of course, Cassie, that's one of my main jobs as a counsellor here, getting kids and parents to talk to each other."
They all heard a commotion out in the hall and Janice stuck her head out the door then pulled it back in. "So, if I were to say that there are 3 guys , a tall female and a petite women with brown hair in the hall, you would say...?"
"That's my family." Cassie smiled weakly, tears still close to the surface.
Katie took control. "Janice, can you show them into the family room next door? I want to talk to Cassie first then we'll be right in."
Janice nodded, took a deep breath and walked out of the room, not entirely prepared for the barrage of questions that followed.
"Is Cass okay?"
"We demand to see CassandraFrasier."
"She isn't injured, is she?"
"Cassie?"
"Where's my daughter?"
Janice focussed on the shorter woman who had asked the final question, obviously Cassie's mother. "Dr Frasier, I assume? Cassie isn't injured but is distressed about something. She's talking to the Chief Counsellor at the moment, who'd like you to all wait in here. She'll join you shortly." She walked passed them and opened the door to the family meeting room that was set up for exactly that purpose. She showed the group into the room and followed them in, pulling chairs from around the wall towards the table to enable everyone to sit down.
As everyone took a seat, Janice gave some thought to this family. Immediately, she realised that Cassie wasn't biologically related to any of them as none shared her facial features. However, one thing that was blatantly obvious was that they all loved that girl fiercely. The older man looked like he was bouncing in his seat, while the younger was methodically cleaning his glasses. The other man looked, quite frankly, terrifying to Janice but the protective look in his eyes took away all her fears. The women were calmer. Cassandra's mother looked worried but calmer now that she knew that Cassie wasn't injured. The tall woman, whom Janice assumed was the Major on Cassie's form, looked as if she was checking for escape routes.
Back in Katie's office the counsellor turned to Cassie. "They got here fast."
Cassie smiled. "Yeah, Sam must've been driving." Cassie cleared her throat. "They love me. They're not doing anything to hurt me," she said quietly but firmly.
"Good to hear! But, to be honest, your facial expressions told me that about 10 minutes ago."
Cassie nodded.
"Why don't they let you talk about where you come from?" Katie asked the crucial question. She needed to know the answer before they went next door.
"It's a secret and I've tried to keep it but all it does is make me different to everyone else."
Realising she was unlikely to get any more out of Cassie, Katie smiled. "Okay, come introduce me to your family and we can talk. Maybe some time with you and then a bit of time just us adults. Are you okay with that?"
Cassie nodded. "They won't tell you anything, either. That's the problem," Cassie said sadly.
"C'mon, let's have a chat with them." Katie ushered Cassie to the door and into the next room. As soon as they opened the door she was suddenly accosted by 5 very anxious adults.
"Cassie, what's wrong?" the smaller women asked as she walked over and almost knelt before Cassie.
"Ma'am, if you would all just take a seat, Cassie and I need to speak with you." Katie was used to people in the school following her instructions but was unsure whether this military group would.
Cassie obviously had similar thoughts. Trying to put on a brave face she smiled weakly. "Mom, I'm fine. Can we just sit down?" She made her way through the room and smiled first at Sam then the others. "Hi, Sam, hi Uncle Jack, Daniel… Murray."
Katie turned to Janice. "Janice, thanks, I'll come get you if I need anything," she said, dismissing her friend as she knew that Janice could be a bit of a gossip as well as an excellent office manager. Janice swiftly exited as the others sat down around the table after each individually checking that Cassie was alright for themselves.
Katie sat at the head of the table and started the meeting. "Thank you for coming so promptly. Let me introduce myself. I'm Katie Woodman, the Chief Counsellor here. Students are free to come and talk with myself and my staff as they wish. They have the freedom to say whatever they wish in confidence. Unless, of course, they disclose information that shows me they're at risk."
"Do you think Cassie is at risk?" the older man asked first.
"No... not physically, anyway. I think it'd be easier to have this conversation if I knew who you all were." She turned to Cassie and softly said, "How about you introduce us all."
Cassie smiled at Katie, a smile that others in the room hadn't seen from her in a while.
"Okay, this is my mom. She's a really great doctor and is pretty cool." Cassie then worked her way around the table. This is Daniel. He taught me all the history I know. He's an archaeologist. Sam's beside him. She's a Major in the Air Force and totally brilliant. Uncle Jack is fab. He bought me my dog and is a great chess player. He's a colonel. T… Murray is... well… Murray, really strong and brave."
Katie couldn't fail to notice the hesitation in the student's statement, so there was something there. "Well, now that we've all been introduced I'll come to the point. Cassandra arrived at my door during lunch, upset and worried. We talked a little and then, quite unusually, she fell asleep. It would appear that she's stressed about something and feels she can't talk about it. I think talking would be the best thing she could do, however."
"Cass, you can talk to any of us. You know that," Daniel said.
"Yeah, I know, but I can't talk to anyone else about it."
"About what?" her mother asked. "You know you can say anything."
"Not about this."
"What, Cass? I don't understand..." Sam started.
Suddenly Cassie shouted, "About Toronto! I can't talk about it and all I want to do is talk about it. None of you let me talk about it and not talking makes me so different to everyone else. I don't fit in here. I don't belong here. I..."
"Cassie." It was Jack who interrupted the young girl's speech, quite tersely to Katie's ears.
"See what I mean?" Cassie said as she turned to Katie. "This is what I deal with all the time." She slumped down facing Katie, away from her family.
The silence in the room was almost deafening. "I've read Cassie's file. Am I right to assume that she's adopted and perhaps didn't come from Toronto?"
All heads whipped up to look at the counsellor. Obviously no one had ever asked that before. Everyone had just accepted the story given by the air force. Katie instantly knew she was on to something.
"I'm not here to demand answers. However, it should be clear to you all that Cassie isn't happy with the situation as it is."
"Cassandra understands the need for secrecy," her mother explained. Unfortunately, that simply riled Cassie more.
"No, Mom, I don't. I need to be able to talk to someone."
"Cass, you can talk to us," Sam tried again.
"Really? When? When you stop me talking in the park or at the ice cream shop? Or when you all go missing and I don't know where you are? I want to be able to talk about my life. I need to be able to talk about my mom, my family."
"Cassie, that's impossible, you know that," Daniel tried to placate her.
"We shouldn't be having this discussion here," Jack stated and made to get up.
"NO! I'm staying. I've spoken to Katie for all of 10 minutes and she worked out there was a problem which none of you had managed to do."
"Cassie, this isn't a secure area. Your counsellor isn't cleared," her mother tried again.
With fire flashing in her eyes, Cassie turned to her mother. "Well, you need to get her cleared." And, before anyone could stop her, Cassie made a momentous decision and defiantly turned back to the counsellor. "I was born on another planet, not in Toronto. That's why I can't talk to anyone. That's why I don't fit in," she stated emphatically before crossing her arms and slumping back in her seat with a mutinous look on her face.
"Okay, we're done here." Jack pushed himself away from the table and stood up.
Katie was stunned and was about to burst out laughing at the completely outrageous suggestion, until she looked around and surveyed the people in the room and came to a startling revelation. None of them were laughing. None of the other adults were even slightly surprised at Cassie's revelation. Sure, they looked shocked that Cassie had spoken but no one was trying to tell her that the story Cassie had just told was false.
Before the Colonel reached the door, Katie took a deep breath and spoke quietly. "Colonel, I have no idea if Cassie's telling the truth. I've only just met her. However, all your facial reactions and total lack of denial suggest that this is not her imagination. While I have to be honest and say that the idea blows my mind and I'm wondering whether to admit you all to the local psych hospital, I'm not the one we need to be concerned about. Cassie is." Katie looked at the shell-shocked teenager, whose curled up posture told Katie that even if the story wasn't the truth, Cassie firmly believed it.
"Clearly Cassie's unhappiness at her situation has been building for a long time. I agree that this, while totally confidential, is not a great place for you to talk about it with Cassie but I suggest that you need to speak with her."
Cassie was still sitting at the table in some kind of shock. She'd never meant to just blurt it out like that. She knew that she could be taken away from everyone she loved by saying what she had but it had just come out. She looked at the faces of her family and they were so disappointed in her. She could do nothing else but burst into tears and, for the first time in the two years she'd lived here, her family didn't immediately rush to her aid. To her surprise it was her counsellor who enveloped her in her arms.
"Shh, Cassie, everything's going to okay. I'm glad you told me about Toronto."
Cassie hugged her counsellor as if for dear life but she needed to ask her something. So, very quietly, with her head buried in Katie's chest, she asked her question. "You believe me, don't you?"
Despite Cassie's quiet words Katie could tell from the slight gasps from Cassie's mother and Sam that they had both heard the question. She looked at them and found that she could read them like a book, something she hadn't expected from military officers. Their eyes told her all she needed to know. She couldn't believe it, didn't know how to get her mind around it, but somehow Cassie was telling the truth. What did they get up to in that mountain?
Katie pushed Cassie away from her a little and spoke quietly. "I believe you, Cassie. Now, we don't need to mention the real place again, but you can tell me all about your life there. It must have been very scary coming here. But you have a family who loves you."
If it were possible, Cassie cried even harder. "They won't love me now," she whispered into Katie's neck.
Katie looked up at the others again before she spoke. She couldn't promise they'd love her if they didn't. Jack was still standing by the door but his gaze was firmly fixed on Cassie with a deep love in his eyes. Murray had stood up from the table with Jack. He looked like he wanted to pick Cassie up and take her away but Katie could sense no malice in him. Daniel looked more stricken than the other men. Perhaps Cassie revealing this secret was going to cause her some serious trouble. Sam now had tears running down her face and so did Cassie's mother, who looked like she wanted to hug her daughter and never let her go. "Cassie, your family are a little shocked and look very worried about you but they all love you, look."
Cassie picked her head up from Katie's shoulder and made eye contact with her family. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, "It just came out."
"Oh, Cassie." Janet sighed and pulled her daughter towards her. "It's us that need to say sorry. We had no idea that things had gotten so bad for you. Why didn't you tell us?"
Sam got up and walked around to join in the hug and said quietly, "C'mon, Cassie, let's all go somewhere where we can really talk about this."
Cassie nodded. "Can Katie come, too?" she asked quietly.
Sam made eye contact with Jack and they seemed to have a silent conversation.
"You all go," Jack said, "I'll have a word." And on his command everyone except Katie left the room, including Cassie. He remained at the door and turned to face Katie. "So, Doc, I'm not sure what to do with you."
"Well, by the looks of you I assume you have the power to arrest me, get me fired, or send me somewhere very, very far away. However, as I said before, I'm not the issue. Cassie is."
Jack wiped his hand down his face. "You're good at this, I'll give you that. Look, Cassie's clearly taken to you. Would you be willing to sign a national security document to come on board as her counsellor?"
Katie thought for a moment. "Is it going to change my life much?"
"Can't promise it won't, Doc. Once you're in you could be completely sucked into the military."
Katie only needed a moment to think things over, the temptation to find out what was really going on too great to resist. "I'll take my chances, Colonel. Do you need me to come with you now so I can't speak to anyone before signing on the dotted line?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Very well. Does this make me your counsellor, too?" Katie asked as she made her way back to her own office.
"Not a chance, Doc, not a chance."
AN: Hope you enjoyed, I am very keen to hear feedback but it is not demanded. I have four or five other stories in this series which I hope to post soon. Thanks for reading.