Disclaimer: Stargate and it's characters are not mine. No copyright infringement intended. Also, the title belongs to Barbara Walters, who once described her own adopted daughter as the 'daughter of my heart.' I've always thought that that was a beautiful thing to say.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Setting: This story begins during the season one episode "Singularity", and ends at the end of season eight. It is marked as AU, but aside from a few changes to the characters' personal lives, the events of this story do follow cannon.

Summary: This is the story of how SG-1 and Doc Fraiser would have evolved had Cassandra gone to live with Sam instead of Janet. There will be evetual pairings, but I'm not listing them yet. You'll just have to wait an see!

A/N: This story is fully written, but is still undergoing the editing phase. Updates should be fairly regular.

Dedication: For Deirdre, without whom this story wouldn't exist.

Daughter of My Heart, Chapter One

[Set during "Singularity". Some lines re-used, no copyright infringement intended.]

Rising stiffly from her long-held position on the edge of the bed, Sam moved gingerly toward the door, Cassandra peacefully asleep at last.

She didn't want to leave, knowing that the young girl would be afraid if she woke up alone, but she had no choice. Reports had to be written, experiments checked. Sam just hoped she could get it all done and make it back before Cassandra woke up again.

Casting one final, reassuring glance back at the alien child, she stepped out into the hall, exhaustion and concern warring with the unfortunate need to get back to work.

Daniel was waiting for her. "How is she?," he asked, quickly shutting the book sprawled across his knees.

"She's fine. Sleeping," Sam replied, though in truth she hardly knew. To lose your whole family, your whole planet... And now that thing in her chest, too. Sam knew she was scared. Terrified, even. And who could blame her? Sam was scared too.

"If you want, I can sit with her tomorrow, for a few hours," Daniel offered, clearly noting the exhaustion lining her face. A small part of her wished she could accept. But Cassandra trusted her. Needed her.

"No, we're okay," Sam replied quickly, as much to reassure herself as Daniel.

"Okay," Daniel replied, not entirely convinced. He wasn't the only one. The last thing any of them had bargained for when they'd stepped through that 'gate was what they'd found on the other side. None of them were equipped to help a child through this sort of catastrophe. Probably least of all the woman who'd never planned to have children of her own.

But Cassandra needed her, and she'd do whatever it would take to help the little girl through this mess.

"I just...I want to do this," she told Daniel. As if that could explain everything.

As if she wasn't already aware that she walked the dangerous line of getting too close.

"Okay, but I guess what I'm saying is, you don't have to do this alone." The sincerity behind his words made Sam's heart ache.

"Thank you," Sam replied softly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Daniel merely nodded.

Her chest hurt, and she felt so weak. Sam kept saying she'd be all right, that she was very brave, but Cassandra knew. She'd watched it happen to everyone else. She'd watched them die.

And now it was going to take her, too.

The pain was getting worse, but she was too weak to cry. Feeling her eyes slide shut, she hoped she'd see her mother and father again soon.

Daniel took a deep, ragged breath, crashing into his room, desperate to calm the sickening tumult he felt inside.

"She's awake," he heard again, Sam's stricken voice echoing round and round his mind.

Daniel had seen a lot, had known loss time and time again, but nothing quite compared to the chill of those two words.

"She's awake." With a bomb in her chest, set to blow at any moment.

He could almost have forgiven himself while she was in the coma, leaving this scared little girl behind for the safety of his planet. But now?

What had his life come to, that he'd be faced with the possibility of sacrificing a child to save himself?

Stumbling to the bathroom, he splashed cold water over his face, scrubbing uselessly at the guilt, the self-loathing.

At least Sam would have a clear conscience, having stayed behind. But what about the rest of them? They'd stood there, horrified, waiting for them both to die.

They didn't die, he reminded himself. They're going to be all right.

But would he?

Dr. Fraiser sat with the sleeping girl, Captain Carter dozing in a chair nearby.

All evidence of the device was now gone, but Cassandra had given them all a scare.

Janet's heart ached for this child. What the Goa'uld had done to her, what they'd done to her village...it was unthinkable. No one should be put through something like that, least of all a child.

Cassandra stirred, and Janet murmured soft words of reassurance, gently soothing the girl back to sleep.

She looked peaceful now, the strain of fear, loss and uncertainty erased in sleep. Janet could only imagine how different she must have been just a few days before, smiling and laughing with her family and friends.

She hoped she'd someday have the chance to see Cassandra that way herself, a happy, healthy child once more, instead of the frightened, withdrawn little specter she'd become.

"We have some difficult decisions to make, people, so I suggest we get started." Hammond began, his tone anything but suggestive as he settled his papers before him.

"With all due respect, Sir, is it really our place to make these decisions?," the Colonel piped in. "I mean, shouldn't the girl have a say in the matter?"

"Under normal circumstances, perhaps," the General conceded, "But these are hardly normal circumstances, Colonel." He glanced around the table, the members of SG-1 and his Chief Medical Officer all staring back, waiting. They, more than anyone, knew what was at stake. They'd all grown close to the girl throughout her ordeal.

"We have found ourselves in custody of an alien child whose entire planet has been wiped out," Hammond reiterated. "Ideally we'd return her to the survivors of her own people, but she's the only one we've found so far. Aerial surveys show that the other villages on her planet were similarly destroyed, and none of our ground teams have found evidence of other survivors. She is entirely alone, and it is now our duty to find a safe place for her to live."

"Sir, with all due respect, I think Jack is right," Daniel countered passionately. "Cassandra is twelve years old. What are we suggesting, anyway? Ship her off to one of our allies off-world? Shouldn't she at least be allowed to choose where she wants to go, and with whom?

"Given what happened last time she stood beside the 'Gate, Dr. Jackson, I am not at all prepared to authorize her for 'Gate travel. She will need to be given a home here on Earth."

"She'll need to go to a family with security clearance, then" O'Neill stated, catching on to the General's predicament.

"Yes. And given how few people have the necessary clearance..."

"I'll take her," Captain Carter whispered. Five sets of eyes whipped toward her.

"Captain, this isn't a decision to be made lightly," Hammond cautioned. "And I have already contacted all personnel whose clearance and positions would allow them to provide a stable environment for the child."

"General, you can't just farm her out to strangers just because they have the right clearance!," Dr. Jackson argued. "She deserves a family, a home. Surely she's old enough to understand the necessity of keeping her origins a secret."

"Dr. Jackson," the General cut in. "However much I might like to agree with you, it would be a gross oversight on my part to leave a matter of national security in the hands of a child. Especially one who has experienced a trauma of this magnitude, and who may yet be at the mercy of the Goa'uld. Let's not forget that her genes have already been manipulated once to turn her into a living weapon. We have no idea what long-term repercussions this tampering could have. A civilian family is absolutely out of the question."

"Well, then, I'll take her!," the archaeologist exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "I have clearance, and at least she won't be moved around every few years as postings change, the way she would in a military family," he argued. "She needs stability. I can give her that."

"Dr. Jackson," Hammond interrupted, trying to maintain his composure. "May I remind you that you are a member of our foremost front-line team? You are hardly what I would call stable, in this instance."

"But Sir..."

"Unless you are willing to take a desk job, it is absolutely out of the question."

Daniel shut his mouth, his thoughts warring so loudly, Hammond was sure he could hear them. Forcing the archaeologist to chose between finding his lost wife, or caring for the orphaned child...

"I'll take her," Captain Carter repeated, more forcefully this time.

"Captain, the same argument could be made for you," Hammond countered gently.

"Then I'll take a desk job, Sir," Sam replied.

Hammond was momentarily stunned. "I can't allow that, Captain," he replied softly, shaking his head.

"Why not?," she demanded, locking eyes with him. Hammond sighed, meeting the Captain's fiery gaze.

"You are a valuable asset to both the SGC and your team. You're needed out there, Captain."

"With all due respect, Sir, I believe I'm needed more here. Cassandra's already attached to me. And given what she's lost...I don't think it would be right to take anything, or anyone, else away from her," the young officer argued.

"Sam's right," Dr. Jackson agreed. "She doesn't need another stranger. She's going to have enough acclimatizing to do as it is."

"Captain, Doctor...I invited you both to this meeting because of your knowledge of the girl. I had hoped you would help interview candidate families, not petition to become one yourselves."

"Sir, if I may," Dr. Fraiser cut in, startling them all, "I believe I may be able to offer a solution."

"And what would that be?," Hammond asked warily.

"Myself, Sir."

Everyone stared.

"No," Captain Carter said, the conviction in her voice unmistakable.

"I beg your pardon, Captain?," Hammond replied, turning to her.

"No offence," she replied quickly, shooting an apologetic look at the doctor. "But I've made my decision. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep Cassandra in my life."

"Captain," Colonel O'Neill warned. "This is your career we're talking about..."

"With all due respect, Sir, no, it's not. It's her future. One she almost didn't have, thanks to the Goa'uld," the Captain replied.

"I don't see why it has to be an either/or, Captain," Dr. Fraiser replied gently. All eyes turned to her once more. "Sir," she said, directing her next comment straight to General Hammond, "It seems pretty obvious that this little girl already has plenty of people prepared to care for her." Hammond nodded his agreement. "With the Captain's permission," she said, glancing over to the younger officer for approval, "I believe something could be worked out to allow us all to participate in Cassandra's upbringing, while still performing our duties at the SGC."

"What do you have in mind?," Hammond asked, glancing quickly at the Captain to see how she fared. Her expression was unreadable as she took everything in.

"Captain Carter clearly wishes to be Cassandra's primary caregiver," Dr. Fraiser replied, eliciting an almost imperceptible nod from the woman in question. "Cassandra could live with her whenever she's on Earth, and could stay with me whenever Captain Carter's duties require her to be elsewhere."

"And I'd be happy to help out, too, whenever Sam or Dr. Fraiser get called away for a base emergency," Dr. Jackson added, obviously approving the plan. "My notes are easy enough to move around, regardless of what I'm working on."

Hammond shook his head. "This is hardly what I would consider a stable environment," he cautioned.

"Then make it a trial," Colonel O'Neill suggested. "It might sound crazy, but..."

"Crazy just might work," the team's archaeologist finished for him.

Hammond shook his head, closing the folder before him. They were serious, damn them. The paperwork alone would be a nightmare, not to mention coordinating shift rotations...

But he was also a father, a grandfather. And if it was one of his girls...well, he'd want a family who would fight for her, defend her, care for her. And like it or not, these people were willing to do just that for Cassandra.

"All right," he said at last. "You have a go."

Three sets of eyes lit up at his words. Even the Colonel visibly relaxed.

"However," Hammond said, every ounce the commander once more. "If, at the end of a month, you have not worked out a routine that is both stable and beneficial to the child, I will be forced to revisit our other options for her long-term care."

"Yes, Sir," they all chorused, standing as one as the General left the briefing room table.

He wondered if Dr. Lee could be persuaded to learn basic combat skills, just in case.