Chapter Seven: Love and Vendettas

Charlie stood outside the lecture hall waiting for class to start. Cassie and Jon were at her side and knowing they had her back made it easier to deal with the whispers and snide remarks that still came her way, even after she's proved that she could handle the work.
Most of them thought she'd only got to advanced because of her connection with Nate, but someday she'd make them all see, that she belonged in this class, she just had to find the opportunity to prove herself.

Jon leaned closer to Cassie and whispered something in her ear and she laughed before telling the joke to Charlie as well. She didn't laugh, she still couldn't live her life with the same abandonment as Cassie, but she did manage a smirk (laughing was something she did rather maniacally, causing people to scare off or to look bewildered). It was still strange to have the two of them in her life.
Friendship was still so new to her. There were times when the relationships were overwhelming and she wanted to find a place to hide where she could be alone.

When this happened, Charlie forced herself to take a deep breath and stay right where she was. It was important to challenge herself to overcome her fears. If she let fear or panic rule her life she'd become that which she hated- her mother.

The door opened and there was a bit of a rush as everyone flowed into the door, hoping to get their favorite seats. Suddenly Charlie felt herself falling. Fighting to regain her balance, Charlie thought about a movie where she'd seen a stampede. The cows that had fallen hadn't survived and she knew that she'd be in a lot of trouble if the same thing happened to her if she went down in the bottleneck.

A pair of strong arms steadied her and she quickly found her footing.

She turned around to find Ashgar sneering at her. "Go back to the thirdies, if you're not able to make it in a crowd, just how are you going to get through this year?" He shoved her again and disappeared into the crowd.

"What was that about?" Cassie asked when Charlie sat down beside her.

"Ashgar, he doesn't think I should be in this year. Mostly because he tried to test up last year and failed. So of course he blames me because I succeeded. He just thought he was smarter than everyone, but I had three years of university before I joined the Air Force; if I had stayed I would have a BA already. It just made sense for me to try. I just didn't have the courage until General Shark encouraged me."

"Well watch out. He's vindictive and there's been complaints but nothing anyone could prove. I've heard rumours that he'd been terrorizing the wedges, again no proof," Jon spoke up, looking down the hall to where Ashgar sat with his cronies.

Seeing that Charlie and the others were watching him, Asghar lifted his hand and mimed shooting Charlie and they could clearly see him mouth 'Bang!'

Shaking off the slight chill she turned her attention to the professor who had stepped to the front of the room. She fought to pay attention to the lecture, but her gaze kept straying to Ashgar. Something about the other cadet made her wary and it wasn't Jon and Cassie's warnings. Deep down, she knew that she would have to fight this man, not necessarily physically; but in the last few minutes he'd become her nemesis.

The class ended and everyone stood to leave. Charlie shook off her thoughts and watched Asghar leave.

Jon shook her shoulder. "Hey, forget that jerk. We have a three day weekend to celebrate. The weather is supposed to become beautiful, so I propose a final BBQ of the summer." He wrapped his arms around both Cassie and Charlie as he steered them toward the door. "Shall we ladies?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment as her gaze followed Asghar out the door. She needed to follow him, to get the proof needed to expose him before the cadet wing. Something was brewing and she had to find a way to stop it or things would get only worse.
It would take time and a bit of stealth but she would do it, just not today. This was Jon's celebration, and so her manhunt would have to wait.


Nate stepped out onto the deck of Jon's house, his eyes searching for Charlie in the small crowd covering the backyard. For a few moments he watched Charlie as she talked to Cassie. Her body language was much less forced (but still on alert) than it had been since he met her. Over the past year she had made so much progress and now he was ready to challenge her again. The homecoming dance was coming up soon and he planned to ask her to accompany him.

He didn't want to change her but he did want to show her there was more to life than war, rifles and martial arts.
Pouring himself a drink from the punch bowl, he meandered through the crowd and dropped his arm around Charlie's shoulders. "Hey Beautiful!"

Charlie stiffened momentarily before she smiled at him, the ghost of an embarrassed grimace on her face. "Where have you been; Jon's almost done burning the steaks."

"I was finishing up a paper that's due next Tuesday, so I don't have to worry about it all weekend. I'm a free man. What's good to eat?" He scanned the buffet table as he handed his drink to Charlie and began to fill his plate with the side dishes, knowing there might not be too much edible steak.

"Cassie's potato salad was very good. The best I've ever had. Once again she's outdone herself with this spread."

Cassie blushed slightly. "I can't take all the credit, Charlie was a big help too. Make sure you try the broccoli salad. She made that one, it was all her idea. I had never heard of it before."
Charlie was about to answer when the back gate opened and Ashgar stormed into the crowd, bringing with him tension and his two henchmen in his wake.

Jon left the BBQ and came over to greet the newcomers."Ashgar." He nodded to the other cadet.

"My invitation must have got lost in the mail."

Jon folded his arms across his chest. "No Ashgar, you weren't invited and you still aren't. Leave now and there won't be any hard feelings."

Stepping around Jon, he said, "We just got here, O'Neill. We're going to have a look around. So where's the alcohol?" He asked as he shoved his way through the crowd over to the beverage table.

Nate could see Jon gritting his teeth as he answered, "Since most of us here are still underage, there isn't any."

"Well, that sucks." Dumping the punch bowl out onto the ground, he turned to Jon. "I would think you should, after all you have the Shark in your pocket."

Take a step forward, Nate was going to go help Jon, but Charlie stopped him. "Don't, you'll only make it worse given who your mom is." She looked over at Cassie, hoping for support. "But you might be able to diffuse it."

Nate didn't want to stay where he was and watch, but he did.

Cassie walked over to Jon and worked her magic and soon, Ashgar and company had left, but the party was never the same again.

Jack juggled the car seat and bags of groceries as he tried to fit the key into a lock. Jasmine slept on, blissfully unaware of her father's gymnastics. Finally, he got the door opened without dropping anything. Moving inside, he placed the car seat in the hall and continued into the kitchen with the bags. He quickly put them away and then began to prepare lunch for himself and Jasmine, knowing that when she woke his little princess would be hungry. Whistling as he worked and later as he ate, Jack wondered what Sam and the rest of SG-1 were doing now and if their little trip had been successful. It had been a long shot, but somehow things that shouldn't have worked just did.

He had almost finished his meal when Jasmine woke up and yanked him from his thoughts. Lifting her from the car seat, he found she was soaked on the top and the bottom. She had drooled enough that her shirt and the bib was drenched. He was pretty sure that Jazzie was teething. He remembered the stories Sara used to tell him about Charlie, his son, doing similar things.
At the thought of Charlie, there was the familiar rush of pain at the loss of his son and the guilt was there for a moment before leaving once more.

Jasmine reached out and touched his nose. "Da...!"

Cuddling the baby close, he relished in her closeness and the wonderful baby smell that was only Jasmine. She would never take Charlie's place in his heart, but she had done more to help him see that he was forgiven and it was time to stop punishing himself.

After changing her diaper and clothes, Jack placed Jasmine in her high chair. Moving to the counter he grabbed the dish of food he'd prepared and began to feed Jasmine.

Jasmine ate a few bites before she decided she didn't want anymore pureed carrots and knocked the bowl out of Jack's hand. It hit the tray and then sailed off the edge before splattering onto the floor sending orange goop in a multitude of directions.

Letting out a squeal of delight she slapped her palms down into the carrots on her tray, making a much larger mess. Jasmine squealed with delight and cried out, "Meees."

From his spot on the floor, Jack laughed.

"Well Princess, time to get the camera because I'm showing these pictures at your wedding. I need to have some kinda payback."

"Carot." Then the little girl smeared the carrots onto her face and up into her hair. Laughing, Jack snapped a lot of pictures while Jasmine got more and more orange.

Once he was satisfied he had enough blackmail material, he took the little girl into the bathroom to wash her up.
He had just put the little monkey into her sleepers when the phone rang. Placing Jazzie in her exersaucer he moved across the living room to pick up the phone. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the phone, but he told himself this wasn't how they would notify him if something had gone wrong with Sam. "O'Neill."

Hank Landry's voice came over the line. "Jack, I have good news. Sam and the others are on their way back. They should arrive on Earth sometime in the next two and half months."

Jack felt the tension drain from his body. "That's good to know. I'll come by for lunch one day soon. I'll call you, Hank."

Hanging up the phone he turned to his little girl. "Mommy's on her way home; let's celebrate! I'm going to have a beer and you can have a cookie."

Jack let Jasmine have her fun before putting her down to sleep. Then he fell asleep himself, sleeping deeply for the first time in months, Sam was coming home and everything would be all right.


Cassie walked slowly down the wooded trail, enjoying the brightly colored leaves on the trees. Red, gold and green foliage filled her view. There was a bite to the air that promised winter wasn't too far away. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she'd grabbed a warmer coat.

Colorado was so different with its mountains and snow from where she lived on Hanka. Her small little village had rested on a flat plain close to the ocean, although she had never seen it. Life in the village had been simple but she had worked hard at her parents' side since Cassie had been old enough to walk. It had been the same with everyone in the village, all were needed to survive. Until everything had been destroyed by the hand of Nirrti.

Part of her longed to return to that life, to not have seen all that she had seen. Cassie missed not only the innocent child she had been but the naivety that her parents possessed as well. They hadn't known there was evil beyond their small village that sought to hurt them. But she knew it was all gone and there was no going back; she could only move forward. To see who she could become despite all that she had lost.

Stopping at the crest of the hill, she looked back over the Academy: soon even this life would be gone and she'd be immersed in the next phase of her life medical school. She'd already finished all the medic training available, but it wasn't enough. Ever since Janet died, she had hunger to help others, and now that she had the ability to heal people, she knew her calling, she just needed the knowledge to be able to use it properly.

She knew where she belonged and where her path would lead her. They had both made choices that would split them apart, he had a part to play in this world and she had hers. Their paths would come together and seperate but they would always be connected.
It was the price of the life they'd chosen and she would willingly pay if it made the universe safer for those who came after them; she knew Jon felt the same way.

"Dollar for your thoughts? I think they're worth more than a penny."

Cassie turned around to find Jon standing behind her. "Where did you come from?"

"I saw you heading up the hill and decided to join you on your walk, if that's all right."

"Yes, I'm just a little nostalgic today. It was nine years ago today that Sam and the others brought me through the gate from Hanka. Because of that, I was thinking about old times. Even after all this time, I still miss my parents."

Jon stepped closer. "Hey, there is nothing wrong with being nostalgic."

Cassie moved away from him and looked over the vista once more. "But I feel like I'm disrespecting Janet's memory when I do. I love her every bit as much as my real parents and-" She stopped, covering her face.

Reaching out, Jon grasped her hands, pulling them away from Cassie's face. "They were your parents; they raised you for the first twelve years of your life, and you loved them and they loved you. Janet would never have expected you to forget that or them. Their loss will always leave a hole in your life. I know."

Cassie shook her head. "Enough with these dreary thoughts."

Jon threaded her arm through his. "Let's finish our walk and then get some ice cream. I'm in the mood for some rocky road."

"I like that idea, but we need to hurry or we'll miss the last call. And I don't like becoming pizza toppings." The two of them hurried down the trail. When they got closer to the Academy, he let go of her arm. The two of them walked side by side, no longer touching as per the rules.

"So would you go back there, to Hanka, I mean if you could?" Jon asked as he held open the door to the mess hall.

"Yes and no. When I was sixteen I went back, I mean I had to or I would have died. The whole village was empty and dead. It was no longer my home, just an empty shell. There was nothing left for me there or anyone."

"Well, if you ever change your mind let me know. I can talk to Jack, I'm sure he can get you permission."

"I appreciate that, but I'm still not sure how I would feel. Now let's eat." Cassie said as she took a huge spoonful of Jon's ice cream.


There are two more chapters up on my site and if you would like to check them out Google my penname and you will find me. I love to hear from you whether you liked it or loved it. :0P

Also I have published two original pieces of work on Kindle you can find a link to them on my website as well.

if I get enough review I will be pushed to add the chapter early, like Friday, instead of later next week. I have one so far this week but I think I could handle a few more.