Author's Note: I don't own any of the Stargate characters or lines, only my oc. I know I the series that Cassandra was closer to twelve years old, but I decided to make her character younger in this story. I hope you enjoy and review :).

Chapter 11

Daniel decided to go back to the SG-C with me and the girl, while Jack and Teal'c elected to stay behind with Sam.

To go back outside we had to put on the yellow hazmat suits again. Where they were baggy on me, they positively swallowed up the girl.

Walking up the steps to the gate she pulled on my to stop. She stared fearfully as people stepped through the event horizon and disappeared.

Kneeling down beside her, I looked her in the eyes. "Hey, you okay? Don't be afraid, I'll be holding your hand the whole way, all right? I know it looks kinda scary, but it's really a lot of fun." Standing I nodded at Daniel to take her other hand, and he did. "We'll do it together, okay? On three. One, two, three." Swinging our hands we leapt through the gate.

Immediately after we came through the other side we were blasted with sterilizing steam and a voice over the loud speaker announced. "Level one decontamination complete. Proceed with level two."

The girl handled her first travel through the gate surprisingly well. I helped her pull her helmet off and she looked around the gate room in awe. Smiling, I took her hand again. "Hey, it wasn't so bad, was it?"

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After we'd been checked out and cleared I lead her to her room. When we opened the door I could see the dismay on her face. It was a barren concrete walled and floored room, empty save for a small bed and desk.

"Well, here we are." I tried to sound cheerful. "This is where you're going to stay for a little while, okay? I know it's nothing fancy, but we'll fix it up."

Taking her hand I guided her over to bed and sat her down. I crouched down next to the bed so I was eye level with her. "I have to go somewhere for a little while. But I promise you I won't be gone long, okay?" Standing I started to back away but the girl grabbed a handful of my shirt, she looked terrified to be left alone. Sighing I sat down on the bed. "Alright I'll stay for awhile." Her face relaxed and she skootched closer, leaning against my side. Raising my arm, I began to run my finger through her hair. After a few minutes I heard her breaths even out as she dozed.

Untangling myself from her arms I carefully laid her down on the bed and covered her up. After I was sure she was asleep I quietly slipped out the door. There was some stuff from my childhood that I had in my room here since I pulled them out of storage. It wasn't much, a few stuffed animals and old toys, but it would have to do.

On my way back I passed the cafeteria and it occurred to me that she probably had eaten in a while. I was in a hurry to I just grabbed several hot dogs and a few packets of ketchup and mustard. The lunch lady on duty gave me a funny look, since I was known to be the health food nut around here.

I must have been a strange sight, walking through a military base juggling a plate of hot dogs in one hand and stuffed animals and coloring books in the other.

The guard posted outside the girl's room raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he opened the door for me.

As I closed the door behind me with my foot the girl blinked groggily and sat up in the bed.

"Hey," I said. "I though you might be a little hungry so I brought you these." Holding up the hot dogs. "I also got you some things to play with."

She started at me while I walked over to her bed and spilled everything but the hot dogs on her bed, those I sat o the small desk on the other side of the room. Hesitatingly she reached out and touched the furry ear of a stuffed panda bear. Seeing that it wasn't going to bite her she pulled it close and clutched it to her chest. Grabbing a pad of paper and some crayons she hopped off the bed. She walked over and pulled a hot dog out of its bun and sat down on the chair, munching on it. On the pad of paper she was quickly drawing a scene that I couldn't make out yet.

"Don't you want this?" I asked gesturing at the empty hot dog bun. Taking the other chair around the desk, I picked up another hot dog. "See, we usually put some stuff on it, like this." I squeezed some mustard on mine and took a big bite. "See? Yum." She just glanced at me blankly and went back to her drawing.

Leaning over the table I tried to get a better look. On the paper she had drawn a girl standing alone over several bodies lying on the ground. She had just started drawing tears on the girl's face in the picture.

Picking up a crayon I drew a brown stick figure next to her solitary girl. She looked up at me questioningly. "That's me okay. You're not alone, not anymore."

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Later that night she had dozed off across my lap as I stroked her hair. The door opened and I looked up. Daniel walked in and quietly closed the door behind him. He mimicked a phone call and I nodded. It was probably the archeology department with the report on some artifacts our team had found earlier this week.

I felt the girl waking up and I looked down at her sleepy eyes. "How you feeling?" I asked smiling. "Listen, I have to go somewhere for a little while. But you're not going to be alone." I looked towards Daniel. "Daniel's going to be here the whole time. You remember Daniel, right?" He smiled and her, but she just sighed in exhaustion.

"You're very brave, remember. I'll be back before you know it." I started to get up.

"Please don't go." The girl spoke pleadingly in a small voice.

My eyes widened and I looked to Daniel who wore the same shocked expression. "You feel like telling me your name?" I asked tentatively, brushing some hair away from her face

"Cassandra."

"Hi, Cassandra." I smiled tugging on a lock of her hair gently She sighed again and looked up at me with pained eyes. "I hurt." Sucking in a breath I asked, "Where?" Cassandra pulled her hand free of the stuffed panda and tapped the center of her chest.

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Cassandra was back on the examination tale for the third time today. Janet listened to her chest then pulled her stethoscope away and hooked it around her neck. "Sounds good. No fluid in her lungs."

But I wasn't convinced. "She described it more like a sharp, stabbing pain."

Janet walked to her computer station and jerked my head to follow. Whatever she was going to say she wanted to make sure Cassandra couldn't hear. "I have no idea of what to say or do. Her latest blood work shows a marked potassium deficiency. I have no idea what is causing it or how it got so low, so quickly, but one of the effects can be arrhythmia."

"You're sure she doesn't have the disease?" I asked.

"Uh-hm. Positive. These are't the symptoms of a bacterial infection." Janet said quietly.

Cassandra glanced over at us. She may be young but she wasn't stupid, she knew we were talking about her.

Not wanting to alarm her I quickly walked back to her. She held her arms out and I helped her down from the table. "All right, let's go back to our room. Thank you." I told Janet as we passed her on our way out.

"Thank you." Cassandra smiled up at Janet. "You are welcome." Janet said patting her head.

We were almost to the door when Cassandra stopped short. She crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes went wide with pain. "Cassandra what's wrong!" I yelled taking her by the shoulders. She was unresponsive. Suddenly she collapsed against me.

"Get her on the table!" Janet shouted to me.

I scooped her up and put her on the table. Janet felt around her neck for a pulse. "What is it? What's happening?" My voice cracked with panic.

"She's got an irregular heartbeat. She's in arrest." Janet jerked back from the table and ran to the wall and pressed the alarm. "Code blue to lab. Code blue!" Janet started CPR and the team of medical personnel rushed in with a crash cart. "We've got a cardiac arrest, potassium deficiency. Get me a number seven-cuff incubation tracheal tube now."

I chewed my nails off to the side giving them room to work. They pressed monitors to Cassandra's chest and my heart nearly stopped when I realized that they weren't picking up any heart beat from Cassandra.

Janet started chest compressions. "Defib. Stop CPR. Defib. Sixty joules. Come on! Come on! Clear!" She ripped her hands away and a nurse pressed the defib paddles to Cassandra's chest.

The electric shock jolted her small body and on the monitors the beeping of a faint heartbeat was finally heard.

"Let me in, let me in." Janet pushed the nurse out of the way and listened to Cassandra's chest with her stethoscope. "I want you to notify the ICU. I want her potassium level rechecked, stat."

"Get down to the lab." A technician ordered.

"Wait. Wait…wait….wait…wait. Oh my God." Janet started down in shock at her stethoscope. "Get me a chest x-ray, stat." She yelled at the group of nurses and technicians.

"What is it!?" I asked running up beside the table.

"I don't know. Listen." She handed me the stethoscope.

When I put them in I heard the sound of Cassandra's heart pumping blood, but underneath it all was a mechanic whooshing that accompanied each beat. Janet and I glanced at each other, confusion and fear written all over our faces.

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Cassandra slept fitfully in the examination room while I waited in Janet's office for the results. As soon as Daniel had heard had came right up and waited with me. I was so nervous that I didn't even realize that I had been tapping my foot until Daniel put a hand on my knee to stop me. The sudden contact startled me and I jumped. Daniel gave me a forced smile and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the door flew open.

Janet rushed in followed by Hammond and slapped a x-ray into the light box. It showed a spine, rib cage, and where the heart should be, a large mass tendrilled out into the surrounding tissue.

"Oh my God." I exclaimed shooting out of my seat.

"What is it?" Hammond demanded.

Janet shook her head, her concerned eyes fixed on the x-ray. "I don't know, but it wasn't there ten hours ago."

Author's note: I know this chapter's kind of short compared to some of the past ones but I'm trying breaking up the storys so the chapters don't become to long. Stay tuned and review! :)