Chapter 12

Jack glared at the monitor in front of him. His computer had just eaten the report he'd so painstakingly finished seconds earlier. He picked up his mug and his glare deepened when he realised that it was empty. As if that wasn't enough, a lukewarm ice-pack next to him was mockingly reminding him of the earlier incident at Global Dynamics. Luckily, they had been able to resolve the situation without causing any major damage. In fact, the painful lump at the back of his head was the only damage done to anyone - or anything for that matter.

Although, if his computer wasn't going to give him back his already finished report anytime soon, there might be a late casualty. He could always say he knocked it over as he stood up too quickly. That idea brought a smile to his face and it continued to spread as he imagined his computer's accident in more detail. He'd even redo his report just to see this!

Unfortunately his phone rang and the pictures of the crashed computers vanished from his inner eye.

"Carter."

"Jack."

Jack opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He swallowed and then tried again, "Is Sam okay?"

There was a small chuckle on the other side - a chuckle that had Jack release a sigh of relief.

"She'll be fine."

"Be?" Jack took another deep breath, willing his heart to slow down further. "What happened? I mean, can you tell me what happened?"

"Accident at work?"

Jack snorted. "Yeah, I figured as much. Do I need to be worried you're calling instead of her? And that you're calling me instead of Cassie."

There was a tired sigh before he answered. "They're still travelling back and we only have limited contact. Then there'll be more medical assessments and debriefings so it'll probably be a while before Carter can call herself."

Jack rubbed his face and shook his head at Jo, who'd just entered the sheriff's office and was looking questioningly at him. "Do you want me to tell Cassie?"

There was a pause at the other end. "Only if she asks or gets worried... I know it's a lot to ask but I don't want to worry her unnecessarily. Especially as the Doc didn't seem to be too worried about Carter's condition. "

He nodded, even though he knew the General wouldn't see it. He'd probably have done the same if it were Zoe. "What about your friend? Is he okay?"

This time the answer came without hesitation. "Yeah, everyone is fine, if a bit banged up. And Jack? Thanks, I really appreciate your help. I need to go, I'll call if anything changes but don't worry if you don't hear anything for a couple of days, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for the heads up. And your trust."

This time the chuckle on the other end was genuine. "I trust Carter, she trusts you."

Jack finished the call and looked over to Jo. She was shuffling some papers on her desk, but it didn't need a genius to figure out she wasn't really concentrating on her work. "Just aks."

Jo looked up sheepishly before coming over and sitting on the edge of the desk. "Tell Cassie? Is there something wrong with Sam?"

"Nothing too serious but she can't call and reassure Cassie herself for a couple of days. So we're not going to tell her unless she asks, okay?" Jack answered after a few moments of contemplation.

"You never told me what she did for a living."

He smirked and shook his head. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"But it's good?"

"You have no idea!" Jack chuckled again. "Though I'm sure you'd appreciate it."

Jo rolled her eyes at his teasing. "Fine. Be that way." Her eyes lighting up, she added, "Hey, you need Cassie distracted, right? That means I'll better go and bug her about a test ride on Sam's bike."

"Paper work."

"Spoilsport."

o-o-o

Stark entered Café Diem and his eyes fell immediately on Cassie. Whenever he had come to collect lunch for the past week, she'd been sitting in the same spot near the window, an open laptop and several books in front of her. But, unlike today, she had been focused on the books and laptop instead of staring into space. Pushing the unexpected curiosity at her behaviour to the back of his mind, he turned to the counter and ordered lunch.

"So you're finally giving it a try?" Vincent asked, sounding rather pleased.

Stark frowned. "What?"

"Green jell-o? It's the first time you've ordered it."

Stark made an uncommitted sound in the back of his throat, but didn't comment further. He had no idea why he had added the green jell-o to his order. While Stark waited for Vincent to prepare his lunch, he let his eyes wander around the cafe. Yet, somehow, they always ended up on the lone figure staring into space. Growling, he turned and deliberated avoided looking into Cassie's direction. This was his lunch time and he had no desire to spend it with that annoying friend of Carter.

Unfortunately, his curiosity won out.

He had wanted to know what she was reading ever since he first saw her surrounded by books but had managed to not check so far. But mix in the faraway look and he suddenly knew he'd go over as soon as Vincent handed him his food. A few minutes later he walked over and put his food on the empty table next to Cassie, sat down and unceremoniously picking up the open book closest to him.

The action caught Cassie's attention and she leaned back in her chair, scowling at Stark. "Hey! I'm not a library, you know."

Stark didn't even look up. Instead, he picked up the green jell-o and placed it in front of Cassie. "Eat, I'm busy."

Cassie huffed before grabbing the spoon and digging into the dessert. There was no sense in letting it get to waste, after all.

"So, genetics?"

Cassie ignored him, concentrating on the taste of her dessert instead. Eventually, there was nothing left to eat so she looked up. "You were saying?"

Stark rolled his eyes and held up the book he was holding. "You're interested in genetics?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully and Stark could almost see the mischief creeping into her eyes. Therefore he'd expected her answer to be anything but straightforward - and he wasn't disappointed.

"Naw! But the books have pretty pictures." She grabbed one from the table and opened a random page. Sure enough, it showed a colourful and rather comic-like illustration of the DNA replication process. "See? Although, I would have chosen a slightly different colour scheme."

"Of course you would." Stark rolled his eyes at her and picked up a couple of scientific papers that had been buried underneath the books. "What about these? They don't have pretty pictures."

"They're just for show. You know, to make me look smart," Cassie deadpanned.

Stark shook his head in exasperation at her and took a sip of his coffee. He had to admit he wasn't too surprised by his discovery. Her verbal comebacks were usually quick, ingenious and, albeit they were often annoying, they also spoke of her intelligence. In fact, he had come to look forward to their verbal sparring matches. Of course he would never admit to any of this.

Focusing on her again, he said, "Well, it might work if you'd stop staring into space. What's up with that?"

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "Just thinking."

"Need a painkiller?"

She snorted and gave him a genuine smile. "Nice one."

Stark smirked. Then he dug into lunch while he watched Cassie from the corner of his eye. She picked up the book he'd been holding earlier and started flipping through the pages, occasionally stopping to read for a couple of minutes. It didn't take a genius - although he obviously was one - to figure out that her mind was elsewhere. His lunch finished, he sighed theatrically and turned back to her. "What's going on?"

Cassie frowned as she studied him. "Are you worried?"

He snorted and rolled his eyes. Tilting his head, he asked, "Are you? Maybe about that obnoxious friend of yours?"

"Sam's working," Cassie replied defensively. "She can look after herself."

"You are worried about her." Stark looked at her in surprise. "She's gone over a week now and that worries you. Where exactly is she anyway?"

"Working," Cassie said, repeating her earlier statement.

One corner of his mouth lifting up, he patted her shoulder a couple of times. "She's way too annoying for anything to happen to her."

"Stark! What are you doing here?" Jack had come into Café Diem just as Stark patted Cassie's shoulder. It was so out of place that he had bypassed the counter and went straight over to them.

"Carter. It might come as a surprise to you, but I was having lunch just like all the other people in here. You should try it sometimes, the food is pretty good."

"Funny. Very funny."

Stark stood up and leaned close to Jack. "You might wanna cheer her up. She's worried about that math-teacher loving friend of yours."

Jack watched Stark leave before sitting down on the chair he'd just vacated. "Cassie?"

She kept staring at her screen, even though there was nothing but a blank page. Jack gently grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. Frowning at what he saw, he sighed and rubbed his face. "Stark's right, huh?"

Cassie shrugged. "Sam's busy and calling is usually pretty difficult."

He took a deep breath and, avoiding her eyes, said, "She'll be fine. Everyone else is fine too, just a bit banged up."

Cassie's eyes opened wide as the meaning of his comments hit her. "You know something! And you didn't tell me!"

"Cass, Cassie!" Jack grabbed her hands and squeezed. "Sam's fine and will call as soon as possible. Jack mentioned something about travelling and check-ups and debriefings and that it might be a couple of days, though."

"Jack! He called you?" She looked at him accusingly at first, but her anger was quickly replaced by worry. "She's hurt, isn't she?"

He nodded. "I don't know what happened, though. Only that she'll be fine. If it helps, Jack was more worried about how you'd react to the news than he was about Sam's injuries. That has to be in her favour, right?"

Her frown deepened. "I guess."

They were startled by the ringing of Cassie's cell phone before Jack could reply. The relief on her face said it all. Jack rubbed her shoulders reassuringly and encouraged her to answer. "Let me guess, Sam has got great timing?"

o-o-o

"Is Sam okay? Dad just told me she's in hospital. And is she coming back to Eureka?" Zoe asked while she dragged her friend to the dining area and the waiting dinner.

Cassie smiled at the quick-fire questions. "Sam's fine. I just spoke to her and she's already planning her escape from the infirmary."

Zoe released the breath she'd been holding. Sure, her dad had told her that Sam was going to be fine - and he was giving her his 'I told you so' look right now - but he hadn't talked to Sam like Cassie had. "What happened?"

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "It's all confidential stuff. She basically ended up with a few broken ribs and some sort of flesh wound to her leg. Although, knowing Sam, this could mean anything from something needing a couple of stitches to her leg almost falling off. Though I'm sure she'd have mentioned if the latter one had happened."

"Cas-sie!" Jack scrunched up his face as he came down the stairs. "Less imagery please. I was looking forward to my dinner!"

Zoe and Cassie shared a grin and went to either side of Jack, patting a shoulder each. "We can always take dessert off of you if you can't stomach it."

He pulled a face at them before pointing at their respective seats. "Sit. Or neither of you will be coming with me when I pick up Sam."

"We can still bet on the number of stitches, right?" Cassie asked, tongue in cheek.

Giggling at Jack's face, Cassie picked up her fork and dug in. Seconds later she was hit by Jack's napkin. "Eat."

o-o-o

Two days later, Cassie strolled into Café Diem, a wide grin on her face. Spotting Stark at the counter, she slightly changed direction and plopped down next to him. "Vincent!" she gave him a brilliant smile. "I'd like some jell-o to go, please. Two green, one yellow and a huge portion of blue jell-o."

"Two green?" Stark asked, his eyebrow raised in amusement. "Isn't one enough anymore?"

Cassie winked at him and leaned closer. "Nope! You can even buy me a third one!"

Vincent came back before Stark could answer. "There you go. So, blue jell-o? Does that mean Sam's back?"

"Yup." Cassie pointed at the food she'd just received. "And she's really looking forward to this."

Vincent positively beamed while Stark groaned loudly. Cassie picked up the box full of dessert-y goodness and patted Stark's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll tell her just how much you missed her."

"Who missed who?" Zane asked, sitting down on Cassie's empty side.

"Sam's back. And you just need to look at Stark to see how much he's looking forward to seeing her again!"

Stark snorted while Zane smirked at him. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Ha! Told you so." Cassie smiled sweetly and, to the shock of the three men, kissed Stark's cheek. "See ya later, hot stuff!"

Amidst the snickers of Zane and Vincent, Cassie left the cafe and headed for the Sheriff's office to meet up with Jack. She couldn't wait to tell Sam all the gossip from the last ten days or so.

o-o-o

A/N: Sorry about another long wait. I swear He-Muse and She-Muse are still mad at me for moving and leaving all their Muse-friends behind. Oh well, they'll get over it. Thanks again for all your reviews, I just love them! And they are pretty handy for dangling in front of my muses to remind them of their job. (Also, Telyra, guess what - we've got the same mother tongue! So no worries there!)

And the new season of Eureka? I absolutely love it! Friday's episode (Momstrosity) was my absolute favourite so far. It's also the best season for Jo. In my opinion anyway.