Tendrils coiled around her mind and she shivered but they lacked the impersonal ruthlessness that Cassie had felt before; instead, a welcoming warmth seeped through...
And suddenly, in her head, she stood in the centre of the forum; there was a collar of naquadah around her neck and a woman with red hair and glowing eyes in front of her forcing her to bow down before her...
It wasn't her in the forum, Cassie realised with a start; it was the silver dragon; Shela, the Queen of the Dragons, the matriarch; the same dragon that was communicating with her. She was Ancient, wise and immortal...
Cassie's eyes almost flew open but she forced herself to remain in position.
A memory of a violent riot, of blood and pain; Shela was free and she was angry. So many of her children had died because of the Goa'uld's whim. Fire rained down on the Goa'uld and her Jaffa; their human slaves. It was terrifying and it was glorious; Cassie could taste the ash in her mouth; taste the fire. Revenge and vengeance for the pain caused to her kin.
The scene washed away and another tableau formed; Hanka. They were in Sam's mind now, Cassie thought with confidence.
Teal'c approached with Cassie clutching his large hand. Sam's compassion and her love for her sparked.
The cold grey walls of an elevator appeared. Sam was crying; wrenching sobs. She was leaving Cassie behind and it was unfair, so unfair and...Cassie was awake. Sam's mind was making the connections so quickly and then she was on her feet before the thought had even had a chance to take root; her hand slamming into the controls to stop the elevator, to go back down and return to Cassie...
Another SGC room took shape; an exotic woman with dark hair glowering at the formidable Janet Fraiser stood in front of her with a gun in her hand.
Shock ran through Cassie as she recognised Nirrti and her Mom. She had known that her Mom had coerced Nirrti somehow into helping Cassie when she'd been sick but she'd had no idea...her Mom looked so fierce – a tigress protecting her cub...
Everything shifted again and it was a school corridor. High school. Her chest tightened at the memory about to play out: of Sam telling her of her Mom's death and the crushing pain. She felt her own grief rise up as she experienced Sam's.
Another memory blurred the edges of the harsh loss of Janet Fraiser; a sterile hospital room and the slow beeping of a monitor. Sam's hand clutched Cassie's tightly as Sam promised Cassie that she would help her get sober; that she would take a leave of absence, whatever it took but she would be with her...
Love suffused Cassie; coursed through her and into Sam.
And abruptly, Cassie's mind was her own again.
The silver dragon – Shela – lifted her head and shuffled back. The green dragon bumped her gently as though checking Shela was fine. Puff moved too; scampering away to Shela.
Sam stirred in Cassie's arms.
'Sam?' Cassie said softly.
Sam raised a hand to her head and rubbed her forehead. She gave a soft moan.
'Sam?' Cassie tried again.
Sam lifted her head and looked around. She stiffened at the sight of the dragons but her focus shifted back to Cassie. She frowned. 'Cassie?'
Cassie couldn't help the smile that lifted her lips despite the tiredness that threatened to overwhelm her. 'Yes. It's me.'
Sam looked at her bemused. 'What's going on?'
Cassie let out a shaky sob and hugged Sam hard. Sam responded instinctively, shifting to hold Cassie properly and hugging her back.
'Cassie?' Her voice was filled confusion.
'I just...I just...I thought I'd lost you.' Cassie said, tearfully. She turned her head and buried her nose in the crook of Sam's neck.
Sam stroked her back. 'It's OK. I'm OK.' She rocked, comforting Cassie as best she could.
Cassie held on tightly for another long moment before she shifted and looked behind her.
Jack stepped forward. 'Carter?'
Sam scrambled to her feet and Cassie followed. 'I'm OK, sir.'
Almost as though they coordinated it; the rest of SG1 moved up beside their team-mate.
'Glad to see you up on your feet again.' Mitchell grinned at Sam.
Vala hugged her. 'It's good to have you back, Samantha.'
'Vala?' Sam's face creased with confusion and her eyes widened as she caught sight of Rya'c and Jonas.
'What are you all doing here?' Her disbelief raised her voice an octave.
'Hey.' Jonas offered her a broad smile.
'It is good to see you again, Colonel Carter.' Rya'c bowed.
Sam's attention returned to Cassie. 'What are you doing here?'
'Rescuing our collective asses.' Jack explained succinctly. His eyes strayed to the dragons who remained motionless, watching.
'We've been MIA for weeks.' Daniel jumped in.
'Weeks?' Sam frowned. 'The last thing I remember is the dragons,' her eyes flickered to them, 'arriving at the Stargate and then, this.' She raised a hand to her head. 'What happened?'
Before they could reply, the hum of a transporter beam sounded in the air. Shapes appeared behind them; SG3.
For a frozen second, the new arrivals stared at the dragons.
Immediately, Cassie, Rya'c and SG1 all moved to stand in front of the dragons, their hands raised up.
'Lower your weapons!' Jack ordered briskly. 'They're friendlies.'
'Sir?' Colonel Reynolds questioned the order.
'They're friendlies.' Jack repeated. He shot Cassie a look. 'Right?'
'Right.' She agreed.
Reynolds and his team lowered their weapons and it was as though it was a signal for them all to move. For a few seconds there was chaos. Cassie caught the end of Vala explaining everything to Sam; of Reynolds explaining their orders from General Landry to Jack and Mitchell...
Cassie moved away from the melee and quietly walked over to the dragons. She wanted to say goodbye to them. Puff hurtled towards her and she dropped to hug the young dragon. She let go of Puff and stood in front of Shela cautiously.
You and your kin are leaving us, Shela's voice fluttered through her head like a leaf falling to the ground.
Yes, Cassie thought sadly. I just wanted to say thank you – for Sam. And for sharing your story with me.
And you with me, Shela replied. You are a fascinating people to have overcome the Goa'uld and gained your freedom. Her silver head lowered again and her yellow eyes met Cassie's kindly. You are much loved, little one.
Cassie flushed. I know.
Shela lifted her head and stretched out her wings. Come back and talk with us again, Cassandra Fraiser. We would be friends.
Cassie watched as the dragons took flight, rising into the air with sweeps of their wings before turning in an elegant glide to fly away. She was aware of the others moving to stand beside her; watching with her as the dragons disappeared from view.
'They are just incredible.' Jonas broke the almost reverent silence. He grinned at her; his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
'Incredible.' Cassie confirmed.
'And fascinating.' Jonas said.
Daniel sighed. 'I had so much to ask them and...'
Cassie placed her hand on his arm. 'Shela, the Queen, shared their story with me and we have an invitation to return.'
'And we're going to have plenty of time getting home on the Odyssey for you to grill her for the details.' Jack said crisply.
Vala patted Cassie's arm and made a face. 'Be afraid. Be very afraid.'
'Well, I'll miss that too. I should take the cargo ship back.' Jonas said, disappointed.
'We could give you a tow.' Jack jerked his thumb towards the ship. 'Drop you off on the way.'
Jonas smiled. 'Sounds good.'
'Come on then. Let's get the packs and get going.' Jack ordered.
Everyone turned in the direction of cargo ship. Cassie made to follow after them but Sam stopped her.
'You came looking for us?' Sam questioned lightly but her blue eyes were serious. 'You gave up your studies, left Earth and came looking for us?'
Cassie pushed her hands in the pockets of her jeans. 'Are you going to yell at me?'
The corner of Sam's mouth lifted. 'Don't get me wrong; I'm proud of you, and I think I may owe you big time for whatever you did back there, but...yes, I might be going to yell at you.'
'Jack said you would have a conniption fit.' Cassie teased.
Sam's eyebrows rose. 'He did, did he?'
Cassie nodded, happily throwing Jack under the bus. It was in a good cause; better for Sam to be mad at Jack than mad at her.
'You know what?' Sam slung an arm around her and squeezed.
'What?' Cassie asked.
Sam grinned at her. 'He was right.'
Uh-oh.
o-O-o
Epilogue
It had been a crazy three months.
Cassie smoothed a hand over her hair, checking that her long auburn hair was tamed into the elegant French ponytail. She looked over her appearance critically; the smart green BDU, the black bulky tactical vest all gave her the appearance of a member of the SGC. She picked up her worn olive cap and carefully put it on.
Sam had been surprisingly understanding about her decision to change tracks and join the SGC after they had returned from the Land of the Dragons although Daniel and Teal'c had been the most outwardly supportive. Jack had taken some convincing. Cassie figured it was only after she'd made it through the six week boot camp that the SGC used to train all their civilian personnel that the Head of Homeworld Security had conceded that her decision wasn't a spur of the moment reaction.
Cassie had joined as a research assistant reporting to Nyan, an alien archaeologist who had joined the SGC after saving SG1 on a mission during the early years of the programme. Cassie had wrangled her way onto a new correspondence course studying anthropology and sociology. It would be hard to work and study at the same time but she was looking forward to the challenge.
Will was a distant memory. She'd heard from Kelly that he'd broken up with Susie or whatever her name was. Cassie wasn't interested. Vala had called it "taking a boy break" and she was right. Cassie was actually sharing a house with Vala in Colorado Springs. The other woman had been keen to try living off base but hadn't wanted to do it alone; she had jumped on Cassie moving to Colorado Springs as an opportunity to try.
Her eyes flickered to the pictures on the inside of her locker. One showed her, Jonas, Rya'c and Vala. It had been taken on the planet after Jonas's and Vala's arrival by Daniel who had given it to Cassie on their trip home on the Odyssey saying he thought she might like it as a memento. Cassie smiled at the picture. Jonas had pushed for a Stargate programme and it looked like the Langaran government was going to agree. He had already proposed a joint return mission to visit the dragons. Cassie couldn't wait. Cartegia, on the other hand, had been declared off limits by the SGC. The last they had heard was the planet was in the midst of a civil uprising instigated by the Cult.
The next picture had been taken the week before and handed to her with solemnity by Teal'c; it was a snap of his son and pregnant daughter-in-law. Cassie had promised herself she would see Rya'c and Karyn when the new baby was born. They were family after all.
The third picture was of SG1; an old picture of Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c flanked by her Mom and the late General Hammond. Cassie felt a renewed pang of grief at the sight of the old General. He had passed away a couple of weeks before.
The last picture was a shot of her with her Mom. Her Mom stood behind her, arms around her, head peeking out over Cassie's shoulder. Her warm sherry brown eyes were alight with laughter and Cassie's face was screwed up in giggles. It had been taken on Cassie's birthday shortly before her Mom's death. She gently touched the photo before she closed the locker.
It was her first official off-world mission. She was accompanying SG20 with a few of her civilian colleagues to survey some ruins. It was an orientation mission meant to get the civilians used to being off-world. She placed a hand over her belly where the monster butterflies were back at work. Just nerves; she could handle them. She straightened her shoulders, picked up her pack and headed out.
The corridors were busy. SG3 had just returned from a mission; an ambassadorial delegation led by SG9 was being escorted down one corridor; an alien complaining loudly at the smell of Earth, down another.
Cassie returned nods from people she knew as she hurried to the gate room. She accepted her zat from Sergeant Siler with a murmured word of thanks before she entered right on schedule and froze.
Jack stood to one side with one hand in the pocket of his BDU pants, the other gesticulating at Daniel wildly. Sam, who was temporarily in charge of the SGC while General Landry headed up some special project in Washington, ducked her head and tried to hide a grin at whatever Jack was saying. Vala whispered something, probably an observation about Jack and Daniel, to Mitchell who smiled. Teal'c stood beside Daniel, hands clasped behind his back regarding the others with a look of indulgence.
Cassie frowned. She had explicitly told her SG1 family not to treat her any differently to anyone else at the SGC even though her connection with them was common knowledge. She sighed and allowed herself a moment to check Daniel looked OK. He'd been injured on a trip to Atlantis and had taken some time to recover. She adjusted her cap and marched into the room to stand beside the other civilian assistants, Alisha and Brian. She ostensibly ignored SG1.
Major Grogan and his team marched in. Grogan nodded sharply in approval as he saw the civilians lined up. He spotted SG1 and did a double take; he and his team snapped to attention at the brass in the room.
'At ease!' Sam called out, walking over to the SG team with Jack. She nodded at them but she didn't glance over at Cassie.
Grogan shifted his position. 'Colonel. General.'
'Relax, Grogan.' Jack ordered. His brown eyes stayed on the young Major. 'I woke up this morning with something of a yen to spend the day in the gate room with SG1.'
'Really, sir?' Grogan managed a straight face although how he kept a straight face was something of a mystery to Cassie who refused – refused – to be amused by Jack.
'Yes,' Jack continued, 'we're wishing everyone well today as they set off through the old Stargate, aren't we, Carter?'
Sam didn't bother hiding her amusement and her blue eyes drifted to Cassie with something of an apology before returning to Grogan. 'You all set, Major?'
'Yes, Colonel.' Grogan allowed a small smile. He was only too aware of the relationship between SG1 and Cassandra Fraiser. 'We'll keep the civilians safe, I promise.'
'Excellent.' Jack agreed. His brown eyes moved to Cassie. 'Because we wouldn't want anything to happen to any of our civilians.'
Cassie rolled her eyes. 'Oh, for crying out loud.' She muttered.
Teal'c moved forward. 'I wish you well on your mission, Cassandra Fraiser.' He shot Grogan a severe look that promised things would not go well for the young Major if Cassandra was not returned without harm.
Mitchell was more circumspect; he nodded at her and stayed back. Vala bounded over and hugged her before winking at her and moving aside.
Daniel stepped up and punched Cassie lightly on her upper arm before he stuck his hands in his pockets. 'I'll look forward to your report.' He said cheerfully.
'You promised.' Cassie hissed at him. If there was one person who she would have expected to comply with her wish for SG1 to ignore her, it would have been Daniel.
He shrugged unapologetically.
Jack nudged Daniel out of the way. He wagged his finger at all of them. 'Remember, kids; no dragons. It's a rule.'
Alisha and Brian looked completely bemused. Cassie was tempted to stick out her tongue but she wrestled the urge into submission. She was a professional; she could do this without resorting to childish tactics where Jack was concerned.
'You ready?' Sam asked softly, placing a hand on her arm.
Cassie took a deep breath and nodded. Sam squeezed her arm gently, turned and nodded up at the control room. There was a suspicious sheen of tears in Sam's eyes as she regarded Cassie for a brief second before looking away.
Cassie knew Sam was thinking of a certain late CMO; how proud Doctor Janet Fraiser would have been to have seen her daughter walk through the wormhole as a fully fledged member of the SGC. Cassie swallowed back her own emotion as the Stargate spun; as the wormhole bloomed in the centre of the Stargate. The blue puddle glistened and rippled.
Grogan ordered his men to move out and followed them up the ramp. Alisha and Brian cast SG1 nervous looks and followed after SG20.
Cassie turned on her heel and walked up the ramp. She paused in front of the event horizon. She remembered the first time she had walked through with Sam's hand holding hers; of walking through during an evacuation with her Mom's hand tight around her own. And she remembered, walking through the wormhole a few months earlier on a personal mission to find and save SG1 just as they had once found and saved her.
She looked back over her shoulder. Her family were lined up watching her; love and worry, pride and joy written across their expressions as though they had spoken the words aloud.
Cassie smiled brightly at them and stepped into the wormhole.
The End.
o-O-o
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.