It was mid morning and Cassie hadn't rolled out of bed yet. She lay there listening to "Mad World" again and again. The words swirled around in her mind. Her room mate had run off to an early class and Cassie was hiding her head in her nest. Today she found hard to face and tomorrow was none existent. Did anyone here know her; did they all look through her… just a nobody? How could she think about tomorrow when she had no grasp on today? She held the cell phone wanting to call Sam, or better yet, wanting her to call. Afraid to call, afraid to be rejected for something cosmically more important, only to make her feel more insignificant. She had blown off her classes this week feeling as though she needed escape from that insidious hamster wheel but found wallowing in self pity, although comforting at first, like quick sand sucking her into melancholy. Deciding to call Sam, the phone rang in Cassie's hand frightening her so she nearly dropped it.
Jack strolled down to Sam's lab to drag her off to lunch. He was tired of soggy sandwiches at his desk. The crumbs and mustard stains decorating the assorted reports annoyed Walter but more than that he needed to get off his ass once in a while. So the trip to Carter's lab was an excellent way to stretch his legs plus she was a delightful diversion from those endless piles of paperwork.
As he wandered down the maze of hallways he thought there should be a groove in the floor from the seemingly thousands of trip he took in this direction. Was he running in circles? Here and then back – wasn't it about time for it all to change? Before Jacob died they had a little chat and Jacob asked Jack to look out for his daughter and perhaps take command of the situation. At this point they both laughed.
"There is no taking command of a strong woman but I might suggest an alliance. You know what I mean, Jack."
"I do, Jacob. And I will always be there for her. You have my word."
Jack strolled into the lab and no sooner than he opened his mouth to say hi the phone rang. He turned around to exit when he felt her yank on his shirt tails. The conversation was brief with promises to see to something or someone as soon as possible.
"That was one of the councilors at UNLV. Cassie's have a bit of a rough time…"
"Go get a bag packed and I'll get you on a flight from Peterson this afternoon. Do you mind if I go with?"
"I'd appreciate that sir."
"Tell me about it on the way, just get ready and I'll pick you up…I guess I'll call as soon as I know when."
Lunch forgotten, Colonel Reynolds assigned to assume control of the base, flight plans made and before 1:30 O'Neill and Carter sat in a most uncomfortable transport on their way to Nellis. Although the trip was noisy they managed to have a conversation about Cassie and what she needed – a stable environment with a loving parental figure. Sam had already been thinking about R and D at the infamous Area 51. It had many advantages: first of all it would be close to Cassie; it would give Sam a change of pace and a little space from the site of recent painful experiences and best of all she would be out of Jack's command and the possibilities that offered.
There was a bad side to each advantage: maybe Cassie would feel babied or smothered, Sam really loved the amazing adventure the Stargate offered and she would sorely miss everyone she worked with, the man sitting next to her the most and maybe, once out of sight, he would forget her.
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Gary Jules – "Mad World"