CH 26: Flame
Melinda grudgingly agreed with Sam's self assessment that her fall had not done additional damage to her shoulder though she wanted her to go and have an MRI done sometime soon just to make sure. The 'tricorder' as Olivia jokingly called the medical scanner Jennifer Keller had given to Sam before she had left Atlantis showed that she was still anemic and so the doctor insisted that she'd take a nap after their late lunch/snack with the children. The three pre-teens were visibly nervous and a bit overwhelmed but Olivia worked her charm and they relaxed enough to tell Sam how they had avoided the guards. They also apologized again for having caused the accident and needed some reassurance that Sam would be alright.
To show them that she was really alright and that there were no hard feelings Sam volunteered to accompany them to the stables and get introduced to the horses. Cassie went with them. Melinda, being a doctor and an overprotective friend, wanted her to have that nap but Olivia's hand on her arm stopped her from saying anything.
As soon as the group had left Olivia said, "Thank you, Melinda, for letting her go. She needs it."
"It's against my better medical judgment, Liv. Sam needs rest, physical rest. What she does not need is spending time with overexcited children and getting roped into a stunt that will only lead to another accident," Melinda said testily.
"Her body may need the rest, Mel, but her mind needs the distraction. In her head she's still replaying Cassandra's words from her session with George yesterday. That's why she went for a run in the first place. Forcing her to rest will only let her imagination run wild."
"What are you talking about? Cassandra's amended statement was almost clinical," Alex asked.
"Yes, it was, as if someone else had been violated and beaten, but that's not how she told it to George. He gave me his report and the transcript of the session before returning to the City. I read it after her statement. I couldn't help the vivid images her words created, running through my head like a horror movie I can't stop watching. I threw up, twice, and then I spent an hour in the basement gym hitting the sand bag. And I'm used to hear such things. Being with the kids will do Sam good, and being with Cassandra."
"Yes, you might have a point but I still don't like it. Sam can't afford to get injured again. So, the next time she feels the need to run put her on a treadmill or something."
"Will do, Doc, and don't worry, Sam will be fine. She just needs some time to put everything in perspective. And don't ask me how I know that, I just do. Why don't you and Alex get some work done, that's why you came, right? I mean aside from making sure that your favorite patients don't do anything too stupid."
"You're right, let's get this over with. The autopsy reports are not easy reading and I have to admit I really need some professional help, especially in correlation with the videotapes of the victims," Alex said.
"How do you know, Olivia?" Caroline asked a pensive detective as soon as Alex and Melinda had retired to the library. "And why does no one seem to be worried about Cassandra Fraiser? She was the victim, should she not be more affected by her restored memories?"
"Every victim has their own way of dealing with the violation, especially considering that our legal procedures practically force them to repeat it, to relive it more than once, and that some judges allow the defense lawyers to disparage them in public. I'm not a psychologist but I think it's like this: rationally Cassandra has a very good grip on what happened. Rationally she also knows that there was not much she could have done differently, nothing she could have done to protect herself, but emotionally she still has a long way to go. Being with Sam right now is the best medicine for her, and for Sam."
Olivia fell silent, debating with herself on if and how to answer Caroline's first question. How did she know? And she knew, she knew deep down, she knew for certain. Caroline's hand at the small of her back let her re-centre herself but the Cabot matriarch surprised her by not repeating the question.
"Go and join them, Olivia, try to have some fun. I'll call General Hammond to have him close the gap in his protective net the children slipped through and then I'll call the parents that they can be picked up in an hour or two."
Olivia didn't need more prodding. She was glad to escape what could have turned into a mild form of the Spanish Inquisition, and was ill prepared for all the questions with which the three children peppered her, Sam and Cassie. Luckily Sam had made it clear on the way over to the stables that neither she nor Cassandra would answer any question having to do with what they had heard in the news. That caveat still left them a lot of venues of inquiry. Olivia, however, would not be the detective she was if she had not managed to also find out a lot about the three children.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Carmichael and Miss Novak will now answer your questions. Thank you for your patience."
District Attorney Arthur Branch didn't wait for the torrent of questions to erupt around him but turned sharply and got back to his office. He had spent the last ten plus minutes to outline the details of the upcoming trials against Addison David Williamson and Carl Kelles and the men of his gang.
The Grand Jury had indicted all of them only a couple of hours ago after surprisingly short deliberations. Williamson's confession and Gwendolyn Green's testimony had been more than enough to convince them. The main charges against Williamson were nine counts of murder in the first degree, ten counts of kidnapping, assault and rape, not to mention all the other things he had admitted to having done in front of Sam and a camera. Lena Petrovsky would be presiding over his trial.
Kelles and his men had been charged with nine counts of accessory to murder, ten counts of kidnapping and rape as well as a few class B felonies. Their trial would be held in the court of Judge Lois Preston. Jury selection would start the next day and the trials themselves were scheduled to begin on Monday and Wednesday of the following week respectively.
Arthur also addressed the media speculations about a possible military involvement by emphasizing the familial connection between Williamson's last victim, Cassandra Fraiser, and Colonel Samantha Carter. He also explained Sam's participation in Alex' rescue in a way that though glossing over the details including the part played by two former Air Force officers left very little purchase for journalistic curiosity, at least for the time being.
Sam had followed the press conference on the big flat screen TV in the den together with the current occupants of the Cabot Estate but tuned it out when the questions began. Her mind was already on what to expect during the trial sessions. Cassandra seemed to do the same, at least judging from her drawn and pained expression. Sam instinctively unclipped her sling and put her arms around her daughter. The tension pervading Cassie's body was raising her protective instincts.
"Alex," she asked, "is there any way to keep Cassie from testifying?"
Before Alex had even the chance to look around at the unexpected question Cassie said, "No, Mum, I have to do this. I have to testify; and not only because I want to see them all behind bars for the rest of their lives. I have to do it for myself. I have to face them. I will not go as far as to say that I really know what I'm getting myself into, but I have a good idea and I know that you will be there for me every step of the way. Remember, I'm very brave; we both are."
Cassandra's words were in stark contrast with her body language but Sam could read the determination in her eyes, an expression she knew all too well from the deep brown eyes of Janet Fraiser. Cassie really was Janet's daughter, all the way. Janet also would have wanted to testify, regardless of the personal pain that might cause.
"Yes, you're very brave, Cassie. Janet would be so proud of you and so am I," Sam said and pulled Cassandra in a closer embrace.
The other women kept their eyes on the screen to give them at least a modicum of privacy and allow them to get their emotions back, if not under control but at least under wraps. Melinda though who at Sam's insistence had stayed after she had finished her conference with Alex glanced back worriedly more than once.
After a few minutes Cassandra took a deep breath and asked, "So, this trial thing, how does it work? I've never even seen the inside of a court room except on TV."
Alex turned her back to the screen and looked at the young woman. She was still huddled in Sam's arms but her face had lost much of the strain. Alex didn't know how much of it was false bravado but deep down it reassured her that ultimately Cassandra would be fine, given enough time to heal. So, she switched from worried friend into witness preparation mode.
"The trial against Addison Williamson will start with the reading of the charges. There is a possibility that his defense lawyer will waive the reading in order not to prejudice the jury against the defendant. The judge then will ask Williamson how he pleads. Best case scenario would be that he pleads guilty. The jury would be thanked and excused and a date for a sentencing hearing would be set up," Alex said.
"But you don't think that will happen, right, Alex?"
"No, I do not, Sam. I read Williamson's confession and he wants his hour in the spotlight. He wants to get his message across that women aught to be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen, metaphorically speaking."
"Nothing metaphorical about it," Cassie murmured. "When he was not hurting me he was talking about how women are by nature inferior to men and that it was his god-given duty to remind them of their rightful place, subservient to the men in their lives at any and all time. He did not like it when I tried to argue with him."
The last sentence was barely above a whisper and Sam remembered Williamson's monotone voice telling her every last detail of what he had done to her daughter. She stiffened slightly at the vivid images.
Cassie intuitively squeezed her uninjured arm, "I'll be fine, Mum."
Sam didn't answer verbally but she took a deep breath and asked, "So, with Williamson pleading not-guilty, what will happen?"
"Judge Petrovsky will ask Abbie to call her first witness, and since Olivia was the primary in this case she's first on the list. That will take at least all of Monday; with Trevor's cross examination it could also take up Tuesday morning. Usually we first would call the expert witnesses, in this case Melinda for the coroner's office and Kettler for the crime lab, to establish the facts. That can get dry very quickly. So, Abbie and I decided that before bringing in the experts we want to put a personal face on the case."
"Cassie?"
"No, not Cassandra. Calling a living victim this early in a case could be grounds for appeal. In the past it has been argued that the jurors were getting prejudiced against the defendant." Alex winced internally at her businesslike tone, but Cassie seemed to take it in strike. "You will be next, Sam. Abbie and I will prepare you over the weekend but the aim is to mix factual information with the perspective of a worried parent. We will try to keep it short but Trevor will do his best to shoot holes in Olivia's testimony. He also will ask for an explanation how you could pick up on a connection between the victims the BAU had not only not yet put into CODIS but not even seen.
"Abbie and Arthur will stop by tomorrow to talk strategy about that. Arthur also wants to go over the steps you took to find out about Robert's embezzlement and the bugs in my computer and apartment. He will also take my testimony about Robert then."
"Everything concerning White is above board. Olivia and I already synchronized our reports before you were abducted. The Williamson case is a different ballgame altogether," Sam said, audibly trying to sound objective. "I have the knowledge to access the databases I did. As an Air Force Officer with a high security clearance I also have the authority to access those databases. Then, however, I was not acting as a military officer. So, that could be a problem."
"I see," Alex answered. "I will let Arthur know about that possible complication but since he did not mention it to me I'm pretty sure that District Attorney Branch has already come up with a solution. He's very resourceful if he wants to be. Tomorrow will tell us more."
"I think we can live with that," Cassie said and Sam nodded, albeit reluctantly.
In the background the TV was still droning on but after a few minutes of mostly uncomfortable silence Caroline Cabot decided that a change in subject would be beneficial. So, with a mixture of charisma and maternal authority, she convinced the rest of her party to focus their attention on some board games.
They started with 'Clue' but Sam couldn't relax that way. She didn't pay attention to the game and after a few rounds she excused herself and went up to her room where she booted her laptop, called up a few photos and video sequences about the Stargate. She had asked Melinda to stay to tell her, Olivia and Alex about her work. They deserved to know, now – with the truth about General Jacob Carter revealed – more than ever. From the way Melinda had handled her medication those last few days Sam was relatively certain that Melinda at some point had had some access to her medical file; so, she already suspected that it would have to be something big.
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She had just finished her preparations when her cell phone rang, thinking that it was either Jack or Daniel she did not look at the caller-ID.
"Carter."
"Hello Sam, this is Mark. I saw you on the news and just wanted to make sure that you're alright."
"How did you get that number, Mark?" Sam asked.
"It wasn't easy. Really, sis, you're harder to get in contact with than with the Pope. I had to literally go from Pontius to Pilate."
"You never gave the impression that you needed to get in contact with me, Mark. So, what's up?"
"Can't a brother call his only sister to make sure that she and her daughter are alright? And no, don't say it. I know that I treated you badly, you and Janet and Cassandra. I apologize for that, I was a fool. Cassandra, is she alright?"
"She will be, in time. But what brought about this change in attitude? The last time we spoke you made it clear that you didn't want my dyke vibes to infect your children," even years later her voice betrayed how hurt she had been by those words.
"I'm sorry, Sam, I was a fool and too caught up in my own world to see reality as it is. I did a lot of reading since then and soul searching."
Sam didn't know what to say to that.
"I know that it's probably too little, too late, but when I saw on TV that you almost were killed saving someone else I… Sam, could we just talk, please. When those trials are over, I mean. Give me a chance to apologize in person."
"I ask again, Mark, what triggered your change of opinion?"
"A couple of things, but mainly the fact that I found Tommy kissing another boy in the garden. I overreacted and threatened to throw him out of the house at which point my wife and daughter told me more than clearly that I should get over myself or go and look for a new family."
Sam was stunned, to say the least. If she would believe in such things she would call it poetic justice. Mark told her how he had started to do some research and had started to doubt a few of his prejudices and how he had understood that he would never stop loving his son, regardless of whom he would end up loving. He also told her that he wanted to make amends to her and to Cassie.
When he started to repeat himself Sam had recovered enough of her composure to say, "Listen, Mark, I need to stay here in New York for the trials but I'll contact you as soon as I can get away. It may take some time. I don't know where the Air Force will send me next, but you have my word."
"Thank you, Sam. That means a lot to me. Your arm, will you be able to return to active duty?"
"A couple of weeks physical therapy and I will be as good as new, Mark. No need to worry. In a way I'm glad that you called. Father told me that he left a suitcase with you when he visited with you before his death. He said that there were letter and other things we one day would want to know. Do you still have it?" Sam asked.
She of course didn't tell her brother that it had not been Jacob Carter who had told her about the suitcase but Selmak right before she had slipped into a coma. And Sam's instincts told her that she could find some, if not all the answers there. Selmak would not have put such an emphasis on it otherwise.
"Yes, I guess so, somewhere in the attic. After his death I was tempted to have a look inside but I never got around to it. Why?"
"Could you do that now, please? Look for a diary or letters or anything else concerning the time between his first and second tour in Vietnam, please."
"Sure, Sam. If you tell me what this is all about and I know what I'm looking for it would make it easier," Mark said.
"You will not like it, Mark."
"As long as I don't find any pictures or stuff with Dad doing the nasty with another man I guess I can take it, Sam. That would be too much of a shock."
"It's worse than that, Mark. When Father and Uncle George where in New York after their first tour in 'Nam Father raped at least three women."
Sam expected a loud outburst but there was complete silence at the other end of the line, so she continued, "One of his victims got pregnant and decided to keep the child. We have a half-sister."
Still silence.
"Mark, are you still there? Are you alright?"
A groan was the only answer, "Mark Jacob Carter, get a grip."
"Are you sure, Sam?"
"Yes, Mark. I saw the DNA panels. There is no doubt."
"But how is that possible. I mean Dad could be a complete jerk and a real pain in the neck, but a rapist?"
"DNA does not lie, Mark. I don't know why he did it. I just know that he was a rapist and I hope to find answers in the stuff he left you. I know that must be hard for you. You got along so well in the last years of his life."
There was another period of silence that seemed interminably long to Sam but this time she allowed Mark to recover in his own time.
"Tell me about this half-sister, Sam. How did you find her?"
So, Sam gave him the highlights about her time in New York and how she had found out about their paternal affiliation.
"Wow, that's quite a tale. Still, I'll need some time to wrap my mind around all of this, but I promise to go through the contents of the suitcase as soon as I'm over the hangover I'll get from getting as drunk as I can right now," Mark said.
"Don't overdo it, Mark. Alcohol has never answered any questions. Give my best to your family, and you can call me any time under this number. If I don't pick up leave a message and I will call back as soon as I can."
"Will do, sis. Take care of yourself and Cassandra."
Sam put the cell phone down and shock her head at the unexpected development. She was not yet completely convinced about the sincerity of Mark's attitude adjustment. He had said some very hurtful things over the years concerning her relationship with Janet and her feelings for Cassandra. His words had hurt even more in context with her father's verbally abusive disapproval but in the end Janet's love had been more important than the bigotry of her father and brother.
She took a deep breath and banned thoughts of her brother to the background of her mind. Only time would tell if they really had a chance to develop a less adversarial relationship. For now she had more pressing matters to attend to, namely telling Alex, Olivia and Melinda about the Stargate Program and Atlantis.
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When Sam woke up the next morning she was lying in her bed, with her sling on, and alone. She looked around. The sun was up. The clock on the nightstand told her that it was just past 0830. There was a short note next to the clock telling her that Flame had gone into labor and that she would find the others at the stables. So, she took a shower and went down to the kitchen to see if there was any coffee available.
She found a thermos with coffee and a small basket with still warm muffins on the counter and decided to savor her breakfast in silent solitude. Her throat was still a bit sore from talking so much the night before. It had taken her two hours to explain the basics of gate travel and the history of the Stargate Program, and Sam was pretty sure that even Melinda would have thought that she was nuts had she not included some videos that showed her working or posing with some of the more physiologically different races like the Rhetu or Warrick, the Serrakin pilot.
The three women had had a lot of questions, and not all of them had been what she had expected. Melinda's questions had made it clear that Carolyn must have given her a copy of her medical report and that she seemed a bit in awe of what Sam had been facing out there every day for years. Alex had tried to wrap her mind around the technical aspects of the whole thing and finally declared her forfeit. Since Alex didn't strike her as someone to give up easily Sam was sure that she would have more questions sometime in the future. Olivia had been very interested in the team dynamics, not only of SG-1, of the whole base, but had soon become very quiet.
It had been close to midnight, Cassandra had already retired to bed, when Sam had finally gotten to the point of telling them about Atlantis and the origin of her healing abilities. To say that they had been stunned would have been a massive understatement. To snap them out of it Sam had told a few funny stories about her time in the Ancient city, for example how Rodney had managed to turn a quarter of a square mile of Atlantis into a giant indoor swimming pool that quickly had become very popular, or the first time she had actually won a sparring match against Ronon Dex, or the first time she had spent a night on the mainland with Teyla to participate in an Athosian initiation ceremony.
She would miss Atlantis, Sam thought melancholically and downed the rest of her coffee. She tried to tell herself for the umpteenth time that there was no point in speculating and that there also was no reason to expect the worst. That, however, was easier said than done; so, she decided to distract herself from her morose thoughts and join the others in the barn.
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The first thing Sam heard when she entered the stables was Melinda saying, "I'm a pathologist not a veterinarian, Alex."
"Just hold the phone and speak with Doctor Ballard. He will talk us through this. Horses and women have done it for thousand of years. It can't be that hard."
Alex and Melinda were in the stall with Flame, together with Caroline who was gently stroking the mare's head. Olivia was aiming a digital camera at the proceedings and Cassie and Antonia stood to the side and just looked on.
Sam walked over to Cassie and put her free arm around her. Cassie instinctively leaned against her and Sam relished the contact. It was exactly what she needed to make her stop worrying about her future. Standing there her mind drifted off to the one time she had seen Janet deliver a baby, a Human baby.
It had been on one of those planets where the societal structure could only be described as extremely misogynistic. Sam's presence had only been accepted because she had been dressed like a man from the beginning and (more importantly) because her skills were crucial for them. Then, the pregnant wife of their king had started to experience complications. The local healers had washed their hands of her, telling the king that it now was in the hand of the spirits and that he should pray for the life of his son.
Daniel had heard about it and had given the woman a painkiller which had convinced the king that the visitors, despite their strange customs, might have a way to keep his presumptive heir alive. General Hammond then had reluctantly agreed to send Janet to join SG-1. And Janet had been magnificent. She had been about a head shorter than the smallest of their hosts but that had not kept Janet from being intimidating as all get-out. She had barked orders and the locals had obeyed.
In Sam's eyes, those insufferable machos scrambling to do Janet's every whim had made the whole mission worth the bother. Colonel O'Neill had sent her to watch over Janet as soon as the repairs to their energy system had been finished. Janet, by then, had managed to stabilize the prospective mother and had been just about to throw out the other healers who had been next to ineffective. Sam didn't even need to fire her P-90 to clear the room. The fiery expression in Janet's eyes had been more than enough.
The baby had been a breach and since the only other woman left in the room had not seemed to be responsive Janet had asked Sam for help. Even in retrospect Sam was awed at Janet's sovereign handling of a hysterical woman in labor, how she had talked her down, how she had calmly instructed Sam what to do. It had been magnificent, more than magnificent.
Even in retrospect Sam felt a sliver of arousal when she thought back on how superior and dominating and incredibly perfect and beautiful Janet had been that day. And Janet cradling that newborn child against her chest still was the most perfect picture Sam would ever be able to imagine. It sent a piercing pain through her heart, now she would never get the chance to see their own child cradled in her beloved's arms.
Sam shock her head as if to get a strand of hair out of her face to bring herself out of those pointless thoughts. At the moment, there were other issues at hand, namely the visit of District Attorney Branch; and just as if her thoughts had conjured him a security guard led a man wearing a three-piece-suit into the stables, closely followed by Abbie Carmichael.
Alex saw her and said, "Hey, Cowboy, care to give me a hand?"
"Any time, Princess," Abbie answered and stepped forward but was stopped by Caroline's voice commanding her to go and change into something more appropriate for the occasion than one of her court suits.
Abbie ran off and Arthur introduced himself to Sam and Cassandra after he had greeted Caroline and the others. Sam offered to go over to the house with him to get started on the things that needed to be cleared up but to her surprise he refused.
"It's not every day that I get the chance to see a new life born, Colonel Carter. Besides, I always wanted to see what kind of team Abigail and Alexandra make outside of the courtroom."
Two hours later Flame had foaled a beautiful chestnut colored filly. The mare had licked it clean and it was standing on its own, on slightly wobbly feet. Arthur had spent the time alternately on the phone or observing the mostly non-verbal interactions of the others in the stables, the evident closeness between Colonel Carter and her adopted daughter, the way Cassandra Fraiser's eyes showed her joy and delight either at something Colonel Carter said or at something else she observed in the room. He also made note of the way Detective Benson kept her gaze on Alexandra, following her every move with an expression of love and devotion and pride on her face, and of Alexandra, his tough, uncompromising bureau chief, mirroring that expression whenever her gaze fell on Olivia Benson. It was the ultimate proof he needed to know that whatever the future might bring those two would get through it together. They gave each other strength, a strength they would need to let his plans of Alexandra one day succeeding him in the DA's chair still come true.
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While Abbie and Alex got cleaned up and changed into more professional attire Arthur started to go through the steps Sam and Olivia had taken to find the origin of the bugs in Alex' cell phone and laptop. It didn't take long since they already had prepared that part. How they had been able to find Richard White at the beach house before the police did had been harder to explain. With the help of Judge Harriman Arthur and the Police Commissioners of New York and East Hampton had come to a legally sound compromise; the participation of Nick Farthington and Marty Bannion, however, could turn into a jurisdictional nightmare. Instead of making things easier their military background opened the door for speculations about a possible military cover-up.
"With all due respect, Arthur, I don't see a problem. Common law states that any person who witnesses a crime being committed has the right to detain the suspects or culprits. It was a simple citizen's arrest, and the fact that two of those concerned citizens are police officers in another jurisdiction should not play a role," Alex said from the door to the library.
"That works for the rescue, but not for how you found White's hide-out, Alexandra. If I understood it right, Colonel Carter, you hacked into the IRS, that's not something a simple citizen can do," Arthur said.
"Yes, Arthur, it is. I looked it up after Olivia told me how they had done it. It's just a question of filling out the right forms. Sam just did it faster," Alex said.
"I gave that some thought since yesterday and now I do not think that there will be much of a problem, Mister Branch. I'm not a 'simple citizen'. I'm an Air Force Officer with an extremely high security clearance. Technically in the pursuit of my duties I have the right to access every database I need, be it regional or federal or national or international. The defense may argue that I did not act on behalf of the Air Force or the United States, but the document that makes me a temporary officer of the law also states that I have the duty to 'employ all resources available' in service of the New York Justice System. That should give you all the leeway you'll need."
Arthur's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly recovered from the surprise of hearing such a deviously circular legal argument from someone he had been told was a successful combat soldier and of all things a theoretical physicist.
"Depending on the defense strategy of White's lawyers I might need to ask you about that on the stand, but yes, combined with the citizen's arrest it can work," he said.
"Besides, who did he get to defend him?" Olivia asked.
"All of our local main players have refused to defend him. From what I heard most cited an overabundance of other cases, but rumor has it that LaRue told him that she would not defend someone too stupid to see that Alex Cabot always would be way out of his league," Arthur answered with a provocative smile in Alex' direction who predictably blushed. "He called in someone from Boston, a former senior associative of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Claire Simms. I haven't met her yet but she already met twice with White at Rikers."
Before Arthur had a chance to change the topic to the Williamson trial Caroline called all of them to lunch. They had just sat down to eat when the perimeter guard announced another visitor, General Hammond. Sam snapped to attention when she saw him in full dress uniform, well, as best as she could with her arm in a sling.
"At ease, Colonel, after all you're still on medical leave. I just finished a video conference with the White House. President Hayes wants to talk to you at 1600, full dress uniform. I suppose you won't have a problem to establish a secure video link later," he said.
"No, Sir, do you know what this is all about?" Sam asked.
"Nothing definitive. President Hayes asked me a few questions about our work history and the administrative aspects of bases like Cheyenne Mountain and your current base. His questions ranged from general to very specific but I have no idea what he is up to. I heard Vala whispering in the background and Hank trying to get her to shut up at one point but that's all I know at the moment. I guess we'll find out more when you talk with the President later."
Sam was bursting with curiosity. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but knew that the general would not know how to answer. So, she said reluctantly, "I understand, Sir. Would you like to take a seat? We were just about to start lunch."
Compared to most other meals lunch was rather short this time since Arthur was eager to get back to work. With a combined effort they managed to hash out the necessary details in only three hours which left Sam just enough time to get changed before her video conference with President Hayes. In the meantime Cassie gave General Hammond a tour and they ended up spending over an hour with the new-born filly and her mother. She then helped Sam to set up the video link and put her hair in a professional bun.
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