Okay, here it chapter 15, the final chapter.
It's been a pretty wild ride, even I can't really remember the beginning, but maybe that's my bad memory!!! :)
Naliza, who has betaed this fic, given me great ideas when I've got stuck and generally support me through the past four months (is it really that long!), I appreciate everything you've done for me so much!!
And to everyone who has reviewed the story, I appreciate the support and suggestions that you've offered me. Without you lot I might have given up long ago.
I just want to say a special thank you to these people who have offered constant encouragement and the odd suggestion: Danielite, dietcokechic, Faith, Falcon Horus, Gatergirl, Ilovesg1, lighteninglady, Lynn, Mara Jade, neenee, Rainbow345UK and Sci Fi Fan Gillian.
Okay enough of me thanking everyone, before you know it I'll start weeping and thanking my dinner lady from primary school, and so on with the story!
Drum roll please………………
*~*~*
Daniel had no idea how they were treating Cassandra but eventually she stabilised and the alarms silenced themselves. He found himself shaking in relief as the adrenaline left his body. Looking over at the doctor he realised that the man was equally relieved.
"That was close," the Doctor said, exhaling deeply.
"But she's stable now, right?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. We'll have to wait to see if it's worked though."
"How long?"
"We should know in about a half-hour. I want to keep a close eye on her until then though."
"I'll go inform Dr Fraiser," Daniel said. He knew that Janet would be eager to know how Cassandra had reacted to the vaccine.
"Okay," the doctor replied as Daniel left the room.
Janet was sitting in her infirmary bed impatiently watching the infirmary door, waiting for news of her daughter.
She pulled herself up straighter in her bed as she saw Daniel enter and cross over to her.
"Daniel?" she asked, searching his face for a clue on Cassandra's condition. His exhaustion was masking his emotions.
"She's stable, it got a bit hairy but it all worked out. The doctor's keeping a close eye on her but he seems pretty confident.
"Thank God," Janet breathed. When the doctor had told her the dosage of epinephrine needed she was shocked. The dosage would be dangerous to a healthy person, let alone someone who was already battling with an extremely potent disease.
Janet realised that Cassie was a fighter, just like Sam and so would not let this disease stop them.
*~*
Two Days Later
Sam was thrilled to have finally been released from the infirmary. The only problem was that the doctors had insisted she staid on base for the time being. That was to ensure that they could monitor her condition for at least a little while longer, just to play it safe. All of her protests against that decision fell on deaf ears. Sighing in frustration at not being totally independent yet, she dressed in the BDU's that Jacob had brought her. She found it funny that she was actually glad to be wearing the stiff green material once again.
Sam walked down the corridors, which were becoming more populated by the day, in silence. Some people were beginning to return to work. The stretched medical personnel were still monitoring the others. Everyone on base had now received the vaccine and with the base quarantine ending the vaccine had finally reached the high school and hospital.
She had not heard about any more casualties but she knew that Colonel O'Neill and her father were concerned with the guilt that she still carried and therefore would be reticent to tell her of any more deaths. Despite everyone's constant assurances, Sam still felt responsible and she figured that this guilt would not go away any time soon.
Sam arrived at her destination and knocked quietly on the door before opening it. She found Cassandra sitting up in the bed, tapping away on a laptop.
"Hey Cassie," Sam greeted as the teenager looked up.
"Hey. You're wearing clothes," Cassie noted with a smile. The last time Sam had visited she had been wearing scrubs.
"Yep, officially discharged and everything. What are you up to?"
"Not much. Haven't got any school work for once, with school being closed and everything."
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Sam advised her with a smile.
"Oh, I intend to."
"How are you today anyway?"
"I'm fine," Cassie replied. Sam could tell that she was lying.
"Cassie, tell me what's up," she said as she sat down.
"I was thinking about what happened. At school and the hospital. Those people got sick because of me. Mr King, my history teacher, he died because I infected him with the disease," Cassie admitted.
"And you got sick because of me," Sam said, looking Cassandra squarely in the face. "This is not your fault, you didn't ask to be infected, you didn't spread the disease on purpose," Sam tried to reason with her. She internally acknowledged just how hypocritical it was to say that. It was almost exactly what she had heard many times being repeated to her recently.
"I guess," Cassie admitted, still slightly dejected.
They both turned as the door opened again. Jack entered, smiling.
"How you doin' kiddo?" he asked Cassandra.
"I'm fine," she said giving Sam a pointed look.
"I just had some news from your school. Your friend, Liz Allen, regained consciousness about ten minutes ago. She's apparently doing well and asking about you. Everyone who's had the cure is doing just fine over there."
"Thanks Jack," Cassie replied, her mood brightening significantly.
*~*
One Week LaterResearch was still being carried out on the samples they had. The scientists were still trying to find out how and why the mutation that had lead to the cure had occurred. They were also trying to ascertain just why Jack, Daniel and Teal'c had been uninfected. Nothing could be identified in their blood and it was possible that they would never know why they had been immune from the beginning.
There were a number of theories being thrown around, including the fact that Sam seemed to have more mosquito bites than the others, a mosquito carrying the disease had bitten Sam but not the others, some unidentified environmental factor or a combination of those.
Cassandra was due to start back at the newly reopened high school. The town was getting back to normal after having been shut down to try and contain the so-called outbreak of the virulent and foreign strain of 'influenza'.
Jacob had headed back to his base, back to whatever top secret Tok'ra things he normally did, once he was convinced that Sam was going to be all right.
Operations at the SGC were practically back to normal, or whatever resembled normality at the base. General Hammond was back in command and picking up the pieces of the epidemic. Dr Green, who had been forced to take charge of the infirmary during the epidemic, was able to do research again where he felt much more confident. Dr Fraiser was back in charge of the infirmary, doing her best to keep patients in bed instead of the other way around.
For SG-1 life was getting back to normal. They were preparing for another off world mission, the first since the start of the epidemic. Sam was still dealing with the guilt associated with the epidemic but she was slowly coming to terms with it. The team would not forget what had happened, just as they could not forget everything else that had happened to them during their travels through the gate.
But for them, at least, life went on.
*~*~*
And so there it is, Falling Down all finished. *Sob*
So what did you think? I'd love to know your opinions and of course whether there are there loose threads that still need tying???