Janet groaned at the sound of someone knocking on her office door. She fought back the urge to yell at whomever it was to just go away and lifted her head from where it had been resting in her arms on her desk. "Come in."
The door opened slowly and a blond head peeked tentatively around the side. "Are you busy?" Andrew asked.
"No, please come in," Janet said, sitting up straighter in her chair as her friend entered the room. "I didn't realize you were back."
"Yeah, my team and I just arrived about an hour ago," he said. "Those who survived have been sent home, so there was really no reason for us to stay."
"They've been sent home already?" Janet asked in surprise.
Andrew shrugged, looking uneasy. "It wasn't my idea, believe me. You know, part of me wonders whether the whole 'they either die from the disease or kill themselves' thing is mainly because they aren't properly cared for. They mean well, but it's like most of their family members have already given the survivors up for dead and just want their care to be as convenient for the caregivers as possible."
Janet swallowed hard past the lump that was rising in her throat and looked down at her hands.
"God, Janet, I'm sorry," Andrew said hurriedly, taking a few steps closer to her and reaching out to touch her shoulder. "That was thoughtless of me..."
"It's okay, Drew," she interrupted, looking up at him and forcing a slight smile. "I know you weren't talking about Daniel."
He winced. "How is Daniel?" he asked, his tone full of sympathy.
Janet took a deep breath. "He's better than I initially hoped he would be," she said. "Jacob Carter came and used the healing device on him, but said it would take a lot of short treatments with it before we see any kind of substantial improvement. He showed Sam what to do, so hopefully it won't be long now before he's... better."
"That's great news," he said. "I'm so glad there's hope for him now."
"Me, too."
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Andrew spoke again. "Look, I... feel I should apologize for how... abrupt I was back there," he said, his words slow and measured. "You know it was only because I was concerned about you, right?"
She smiled up at him and patted the hand that still rested on her shoulder. "I know," she said. "Don't worry. I didn't take it personally."
He sighed in relief. "Good."
"Will you be taking over Daniel's care now that you're back?"
He nodded. "Yes, my next order of business is to have a word with Dr. Baker about doing just that." He looked at her closely for a moment. "By the way, forgive me if it's none of my business, but I would have thought you'd have been with him now, giving Baker all kinds of hell over how to treat him. When Colonel O'Neill told me out in the hall that you were in your office, I thought for sure something must have happened. Are you alright?"
Janet wasn't sure how to answer this except with the whole, horrible truth. "He doesn't want me with him, Drew," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "He doesn't remember me. At least, not what we've been to each other in recent months."
His face fell in shock and sympathy. "Oh Janet, I'm so sorry."
Janet nodded, trying to ignore the fact that tears were threatening to form in her eyes again. "It's to be expected, really," she said. "Until he regains his memory, anyway."
"Still," Andrew said, "that's got to be... God. Come here." He gently pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her.
She accepted the embrace gratefully, finding comfort in this close human contact that she hadn't felt for what seemed like half a lifetime. "Thanks, Drew," she said into his chest.
"You know that if there's anything you need, you just have to ask."
"I know. Thank you."
She could sense he was about to say something more when her phone rang. They quickly broke apart as she moved to answer it.
"Dr. Fraiser."
"Mom? It's me."
Janet signalled to Andrew that she was going to be a while, and he silently left the room to give her privacy. She sank back down into her chair and braced herself for whatever her daughter was about to say. "Hey, Cass. What's up?"
"I want to come see him."
No beating around the bush there. "I'm sorry, Cassie, I just don't think that's a good idea right now."
"Mom, I'm not a child anymore. You don't have to protect me."
Janet sighed. "It's not you that I'm trying to protect here, honey, it's Daniel."
"Daniel needs to be protected from me?" She was obviously not buying it.
"He's... he doesn't remember anything that's happened for the last few years," Janet said, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to her daughter without making it sound as bad as it really was. "I just think that too many people visiting him would be a bit much for him to handle."
"Is Jack going to see him?"
Janet could see where she was going with this, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from falling for it. "Yes, he is."
"And Sam?"
"Yes, Cassie."
"Teal'c?"
"I'm sure he will, yes."
"Then why not one more?"
Janet sighed. "Why is it so important that you see him now?" she asked. "He'll probably be coming home in a week or two, and you have school."
There was a pause for a moment. "I'm already here, Mom," she said quietly a moment later.
"You're what?"
"Damian drove me back to Colorado Springs this afternoon. I'm already here, so I might as well..."
"Cassandra, we discussed this earlier, and we agreed you should stay at the dorm until Daniel came home."
"I changed my mind," Cassie said, undaunted by Janet's strictest 'mother' tone.
Janet gave up. "Alright," she said, leaning her elbow on her desk and massaging her forehead with her hand. "You can come for a short visit tomorrow. But I do mean short."
"Thanks, Mom."
Janet was touched at how relieved the girl sounded. She found it hard to believe that she'd ever been hesitant to tell her daughter about her relationship with Daniel for fear that she would be opposed to the idea. On the contrary, Cassie had welcomed Daniel into their little family with open arms, and had even been overheard referring to him as "Dad" to her friends. "Just... be prepared," she said gravely. "He's not his usual self just now. In fact, he... he loses his temper quite easily, and says some pretty strange things sometimes."
"I can handle it."
Janet smiled. She knew that if anyone could, it was Cassandra.
Despite her brave face, Cassie was feeling more nervous than she had felt in years. She was sure everyone was keeping something from her regarding Daniel, and it was driving her to distraction. She needed to see him for herself or she'd never be able to eat, sleep, or think straight again.
One of the things that had her more worried and confused than anything was the fact that Jack had been the one to pick her up and bring her to the SGC. She figured it must have been someone else's turn to sit with Daniel or something, but still, Jack would want to be somewhere within a twenty foot radius of Daniel at all times, wouldn't he? Something weird was going on here.
"You know not to expect much, right?" Jack asked as they drove through the outside gate of the complex.
"I've seen him sick before, Jack," she said. "I've even had him not remember me before. I'll be fine."
"This is a lot more than just memory loss or a bullet in the leg, Cass," he said, his tone more serious than Cassie had ever heard him use. "He's... different now. He won't react to things in the way you'd expect."
If she wasn't scared before, she sure was when she saw the pained look in Jack's eyes.
She followed him into the complex and down to level 21 without a word. As they neared Daniel's room, the sounds they heard made Cassie's legs turn to rubber. Was that Daniel screaming like that?
"Wait here," Jack told her, and ran off down the hall, disappearing into one of the rooms.
Cassie looked around nervously and found that she was completely alone. All she could hear were muffled screams and commands being barked out by someone who was obviously a doctor, and she was getting more and more freaked out by the second. 'Screw this,' she thought, 'I'm not going to just stand here.'
She worked up her courage and somehow got her legs to carry her down the hall. She stopped outside the room that Jack had gone into and poked her head inside.
"Daniel, no one here is trying to hurt you."
"He's a Goa'uld! I saw his eyes glow!"
"It's just Dr. Carmichael, Daniel. Relax."
"Get the hell away from me, Jack!"
"Carter, feel like giving me a hand here?"
"I'm trying, Sir. Daniel, let the doctors do their work."
"You said you'd keep them away from me!"
Cassie stared in shock at the commotion over by Daniel's bed. He looked so frightened and... furious. What shocked her the most was that his anger seemed to be aimed at Jack and Sam. And what had he said about a Goa'uld? As she watched the scene unfold, she finally realized why her mother had been reluctant to let her see him.
"Colonel, I really think it would help if you left... Sir," Sam said as she tried to pry Daniel's hand off her arm. He'd grabbed hold of her as Jack had gone to touch him, and his grip was so tight that his knuckles had turned white.
"You know, you don't have to be afraid of us, Daniel," Jack snapped, his patience obviously wearing thin. "Dr. Carmichael is not a Goa'uld, and I'm not your damn enemy!"
"Cassie, you shouldn't be watching this," said a voice at Cassie's elbow.
She spun around to see her mother standing behind her, looking worn and frazzled and sporting the most colourful shiner Cassie had ever seen. "Mom? What happened to your face?"
"Come away," Janet said, tugging on Cassie's arm to lead her across the hall. "I didn't mean for you to see him like that."
"What... what's wrong with him?" Cassie asked, her voice shaking.
"He's hallucinating," Janet explained. "It'll be over soon. If he's still conscious afterwards, you might be able to see him then."
Cassie didn't like the sound of the 'still conscious' part, but she nodded and tried to tune out the cries that were still coming from the other room. It occurred to her just then that her mother had avoided answering her initial question. "Mom, you didn't answer me," she said. "What happened to your face?"
Janet winced and looked down for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and replied, "Daniel was having a hallucination, thrashing about worse than you just saw. I just happened to get in the way of his fist."
Cassie's jaw dropped to the floor - or at least that's how it felt. "Daniel did that to you?!" She could only imagine how horrible he must feel about it now.
Janet looked like she was about to respond, but Jack storming out of Daniel's room cut her off. "I hate feeling so damn helpless," he said, running his hand through his hair.
As he did so, Cassie caught sight of a bandage wrapped around his forearm. She didn't even have to ask this time. She knew it must have something to do with Daniel, just as her mother's shiner did.
A swarm of butterflies suddenly materialized in her stomach. She was really beginning to regret coming to see him.
"Think I should take her home again?" Jack asked her mother with a jerk of his head in Cassie's direction.
"Let's wait and see if he calms down first," Janet said. She snaked her arm around Cassie's waist as she spoke, but Cassie got the impression it was more for her own comfort than for her daughter's.
"Why don't you go in there, Mom?" Cassie asked, confused by the way her mother and Jack seemed to be avoiding Daniel. "Maybe you can calm him down."
Janet didn't seem to know how to answer this question. She simply shook her head and turned her face away.
Cassie looked beseechingly at Jack. "Why aren't..."
"Leave it, Cass," Jack interrupted her mid-sentence. His words were stern, but his tone was full of pain more than anything else.
Cassie wasn't about to leave it, especially when she heard another of Daniel's frightened cries. Before she could give it a second thought, she broke away from her mother and rushed into Daniel's room.
Sam and Dr. Carmichael were still trying to wrestle him down as he struggled to push them away, and it seemed that Dr. Carmichael was trying to inject him with something. Cassie's stomach turned at the sight.
"Daniel!" she yelled.
Three heads swivelled to look in her direction.
"Cassie, what are you doing in here?" Sam demanded.
"Daniel, it's me, Cassie. Do you remember me?" she said, ignoring Sam's question and slowly approaching the bed.
He looked her up and down in fear and confusion. "You're not Cassie," he said.
"Yes, I am, Daniel. It's me. You probably think I'm still a kid, right? I'm eighteen now."
Daniel glanced at Sam as if for confirmation, and Sam nodded. "What... why are you here?" he asked, his voice timid and quiet like a child's.
"You think he's a Goa'uld, right?" she asked, pointing at the doctor who stood at his side.
Daniel gave the doctor a sideways glance. "I saw his eyes glow," he said, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. "No one believes me."
"Want me to check?"
Daniel narrowed his eyes at her, and then glanced back and forth between each of the faces around him.
Cassie was going on the assumption that if he remembered her, he remembered that she had naquadah in her system and could detect the presence of a Goa'uld just by standing close to them. It was a long shot, but she figured it was their best chance at calming him down without actually knocking him out.
"Okay," he finally agreed.
Cassie smiled in relief. "Okay," she said. "Now promise me you'll trust me when I tell you if he's a Goa'uld or not."
Daniel took a deep breath, struggling to keep from hyperventilating. "I promise."
"Good." Cassie moved slowly over to Dr. Carmichael and laid her hand on his arm. She could tell right away that there was no naquadah anywhere near him, but she closed her eyes and screwed her face up in concentration just for show. After a moment, she opened her eyes and dropped her hand to her side. "Not a Goa'uld in sight," she said with a sigh of satisfaction. "You're safe. Must have just been your imagination."
Daniel watched her warily as she sat down on the edge of his bed, his breathing finally evening out as he started to relax. "My... imagination?"
"Happens to the best of us from time to time," she said, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Nice to see you, by the way. I've missed you the past while, what with being away at college and all."
She could tell that her comments were just confusing him all the more, but he squeezed her hand back and smiled. "Nice to see you, too," he said. "You're really in college?"
Cassie grinned. They had a lot of catching up to do.
To be continued...