The day passed pretty quickly for Jack, hurrying from one class to the next. The hockey tryouts were going to be after school, and he was finally looking forward to an aspect of highschool life. Which was why, at 3:45 on Monday afternoon, he found himself at the ice rink that was under the basket ball court in the gym. It was a pretty cool set-up, no pun intended, he thought, as he laced up his skates. The rink was bigger than the court needed to be, but for the ball games, much of the court was taped off, and the guards protecting the bleacher area during hockey were simply taken out. Complicated, but ultimately saving alot of money.

Heading out to the ice rink, Jack started warming up, leisurely batting a puck around. Glancing up in the stands, he was surprised to see Cassie there, sitting alone in the abandoned stadium. She was watching him intently, and a glance at her clothes revealed more than he liked. He skated over to her, executing a perfect t-stop before stepping off the rink.

"Hey,"

"Hey yourself," She smiled at him as he walked closer to her. She sucked in a breath as he sat down next her, and leaned his arm across her body.

Picking up the jacket on the other side of the girl, Jack handed it to her.

"It's pretty cold out here, you should put this on."

The jacket was a bulky one, and hardly went with the outfit she'd spent two hours picking out. But as Jack held the jacket out to her expectantly, she had little choice but to pull it on. It was one that Sam had insisted on her taking to school on the chilly day.

"Thanks," she smiled weakly. "How's practice going?"

"Oh," Jack motioned out to the rink. "I just started."

At the sound of the heavy gym doors opening, Jack stood up.

"There's the coach, I should probably get out there."

"Yeah. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Walking awkwardly in his skates back toward the rink, Jack slid out onto the ice. Sizing up the other kids as they walked through the door, Jack smiled. Let the games begin.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

The team results were posted on Wednesday and hockey practice begain immediately the next day. Unsurprisingly, Jack made the team. Upon seeing the results, Cassie smiled and hugged him tight congratulating him.

"We'll have a celebratory dinner Friday night," she told him, her arms still around him.

"Sounds good. You're a good cook." Cassandra had made many a cookie for the SG1 team, and had inherited her mothers mouth-watering cooking skills.

Cassie pulled back from the embrace, a curious look on her face.

"How'd you know I can cook?"

The second the words had left his mouth, Jack regretted them. Thinking quickly, he covered up his stumble. "I can just tell. You have that spark about you. It says, 'I have a spatula and I'm not afraid to use it!'."

She smiled, and wrapped her arms around him again, squeezing briefly, then releasing.

"I have to get to class, but I'm so excited for you! I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

He watched her walk away, shaking his head with pride. She was growing up to be such a confident young lady.

Cassie held her head up as she walked down the hall.

"You're Cassandra, right?" Cassie turned her head and saw Audra Burke coming up to match her pace and walk next to her.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, that's me."

"I'm Au"

"Audra Burke, yes I know." Everyone knew. She was cheer-leading captain and arguably the prettiest most popular girl in the school. Cassie was shocked stiff that the girl even knew who she was.

"We have lunch at the same period. There's a place for you at my table." Cassandra stilled, staring in shock as Audra continued walking down the hall.

"See you at lunch!" The other girl threw over her shoulder. Slowly starting to walk again towards her class, Cassie's face lit up in a smile. Not only did she have a cute new boyfriend, but Audra Burke had just extended a lunch invitation to her! Certainly, Jack wasn't officially her new boyfriend, but after what she had planned for Friday night he would be.

She walked in and sat down in her Biology class, a large smile gracing her pretty face.

Cassandra Fraiser had arrived.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

The call had come right before the class had ended, and as Cassie walked the stretch to the principals office, she heard the lunch bell ring. The last time she'd been called out of class the call had come about her mothers death. As she opened the door to the office, she prayed that this wouldn't be a repeat.

"Hey Punkin," came Jack's voice over the line after she came on the line. Cassie rolled her eyes. No matter how old she got, Jack always called her 'punkin', or some other kiddy nickname. Coming from him, though, it didn't seem to matter. He never made her feel like he looked down on her, instead, it made her feel special that he showed such a tender side of himself to her.

"Hey Jack. Is everything okay?" As happy as she was to hear his voice, she couldn't help the trepidation she felt at the thought of why he was calling.

"I just wanted to let you know that Sam's okay, she just won't be home for a few days."

"What happened?"

Cassandra's panic-filled voice made Jack wince as he tried to formulate a response. Unfortunately, she knew him too well, and knew that if he had to call personally, things weren't as fine as he would make them out to be. Aware of the unsecured line, he worded his next sentence carefully.

"There was an unexpected development on during their latest survey that requires more attention than originally hoped."

Cassie took a deep breath. A surprise attack on SG1's last mission that would keep Sam in the infirmary for an extended stay; she'd been around long enough to know how to read between the lines.

"I want to come down."

"Cassie,"

"Please, Jack. I need to be there."

Jack was as adept as hearing hidden messages as she was, and could sense her fear of losing Sam, too. He was afraid, though, that the sight of Sam hooked up to numerous tubes and monitors wouldn't ease her fear anymore than it had his own.

"Okay."

"Thank you! I'll be right down." In a rush, she hung up the phone, and breezed out of the office, ignoring the confused look on the secretary's face.

She raced to the cafeteria and walked over to Audra's table.

"Hi Audra."

"Fraiser. Thought you weren't gonna show."

"I'm sorry, I have to leave early. I just wanted to let you know. I really have to get going. Bye!"

And without another word, the alien girl hurried out of the cafeteria, the school, and out to the parking lot. On days when she could, Sam liked to drive Cassie to school, but Cassie had driven herself on this particular day, due to Sam's mission that'd been scheduled for early in the morning.

So, throwing her backpack into the back, Cassie piled into her compact car and, going as fast as the law would allow, drove the ten miles to the SGC complex.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

I'd like to thank everyone for the kind reviews. This is a story that constantly surprises me with the twists that it insists on taking, and I hope that you enjoy the ride. Originally, the first chapter was going to be a stand-alone angsty story, but I realized after finishing it, that it needed something more. The something more, turned into something more, and so on. Even I don't know where it will end up yet, but I hope that you have as much fun finding out as I will.

Malaskor: Thank you! I was going to leave it heavy, but it refused to cooperate. 

Sci-Fan Gillian: Thank you!

Zoser: Thanks! I hope it stays interesting. 

Airam4u: Wow! Thank you so much! I agree; the first section shows a Jack that seems out of character, and I debated about how to write that. However, it's hard to imagine Jack being on the brink of suicide, yet that's where he was when we first met him. I hope that a continuing portrayal (especially in how he interacts with others) will prove to be in character. Keep me on my toes with that! 

Yes, Jack is sixteen, however, it's not so farfetched that he would be a senior this year. Going on the timeline, it's been about a year, so I'm saying that when he was first cloned, he started as a junior, and now he's in his senior year. He's certainly not your average student! It also depends on when your birthday is. I'm starting my senior year being sixteen, so I figured that if I could do it, Jack could! g

And yes, it is awkward. I've had a very difficult time with figuring out Mini-Jacks character. Jack is a survivor, so he'll do what he has to do, but I don't see him enjoying behaving like or hanging out with teenagers. It puts him in a very awkward situation. And don't worry, I won't break Cassies heart. I like her too much. 