Dr. Brightman shook her head. "Probably not. She has less than half the amount of naquadah as Dominic, and he has so little that you didn't feel it except in very close contact."
Sam looked over at Cassie. Her face was a blank slate – too blank, like someone with something to hide.
"You knew, didn't you?"
Cassie's façade crumbled as everyone turned to stare at her. "I guessed as much," she said quietly. "She – she was a friend of Dominic's. She helped get him into this mess. Her boyfriend's a drug dealer. When I found out, I told Dominic he could have either the drugs or me. I guess I wasn't important enough." She bit her lip to keep the tears in their place. "He says he's trying. He wants me to give him another chance."
Realization hit Daniel first. "So the rest of the people with naquadah in their blood..."
Cassie nodded. "They're all druggies."
"Why did you not tell us before?" asked Teal'c.
"You think I want everyone to know my boyfriend's a crackhead?"
"Ex-boyfriend," said Jack. He seemed proud of his superior powers of observation.
Cassie ran out, slamming the door behind her.
"Thanks a lot!" Sam shouted, and followed Cassie.
It took Jack a moment to realize what was wrong. He opened the door and shouted down the hall: "That's thanks a lot, sir!"
"Cassie?"
"Go away!"
I've given her enough space, Sam decided. It was time to get to the bottom of this. She sat down next to Cassie. The teenager was slumped up against the wall, head in her knees. In front of her was a locked door. Thank goodness for base security, Sam thought, or they might not be having this conversation.
Conversation! Oh, yeah. Was that what they were doing?
"Cassie, I just wanna talk."
"Oh, now you wanna talk. Now, when it's a matter of national security, you wanna talk. It's not like you would ever wanna hear about my life otherwise."
Sam shook her head. "You know, you're right. I'm sorry."
Cassie raised a red face, brushed away a tear with the back of her hand. Her lip quivered, but she didn't speak.
"I haven't really been paying attention to you. Ever since Janet adopted you, I guess I've been trying to stay out of the way. Especially these past few years, I've been...scared of relationships."
"You're afraid of me?"
"Afraid for you. Everyone I ever loved has died." Her mother, Janet, Martouf – she had killed Martouf with her own hands. There was no one else to blame for that.
"Not everyone," said Cassie softly. "I'm still here."
"But – " Sam began.
"What about your father?" Cassie interrupted. "What about Pete?"
"Let's not bring Pete into this – "
"What about Jack?" Sam blinked into the silence, and Cassie continued, "And Teal'c and Daniel?"
"Daniel did die. And that's different."
"Different how? You don't have to be my mother, Sam. I just want you to be my friend again."
It couldn't be that it? To just be a friend? It was a different kind of responsibility, with different kinds of problems. She'd been able to work some things out after that experience in the Prometheus, but losing Janet had made her more confident that love and friendship could only end in pain. Was she more concerned for their lives, or her own loss?
"I think I can do that," she said finally.
Cassie put her arm around Sam's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sam."
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, Sam thought as she cried. She was supposed to be comforting Cassie, not the other way around. This was supposed to end with Cassie trusting her again and opening up, not holding Sam in her arms as if she were the mother.
But she knew that's what friends were for.
"So, all we have to do now is figure out where they're buying the drugs," said Jack.
They were in the briefing room – again – discussing what to do – again – although this time, they had more answers. But still, they knew it wouldn't be all that easy.
"It's just not that simple, sir," said Sam. "We don't know how they're getting the naquadah, or why. And if whoever's in charge is smart, they're working through half a dozen middlemen. The dealers the students are buying from probably have no idea what's going on. Even if we can pick one up, it'll just let the real culprits know we're on to them."
"You need someone on the inside."
Sam's head jerked up. "Cassie, don't you even think about it."
"It can't be one of you," Cassie continued as if she hadn't heard. "And I have the perfect cover. My mother just died, I'm depressed, I have friends who are into drugs. And you can trust me."
"Major Carter is only worried about your safety," said Teal'c. "What will happen if your duplicity is discovered?"
"That's when you guys come in. By that time, I should know enough to get to the bottom of this."
"It's too risky," said Hammond.
"But it'll work, won't it?" Her eyes moved from face to face around the table, stopping at Sam.
Sam averted her gaze. "Yes. I think it will."
That was enough for Hammond. "Cassandra, you have a go."
"Cassie!"
Still the last person she wanted to see. She slammed her locker shut and growled, "What do you want?"
"What's going on with you?" Dominic demanded. "You break up with me and then you go get involved in the same thing?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said stiffly.
"The hell you don't." He grabbed her arm as she started to walk away, and she barely managed not to flinch. "I know what you're doing. Now I want to know why."
"Oh, so now you're stalking me? One more item on my list of why you're an absolute creep!" She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. Go away, she pleaded silently.
Apparently, her powers of telepathic suggestion were seriously lacking, she thought as he continued to chase her down the hall. "Cassie, I'm only asking you because I care. I wanna help."
She whirled around to face him. "If you know what's good for you," she hissed, "you'll stay away."
"I won't do to you what you did to me."
His words replayed like a broken record in her head. He was right. She had abandoned him. And now he was trying to help her.
"All right, Dominic," she said. "We need to talk."