The following events are written from Cassandra Frazier's point of view. Taking into account the events that you are already aware of—keep an open mind as you read the following…the other side of the story…P.S. STARGATE ISN'T MINE!!!!!

"Tell Me How My Mother Died"

"CASSIE!!!!!!!!!" The all too familiar wakeup call echoed up the stairs and brought Cassie to a waking jolt as she sat straight up in her bed. "If you want a ride to school you've got ten minutes!!" The voice was getting louder, and as the stairs creaked under the weight of her mother as she ascended the stairs.

Cassie jumped out of bed and threw her blankets back over her bed in an ill attempt to feign readiness.

Her bedroom door opened and she whipped around to see her mother standing in the doorway already dressed and ready for the day—right hand firmly propped on her hip and that look on her face.

"Five minutes and I'm ready." Cassie held out her hands to hold back an early morning scolding for once again hitting the snooze button one too many times on her alarm clock.

Running pass her mother, she hurried into the bathroom.

Janet Frazier had always been an even-tempered woman and had found the joy in life that she longed for when she took Cassie in. She always wanted children—but her x-husband was unwilling and thus led to his current absence from her life.

She couldn't help but smile as she backed out of the room and walked back to the stairs. "Ten minutes Cassie, I can't be late today." She walked back into the kitchen and poured herself a third cup of coffee as she waited for her daughter.

Ten minutes later, a properly dressed Cassie bounded down the stairs and jumped over the last two before a glorious landing. She held out her hands and spun around to reveal her transformation, "Tada!"

"Beautiful! Now go get in the car." She set her cup in the sink and grabbed her suitcase before following Cassie outside.

Cassie should have woken up on time—of all days to be late she just had to sleep late today.

Watching her mom as she locked the door, Cassie waited for the car alarm to beep and hopped in the car.

"I'm sorry." She was trying to smooth over any misgiving that would lead to her restriction at a later date—but there was no reply to her apology. "Mom?" she asked, reaching out to touch her mother's arm.

"Yeah?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Preoccupied?"

"A little—I'm sorry, work stuff…" She started the car and pulled out into the road.

"Stuff I can hear?"

"Well, there's a man coming today that is going to make a documentary of the SGC." Just thinking about it made her nervous. She hated having to talk about herself--that's why she loved medicine-- you were always talking about someone else.

"I guess that means you are going to be home late?" Cassie looked out the window and tried not to have that tone I her voice when she was upset—but it was there nevertheless.

"I'll try—" She looked over to Cassie, but she wasn't making eye contact. "I tell you what. I'll send a car for you and I'll meet you at the academy hospital for dinner, we'll go to that little café that you like."

"Okay." Feigning a smile, Cassie had managed to lighten her mother's mood and was satisfied that maybe she had lifted some of the stress of her mom.

It had been nearly ten years since Teal'c reached into that bush and found her. She still remembered him as her hero, even though he never showed a deep interest in her Cassie always thought of Teal'c as her own silent warrior.

It had been hard at first, but now, after all this time she had come to think of herself as human. How that had happened was a mystery to her. At first she tried to blend in with the kids at school but there were differences that she couldn't ignore. By the time she got to middle school things were getting normal—then that whole metamorphosis thing happened and she almost died. But lately, she had been a normal senior in high school and even managed to find a college near home that she liked. It was all a cakewalk now. Her future was as bright as the sun and even though she still had times where she missed her family and friends from her first home—her new family gave her all the love she could ever hope for and she was grateful. So when Sergeant Syler called that afternoon and told her that "something" had come up and her mother was going to be working through the night—she ordered a pizza and hunkered down with a Brad Pitt movie marathon and thought nothing more of it.

It wasn't until the next morning that Cassie realized things were different. She had slept on the couch all night and didn't wake up until almost 11:30—half the school day had passed.

"OH CRAP!" Cassie flew from the couch as she focused on the VCR digital clock and ran to the phone. "Mom is so going to kill me!" She dialed her mom's office number and leaned on the counter as she tried to think of what excuse she could possibly use for this infraction. "Hi, it's Cassie, can I speak to my mom please?" She tapped her fingers on the counter and waited as the voice on the other end stalled. "Maggie? Are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here Cassie—hold on a sec."

"Yep—I'm dead…sooo dead." She leaned harder on the counter and yawned as a familiar voice came over the phone.

"Cassie?" Sam's voice came over the phone clear and brought Cassie wide-awake.

"Sam? Is my mom there?"

"Uh—Cass, something is going on here—I'm sending a car to pick you up okay? Pack a bag for a couple of days and someone will be there in about 30 minutes."

Send a car? Cassie's mind was reeling and the room began to spin. "Sam—what's going on?" She demanded.

"Cassie—just pack a bag okay? Thirty minutes." The phone hung up and Cassie stood back from the counter.

SOMETHING IS WRONG. Alarms were going off in Cassie's head as she stuffed a few shirts and a pair of jeans in her duffle bag. She had wanted to cry when Sam told her to be ready in 30 minutes but she had held them in. She knew something was wrong—of course something was wrong, why wouldn't they let her talk to her mom if everything was fine?

The doorbell rang and Cassie flew down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder.

She opened the door and two MP's stood on the front step. The sight was enough to rip out her heart but she still kept it all in and wouldn't let her emotions run wild with conspiracies.

"All ready Ms. Frazier?" The MP asked as Cassie stared back at them.

"Yeah, all ready." She held up the bag and feigned a smile.

Cassie stepped out into the cold air. Deep within, something started churning inside Cassie that had lay dormant since she came to this world. A black hole formed inside her and began to grow—shutting down her emotions as it grew, casting a shadow over her with every moment that passed.

The all too familiar landmarks passed by her window as the car slowed and took the last turn before reaching the front gate of Cheyenne Mountain.

She was certain now—this was a life altering—meaning of life event. And as the car pulled to a stop in the parking lot, the MP's got out of the car and waited a moment for Cassie to open the door.

She didn't want to get out of the car. She would have stayed there the rest of her life if it meant she didn't have to go into the base and find out what had happened—she would have given anything to freeze time and keep from having to find out the truth.

The VIP rooms at the base had once been like a castle to Cassie—only reserved for special guests, only once had she been aloud to stay in one and this being her second time she saw it completely different. The midnight blue shade of the blankets now longer looked like the sky above her house, the paintings of galaxies and quasars no longer held the mysteries of the universe and the excitement she felt whenever she was aloud to hang out at the base with her mom died within her as she heard the door knob turning—and Sam walked in.

"Hi Cassie." She had been crying--it was obvious. No matter how she tried to smile, the pain in her eyes told Cassie everything she needed to know before Sam could say anything beyond her name.

"NO." She stood from the edge of the bed and walked backwards away from Sam as she walked into the room.

"What?" She asked trying to appear normal in every aspect.

"NO! Sam-- don't tell me!" She fell back against the wall and sunk to the floor as Sam came and knelt in front of her. "Don't tell me—please, I can't…" she couldn't speak beyond her sobs that were racking her body.

Sam reached out and held her arms, only to have Cassie push her away violently and stand.

"Don't touch me! I won't listen to you!" Cassie pushed pass Sam and stormed out the room and into the hall. Walking so fast, Sam had to run to catch up with her.

"Cassie-"

In an instant, Cassie turned and faced Sam with fear and hate in her eyes. At first Sam stepped back, but she had to be the one to tell her, she had to hear the truth.

"Cassie, your mom—"

Cassie brought the conversation to a halt as she rammed her fist into the wall beside Sam's shoulder.

"I can't hear it Sam—I knew, somehow…I knew…I just can't hear it yet. Just let me be—" After a moment, Cassie turned and walked away from Sam.

Sam let her go this time with out protest. She had been similar when she found out about her own mother's death—the knowledge was too overwhelming and she couldn't listen to the explanation until after the initial shock of it all.

Sam wandered the halls trying to think of how to better approach Cassie about her mother. There was so much to say—she had to know how her mother died, she had to know that it wasn't senseless.

The days event's had been weighing heavy on her, but now—she couldn't keep it together anymore, and there was only one person she could thin of that could help her get a grip on the world once again.

She had gotten word about the Colonel before she called Cassie but hadn't been able to see him yet.

As she reached for the door the ICU, she paused and knocked first—then opened the door anyway.

He was getting dressed when she walked in, and had barley pulled his shirt on when she closed the door behind her.

She couldn't even form words until she saw him—what was she going to say?

In the end, his arms around her was all she needed to make the world make sense again and in a moment where she let him hold her when she needed it—Jack O'Neill became her rock.

Her forehead was buried in his chest as he held her. She didn't know how long she had been in his arms but as she pulled away from his shoulder she realized that her body had stopped shaking and she could breath normally.

"Are you alright?" His voice was soft as he whispered in her ear.

"No—"

"Carter…" He brushed the hair from her forehead and tears streamed from her eyes once again. "Tell me what to do." He pleaded, pulling her close again.

"You're doing it." She relaxed in his arms once again and let him hold her.

"Sam…we're going to make it through this—I promise." It was all she needed at that moment, for someone to tell her that as bad as things were—they would be better.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"This." She nuzzled down into his neck one more time and indulged in his strength.

A soft smile creased his lips as he led her. "Anytime Sam…anytime."

The infirmary was dark as Cassie crashed against the far corner.

She couldn't cry anymore. At first she couldn't keep the tears from falling but a calm had swept over her that had numbed all her senses. And there in the darkness she found the peace that let the world fall back into place.

"Hey kido."

It took her a moment to realize that someone was actually talking to her. Looking up into the darkness she saw Daniel's face in the shadows as he sat beside her.

"I like this room too." He kept a short distance from her, thinking that she might not be ready to be touched just yet—she wasn't ready to let go yet. "I died in here you know? And your mom—she fought against me the whole way." She wasn't responding to him yet. He was still talking to himself. "I remember when I first met her, I had just came back from Abidos and she was clearing me…so I could go off base—she was so rough! She had this needle that she jabbed into my arm so hard—it left a bruise the next day." He smiled at the memory and looked over to Cassie—still unresponsive. "I remember the first time I met you—we were all wearing those suits and Teal'c had to go into that bush and pull you out…you were so scared."

Inside, Cassie was reliving that day over and over again as he spoke. Every moment that brought her here flashed before her eyes as his words echoed through the room.

"Then we brought you back here and Janet…she just fell in love with you—I remember when she first told me that she wanted to take you in. She was so excited about it. She couldn't stop smiling and talking about what color she was going to paint your room."

"Pink." She wasn't so much as adding onto his statement as she was completing the memory out loud. "She painted it pink and…let me paint the wall by the door." A faint smile crossed her face as she spoke of the memory. After a moment she looked over to Daniel. "I loved her Daniel." She spoke softly and let her forehead rest on Daniel's shoulder.

"I know honey." He pulled her into his arms and held her as she sat silently for the longest time.

"Daniel?" She sat on his legs and huddled against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me how my mother died."