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Part Four

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Janet stroked her hand across her daughter's brow, once more swallowing the lump that was rising in her throat. It had been over two hours since they had arrived at the base, and Cassie had yet to wake up. She looked peaceful now, almost as if she were asleep, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was a doctor, Janet could almost have allowed herself to believe it.

Cassie had stopped shifting in her sleep about half an hour earlier, but the memory of the girl's seeming agony in her sleep was something Janet would take a lot longer to forget. The only sounds in the room were the gentle beeping of the machine, and Janet focussed on it as if she were willing it to remain in the same stable, regular rhythm.

"Hey."

She turned and offered Daniel a weak smile as he stood behind her, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"How is she?"

"Sh-she's stable," Janet choked out.

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"You don't know that, Daniel." There was no trace of anger in her voice; she knew that Daniel was only trying to comfort her, she knew because she did the same thing to all her loved ones when they were in distress. But reality was part of her job, and when it came to medicine, when it all came down to life, she knew that there were no guarantees. But, not for the first time, she wished that she wasn't so close to that knowledge. She wished that she was able to forget that she was a doctor and just live in the hope that everything would be fine because she wasn't sure she could handle it any other way.

"I can't lose her." She said it softly, and it was honestly meant for herself, not for Daniel.

"I know." Daniel moved to crouch down in front of her and pulled her into his arms as she began to cry.

*

Jack held the crying child in his arms, shushing her as best he could. He'd always been good at this with Charlie, but there was just something about doing the same thing with Shay that was so completely different. There was a slight similarity in the way Shay's nose turned up that painfully reminded Jack of his son; he had always assumed that it had come from Sara's side of the family, but clearly not.

He rubbed his eyes and took a seat at Sam's desk, ignoring, as he always did, the ache he felt in his chest that she wasn't in the room with him. He had quickly come to realise that she had etched herself so strongly onto his heart that his life seemed to have little meaning without her. Nothing but Shay and Sam mattered to him anymore.

As his daughter quietened, his mind ran to Cassandra, and a part of him felt instant disgust with himself for thinking that he cared of no one else. The little girl they had rescued from her dying planet was fast becoming anything but little, but seeing her in the pain he had witnessed had made her seem more childlike and innocent that she had in a long time. He knew that Janet and Daniel were worried, and he was as well, but there was something nagging at him. Something that made it impossible to sit in the infirmary with her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He let his gaze wander around the room and he frowned as his eyes fell on the Red Book; the Holy Grail to finding his Sam, if they could only understand it. It seemed that he was not the only one that had taken to using Sam's office.

For some reason he was completely unaware of, he crossed the room, careful not to disturb Sha'uri, and picked up the book, rifling slowly through the illegible scribbles that had been penned over time, by a number of different hands.

Stopping at the page he always did, he took the book to the nearest chair and found himself staring at the writing. Again. He couldn't explain it, but there was something about it that seemed so familiar…something that could be vital if he could only remember where…

Jack's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, and as fast as he could, without harming his child, he took off towards the infirmary.

*

Jack pushed the doors open with such force that Janet and Daniel leapt apart, almost as if they were doing something wrong. The instant she realised who was there, Janet checked the machine to her daughter's left and noted with relief that it was still giving out the same steadying beeps.

"The writing!" Jack thrust the book towards Daniel.

"What about it?"

"I know why I recognise it." Daniel and Janet exchanged glances and Jack continued. "I saw it on PX8 987. I saw it on Hanka the day we rescued Cassie."

There was a slight pause and Daniel glanced at the girl on the bed before turning back to Jack. "You're sure?"

"Yes, Daniel, I'm sure." Jack gave Daniel the book and began to calm Sha'uri, who didn't seem to have enjoyed their run to the infirmary. "Do you remember that old building with all those…things?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "You mean the museum?"

"Probably. I don't know, you tell me." Jack sighed. "Look, I wasn't really paying attention to that part, okay. All I know is that there was this artefact, or something. It was small, could've fit in my hand. It looked a bit like a TV remote. There was some scroll or something beside it and that was the writing on it."

Daniel looked at Janet and tried not to let Jack see his disbelief, but couldn't help feeling that something didn't sound right. "Are you telling me, that you, Jack O'Neill, remember an artefact we saw three or four years in an alien museum?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Jack, but you and museums don't exactly mix well, and I find it a little hard to believe that you were that interested in it to remember it this well."

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, I wasn't exactly looking at it. I kinda knocked it over on my way to the sports wall."

"Ah," Daniel said with a smirk. "That sounds a little more believable."

"I resent that."

Daniel smiled, and looked at the book again, frowning at the script, still not completely sure that he recognised it. "I don't know Jack. This isn't something I recognise at all. I studied Cassie's culture a little, and this doesn't fit."

"I didn't say it came from Cassie's world. I said I saw it there."

Daniel raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. "True. I guess it could be a part of their studies of other cultures or something. I just don't remember seeing it."

"You can't remember everything, Daniel," Janet said as she reached out to stroke Cassie's hair. "And maybe there'll be an explanation to this out there as well."

Daniel and Jack exchanged a glance and Jack nodded. "I'll go and ask Hammond of he'll authorise the mission. The military might not be willing to do it for Sam anymore." Jack struggled to keep his voice steady. "But maybe Cassie will be different."

Daniel nodded slightly, and took his Goddaughter from Jack. "On you go, we'll be fine here."

Jack nodded and took a good look at Cassie. She seemed so pale, so childlike, despite the fact that she had grown a considerable amount since they had rescued her. He walked around the other side of her bed and placed a hand on her forehead, silently vowing that he would do all in his power to save her as well.

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End of Part Four


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I decided that this fit better as one part, so I decided to make it one, as I want to keep the content of what's coming in the next chapter together and that meant that Part five would have been really short!

Part Five is already drafted roughly and will be typed up properly asap! Look forward to more very soon :)