Disclaimer: I hope you get it by now…I don't own them.

Rating: PG still.

Setting: Right after the last chapter.

Notes: Yay! My beg for reviews was answered! Now just because you reviewed the last chapter doesn't mean you can't review this one… ;-)

I responded to each review at the bottom of the page. Now, onward!

Running Away: Chapter 5

Cassie struggled to keep her eyes open as she shoved her key into the lock. Last night had been a late night. Now, it was 9:00 pm, which wasn't too late, but Cassie felt so exhausted, she was close to collapsing. In this tired state, she seemed to forget she was avoiding her roommate. The lack of caution on her part lead to a surprise as she threw the door open. Lindsey was sitting on the couch, glued to the TV with a plate of Chinese food.

Cass threw her purse down on the floor next to the front door, and headed straight for her room.

"Wait." Lindsey muted the TV and dragged her eyes away from it. "If you're hungry, I got you some beef with broccoli and Lo Mien."

The younger girl was stunned. Is this a peace offering? Lindsey rarely did anything for other people unless she was feeling bad or she needed something. There was no way to be sure in this case: it could go both ways. Cassie thought hard, but in the end, her growling stomach made the choice. Who cares?

"Thanks." Cassie went to the kitchen and made a plate. A smile came across her face. She had only lived with Lindsey for eight days, but the older girl already knew her favorite kind of Chinese food. Whether this was a sign of good friendship or their bad eating habits, Cassie welcomed it.

She brought the plate into the living room and plopped down next to Lindsey. It felt good to know things were normal between the two of them again.

Cassie was just getting comfortable when the commercial break ended, and the show Lindsey was watching returned. Cassie's jaw dropped when she saw what it was.

"You watch Wormhole X-treme?"

Lindsey looked like she had been caught committing a felony. "…I like science fiction!" Her eyes darted across the room as she tried to come up with a good excuse. "I like thinking that we aren't alone in the universe. I mean, how conceded must we be to think this is the only planet with life forms on it," Lindsey babbled.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. You just…don't strike me as the Sci-Fi type." She paused. "I heard all about this show, but I never actually watched it."

"Well, you are going to love it. All they ever play is repeats though. It only lasted a season. But I love it so much. The premise is really cool. Plus, I am in love with the characters." Her attention was now fully on the TV.

"Cool. I should start watching it with you."

"Shh."

Cassie smiled and ate her Chinese while watching the screen. She snuggled against the pillows of the couch. She took great comfort in watching Stacy Monroe save the world. It was like seeing Sam in action, keeping away the scary things for an orphaned 11-year-old. And Colonel Danning's antics kept her in stitches, just like when she spent the night at Jack's. Grell was a major disappointment for her, though. Teal'c was deep, and had human emotions if you got to know him. However, Dr. Levant was too perfect. She heard her mother complain about Daniel's frequent trips to her infirmary, plus how he was eager to speak up for the rights of aliens.

The characters on the show were caricatures of Sam, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel. This is too funny.

"Well? Did you like it?" Lindsey asked Cass eagerly after it was finished.

"I love it."

And she meant it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Doctor?" General O'Neill tapped his foot impatiently.

"Well Sir, it looks like a foreign substance was introduced to Colonel Carter's systems. I need to know exactly what happened."

Jack ran his hand through his grey hair. "OK. Carter, you talk to the Doc and I will be in my office if you need me." He started to walk out, but turned back to look into his 2IC's brilliant blue eyes. "Take it easy. That's an order."

"Yes sir." With that clear, Jack waltzed out of the infirmary.

"I'm not going to lie for you again, Colonel. You are going to have to tell him. He should actually already know." Dr. Brightman looked at the other woman intently. "Now, the question is, do I tell him, or are you going to?"

The Colonel weighed her options. "I want you to tell him." No matter who spills the beans, he'll still be furious at the fact that I didn't tell him right away.

Dr. Brightman nodded. "I do want you to rest. Even if your excessive tiredness is a side effect of the anti-depressants I prescribed, it should not be taken lightly."

"I understand."

"Good." The Doctor turned around and started cleaning up the materials she had used for Sam's physical. "I am ordering you off-base for two days. In that time, you will do nothing that would require physical effort. And when you come back, you will be fully rested."

"Thank you."

"It's my job."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Cassie sat up suddenly. She was confused, disoriented, as she had just woken up. Rubbing her eyes, she looked over at the clock. 10:00? She gasped and exclaimed aloud, "I'm late!"

She rushed around her room, making her bed and pulling on clothes. She could hear Lindsey in the bathroom, showering and getting ready for her day at NYU. Cassie had done all she could in her room, now she needed to get into the bathroom and brush her teeth.

"Lindsey," she called through the door. "I need to brush my teeth!"

"I'll be out in a minute," came the lazy reply.

Cassie sighed deeply. "No, I need the bathroom right now! I'm running late."

"Why?"

"Hmm, let me think," Cassie yelled back sarcastically. "Perhaps, my alarm didn't wake me up." She took a deep breath, and continued in a calmer tone. "Linds, I'm not in the mood. Just let me in."

"Fine." A heavy sigh followed the 24-year-old's surrender. "Just hurry. I have a lecture today." Lindsey walked out in a bathrobe and headed towards the kitchen. Cassie ran into the bathroom, and quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. From her post in the kitchen, Lindsey laughed silently at her rush.

"You know, Cass, it's not illegal to occasionally be late for work. It's only frowned upon."

Cassie was finished in the bathroom and grabbed her coat from the closet. "I am never late."

Lindsey snorted. "You're late right now…" She stopped when she saw the expression on Cassie's face. If looks could kill…

Cassie was headed towards the door when Lindsey stopped her.

"Lindsey, I have to go! Now!"

"Mom and Ben are coming over for dinner. Try to be home. I mean, you don't have to be here, but Mom hasn't seen you since you moved in, and she wants to see how you're adapting to city life."

Cassie smiled slightly. Claire is such a sweet person. "I'll see what I can do."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What?" General O'Neill stood up behind his desk.

"General, please understand. Colonel Carter is very upset over Cassandra Frasier's departure. I gave her a physical when she first returned to work, and Dr. Mackenzie did an evaluation. We both agreed that anti-depressants were necessary."

The General sat back down, and rubbed his head. "Dr. Brightman, I don't care about the fact that they were prescribed, I should have been informed. This would have weighed into my decision to send her back into the field. The side effects could have gotten her killed." Jack's eyes displayed uncensored concern.

"I'm aware of that, Sir. But, in this line of work, there are very few things that are kept private in a soldier's life. Colonel Carter wanted this to be one of the few." She paused. "While I should have told you, I am glad she could have some confidentiality about this issue."

General O'Neill thought about this for a moment. "Thank you, Doctor. Dismissed." He watched her go, and thought about Sam. So she was still upset. Maybe he should visit her, let her know he wasn't mad at her. And that she had his full support. If she wanted to stay in her lab, that was fine.

He just hoped that Sam would still want to leave her house. Now that he knew she was what Sam might consider weak, she might be too ashamed to show her face.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Mom! Hurry up; she's getting out of the cab."

Claire smiled at her daughter's worry. "Linds, I'm sure I will have found it by the time she gets up here. You told me she likes to take the stairs, right?"

"Yeah." And that I will never understand. Why take the stairs when there is a perfectly good elevator…Never mind. I'm not going to ask. Lindsey turned when she heard a noise at the threshold of Cassie's room. It was Ben.

"This is completely unethical."

Lindsey rolled her eyes at her twin's comment. "God, Ben, we are doing this girl a favor."

He raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Really? Well, I say if she doesn't want to talk to them, she doesn't have to." We are going through this poor girl's stuff. This is just wrong.

"Hey, she doesn't have to talk to them! We are just going to let them know where she is." Ben rolled his eyes, and his sister responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Lindsey," their mother interrupted. "I can't find a phone number anywhere. Does she have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Then that is most likely where we would find it." Claire entered deep though and returned the room to its former state. "Try to get a look at her cell sometime."

"I'll try." Lindsey heard a key rattle in the lock of the door, and then saw the door open to reveal Cassie.

"Hey guys." The young woman bore her most beautiful smile. Smooth recovery from a hard morning, Lindsey thought.

"Cassie! It's great to see you." Claire walked over and gave her a quick squeeze.

"Hey. Um, we didn't formally meet before. I'm Ben." The young man extended his strong hand, and Cassie took it.

"Cassie. Nice to meet you." He nodded.

"So, we are having Italian. Pasta Primavera." Lindsey smiled. It was one of the few things she could cook well. "Shall we eat, or would you guys like to mingle a bit more?"

Cassie's stomach rumbled, and everyone heard it.

Lindsey waved them into the kitchen. "Food it is, then."

Notes: Tell me what you thought of this chapter! Now, here are my personal thank-you's to everyone who reviewed Chapter 4.

Spacemonkeylover: I'm glad you like this story! This is only my second fan fiction, and your support is greatly appreciated!

Jedge1: Thank you for reviewing…about the advise thing, I'm terrible at it too, so I'm sorta being hypocritical. :-P

SG-Fan: wow… "I love it" in ALL caps? Your kind works helped my fingers move over the keys all the more faster. Muchas gracias.

Sheila: Here's more…hopefully I didn't make you wait too long.

Rockin Chick: Thank you for your advice! I'm trying to make the chapters longer, writing longer work is actually one of the goals my language arts teacher is pushing me towards.

Stargate girl 13: he he…the same demon comes to me, only telling me to read interesting Stargate fan fiction instead of doing my homework…which is problematic indeed.

Blah: ha ha…I know who you are… thanks for reading this when I asked you to, although you probably would have preferred to do something else. Love ya!

And to anyone else who read this, but despite my pleas, didn't review, thanks for taking the time, I hope you enjoyed it. (Ya know, if you are going to commit time to reading this you might as well take thirty more seconds to review…hey, I'm just saying.)