Disclaimer etc.: Do not own Stargate. Wish I did. And if you are reading this, the same is most likely true for you. This fiction is PG. and the plot belongs to me. But not the characters. Except for select few. The ones you don't recognize are mine.

Notes: This took longer than I anticipated, but oh well. The play I was in at school is over, so now I have more time on my hands. Expect another chapter this week. Please review. Thanks so much for reading. Love you guys!

Running Away: Chapter 7

Daniel Jackson sighed. He had been staring at this stupid rock (yes, he even was starting to call it a rock) for hours, and he still had no clue what it said. And he needed coffee.

Ok, so he was completely hung over. It was all Jack's fault.

Rubbing his head, he made his way from the table in the center of his office to his desk. He searched desperately for something to soothe his symptoms to no avail. He finally surrendered to the pain, and sunk down in the desk chair, head on the surface of his desk.

Unfortunately, his head was resting right next to his phone. And it chose that moment to ring its merciless ring.

This is not happening. He picked up the receiver. "Daniel Jackson."

There was silence over the line. Daniel was less than amused.

"Look, I have the hangover from hell. My phone is obnoxious. And you are wasting my time. So I suggest you spit it out before I hang up."

"Mr. Jackson, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I want to talk to you about a Cassandra Frasier."

His head shot up. "Where is she? Is she ok? Is she in trouble?"

"She's fine."

"Good." He just sat there. "Wait, who is this?"

A light laugh came over the line. "My name is Claire Folds. Cassie is my daughter's roommate, and I really like the girl. But I heard that she hadn't told anyone where she is, or how she is. So, I thought, Mr. Jackson, that you might want to be told."

"It's Doctor, but you can call me Daniel. And I appreciate it. Sam and Jack have been so worried."

Claire sighed. "I'm not at all surprised. I've only known Cassie for a short while, and it's clear that she is very special."

He grinned. "You have no idea how special."

She laughed again. "She is also very stubborn. She…doesn't know that I'm calling you, and I'm sure she will be angry when she finds out."

"Well, thank you for telling me anyway. This will comfort Sam." He paused. "Where is she? Or rather, where are you calling from?"

"New York City."

His eyebrows shot down into his 'thinking face'. "I should've known. Janet talked all the time about taking her there someday."

Claire's tone was somber. "Well, Cassie made it here without her mom. And while that may be something, I think she misses Janet a lot."

"I'm glad you see that. Because I think the reason Cassie left us was that we never recognized how much she misses Janet. She felt empty enough to abandon her dreams. And we let her feel that way."

Neither one of them had a response to that.

Claire cleared her throat. "Um, I just wanted to let you know how she was. You can tell Sam and Jack that Cassie is happy. And that I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thank you. But can we at least have your phone number? Just in case."

"In case of what? Cassie told me you guys work in something about telemetry or along those lines. Hardly a high-risk job."

He winced. "Just humor me."

She rattled off her number and they said their goodbyes. And as Daniel hung up the pone, his head pounding, he couldn't help but wish Cassie would speak to them. It was one thing knowing she was ok; hearing it from her was a whole other story.

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Claire hung up the phone, slightly ashamed, but mostly pleased. Daniel would make sure that Sam and Jack understood what Cassie was going through. And if he couldn't, they could always talk to her.

Claire thought about the night before. The heated discussion with Cassie opened her eyes to the young woman's pain. I can understand that.

Claire felt connected to the girl, as if somehow their fates were tied together. Cassie's journey reminded Claire so much of her own, even if Cassie had it off easy compared to her. Because of this, Claire did respect Cassie's wishes to keep her whereabouts to herself. Just not as much as she didn't.

When Cassie left the house, Claire gave her a big hug. While enveloped in that warm embrace, Claire slid her hand into Cassie's purse and took out her cell phone. That was how she got Daniel's number.

Deciding to take out the phone and dial his number was a difficult choice. Claire had to choose between a phonebook of names; it was practically luck of the draw. She almost called Sam, or maybe Jack, as those were the two names Cassie had mentioned. But from what Cassie said, they were the two most likely to freak out, instead of feeling relief.

Claire knew she had made the right choice the second Daniel picked up the phone. Well, after Daniel yelled at her. But Daniel seemed like he had his head on straight, and he obviously saw that Cassie was not a little girl anymore. She was 20, for god's sake. It was only practical that she grow up.

Claire had only known Cassie for a little under three weeks. And in that time, Cassie had proved to Claire that she was grown up. If Claire could see it, than hopefully Cassie's real family could see it.

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It didn't really hit him until the phone was in its cradle. His head was still pounding, he still felt like crap, but a weight had been lifted. Daniel took off down the corridors to find Sam.

He was sprinting, and not really paying attention to where he was going. That led to him ramming into Teal'c. The force sent his body flying backwards and onto the ground. But Teal'c being, well, Teal'c stood where he was before and watched the archeologist fall.

"Daniel Jackson. You should pay more attention to the direction you are traveling. Are you injured?"

He winced, and his headache intensified. "No more than I was already." Teal'c nodded his head.

"Why were you moving so quickly, Daniel Jackson?"

"Teal'c, you'll never believe it. I just got a call from a woman in New York…Cassie is there and she's alright!"

Teal'c's face broke into a rare grin. "This is indeed good news. We must find Colonel Carter and O'Neill." He took off towards Sam's lab.

"That's where I was headed," Daniel called after the fast Jaffa. He stood in the hallway for a few seconds. "Wait a minute!" He sprinted after Teal'c. There was no way he was going to let Teal'c get the credit for the good news.

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"Guess what?"

Cassie rolled her eyes and didn't turn her attention away from the magazine. When Lindsey said 'guess what,' something mentally painful was sure to ensue.

"Guess what," the brunette repeated again, more forceful this time. Cassie still didn't respond. "Will you at least listen to what I have to say?"

"Fine." Cassie sighed and placed the magazine face-down on the couch next to her, keeping her page.

Lindsey smiled. I always win. "I promise you you're gonna like it."

"Linds, will you just spit it out? I want to get back to my reading."

"Patience, young grasshopper." She looked at the magazine. "Is that the new Time?"

"Lindsey!"

"Ok, ok. I was only teasing. I wanted you to see this." With a grand flourish, Lindsey pulled out small pieces of paper from behind her back, and handed them to Cassie. The young woman examined them, a grin spreading across her fair face.

"Tickets to Avenue Q?"

"I knew you wanted to see it, plus…it's for your birthday."

"What? My birthday isn't for another two months. And these tickets are really expensive…look! They're even in the orchestra section. You do know that those are the most expensive tickets in the house, right?"

Lindsey waved off her concern. "You're worth it. Plus, the tickets are for a show on your birthday."

"Then why are you giving them to me now?"

Lindsey smiled in a big sisterly way. "And have to wait two months for that shining face?"

Cassie blushed.

"I'll let you get back to your magazine."

"Thanks, Lindsey." The older girl started walking out of the room until Cassie noticed something. "Lindsey, there are seven tickets here."

"Yup. One for you, one for me, one for mom, and four more for whomever you wish." She gave Cassie a wink. "I'm going out with some friends. See you later tonight for the midnight Wormhole X-treme showing."

"Wouldn't miss it." The door slammed shut.

Cassie kept staring at the tickets in her hand. Why is Lindsey being so nice? She is treating me like a sister. And Claire is treating me like a daughter. I barely know these people. Cassie thought hard. And eventually, she decided not to think about it anymore. My experiences with the Goa'uld are making me skeptical of the fact that there is good in the world. Or maybe it was my experiences with Jack. She laughed.

But then she felt a pang of sadness. She went into her room and dug a photo in a frame from her sock/underwear drawer. It was SG-1, standing in the backyard with Cassie and Janet. It was taken at a barbeque, when Cassie was 18.She remembered resenting this event, as she had made plans to go out with her friends. But once it got started, Cassie had a great time. She was even smiling in the picture.

Now that she though of it, this was the last get-together with all of SG-1 before her mom had died.

Cassie stood fingering the frame for several minutes, studying the all the smiling faces. She missed being surrounded by them.

She remembered that Lindsey said to feel free to put up any pictures or decorations that made her feel at home. Cassie refused, as she was trying to run away from 'home'. But now she needed to feel close to SG-1.

When Lindsey got home later that night with her brother, they found Cassie asleep on the couch clutching the frame. Ben picked Cassie up and carried her to her room while Lindsey sat on the couch, looking at the photo.

"She's out. She didn't even stir while I was moving her," Ben called from the kitchen as he grabbed a beer.

"She's spread too thin." Lindsey didn't take her eyes off the picture. There was something vaguely familiar about the short woman with the reddish-brown hair next to Cassie.

"I guess so. Maybe you should talk to her about it."

"She's scared to talk to me."

Ben snorted. "I can't imagine why," he said sarcastically. He strode over the couch, plopped down, and flipped on the TV for Wormhole X-treme. However, his focus was drawn away from the unfolding plot by the object in his sister's hands. "What's that?"

"The picture Cassie was holding." She handed it to him and pointed to the woman she had been staring at so hard before. "Doesn't she seem familiar?"

"Yeah." His eyes widened. "It's almost eerie."

The TV was forgotten, and the twins stared at Janet Frasier for a long time before they remembered where they had seen her before.

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Notes: Don't hate me. If you review, you will learn about the connection between Lindsey, Ben, and Claire and Janet sooner.

Just saying.

Thank you to:

Rockin Chick¡muchas gracias! I sure wishmore people would review and give helpful advice like you do…

SGCFan4ever: Thanks so much! I hope this chapter made you love it even more.

gatelover313: I would go as far to say as Cassie was mistreated in Heroes! The mentioned her name ONCE, and the girls mother died! (Sorry, this is one thing about Stargate that really makes me angry. Right there next to air force regulations, but that couldn't have been avoided. How much effort does it take to show sympathy for a girl who has been orphaned for a second time! Getting off my soapbox now…) Glad you like it.

SG-Fan: Thanks! I hope this once satisfies, too.

Thanks to everyone for reading.