Disclaimer/Rating: Stargate does not belong to me. This is a very mild story. Language suitable for primetime. That kind of thing. PG.

Notes: Another chapter! Hope everyone enjoys!

I have made a resolution with myself. I will no longer nag people into reviewing. I appreciate all my reviews, but if they're forced, I don't think they mean as much.

Anyways, enjoy. Thanks for reading and all that stuff.

Running Away: Chapter 8

"Colonel Carter! I have received good news!"

The blonde looked up from her laptop to see Teal'c standing in the doorway, grinning broadly. "What's up?"

The Jaffa tilted his head upwards. "I believe the term is ceiling, Colonel Carter." He looked back at her.

"Well, 'what's up' is actually a term used…" she trailed off. "Thanks, Teal'c."

"Glad I could be of assistance."

At that moment, Daniel burst into the room. "Sam! Cassie's ok!"

She stared at the red-faced archeologist. "What?"

Daniel took deep, heaving breaths. "I got a call from a woman in New York. Cassie is fine! She's got an apartment and friends…Claire, the woman who called, is keeping an eye on her."

Sam's face brightened. "Can we call Cassie?"

He looked down. "Well, the thing is…" he paused, trying to find the right way to phrase this. "Cassie is…very headstrong. Just like Janet was. And the thing is…well, she's still mad at us. Claire was even going against her wishes by calling me."

Sam processed this. "Are you saying that we can't see her? Or talk to her?" Sam was distraught. "This isn't good news."

Daniel's red face became pale, and he felt like he was going to throw up. "At least we know she's not starving on the street somewhere."

"Yeah, I guess so." Her eyes had a faraway look in them. "Have you told the general yet?"

"No we have not." Teal'c finally spoke up after standing in the corner of the lab during this whole discussion. "We wished you to be the first informed."

"Well, General O'Neill will be very happy. Go ahead and him now. I have to finish this simulation." Her attention was back on her laptop, and Daniel and Teal'c's presence went forgotten. They slid out of her lab and walked to the general's office.

"Daniel Jackson, that did not go well."

"You could say that." He kept walking. "I'm a little surprised that she was not very relieved. Or happy."

"I believe that once Cassandra Frasier speaks with her again, Colonel Carter will be most pleased."

"Well, how can we convince her to forgive us if she won't speak to us?"

Teal'c thought for a moment. "I believe we will have to rely on this Claire woman you speak of. She is clearly sensible and will convince Cassandra to call us."

"I sure hope so, Teal'c."

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Claire hung up the phone. Her jaw was hanging open. She was surprised she had managed to be so eloquent after that bombshell. Cassie's mom's name was Janet? Janet Frasier?

It'd been a while since Claire had talked to her sister. Janet never fully approved of Claire's marriage to James Folds, and they had a sort of falling out after she did marry him. Then, after their parents died in a car crash, Janet and Claire had an even bigger argument. What about, Claire didn't even remember. And to be truly honest, she didn't really care.

The only thing that mattered in that moment was the fact that her sister was dead. Dead for two years, and Claire never knew. And while the two of them had their share of disagreements, Claire loved Janet. And now, little sister would never know it.

Claire laid her head down on her desk, and she sobbed. The last time she had cried like that was when she received the fateful phone call from the hospital, telling her that James had died.

She thought about all the time that had passed between conversations with Janet. Claire hadn't even known that Janet had adopted a child. It had been almost 20 years since so much as a 'hello' had been exchanged.

"I am such a hypocrite." She cried aloud. How can I judge Cassie for something that I am guilty of as well?

Claire had some thinking to do, that was for sure.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

After Daniel and Teal'c left the room, Sam pushed her laptop closed with a sigh. She hadn't meant to act so down about it. It just…happened that way.

I guess it's different for the two of them. I know that they love Cassie, but the General and I were the only ones on SG-1 that truly bonded with her. They don't see that just knowing is never going to be enough. Not for me, and most likely not for the General.

She had no idea how right she was about that.

On the other side of the base, in General O'Neill's office; he was having…quite the reaction.

"And you call this 'good news'?"

"Well, at least she's safe!"

"That's not good enough!"

"Jack…"

"Daniel."

Daniel could tell that this wasn't going anywhere.

"I don't think we should force her into anything. I don't think we could."

Jack sat down in his chair, dejected. "Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?"

Daniel had to smile a little. "I think it was a combination of being Janet's daughter, and spending too much time around you and Sam."

"Carter. Did you talk to her yet?"

"Yeah. She had more or less the same reaction as you."

Jack nodded. He had suspected. Carter and I… we're on the same page. "And this Claire woman…is she going to call us? Keep us informed?"

"I assume so. I have her number. You know, in case of... our job."

"Fine." Daniel stood the office for a few moments in silence. "Do I really have to tell you you're dismissed, Danny boy?"

Daniel winced at Jack's cutting tone. "Right. Going now." The archeologist stalked off, back towards his lab, his forgotten hangover back with a vengeance.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Oh my God!"

"I know!"

"Do you think that Mom…"

"Well, she must!"

"But why didn't she say anything?"

"Lindsey, who knows? Mom has always been private about all things Aunt Janet."

"But Ben," Lindsey whined. "Mom tells me everything."

Her brother rolled his eyes. "You're her daughter. Not her friend or sister. Daughter. She has no reason to tell you anything." He looked at his sister, and could tell that his words had hurt her. "Lindsey, I don't mean to be harsh. But it's the god-honest truth. I don't know why Mom and Aunt Janet stopped talking. But that's not what's important."

"Oh, what do you know?"

The revelation had turned into an all-out argument. The brother and sister were shouting at each other and squabbling mercilessly.

"What kind of comeback was that?"

"You're just trying to change the subject."

"You are too much like mom."

Lindsey smiled. "Yeah, you've got me there." The two siblings smiled, and Ben sat back down. Lindsey suddenly grew somber. "What are we going to do?"

Ben thought. Lindsey always left stuff like this up to him. She was better at following through with actions, while he could decide the right thing to do. They made a good team, but it grew tiring.

"For now, we do nothing. Wednesday, when we meet mom for lunch like we always do, we'll tell her that we know."

"But what about Cassie?"

"That poor girl has enough on her mind. Let's wait to see what mom says."

Lindsey groaned. "Fine." Ben gave her a slight smile, and kissed her cheek.

"See you Wednesday."

As he left, Lindsey glanced over at the calendar. Monday.

She turned her attention back to Aunt Janet, smiling among strangers. "Two days isn't that long, right?"

Lindsey was forgetting that she was a very impatient person. Two days was a long, long time.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

8Tuesday8

Daniel picked up his phone, glancing at the number scrawled on the post it. His normally neat handwriting had turned into a barely legible "555-4238; Claire Folds."

Now, what was he going to say? Ask her to please work on Cassie? In his opinion, it wasn't fair to ask this woman to strain her relationship with Cassie over their mistakes. But Jack was a very convincing man. After their little discussion yesterday, Jack came to Daniel's lab, demanding to speak with Claire. In his state, Daniel convinced him that it would be a better idea for the linguist to do the talking.

Jack knew that diplomacy was never his strong suit. Operation: Get Cassie Back was left in Daniel's hands. Jack even gave him time off of normal work.

Daniel knew the best way for him to get on with his life was just to dial the damn phone.

It rang twice before a cheerful voice came over the line. "Claire Folds, how can I help you?"

It was obviously a work phone, or maybe a cell pone used for working purposes. No one answers the phone like that otherwise.

"Umm, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson. We spoke on the phone yesterday."

"Oh, yes. Cassie's…um. How exactly are you 'related' to Cassie?"

Daniel tried to figure out how to put this. "Well, I was a very good friend of Janet. We worked together before she died. I guess I'm sort of like an uncle."

"Ah. Well, Daniel, what can I do for you?" In New York, Claire was biting her lips. Should I tell him? How do I fit something like that into this conversation?

He took a long, deep breath. "Sam and Jack are still concerned about Cassie."

"They want to talk to her, huh?" Claire answered in a knowing tone. "I understand where they're coming from. When I talked to you yesterday, I wasn't really ready to convince her to do anything. But after we hung up, I learned some…shocking, troubling news. I made a terrible mistake in my life, and I don't want a good girl like Cassie to make the same one." Her voice was breaking, and Daniel could tell this was a touchy subject.

"I'm very sorry."

"I think I'll be ok. I'm just feeling a little guilty. It would have been avoided if I wasn't so stubborn."

Daniel smiled a little. "Cassie is very lucky to have some stranger care enough about her to prevent these kinds of mistakes. Sam and Jack might not be happy with her situation, but I am."

"Thanks. That actually made me feel like a good person." She wiped her eyes. Daniel is a good man. I'm glad Janet could enjoy his company. "I'll talk to Cassie."

"Thanks." Daniel stopped. He wanted to comfort this woman. She had obviously found out something horrible, and was clearly traumatized. He noticed, and her had only spoken to her once before. "Claire? Whatever you did, whatever you found out, I'm sure it will be ok in the end. I've seen a lot of bad things. And…even if the ending isn't what you wanted," he thought about Sha're and Janet. "Well, it's right in the end."

In her office, Claire had a pained look on her face. "Thanks. Talk to you again soon."

He hung up and she could hear the dial tone. But she kept her ear to the phone for a few minutes before flipping the lid down and going about her business.

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Notes: Howdy! The author was very pleased with the amount of reviews she received. From now on, she promises to stop nagging you. But they are still appreciated.

kahless21: It's ok! My new resolution is to not nag people about reviewing anymore. So don't feel guilty or anything. Glad you're liking it.

SidheArete: Who can resist a Jackism? Thanks for reading!

Spacemonkeylover: Thanks for the kind words! To be honest, I was kinda nervous about writing this fic, because I am a happy person by nature, and angst…doesn't come naturally. Nice to see it's recognizable as angst.

jedge1: Thanks!

BitteBrigitte: Wheee! A long review! I love those. Don't worry about babbling… I do enough of it here,so I can't judge you. grins

SGCFan4ever: Thanks for the review! What about this chapter? Good also?

gatelover313: Thanks! I had to think a long time about who she was going to call. In the end I think Daniel was the right choice, even if it was luck on Claire's part. (well, not really, because she's a fictional character, but…whatever.)

Thanks for reading everyone! I hope to have the next chapter up Saturday or Sunday.