"Ben? What are you doing here?" Lindsey had opened the door and was surprised to see her twin standing on the other side.
"Nice to see you too." Ben's expression was sour, and his cheeks flushed. It was clear that outside it was freezing.
"I just thought you would be waiting for Cassie to come around." She let him in properly, and took his coat.
"Cassie did call." He shook out his hair and plopped down next to his mother on the couch.
"…And?" Lindsey had hung up his coat and did not find his sentence as informative as it should have been.
"She's coming to tell you what she's doing in person."
Claire jumped up, excited. "Did'ja hear that? She's talking to us again!" Lindsey ran over to her mother and they started dancing around the room together. Ben simply rolled his eyes.
They had moved on to singing gibberish and dancing to their non-existent tune when a knock at the door came. "Cassie's here," they shouted together and ran towards the door. They swung it open and stopped their little dance and acted as calm as possible.
"Cassandra," Claire said properly. "Imagine seeing you here."
"Is Ben here," Cassie inquired nervously, looking over Lindsey's shoulder. Ben waved and she pushed past the woman towards Ben, and she gave him a large hug. "Thanks for your help."
He returned the gesture, a little hesitantly. "Cass, you need to talk to them before they explode."
Claire and Lindsey had turned to watch her, but otherwise were frozen in their place. Cassie rolled her eyes and gestured them over. "Come sit down."
They ran towards her and practically attacked her with a giant hug. Their apologies were overlapping each other, so beyond 'I'm sorry' the words were lost. Cassie laughed. "Calm down guys. I'm not mad. I was, but now I realize it was a good thing."
They stopped at once and sat on the couch with Ben and Cassie, but it was very smushed. Ben got up and stalked off to the kitchen. His sister and mother were about to protest, but he held up his hand. "I've already heard this," he said and opened the refrigerator.
They beckoned for her to continue, and their eyes were hopeful. Maybe they could be happy again if she could forgive them.
"Well, I now realize I would have called them too, in your position. And I did miss them sooo much." Cassie had a faraway look in her eyes. "I miss my old life. I think I want it back."
Lindsey was stunned. "You want to go back to Wal-Mart?" her mother jabbed her with her elbow, and Lindsey quickly took it back. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"I'll go to college," Cassie reassured. "But I want to go back to Colorado."
Claire opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Lindsey looked like she was going to throw up.
When Cassie saw their faces, she quickly tried to reassure them. "I'm not leaving until after my birthday. And I'm not leaving because I'm mad."
Lindsey was crying a little, but she enclosed Cassie in a hug. "Ok," she sniffed. "If that's what you want."
Cassie stroked her hair. "It is. And I promise to write all the time and visit. But I need to do this to be back with my family."
"We are your family." Claire finally spoke up.
"Yes, but…" Cassie couldn't think of a but. She knew there was one, but it was currently escaping her.
"Mom, she can be with them. She's known them forever." Ben joined in. His eyes were level, and he spoke in a tone that could be translated into 'grow up and be happy for her.'
"She loves them, mom." Lindsey had released Cassie and was looking at her mother, surprised.
"But we love her." Claire's face proved that she knew she was being really immature. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry. But it's hard for me to let you go too."
Cassie knew she was thinking about Janet. "You're not letting me go. We'll stay close. I promise. I just need to do this."
Claire rubbed her eyes. "I know. I'm sorry I'm being so dumb." Cassie gave her a sympathetic look.
"You're not being dumb."
"Yeah I am."
"She kind of is." Ben shrugged and took a chug of milk right from the carton.
Claire let out a laugh that was more like a choked sob. The women then had a group hug, and everything was peaceful again.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The four for them (all Frasier's at heart, forget last names) had been laughing and joking around once the tense atmosphere dissolved. They had been debating about which member of the Wormhole X-treme group was hotter. (Cassie refused to take part, professing it was too creepy to think about; Lindsey thought Colonel Danning, Claire Dr. Levant, and Ben took, of course, Stacy)
"You guys aren't being fair to Grell," Cassie protested.
The three Folds looked at her, and Lindsey actually spoke. "Grell is a robot."
"Yeah," Cassie started defensively. "But he still has feelings!"
Ben took a handful of popcorn and waved it around. "How 'bout you take Grell then?" He stuffed the corn into his mouth.
Cassie thought about Teal'c and shuttered. Yeah. That was creepy. As was the thought of her cousins with Sam and Jack. "Why are we even talking about this? They're fictional characters."
"But it's fun!" Claire laughed then her eye caught the clock. 9:30…that means… "Damn it!" She stood suddenly and went into the kitchen.
"What?" All three of the younger adults were startled by her outburst.
"I have to pick them up from the airport."
"Who?"
Claire had been looking for her purse and she found it, but was now bringing the strap over her shoulder slowly. "People from Colorado Springs. Who love and miss a certain Cassandra Frasier."
Cassie sprung up and ran over to Claire. "They're coming here?" When Claire nodded, Cassie hugged her firmly.
Claire laughed. "I guess you want to go with me to pick them up?" It was Cassie's turn to nod, and hers was slightly more vigorous than Claire's had been. "Well, let's go."
Cassie's pulse quickened and she followed Claire out the door. In a daze, she waved to Lindsey and Ben. They were smiling and whispering among themselves.
This is happening very quickly. Cassie rubbed her head. But at least it's happening.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sam was reading when Jack plopped down in the seat nest to her. She turned to face him, then chose to ignore him and return to her book.
Jack cleared his throat and did actually speak. "How'ya doing, Carter?"
She did turn towards him again, and suspiciously said, "Fine…"
"That's just peachy, Carter. Now listen, Daniel's too chicken to come over here and tell you, so I volunteered." He stole a glace back to Teal'c and Daniel. They lowered their eyes and pretended that they'd been doing something else, other than watching him break the news to Sam.
"What is it General," Sam asked with a sigh, thinking it would be something stupid and mundane, that the three men had been playing truth or dare to pass the time.
"Well, it turns out that this Claire woman is Janet's sister. Aww, well, look at the time, food's going to come around soon." He made a move to get up but Sam grabbed his arm.
"What?"
"Claire Folds is Janet's sister. So technically, Claire is Cassie's aunt." Jack closed his eyes like Sam was going to hit him. But, surprisingly, she was calm.
"Janet told me she had a sister…it's so ironic that Cassie found her." Sam stared into space thoughtfully as she spoke out loud.
"So…you're not upset?"
Sam met his eyes. "Not at all. If Cassie finds happiness, that's great. I think it's wonderful she found family. Especially after the falling out Janet and Claire had."
"This is your Captain speaking. If everyone will take their seats and buckle up, we will begin out final approach to JFK International Airport. Please insure that all trays are stowed and that chairs are in the upright position. We also ask that all electronic devices be turned off. Thank you for your cooperation, and we hope you enjoyed your flight with us."
Jack stood up but wanted to check with her one more time. "You're ok?"
"Yes." Sam laughed. "Now go sit down. I'll talk to you again after we land." She calmly returned to her book.
"So" Daniel questioned Jack once he returned to his seat. The older man buckled his seat belt and turned towards him to speak.
"The calmest I've seen her all day. And she's been pretty calm."
Daniel nodded. He was puzzled, but pleased. Sam was confusing the hell out of him, but as long as she was happy, he would be ok. His stomach lurched at the first drop in height. As the plane lowered its altitude, they prepared for what could be a happy reunion, or a search of the city.
………………………………………………………………………………………………