Maternal Reunion

By Michael Weyer

I don't own Stargate or any of it. This is short, I know, but it's a scene I think a lot of us wish we'd seen in "Ripple Effect." There is a bit of slash in this, not too overt but consider yourself warned. All comments are welcomed.

Cassandra Fraiser tapped her fingers on the elevator wall as it took her into the heart of SGC. She glanced to Sam Carter, who was wearing that same odd smile she'd had ever since she'd picked her up. "Sam, what is going on?"

Carter just smiled back. "You'll see, Cassie."

Cassie just sighed and crossed her arms. Her brown hair was flowed back from her head as she shuffled in her loose blouse and slacks. She had no idea what was happening. She'd been preparing for her classes when Sam showed up out of the blue, telling her to pack a bag and get to the mountain as quick as she could.

Cassie knew it had to be something big. Ever since her mother, Janet Fraiser, had been killed in action, she had told Sam she wanted no part of the Stargate or anything relating to Colorado. It had taken a long time to get over the pain of Janet's loss and move on. Fraiser had been the mother Cassie had always wanted, the rock to this world. With her gone, Cassie had been reeling for a while but was trying to rebuild.

She had been doing well in college so far, trying to become a normal human girl. So the sudden call for Sam to get to Colorado was unexpected in many ways.

The elevator opened and Sam led Cassie down the hall. Cassie was about to open her mouth again to ask what was going on when someone came up to them. Her mouth remained open as a woman who looked exactly like Sam, albeit with longer hair, came up. "Hi," she said in Sam's voice. "We've got a break in the study and we could use a hand."

"Sure," the Sam next to Cassie said. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

The other Sam nodded and then looked to Cassie. Her eyes widened and she smiled broadly. "Cassandra!" She moved in and hugged the stunned young woman. "Oh my God, I haven't seen you since you and Janet moved to California! Wow, you've grown!"

Cassie just stood there as the other Sam broke the hug and, with a final smile, headed off. The young woman slowly turned to stare at her Sam. "What?" she choked out.

Carter smiled and led her down the hall. "It seems there's been some sort of accident and we've got SG-1 teams from alternate realities coming in."

"You mean like the ones you've seen before?" Cassie asked, remembering some stories her mother had told her.

"Not that one in particular," Sam said. "But from other places. Some of them have some…unique personnel."

"Well, okay, but why am I…" Cassie stopped in place, her mind whirling as it hit her. Hope rose in her heart as she looked up at Sam. "Is…is Mom…?"

Sam nodded and Cassie let out a choke as her eyes misted. Carter grabbed her by the shoulders and quickly spoke. "Cassie, calm down. Listen, first, this isn't our Janet. It's mostly the same but she never died on that planet. She's an SG-1 member and…" She paused and shrugged. "And I just…I thought it would be good to…" She cleared her throat. "For you to see her. To…say goodbye like you didn't before."

Cassie was heaving for breath, trying to keep herself calm. "Okay…okay…just…where is she?" she whispered, the idea that she could actually see her mother once again overriding all common sense.

Sam smiled as she headed to a small room and knocked on the door. She opened it and peeked in. "You okay?"

Janet Fraiser sat on a small cot, flipping through some papers. She started and looked up. "Um, yeah, I am. Is something wrong?"

"Nope," Sam said as she backed up and opened the door wider. "I just brought someone who really wanted to meet you." She moved aside and Cassie entered. The sight of her mother rising up shoved aside any control Cassandra had. She rushed forward and tackled the redhead, holding her tight and burying her head on her shoulder. "Oh, God," she whispered as tears flowed freely from her eyes. "I missed you so much…" She held her tighter, not wanting to let go.

Sam smiled, her own eyes misting as she took in the wonderful scene. She looked up to Janet's face and her smile slowly faded. Instead of happiness, Janet seemed confused and more than a little thrown. She finally managed to break off Cassie's tight embrace and backed up. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked the girl over and then asked a question that struck like a dagger in the hearts of the other two women.

"Um…who are you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And it never once occurred to you that it was just possible that in this Janet's reality, Cassie died with the rest of her planet so we never got to know her?"

Sam winced at the heavy sarcasm in Jack O'Neil's tone. She had forgotten how biting his sardonic nature could be, particularly when he was right. "I know, I know, I should have…" she spoke into the phone.

O'Neil sighed. "Carter, you're smarter than that. You're the scientist, you're the level-headed one. You never even asked if this Janet knew Cassie?"

"It…I just…" Sam sighed, at a rare loss for words. "I wasn't thinking straight. Seeing Janet again, alive and well, it just threw me off and I just assumed…"

"You. Assumed?" Sam was so grateful she couldn't see Jack's face right now. "Am I talking to another one of those Carters?"

Sam shook her head. "I just thought it'd be good for Cassie to get to see her again, give her some closure."

"And how is she now?"

"In another room, crying," Sam admitted. "Dammit, I just wanted to help."

"I know you did, Carter," O'Neil said, his voice softer now. "Listen…just…try to talk to them, both of them. Try to handle things as best as you can."

Carter sighed. "I guess that's the best I can do. Thanks for the advice, sir. It's refreshing to talk to someone not involved in this whole mess. Things are getting confusing here."

"I can imagine. Any mes there?"

"Actually, one who didn't take the general spot and is still leading SG-1."

"Interesting," he said.

"Care to come meet him?"

She could see his eyebrows raise. "Be around over a dozen different versions of Daniel?"

She laughed lightly. "See you soon, sir."

"Same to you, Sam. Give my best to the other mes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Janet paced her small room, trying to deal with this. It was bad enough to hear that she was dead in this reality. It was rougher when she got the same reactions from some of the other SG-1 teams and discovered she was dead in their worlds too. She was alive in others but this was the first she'd heard of a daughter, which was really throwing her.

The door opened and a Samantha Carter stepped in, her hair in a tight bun as she nodded. "Hey, Jan. You okay?"

Janet smiled as she realized this was "her" Carter. "Hey, Sam. I'm okay, I guess."

Samantha bit her lip. "Um…I heard about what happened to you. Here, I mean."

Janet took a deep breath. "Yeah, it was something to take in. From what I gather, I was killed in about eight of the realities these teams have come from. In two, I was wounded so badly, I had to retire, one of them I still walk with a cane."

Samantha winced. "Damn. Um…what about the ones where you got out okay?"

Janet paused. "Well, in one I got a new assignment to California and moved there but the rest I'm still CMO."

A smirk came to Samantha's face. "Uh-huh. And how about the romance?"

Janet raised her eyebrows. "How about you tell me?" she teased.

Samantha brushed a hand through her hair. "Well, it looks like I'm married to Jack in most realities although there are a couple where I'm with Daniel."

Janet couldn't help laughing. "Wait…you and Daniel?"

Samantha raised her own eyebrows. "Don't laugh. As I understand it, you're with him in a few."

Janet had to bow her head in acknowledgment. "Yeah, I am. Including a couple of the ones I died in." She tried to brush it aside with a light tone. "Actually, from what I hear, Daniel gets around more than any of us. There's a couple where Sha're is alive, one with some archeologist who got possessed by a Goa'uld, even one with some woman named Vala."

Samantha nodded as she closed the door. "I was walking by when I heard that little to-do earlier. What was that about?"

Janet bit her lip. "Did you see that girl?" As Samantha nodded, Janet continued. "Apparently, she's my daughter."

Samantha's eyes went wide with shock. "Your what?"

"Her planet was wiped out in a plague started by a Goa'uld," Janet explained. "She was the only survivor and we brought her to Earth and I ended up adopting her." She rubbed her arms as she spoke. "When…I…died, she left the state, went to college. Carter…this world's Carter…thought it'd be good for her to see me."

"But she didn't ask if you knew her first," Samantha realized. She paused and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I would have done the same in the right circumstances."

Janet turned to stare at the wall. "It's just…I never really thought of myself as a mother. I'm always so busy with work and the team and everything. I barely have time for a love life, you know that!"

"Oh, yes, I do," Samantha replied. "So…what are you going to do? I mean…we're not going to be here that long." She moved forward to rub Janet's shoulder. "If you meant a lot to this girl…maybe you should try to…you know…talk to her. Try to help her with her pain. I know how bad it felt when my mom died and my dad too. She…could at least use the goodbye."

Janet turned to face her and nodded. "You're right. You're absolutely right, I should go talk to her. Thanks, Sam." She paused and then leaned in to give the woman a long kiss, which was returned.

They finally broke apart and Samantha smiled. "Hmm…From what I gather, we're the only ones together in our reality."

Janet grinned. "Didn't compare wedding notes with the others?" she said as she wrapped her arms around her lover's waist.

Samantha winced. "Actually, from what I gather, there are a lot more rules and regs against that sort of thing in this world."

"Too bad," Janet said as she leaned in for another kiss. "They don't know what they're missing."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tears had finally dried up for Cassie as she leaned on the pillow in the small bunk room. She didn't blame Sam for this, she couldn't have known how different things were in this Janet's reality. All she had wanted was to help, not give Cassie more pain. Sadly, that was exactly what the young woman was feeling right now. The pain of losing her mother all over again.

She heard the door slowly open and heard that voice, familiar and yet not, speak. "Um, Cassie?"

"Go away," she rasped, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I…I wanted to talk," Janet said as she came up and sat on a chair by the cot.

"There's nothing to talk about," Cassie said. "You're not my mom. You don't know me, or anyone like me. You don't have to talk to me at all."

"Actually, I do," Janet said. "I…I want to. I…" She took a breath. "Listen…I'm not going to tell you I know what you're going through because I don't. I will say this is a very confusing situation for me. I mean, I'm here in a world where I'm dead, talking to people from other worlds where I'm dead, it's…it's a whole lot to take in."

She licked her lips before continuing. "I…I don't have any children in my reality. And…I've always regretted that. I've always been so consumed with work, I barely have time for any other life outside it. I…I was alone for a long time until…" She shook her head, feeling it wasn't proper to be discussing her and Samantha right now.

She reached out and gently rubbed Cassie's back. The young woman tensed but let her continue. "I know what it's like to lose a parent," she softly stated. "And I don't know how I'd feel if I saw my mother suddenly alive and well and didn't know who I was. I just would like to…to talk."

Cassie finally turned to face her. "About what?" she asked, her voice still a rasp.

Janet spread her arms. "Everything. Your life, your school. Are you dating anyone? Are you…dealing with being on Earth. Just…what you'd want to talk to her about."

Cassie slowly sat up. "Really?" she asked with a whisper.

Janet nodded and then grinned. "Actually, it'll be even better. I'm not going to be here long so you can just tell me anything you'd never tell your own mother and don't have to worry about being lectured."

Cassie let out a laugh, smiling for the first time as she crossed her legs. "Where do I start?"

"Well…" Janet tapped a finger on her chin and let a sly smile come to her face. "Seeing anyone?"

Janet bowed her head, blushing. "Yeah…"

"Huh. Using protection?"

"MOM!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I…I wish you didn't have to go," Cassie said. She and Janet stood to the side of the hallway, away from the two SG-1 teams nearby. The singularity problem had been solved and the various teams were headed to their own realities. Janet's was the last as she had already said her goodbyes to Cassie's Daniel, Sam and Teal'c. Cassie had noted that Sam's goodbye had been a tad warmer but thought little of it.

"I know," Janet said as she shuffled her pack on her back. "But we both know I can't stay. Even if there's no cascade failure…it's not my world. And…" She sighed. "We both know there's always be her shadow over me."

Cassie nodded sadly. "I know. I just…" She looked up, fighting back tears. "It was…so good to talk to you. To be able to say…how much you meant to me."

Janet felt tears herself as she reached to stroke Cassie's cheek. "She would be so proud of you," she softly said. "I know she would." She drew Cassie in and gave her a long hug that the younger woman returned.

"I love you, Mom," Cassie whispered, not so much to the Janet holding her as the one she knew. Janet just nodded before breaking away. Rubbing her eyes, she moved to join her team. "Okay, let's go."

Cassie gave a final wave as they walked towards the Gate. Sam came up to her, giving her a quick hug. "You feeling okay?" she asked, her own eyes rimmed with tears.

Cassie gave her a warm smile. "I feel better than I have in two years," she replied honestly. "Thank you so much for this."

Sam hugged her tighter. "It was good to say goodbye to her. You never know, she may end up coming back somehow."

Cassie nodded. "Maybe. But…I don't know if I really need her as much as I thought." She gazed at the Gate to get one last look at her mother.

On the ramp, Samantha saw how Janet was gazing back and took her by the arm. "Hey, we gotta go."

"I know," Janet said as she tore her gaze away. She took a deep breath and looked to Samantha. "When we get back…I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" Samantha asked as they reached the Gate."

"Adoption."

"What!" was all Samantha got out before they entered the Gate to return them to their world. While behind, one young woman's world became a whole lot brighter.