Hello! Allow me to send a humongous shout out to my beta! She went through surgery, and she still found the time to fix this for me! Thank you, Saskia! 3 This fic would be grammatically painful and a whole lot shorter if it wasn't for her. (still, all mistakes that might remain are due to my faulty English.)

Enjoy!

M.

Chapter XLVI

April 1st, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

"Helen, honey," Will said, caressing her naked back softly.

It was the wee hours of the morning, and they had a long day behind them. To unwind, they had just released all the accumulated tension of the day in the most pleasurable way possible.

Helen hummed happily in response to Will's touch not quite willing to open her eyes yet. But she knew that by calling her 'honey,' Will was searching for her full undivided attention.

"Honey, are you sure about it?" Will tried again when she still hadn't moved from her current position.

Slowly Helen turned her head to face him.

Will's hair was still sticking out in weird places, thoroughly mussed, his lips were still red and swollen, and most importantly, he looked utterly sated. If she were honest, Helen loved seeing him like that knowing she was responsible for it. But she knew that wasn't the 'it' he was talking about. Thus, she shook herself out of her current thoughts pattern and sighed.

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

"And this idea of yours is not an April fool's thing?" Will asked again.

With another sigh, she sat on the bed. She was amused to notice that her uncovered body was distracting Will from his train of thoughts. However, Helen also knew distraction wouldn't take away his doubts. So, she pulled the sheet up to cover herself feeling oddly proud of herself for being able to still render him speechless just by showing some skin.

"No, William. It is not an April fool's thing," Helen answered as if she was explaining it to a kid. "Why is this so surprising for you?"

"Well, you only met her for two hours? Four at most."

"Did you know she isn't fully human?" Helen asked, and by the way, Will's eyes widened, she knew he didn't.

"What?" He asked, thoroughly surprised by her comment.

"She's from another planet and, like Samantha, has elements of a mineral called naquadah in her blood. Her background story is part of one of the old SG-1 mission reports they allowed us to read - A mission to PX8-987."

"Hanka?" Will asked, feeling immensely thankful for his memory skills, he remembered having read that specific folder along with a considerable number of others. Helen nodded. "From what I recall of the mission report, there was only one survivor on that planet. A girl and they brought her back to hoping to relocate her somewhere and save her life."

"Yes. Without any other place to go, the little girl from Hanka became Cassandra Fraiser," Helen revealed.

"So, you are now expanding the Sanctuary to the galaxy?" Will frowned, making her giggle.

"No, but I shall keep that in mind for a not so far future," she hummed. "I'm joking Will. It is nothing of the sort. I thought she had a refreshing way of thinking; her background does make her a perfect candidate. Thus, as I've explained to you before, I asked for her profile to be checked. Not surprisingly, Cassandra is a great student. I believe she could benefit from a better scholarship. In the long run, the Sanctuary might benefit from her career path."

"Isn't that a risky investment?" Will frowned.

"Well, those are the most profitable ones, darling," Helen pointed out.

"I can understand that, but how exactly will bringing her to the sanctuary be part of your investment?"

"It isn't," she shrugged. "Her visit was Sam's request. Now, William, tell me you didn't see potential in her, and I'll drop the subject until she finishes her current studies, and we can revisit this situation then."

"Would you?" He asked, and she looked at him. Will knew she would consider his opinion on the matter if he presented a valid reason. He shook his head; he knew she would always consider his opinion no matter how different they were from hers. "I can't. I found Cassandra to be a brilliant young woman. She took your age more easily than anyone I know and looked genuinely curious about it. Now, the file you gave me points to someone who isn't afraid to learn, no matter how boring she pretends it to be. The subjects she is taking are deep and diverse."

"Then, why do you worry so much? I know you have been mulling over this ever since I've mentioned it to you earlier."

"The council, Helen. What would they think of you allowing entrance to yet another person who shouldn't know about us?"

"She is family, William. Families shouldn't be vetoed out of the Sanctuary. What would the point be of keeping someone safe if you can't be next to the ones you love?"

"Except, Cassandra isn't related to you, or Sam."

"William," she started, and he knew he had made a dumb comment. "You are family to me, and yet, you aren't related to me."

"There's a difference, Helen. I worked for the Sanctuary before you brought it down here. I get your point, but," he was cut off by a kiss.

"When I blew up the Sanctuary," she whispered, after finishing the kiss. "Nikola found me between the ruins of my old lab. I was in a 'death sleep,' so he carried me to the entrance. I had sustained a lot of burns, and it took me three days to wake up. During those days, the Council took over everything. And as it happens whenever they take complete control, they decided my actions were too risky, and that I was too dangerous for the Sanctuary."

"What?!"

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. In any case, they had agreed to reinstate me as a Chief of the House the moment I woke. Now, getting back my position as the Head of the council proved to be a far more complex situation. It took me a couple of tense months to prove that we were free and safe thanks to my reckless actions. Also, I had to remind them of my additional 113 years of working in the shadows to get the Sanctuaries to this new place. But it wasn't until all houses were fully functional that my case ended when the Council called for a vote, and I won my rightful place again. Now, the fact that you had worked at the Sanctuary before, and the reputation you'd made, helped your case tremendously," she said caressing his face slowly.

"What are you trying to say, Helen?" Will whispered, not liking where this conversation was going.

"As soon as I woke up, and got in control of the House, I started to try and find whatever contact I could use topside without the Council or anyone else knowing about it. I found some people that surprisingly told me they were already keeping tabs on you. Turned out, that both Henry and Nikola were already tapping into the surveillance feeds of your house and work. They didn't tell me because they weren't sure about how I would react. They told me I had made a lot of effort to keep you out of the loop, so they weren't sure I would want to disturb you from your new-found life."

"They were right, at least at first," Helen continued after taking a deep breath. "You seemed mourning, but happy with Abby. You were engaged! I couldn't keep you from that. After we found out that, I stopped watching over you and asked them not to inform me anymore. Then, Nikola came and talked some sense into me. He said that if we wanted a chance to bring Ashley back, we needed you. 'And Helen, you need him, you know this,' he said. A week had passed from that conversation when he helped me to present your case to the council."

"Obviously, the council approved me with no complaints," Will grinned. Helen bit her lower lip and shook her head no.

"No, Will. The council considered you 'too much of a risk.'"

"How come?" Will asked feeling a bit hurt by that. Helen knew he would be pained, and there was nothing she could do about it; he had, after all, risked his life several times for the Sanctuary cause. She sighed.

"I know, it feels like you've been betrayed by the people you were helping," she tried to comfort him somehow, but she knew her words were not good enough. "It had to do with the situation you were in, not with you personally. At that time, you were under surveillance 24/7. Your house and your office were under watch. Your every move was followed by SCIU, as I've told you before, they wanted you to lead them back to someone inside the Sanctuary."

"Someone," he chuckled without humor. "They wanted me to take them to you, to deliver you to their doors."

"Yes. Also, the council pointed out that I decided to force you out of the Sanctuary loop and inside the SCIU one. They didn't want to get you down here, in case you changed your mind while working with them."

"I could never…" he started, frowning at the idea of betraying the Sanctuary.

"I know, William, I know. That's why I agreed to you going to SCIU. If I doubted where your loyalties laid even for a split second, I wouldn't have let you go. You are too valuable for me to lose you for something like that," Helen said, searching his eyes. "It was my fault really; I needed you out there. I knew the stakes; you could end up hating me for kicking you out, for throwing you to the sidelines, and you would not have any chance to help me. However, I also knew whatever they threw at you to try and sway you, and you wouldn't change your position about the Sanctuary. You have doubted my actions before, but at the end of the day, you always stood by my side."

"Always, Helen," Will agreed, caressing her cheek. "So, how did you manage to convince the council?"

"I didn't," Magnus grinned mischievously. "I smuggled you in, and here you are," she finished. Will took a moment to digest her words, and Helen allowed him to analyze her every word as she knew he needed. "When there was enough evidence to prove you wouldn't endanger us, and you choose to remain with us. We organized your death, and I presented your case again. Told them they could not like it, but you were back to stay."

"So, you are saying that Cassandra Fraiser will be your next protégé?" He asked, and Helen crooked her head.

"I never intended to bring you back as my protégé after all you've done for me. You lost that title a long time ago, and you'd never noticed it, not until our trip to Bolivia," she smiled. "What I'm saying, William, is that sometimes the council is wrong because they fear too much."

"Being fearless has not given you enough troubles with the council as it is?" He chuckled.

"Indeed. However, so far, my choices have all been worthy. Especially you," Helen added, kissing him. "I really don't know where I would be if you weren't here, William," she confessed. "What scares me the most is that I don't know where Ashley would be without you. Sometimes, we need to fight for what we want, and sometimes, we need to fight to help someone else."

"So, allowing Sam to bring Cassie down here is your way of fighting the system you've created?" He grinned.

"Well, we all make mistakes," Helen shrugged, "and power does have the disgusting ability to change people."

"Okay. I guess, if Cassandra is an alien and has been keeping her own secret safe, she won't jeopardize the Sanctuary."

"Exactly."

"Okay, I guess smuggling Cassandra is set. Now, her scholarship. Have you stopped to consider what Sam might think? And Doctor Fraiser?" Will asked.

"Of course, I have, William. But you know how it goes, it is an offering, and she can decline it."

"Still, you are Sam's mom, and Cassie just met you. Don't you think you might look a bit imposing? The girl might take your offer because she doesn't want to disappoint Sam by not taking it."

"Yes. As I've said, I've thought about it," Helen grinned.

"What am I missing?" He asked, noticing the amused glint in her eyes.

"I've thought about all those reasons. That's why I was going to ask you to present the proposal to Cassandra."

"Me? What difference would I make? I'm still your, hmm, romantic partner," he said. Helen raised her eyebrow, looking amused for some reason.

"Well, as you well know, you were a recipient of one of my scholarships. Therefore, you would be in a prime position to explain to them that I have no control over what any receiver chooses to do with it."

"There's still the fact that we are in a relationship and that might compromise my point of view," Will pointed, and Helen laughed.

"As if there would be a way to compromise your points of view. I can present her the proposal, and I can tell her that if she or her mother needs reassurance, she can talk to you or Daniel about how my involvement in your education didn't have anything to do with your choices."

"Sounds like the best plan," he nodded. Helen was still smiling at something he couldn't quite pinpoint. "What is it?"

"Romantic partner, huh?" She said, making him blush. "I'm not sure I like that definition of what you are to me."

"Yeah, well it was the best I could come up with, I mean 'lover' doesn't quite cut it, right?"

"Indeed, you are so much more," she whispered, trying to convey exactly how much with her gaze before she leaned forward to peck his lips. "I hope you are quite done with doubting this subject," she whispered, before she bit her lower lip, making him whimper.

"Are you ready to sleep?" Will asked hoping she would say no.

"Not quite, you woke me up, William. Now you need to tire me again," Helen smiled mischievously.

"Yes, ma'am!" he exclaimed, grinning as he pinned her between his body and the mattress.

April 2nd, 2005

Sam's house.

Cassie, as all the members of SG-1 and her mother, had a key to Sam's house. So, when she reached Sam's house, she let herself in. "Hello? Aunt Sam?" Cassie called entering Sam's home.

"Office!" Sam yelled back.

"Hey, did you know all your curtains are drawn? And you have thousands of lights on?" Cassie asked, leaning against the doorframe of Sam's home office.

"Yep," Sam grinned, shutting down the computer and standing up to embrace her niece.

"It's 10 am?" Cassie said as they embraced. "Don't you think you need to turn off the lights and start opening your windows?"

"Is it ten already?" Sam asked as they broke their embrace. Then she checked her watch. "Hmm, weird. She is late," Sam said only to smile as she noticed the shimmer that always accompanied Ashley's entrance.

"Who is late?" Ashley asked, startling Cassie.

"You are," Sam grinned, "five minutes late," Ashley rolled her eyes.

"You sound like mom. I'm barely fashionably late," Ashley said, amused. "Hello Cass," she grinned at the girl.

"Ashley! Where did you come from?"

"Out there?" Ashley answered as truthfully as she dared. "You asked for a pick-up, sis?" she asked, side glancing to Cassie. "Someone forgot to mention you might have company."

"Weird, I asked mom's and Janet's permission to take her there," Sam shrugged.

"And our mom said yes?" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Yes. There was something weird about it, though. Mom said I needed to ask you to bring us to the front garden," Sam explained.

"Whoa!" Ashley exclaimed completely surprised about it.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"It means we are going to smuggle her in," Ashley grinned.

"Smuggle me?" Cassie asked, "Why would you need to smuggle me into your mom's home?"

"Because, girl, you impressed my mom," Ashley said, smiling at a perplexed Cassie.

"Ashley, I'm having issues following your line of thoughts," Sam admitted, bringing Ashley's attention back to herself.

"If I'm taking you to the front garden, it means she will go undetected by the council alerts," Ashley explained, pointing towards Cassie. "That's one of the reasons why mom agreed for me to be your transport. If I take you in, the council won't know exactly how many times you visit. But since Cassie has never been inside the house, she can't be brought straight there."

"Why not? You just said you take me to the house, so the council doesn't know how many times I visit," Sam squinted in confusion.

"Because the front garden is beautiful and makes a nice first impression?" Ashley chuckled at Sam's expression. "It's simple; they first need to fix whatever security issue there is to allow her inside the house without raising an alert. I guess mom has recruited Henry to scan and enter Cassie's biosignature into our software so it will look like she has.·. entered before. Don't worry, if mom said yes to her visit, she has a plan to let Cassie wander free too," Ashley finished.

"Wait! Why wouldn't I be free to wander? What is this council you keep talking about and what kind of weird security measures does your mom's place have?" Cassie asked, utterly confused by the conversation.

"Mom's house is also her workplace, and to be free to roam around you need the council's approval. If my conclusions are correct, our always proper Doctor Magnus either didn't present this case to the council, or they said no. Either way, mom can get into a lot of trouble if she isn't careful with your arrival."

"Oh, but..."

"Don't worry. You'll learn everything you need to know later," Ashley grinned. "Are we ready to go now?"

"No, I don't get it," Sam stated.

"Look, she can explain it better to you. I don't dwell on the weird politics since I find it very annoying that the council can restrain her actions. I mean, the Sanctuary wouldn't exist hadn't she created most of it," Ashley said, rolling her eyes, and noticed Cassie wasn't around. "Where did she go?"

"Cassie!" Sam called, as they stepped out of the office searching for Cassie. They found her standing next to the open front door with a confused frown on her face.

"There's no car outside, how are we getting there? How did you get here?" Cassie asked, looking at Ashley. "Are we taking your car, Aunt Sam? It is the only car parked out there."

"Ah, you'll see soon enough," Ashley grinned. Sam walked towards Cassie and closed the door before she beckoned the girl towards the inside of the house.

"Cass, do you have everything you need on you?" Sam asked, shouldering a small backpack.

"I, that's what I need," Cassie answered, pointing towards a backpack on Sam's couch.

"Cool," Ashley beamed, picking up the backpack and walking closer to Cassie. She crooked her head and placed a hand over Cassie's shoulder and extended her other hand towards Sam.

"You know? You still haven't," Cassie started feeling a bit unnerved by the situation, but before she could finish her question, she was forced to close her eyes due to the bright sun shining in her eyes. As she shaded her eyes, Cassie noticed they were standing in a garden, "... told me how we are getting there," Cassie finished flabbergasted. "What just happened?"

"You were teleported. Welcome to the Sanctuary," Helen's voice reached them from behind her backs. They turned around to find Helen standing near them. "I've been expecting you all," she grinned. "Samantha, Cassandra," Magnus nodded with a smile as a greeting.

"Hi, mom."

"Ma'am," Cassie said, looking around stunned. "Wow. How…?"

"As I've told you before, Cassandra. You can call me Helen, Magnus or Doc, I feel rather old when people call me ma'am," she winked at her.

"Doc, Ashley said you needed to smuggle me here?" Cassie asked. "Wherever here is…"

"Did she?" Helen looked at her daughter amusedly and waved toward Henry, who was still waiting in the background. "This is Henry, and I need him to run a quick scan on you if you agree?"

"Will it hurt?"

"No. Have you ever been through airport security?" Helen asked. "It is quite similar to that."

"And why do you need to do this?" Cassie frowned.

"Once we finish your scan, Henry will add you to our database."

"Oh, okay then," Cassie agreed.

"Then I'll leave you to it," Helen grinned.

"Hey, I'm Henry. What I'm going to do is move this cool wand somewhat close to your body, then I will send the results to my computer. After that, you'll be free to roam in no time," Henry explained.

"What should I do?" Cassie asked him.

"Just stand as still as you can."

"Mom, can I have a word with you?" Sam asked as Henry started his scan. Helen nodded towards the side. Helen walked them towards a nearby bench that would allow Sam to keep an eye on Cassie. "What is that about?" Sam asked.

"Ah, politics," Helen rolled her eyes. "Shall I tell you the short version or long version?"

"Any version will work."

"You are aware by now of the extent of the things we had to do to create this version of the Sanctuary," Helen started, Sam nodded. "And about the somewhat democratic structure that we use to manage ourselves?"

"Yes, Will explained it to me."

"Well, the council is far more conservative than I am due to different sets of experiences. Years ago, and by the majority, the council voted that to bring someone down here, someone needs to present the case, and the individual in question needs 80% of the votes to be allowed inside."

"I guess bringing just anyone could create unnecessary risks," Sam nodded.

"That's the reason, yes. Now, known abnormals rarely need much justification on why they need to enter. Showing their abnormality is often the only thing they need to do to enter. Although, for security reasons, they only get limited access."

"Like when we got here the first time," Sam provided as an example.

"Yes. After a test period, any abnormal is free to roam the Sanctuary and nearby city to which it was assigned. Unless their species require specific living conditions, often those can only be provided inside a specific building. Now, most abnormals have no idea about the other cities and other Sanctuaries down in the hollow earth, that's why the limits of the Sanctuary are so far away from the limits of the city."

"Really?" Sam asked, surprised by that fact.

"Yes. You can't compromise what you don't know exists," Helen said.

"I guess that makes sense. But Cassie isn't an abnormal," Sam pointed out.

"Well, to bring humans to the Sanctuary, the council must approve them, or they have to be in a situation which can only be contained securely inside our walls."

"Like when we got here."

"Yes, you were authorized with no bigger concerns because you were injured by an abnormal, and it provoked a situation beyond any topside cure."

"I asked Ashley why she had to bring us here instead of straight into the house as she usually does with me. She said you would work out any security issues that might arise to keep Cassie from raising a council alert. What does that mean?" Sam asked. Helen sighed.

"Whenever someone gets in or out using the external entrances, like the warehouse, or the internal ones, like the gate to the spheres, every member of the council receives a movement alert. Knowing who is in or out, or if someone is trying to smuggle people is helpful. It means we have a better understanding of what is happening and, especially, of in who we can't trust."

"And bringing someone without authorization would mean that someone shouldn't be trusted, right?"

"Yes. However, when the protocol for those alerts was approved, their main purpose wasn't to avoid people to bring more people. I intended to notify everyone in case there was an outbreak. I never wanted to block our aid to anyone; I only wanted all to be alert if either topside or hollow earth were in danger."

"Why didn't you present her case to the council? I told you who she is," Sam wondered.

"Timing," Helen shrugged. "I would need evidence to sustain that she is an alien, and that evidence doesn't exist outside the folder that sits somewhere inside a safe in my office. I agreed that the contents of those folders were classified and as such, I can't present them to the council. Thus, I would need to get enough evidence to prove that Cassandra Fraiser can be trusted and allowed entrance. Then, the council would take at least a month to analyze her and call for a vote. You wanted to come here today, not in two months from now."

"How much trouble did I create by asking to bring Cass down here?" Sam frowned in concern.

"Not much. We need to scan Cassandra and add her to the database as if she has been here before. Since Ashley will be teleporting you back home, there won't be a trace of when she entered or left the facilities," Helen said.

"Well, that explains why you preferred to risk Ashley teleporting us over me getting us to the warehouse entry. Still doesn't explain why here."

"As you know, my building will scan whoever enters it; whenever someone enters it. It's a health status check, in hopes we could prevent any contagious disease from spreading around the house," Helen explained.

"I thought that was the whole point of the scan at the entrance?"

"It was, but we have Ashley. Let us suppose she takes Will topside for half an hour trip and then back to my office. As a consequence of their little trip, he gets the flu. Some abnormals can't survive the common flu, so the moment the house scan notices their materialization, it starts. Before Will can walk out of my office, the scan marks him as a flu carrier and sends an alert around the house. This alert, along with his condition, provides a list of abnormals and areas he should avoid until further notice."

"Wow, that's… it sure allows preventing an outbreak."

"It does save lives," Helen nodded. "If Ashley teleported Cassie inside the house, there would not only be a house alert but a council alert. Until Henry enters her into the database, there's no background on Cassie, which means she didn't enter through any secured entrance. The council alert is raised because"

"Your system has no way to know if Cassie is dangerous or not. Also, it means that there is an entry break somewhere."

"Exactly," Helen confirmed. The others started to walk towards them. "Once Henry has her in the database, she will be allowed inside without further issues. She will also be able to use any entryway because her profile will exist."

"Won't they find out anyway?" Sam asked.

"Not really," Henry answered. "Sorry to intrude in your chat, but you are talking about a system thought by Magnus. She programmed part of it herself and brought Nikola along for other parts, so, no. They'll need a couple of years before they manage to understand half of the things she did. I mean, I've been working with the system for longer than any of them, and I still find things I don't understand, and Magnus knows workarounds for the workarounds. Now, the version of the system available for the council is so user-friendly that they won't ask for the little things they don't even know exists."

"The perks of being an old lady," Helen grinned. "Are you ready?"

"Well, we finished the scan, and I'm almost ready to flush it into the database. However, I need you to classify her so we can avoid any bigger issue," Henry announced, passing his laptop to Helen. "I picked up the basics; you might want to check those too," he blushed. Magnus looked at the screen and smiled.

"Ah, well done, Henry! Your choices were correct," she said, reading the ones he had already selected. Then she hummed when she reached the part he hadn't picked. "Ah! Hominidae. Homininae. Hominini. Homo. Sapiens advenus," Magnus announced as she selected each one from several lists.

"Is it bad?" Cassie frowned, not understanding half of the things that were going on around her. But all of the others seemed at ease, and she trusted Sam blindly, so Cassie found herself trying hard not to feel uncomfortable.

"No, Cassandra. Your genetics can never be bad," Helen grinned. "No matter how rare they are."

"What does it mean? That homini-something?" Cassie asked.

"It's a scientific notation of your particular classification as a subspecies," Magnus provided, but noticing Cassie's confused expression, she chuckled. "Come," she patted the bench beside her and showed her the screen. "Species can be classified according to several points. Henry picked the ones corresponding to the greater divides like Kingdom and Phylum. Now, you belong to the Hominidae like all of us you are a 'big monkey.'"

"Some are more monkeys than others," Ashley grinned.

"Indeed," Helen said, shaking her head. "The next ones are the subfamily, tribe, and genus, or by keeping it simple, categories that allow us to specify that you aren't, in fact, a monkey but very much a human."

"Weren't humans just homo sapiens?" Cassie asked.

"Yes! However, this here," Helen pointed to a part of the screen where Cassie's DNA appeared. "Tells me you are an advenus and not a sapiens." Magnus provided. Cassie frowned confused. "Does she know of her origins? And Teal'c's origins?" Helen asked Sam, who nodded in agreement to answer both questions. "This means that you, like Teal'c, have just arrived to Earth. Now, he is on a different classification since by being a jaffa he isn't a homo sapiens because his species don't share most of the human DNA as you do. Basically, it says you are a human-alien."

"Oh God, no one is supposed to know that I… Sam, I'm sorry!" Cassie's eyes widened.

"It's okay, Cassie," Sam said. "Your secret is safe here. We also know that this place and the things you know about my mom, Ashley and I, are safe with you," she whispered. Taking a deep breath, Cassie nodded once.

"Is it really?" Cass asked, looking towards the people surrounding her. They all nodded.

"Yes, Cassandra. This place is called the Sanctuary because we protect people who are different."

"Doc, she's in," Henry grinned. "If it makes you feel better homo advenus sounds way cooler than 'Hyper Accelerated Protean life form class 9'."

"Aw, don't worry, Henry, being a furball is also kinda cool," Ashley grinned, petting his head jokingly.

"Ha. Ha, very funny. Doc, I'm done. If you need me, you know where to find me. Cassie, it was very nice to meet you. Girls, I'll see you around," Henry waved and walked towards the house.

"Likewise, I shall return to my duties. You can roam free now, Cassandra. I'm certain both my daughters will be very helpful showing you around," Helen said. "I'll see you all by lunchtime?"

"Yup, I'll make sure of it," Ashley grinned.

"Very well, then. Ah, I would like to have a conversation with Cassandra at some point before you take her back. Do make sure to leave some time for me, please?"

"Sure, mom. I was thinking about joining you for tea this afternoon?"

"Sounds lovely, have fun," Helen said, finally starting to walk away. "Oh," she said, stopping and turning around, "Nikola wanted to see her and find out 'what the fuss was all about.' See you later."

"The fuss?" Sam frowned, turning towards Ashley.

"Oh, yeah. I've no idea what she is talking about, but I'm sure Tesla will inform us as soon as we see him."

"Where did I hear that name before?" Cassie frowned.

"Will mentioned it at the dinner, come let's meet him," Ashley grinned, extending her hand towards Sam. The moment her sister took it, Ashley grabbed Cassie and teleported them outside Nikola's lab. "I'm sure he will be here."

"I don't understand," Cassie started as they walked inside the lab. "How did we get here?"

"Ah, that must be Cassandra Fraiser," Nikola grinned. "Helen mentioned you being delightfully smart. I'm Tesla, Nikola Tesla," he finished charmingly.

"Otherwise known as Vlad," Ashley provided. "I need to check something, will you two be okay here?"

"Yes," Sam said and with that Ashley disappeared.

"Whoa! So that's what we've done?" Cassie's eyes widened.

"Indeed. Ashley is quite good at demolecularizing and molecularizing things in her grasp," Nikola said, Cassie frowned in confusion. "Teleporting, that's one of her abnormal skills. Samantha, a little help here?"

"I think I'm leaving that one to mom," Sam grinned. "How have you been, father?" Nikola scrunched up his nose.

"Father sounds so eerily formal," he shook his head, "and yes, you can close that little mouth of yours, Cassandra. I am Samantha's biological father. Can't you tell? She has my eyes, charm, and intellect," Nikola wriggled his eyebrows.

"I…"

"Don't worry, Cassie, I think everyone knows I look more like my mom."

"Yes, I aimed for that when we modified your genetics. What can I say? Helen is far more delectable than me," Tesla grinned. "Besides, any girl would die to look half as good as her."

After a few more moments of chatting, Nikola ushered them out of his lab. "No matter how smart you are, darling. You are distracting me," he said to Sam, planting a kiss on her cheek before showing them to the door. After that, they walked around the premises. And Cassie finally got some explanations about what and where the Sanctuary was.

They met with Helen, Will, and Ashley for lunch at the dining room, giving Cassie a chance to ask more questions. After lunch, Sam took Cassie to the lake where they spent the afternoon enjoying the warmth of the fake sun until Sam's alarm announced it was time to see Helen. They got into the transport, and soon they were walking towards Helen's office.

"Do come in," Magnus said when she saw them standing by her open door. "I was waiting for you. Please close the door behind you. Samantha, you know where things are. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Come, Cass. Let's make you some coffee," Sam said, taking Cassie to the smaller enclosed room that contained everything they would need.

The smell of coffee invaded Helen's office, and she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose. However, she was getting herself more and more used to the smell since if it weren't Sam making it, Will would be there whenever he could make some space in his schedule to read in her office.

"I'll never understand where you got your taste for that awful beverage," Helen said. She shook her head amusedly, as the girls reentered the central area of her office.

"I made you some tea," Sam grinned, lowering the tray in the coffee table of the more comfortable seating area.

"Excellent," Helen smiled, walking towards them, bringing along a folder. She took a seat and lowered the folder beside her before she poured the tea in the cup Sam had brought along. "Very well done, Samantha. I shall say some of my quirks are finally rubbing off on you," she praised after taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, what can I say, you are a great teacher," Sam smiled. Helen chuckled.

"Let's not make this more awkward than it already is for Miss Fraiser. Pleasantries don't seem to be your cup of tea, Cassandra, aren't they?"

"I, yeah," Cassie grimaced.

"Don't worry; I don't intend to make you feel uncomfortable. I wanted to talk to you because I've got an offer for you. You can take it to your mother if you so desire. Now, this is only a proposal; I do not expect you to take it if you don't want it. Taking it, not taking it or sitting on it until you decide you are ready to choose what to do with it are all possible outcomes for the contents of this folder."

"Mom?" Sam frowned.

"It is nothing bad, Samantha. As you know, I have extensive investigative resources, and I like to use them, especially if they might help someone close to my family."

"You investigated her?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Yes. The investigation never left the academics, as we don't like to intrude in people's lives and choices."

"But why?" Sam frowned.

"Because I like to help people," Helen shrugged. " This, Cassandra is what I'm offering to you," she finished, sliding the folder she had brought along towards Cassie.

After looking at it for a while, Cassie finally picked it up and opened it. As she carefully read the contents, her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"A scholarship…" Cassie said, sitting back on the couch. "I'm not sure I can keep a scholarship, Doc."

"Well, I don't need you to be the top of your class during college, Cassandra. I need you to learn what you want to learn and apply it in the best possible way you can.

"I, I'm not sure I can take this," Cassie shook her head, looking at the numbers one last time before she closed the folder and passed it to Sam.

"Mom," Sam started, but Helen raised her hand to stop her from saying anything.

"As I've said, you can take this offering to Doctor Fraiser, which I would recommend, and analyze it the number of times you wish. I'm simply making an offer that I would extend to any of your close friends' family. I believe people need the chance to grow, but I'm also aware that it is completely up to them to take it or not. Now, allow me to be clear in one particular aspect, I'm not trying to buy you, Cassandra, this won't link you to me, and you won't owe me anything."

"I don't know what to say," Cassie whispered.

"Then don't say anything and enjoy the coffee. Take this folder with you, talk with your mother, and you can talk with Will or Daniel Jackson. They were part of our scholarship program. Finally, when you decide what you want to do with this, tell it to Samantha, and I'll see to honor your decision."

"Won't this get you in trouble, mom?" Sam asked, worriedly.

"No. We give thousands of scholarships around the world. One more won't be of any disturbance. So, tell me, Samantha, how is that cop-friend of yous?" With that, Sam knew the subject of Cassie's scholarship was closed, and the theme of the conversation changed.