Nightmares and Daydreams
[Setting: Colorado Springs, Dr. Janet Frasier's house]
[Time: About four weeks after "Singularity"; Year: 1997]
Disclaimer: All characters, settings, and references are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
Cassandra Frasier sat in the living room of her new mother's house reading Swiss Family Robinson for a book report that was due in school a week from now. She still had over a hundred pages to go, but the story was interesting and adventurous, so she knew she could finish it in time. She was just getting to a really good part when the phone rang. She heard Janet answer.
"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can find someone to stay with Cassie."
Cassandra jumped up and ran into the kitchen, her small fox-like dog following after her. "I can stay by myself," she said, interrupting Janet on the phone.
Janet turned away from her and continued her conversation. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." Janet hung up the phone and turned toward Cassandra.
"I'm too old for a babysitter," Cassandra demanded.
Janet sat down at the kitchen table and gently pulled Cassandra's arms toward her. "I know you are, honey. I just don't want you to be alone, especially at night."
"I won't be alone," Cassandra insisted. "I'll have Rusty with me." She leaned down and stroked the dog's ears.
Janet sighed. "I've got to go. There's a medical emergency at the hospital. What if I could get Sam to stay with you?"
Cassandra brightened. She didn't have to say anything. Janet knew she loved Sam's visits. It had been a month since SG-1 had rescued her from the planet they called PX-987. Everyone had died except her. She missed her mom and dad, but Sam had comforted her in those dark days following the horrible event. The people of her planet had talked of an apocalypse—the end of the world—when the sky darkened. The adults tried not to talk about it around the children, but Cassandra overheard some of their conversations. Later, Sam told her the people of her planet died of a bacterial infection, and that the darkening of the light was a solar eclipse. One of the SG teams had also told the people there was nothing to worry about, but they were wrong.
Janet dialed Sam's phone number. Cassandra looked hopeful as Janet waited for Sam to pick up. She was just about to hang up when Sam answered. "Sam, are you free tonight? Everything is fine, thanks. I have to go to the hospital. Could you come and stay with Cassie? Wonderful. I have to leave now. Cassie will be waiting for you. Thanks so much, Sam."
"Yippee!" Cassie said as she jumped up and down, feeling a bit immature for a twelve-year-old, but not really caring.
"Now I want you to continue working on your homework. And no TV until it is done. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Janet. I promise."
"And bedtime is nine o'clock sharp. Tomorrow is a school day."
"How about ten o'clock, just for tonight? Please?"
Janet frowned, then smiled. "Nine-thirty, and no later."
Cassandra smiled and clapped her hands. "It's a deal."
Janet quickly grabbed her medical bag and coat and headed for the door, Cassandra following her. "Don't open the door to anyone, you hear? When Sam gets here, she'll use her key, so you don't have to wonder who's at the door." Janet leaned over and kissed Cassandra on the cheek, then walked out the door.
Cassandra went to the window and watched Janet's car pull out of the driveway. Then she went back to the couch and picked up her book. Rusty snuggled up next to her on his special dog bed.
Cassandra continued reading, but she kept looking up at the clock. After a half hour had gone by, she started getting worried because Sam should have been there by now. It was already 6:25.
Cassandra jumped up when the phone rang. She checked the caller ID. It was Sam.
"Sam, where are you?"
"On my way now. Sorry for the delay. I should be there in fifteen minutes."
Cassandra let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Bye."
When Sam arrived, Cassandra hugged her around the waist before Sam had a chance to take off her coat. Sam hugged her back and pet the dog too.
"I brought some popcorn and a movie for us to watch," Sam said as she dropped her things into a chair.
"Janet said I can't watch TV until my homework is done."
"I see," said Sam. "Well, let's get your homework done and then we can watch the movie. I think you'll like it. It's a very old movie, but a very good one."
"What's it called?"
"The Wizard of Oz."
"I've never heard of that movie."
"Well, you're in for a treat. I've seen it dozens of times and I never tire of it."
"I have to be in bed by nine-thirty."
"Hmm," said Sam. "How much homework do you have?"
"I have some math and I need to study for my spelling test."
"Well, I can help you with that. Let's go out into the kitchen and get cracking."
Cassandra gave Sam an odd look. "Cracking?"
Sam laughed. "It's just an expression. I think it came from the idea of cracking open your books."
"Oh." Cassandra ran into her room and got her math book and spelling list. With Sam's help, she finished studying in less than a half-hour. Sam helped her when she got stuck with her pre-algebra problems. Sam was a whiz at math. But she didn't do the problems for her—she just helped her understand them.
Sam put the popcorn in the microwave as Cassandra was finishing her last math problem. If they started the movie now, they could finish it before 9:30. Of course, time needed to be allotted for Cassandra to put on her pajamas and brush her teeth. Cassandra decided to change into her PJs now. It would only take her a few minutes to brush her teeth after the movie.
Once Cassandra was in her pajamas, she rushed back into the living room with a blanket. Sam had already put the movie in the player and set a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. Then Sam, Cassandra, and Rusty settled on the couch and watched the movie. Sam explained that here on Earth, especially in America, it was a tradition to eat popcorn while watching a movie. Cassandra liked the popcorn's buttery flavor and crunchy texture, and she fed a few pieces of it to Rusty, who eagerly gobbled it up.
Once the movie was over, Sam asked Cassandra if she liked it, and Cassandra said she loved it. It was a fun movie and made her forget everyday life and school.
"Okay, kiddo, time for bed."
Cassandra grabbed Rusty's bed and took it to her room.
"I'll take your dog outside for a few minutes while you brush your teeth, then I'll be back to tuck you in."
Cassandra thought she might be too old to be tucked in—she certainly wouldn't tell anyone at school—but she liked it, especially from Janet or Sam. She hoped that seeing Sam before she went to sleep would keep the nightmares away. She was having too many of them lately. But whenever Janet asked her what they were about, she couldn't remember. Sometimes she would just wake up terrified.
Sam brought the dog back in and placed him on his bed on the floor next to Cassandra. Then Sam kissed Cassandra goodnight, gave the dog a pat on the head, and left the room. Sam knew to leave the door slightly ajar. Cassandra didn't like total darkness.
Cassandra fell asleep thinking about the movie they had watched. The land of Oz turned out to be just a dream, but it was so real while Dorothy was in it. When Dorothy woke up she was home. Cassandra could never go home again. The Goa'uld had destroyed everyone on her planet.
A couple of hours later, Cassandra woke up screaming. Sam rushed into her room, sat down on the bed and held her.
"What is it, Cassandra?"
It took Cassandra a few minutes to realize she was safe in her own bed with Sam's arms around her. The dog jumped up on her bed to give her added comfort.
"Nightmare?"
Cassandra nodded.
"Can you tell me what it was about?"
Cassandra put her hands over her ears as if shutting out the bad dream.
"No, no. I don't remember."
"That's okay," said Sam. "Say, how would you like to get up and have a little hot chocolate?"
Cassandra considered that for a moment and then agreed. Sam helped her out of bed and draped a blanket around her shoulders. Then they went into the kitchen.
"Janet tells me you've been having some bad dreams lately, but that you can't remember them."
Cassandra shook her lowered head. "No, I can't let myself remember them."
Sam brought two cups of hot chocolate to the table. Cassandra stared into her cup for a moment until Sam spoke again.
"Cassie, look at me," she said gently.
Cassandra slowly looked up from her cup and into Sam's blue eyes.
"Do you think you can remember for me?"
Cassandra shrugged. "Maybe."
Sam took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Mmm. Still too hot." She set her cup down. "You've been through a lot, Cassie, and you need to face some of those memories so the nightmares will stop. You need to remember them and talk about them. Not all at once, but a little bit at a time. Then I guarantee you won't have as many bad dreams, and they will probably go away all together. You know, my mom died when I was about your age."
"She did? How?"
"In a car accident."
"How did you get through it?"
"It took a while, but I talked to my dad and to my doctor."
Cassandra looked away.
"Can you recall any of your dream? You're very brave, remember?"
"Very brave," Cassandra repeated as she remembered the concrete bunker where Sam had left her and then returned. She was sure she was going to die then, but she didn't. Neither of them did. Later, she made Janet tell her the truth—that the Goa'uld had planted a bomb in her. The thought of that made her shiver.
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me," said Sam. "I know you've been through enough. Go ahead and have some of your hot chocolate. It should be the right temperature by now."
Cassandra slowly brought the cup to her lips. The flavor brought a smile to her face. It tasted so good. She had never had anything like this on her planet.
Sam smiled. "It's good, huh?"
When they finished their hot chocolate, Sam walked Cassandra back into her bedroom and tucked her in again. "Now you go to sleep." Sam yawned.
"You're tired too. I'm sorry I woke you."
"That's okay, Cassie."
"Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?"
Sam sat down on the bed and stroked Cassandra's hair. "Sure."
"Sam?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for keeping your promise."
"My promise?"
"You told me you would show me lots of wonderful things about this planet." They had gone to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, to the park several times and used the swings, to a carnival that was in town, and to the ice cream parlor. They even went to a movie theater one time.
"Oh, that. Those outings were fun for me too, Cassie."
Cassandra closed her eyes and smiled. After a few minutes, she frowned. "Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I worry when you are off world."
"Cassie, I can take care of myself. I'm a soldier."
"I know, but I still worry." At least Janet didn't go off world very often. Then she'd be doubly worried.
"I know people you loved have died, but you just have to learn to focus on the happy things in life."
"I'll try."
"Now close your eyes and go to sleep."
Cassandra was almost asleep when the memory of the dream came back. But this time she didn't scream; she gagged. It was a horrible feeling, like she was being suffocated. She broke out in a sweat.
"It's okay; it's okay," said Sam.
Cassandra let out a gasp as if her breath had been caught in her throat. Sam leaned over and took her in her arms. Cassandra was breathing hard and fast. Sam waited for her breathing to return to normal.
"Can you tell me now?"
Cassandra closed her eyes and held tight to Sam. Then she slowly let go and opened her eyes. "Something was shoved down my throat. I couldn't breathe."
"Can you remember anything else? Who did that to you?"
Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember, and at the same time her mind was trying to push out the painful memory. But she was determined to tell Sam. "The Goa'uld came in ships. Dozens of ships. Everyone fell to the ground. Then I woke up and I was on one of their ships. I was lying on a bed, sort of like the kind in a doctor's office. The lights were bright. Everything was white and gold. They shoved something down my throat and I went to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was back on my planet and everyone was dead." Cassandra felt tears fill her eyes. "They killed everyone!" she shouted. And then her body began to tremble, but Sam held her tight until the shaking and the crying stopped.
"Good, honey. I know that was hard."
Cassandra lay back down. "I want to go to sleep now."
Sam lay down beside her. Cassandra glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. She felt exhausted, as if she had been through a battle. Cassandra easily slipped into a comforting sleep. When she woke, Sam was gone. At first, it took her a few minutes to orient herself, remembering her middle-of-the-night talk with Sam and her nightmare. The thought of the latter made her shiver. She got out of bed and padded to the living room.
"Sam? Sam, are you here?"
For a moment she heard no answer. Then Janet answered. "Yes, Cassie, we're both here." Janet met Cassandra in the hallway looking tired. She'd been up all night at the hospital. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Janet. Where's Sam?"
"Oh, she's in the kitchen. You hurry and get ready for school, and Sam should still be here when your bus comes."
Cassandra scurried back into her bedroom and came back out, ready to go in record time."
"Good morning, Cassie." Sam greeted her when she entered the kitchen. "Your mom asked me to see you off to school. She's had a long night and needs her sleep."
"Yeah, she looked pretty tired."
"So what'll you have for breakfast?"
Cassandra was already at the cupboard getting down her cereal. "Oh, that's okay, Sam. I can fix my own."
Sam shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "Okay."
Once Cassandra was seated at the table, she put sugar and milk on her cereal and began to eat.
"You seem cheerful this morning. I'm glad to see that."
"Yeah, I feel okay."
"Good."
Once she had finished her cereal and grabbed her backpack, Cassandra stopped before leaving the kitchen. "Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I know you've done so much for me already, but some of the kids at school have asked me what Toronto is like. I'm supposed to be from there, but I don't know what to tell them."
Sam stood up and smiled. "Well, we'll just have to take a trip there, won't we?"
Cassandra grinned. "You mean it?"
"Yes. I can't promise when, but we'll make sure and go. Maybe Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c could come too."
"Cool!" said Cassandra. After all, Sam had kept her promises so far. Cassandra hugged Sam goodbye and left for the school bus, which was only a couple of blocks away. As she walked along, she felt lighter somehow. Maybe the nightmare would come back and maybe it wouldn't, but for now, she was going to daydream about Toronto, the land of Oz, and the Swiss Family Robinson.
THE END