Author's Note: Hello again. Thank you for all your wonderful words of praise. I'm glad you like it and you will all keep reading. I found Charlie a fascinating character to write as well as Cassie. I had never really included her before other than in passing and it was fun to do so now.
I would like to thank all of you who have made me want to continue to post. I love writing and sharing it with you. I must admit I'm feeling a little burnt out and am having trouble finishing the projects that I have in the works. I have one more story done and I will post that one as soon as I'm done with this one.
This should take me to some time in July to post. Then I'm going away for a few weeks. Where I am going I will have no computer access because I will be camping with my family on a lake in British Columbia. I will be back in the middle of July and I hope to have something complete by then. Cross your fingers and maybe I will have got back into the swing of things.
Sam had just finished getting groceries when the call to return to the school came. Her cart was piled high with food, and there was no way she could leave it behind. Jack's cupboards were empty. With a sigh, she told the woman on the phone that she would be there as soon as she could. After shoving the groceries into the trunk of her Volvo, she headed back to the school, wondering what trouble Charlie could have found in less than half an hour.
Her hands clenched on the steering wheel as she tried to calm herself down. There had to be some explanation for what happened.
Morgan's voice reminded her that there was another child in the car, "Is Charlie in trouble? He got into a fight again, didn't he? It happened sometimes when we lived in that other place. It wasn't usually his fault though."
Trying hard not to smile, Sam said, "That is still no reason to fight. You should walk away, if you can."
Morgan shrugged, "Charlie usually did try to walk away before, but trouble always seemed to follow him. At least that's what Daddy said, my other daddy."
Stopping the car, Sam turned and looked at the little girl in the backseat, "You know we're not your parents?"
The little girl nodded, "You smell different than mommy did in the other place. I saw her get hurt in the leg by the bad man, and you're not hurt at all, so you can't be her. I knew all along, I just thought that it would be better for Charlie if he thought I didn't know. He worries about me, but I'm okay. I miss my other mommy, but I know that you and daddy will look after me."
Sam turned back around not sure what to say to Morgan's revelation, so she said nothing and continued driving to the school.
A few minutes later, Sam pulled into the parking lot against the flow of traffic, which was flooding out of the lot and away from the school. She quickly unbuckled Morgan from her car seat, holding the little girl's hand, she headed across the field to the front doors.
Cassie waited for them on the front steps, "Sam, I'm glad you're here and not Jack." she called, descending the steps as they crossed the lawn.
Sam stopped as Cassie rushed over to them, "What are you doing here? Why would you know that I was coming?"
"I saw the fight Charlie got into. It wasn't his fault, Jimmy was being a jerk." Cassie said, but Morgan broke free of Sam's hand finally and ran to Cassie and leaped into the teenager's arms. All Cassie could do was catch her.
"I missed you so much Cassie. We never knew what happened to you. Charlie was worried about you all the time, but now you're here and you're safe. Charlie will be so happy." Then she laid her head down on Cassie's shoulder, sighing contently at the familiar face.
Cassie looked at Sam and raised her eye brows with a question that she wasn't sure she could voice here in public.
Sam sighed, they had to teach Morgan not to do this, or it would get them into trouble. "I can't talk about it here or now. Charlie is waiting in the office for us to see the principle. Would you mind keeping an eye on Morgan so I can get this over with. She seems to like you."
Morgan's head was still on Cassie's shoulder, and now her thumb was in her mouth. Cassie looked at her and said, "On the far side of the school, there is a playground. I'll take her over there and let her play until you're done." She set the little girl on her feet and headed in the direction she indicated, but stopped after a few steps, "But you owe me an explanation. I'll come over tonight. Mom's stuck at the base running physicals, for some reason, since yesterday."
"That will be fine." Sam said with a shrug unsure if she should stop Cassie from coming over. Morgan obviously knew the other Cassie. It would be cruel to keep them apart if Cassie was willing to be with her.
"Why did you tell me that you and Jack were getting married? Mom came home the other day and dragged me out to a bridal shop to find my dress. She was all mysterious about what it was for. Then yesterday we arrived at the Cadet Chapel. It was only then that she told me what was going on but not why." Her head swam, what on earth could have made these two finally take the step that everyone had been waiting for years to happen. Then she looked at Morgan, and everything clicked into place, "She's your daughter, I mean, another Sam's isn't she, and Charlie is another Jack's Charlie."
"Sh, not now." Sam looked around, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to them or their conversation. "Yes, she is, but we can't talk here. Take Morgan to the playground and then you can come home with us. We'll talk there, okay?"
Cassie looked from Sam to Morgan and nodded. Forcing a smile, she gave into Morgan's tugging. "Let's go find the swings." and they raced across the field.
Sam watched the two of them go. It had never occurred to her that Charlie and Morgan would know Cassie, but considering the amount of time she spent with both Sam and Jack in this world, it made sense that she would have spent as much time with them in that alternate world. It seemed that some things were the same no matter what world they were in. Pulling her head out of quantum mechanics, she headed into the school to find out how much trouble Charlie was in.
Charlie sat outside the Principal's office with his forearms resting on his knees looking down at the floor, and Sam was surprised how much he reminded her of Jack in the way he held himself.
Taking a deep breath, she told herself it was time to get this over with, "Charlie?"
The boy looked up, one eye was blackening and he had a wad of toilet paper stuffed into one of his nostrils to stop the bleeding. A smile crossed his face that just screamed Jack, "Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't my fault and I tried to walk away?"
"Yes, I would." she turned to the secretary, "We're ready. Could you tell the principal that we are ready to see him?" Then she turned back to Charlie, "You should be happy it was me they got a hold of and not your dad." Sam looked around and asked, "Where's the other boy?"
"Gone, his nanny came and picked him up about fifteen minutes ago. His parents are on Fiji or something." Charlie shrugged.
"Tell me what happened." Sam asked as she sat down beside him.
"Well, I walked into English class and I sat down in an empty chair. The girl next to me introduced herself as Cassandra Frasier." the tone of his voice said more than his words. He'd known exactly who she was when he sat down, "We talked for a while when Jimmy Wilson showed up. He was being a jerk and so I moved seats and he attacked me from behind. At first I just blocked his punches, but when one got through and bloodied my nose, I lost my temper. I shouldn't have done it, but I did."
"It's all right Charlie, we'll sort this out." Sam said, wrapping her arm around him.
The secretary spoke to them, "The principal will see you now."
They both got to their feet and entered the office, and an older man held out his hand, "I'm Mr. Phillips, Mrs. O'Neill, Charlie have a seat." he pointed at the two chairs on the far side of his desk.
The two of them sat and waited for him to speak. He opened a folder and studied it, "Now, I have had multiple people coming down to the office and telling me that the fight was not Charlie's fault. Given that we haven't had any prior problems with him, we will not suspend him at this time as we did the other boy. Jimmy's attack was unprovoked and malicious, but if we have any other problems during the rest of the school year, I will not be as forgiving."
Sam looked at Charlie, "Yes, sir. There should not be any problems." Charlie returned her look and nodded. Seeing his agreement, she got to her feet, "If that's all, we will be going." she held out her hand, "Thank you." and the two of them left the office and didn't look back.
They met Cassie and Morgan out on the field. When Charlie saw the older girl with his sister, his steps slowed, unsure how to act around Cassie. Sam, on the other hand, held her phone out to the teenager. "Call your mom. I know she's not coming home, but she should know that you're at our house."
Taking the phone, Cassie said, "Sounds good. Are you going to feed me, too?" she asked, dialing the phone.
"Yep, I don't have a clue what we are having, but I do have a car full of groceries, so we should find something to make-" Sam had to break off and chase after Morgan who had made a break for the swings again.
Cassie's conversation with Janet was short and when she hung up she found Charlie studying her, "Cas?" his voice wavered.
She was about to answer when Sam came back carrying Morgan under her arm, "Come on you two, let's head home before she escapes again."
The two teenagers smiled awkwardly at each other and then followed Sam to the car.
They arrived home to find Jack moving Sam's things into his house. He took one look at Charlie and set down the box he was carrying. His voice was hard when he asked, "What happened to you?" he pinned his son with a glare.
Charlie shrugged, "I got into a fight with Jimmy Wilson. I tried to walk away, but he wouldn't let me."
Jack was about to say something else when Cassie came around the car with Morgan attached to her, "It wasn't his fault. I was there, Jack. Jimmy was trying to cause problems like always."
Turning his attention to Cassie, he said, "I told you that boy was nothing but trouble when you started to go out with him. I'm glad you listened to me for once in your life."
Morgan fought to be let down sensing the tension between all the people standing in the driveway. Cassie set her onto her feet and Morgan was immediately moving, "Daddy, since we found Cassie, does that mean that I can find uncle Daniel here, too?" she asked as she threw herself at him and wrapped herself around his legs.
He looked over at Sam, unsure what to say to the little girl, technically Daniel wasn't dead, but that didn't mean he was available for a visit when they wanted. "I don't know Princess. We'll have to wait and see. Uncle Daniel has a habit of turning up when we least expect him."
"Okay," she sighed, "Can I have some nuggets for dinner?"
Smiling, Jack said, "Sure, but only if you have some carrots, too." as he carried her into the house followed by the other three with the groceries.
Jimmy Wilson sat in his room, he was in so much trouble and it was all Charlie's fault. He was suspended for a week, and now he'd miss the first week of baseball try-outs. Charlie O'Neill and, what was that name that Cassie said? Jack O'Neill. That name sparked a memory.
His father was a reporter for the local paper and a few years ago his dad wrote an article about a Jack O'Neill. The man was in the Air Force or something. A few weeks ago, he'd needed an article for a English project and he had been looking through his father's older ones to see if there was anything he could copy.
There had been one about Jack O'Neill and he just had to find it. It took a few hours, but he was rewarded when he found the article.
Boy Dies of Self Inflicted Gunshot.
Charlie O'Neill died yesterday of wounds inflicted while he was playing with his father's, Colonel Jack O'Neill's, service weapon. The boy found the gun and shot himself once in the chest....
Jimmy stared at the article, there was more, but it didn't matter. All he needed was the photo that stared back at him. The dead boy looked very much like his nemesis, Charlie O'Neill. It seemed a little funny that, some how, this Jack O'Neill would get a new son with the same name and same look. What was going on here? There had to be something strange going on, and he would prove it.
Maybe if he told his dad about this, he wouldn't be in so much trouble. His father loved a good story, no matter where it came from. Photocopying the article, he decided that he would get Charlie's picture tomorrow. He would have as much evidence as he could that Charlie O'Neill was a clone, or something equally as strange, when his parents came home.
Dada dum. What do you think? Let me know. Your reviews make me smile. They really do, I'm not kidding. ~Kelleth~