Daughter of My Heart, Chapter Ten
[Set during/following the events of Seth]
Sam was nervous, driving her father back to her house for the night. General Hammond had offered him quarters at the SGC, but he'd declined, saying he'd rather catch up with his daughter in the few hours they'd have before shipping out to check on this supposed 'cult of Seth'.
It would be the first time they'd spent any time together since she'd brought him to the Tok'ra last year, and the first time he'd meet Cassandra.
Sam pulled the car into the driveway, shutting off the engine.
"Cute," her dad said, grinning at the small white house. Sam sighed.
This is going to be a long night.
Cassie bounded down the hall to greet then as soon as she heard the key in the lock, and Sam winced as she saw her daughter stop short, a wild look of terror in her eyes.
"It's all right," she said, moving away from her dad, toward Cassandra. "This is my dad, Jacob. Remember I told you he has a Tok'ra symbiote?"
Cassie nodded numbly, darting quick, appraising glances Jacob's way. Her dad was frowning.
"She's afraid of me?," he asked, looking to Sam.
"Of Selmak," Sam corrected, somewhat apologetic.
"It feels just like a Goa'uld," Cassie observed, taking a step back.
"I know," Sam reassured. She'd been able to sense the Naquadah herself since the blending with Jolinar, although being exposed to it every day with Teal'c, Cassandra, and the Stargate helped to desensitize her.
"I assure you, I am not a Goa'uld," Selmak replied calmly, evidently having taken over. "But what of you?," he asked, likely sensing Cassandra's own Naquadah.
Cassie turned to Sam for help.
"Cassandra still has Naquadah in her blood from a device Nirti used to try and destroy us," Sam explained. "She's never been a host."
Selmak looked intrigued. "She has more than a host," he observed. "More than any of the Tok'ra or Goa'uld I have known."
"Does that mean I make your spine crawl too?," Cassandra asked, this time meeting Selmak's curious gaze.
"Yes," the symbiote replied, amused.
"Does Mom?," she asked.
"No," Selmak confessed. "Although I can sense her past blending."
Cassandra seemed to consider this. "Do I make you uncomfortable?," she asked, after a moment.
Selmak chuckled softly. "You would like to know if you unsettle me the same way I unsettle you?," he asked perceptively. Cassie shrugged, but didn't deny it. "Had we met under different circumstances, yes, I believe you would," Selmak offered. "However, you are the daughter of my host's daughter, and I know you mean me no harm."
Sam looked from one to the other, intent on the curious exchange. She'd known Cassandra had more of the element than her father or Teal'c, but more than any other Goa'uld or Tok'ra Selmak had known? The symbiote was over two thousand years old! And what did that mean for Cassandra? Janet had ruled the residual Naquadah as safe, but was it? Could the Goa'uld still use her in some way, if they knew where she was?
Sam shuddered at the thought.
"Something smells good," Jacob observed, and Sam had to wonder what she'd missed in the transition from symbiote back to host.
"Crockpot chicken," Sam replied, hiding her thoughts behind a forced smile. "It should be ready by now."
Cassie wasn't sure what to think of Jacob Carter. Sure, he was her Mom's Dad, or her grandfather, she supposed, but he hid even more of his thoughts than the rest of the adults in her life. And that was saying something.
If it was something his long career in the military had taught, it was something even Colonel O'Neill hadn't learned yet. A shadow of half-meaning tinting every word. A level of crafted mistrust and calculated evasion she'd never seen before.
It was almost as unsettling as the presence of his symbiote, itself.
"That reminds me," Sam was saying. "You're going to have to stay with Janet for a few days while we take care of some business."
Cassie frowned at the unfamiliar words. "Not a mission through the Stargate?," she asked.
Jacob shot her mom a quick look.
"No," Sam replied.
"Is Dad going too?"
"Dad?," Jacob asked, startled.
"Daniel," Sam replied, looking tired. "You've met him. And yes," she said, answering Cassie's question.
"How long has this been going on?," Jacob asked, frowning.
"Nothing's going on, Dad," Sam tried to explain. "He's just a very good friend of mine who's taken an active interest in Cassie's upbringing."
"She calls him 'Dad'," Jacob said, stressing the title.
Sam shrugged. "Janet and Daniel are both an important part of our lives. If it wasn't for them, I doubt General Hammond would have let me adopt Cassandra."
"He's a step up from your usual type."
"We're not like that."
"A definite improvement on that Jonas guy."
"Dad..."
"He's obviously already a big part of your lives..."
"I'm not having this conversation."
"You should consider him," Jacob finished. Cassie nearly chocked on her milk.
"He's already married," Sam sighed.
"Oh." Her dad looked a little crestfallen. It was, Cassie noted, the most genuine emotion he'd shown all evening.
Sam flopped down on her bed, glad to be home. Seth. Mark. Dad. It'd been a long week.
Mark was just as miffed she hadn't told him about Cassandra as her Dad was. Ironic, coming from the one who never took any of their calls. But overall, the reunion had gone well.
Mark and her Dad had made their peace, and Sam had had the rare opportunity of getting to see Mark's kids again.
She'd felt a little guilty, leaving Cassandra home with Daniel, but things with her Dad had been awkward enough. The last thing she'd wanted was to drag Cassie all the way to San Diego, only to be turned away at the door.
Or, worse still, to have to sit through an icy showdown as only the Carter men could do.
No, Cassandra had definitely been better off at home, regardless of how well things had turned out in the end.
Sam sighed. She'd missed her daughter while she'd been away. But Cassie was already sleeping now, and there was work and school tomorrow.
She wondered if it'd ever get easier as a single parent, trying to juggle all the things she was supposed to do?
Sometimes she felt like the one thing she never managed was spending any actual time with her daughter.