Daughter of My Heart, Chapter Twenty
[Set just before, then during, 'Rite of Passage']
"So, what are our plans for Cassie's birthday?," Janet asked eagerly over lunch. They were in the base commissary, one of the few places they could all meet where Cassie wouldn't overhear what they had to say.
"She's asking for a boy-girl party this year," Sam replied tightly. Daniel glanced up from his food, a look of horror on his face. Janet chuckled.
"That doesn't surprise me. She's sixteen now, after all."
"I don't think I'm ready for this," Sam admitted, shaking her head. "I mean, what's wrong with just having her girl friends over?"
"As much as I hate the idea, wouldn't it be better to have the boys where we can see them, rather than having her sneak around behind our backs? None of us are exactly in a position where we could have twenty-four hour surveillance on her," Daniel replied.
"You actually think we should do this?," Sam questioned in horror.
"I think Daniel has a point," Janet said. "It's better to create an open environment for this sort of thing, rather than to ban it outright and hope she listens once our backs are turned."
Sam bit her lip. "Do you think I could have the Colonel and Teal'c on standby?," she asked grudgingly.
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "What, you don't think an Air Force Major, a doctor, and an archaeologist with a gun are scary enough?," he asked.
Sam shot him a look. "Please. Teal'c and the Colonel could scare the life out of those boys with a single glance. The three of us have nothing on them when it comes to intimidation."
Janet chuckled again. "I think you're both overreacting," she said. "Cassie's a smart kid. I'm sure any boy she invites will be decent enough."
"What if this is the precursor to dating?," Sam asked suddenly. Daniel groaned.
"Please don't use the 'D' word again," he said, removing his glasses to wearily rub his face. "She's much too young for that sort of thing."
"At sixteen?," Janet asked pointedly. "How old were you when you started dating?"
"I'm a nerd, remember?," Daniel asked. "Girls didn't notice me."
Janet snorted. "That, I doubt very much Dr. Jackson," she replied mildly. "What about you, Sam? When did you start dating?"
"Seventeen," Sam confessed grudgingly.
"That still gives us another whole year," Daniel pointed out.
"No it doesn't," Sam sighed. "You were right before. If we don't give her this now, we'll regret it later."
" 'Know thine enemy'," Janet quipped.
"So, what do we have to do for this sort of party?," Daniel asked warily.
"How should I know?," Sam retorted. "Do you really think my father ever let a boy step foot inside our home?
"Good Heavens," said Janet. "You'd almost think the two of you never learned to have any fun!"
Sam and Daniel both turned to stare at her.
"Food," she emphasized. "Soda. A big empty room, and a good sound system. The kids will come up with the rest."
"Oh, God, it's going to be just like that movie," Daniel moaned.
"What movie?," Sam and Janet asked simultaneously.
"I don't know. The one Cassie made me sit through a few months ago when you were recovering," he said, gesticulating wildly. "The one with the kissing and the dancing and the wild house-trashing party."
Both women stared at him in blank astonishment.
"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?," Janet asked, looking to Sam.
"Not a clue," she replied, glancing back over at the panic stricken scholar. "Daniel, are you going to be all right?," she asked uncertainly. "Because I could really use your back-up on this."
"Maybe we should invite Jack and Teal'c after all," Daniel conceded.
"Absolutely not," Janet emphasized. "Not unless they're on Cassie's guest list. I'm sure the three of us can handle this."
"That makes one of us," Daniel replied.
Cassie was so excited for Saturday and her party, she could hardly contain it. Mom, Dad, and Janet were insisting on a private celebration today, her actual birthday, but come Saturday, she'd have the house full of all her closest friends, and three of the cutest boys in her class. She grinned at the thought. Dominic would be there. By far the cutest of the boys, he'd been flirting with her off and on all semester. He was really sweet too, kind of quiet...She was really hoping he'd ask her out for real after this.
The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!," Cassie shouted to her mom in the kitchen, figuring it was either Dad or Janet at the door.
When she swung the door open, she gasped. There, on her doorstep, was none other than Dominic himself.
"Hi," she said breathlessly, silently wondering why he was there. Her party wasn't for another three days.
"Hi," he said back, grinning. "I, uh, I just wanted you to have this," he said, holding out a small package for her to take. "On your actual birthday, I mean."
Cassie flushed, heart hammering in her chest. He liked her! He really liked her!
"Thank you," she replied, carefully opening the box. Inside was a small prism. She held it up to the light, admiring the rainbow that flashed across Dominic's face.
"I know how much you like the ones in class," he said awkwardly, and she smiled.
"Thank you," she repeated again, only this time, she found him much closer. Slowly closing the gap, their lips touched, and a thrill went through her.
Then everything went black.
When her eyes opened again, Janet was rushing towards her from her car, and Mom was kneeling over her, checking her pulse and temperature.
"What happened?," Janet asked.
"I don't know," her mom replied, shooting Dominic a withering look.
"It wasn't his fault," Cassie murmured, trying to reassure her mom while also hoping to erase the look of terror on Dominic's face.
So much for her first kiss, she thought glumly.
"You're running a fever," Janet said. "Let's get you up and into the house."
"I...I'll see you at school," Dominic muttered, before disappearing into the night.
Cassie shut her eyes, inwardly groaning. Of all the times to faint...
"I think we need to head to the infirmary," mom was arguing. "She made the light explode."
And so much for her birthday, Cassie thought, letting her mom and Janet help her over to the car. She was too weak to protest as they drove her up to the base.
"What happened?," Daniel asked breathlessly, rushing into the infirmary.
"We don't know," Sam replied, pacing. "Janet's running every test she can think of, but we don't even have a working theory right now."
"So, not an Earth sort of emergency," Daniel confirmed.
Sam shook her head. "Her fever has been rising steadily since we called you, but she also seems to be emitting some sort of EM field."
"What?"
"She made the lights flicker at the house, and there've been multiple power interruptions or surges within the infirmary since we came in."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "That's...new."
"Tell me about it," Sam agreed.
Janet came back in with Cassie propped between herself and one of the nurses, settling her onto one of the beds.
"Hey, how're you feeling?," Daniel asked, moving closer.
"Not good," Cassie replied, curling up on the bed. Daniel sat down by her feet, resting a hand on her back.
"I'm sorry, Cass."
Sam took the seat beside the bed, reaching for Cassie's hand. "We're here for you though," she reassured. "It's going to be all right."
"I should have some preliminary test results back within the hour," Janet said. "In the meantime, I'll see if I can scare up some dinner from the mess."
"Thank you, Janet," Sam replied, as the doctor bustled away.
"I know what's happening," Cassie whispered.
"You do?," Sam asked, surprised.
"It's something all the kids on Hanka used to go through," Cassie replied.
"That shouldn't be possible," Sam countered. "I mean, any sickness common on Hanka is long gone, now. And it's been four years...even if you'd been exposed before you left, I've never heard of an incubation period that long."
"We'll mention it to Janet just in case," Daniel promised. Cassie nodded.
"We'll, it looks like it's a retrovirus," Janet said softly, not wanting to wake Cassie, who dozed fitfully nearby.
"What does that mean?," Daniel asked.
"It means this is something she's carried dormant within her for a long time, possibly her whole life," Janet replied. "Only now, something's activated it. And it's rewriting her DNA."
"Naturally?," Sam asked suspiciously.
"I doubt it," Janet replied. "I asked Cassie more about what you told me. Apparently, the children of Hanka all suffered the same illness at her age. They'd go into the woods alone, and come back cured a few days later."
"Nirti," Daniel muttered. Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Can we treat her?," Sam pressed.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Janet replied. "Until I learn more about what this virus is meant to do, or how the other children were cured, I don't have much to go on. At best I can make her comfortable for the time being."
"We have to go back to the planet," Daniel said. "Maybe there's still some clue there, something we could use."
"It couldn't hurt," Janet replied, glancing back over to Cassie.
"I'll go talk to the General," Sam said.
"I'll...stay here," Daniel replied.