As always, thanks for the reads and the reviews! Here's a light chapter—I just finished comprehensive exams for my graduate program and am getting the results this coming Monday. Please send good vibes my way, if you can!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

May, 2000

Cassie typically took the bus to and from school. Since her mother and various other appointed guardians had such odd work hours, having reliable transportation to and from school was essential. Cassie certainly didn't mind taking the bus. A lot of her friends, who had parents or other family members employed by the Air Force or the government, took the bus for that very reason as well.

Today, on her very last day of middle school, she had received a note from the front office that she was to go to the car line for pick up instead. Either her mother had gotten out of work early and had come to pick her up to celebrate, or she had gotten stuck at work and someone from the SGC was going to pick her up instead. Either way, Cassie was happy with the change in plans.

She kind of hoped that it was Jack and Daniel picking her up. She could totally convince them to go shopping to celebrate her last day of school. She did need a new dress for middle school graduation, after all.

Cassie walked out with Brooke and Haley, and Haley's twin brother James. While they all normally rode on the same bus, it turned out that Brooke and Haley's moms were picking them up. As they came upon the car pickup line, Cassie was pleasantly surprised to see Jack's pickup truck in the first spot. The windows were rolled down and she could see that every member of SG-1 was present in the truck.

Jack was driving, of course, and Teal'c was in the passenger seat up front with him. Sam and Daniel were in the back, meaning that Cassie could sit in the front bench seat between Jack and Teal'c, or in the back between Daniel and Sam. Either option sounded good to her, she thought as she waved happily at her family.

Even though Cassie only lived a few streets away from Brooke and Haley, and would likely see them multiple times over the summer, she still hugged them goodbye tightly. Once she had released Haley, she hugged James as well. The hug was a little awkward, as a lot of things between adolescents tended to be, but Cassie still felt her heart unexpectedly skip a beat. She knew that she was blushing as she pulled away from James, and she was more than a little gratified to see that the tips of his ears had turned pink as well.

Thankfully, neither Haley or Brooke had noticed anything. They said goodbye once again and promised to call one another that weekend, and then Cassie made her way over to Jack's truck. She tossed her backpack into the bed of the truck and then opened the back door, deciding that she would have more room sitting between Sam and Daniel.

"Hi guys!" she greeted enthusiastically. "We get to hang out on my last day of school? Awesome!"

"Who was that kid?" Jack demanded grumpily. He had his arms crossed over his chest and clearly had no plans to move from the first spot right away. Cassie thought that he better get over himself quickly, because the moms in the giant SUVs would certainly let Jack know that he would need to get his butt moving, and soon. There was no messing around in the pick-up line.

Cassie felt her cheeks flush red, but she decided to play dumb anyway. "What kid? My friends?"

Jack shot her a look in the rearview mirror; he knew exactly what she was trying to do. "That boy," he clarified, as if it was a dirty word. Teal'c was looking directly out the window, towards where Haley and James were still waiting for their mom to pull up in the line. He was very obviously staring directly at James. He thankfully hadn't noticed Teal'c's intimidating stare yet, and Cassie was hoping that she could get Jack to drive away before he did. Daniel had huddled protectively next to Cassie as soon as she had settled into the middle seat, effectively blocking anyone's view of her through the back window of the truck.

Sam, for her part, look half-amused and half-exasperated. Cassie felt that that was an appropriate response to this situation.

"God, Jack," Cassie mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "He's just my friend's brother. It's the last day of middle school! We were just saying goodbye." Cassie had known James for a while, having been friends with Haley since elementary school. They had hung out in groups before, but James had his own friends that he spent more time with. Cassie had never really considered having a crush on him, but there had been something about that hug they shared just now…

"What's his name?" Jack demanded, jerking Cassie out of her thoughts.

Cassie spluttered and geared up to tell Jack that he didn't need her friend's name when Sam cut in. Her eyes connected with his in the rearview mirror, and all she said was a quiet, pointed, "Sir."

Jack stared at Sam for a long moment and then he grumbled, "Yeah, yeah," under his breath as he put the car in drive and finally pulled out of the pick-up line.

Cassie turned wide eyes towards Sam, who was sitting back with a little, self-satisfied smile on her face. She didn't often acknowledge when she was able to put her commanding officer in his place, but in a situation outside of the mountain, it was a little easier. Daniel, who knew exactly what had happened, was covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his snicker.

"Whoa, cool trick," Cassie whispered to Sam. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Of course, Jack overheard Cassie's whispered comment. He hadn't been in special forces for nothing—and the cab of the truck was a relatively small space. Cassie was very obviously looking to push Jack's buttons, and she made no apologies for it.

"I heard that!" Jack exclaimed. "And just for that, I think we'll skip the milkshakes we were planning on stopping for on the way home."

Cassie knew that it was an empty threat, so she didn't fall for the bait. Instead, she asked, "Oh no, Jack! What if we run into those little punks that might besmirch my honor?"

Jack spluttered for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "Besmirch your honor? You've been hanging around the Space Monkey for too long." The rest of his team and Cassie just laughed, which only made Jack grumble, "Are we really calling these kids punks?"

Daniel, who certainly never missed an opportunity to push Jack's buttons, pointed out, "Didn't you say something about 'all these punks' when we pulled up in the pick-up line, Jack?"

Jack looked very much like he wanted to make a not very nice comment, but he kept it to himself when he got pointed looks from both Teal'c and Sam. Cassie had dissolved into giggles, and Daniel reached over to clap Jack on the shoulder.

"Look, Jack, we all have the same goal here. To make sure that none of those punks get anywhere near Cassie."

Jack finally cracked a smile as Cassie stopped mid-giggle. "Hey!"

The thought of the team being there for something like this with Cassie just tickles me. I really wished that they would have shown her on the show more than they did!