Machinations
By
Denise

Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

"I hear you had some excitement." Jack turned to see General Hammond standing behind him.

"Sir."

The general waved his hand, signaling Jack to relax. "How is she?"

Jack turned and his face softened at the sight of the two people spooned together in the hospital bed. "Doc says that Cassandra's system is absorbing the bomb so…there's no need to operate or anything." A diagnosis that pleased Jack to no end. The girl had been through enough in the last couple of weeks, the last thing she needed was an invasive surgical procedure and weeks of recuperation. "Carter's gotten attached to her," Jack said. He knew that Cassie had bonded with the captain, clinging to her back on the planet, but hadn't realized that the feeling was mutual. Or how much the attachment had grown while he'd been waiting for the eclipse back on Hanka.

There'd been no real time for any sort of discussion, the imminent deadline pushing everything but the search for a solution from his brain. His first real indication had been when they were down in the bunker, waiting for the Haz Mat team to arrive with scanning equipment to ascertain that the bomb was truly deactivated. The girl had sat on Carter's lap, refusing to leave her side. Even after it was determined that there was no further danger, the two had been inseparable. According to Doctor Fraiser, the only way the girl went to sleep was if Carter would stay with her. And it appeared to be a wish that the captain had no problem granting. Jack didn't realize the full extent of their bond until Daniel told him about the last few days, how the captain had taken to staying on the base only leaving the girl alone when her duty demanded it.

"Yes, she has," Hammond agreed.

"What's going to happen to her? It's not like we can send her home." Jack shook his head to banish the images of the dead world from his brain. It was a scene that would haunt him for a while…the bodies, all the bodies. He wouldn't send his worst enemy to that planet, much less an innocent and traumatized little girl.

"I've just gotten off the phone with the Pentagon. No one's going to notice one little girl. As soon as we can find someone to take her in, she'll be given a new identity," Hammond said, downplaying the wrangling he'd done to
convince the paper pushers at the Pentagon that they couldn't just…toss her through the gate and abandon Cassandra to some alien planet. Of course, the fact that it'd break Carter's heart to say good-bye again had nothing to do with it.

"Carter's gonna want to keep her," Jack said softly, smiling faintly as the two sleeping figures shifted a bit, the captain's arm tightening around the girl. Sara used to sleep like that with Charlie, not as much when he was
older, but there was more than once when he'd come home to find the two of them snuggled up in his and Sara's bed.

"Do you think that's fair?"

Jack turned and frowned at the man. "Fair?"

Hammond shrugged. "I don't see Captain Carter wanting to stay on a field team if she has a child to come home to, a child that's been orphaned once already. And I don't see Cassie accepting Carter putting herself at risk. The girl needs stability, not….insecurity."

Jack felt his heart lurch as he considered the idea. Hammond was right; hell HE'D think twice about doing what they were doing if Charlie was still alive. He'd often thought the same thing every time he went off on a mission. And Charlie had still had a mother if something had happened to Jack. If Carter took her and something happened to her, she'd be orphaned again. "She could…stay on the base," Jack suggested, torn between wanting to do what was best for the girl, what was best for the captain, and what was best for his team. He knew full well the sacrifices a parent made for their children. Was it a sacrifice the captain was ready to make? Was losing his second a sacrifice HE was ready to make? "Work in the labs rather than on a field team. Maybe… transfer to a second contact team, where it's safer," he suggested, pushing his personal feelings aside. Cassie needed to come first.

"Do you think she could be happy with that?" George asked. "Giving up her assignment?"

Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. "I aah…I honestly don't know," he said, trying to think like a friend not a CO about to lose his second.

"Did she ever tell you that I know her father?" George asked. Jack shook his head. "We served together in Viet Nam. I've known the Carter family for years. Her dad's a general by the way." Jack raised his eyebrows, telling
George that it was news to him. "In all the time I've known her, she's never pulled strings. In fact, she was embarrassed when both Jacob and I visited her in the Gulf."

"Embarrassed?" Jack asked, acknowledging that it made sense. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't know much about the captain other than what was in her file.

Hammond smiled. "More like annoyed as hell. She's spent most of the last ten years trying to get people to forget who she is, and who her dad is. So you can imagine my surprise when she called me a few months ago. Seems
scuttlebutt told her that the Stargate Program was going to be restarted and she was determined that she was going to be a part of it this time. As much as she might want to take Cassie in…I have to question if it's the best thing for her to do. If she's ready to give up her dream yet."

"What's your plan?"

"It would probably be best if Cassandra's adoptive parents know her background. And to do that…they need to have the proper clearance," Hammond said.

"Which severely limits the possibilities."

"What if we tried to keep her in the family?" Hammond suggested.

"General?"

"If someone from the SGC were to adopt her, they would be allowed to know the details of her past…"

"And it'd be really easy for Carter to still keep in touch, especially if she lived here in the Springs," Jack finished.

"Exactly." Hammond smiled. "Anyone come to mind?"

As the pair stood there, a figure slipped into the room, walking softly to minimize the clicks of her heels on the cement floor. They both watched her check on the sleeping pair, taking a moment to pull the blanket up a bit
higher before she slipped back into her office.

Jack turned to the general who was smiling smugly. "Doc?"

"She has a nice home in the suburbs, barring the occasional emergency she goes home each night and…the girl already knows her."

Jack shrugged, liking the idea. It would be the best of both worlds. He'd still get to keep Carter on his team, and she'd still have contact with Cassandra. "How are you going to convince Doc that she needs to become a mother?" he asked, wanting to know how the man would overcome that last, biggest obstacle.

"I convinced you didn't I?" George said, his blue eyes twinkling.

~Fin~

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