To Dance Between the Raindrops: A Snowflake's Waltz - Chapter 16
To Dance Between the Raindrops: A Snowflake's Waltz
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this Stargate SG-1/Sanctuary crossover story but my altered headspace. Stargate SG-1 belongs to Gekko Film Corp, MGM, Fox, various individuals and companies and whoever owns them. Sanctuary belongs to Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, The Beedie Group, Tricon Films & Television, Space and whoever else owns bits and pieces of it.
Spoilers: For SG-1, to the end of series; for Sanctuary, up to the episode “Pavor Nocturnus” (Season 2, Episode 5). Everything after that is up for grabs.
Summary: Sam and Cassie go Christmas shopping in New City ...
To Dance Between the Raindrops: A Snowflake's Waltz
Chapter 16
Will watched now as Cassie jolted awake, but her hand didn’t stop gently stroking Ashley’s hair. She rose from her chair and slid her free hand into Ashley’s as she lowered her head to whisper in the other girl’s ear.
“That’s it, sweetie … it’s all right … it’s safe … it’s safe to come out …”
The look on Cassandra’s face drew Will’s attention and held it. It reminded him of someone, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember who and it niggled at him as she continued her soft encouragement. He knew that he should be able to figure it out, but it was like a word on the tip of his tongue that eluded him, try as he might to remember.
“Mommy?”
It took him a moment to realise that the soft cry had come from Ashley. And then Will remembered who Cassandra reminded him of-my mother. He remembered how she would sit on his bed when he was a little boy and soothe him after a nightmare, most likely because he’d watched a scary movie even after she’d told him not to. But her soft voice had always chased the monsters from his dreams, until that fateful day when a real monster came for them and her lovely voice was no defence.
Will shuddered, forcing the memory back into the dark recesses of his mind.
“No, it’s Cassie, Ash,” the girl replied. “Remember? But your Mommy is close and she’ll be here soon.”
“Promise?” Ashley said in a soft, child-like lisp.
“I promise, Ash,” Cassie assured her.
“Cross your heart?” Ashley’s beautiful face was guileless … angelic … with no trace of her vampiric nature visible.
Cassie solemnly made the sign of the cross over her heart. “Cross my heart,” she replied.
“And then Mommy and me will have tea and cake,” she said happily. “I like cake-and Henry! He likes cake too!”
A sudden, startled cry drew Will’s gaze to Helen Magnus’ stricken face as she stood trembling on the threshold, tears raining down her face.
Cassandra straightened up and moved out of Ashley’s line of sight. “Dr. Magnus,” she said softly. “Look, Ash is awake.”
“Mommy!” Ashley squealed with the unadulterated joy of a five year-old, holding her hands out to her mother.
“Ash,” Magnus croaked out, smiling through her tears as she ran over to the bed.
“Where were you?” she asked plaintively as Helen kissed her cheeks and face repeatedly. “You weren’t here when I woked up and I haven’t seen you in so long, Mommy.”
“I’m sorry, baby, but I had a surgery to do-” Helen began hoarsely.
“To help somebody and make them better?” Ashley asked.
“Yes, my darling,” she replied, stroking her daughter’s hair and placing another gentle kiss on her forehead. “But I’m here now ... Mommy’s here now.”
The girl struggled a bit against her bonds. “Why can’t I move my arms and legs?” she asked her mother in confusion.
Magnus bit her lip and met Cassandra’s panicked gaze. Taking a deep breath she answered, “You were hurt, dearest, so you mustn’t try to move around so much. You must try to keep very still, so we put the bracelets on your arms and legs so you wouldn’t be able to move.”
The girl lifted her head to look down at her body. “Where was I hurt, Mommy? I don’t see any owies and I don’t feel hurt.”
“You were hurt on the inside, sweetheart,” Helen said hoarsely. “I’ve given you some medicine so you wouldn’t feel it, but I need you to keep very still and not move around-okay?”
“Okay,” she replied, smiling trustingly up at her mother now; Will found it interesting that she didn’t ask how or why she’d been hurt, but trusted her mother’s word that she had been. “I’ll pretend it’s like when Henry had the chicken pox and you put the special mittens on him so he wouldn’t itch his owies-and you put the bracelets on his hands and legs too.”
General O’Neill’s gaze narrowed as he focused all his attention on Magnus. Will saw the questions clicking over in his mind ... questions like why Henry would have had to be restrained as a child after contracting chicken pox. But Will realised that as an Abnormal, Henry may have reacted in an atypical way to the usually harmless childhood disease.
“It’s exactly like that my smart, beautiful, brave little girl,” Magnus whispered, oblivious to everything but Ashley. “Just like Henry when he had the chicken pox.”
“And you let me put cammamine lotion on his spots-do I need cammamine lotion for my inside owies? ’Cause I’d have to drink it to get it inside me and it don’t taste so good,” she said with a definite expression of disgust.
A ripple of snickers and sudden spate of coughing filled the room.
“No, my Silly-Billy girl,” Helen chuckled. “Calamine lotion is only for outside owies-not for drinking,” she said tapping her daughter’s nose. “You’ll get different medicine.”
“You mean like in a needle?” she asked in a small voice.
“Yes, Ash,” her mother said honestly. “I’m afraid I will have to use needles, but I promise I won’t use them any more than necessary-all right?”
“Okay,” she agreed trustingly. “Can Henry help give me my needles? Where is Henry anyway?” she demanded, scanning the room and looking past her old playmate without any shred of recognition for the young man standing expectantly at the foot of her bed. “How come he and Big Guy haven’t come to visit me-but there are all these people here?”
Magnus’ gaze flicked to Henry’s sorrowful face. Will read the apology in her expressive blue eyes and the young man nodded almost imperceptibly, his shoulders hunched further as his hands dug deeper into his pockets.
“Henry had to go to school, sweetheart, you know that,” she chided hoarsely. “And the Big Guy had some errands to run, but I’m sure you’ll see them both later.”
“But that means Henry will be gone all day!” she complained, pouting prettily. “Couldn’t you just send a car for him-tell his teacher that she has to send him home early because there was a great, big emergency? Like when Mama Akande and her daughters came to visit because Amari and Anaka got stuck inside her and you had to help get them out-remember?”
“Yes, I remember,” Helen replied. “But that would be dishonest, don’t you think?”
“I guess so,” she admitted despondently. She yawned and snuggled in closer to her mother; as close as she could get with the shackles on.
“Why don’t you take a nap now, my darling?” Helen continued, stroking her hair gently. “And when you wake up, if your tummy is still feeling up to it, you can have some soup. Would you like that?”
“Mmm … with cheesy crackers?”
“Of course.”
“Will you sing to me, Mommy?” she asked tiredly, yawning again. “And then later, we can sing Henry’s songs.”
Helen bit her lip and there was a long moment of silence before she drew a shuddering breath. “What would you like me to sing for you, dearest,” she husked.
“When I was sick and lay a-bed,” Ashley said. “It always helps me get better fast-then I can play Henry’s songs with him when he gets home from school.”
When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day …
(Robert Louis Stevenson)
As Helen sang the old lullaby in a surprisingly powerful and lovely soprano, Janet Fraiser ushered everyone out but Henry, Cassandra and Lisa Bowman, who was getting Samantha Carter settled among an array of diagnostic and monitoring devices.
To Will’s chagrin, not only did General O’Neill and his team leave, but the Sanctuary team had automatically followed the diminutive doctor’s orders without question. It was only after he found himself in the foyer outside the infirmary staring at Kate and Declan-who looked equally confused-that he realised what had happened.
General O’Neill smirked as he noticed their confusion. “Don’t even try to understand how she does it, kids,” he said with a chuckle. “Our little Napoleonic power-monger has been bossing us around for more than a decade, and we haven’t figured it out yet.”
“I heard that, Jack.”
O’Neill literally blanched at the silky voice that managed to convey warmth and humour and an unambiguous threat all at the same time.
“Doh!” he said as Daniel Jackson and the rest of his team snickered, not even trying to hide their amusement.
#
Chapter 17
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this Stargate SG-1/Sanctuary crossover story but my altered headspace. Stargate SG-1 belongs to Gekko Film Corp, MGM, Fox, various individuals and companies and whoever owns them. Sanctuary belongs to Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, The Beedie Group, Tricon Films & Television, Space and whoever else owns bits and pieces of it.
Spoilers: For SG-1, to the end of series; for Sanctuary, up to the episode “Pavor Nocturnus” (Season 2, Episode 5). Everything after that is up for grabs.
Summary: Sam and Cassie go Christmas shopping in New City ...
To Dance Between the Raindrops: A Snowflake's Waltz
Chapter 16
Will watched now as Cassie jolted awake, but her hand didn’t stop gently stroking Ashley’s hair. She rose from her chair and slid her free hand into Ashley’s as she lowered her head to whisper in the other girl’s ear.
“That’s it, sweetie … it’s all right … it’s safe … it’s safe to come out …”
The look on Cassandra’s face drew Will’s attention and held it. It reminded him of someone, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember who and it niggled at him as she continued her soft encouragement. He knew that he should be able to figure it out, but it was like a word on the tip of his tongue that eluded him, try as he might to remember.
“Mommy?”
It took him a moment to realise that the soft cry had come from Ashley. And then Will remembered who Cassandra reminded him of-my mother. He remembered how she would sit on his bed when he was a little boy and soothe him after a nightmare, most likely because he’d watched a scary movie even after she’d told him not to. But her soft voice had always chased the monsters from his dreams, until that fateful day when a real monster came for them and her lovely voice was no defence.
Will shuddered, forcing the memory back into the dark recesses of his mind.
“No, it’s Cassie, Ash,” the girl replied. “Remember? But your Mommy is close and she’ll be here soon.”
“Promise?” Ashley said in a soft, child-like lisp.
“I promise, Ash,” Cassie assured her.
“Cross your heart?” Ashley’s beautiful face was guileless … angelic … with no trace of her vampiric nature visible.
Cassie solemnly made the sign of the cross over her heart. “Cross my heart,” she replied.
“And then Mommy and me will have tea and cake,” she said happily. “I like cake-and Henry! He likes cake too!”
A sudden, startled cry drew Will’s gaze to Helen Magnus’ stricken face as she stood trembling on the threshold, tears raining down her face.
Cassandra straightened up and moved out of Ashley’s line of sight. “Dr. Magnus,” she said softly. “Look, Ash is awake.”
“Mommy!” Ashley squealed with the unadulterated joy of a five year-old, holding her hands out to her mother.
“Ash,” Magnus croaked out, smiling through her tears as she ran over to the bed.
“Where were you?” she asked plaintively as Helen kissed her cheeks and face repeatedly. “You weren’t here when I woked up and I haven’t seen you in so long, Mommy.”
“I’m sorry, baby, but I had a surgery to do-” Helen began hoarsely.
“To help somebody and make them better?” Ashley asked.
“Yes, my darling,” she replied, stroking her daughter’s hair and placing another gentle kiss on her forehead. “But I’m here now ... Mommy’s here now.”
The girl struggled a bit against her bonds. “Why can’t I move my arms and legs?” she asked her mother in confusion.
Magnus bit her lip and met Cassandra’s panicked gaze. Taking a deep breath she answered, “You were hurt, dearest, so you mustn’t try to move around so much. You must try to keep very still, so we put the bracelets on your arms and legs so you wouldn’t be able to move.”
The girl lifted her head to look down at her body. “Where was I hurt, Mommy? I don’t see any owies and I don’t feel hurt.”
“You were hurt on the inside, sweetheart,” Helen said hoarsely. “I’ve given you some medicine so you wouldn’t feel it, but I need you to keep very still and not move around-okay?”
“Okay,” she replied, smiling trustingly up at her mother now; Will found it interesting that she didn’t ask how or why she’d been hurt, but trusted her mother’s word that she had been. “I’ll pretend it’s like when Henry had the chicken pox and you put the special mittens on him so he wouldn’t itch his owies-and you put the bracelets on his hands and legs too.”
General O’Neill’s gaze narrowed as he focused all his attention on Magnus. Will saw the questions clicking over in his mind ... questions like why Henry would have had to be restrained as a child after contracting chicken pox. But Will realised that as an Abnormal, Henry may have reacted in an atypical way to the usually harmless childhood disease.
“It’s exactly like that my smart, beautiful, brave little girl,” Magnus whispered, oblivious to everything but Ashley. “Just like Henry when he had the chicken pox.”
“And you let me put cammamine lotion on his spots-do I need cammamine lotion for my inside owies? ’Cause I’d have to drink it to get it inside me and it don’t taste so good,” she said with a definite expression of disgust.
A ripple of snickers and sudden spate of coughing filled the room.
“No, my Silly-Billy girl,” Helen chuckled. “Calamine lotion is only for outside owies-not for drinking,” she said tapping her daughter’s nose. “You’ll get different medicine.”
“You mean like in a needle?” she asked in a small voice.
“Yes, Ash,” her mother said honestly. “I’m afraid I will have to use needles, but I promise I won’t use them any more than necessary-all right?”
“Okay,” she agreed trustingly. “Can Henry help give me my needles? Where is Henry anyway?” she demanded, scanning the room and looking past her old playmate without any shred of recognition for the young man standing expectantly at the foot of her bed. “How come he and Big Guy haven’t come to visit me-but there are all these people here?”
Magnus’ gaze flicked to Henry’s sorrowful face. Will read the apology in her expressive blue eyes and the young man nodded almost imperceptibly, his shoulders hunched further as his hands dug deeper into his pockets.
“Henry had to go to school, sweetheart, you know that,” she chided hoarsely. “And the Big Guy had some errands to run, but I’m sure you’ll see them both later.”
“But that means Henry will be gone all day!” she complained, pouting prettily. “Couldn’t you just send a car for him-tell his teacher that she has to send him home early because there was a great, big emergency? Like when Mama Akande and her daughters came to visit because Amari and Anaka got stuck inside her and you had to help get them out-remember?”
“Yes, I remember,” Helen replied. “But that would be dishonest, don’t you think?”
“I guess so,” she admitted despondently. She yawned and snuggled in closer to her mother; as close as she could get with the shackles on.
“Why don’t you take a nap now, my darling?” Helen continued, stroking her hair gently. “And when you wake up, if your tummy is still feeling up to it, you can have some soup. Would you like that?”
“Mmm … with cheesy crackers?”
“Of course.”
“Will you sing to me, Mommy?” she asked tiredly, yawning again. “And then later, we can sing Henry’s songs.”
Helen bit her lip and there was a long moment of silence before she drew a shuddering breath. “What would you like me to sing for you, dearest,” she husked.
“When I was sick and lay a-bed,” Ashley said. “It always helps me get better fast-then I can play Henry’s songs with him when he gets home from school.”
When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day …
(Robert Louis Stevenson)
As Helen sang the old lullaby in a surprisingly powerful and lovely soprano, Janet Fraiser ushered everyone out but Henry, Cassandra and Lisa Bowman, who was getting Samantha Carter settled among an array of diagnostic and monitoring devices.
To Will’s chagrin, not only did General O’Neill and his team leave, but the Sanctuary team had automatically followed the diminutive doctor’s orders without question. It was only after he found himself in the foyer outside the infirmary staring at Kate and Declan-who looked equally confused-that he realised what had happened.
General O’Neill smirked as he noticed their confusion. “Don’t even try to understand how she does it, kids,” he said with a chuckle. “Our little Napoleonic power-monger has been bossing us around for more than a decade, and we haven’t figured it out yet.”
“I heard that, Jack.”
O’Neill literally blanched at the silky voice that managed to convey warmth and humour and an unambiguous threat all at the same time.
“Doh!” he said as Daniel Jackson and the rest of his team snickered, not even trying to hide their amusement.
#
Chapter 17