Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate. This was written strictly for my enjoyment, and hopefully the enjoyment of my readers. Please don't sue me...

Rating: PG, for now.

Season/Spoilers: Hmm…it takes place two years after Heroes Part 2, but contains no spoilers beyond Heroes. So season 9?

Authors Note: I want to thank everyone who read my first story, your positive feedback made me keep writing fan fiction. Anyways, this story was inspired by how little they ever mention Cassie, and especially how they talked about telling her Janet was dead. I found it very insensitive! Please review…this might be a one-shot, but I have another chapter in me if anyone wants it. Even if you hate it…tell me! My, I don't sound desperate at all! ;-)

"Cassie! Come back!" Cassandra Frasier could hear Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter's desperate yells, but she didn't turn around.

Tears were streaming down her face and she climbed into her car. It was a beat-up station wagon her mother had given her for her 16th birthday. Cassie had complained bitterly, but now, after her mother was gone, she loved that car. It reminded her of Janet. It even smelled like her, although her mom had been dead for 2 years.

That was why she stayed nearby for college. To be near her mom. And she had no sooner started campus life when Sam showed up in her dorm, crying, telling her that Janet was dead.

Cassandra had been devastated, too sad for anything. So she dropped out of college and got a job at the nearby Wal-Mart. And surprisingly, Sam, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c seemed to accept it.

Cassie pulled out of Sam's driveway and turned onto the road. She drove on autopilot to her mother's grave, the whole time her mind swimming with emotions. How could Sam have let her settle for this life? As a child, Cassie thought that no one could ever believe in her like Sam did. But after Janet's death, Sam seemed like she didn't care anymore.

Cassie finally approached her about it. Sam said she had just been so busy, and that she would help Cassie pick out another college, if that was what she wanted.

Cassie knew that Sam had been telling her what she wanted to hear. But honestly, what Sam said was not at all what Cassie had wanted in her heart. Cassie wanted Sam to look her in the eye, and with a passionate voice say, "Cassie, you were made for better things. Get your ass off the floor and go make something of your life."

OK, maybe that was more of a Jack-type thing to say, but the two of them spent so much time together, his personality was bound to have rubbed off by now.

Cassie wiped the tears off her cheek and pulled into a parking spot. She got out of the car and observed her parking job. It was terrible, but she had to talk to her mother. Cassie ran through the chilly night and stopped in front of her mother's grave.

"Mom, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you." Cassie's voice was shaking terribly. "I don't know what happened. I don't know why I just gave up." She was hanging her head in shame. "Mom, I want nothing more than to be strong like you. You never needed anyone. You tried to raise me like that, but in trying to do that, you made me need you. And now, you'll never be here again."

Cassie was now in a heap on the ground. Words wouldn't form in her mouth anymore. If anyone were there with her, they would have seen the large clouds of her breath appearing irregularly. After all, she was having trouble breathing.

All of the sudden, Cassie sat up, wiped her eyes, and looked around.

"What am I doing," Cassie said aloud for no one in particular. This is not what Mom would want me to be doing. Cassie stood up and looked at the tombstone. If I really need my mom here, I should stand up and live her legacy. Strength.

Walking to the car, Cassie decided what she was going to do. First, she was going home to her apartment, where she was going to pack a bag and then hit the highway. She would go east. She'd never seen the east coast before.

Basically, Cassie decided to start her life. It would take every ounce of strength she had, but then it would seem like she was with her mother again.

…………………………

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was sitting on his couch, drinking a beer and watching the Simpsons when the phone rang. "Crap." He was less than amused with the fact his downtime was being interrupted.

"O'Neill."

"General, it's me." Sam's voice came over the phone.

"Carter! How goes the downtime?" Jack took another sip of his beer.

"Not very well, Sir. Cassie and I got in a little fight. Is she at your house?" Jack could hear the worry in her voice. It was enough to make him sit up.

"No." Jack's voice was a little panicked. He hadn't really paid much attention to Cassie lately, and he was starting to worry that maybe this was a part of this disappearing act. "What were you guys fighting about?"

Sam hesitated. "Well, sir, she pointed out that for the past 2 years, she'd been working at Wal-Mart after dropping out of college, and she wanted to know why we let her abandon everything. I guess my answer wasn't satisfactory."

Jack supported his head in the palm of his hand. "Well, she's got a point. We haven't really been paying attention to her."

There was silence over the line. "Yeah. But now, I can't even apologize to her. I have no idea where she is." Jack heard sobs. "This is all my fault."

"Carter, it's not only your fault. It's mine too." His tone was soft. "look, you call the base and tell Teal'c to come and give you a ride to my house. I'll call Danny, and we'll all meet here." He paused, wanting to reassure her with something positive. "We'll find her."

His voice was confident enough, and he felt her relax slightly over the line. "Thank you, sir."

"Anytime, Carter."

The General hung up the phone. He returned his head to the position it was in before. Sighing deeply, he picked up the phone once more.

"Daniel? It's Jack."

…………………………

A smile lit Cassandra's lips. The highway was practically abandoned, as it was two o'clock in the morning. She was driving like a maniac.

For the first time since her mother's death, Cassie was proud of something she was doing. Mom would have been proud of me, too, she thought to herself.

Her mind wandered more as she roared down the highway. Cassie was thinking of how worried Sam must be. And by now, she must have called Jack, Daniel and Teal'c.

The strange part of thinking these things, was that she didn't care. Right now, she was mad at them. They let her lose sight of something. Her mother never would have let her falter. And that was why Cassie was taking action now. She had been faltering enough. Rash action was her only hope.

With that thought, Cassie leaned a little harder on the acceleration. She had a long way to go.

A/N: Don't forget to review…it's that little button down there. See it? Good. Now, click…