Requiem

Daniel focused bloodshot blue eyes on the young woman before him. They were at the wake of Doctor Janet Fraiser, after the public funeral service that had been held for those who did not have Stargate clearance; and the woman was Cassandra Fraiser, her adopted daughter. “Cassie, I don’t think…”

“Daniel, please! I just… I need to know what happened, from someone who was there.”

“Surely Sam told you…”

“Sam told me that Mom was killed saving an airman’s life, but she wasn’t there. She was with Jack at the time. Please…”

Daniel sighed. He couldn’t fault the girl for wanting to know what happened to her mother, especially as it was the second mother she had lost in her lifetime. And unlike a lot of people in her position, it wasn’t really something that needed to be danced around, so to speak. But it was a sensitive topic, not to mention a classified one; and it would not be a good idea to be talking about it where someone else could overhear.

Cassie understood, and led him to a part of the backyard that was semi-secluded. They were still within sight of other mourners, but they were out of earshot. “What happened?”

He sighed again. “We went through the Gate on a rescue mission that quickly turned into an ambush. Jack, Sam, Teal’c and the others went to help with the fighting, while I went with Janet. We found Wells… the airman… lying face down… he’d been shot by a staff weapon. Janet… she did what she always did, she saved him. Jack was saying they couldn’t hold their position, but Wells couldn’t be moved, and she wouldn’t leave him…”

“What were you doing?”

Daniel tried not to wince at the faint accusation that was in Cassie’s voice. “I was helping her… at first. Wells was convinced he was going to die, and he wanted to say goodbye to his wife, so I got my camera out to film it. Then he started screaming in pain, and told me to shut it off, he said he didn’t want his wife to see him die. Janet… she leaned over to tell him that she’d stemmed his bleeding, that he was gonna make it, and to hang in there. That’s when it happened…”

“She was hit by the Jaffa staff weapon.” Her voice was toneless, her eyes filled with fresh tears.

“It happened so fast that I didn’t even get to put my camera down…” his voice broke. “Oh, Cassie, I wish I had. I wish that I could’ve seen it coming, I would’ve shot the Jaffa, I would’ve pushed her out of the way, taken the shot myself, something!” He could feel hot tears stinging his eyes, and he blinked them away furiously. He would not make Cassie feel worse by crying in front of her.

Seeing the tears the older man tried to hide, Cassie drew him into a hug. “I know Daniel, I know,” she whispered. “In a way, I’m glad you didn’t. Mom wouldn’t have forgiven herself if she had let you die a second time. She loved you, you know.”

“I know.” Now the tears did fall, for both of them, and they cried on each others shoulders for the woman they both loved. “I loved her too, and I wish we had done something about it.”

Cassie drew back. “Why didn’t you? I would’ve loved to have you for a father.”

That made him blush. “We only worked it out just before I ascended,” he said. “And when I came back, Janet wanted to give me time to adjust. We never did get it together, and that’s one thing that I’ll always regret.”