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When Destiny Calls

Chapter 20

Janet sat down behind her desk. "Casey, can you remember what your exams entailed? What specifically was done to you?"

She looked at Daniel's face. His eyes looked haunted, angry…but she could see so much love there that it took her breath away! She turned her attention to the doctor. Who looked like she was on the verge of exploding. "The nurse would take me to one of the exam rooms, and tell me to get undressed. She'd hang my clothes up, and then I had to lay down on the exam table, and she'd put my feet in the stirrups. Sometimes she'd put one of those paper sheets over me if the doctor was going to be awhile. Then the doctor would come in, and he'd check my chest, he said that girls who were developing needed to be checked often for lumps that could be breast cancer. Then he'd sit down on a stool, and put on gloves. He'd…" her face began to flame, she looked away. Felt Daniel's fingers tighten around hers.

"It's all right Casey. Take your time," Janet said soothingly.

"He'd…he'd…" she swallowed, looked down at the floor, then up at Janet. "You're a doctor. You should know how pelvic exams are done," she said quietly, defensively.

"I know how a proper exam is to be conducted," Janet said softly, slowly.

Casey's cheeks paled as the implications set in. "He put his fingers inside me. He…um…well, he'd move them around…um…he'd…he would…um…push them into me. He told me he was checking to make sure that I was growing the way I should be."

"Vaginally and anally?"

The young blonde woman nodded.

Janet willed herself to remain calm. "Is this…doctor…still practicing?"

"No, he passed away about five years ago," Casey reply.

"Pity," Janet muttered. "He should have been shot first!"

Casey frowned. "I take it that pictures aren't usually part of the procedure either? He said they were to monitor my growth into a young woman."

"Oh, god," Daniel moaned.

Janet closed her eyes. "No, Casey, they're not. Was there ever a nurse in the room when he did these things?"

She shook her head. "After I…left home…I didn't go to the doctor again until last year, and that was only because Kelley insisted when she found out I was throwing up blood."

"I suppose this doctor wanted to do a pelvic exam as well?" Janet asked. She was barely keeping her temper under control.

Casey smiled. "Yeah, he did. He did a complete physical, including a pelvic and a breast exam. They were…different. I just thought that was because I was…" she shrugged, and blushed deeply again.

"Older, developed?" Janet asked gently.

She nodded. "He did an MRI. Found scars on my stomach that he said had to be at least fifteen years old. He said that meant I'd had ulcers on and off from the time I was eleven. And that my stomach isn't the size it should be for a healthy adult."

"I'd like to run another MRI. I have a form I'd like for you to sign, it will allow me to have all of your medical records from this doctor sent to me," Janet said.

Casey nodded again. "He wasn't supposed to do that, was he?" she asked softly.

"No, Casey. He wasn't. What he was doing was molesting you," Janet replied.

Daniel was certain he was going to throw up. How much worse could her childhood be? "Your…mother…took you to this doctor?" He could barely use the word to describe the bitch that who raised her, hurt her so badly, allowed her to be hurt.

"Yeah. She said that he'd been her doctor for years." Something poked at the back of her mind…looks exchanged between the woman who had adopted her and this doctor…and the fact that when they left the office, they never had to stop at the little window and make a payment like she'd witnessed everyone else who exited the office do.

Janet and Daniel exchanged glances. "Are you okay, Angel?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine," she replied. "It was a long time ago, and nothing can be done about it now."

"Don't be so sure," he said, his voice low, determined, and full of anger.

Casey looked sharply at him. Once again the warmth of his love wrapped around her. The feeling was still so new to her that it caught her by surprise. "I'm really okay, Daniel. Nothing else happened." She frowned suddenly.

Daniel felt his heart stop beating. She'd remembered something; he could see it in her eyes. Steeled himself for the worst.

"I remember him telling me that I was a very pretty little girl, and that pretty little girls should grow up…what was the word he used," she murmured to herself. "Unscarred. He said pretty little girls should grow up unscarred. I remember that, because I only understood the 'scarred' part, and it…frightened me."

"Casey, do you remember if he ever said anything else to you?" Janet asked.

She closed her eyes. "Yeah, during my second…no…maybe it was the third time. He asked me if I minded when he examined me. I told him I hated it. He never said anything to me about it after that."

Janet frowned. "It's possible that he was afraid you'd tell someone if he did anything else. I don't think you were the only little girl he molested. Can you remember his name?"

"Doctor Hayling. Um…Charles Hayling."

Daniel reached over and ran his hand gently over her slender back. "You're an amazing woman, Casey," he said softly.

She looked at him, wide-eyed. "Why? Because I was molested as a child?"

He smiled, shook his head. "Because you survived the childhood from hell. And came out beautiful, and sweet, and giving, and charming, and funny, and-"

Janet grinned. "Is this recitation of her attributes going to take long?"

"Most of the day, probably," Daniel quipped. Which made Casey giggle. "So now what?"

"I don't know, Daniel," Janet said honestly. "He's dead, and since he didn't do much more than…touch her, I really don't think there's much we can do."

"I'd like to just forget it, thank you," Casey murmured.

Daniel stood to his feet, tugged on her hand until she was standing in front of him, then hugged her tightly. "I love you," he whispered.

Her arms went around his shoulders. "I love you," she whispered in return.

Janet stood as well. "Casey, I'm not going to do any kind of physical examination today. But I'd like to do one as soon as possible. I promise you, it will not be anything like you've had to…endure...before. Right now, General Hammond wants me to have you do a few things. Just to see how…strong…your physic abilities are."

Casey nodded. "Can Daniel be there?"

"I don't see why not," Janet smiled. "Unless you have some translations that need to be done," she teased, looking up at him.

"Nothing that can't wait," he replied.

Janet walked to the door and opened it. As Casey walked past her, the diminutive woman reached for her hand. "I hope that I can prove to you that not all doctors are like that," she said softly.

Casey smiled. "You already have."

Janet beamed. "Good!" She put her arm around Casey's waist, guided her toward the corridor. "Most of what we're going to be doing is fairly simple. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so."

"Okay." She looked around shyly. "I don't suppose I could have a cup of coffee?"

"Oh, yeah, I like her!" Janet declared, grinning up at Daniel, who grinned in return. "We live on coffee around here! Come on, we'll get a cup, and then get started."

Daniel was still grinning as the two women walked down the corridor in front of him. He knew that Sam and Janet were good friends. Was pretty sure that Sam and Casey were going to be good friends, and it looked like Janet and Casey would be friends as well. The three women would probably get together for coffee, and shopping trips, and drinking games…Wait a minute, he thought, that might not be such a good idea. He'd heard about some of the things that Janet and Sam had done while drunk. They were sure to corrupt his sweet, innocent Wife!

 

A   A   A   A   A   A

 

Jack was sitting in the cafeteria working on a report when the three walked in. He watched Daniel following behind Janet and Casey, his blue eyes on Casey's rear end. Which, he had to admit, was damn well worth watching. He grinned, waved them over when Janet looked around and noticed him. "Hey, Casey! I see you finally got him out of bed and to work!"

Casey sat down across from Jack, next to Daniel. "It wasn't easy. The man hates mornings. Almost as much as I do," she replied. "Of course you already know that, I mean, you've worked with him for five years. On missions and such. Probably had to roll his sexy ass out of bed more than once."

Daniel hid his grin behind the mug as he took a sip of coffee. Janet didn’t bother hiding hers.

Jack stuttered, coughed, blushed slightly, glanced around. "Uh…not personally, no. On missions I just start chucking rocks at his head until he wakes up."

She giggled, and shook her head.

"Casey, we really need to get started," Janet said gently. "We can take the coffee with us."

The two women stood.

"I'll be right there, Angel, I promise," Daniel said softly. He caught her hand, pressed her fingers to his lips, held them there for several seconds.

He needed to talk to his best friend, his 'big brother', about what he'd just learned about her past, she realized. Needed to vent, probably, judging from the look of anger deep in his eyes.

He reached up, ran a finger around the collar of her sweater. "I love you." Her eyes told him all that he needed to know. There was love so deep in those green pools that it seemed bottomless.

"I love you," she replied softly. She allowed Janet to take her arm and lead her away.

Jack frowned. "Okay, what's up?"

"Give me a minute," Daniel said quietly.

The older man nodded. Something had happened. And it wasn't good. He worked on the report while he waited.

"She was molested as a child. Repeatedly. By a doctor," Daniel said softy after a few minutes. "I had no clue until she told me she doesn't like doctors, medical doctors. Because she got a full physical, including a pelvic exam, every time she went. Starting at about age ten. Every week for months. That goddamned bastard took pictures of her! Pictures of the ten year old girl he was molesting!"

Jack sat back in his chair, stunned. "You have got to be shitting me!"

He shook his sandy-blonde head. "No, I'm not. The good news is; he never used more than his fingers on her. The bad news is; that mother-fucker molested Casey! She was a defenseless child, and he molested her!"

Daniel was not prone to using such foul language, at least, not in English. He swore, but very rarely did he use words like that one! Jack knew that the young archaeologist was absolutely livid. "So who is it?"

"Some asshole by the name of Hayling. He's dead now."

"Too bad," Jack muttered.

Daniel gave a grim smile. "That's funny, Janet said the same thing. That and something about shooting him."

Jack shook his head. "Too quick and easy."

"She didn't even realize that was what had been done to her! What if I…what if I just…if she didn't know, it couldn’t hurt her. Now…" He shook his head again.

"You'll be there to help her every step of the way. If she didn't know, and it wasn't…extreme, chances are she'll be able to deal with it soon and move on," Jack said gently. "At least you were there with her when she found out she'd been victimized. How traumatic would it have been for her to be alone and have to deal with this?"

"I want to take it all away! My god, Jack, everything I find out about her childhood…it was dark and bleak and full of so much…shit! Did you know that at six years old she was expected to wash all of the dishes? She has a scar on her finger from a knife cut. Six goddamned years old! It should have been stitched, but it wasn't. You know what she remembers most about it? She didn't get to finger paint the next day in school. In first grade. First goddamned grade!" Daniel slammed his fist down on the table, causing coffee to slosh from his cup, and several of the people in the room to turn and stare at him. "Is it possible to fly to Tacoma for a couple of hours and back, in a day? Say, a regular work day?"

Jack studied his companion. "Saying what you want to say isn't going to change anything, Daniel."

"It will make me feel a hell of a lot better!"

"Casey mentioned yesterday that she doesn't keep in touch with her family. Is there any chance that her parents might look for her?"

"I have no idea," Daniel admitted.

"I'll make a deal with you. If they do, you and I will go to Tacoma together. I'll make sure you get to say what you need to say."

Daniel considered this for several minutes, then nodded. "Thanks, Jack. I need to get going. I want to be there for her. God knows she's never had anyone in her life to stand up for her and protect her!"

"She has you, Danny. She can't get any better protection than that," Jack said softly.

The young man gave a half smile, pushed down bitter memories of failing to protect Sha're. "Thanks."

"Any time, Space Monkey. Okay, I helped you out, now you can return the favor," Jack said, holding up the folders he was studying.

Daniel grinned. "You're the colonel. You have to do all that…colonel stuff." With a chuckle at the pained look Jack tossed at him, he stood up and headed for the infirmary. His hands were shoved into his pockets, determination etched on every feature of his face. Casey was already everything to him. He was going to take care of her, and protect her, and love her like she'd never been loved before in her life!

 

A   A   A   A   A   A

 

Daniel sat in a chair off to the side of the room, at Janet's insistence. Casey seemed comfortable enough just knowing he was there. She was busy writing numbers on slips of paper, then handing them to Janet. Who was staring at a computer monitor, her eyes going wider with each passing moment.

"Casey, wait a minute," Janet said. The young blonde woman was four numbers ahead of the computer, although neither of them were aware of that fact at that particular moment.

A slight frown on her face, Case was still writing. "It's okay, there are only three more," she murmured.

Janet's jaw dropped slightly. Continued to compare the numbers to those that flashed randomly. "Fifty out of fifty," she said. Her surprise was evident in her voice and on her face. "How do you do that?"

Casey shrugged. "I just…see…them."

Janet grinned. "Ask a silly question…"

"Get a silly answer," Casey finished grinning as well. "Daffy Duck. I think."

"Who's your favorite?"

"That's tough. It's a toss up between Yosemite Sam and Henry Chicken hawk."

Janet giggled. "That little chicken hawk is adorable.

Daniel was grinning as well. But remained silent. No sense in taking the risk that Janet might toss him out!

"Okay, this next test is pretty much the same as the first. I have two sets of cards here. I'll choose one, and then you hand me the one that you think matches it."

"Matches exactly?"

"Yes, exact match," Janet replied.

Casey nodded, accepted the stack of cards. Shuffled them, grinning as she did. "Okay, game's Texas Hold'em. Deuces and one-eyed Jacks are wild. Ante up," she quipped.

Janet laughed out loud. "Friday. My house. Ladies poker night," she said.

"I am so there!" Casey said.

Daniel grinned again. Yep, they were friends already, he could tell. Good, she'd be less homesick if she had friends here. And Sam and Janet would be the best.

"Ready?" Janet asked, setting up a divider on the table. Casey could see Janet, but not what her hands were doing, and certainly not the cards on the table.

"Ready."

Janet flipped a card up.

Casey looked at her, searched through the deck, chose a card. Handed it to her.

Daniel watched. Janet put each match in one pile. Each miss in another. So far there was only one miss. He looked up when General Hammond and Jack quietly entered the room.

"General Hammond," Janet said, rising to attention.

"At ease, doctor," the man replied with a smile. "So how's it going?"

"She scored one hundred on the first test. She's only missed one on this test. And that could be my fault," she reported.

The general frowned. "How so, Doctor?"

Janet held up the two cards. "I think when I laid this down on the table, I laid it like this. Which would make her response correct. However, the tab for the top is here. Which makes it incorrect."

"But only because the figure is turned ninety degrees," Jack commented.

"Exactly."

"Major Carter said that based on her observations of the Casey in the reality that SG-1 visited, she was able to 'see' things about missions that those teams were preparing to undertake. She said she has folders containing information about several upcoming missions, and that she thought it would be beneficial to have Ms. Webster examine that information," the general said.

"Yes, sir. I have them right here," Janet replied.

"Ms. Webster, would you mind if Colonel O'Neill and I joined Doctor Jackson?" Gen. Hammond asked gently.

"No sir, it's fine with me," she replied.

The two military men crossed the room, sat down beside the smiling archaeologist. Jack bit back a grin. The boy was wearing his heart on his sleeve. And the look of happiness in his eyes was so new, so…unusual…that it would take some getting used to.

Janet put the files on the table, removed the divider, then sat down. "Okay, Casey, just take a look at the information in each folder. Take your time, there's no hurry."

"What is it that you want me to do?" Casey asked, a slight frown on her face.

"I don't know. You tell me," Janet replied. She gave the young woman a reassuring smile, patted her hand.

With a nod, Casey opened the first file. Looked at the images taken by the MALP. Read the report that had been written, which extrapolated what might be on the planet based on the images and other readings taken by the specialized vehicle. Very boring, she thought. Wondered if she should tell them that. Frowned slightly. "This is boring," she said softly.

"Casey, I'm sorry, but-" Janet started.

"No, no…I mean…this feels really boring."

The second folder received the same response. The third folder felt…scary. Nothing dangerous. Just feelings of fright…anxiety. Which she shared with the people watching her. She opened the fourth folder. Began to gasp for breath. Terror…there was such terror! And danger! "Ambush!" she cried out, her body shaking. Her eyes were wide, she was 'seeing' what lay along that jungle path. "Men…metal men…waiting…ambush!"

Daniel had raced to her side, wrapped her hands with his. "It's okay, Casey, you're safe here. It's okay," he whispered.

She focused on a voice she recognized. A familiar voice…one full of love. Closed her eyes so that she could gather her thoughts, her wits. She'd never been so afraid in all of her life! Nor had she been able to 'see' as clearly as she did now! She looked at Daniel, then began to blush. When Miss Eloise had told her, so many years ago, she had no idea what it meant. Now she knew exactly what the old seer had been telling her.

"One day a man will find you, and the two of you will begin your journey together. His strength will flow into you, and make your powers that much stronger. The more he gives of his strength, the stronger you will become."

"Case?" Daniel asked softly.

"I think you'd be better off to just skip going to that fourth place. Unless you have a very large group that can move very quickly," she said, opening her eyes.

"Metal men?" Jack said. "Has to be Jaffa, sir," he said to General Hammond.

"I agree, Colonel."

Sam and Teal'c walked into the room. "How's it going?" Sam asked, smiling at Casey.

"Very interesting," Janet said. She'd been watching Casey's eyes. Had noted how they had widened the tiniest bit, and how she'd blushed when she'd looked at Daniel. She had the feeling that the young woman hadn't been thinking about dragging him to bed. "Casey, is there anything else you need…or want to tell us?"

Casey glanced at the doctor, her blush deepened. "Just something a very old seer told me a long time ago. When I was thirteen. Not long after my Grandma Rose died," she said softly.

"Oh. If you don't want to tell us, you don't have to," Janet replied, just as softly.

The young blonde hadn't heard her, she could only hear Miss Eloise' voice in her head. "You're the man! You gave me your strength…each time-" her cheeks were crimson now. "Each time you give me your…strength…it enhances my ability to see," she said softly. She had her hands around his face.

Daniel frowned. "I don't understand," he said, speaking just as softly as she was.

"I've always been able to…see…but not like this. Not such clear…images…such deep feelings. But since-" She broke off, her blush deepening.

"But since what?" he asked.

"The first night. That's how I knew that Sam and Jack and Teal'c were in trouble. Before I might have…felt… something was wrong, but I never would have been able to…focus…to know where or who," she said.

Her meaning began to filter through to him. He could feel the heat in his own cheeks.

"Uh, I’m not following here," Jack said quietly.

"When I was thirteen, a seer named Miss Eloise, a very good friend of my Grandma Rose, told me that one day a man would find me, and we'd begin our journey together. And that his strength would flow into me, and make me stronger," Casey replied, her eyes locked with Daniel's, full of awe.

Janet cleared her throat, understanding immediately what the old seer had meant. It was actually pretty obvious because of what she'd said, and the way Casey was blushing. The color in Daniel's cheeks told her that he'd figured it out, too.

General Hammond cleared his throat as well. "I believe that we've determined that Ms. Webster can indeed 'see' enough to help us plan future missions. SG-1, I'd like to see you in my briefing room in ten minutes. Doctor Fraiser, I believe you were going to give Ms. Webster a physical examination?"

Three people in the room cringed. Casey's cheeks went from rosy pink to nearly colorless.

"I think that can-" Janet started.

"It's okay, Doctor Fraiser," Casey said softly. "I can deal with it."

"Are you sure?"

Casey nodded.

"Okay, but if you don't call me Janet, I'll see how many injections I can give you," the dark-haired doctor teased.

"Call her Janet, Casey," Jack warned in a mock panicked tone. "She uses big honkin' needles!"

The lighthearted comments were enough to help her relax, even brought a bit of color back into her cheeks.

Janet looked at Daniel, then glanced around her. When her eyes met his again, he gave a slight nod of understanding. She smiled, and held her empty coffee mug up. "Casey, let's get some coffee. You can tell me about this problem with the ulcer on the way."

"Okay, what was that all about?" Sam asked softly when the two women were out of earshot.

Daniel slid onto the chair that Casey had just vacated. It was still warm from her body. "This goes no farther than the people in this room." He looked over at the general. "Please, sir."

"I don't have a problem with that Doctor Jackson," the general said gently. He was well aware that the four people of SG-1 protected one another, and their secrets, adamantly. 

"I just found out that Casey was molested as a child. By a doctor. From what she told Janet and I, it must have gone on for at least two years."

Sam dropped down onto the nearest chair.

Teal'c frowned. "I do not understand, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel carefully explained what had happened to Casey, including the photographs. Jack, Teal'c, and General Hammond looked as if they were about to be ill. Sam was on the verge of tears. "I swear to god, the more I learn about her childhood, the more I'm convinced that she lived through hell on Earth!" he exclaimed angrily.

Sam stood up and walked to where the archaeologist sat, knelt down in front of him, and hugged him tightly. She smiled when he returned the hug, just like he always did. She pulled away, reached up and brushed away the tears she knew he didn't even realize were on his face. "She's got you now, Daniel. You'll take care of her."

"And we'll be right here to help you, Danny," Jack said softly, stepping close enough to squeeze Daniel's shoulder. Teal'c shifted closer to his teammates as well.

General Hammond nodded to himself. As always, when one member of SG-1 was suffering, for whatever reason, the others gathered around protectively. He'd see if what he suspected was actually true. He hoped that it was.


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