The Long Way Home

Chapter Sixty Six: To Love, Honor and Obey

Anything that's worth having
Is sure enough, worth fighting for
Quitting's out of the question
When it gets tough
Gotta fight some more

Cheryl Cole – Fight For This Love

John's office had been changed since his absence had begun. The model planes had been moved from the desktop to elsewhere and Cass found herself disliking the change. Ever since Colonel Caldwell had stepped into John's shoes he had been making potent changes. It had started with an email briefing the new security protocols and had progressed rapidly into something worse. He was now mixing up the Stargate teams and it was causing much displeasure amongst the people in those teams. It was like her husband had never been in command, the essences of John were washed away in a haze of order and formality.

The office was more organised now and neater. There were no traces that her husband had even existed. Her collar rubbed across the bandage taped to her throat, causing it to itch in irritation. She had been called to answer to Colonel Caldwell after John had been recaptured. He had escaped from their custody as they had been transporting him to the Infirmary.

The instant she'd heard the snap of the plastic ties she knew that she had underestimated the power of such a creature. In an instant she had been vaulted across the corridor, her forehead cracking against the wall from the shove it had given her. She had seen stars for a moment as the pain exploded in her head and a moment was all it took for it to disable the guards. The monster had been gone before she'd even had a second to turn around and face it. Two clear broken zip ties were the only thing that remained in place as the creature moved with an inhuman speed down the corridor.

That was on her head, John's fate had been in her hands and she had blown it. Yet fury was coursing through Cass's veins as she stood firm, shoulders back and head tilted upwards, her icy cold gaze focused on that spot on the wall beyond Caldwell's shoulder. Her fingers were laced behind her back as she stood on point ready for the tongue lashing. She was coming up to breaking point, she could feel the reigns of her temper pushing at her boundaries, clawing at the walls.

Caldwell had tried to condemn her husband, while he was on the run the other man had ordered strike teams in attempt to reclaim him. He had given them the order to pursuit with deadly force before Elizabeth had corrected him.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Caldwell all but screamed at her as she stood before the desk. "You put everybody on this base in jeopardy, you should be thankful that Meyers and Ryan were not more seriously injured."

"You know what I was doing." Cass told him firmly. "I was taking him to the Infirmary to give him the last if the inhibitor."

Caldwell leaned back in his chair as he reviewed the woman before him, his fingertip tapping against his temple. Her jaw was clenched as she stood defiantly. He knew what she had been doing, he may be a military man but he was still a human being. He understood what may lead her actions to this standpoint but he could not tolerate them.

John Sheppard had been a dangerous man before the Iratus Bug DNA had mingled with his own. All of that training and intuition was now in the hands in the enemy, an angry and enraged one. He would be recommending termination for Sheppard when his time was up. He knew too much about Atlantis and the SGC to allow him to venture out into the wild.

"I understand your position Doctor..." he attempted to empathise.

"I doubt that." Cass snapped abruptly. "You told them to take him down with deadly force."

"That thing..." Caldwell snorted hunching over the desk so his eyes were level with Cass's. "... is not your husband any more Doctor Pierce. It's a hybrid."

"He is not a hybrid, he's a human being and how dare you steal away his rights." Cass snarled in disgust, jabbing her finger at his chest. "And for what? Because you want his position, his job?"

"You are out of line." Caldwell yelled at her.

"I'm out of line?" Cass retorted, her voice raising with indignation. "I never thought I'd see the day where pride took priority over a human life. My mistake was just a convenient way of justifying the means to you securing this position."

"I'm warning you Doctor, watch what you say because I'm not above throwing you in the brig for what your implying." Caldwell told her, his eyes burning like hot coals as they both stared at each other with a ferocious anger.

The collar of her flak jacket was open allowing his vision access to the dip of her throat as his gaze slipped to the hem of the white bandage secured to her pale skin. His hand lashed out suddenly, grasping her collar between his fingers and yanking it away from her neck in order to study the wound. Cass jerked away, straightening up and folding her collar back into place to cover the injury once more. She already knew that it was too late, Caldwell was calculating his next move as he stood rigid on the opposite side of the desk. His arms were crossed over his chest as she bowed her head, her hands clasped in front of her in humility.

"Doctor Pierce, did Colonel Sheppard infect you?" he asked her outright.

Cass cleared her throat as she rose her gaze to meet Caldwell's head on. There was authority in his eyes. He was running a risk assessment, she could tell from the way his eyes squinted looking for any signs of displacement and change.

"No." she reported, feeling the wound beginning to itch as if it knew it was the subject of their discussion.

"Did he scratch you?" Caldwell corrected himself.

Cass gnawed on her lower lip in agitation before raising her eyes skyward as if in prayer. She knew how quickly their conversation was going to go down hill if she answered the truth but she had to. Lying was never in her nature unless there was a just cause and this just didn't seem to cut it.

"Yes." Cass said into the space in between them. Caldwell touched the comm in his ear briefly and before Cass even had a moment to stop him, he was dialling up a security team to their location.

"I told you I wasn't infected." she implored, her eyebrows furrowing as she shook her head.

"Do you really expect me to take your word for it?" Caldwell asked her as the doors to John's office hissed open behind her revealing Major Lorne and Captain Jackson.

"Major Lorne, I command you to take Doctor Pierce into custody. Lock her in the brig and get Beckett to run the same tests he did on Sheppard." Caldwell ordered, his voice full of authority as he spoke. "I won't have this base compromised a second time."

And with that tone of dismissal Cassandra Pierce was escorted out.