The day of the prom dawned bright and beautiful.  Cassie was up and fretting since before the sun even cleared the horizon.  She was already on her third shower when Janet made her stop.

 

“Do you want to be all shriveled up and wrinkly for tonight?”

 

“MMMMMOOOOOMMMMM!” Cassie whined.

 

Janet smiled at her, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear.  “Relax, Cass.  You have quite a while before you have to get ready.”

 

“I know, I know.  I just can’t wait.  I want to look great for Daniel,” she said blushing.

 

Janet smiled, “You will, sweetie.  And he’s looking forward to going also.  Did you know that he never went to his prom?”

 

Cassandra’s eyes grew wide, “No!  Why not?”

 

“I think he figured he was too young at the time.  He graduated high school at 15, Cass.”

 

“15?!  You’re kidding!” she shrieked.  “I knew he was smart… but damn!”

 

Janet burst out laughing, “Cassandra!”

 

Smiling innocently, she headed back to her room, “Sorry, mom,” she purred.

 

Janet tried to hide her smirk as she watched her daughter prance off.  She wondered how Sam was doing with Daniel today.  She had decided to go to his place to help him get ready.  Even though he was in a much better mood after they all punked Jack, he was still showing signs of reluctance at following through.

 

***

 

“Oh for crying out loud, Daniel!” Sam hollered into his bathroom.  He had been in there for almost an hour and a half.  “How long does it take to shave?”

 

A muffled voice shot back through the locked door at her, “I’m doing my legs!  Leave me alone!”

 

Sam was silent for a long moment, then lost it in a fit of giggles.  Behind the bathroom door, Daniel smiled smugly.  He had rendered her speechless.  Point for him.

 

“I’m going to fix some coffee when it’s done you had better be out of there, Daniel Jackson,” Sam called out to him.

 

“Yes, mom.”

 

As Daniel walked into the kitchen, Sam turned and handed him his coffee.

 

“Just the way you like it,” she smiled.

 

Grinning back he looked down at the cup and lost himself.  How did I get myself into this?

 

Sensing his inner turmoil, Sam gave him a playful shove, “Paging Dr. Jackson.”

 

Looking up startled, he gave a little laugh, “Sorry, Sam.  I just… I, I guess I’m just worried about tonight.”

 

“You?  Worried?  NNNNOOOOO!” her tone dripping with sarcasm.

 

Scowling at her, he went back to his bedroom to look at the tux again.  God, this was going to be a long night!

 

***

 

It was 3:30 pm.  Cassie walked from the dining room to the kitchen.  Then she walked from the kitchen to the living room.  She pulled back the curtain, looked up and down the street, then carefully put the curtain back in place.

 

Where was he?  God, I’m pathetic!  She wondered to herself.  Why did I ask Daniel?

 

This was going to be so hard.  She had such a crush on Daniel since SG-1 rescued her from PX8-987 almost seven years ago.  Now she was going to her senior prom with the universe’s cutest geek?

 

She walked into the powder room.  “Oh, my God… Mom!”

 

Janet winced.  “Yes, dear?”

 

“My hair is all wrong… call Daniel.  Tell him to turn around…” Cassie scowled, “I could… I could just… explode!”  A stricken look flashed a crossed her face, “Oops, sorry, mom… I didn’t mean that!”

 

Her mother couldn’t help but laugh.  “Well thank goodness we got that little problem solved, huh?”

 

Smiling, Janet looked at Cassie’s reflection in the mirror, “Oh, honey, you look beautiful.  He will think so too.  Stop worrying.”  With a gentle grin, Janet patted the young woman’s cheek, “Daniel will be here soon, and I know you two will have a great time.”

 

The door bell rang.  Cassie let out a squeak.

 

“Cassie, relax…” Janet encouraged her.

 

“I can’t do this!!!”

 

Placing her hands on her daughter’s face, she looked into her eyes, “Yes, you can.  Pull yourself together, I’ll answer the door.  I have a few last minute reminders to give your date anyway.”

 

Outside, Daniel rang the bell again as he unconsciously rubbed the top of his right shoe against the back of his left pant leg.  Pulling at his collar to loosen the ridiculous tie he knew wasn’t tied correctly, he realized that his hands were all sweaty.

 

This is nuts! he mused, How old am I?  I’m acting like I’m the teenager.

 

Janet deliberately opened the door as slowly as she could, and then beamed at Daniel.

 

“Man oh man!  I wish this were my prom!  You look incredible, Daniel,” Janet gushed as she led him into the front room.

 

She noticed his bow tie wasn’t quite right and had him sit down.

 

“Let me get this for you,” she said smiling at him.  “Thank you again for doing this.  I know it’s been hell for you.”

 

With a tiny smile, Daniel mumbled, “No problem, Janet,” then his grin widened, “Besides… I got Jack back.  I mailed all the porno magazines, handcuffs, condoms and Viagra boxes to his office secretary with a love note from him.  She’s been crushing on him since she transferred in.”

 

She slapped his arm affectionately, “Bad boy!”  Then noticed the corsage in his hand.  Daniel realized what she was looking at and showed it to her.

 

“Do you think she will like it?  It’s a lavender carnation set in a bed of lilac.  Sam helped me pick it out.”

 

Janet smiled, “It’s lovely.  How did you know she liked lilacs?”

 

With a sheepish grin, he answered, “Jack… of all people.”

 

Just then, the small, friendly woman’s whole demeanor changed.  “Daniel,” she began, “there is something I do need to speak with you about.”

 

“Oh?” he was instantly on guard.

 

“I know you don’t watch much T.V., so I will explain this as succinctly as possible.”

 

Daniel gulped, “Oooookay…”

 

“There is a sci-fi show that I love called Firefly.  My favorite character on that show is Shepherd Book.  He spoke most eloquently when he told his friend, who had unknowingly been married to a young girl, that… to quote Shepherd Book, If you take sexual advantage of her, you’re going to burn in a very special level of hell.  A level they reserve for child molesters… and people who talk at the theater.”

 

Daniel fixed Dr. Fraiser with a mock hurt look, “Janet, we’ve been over this.”

 

“I know!  Just a reminder,” Janet said with a smirk.  She called over her shoulder, “Cassie, your prince is

here to escort you to the ball!”

 

Cassie nervously stepped into the living room.  Suddenly, Daniel really understood

why he was there.  He had been given the privilege to see many beautiful things in

the universe, but Cassandra Fraiser was a vision to contend with.  Now he really

wished he was eighteen again.  Shaking his head slightly, he mentally chided

himself to behave when he noticed that a part of him did think he was eighteen

again.  Down boy, hismind yelled in Jack O’Neill’s voice.

 

“Well…” Cassie asked nervously, beginning to feel self-doubt.  She smoothed her

hands down the sides of the gown.

 

Suddenly Daniel was aware that he was just standing there with his mouth

hanging open.

 

“Wow!” was all that would come from the linguist of thirty odd languages. 

“Cassie… you look so beautiful.  Thh… thank you for asking me to accompany you

to your prom.  I honestly mean that!”

 

Cassie melted.  This was going to be an incredible night.  Now she was sure of it.

 

***

 

The limo ride to the restaurant was painfully quiet.  Daniel was never comfortable with small talk, so his mind wandered from his latest translation project to the fact his tie was cutting off the oxygen to his brain.  Then his cell phone beeped at him.  He dug it out of his pocket to see the text message icon lit.  It was from Janet.  Rolling his eyes, he flipped it open and read, “The special hell…”  He had to chuckle.

 

Cassie played with the automatic windows and locks, readjusted the air vents and opened the moon roof.  Finally tired of the silence she asked if she could turn on the radio.  Daniel nodded.  She hunted up and down the dial until the sweet sound of Weezer’s “Island in the Sun” came on.

 

“Doot, doot,” she quietly sang.

 

“Did you say something?” Daniel asked.

 

“Nope… just singing.  You like Weezer?”

 

“No, not really… asthma is not much fun, especially as a kid!” Daniel joked.

 

Rolling her eyes, she slid closer to him and wrapped her arm around his.  “It’s a band called Weezer. You are such a dork.”

 

Ducking his head down, he pouted at her humorously.

 

“An extraordinarily handsome, hunky, dork.  And tonight you’re my dork!” she smiled sweetly.  She loved it when Daniel blushed.  And it was so easy to do.  Janet had taught her very well how to get him to blush.  Maybe she would write a book, How to Make a Gullible, Geeky Archeologist Blush, Without Really Trying.  It would be an instant best seller.  Cassie laughed to herself.

 

“What?” Daniel asked when he noticed her smiling at him.

 

“Oh… nothing,” she answered.  Not wanting him to pursue that thought any longer, she asked, “So where are we going to eat, Daniel?”

 

“Um,” he shifted slightly in his seat.  Cassie was sitting very close and he really, really noticed just how grown up she looked this evening.  “We… um… I, I made reservations at Le Jardin Enchanté.”

 

Cassie’s eyes were as big as saucers.  “WOW!  A real French restaurant?  How romantic!”  She immediately noticed the red of Daniel’s face.  “I mean, if I had gone with Tyler, it would have been McDonald’s probably.”

 

That got him to chuckle, “Well, I did tell you I was going to spoil you tonight.”

 

Now it was her turn to go red.

 

The limo pulled up and the driver got out to open the door for them.  He held his hand out to help Cassie.

 

As Daniel slid out of the car, he asked the driver, “Would you like anything?”

 

The stunned look on the man’s face told Daniel that this was not an ordinary thing to do.  Still, it was a Daniel thing to do.  Cassie beamed at him proudly.  The driver smiled and shook his head no.

 

As they entered the restaurant, Cassie couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.  Quiet, elegant candle-lit tables with white linen coverings.  The ceiling was painted to represent a clear, star-filled night sky.  As they were led to their table, she noticed each one had an exquisite Orchid floating in a small bowl of water.  Off in the corner was a string quartet playing softly.  It was dim, but not so much you couldn’t read the menu, which was entirely in French.  Cassie looked at it, trying to make heads or tails of the words.  Only one year of French class just didn’t cut it.  She was glad that Daniel would be able to read it to her.

 

The smells wafting from the kitchen were making her mouth actually water.  Cassie wondered if her mom had ever been to a place like this.  When she looked back at her date, Daniel was smiling at her.  The candle light danced in his eyes, making the blue sparkle like polished gems.  Cassie’s heart skipped a beat.  How in the world could this man be single?  Were all the women on the planet blind?

 

God, I wish I was a few years older! she thought to herself.

 

“Bonsoir,” the waiter came up and greeted them with a friendly tone.  “J'espère que vous êtes bien la nuit belle. Je m'appelle Jean-Michael et moi serons votre rompre ce soir. Pourrais-je vous recevoir une boisson pour commencer?”

 

Daniel grinned at Cassie knowing that she didn’t understand a word he said.  “Oui, s'il vous plaît. Je voudrais un thé à la glace et la dame voudrait…”

 

Turning back to the young lady he asked, “What would you like to drink, Cass?”

 

“Oh, um.  A Coke?” she answered all flustered.

 

“You sure?  You can have anything you want… within legal parameters.”

 

Cocking an eyebrow at him she shyly asked, “A strawberry daiquiri?”

 

Nodding, he graced her with one of his patented mega-watt smiles.  Addressing the waiter, Daniel told him her order.

 

“Très bon, Monsieur.  Et nos specials sont aujourd'hui; Sautéed Grenobloise Unique avec les Cabrioles et le Beurre jaune citron et Magret Grillé du Canard servait avec une Sauce de Coriandre et de Gingembre.  Je reviendrai bientôt avec vos boissons.”  That said, the waiter hurried off with their order.

 

“Would you like an hors d’oeuvre?” Daniel asked his overwhelmed date.

 

“Sure.”

 

Smiling at her, he suggested, “If you like a creamy with a hint of nutty flavor cheese, I would recommend the Warm Brie.”

 

“Yeah, that sounds good.  I’m up for trying anything you suggest.”  Cassie flushed at her answer, just imagining all the ways it could be taken.

 

“Ooookay,” he gave her a sidelong glance.  “The waiter told me the specials were Sautéed Sole, ah… fish, with capers and lemon butter, and Grilled Magret de Canard, which is… um, basically… duck served with a ginger and coriander sauce.”

 

Cassie really wanted to be livin’ large tonight, so she decided to go with the… fish.

 

When Jean-Michael returned with their drinks, Daniel placed the order.

 

“La jeune dame voudrait commencer avec le Brie Chaud et je voudrais avoir les moules Fumées dans Calvados.”

 

“Très bon choix, Monsieur,” the waiter replied, “Et pour votre entrée?”

 

“Grenobloise Unique Sautéed, pour elle et Magret Grillé du Canard pour moi, s'il vous plaît.”

 

“Voudriez-vous avoir la soupe ou une salade avant votre repas?”

 

Looking over to Cassie, Daniel asked the question.  She answered, “The soup,” and he ordered, “La Bisque de Homard pour nous deux, merci.”

 

Nodding his acceptance of the order, he took their menus and hurried off.

 

Cassie was quiet for a long time, just watching Daniel and sipping her daiquiri.  She noticed that he seemed to be loosening up a little.

 

“Daniel, can I ask you a question?”

 

Slightly worried at the implications of that, he answered, “Um… sure… I guess.”

 

“Are you just showing off for me?”

 

He was floored.  He hadn’t actually considered this as showing off, but now that he thought about it, he was a bit presumptuous.  Maybe ordering in French was a bit over the top since he knew very well that all the servers spoke English.

 

“Um… well, Sam is actually… ach-um… the one that picked the restaurant,” he muttered, head down, feeling like an over-stuffed, supercilious, snob.

 

“It’s really sweet, Daniel.  Don’t be embarrassed,” she reached over and placed her hand on top of his, lightly, “I love to listen to you when you speak different languages.”  She knew he was no longer loose and she felt sorry.

 

At the moment Cassie’s hand covered his, Janet’s voice rang in his head, The special hell, Daniel.

 

Their hors d’oeuvres came, he quickly removed his hand from under hers, and they ate quietly for a while.

 

“So, ah… Cass…” Daniel broke the uncomfortable silence, “I know that you decided to skip a year and travel before you go to college but have you thought about where you want to attend?”

 

Dabbing at her mouth with the linen napkin, she considered his question.  “Oh, I don’t quite know yet.  I have been accepted to the University of Colorado and to UCLA.  But I am waiting for a reply from… well— somewhere Mom doesn’t know I applied.”

 

With a hastily covered cough, Daniel looked up at her.  “Cassie?” he said in his best Jack O’Neill imitation, “where did you apply?”

 

In a small voice, she answered, “Oxford.”

 

He was stunned!  “Oxford.  Wow!  That’s big league.  Cassie, that’s… that’s great! Why aren’t you telling your mom?  She’d be…”

 

“Not wanting me to go so far away.  She nearly plotzed when I was accepted to UCLA.”

 

“Oh, Cass, don’t let yourself get tied down because of Janet’s fears.  You have to take your own life in control, be who you want to be!”

 

Cassandra gave him a sad sort of smile, “I wish it were that easy, Daniel.  I had to beg her for over a year just to get her to let me go to Europe for six months.  I mean, God… I’m not going by myself, I’m with a group of ten other people.”

 

Their soup arrived as they continued to talk about parent’s expectations vs. kid’s expectations.  Daniel was very supportive of Cassie going to Oxford.  He thought the idea was fantastic.

 

“Would you like me to talk to her, Cass?”  Daniel asked hesitantly.

 

The young lady’s eyes lit up twice as bright as the candle on the table.  “Daniel, would you?  That would be the weight that could tip the scales in my favor.”

 

“Hey!  I’m not that heavy.  Jeeze!” he pouted at her comically.

 

“You dork!  You know what I mean.  If you talk to her, then I know she would let me go.  If I get accepted, that is.”

 

“I’m sure you will.  You’re a very smart young lady, you know.”

 

His compliment made her blush a deep shade of red.  She wondered if she asked nicely if he would wait for her to get a little older so she could snag him.  What’s twenty years difference give or take?

 

Their dinner arrived and the talk turned to this and that.  Nothing very heavy.  Mostly about the different fun missions that Daniel had been on.  They spoke in code, as all of his trips were classified.  But Cassie knew the routine, having lived the life of an undercover alien for seven years.

 

When the waiter came back after the meal dishes were cleared, he asked if they would like to see the dessert tray.  Cassie shyly nodded; she was not going to get out of this excellent place without trying what the French were famous for.

 

“Elle voudrait avoir le Profiteroles et je voudrais la Mousse de Chocolat, s'il vous plaît.”

 

“Très bon, monsieur,” Jean-Michael commented and hurried away.

 

When the silence stretched on too long again, Daniel asked, “What are you thinking of as a course of study at Oxford?”

 

“Literature.  With an emphasis on Celtic myths.”

 

“Whoa… that’s deep.  I loved lit classes.  Then again, I love to read.  That and history, as you well know.”

 

“Yeah, you were the one that helped me catch up on learning to read English.  You actually turned me on the whole idea of books being the original…” she leaned in close and whispered, “… stargates.  I mean, with a book you can go anywhere in any galaxy… Listen to me, preaching to the choir,” she giggled.

 

Daniel smiled at her and bowed his head slightly.  He had never thought of himself as one to inspire other people.  He was always the whacked out geek with unbelievable theories.

 

Now, he had a groupie that plans on spending her time learning things that he turned her onto.  That was cool.

 

The check came and Daniel paid, trying not to let the whimper out when he saw the total.  This was a very special evening for a very special lady, after all.  And besides, when did he ever have time to spend the money he was making working for the SGC?  It’s not like he had a life.

 

When they left the restaurant, the limo was right there waiting for them.  Now was going to be the hard part of the night.  Cassie looped her arm around Daniel’s as they walked over to the luxury car.  She could tell he was getting nervous again.

 

“Daniel,” she said quietly, “you know, I’ve had a great evening so far.  If you want to, we could… um, well… skip the prom if you really don’t want to go.”

 

At first, his mind went right into the gutter.  Shaking the disturbing thoughts from the primeval part of his male mind, he looked back to his beautiful date.

 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Cassie.  I know how important this is for you.  I’m honored to escort you.”

 

Beaming at him, she reached up and kissed him shyly on the cheek.  “Thank you, Daniel.”

 

Opening the door for his clients, the driver gave Daniel a look of amusement.  “Off to the High School, sir?”

 

Daniel nodded, turning several shades of red.  He got the joke.