47Chapter 2: The Debut
A new routine had developed by Thursday, the fourth day of their stay at the cabin. Jack had finished his regular after-breakfast satellite phone call to Colonel Reynolds and his aide Walter Harriman the SGC, and was grateful that no major situation had yet arisen that would entail his rapid return.
For the third day running, Cassie had already set off along the lakeshore for her 'morning session' of singing across the water. Yesterday Jack had offered to accompany her, but she explained that she'd rather practice a little on her own before feeling confident enough for an audience. He hadn't been able to resist surreptitiously following after half an hour, stopping within earshot but well out of sight.
He had stayed there in the undergrowth a little longer than he expected, mesmerised by the range and power of her voice, and the repertoire of alien and domestic tunes. She seemed to be able to pick up a new sound almost immediately, and then deliver the song with relish, sometimes exactly like the original, or else with her own interpretation. Just as quietly, he had made his way back to the cabin and tried to appear nonchalant when she subsequently returned.
On arrival back by his seat on the dock, she seemed more relaxed and happy than she had been all week. Noticing the case for his satellite phone nearby, she felt obliged to ask the daily question, "Colorado still in one piece?", but didn't wait for a reply.
"Well, I found it!" she exclaimed. His quizzical expression had hardly formed before she added, "An interest outside of work to keep me going, just like you said the other day."
"Fishing? he teased.
"Yeah, right." she laughed. "That, and music, of course."
"Of course." he nodded. "Feel like singing for me yet?
"What, like yesterday when you were sneaking around, you mean?" Her raised eyebrow was a passable imitation of their Jaffa friend's, but Jack just smiled.
"Yeah, why not? Sorry, Jack, but I thought before we left that I was going to be bored out of my mind this week, but this is great. More than great – I love it."
The germ of an idea was forming in his mind and he hesitated, but then decided to just go for it.
"Cass, we both know that you're a natural at this, and if you don't like the idea, I'm not pushing." He paused but was encouraged by her inquisitive expression. "I sometimes hang out with a few friends from around here. They're amateur, and I stress amateur musicians – nothing serious, just a few casual tunes and a little traditional jazz. We get together and play a few."
"You said you hadn't played in years!" she interrupted.
"The guitar, no. But I also play the piano from time to time." he confessed. "Not as well as Daniel – did you know Daniel plays a mean sonata?" She shook her head, and he went on, "The only way you can get him to play the upright in the back room of his apartment is to sit down and start to hammer out a tune badly. He soon gives in to that kind of blackmail. He also plays the saxophone, but I didn't tell you that. No-one else at the SGC has seen him do it."
"Jack, my head is exploding. You dish the dirt on him but then tell me I can't use it?" she cried.
"Absolutely not." he responded. "Anyhow, if you want, and only if you want, I can make a call to get the guys together this evening. Then you could sing with real live music, not a record track. Just us, and just for fun, no pressure. Think about it for a while and then let me know."
It didn't take her long. "Hell, let's do it! I've found a couple of songs I really like – will they be able to play them?"
"They will by the end of the evening."
-xxx-
Well, as you know, rehearsals can be chaotic: impromptu sessions in the back room of a country bar/diner even more so, but Cassie's early nerves gradually gave way to amusement and then enjoyment as the evening continued.
Most of this was down to the most organised of the 'guys' – Barbara ("Call me Barb") - talented guitarist, wife of Kurt the trumpet and bass player, driving force behind 'Kurt's Kosy Cookhouse'. After listening on Jack's portable CD machine to the two tracks that Cassie had chosen, she declared that the band would be OK with the jazz number as they had played it before, but the more modern song would need two guitar players as accompaniment.
Jack's protests were of no avail, but subsided when Barb left the room and reappeared after a few moments with an elegant guitar case. She passed this over and gestured for him to open it by nodding. He carefully undid the straps and slowly slid the immaculate instrument out.
"Barb!", he gasped, looking up at her. "A Fender CD-60E? No, I couldn't possibly…"
"Yes you could, and you will." she laughed. "You're forgetting that I first heard you playing nearly forty years ago, before you went to 'Nam, and you've still got two hands and flexible fingers – as I remember to this day." She smiled saucily at him, paused a moment and added, "But you won't have if you don't treat her nice!"
It was nearly midnight when Barb called a halt. She and Cassie had hit it off really well, and so she got no resistance when she linked her arm through Cassie's and pulled her over to Jack, who was chatting with the band members.
"Cassie, you don't need me to tell you that you're a knock-out!" she exclaimed, at which Cassie blushed a little. "So here's the deal. Tomorrow is Friday Night Music in the KK Cookhouse. If we're lucky, the audience may be in double figures! We got some country band playing, but honestly, they ain't that good and they ain't that popular either. But I got 'em booked and so they'll be appearin' anyway."
Cassie's expression suddenly grew more serious, but before she could say anything, Barb continued, "You sing these two numbers during the mid-evening interval, and Jack gets to keep the guitar, so long as he promises to come here and play occasionally. What do you say?"
Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Cassie was quicker.
"Deal!" she cried, grinning at Jack.
-xxx-
Jack guessed the reason for Cassie's slightly subdued mood at breakfast the next morning, and it wasn't because they had arrived home after 1am last night.
"Nervous?" he asked gently.
"No." she said instantly. Then, "Yes. How am I going to rehearse before tonight? What am I going to wear?"
"Cass, you don't need to rehearse if you just go at it tonight like you do out on the lakeside." he replied. "And we'll go over to Barb's early evening, where she'll feed us whatever you want, and she'll sort you out what to wear. Back in the day, she was a singer herself and I know she's got everything from check shirts and jeans to evening dresses that'll fit you."
He thought for a moment before asking her to clear up the dishes while he set up his satellite phone. To her surprise, he didn't call the SGC, but another local friend. After a few minutes, he set down the phone and joined her at the kitchen sink.
"How would you like to see the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes?" he asked. "From above?"
"Sounds…. interesting." she replied without conviction, looking back at him.
"That was Rob Furland on the phone, friend of mine. He owns a little airstrip east of here and has a small collection of light planes. If you want, I can fly you round on a sightseeing tour. I need to put in more flight time anyway to keep my private pilot's license, and Rob lets me have the use of his babies from time to time. Forecast for today's weather is good – mostly sun, not too gusty. What do you say?"
-xxx-
Arriving at the hangar a little later than anticipated – Jack's daily call with Walter at the SGC had dragged on over essentials such as whether the current catering supplier's contract should be renewed – a man in greasy overalls, whom Cassie deduced was Rob Furland, appeared at the top of a small platform as he pulled his head out of the open engine cowling of a sturdy-looking biplane and waved to them as they got out of Jack's truck. "Hey, Jack!" he called.
"Hi Rob." Jack called back. "This is my god-daughter Cassie."
Rob briefly extended his hand to her, but suddenly withdrew it and waved instead as he realised that passing on a smear of black oil and grease wouldn't constitute the best of introductions.
"I was getting the Stearman ready for you, but it's leaking oil." said Rob. "I'm sorry, but it's grounded until I can fix it. The good news however is that you can take Grandpa up for a couple of hours if you want, or the Cessna if you prefer."
"Grandpa?" Cassie interjected.
"Jack's favourite." Rob replied. "There's a short training video in the office that you'll need to see first, but no-one has ever bailed out of him in seventy years." He winked at Jack as he said it.
"Grandpa is a nineteen thirties' De Havilland Tiger Moth biplane." Jack explained. "He's the greatest thing I've ever flown in. But if this is your first time in a small plane, then we ought to take the Cessna. It's that yellow and white modern one over there, and you won't be out in the open air."
Cassie couldn't afterwards explain why she did it, when she said, "No, show me Grandpa, please." She thought it was probably because of the fleeting 'small boy trying to hide disappointment' look on Jack's face. That, and she wanted to give something back to him for all that he'd done for her this week.
An hour later she was feeling uncomfortably warm in the sunshine, dressed in a thick, fleece-lined flying jacket and leather helmet. She was surprised to learn that the student/passenger sat in the plane's front seat, the pilot behind. Jack stood on the wing root to help her up, and showed her how to get in, fastening her seat straps. He then made sure her radio headset was working and her flying goggles comfortable, and finally climbed into the rear cockpit himself to go through the same routine.
Cassie saw the joystick between her knees move around as Jack tested the control surfaces and listened to him on the radio going through the final checks and communications with Rob on the ground, ending with, "Switches on. Contact!"
"Contact!" she heard Rob yell back from the front of the plane, and saw him swing the propeller blade around as hard as he could. Smoke sputtered from the exhaust outlets in the sides of the nose and the engine choked a couple of times before taking up a steady rhythm.
After a few minutes of warming up the engine and final checks, Jack called "Chocks away!", crossing his arms in front of his face and then drawing them out sideways.
"Chocks away!" shouted Rob, appearing moments later to the side of the plane, holding up two wooden blocks for Jack to see, each with a short rope attached. He gave a thumbs-up gesture and waved at Cassie, who automatically waved back. The engine note rose briefly to a roar as they moved slowly forward across the grass, zig-zagging so that Jack could see around the nose. He performed a U-turn at the edge of the field and stopped. They waited until Cassie saw a green flare rise up into the sky from near the hangar, fired by Rob.
Jack opened the throttle and Cassie was jolted around as they accelerated across the grass. Soon the vibration ceased and she realised that they had actually left the ground. "Breathe, Cassie." she heard through her earpiece, and laughed as the tension ebbed away. She was mesmerised by the sight of endless trees and hills, but as they continued to climb, the ground seemed flatter and small lakes began to appear, dark grey-green in one direction, but mirror-bright towards the sunny side. The horizon tilted slowly and she realised that they were turning when the shadows of the struts holding the upper wing marched across the fuselage.
The engine note suddenly reduced as Jack explained, "We've stopped climbing now so I've eased off on the gas. We're flying level at five thousand feet heading back toward the cabin. "I'll point it out to you in a few. You feeling OK?" Cassie started to reply, but Jack's voice cut in, "Press the button when you want to talk, remember?"
Fumbling a little in her thick gloves, she found the correct place to push and replied, "Good, thanks. This is incredible, Jack. How do you know where we are? It all looks the same."
"You get to know it after a while." he explained. "I've been flying here for over thirty years on and off, and the lakes have distinctive shapes. But just to reassure you, there's also a GPS fitted in the rear cockpit, something that this plane never had in its heyday. OK, look down over the port wing – the left one, remember? That bent finger shape is our pond. The cabin is on the left shore about a quarter of the way up. See it yet?"
Cassie looked hard and eventually saw it when she stopped squinting. "Got it!"
They flew until the cabin disappeared from view under the wing, when Jack said, "We're going to make a slow turn to the right now, and fly east towards the coast. Now, place your feet on the rudder pedals down in front of you, and hold the joystick gently in your right hand. I'll show you how the controls make the plane move. Keep hold lightly but don't resist the movements I'm making. When I say 'I have control', take your hands and feet away and say 'You have control', OK?"
"OK." she replied tersely. The joystick moved to the right and slightly towards her, and the right-hand rudder pedal angled away a short distance, the left one nearer. Then the stick moved back to the centre, but was still pulled towards her. She saw the horizon inclined at a steady angle and the shadows move slowly across the plane once more.
"See how we keep the nose in line with the horizon?" said Jack. "If we didn't pull the stick back a little in the turn, the nose would drop and we'd start to lose height. When we're facing the direction we want to go, we'll push the stick over to the left until the wings are level again, then centre the pedals and stick."
"Understood, I think." said Cassie. She no longer felt too warm and was glad of the protection provided by her flying clothes in the rushing wind.
"We're flying near the border to your homeland now." said Jack a little later. "It's over on the left. Mustn't get too near – they might think they're being invaded by aliens."
"Funny, Jack." she replied in a deadpan voice, but it was funny too in another sense: she had never actually seen Canada before.
Before long she saw the silver-grey mass of Lake Superior ahead of them. "We're going to make another right turn and fly along the coast for a while." said Jack. "Would you like to take hold of the controls again and follow it through?"
"OK." she replied, placing her hand and feet in position. She felt a little more confident this time and anticipated Jack's movements. The turn wasn't quite as steady, though, and the horizon was definitely above the nose by the time they were flying along the coastline.
"Jack?" she said, suddenly a little nervous.
"Just pull the stick back a little…. That's it. Now you can centre it again. And there we are. You can let go now, I have control. Cassie, congratulations, you just made your first manoeuvre. I had my hand loosely on the stick, but you were moving it."
The minutes ticked by, and Cassie was totally absorbed by the panoramic view of the shoreline, sometimes woody, then rocky, with the occasional small town or hamlet perched on a cliff edge. Just offshore, she found beauty in the patterns on the shallow sea bed before it plunged suddenly into the depths. Jack announced that they were going to make a left turn and fly back just a short distance from the coast before heading back inland. Cassie 'helped' with the controls again, and noticed this time how the pointers on the instrument in front of her marked 'Slip' and 'Turn' responded as they steered the plane round.
"We got company." Jack announced as they flew on. "Below on the right at about four o'clock."
She peered round and caught sight of a bright orange helicopter climbing to their altitude. As it came closer and flew alongside, she saw the US Coast Guard inscription and noticed the pilot smiling and waving cheerily to them, and joined Jack in waving back. The pilot saluted and dived away suddenly, the turbulence from the rotor blades rocking the Tiger Moth from side to side.
"Just checking us out." Jack explained. "Although if the pilot is who I think he is, he was probably checking you out as well."
"Is there anybody in Minnesota you don't know?" laughed Cassie.
"Well, it's a big state, so there must be a few." he replied nonchalantly.
As they flew back inland, Jack showed Cassie how to throttle back the engine and descend until the altimeter showed three thousand feet. "I have control." he then announced. "Let's go surprise Kurt and Barb." He turned again, more sharply this time, and Cassie felt the force pushing her down into her seat as the horizon tilted steeply. Their speed increased and the trees seemed closer than before, until they were flashing past below the wingtips.
"Coming up on your right." he said, hauling back on the stick and pulling another sharp turn to the right this time. The Cookhouse suddenly came into view in a large clearing and Jack continued the tight circle, keeping the building in view past the starboard wingtips. On the second circuit, two figures emerged from the large house behind the restaurant and waved at them, prompting them both once again to return the gesture. After a final pass, Jack waggled the wings and climbed away, levelling out at again three thousand feet.
"Back to base now." he announced, and they flew steadily for a further fifteen minutes. Jack circled the airfield once, looking in all directions to check that no other aircraft were in the vicinity, and cut back the throttle as they descended slowly. With one small bounce, they landed back on the grass strip and turned to taxy to the hangar. As they pulled up just short of the concrete apron, Jack cut the engine and Cassie found her ears ringing in the sudden silence.
Rob appeared holding a camera, and motioned for them to stay in the plane as he took a few shots from different angles. When he had finished, Jack undid his straps and climbed onto the wing to help Cassie out of her seat. As she reached the ground, she spontaneously hugged Jack and to Rob's surprise, did the same to him.
When she found her voice, she was effusive in her thanks. The others beamed back at her and Jack just commented, "We know, Cass. It was just the same for us the first time."
"Too right!" Rob agreed. "You folks can come back any time, you know that, don't you? Jack, I'll email the photos to you tomorrow."
Then Cassie completely surprised Jack with her next statement. "Thanks, Rob. I'm singing a couple of songs at Kurt's Cookhouse this evening, and Jack will be playing. Come along if you can, and I'll dedicate the songs to you for all this!"
'Nerves? What nerves?' thought Jack. 'Mission accomplished!'
-xxx-
Cassie laughed as Barb greeted them with, "Well, if it ain't the two hotshot pilots themselves! Only you would pull a stunt here like that, Jack." As she led them indoors, she and Kurt made them feel welcome, and they talked for around an hour before he disappeared into the kitchen to prepare supper, refusing offers of help. Cassie and Barb left for a tour of the Cookhouse's sound stage, followed by Barb's extensive wardrobe.
Jack sat back in the comfort of the armchair, and couldn't resist closing his eyes – 'just for a few moments', he thought. His last conscious thought for the next half hour was how rapidly Cassie was changing before his eyes from a bored and sometimes resentful teenager into an outgoing young woman with ambition and drive. The sound of Kurt's voice offering him a beer jolted him awake, and supper was a pleasant affair with Cassie sounding relaxed and happy.
-xxx-
Barb's audience estimate of 'maybe into double figures' turned out to be an underestimate: just over thirty people sat at tables or stood in the background as the country and western group played the final notes of 'Sweet Home Alabama', receiving generous applause and a few appreciative whistles as they placed their instruments at the rear and trooped off to the bar.
Barb's regular musicians, accompanied by Cassie and Jack, brought a variety of wind and stringed instruments with them as they assembled on stage against the hubbub of chatter from the crowd. They hushed when Barb turned up the stage lighting and walked up to the front microphone.
"Hi to all our regulars and a few new faces, I see!" she announced cheerily. "Welcome. Tonight during the interval, we're honoured to have two guests performing with us. Some of you know Jack O'Neill, who spends time up here with us in Northern Minnesota when he can. Welcome back, Jack!"
A mixture of cheers, applause and whistles greeted her announcement, before she continued, "And an extra special welcome to Jack's god-daughter, Miss Cassie Fraiser, who's singing with us for the first time, and I sincerely hope, not the last, tonight."
More applause, and a few appreciative male voices arose as Cassie, dressed in a white, sparkling slim-line evening dress stepped into the spotlight and smiled at the crowd.
"We're just doing four numbers now, each one a different kind of music. So settle down, and we'll start with an old jazz tune that's always been a favourite of mine. Let's go, guys!"
[ Chris Barber and Ottilie Patterson Careless Love ] v=fZQUdGiEK80
With Kurt leading on the trombone, Cassie's voice came over sharp and crystal clear. She had learned quickly from Barb last night how to balance the volume of her voice against the sound level of the music, and the crowd were soon slowly nodding and tapping their feet in time. As her voice rose from melodious to forceful in the last stanza and the final notes faded, loud applause broke out and continued for around half a minute. Cassie was beaming, and made to bow in thanks, but Barb touched her arm and said quietly in her ear, "Don't show them your assets yet!", causing her to laugh.
"Turn it down again, folks!" said Barb into the microphone. "Cassie will be back in action a little later. Next, Kurt's gonna sing one of my favourites from the 'sixties, while Jack and the rest of us attempt to keep up with him. Let's go, Kurt honey!"
[ Beatles I've Just Seen a Face ] v=ZBKguCMKjCA
After several of the older audience members had been singing along with the band, wild applause came once more as the song finished. Even the country and western band crowded into the doorway to witness the proceedings.
"Right, settle down, everyone. We're now doing a blues number, with Jack making his first public performance since nineteen hundred and frozen to death!" said Barb, smiling ingenuously at him. "So go easy on him, OK? Take it away, Jack!"
After a couple of moments to compose himself with the microphone adjusted to his seated position at the front, Jack nodded to the band and began to sing and play his new instrument, with Barb leading on her electric guitar.
[ Fleetwood Mac Man of the World ] v=-nMGJSHZIw4
Cassie stood to the side, swaying gently to the music, noticing how much Jack was putting his soul into the words, and sighed deeply as he wound down, joining in the applause. Then she squared her shoulders and prepared for her next big moment.
"OK, our final number this evening." Barb announced. "Cassie only leaned this song a few days ago, and I can tell you that you're in for a treat. Cassie? Jack?"
She strode to the front of the stage to stand beside Jack's chair, and after a moment's pause, nodded to him and they started together, with Barb adding the second guitar during the song.
[ Eva Cassidy Fields of Gold ] v=9UVjjcOUJLE
The crowd rose to its feet, cheering and shouting for more as they applauded. Cassie bowed and motioned for Jack to stand and join her, which he did.
-xxx-
They regrouped back in the bar, stacked the instruments in the corner and sat down to a round of drinks – "On the house!" – Kurt had insisted. Rob Furland and another audience member came over to them, and Cassie realised that she hadn't dedicated the songs to him as promised, but Rob insisted that her invitation to come and listen was more than sufficient.
"I thought you'd like this tonight." said Rob, handing her a brown envelope. "The email will still be going out tomorrow, so you'll have the files as well."
Cassie thanked him and opened the package to reveal some 8 by 10 prints on glossy photo paper. Everyone peered over and saw the views of the Tiger Moth at the airfield, with Cassie looking every bit the nineteen thirties' aviatrix, beaming out of the cockpit at the camera, flying goggles pushed up on her leather helmet and a black smudge across her face below the outline of the eyewear. Her favourite, though, was the one of Jack and herself side-by-side in front of the aircraft after they had got out, both giving thumbs-up gestures.
"I hope you'll accept this one too, Miss Fraiser." said the stranger, handing over another envelope. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Eugene Devereux, US Coast Guard. We routinely photograph all the traffic that we come across. We took that this afternoon, out over the coast."
Cassie smiled as she saw the high-definition image of the two of them greeting the helicopter, and held it for Jack to see. "How did you know where to find us tonight?", she asked.
"We know Rob's planes well, so I called him and asked who was flying Grandpa today." replied Eugene. "He told us."
He turned to Jack and said, "Good evening, Colonel O'Neill. Good to see you again, sir. Dad sends you his best, but he's not so mobile these days, otherwise he'd have come too."
"Back at ya, Eugene." Jack replied. "You wish him the best and tell him I'll make time to come over on my next trip up here. And you can tell him he'll have to start saluting again – the Air Force in its misguided wisdom made me a General."
The young officer's involuntary reaction was to straighten up, almost to parade ground attention, but Jack gestured for him to relax. "Cut the crap off-duty, Eugene. I remember when you were born!". Eugene blushed as everyone laughed.
-xxx-
Back at the cabin, Cassie was still on cloud nine as she said goodnight at her bedroom door. "This has been the best week of my life, Jack."
And she meant it. Jack sat back on the sofa and grinned at her as stroked his new guitar case. "Me too, kid. Me too. Best in a long, long while."
-xxx-