Title: Past into Present

Author: Secret Art

Date: 4th July 2004

Rating: PG

Category: romance, angst

Pairings: Sam/Jack, hinted Daniel/Janet

Spoilers: knowledge of who Cassie is,

Summary: A face from the past surprises Sam in the form of Cassie's new friend

Archive: where ever you want, I'm not fussy

Feedback: can only make me better

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.

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Janet rushed around the kitchen, trying to ignore Daniel talking to himself whilst working on something, and get the food ready for the group gathering she had organised.

Cassie was watching TV with her new friend Emma, and Janet felt slightly sorry for the girl, having to meet Cassie's extended family, yet Janet couldn't help but feel that there was something about the girl, something familiar that made Janet feel that she would be ok.

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Jack pulled up beside Janet's house and Teal'c exited immediately, sick of the constant bickering between the other two passengers.

Jack watched him go before turning back to Sam. "At now we can argue about what swe are arguing about."

She glared at him, "we are not telling them about our engagement. Cassie has a friend over as well, and I'm not sure I want to trust a random stranger with a secret I'm not sure I'm ready to drop on our best friends. It's too dangerous." Hers eyes pleaded with him to understand what she was saying, to accept the reality of their situation.

He smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "We'll wait, for now. But we are going to have to tell them eventually."

She nodded, feeling in her pocket for the ring she had taken off when they had picked up Teal'c.

They got out of the car, walking to Janet's open door, Teal'c having been let in by Cassie.

They walked into the front room, smiling at the people already gathered.

Sam froze, staring at Cassie's friend.

Cassie, mistaking the shock for interest, rushed over, dragging her friend behind her. "Sam, Jack, this is my friend…"

"Emma!" Sam blurted out, receiving confused looks from everyone in the room.

Janet moved over, looking from Sam to Emma and then back again. "You two know each other?"

The question was aimed at Sam but it was Emma that answered. "Sam and my mum have been friends for years."

Sam winced slightly at the phrase before looking around to see if anyone noticed.

When it became apparent neither one was going to say anything else on the matter Janet decided that she should probably play hostess. "Anyone want a drink?"

There were murmurs of agreement and Janet started towards the kitchen, pausing when she felt Sam's hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get the drinks, you keep everyone entertained."

Receiving a nod and a concerned glance from Janet, Sam walked to the kitchen, her mind whirring, unable to process what she had just seen, her past and present colliding.

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They watched her go, surprised at her odd reaction to Emma.

Janet moved over to the young woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm surer it's nothing personal."

"It's just been so long since we last saw each other, we've both changed so much."

Jack hesitantly took a step forward, unsure of what to do. "Maybe I should go talk to her?"

Emma shook her head, smiling at the man. "No, I'll go. I know what is bothering her."

Watching her leave they share looks, confused as to what is happening, yet unwilling to open the can of worms.

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Sam paused, hearing movement behind her and turned to see Emma stood in the doorway.

"You want a hand with those?" She asked, pointing at the cups.

Sam smiled and moved over, giving Emma enough space to move next to her.

"So you're Cassie's amazing second mother."

Sam blushed, ducking her head and smiling slightly. "Story of my life."

Emma's smile faded, and she putdown the bottle of milk she had been holding and turned to face the older woman. "Mother's aren't just the women that bring you up, they can also be women that have great influence over you and of course, your biological mother."

Sam laughed, tilting her head towards Emma. "Isn't it normally the other way around?"

They both turned to the doorway as footsteps approached, followed by the appearance of Cassie in the doorway.

"Emma, you coming? The others want a chance to get to know you." She turned to Sam, trying to see what still needed to be done.

"I'll be fine. You two go ahead."

Cassie bounced back out of sight and Emma followed, pausing at the doorway.

"I don't consider you a second mother, you are my real mother. It wasn't your fault that you couldn't look after me, just like you couldn't look after Cassie because of your job." She sighed, looking straight into Sam's eyes. "You were too young, too ambitious to have given me a good life so you gave me the best gift of all, a normal family life." She turned and left, leaving Sam stood in the kitchen, pondering what had just been said.

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Sam took a deep breath before moving into the room, the tray of drinks held in front of her almost as a shield.

Pausing in the doorway she scanned the room, her eyes passing first over Daniel and Janet, talking quietly in the corner, to Teal'c, sat in an armchair, watching everyone else, and finally to Cassie, Emma and Jack, deep in discussion.

She caught Jack's eye and they shared a smile. Taking a deep breath she moved into the room, placing the tray of drinks on the table, the noise alerting everone of her pressence.

Picking up her own drink Sam noticed Cassie, silently pointing at her and glaring at Jack, and she shifted uncomfortably, her eyes going to Emma, who simply rolled her own, alleviating dome of the fear.

"Sam?" She turned to see Cassie, poking Jack in the arm. "Jack wants to ask you something."

"Oh?"

"alright, I'll ask her, just please stop poking me." Cassie stopped immediately, grinning as she stepped away from him.

He shifted uncomfortably under the combined gaze of Sam and Cassie before sighing. "We need your help to solve an argument. Who would win a fight…" he pointed at himself, "Homer…" and then at the girls, "or Marge."

Sam laughed, her tension from the last few minutes evaporating. "Well, Homer has the weight advantage yet Marge always seems brighter." She paused shaking her head in amusement at the way Jack smirked when she appeared to be on his side, and then the girls pulling tongues when she mention their 'side'. "Plus, in more than one episode Homer has appeared helpless without her. However Marge is quite Gentle, not getting violent often, where as Homer is quite a violent man." She paused again, this time blushing at the shocked faces in front of her. "Homer would probably win a physical fight, however I don't see either of them being willing to fight each other. Marge would win a mental contest. Both of these would depend on which side the children chose, as it would be impossible not to include them in the fight."

She was greeted by silence, one that made her slightly uncomfortable so she turned to Cassie. "How did the argument start?"

"Lets not start it again." Janet pleaded, collapsing on the sofa.

Daniel sat down next to her, looking straight at Emma with an interest usually reserved only for his artefacts. "How did you and Cassie meet?"

"That's a very good question," Jack agreed, leaning against the wall.

"We've got the same lessons in school." The girls grinned at each other.

Sam watched in silence as they continued to chat, happy at how easily Emma had fit into the group, yet terrified that one of them would spot the resemblance between them and work out the true nature of their relationship.

Jack caught her eye, raising an eyebrow to ask her whether she was ok. She nodded her head, feeling bad for lying to him, the ring she had hidden in her pocket a reminder that she would have to tell him at least.