Chapter 3

They were eating dinner on their third day at Jack's cabin, now half way through their five day stay when Sam's cell phone rang. Jack had left orders at the SGC that there were only to be contacted in an emergency, meaning that they couldn't dial the gate or the world was about to end, anything else, he had claimed, could wait until they got back.

All of their cell phones, well Jack, Sam, and Daniel's cell phones (since Teal'c didn't have one) had been strategically placed in a basket on the kitchen counter and hadn't been touched other than to check for voicemails the entire time they had been there.

So when Sam's cell rang, Jack grabbed it before Sam could even get to it.

"I thought I told them not to call," Jack grumbled as he went to check the display.

"Sir!" Sam objected, "That's not the SGC-it's Cassie."

"Oh," Jack said as he confirmed this was indeed true and handed the phone over to Sam.

Sam hit a button and walked out onto the deck to talk with Cassie.

"Cassie," Sam greeted the girl, who was like a daughter to her.

"Sam," the girl on the other end of the phone sobbed.

"Hey, calm down Cassie. Whatever is wrong, I'm sure that we can fix it," Sam reassured the younger girl.

"No you can't," the girl continued to sob.

"I know that I can Cassie, but to fix it I need to know what's wrong," Sam pleaded with the girl.

"I miss Mom," the girl blurted out.

Sam didn't really have anything to say to that, so she settled for "Oh honey. We all do."

Sam's years of military training was the only thing that kept her from jumping when she felt Jack's hand on her shoulder. He held out his hand for the phone, which Sam handed to him.

"Cassie," he suggested, "How about I call someone and get you on the next plane to Minnesota?"

Obviously the girl agreed as he said, "Okay, go pack and I'll call you with flight details."

He hung up the phone and handed it back to Sam. Jack then pulled out his own cell phone, most likely to make a call to Walter who would arrange the flight.

Sam just remained seated on the same bench that Jack had found her at last night while Jack carried on a quick conversation with Walter, then waited while the man checked flight status, and finally repeated the flight details out loud looking directly at Sam so that she could 'help' him remember, but by that time she already had Cassie on the phone and Sam just repeated the message to her.

Sam hung up, but only after promising that she would be there to greet the girl when her plane arrived at the base.

Jack settled himself next to Sam, not quite touching her, but close enough that she could lean into him if she wanted.

Which she was going to do, until Daniel stuck his head out the back door, and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Sam looked at Jack and silently asked if he would explain this, and he responded with a nod.

Standing up, Jack wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulder and led her into the house. "Come on Spacemonkey, and we'll tell you and Teal'c all about our extra guest."

And that was how Samantha Carter ended up sitting on a couch, curled up next to Jack O'Neill, explaining that Cassandra Fraiser would soon be joining them.

Daniel's face registered a look of shock as something clicked in his head, "You realize that tomorrow is Janet's birthday, right?"

Sam closed her eyes in that realization as Teal'c spoke, "Indeed."

Sam opened her eyes to look at her friends, "We always did something special for Janet's birthday, just the three of us girls."

"And this is the first time she isn't here to celebrate," Jack finished.

"So what are we going to do?" Daniel asked.

"You aren't going to do anything," Jack declared. "Sam and I are going to go meet Cassie's plane and we'll take our lead from her. It sounds like she needs to sleep and just have the people that care about her the most around."

"Daniel Jackson, should we not prepare sleeping accommodations for Cassandra Fraiser?" Teal'c asked, drawing the attention away from Daniel's desire to go with Sam and Jack.

"I guess," Daniel relented, standing up to follow Teal'c to the linen closet.

----

Jack and Sam had to flash their military ID in order to get on the base. Given the late hour, the guards were even more suspicious of an unknown vehicle with two unknown Air Force personnel, but someone had called ahead and forewarned the base CO of their arrival, with orders not to bother whoever came with them.

The two officers stood side-by-side as they had for years when faced with a challenge, and watched as Cassie's plane touched down. They watched Air Force officers in dress blues leave first before the last occupant of the plane, a girl with long blonde hair, walked down the stairs. The whole way down she looked around the badly lit area for Sam and Jack. When she reached the bottom, she dropped her bag and ran towards the two people that were there to greet her.

Jack and Sam sandwiched her in a hug, concentrating solely on the girl between them, who had once again started crying. Sam held Cassie tight against her and Jack's arms had someone worked their way around so that he was not only holding Cassie, but Sam too.

Sam felt Jack's arms disappear and she looked up to see a young man, in his mid to late 20's, dressed in Air Force blues.

"Colonel O'Neill?" The man asked as he stood at attention, despite holding a bag in each hand.

"Actually it's General now," Jack corrected lightly for what must have been the hundredth time by Sam's count.

"Congratulation sir, you earned it. Umm…I doubt you remember me General but I served at um, NORAD for a short time under General Hammond and then Dr. Weir. Last I heard you were…gone," the young man said as he carefully chose his words. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad that you're okay sir, and that I appreciate the sacrifice that you and the others there have made over the years. If memory serves me right, this is Doctor Fraiser's daughter?"

Jack and Sam both nodded as Cassie pulled out of Sam's arms to turn around and look at the man for the first time.

The man looked at Cassie's tear streaked face, and set down both of the bags he was carrying. "Your mother was a great doctor and an amazing person. A lot of people are alive today because she was there for them. My mom's favorite saying was 'Life's not fair', and I would say that life has been most unfair to you ma'am, but for that comes my mom's other favorite saying, 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. You have a very bright future young lady. One that I am sure will do your mother proud."

Those words made Sam's heart break as she watched Cassie hug the Air Force Captain just like she had Jack and Sam moments earlier. The Captain was at a loss as to what he was supposed to do, but he just wrapped his arms around the girl and looked at the two superior officers in front of him with a look that said 'What am I supposed to do?'

Jack shrugged his shoulders as he reached over to place an arm around Sam, uncaring about what the Captain might think.

Sam stiffened slightly before wrapping her own arm around Jack's waist and mouthing a 'Thank you' to the Captain, to which he nodded his acceptance of her gratitude.

Without a word, Cassie let go of the man and turned again to Sam, who removed herself from Jack so that she could once again hug the younger girl. Sam watched as the Captain picked up one back, only to have to switch hands so that he could shake Jack's hand. Jack then accepted the bag which Sam presumed belonged to Cassie and nodded her own thanks to the man who turned and walked away. Sam watched him until the darkness swallowed him up, grateful for the man's words.

Jack placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder, which caused Cassie to pull away from Sam. "Let's go," he said softly, "Daniel and Teal'c are waiting on us.

Jack threw one arm around Cassie's shoulder as his other hand carried her suitcase. Sam tossed her own arm around the girl's shoulder and the three of them walked silently towards Jack's truck.

The ride back to the cabin was done mostly in silence, and was slightly uncomfortable as Cassie had slid in between Jack and Sam in the front of the pick-up truck.

Jack pulled into the driveway and turned off the truck's engine, catching a glimpse of Teal'c and Daniel waiting for them on the front porch.

Jack turned to look at the two women sitting next to him, only to realize that Cassie had fallen asleep sometime during the drive. She had carefully situated herself so that her head was on Sam's shoulder, though it was at a slightly awkward angle.

Sam watched as Daniel rushed to greet them, while Teal'c followed at a more sedate pace.

"Teal'c," Jack requested as he slid out of the driver's seat, "Can you carry Cassie in?"

Teal'c nodded and reached in to carefully scoot Cassie out of her spot in the truck. Once he was done, Sam got out and followed the rest of her 'family' into the cabin. Cassie didn't wake up as Teal'c placed her on the sofa bed in the living room, or while Sam took off her shoes, nor when Jack carefully tucked the covers in around the sleeping girl.

The group quietly adjourned to the room that Daniel and Teal'c were sharing.

"Will she be okay?" Daniel asked, breaking the silence.

"Cassandra Fraiser is a strong young woman," Teal'c stated, "I have no doubt that she will become an improved version of her previous self."

Jack looked confused for a few seconds before chuckling, "That's better than she was before Teal'c."

Before anyone else could say anything, Sam jumped in. "She needs us right now," Sam insisted, "And if we are there for her, Cassie will be all right. I just wish I had realized she wasn't okay before-"

Daniel interrupted, "We are all responsible Sam, not just you."

Sam nodded willing to accept his opinion, for now.

"Let's get some sleep," Jack suggested, "And we'll figure it out tomorrow."

The friends said their good nights, while Sam and Jack left the room for their own.

----

The only reason Sam heard anything, was because her room was right next to Jack's. But it wasn't movement that woke her, but the quiet sound of a crying, no sobbing girl was what caused Sam to creep out of her own room and towards Jack's.

She peered through the open door, the moonlight allowing her to see Cassie was wrapped in a Jack O'Neill hug as she sat on his bed.

Jack's eyes met Sam's and silently requested her assistance in dealing with the young woman.

Cassie was slightly startled when she felt a second set of hands on her back, but relaxed instantly when Sam's voice whispered in ear, "It's okay Cassie, you're here with us now, nothing is going to happen to you."

Once her crying had ended, Cassie looked at Jack and asked, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Of course," he replied, hugging the girl.

Sam moved to leave the two alone, only to have Cassie plead and latch on to her, "Don't leave me Sam."

Sam locked gazed with Jack, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod, indicating that she should stay, lifting the covers so that both of the women could slide into bed. With Cassie in the middle, Jack reached out and wrapped the two most important women in his life up in his arms.

It didn't take long for the three of them to drift off to sleep.

----

Daniel peered into Sam's room the next morning to see the bed was unmade, but no Sam. Already knowing that Cassie was not in her bed, Daniel continued down the hallway to Jack's room, only to stop at the sight that greeted him.

The only thing visible in the pile of bodies was the unmistakable hair of Jack O'Neill, which was going in every which direction and two more piles of hair, one which was Sam's blonde and another that belonged to Cassie. Both women had somehow managed to twist around and now lay diagonal across the bed, resting their heads on Jack's chest. It was the fact that Jack's arm was slung so possessively across Sam though that surprised Daniel.

Daniel turned around only to see Teal'c waiting patiently for him at the end of the hallway.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said quietly, yet in a stern tone, "I suggest that you do not disturb O'Neill, Colonel Carter, nor Cassandra Fraiser. They are all in need of their rest."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Daniel confirmed, already dreaming up ways he could embarrass Jack with the scene he had just encountered.

----

It's Cassie who emerged first from Jack's bedroom. First she went to the bathroom and changed clothes. Then, she went out to the back porch where Daniel and Teal'c were sitting.

"There's coffee if you want it," Daniel said by way of greeting, his nose buried in a rather thick book.

"Don't want any," Cassie insisted.

"Would you care for some nourishment?" Teal'c asked.

"Not right now Teal'c," Cassie answered.

"What do you want Cassie?" Daniel asked, turning his full attention to the girl as he shut the book.

In typical teenage fashion, Cassie shrugged her shoulders.

Daniel took that to mean that she didn't want to talk, so he once again opened his book and returned to reading it.

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