"Cas, it's so good to see you!" Sam hugged her hard, causing the young woman to laugh.

"It's great to see you, too, Sam. It feels like forever!"

"It's only been a few weeks, but we've both been busy. Put your bag down – we'll take it up later. I'm just finishing dinner, so come with me to the kitchen. So, you said your exams went well."

"Mmm hmm," Cassie nodded. "I felt pretty good about all of them. It's nice to be finished though. I have a bit of a break before summer classes - Jack!" she squealed as she entered the kitchen and saw him sitting there. She rushed up to him, and as he stood she threw her arms around him. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Jack laughed. "I missed this young lady I know, and decided to come out and see her!"

"Really?" Cassie leaned back and looked at him intently. "You really came to see me."

"Of course," he hugged her again. "I needed some Cassie hugs and some teasing!"

"You mean Sam didn't tease you when she was in D.C?" she asked with a laugh.

"Oh yeah," he rolled his eyes. "Hey – why is it the women in my life feel like they have to do that?"

"Daniel teases you as well. And, now that I think of it, so does Teal'c."

Jack got a sad look on his face. "Hey, you're right. Why is that?"

"Because we love you, Uncle Jack. Teasing is the sincerest form of – caring."

"Well, then, I'm just going to have to return the favor!" he said. "Now, tell me all about college and your life here in Nevada."

Cassie took another stool at the island and chatted away as Sam finished dinner. Soon they were all eating and laughing - just like old times.

Jack couldn't help but feel a stab of sorrow as he remembered the times like this with Janet. He hoped she was up there looking at the three of them, knowing that he and Sam would always look after Cassie for her.

"So, how hard was it to look after Jack when he was sick," she suddenly asked Sam.

"He was actually pretty good," Sam told her. "You see, now that I'm not serving under him, I can make him behave and he can't accuse me of insubordination!"

"Wow, I didn't think of that. That's right – you're no longer in the same chain of command." She looked at both Jack and Sam. "Does it feel strange?" she asked.

"Well," he answered, "it took some getting used to. I had to stop ordering her around." Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Now that I come to think of it, it didn't take long for her to answer back. In fact, I distinctly remember her telling me to not be an ass almost immediately after we didn't serve together!"

"Did you really Sam?" Cassie whistled. "What did he do?"

"Well, at first I could tell he wanted to give me the old "Colonel O'Neill" look – the one he used to get when I'd be out of line. But then I could see him remember that that wouldn't work on me anymore."

"So, what did he do?"

"I gave in," Jack said with a sigh. "I realized I had finally met my match."

Cassie giggled. "You guys are funny! I remember my Mom saying that if ever Sam didn't report to you, then you'd better look out!" She reached over for the bowl of mashed potatoes and served herself, completely missing the looks that passed between the other two.

"So, can you stay the whole weekend?" she asked Jack. "It'll be fun to hang out together."

"Mmm hmm," he nodded. "I don't have to be back at work for over a week."

Suddenly Cassie frowned. "But where will you stay? Sam has only the one extra room." She turned to her friend. "Unless you got an air bed or sofa bed? Or I could sleep on the couch."

Sam was pretty sure she was giving the impression of a fish, her mouth hanging open and her eyes bugging out. Cassie looked at her, a puzzled look on her face. She then swung to look at Jack.

Jack was looking at her with sympathy, and with something else, which she couldn't quite define. After a second, though, her eyes narrowed and she turned back to Sam. Both of them could see the moment she realized what was going on.

"No," she whispered. "No way! Don't tell me …" She slowly stood from the stool and backed away from the island. "How could you!" she said, again whispering.

"Cassie," Jack stood up, but she instantly retreated.

"NO! Stay away from me." She looked back and forth between the two people she loved more than anyone else still alive. "You're my family!" she cried. "The only family I have left. How could you do this to me!" At that she turned and ran from the room. A few seconds later they heard the door to her bedroom slam shut.

There was silence in the kitchen, until Jack finally grimaced. "That went well."

"God – what are we going to do?" Sam asked, tearfully. After a quick hug from Jack she pulled away and began gathering up the dirty dishes.

The two of them cleaned up the kitchen in silence, unsure what to say or do. Finally, as the last dish was dried, Jack sighed and put his arms around Sam.

"Should we go and talk to her?"

"No, I think we need to leave her for a while," Sam answered. "At least she didn't leave the house."

"I feel so guilty, but -"

"There's no reason to feel guilty," Sam interrupted. "We haven't done anything wrong. She just didn't know about the two of us. I guess Janet felt it was best not to say anything."

"Yeah. She was too young to understand."

"I didn't understand and I'm a lot older than her. The whole situation was – well – strange. It's no wonder it took her by surprise," Sam explained.

"Hell, it took me by surprise," Jack grinned slightly, although his face soon grew serious. "Do you think she'll forgive us?"

Sam sighed. "I think so, although it may take a while. She's gone through so many losses and changes in her life. I do feel badly for her."

"Yeah, me too. In the end I hope she realizes that this is actually a good thing. She'll have the both of us together."

"I'm sure she wonders where she sits with us - now that we're together. She must feel like it's another loss."

"Well, we'll just have to show her that we love her every bit as much as we always have and this won't change a thing. She's more like a daughter to me than a niece."

"I know, me too," Sam agreed. "I should check on her and then we can get to bed."

"Shall I sleep on the couch?" he asked. "Do you think that will make her feel better?"

"Maybe," Sam agreed, "although I think I should sleep there. You're too tall for my couch and it'll be uncomfortable, especially with your ribs."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that couch," he told her. "If I'm gonna be living here I have to have one that fits me."

She grinned at him. "And who says I'll let you lie out on my couch, anyway," she told him.

"Hey, if I move in here, what's yours will be mine!"

She laughed and turned off the lights and then followed him upstairs. "I'll just get some sheets and blankets and make up the couch for myself."

"Sam, I hate to kick you out of your bed," he told her. "Maybe I shouldn't have come after all."

"No, I'm glad you're here. And it won't kill me to sleep on the couch. I've slept in much worse places than that." She went to her closet and was reaching for the blankets when there was a tap on the door.

Sam looked at Jack with a surprised look and then headed to the door, the blankets in hand. She opened it to see the tear-stained face of Cassie.

"Cas – oh my dear," she said. "Please don't cry."

Cassie sniffed and wiped her face. "What are you doing with those?" she gestured to the blankets.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch. It's too short for Jack."

"Why doesn't he sleep with you?" she asked. "He's obviously done it before."

Sam sighed. "Cassie – I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. I know this is hard, and we didn't mean to upset you, but we needed to tell you the truth."

"How long?" she asked.

"How long have we been together? Not long, just a few weeks. We kept it quiet from everyone until we were sure it was going to work out."

"Teal'c and Daniel know?"

"They do now," she told her. "But not for the first little while. It's not that we were ashamed, or trying to hide things – it was just that it was all so new and – well, we were worried about telling you."

Cassie nodded, although she wouldn't look at either Sam or Jack. "I don't suppose you want me here then, do you?"

"What? Of course we do! Cassie, we love you – just as if you really were our daughter. That hasn't changed at all!"

"Cassie," Jack walked up to the door and looked down at the young woman. "Sam is right. I know you call me Uncle Jack, but I've always thought of you more as a daughter than a niece. I love you so much, kiddo – and this doesn't change a thing. I'm sorry we sprung this on you like this, but we wanted you to know – and to know that this doesn't change anything about how we feel about you."

Cassie glanced up quickly, but then looked down again. "But you have her now."

"Yes – as my – as my girlfriend. But that's a different relationship than I have with you – not more, not less – just different."

"But you'll want to spend all your time with her."

"Cassie – I want to spend time with both of you - sometimes together, sometimes separately. You and I will still go fishing and skating together – and there are times it will be just the two of us. Please don't be mad at us. Just because we love one another, doesn't mean we love you any less."

"It just – it just feels weird," she cried.

"I know," Sam said, finally turning and putting the blankets down. "Sometimes it still feels weird for us too. I occasionally still call him General – and then it feels really weird!"

"And you're not going to get into trouble for this?"

"No – it's okay since we're not in the same chain of command," Jack told her.

"But we still have to be careful, because people will start rumors that we were together before this – and that isn't true."

"It's not? You didn't love each other before Jack moved to Washington."

Jack and Sam looked at one another – but it was clear they needed to tell the truth. The last thing they wanted to do was to ever lie to Cassie.

"Yes, we did," Jack said softly, "but we never did anything about it. We couldn't and we had too much respect for each other and the Air Force to disobey the regulations."

"Did my Mom know?" Cassie asked suddenly.

"She did," Sam nodded, "at least she knew that we had feelings for one another. She also knew we couldn't do anything about it."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Cassie, by the time you were old enough to understand, things had changed. Sam started dating Pete – and well, we had both decided to move on. We didn't think there was ever going to be a chance for the two of us so – it no longer mattered. I'm sure your Mom thought the feelings between us were gone."

"Oh my God – Pete!" Cassie turned in shock and looked directly at Sam. "You gave up Jack for Pete?"

"Cassie," Jack said warningly. "Pete was a nice guy and Sam needed someone. She couldn't be with me."

"And you just let her go?"

Jack winced. "I didn't want to Cas, but I had no right to hold on to her. It wouldn't have been fair to her."

Cassie rolled her eyes and then looked again at Sam. "I can't believe you would choose him over Jack. I mean, there's no comparison."

Sam was starting to look a bit irritated, so Jack intervened.

"Cassie, that's not fair. It wasn't a case of choosing between us.
She couldn't choose me."

"Why did you go with Pete if you loved Jack?" the young woman asked curiously.

Sam sighed again and moved to the bed and sat down. Jack soon followed and sat beside her, on the other corner so as not to be too close. Cassie stepped a few feet into the room and stood, looking down at both of them. Sam had a brief thought that she felt like she was looking at a judge and jury combined in Cassie.

"I wanted a life," she said softly. "I could feel the clock ticking and knew that if I ever wanted to get married or have a family I'd have to find someone pretty soon. And then – I was injured and hallucinated Jack telling me to go and get a life."

Cassie's eyebrow went up and she looked incredulously at Sam. "You hallucinated him telling you to go out and get a boyfriend?"

"That's what I said," Jack pointed out, which drew him a glare from his love. "Well, I didn't tell you to go and get a life – and I wouldn't have, so don't get mad at me. You're the one who hallucinated something so ridiculous."

"I know, I know," Sam answered with a groan. "And I'm never going to live it down. But it seemed like the right thing to do at a time – and Pete was a nice man and I will always feel badly for hurting him."

"So when did you discover that you still loved Jack?" Cassie wanted to know.

"I don't think I ever discovered it – I knew it all the time. I just hid it from myself. There were a few things that happened that made me realize how much I still loved him, though."

"Really?" Jack looked at her in surprise. "You haven't told me this. What were the things?"

"Well, when you saved me from the super soldier and then held me, when you had the ancient download again and I thought you were going to die, and then when you got shot. I knew at all those times – and a few others as well. When my father died, and you were there for me – then I really knew how much I loved you and that I couldn't go through with the wedding."

"I gotta say, you left it until the very last minute!" he told her. "I mean, you were shopping for flowers."

"Mmm – but you were seeing Kerry, so by then I didn't think I had a chance."

"Oh yes – Kerry," he mused.

"Who's Kerry?" Cassie asked, looking between the two of them.

"She works at the SGC, but didn't report to Jack, so they had an affair."

"I did not have an affair, Carter – we were seeing one another. It never got serious."

"Oh? You didn't sleep with her?"

"Hey – you were sleeping with Shanahan," he told her.

"Yes, but we were engaged!" she said, virtuously.

"And you didn't sleep with him before you were engaged?" he asked her.

"Hey, are you two fighting about relationships you had when you weren't together?" Cassie asked.

Jack and Sam both looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah – sorry," Sam said. "I really don't blame him, although she was cute."

Jack rolled his eyes and then turned to Cassie. "So you see, this relationship is pretty new for us, but we've cared for one another for a long time. We want you to be happy for us Cas. We love each other, and we love you. Nothing has changed."

"Other than the fact that you share a bedroom!" she pointed out.

Jack shrugged and Sam looked embarrassed but didn't say anything. Slowly Cas walked over to the bed, and sat down in between the two of them. They glanced at one another and then at her, both of them feeling slightly more hopeful.

"So, are you going to get married?" Cassie asked.

That caused Jack to choke, and Sam to look at him in interest. "He hasn't asked," she told her almost-daughter.

"Hey!" Jack protested. "Who says I have to be the one to ask. We live in a modern world!"

"That's true Sam. You could ask him."

"We've only been seeing each other for a few weeks," Sam defended herself.

"Yes, but you said you've loved each other for years. And Jack's not getting any younger," she pointed out.

"Geesh, thanks," Jack pouted. "So, a minute ago you were furious at us for dating, and now you're trying to get us to get married, is that right?"

Cassie grinned. "Yes," she said. "I'm sorry I got so mad – it was just that I was surprised. But the more I think about it, the better I like it. Now I can see both of you at the same time, and Sam and I can tease you together."

"Oh great – ganged up on by the women in my life."

"Mmm hmm," she nodded. "And you promise you'll both still love me?"

Jack put his arm around her and hugged her and then Sam did the same. "You betcha kiddo. You're my girl." He looked over at Sam, "and she's my woman!"

"I'm a woman, Jack!" Cassie protested.

"You'll always be my girl," he told her lovingly.

"And hey – if you have a baby, I'll have kid sister," she said happily.

Jack choked again, and Sam grinned. "And will you babysit," she asked.

"Of course. Oh God – the two of you are going to have gorgeous babies."

"Uh Cas," Jack said carefully, "we haven't even talked about that yet."

"Well you'd better start," she told him. "Sam's not getting any younger either! You don't have a lot of years left."

"We've created a monster," Jack told Sam. "She's going to be incorrigible."

"Going to be?" Sam laughed. "She already is. Cassie – as far as marriage and – uh – children are concerned, I think that's something that the two of us are going to have to figure out."

"You're telling me to "butt out", the young woman said calmly.

"Uh –yes," Sam told her.

"Sorry," Cas answered impishly. "If you're gonna be like – my parents – then I'm gonna keep bugging you. I mean, what will my friends say when I tell them that you're living in sin, especially at your age? And anyway, I want to be your maid of honor. Hey Sam! Why don't we go shopping for a wedding dress and a bridesmaid's dress for me? That'll be fun."

Jack mouthed, "monster" to Sam, who laughed. "So, you're really okay with this now?" she asked Cassie.

"Well – I think so, although it will still take some getting used to. Hey – I should call Daniel and Teal'c! Were they surprised?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "Teal'c figured it out on his own."

"He would!" Cassie rolled her eyes. "And I bet you practically had to hit Daniel over the head before he figured it out."

Sam laughed. "You know them both pretty well," she said. "That's just about exactly what happened."

Cassie grinned, pleased to have been right. She then pushed herself to her feet. "Okay – I'm gonna go watch a late night movie and eat popcorn." She turned to Sam. "And you don't have to sleep on the couch. I'm fine with you sleeping with Jack." She moved to the door and stepped into the hall. She then stuck her head around the door and grinned. "Just don't be noisy!" she told them. "I don't want my movie disturbed by the sound of old people's sex!"

With that she laughed and left the two of them sitting on the bed, unsure as to what had just happened.

"So," Jack finally said, "no screaming or moaning."

"I do not scream or moan, Jack O'Neill," she said, revolted.

"Oh – I seem to remember …"

"Jack!" she threw a pillow at him. "What about that time you -"

"Okay, okay – I'll be good." He leaned over and pulled her to him. "That went well."

"Yes, it did. She's a great kid – or young lady. I think she's still upset, but she forced herself to say what she did for our sakes. God, I love her so much."

"Yeah, me too," he said, as he sat holding her. "So – what do you think about this marriage thing?"