Sam was as easily recognizable in D.C. as Jack. However most people expected that when the First Lady was going to go out and bout in public she was going to be in a limo with a huge contingent of guards in dark suits and sunglasses and serious expressions carrying machine guns and leading vicious guard dogs. Not simply shopping with another woman – one who wasn't as easily recognizable and was fairly nondescript.- and followed at a discreet distance by two guys who were watching everything around them but still avoiding getting in the way when the could.

It wasn't something Sam did very often but she was thoroughly enjoying herself, her good mood facilitated by the fact that Jack had made a breakthrough with the puppy. She wondered what he was going to name him.

"How about this one, Sam?"

Cassie held up a gorgeous summer dress that would highlight her eyes wonderfully, and Sam smiled.

"It's perfect. But when would you have a chance to wear it?"

She shrugged.

"I'd find a good time."

There wasn't a lot of downtime for her and Ian together on Atlantis – usually one had it or the other so they could be with the boys – but she was pretty sure if she asked him he'd take her and the boys to the mainland for a picnic or something on some nice day.

"Then you should definitely get it" Sam told her. "It's-"

She was interrupted b the arrival of one of the Secret Service agents who had been shadowing them. The young man had come up behind her while she and Cassie had been discussing the dress and lightly touched her arm.

"Excuse me Ma'am…"

His expression was serious, but they always wore serious expressions she'd noticed.

"Sam, Carl… how many times do I have to remind you?"

"Yes Ma'am. We need to go..."

She frowned.

"Why?"

He glanced at Cassie, and lowered his voice so only the three of them could hear.

"Colonel Brooks has just been taken to Walter Reed."

"Walter Reed?" Cassie repeated, concerned – and justifiably so, since she was well aware that Walter Reed was the hospital of choice when there was a medical emergency in the White house. "What happened?"

"It looks like a jogging accident" the agent relied, just a little evasively. Since Sam and Cassie both knew they were cleared to hear whatever it might be, that meant it was something he didn't want to chance having someone else overhear – despite his precautions to not have anyone eavesdrop.

"Is it serious?" Sam asked.

"We're not sure, yet."

Which meant worse than a broken leg but not so deadly as a gunshot or something.

"Let's go."

They hurriedly paid for their purchases and got into the station wagon that was brought around to the front of the department store. As soon as the doors were closed, both women looked over to the agent, who gave them a more detailed report.

"Colonel Brooks apparently ran into the cloaked Gateship while he was out jogging."

"What?"

"How could he not know where it was parked?" Sam asked. "No one told him?"

"We never got around to it," the agent admitted with a defensive shrug. It wasn't their fault that Brooks had the bad luck to run into the one clearing that was hiding the ship Major Hayden had flown in on, was it?

"Is he okay?" Cassie asked.

"They were just getting him to the hospital when they gave us the call."

"We're going there now?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Does the Vice President know?" Sam asked.

"Someone will tell them."

Cassie frowned.

"I don't want the boys upset…"

The agent nodded.

"They'll be careful who listens in, Ma'am."

"Good."

Her tone clearly said that they'd better be.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

There was a lot of security around the hospital when they arrived. Even more than usual for a military facility. Cassie and Sam both wondered why until they were ushered into the waiting room and found Jack sitting there with his puppy tucked under one arm.

"Is he okay?" Cassie asked, coming over as he stood up at her approach.

He shrugged.

"Probably. He just hit his head pretty hard – and he's got a hard head."

"Where's Shawn?" Sam asked, reaching over and scratching the puppy's ears. The little guy squirmed in Jack's arm until he finally had to hand him over to Sam to keep from dropping him. Which was fine, really, because then he could put a supporting arm around Cassie, who looked like she could use it.

"He's off somewhere with Hayden."

And since neither of them required protection from the Secret Service while they were in town, neither would have an agent with them to tell them what had happened.

Cassie frowned.

"I'm going to go check on Ian."

Since she had done her schooling at Johns Hopkin and her first two years of residency at this very hospital, there was very little chance that the staff would tell her to get lost – and Cassie was just as stubborn as her mother had ever been, so even if they did try chances were she'd still find out what she wanted to know.

"Tell us what you find out," Jack said sitting down again. It was pretty obvious that while he was concerned, he wasn't worried enough to go barging in on the doctors himself – which told Cassie that it probably wasn't all that serious. But she needed to know for herself.

"I will."

She swept by the agents that were guarding the waiting room and Sam smiled.

"She's a lot like her mother…"

Jack nodded.

"I can't believe Ian still wanted to marry her..."

Sam snorted, amused, and held the puppy up to get a better look at him. He watched her with his cheerful brown eyes, and tried to lick her face.

"What are you going to name him?"

Jack smiled.

"Murray."

"That's perfect."

"I know."

She handed Murray back to Jack and settled in beside him, more than willing to just be close to him as they waited. Jack transferred the puppy to his other arm and held her close, equally glad for the moment – despite how it had come about.