After Jack had left, Sam had grabbed a pillow and a blanket and curled onto the floor next to Sophie's bed, listening to her soft breathing, her occasional coughs, assuring herself that her child would be ok. Sam used her time on the floor to play back through her mind the months that had passed, reliving conversations, rehashing her argument for her breakup with Jack. She sighed as she realized how immature she had been in her decision to take the twins to a different pediatrician. She trusted Jack implicitly, and she knew her best option would have been to either continue the girls in his care, or at the very least seen a different provider within the same clinic. But, it had been her fear. Damn coward, she accused herself as she wiped more tears from her face. The moment she had said Dr. Vaugh's name flashed through her mind, and Sam shut her eyes at the memory of Jack's face. His hurt, his disappointment… his heart breaking. Jack loved her kids, had loved them from the very beginning, and Sam realized now that not only had she taken Charlie from him through Jonas, but she had taken Emma and Sophie from him by her own selfishness and guilt. And even worse, she had taken Jack from the girls. Their chance to have a father, a man who loved them and cherished any time he spent with them, who knew them so well and was so capable of providing them with a well-rounded upbringing. Idiot! Fool!

She curled tighter into a fetal position, crying and missing Jack so much she almost cried out until she remembered where she was. Her conversation with Janet rushed over her; her analysis of her relationship with Jack, their foundation, their love. Could she really talk to him? Seeing him tonight had done things to her. His face, his presence, the way he drank her in as she stood there in her wet underwear. God, she loved him. For the first time, it seemed, Sam questioned her decision. She let her mind wander, imagining whether she could still have a future with Jack, imagining a life she had dreamed of for the past year with him. The two months without him had been so hard, harder than she could have possibly imagined. She was in deep and she knew it. Would he even be open to that conversation, after she crushed his heart so many times? Tonight was only the most recent. Oh, God.

Sam had a watershed moment.

sSsSsSsSs

Four days after the ordeal with Sophie, Sam walked up to the front desk at Jack's Pediatric Clinic. The redhead receptionist, the same one whom Sam had snipped at during her first visit, smiled politely and told Sam she could go on in, that Dr. O'Neill was done with his afternoon appointments, and was in his office. Sam remembered that the office staff knew about their relationship because Jack had brought Sam to the clinic's staff Christmas party. It had been interesting, a bit uncomfortable, yet Sam remembered the feeling of pride and contentment, at being introduced as his date, his girlfriend. She had loved that feeling, the feeling of belonging with him, and she missed it.

Head up, Sam walked determinedly to his office, which was in the back of the long hallway, her jacket clutched around her forearm towards her upper body. As she passed familiar faces, she nodded but continued on her way. The hallway split in two, and his office was down the hallway on the right, to the very back. Getting closer, she slowed down as she heard voices coming from within his open office. He's with a patient, she concluded. Occasionally he had patients in his office when the child was very ill or during a new patient-doctor interview.

But coming closer, she heard the distinct sound of a woman's laughter, followed by Jack's own chuckle. Changing the angle of where she was on the wall, she could see into the office. A curly-haired brunette wearing a hot pink shirt and a lot of cleavage was behind Jack, who was sitting at his desk. She was leaning over Jack's shoulder, her hand planted on his desk, both looking at a patient's folder; Sam was sure neither were paying attention to it. Jack smiled at something the woman had said, and Sam's stomach dropped. Her breathing stopped and her mouth fell open. I'm too late.

And then the couple inside the office shifted, standing and moving together closer to the door. Sam's eyes burned and she immediately stepped back, plastering herself against the hallway wall, trying to remain unseen. She closed her eyes and planned her escape, but now she could hear their conversation, and oh, the brunette was thanking him for taking her to such and such restaurant last week and wondering if he wanted to join her tonight for drinks. Sam's hand automatically went to her mouth to hold back a gasp. Turning quickly, she made her way down the hallway, her eyes very close to shedding their moisture.

But Sam's luck had run out, for at that moment, Nurse Nancy walked right by her going down the hall towards' Jack's office. In a chipper voice, she said loudly, "Hi, Ms. Hanson! Good to see you around here!"

Sam took off down the hall, ignoring Nurse Nancy and almost crashing into a young mother and her baby buggy. "I'm sorry," Sam said, "excuse me." Sam kept walking as fast as she could, her goal in sight, but she suddenly heard Jack's voice near her. How had he caught up so quickly?

"Sam!"

She stopped. She knew she couldn't run. Not here, at his office. It was too public. She turned and looked down. She didn't want him to see how crushed she was. But of course he noticed, immediately. He grabbed her arm and shoved her inside the nearest empty room he could find.

Inside, she moved her arm violently to loosen his hold of her and quickly turned around to face a wall, to face any wall but him.

"Sam," he said again to her.

She took a breath. "Please, let me leave," she spoke, her voice shaky.

"Sam, no. What's wrong? Is it Soph? Is she okay?" He sounded very concerned.

Still looking away, she took a deep breath. "Sophie's fine." He could see she was slightly shaking. He reached for her but she flinched.

"Sam!"

"Who was that?" She got out, still facing the wall.

"Who?"

She turned to face him now, her face red and two clear streaks down each eye. The sadness was mixed with anger and Jack knew he had to handle this as delicately as possible.

"The woman in my office?"

Sam closed her eyes and nodded.

"Kerry Johnson."

Sam realized she didn't actually care who the woman was. "You were flirting," she said, flatly.

Jack looked at her like he could not believe what she was saying. He held both his hands out in a shrug as if he wanted to say, "so what?"

Instead, he said. "Sam, we were not flirting,"

"Huh!" The sound was throaty and awkward and Sam didn't care. He should have been angry, but he sounded deflated and that surprised Sam.

"She's new. She's a nurse practitioner we had to hire to help cover Dr. Ketter's patients. I've been helping her get to know the ropes. That's all."

"At dinner? You need to teach her the ropes during dinner? At the place we had our first date? What, is that the 'first date restaurant' for you?" She couldn't hide the bitterness in her tone, even though the sentence had been merely whispered.

"Sam, it's not like that. Believe me, please. She's from D.C. This job is temporary."

"Oh? Do nurses not wear scrubs in D.C.?" Whoops, she meant just to say that in her head.

Jack ignored that comment. "She doesn't know the town. She asked if I'd recommend a good restaurant. When I did, she asked me to join her. I didn't think anything of it."

"Haumgh," Sam made a laugh and a snort and looked disbelievingly his way. "Jack, don't pretend to be stupid. It doesn't suit you."

He sighed. "What do you want me to say, Sam? Why do you care anyway? Why does it matter? You've made it pretty clear that it's over!" He was trying to keep his emotions in check by clenching his jaw. "What, am I to spend the rest of my life not going to dinner? Not having any friends? Is that what you want?"

Snapping out of her ire, she turned her eyes and looked at him. Changing her tune, she said: "You're right. It's none of my business whom you have dinner with. I'm sorry I interrupted your day." She said icily, and moved to open the door but he intercepted her with a hand at the door.

"Sam, please, we have to talk." The tenderness in his speech was back.

"Don't," Sam said in a broken voice. She swallowed and waited for her composure to return. "Please." She took shallow breaths, "Please, Jack. Let me go."

"Okay." He stepped away from the door.

She let out a large breath and took a moment to wipe at her face. Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door and left the room.