Going to the Commandant's office was a lot like going to the Principal's office. There was a main office, complete with secretary, and an oak door that led to the large, roomy office of the Commandant. The secretary gave Shawn a look he couldn't decipher, but waved him right through, and the cadet double checked his uniform and then opened the door. And found Jack and Sam standing there with the Commandant.

Shawn started to smile, ready to make a quip about Jack coming so soon after he'd called, but he stopped before he could even open his mouth. Something was wrong. The room was too quiet, and the mood was too somber, and when Shawn came into the room and got closer, he could see that Jack's eyes were red and watery looking – almost like he'd been crying – and Sam had about as bleak an expression on her face as he'd ever seen. Even Jaffer seemed to be drooping.

"Jack?"

"I'll leave you alone, Colonel," the Commandant said, softly.

"Thank you, Sir."

The General rested his hand lightly on Shawn's shoulder for just a moment as he passed – an action that really had Shawn's worried – and then closed the door behind him as he left.

"What's wrong, Jack?"

"Sit down, Shawn."

Since every movie and story he'd ever read always had bad news coming after that particular statement, Shawn couldn't help but feel a stab of fear. What could have happened that had both Sam and Jack so upset? So seriously upset?

Almost numb, he sat down in the leather-upholstered chair that sat across form the Commandant's desk, and watched warily as Jack came over.

"What's going on, Jack?"

Up close, Jack looked even worse than he did from a distance. His cheeks were damp – a sure sign that he'd been crying – and his eyes were so sad it made Shawn want to reach out and comfort him.

"I have some bad news for you, Shawn…"

God, even his voice was broken.

"What?"

"There was a plane crash…" Jack stopped, swallowing hard, and kneeling down in front of Shawn's chair like he did when the young man was a boy and Jack was trying to explain something difficult to him. "Your…" Tears were welling up in Jack's eyes, now, but he swallowed the lump in his throat. Shawn deserved a better job than Jack was doing. "Your mom and dad's plane crashed in New York while it was taking off…" His eyes were on Shawn's now. "They didn't make it…"

He stared at Jack, certain he'd heard him wrong.

"Didn't make it…?"

Jack nodded, and now Shawn could see that the tears were coming down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Shawn…"

"But…"

Shawn looked over at Sam, who was softly sobbing – although she was trying to hold it back.

"But… they're supposed to be back today…"

"I know, Shawn."

It had to be a mistake. It had to be. His mom was an alien for crying out loud. Aliens didn't die in plane crashes. They… well he didn't know how they died, exactly, but they didn't die in plane crashes.

"You're wrong…"

He had to be wrong. Jack had been wrong before, right?

Jack shook his head.

"I'm not. I talked to the Airlines guy myself on the way here. He confirmed it…"

"You have to be wrong, Jack…" Shawn said, knowing even as he said it, that he wasn't wrong. "You have to be…"

"I wish I was…"

He put his hand on Shawn's knee, tears falling freely now as he watched Shawn deal with the toughest news he'd ever hear in his life. At least Jack hoped it was.

"She can't be dead… she's…"

Jack's grip on Shawn's leg was so hard that it was actually hurting him, but the cadet was so numb he didn't even notice.

"The Commandant is going to put you on leave from school for a while…"

Shawn shook his head as the realization of what Jack had just told him sank in, slowly, and the shock was replaced by an emptiness that he'd never felt before, and an ache that hurt so bad he was having trouble breathing.

Watching him as closely as he had been, Jack didn't miss the way the boy suddenly paled, or the hurt in those familiar eyes. Shawn lowered his head, and a tear fell, landing on the back of Jack's hand.

"I don't have anyplace to go, Jack…"

God, it hurt him to say that. Hurt him to the very core to admit aloud that Jack had to be right. His folks were dead. The two people who had always been there for him – for his entire life – weren't there for him anymore. More tears followed the first, although they were silent tears, because he couldn't get enough breath to sob – he could barely get enough to keep from passing out, and even then he was feeling light-headed and dizzy.

Sam came over to kneel beside Jack, her hand reaching for Shawn's.

"We're going to take you home with us, Shawn."

"You can't," he said, shaking his head, but not looking up at them. It took too much effort to raise his head. "You have too much to-"

"We want you to come home with us," Jack told him, reaching up with both his hands and cupping Shawn's face, forcing him to look at him. "I need to have you close to me right now… I…"

He broke off, his voice cracking once more as he tried to explain to Shawn how important it was to him that he was where Jack could help him deal with this. Of course, neither of them was dealing with it well just then, but the loss was so fresh to Jack, too, and he'd loved Dotty. Not as much as Shawn did, of course, but it was love all the same.

Shawn started crying, then, as he saw the agony in Jack's expression echoing the ache in his own heart. His face held so tightly in Jack's hands, he couldn't lower his head to hide the tears, but he didn't have to. Jack pulled him close, wrapping his arms around him like he had every other time Shawn had ever needed to be held, and holding him tightly. An instant later, Shawn was aware that Sam had wrapped her arms around both of them as well, and her tears mingled with their own as the three of them cried together.

Standing guard over them from a corner of the room, Jaffer watched, his tail and head low, and a soft whimpering noise escaping his throat every now and then, unheard by anyone over the sound of their sobs.