DISCLAIMER: Nope. Still not mine. I keep wishing though. Maybe someday.

SUMMARY: Sam is blind. Shey can see. Jack is becoming a civilian.

FEEDBACK: Please. Please. PLEASE!!!

After four days. Jack was officially a civilian. So now he was not only overprotective, he was constantly around.

And when Jack wasn't there, Daniel, Talorn or Teal'c was right there. All the hovering was starting to get on Sam's nerves.

For crying out loud, the only time I get any privacy is when I'm in the bathroom.

So she thanked some divine power when Jack was called out of town to recieve some award or medal from the President. Daniel was dragged off-world by another team and that left her with Teal'c, who at least didn't hover quite as much as Jack or Daniel did.

"Cassie, will you take me to my house? I need to check on my plants and mail."

Cassie was a bit hesitant. "I don't know."

"Jack didn't say I couldn't leave the base, did he?"

"No. But ---"

"But what? Come on, Cassie. Just for an hour or two. I really need to get out of here for a while. PLEASE!" She knew Cassie would cave. After all, Sam had been filling the young woman's ears with complaints for days. "Come on, Cassie. All you have to do is drop me off and pick me up an hour or two later."

"You swear you'll stay inside the whole time?"

"Door locked and everything. I swear. Please, Cass?"

Cassie knew that she just had to give in. She had seen how the guys had been lately around her. The young woman was amazed at Sam's patience. Cassie would have bitten someone's head off by now. She knew that it was starting to get to Sam. She'd heard four sighs of relief come from her friend in the past forty-eight hours. One each when Jack, Daniel, General Hammond, and her father left.

"I'll do it. But I'm going to talk to Teal'c about it first. And if I get in trouble---"

"I'll take the fall. I swear." Sam was grinning, her eyes bright like they were before all of this.

'Before Pete. Admit it. After she met Pete, the only time she smiled was around Jack, when she talked about him or thought about him.'

"I'll pick you up tomorrow about 9 am."

"I'll be ready."

Sam was awake and ready to go by 0800. She had forced herself to sleep a little later than usual. She was sitting in the commissary when Cassie arrived. "Ready to go, Sam?"

"More than. Let's go." Sam picked up her purse and put her hand on Cassie's shoulder.

"Here we go." Cassie led her friend up to the surface and out to the car.

Cassie had only been gone for fifteen minutes when Sam heard a knock on the front door.

Sam made her way to the front door as the knocking continued. Her patience finally snapped. "I'm coming. Gimme a break will ya?"

When she opened the door, she gazed out the door. "Who's there? Is anyone there?"

No one answered and, thinking that no one was there, Sam went to shut the door. Suddenly, it was flung back in her face, knocking her backwards. She heard the door slam shut just before a fist crashed into the side of her head, knocking her unconcious.

Pete had seen Cassie drop Sam off and drive away after watching Sam make her way to and unlock the door before going in. 'At least I didn't kill her. She's just blind. This ought to make things easier for me. I know how to keep her from being with that general of hers. By the time I get done with her, no one else will want her. had seen Cassie drop Sam off and drive away after watching Sam make her way to and unlock the door before going in.

He knocked just 15 minutes after Cassie pulled away. When she opened the door, he simply stepped back and stayed quiet until she was ready to shut the door again. At that moment, he flung himself into the door, knocking her back.

Slamming the door shut behind him, he hit Sam in the head before turning to lock the door and then dragging her into her bedroom. He stripped her down and tied her wrists to the bed.

Pete stepped back to admire his handiwork as he stripped off his clothes. Then he stepped up to the bed, laying himself across Sam's body.

Pete was dressed again. He untied Sam's hands. But before he left, he slid the engagement ring on her left ring finger and smashed the finger just above the ring. He remembered how furious he had been when he had found it laying on the kitchen counter just a few days ealier.

"Goodbye, you little slut," he hissed just before he left the room. "Let's see just how much your precious general wants you now."

Sam was freezing cold when she woke up. She looked down on herself and, the fact that she could actually see again eluding her for the moment, realized that she had been raped and beaten in her own home on her own bed.

The pain in her left hand was the next thing to get her attention. The minute she looked at her left hand, she knew. 'Pete. Pete did this to me.' Then she saw the bruises on her hips and on her arms. 'I can't let Jack see this. He'd kill Pete. I can't have him go to jail now. Not when I just got him.'

She slowly got off the bed and stumbled down to the bathroom. She turned on the water, almost straight hot and stepped under the spray.

She just stood there for a few moments before the tears started. She slid down the wall of the shower and sat on the bottom of the tub with her head in her hands.

Cassie felt bad. She had lost track of time. She had left Sam alone for almost four hours now. 'I hope Sam's not mad at me.' felt bad. She had lost track of time. She had left Sam alone for almost four hours now.

She pulled into the driveway and ran up to the door. "Sam? Sam, it's me." She opened the door, surprised to see it unlocked. "Sam?" Still no answer.

Now Cassie was getting worried. She walked down the hall and stopped when she heard the shower running. She could hear an occasional sniffle coming from inside the room. "Sam? Sam, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. Please answer me. Please." The water turned off.

The bathroom door opened a moment later and Sam stepped out. "I'm not mad at you, Cassie."

"Oh God! Sam, what happened to your hand?"

"Pete did. He was here and...."

Cassie picked up on the train of thought Sam was on. She noticed the blank look in her eyes and then the broken finger and the rope burns on her wrists. "Let's go back to the base and get that finger taken care of."

Sam nodded. Cassie led Sam out to the car and drove back to the base.