No tears ran from Cassie's eyes as Daniel spoke.

She listened intently to the recount of the day before and how a Jaffa had shot that one young man. His voice broke when he told her how the staff blast came out of nowhere and how her mother died instantly and felt no pain.

Cassie needed to hear it, that she knew. No matter how much it hurt to hear about her mother's death she would always wonder if she didn't know why her mother had died.

"She died saving her boys." Cassie said sitting back from Daniel.

"Her boys?" Daniel asked as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"Mom always said that they guys around here spent so much time in the infirmary that she thought of them as her own—her boys. She died saving them, I don't think she would regret that."

Daniel smiled at her revelation. "I think you're right."

The lump in Cassie's throat lessened and she felt at peace for the first time that day. "I need to talk to Sam—I kinda yelled at her awhile ago." She stood and fixed her shirt and pulled her hair back into a barrette.

"I think she understands." Daniel said still sitting in the corner.

"Just the same, I need to talk to her."

"Alright." She turned for the door and Daniel called out to her once again. "Cassie?

"Yeah?" She asked turning back to the dark corner where Daniel sat.

"Not to sound too parent-ish, but…have you eaten at all today?"

"No—I haven't."

"Stop by the commissary and get something—it'll make you feel better."

"I will." She turned for the door again and squinted into the florescent light of the hallway.

"Excuse me?" The unfamiliar voice called out from behind her.

She turned and still didn't recognize the short man that approached her.

"Do I know you?" She asked, as he fumbled with his hands.

"My name is Emmett Bregman. I'm assuming you are Janet Frazier's daughter?"

"Yes." He reached out to shake her hand and she slowly took his hand. "You knew my mother?"

"Only briefly, but—she was a beautiful woman, not just on the outside, but inside."

She looked at the man standing before her and only wanted to get away from him.

"Thank you—but, I have to go see Major Carter." She pulled her hand out of his and turned down the hall.

"Ms. Frazier?" He called out.

"Yes?"

"I've been looking for Doctor Jackson—"

"He's in there." She said, pointing to the door of the infirmary. "But I don't think he wants to talk to anyone right now."

"I'll take my chances…"

The halls of the SGC were beginning to come back to life. The last 48 hours had been rough on everyone, but they still carried on in their duties. Cassie was amazed—how is it that the world kept moving when things like this happened? Shouldn't the rotation of the world pause for a few minutes in recognition of such a loss?

The commissary was busy as she made her way through the line and sat down with a soda and a plate of cookies. She had looked at the selection they had for lunch but Tuna surprise didn't seem like a good idea at the moment.

She was working on her second chocolate chip cookie and thinking about her first mother when her plate of cookies was pulled away and replaced with another plate of cheeseburger and fries.

Cassie looked down at the replacement and smiled. With the tilt of her head she looked up and smiled up to the familiar face of one Walter Harriman.

"Hi Walter." Propping her head in her hand she looked back down at the plate before her.

"It's not gourmet but it's better than cookies a'la coke."

"Thanks."

"You know…most of us have been secured to the base for the last few days and we decided to high jack one of the VIP rooms and watch a movie—why don't you join us?"

She thought a moment and glared back at him. "What movie?"

"Uhmm…Felger picked it out—I think it's called X-treme something."

"Maybe."

"Alright." He watched her a moment as she looked back down at the table. Without a word he reached out and covered her hand with his own and gave it a soft squeeze.

Looking back up to him she smiled. "I know…" she nodded and turned her hand over in his.

Cassie sat in the commissary long after Walter had left. But it was getting late now—and there was one thing left to do.

As she walked down the hall to Sam's lab she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. The door was just a few feet away and she stopped a few feet from the doorway.

Tightening her fists, Cassie forbid herself to cry again—it wasn't going to help anything and it would only make Sam worse off.

With a deep cleansing breath she shook off the tears and walked into the doorway of Sam's lab. She sat at her desk leaning on her arm.

Cassie walked slowly into the room and stopped at the end of the desk.

"Sam?"

Looking up at the sound of her voice—Sam automatically reached out for Cassie's hand and pulled her closer as she looked up to her. "Cassie, I'm sorry for earlier—I just wanted to be the one that—"

"Sam, it's alright. Daniel told me everything—and I think I understand." She moved into Sam's arms and hugged her.

"Cassie—I'm so sorry you have to go through this again."

"Sam—"

"There's going to be a memorial tomorrow, here at the base—" As Sam spoke she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I can't." Her words caught Sam off guard.

"What?"

"Everyone has been so great Sam, and I'm alright—I just can't be there, hearing everyone talk about her—not yet."

"It's okay Honey—do you want me to take you back to the house? You can stay at my place if you want—"

"No, I'll just stay here a little while—"

"Cass…I have to tell you that your mom left a will and she named me and the Colonel as your guardians."

A soft smile crossed her face as she looked at Sam. "You and Jack my parents…as it should be I guess."

"Cassie, don't lecture me now…please." She stood from the stool she had been sitting on and hugged Cassie.

"Not lecturing—just pointing out the obvious…as always." The familiar jab made Cassie smile as she hugged Sam. For years she had joked Sam about her commanding officer—but she never knew the truth.

"I love you kido."

"I love you too."

"We'll work all of this out okay? And nothing has changed—you're still going to college in the fall." She pulled back from Cassie and found her self-stepping into the role of a mother easier than she had expected.

"I know…but uh—I'm going to go lay down for a while. Today has just been—"

"Too much, I know. I'll come by later and we'll go get some dinner." She reached out and tucked a stray hair behind Cassie's ear.

"Sounds good."

That night Cassie turned off all her emotions just as she had done when she lost her mother the first time—it had been too much to bear then and loosing her mother a second was worse.

Janet was supposed to be here with her forever. She was supposed to be here when she graduated and moved off to college, she was supposed to call and leave messages on her phone that she needed to come home more often. She was supposed to be there when she found the man of her dreams and got married, she was supposed to be there when she had her first child--she was supposed to be with her period.

As she sat with Sam eating tacos in the commissary Cassie couldn't help but repeat her mother's words in her head over and over again. It was something Janet had told her when she first brought her home, when Cassie first starting calling her mom.

It was difficult for Cassie to realize that even though she was now Janet's daughter it didn't mean that she had to forget her own mother.

"Family is more than blood Cassie—families are made from love. Jack, Sam, Daniel and General Hammond are my family, even if we aren't related by blood. What matters is having people in your life that you care about and that care about you—as long as you have that, you'll always have a family."

She tried to rationalize that she still had a family—even if the most important figure in the family had been lost. Sam, Jack and Daniel would always be there for her so would her other friends from the base…she wasn't alone, even if she felt alone.

"Cassie?" Sam asked as she wiped the taco sauce off her chin. "I was thinking—about taking some vacation time a week at least. What do you say to a road trip?" She was trying too hard to compensate and Cassie was trying to keep from lashing out at her.

"Maybe…I just…I can't think right now." She set her taco down and reached for her drink and sucked down half her coke before looking back at Sam. "I need to sit and let my head stop spinning first."

"It's alright—no rush to do anything. I uh—called the school and told them you'd be out for the rest of the week."

The small gesture perked up Cassie's ears and she smiled. "Mom would never let me stay out of school that long! You might be better at this mom thing than you think."

Sam laughed as she looked back over to Cassie. "They're sending your work home with Julia…she's bringing it by the house on Friday."

"Ohhh, so close." The moment of lighthearted banter caught Cassie by surprise and the smile drained from her face as she looked down at the table.

"Cassie…" Reaching out for her hand, Sam spoke softly. "It's alright to smile. It's alright to make jokes and remember your mother and talk about her."

"I know—it just feels like…"

"Like what?"

"Like it should hurt more. Like I should be…I don't know—inconsolable."

"Cass—"

"I know…time. That's what I keep telling myself—that I just need time, but it still feels numb." She stood from the table and pushed her chair in. "I'll be around…" She picked up her tray and dumped it before heading out of the commissary.

Sam watched her walk out—she wanted to help her, but her one fear was that the only thing she could do to help was…nothing.

The ceremony would be starting any moment now and Cassie was still hiding from the world in her little corner of the base. A little corner on sub-level 29 in a storage room filed with off world artifacts that had been deemed useless.

Cassie first found this place when she was mad at her Mother for a reason she could no longer remember. And now it served as her hiding place as she once again tried to hide from her mother—that's what she was doing, hiding from her mother.

In the woman's locker room, Sam looked in the mirror and adjusted the medals on her uniform when there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" She asked turning to the door as Colonel O'Neill walked in.

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked, as he walked over to her side by the mirror.

"I can't seem to get this right." She said pulling at her medal on her shoulder.

"Hey hey hey, you're going to pull it off—let me see." He took the medal from her hand and gently laid in straight along side the others. "There, see—it's perfect."

Sam looked back to the mirror and let her shoulder's slump as tears once again rolled down her cheeks.

"I can't do this."

Taking matters into his own hands Jack took her by the shoulders and turned her into him as he looked down at her. "Sam, you can do this."

"Cassie doesn't want to be there—I tried to find her but she's hiding somewhere on the base."

"She'll be alright, she's a tough kid—remember?" He pulled her into his embrace and let his arms wrap around her shoulders. "It'll be okay…this is all going to be okay."

"Sometimes it feels like all I ever need is for you to tell me that."

"I'll always be here to say it."

He held her until her watched beeped and signaled that it was time to head to the gate room.

As they walked to the elevator, the halls had once again fell silent except for Sam's sniffles as they waiting outside the elevator. As the doors opened Jack laid his hand on her shoulder and they walked in the elevator. He pushed the button and as the doors closed, he let his hand fall to his side and took her hand into his.

She squeezed his hand lightly and held his hand until the elevator dinged—one moment where they left the ranks behind. But as soon as the doors opened, they were at a respectable distance and once again the Colonel and Major of SG-1.

Cassie was mad at herself now. She was hiding when she should be with the others as they remembered her mother.

Pushing away from the corner where she sat, Cassie ran for the door and down the hall to the elevator.

She stared at the display screen as the numbers ticked by. It was only one floor away but the trip seemed like an eternity.

Finally--the doors opened and Cassie bolted for the command room.

Her pace slowed as she came upon the entrance. The room was dark and quiet. People stood at the glass window looking down at the ceremony below.

She walked slowly through the crowd and stood by Walter as she looked down at the gateroom.

He looked over to her and wrapped his arm around Cassie's shoulder. She leaned into him as they watched below.

Sam walked up to the podium and Cassie wiped the tears from her face as she listened to her speak of her mother and the list of people that were alive because of her.