"Sammi wait!" John shouted as she turned on her heel and rushed toward the door. He caught up with her as she tried to slam the door in his face. Throwing his arm out, he bit back a curse as it was briefly pinned between the door and frame.

"Sammi you need to listen, I'm trying to protect you," John frantically barked, surging through the door. He grasped her shoulders, desperately trying to get her to listen.

"Back off John," she spat, unwilling to look at him. "I heard enough to know you've been lying to me. Who is it this time, The Trust?"

He instantly dropped his hands and stepped back. "It's not what you think."

"I don't know, John," she told him acidly. "The last time you went undercover and didn't tell me, it was to infiltrate the NID. It's not a stretch to assume history would repeat itself."

"It's—wait," he cocked his head, her words registering. "You know I'm undercover?"

"Well duh," she gave him a livid mixed with hurt look. "I know you would never actually betray me, so it's the only logical conclusion. What I don't get is why lie to me about it?"

"Because—" he paused, realizing she was probably right. "Because Maybourne convinced me I couldn't trust anyone."

"Maybourne!" Sammi scoffed in disgust, "you're working with that slime ball?"

"He approached me a few weeks after I was transferred to Trinidad," John said, "claimed I was in a unique position to help him gather intel on the Trust."

"And you believed him?"

"Not at first," John admitted, "but then Hammond showed up."

"General Hammond?" Sammi's eyebrows stretched upwards.

"Exactly my response," John felt a bit of satisfaction at her reaction. "Hammond said I was in a similar circumstance to when he had Jack infiltrate the NID. Only this time Maybourne was actually a double-agent for us and he needed eyes on the ground. Given my ability to use Ancient tech, Hammond figured the Trust would be willing to take a chance on me, so I signed on and have been feeding Maybourne intel ever since."

"And then I showed up," Sammi's anger waned, as she realized she'd inadvertently blown his cover.

"After Hammond was promoted and transferred to Washington, I thought Jack might reach out, but that's when Maybourne informed me Jack had erased me. He said Sam wanted nothing to do with me, but Hammond saw value in continuing our op. Since neither Jack nor Sam ever tried to contact me..." his voice trailed off.

"You assumed Maybourne was telling you the truth. John, they didn't know," Sammi shook her head. "I swear."

"When you suddenly showed up," he continued without acknowledging her, "I didn't know what to believe. The Trust could have abducted Sam, then sent you to test my loyalty. You could have been given false memories and not even know it. It's happened before," he sounded like he was trying to convince himself, but Sammi knew he was right. All of SG-1 had been given false memories,some more than once, so it wasn't much of a stretch to wonder if it could have happened again.

"To make matters worse, I honestly believed no one cared enough to..." John scrubbed his face with his hands. "I finally realized when we arrived here that everything you'd told me was the truth. No one knows who Katherine is to me. Jack severed all ties with our family, except granddad, and he never once spoke about them to anyone."

"Not even to me," new form of agony developing over the realization that Jack had kept a piece of his life a secret. How would Sam have reacted when she'd found out? "How could you still have believed no one cared?" Sammi asked sadly, pushing her own heartache aside for now.

"Two. Years." John reminded her. "I was practically in their backyard for two years and not once did anyone reach out. Plus Maybourne preyed on my insecurity."

"I'm going to kill Maybourne, that slimy weasel," Sammi gritted her teeth, seething with rage.

"Easy Tiger," John cracked a tiny smiled at her vehemence, as the weight of what he'd been carrying finally began to lessen. "Maybourne might already be paying with his life. What you overheard was Hawk, my Trust handler, telling me Maybourne wasn't in charge anymore."

"Oh crap."

"Precisely," John sat down on the bed. "Maybourne was close to learning the identity of the Trust's leader, code name Eagle. According to Hawk, Eagle himself ordered the attack in Minnesota." John suddenly groaned, his hands cupping his head.

"What?" Sammi asked.

"I just realized it's my fault they're after you," John's face paled.

"What makes you think that?"

"I reported in to Maybourne after you fell asleep that night at the motel," he looked devastated. She looked furious all over again. "I told him via Hawk that I was with a national treasure," he buried his head in his hands. "I knew Maybourne would get the reference and needed him to back off, but when that cop reported a young girl with me...I gave away exactly who and what you are."

"It's not your fault," she told him stiffly. "They would have figured it out eventually."

"I should have just trusted you from the beginning," he stared up at the ceiling cursing himself.

"I do get why you didn't," she admitted, exhaling a sharp breath before touching the side of his face, urging him to look at her. When he finally did, she continued, "I probably would have made the same choice had I been in your place. But can we agree, no more secrets?"

"Thank you," he turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand.

"For what?"

"Forgiving me. Believing in me. Trusting me when I've given you every reason not to," he replied. "Take your pick."

As they stood there, a lightening thought suddenly struck Sammi.

"What?" John asked, reading her expression.

"Tell me the Code names the Trust used again," she ordered.

"Maybourne was Bossman," John told her.

"Charming," Sammi rolled her eyes.

"The leader of the Trust goes by Eagle and my handler was Hawk."

"What was your code name?" She asked with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Sparrow," he shrugged. "Why?"

"That's it!!" She exclaimed. "Where is the note Sam left for you in the safe?"

"In my bag, why?" John asked as they rushed toward his room. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the handwritten note.

"It's right here in black and white," Sammi pointed toward the last two sentences.

"...In this world of ours, the sparrow must live like an eagle if he is to fly at all. I hope I get the chance to see you fly.—Sam"

"Sam knows," Sammi bounced up and down with excitement. "I don't know how, but she knows. Why else would she misquote one of Teal'c's favorite Japanese filmmakers? The actual quote is '...the sparrow must live like a hawk if he is to fly at all.' Sparrow. Eagle. Hawk. Sam is sending you a message!"

"But that doesn't make any sense," John was confused. "If she knew, then you would have to know, too, because you have her memories."

"I remember...Sam had an informant on the ground who found you," Sammi recalled the memory. "But she never saw the person. He only sent her pictures to confirm it was you."

"Who was it?" John demanded, before gentling his voice. "Did she have any idea?"

"No, she didn't, but what if it was Maybourne?" Sammi grabbed his hand as the pieces began falling into place. "What if Maybourne knew he was in trouble? He could have revealed his identity after I was created because he knew his cover was compromised. I wouldn't have any memories of that."

"Oh fuck," John could see it all clearly now. "He's got just enough of a conscious to give Sam a heads up if things went south. Plus, in her message she told me she hoped to see me fly. Fly could mean run."

"So Sam and Jack find out you've been undercover, but you're compromised, blowing a gaping hole into the original plan for you and me to quietly disappear," Sammi continued. "Which means they have to come up with a backup plan and fast."

"So they put themselves on the line by blatantly making us part of their family because it makes it virtually impossible for us to disappear without shining a light onto us," John felt a wave of guilt over how he'd blamed Jack for so much over the last two years. Yet here the man was risking his career and possibly his freedom to save John.

"The only thing I can't figure out is how they produced our credentials so fast," Sammi shook her head in confusion. "Maybourne could have done it, but these are absolutely flawless. Who has enough power to pull something like this off and protect Sam and Jack from court martial?"

"My brother isn't the only one with friends in high places," Katherine's voice interrupted them from the doorway.

"Aunt Katie," John jerked his head around.

"Don't Aunt Katie me," she said with a dark laugh. "My wayward brother is a terrible liar and you," she pinned John with a stare, "really are exactly like him," she chuckled.

"You know." Sammi said suddenly with a grin as the final pieces to the puzzle clicked into place.

"That there's more to you two than meets the eye?" There was a twinkle in Katherine's eyes, "Well, I won't pretend to understand the how's or why's, but, yes, I'm aware of what you are."

"And you still agreed to help us?" John's shock was palatable.

"Family is family," she said firmly. "No matter how you came to be, you both are my family and I protect my own. And before you say anything, it was Jack's choice not be a part of this family for the last thirty years. A mistake I'm sure you're," she gave John a pointed look, "not going to repeat."

John mutely nodded his head.

"I'm also well aware of who you are supposed to be. And as far as I'm concerned, you young lady, are my sixteen-year-old niece, by marriage. And you," she pinned John with a look, "are my long-lost nephew."

"Yea, ma'am," they replied in unison, neither willing to contradict the finality of Katherine's tone.

"Good," she smiled warmly at them. "Now come, it's six o'clock, and I for one do not want to be late for dinner."