Jack tensed as he felt a presence. Cassie felt him tense up. She sat up right and looked at him anxiously as he turned to the cabin and saw the door open. He watched in surprise as Sam came out carrying a cup of coffee. Cassie followed his gaze. She saw Sam.

"Sam!" she squealed and jumped up and ran to her, barely slowing down before impacting her and throwing her arms around her.

"Umph." Sam grunted from the impact, trying not to spill her hot coffee on the young woman. "Hi there, Sweetheart."

"What are you doing here? How long have you been back?" Cassie asked.

"We will talk about all that. Let's go watch the sunrise, okay?" Sam answered.

Cassie nodded and took Sam's hand in hers and practically dragged her to the end of the dock. Jack had gotten up when Cassie had taken off after Sam. Sam kissed him in greeting.

"Hello there." She said.

Jack smiled. "Thanks for coming. I need help." He said. Sam could hear the relief in his voice.

Sam indicated they should sit. "I think you are probably doing better than you thought, but I wanted to be here for you both."

They sat on the dock, Sam on one side of Jack and Cassie on other and watched the sunrise. Later they all went back to the cabin. They gravitated to the living room. Jack noticed Cassie had gotten quiet and withdrawn again. She was now face to face with Sam and was going to have to explain what happened and she was scared Sam would be disappointed in her. He glanced at Sam.

"Cassie, why don't you clean up the table outside, then you can swim for a few minutes. Sam and I will start on breakfast." Jack said.

Cassie nodded slightly and got up and went to the kitchen to grab some cleaning supplies while Sam and Jack began to pull cookware and food out.

After she walked out the door, Sam looked at him. "How is she?"

"I honestly think maybe better, but I have been so out of my depth here. I just don't know how to convince her it is not her fault. In some ways, it's almost like she is a little girl again. Shy, scared, jittery, and dependent. She is so afraid of disappointing people. I feel terrible that I apparently put so much pressure on her to be self-reliant." Jack replied.

"I bet you have been doing fine, Jack." Sam replied. She paraphrased what Teyla had told her, and explained that it was possible they were misreading Cassie's reaction, and added it was almost certain that Jack and her were probably not the best over-all role models as they both had been so independent and determined to not rely on each other for both obvious reasons, and their own inner wars with refusal to admit their feelings they had put on the air of total independence without the need for anyone else. Cassie had not been purview to the times they had slipped and admitted their needs, often without words. She only saw the other side, although she herself had done everything she could to bring them together.

Jack nodded his understanding. Sam smiled. For once, Jack was not playing off the dumb card. A sign of how worried he really was.

They both looked out the window to see Cassie swimming in the pond. Jack looked back at Sam.

"Sam, Cassie is…pretty shaken. She is a little different right now and…for reasons I cannot understand, she is afraid you will be disappointed in her. I don't know how to fix it. I just try and be patient, but I think I am doing more damage than good."

Sam watched Cassie as she climbed out of the water and reached for her clothes. Even from here, she could still see the fading bruises. She winced thinking the pain that had caused those. She turned to Jack and smiled. "Jack, you need to quit underestimating yourself. I am sure you have been doing fine. You may have to accept this is something that we cannot do alone though. Cassie may need to talk to someone professionally."

"I made the offer. I just hope she sees that too." Jack said.

They both looked out the window. Sam gasped as she realized Cassie was smoking. She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, that too. I just kind of figured one thing at a time." Jack said sheepishly.

Sam's face betrayed her true thoughts, but she held her tongue and simply nodded.

Jack looked out at Cassie now sitting on the dock and looked back at Sam. "I really think it would go a long way if you talked to her."

Sam nodded, kissed his cheek and walked to the door.

Jack prepared breakfast and occasionally glanced out the window to see Cassie and Sam talking. He was glad when he saw them hugging each other. He went back and forth to the outdoor table a few times to make sure everything was on the table then walked out on the dock to join them.

They both turned to him as he walked up. He saw they both had tears in their eyes. "All okay?"

Cassie nodded as she wrapped her arm around Sam and squeezed close. "Yes. Much better."

Jack glanced at Sam who wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Okay, well, food is ready." Jack added.

The next couple of days went well. Now that Cassie was positive that Sam was in fact, not disappointed in her it seemed a huge load was lifted. Sam had taken to gently enforcing a bed time and the first night; she stayed with Cassie until she went to sleep. Jack still padded the down the hall at night to check on her, although he only had to comfort her once. She still remained almost within arm's reach of either Sam or Jack, but her anxiousness seemed to be fading a little. She didn't nap as much, and dramatically cut back on her smoking to the point Jack had decided he was going to broach her quitting.

She even slept in and missed her sunrise, however, on the fourth day Jack awoke to find Cassie standing quietly beside him while he lay in bed. She placed a finger over her lips and pointed to Sam lying beside him, then indicated she wanted him to follow. She wanted him to go out and watch the sunrise with her. Okay.

Jack joined her outside. They both sat on the edge of the dock. Cassie leaned over against him and laid her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her.

"What's on your mind Cassie?" Jack asked.

She looked up at him from under her still mussed hair. "Jack, I think I want to talk to someone."

Jack looked at her a moment, the smiled as he wrapped an arm around her. "Good."