Jack woke up instantly at the sound of the front door opening. Easing out from under Sam, he reached under the mattress and retrieved his 9mm. Not bothering to throw on any clothes over his boxers, he crept silently down the hallway, hugging the wall. Easing into the kitchen he raised the gun toward the dark silhouette in the corner.

"Did I just see you come out of my daughter's room?" Jacob's voice growled as he flipped on the lamp.

"Christ, Jacob," Jack huffed out a relieved breath, "I could have shot you."

"Unlikely," Jacob growled, "since I've been standing here for the last five minutes."

Don't lie, Selmak admonished him.

He came out of Sammy's room in his boxers, Jacob silently grumbled and ignored Selmak's snicker of amusement at his discomfort.

At least he isn't naked, Selmak replied, allowing Jacob to feel her mental shrug and chuckling when her host grimaced. She gave Jacob a mental poke when he simply stared at Jack, clearly trying to intimidate the younger man who refused to be intimidated. Before Selmak could take control and end her host's annoying male posturing, Sam suddenly surged out of the bedroom, using the wall as leverage. A fierce look of protectiveness covered her face, her demeanor that of someone ready to fight.

"What's going on?" Sam growled, forcing herself upright and looking between the two men, but clearly not comprehending what was happening.

Jacob watched as Jack reacted immediately, slipping himself under Sam's good arm and moving her to the closest chair. "Your dad finally got the message and decided to drop by," he grumbled as he got her settled, then grabbed a blanket and draped it over Sam's bare legs before turning to Jacob. "She's still on some pretty substantial painkillers at night. They make her fuzzy. Watch her," he ordered the older man. "I'll be back in a minute."

Anything Jacob wanted to say died as he finally took in Sam's weakened state. She looked more pale than he'd ever seen her. George had said she was healing well. If that was true, he couldn't imagine how she looked a week ago. Jacob had assumed if Sam had been sent home that she'd be in better shape.

"Hi Sammy," Jacob said gently, kneeling in front of the chair. "I heard you'd gotten into a pretty bad scrape."

"Hi Dad," Sam replied, her voice slightly off and her eyes a little glassy. "I'm glad you're here," she reached for his hand and squeezed it with her good one.

Jack emerged from the bedroom dressed in his jeans, but still shirtless, making Jacob quirk an eyebrow at him. He crossed to the kitchen table and withdrew a clean t-shirt out of a duffle bag and pulled it on before coming to stand next to Sam's chair.

"I'm sorry," Sam suddenly said, drawing his attention. "It was the closest thing I could find."

"I assumed," Jack responded with a half-smile.

"What was?" Jacob asked his daughter, not understanding the exchange.

"Jack's shirt," she answered with a yawn. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"You betcha," Jack answered gently, nudging Jacob out of the way so he could scoop Sam into his arms. He carried her back into her bedroom and re-emerged a few minutes later, then dropped onto the couch.

Jacob took a minute to actually look at Jack. While physically okay, he looked no better than Sam. Dark circles cut deep under his eyes and a weariness Jacob hadn't seen in him before, clouded his entire face. George had been correct in his assessment. While Sam had borne the brunt of the physical damage, Jack hadn't escaped unscathed. The man looked like hell.

"Was my daughter wearing your t-shirt?" Jacob asked to break the silence. Not knowing exactly what to say, he fell back on their typical snarky relationship.

"Jacob," Jack sighed tiredly and closed his eyes, "just—can we not."

Jacob frowned, expecting Jack to call him 'Dad' and make a quip. The fact that he didn't, said a lot.

"Jack," Jacob said and waited until the younger man opened his eyes, "thank you for saving my daughter."

"She saved herself," Jack replied dismissively. "Twice."

"Thank you for saving my daughter," Jacob said again, cutting him off.

"I didn't," Jack snapped, letting his head fall back onto the couch.

"Jack," Jacob said with a command tone, making the man's gaze snap to his. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

"Jacob—" Jack shook his head, then snapped his mouth shut and pressed his finger and thumb against his eyes.

"I've known how the two of you have felt about each other for a while," Jacob said softly. "I also know what it's like to lose the love of your life. No matter what you two decide to do," he paused as Jack's hand dropped, revealing two red-rimmed eyes, "you have my blessing. Now go take care of my daughter." Jacob added before Jack could say anything, "I'll sleep in the guest room."


Sunlight tickled Sam awake. Jack's warm scent surrounded her as she snuggled into the pillows he'd tucked around her. She shifted again and was rewarded with a light sting reminding her of her injuries.

Glancing down she realized she was wearing Jack's gray Air Force t-shirt. Tugging it up, she spotted the thick white bandage covering her scars. Funny, she smiled to herself, she didn't remember him re-bandaging her wound or putting on the t-shirt. All she remembered was the way he'd made her feel, distracting her from the pain. She smiled again, assuming she'd fallen asleep from a combination of the pain meds and his tender care.

"Mornin'," Jack said from the doorway, drawing her attention.

"Morning," she replied with a faint blush.

Someone cleared their throat behind Jack.

"Dad!" Sam exclaimed when Jack stepped into the room, revealing her father behind him. She glanced down at the t-shirt she wore. "It's not what it looks like!" She stammered.

"Hi Sammy," her Dad replied, a humorous light in his eyes. "You don't remember last night at all, do you?"

"I—" Sam opened her mouth, then looked at Jack. Surprisingly, he didn't appear to be upset.

"Come on, Dad," Jack drawled, "give her a break." He crossed to the bed and picked up an empty glass off the nightstand.

"Fine," Jacob grumbled good naturedly, "I let myself in early this morning and your fella here greeted me with the barrel of a 9mm."

"Oh god," Sam let her head fall into her palms. "I'm sorry." Then her head snapped up. "Wait, my fella?"

Jacob chuckled, "Sorry kiddo, the cat's out of the bag. Not that it was much of a secret anyway," he shrugged. "I'm just glad you picked one of the good ones this time. Now why don't you lie back and let me see what Selmak and I can do about your injuries."

Sam gaped at her Dad. Apparently, she'd missed a lot last night. But he seemed fairly at ease with finding his daughter all but in bed with her CO. It definitely wasn't the reaction she'd expected from him.

"Dad, the scar," she lowered her head, not able to look at her father. She wrapped an arm around her abdomen as if to hide her wounds from him. "It's bad. Pete—" Her voice broke as her emotions started to overwhelm her.

Jacob's head fell forward as Selmak took over. "Hello Samantha," she said with a soft smile. "Your father thought it might be easier for you to allow me to treat your injuries."

"Does he know? My Dad?"

"Jacob knows," Jack said, sitting on the bed next to her. "We talked about it this morning."

Sam nodded, grateful she wouldn't need to explain why Pete's name was burned into her skin. Gripping Jack's hand, she lay back and pulled up the gray t-shirt.

Selmak carefully peeled the bandage away from her abdomen and examined the scars. Sam saw concern etched into her father's features, but not the pity, rage, or condemnation she'd feared. There was no judgment at all, simply an assessment of the injury before Selmak held the healing device over her and concentrated.

Healing was always painful, but this time it was downright excruciating. Perhaps it was because this was a chemical injury or maybe it was the location. Regardless, electricity ripped through her midsection, making her grip Jack's hand hard as she ground her teeth together to keep from crying out.

"Easy, Sam," Jack said soothingly, rubbing small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

Just when Sam was sure she couldn't take any more, Selmak pulled back. "It is done," she said tiredly. "Allow me to rest and I will heal your leg."

Sam nodded and glanced down at her abdomen. The angry scars that had been there were gone. Her skin, smooth and intact once again.

"Sammy," her Dad said, having resumed control of his body so Selmak could rest. His voice was gruff, his eyes haunted at what he'd seen as his symbiote had healed her.

"I'm going to let you two talk," Jack said quietly. At Sam's nod, he rose from the bed and slipped out the door.