Author's Note: hehe, nope, Shawn is not related to Jack. (I toyed with that idea for a while some time back, but decided against it.)

~*~

It was later than O'Neill had intended when he finally returned to the room that Shawn had been assigned. He hadn't intended to be gone so long, but he in a much better mood when he reached the door than he'd been when he'd left. He opened it quietly, in case Shawn was asleep, but when he looked in he saw that they were both asleep. She was still cradling him in her arms, and Shawn had obviously woken up, since he was now cuddled next to her instead of sprawled on her like he'd been when Jack had left.

He closed the door silently, and leaned against it, watching them for a long moment with a slight smile on his face since there was no one there to see it. They were undoubtedly the two most important people in his life. Not the only things that was important to him, of course, but they definitely were at the top of a very small list.

He walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. He'd originally intended to have a talk with Shawn, but it could wait. Hammond wouldn't mind waiting, and Jack didn't care if Thor minded waiting or not.

~*~

Sam woke first. She saw Jack beside the bed immediately, sitting there watching them, and checked to make sure Shawn was still beside her in the bed. He was.

"Good morning, Major," he whispered.

'Is it morning?" She asked just as silently, to avoid waking the boy beside her. She was all turned around.

Jack looked down at his watch. "No. It's middle of the night. How is he? Did you talk to him?"

"He's afraid you hate him."

"I don't."

"I know. I told him that."

Jack nodded.

"Jack?"

Shawn had woken as well.

"Hey, buddy. How's the head?"

"It's okay." Shawn was looking at Jack hesitantly, expecting to be chewed out at any minute. Jack wasn't quite ready for that, yet.

"Good."

Since they were both awake, Jack didn't whisper anymore. He sat up a bit more, and Sam did the same, which caused Shawn to do it automatically as well.

"I've been talking to Thor," Jack said. "He's got a doo-hickey thing that should take care of your ankle. No promises, since apparently Asgard medical stuff doesn't work exactly the same on human type people as it does on them, but it'll help."

"It doesn't matter," Shawn said. "I deserve-"

"It does matter," Jack said. "Bad enough we've got to explain the stitches and bruises, but I bring you home with a broken ankle and your parents would kill me."

"Oh. I didn't think about that."

"There's a lot you haven't been thinking about, lately, isn't there?" Jack asked. He was careful to keep his voice as neutral as he could.

Shawn blanched, but nodded. He'd known Jack was going to be mad. He was ready to be chewed out, and knew that he deserved it. He lifted his chin a little, prepared, even though Jack mad at him was the last thing he'd wanted. Sam was right, though, and Shawn knew it. Jack would yell, but he would still love Shawn. Even when it was over.

Sam was glad she was sitting behind Shawn so the boy couldn't see her smile. When he'd raised his chin like that, he looked just like Jack right before he was about to get chewed out. Jack saw the smile, though, and scowled, which didn't make it fade from Carter's lips.

"You knew I wouldn't approve of you staying in contact with Thor or the rest of the Asgard, didn't you?"

Shawn nodded.

"You knew what you were doing was wrong."

"Yes."

"But you did it anyways, knowing full well that when I found out about it, I wasn't going to be happy."

Shawn lowered his eyes. It sounded a lot worse the way Jack said it.

"I was trying to help."

"You're not old enough to help, yet, Shawn." Jack told him. Sam was impressed that Jack's voice was still calm. She knew he was still upset. "You're supposed to be a kid, Shawn," Jack said. "You're supposed to be doing kid things. Baseball. Hockey. Playing in the damn park with a Frisbee for God's sake." His volume increased slightly, but was still mainly under control.

"I wanted to do something for you, Jack. The Asgard wanted to teach me, and I couldn't see any harm in it. I told them they had to keep an eye-"

"I know, Shawn." Jack interrupted. "But you also told them they had to teach you to fly Attackers, and I'd love to know how that was supposed to be helpful?"

Shawn lowered his eyes. "Learning the other stuff was boring, sometimes. I wanted-"

"You put yourself in danger!"

Shawn flinched.

"You could have been killed, don't you understand?"

"Yes." Tears were welling up in the boy's eyes, now, but it wasn't because Jack had yelled. He knew very well how close he'd come to being killed, and had had plenty of time to think about the repercussions of what he'd done while he'd been alone. The fear wasn't something he'd forget any time soon.

Jack reached out and pulled Shawn into his arms, unable to stay mad.

"Shawn, I can't lose you." Jack murmured, feeling the familiar stinging in his eyes as tears threatened. "You don't understand what you mean to me, but you have to believe me when I tell you that I'd be devastated if something happened to you. Especially if it was something that I could have stopped."

Only then was it that Shawn truly realized what he'd done. Sam had hinted at it, and Shawn had told her he understood, but Jack was the one that made it so clear. Jack really did need him. Shawn didn't exactly understand how he could be so important to someone that wasn't even related to him, but it was obvious he was.

"I'm sorry, Jack... I won't do it again."

"No, you won't." Jack pressed an uncharacteristic kiss against the boy's cheek, and let him go. Wiping his eyes, he stood up, and picked Shawn up carefully in his arms, making sure to not bump the injured ankle.

"Come on, Sam. We have an appointment with the Asgard."