That was good for several reasons, and Jack couldn't help the feeling of relief that went through him at the simple word. No matter what was to come, he could only hope that Shawn felt the same way about Jack if someone were to ask him the same question once he knew the truth about his relationship with Jack.

"Of course you don't," Jack said, softly, hugging the boy tightly for a moment, then letting him go and pushing him gently back from him so he could look at him and make sure he hadn't actually managed to hurt himself or something on the way from his house to Jack's.

Shawn looked terrible. His cheeks were flushed and splotchy, and his eyes were puffy and red. Jack ran his hand along the boy's cheeks, trying to wipe away the tears but only managing to smudge them further. He was definitely going to need to wash his face.

"James loves you, Shawn. Don't you ever doubt that."

Shawn hiccupped again, and nodded, but he wouldn't meet Jack's eyes. O'Neill didn't press the issue. He stood up and unlocked the front door.

"Come on. You go wash your face, and I'll call your folks."

"They're probably pretty mad, huh?"

"They're worried," Jack corrected. He was the only one that got mad when he was worried. And he felt that irritation growing once more, although it wasn't anywhere close to the anger he'd felt earlier. "If you ever run off like that again..." He tried to think of something suitably vile, and came up blank. "I'll feed you to Jaffer."

Shawn managed a weak smile, looking down at the dog because it was easier than facing Jack.

"Go wash your face, Shawn. You look awful."

Jack was already reaching for the phone, and as Shawn walked down the hall to the bathroom, he dialed Dotty's cell phone once more.

"He's here."

"Is he all right?"

"Just upset, Dotty, but I think he'll be fine." He was a level-headed kid, after all.

"We'll be right over."

"We'll be here."

Dotty hung up, and Jack sat down on the arm of the couch with the phone still in his hand and watched as Shawn came back down the hallway. The boy looked at the phone.

"Did you call?"

Jack nodded.

"They're coming over."

"I'm probably in a lot of trouble." Shawn said. He was already much calmer than he had been, although his face was still splotchy, and his eyes were still red.

"Probably." Jack agreed. "What were you thinking?"

Shawn shrugged, looking down at the floor.

"Shawn?"

He should have known Jack wouldn't allow that to be an answer.

"I don't know, Jack. I guess... I just panicked."

"Panicked?"

Shawn nodded, looking down again.

"What were you afraid of?"

"It's dumb."

"If it's something you're afraid of, then it's not dumb, Shawn," Jack said, reaching over and taking hold of the boy's arm and pulling him close. Unconsciously, he put him and Shawn in the same comfort position that he often used with Jaffer; the boy leaning against Jack, with O'Neill's arms around him.

Jack hadn't seen Shawn looking so vulnerable in quite a while. He was normally such a self-confident boy, and usually so cheerful that Jack was often reminded of Jaffer when he saw the boy grinning at him. So he wanted to know what it was that had bothered Shawn, so they could talk it out and banish it. Of course, Jack was probably the worst person in the world to talk about feelings with, since he tended to clam up at the slightest mention of his own feelings – unless he was talking to Sam, and even then it was like pulling teeth – but this time it was important enough that he had to make an effort.

"What scared you, Shawn?"

"You'll laugh..."

Shawn rested his cheek against Jack's chest, listening to his heartbeat and the rumble of his voice when he spoke. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want Jack to know that he could be so dumb. Jack always said how proud he was of Shawn, but if he knew how dumb Shawn could be, he wouldn't be proud of him anymore.

"Tell me..."

Shawn turned his head so he was speaking directly into Jack's shirt.

"I... mumble... mumble... mumble..."

Jack looked down at the boy and shook his head, taking hold of Shawn's shoulders and pushing him back just enough to break contact with his shirt, but holding him tightly so he didn't think he was pushing him away.

"Would you care to repeat that? In English this time?"

Shawn looked over at Jaffer, unable to meet Jack's gaze, and bit his lower lip.

"I was afraid she'd tell me she wasn't my mom..."

"Ah."

Shawn looked up at Jack, watching his face to see if he was going to laugh, but the brown eyes looking down at him were filled with understanding.

"Pretty dumb, huh?"

"No. Not at all."

"So I ran away before she could say she wasn't..."

"She is, Shawn."

"I don't know, Jack." Shawn said, softly. "I know I don't look a lot like her, and everyone says kids look like their parents..."

"Not all kids do." Jack said, hugging Shawn close for a minute. "I don't look much like my dad, and I don't look at all like my mom. I look like my grandpa."

Jack stood up, letting Shawn go. "Sam or Janet Fraiser could probably explain this a lot better, but sometimes that kind of thing skips a generation, or even two. Heck, look at Jack and Jaffer. Jaffer looks just like Shadow, but Jack doesn't look at all like her. He's not even the same color, and we both know that they're brothers." They'd been there the day they were born, after all.

"That true, isn't it?" Shawn said, looking at Jaffer, who was stretched out on the floor watching the two of them as they talked. "I guess I shouldn't have ran like that..."

"No, you definitely shouldn't have." Jack agreed. "But I can understand why you did, and your mom and dad will understand, too."

"I hope-"

There was a knock on the door, and Jaffer lunged to his feet and hurried over, wagging his tail as he waited for Jack to open the door so he could see who had come to visit him.