It was a while before the reception got underway again. There was a lot of cleaning up to do – the police worked as quickly as they could, but there was a lot of information needed from witnesses, which was a bit discomforting, since many of the witnesses were aliens. Hammond told the Jaffa and the other aliens to just be quiet and he'd do the talking for them. He told the police they were from out of town – in for the wedding – which wasn't a lie, and that English wasn't their primary language, so he'd do the talking for them. The police accepted that readily enough. They didn't want to crash the party any longer than they needed to, and privately the Captain that was sent down to oversee the whole mess felt like shit for taking as long as he was, so he hurried the men along as well as he could.

Jack was questioned extensively, as was Shawn and Gina. Gina was still distraught. It wasn't every day that someone grabbed you and held a gun to you, after all, but she settled a little when Jack pulled her to the side and spoke with her softly, telling her just how proud he was of how well she'd handled what had happened. She had been told by her mother that they could go home if they wanted, and Jack said he would understand, but the girl was made of sterner stuff than that, and she told him she'd stay. He smiled, and gave her a hug, noting that her dress was splattered with blood – presumably from one of the guys who'd been attacked by the dogs, but Jack knew it was his. He asked Sam if they could find Gina something else to wear that would make her look a little less gory, and Sam had taken the girl off to a bathroom with a few of the others to fix her up. Jack sent Jaffer with them, just because.

Daniel came over to where Jack was sitting just as the police were wrapping things up.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Daniel frowned. Jack was looking a bit pale – even for someone who'd just been in a life or death struggle with a shotgun-toting psycho.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Actually, he felt dizzy and weak, and there was an ache deep in his side that wouldn't go away, but it was a lot better than the alternative.

"You sure?"

Jack scowled.

"I'm fine, Daniel, just a little sore, I guess."

"The police are about done here, so we'll be able to get back to what we were doing."

Jack nodded. "Good."

"If you want to make your flight, though, we'll have to cut a few things out of the schedule."

It was already three thirty, and Jack and Sam were leaving the reception at five.

"Hey guys," They both looked up and saw Sam returning, with Jaffer walking next to her. The black lab was a little damp – which was a sure sign that Sam had taken the opportunity to wash the blood off his face and chest – but he was looking cheerfully at Jack, wagging his tail.

Jack reached out and scratched Jaffer's ears, smiling at Sam as he did so.

"How's Gina?"

"She's fine." Sam looked over at where Gina was standing next to her mother, Shawn and Dotty, talking to them. The girl was now dressed in casual slacks and a long sleeved t-shirt, which made her stick out from the others, but looked a lot better than what she'd been wearing. "She wants to know if you'll dance with her."

Jack smiled.

"Are we ready to get back to the party?"

"The police are telling us they're about done." Sam grinned. "Bra'tac wants to talk to you and Teal'c later, by the way."

"Oh? About what?"

"Getting some dogs. That was the first time they'd ever seen Jaffer and Jack in action, and all of the Jaffa were impressed."

"So was I," Daniel said. "And I've seen them in action before."

Jack smiled, "You should tell them to talk to Andrew and his parents. They're the dog breeders. I'm certainly not giving them Jaffer." The black lab wuffled Jack's side, his nose digging into the part of Jack's uniform that was tattered. Luckily, no one had noticed in all the other confusion, since he didn't have anything to change into.

"I was just telling Jack that we might have to cut some things out of the schedule, Sam," Daniel said, apologetically.

Sam shrugged.

"Whatever you need to, Daniel. As long as I still get to throw my bouquet."

"I'll make sure we put that in."

"Cut out the present opening," Jack suggested. "We can open them later, when we get back."

That was a good idea. Daniel nodded and went off to talk to Janet about the new schedule, and Sam sat down next to Jack. He slipped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Jack." She leaned over and rested her cheek against his. "You?"

"A little sore."

"We'll cut out the dancing, too."

He wanted to argue, but he really didn't feel like dancing – although he'd promised Gina he would, so he'd at least make sure he'd dance with her.

"I'll make it up to you."

"I know." She brushed a kiss against his ear, and went to talk to Daniel and Janet, leaving him to sit and rest with Jaffer still snuggled up against him.

Jack looked down at the lab.

"What would I do without you?"

Jaffer wagged his tail, and Jack smiled.

"You big cow."

There was a soft laugh from nearby, and Jack and Jaffer both looked over and saw that Dotty had walked up to them without either of them noticing.

"How do you feel, Jack?" Dotty asked, taking the spot Sam had vacated.

"A lot better than I should be – thanks to you."

She smiled and rested her hand on Jaffer's head.

"I'm glad I was close at hand."

"So am I. Thank you."

She shrugged.

"You do know you're not 100 percent, right? I could only do so much."

"I know." It was still a lot better than it could have been. "I'll be careful."

"Good." She shivered, despite the warmth in the room with so many people there. He noticed, of course.

"Are you all right?"

"I can't get the thought of what might have happened out of my mind..."

Jack nodded, understanding completely, and he put his arm around her.

"You wouldn't have let anything happen to him."

"I couldn't do anything to stop him."

"Well, that's Jaffer's job."

"And yours?"

"When I can."

"And when he goes away to school?"

Jack gave her a one-armed hug, understanding why she was worried about her son leaving for school.

"Don't worry, Dotty. I'll keep an eye on him."

"I know, Jack. I'm just being a distraught mother, aren't I?"

"You're being a concerned mother," he corrected. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

She smiled.

"And you?" She asked. "Are you concerned?"

Jack shook his head.

"I'm in a position to make sure that I don't have to be concerned." He told her. "When I get back from the honeymoon, Shawn's instructors and I are going to have a long talk."

She didn't ask what they were going to talk about. She didn't need to know the details. Dotty knew that Jack would do well by Shawn in the best manner he thought necessary. That was good enough for her. She squeezed his hand softly and stood up.

"Save me a dance, Jack."

He nodded, and she patted Jaffer's head, affectionately, then left the two of them alone once more.