"Do you need me?"

"Nah. He's fine. I'm fine. Everyone's okay."

"The doctor?"

"She'll be fine, too."

There was a slight hesitation, and he sent gentle amusement as he shooed her away.

"I'll see you this weekend. Go enjoy your lunch."

She left, and the presence turned his attention to Jack, who was aware of what was going on, but only deep in that corner of his mind that was awake when the rest of him was asleep. Love blanketed him as it always did when the two met like this, but it didn't overwhelm him, and Jack was able to focus enough to ask about the thing that was troubling him the most.

"Fraiser?"

"They're putting her to bed, now. She's fine."

"You're sure?"

There was a surge of amusement, and Jack felt it to his very soul. It drove away his worry, and he felt only the love.

"Have I ever been wrong?"

Jack snorted.

A moment of shared amusement, and then a gentle nudge.

"Wake up and see for yourself."

A cold nose in the warm spot where his shoulder and neck met woke Jack up. Nothing new there; Jaffer frequently used his nose to wake Jack. He brought his hand up to push the lab away, unsure for the briefest of moments as to where he was. But only for a second. It was hard to mistake the infirmary for anything but the infirmary, and even through the medication they'd given him, he could remember what had happened.

"What are-?" He looked at Jaffer, but the lab's attention was elsewhere, and Jack's gaze followed that of the dog's. Through the gap Hammond had left in the curtain, O'Neill could see that Janet was being put carefully into the bed next to his own.

She was still out, but as he watched, they didn't hook her to a ton of wires and machines – only the usual ones –, which told Jack that she wasn't being monitored as if she were in critical condition. For that matter, she was being put into a regular bed and not the ICU, so that was a good sign, too. As far as he knew. Better to get a second opinion, though.

"Hey..."

One of the medics looked over at the sound of Jack's voice, opening the curtain even further.

"Sir?"

"How is she?"

He smiled, relieved.

"She's going to be fine, Sir. They were worried about her kidney, but it wasn't even bruised. Of course, women have a little more fat around their organs than men do, so that probably made the difference."

Jack smiled, sleepily. He couldn't wait to tell Janet about her fat kidney. Then he had another thought.

"Has anyone called Cassie?"

"General Hammond wanted to wait until we had her out of surgery, so we'd have more information to give her."

That made sense. Better that she not be forced to pace the infirmary like Jack would have been, had he not been doped up and put to bed.

"Have someone call her school and go get her."

"We will, Sir."

"Someone she knows." Jack told him.

"Yes, Sir."

"When will she wake up?"

"In the next few hours, probably."

Jack nodded. That was good news. He ran his hand through Jaffer's jet-black fur, which was now dried. Of course, Jack felt a little damp, but it wasn't the first time the lab had used him as a towel, so he wasn't bothered at all. Jaffer looked from the medics working to get Janet comfortable to Jack, his brown eyes so cheerful that Jack felt warmed to his very core.

"Would you go find Sam for me?" He asked the lab, scratching his ears.

Jaffer snorted, and licked O'Neill's jaw for a moment, then scrambled to his feet – carefully avoiding the injured shoulder and the arm in the sling – and jumped off the bed. He disappeared a moment later, trotting down the aisle, and Jack turned his attention back to the medics working on Fraiser.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"So, Jack and Daniel were both just beaten and battered, and we're down in the gym getting ready for a square dance. But they're so doped up on medication that I'm pretty sure they didn't even know their names."

"I knew my name," Daniel protested, smiling sheepishly. Funny now. Not so funny, then. Of course, he still didn't remember that night, so he wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Which made it hard to defend himself.

"You told me Cowboys used to square danced in shorts," Sam reminded him.

Bregman snorted in amusement.

"Well, I just-"

Jack's head came up from Teal'c's thigh where it'd been resting as the four of them sat and talked for the past hour or so, and everyone else turned and looked the same direction he did. Jaffer was coming through the door, his head up, his tail wagging idly.

Sam smiled.

"Jack must be awake."

"How do you know that?" Emmett asked.

"Jaffer wouldn't leave Jack if he was asleep. Not when he's hurt. He never leaves him. It drives Janet crazy."

"Really?"

Daniel nodded, confirming it.

Jaffer came over and stuck his nose into Sam's hand, and the Major ran her hand along his smooth side.

"He's awake, huh?" She asked the dog. "I suppose he sent you to come find me?"

Jaffer whuffled her side, cheerfully. Yup! He was the messenger.

Sam stood up.

"I'm going to go check on him. I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you," Daniel said, standing up. "I want to see how Janet's doing."

"Me, too," Emmett said.

Teal'c stood as well, and as a group they headed for the door.