Janet wondered about the look that Cassie gave Ian as she said this, but the cadet didn't even blink.

"Nah, it's okay," Jack said, shrugging and sorting through the bags, handing Sam the large fries and adding half of his own – in case she really needed fries. "I'll get something out of the fridge."

"I'm up, Colonel," Ian said. "What would you like?"

Jack scowled and stood up.

"Come with me, Cadet Brooks, if you would..." He headed for the hallway, and Ian looked at Sam, wondering what he was doing. She just shrugged, though.

"Better go see..."

He nodded, and headed down the hallway as well, and as soon as he was out of sight Cassie turned to her mother.

"Why didn't you tell me Shawn's roommate was so hot?" She hissed softly.

Janet looked surprised.

"Ian?"

"Yes, Ian..." The girl rolled her eyes, wondering if her mother was blind or something. How could she not see how cute he was?

"Wait until you see River," Sam murmured, just as softly. She didn't need Ian to know they were discussing him – even if it wasn't like they were saying bad things.

Janet nodded, an amused twinkle in her eyes.

"Really?"

"They're as different as night and day," Sam said. "You think Ian's cute – and he's not bad looking, I agree – but River is enough to turn even my head. Blonde hair, the bluest eyes you ever saw and –"

"The biggest flirt I've ever seen," Janet finished with a smile.

"Really?" Cassie asked.

Both women nodded.

"Shawn said they were going to come over tomorrow – something about his mom freeing them from time with the grandparents for a while. Since Shawn isn't old enough to drive, River will undoubtedly bring him, so you'll probably get a chance to meet him then."

Cassie was finding it hard to believe there was a better looking guy in the world than Ian, so she decided she'd just have to wait and see. Sam and her mom probably just didn't know hot young guys as well as they thought they did. They were old, after all.

"What-"

They were interrupted by the return of Jack and Ian. Jack had his hand on Ian's shoulder, and his eyes were gleaming with good humor, while Ian looked as if he wasn't sure if he should be amused or angry.

Jack sat back down in his chair, and looked up at Ian.

"Shall we start again, Ian?"

Ian scowled, but it wasn't a real scowl.

"I'm up, Jack. What would you like?"

Jack smiled, and Ian shook his head in amusement, although Sam and the others didn't have a clue what was so funny.

"A beer, if you would. Try not to cut yourself while you're getting it..."

Sam smiled, and looked through the bag for some fry sauce.

"Sam? Would you like anything to drink while I'm in here?"

She looked over at Jack, who gave her an amused wink, then started in on his cheeseburger.

"I'm fine, Ian." She had plenty of coffee left in her cup.

They could hear the fridge open – which brought Jaffer from his position beside Jack to come and see what was being taken out for him.

"Doctor Fraiser? Cassandra? Anything?"

"I'll come help you, Ian," Cassie said, getting up and going into the kitchen.

"What did you do?" Sam asked, in a whisper that was so soft Janet could barely hear it.

"You'll see." Jack told her around a mouthful of food. "Maybe."

Ian brought the drinks, while Cassie brought the coffee pot to refresh Janet and Sam's coffee. Then the cadet sat down and started in on his own burger, while Cassie pulled her chicken strips over, and smuggled one to Jaffer.

"What do we have left to get done?" Janet asked as she took her first taste of the ice cream Ian had brought her.

Sam shrugged, looking tired, Ian thought – although it was still early in the day. Jack obviously had decided the same thing, though, because he spoke up.

"Whatever it is, Ian and I will take care of it. You need a break."

Ian nodded his agreement.

It was Sam's turn to scowl, but she knew that there wasn't any point in arguing with him when he was in this mode. Besides, she was ready to take a break. Maybe even take a nap if things settled down a bit – which they seemed to be doing.

"I don't think we have anything left that can't wait until later, Sam," Janet said. "The stuffing needs to be made and the turkey ready for the oven, but it can wait – and should wait – until this evening." She took a bite of her Peanut Buster Parfait, and savored it for a moment. "When I'm finished with this, Cassie and I are going to go home and search through all the advertisements in the newspaper and plan our strategy for Friday morning shopping – which we will share with you tomorrow when we come back to help you get everything else ready. So you might as well take it easy for the rest of the day. Maybe even take a nap..."

Jack nodded his agreement. He wasn't tired – but of course, he wasn't pregnant and trying to plan a huge dinner party, either. He and Ian would either make themselves scarce, or would lounge around the house with her – depending on what she wanted them to do.

"I think-"

He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Jaffer scrambled to the living room, rushing to the door to see who was there. Jack got up and joined the lab. He could tell by the way that Jaffer was acting that it wasn't anyone the dog knew well – otherwise the tail would have been wagging furiously.

He opened the door and found two police officers standing on the front steps.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack nodded, wondering what they wanted.

"Is Ian Brooks here, Sir?" The one whose nametag said 'Reyes' asked. "And Cassandra Fraiser, perhaps?"

Jack looked back into the living room for a moment, then back at the officers.

"Yeah, they're both here. Do you need them?" What the hell had those two gotten up to?

The one whose name was Hall shook his head, smiling down at Jaffer while his partner reached into his breast pocket.

"Nah, we just forgot to give them their IDs back."