"If I ask you why you have their IDs am I going to be upset by the answer?" Jack asked, leaning against the doorframe. To someone who didn't know him, he looked relaxed, but actually he was fairly tense, and Sam noticed it from the back and wondered who was at the door.

Reyes shook his head.

"They were being hassled by a group of guys that apparently had nothing better to do than try to intimidate people at the Dairy Queen."

"Really?"

Hall nodded.

"The manager called us and we broke it up, but Mr. Brooks was doing a pretty good job of handling it himself – with a bit of help from your dog, here."

"He was, huh?"

Reyes nodded.

"Considering there were five of them and one had already swung at him? Oh, yeah."

Jack looked back over his shoulder for a moment, saw Sam watching him and smiled to let her know it wasn't anything serious. Then he turned back to the police officers, and took Ian's driver's license and Cassie's learner's permit from them.

"Was he hurt?" He hadn't acted hurt, but Jack was sure Ian wouldn't have brought this up on his own – even if he'd been injured.

"No." Reyes grinned, "The guy didn't have a chance. If they would have been one on one, I doubt he'd have even dared to try anything after that first punch landed. Bullies like that are usually cowards, you know?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, we've got to get back to work, Sir," Hall said, reaching down and patting Jaffer's head. "We just wanted to get the IDs back before they weren't here anymore."

"How did you find us?"

"Ran the registration on the car," Reyes said, pointing at Sam's convertible. "We had the license number."

"Ah." Clever.

"Well, have a happy Thanksgiving," Hall told him as the two of them turned to go back to their cruiser.

"Thanks," Jack said. "You, too."

Making sure Jaffer was inside; he closed the door, and looked down at the IDs in his hand.

"Who was that?" Sam asked as he walked back into the dining room.

"That was the police," Jack said, looking at Ian when he said it – although Cassie was the one who made a face at the news. Ian just sat there, his dark eyes suddenly guarded – as if he was expecting to get chewed out. "Apparently they forgot to give you your IDs back at the Dairy Queen."

"What?" Sam asked, looking at Ian, who didn't seem to know what to say.

"It wasn't our fault," Cassie said, instantly.

"What wasn't your fault?" Janet asked, suddenly in mother mode instead of friend mode.

"The fight," Cassie said.

"There wasn't a fight," Ian said. "It was a... skirmish..."

"A skirmish?" Sam repeated, looking at Jack, who handed Ian his license and then handed Cassie her ID as well.

"According to the police, some guys were hassling them at the DQ."

"That's right," Cassie said. "They followed us in and started griping at Ian about flipping them off, and then-"

"You flipped them off?" Jack asked.

"Just the driver, and only because he cut us off and almost made me wreck the car."

"Jaffer almost went through the windshield," Cassie said. "Only Ian put his arm out and stopped it from happening."

That wasn't exactly how it happened, but it was close enough that Ian didn't deny it. The lab had ended up pressed against his arm, but probably wouldn't have gone through the windshield. Cassie, however, knew exactly how to phrase it to make sure Jack knew that he had no reason to be mad at Ian. She knew Jack well, after all.

Jack scowled at the thought of his baby being in danger because of some reckless bastards, and Ian looked even more uncomfortable under that scowl – not realizing that it wasn't directed towards him.

"Were you hurt?" Sam asked. She didn't even think to ask about her car – since that was the least of her concerns.

Ian shook his head, still watching O'Neill.

"Ian was great," Cassie said, still coming to the cadet's defense, since he didn't seem inclined to say anything in his own defense. "They followed us out to the car, but he didn't back down. He hit the guy-"

"He swung first," Ian said, determined that they all know he hadn't gone picking a fight. He'd just been reacting to the others – even though he knew he should have done it another way. Hadn't he admitted it to Cassandra in the car?

"And then the cops came and stopped it before things could get out of hand," Cassie finished.

"It sounds like things already got out of hand," Janet said.

Jack shook his head.

"It sounds like Ian was standing up to a bully, the way the police explained it to me. A group of bullies, in this case. You can't fault him for that, Doc. I don't."

Janet frowned, but she nodded. O'Neill was unquestionably right, even if she didn't like the thought of Cassie being in any kind of danger – especially from a group of people. She looked at Ian, who still had that guarded look in his eyes, which made him look even more aloof than usual, and shrugged.

"You're right, I can't." She smiled at the cadet. "And I don't. Besides, I can't hold a grudge against someone who brings me ice cream."

Cassandra smiled, and tucked her ID in her pocket. She knew her mother well enough to know that the subject was pretty much closed as far as she was concerned. She looked over at Ian to see his reaction, and saw that he still had that odd look in his eyes. He didn't know the subject was closed, and he was waiting for the 'but' that he was certain was coming. Only it wasn't.

Jack sat down, and slapped Ian's shoulder reassuringly.

"Relax, Ian. Done is done, and they're lucky it was you and not me that they cut off."

Sam smiled, and dipped a small bunch of fries into the fry sauce. "Jack would have done more than flip them off," She told him. Especially if he'd thought there was a perceived threat to Jaffer.

Jack nodded his agreement, and Ian finally started to relax under that agreement. He reached for his burger, and something caught Sam's eye as he did so. She reached out, taking his hand before he could stop her, and turned it over. Written on the cadet's palm in black permanent marker was her name. In large capital letters.

SAM

She looked at him, confused, and Ian sighed, and looked over at Jack, who was suddenly all innocent look once more – meaning he had something to do with it. Ian rolled his eyes and turned over his other hand, showing her the palm. There, written on the palm with the same black permanent marker was Jack's name, in equally large letters. And the 'J' was made in Jack's handwriting, Sam noticed.

"What...?"

Ian scowled, but he had a definite resigned look in his eyes, now.

"Every time I address you, Sam, I'm to look at my hand to remind myself that you have an easy name to remember, and use it. Or else."

Sam smiled.