Ian didn't say anything, unable to meet Sam's gaze. Oh, God… he'd told her she was a good kisser! What had he been thinking? He was so stupid! Stupid!

"Ian?" His mother's voice was just as concerned as Sam's, and far harder to ignore. He looked up at her, her dark eyes worried as she ran her hand along his cheek. "What's the matter, son?"

"Nothing."

She frowned, because she knew he was lying – and he rarely even tried to lie to her – hadn't since he was very young and had realized that he wasn't good at it.

"What is it?" She pressed, as only she could.

He clenched his jaw tightly, and looked down at his hands, shaking his head. He couldn't lie to her, but he didn't have to answer. Wouldn't answer. Couldn't answer.

"He won't let me give him any pain medication," Fraiser said, barely holding her own temper in check. It'd been a long time since she'd had anyone challenge her authority like the cadet had – aside from Jack O'Neill of course – and she was not happy. "His recovery will take twice as long if he's in pain."

"So give him a shot of something," Nathan said.

"I don't need a shot," Ian said, still not looking up. "I'm fine."

He didn't look fine to any of them.

"Son, just get the damned shot and-"

"I don't want it."

"Just let her-"

"I don't want-"

"Ian-"

"Nathan, don't yell at him."

"I'm not."

Now Nathan was getting angry, too, and Sam could feel that things were abut to get out of hand quickly. Especially with so many short tempers in one small area.

"Why don't we give him a little space?" Sam asked, smiling as she rested her hand on Nathan's forearm. "He just woke up, and he's probably a bit out of sorts. That can play havoc with anyone – I know from experience, and I'll bet you do too."

Since Nathan had had his share of injuries that had required painkillers and being unconscious, he had to nod his agreement. He frowned, but he visibly got his temper back under control.

"Let me talk to him for a minute," Maggie said, ignoring the chair Janet had been monitoring her patient from and sitting on the edge of Ian's bed, her hand on her son's wrist. Ian still hadn't looked up at her or the others, but Maggie could see the pain and tenseness in his body language. She could read her son better than anyone could, after all.

Jack looked like he wanted to say something, but Sam took his hand and pulled him away.

"We'll be back in a little bit," she said.

Janet frowned, but she followed as well, figuring that if Maggie Brooks couldn't talk some sense into her son, she would just strap him to his bed and force the painkillers into him. There was no way she was going to let his stubborn refusal keep him from getting the medical attention he needed.

Nathan didn't leave. Ian was his son, too, and he was going to find out what was going on inside that head of his. He'd realized far too late that he hadn't played much of a role in his son's life, but he was already planning on changing that – if he could –and this was going to be part of it. Whether Ian wanted it to be or not.

"What's going on, Ian?" His mother asked, once everyone was gone but Jaffer, who was still sprawled on the bed with the cadet. He was comfortable, after all, and hadn't been told to move – so he wasn't going to.

Ian shook his head, but Maggie reached out and put her fingers lightly under his chin, forcing his head up so she could see his face. He couldn't lie to her face to face, and they both knew it. And she really wanted to know what was bothering him.

"Ian?"

He sighed.

"The medication makes me say stupid stuff."

Nathan snorted in amusement, and both of them looked at him, both sets of dark eyes annoyed. He didn't back down from either of them. This was something he actually knew about, after all.

"Of course it makes you say stupid stuff, Ian," Nathan said. "They're called drugs for a reason. They're just legal ones, that's all."

"I don't like them."

"Do you like hurting?"

"I'd rather hurt than say something unforgivable…"

"What did you say?" Maggie asked, curiously. She was glad to hear that the thing bothering him didn't seem to be all that serious an issue – Nathan certainly didn't think it was, anyways, and Maggie knew he had more experience with this sort of thing than she did.

Ian flushed.

"You didn't propose to anyone, did you?" Nate asked. "I did that once…"

"You did?"

"She even said yes, but my CO dragged me back to my bed before I could make any plans…"

Maggie smiled, and was pleased to see that while Ian didn't smile, he did look amused.

"Why don't we talk to Janet and see if there's something she can give you that will make you less talkative?"

"Because I don't want her to know why I-"

"What did you say to her?" Nathan asked. "It must have been a doozy."

"I'd rather not say…"

"It wasn't obscene was it?" Maggie asked.

Ian shook his head.

"Then it's not unforgivable."

"I kissed Cassie."

"Oh, she's going to kill you…" Nate said, shaking his head.

"She wasn't going to know about it," Ian replied. "It's not like we did anything else. But then I got medicated, and stupid, and spouted off that Sam was a – anyways, I let it slip that I kissed Cassie, and I'm not going to take anything else."

"You're sure you let it slip?" Nathan asked. "Half the time I was doped up I couldn't remember my name, much less anything I said…"

"I remember saying it – and I remember her getting pissed about it – sorry." His apology to his mother for swearing was immediate, but she simply cupped her palm gently against his bruised face, not minding for once. "I don't want any more medication…"

"You're going to have to let her call you on the kiss anyways, son," Nathan told him, shrugging. "Might as well get it over with and then you won't have to worry about the medication."

Well, yeah, he still would, Ian knew. But he also knew his dad was right; he might as well let Janet have her chance at him. What was the worse she could do, really? He already hurt, after all.

He shrugged, but nodded.

"You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right."

Now it was Maggie's turn to snort. She caressed his cheek lightly for a moment, and then stood up.

"I'm going to go tell her you want to talk to her. You can decide what you're going to say."

Great.

"This should be good," Nathan said, grinning.

"You'll never know," Maggie told him, taking his hand and pulling him away from the bed. "It's none of your business…"

"But-"

"Come on."

She smiled at Ian, who sighed, and forced a smile back. "We're going to go find Jack and Sam and buy them a cup of coffee, send for us when you're feeling a little better, okay?"

He nodded, and watched them leave, stroking Jaffer's silky ears as he tried to figure out what the heck he was going to say. Nothing was coming to him. He couldn't think around the throbbing behind his eyes.

"I'm a dead man," he told Jaffer. At least he was in a good place to be killed…