Epilogue

OOOOOOO

"So he's ready to travel through the Stargate?"

Fraiser nodded. She was standing in front of Hammond's desk, with Ian's medical file in her hand.

"He's recovered almost completely, Sir. The bruises are barely noticeable, and the stitches can come out in a few days. The doctors at the Alpha site can take care of that, though. Frankly, he doesn't belong in my infirmary – and he's driving me crazy."

That was an understatement.

In the week since Ian had been brought to the SGC he'd recovered quickly, regaining his health even swifter than she'd expected him to. Which was good for him – although it made for a lot of annoying moments once he was ready to start trying to move around. The young man was used to physical activity, and Fraiser didn't allow all that much in her infirmary. They clashed constantly. He wanted up. She wanted him to remain in bed another day – just to be sure.

To distract him, they brought in class work that his instructors at the academy had accumulated for him – a month's worth of work, both textbook and essays – and Ian was quiet for a couple of days. It didn't take him long to do it, though. Especially since the few times he had a question – and he did have a few – he could simply ask Sam, who was always willing to explain something extremely complicated to him. Jack figured she was just happy to have someone to babble to that actually understood her.

It didn't last long, though. The class work was finished, and Sam had gone through it, making sure it was right. To no one's surprise, it had been. Then Jack had brought in a set of Star Wars DVDs and he, Teal'c and Ian had spent the better part of a day watching them – with Cassie joining them part way through the third movie. Since Ian hadn't seen it before, it was a distraction – but Cassie was even more of one, and she'd sat down next to him on his bed, and had held his hand through the rest of the movie, much to Janet's irritation.

Cassie had been to visit a few times, but never for long and Fraiser never really allowed the two of them to be alone so there wasn't a chance for any clandestine kisses. Not that Janet herself stood over them, but there always seemed to be a nurse or medic close at hand, either counting something or checking on Ian's wounds, or just doing something near by. Ian wasn't sure if Cassie understood what was going on, but he had a fair idea of what Janet was doing, and even though it was annoying, he understood completely. He never complained – although Cassie muttered a few choice words under her breath a couple times – which caused some contention between mother and daughter – and made Janet that much more ready to allow that Ian was well enough to travel.

"Then we'll send him to the Alpha site as soon as he's ready. Have Colonel O'Neill get him outfitted."

They'd been notified he'd be coming, after all, and were ready for him.

"Yes, Sir."

Jack wasn't surprised to hear that Ian was ready to go. He'd been keeping close tabs on the cadet's progress as well – although not as close as Janet, of course – and he'd been just as able to recognize the signs of boredom. For someone like Ian, who was used to being active all the time, it was pure torture to be forced to stay in bed, and even though Jack came by constantly, trying to distract him, he knew it was a poor substitute for getting up and going and doing things.

So it was almost with relief that he went to the infirmary and told him the good news. And Ian reacted predictably.

"It's about fucking time."

Jack smiled. He agreed.

"Yeah, well. Hammond wants me to get you geared up – which means a couple spare uniforms and equipment, including a weapon. You up for coming with me."

"Does Doctor Fraiser know I'm allowed to go?"

Jack nodded.

"She's the one that told me."

Ian tossed the blankets back and got out of bed. He was wearing typical hospital clothing; pajamas and a scowl, and was more than ready to get dressed.

"Let's go."

Sam met them in the supply room less than ten minutes later, with Jaffer walking beside her. The black lab had been restless all morning, and she'd offered to take him out for a run while Jack met with Fraiser.

"I just heard," she said, smiling broadly at Ian, who was just tucking a shirt into his new BDUs while Jack was pulling down a few more sets of uniforms from the shelves. "Released, finally, huh?"

Ian nodded.

"Finally."

"I'm going to miss having you around…"

The Cadet smiled, feeling warm and gooey inside.

"I won't be gone long."

"Do you still have that Major's Glock?" Jack asked, interrupting.

"Yeah, but it's in New Jersey."

"What's it doing there?"

"I couldn't take it with me back to the academy, Jack. My dad took it home for me – it was too nice to give back."

"Well, I'm going to have them issue you a .45. The Alpha site is secure, but it never hurts to have a weapon – just in case. I don't have to tell you not to go crazy and play John Wayne shooting up everything in sight, do I?"

Ian grinned and shook his head.

"I'm not going to do anything like that."

He knew how bad it hurt to get shot – it wasn't likely he'd ever do it to someone else, just for the hell of it, anyways.

Jack wasn't really worried about it, but he'd figured it was better to mention it.

"You're only going to be there for three weeks, but keep your eyes open, because you can learn a lot while you're there."

"Bra'tac's going to be there," Sam said, smiling.

Ian looked over at her, surprised.

"Really? How do you know that?"

"Teal'c told me. He told Bra'tac what happened to you, and where you were going, and Bra'tac told Teal'c he'd like to come and spend some time with you. You really impressed him, you know?"

The Cadet smiled. Things were just getting better and better, weren't they?

"Try not to get beat too badly," Jack told him, not at all surprised to see the eagerness in Ina's expression. Who wouldn't love a chance to get private lessons from the guy who taught Teal'c everything he knew? "We expect you back in time for a New Year's Eve party, and I don't people to think Janet Fraiser's been abusing you while you were in her care."

Ian nodded.

"I'll be careful."

"You do that."

Sam smiled.

"I'm not going to go with you through the gate, since I have things here I can't get away from, so I'll say my goodbyes now. It was fun having you with us, and if you ever need a place to stay – if your folks are going to be away or something – we'll kick your butt if you don't ask us first. Understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Ian smiled and pulled her into a bear hug. "Thanks for letting me stay with you. I had a great time."

"Summer's coming," Jack told him. "We'll need a nanny, if you're interested…"

Ian snorted, and let go of Sam, shaking his head.

"You really want the first words out of your kid's mouth to be 'fuck you'?"

Good point.

"Well… we have time. We can talk about it."

"Do me a favor, Sam?" Ian asked, pulling her slightly to the side while Jack went over and finished getting Ian's supplies for him.

"Sure."

"Tell Cassie I'll see her when I get back."

Sam smiled.

"She's going to kill you for not saying goodbye."

"Yeah, well… I'll make it up to her."

"I'll tell her you said that."

"Just don't tell Janet."

Before she could reply, Jack was back. He handed Ian a holster, which he buckled on, and then a pack, which he shouldered, and then they both looked at Sam.

"I'll be back in time for supper," Jack told her.

"Unless he gets lost," Ian told her, grinning as he headed for the door, with Jaffer beside him. "You know how old guys are, after all. Sense of direction is one of the first things to go…"

Sam laughed, and hooked her arm through Jack's.

"I'll walk you to the gate."

The End!

Author's Note: Yes, there's a lot more to the story, but the Thanksgiving part is over, so the story has to end. Plenty of time and chance for discussion at the Forum, but I would like to know what parts you all liked and what parts you didn't – favorite lines and all the usual stuff – and thanks for reading it. I really didn't intend for it to be so long!