His stomach woke him up. A growl that rumbled so hard it actually hurt – although it probably wasn't that loud. Ian opened his eyes and stared into the darkness, reorienting himself, since this wasn't what the house had been like when he'd fallen asleep. Then it had been lit up with murmuring in the background as Shawn and River made dinner – damn, he'd missed dinner – and now it was dark and quiet, and he had a feeling it was well past midnight.

He looked at his watch, hitting the light on it to illuminate the hands, and saw that not only was it well past midnight, but it was morning. Early morning, but morning nonetheless. Too late really to go back to sleep, and as much as his stomach was bothering him with its grumbling, Ian had to eat something.

Silently, he rolled off the couch, trusting his memory of where everything had been the night before (and hoping no one moved anything) to navigate to the kitchen, where he turned on the light and bit back a curse when he damn near blinded himself as the room lit up.

"Gah…"

He waited until he could see again, and then headed for the fridge, hoping there'd be something left over from dinner.

"There's no chicken left."

Ian managed to bite back the surprise as he heard Shawn's voice behind him, and turned, still holding the fridge open. Shawn was standing at the doorway, wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and looking as if he'd just woken up – which he had.

"What?"

"We ate it all, sorry."

Crap.

"It's all right."

"We thought about waking you up, but Sam wanted to let you sleep."

"It's okay." He would have liked some chicken, but sleep was obviously something he had needed, too. Ah well. "I'll make some toast or something."

"There's eggs."

Which implied cooking. Ian wasn't quite as worthless in the kitchen as most people thought he was – and he didn't mind letting them think it – but he wasn't all that great, either. He could fry an egg, though. Well, it'd end up scrambled, since he couldn't seem to flip them without having them get all broken and messed up, but it'd be something to eat anyways.

He sighed, and pulled out a dozen eggs and set them on the counter.

"You hungry?"

Shawn shrugged, and nodded.

"I could eat."

"Did I wake you?"

He nodded again.

"I wasn't sleeping that well, anyways, though, so it's no big deal."

Ian nodded, but before he could wonder why Shawn was having trouble sleeping, the younger cadet spoke up again.

"I lost the bid for the bed, so I got stuck with the floor – which is not the most comfortable bed in the world, no matter how many sleeping bags Jack piled on it."

Ian smiled, and fished a skillet out of the drawer under the stove.

"You should have woken me up. I'd have kicked River out of the bed for you."

Shawn chuckled and pulled a loaf of bread out of the breadbox, telling Ian he'd make the toast.

"He won fair and square. Besides, I'll be back in my own bed tonight."

"You're going back to school today?"

Shawn nodded, pulling the toaster down and setting it on the counter.

"It's time. I'm over the worst of it, and I need to get back into the swing of things before I fall too far behind."

"You'd be able to catch up."

It wasn't empty boast; Ian knew Shawn wasn't in over his head at school, and the classes were good for him, but they weren't so challenging that he could fall behind easily.

Shawn nodded.

"But I need to get back." He hesitated. "Sam told us about what they want you to do the next few months…"

Ian looked over at him, surprised.

"She did?"

"Well, not exactly – since River doesn't know everything – but I do, and I know what you're going to be doing."

"I haven't decided to do it, yet."

Shawn shrugged.

"It sounds like a great opportunity. A bit dangerous, maybe, but that's not something that will stop you."

"I'm not worried about getting hurt or anything," Ian said, turning on the stove and setting the pan on the burner.

"What are you worried about, then?" Shawn asked curiously.

"You."

"Me?"

Ian nodded.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"There's a lot of weird shit going on around you, Shawn," Ian told him. "Pretty much since day one since I've met you and even before then I bet. I'm not going to be there to keep an eye on things and make sure no one's fucking with you."

Shawn smiled, although he hid it from Ian, turning to take bread out of the bag and start the toaster. What a far cry from the jerk who'd been the first to pick on him at the beginning of the year! Shawn knew what Ian meant, though, and he knew it wasn't just Ian trying to make up for the way he'd been that first day. Ian was one of those guys that really was an asshole to those he didn't know – or didn't like – but when he decided that he did like you, he would be the first to stick up for you, or jump someone who might be doing something he didn't like or saying something he didn't like.

"I'll be fine. This really is a good opportunity for you, and you're smart enough to know it."

Yeah, he knew it. But still…

Shawn turned from watching the toaster to watching Ian, who was breaking eggs into the pan.

"If I need help with something, I'll call you."

"Yeah?"

He nodded.

"Sure. Even if it's just to get you to beat someone up for me…"

Ian smiled.

"I'm not your hit man, Adams."

Which didn't mean he wouldn't beat someone up for him.

"You really should take advantage of what they're offering you…"

"Would you do it?"

"Work with Jack? In a minute." The answer was immediate, and sincere. "I'm a bit young, though. Otherwise I'd probably be jealous and wish it was me."

"Yeah?"

Shawn nodded.

Ian turned his attention back to the eggs, but Shawn could tell he was still considering things. Of course, he probably never stopped considering things. Shawn didn't press, though, knowing that Ian wasn't a guy that liked to be pressured into things – even things that he was considering doing. He'd had his say, though, and really if that was what was keeping Ian from joining SG-1 – even temporarily – then now he knew better. It was simply a matter of leaving him alone and letting him think it through.

They finished making their breakfast, still chatting occasionally, but now they were talking about Shawn's classes and how his schedule was going. Basically, the same things they normally would be discussing this time of day – although they never made their own breakfast at the academy – which was a sign to Shawn that Ian was giving things an effort. There was still an echo of the guilt he was feeling lurking in his dark eyes, but he was trying. It was a good start, anyways.