"You didn't tell me I was supposed to stay in bed…" Ian said. Again.
"I didn't tell you that you could get up, either." Janet replied, shifting his arm on her shoulder just a little.
They were making their way slowly down the hall, Ian hobbling between Janet and Jack, and arm draped over each of them and his crutches in Jack's free hand. Janet hadn't listened to any excuses when she'd gathered her charge to take him back to the infirmary, saying that the leg he was walking around on was going to need some tests on it before he would be allowed to go wandering at random.
Jack had smiled, pleased that he wasn't the one caught in the wrong, and that had been a mistake, too, because Janet turned on him, next.
"And what are you doing here, Colonel?"
"What?"
"When I came into my infirmary – fully intending to check on all my patients – Sam told me that you'd gone to take Jaffer out for a quick run and would be right back. I expected you to be right back, then, since there are several things we need to discuss about your son, and it's hard to have those conversations without you there."
Jack's expression turned almost as guilty as Ian's.
"I was going to bring Sam some breakfast…"
"I don't see any."
"I got distracted…"
"So I see. Help me get Ian back to the infirmary. I don't want any weight on that leg until-"
"It's not that bad, Dr. Fraiser," Ian had interrupted. Which, of course, had been the wrong thing to say.
She gave him a cool look, putting a layer of frost on every dish in the commissary.
"Yeah? Let me see you walk across the room."
Ian reached for the crutches.
"Without those."
Scowling, Ian heaved himself to his feet, because she'd pretty much thrown down a gauntlet that he wasn't going to ignore. He'd get across the room if he fell on his face a hundred times doing it.
Janet didn't even let him try.
"Don't bother, Ian. You and I both know what'll happen, and I don't want you to injure yourself further."
She'd made her point, and they all knew it.
"Colonel?"
Shaking his head and wondering how she managed to make him feel like a guilty child every time she caught him doing something wrong, Jack had moved over to Ian's right, taking his arm and putting it over his shoulder as he reached for the crutches.
"Come on, Ian… I need to get back to Sam."
OOOOOOOO
Before they even reached the infirmary, they knew Jacob was awake – even though he'd been sleeping still when Jack had left Sam. For a preemie who was supposed to have underdeveloped lungs, Jacob had a very fine pair, and he was screaming, his wails coming down the hall easily.
The four of them picked up the pace, which actually made Ian pale with pain when he jarred his knee against Fraiser's leg, but he didn't complain. Fucking Jaffa. Okay, maybe he complained a little – in his head, at least.
They entered the room, and Jack handed Ian off to the medic – the same one who'd allowed Ian up in the first place – and headed for Sam, who was on her feet with the screaming baby in her arms, walking him and crooning to him and not looking all that worried about the fact that he was turning bright red. Of course, she had a room filled with doctors who had already assured her when he started screaming that he wasn't in any danger.
Sam smiled when Jack walked up, looking over his shoulder at Ian, who was being hustled off to the end of the room once more.
"Want me to take him?" Jack asked.
She shook her head.
"I'm okay. Janet found you, I see…"
Jack nodded.
"She's not happy with us, and made sure we knew it. I'm sorry I didn't come right back… I-"
"Stopped off at the commissary," Sam finished, smiling again. "I knew you would."
She knew him better than anyone; of course she knew he was going to stop at the commissary. Especially with Jaffer with him.
Jack nodded, looking at the baby, who was still screaming.
"Is he hungry?"
She shook her head.
"He nursed when he woke up."
"Messy diaper?"
"Already checked."
"Did you pinch him?"
She smiled, and handed him over to his father, who took him in careful arms. The baby didn't even stutter, and the screaming continued.
"I figured I'd save that for later… when I want to wake you up. I don't suppose you brought coffee?"
He shook his head.
"Genghis Khan insisted we come back immediately, before Ian's leg falls off."
Sam giggled, and looked over at the end of the room once more. Ian was sitting on his bed, the privacy curtain open and a thunderous scowl on his face – even from where she was standing she could see it – and Janet was walking back up the aisle towards her and Jack.
"Is he okay?" Sam asked when Janet reached them.
"He's fine, Sam. I just don't want him on that leg too much until I have a chance to run more tests on it."
It was obvious from her tone that she wasn't anywhere near as annoyed with Ian as she'd pretended to be.
"It's not broken, though, right?"
She shook her head, and held her hands out to Jack, plainly asking for Jacob. Now Jack's scowl was as big as Ian's. Why did she always want to hold him right after he got his hands on him?
"It's not broken, but I don't know what happened to it, yet, so I'm not sure if there's ligament damage or something wrong with-"
"The First Prime hit him with his staff weapon," Jack said, handing Jacob over when it was obvious Janet wasn't going to lower her arms – no matter how much he scowled. "A few times."
Janet nodded, looking relieved.
"Which means there's probably no tears or sprains. Just bruising and swelling. We'll do an MRI on it in a day or so if it doesn't show improvement, though. And will ice it for a while to keep the swelling at bay."
"So he's stuck in here?" Jack asked. He knew Ian wouldn't like that.
"It's not the state penitentiary, Colonel," Janet said. "And he'll have plenty of company, because Sam's not leaving for another couple of days, either. And neither is Jacob here – are you, sweet baby?"
Jacob didn't feel like a sweet baby, though. He felt like a baby who wanted to be back where he had been and already decided he didn't like this cold new place with its loud noises and bright lights. Grumpy about changes that no one had asked him about, he screamed again.
Jack looked at Sam, his hand coming up to rest lightly on his son's tiny head.
"I'd better go home and get some things, then…"
There was no way he'd stay away while Sam and the baby were here, after all.
Janet nodded.
"I'm going to have a specialist come by and have a look at Jacob today, you two. I want him checked out, because I really can't believe just how healthy he is…"
Jack shrugged, striking a slight pose.
"Look at me, doc. How can he be anything but a fine specimen of baby, when he has me for a dad?"
Janet snorted, and turned to Sam.
"Like I said… I can't believe he's not forty pounds overweight and gray already."
"Hey! I heard that."
Sam smiled, and reached for her son, again.