"Are you nuts?"
Jack grinned.
"Come on, Ian… it's only going to be for a few hours…"
"Jack…"
"You're his Godfather…"
"Yeah, but not his nanny."
"He won't be any trouble."
"He's 3 days old, and all he's done is been trouble since the beginning…"
Sam came over right about then, looking down at Ian, who was lounging in his bed with his leg stuck out in front of him and then at Jack who standing beside the bed.
"What's going on?"
"Ian's afraid of Jake."
Ian scowled.
"No, I'm not."
She smiled.
"You won't watch him for us?"
Ian squirmed. The way she said it made it sound like he was mean and heartless. It wasn't that he didn't want to watch him while the two of them went out and got some fresh air – Jacob couldn't come because Janet wasn't ready to allow him out into the cold fresh March days just yet – he just…
"He's awfully little, Sam. What if something happened?"
"Janet will be here."
"She could watch him."
"She has paperwork to catch up on," Jack said.
"It's okay, Ian," Sam said, brushing her hand along his shoulder. "You don't have to watch him. Jack and I can go a different time."
Now he felt like dog shit. She'd been stuck inside as many days as he had, and he knew that she wanted to go out and get some fresh air – and maybe go get something to eat that didn't have to be brought to her by an orderly. From what Cassie had said when she'd come in to visit him earlier that morning, it was a beautiful day, and a sure sign that spring was coming. And Janet still wouldn't risk allowing him to travel on his knee. Or maybe she figured if he left, she'd never get him back inside.
He gave a purely mental sigh.
"Nah… I'll watch him, Sam… You can go ahead and go."
She shook her head, knowing that she'd made him feel guilty and hadn't intended to.
"It's okay, Ian," she repeated. "I can wait."
"Nah. You don't need to. He's just a little kid, right? Probably he'll sleep all the time you're gone, anyways. Go get some fresh air with Jack and Jaffer. I'll keep an eye on him until you get back."
She hesitated, uncertain. Ian didn't know that there was more to it than her just wanting some fresh air; she and Jack were going shopping, but she didn't want to guilt trip him into doing something he didn't want to do – and she knew she just had. He waved her away, making shooing motions with his hands.
"Go on, before he wakes up wanting fed – because I'm not doing that."
She smiled.
"I just fed him. Janet said he'll be fine for a few hours – most preemies aren't even with their parents at this stage of their lives."
Ian nodded.
"You'd better get going then."
Jack smiled, but Sam was suddenly a little reluctant to leave. It would, after all, be her first time away from Jacob, and he was only a few days old, and nowhere near ready to be away from his mother, yet. What if he woke up hungry? Or crying? Or what if she-
"Sam?"
Jack's voice was slightly concerned, and she jerked out of her worried thoughts abruptly, looking at him and then at Ian. Both of them looked concerned.
"You okay?" Jack asked, reaching out and touching her arm.
She nodded, feeling stupid. She was just being dumb. Jacob wasn't going to wake up needing her. He was asleep and showed every sign of staying asleep for a while.
"I'm fine, sorry."
She was, too, because now they both looked so worried about her.
"We don't have to go…" Jack said, reading her expression perfectly.
She shook her head.
"It's okay," she said, forcing a slight smile. "I want to. Jake will be fine with Ian."
"And Janet," Ian reminded her.
"And Janet."
"And about fifty other doctors and nurses," Jack said, gesturing around the room. For a Sunday morning, it was actually fairly busy – apparently there was some kind of deadline coming up for an inspection readiness thing, and Janet had pulled all her medical staff in to review procedures with them. They would all still be there when Jack and Sam returned from their excursion. Jacob couldn't be in better hands – except for his parents', of course.
"I'll go get him," Jack said, giving her a gentle touch as he walked past and headed towards the other end of the room.
"You're sure you don't mind?"
Ian shook his head, feeling a little more confident. After all, there were about 50 doctors and nurses in the room – okay, he'd seen ten total all day, but that was still a lot of back up.
"I'm his Godfather, right? That's my job; watching him when mom and dad need a break, beating up people who pick on him, teaching him dirty jokes…"
"No dirty jokes," Sam said, smiling. "What if he remembers them once he learns to talk?"
"Clean jokes, then," Ian promised as Jack wheeled the basinet carefully down the center of the aisle. Sure enough, Jacob was sound asleep in the middle of it, his thumb tucked securely in his mouth and his eyes closed. He looked peaceful enough. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, eh?
Sam smiled when she looked down at her son, and Ian couldn't help but echo that smile. She looked so much like a mother just then. Apparently that look wasn't something you had to be taught once you had a kid; it was natural, because it made him feel gooey inside and she wasn't even his mom.
"You guys better get going."
Jack nodded, looking at Sam.
"Yeah?"
She nodded, too, and leaned over and brushed a kiss against Ian's forehead.
"Thanks, Ian. We won't be gone long."
He could feel his face heating up and knew he was blushing brilliantly.
"You're welcome. Just get back before he needs to be changed, okay? Please?"
She smiled, resisting the urge to kiss Jacob as well – because she definitely didn't want him to wake up and see mommy leaving him.
"We'll try."