Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, everyone. My mom's in town visiting and I wanted to spend some time with her before she goes back home.

OOOOOOOO

"I've gotta be out of my fucking mind…"

It wasn't the first time he'd thought it – or said it aloud to himself – and it probably wasn't going to be the last. Ian was pulling up in front of the Stephens' house the next morning with all the excitement of a guy heading to the executioner's block.

He'd hoped that Andrew would be waiting on the front porch, but knew that was probably too much to ask for. For one thing, the guy's parents would probably want Ian to come in and meet them – he was taking their son with him after all, and even though Teal'c had called and arranged for it the night before, Ian was still a stranger to them. For another, why would Andrew wait on the front porch for him? Ian wouldn't have waited on the porch for anyone. Well, not when he was sixteen, anyways.

Things change, though.

He sighed, and parked the car, and then headed up the walk.

The lawn was beautiful; even though the grass still held the browns and yellows of winter, it was obviously well-tended and there were flowerbeds on either side of the house and in front of the large porch. Someone loved yard work, he decided, shaking his head. When he walked up the four steps onto the porch, Ian saw a porch swing to his left and a small bicycle lying on its side to his right. Little brother, perhaps?

The cadet didn't see a doorbell, so he knocked, and inside the house there was sudden barking and scuffling on the other side of the door.

"Back, Shadow," he heard, and a moment later the door opened, revealing a little boy who looked up at Ian as the large black lab the cadet had seen the day before tried to crowd past him to see who was at the door, too.

"Hi. I'll bet you're Ian."

Blonde hair and green eyes in an utterly guileless face that grinned cheerfully at him.

Ian nodded, stopping himself from saying something sarcastic at the last moment.

"Yeah."

"Come in."

Ian scowled, wondering where this kid's mom was and why she wasn't there to keep him from allowing strangers in the house. Of course, he was flanked by a big dog, which would probably make most would-be trouble makers think twice – Shadow was Jaffer's mother, Ian knew, and she wasn't as big as Jack's dog, but she was just as big as his own lab, Bubba, and that was saying something.

"Is Andrew here?" Ian asked without making a move to go inside.

"He's getting dressed. I'm Micah, his-"

"Micah?"

The boy and Ian both looked down the entrance hall as a woman approached, and Ian felt a little relieved when he saw that she was frowning at the kid.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to answer the door? He could have been an axe murderer."

"He's not," Micah answered, looking a little annoyed at getting a lecture – although it was obvious that they'd both had this conversation before. "Are you, Ian?"

Ian shook his head.

"No."

Miyra Stephens smiled and pushed open the door in invitation.

"Please, come in, Ian. I can call you Ian, can't I? I'm Miyra Stephens, Andrew's mother, and this is Micah, his cousin. And Shadow."

Shadow had already bolted through the door and was behind Ian, now, shoving her graying muzzle into Ian's back pocket and then sniffing loudly as she worked her way down his leg. Ian didn't mind the dog at all – he liked dogs, and especially labs – but Miyra called her off, pulling Micah out of the way as Ian entered the house, looking around.

"Andrew's just getting dressed," Miyra said, smiling and closing the door behind him. "Have you had breakfast?"

Feeling just a little overwhelmed by the hospitality, Ian shook his head, even though he'd meant to lie and say he had. He wondered if a can of pop counted as breakfast.

"Good. You can come eat while you wait for Andrew. Andrew! Hurry up, Ian's here."

From somewhere above them – although Ian didn't see a staircase – they all could hear Andrew yelling that he was coming. Miyra smiled again and led Ian down the hall and into a very comfortably furnished living room with pictures all over the walls – reminding Ian of Jack's Wall – and into a huge kitchen that was dominated by a breakfast nook that had to be big enough to seat a dozen people – even though at the moment there was only one. A girl about Ian's age, with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a frankly admiring expression in her blue eyes as she watched Ian approach.

"Ian, this is Anna – Andrew's sister."

"Hi."

Anna smiled – and the smile was predatory, which made Ian immediately uncomfortable. Of course, he already was, so it wasn't all that hard.

"Hello," Anna said, gesturing for him to sit down. On the table was a large plate of pancakes and another with sausages – which smelled delicious – and a pitcher of some kind of pink juice. Obviously, Andrew's family believed in sitting down to a meal when the occasion permitted.

"Sit down, Ian," Miyra ordered, pushing him into a chair across from Anna as Micah took the chair beside him – a plate in front of him with half-eaten pancakes testimony to the fact that Ian had interrupted the little boy's breakfast. "I'll get you a plate."

"That's okay, Mrs. Stephens," Ian said, sitting down because it was far easier to sit down than to shrug her off. "You don't have-"

"Nonsense. There's plenty, and it's the least we can do, since you're so willing to be up early on a Saturday just to come get Andrew."

"That is really nice of you, Ian," Anna said, smiling.

Ian scowled. It wasn't nice of him. It was… well, it wasn't nice. Because this was really the last place he wanted to be just then. Teal'c was going to owe him so big time for this. He was going to-

"Here's a plate, Ian."

A plate, a napkin wrapped fork and knife, and a glass were all placed in front of him before he could deny the need for any of them again, and Micah reached over and pulled the pitcher of juice closer while Anna pushed the plate of pancakes towards him.

Well, shit.

"Thank you."