Epilogue

"Ian!"

He turned just in time to catch the attack of the boy, and grabbed him up – still babying his right hand but not nearly as much as he had the last week – and tossed Micah over to River, who caught the slight boy easily and then wrestled him to the ground and started tickling him.

Shawn, taking advantage of the distraction, tried to run between Ian and Andrew, but Andrew reached out and caught him by the hem of his sweatshirt, pulling him down and wrestling the football away from him. Only to have Ian steal it from him a moment later and turn to run for the makeshift goal post. Ian barely turned around before he ran straight into the very solid form of Teal'c, and crashed to the ground, a little stunned.

Powerful hands pulled him easily to his feet, and Teal'c gave him a concerned look.

"Are you injured, Ian Brooks?"

"Nah. No worse than if I'd ran head first into a brick wall."

"That is fortunate."

River came over a moment later, breathing hard and carrying Micah by the waistband of his jeans, making him look like nothing more than a seven-year-old piece of luggage. The Californian was enjoying himself immensely. He'd never had brothers to wrestle with and his sisters weren't all that fond of doing it – even for him. The day at the park with Ian, Teal'c and Shawn had been just the thing as far as he was concerned, and add to the mix Andrew – who River was finding to be just as good company as Shawn was – and Micah, who was a cute little bugger – and it was a toss up who was enjoying the day more.

"Hey guys," he said, pulling Shawn easily to his feet with his free hand when the younger cadet made no move to get up. "I'm hungry. Micah? Are you hungry?"

"Yeah!"

"See? Micah's hungry. We should feed him before Andrew's aunt and uncle decide to take him away from us for neglecting him."

The little boy giggled and was promptly dropped to the ground – not at all roughly – where he picked himself up and looked up at the others, hopeful. He more than any of them, was having the time of his life. Not only was he spending time with his cousin, but also his cousin had some very fun friends – and they were treating him like one of the gang and not some little tagalong kid. He was loving it! It was definitely better than having them bring him back some dumb old surprise, that was for sure.

Ian nodded, looking at Shawn and Teal'c.

"We ready to go eat?"

Shawn nodded.

"I get to ride with Ian!" Micah yelled, running for the convertible as soon as he was certain they were leaving.

"Of course he does," Andrew said, rolling his eyes and grinning at Ian in apology for the way Micah had attached himself to the New Yorker. Not only did Ian have his car back – and it gleamed in the spring afternoon sunshine – but Ian was Micah's new hero, just because he'd taken the time to remember a simple promise made to him, when most would have shrugged it off as unimportant.

"Don't worry," Ian said. "If he falls out, we can always go back for him."

Shawn smiled.

"That's more than he'd do for me."

"And don't forget it, Adams."

"Where are we eating?" Teal'c asked. He'd left Jack (the dog) at the O'Neill's for the afternoon, so they would be free to eat inside or out, or do whatever they wanted to do, and Ian drew his attention from watching Micah – just to make sure no weirdo as going to try anything with the boy while he waited beside the convertible – and shrugged, looking at Shawn and River.

"Pizza?"

"Fine with me," River said. He, of course, was always willing to eat – and he didn't usually care what it was.

"That works," Shawn agreed. "River and I will ride with Teal'c, you take Andrew and we'll meet at Shay's in fifteen minutes."

Ian scowled.

"You're not old enough to be giving the orders around here, Adams," he said, poking the cadet in the chest with a finger.

Shawn snorted.

"Fine, Dances With Bear Cubs, what do you want to do?"

Ian ignored the title – it was far from the first time he'd heard it the last week – and resisted the urge to toss Shawn into a snow bank. For one thing, he probably couldn't have done it, and for another, there was no snow left on the ground in the park.

"I'll take Andrew and Micah, you and Hayden go with Teal'c. We'll meet at Shay's in… ten minutes."

"Good plan, Ian," River smirked. "You must be some kind of genius or something."

"And don't you forget it." He looked over at Andrew. "Come on, Stephens. We'll save the table, so they have to buy."

Andrew nodded.

"Sounds fair to me."

"Hey!"

Ignoring River's protest, Ian and Andrew headed for the convertible, while Teal'c, River and Shawn all headed for Teal'c's motor pool car. Micah danced excitedly in place while they approached, and at Ian's gesture, opened the door and got into the back, buckling his seatbelt tightly before Ian would have to remind him.

"Did you get that practice paper done?" Ian asked Andrew as they got in the car as well.

"Yeah, I finished it during my algebra class yesterday."

Ian had been good to his word about having Andrew over and helping him prep for the classes he was going to be taking at the academy the next year. The last week, the teenager had found himself sitting in Ian's living room twice, after dinner but before the set time for Thor's lessons, looking over papers that Ian had written out for him – papers that were similar to the first homework assignments Ian had been given when he'd started the academy that year.

Andrew wasn't sure exactly why Ian was spending so much time with him – and he was spending a lot of time with him, compared to what little time he'd had with any other friends – but he was loving it. Ian was smart, cocky and just a bit unstable when it came to his temperament, and Andrew loved it. He'd never dream of cussing some guy out just for making a stupid comment in front of him in line, or giving him a dirty look, but Ian had no problem doing just that, and then proceeded to back up that cussing out when the guy started to threaten him. He was sure that his mother and father – and probably all the other adults in his life – wouldn't approve of that kind of thing, but Andrew thought it was awesome, and while Shawn was his best friend, Ian was quickly becoming something of a mentor.

"We'll hook up on Wednesday," Ian said, starting the car as Teal'c pulled out of the parking lot ahead of him, River putting his hand out the passenger side window and flipping them off (obviously forgetting the promise to Andrew's aunt that they not swear or make rude gestures in front of Micah) and Ian returned it automatically with a gesture of his own. "You can tell me more about what Thor told you about the tendencies of the recombinant DNA patterns in the Asgard while I check your work."

Andrew nodded.

"Sounds good."

There was no one else on Earth – besides Shawn – that he'd ever be able to have that particular conversation with and Andrew knew it. He didn't even stop to wonder why Ian was so interested in the Asgard physiology – who wouldn't be interested? – he was just glad to have someone intelligent to talk to.

"You bring the pop."

"You got it."

"They're winning," Micah said, interrupting from the back seat as Teal'c turned the corner ahead of them.

"Don't worry, Micah," Ian said, easily switching conversations from complex DNA to a topic any seven year old could follow. "I know a shortcut."

He turned the corner going the opposite direction, and smiled when he heard Micah's excited giggle.

Andrew smiled as well; leaning back in the seat and relaxing, since he knew there was no way Ian was going to speed with Micah in the car. He hadn't felt so good about things in a long time, and while he knew that he had a lot of challenging work ahead of him, he was also well aware that Ian had been right. He had a chance of a lifetime, an opportunity that no one would ever imagine. And he wasn't going to let it slip past him. Especially now that he had help understanding it. And another friend to share it with him.

The End.

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