Jack stayed in the infirmary for about half an hour before he finally had to leave for the airport to go get Nathan. Sam asked him if he wanted company, but he decided that he probably should just talk to Nate one on one first and see what he knew – then he'd decide whether or not to bring the retired general back to the SGC or not. Of course, since Nate would undoubtedly want to see Ian, Jack had another job for Sam. One far more difficult than dealing with Nathan Brooks. And that was to deal with Ian Brooks.

"Try to get him awake, Sam," Jack said. "He might wake up for you where he'll ignore everyone else."

They were both reminded of how Ian had responded to Sam when he'd been so tired the last time – the day they returned with Jacob.

"I'll give it a shot."

Jack nodded, and brushed a kiss against her cheek as he stood up.

"I'll be back in a bit."

"We'll be here."

Since Janet wasn't letting anyone go just then, it was a guarantee that they would. Shawn, River and Ian would, anyway.

He smiled, and headed for the door. Jaffer sat up as he was leaving, realized he was going to be left behind, and launched himself off the bed, tearing off after Jack before he could get out of sight.

Sam smiled, looking at Shawn, who grinned. Some things were more important than sleep, and Jaffer had been left behind enough already that day.

"Do you need anything before I go see Ian?" She asked him.

"No, I'm okay. Do you want me to come with you?"

"And let Janet catch you out of bed without permission?" Sam asked, her eyes widening in feigned shock. "I thought you were a genius…"

OOOOOOOO

It took Jack a lot longer to find the right terminal than it should have. Of course, all he had to go on was the arrival time of the plane, since Nate hadn't bothered to tell him what carrier he was flying on or what gate he was supposed to arrive at. With Jaffer beside him – on a leash because they were in a very crowded place and the airport people didn't mind him being there as long as he was under control (which translated into leashed) – Jack roamed through the various terminals, looking at arrival and departure screens, trying to find a flight that originated in New York and was arriving at 6:20. And didn't find anything. Anywhere.

Annoyed and more than a little frustrated, he looked at the closest clock. It was already 6:20, and he didn't have a clue where to meet Nate – and of course, he didn't have his cell number so he couldn't call him. Provided he was off the plane and had the phone on in the first place.

"Now arriving, Flight 599 from Washington, DC, at Gate 12."

Jack saw the people swarming towards that gate, and looked up at the arrival screen once more. It was the only flight in this entire terminal that was arriving any where near the right time, so he waited and watched, thinking that maybe Nate had flown in from DC and hadn't bothered to mention that, either.

Leaning against the wall out of the way, he was rewarded only a few minutes later. Nathan was the first person off the plane and out into the main terminal. The big man was imposing, even in jeans and a polo shirt, and Jack noticed that most people gave him a wide berth when they could, careful to avoid bumping him. Nate saw him as soon as he saw Nate, and the big man headed his direction, so Jack waited where he was instead of trying to wade through the sea of humanity that were hugging and kissing and greeting the newly arrived relatives, spouses and significant others.

"Jack."

He put his hand out and Jack shook it.

"Hey, Nate."

"I was hoping you'd be able to find me," Brooks said as they headed away from the crowd. "It occurred to me when we landed that I hadn't told you what flight I was on or anything."

"You know me," Jack said, shrugging. "I can find anyone – anytime."

"Uh huh. Where's Ian?"

"Back at the base."

"Good."

"What's this about, Nate?" Jack asked. "There's a-"

"I don't want to talk about it here, Jack. We need to go someplace secure."

"Nate…"

Brooks looked at him, knowing that if the tables were turned, he wouldn't be all that happy about all the cloak and dagger crap, either.

"I know about your Stargate, Jack."

Jack looked around, but there wasn't anyone anywhere near them.

"Come on. We need to get back to the base."

Oh yeah. This was definitely a reason to bring him back to talk to Hammond.

OOOOOOOOOO

"How are they doing, Janet?"

Fraiser looked over at Sam when she came up behind her, and gave a frustrated sigh.

"They're both driving me nuts."

"Oh?"

"Ian's still asleep, and River's propositioned every female in the room but you – and I think that's just because you haven't been anywhere near him."

Sam smiled.

"Is he okay?"

"Which one?"

"Both."

"River's fine – and he's finally starting to come down off his high. A little. Ian's fine, too, as near as I can tell… he's just asleep."

"Jack asked me to try and wake him up before Nathan gets here…"

Janet shook her head.

"Good luck."

"I can't hurt him, can I?"

"I don't think so."

As long as she didn't try waking him with any kind of injections. Janet was fairly certain that the adrenaline shot she gave Ian was the reason he'd flatlined. The timing had just been too perfect. He'd actually spoken to her before that, so she knew he could be woken – at least a little – and had been considering calling Cassie and having her come down and give waking him up a try. Sam was just as good, though, she decided. Ian reacted better to Sam and Janet knew he'd never tell Sam to go away like he had her.

"Tell him if he doesn't wake up and tell me what's wrong with him, I'm going to kill him."

Sam smiled.

"I'll do that."