Ian had been sleeping fairly soundly. The thing his body needed most was rest; after all, to replenish what he'd given over to healing Jack. His sleep had been deep and dreamless and even though he'd slept continuously for well overthirty-six hours, there was every chance he would have continued sleeping just as soundly for even longer if not for Jaffer. When the black lab had jumped up on his bed, he'd uncharacteristically landed among the wires and tubes that led from Ian to the various machines that were monitoring his vitals and taking care of needs he wasn't able to take care of himself just then. And Jaffer had nudged the catheter.

The sudden sharp pain to the most tender of parts of his anatomy should have jolted him awake, but Ian was far too exhausted for even that to wake him completely. He did get closer to waking, though, and when Jaffer flopped down beside him and nuzzled his face in greeting, it did finally wake him. At least for the moment.

Ignoring the aches and pains, he put his arm around the lab and managed to lift his head from the pillow just enough to move it to Jaffer's shoulder. Ian wasn't above a little cuddling, after all – especially when he felt like shit, which he did just then. The sound of a quiet conversation drew his attention over to the bed beside his own, and he couldn't help but smile at the intimate position Jack and Sam were in.

Had it been his parents, he wouldn't have been amused, of course. He'd have been grossed out just like every other offspring would have been. However, Jack and Sam weren't his folks, and he frequently thought of them more as mentors – Jack in all ways military, and Sam in the sciences – although they both were also teaching him about relationships without any of them realizing it. He watched them, sleepily, listening more to Jaffer's heart beating than to what they were saying to each other, and would have let their murmuring voices put him back to sleep, if not for the fact that it appeared things were getting just a little too physical for his tastes.

That was when he spoke up, and even had he been half-dead, he would have snickered at the way they jumped at the sound of his voice. That had been classic.

"I had something in my… eye…" Sam said, blushing a brilliant shade of red. "He was helping me get it out."

"Uh huh…"

Ian didn't lift his head from Jaffer's shoulder, but he definitely knew there wasn't anything in her eye.

Even Jack was blushing, and that took a bit of doing.

After a moment of shifting and rearranging, Sam got off the bed – dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt – and left Jack and Jacob to come over and join Ian. She sat down on the edge of his bed with Jaffer between them, and reached out to put her hand on Ian's cheek. He looked so tired that it actually made her feel tired, too – even though she'd only just woken up.

"How are you?" she asked him, gently.

"Okay…"

He didn't even lift his head from Jaffer's shoulder, but the big lab obviously didn't mind. Jaffer was used to being a pillow for those around him, and he loved the attention.

"You look tired."

Ian nodded, and closed his eyes.

"What day is it?"

His voice was even softer than Sam's had been.

"Sunday."

"Happy Mother's Day."

Sam smiled, and ran her hand lightly along his cheek, feeling a trace of stubble there. He didn't grow facial hair all that quickly, and was immaculate when it came to shaving, so it seemed out of place on him – especially since he looked like nothing more than a sleepy child just then.

"Thank you."

"Jack get you a present…?"

His words were slurring, and she had a feeling he was falling asleep in the middle of their conversation.

"Yes."

"A real present?"

She smiled.

"Yes."

"Good…"

She looked over at Jack, who was watching, but even from the other bed Jack could see she was losing Ian fast. He wasn't ready to wake up, yet, it was obvious.

"Are you hurt, Ian?" Sam asked him.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Just tired…"

"You healed Jack, didn't you?"

Ian opened his eyes, his expression wary even through his exhaustion. And he nodded, again. But he didn't say anything.

"And Shawn?"

Another nod.

"And River?"

He nodded, but wouldn't look at her. In fact, he closed his eyes again. Sam was pretty sure he was certain he was in trouble, and she wanted to hug him tight and tell him that it was okay. She didn't, though. He was hurting for one thing – the bandages wrapped tightly around his broken ribs were a constant reminder that he wasn't at a hundred percent – and really, she wasn't all that sure that everything would be okay. Hammond wanted answers – and wasn't happy with Ian, and there would be questions to answer once he was awake enough to be interrogated. But there were questions that Sam wanted to ask, first.

"You healed me and Jacob, too, didn't you? When he was born, I mean…"

There was a hesitation, and she had almost decided he wasn't going to answer, or that he'd fallen asleep once more, when he spoke.

"Healed you…" he mumbled. "Fixed Jacob…"

Which was all she needed to hear. With tears already brimming in her eyes, she simply leaned over and pressed a tender kiss against his temple.

"Go back to sleep, Ian," she whispered. "We'll talk about it when you're feeling better."

And when she'd had a chance to figure out how to make everything better – because there was no way she was going to let him suffer for what he'd done – even if he had kept the ability a secret from them. No way in hell.

He nodded, and she felt him relax under her touch. It was only a moment later that he was asleep once more. Sam stroked Jaffer's silky side, and then got up, returning to Jack's bed. It was Mother's Day, after all, and she wanted to celebrate. Ian would undoubtedly sleep the rest of the day from the looks of things.

"Well?" Jack asked when she'd slid back into the bed, and he'd put her tray back over her lap. "What did you find out?"

"What we already knew," Sam said, wiping her eyes. "We owe him everything."