When Janet came into the infirmary later that morning – long after Sam and Jack had finished her breakfast in bed and had cuddled Jake and then had had a chance to cuddle with each other – she first checked on Jack, who told her rather grumpily that he was feeling fine and had no business being stuck in her infirmary any longer. She ignored his protests and checked his charts – privately finding that he was right; he was fine, and probably could go home that night. But she didn't tell him that. Instead, she went over to check on Ian, who was still asleep, but had obviously woken at some point, since his arm was wrapped around Jaffer and his head was resting on the lab's shoulder.
"He woke up for a minute," Sam said, confirming that. She'd come over to stand by Ian's bed while Janet checked on him, and couldn't help but reach down and touch his cheek once more. "We didn't get to talk to him much, but he did confirm that he healed Jack – and Shawn, River and me."
"And Jacob?" Janet had asked.
Sam shook her head.
"He said he healed me, but fixed Jake…"
Janet had frowned.
"I wonder what he meant by that?"
"You'll have to ask him when he wakes up again…"
Janet had watched Ian sleep with a speculative look on her face.
"I could probably wake him up, now… he's been asleep quite a while…"
"Let him sleep, doc," Jack had said. "He's tired, and it's not like there's any rush."
Janet had scowled, because there was a rush. For one thing, she wanted to know how he'd healed the people he'd healed. For another, Cassie was driving her crazy with her sulking – although she had broken down enough to make Janet breakfast and give her a lovely mother's day present – a pantsuit that Janet had been admiring the last time the two of them had gone shopping together. However, there wasn't much she could do. She really wasn't going to wake Ian up unnaturally – she had no intention of risking a repeat of the last time she'd attempted it.
"I suppose it won't kill us to wait," she'd said, running her own hand along his cheek, and sort of hoping that the touch would wake him up. When it didn't, she'd sighed, and had gone over to Jack's bed once more. "You have a choice, Colonel…"
"Yeah?" Jack had asked. "What's that?"
"You can stay in the infirmary today where my staff can keep an eye on you – just in case you have any medical emergency…"
"Or…?"
"You, Sam and Jacob can come over to my house and have a barbeque with Emmett, Cassie and myself."
"And Shawn?"
"If he wants to come, he's more than welcomed." The way she'd said it reminded him that Shawn was always more than welcome. "River could come, too, if he wanted."
Before Jack could say anything – although Sam already knew what his answer would be – Sam spoke up.
"We'd love to come."
Janet smile, and had looked at Jack, who had nodded, too.
"Yeah, we'd love to come."
He'd do anything to get out of bed, and it wasn't like he didn't like Janet, Emmett and Cassie.
"Great. I'll give Ian a quick check, and leave some instructions in case he wakes up, and you guys can call Shawn to see if he wants to come."
So that's how Jack and Sam ended up spending her first Mother's Day over at Janet's instead of at home. The company was good, though, and since it was the first official barbeque of the season it was that much better. Emmett volunteered to pick up Shawn and River from the academy, and they even came bearing gifts for Janet and Sam – although they'd had to do some quick last minute shopping to find a gift for Janet. Both young men had decided though that since she'd opened her house to them it was the least they could do.
When the subject of Ian's absence came up – as was inevitable – Jack had simply told them he was in the infirmary, but it wasn't serious. Just some broken ribs that made it painful for Ian to move about. Which was undoubtedly true. And that he'd be out soon. Which was almost definitely also true. Although Cassie knew there was more to it than that, she didn't let on, because she didn't know exactly what was going on, either, and knew better than to spread that information to the boys when Jack had purposely left it out. Shawn and River had told Jack to pass on a greeting to Ian and to let him know they'd bring him his homework for the next week if necessary. Then they'd turned their attention to the mothers in the group and the subject of Ian was allowed to drop.
Sam had greeted Shawn with a hug, and had held him a bit longer than usual. It was, after all, his first mother's day without Dotty, and she was well aware of the fact. He'd clung to her, and by the time they'd pulled apart they were both a little misty-eyed, but that was only to be expected.
"Happy Mother's day, Sam," Shawn had said, wiping his eyes quickly before handing her a poorly wrapped present. It wasn't that he hadn't had plenty of time to wrap it – he'd bought it for Sam a couple of weeks before – but he was a typical guy, and they didn't always wrap presents that well.
"Thanks, sweetheart."
He'd smiled, then, and while she opened it, River had joined them, the Californian's cheerful expression and good-natured teasing always enough to put a smile on the faces of those around him. Within minutes the sad moment had passed, and they were all able to face the rest of the day with far more cheer, and Shawn spent the day hanging out with his family – including his baby brother.
OOOOOO
"I'm not going to fall down dead."
Sam smiled, but didn't interrupt the conversation between Jack and Janet as the evening drew to a close.
"I know."
"Then can I go home instead of back to the infirmary?"
Since Janet had spent most of the afternoon surreptitiously watching to get an idea of how healthy Jack actually was and had found that he definitely seemed to be at least as healthy as he claimed to be, she nodded.
"I don't see why not."
"Really?"
He couldn't help but be surprised by her agreement. In fact, he'd been ready for a lengthy argument.
Janet had smiled.
"Yes, Colonel. As long as you promise to call me if you have any-"
"I'll call you the minute I have any… whatever it was you were going to say," Jack said, interrupting.
"Good. I'll see you in the infirmary first thing in the morning to make sure you're okay and to give you a final check up before I clear you for duty."
Jack had nodded, and had hustled his family – and River – out of there quickly after that, as if he was afraid Janet would change her mind. He was definitely ready to go home.