"We were just… talking…" Jack said, quickly, instantly on the defensive.

"You said we could talk to him," Daniel said, just as quickly.

"I said you could see him," Janet said walking over and resting the back of her hand on Ian's forehead before he could pull his head away. "He's supposed to be eating, not being grilled by you four."

"But-"

Janet cut Jack off before he could say anything else.

"General Hammond wants to see you, Colonel. And the rest of you, too, I believe."

Ian started to shift, as if he were going to get up, and Janet put her hand squarely in the middle of his chest, pushing him back into the pillows that had been gathered behind him.

"Not you, Cadet. You're going to eat, and get some rest."

"I feel fine, Doctor Fr-"

"I'll be the judge of that," she said, although her voice wasn't as authoritative as she usually was and there was a glint of humor in her eyes. "Do as I say, and I'll probably release you in the morning."

"What?" This was from Jack, who had – of course – been listening. "He gets to go home tomorrow?"

"If he does what I tell him."

"I had to be here for days!"

Janet smiled.

"Let's just say that I trust Dotty Adams' healing abilities a lot more than I trust Ian's."

"But-"

"General Hammond wants to see you, Colonel," Fraiser reminded him, pleased that she'd been able to goad the colonel. She really didn't get as many chances to do that as she'd have liked – and it was seldom that she came off best in an argument with him.

"But-"

"Come on, Jack," Sam said, taking his hand and heading for the door after giving Ian a smile. "We'll have plenty of time to talk to Ian later."

He scowled, but of course he didn't pull away from Sam, no matter how annoyed he was – or was pretending to be – he'd never pull his hand out of Sam's.

"Come on, guys."

The others turned away as well – although Daniel really looked like he wanted to stay and continue the conversation no matter what Janet wanted. Jack (the dog) and Jaffer watched them all leave, but when no one actually called to them to follow, both labs stayed on the bed. Ian had food, after all, and they knew that if they turned on the charm and the sad puppy dog eyes, they'd have food, too.

"You okay?" Janet asked.

"Are you really going to let me out of here tomorrow?"

She nodded.

"I probably could do it today, but I'm going to keep you here, just to be on the safe side. I want to make sure you eat, and get a good night's sleep before I turn you loose."

He didn't even complain about it – mainly because he was so surprised she wasn't going to keep him here any longer than necessary. He was hungry, and surprisingly tired – which was a result of Dotty's healing – so he wasn't quite ready to go home yet, anyways.

"Thanks."

Janet smiled, and gestured to his plate, which he'd ignored while he'd been talking to SG-1.

"Eat."

"Yes, ma'am."

She snorted and left him alone, then, and Ian picked up his sandwich. Both labs watched his every move, and their eyes were glued to the sandwich with looks of yearning that he tried very hard to ignore. He was hungry!

"I have a dog, you know?" He said to them both as he took a bite. "I'm immune to your sad puppy-eyed bullshit."

They stared as he chewed, and a thin line of drool started dribbling from Jaffer's jowls. Jack whined softly, plainly telling Ian that he was absolutely starving and was going to die if he didn't get a bite. Ian sighed, and ripped the rest of his sandwich in two, and handed it over to them. They took it from his hands carefully, but gobbled it down so quickly that if he hadn't known Teal'c and Jack better, he would have thought they'd forgotten to feed their dogs that morning.

"No more, though, guys," he said, scowling at his own gullibility. "The soup's mine…"

Jaffer sniffed, but he didn't turn away. Soup wasn't one of his favorite foods, but he was willing to make an exception in this case, and he was pretty sure Ian would eventually give in to his considerable charm. It was just a matter of time, after all…

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hammond's office door was open when they arrived, so Jack simply knocked on the frame. The general was on the phone, but he gestured for them all to enter, and as they sat down in the chairs around the desk, he hung up.

"Doctor Fraiser said you wanted to see us, sir?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Colonel," Hammond said. "I wanted to talk to you about replacing Ian on SG-1." Hammond turned to Sam. "Major? Are you ready to-"

"Replacing, sir?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes, Colonel."

"Why would we do that?"

Hammond frowned, as if Jack had just asked him a stupid question.

"We certainly can't risk having him in the field, Colonel… the boy's carrying around the knowledge of the Ancients in his head. What if something happened to him? We'd lose all access to that information. Information that we'll probably need some day."

"He's not going to like that, sir," Jack said, frowning. It was just as obvious that Jack didn't like it, either.

"He doesn't have to like it, Colonel. I'm doing it for his own good. We need that information. Imagine what he can tell us."

"And how are you going to get him to tell you?" Jack asked. "Especially if you alienate him by removing him from the team?"

"I'm not removing him from the team, Colonel," Hammond said, irritated. "I'm… just putting him in a safer environment. Could you imagine what we would have lost if Ian had been killed out there? He's much better off here, in a lab, than he is-"

'I can tell you what I would have lost if he had been stuck in a lab," Sam said, speaking up and uncharacteristically interrupting Hammond. "Jack wouldn't have made it back if Ian hadn't been there to keep him alive when he'd been shot."

"And in doing so Ian risked his own life," Hammond replied.

"I'm not sure how that's a bad thing, general," Daniel said, frowning. "Besides, what if we find something we don't understand while we're out there some day and need Ian with us… only to have him cooped up in a lab?"

"Then you can bring it back," Hammond told him. "And Ian can tell you all about it in the safety of-"

"Sir," Jack interrupted again. "You're making a mistake. Ian's-"

"I'm not going to argue with you about this colonel," Hammond said, irritably. "The boy's going to stay in a lab, where he can be-"

"Do you intend to handcuff him to the table, General Hammond?" Teal'c asked.

"Of course not."

"Then you will undoubtedly have trouble keeping him there."

"He'll do as he's told."

"And if he does not?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hammond hesitated.

"He will."

"Or else?" Jack asked, sarcastically. The colonel was seriously angry that Hammond was even considering what he was considering, and wasn't about to hide that – even from his commanding officer. "You can't bully him, sir. It'd be a huge mistake, and I won't allow it."

"It's not your concern, colonel," Hammond told him.

"I'm his commanding officer, and I won't sign the transfer papers."

"I'm your commanding officer, and you will sign the papers, Colonel…"

"General Hammond," Teal'c said, standing. "I agree with O'Neill. If you attempt to treat Ian Brooks as a mere tool, then I will be forced to withdraw from the SGC."

"What?" Hammond stared.

Teal'c met that incredulous stare with a calm gaze.

"I will not be party to such an action – nor will I be allied with one who would do so. And I dare say that Bra'tac will agree with me."

Which was a not so thinly veiled threat that the SGC would lose the support of the Jaffa. Although it sounded insane, Hammond was well aware that Bra'tac was truly fond of Ian – probably as much as Jack and the others were – if not more.

"Not to mention what Nathan would say," Jack added, seizing the advantage while they had it. "I can't imagine he'd appreciate you turning his son into a lab rat…"

"Why are you people arguing with me about this?" Hammond asked, frustrated. "You heard what Dotty said; there's something coming and we need to get ready for it."

"I also heard her say that we were doing what we should be doing," Daniel said. "Which means that we might ruin everything if you make such a drastic change in things…"

Hammond scowled, but it was apparent to all of them that he hadn't really thought about that.

"Think of it this way, sir," Sam said, quickly. "What if there's something out there that we need – or a group of people out there that we need to meet – and Ian's the only one that will recognize the importance of it? We can't risk losing that advantage."

"And he's just as safe with us as he will be in some lab," Daniel agreed. "Especially if he doesn't want to be in the lab in the first place."

"Assuming he doesn't tell you just what to do with your lab idea," Jack added, certain that Ian would never agree to something like this, and would never be cajoled into it. Not by Hammond, not by Jack, and probably not even by Sam – provided she was even willing to try. Which she wasn't.

"I'll think about it," Hammond said, finally. He'd had enough of all of them for now. "Get out of my office."