As Jack was pouring a cup of coffee for each of them, the door to the cafeteria opened. The large black lab that entered the room first gave testimony to the fact that Sam was awake and up and around. Even as Jaffer gave a joyous wag of his tail and rushed over to greet Jack, whuffling him happily, Sam walked through the still open door, holding a somewhat fussy Jake in one hand and looking just a little concerned. Immediately following her was Janet, who also looked a little concerned.

Jack smiled, reassuring her and Janet both that all was well. He gave Jaffer a quick hello, ruffling the lab's ears before straightening up and handing Sam the cup of coffee he'd just poured as he took Jacob from her.

"Hey Grumpy Baby," he said, cuddling Jake under his chin. "What are you so cranky about?"

The infant gurgled once or twice, making noises that had nothing to do with answering his father, and then fell to gnawing on Jack's neck.

"Good morning," Sam said, smiling as well. She took an appreciative sip of the coffee, and glanced over at Ian, who looked half-asleep at the table he was sitting at. "Everything okay?"

Since the question was asked softly enough that only Jack and Jake heard it, he nodded but didn't go into a lengthy discussion about what had happened.

"It's fine, Sam. How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderful. The beds in the nurse's cabin are about as comfortable as the one at home."

Jack scowled, and as Janet walked over he handed her the cup of coffee he'd poured for Ian.

"Don't rub it in, or I'll let you sleep in Australia with the boys and I'll keep Jake and Jaffer company in the comfortable bed."

Sam's smile showed she was hardly concerned, and she picked up another cup, pouring coffee for Jack, while Jaffer trotted over and stuck his nose in Ian's side, drawing the cadet's attention to him. Which was all it ever took for Ian to give Jaffer some loving, since the New Yorker was almost as fond of Jaffer as he was of his own lab, Bubba. For the first time since he'd entered the room, his smile was truly genuine and cheerful, and as he rubbed Jaffer's ears and neck, scratching just the right places, he couldn't help but feel just a little less beat up on.

"Hey Big Dog," Ian crooned. "What are you doing up so early?"

"He's looking for attention," Sam said, coming over and sitting down beside Ian and sliding a cup of coffee in front of him. "With Jacob getting most of mine, he has to go beg for it everywhere else."

Ian slapped Jaffer's side affectionately and was rewarded with a swipe of the lab's tongue that he couldn't dodge in time.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked as he wiped his cheek.

Still looking relatively cheerful, Ian shrugged.

"I'm fine, Sam."

She didn't look convinced. She reached out a hand and brushed it lightly against his forehead, careful to avoid the bruising above his eye from where he hit the tree.

"You feel a little warm."

"I'm not," he said, pulling away from her reach. It wasn't an annoyed reaction, just his way of telling her he didn't want to be cuddled and mothered just then. He was resigned to being stuck at the camp, but he wasn't quite ready to socialize. Not even with Sam. Just Jaffer, who didn't want anything more from him than a belly rub.

"Actually," Janet said, sitting down with a cup of coffee as well. "He's been cold ever since he woke up."

"Fevered?" Sam asked.

"No. I checked."

Ian scowled. She'd checked more than once.

"I'm fine," Ian said, shrugging once more. He didn't want Sam worrying about him.

He was fairly well bundled up, though, Sam decided. The sweatshirt was warm and hooded – although the hood wasn't up – and his hands had gone into the pockets as soon as he'd stopped petting Jaffer.

"He's not fine," Janet said, taking a sip of her coffee. "But he will be. Until then, he's on limited activity for the rest of the week."

Which was better than being stuck in bed, Ian knew. Which was why he hadn't argued about it.

"We'll talk to Gary," Jack said, rubbing Jacob's back lightly. The baby had turned his head and was watching Ian as he gnawed on Jack. "He can be the official scorekeeper when we play games or something…"

Ian scowled, which made Sam smile. She reached over and rested her hand on his arm.

"Or you could help me watch Jake," she teased.

He snorted, despite his lousy mood, and there was a ghost of a smile on his face. Instead of answering, though, he just took a sip of his coffee, glad for the warmth, because there was a chill in the very middle of him that he just couldn't get rid of.

Before anyone else could say anything, however, the door to the cafeteria opened once more, and a little head peeked into the cafeteria. Blonde hair tousled from sleep – sticking up on one side and flat on the other – Sammy looked around sleepily, his hand on the door. It actually took him a long minute to realize what he was seeing, but then his eyes widened.

"Ian!"

The little boy darted across the room and threw himself into Ian's arms, hugging him tight. To Janet's utter surprise, Ian actually pulled the boy into his lap, holding him as Sammy squeezed him tightly. His eyes were unreadable, but there wasn't the resigned scowl the doctor had expected to see. She looked over at Jack, who winked at Sam with a smug expression on his face. Sam hid her smile in her coffee cup, while Sammy pulled back just enough to be able to look at Ian – although he was still on his lap and still had a had clutching Ian's sweatshirt as if to make sure that he couldn't escape. The boy's cheeks were smeared with tears, although there was a broad smile on his face.

"You're alive!"

Ian snorted again. He'd thought Jack was just coming up with a story to guilt-trip him into staying, but it was obvious Sammy really had been worried.

"I'm alive," he agreed. "Are you supposed to be down here?"

Which wasn't the sweetest greeting Janet could think of, but it was better than what might have been.

Sammy wasn't hurt. He nodded.

"We're out of toilet paper. River sent me to find Gary to ask for some."

"He's not in here."

"I know."

Sammy knew. But he wasn't ready to continue his search. Not even with River stuck on the pot waiting for him to return to the cabin. He leaned against Ian, tucking his head up under his chin, and Ian held him for a minute, scowling at the expressions on the faces of those around the table watching. The little kid was warm, that was all. It had nothing to do with affection. Well… maybe a little.

"Libby said you hit your head and was bleeding…" Sammy said, his voice muffled by Ian's sweatshirt. "I thought you bleeded to death or something…"

"Bled to death," Ian corrected, automatically. "And I didn't. I'm fine."

"Are you staying?" Sammy asked, pulling back once more to look up at Ian, his eyes filled with hope. "Libby's mom and dad almost wouldn't let her stay. Will yours?"

He gave a purely mental sigh, knew that he was going to take crap from Fraiser and the others for the rest of his life for the next words, but he just couldn't help himself. Asshole or not, Ian wasn't immune to Sammy's big eyes any more than anyone else was.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."