Ian paused for a moment, but Shawn knew it wasn't hesitation. It was just that he wanted to get his thoughts in order. Since he'd pretty much ambushed Ian with the question, it was only fair he allow him a chance to figure out how he wanted to answer it, so Shawn didn't press. Besides, with Ian, you didn't really want to press anyways, or he'd probably end up dumping Shawn in the lake, new cast or not.

"Let me ask you a few questions, first," Ian finally said.

"Okay."

"Just answer them, all right? Don't ask a bunch of questions until I'm done."

Shawn nodded.

Ian scratched Jaffer's ears idly for a moment, and then looked at him.

"You know what you are, right? I mean, what your mom was and all that…"

Surprised by the question, Shawn nodded.

"Yeah." Then he had a sudden insight. "Why? Are you Ancient, too?"

Ian scowled.

"What'd I tell you about asking a bunch of questions?"

"Sorry."

Ian shrugged.

"Well, I'll answer this one. No. I'm not. Aside from some stray gene, I'm not, anyways. As far as I know – and I'll be the first to tell you I don't know everything – you're the only one of your kind on the planet."

"Oh. Then why did you ask-"

"Jesus, Adams, just let me talk."

Shawn scowled, but since he'd promised to not ask questions, and he'd already asked three, Ian had a right to snap at him.

"Sorry."

"All right. So you know what you are… and you know about that thing Jack got his head stuck in, right?"

"The testing device that downloaded all the Ancient's data into his head…"

"Yeah."

Shawn nodded.

"I know about that, yes."

"Well, without going into details – since this isn't the most secure area – that one isn't the only one of those things out there, and I had one used on me."

"Really?"

Ian nodded.

"But Jack said he went crazy when he-"

"Yeah, the one I stuck my head into wasn't exactly the same as Jack's. This one had a different purpose, and it didn't just shove the shit into my head as fast as possible. Instead it went a little bit at a time, so I wouldn't go nuts like Jack did trying to get it all sorted out."

"What does this have to do with my mom?" Shawn asked, feeling that familiar ache at the memory of his lost mother.

Ian didn't snap at him for the question – not when it was about Dotty.

"What do you know about the abilities of your mother's people?" He asked Shawn, unwilling to mention the Ancients by name when he knew he shouldn't be talking about them at all. Not at camp.

"Abilities?" Shawn was suddenly reminded of the day Jack had told him about his true parentage, and how he'd asked him then if being half alien meant that he had super powers or anything. And how Jack had smiled and told him he'd have to discuss that with Dotty. Something Shawn had never done.

Ian nodded.

"They have several abilities we don't," he said. "One of them happens to be an ability to heal other people. Just with a touch."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Ian looked down at the cast on Shawn's leg. "I'll bet you never had a broken bone growing up, did you?"

"No."

"Never had stitches?"

Shawn shook his head.

"No. Not that I remember."

"There was probably a good reason for it. You might have, but Dotty could just put her hand on whatever hurt and it'd heal in an instant."

"Wow." Shawn was truly amazed by what he was being told. "How do you know all this?"

"About the abilities, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Because I learned it all when I got my head stuck in that device."

"But Jack doesn't remember anything that-"

"Jack doesn't have the memory I do, Shawn. Besides, Thor's people had to clear all that information out of Jack's head to keep him from going nuts."

Oh yeah.

"So you know all about them, then?"

Ian shrugged.

"Not everything. Not yet. Maybe not ever, I don't know."

"But you know a lot."

"Yeah. More than they expected, I think."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it's not something I'm going to go into right here – not with any detail anyways – but their device didn't work like they expected it to, or I didn't react like they expected, because I learned a lot more than they intended. Including how they manipulate the physiology in others."

"What?"

"I learned how they heal people."

"It's an ability, I thought."

Ian rolled his eyes, still scratching Jaffer's head, although the lab was watching the two of them as they chatted as if he was following along with the conversation.

"Yeah, but there's more to it than just touching someone and saying 'be healed' or some dipshit thing like that. There's a lot that happens on the inside. Your people do it naturally, without consciously thinking about it, but that doesn't mean there's not a process to it – and that someone who isn't one of them can't learn it."

"And you learned it?"

Ian nodded.

"It's not the same for me, though. For one thing, it's a lot harder for me, and it takes a lot out of me when I do it."

"You've done it?"

Ian nodded.

"The first time I did it I was desperate – otherwise I probably never would have tried."

His dark eyes turned to the baby Shawn was holding.

Shawn didn't miss the look, and several things clicked together at once. He wasn't stupid, after all, and now that he thought about it, he wondered why he hadn't realized it sooner.

"You healed Jake."

Ian nodded.

"Well… not exactly healed him… it was different with Jake – and a lot harder."

"Is that why he never cries with you?"

"I think so. It can't be my appealing nature."

Shawn smiled, his hand running lightly along Jacob's back.

"And River?" he asked. "When he went through that windshield, he was supposed to have been hurt a lot worse than he really was… you healed him."

"And you."

"But because you don't do it naturally – like my mom could have – it knocked you out?"

Shawn remembered how Ian had collapsed.

Ian nodded.

"I have to use my own energies," he explained – as well as he could, anyways. "Your mom could have used the energy from things around her. So it wipes me out."

"So you healed Libby when you found her? That's why you were so tired and slept for so long?"

"That and I wasn't really feeling all that great myself," Ian said with a shrug. "I can't heal myself – your people can't, either. Of course, most of them are surrounded by others with their abilities, so they don't need to be able to."

"Someone else could heal them."

"Yeah."

Shawn hesitated.

"So… can I do it?"

Ian shrugged.

"I don't know. Not yet, obviously, since you've never done it, but maybe it's something you grow into as you get older. Or maybe you'll never be able to. I'm not the one to teach you how – and it definitely isn't something you should experiment with."

"You did."

"I told you; I was desperate."

"So that's what Sam and Jack know that I don't?"

Ian nodded.

"Yup."

"That's really amazing…"

"Not so much. I bet they know a lot of things you don't know."

Shawn smiled.

"Smart ass."

Ian's answering grin was amused.

"Never forget it, Adams."

Shawn looked down at his leg – the one with the cast on the foot.

"So how come you didn't take care of my ankle?"

"I started to."

But – as Shawn remembered – Ian had passed out.

"You could do it now, though?"

"It'd make everyone wonder how it healed so quickly, so I won't."

"But you could?"

"Yeah."

"That could probably come in handy off-world."

"Which isn't a topic we're going to discuss right now," Ian said, reminding Shawn they weren't at the SGC.

Shawn flushed at the reprimand.

"Sorry."

"So now you know."

"Everything?"

"Not even close to everything."

"But as much as your going to tell me?"

Ian nodded.

"Here, anyways – and it's more than I want anyone else to know. Got it?"

"Yeah." Shawn was quiet for a moment. "It's really something to think about… what you can do, I mean…"

"You think about it," Ian said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the post he was braced against. "I'm going to nap."

Meaning their conversation was over, Shawn knew. Of course, he had a lot to digest, so he was more than willing to leave Ian to his nap while he thought about what he'd learned – and wondered what it meant for his own future.