Only a few hours after Sam had sent Ian to bed, Thor and the Asgard returned. Luckily, they had the common sense to announce their presence before beaming down en mass, and Hammond and SG-1 – as well as a security team, and Shawn and Andrew were all waiting for them in the briefing room. Everyone was there except for Ian and Jaffer, something Thor noticed immediately.

"Ian Brooks is no longer here?" he asked, after Hammond had seated them all and had sent the security team back to their posts.

"He's getting some sleep," Jack said.

"We had hoped that he would be ready to assist us with our final research," one of the others replied, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"He needed sleep," Sam told the Asgard. "We'll wake him up in a few hours."

"I'm awake."

The voice came from the doorway, where Ian was standing with Jaffer beside him. The young man didn't look like he'd gotten much sleep, but he was definitely awake and watching the Asgard with poorly disguised suspicion.

"Did you bring the samples?"

"Yes," Thor told him. "They are on my ship and can be brought down to the laboratory at your convenience."

"Now is fine."

He turned and headed towards the lab without a backward glance, and Andrew got up and hurried after him.

"Is it my imagination or is he still angry?" Jack asked, as the others all followed as well, leaving him and Sam sitting at the table while Jack greeted Jaffer – who was obviously the one who had woken Ian up when the Asgard returned.

Sam nodded.

"He's really angry," she agreed. "Not that I can blame him – because I can't – but it's bordering on hatred, and that's not something I like seeing in him."

"Think we should say something?"

She shrugged.

"There's not much to say. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Maybe something will make him see that the Asgard aren't as bad as he thinks they are."

"Good luck with that, huh?"

She nodded, fairly certain that nothing would really change Ian's mind. He was one of those guys that made snap judgments and then stuck to them, right or wrong. Just like Jack. Even though Thor had helped them rescue him, Shawn and River from Kinsey, Sam knew that that little thing was nothing compared to how furious he was over what Loki had done, and it was going to take something rather extreme to change Ian's mind. And Sam couldn't think of anything that extreme.

"Come on," she said, finally. "Let's go see what he's going to do."

OOOOOOOOO

It turned out he didn't do anything. Not just then, anyways. When they reached the room, Ian was already sending everyone away – including (not surprisingly) the Asgard, who didn't (again, not surprisingly) want to leave. It was their future he was tampering with, after all, and they wanted to know what was going on.

"I don't want you underfoot," he told them.

"There is most likely something we can contribute," Thor told him. "You have certainly not been able to learn all our research in only a few short days, after all, and we have had much longer-"

"If you could help, you'd have figured it out on your own," Ian told him, shortly. "Just go find someplace to wait and leave me alone, will you? I'll call you when I'm ready to give it a try."

"Give what a try?" Jack asked Sam, softly.

She shrugged. While she'd been doing her best to follow what Ian had been studying, there was no way she'd been able to while taking care of Jake and doing her own lab work that had nothing to do with the Asgard.

"I'm not sure."

"Are we sure he knows what he's doing?" Jack asked, watching as Thor and the other Asgard began discussing things amongst themselves, occasionally looking over at Ian.

"I am."

She knew that Ian wasn't sure what he could do to help the Asgard, but she also knew he was giving it his best attempt, which was no small thing. He knew things she didn't, because of the knowledge he carried about the Ancients, and hopefully that would help him. If nothing else, the Ancients liked the Asgard, and maybe that would rub off on him.

Jack shrugged. Sam knew Ian's abilities far better than he did – at least when it came to his brains. If she thought he had things under control, he was willing to back Ian. He would have anyways, after all.

Eventually, Ian's stubbornness beat out the Asgard and their desire to know what he was planning. Basically, he delivered an ultimatum and told them if they didn't want him to work on their solution – his way – then they might as well pack up all their shit and go now. He needed to be alone for a while, he told them, to concentrate – and he didn't want anyone – especially them – looking over his shoulder until he had to have them there.

The Asgard hadn't wanted to leave, but they were desperate. Loki had proven that with his own actions, and even though the majority of the other Asgard would never have pulled the same stunt, they were just as concerned about the future of their race as he was. They needed Ian's help, and he wasn't going to help them unless they gave in and left him alone while he looked for whatever answer it was he had hoped to find in the samples from the Asgard species.

They took up Hammond on his offer of a small reception while they waited, and the general gave Ian a less than amused glance as he led the Asgard from the room to take them to the briefing room. The young man was straining relations with a race of people who were most definitely allies, and it was going to take all the diplomacy Hammond possessed to try and smooth things over. Something he wasn't happy about. And he'd make sure to let him know once Ian was finished.

With the Asgard gone, Ian relaxed a little. However, he sent the others away as well – with a little more finesse – and told Shawn to not go too far. Just in case.

"Don't you need us to help you?" Andrew asked.

"Not right now. I just need a chance to check on something."

"What?" Shawn asked.

"Something."

Shawn scowled – which made him look a lot like Jack just then.

"I could help, you know?"

Ian nodded.

"I know. But I don't need your help right now."

"When will you?"

"When I'm done."

Shawn gave an exasperated sigh, and threw his arms up. He was a lot more patient than pretty much anyone around – a trait he definitely got from his mother, since Jack was the Anti-patience – but even he was annoyed at being told to wait.

"When will that be?"

"Soon."

"Ian…"

"Get going, Adams, before I stuff you down a drain somewhere."

Shawn frowned, glancing over at Sam and Jack. Ian was certainly acting angry, but that comment had just told his former roommate that he wasn't as annoyed as he seemed. He'd have come up with a lot nastier a threat than the one he'd just offered up.

"Why don't we get out of here…" Sam said, gesturing with her head towards the door. "Ian, call us if you need anything."

He nodded, already turning towards the samples he'd been given.

OOOOOOOOO

"What the heck is going on with him?" Andrew asked a minute later as they were walking down the corridor. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was acting a lot angrier than he really is…"

"He's a terrible actor…" Jack said. "But I think you're right. At least with us."

Shawn nodded.

"But why? What's he doing?"

Sam shrugged.

"I don't know… we'll have to find out with the others, I guess."

There was no way he was going to tell them, after all.