Because of his headache, and the fact that he didn't seem to be able to concentrate all that completely, Sam offered to drive them to his place. Surprisingly, he agreed almost immediately instead of giving any kind of argument or telling her that he was fine and more than willing to drive them – which proved that he wasn't all there, really, since he never passed up a chance to drive his car.

The streets were empty. Partially because it was so early in the morning (4 AM with the sky in the east showing a promise of a false dawn) and partially because those people who were awake – and there were a lot of houses with lights on – were glued to their TV sets in hopes that the east coast had more news than they did about the strange alien ships that had turned life around the globe upside down so quickly.

"How's the head?" she asked, looking over at him as they sped through the empty streets, running lights carefully and accelerating on straightaways whenever it was safe.

"Pounding."

"From getting beat up? Or because of the Ancient device?"

He scowled.

"I didn't get beat up, Sam. The guy just got a lucky hit."

She smiled, despite the seriousness of things, because she'd known how he'd react to the way she'd phrased her question – and she rarely had a chance to tease him like that lately.

"I heard he got in more than one…"

"Two. Only two. And I'm fine. He hits like a girl."

"Hey… I'm a girl…"

Ian snorted, and leaned his head back against the seat of the Dodge, closing his eyes but looking pleased with himself. Sam realized that he was teasing her – and enjoying it just as much as she had when she'd teased him. It made her smile again.

"You're such a punk. You know that?"

He nodded.

"I know."

OOOOOOOOO

They pulled up to his apartment building a short time later, and now they were serious as they headed through the lobby and up the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator. Ian unlocked his door and gestured for her to precede him through it, then closed and locked the door behind them and led her to the bedroom. As Sam watched quietly, he opened his closet – which was neat as a pin like everything else in his apartment – and pulled down a large, battered suitcase, bringing it over and setting it on the bed.

"This was at Dotty's place…" he told her as he opened it. A bleak expression crossed his face. "I brought it here after she and James died…"

"She told you where it was?" Sam asked.

He shook his head, but he didn't reply. He wasn't going to lie to Sam if he could avoid it, but he'd already told Alexander that he wouldn't mention the connection between Dotty's dad and Jaffer – or the link that they shared with Jack. Instead, he change the subject, knowing the various devices would make her forget the question completely.

"Most of these are fairly dangerous…"

Sam was looking into the content of the suitcase with interest. There were several small items – some no larger than a ring or a playing card – although there were two that were obviously hand held weapons of some sort and one was far larger than that; a long tube that was oddly proportioned and about the size of Jack's forearm.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the tube, first.

"It's the power source for the weapon the Ancients left in Antarctica," Ian told her, not reaching for it, which kept Sam from reaching for it, too. "It's not active right now – and right up until that download hit me with round two this morning I thought it was signaling device…"

"You're sure it still works?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Yeah, it works."

She looked down at the other things.

"What about this stuff?"

He nodded.

"It all works, too…" he said. "The problem is that a lot of it won't work for us."

"What? Why not?"

"Because Ancient technology is odd. A lot of their devices – especially the really potent stuff – was designed to have a mental key to them as well, and they tended to impress themselves onto the first person that used them." He gestured to most of the devices one at a time. "Dotty used these – probably to protect her secret, or for other reasons, I don't know – but since she used them, I can't. And neither can anyone else."

"So they're useless…" she said, with a sinking feeling in her gut. She'd seen all the devices and had a wild hope that they'd be the key to all the problems they were facing – as if the Ancients had left them here just for that purpose.

He nodded.

"Most of them are, yes. Only Dotty could use them."

"Most." She repeated.

He picked up one of the items; one that fit perfectly into his palm.

"This works for me, because I've already used it – and this one might be able to help us with Jacob," he added, holding up his hand so she could see his palm.

She looked up sharply.

"What does it do?"

"It lets me get into someone's mind…" he said, softly, well aware that it was a vicious device and not something to be used lightly. "To see if they're lying or not – and to read their memories… sort of…"

She couldn't help but move away from his hand, even though she knew he'd never do anything like that to her. But still…

"You've used it?"

He nodded.

"On Kinsey. When I thought he was the one responsible for…" he trailed off, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes at the reminder of what he'd done to Shawn – even though he knew Shawn didn't think of it the same way. The memory was just as fresh as it had been so many months ago, and it made the aches of his head and side pale in comparison. "…for Dotty's plane crashing…"

Sam saw the hurt and knew it for what it was immediately. She also knew that nothing she could say could take it away or ease it. Instead, she brushed her fingers along his cheek for just a moment, and then looked at the device, changing the subject since it was the only thing she could think to do just then.

"Will it work on a Tok'ra?"

"I don't know. I thought we might try it on the Goa'uld sitting in the infirmary before we tried it on Jacob's."

"The host isn't to blame for-"

"It won't hurt him, Sam," Ian assured her. "It might not be pleasant, but if it works, I can hold the symbiote completely paralyzed so it can't hurt the host while I try it out – and if the device kills it, then the host will be free and clear."

Since the symbiote hadn't been inside him long enough to make him dependent on the snake just yet.

"And we'll know not to try it on my dad and Selmac."

Ian nodded.

"Hopefully, though, it'll work like it's supposed to. I'll be able to pop in and see just who's sitting in Jacob's head, and then we'll know whether he can be trusted or not."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. He can't hide his mind from this thing – if it works on the Goa'uld, anyways. I'll know what he's thinking, good or bad. Then we clear Jacob and he can help us with the ice problem – or maybe help us contact the rest of the Asgard."

Sam nodded. He seemed confident that it'd work and she trusted him.

"Let's get it back to the SGC, then."