The thought of holding something with that kind of power was more than a little disconcerting, and it must have showed in his expression, because both Ancients looked satisfied.

"It's not something to take lightly, Ian," Dotty told him. "But it's also safer than you might be thinking."

"Yeah?" He couldn't keep the doubt out of his voice – or his expression.

"Yes," she said, far more amused than defensive. "You have to consciously activate it – it won't go off before you're ready, and it won't target anyone but the Goa'uld Frenush so there's no chance that you can hurt someone else."

"Including yourself," Alexander added.

"You're sure of that?"

"We wouldn't be offering it to you if we weren't," Dotty said.

That was a good point.

"You won't be able to use it on anyone else," Alexander added. He gave Ian a slight smile. "Not that we expect that you're even interested in doing anything like that, but it's definitely something that you can pass on to Jack O'Neill and anyone else who you need to talk to about using it. That way they won't have to worry about someone stealing it from you and going rogue as they say."

"I've never even heard of anything like it," Ian said, still looking at the device. "Not on even in the Atlantis databases."

"It's not Ancient," Dotty told him. "But you'll be able to use it the same way you would use an Ancient device, never fear."

"Not Ancient?"

He couldn't even think of any other race of beings he'd heard of that might be able to pull off a device like the one he was holding.

"No."

"Then who?"

"That would be telling," Alexander said, his eyes glinting with humor despite their serious conversation. "And they are a shy race, so we'll respect their wishes and not share that information. They were willing to allow us this technology, though, and we're sharing it with you. You shouldn't have any trouble using it."

"And when you're done, it's done," Dotty added. "It can't be set to target anyone else – and it won't work for anyone but you. You can destroy it and forget about it."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"And you guys think this is our best shot?"

Dotty shook her head.

"I think your best shot is to assassinate Frenush. He's the danger to Shawn and his family – far more than the Ashrak. But since that isn't going to be allowed, then we think this is the second best route."

Alexander nodded his agreement.

"The hard part will be convincing Jack O'Neill and your other superiors to allow you to use it, I expect."

That was an understatement. Ian smiled, though, and stood up.

"You're right, so I'd better get started." He hesitated, looking at them. "I can't thank you enough for this…"

"You don't have to," Alexander said, standing as well.

"Just take care of things," Dotty told him. "And stay safe, if you can."

"I will." He looked back to the Gateship. "You'll get me to Atlantis just when I left?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Dr. Cassandra Brooks was in the commissary, sitting at a table with Gina and Dotty, as well as her twins and Teyla, who was enchanted by Dotty's sunny personality. It was dinnertime and Michael and Carter were telling Dotty all the things that they could do the next day. Teyla was just getting ready to suggest a trip to the mainland when Sheppard came up to the table with an odd expression on his face.

"Hey Cass… got a message for you."

"From Ian?"

"Yeah. He just came through the gate."

"Is he okay?"

Sheppard smiled, reassuring her.

"Yeah. But he turned around and left again, and wanted me to tell you he was going back to Earth."

"Why would he do that?"

"He said he'd explain later, he just asked me to let you know so you wouldn't worry."

"He probably forgot to bring us presents," Carter said, looking hopeful.

Cassie smiled, although there was a trace of concern in her expression.

"Maybe."

"It's probably nothing, Cass," Sheppard told her, his hand on her shoulder briefly. "We don't have any indication that anything is wrong at the SGC – and you know they would have let us know."

That much was true, she knew. She nodded.

"You're probably right."

"Come on," he said, deciding that she definitely needed a distraction. "Why don't we take the kids and show Dotty and Gina the game room?"

Michael and Carter immediately reacted positively to that, which made Dotty think that it could only be a good thing. She immediately dropped the spoon she was holding and looked at Sheppard, hopefully.

"Can we?"

Gina looked over to Cassie, who smiled. There was no way she was going to say no to Dotty when it was something so easy. It wasn't like she was asking to go bungee jumping or something, after all.

"Sure."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Do I even want to know why you're back here, Colonel?" General Hunt asked Ian.

"Something came up, Sir. I need to go back to DC."

"Something came up in 2 minutes?"

Even over the radio Ian could hear the sarcasm in Hunt's voice, and he could easily imagine the expression on his face.

"It's a long story, sir. I'll explain it as soon as I can."

There was a short pause, probably while Hunt was thinking things over – or maybe just scowling at the tech who was sitting at the gate computer.

"Fine. You're cleared to go. I'll call ahead and let DC know you're coming."

"Thank you, sir."

"Anything else?"

More sarcasm, but Ian wasn't done.

"Yes, sir. I'm going to need Cassandra."

Another pause.

"Considering you just came from Atlantis, I'm assuming you're not talking about your wife…"

"No, sir."