Epilogue

It didn't take long for the Cassandra to get them all home, and even less time for Ian and McKay to transfer back over to the Gateship for the trip to the SGC. Cassandra wasn't designed for entering the atmosphere after all. There was a sizable group waiting for them when they entered the debriefing room, with Hailey walking between the two men, looking parade ground perfect when compared to Ian and McKay, who hadn't changed out of their outfits yet, despite McKay wincing outrageously with every step he took.

Sam smiled when they walked in. She hadn't had a chance to see them dressed up and she was glad that they hadn't changed before debriefing. Everyone was in the room, crowding around the table and standing behind it, all of them interested in hearing the story and finding out how things went. Ian took the lead in the debriefing, his excellent memory making him the one to tell the tale – not to mention McKay had a tendency to over exaggerate at times and drone on at other times. The New Yorker told them about the short interaction with Frenush, and how the device had done exactly what it was supposed to – as far as he could tell.

"So it worked?" Shawn asked.

"As near as I could see, yeah. I wouldn't advise dismantling the miniature Guardian program at your house, though."

"Right," McKay said, speaking up. "It doesn't hurt to have it there, and it'll give you peace of mind. When nothing happens in a few years, then you can get it taken down."

"A couple of years?" Gina repeated.

"He's kidding, honey," Shawn said, putting his hand over hers. "But we'll keep it up for at least the next six months or so."

"And we'll keep track of Goa'uld traffic in that area and see if there's any indication that Frenush is turning his attentions and energies to other things besides vengeance," Hunt added. "We want to watch him anyways – just to make sure he doesn't cause us any more problems."

"He's not going to be happy when he doesn't heard back from Mr. Korbos about his new toy…" Andrew pointed out.

"That because Mr. Brooks is going to be back on Atlantis," Ian said, his eyes showing his amusement even though he didn't allow a smile to change his expression. "But it doesn't matter, because he doesn't know where to look and he doesn't know what he was trying to buy. He'll get over it."

"It'll give him something to keep him out of trouble," Jack said, not sounding at all upset about that.

"How long until we know for sure it worked?" Gina asked.

Rodney shrugged.

"Unfortunately, we won't know until he doesn't send another team of Ashrak after you. So like I said, it could be years."

"Guardian will keep you safe, Gina," Ian told her. "That's what it's there for."

"Thank you. For everything."

"That's what we're here for," Andrew reminded her.

"Right." Jack stood up, looking at the entire group. It was easy to see that he was pleased with the way things had turned out, but he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. "Are we done here, then?"

"We are," Ian told him, looking over at Hunt.

"We are, too," the general agreed.

"Then we're going to hitch a ride home really quick from Ian before he heads back to Atlantis."

He had a country to run, after all, and he couldn't very well do it from Cheyenne Mountain. He'd already asked Sam if she wanted to stay and she'd grinned and said no. Of course, she was looking forward to the conversation Jack planned on having with Ian, so she wouldn't have stayed unless there was a good reason for her to. Since she'd already spent time with Shawn and his family, she was ready to go home.

Ian shrugged. As little as he wanted to do any extra flying, he could see why Jack wouldn't want to fly home any other way. He was pretty sure the only people who knew he wasn't in DC just then were the Secret Service, and there was no sense changing that.

"Let's go, then," McKay said. "I need to get changed."

OOOOOOOOOO

"So… do you think it worked?" Jack asked a short time later, as Ian was leveling out the Gateship above the airspace of even the highest commercial flights. They wouldn't be there long, but he didn't really care for breaking the atmosphere for such a short flight. While his passengers all knew that it was because he didn't like the slight tremor that went through the ship when they hit the turbulence on reentry, none of them mentioned it.

"I think so," the New Yorker replied. "But the only way to be sure is to wait and see if Frenush sends any more Ashrak."

"I hate waiting," O'Neill grumbled.

"I know."

"If it doesn't work, the only other option is going to be to get rid of the Goa'uld," McKay said. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah." Jack shrugged. There wasn't anything he could do about that just then. They'd keep Guardian up and see what happened. He cleared his throat. "I had a talk with your wife the other day."

"Cassie?"

Sam arched an eyebrow at him.

"You have another?"

Jack snorted.

"Yes. Cassie."

"About what?"

"Well… she asked me to talk to you about something I said to her once."

"Oh?"

"Yup. So, since I have you pretty much in a spot where you can't wiggle out of the conversation…"

"Why am I suddenly nervous?"

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Gateship three, welcome home."

"Thank you."

"Be advised Doctor Brooks is going to be waiting at the Gateship bay."

"She better be," Ian mumbled. He didn't say it over the communications, though. Instead, he simply looked over at McKay, who was grinning hugely. "I suppose you were in on this?"

"Nope. But it's funny."

Now Ian scowled, but after the Gateship landed and he had tucked it into the berth he saw Cassandra step into the landing bay, and his gaze softened. She saw him and waved, and he acknowledged it with a wave of his own and stood up. He looked at the two yellow lab puppies who were firmly held in Rodney's arms for the trip but were now squirming to get free, as if aware that they'd reached their destination. Ian took one from McKay, and smiled when the little guy licked his cheek excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah… save those shenanigans for someone who will fall for them," he said, cradling the puppy with one arm and shaking its nose with the other, teasing him, cheerfully. It's impossible to be grumpy with a happy lab puppy in your arms, after all. "You okay with that one?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, they're adorable!"

Cassandra had come up through the rear of the Gateship, and reached her hands out for the puppy in Ian's arms. He handed it over, and turned and took the one from Rodney.

"Hey! I was-"

"You can bring all the supplies."

"But that's-"

"No, the boys can come and get the supplies," Cassie said. "It'll get them in the right frame of mind when it comes to these two. Are they really related to Jaffer?"

Ian nodded.

"According to Monica they are. Their mother is from the same litter as Jasmine."

"That's perfect."

"I thought so, too."

But they were yellow, not black, and that was all to the good as far as Ian was concerned.

She looked carefully at him.

"You aren't angry?"

Ian shook his head.

"As Jack reminded me; every kid should have a dog."

"Even the ones that aren't on Earth?" she asked him, teasing.

"Especially the ones that aren't on Earth."

"Come on," Rodney said, snatching the puppy back from Ian as he walked by him. "This is going to be great."

Cassie smiled, cuddling the one she was holding.

"You're going to be very popular, you know?"

"That's not why I did it."

"Why, then? For me?"

Ian shook his head, putting his hand on the puppy's velvet ear.

"No. You would have forgiven me if I'd said no, and the boys never would have known so they wouldn't have been upset."

"Then why?" she repeated.

"Who better to take care of the boys when you and I aren't around to?"

"True."

Not yet, but when they were older – and trained. For now, they were cute and fuzzy, and perfect – even if it wasn't his first choice.

"However…" he said, stopping her and McKay both with a hand. "The boys don't get to name them."

"What? Why not?"

"Because I promised their breeder that they wouldn't end up with names likes Jell-O, or Fuzzy."

She smiled, looking down at the puppy in her arms.

"Can I name him Brownie?"

"Looks like I'm naming both of them."

Cassie snickered.

"Fine, I'll come up with something better."

Maybe.

THE END

Author's note: I'm really very sorry about how long this one took to get out. Hopefully you all liked it anyway!