Jack paced up and down the small hummock in the desert where he and Teal'c were keeping watch over the area the teams two scientists were working in. He could just see Major Carters legs, the rest of her obscured underneath a weather worn statue covered with numerals and squiggles. Daniel, over to the left of the rise was crouching beside a group of pillars, photographing the carvings and making notes in his notebook.
Jack sighed. Desert planets bored him.
"So, T, how 'bout a game?" Teal'c turned to him, eyebrow raised.
"Ok, I'll go first... I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 's' "
"I do not understand O'Neill. Is what you see a threat that we should warn Major Carter and Daniel Jackson of?"
Jack blinked at him, trying to work out whether this was an obscure form of Jaffa humour. Teal'c's face, as usual, gave nothing away. "Nah, it's a game. 'I spy'? Never played this one? Ok, well I say a letter and you guess what I can see beginning with that letter. Then we swap. Got it? So, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 's' "
Teal'c looked at him for a minute then turned away. "Sand"
Jack grinned, it usually took longer than that to explain some of earths stranger ideas to the big Jaffa, often involving hand gestures at the very least. "Nope" he said smugly.
"Can you not see the sand O'Neill?" slight concern now coloured Teal'c's deep voice.
"It's not what I am spying right now. Try another."
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Daniel joined them, pushing his boonie off his head to wipe his forehead.
"I am teaching T the classic game of 'I spy'"
"O' Neill informs me that he cannot see sand but that he wishes me to find something beginning with 's' that he can see" Teal'c scanned the horizon for any movement, then looked at Daniel. "Should we be concerned that he is unaware of the sand Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel glanced from one to the other, "Okay... I'm just gonna go see if Sam's found anything" he trotted rapidly down the hill, "enjoy your game" he called over his shoulder.
"C'mon T, 's' is an easy one."
"Is 'sand' not something beginning with 's' that you can see O'Neill?"
"Yes, but it's not the one I am thinking of" Jack replied, slightly exasperated.
"But I do not know what you are thinking." There was now a small crease in Teal'c's brow.
"Exactly!"
"I fail to see the point of this exercise." And with that the Jaffa turned back to keeping watch.
Later, as the sun was setting and they made their way back to the gate Daniel noticed Jacks unusual quiet.
"So how did teaching the earth culture of bored children to Teal'c go?" he asked with a smile. Jack just grunted.
"What was your word anyway?"
"Stones! How hard could that be, seriously. You were taking pictures of stones. We were standing on stones. Carter was practically lying underneath a stone" he broke off into offended silence.
Sam turned from where she was walking on point. "We used to play 'I spy' on long car journeys" she said. "When dad first taught me they always knew what I was going to pick, no matter what the letter was."
"And that was?" Jack asked, curiosity lifting him from his Jaffa induced sulk
"Book" She said with a dimpled grin. "They thought I was either very dense or a tactical genius who hadn't quite grasped the idea of the 'spy' bit, because they never saw a book. It wasn't until dad had to clean out that car for a service that he found an old atlas underneath the driver's seat, only visible from where I sat. They then realised that I just couldn't spell."
Daniel snorted into his water canister, barely avoiding spraying Jack, who sent him a mock glare.
"Clearly not a genius then." He said dryly stepping away from the still chuckling Daniel. "How old were you?"
"One and a half" she replied, making Daniel choke again.
Jack had to grin, taking in his team returning from a successful mission, happy, healthy and together.