The little boys were silent, walking through the forest with an ease that plainly said they'd done such things plenty of times. The one of the left carried a large pistol; the one on the right carried a rifle that was much longer than his arm. Both were watching the woods around them with caution as they moved, but never hesitated in their steps.
A sound made the one on the right stop, his dark eyes looking over for the source of the noise, but his twin grabbed him and pulled him to the side – just in time to avoid a stream of water that came from out of nowhere it seemed.
Carter giggled, and returned fire, aiming for the trees to their right as Michael dropped to the ground and fired the rifle as soon as he had a stable support. Water surged from the rifle in a steady, powerful stream, and he heard a muffled curse only a moment later coming from behind the leafy barrier.
"Got him!"
He struggled to his feet, tangling up with his weapon, and was almost immediately hit with a barrage of water from the left. A moment later, Carter was soaking wet as well, and both boys dropped their water guns, grinning hugely as they admitted defeat.
The branches of the trees on the left parted, and a soaking wet Cassandra Brooks stepped out, wearing a very wet jumpsuit and carrying a large squirt gun in her right hand.
"Got me," she corrected.
"Good job, guys," Ian Brooks told them, coming out from behind the brush behind them. His uniform was bone dry, and the squirt gun he carried was pretty much empty, evidence that both boys had borne the brunt of his attack.
"We got beat," Michael said, although he didn't lose his smile.
"Did you have fun?" Ian asked, pointedly.
Both boys nodded. It was always fun to spend time like this with their mom and dad – and Cassie and Ian made sure they had a clear area in their schedule for just such an event at least once a week.
"Then it doesn't matter if you got beat," Cassie told him, hugging him.
"Besides," Ian added. "You beat mom, here. That's something."
Carter grinned at his drenched mother.
"Good point."
Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Time for you to learn one more lesson, boys," she said, raising her water gun and soaking Ian with an unrelenting stream of water. He sputtered, but didn't have a chance to reciprocate, not with his own water tanks depleted.
Both boys giggled, and Cassie winked at them.
Lesson learned.
OOOOOOOOO
Mary Jean Fortier loved her job and it showed. A descendant of one of the builders of the original White House, she loved the old building very much – even though it had been greatly changed in the years between when her many times great grandfather had helped complete it and the present day. She loved everything about the building, and more importantly she loved showing it off – especially to children who looked at the world around them with huge, excited eyes and listened with interest to the stories she told them about the construction of the place, the remodel, and especially the people who lived there.
Right now, she was in middle of a tour with a group of elementary children from a school somewhere in Florida. They'd told her the name, but she'd never heard of the town, and hadn't had a chance to look it up before taking them. Not that that really mattered all that much. These children had been fun for her. They were well behaved (with the help of several chaperones), and asked all sorts of questions – which Mary Jean really liked, since it gave her a chance to do something else that she enjoyed. Talk.
She'd taken them through the library, the East Room, the Green Room and the Blue Room, and was now leading them and their teachers towards the Entrance Hall, figuring that she'd give them a special treat since they'd been so attentive thus far.
"We're now coming into the entrance hall," she told the children, who were looking around and whispering excitedly, pointing at the large impressive staircase that led upstairs. "This is where the President meets with ambassadors and other important people who come to the White House to visit," she said. "The staircase is something some of you might have seen on TV, since usually the President will arrive for important functions with the First Lady on his arm, and they'll walk down this staircase first so everyone can greet them…"
"Will we get to see them?" one of the boys asked, raising his hand belatedly.
"The President?" Mary Jean asked, making sure she knew who he was referring to.
The boy nodded, and the others around him looked excited at the prospect. Especially since they'd all seen the newest picture that hung in the library. A picture of President Jack O'Neill walking with his wife on one side and his beloved – and still greatly missed – Jaffer, on the other. It was a fine piece, and had been a gift sent to the White House by an English painter who just so happened to be a great admirer of Jack O'Neill – and a lover of Labs. The children all knew about Jaffer, and knew that the President's new puppy was his grandson. They'd all been looking around, hoping to get a peek at him.
Mary Jean shook her head.
"I'm afraid that we won't. The President is in the White House today –" Which they already knew, since she'd warned them at the start of the tour that if something came up, it was possible they'd have to cut the tour short. "But I believe he's in meetings all morning with an ambassador from-"
"Hey!" A yell from above cut her off, and she looked up, startled. Just in time to see a gangly black form come pelting down the stairs, tail wagging furiously and a piece of paper in his mouth.
As the children, the chaperones and Mary Jean watched in stunned amazement, Murray hit the end of the formal staircase and went galloping down the hall startling a couple of Secret Service Agents who had looked around at the yell.
Before anyone had a chance to recover from that shock, they received another one. The President of the United States, dressed in a suit and tie, came around the corner and started down the stairs, followed by a Japanese man who was dressed equally formally and holding yet another piece of paper in his hand.
"Murray!"
The puppy didn't even hesitate. And he didn't slow down.
Jack O'Neill bit back a curse as his gaze went from his retreating puppy to the small crowd of children who were watching in surprised awe.
"Well don't just stand there," he told them, waving them off. "You get my trade agreement back and I'll buy you all the ice cream you can eat."
The kids went from shocked to excited in an instant, and as a group ran down the hall, shouting for Murray to stop, and causing the Secret Service agents who watched them rush by to hesitate only a moment and then follow after them.
Jack panted, trying to catch his breath, and looked over at the dignitary who was standing beside him, also trying to catch his breath. Running down hallways wasn't something either had expected to do that day – and neither had dressed for the occasion.
"Don't worry, Hito," he said, patting his shoulder with a sheepish smile. "We'll get it back."
The man echoed his smile, but it was slightly forced.
"As long as it is not in the same condition as Yuri Petranov's watch."
Jack looked chagrined.
"You heard about that, huh?"
The Japanese ambassador smiled, and now it was completely amused and not at all forced.
"Why do you think I did not take off my ring? Or leave any pens lying around? I have been forewarned. We all have."
Huh.
A cheer of excitement echoed through the formal hallway and around the corner came a large group, led by a little blonde boy carrying Jack's wayward puppy, who still had the slobber-soaked paper in his mouth and a completely unapologetic expression.
"He'll grow out of it," Jack assured the ambassador. "Jaffer did."
Eventually.
The End!
