Author's note: Before I can add in more "ship" Someone is going to have to
tell me what that means.
~*~
Teal'c was already there when they arrived. The campfire pit was a large cleared area that had a fire pit in the middle of it, surrounded by huge logs that made benches in a complete circle around the fire. There were four rows of logs and plenty of places to chose from. The boys gathered around Teal'c, who smiled a welcome to them, and Jack and Daniel went over and joined them. As soon as O'Neill sat down, Shawn was right there beside him. Jack smiled at this, but was a little surprised when Shawn stood up a moment later.
"Sam! Come sit with us!"
Jack watched as Carter looked over at Shawn and smiled, then made her way through the milling throng of kids and counselors and came over to join them. Shawn moved over, making room for Sam to sit next to Jack, which made Jack give the boy a curious look. A look that was returned with a completely innocent one. The innocent look turned to a scowl as Gina came over and sat on Sam's lap, and a large portion of the girls from France came over and tussled for a moment for the prime seat on Daniel's left. (Simon was sitting on Daniel's right, and wasn't about to give up his spot to any girl.)
With Shawn on one side, and Jack on the other, Sam wrapped her arms around Gina and waited for the activities at Camp Fire to begin. She'd never actually done such a thing with such a crowd of people, and wasn't exactly sure what they'd be doing.
What they ended up doing was a lot of singing, a few stories, and then more singing. The kids did the majority of the singing. Teal'c wasn't sure if he approved of a custom of singing around an open fire pit, Daniel was too preoccupied trying to ignore all the looks the girls were sending him, and Jack was loaded down with a sleeping little girl whom he didn't want to wake if he could avoid it. Gina had fallen asleep early on, bored by songs that she didn't know, and tired from her crying jag earlier that afternoon. Sam had passed her over to Jack once her arms had grown tired of holding her, and Jack had cuddled her against his chest, smiling occasionally despite himself.
When the last song was sang, and they were dismissed to their cabins to go to bed, Jack offered to carry Gina back to France for Sam, something that seemed to please Shawn immensely. The rest of the boys went screaming up the hill towards their cabin, and Jack followed at a more sedate pace, talking with Sam and Sally and discussing the next day's activities.
He handed Gina over to Sally when they reached the door to France, and noticed that Jean was coming to the door as well, talking to one of the other girls. Jack smiled, and took Sam's hand, pulling her a little closer so he could bend down and steal a quick good night kiss. Nothing too sensual, of course; not with a cabin full of little girls watching. Just enough to make sure that Jean didn't forget he was taken.
"Ooooooooo!"
There were giggles from the girls, and Sally grinned and shooed Jack away from the cabin, telling him they'd never get the girls to sleep if he kept standing there giving them gossip fodder. Jack went willingly, smiling as he did so. He was truly beginning to enjoy the charade of having a relationship with Sam. It was proving to have been a far better idea than even he'd thought it was, at first. And the best part was that she was more than willing to go along with it, in order to keep the cook away. Life was good at camp!
He was still smiling when he walked through the door, so preoccupied with that last kiss that he didn't notice the triumphant grin on Shawn's face that was almost a match for his own.
"Did you get us a snack, Jack?" Andrew asked from his bed above Teal'c's.
"Hmm?" Jack looked up and shook his head, no. "Sorry guys, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. But I'll make sure it's a good one, I promise."
There could have been a lot of grumbling and complaining, Jack knew, but he had a good bunch of boys, and they didn't gripe at all. Instead they got ready for bed like he told them to, and then pestered Daniel until he pulled out his book and showed them a picture of yet another ancient hero, and put them to sleep with yet another round of stories.
~**~~
It was much later that night that Teal'c was awakened by a noise. It wasn't a loud noise, but the Jaffa came awake instantly, because it was out of place in the silence of the cabin. He sat up silently in his bed, looking around but not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then he heard the noise again, and looked up. A single, almost silent sob came from the bunk above his own.
Silently, he rolled out of his bunk and stood up, looking at Andrew with concern.
"Are you injured, Andrew?" Teal'c whispered, putting a large hand out and touching the boy's shoulder.
"No," the boy whispered shakily. "I'm okay. Sorry."
"What is the matter?" Even in the almost pitch dark of the cabin, Teal'c's sharp eyes had spotted the sheen of smeared tears on the boy's cheeks when he'd sat up.
"I was just thinking of that little lizard, and how much his mom would have missed him," Andrew whispered. "Then I started thinking of my mom and wondering if she misses me. I miss her."
A homesick child wasn't something Teal'c had ever been trained to deal with, and he was brought up short as he tried to figure out how to soothe the child. He thought momentarily of waking Daniel or Jack, knowing that both of them were much better with children than he was, but he remembered that he'd sworn to the boy's mother that he would take care of him. That made this responsibility Teal'c's.
Unsure of what he was going to do exactly, Teal'c reached out and took hold of the boy, pulling Andrew off his bunk, blankets and all, and held him gently, smiling as he sat back down on his bunk with his burden.
"I am certain your mother misses you very much," he told the boy softly as Andrew snuggled against him. "I miss my son when he is not around."
"You have a son?
"Indeed. His name is Rayak."
"Where is he?" Andrew was so intent on the story that he'd already forgotten that he was sad.
"He lives with his mother."
"Oh, you're divorced, huh? My aunt Judy is divorced, too. Do you ever see your son?"
"Indeed I do. However it is not as often as I would like. He is a fine young man, though, and he grows to be a man I can be proud of."
Teal'c went on, telling Andrew of his son, although he was careful not to let anything slip about where exactly the boy and his mother lived, or anything about the history of his people. His voice was a low rumble, and the bass that resonated through his chest and vibrated gently against where Andrew was resting his head, and the strong arms that held him so securely soon put the boy to sleep once more.
~*~
Teal'c was already there when they arrived. The campfire pit was a large cleared area that had a fire pit in the middle of it, surrounded by huge logs that made benches in a complete circle around the fire. There were four rows of logs and plenty of places to chose from. The boys gathered around Teal'c, who smiled a welcome to them, and Jack and Daniel went over and joined them. As soon as O'Neill sat down, Shawn was right there beside him. Jack smiled at this, but was a little surprised when Shawn stood up a moment later.
"Sam! Come sit with us!"
Jack watched as Carter looked over at Shawn and smiled, then made her way through the milling throng of kids and counselors and came over to join them. Shawn moved over, making room for Sam to sit next to Jack, which made Jack give the boy a curious look. A look that was returned with a completely innocent one. The innocent look turned to a scowl as Gina came over and sat on Sam's lap, and a large portion of the girls from France came over and tussled for a moment for the prime seat on Daniel's left. (Simon was sitting on Daniel's right, and wasn't about to give up his spot to any girl.)
With Shawn on one side, and Jack on the other, Sam wrapped her arms around Gina and waited for the activities at Camp Fire to begin. She'd never actually done such a thing with such a crowd of people, and wasn't exactly sure what they'd be doing.
What they ended up doing was a lot of singing, a few stories, and then more singing. The kids did the majority of the singing. Teal'c wasn't sure if he approved of a custom of singing around an open fire pit, Daniel was too preoccupied trying to ignore all the looks the girls were sending him, and Jack was loaded down with a sleeping little girl whom he didn't want to wake if he could avoid it. Gina had fallen asleep early on, bored by songs that she didn't know, and tired from her crying jag earlier that afternoon. Sam had passed her over to Jack once her arms had grown tired of holding her, and Jack had cuddled her against his chest, smiling occasionally despite himself.
When the last song was sang, and they were dismissed to their cabins to go to bed, Jack offered to carry Gina back to France for Sam, something that seemed to please Shawn immensely. The rest of the boys went screaming up the hill towards their cabin, and Jack followed at a more sedate pace, talking with Sam and Sally and discussing the next day's activities.
He handed Gina over to Sally when they reached the door to France, and noticed that Jean was coming to the door as well, talking to one of the other girls. Jack smiled, and took Sam's hand, pulling her a little closer so he could bend down and steal a quick good night kiss. Nothing too sensual, of course; not with a cabin full of little girls watching. Just enough to make sure that Jean didn't forget he was taken.
"Ooooooooo!"
There were giggles from the girls, and Sally grinned and shooed Jack away from the cabin, telling him they'd never get the girls to sleep if he kept standing there giving them gossip fodder. Jack went willingly, smiling as he did so. He was truly beginning to enjoy the charade of having a relationship with Sam. It was proving to have been a far better idea than even he'd thought it was, at first. And the best part was that she was more than willing to go along with it, in order to keep the cook away. Life was good at camp!
He was still smiling when he walked through the door, so preoccupied with that last kiss that he didn't notice the triumphant grin on Shawn's face that was almost a match for his own.
"Did you get us a snack, Jack?" Andrew asked from his bed above Teal'c's.
"Hmm?" Jack looked up and shook his head, no. "Sorry guys, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. But I'll make sure it's a good one, I promise."
There could have been a lot of grumbling and complaining, Jack knew, but he had a good bunch of boys, and they didn't gripe at all. Instead they got ready for bed like he told them to, and then pestered Daniel until he pulled out his book and showed them a picture of yet another ancient hero, and put them to sleep with yet another round of stories.
~**~~
It was much later that night that Teal'c was awakened by a noise. It wasn't a loud noise, but the Jaffa came awake instantly, because it was out of place in the silence of the cabin. He sat up silently in his bed, looking around but not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then he heard the noise again, and looked up. A single, almost silent sob came from the bunk above his own.
Silently, he rolled out of his bunk and stood up, looking at Andrew with concern.
"Are you injured, Andrew?" Teal'c whispered, putting a large hand out and touching the boy's shoulder.
"No," the boy whispered shakily. "I'm okay. Sorry."
"What is the matter?" Even in the almost pitch dark of the cabin, Teal'c's sharp eyes had spotted the sheen of smeared tears on the boy's cheeks when he'd sat up.
"I was just thinking of that little lizard, and how much his mom would have missed him," Andrew whispered. "Then I started thinking of my mom and wondering if she misses me. I miss her."
A homesick child wasn't something Teal'c had ever been trained to deal with, and he was brought up short as he tried to figure out how to soothe the child. He thought momentarily of waking Daniel or Jack, knowing that both of them were much better with children than he was, but he remembered that he'd sworn to the boy's mother that he would take care of him. That made this responsibility Teal'c's.
Unsure of what he was going to do exactly, Teal'c reached out and took hold of the boy, pulling Andrew off his bunk, blankets and all, and held him gently, smiling as he sat back down on his bunk with his burden.
"I am certain your mother misses you very much," he told the boy softly as Andrew snuggled against him. "I miss my son when he is not around."
"You have a son?
"Indeed. His name is Rayak."
"Where is he?" Andrew was so intent on the story that he'd already forgotten that he was sad.
"He lives with his mother."
"Oh, you're divorced, huh? My aunt Judy is divorced, too. Do you ever see your son?"
"Indeed I do. However it is not as often as I would like. He is a fine young man, though, and he grows to be a man I can be proud of."
Teal'c went on, telling Andrew of his son, although he was careful not to let anything slip about where exactly the boy and his mother lived, or anything about the history of his people. His voice was a low rumble, and the bass that resonated through his chest and vibrated gently against where Andrew was resting his head, and the strong arms that held him so securely soon put the boy to sleep once more.