Author's note: I would have had this out earlier, but I went and played
Texas Hold'em with my family. I'll make it up to you guys by getting
another couple out tonight, I promise! I hope you're enjoying it. Feel free
to email me if you want to see something in particular happen, and don't
forget to review! Review! Review!
~~**~~*
They rejoined Sam and Shawn at the table, and the rest of the campers filtered in while the boys borrowed a pen and started signing Daniel's cast. Tyler brought in the last of the boy's from China, and right behind them came Teal'c. Everyone was drenched, but there was a lot of laughter and good spirits.
As soon as everyone sat down, Gary Hines stood up and made a few announcements.
"As everyone knows, it's raining." There was a general chorus of 'duh' and a lot of good-natured sarcasm, but it died down fairly quickly, and he continued, grinning. "Anyways! It's raining, and we don't think it's a great idea for people to be sailing or in the water in the rain, in case there's lightning, and the trails are a little slick for any long distance horseback riding..." He glanced over at Daniel as he said this, who smiled. "So, we're going to be doing group activities this morning, and this afternoon, if necessary. Once you're done with breakfast, I want you all to meet down in the gym, and we'll explain what you're going to be doing."
There was a general murmur of agreement, and Gary sat down at his table and the cooks called for the Runners to come get their plates of breakfast.
"What do you think we're going to be doing, Jack?" Asked one of the boys.
"I hope it's Arts and Crafts!"
"Me, too!"
"I hope it's football in the mud!"
"Tug-of-war!"
"I get to be on Murray's team if it is!"
"Me, too!"
There were a few minutes of silence as Tyler brought the first plates filled with pancakes over, and the boys started eating hungrily, and Jack got up and retrieved the pot of coffee from the little table and brought it back and filled his cup and Sam's, then poured another for Daniel, who was clumsily eating one-handed and obviously getting frustrated.
"Rookie." Jack grinned, as Daniel dropped his fork.
"It's not that easy, you know?"
"Oh, I know," Jack told him, thinking of all the slings and casts he'd ever been in. "I know."
"Yes, well... maybe you do." Daniel had to concede that, since he could think of a few, as well.
"There's a knack, you'll figure it out. Just don't spill anything hot in your lap."
"Thanks for the advice." The sarcasm was oozing, now, and O'Neill grinned.
"Murray? Coffee?"
"Thank you, O'Neill, I will pass." Teal'c was engaged in conversation with Andrew, who was teaching him all about tug-of-war. Which, as it turned out, was a waste of time, since that wasn't what the Camp Director had planned for his campers.
They were assembled in the gym, separated by cabins. Gary came into the room and right behind him came an assistant, with a wheelbarrow loaded with large watermelons.
"We're going to do a relay race," Gary said, grinning. "Every cabin will be given a watermelon for this relay. And each leg of the relay will be different, but whatever leg you're doing, the catch is that you have to take your watermelon with you. That's your baton that you'll hand off to the next person in line. Your job is to keep your watermelon intact, because at the end of the race, you're going to need it. Each cabin needs to pick its best rider, then they need to have a shooter, a thrower, a runner, a swimmer..." The list went on, and the counselors to each cabin were handed a piece of paper so they could keep track of who was who. It took a bit of preparation, and then the campers were positioned in their various spots, and the horn was sounded to begin.
Teal'c and Simon started the relay for China. The two were tied together in a three-legged racing style, and Teal'c was handed the watermelon. They ran, awkwardly, up the hill, past the last of the cabins, and out to the large clearing, where they handed the watermelon off to Shawn. Carrying the watermelon carefully, the boy ran from one end of the field to the other, where there was a stack of footballs, one for each cabin. His job was to throw the football as accurately as he could, getting it into a garbage can while Teal'c and Simon cheered him on. As soon as he got close enough for the judge to pass him, he was sent, still carrying the watermelon, over to the next leg of the relay, which was Devon. The boy was the fastest of all the kids, and as such he'd been chosen for this leg. It was a simple mad dash down to the horse corral, where he handed the watermelon breathlessly over to Jack, who was mounted on Thunderball.
Jack dug his heels into Thunderball's sides, and the horse took off like he was shot out of a cannon, racing down to the end of the open field to where Tyler was waiting. The boy was dressed in a wetsuit, and was standing on the boat dock, rain beating down all around him and the other campers from other cabins who waited with him. O'Neill jumped off the horse and carried the watermelon to the boy, handing it over and cheering for him when he threw it in the water and jumped in after it.
For this part of the race the swimmer had to go from one dock to the other, pushing the watermelon ahead of them. Once they made it to the other end, another camper was there to run it down to the gym. There, the camper had to shoot a free throw with a basketball, while holding the watermelon between his feet so another team accidently didn't step on it. Then, once the shot was finally made (no matter how many tries it took) the shooter picked up his watermelon and carried it at a run back up the stairs to where the rest of the cabin had gathered in the cafeteria. They put the watermelon on their table and each team cut it up and started eating. The seeds were placed on paper plates, where the team's counters would count them as they piled up.
Daniel and Andrew were counters. With his cast, Daniel was pretty much worthless in any other capacity, so it only made sense. One of the boys was wielding a large knife, cutting large chunks and handing them out, urging them to eat fast. Once the watermelon was completely consumed, and the seeds were counted, the race was officially ended. Then it was up to the judges.
The judges were Assistant Camp directors and the kitchen staff. They were the ones who decided how many points each team received for each leg of the relay. If the watermelon was damaged, a team lost points. If the watermelon was dropped, a team lost points. They gave out style points, and speed points, and then they gave out points for the cleanest rinds, and then each seed counted was also a point.
China was lucky. They hadn't dropped their watermelon at all, and it was in pretty good shape. The UK boys had lost theirs early on when theirs had been dropped off their horse's back. They'd had to get a replacement, which cost them a ton of points. France had dropped theirs, as well, and they, too, had needed a new one. Other cabins were better off, even though their watermelons had been dinged up and were looking poorly, and it was a close race as the judges started adding up their points as the campers looked on in excitement.
This was nothing Jack had ever imagined himself doing. Here he was, standing in a cafeteria with a group of boys, spitting watermelon seeds onto a plate for Daniel to count. Even more unreal that Teal'c was participating as well. The big Jaffa had truly surprised O'Neill by jumping right in and doing what was asked of him. Probably, Jack decided, he was just grateful they hadn't been stuck doing Arts and Crafts. Now they were just waiting to see who'd won.
~~**~~*
They rejoined Sam and Shawn at the table, and the rest of the campers filtered in while the boys borrowed a pen and started signing Daniel's cast. Tyler brought in the last of the boy's from China, and right behind them came Teal'c. Everyone was drenched, but there was a lot of laughter and good spirits.
As soon as everyone sat down, Gary Hines stood up and made a few announcements.
"As everyone knows, it's raining." There was a general chorus of 'duh' and a lot of good-natured sarcasm, but it died down fairly quickly, and he continued, grinning. "Anyways! It's raining, and we don't think it's a great idea for people to be sailing or in the water in the rain, in case there's lightning, and the trails are a little slick for any long distance horseback riding..." He glanced over at Daniel as he said this, who smiled. "So, we're going to be doing group activities this morning, and this afternoon, if necessary. Once you're done with breakfast, I want you all to meet down in the gym, and we'll explain what you're going to be doing."
There was a general murmur of agreement, and Gary sat down at his table and the cooks called for the Runners to come get their plates of breakfast.
"What do you think we're going to be doing, Jack?" Asked one of the boys.
"I hope it's Arts and Crafts!"
"Me, too!"
"I hope it's football in the mud!"
"Tug-of-war!"
"I get to be on Murray's team if it is!"
"Me, too!"
There were a few minutes of silence as Tyler brought the first plates filled with pancakes over, and the boys started eating hungrily, and Jack got up and retrieved the pot of coffee from the little table and brought it back and filled his cup and Sam's, then poured another for Daniel, who was clumsily eating one-handed and obviously getting frustrated.
"Rookie." Jack grinned, as Daniel dropped his fork.
"It's not that easy, you know?"
"Oh, I know," Jack told him, thinking of all the slings and casts he'd ever been in. "I know."
"Yes, well... maybe you do." Daniel had to concede that, since he could think of a few, as well.
"There's a knack, you'll figure it out. Just don't spill anything hot in your lap."
"Thanks for the advice." The sarcasm was oozing, now, and O'Neill grinned.
"Murray? Coffee?"
"Thank you, O'Neill, I will pass." Teal'c was engaged in conversation with Andrew, who was teaching him all about tug-of-war. Which, as it turned out, was a waste of time, since that wasn't what the Camp Director had planned for his campers.
They were assembled in the gym, separated by cabins. Gary came into the room and right behind him came an assistant, with a wheelbarrow loaded with large watermelons.
"We're going to do a relay race," Gary said, grinning. "Every cabin will be given a watermelon for this relay. And each leg of the relay will be different, but whatever leg you're doing, the catch is that you have to take your watermelon with you. That's your baton that you'll hand off to the next person in line. Your job is to keep your watermelon intact, because at the end of the race, you're going to need it. Each cabin needs to pick its best rider, then they need to have a shooter, a thrower, a runner, a swimmer..." The list went on, and the counselors to each cabin were handed a piece of paper so they could keep track of who was who. It took a bit of preparation, and then the campers were positioned in their various spots, and the horn was sounded to begin.
Teal'c and Simon started the relay for China. The two were tied together in a three-legged racing style, and Teal'c was handed the watermelon. They ran, awkwardly, up the hill, past the last of the cabins, and out to the large clearing, where they handed the watermelon off to Shawn. Carrying the watermelon carefully, the boy ran from one end of the field to the other, where there was a stack of footballs, one for each cabin. His job was to throw the football as accurately as he could, getting it into a garbage can while Teal'c and Simon cheered him on. As soon as he got close enough for the judge to pass him, he was sent, still carrying the watermelon, over to the next leg of the relay, which was Devon. The boy was the fastest of all the kids, and as such he'd been chosen for this leg. It was a simple mad dash down to the horse corral, where he handed the watermelon breathlessly over to Jack, who was mounted on Thunderball.
Jack dug his heels into Thunderball's sides, and the horse took off like he was shot out of a cannon, racing down to the end of the open field to where Tyler was waiting. The boy was dressed in a wetsuit, and was standing on the boat dock, rain beating down all around him and the other campers from other cabins who waited with him. O'Neill jumped off the horse and carried the watermelon to the boy, handing it over and cheering for him when he threw it in the water and jumped in after it.
For this part of the race the swimmer had to go from one dock to the other, pushing the watermelon ahead of them. Once they made it to the other end, another camper was there to run it down to the gym. There, the camper had to shoot a free throw with a basketball, while holding the watermelon between his feet so another team accidently didn't step on it. Then, once the shot was finally made (no matter how many tries it took) the shooter picked up his watermelon and carried it at a run back up the stairs to where the rest of the cabin had gathered in the cafeteria. They put the watermelon on their table and each team cut it up and started eating. The seeds were placed on paper plates, where the team's counters would count them as they piled up.
Daniel and Andrew were counters. With his cast, Daniel was pretty much worthless in any other capacity, so it only made sense. One of the boys was wielding a large knife, cutting large chunks and handing them out, urging them to eat fast. Once the watermelon was completely consumed, and the seeds were counted, the race was officially ended. Then it was up to the judges.
The judges were Assistant Camp directors and the kitchen staff. They were the ones who decided how many points each team received for each leg of the relay. If the watermelon was damaged, a team lost points. If the watermelon was dropped, a team lost points. They gave out style points, and speed points, and then they gave out points for the cleanest rinds, and then each seed counted was also a point.
China was lucky. They hadn't dropped their watermelon at all, and it was in pretty good shape. The UK boys had lost theirs early on when theirs had been dropped off their horse's back. They'd had to get a replacement, which cost them a ton of points. France had dropped theirs, as well, and they, too, had needed a new one. Other cabins were better off, even though their watermelons had been dinged up and were looking poorly, and it was a close race as the judges started adding up their points as the campers looked on in excitement.
This was nothing Jack had ever imagined himself doing. Here he was, standing in a cafeteria with a group of boys, spitting watermelon seeds onto a plate for Daniel to count. Even more unreal that Teal'c was participating as well. The big Jaffa had truly surprised O'Neill by jumping right in and doing what was asked of him. Probably, Jack decided, he was just grateful they hadn't been stuck doing Arts and Crafts. Now they were just waiting to see who'd won.