When they arrived at the field, Carter groaned. There were six large straw
bales set up at one end, with paper targets pinned to them. Behind the
targets a large canvas wall had been constructed of PVC piping all fastened
together to form a frame, with sturdy canvas forming the interior. The
reason for this was obvious when Sam looked down at the other end of the
field and saw a table filled with bows, and six boxes that had the ends of
arrows sticking out.
"Archery!"
"Yay!"
"Like Daniel does?"
"No, like Indians!"
"Oh, bows and arrows!" The kids that had run ahead were already standing at the table with the bows, some of them were looking in the boxes, although they weren't just grabbing arrows up as Sam might have expected. The boys and girls that had walked with Sam and the other counselors now broke off and ran ahead as well, too excited to wait.
"Wow!"
"Jack, look!"
"I see." Jack wasn't looking all that enthused about archery, but Sam realized it wasn't the bows and arrows that had caught his attention, it was the Nurse, who was standing close by. Almost as though she expected to be needed sometime in the near future. Daniel noticed as well.
"You'd think she didn't trust us to be safe or something..."
"I can't imagine why," Sam said. All the China men bore the markings of their camp experiences, although Teal'c's were mostly healed. Daniel's broken wrist was the most serious, but Jack's bruised face and chest were the most vivid.
O'Neill scowled. "I can shoot a bow without killing myself."
"As can I," Teal'c agreed. The Jaffa wasn't any more pleased to see the Nurse than Jack was, considering it bordering on an insult to his abilities.
Besides Kim, there was another man standing there that Jack didn't know. He was the one who would teach the boys and girls how to shoot their bows. He gathered the kids together, and waited for them to be quiet enough to hear what he was saying without yelling, then introduced himself.
"My name's Frank. I'll be teaching you archery." He told them with a smile. "Have any of you held a bow, before?"
There were a few hands among the kids, and all the counselors raised theirs. Of course, the France counselors had all been here before, so they'd done everything the camp had to offer. Sam and Jack were both trained to be able to shoot and fire anything they could lay their hands on, as was Teal'c, and Daniel had picked up a fair amount of experience with the weapon on his stay on Abydos.
"Good!"
Frank divided them into groups of four, with at least one counselor in each group, and put each group in front of a target with a box of arrows and a bow.
"The canvas will keep any arrows that miss the target from going any further, and the arrows," He held one up and poked at his side with it, "are soft enough that you can't really hurt yourself, unless you get shot from close up. Which is why we don't aim them at anyone. Understood?"
He waited for nods and murmurs of agreement, and then took the bow that Jack's group was going to be using, and demonstrated for all those that were new at the fine art of Archery how to knock the arrow, then draw back on the string and release. He didn't point out the finer techniques that Jack had learned, such as a smoother release trick, or breathing exercises that would make the aim even better, but Jack didn't correct him. These weren't all that important when it was camp.
"Everyone decide who's going to go first, and I want that person to take the bow and get in position. We'll have a bit of time for some practicing, then maybe we'll have a competition to see who's the best archer in the group."
There was really no way they could hurt themselves. Jack knew this for a fact. The arrows were soft, the targets were backed by the canvas, and as long as everyone did as they were told – which the kids had already shown a knack for – they couldn't hurt each other. Apparently the Nurse decided this as well, because she moved away from her position right beside and a little behind, Jack's group, and went to stand near Daniel's group. With his broken wrist, Daniel wouldn't be able to hold the bow, or draw the string back, and she was probably going to tell him that, if he hadn't already figured it out for himself.
"All right, Shawn," Jack said as the boy stepped forward to take the bow from Frank. "Just anywhere on the target." Really, just anywhere but at someone else was fine with Jack, but he didn't say it aloud. He had faith in the boy.
"You got it, Jack." He knocked an arrow and drew back the string, making sure to point it at the target and not at anyone. O'Neill couldn't find anything wrong with his form, and held his tongue.
"Fire when ready," Frank told the campers, and the air was suddenly filed with arrows. Most of which went everywhere but at the targets. Some did manage to hit their targets, though, and Shawn whooped with success when his was one of them that did.
"Yeah, Shawn!" Andrew was standing behind his friend, and slapped his shoulder. Shawn just grinned foolishly, and reached for another arrow, looking at Jack.
"Good job, Shawn," Jack said, smiling. This wasn't going to be so bad, after all.
~*~*
It wasn't so bad, either. The boy and girls were having the time of their lives, and their skill was improving greatly. They'd all been impressed by Jack and Sam and Teal'c, who were doing extremely well, even with the inferior bows and arrows. Jack wasn't doing as well as he might have, since his chest muscles were screaming every time he drew back the string, even with the low tension that it was set at, but his skill more than made up for his ailments.
Shawn wasn't surprised. Jack was the best, as far as he was concerned. And Shawn wanted to be just like him when he grew up. He'd already decided he was going to join the Air Force and become a Seal, and he was going to have friends as cool as Daniel, Murray and Sam. The afternoon watching the three Air Force officers showcasing their abilities just cemented that desire. And as he watched Teal'c, Jack and Sam have their own friendly competition to see who was the best shot – which Teal'c won – Shawn decided he'd have to find out more about Jack before camp was over.
He hadn't missed the fact that every time he asked O'Neill what he did in the Air Force, the Colonel changed the conversation to something else. Murray did that, too, although Sam was always happy to try and explain to the campers what deep space telemetry was. Complicated. Way too complicated for Shawn to understand. He had a feeling that what Jack and Murray did was far more exciting and interesting. He just needed to get Jack to tell him, that was all. It should be easy enough.
"Archery!"
"Yay!"
"Like Daniel does?"
"No, like Indians!"
"Oh, bows and arrows!" The kids that had run ahead were already standing at the table with the bows, some of them were looking in the boxes, although they weren't just grabbing arrows up as Sam might have expected. The boys and girls that had walked with Sam and the other counselors now broke off and ran ahead as well, too excited to wait.
"Wow!"
"Jack, look!"
"I see." Jack wasn't looking all that enthused about archery, but Sam realized it wasn't the bows and arrows that had caught his attention, it was the Nurse, who was standing close by. Almost as though she expected to be needed sometime in the near future. Daniel noticed as well.
"You'd think she didn't trust us to be safe or something..."
"I can't imagine why," Sam said. All the China men bore the markings of their camp experiences, although Teal'c's were mostly healed. Daniel's broken wrist was the most serious, but Jack's bruised face and chest were the most vivid.
O'Neill scowled. "I can shoot a bow without killing myself."
"As can I," Teal'c agreed. The Jaffa wasn't any more pleased to see the Nurse than Jack was, considering it bordering on an insult to his abilities.
Besides Kim, there was another man standing there that Jack didn't know. He was the one who would teach the boys and girls how to shoot their bows. He gathered the kids together, and waited for them to be quiet enough to hear what he was saying without yelling, then introduced himself.
"My name's Frank. I'll be teaching you archery." He told them with a smile. "Have any of you held a bow, before?"
There were a few hands among the kids, and all the counselors raised theirs. Of course, the France counselors had all been here before, so they'd done everything the camp had to offer. Sam and Jack were both trained to be able to shoot and fire anything they could lay their hands on, as was Teal'c, and Daniel had picked up a fair amount of experience with the weapon on his stay on Abydos.
"Good!"
Frank divided them into groups of four, with at least one counselor in each group, and put each group in front of a target with a box of arrows and a bow.
"The canvas will keep any arrows that miss the target from going any further, and the arrows," He held one up and poked at his side with it, "are soft enough that you can't really hurt yourself, unless you get shot from close up. Which is why we don't aim them at anyone. Understood?"
He waited for nods and murmurs of agreement, and then took the bow that Jack's group was going to be using, and demonstrated for all those that were new at the fine art of Archery how to knock the arrow, then draw back on the string and release. He didn't point out the finer techniques that Jack had learned, such as a smoother release trick, or breathing exercises that would make the aim even better, but Jack didn't correct him. These weren't all that important when it was camp.
"Everyone decide who's going to go first, and I want that person to take the bow and get in position. We'll have a bit of time for some practicing, then maybe we'll have a competition to see who's the best archer in the group."
There was really no way they could hurt themselves. Jack knew this for a fact. The arrows were soft, the targets were backed by the canvas, and as long as everyone did as they were told – which the kids had already shown a knack for – they couldn't hurt each other. Apparently the Nurse decided this as well, because she moved away from her position right beside and a little behind, Jack's group, and went to stand near Daniel's group. With his broken wrist, Daniel wouldn't be able to hold the bow, or draw the string back, and she was probably going to tell him that, if he hadn't already figured it out for himself.
"All right, Shawn," Jack said as the boy stepped forward to take the bow from Frank. "Just anywhere on the target." Really, just anywhere but at someone else was fine with Jack, but he didn't say it aloud. He had faith in the boy.
"You got it, Jack." He knocked an arrow and drew back the string, making sure to point it at the target and not at anyone. O'Neill couldn't find anything wrong with his form, and held his tongue.
"Fire when ready," Frank told the campers, and the air was suddenly filed with arrows. Most of which went everywhere but at the targets. Some did manage to hit their targets, though, and Shawn whooped with success when his was one of them that did.
"Yeah, Shawn!" Andrew was standing behind his friend, and slapped his shoulder. Shawn just grinned foolishly, and reached for another arrow, looking at Jack.
"Good job, Shawn," Jack said, smiling. This wasn't going to be so bad, after all.
~*~*
It wasn't so bad, either. The boy and girls were having the time of their lives, and their skill was improving greatly. They'd all been impressed by Jack and Sam and Teal'c, who were doing extremely well, even with the inferior bows and arrows. Jack wasn't doing as well as he might have, since his chest muscles were screaming every time he drew back the string, even with the low tension that it was set at, but his skill more than made up for his ailments.
Shawn wasn't surprised. Jack was the best, as far as he was concerned. And Shawn wanted to be just like him when he grew up. He'd already decided he was going to join the Air Force and become a Seal, and he was going to have friends as cool as Daniel, Murray and Sam. The afternoon watching the three Air Force officers showcasing their abilities just cemented that desire. And as he watched Teal'c, Jack and Sam have their own friendly competition to see who was the best shot – which Teal'c won – Shawn decided he'd have to find out more about Jack before camp was over.
He hadn't missed the fact that every time he asked O'Neill what he did in the Air Force, the Colonel changed the conversation to something else. Murray did that, too, although Sam was always happy to try and explain to the campers what deep space telemetry was. Complicated. Way too complicated for Shawn to understand. He had a feeling that what Jack and Murray did was far more exciting and interesting. He just needed to get Jack to tell him, that was all. It should be easy enough.