"Okay! Good job, you all!" Katie called the kids and counselors over to the
shore, and she and Robert each picked up a brown paper sack. A normal
grocery bag.
"Now we're going to do a relay race, so line up behind that line in the sand, and listen to Robert tell you what to do."
There was a bit of scuffling as they all got into line, and Katie motioned for Jack and Daniel to join the line for China, which meant there wasn't going to be much – if any – water involved. They did, and listened as intently as any of the kids to what was going to happen next.
"Katie and I each have a bag," Robert said, grinning. "In this bag are various foods. What you have to do, one at a time, is run up to us, grab an item out of the bag and eat it. Once it's swallowed, you run back and tag the next person in line. Fairly easy, eh?"
It did sound easy, and the boys grinned, knowing that they would win this easily. They'd seen the girls eating at meals, and they were dainty eaters. Not at all like the boys. The girls, on the other hand, were not so willing to concede. They could eat fast when they wanted to. And this time they wanted to.
"Ready? Go!"
Shawn was first in line, and he sprinted to Katie, who was holding China's bag. Reaching in, he pulled out a jar. Of baby food.
"Strained carrots? Gross!"
"Eat it, Shawn!"
"Hurry up!"
Shawn looked over at Danin, who was first in line for France. She was happily eating her way through a snack-sized bag of Oreos. He scowled, but took the spoon Katie offered him and started eating it manfully. It turned out it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. Just tasted like carrots, and Shawn didn't dislike carrots. It wasn't a bag of Oreos, though. He finished his jar a quickly as he could, and dashed back to the rest of his team, only slightly behind. Strained carrots go down easier than Oreos, once you set your mind to it.
The bags ended up holding the same items, it was just simple luck of the draw to see who ate what. Some were quite entertaining. Simon drew out a little green onion, and had a bit of trouble downing it, the look on his face absolutely priceless. Jack got lucky and pulled out a banana, which was easy enough. Andrew got the Oreos for his team, and dumped the whole bag in his mouth at once, startling Katie, but not surprising China at all. Teal'c ended up with an orange, which he didn't bother to peel, he just ate it like an apple. Daniel was the second last in his group, and he found himself face to face with a peanut butter sandwich. That one took some doing.
Luckily, he was offered a carton of milk with the sandwich, and he gagged it down as quickly as he could, swearing to himself that he'd never eat another one as long as he lived.
China won. Only because the boys were downright ruthless when it came to eating to win. Aside from Shawn's initial hesitation, they didn't stop to even look at what they were eating, they just ate it. The girls weren't quite so diligent, and it showed. They were one person behind when the last bite of Tyler's chocolate pudding cup was finished.
"Yay!"
"Wooo-hooo!"
The boys jumped around, but only for a second before Jack put a quick stop to it with a disapproving glance. He was all for winning, but not for rubbing the girls' noses in the fact that they'd lost. The boys took the prompting immediately, and changed their tactics to congratulating the girls on how well they did to keep up. The lifeguards set down their now empty bags, and went on to the next game.
It was another relay race, and one that Jack and Daniel weren't allowed to participate in. This time half the campers from each team went to the boat dock, and the other half were positioned on the swimming dock. It looked like it might be a swimming race, but then Robert pulled out two large inflatable alligators. He handed one to Danin, who was the first girl in line for France, and one to Andrew, who was the first boy in line for China.
"It's a relay," Robert told them. "The alligator is the baton. You two will swim – with your alligator – over to the other dock, where you will hand the alligator off to the next person, who brings it back here for the next person. Since there's two counselors out for China, you need to pull two counselors out from France to make things even."
Sam and Jean stepped out of the line, and Carter walked over to stand between Jack and Daniel on the swimming dock, since Jack was avoiding the boating dock when he could so he wouldn't have to deal with the smart-assed lifeguard.
"Having fun?"
"I think I'm going to barf that sandwich up," Daniel told her, softly.
Sam laughed, and put an arm around Daniel's waist, and the other around Jack's, enjoying their company as they watched the relay race begin.
Swimming with an alligator – even a fake one – isn't nearly as easy as one might think. There wasn't anything for the campers to grip, and the things tended to roll over onto the campers when they tried to hold it with one arm and swim with the other. Climbing on it proved ineffective as well, since the gator would just roll over and knock them off. So, eventually, it just turned into a race to see who could control the gator the best while the other people on their team cheered them on.
China lost.
The girls in France were – for the most part – bigger than the boys in China, and they had longer arms and legs. Most of them were strong swimmers who made up for the few that weren't. It had been close, but there was no mistaking that France's alligator was thrown up onto the boat dock before China's. The girls were gracious winners, though. Mainly because the boys had been, and they wanted to prove they were just as capable of being good winners as the boys were.
Robert and Katie let them celebrate for a few moments, and then told the campers that they had the next half hour to swim and play in the water before they were sent off to get cleaned up for lunch.
Jack looked at his watch in surprise. He hadn't even realized time had gone by so quickly. Sure enough, though, it had. Sam took Jack and Daniel both by the hand and led them to the water.
"Come on, guys, let's play in the water a little."
"I can't get my cast wet."
"Yeah, and my chest is –"
"Come on." Sam grinned. "You don't have to go in above your waist. Daniel, just keep your hand up out of the water. You're on vacation; remember? You're supposed to be having fun." "Uh huh."
They let her lead them out into the water, where the kid came rushing at them. The girls surrounded Daniel, who looked over at Sam with a look that plainly said she was going to pay. Sally came over to rescue him, laughing and splashing the girls, who were careful not to get Daniel's cast wet.
Jack went to stand in the water next to the swimming dock, where he could watch his boy playing an impromptu game of jump or dive. Teal'c was asked to be the one to call out the jump or dive. A few of the girls had joined in as well, and with the other ones all chatting with Daniel and Sally, that left Jack and Sam fairly alone. As alone as a pair of counselors could be with their kids all around them anyways. She noticed this, as well, and waded over to stand next to him, her hip just brushing his.
"Your face is starting to look better," she told him. "The bruises are fading a little. Most of them, anyways."
"Yeah. It doesn't hurt, either."
He put an arm around her waist and pulled her just a little closer, well aware of what her nearness was doing to his body, but able to conceal it in the waist deep water. Sam felt it, though, and smiled as she leaned back against him, trying to avoid the more serious cuts and bruises on his chest as she did. Jack didn't even notice the pain. They watched their campers, waving when they were called to, and grinning at a particularly bad dive or jump, but mostly, just being close in a way that they'd never dared to be before. It was nice.
"Now we're going to do a relay race, so line up behind that line in the sand, and listen to Robert tell you what to do."
There was a bit of scuffling as they all got into line, and Katie motioned for Jack and Daniel to join the line for China, which meant there wasn't going to be much – if any – water involved. They did, and listened as intently as any of the kids to what was going to happen next.
"Katie and I each have a bag," Robert said, grinning. "In this bag are various foods. What you have to do, one at a time, is run up to us, grab an item out of the bag and eat it. Once it's swallowed, you run back and tag the next person in line. Fairly easy, eh?"
It did sound easy, and the boys grinned, knowing that they would win this easily. They'd seen the girls eating at meals, and they were dainty eaters. Not at all like the boys. The girls, on the other hand, were not so willing to concede. They could eat fast when they wanted to. And this time they wanted to.
"Ready? Go!"
Shawn was first in line, and he sprinted to Katie, who was holding China's bag. Reaching in, he pulled out a jar. Of baby food.
"Strained carrots? Gross!"
"Eat it, Shawn!"
"Hurry up!"
Shawn looked over at Danin, who was first in line for France. She was happily eating her way through a snack-sized bag of Oreos. He scowled, but took the spoon Katie offered him and started eating it manfully. It turned out it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. Just tasted like carrots, and Shawn didn't dislike carrots. It wasn't a bag of Oreos, though. He finished his jar a quickly as he could, and dashed back to the rest of his team, only slightly behind. Strained carrots go down easier than Oreos, once you set your mind to it.
The bags ended up holding the same items, it was just simple luck of the draw to see who ate what. Some were quite entertaining. Simon drew out a little green onion, and had a bit of trouble downing it, the look on his face absolutely priceless. Jack got lucky and pulled out a banana, which was easy enough. Andrew got the Oreos for his team, and dumped the whole bag in his mouth at once, startling Katie, but not surprising China at all. Teal'c ended up with an orange, which he didn't bother to peel, he just ate it like an apple. Daniel was the second last in his group, and he found himself face to face with a peanut butter sandwich. That one took some doing.
Luckily, he was offered a carton of milk with the sandwich, and he gagged it down as quickly as he could, swearing to himself that he'd never eat another one as long as he lived.
China won. Only because the boys were downright ruthless when it came to eating to win. Aside from Shawn's initial hesitation, they didn't stop to even look at what they were eating, they just ate it. The girls weren't quite so diligent, and it showed. They were one person behind when the last bite of Tyler's chocolate pudding cup was finished.
"Yay!"
"Wooo-hooo!"
The boys jumped around, but only for a second before Jack put a quick stop to it with a disapproving glance. He was all for winning, but not for rubbing the girls' noses in the fact that they'd lost. The boys took the prompting immediately, and changed their tactics to congratulating the girls on how well they did to keep up. The lifeguards set down their now empty bags, and went on to the next game.
It was another relay race, and one that Jack and Daniel weren't allowed to participate in. This time half the campers from each team went to the boat dock, and the other half were positioned on the swimming dock. It looked like it might be a swimming race, but then Robert pulled out two large inflatable alligators. He handed one to Danin, who was the first girl in line for France, and one to Andrew, who was the first boy in line for China.
"It's a relay," Robert told them. "The alligator is the baton. You two will swim – with your alligator – over to the other dock, where you will hand the alligator off to the next person, who brings it back here for the next person. Since there's two counselors out for China, you need to pull two counselors out from France to make things even."
Sam and Jean stepped out of the line, and Carter walked over to stand between Jack and Daniel on the swimming dock, since Jack was avoiding the boating dock when he could so he wouldn't have to deal with the smart-assed lifeguard.
"Having fun?"
"I think I'm going to barf that sandwich up," Daniel told her, softly.
Sam laughed, and put an arm around Daniel's waist, and the other around Jack's, enjoying their company as they watched the relay race begin.
Swimming with an alligator – even a fake one – isn't nearly as easy as one might think. There wasn't anything for the campers to grip, and the things tended to roll over onto the campers when they tried to hold it with one arm and swim with the other. Climbing on it proved ineffective as well, since the gator would just roll over and knock them off. So, eventually, it just turned into a race to see who could control the gator the best while the other people on their team cheered them on.
China lost.
The girls in France were – for the most part – bigger than the boys in China, and they had longer arms and legs. Most of them were strong swimmers who made up for the few that weren't. It had been close, but there was no mistaking that France's alligator was thrown up onto the boat dock before China's. The girls were gracious winners, though. Mainly because the boys had been, and they wanted to prove they were just as capable of being good winners as the boys were.
Robert and Katie let them celebrate for a few moments, and then told the campers that they had the next half hour to swim and play in the water before they were sent off to get cleaned up for lunch.
Jack looked at his watch in surprise. He hadn't even realized time had gone by so quickly. Sure enough, though, it had. Sam took Jack and Daniel both by the hand and led them to the water.
"Come on, guys, let's play in the water a little."
"I can't get my cast wet."
"Yeah, and my chest is –"
"Come on." Sam grinned. "You don't have to go in above your waist. Daniel, just keep your hand up out of the water. You're on vacation; remember? You're supposed to be having fun." "Uh huh."
They let her lead them out into the water, where the kid came rushing at them. The girls surrounded Daniel, who looked over at Sam with a look that plainly said she was going to pay. Sally came over to rescue him, laughing and splashing the girls, who were careful not to get Daniel's cast wet.
Jack went to stand in the water next to the swimming dock, where he could watch his boy playing an impromptu game of jump or dive. Teal'c was asked to be the one to call out the jump or dive. A few of the girls had joined in as well, and with the other ones all chatting with Daniel and Sally, that left Jack and Sam fairly alone. As alone as a pair of counselors could be with their kids all around them anyways. She noticed this, as well, and waded over to stand next to him, her hip just brushing his.
"Your face is starting to look better," she told him. "The bruises are fading a little. Most of them, anyways."
"Yeah. It doesn't hurt, either."
He put an arm around her waist and pulled her just a little closer, well aware of what her nearness was doing to his body, but able to conceal it in the waist deep water. Sam felt it, though, and smiled as she leaned back against him, trying to avoid the more serious cuts and bruises on his chest as she did. Jack didn't even notice the pain. They watched their campers, waving when they were called to, and grinning at a particularly bad dive or jump, but mostly, just being close in a way that they'd never dared to be before. It was nice.