Author's Note: This would have been out much sooner if the site hadn't had the document manager down all day... Sorry!

OOOOOOOO

They all went outside. All fourteen of the people, and all four dogs – although the dogs didn't actually get picked into either of the teams.

"You playing, mom?" Ian asked, sending her a challenging look that she never would have backed down from.

"Sure."

"You have to be on Teal'c's team, too, then," Nathan said, sizing up the big man – again. If his team was where Jack wanted Sam to be, then it was definitely where Nathan wanted his wife to be, as well.

"All right, guys," Jack said, tossing the ball a little as they filed out. He knew everyone – some more than others – and figured he would do the separating into teams. "Cassie, River, Ian, Gina, Sally and Daniel – you're with me."

He waited for them to move over to stand next to him, leaving Janet, Sam, Nathan, Maggie, Shawn and Jacob to stand beside Teal'c.

"It's two hand touch – below the waist." He looked at Ian and River, pointedly. "And I mean it."

"Below the waist," River repeated. Then he looked over at the other team, and frowned. "Wait a minute – almost all the married women are on that team. I want to two hand touch the single ones!"

"You keep your hands to yourself," Ian growled – mostly in fun – "Especially with my mom, or I'll put a snowball down your pants that will shrivel you until your Senior year."

River smiled, and held his hands up in mock surrender, and Jack tossed the ball to Teal'c.

"We'll play to 21, or until we get cold, or until Nate and Maggie have to leave. You guys kick off – and watch out for the yellow snow."

The snow was deep enough that dog poop shouldn't be a problem, although the dogs themselves would definitely make things interesting.

They set up the touchdown markers on either end of the yard, and then Sam threw the ball to the other team – instead of kicking, which was far harder to control – and the game was begun.

OOOOOOOO

Running in deep snow while being chased by seven people isn't easy. Running in snow while being chased by seven people and four dogs who have absolutely no idea why they're chasing you and don't understand that two hand touch below the waist doesn't mean jump on you and trip you up so everyone else can catch you is even harder. As everyone found out in the next hour and a half.

It wasn't really football... It was more 'keep running until the dogs manage to drag you down so that the others can do a dog pile on you'. Unless you were Sam. Because Jaffer wouldn't chase Sam, and he was adept at keeping the other dogs from catching her. Even Teal'c had been pulled down by the combined weight of three full-grown dogs (Jasmine would jump on whoever got knocked down, but she didn't have the weight or the training to pull anyone down on her own). The football was just a prop so the dogs would know who to chase.

And no one even dreamed of putting the dogs in the house so they could actually play a real game.

Cassie and the other females were especially having a good time, since they didn't really have to be all that careful with the guys – who were being careful with them. Teal'c was their favorite target on the other team, because the Jaffa was so darned hard to get down if he had the ball. It made for exciting and fun dog piles – even without the dogs – because Ian and River were almost always part of the pile as well, and it was definitely fun for Cassie (and a few of the others, who weren't quite so willing to admit it) to have one of them piled on or next to them.

By the time Nathan decided that they'd better stop playing so they'd have time to warm up before leaving to catch their plane, the score was still zero to zero, and they were all freezing, or wet, or covered in snow – or all three in most cases. But they had had fun, and that was all that mattered – and because of Jack constantly keeping the rules (what few there actually were) enforced, there weren't any new injuries. Of course, Ian's head was pounding, but he didn't mention that to anyone, and hid it fairly well.

They all trudged into the house, laughing and discussing some big play or the other – or just plain laughing at the continued antics of the dogs – who were just as covered in snow as the people were. Sam had everyone strip off their coats and shoes and boots at the door, and although they were still going to drag a lot of watery mess into the house it wasn't going to be quite so bad this way.

She sent Jack to rebuild the fire in the fireplace, turned up the thermostat and started coffee to brewing and hot water to boiling for those who didn't drink coffee – mainly the younger group.

"Sure you have to leave?" Jack asked Nathan and Maggie, who were sitting on the sofa while Nathan picked snow out of his wife's hair. Ian was sitting beside his mother, with Bubba on the floor between his knees, and the cadet was rubbing the black lab's chest and ears absently.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "We can't miss the plane, or we'll lose the reservation at the hotel in Barbados. Which wouldn't do, since Maggie is meeting a new producer there."

"You're taking Bubba to Barbados?" Ian asked. It was really the first time he'd directly addressed his father the entire time they'd been there, although no one probably noticed.

Nathan shook his head.

"We're going to put him on a flight back home right before ours leaves. Ian Piper will pick him up and watch him until we get back. He was going to be watching him today, too, but-"

"But your father decided that since we were coming out, Bubba might as well come, too," Maggie said, smiling at Ian. "We were pretty sure he'd enjoy a chance to see you – and vice versa."

Ian looked at his dad, surprised. He'd assumed it was his mother's idea to bring his dog out – it wasn't something he'd have given his dad credit for considering.

"Thanks."

Nathan looked about as uncomfortable as Ian did – and far more uncomfortable than Jack had seen him a long time.

"It wasn't any big deal, son."

Maggie's smile grew.

"He says that now, but you should have seen the tantrum he threw when they told him Bubba was going to have to be in a traveling cage in the cargo area. Told them what they could do with their regulations and what they could do with their airline – and then told them that Bubba was a seeing eye dog and that if they didn't let him on as such, he'd go straight to the president of the Airlines with a suit against handicapped people."

Jack grinned, as Nathan squirmed a little at the retelling of a scene Jack wished he could have seen in person. He knew Nathan's temper, and could just imagine how the man had acted.

"What about the way home?" Ian asked.

"It's already taken care of, son," Nate said – although he refused to tell them what he'd done to get the airlines to keep Bubba in a regular seat when the lab was flying home on his own – and wouldn't let Maggie tell them, either.

They had a cup of coffee to warm themselves, and chatted a little longer while they waited for their clothes and coats to dry a little, but eventually they had to go. They thanked Sam, both of them hugging her warmly, then thanked Jack – although Nathan didn't hug him – and then said goodbye to the others. Maggie pulled Gina aside, and gave her a special hug, promising that she'd send her whatever she wanted from her last performance – all she had to do was let Shawn know, who could let Ian know, who could tell her – as soon as he learned how to use the phone.

Then Ian walked them to the door, his hand resting on Bubba's head as the lab walked beside him. They went out to the front porch, closing the door behind them, and Maggie pulled her son into a warm embrace, which he returned, feeling a pang of loss even though he knew he was going to see her for Christmas break.

"You write to me, do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am..."

He let her pull his head down for a kiss, and then turned to his dad, who hesitated and stuck his hand out.

"It was good seeing you, son."

Ian nodded, taking the hand and shaking it.

"I'm glad you came, dad."

Nathan smiled, awkwardly. Nothing those two ever did was done any way but awkwardly, but they were pretty used to it.

"Take care of mom."

"I will."

"I'll take care of him, you mean."

Ian smiled.

"Whatever works."

He hugged his mom again, knelt and hugged Bubba tightly, and then watched as the three of them went and got into the rental car (a Ford Explorer that was good for the weather they were driving in). He stood on the front step, barefooted and without a coat on, but he didn't notice the chill as he watched them drive off, and didn't go inside until they turned the far corner and he couldn't see them anymore. Then he sighed, and went back into the house.

"Dude, your mom is hot," River said as soon as Ian had closed the door.

Daniel wasn't the only male in the room to nod his agreement, and Ian had to smile.

"Of course she is – she gets that from me."