Author's Note: I'm glad you guys liked the addition of Kira into the story – no, she won't be jumping in regularly, but I thought it would be fun to throw her into the mix, and luckily for me, Dietcokechic agreed to it! Which reminds me; Kira and the Barista people are not mine, and I don't claim them. I asked before using them, and if you want to use them, remember to ask, too! (and ask me if you want to use my guys, too, please) especially since someone snagged about 10 chapters of my campers story and used it for their own just a couple of weeks ago without asking. Anyways! I'm glad you liked it! And now on with the story... lots of trees to choose from, and lots of mischief to get into!

OOOOOOOOO

Relinquishing the front seat to Daniel – who was older and probably didn't fold up nearly as easily as he did – Ian climbed into the jump seat behind the passenger seat, and buckled in, sharing the last of his donut with Jaffer – although keeping his coffee for himself.

"The drive will be about an hour or so, Ian," Jack told him, turning around and looking at him. "You need us to make a stop anywhere first?"

Which translated into do you need to go to the bathroom?

Ian shook his head, putting his feet up on the console between the two front seats.

"I'm fine, Jack."

"It's going to take an hour if he doesn't get lost," Daniel corrected. "Since that's always a possibility, it might not be a bad idea to get one of those little kegs and put it on Jaffer's collar now."

"I'm not going to get lost," Jack told him. "I've been there a million times."

"Three."

"Same thing."

Jack started the truck, and they headed out of town, and Ian found himself dozing off, his head resting lightly against Jaffer, who didn't seem to mind being used as a pillow. Especially for someone who'd already shared his donuts.

Jack watched him in the rearview mirror, thinking he looked tired and debating taking him home instead of up to the mountains, but he decided that he could rest on the way up and back. Besides, as much as he loved Daniel's company – and he did – he liked the thought of spending more time with Ian, too. And maybe he could find out what was bothering him.

OOOOO

"You're lost, aren't you?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are we going down the same road we went down only fifteen minutes ago?"

"Because I liked the scenery, Daniel."

Daniel made a show of looking out the window with great interest.

"Oh, yes," he said, sarcastically – he was really getting pretty good at sarcasm. Probably all the time spent with Jack. "Trees, rocks and snow... how... majestic."

"I know where I am," Jack repeated, stubbornly, pulling onto a road that was barely cleared of the heavy snow that had fallen in the mountains in the last few days. What was 18 inches in town was well over 3 feet in the higher elevations, and only the fact that the rangers used the roads had them cleared at all. That and they knew that there would be people out in the mountains looking for Christmas trees that week especially.

They drove another twenty minutes, and Jack was proven right when they crossed through a gate and into a private reserve – complete with a sign that proclaimed No Hunting, No Snowmobiling, and No Trespassing. Since he'd long since spoken with Myra Stephens about trespassing, he ignored the signs, and headed up the road that led to the area he and David had explored only the week before. (David is Andrew's dad, remember)

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Jack said, cheerfully as he pulled the truck up under a big tree that had done a fine job of leaving a snow free parking lot under its huge branches.

Jaffer whuffled Ian's cheek, waking the cadet like Jack's words hadn't, and Ian sat up, wiping drool – Jaffer's and his – off his cheek. He looked around, confused.

"Are we lost, still?"

Jack scowled.

"We weren't lost..."

"I remember hearing something about-"

"I was just reconnoitering the area," Jack interrupted, opening the door and getting out.

"Bullshit..." Ian mumbled, softly, more to himself than anything.

"What?"

"I said 'look at it," Ian lied, sweeping his hand around to encompass all the scenery – as if he was incredibly impressed by what he was seeing. "It's a lot to reconnoiter."

Jack scowled, and Daniel grinned.

"You're a lousy liar," O'Neill told the cadet.

Ian shrugged, realizing that Jack could mean that more than one way – and probably did. Not only did he know that Ian was lying about the whole bullshit thing, but he knew Ian was lying about there being nothing bothering him.

"I know..."

He couldn't think of anything to say to that, though. He'd always been a lousy liar. But he was pretty good at changing the subject when he needed to.

"So, you know the people who own this place? We're not going to have dogs chasing us off the land any minute and shotgun waving hillbillies coming after us?"

Daniel laughed.

"They're good friends," he assured Ian. "And they have big dogs, but they're all labs and they all love Jack, here."

"All right," Ian said. "I was just thinking that if we're going to get chased you guys might want to start running now. You know, get a headstart."

"Watch it..." Jack warned, knowing what was coming next. Ian didn't disappoint.

"You know... because you're so... oooold."

Jack pounced, and Ian didn't even have a chance. The quiet of the mountains was shattered by a yelp of dismay as the cadet found himself tossed into a 6 foot snowdrift.

For an old guy, Jack was pretty fast.