"You okay?"
Fraiser scowled at Jack, moving her head out of his reach. And then wincing at the pain from the sudden motion.
"I hate horses."
Sam smiled, handing her the wet towel they'd sent Wilson off to get – along with Mandy, who had sent the towel on ahead and said she'd be there as soon as she was finished with the girl she was bandaging. Free time always made for more minor injuries.
"Horses are great, Janet. You just found one with a short attention span."
Jack snorted, earning him a sour look from Fraiser, who put the wet cloth against her scraped cheek, pulling it back a moment later to see if the bleeding had stopped.
"Stupid thing."
"At least you didn't break your arm," Jack told her. "Daniel broke his the first time he rode – and look how much he likes them now."
"He doesn't."
"He kind of does."
Janet scowled again, and stood up. She'd been sitting on a bale of straw while the others watched for any sign of dizziness or disorientation that might represent a more serious injury, but the doctor was more than capable of deciding if she'd hurt herself, and she was fine.
"I'm going to go get cleaned up," she told them with as much dignity as she could muster. It was hard looking dignified when your hair was filled with twigs, your clothes were torn and your face had several scratches.
"We'll see you at dinner," Sam said, still smiling.
"Is she okay?" one of the wranglers asked, coming over as Janet was leaving, walking with just a hint of a limp.
"She's fine," Jack said. "Just landed on her poise."
"She landed on her butt," Chad said.
Jack chuckled, wishing Fraiser had heard that.
"She's going to be okay, though, right?" Wilson asked, worried.
"Sure."
"I thought she was a doctor," Chad said.
"She is," Sam replied.
"Doctors don't get hurt."
Sam smiled.
"Sure they do."
"Oh."
"Come on guys," Jack said, standing up as well and slapping the dust off his jeans. "Let's go see what everyone else is doing."
"Yeah!"
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Jaffer was the first to know they were coming. No big surprise there, of course. The big lab always knew where his Jack was – even when he wasn't with him. When the black head came up from where it had been resting on Ian's thigh and looked over towards the water, Shawn looked the same direction.
Jack, Sam, Wilson and Chad were all walking onto the ski boat dock, waving at kids who were in the water swimming, or sunning on the docks.
"Hey, look, Jake," Shawn murmured softly to his infant brother – who was awake and gnawing contentedly on Shawn's shoulder. "Mommy's done riding."
Jake didn't answer, but Shawn didn't really expect one. The young man looked over at Ian, who had been sleeping for the last hour and half, still leaning up against that post on the dock. They hadn't spoken at all since Ian had told Shawn about his crazy ability, and Shawn had left him alone, knowing he was tired and wanted to nap.
"Ian? You awake?"
"No."
"Jack and Sam are done riding."
"Good."
Shawn wasn't offended by Ian's lack of enthusiasm. Or by the fact that Ian hadn't opened his eyes.
"I'm going to go talk to them."
"Fine."
He'd stay here and finish his nap.
Shawn got to his feet and with Jake tucked into his arm he headed for the other dock. Jaffer snorted from his position beside Ian and got up as well. Naps were great, but the lab wanted to see Jack, too! He scrambled after Shawn, tail wagging cheerfully, and passed the boy at a run, eager to get to Jack.
"Hey! There they are!"
Jack clapped his hands when he saw Jaffer running over, and knelt on the dock to greet him. The lab lumbered onto the ski boat dock, his claws clicking on the polished wood as he ran over, and Jack realized way too late that he wasn't going to be able to stop in time – even with the additional traction the wood gave. Sure enough, the huge lab crashed into Jack going almost full bore, knocking him backwards into the water. Jaffer followed an instant later, much to the excitement of those kids and counselors who were around to witness it.
Sam laughed, leaning over as Jack surfaced, treading water easily even though Jaffer was intent on grabbing his shirt to pull him to safety.
"You needed the bath."
Jack splashed water up at her – and the rest of the kids who had gathered around.
"Unsympathetic woman."
She smiled a greeting at Shawn, and took Jacob from him.
"Did he give you any trouble?"
"Naw. I was with Ian."
Which said everything. Jake was never trouble when he was near Ian – only now Shawn knew why.
"Where is Mr. Personality?" Jack asked, catching the end of the conversation as he pulled himself out of the water. Jaffer was already paddling for the shore, where he'd get out of the water and come join them.
"He's taking a nap over there," Shawn said, gesturing toward the other dock.
"Should we go make sure he doesn't roll into the water?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to go find some dry pants," Jack said, slapping Jaffer's wet hide when the lab came rushing over, eyes cheerful. "Want me to take Jake?"
Sam handed their son over to him, knowing that Jack wanted some time with the baby.
"I'll see you at dinner."
"Yes, ma'am."
OOOOOOOOOO
He knew they were coming even without opening his eyes. For one thing, he felt the vibrations of their footsteps on the dock. For another, the boys that followed Sam and Shawn weren't exactly quiet – even though they were obviously trying to be.
"Don't wake him up!"
That was Wilson's voice.
"I'm not. Shut up."
That was Chad. Not surprisingly. He and Wilson always spoke to each other like that, Ian knew.
"Don't tell me to shut up."
"Shut up."
"I'm going to tell…"
"Guys…"
That was Sam.
Ian opened one eye, looking up at the group approaching.
Sammy came over, crouching down in front of Ian and peering into his face, worriedly.
"Did we wake you up?"
Ian sighed – a purely mental sigh – and opened the other eye.
"No. I was already awake."
"Want to come swimming with me?"
"Why don't we let him wake up a little, first, Sammy?" Sam asked, smiling as she sat down next to Ian.
"Okay."
The boys all sat down in a partial circle around Ian, who suddenly felt like they were going to ask him to tell them a story any minute. He didn't need to worry, though. The boys weren't ever going to ask him for a story. Never again.
"How was the ride?" Ian asked.
"Doctor Fraiser fell off her horse," Wilson said, eager to be the first to tell that story.
Ian looked over at Sam.
"Really?"
She nodded, smiling slightly to let him know that it wasn't serious.
"She let him wander, and he went off the path and brushed her off with a tree."
Ian grinned, which made Sam frown.
"I don't have to remind you that she wouldn't like being teased about such an event, do I?"
"Would I tease her?" he asked, innocently.
Sam wasn't fooled for a moment – and neither were any of the boys.