A/N: I would like to welcome my newest beta, samfan9. Of course, those mistakes that make it into the story past the eyes of my three betas and myself are completely the fault of my word processing program.
Chapter 26: Field Trip
Monday dawned clear and cool. Jack had picked Sam up from the Fraiser's the previous night, and Janet had given them a Doctor's note giving Sam permission to return to school, somewhat to the Major's dismay and Jack's amusement.
"Don't you think I should stay out one more day Janet?" she'd asked, only half in jest.
"You mean you aren't excited about tomorrow's trip to Weber's Farm?" the doctor had asked as she put in another dose of eardrops on Sunday evening while giving Jack a crash course in Sam's med regimen. Sam had just sighed.
Jack had heard about her illness from General Hammond when he'd called to let the man know how the meetings were going. He'd been a little concerned to learn that Sam was sick and had been sent home early from school Thursday, but Hammond had quickly reassured the Colonel that Janet was looking out for her and that she would no doubt soon be on the mend.
Hammond's prediction had proven accurate, Sam felt well enough for an outing she and the Fraisers had planned on Sunday and Janet had no reservations about allowing her back to school even with the planned field trip. Jack was glad about that, he felt it was more than time to get his foot in the door so to speak.
And so, this morning, despite the fact he was going to be chaperoning five year olds on a farm, Jack was in an unusually cheerful mood even as he peppered his reluctant passenger with questions. "Got your permission slip and note from the Doc? Did you pack your meds and put that excuse note from me for the teacher and the one for the nurse in your bag?" he asked, glancing at Sam in the mirror as he guided the SUV along the residential side streets around Providence Day School, joining up with the line of cars outside the horseshoe drive. He'd be dropping her off as usual, returning mid morning with the rest of the chaperones to follow the bus to the farm.
"Yes sir, I packed everything this morning after my doses," she told him, her tone one of long sufferance. Jack suppressed a grin. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she only looked like a kid. Especially when she made faces like a kid while taking liquid medications. She'd unfortunately have to take doses of medications at school, but Janet had foreseen the need and had made up extra bottles for Sam to take to school. While Sam was independent after a day with taking the meds, with the aides and teachers regularly looking through the student's book bags, they didn't want to risk the meds being found, questioned and taken away. So they would just have to go through the "proper" channels, as if she were an ordinary five year old. Still, she didn't have to like it.
The school came into view, and Sam gave Jack her customary farewell as she climbed out, collecting her bag and turning to follow the steady stream of students into the school. "Zip up your jacket!" he called, just to be annoying. She gave him an irritated look, but paused and did as he asked. Jack soon lost sight of her. He turned off the drive onto the street that would take him to the mountain. He had a few hours he could put to use filing his report on his meeting with the Joint Chiefs before he headed back to the school. Paperwork. Oh joy.
By the time he returned to the school, a yellow school bus stood waiting in the drive, engine idling. Jack parked in the visitor parking lot and headed into Sam's classroom. He was surprised to see the familiar face of Ms. Johnson, Nathan's mother, in the back of the classroom. Over the next few minutes, the other chaperones filtered in. Ms. Hans was passing out color-coded nametags with the children's names and school on them and Mrs. Guilford was sorting the students into groups and buddies.
One of the early arriving chaperones passed out packets with directions to the farm, a map of the grounds, and a schedule of activities for the day as well as group assignments and the like. Jack looked over his packet, committing the names in his group to memory and noting that Nathan was also in his group and that he'd be sharing chaperone duty with Ms. Johnson. In fact, each group of six had at least two adults with them.
As soon as it was clear where everyone was supposed to be and whom they were supposed to be with, the class lined up and the chaperones headed for their cars. Sam had been opposed to the need to ride the bus with Jack going in the SUV, but the teachers had explained it was for insurance or legal purposes or some other excuse that quieted Carter but made her no less unhappy about the idea of riding the big yellow cheese wagon. And so, she filed obediently out with the rest of the kids, their class joining the other two kindergarten classes, but she gave Jack a rather longing look as she was tugged and jostled along by the overly excited youngsters eager to be off on their adventure.
Ms. Hans stood at the door to the bus with one of the other teachers, carefully checking nametags one last time and counting heads as the kids got on the bus. Mrs. Guilford had gotten on first, clipboard in hand, assigning seats as the children filtered on board. An older gentleman sitting in the driver's seat smiled at the kids as they got on the bus. It seemed to take ages before the driver closed the door after the last child, and even longer before he signaled that they were ready to depart.
Jack saw that Sam had been assigned a window seat, and he let the bus lead the way out of the school lot. He rolled the windows down, letting the cool autumn breeze and fresh air in. He followed the bus to the open highway until he got tired of the slower speed. As he moved to the left lane and started to accelerate past the bus, he heard the unmistakable sounds of the "Wheels on the Bus" filtering out of the open windows of the school bus in a chorus of fifty odd childish voices. Well minus one perhaps. Gauging his speed, Jack tapped his horn lightly, searching out one particular window. He waved cheerfully and revved the engine, and was rewarded with a very carefully shielded rude gesture. Laughing, he accelerated and sped off around the bus, no doubt setting a very bad example. "Ah well, they won't remember ten years from now anyway," he said.
Mercifully for Sam, the farm was located on the outskirts of town, and they would only have had time for a handful of songs. All the same, Jack was lounging against a picnic table near the ticket booth well before the bus even pulled up, chatting with some of the other parents. Voices filtered out from the stopped vehicle before the door opened and first Ms. Hans and the two other teachers and aides stepped off, then the pairs of students trickled off.
"Remember, hold hands with your buddies, and get in your groups as you get off the bus. Wait with Ms. Hans," repeated Mrs. Guilford to each of her pairs, making sure they had the hands of their assigned "buddy" and were following directions. The other teachers did the same for their students. A few needed corrections, since they were too busy looking around to pay attention.
Once off the bus, the class linked up and the groups joined with their chaperones. Instructions were again reviewed with the class, as much for the children's benefit as it was for the adults. The other classes were doing the same. Finally, the various little groups split up to tour the farm. The whole trip almost fell apart right there when Mike insisted he had to go on a hay ride and Nathan and Bridget both said they wanted to go to the petting zoo. Little Susie looked like she'd cry because she just wanted to get a pumpkin.
Nathan and Mike began to argue, while Ms. Johnson looked on helplessly. Tilting down his sunglasses, Jack observed the growing chaos for a moment and then sighed. Pulling off his shades, he waded in. "Mike, there's no hayrides until after lunch," he said, skillfully inserting himself between the two boys who had started to lean towards each other. "See here," he said, waving his schedule in front of Mike's face, "the first hay ride is at 1:30."
"Aww..." moaned Mike, kicking at the ground.
"We can go after lunch," reasserted Jack. "Now, Susie, if we get a pumpkin, and I bet you want a really big one right?" he asked, turning from the boys to kneel in front of the brown haired little girl. Susie sniffled and nodded. "If we get one, you'd have to carry it around aaaallllll day long. And then maybe you'd forget it somewhere, and we can't have that can we?" Susie's forehead crinkled as she considered this idea, and she solemnly shook her head no.
"Good, then after the hayride, we'll go pick out the biggest, bestest pumpkin we can carry. Good idea right? Deal?" Susie bit her lip, and then nodded.
"So can we go to the petting zoo now?" asked Nathan.
"Ya, sure, you betcha," said Jack. Ms. Johnson looked relieved.
"Do they have horses?" asked Jerry, tugging on Jack's sleeve.
Jack pretended to think about it as he took Susie's hand. "Ok, buddies everyone. We have a petting zoo to see. Hmm. Horses. I would believe so."
"What about cows?" asked Nathan.
Mike gave Nathan a little shove from behind. "Of course they have cows dummy, this is a farm."
"Excuse me, none of that, no pushing," Ms. Johnson said sharply.
"I know what cows say," spoke up Susie, "Cows say Moooo," she said. Some of the children echoed her and others giggled.
"Look, I see it, there's the petting zoo!" exclaimed Bridget, and the other children started to skip or jog, pulling Sam along. Despite herself, Sam laughed at their antics. It was hard not to get drawn in; their good cheer was so contagious. Jack was right at home, picking up kids to reach horses and cows, or stooping down to help admire rabbits and baby chicks, reading aloud interesting information about each animal. He of course took plenty of pictures of Sam's kindergarten fieldtrip, much to the Major's disgust. And he tried not to mind too much when she managed to snag the camera for a bit of turnabout.
Unfortunately, he failed to notice when a particularly enterprising goat leaned over the rail as he was crouched down next to Susie at a nearby pen, looking at the baby rabbits. A growing grin on Sam's face as she snapped a picture, and a few giggles behind him tipped him off just before he felt a breeze on his head.
"What! Hey! Why you little…" Jack hastily bit down on the names he would of preferred to call the goat, which stood munching quietly on his favorite cap, well out of reach and behind the safety of the fence surrounding its pen. Silently, he glared at the offending creature, but the animal only chewed industriously.
Finally, it was time to leave the petting zoo area and meet up with the other groups for lunch. There was only a little grumbling as the two adults watched over the children to make sure they all washed their hands. On the way back the boys got into a contest trying to reach low tree branches until Jack called at them to stop. By then, they were in sight of the picnic area and the rest of their class, and the three boys took off in a race. Jack heard Ms. Johnson sigh. Bridget and Susie with Sam tagging along were too busy chatting to each other about the baby rabbits to notice the antics of the boys.
"Boys," Ms. Johnson said.
"Hard to remember ever having that much energy," Jack commented.
"Try having three of them," she said.
"One was enough," he said without thinking.
Ms. Johnson gave him a sideways look, and Jack realized his mistake, hastily slipping a mask over his features. "One?" the woman asked, not noticing the subtle changes in his facial expression.
Tucking his thumbs in his belt loops Jack frowned. "Charlie. He, uh, died. It's just me and Sam now," he replied vaguely, letting the woman draw her own conclusions.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Lewis, I don't mean to pry," Ms. Johnson apologized.
Jack just shrugged. "Not at all. And please, call me Jack."
"Veronica," Ms. Johnson responded.
By then they'd arrived at the picnic area, and Jack quickly grabbed Mike and Jerry, who were acting the fool by the duck pond, and Veronica retrieved Nathan from another group where he was already helping himself to the other table's food. They got the boys seated at the table with the girls and brought over boxed lunches with sandwiches, potato chips, juice boxes, and farm grown apples. There was homemade ice cream for dessert, which went down rather well.
After lunch, Jack was content to sit with Veronica and let the kids play on a nearby shady playground. The other chaperones joined them along with Ms. Hans and Mrs. Guilford. Jack slipped on his sunglasses, watching Sam on the swings with one of the little girls from another group. She was definitely learning to relax, and he saw nothing that made her stand out from any of the other children. He tried to pay attention to the conversation around him. There was some laughter about how the Yellow group, so named for the color of the children's nametags, had gotten lost in the cornfield maze that morning. That sounded interesting, he'd have to see if he could get his group to try that out.
"Mr. Lewis! Mr. Lewis! Nathan is stuck in a tree!" Jerry and Mike came panting up, pointing helpfully back towards the playground area. Several of the adults stood, and Jack realized that of all the adults there, he was the only male in attendance. Great.
The tree wasn't hard to spot. If there was any doubt, the helpful ring of children at the base of the trunk narrowed down the choice
"Hee-elp! I can't get down!" came the plaintive cry from above as Jack arrived on scene, peering up into the branches. He spotted the boy right away. The child's bright red jacket clearly marked his location in the branches.
Jack removed his sunglasses, and looked up into the branches. "It's ok Nathan, don't move," he ordered the boy in an even, carrying voice. Already, he was surveying the tree. The little boy was a good ten to fifteen or so feet up, but there looked to be plenty of hand and foot holds, and the trunk was thick. All in all, a good climbing tree by Jack's childhood definition. Of course, he'd been considerably smaller back then.
"Nathan, what are you doing up there?" worried Veronica nervously.
"Mike dared him to climb the tree," announced Jerry.
"Tattletale," accused Mike, shoving Jerry.
"Hey!" said Jerry, preparing to shove back, but Mrs. Guilford was there first, as were two of the parents. "That's quite enough. I think you can go sit over on the picnic bench for five minutes Jerry, and you, Mike, can sit there on that tree stump for five minutes. As for the rest of you, find your buddies. Chaperones, if you can get the children out from under the tree. Sam please go with Ms. Johnson, now there's a dear…"
His attention on the situation at hand, Jack gave a grateful look to the teacher for taking control and getting the kids out of the way. Quickly, he took off his jacket and tossed it out of the way, and headed back for the trunk of the tree.
"Please Mr. Lewis, hurry, I'm scared," Nathan, murmured from his perch.
"Oh Nathan," Veronica whispered, gripping Sam's hand where they stood off to the side.
"Just stay put Nathan, I'm coming up now," Jack called to the boy as he located his first hand and foot holds. Soon, he was up in the lower branches and turned so he could get his bearings on where the boy was. Again, he was thankful the child was wearing the bright red jacket.
In moments, he was on the same level. "Ok Nathan, I'm up here. Just keep holding still and I'm going to come up behind you," he said, as he began to inch out from the security of the main branch. Somehow, Nathan had moved out a good way from the trunk before he had looked down and panicked. The branch dipped with Jack's added weight and swayed in the breeze, making Nathan cry out with fear. Below, Veronica called out with concern.
"It's ok, I'm right here," Jack called loud enough for all to hear. He remained still until the swaying steadied, then took a breath and inched forward. "Easy," he said again as the branch creaked. Wordlessly, he offered a quick prayer that the branch would hold. Just a few more inches.
It was agonizing.
He thought about going back, but by now Nathan was terrified and no doubt exhausted. He worried that leaving the boy up here by himself would be riskier than chancing the few inches it would take to grab him and work his way back to the safer center where they could get down. The branch sagged and groaned as Jack shifted, testing his resolve. Almost there. Gritting his teeth, he stretched out a hand.
There.
The branch swayed alarmingly as Jack curled his fingers around Nathan's collar. The boy shrieked, and a second scream echoed from the ground. Jack held onto the child with one hand, pulling him in for all he was worth, while hanging onto the branch for dear life with his other, flattening his body over Nathan's protectively. Unfortunately for them, the branch gave a rather ominous sound and rather frightening lurch. Jack had barely any time to prepare before his stomach gave an odd flip. Suddenly, there was an even louder crack, and he felt the odd, weightless sensation of freefall as the branch finally broke free.
Twisting, he curled protectively around the small child and prayed as branches whipped around him too fast to grab onto to stop his precipitous descent.
A/N: Dum, dum, dum… I thought we were overdue for a nice juicy cliffhanger. (hides)