Chapter V: For Want of Attention

A/N: This is a filler chapter. That is why it is shorter than the others. This chapter is dedicated to IzzieStar who is going through a rough patch right now.

Elizabeth felt the hands over her eyes twitch as John observed the...his...two children run into the arms of another man. With a big grin on his face, Jack lifted both the kids into the air.

'Hey twinnies. You got your swimming stuff? He asked.

'I've got my dinosaur trunks!' John Junior said eagerly.

'Dinosaur trunks, hey? I hope you guys have been practicing because I'm planning on a few races today.'

'You're too old to race!' Olivia squealed.

Jack chuckled fondly, 'Too old? You're too smart for your own good kiddo.'

He put both children down and they took his hands and they made their way over to their parents and Carson and Rodney, who was stood awkwardly, with a jug of water, trying to look at anything other than the reminder that John and Elizabeth had been...well it didn't even bare thinking about really!

'Who are you?' Olivia asked Rodney.

'He's a waiter, stupid. Look he's bringing us drinks.' John Junior interjected.

'Oh great, its mini-Kirk and Kirkette.' Rodney said, rolling his eyes.

As the realization of John's surprise hit her, Elizabeth tried to suppress the smile that was forming around her mouth.

'Hello Rodney. Do I need to remind you that those are my children that you are referring to so candidly?'

The first thing John Junior did when they were all dressed was push the patiently waiting Olivia into the swimming pool and then bomb into himself. John chuckled as he realized just how much like him his son was; pushing Dave into a swimming pool was exactly the sort of thing he would have done when he was seven. Deep down, he knew that he should have reprimanded his son for doing that to Olivia, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Once Jack had joined them, they sat about playing with the beach ball which John has managed to charm out of one of the waitresses. Bored of just throwing the ball between them, Jack devised a game which would see them split into two teams and have to hit the other team's side of the pool with the ball. As soon as Jack suggested it, John Junior gravitated towards his father, who he observed to be the younger, more athletic man and John happily picked him up and put him on his shoulders pleased to have been favored over Jack. Not willing to put up a fight in front of John, Olivia swam over to Jack who high-fived her.

'We're gonna beat you!' John Junior said in a sing-song voice.

'No you're not!' Olivia replied, throwing the ball at her brother's head.

Catching the ball on the rebound, Jack effortlessly flicked the ball against the side of the pool that father and son were supposed to be defending and the game was on. John Junior immediately launched himself back into the water, grabbed the ball and tried to swim past Olivia who was having none of it and jumped on her brother's back. Seeing that John Junior was struggling to breathe Jack grabbed Olivia and pulled her off him.

'Now there's no need to resort to violence Olivia. I'm sure you can tactically out maneuver him if you put your mind to it.' Jack said, with a wink.

Seeing that the opposition were distracted, John Junior threw the ball to his father who flipped the ball over Jack's head and straight onto the other side of the pool. Pleased to have out-smarted Olivia, John Junior bounced up with his arms in the air cheering. Jack spotted the ball bouncing alone in the water and made towards it, but John was too quick for him and twisted into a back stroke to claim the ball and score his second goal. This time, John Junior didn't cheer. Instead, he sidled up to his father.

'That was so cool! How do I swim like that?' He asked, with wide-eyed amazement.

'You wanna learn back stroke? I can show you, if you'd like?' John said, with a strange warm feeling.

John Junior nodded eagerly and swam to the other end of the pool. John grabbed the beach ball and threw it to Jack.

'Hey, John Junior wants me to teach him the back stroke so it looks like we won.' With that, he turned and swam to his son.

Jack turned to look at Olivia who was picking at the strap on her swimsuit, desperate not to meet his eyes and reveal just how hurt she was by her father's snub.

As he began to teach his son the backstroke, John noticed that Olivia was looking left out. He also looked at O'Neill, who gave a pointed look that said,

"Don't screw this up."

John thought for a moment. From what he could tell, Olivia had a sense of humor that was obviously not inherited from Elizabeth. An idea began to form in his mind. Elizabeth needed to get into water, whether she was ready for it or not.

"Hey Olivia, could you come here for a moment? I'd like to ask you something."

While zoning out on Rodney (it was like riding a bike, it was something you never forgot once you learned), Elizabeth was watching John with their kids in the pool. He seemed to be having an intent conversation with both of them. As they finished up, she noticed a grin on all three of them that she'd learned only meant one thing: trouble. Though what kind of trouble, she didn't know just yet.

When she turned her attention back to Rodney, she didn't notice that John had gotten out of the pool and was heading towards her, Rodney, and Carson. Having not seen John's chest in a long time, she blatantly ogled him. When she finally met his eyes, he gave her that half grin of his that had and still did drive her insane.

"See something you like, Liz?"

Changing the subject, she asked,

"Are the kids enjoying the pool?"

"Yes they are. They want to show you something, so why don't you come along?"

Leaving her cell phone and house keys on the table, she followed John to the pool area. She had a feeling that… Then John proceeded to pick her up threshold style and carried her into the pool. Not wanting him to slip, she said,

"John Sheppard, put me down now."

With an evil grin on his face he said,

"As you wish."

And he dropped her into the deep end of the pool.

Once Elizabeth came up for air she had on her best imperial death glare directed at John. But she couldn't keep a smirk off her face while she said,

"John Sheppard. You are a dead man."

The twins were giggling slightly. When she turned the look on them saying with her eyes "you knew about this, didn't you" they started outright laughing.

As she got back out of the water, Elizabeth said to John,

"You're lucky I brought some spare clothes with me, because I am not sitting around in these wet clothes all day."

John leaned closer and whispered something in her ear. Her only reply was to push him back into the pool with a splash while blushing like she hadn't blushed in years.