DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).
"Miss Janet, what nooooow?" The plaintive wail of the group of Brownies caused Janet Fraiser to wince and did nothing to bring out her sympathetic mother side.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Janet looked hopefully at her teenager. "Cassie, why don't you and Miss Maggie take the girls down to the meadow and play a game. Not Red Rover, Red Rover."
"Aw Mom," Cassie began only to be cut off by her mother's glare. "Right. Tag? Is tag okay?"
"Fine. Now go. And walk. Remember, camp rules say you must walk unless you're in the meadow. I don't want anyone slipping on the pine-straw and getting hurt."
"Yes, ma'am." The girl huffed in a disgruntled breath and walked toward the grassy meadow, sixteen over-anxious little girls in tow. A short, mousy little woman cast a fear-filled glance at Janet, then followed the group down the hill.
"I do not believe they gave away all the huts." Sam glared toward the main cabin. "Didn't you get the paperwork in on time?"
"I thought so, but it wasn't soon enough. They double-booked our site and the other troop booked first. It's such a beautiful weekend, I really hate to have to call their parents to come get them."
"Why don't we camp?"
"No cabins or shelters, remember?"
Sam grinned. "No, I mean why not pitch tents? I thought I saw some in the storage building over there." She nodded toward an old metal building, badly in need of repair, that seemed to house everything from volleyballs to canoes to tents.
"Pitch tents? With a group of six, seven and eight year-olds? Are you nuts? And what about Maggie? Poor thing's never been camping in her life, much less in tents."
"I camp with the boys all the time. Same age range."
Janet stared at her friend for a moment before convulsing in laughter. "Why do I suddenly see Colonel O'Neill in short pants and a baseball cap, smacking gum?"
Sam responded innocently. "Don't know, why? As for Maggie, well, if two Air Force officers can't help her, no one can."
"Okay, I'm game. Let's go see if the warden, uh, I mean caretaker has enough tents."
Twenty minutes later an enthusiastic group of children huddled around their scout leaders, eagerly awaiting instructions. Maggie just stared fearfully at the fire-pit in the center of the unit, wondering just how she'd let her niece talk her into this.
"Maggie?" Janet's voice cut through the younger woman's thoughts.
"Yes Janet?"
"How about you taking four of the girls and gathering firewood."
"Firewood?" Confusion laced her tones.
Janet took pity on her. "Cassie will help you, won't you dear?"
The girl was about to protest, but the glint of steal in her adoptive mother's eyes spoke of dire consequences. "Oh, sure, Mom. No problem. Come on Miss Maggie. Red Squad, you're with me! Let's go work on that Outdoor Adventurer Try-It badge."
"Awww!" Howls of protest were heard from the Blue, Green and Pink Squads.
Janet held up a hand to quiet the disappointed children. "Girls, enough. Everyone will get a chance to work on at least part of the Adventurer Try-It and the other Out-of-Door Badge they chose."
Sam put on her best major's face. "Besides, we've got four more meals to do. You'll all get to gather wood before we leave."
A small hand shot up. Sam moaned inwardly as she caught sight of the dark-haired, brown-eyed little girl who owned it. "Yes, Jill?"
"One squad gets to do it twice."
"What?"
"Well, they're four squads and you said five meals that means..."
"Yes, thank you, I get the picture. It doesn't really matter..."
"But..."
Before the child could continue, Janet interrupted. "Blue squad, clean the fire circle. Green and Pink squads, get the rakes and make sure that you smooth out the sand where we're going to pitch the tents."
"How come?" The smallest child, a red-head named Michelle asked from the back of Pink Squad.
Before Sam or Janet could answer, Jill's voice could be heard. "Cause you don't wanta sleep on sticks or rocks, stupid."
"No name-calling! But she is right, Michelle. The tents have soft floors, you'll feel every rock or stick on the ground unless you rake them up." Sam swallowed back a smile as she lectured the children. "Does everyone understand what they need to do?"
"Yes, Miss Sam." A chorus of excited voices continued. "Can we do it now?"
"Do what?" Sam asked confused.
"Put up the tents."
"No, not yet. I thought we..." Glancing at Janet's grinning face, Sam whispered. "Help?"
"Girls, go do what I said first. When Red Squad gets back, we'll put up the tents."
Sam sighed as the children hurried away, then groaned. "Maureen, you're with Green squad, not Blue. Go help rake."
"I wanta do the fire pie."
"Not pie, pit, and Blue Squad's handling it tonight."
"But..."
"Rake, Maureen." Janet's no-nonsense mother tone pushed the little girl toward her group.
Sam stared at her friend. "I have got to learn that tone."
"Comes in handy with the girls. Thanks for your help by the way. Maggie tries, but she doesn't have a lot of experience. Didn't think you'd help me after that beach trip with the troop last year."
The major blushed slightly. "Uh, Cassie begged." Sam looked at the other woman trailing after Cassie's overly eager group of Brownies. "Maggie doesn't look comfortable here, that's for sure."
"She's only doing this because of Michelle, her niece. And Mags is really great at the meetings. Very creative and artistic. How she comes up with some of the craft projects is beyond me. And thank God she can sing. I didn't realize how really important music was in the care and feeding of Girl Scouts."
"Until Cassie got involved. Yeah, I know. But how come a Brownie troop? Cassie's what, a Junior?"
"Actually, she's a Cadette, but she wanted to work on her child-care badge, which includes baby-sitting. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was drafted to take over this troop. Thank God it's only for a couple of months."
"So you're not doing it again this fall?" Sam suppressed a grin at the look on her friend's face.
"Does the word 'no' mean anything to you? Jill's mom has promised faithfully that she'll take the troop back then. The baby will be five months old and she'll have more time. She thinks."
"Ah ha."
"Don't even think about it, Major!"
Maureen suddenly squealed and ran toward the women. Janet frowned. "Stop right there. Turn around, walk back and then walk to me. You know better than to run."
"But..."
"Do it!"
The little girl's eyes watered and she sniffed twice, then turned to obey. As Maureen slowly trudged back toward the women, Cassie's voice could be heard. "We're back!"
Janet smiled at her daughter. "Good. Now we can pitch the tents. Maureen, what did you want, dear?"
The child sniffed miserably. "To tell you Red Squad's back."
Sam ducked her head and studied the firewood in Maggie's arms as Janet gulped. "Oh, good. I see. Well, thank you very much, Maureen. Uh, Would you walk over and get the other girls? We're going to pitch the tents."
Tears forgotten, the child hurried away, making sure she stayed at a walk, or at least what almost passed for a walk.
The excited children quickly gathered and watched in awe as Janet and Sam successfully raised the first tent. Sam smiled at their enthusiasm, then asked. "Do you all think you can do this?"
"YES, MISS SAM!"
"Okay, then let's get to work." Janet directed the girls toward the posts and hammers.
The first stakes were barely in the ground, when one of the rare camp vehicles made an appearance. The camp director, a frantic gray-haired little woman, hurried toward Janet. Sam moved to join them.
"Janet, thank God, I'm so relieved you're here."
"What's wrong, Agatha?"
"Two of the girls from Two-Ten have been hurt. Playing Red Rover, Red Rover. Figures. I think one child's arm is broken and the other may have a concussion. Can you come right away?"
Janet grabbed her ever-present bag, calling out "Maggie, Cassie. Miss Sam and I have to go with Miss Agatha. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Janet, are you sure we can..." Sam eyed the little group as she spoke.
"No choice. I know how you'll react with a problem like this. These other women are unknown quantities. Maggie and Cassie will be okay. We'll just have to do the sandwiches for supper tonight rather than the hot meal we'd planned." Janet's words ran together as she leaped into the jeep, followed by Sam. As they drove away, Sam looked over her shoulder, and couldn't help thinking that Maggie looked more than a little panicked.
A long two hours later, Sam and Janet returned to their unit to find all five tents standing, a fire in the fire-circle, and a group of tired, dirty little girls singing camp-fire songs as Maggie stirred the contents of the cast-iron pot in the coals. She smiled tiredly as the other two walked up. "Camp-Fire Stew's almost ready. And Jill's already mixed the Bug juice. Everything okay?"
Janet nodded slowly, a slightly dazed look on her face as she stared at the tents and the fire. "How?"
Maggie followed her line of vision. "The fire? Cassie did that. She's very good. And I've found that cooking over an open fire isn't so terribly different from cooking over a gas stove. You just don't have any knobs."
Janet smiled kindly. "You've done very well, Maggie. But the tents...?"
The younger woman blushed at the unexpected praise. "Well, you did get the one tent up, and I kept checking the metal things to make sure they looked like they matched. They may not be totally right, but none of them have fallen over yet, and that's the main thing, right?"
Janet nodded, surprised and delighted by the shy young woman's achievement. "Works for me. Why don't you do the honors on dinner?"
"No problem. Girls, gather round."
As Maggie led the group in a song of thanksgiving, Sam stared at the tents. "Wow."
Janet replied, slightly dazed. "Yeah. Wow. Wouldn't have thought it."
"She did very well, that's for sure. But..."
"But what?"
"The first time SG-1 camped..."
"Yes??"
"Daniel said the same thing about his tent."
"And ..."
"It rained."
"Oh?"
"He got wet."