fh_trips | West Virginia, Saturday

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field trip 2006: west virginia

West Virginia, Saturday

Excitement woke Isabel up even before the alarm went off. Despite the prudish motel manager, last night had been as much fun as she'd thought it would be. And today would only be better. She looked at the clock, there was still time before they needed to be out the door in order to be on time for their rafting trip on part of the Gauley River. Getting carefully to her feet, Isabel smiled at a sleeping Sam and Parker as she made her way to the bathroom to dress for the day. She felt bad about the messed up sleeping arrangements. Hopefully tonight would be better.

[ooc: NFB due to distance]

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Jack signalled to the waitress, and ordered waffles and bacon, and coffee, before turning back to Sam. "I slept very well - once Greg stopped bouncing," Jack rolled his eyes, "I don't know how he's survived as long as he has - it was just a bit interrupted."

"You shared a bed with Greg?" Sam looked at Jack like he'd lost his mind. "What happened to Cedric?"

"No!" Jack looked at her in horror. "No, I shared with Cedric. But Greg's bouncing infected the entire room - I threatened to stuff him in a closet, then bought him a movie just to get him to settle down," he explained.

"That was very generous of you," Sam said, snickering into her coffee. "I worry that you don't sleep, though. Especially before a big thing like rafting--you're sure you'll have enough energy?"

"Don't worry, Sam." Jack was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with his coffee.

"Thank you," he breathed gratefully, flashing her his most charming smile, sending her blushing and flustered away.

"I don't need as much sleep as most people," he said to Sam as he doctored his coffee. "Sometimes I wake up in the wee hours - when it happens I always seem to end up with Parker." He grinned suddenly. "Night owls of a feather, she calls it."

"You need a warning label," Sam laughed after watching his interaction with the waitress. "She said. She was worried about how I felt about it." She took a bite of pancake.

Jack's stomach picked that minute to rumble, and he looked longingly at Sam's pancakes as he sipped his coffee. "What was she worried about? And how do you feel?"

"Help yourself," Sam offered Jack her plate so he could share. "I think she was worried that I was jealous of her. I'm not."

Jack snagged a bite of pancake, licking the syrup slowly off the fork and grinned at her. "Thank you." He glanced curiously over at Parker, then back to Sam. "Why would she think you'd be jealous?"

"I guess because you two are so close," Sam said, watching Jack lick syrup. "Warning label, license, minimum safe distance," she muttered.

Jack made an effort to look contrite. "Sorry, being good."

The waitress returned with a plate heaped with waffles and bacon, and he offered her a much less intense smile. She looked a little disappointed as she left the table.

Jack pushed the plate slightly towards Sam, in case she wanted some, and smothered half the waffles in syrup. "We are," he said slowly. "Which is strange, but it's not the same as you and me. Or me and Cedric."

Sam stole a piece of bacon, even though she had her own. "It's not?" Sam figured that, obviously, because Parker was sleeping in her own tent that night, but she was curious about how Jack saw things. "How's it different?"

Jack grinned at the bacon thieving, and took a bite of waffle. "It's not. I'm not sleeping with her, for a start. And I don't remember when I did." He shrugged, not having any idea how to explain, but it was Sam asking, so he'd try . "Parker, it's like she's part of me. She's just always there, like she was there when I got back. And even though I don't remember how we got here, I know she's always going to be there. Even if I screw up."

A half smile came and went as he studied his fork. "You and Cedric. I don't understand it at all. I love it, but I don't understand it."

Sam glanced over at Parker. "That's what it was like with Jack, Daniel, and T...Murray," she nodded, then continued quietly, "so I know how it goes. I could never ask you to give that up, especially considering what you've already gone through."

"I don't understand it either, but it works, so for once, I'm going to try not to take it apart," Sam decided, sipping at her coffee.

Jack looked at Sam in silence for a minute, then smiled and touched her hand. "Thank you. And neither am I." He brushed his thumb across her fingers and said, voice quiet but intense, "I was prepared to face off with her after the cookie incident, when she wanted to tear strips off you, so don't think for one minute that you're any less important to me than she is."

Sam smiled slightly and turned her hand over to take his. "I know you were, and thank you. It wasn't necessary, but thank you anyway."

"I know. You can look after yourself." He grinned and lifted her hand to kiss it. "It was an automatic reaction, though. An overreaction, actually," he admitted, wincing slightly at the memory, wondering why Parker hadn't killed him for it, "but I wasn't actually thinking, so..."

"Soooo...." She kissed him. "Now we both know."

He kissed her back, lingering for a minute before pulling away, looking very happy. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to, though," he pointed out. "Sometimes it's good to let other people," he paused, then laughed under his breath, "okay, let me, look after you."

"I promise I'll try," Sam gave him a look that indicated that was the best she could do. "So, ready to raft?"

"That's all I could ever ask for." Jack squeezed her hand, then let go, returning to his breakfast. "Absolutely. I think it's going to be a blast, even if I do end up in the water. You?"

She grinned. "Yup. Still debating whether to tie Cedric and Greg to the raft, just in case."

"Depends on how much sugar Greg's had. He might just bounce right out." The look on Jack's face said quite clearly that he was questioning if that would be a bad thing. "Cedric should be okay, though. And what about me, you still planning on tying me to the raft?"

Sam flashed him a cheshire cat grin. "Not telling."

Jack laughed, a wicked smile flashing across his face. "So, I just might unexpectedly find myself tied up? I think I can live with that."

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