Jack's Christmas Carol

by

AstraPerAspera

(Author's Note: with apologies to Charles Dickens, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Martin Gero, Alan McCullough, Tor Alexander Valenza and Peter DeLuise.)

Jacob Carter was dead. Jack had no doubt in his mind about that whatsoever. He'd witnessed Jacob's death himself, through the glass in the observation room. He'd held Sam moments later as she'd wept against his chest. He'd attended Jacob's funeral, standing next to Sam on a windswept ridge on the coldest June day on Colorado's record book. Nothing would have convinced him that Jacob Carter was anything other than deceased…except Jacob Carter himself, who seemed to be standing there in the bedroom, giving him a very Jacob Carter-esque stare, his hands clasped together in front of him, an impatient look on his face.

"Jacob?" Jack squinted in the darkness at the form standing at the foot of the bed.

"Jack."

Jack couldn't help it. He glanced at the sleeping form in the bed next to him. The fact that the sleeping form was Jacob's daughter made the situation more than a little awkward. He looked back at Jacob who merely blinked, waiting. The conversational ball was in Jack's court. He sat up quietly, not wanting to disturb Sam. If this were some sort of bizarre dream or hallucination the last thing he wanted was to wake her. She was leaving on a mission to search for the San Graal in the morning and needed every moment of rest she could get. Not that they'd let that stop them earlier…okay…not where he wanted his thoughts to go with Sam's dad standing there watching him.

"So…I thought you were dead?"

"I am."

Jack wondered briefly if there had been something wrong with the Guinness he'd drank earlier. He rubbed his eyes. Jacob was still there. Glowing a little, it seemed. This was…different.

"So…this would make you…?"

"A ghost," Jacob supplied.

"A ghost," Jack repeated. It had to be the Guinness. He'd check the expiration date in the morning. "As in…"

"As in a non-corporeal manifestation of the person I was when I walked the earth. And the rest of the galaxy."

Something clicked in Jack's head.

"You ascended," he realized aloud. "Like Daniel…"

His voice trailed off as Jacob shook his head.

"No. Nothing so complicated. I'm just your garden-variety apparition. Haunt. Spirit. Whatever you want to call me."

Jack hadn't a clue what to say, except:

"What…no chains?"

Jacob's look was indulgent. Jack conceded.

"Right…that would be a such a cliché…"

"…and we all know how you feel about those, Jack," completed Jacob.

"Are you here for a reason…or just floating through?" Since this had to be a complete figment of his imagination there was really no point in going out of his way to be polite.

"Oh I'm here for a reason." Jack saw Jacob's eyes flit momentarily toward the sleeping Sam before returning to Jack. Yeah. This was really awkward. Even if it was only an hallucination.

"And that would be…?"

"Your happiness…and Sam's."

"Ah. See. Already got that. So thanks for stopping by…and—don't take this the wrong way, Jacob—but don't hurry back.

"Jack—I'm serious. I know you think you're happy now, but the truth is you're not. Not really."

Jack wiped both hands across his eyes. Why couldn't he just have normal dreams, for crying out loud? When he opened his eyes again, Jacob was still standing there. Jack sighed.

"Yeah…well…coulda fooled me." This was beginning to sound eerily like the conversation Sam had told him she'd had with her father when she'd conked her head on the Prometheus a few years back. Except her father hadn't really been there. Just like he really wasn't here now.

"I'm not the one who's doing the fooling, Jack. You are. You haven't been honest with yourself and it's keeping you from having what you want most from life."

"And that would be…?"

"Only you can answer that, Jack."

Great. A ghost who wanted to play twenty-questions. Like he needed this at 3 am.

"Tell you what…let me give it some thought and I'll get back to you."

"I'm sorry, Jack, but I can't do that. There isn't enough time. You don't have enough time. This has to be taken care of tonight…or it might be too late."

"Yeah…speaking of late…you do know that I have to be in the Pegasus Galaxy tomorrow, and I could use a little less talk and a little more sleep."

"I do know, Jack. And that's why I'm here. It's a matter of now or never."

Jack sighed heavily. Hallucination or imaginary figment or Jacob Carter really back from the dead…whatever he was, there seemed to be no getting rid of him.

"You know…it's always the same with you guys. Rush, rush, rush. A little better planning and I could have gotten this over with and had a good night's sleep. Can't you do better with this whole cosmic time management thing?"

"Jack…"

"Jacob…look…I know you mean well. But if it's all the same to you…."

"Do you love my daughter?"

That brought Jack up short. He studied the figure of Jacob Carter carefully. Whatever he was, there was no mistaking the look on his face. It was the look he knew he'd be wearing if he were talking to the man in bed with his daughter…if he had a daughter.

"You have to ask?"

"You didn't answer my question, Jack. Do you love Sam?"

Jack swallowed. He was never comfortable saying this stuff, even to Sam. He felt his eye twitch.

"Yeah. I do."

"Then if you won't do this for yourself, then at least do it for her."

Sam stirred slightly in the bed next to him, as though she somehow was aware of their discussion. Jack glanced at her again and a momentary ache of panic struck his heart. He'd tried not to think of her going off-world tomorrow. Tried to pretend it was just another night together for both of them. In theory they would be back together in a week; Mark Carter had invited them to Christmas dinner and Sam had already bought the plane tickets for San Diego. But theory was only…well, theoretical, and too many damn things could go wrong at the drop of a hat. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that Jacob Carter's image was standing at the foot of his bed issuing him a warning. He'd seen stranger things in his life, after all.

"Okay. Yeah. Sure. I'll do it…for Sam. But come on, Jacob. What the hell are we talking about here? And don't give me any of that cryptic crap, either."

"Fine, Jack. I'll spell it out for you. You're going to be visited by two other spirits tonight…."

"Not three?"

"Listen to them Jack. Try to keep an open mind. You just might learn something."

"Look, Jacob…not that I don't appreciate you trying to help me and all…."

"Who said I was doing this for you?" His eyes strayed ever so briefly back to Sam.

"Ahh…. I see."

"No…I'm not sure you do, Jack. But maybe, some day, if you're lucky…you will."

Jacob began to slowly fade, like a light on one of those dimmer switches. For a few seconds Jack swore he could see right through him. And then he was gone, and the room was dark and quiet except for the steady rhythm of Sam's breathing.