Team Theme Halloween

Disclaimer: Don't own them, darn it. Will return them undamaged to Double Secret Productions when I am through.

Setting: Season 9. No episode spoilers.

All right, Daniel Jackson admitted to himself, I should have paid attention.

But the translation from P5Z-887 had been too fascinating to abandon just to hear Mitchell's plans for a team theme Halloween. Not even to point out that it didn't really rhyme when Mitchell crowed over his own cleverness. The words "foothold situation" or "damaged artifact" hadn't been used, so Daniel had tuned him out.

Daniel's memory of the conversation went something like "… yadda, yadda, Halloween. … natter, natter, natter, Ball in Denver … Stay over… All of us … burble, burble … Rocky … babble." Daniel had nodded his assent, thrown Mitchell some cash to cover his share and sent his peripatetic teammate on his way.

Daniel even kind of liked the idea of going as the characters from the movie. Teal'c would make a great Apollo what's his name. Mitchell had probably longed for a pair of Stars and Stripes boxing trunks since he was a kid. Okay, Sam as the frumpy Adrienne was a stretch, but being the old manager guy meant Daniel would get to spend the evening in comfortable grey sweats with a watch cap to keep his ears warm.

So Daniel had no one to blame but himself when, on the evening of Oct. 31, he opened his hotel room door to find his teammate, his nominal commander, dressed in a light blue satin dressing gown, briefs, white athletic socks and black loafers.

"Mitchell! What the …?! What are you wearing?" Daniel's eyes looked his teammate up and down incredulously. "Jesus, how much kleenex have you got stuffed into those tighty whities?"

Mitchell's eyes sparkled behind the heavy black framed glasses as he pushed past Daniel into the room. "Not that the package ain't impressive on its own, but hey, Halloween comes but once a year. Here's your costume and stuff, Jackson. You've got a lot to do. Sam said to lay out the make up in the bathroom so she can help you with it."

"Mitchell, that's not 'impressive'. It's down right terrifying." Daniel scrabbled through the bag Mitchell had thrust into his hands. Holy … buckets! One of those corset contraptions like Sarah used to wear when seduction was on her mind. Fishnet stockings and … "Oh, hell NO! You said we were going as Rocky. Why is there a garter belt in here?"

"Not the boxing Rocky, Jackson, The Rocky Horror Show. You weren't listening to me, were you? AGAIN."

"You had to know that." Daniel accused. "If I had been listening, I'd never have agreed to this."

Mitchell grinning was the personification of evil. "Doesn't matter, Jackson. You promised me. You promised Sam." He paused, then brought out the big guns. "And you promised Teal'c."

Oh, crap. Sam might allow Daniel to renege on a promise and forgive him eventually. But you didn't break a promise to Teal'c. His disappointment was just too much to bear. It was like telling a child, a really large and intimidating child, that there was no Santa Claus, you'd just shot the Easter Bunny and Tinkerbelle was nothing but a little tiny spotlight.

"And let me tell you, Teal'c is really digging the gold lame pants and blond surfer-dude wig. I think our big buddy is expecting to get laid twice tonight before he even gets out of the lobby. Are you really gonna crush that kind of ambition?"

"I wish he'd get over the slut phase of being dumped by Ishta. And for pulling this, I'm may tell Landry who it was that told him about the slut phase of break-up recovery, Mitchell."

"Empty threat, Jackson, you're no tattletale. Now get hoppin', boy, The Denver Exotic and Erotic Ball waits for no man. You got stilettos to fill."