By Mickey
STATUS: Completed 12-24-2007
DEDICATION: First, to the members of the Jackfic list for cheering me up when I was feeling down about not being able to go to Georgia and be with my family. Second, to the men and women of the armed forces who are stationed overseas and are away from their families this holiday season. And a special thanks to Dinky for suggesting that I write what I'm feeling using someone else to express my thoughts. A big thanks and a very Merry Christmas to you all!
WORD COUNT: 1358
AUTHORS NOTE: Written for the December 16th 2005 drabble sentence 'You can take your Ho Ho Ho and shove it.' As stated in my dedication, this was originally started in December of 2005 when I was feeling pretty down. I started feeling better after I started it, and I also got pretty busy with work and stuff and didn't have time to finish it. It just kinda sat on my hard drive half forgotten until this year. I figured it was a good time to finish it.
The part with Charlie and his bike is inspired by my little brother, who was so determined to have a "big boy bike", he made our older brother take his training wheels off his He-Man bike and teach him how to ride it with just two wheels. He was about four or five years old at the time.
Many, many thanks to Lynette and Kliggans for the very last minute (as in they did it last night) beta. Ya'll are the best!
/words/ is someone's thoughts.
"You can take your Ho Ho Ho and shove it, Stevens." Jack snapped at the sergeant. He stormed off without looking back, leaving the young man with a befuddled expression.
The sergeant was torn between following the snippy Major and going back to helping decorate for the upcoming Christmas party. He slid the Santa hat off his head and fiddled with it as he watched his angry friend storm off.
Frank had come into the room just as Jack was storming out and had heard his friend's barked reply. He headed over to the sergeant. "Don't mind him, Shaun. We just found out we won't be going home for Christmas this year. Again."
"Yes, sir. I understand." Sergeant Shaun Stevens was the newest member of the team, but he knew how much the major and lieutenant colonel had been looking forward to going home for Christmas. It was almost all they'd talked about for the last three weeks. "I'm sorry your leave was canceled."
And he truly was. He had only been in Iraq for a month, but he knew that O'Neill and Cromwell had been there since the damn war had started. He was a little startled by the major's sudden change in attitude at first. Now he knew why, he wasn't surprised at all. He felt bad for both of them, but especially Major O'Neill. When he'd first arrived, Shaun had been scared out of his mind. He'd been in the Air Force for four years and had recently completed his Special Ops training, but this had been his first time in a combat zone. The major had taken him under his wing. They'd become quite close over the past few weeks.
"Don't worry about it. Jack will bounce back. He'll be at the Christmas party." Frank assured the sergeant and smiled at him. He gave him a friendly slap on the back then went after his friend.
Once out of earshot of everyone, Major Jack O'Neill cursed a blue streak that would have made the old Irish priest of his childhood church drop dead from heart failure. After all, it wasn't the kind of language one heard from an altar boy. Even if he was now a Special Ops trained ex-altar boy. Not that being an altar boy had been his idea anyway. He'd only done it to make Grandpa and Gramma happy.
He flung open the door to his quarters and flopped down on his cot. /Sometimes life really sucks!/ His anger only grew as he thought about his and Frank's meeting with Colonel Wash. Cold ass bastard had called them into his tent, said 'sorry fellas, leave's been cancelled' and then he'd stuck his big fat nose back into the folder in his hands and completely ignored the two officers in front of him. Without so much as a word of explanation, they'd been dismissed. Jack knew if it hadn't been for Frank, he'd be sitting in the brig facing charges of assaulting a superior officer.
Or murdering him.
Jack slammed his fist against the wall. "Son of a bitch!"
Frank sighed as he reached the entrance to the flimsy metal structure that passed as his and Jack's quarters. He was just as angry and upset as Jack; he just didn't show it the way his friend did.
Frank paused as he noticed the dent in the wall.
"You know, Jack, I don't think that's quite what they meant by 'bringing down the house'".
He was relieved to see the small smile on Jack's face.
"I understand how you feel, believe me I do. I wanted so bad to be home with Liz for Christmas. Especially this year."
"Look Frank, I know you want to be with Lizzy while she's pregnant, but my kid is here now. Between the two of us we might have been home five months out of the last two years, and now that son-of-a-bitch pulls this crap. I'm missing so much of Charlie's life. Remember I told ya he learned how to ride a two-wheeler this summer."
Frank nodded but said nothing. They'd actually been home for that. Charlie kept falling and falling but the boy was so determined to ride without the "baby wheels", he just kept getting back on and insisting his father let him try just one more time. He'd seen so much of Jack in his godson that day.
"We brought him a new bike, without training wheels, for Christmas. I won't be there to see his face when he opens it.
He's at that age where he realizes that I'm not there, but he's only four, he doesn't understand why I have to be away so much."
Frank nodded. "I agree, you have a right to be angry, we both do, but not at everybody else. Be angry then move on. Holding on to this isn't going to get us home. It isn't going to make you feel any better. It's just going to make you even more miserable. Not to mention everyone else." He smiled. "And Jack, you keep calling her Lizzy and she's going to make good on some of those nastier threats to vital parts of your anatomy." Frank smirked at his friend.
That had the desired effect as Jack smiled broadly. "Yeah, well, she can try. I think Sara might object."
Then the smile was gone again. "One of these days, I swear I'm gonna beat the living shit out of that bastard."
Frank cringed at the look on Jack's face. He was pretty sure Jack could make good on that threat. Could do it without getting caught, and without regret. "Man, you gotta watch what you say. I know you're ticked, so am I, but you have got to be careful."
Jack sighed, deflated. "Yeah, Frank, I know."
FOUR DAYS LATER
"I'm coming already. You don't have to yank my arm off." Jack bellowed as he reluctantly let his friend drag him out of their quarters.
"Come on, Major, double time it." Frank replied, entirely to cheerfully in Jack's opinion.
He knew he promised Frank he'd try to be less of a grump today, but damn it, he'd just hung up from wishing his wife and son a Merry Christmas from half way around the world. For the second year in a row. He didn't feel like being happy! And he sure as hell didn't want to go to a Christmas party. "Come on, Frank, be a pal. Let me sulk alone."
Frank said nothing as he hummed "Jingle Bells". Loudly.
Jack sighed and resigned himself to the fact that his so-called buddy was cheerfully ignoring his protests and would continue to do so no matter what he said. He stopped struggling. A minute later they were at the mess hall and Jack gave an astonished whistle as he walked into the large building. Most of the tables had been cleared away. Only about half-a-dozen remained and they were covered with just about every kind of Christmas cookie and desert imaginable. Christmas lights were strung around the whole inside. A large wreath hung over the opening to the kitchen. A massive plastic Santa stood smiling in the far corner with several small plastic elves surrounding him. In the opposite corner, a plastic snowman family was happily 'singing', Christmas carol music sheets in mittened hands.
As the night wore on, Jack felt his spirits lifting. He couldn't help it. In spite of himself, he began to laugh and sing, off key, with the others. He drank eggnog and ate as much as his stomach would allow. Before he realized it, the anger that had been simmering deep within him was gone. He was still sad that he couldn't be with his family, but when you couldn't be home for the holidays, being with good friends wasn't so bad.
Yeah, sometimes life really sucked. But ...sometimes, not so much. Jack thought as his teammates laughed at his jokes.
Though he really wanted to be home with Sara and Charlie on this day, as he looked around at his friends, Jack realized he was still with his family.
THE END