Author's note: How long will this one be? I'm not certain. Not long, I think. It's just for fun, and purely for fluffiness – although I have to make a story around it because I'm not all that great at mindless drivel (although I've given it a shot a couple of times) If you didn't read Decking the Halls, you should, because it'll give you the background to this story. It's only 8 chapters long and my chapters aren't that long. THIS IS NOT A CAMPER'S STORY.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters I'm using in this story, and I'm not making any money off it.
OOOOOOO
"No."
"Aw, come on Teal'c…"
"No."
"Jack…"
"Daniel, I can't make him do it."
"But…"
"You make him do it…"
Daniel frowned, looking at the indignant Jaffa who was standing with his arms crossed firmly over his chest and a scowl on his face.
"He likes you more."
"He doesn't like me enough to do this again…"
"He'd take a bullet for you."
"He'd take one for you, too, but that doesn't mean he's going to dress up like an elf again for any reason…"
"I am not," Teal'c agreed, reminding them that he was well able to listen in on the conversation they were having – especially since they were having it all of ten feet away from him.
"It's for a good cause, Teal'c."
"And I will be happy to attend, Daniel Jackson. However, I will not dress up."
"It's not like last year, Teal'c. No Mrs. Claus costume. No weird tights… really. It's a very tasteful outfit."
The Jaffa simply stared at him. And Daniel sighed, knowing that nothing on earth was going to get Teal'c to dress up – not even a large group of kids waiting at an orphanage. As he'd said, he was more than willing to go pass out the toys that the SGC had gathered for the kids, but he wasn't going to dress up.
"How about letting him be Santa Claus?" Sam suggested, watching the entire scene from her seat beside Jack. "Santa is a lot more fun to play than an elf, Teal'c. You might like that…"
"O'Neill was urinated on several times last year," Teal'c said, proving he had a fine memory. "I have no desire to-"
"Being Santa is fun, Teal'c," Jack interrupted. "You get to see their eyes light up while they tell you everything they want for Christmas, and-"
"How's it going in here?"
They were interrupted by the arrival of General Hammond.
"Teal'c won't dress up," Daniel said.
Hammond looked over at Teal'c, who watched him impassively.
"But you're willing to go?"
"Indeed."
The general shrugged.
"Then he doesn't have to dress up…"
Like he was going to be able to convince him if his own team couldn't?
"He should have a Santa hat on, though," Sam said.
"Definitely," Jack agreed, looking at Teal'c to see if he was going to give them an argument.
The Jaffa nodded. He'd wear a hat. He'd have to wear one anyways, after all.
"Okay, then," Hammond told them. "When you get back from P-203, you should have plenty of time to get dressed. We'll get everything ready for you."
Jack nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"And try not to get hurt, okay?" Hammond added as he headed for the door. "I can't have Santa and his elves limping and bleeding."
"We'll do our best, sir."
"See that you do."
Hammond left, leaving the team to get ready to go off-world. Since they were all dressed for gate travel, it was a simple matter of heading to the armory to gather their weapons.
"I still don't see why we couldn't wait until the day after Christmas to go to P-203," Jack said as they walked.
"Because the dual eclipse doesn't care that tomorrow is Christmas," Sam said. "And the gravitational flux that it's going to have on the moons of P-203 is going to be absolutely fascinating. We'll see for the first time just how the-"
"Carter."
She smiled wryly, shaking her head.
"Sorry."
He softened the rebuke with a slight smile of his own, and the four of them walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.
OOOOOOOO
"SG-1, you have a go."
Jack looked over his shoulder at Hammond, who was watching through the blast window that overlooked the embarkation room. The general was tense – even though the mission they were going on was only going to last a couple of hours and the planet they were going to was mostly deserted – he was always tense when he sent his people off-world.
Well aware of his concern, O'Neill gave him a cocky grin, waving as he turned and then gestured for Teal'c and Daniel to head through the activated Stargate, and motioned for Carter to take a position next to him.
"Let's go, guys. I want to get back before Hammond eats all the fruitcake."