Title: A New Family Tradition
Rating: K
Timeline: post-series; present days
Summary: It's Thanksgiving and Hanna is going to prepare her first Thanksgiving meal
Disclaimer: I don't own WaT or its characters, I just borrowed them for a holiday fic
A/N: Thanks and hugs for my friends&betas Sharon and Diane! How can I write without you? *smack*
A New Family Tradition
Jack was anxiously waiting by the gate for Kate's plane to land. Her flight was delayed because of the bad weather and he had used his badge to gain information and access to the security area. He still didn't know how it was possible, but this year Maria had let Hanna and Kate stay with him for Thanksgiving. A devilish voice told him that those were probably the only days she and her boyfriend, using Hanna's word, could spend together and alone. Anyway, he had been lucky enough for the moment. No new cases. He took the weekend off and it would start in a few minutes.
It has been years since the last Thanksgiving with his daughters and even more since the last happy Thanksgiving with them. He remembered that year as if it was yesterday…
He had a case and arrived at Maria's parents late in the night. He quickly changed and joined his wife in bed. He slept late and when he woke up, he was alone in the room. He took a quick shower and went downstairs. He stopped in the kitchen doorway. Maria and her mother were busy cooking and Hanna and Kate were playing at the table. He guessed they were making cookies. They had flour over them and were shaping the dough with cookie cutters.
"Daddy!" They called together as they saw him.
"Hey, sweethearts!" he said as he approached them and kissed both of his daughters as he tightened them in an embrace.
"Do you want a cookie?" Kate asked with her almost four-year-old shrill voice as she lifted her head toward her father and offered him a star-shaped cookie.
"No Kate! We have to bake them first!" Hanna said as she abruptly took the cookie dough from Kate's hand.
Kate turned her head from her sister to her father and, offended by Hanna's scolding, her eyes watered. Jack wiped the flour from Kate's nose and scooped her up. "Let's take the tin and put everything in the oven so we can eat all the cookies! Okay?"
"Yeah!" his daughters replied together.
Jack and Maria loved each other, but love wasn't always enough. Jack's job had always been a cause of friction between them, but after that year everything went from bad to worse. It was 1999, Samantha had just joined his unit and he had started spending a lot of time at the office training her. Maria went back to work fulltime in January and they just crossed at home. A quick peck on the cheek in the morning before work and nothing else. Late nights at the office became usual for him, and when he did come home early, Maria was the one working late. Kate was too young at the time, but Hanna started noticing. Jack became a neglectful husband and an absent father. What he offered was never enough for Maria. She was right, obviously. He focused even more on the only thing that he seemed good at—finding missing persons.
Jack's sad digression to his family life ended when the speaker announced that Kate's flight had landed. A few moments and Kate appeared. A nice hostess was next to her. Kate told her something and the woman escorted her toward Jack.
"Here we are, safe and sound," she said.
Jack thanked the woman and then looked at Kate. A warm smile greeted him. "So, ready to go home? Hanna is waiting for us." He reached his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.
"Yes, Dad. Let's go!"
They walked together toward the exit.
#
The following day was spent preparing the dinner. Hanna had insisted they had to cook their traditional turkey dinner. She had spent the previous week searching on the Internet for the perfect recipe and she wrote down the menu in every detail. They had spent two hours at the grocery store, looking for all the ingredients to provide the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Jack enjoyed the time spent with Hanna, even if it had meant being bossed around by her. She also bought him an apron with a big turkey on it.
Now he was enjoying the view of his two daughters cooking and laughing together. His task was to take care of vegetables –to wash, cut, slice and cook them. While diligently doing his task, Jack noticed that there were no potatoes among the vegetables. He thought that his daughters didn't trust him enough to let him near Kate's favorite dish. He shrugged the thought away and kept working.
Hanna and Kate were serious as if they were professional chefs. Jack watched them with fascination. They placed the turkey into a roasting pan. They stuffed the turkey with the dressing made following a family recipe that Maria had given Kate. They carefully positioned an aluminum foil tent over the turkey. Then they placed the turkey in the oven, and poured some turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. They set the timer on 4 hours and gave each other a high five.
"Hey, girls! Where did you learn to do that?" Jack asked curious.
"Helping Mom," Kate simply answered.
It was time to clean up the kitchen and then cook the vegetables. They enjoyed working together; they joked and laughed, and Jack realized he was happy. After everything was cleaned up, Jack dropped himself on a chair. It has been a nice but exhausting afternoon.
"Okay, now we have to prepare the appetizers," Hanna said as she looked for what she needed in the cupboard.
"You're really serious, aren't you?" Jack said smiling.
"What do you think we would do with everything I made you buy?" Hanna asked, smirking at her father. Then she turned to her sister. "Kate, remember to check the turkey and add stock, if needed."
Hanna went back to the counter and started on the appetizers.
"Why don't you go to take a shower as we set the table?" Kate asked her father.
"Sure that you don't need me?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, we've everything under control. Go, so we can eat by 7. And Dad, remember to wear the apron!" Hanna replied.
As soon as Jack went to his bedroom, his daughters started giggling.
"Do you think he suspects anything?" Kate asked her sister as she took the plates from the cupboard.
"No way!"
"And you're sure he'll like our surprise?" Kate worriedly asked.
"You have no idea! He won't ever admit it, but I think she is the only person with whom he shows his real self. It hasn't been easy to convince her; at the beginning I was afraid we would have to drag her here," Hanna explained, looking at her sister. They shared a smile.
"Hanna, how is it to live with Dad?" Kate asked, turning suddenly serious.
"Hard at times; his job really hits him. But it's also fun, sometimes," Hanna said as she looked at Kate and burst out laughing together. Then going back to the appetizers, she continued, "He's not always controlling as he was in the beginning. The sessions with Lisa helped us. I think he trusts me now," Hanna explained, proud of the relationship that she and her father shared.
Kate went back to her task as Hanna arranged the appetizers on a plate. She checked the turkey and then took out the cranberries sauce from the refrigerator. She took a look around the kitchen and checked that everything was ready. Just the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes and the dessert were missing. Hanna looked at her watch. She was sure they were on the way. She smiled, proud of her first Thanksgiving meal, and went to help her sister.
As they finished setting the table, Jack, freshly showered, was wearing his new apron as he walked toward the living room. The doorbell rang, preventing him from noticing the number of places set at the table.
"Dad, open up! It's the cake," Hanna called out for her father as she shared a knowing look with Kate.
"I'm going!" Jack hurried to the door and opened it. Samantha was at the door with Finn in his stroller and a couple of trays balancing on her right arm.
"Do you mind helping me?" Sam asked, amused by Jack's stunned look.
"Sure, sorry." Jack took the trays and let her in.
Jack closed the door and looked at his daughters. They were waiting for his reaction. He honestly wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was surprised, obviously. He never thought Hanna would invite Sam for Thanksgiving. And Sam accepting? That was a real shock. Hanna approached him with a warm look as Kate helped Sam with her bags.
"I thought it was time 'to load up your plate', and even Lisa agrees with me," Hanna said as she took the trays from her father's hands and pecked him on the cheek.
Samantha turned toward Jack and handed him a bottle of Chardonnay. "They told me it's perfect with turkey."
"Thank you," he said, taking the bottle.
"At first I didn't want to come, but Hanna had insisted so much that I convinced myself that maybe it wasn't a bad idea. With Brian out of the country on business, it would be just me and Finn for the holiday. It doesn't have to mean anything, just a dinner with an old friend."
"It's okay, Sam. I'm happy you're here," Jack said as he warmly hugged her. "Let me give Shorty a proper greeting." Jack set the bottle on the table and helped Finn out of his stroller.
"Hey, Little Man! How are you? Ready for the big meal Hanna and Kate prepared?" Jack asked as he tickled the child.
"Yeah!" a giggling Finn answered.
"Now that we are all here, let's take a seat and start on the appetizers!" Hanna said as took the plate she had carefully arranged and set it on the coffee table.
Kate joined her sister with two cans of soda. As Samantha dropped Finn's toys on the carpet to keep him busy, Jack drew the cork out from the bottle Sam had brought and poured two glass of wine. They sat together, savoring Hanna's nibbles.
"They are very good, Hanna," Jack said.
"Thanks, Dad," Hanna replied full of pride.
"Let's hope the turkey is good too," Kate said with concern.
"I'm sure it will be excellent! You are a great cooking team. And your father isn't bad himself," Samantha said with a smile as she turned to look at Jack.
He lifted his glass to thank her. Their eyes locked and the feelings they hardly kept under the surface suddenly overtook them. The abrupt ringing of the timer announcing that the turkey was ready took them back to reality.
Hanna went to the kitchen as Kate, always the perfect hostess, led her guests to their seats. When everyone was settled, Hanna triumphantly entered the living room with the turkey and set it on the table. Then turning to Jack, she asked, "Dad? Do you mind carving the turkey?"
"It would be an honor," Jack answered. He walked toward the kitchen to take the right knife, but stopped in the doorway. He turned and spent a moment to look around the table. Hanna and Samantha were cheerfully chatting and Kate was helping Finn in his seat. That Thanksgiving, thanks to his daughters, had turned his house into a home, and he wanted to hold onto that feeling as much as he could. He felt like he had something to be really thankful for the first time in years.