Title: Celestron 3000
Rating: PG
Word Count: 860
Pairings/Characters: Jack/Nathan; Jack, Zoe
Warnings/Spoilers: 304 "I Do Over"
Notes: Written for szandara, who wanted "Gifts, given and received", for Stark's Lab 2009 Secret Santa Exchange.
Summary: Jack finds a forgotten present.
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Jack pushed another box out of his way, rummaging through S.A.R.A.H's upstairs storage closet. He's pretty sure he tossed the left over wrapping paper in the closet last year. If it didn't take him another half hour to find the paper, he might have just enough time to wrap Zoe's gifts and place them under the tree before she came home from her Christmas Eve shift at Café Diem. He climbed over another pile of boxes, effectively cutting himself off from the world and entering what had to be another dimension. A clutter dimension, full of cobwebs and all of the things people forgot they owned.
He shifted some storage bins around, revealing a large blue box he himself had completely forgotten about. Jack stared at the box, unceremoniously sitting down on next to it. His hand ran across the printed cardboard, a small layer of dust rippling up against the edge of his palm. Celestron 3000 Telescope screamed out in bright white against the box's blue star-scape designs. He remembered his excitement when he first thought of it. He ordered the telescope online that night, even though Christmas was months away. He spent a small fortune but refused to feel any buyer's remorse because he knew it would be the perfect gift. Best telescope you could buy for personal use, or so the online store said. He had to tip the delivery guy extra to help carry it up to the closet because it was too heavy for him alone. Jack remembered thinking he didn't know how he would get it down the stairs and under the tree, let alone be able to wrap it. It was going to be the best present he'd ever bought Nathan. He just knew it.
Now… there it sat gathering dust in the dark closet, not fulfilling its purpose.
Nathan wasn't there to enjoy it and Jack would never get to see the smile he knew would break across Nathan's face when he opened it. Yes, sure, Global had plenty of telescopes but Nathan had repeatedly mentioned the small one he had as a child, and how he would spend hours looking at the stars. Jack wanted to share that joy with him.
He sucked in a deep breath with a new resolve; finding this present would not dampen his spirit like so many other remembrances of Nathan had. He stood, knocked some boxes out of his way, clearing a path to the door, and grabbed the telescope's box. He pulled the box to the top of the stairs and stopped to take a breath, resting on the steps, sweat already running down his neck.
"Dad?" Zoe called from downstairs as she stepped through the door.
"Don't take off your jacket," Jack yelled down to her.
She stopped, hat and scarf in hand, and looked up at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"You need to help me carry this outside. Come on." He stood and waved for her to come upstairs. "You can push from the back. I'll guide it down the steps and take most of the weight."
Zoe climbed the stairs, her eyes flickering between him and the box. "What is it?"
"A telescope I ordered for Nathan."
She stopped, mid step, next to him. "Oh," she frowned and her brows knitted together in that pitying way people seemed to look at Jack when he talked about Nathan. "Dad, we don't have to move this today."
"No, I want to do this." He wanted to reassure her that he wasn't making some rash gesture because of grief. He was beyond that now. "It's ok kiddo," he said, letting his true feelings show her that he was ok. "Just because I didn't get the chance to give it to him doesn't mean it should sit in the closet forever. We can use it. I think Nathan would like that."
Zoe looked a little taken aback by his admission; in the past, he'd been very guarded with his feelings on Nathan's death.
"O-Ok," Zoe said, nodding with an accepting shrug.
They worked together to maneuver the heavy box down the stairs and right back up the entryway stairs. By the time they got it outside into a clearing in the woods behind the bunker, and mounted the telescope on its stand, they were both sweating.
While Zoe read the instructions, Jack ran back into the house to retrieve his own jacket and blankets, the cold air already making them shiver.
Jack wrapped a blanket around her shoulders as she peered through the lens. "It's beautiful!" Zoe exclaimed with chattering teeth.
"Let me see." She stepped away and Jack leaned down to the eyepiece. The sky was clear, the stars shining bright against the dark blue. "Wow."
"You're right, you know."
"About what?" Jack asked, standing straight. He pulled Zoe into his arms and rubbed his hands against her shoulders to warm her shivers.
"I think he would like this."
Jack smiled down at her and Zoe wrapped her arms around him and hugged tight. Jack looked up to the wide sky and hoped that wherever Nathan was, he could hear him. "Merry Christmas."
The end.