A Phone Call Away
by taylyn10
This holiday fic was written for a list challenge.
Feedback is always appreciated!
Daniel stuck a finger in one ear and placed the phone over the other. "Hello?" he mumbled over the din in his living room and a mouthful of cookie.
"Hey," said a familiar voice on the other end of the phone.
"Jack!" Daniel smiled. "Hey, yourself. And Merry Christmas." He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"You too," Jack said over the noise on his end. "What kind did she make?"
"Kind?" Daniel asked in confusion.
"Cookies. What kind did Carter make?" Jack clarified. "You had your mouth full of something."
The man was a thousand miles away--how did he know Daniel was eating cookies? "Chocolate walnut," he admitted.
"Oh, I love those. Did she make any of those peanut butter ones, you know, with the chocolate in the middle."
"No, she didn't."
"Damn, those are my favorites."
Daniel paused and then said, "Vala did."
"Vala made cookies? I thought she lived on base?"
"She does. She and Teal'c talked the kitchen staff into borrowing the kitchen so that they could make cookies. Sam gave Vala the recipe for the peanut butter ones."
"I'd like to have been around to see that. You said she and Teal'c made cookies? What kind did Teal'c make?"
"He found a recipe on the internet for something called hermit cookies which have cinnamon, nuts and raisins in them. They're pretty good too."
"Hermit cookies," Jack said with a laugh. "That fits. So that must mean the gang's all there." The sound of voices in the background told Daniel that Jack must be with a gang of his own.
"Yes," Daniel answered, looking over his shoulder with a smile. His "gang," Teal'c, Sam, Mitchell and Vala, sat sprawled around his living room, stuffed from an overabundance of Christmas dinner, nibbling on cookies and sipping on after dinner drinks. Teal'c sat in the big chair with Vala on the floor tucked in between his legs. Sam sat cross-legged on the couch facing Mitchell. "The gang's all here. Teal'c tried to teach Vala the story of The Night Before Christmas when Vala started asking about flying reindeer. Then Mitchell got her off on a tangent about the year that they had mice in the kitchen at his farm in Kansas. At the moment I'm so confused I have no idea where the conversation is going."
"Ah," Jack said sagely, "just like old times."
"I don't remember us ever talking about mice," Daniel said, "or Christmas stories for that matter."
"Not the conversation part," Jack said, "the confused part."
"Oh, and now that you're in Washington, you're less confused?" Daniel asked.
"No, I just hide it better," Jack said, "and I didn't say I was the one who was confused. Besides, I sit in rooms full of people who are confused on a daily basis."
"You better not let the bigwigs at your party hear you say that or you'll get nothing in your stocking from Santa Claus."
"Of course I will, Daniel," Jack said with a snort. "General Hammond is Santa Claus. Remember, my friend, it's not what you know it's who you know."
"And from this conversation I know that you're obviously not the designated driver this evening."
"I'm not," Jack agreed. "Santa is. He's got the sleigh parked out back to take us all home."
"Of course he does. How else would someone get home from an Air Force Christmas party?"
"What about you? Are you the designated driver?"
"I don't have to be the designated driver, Jack. The party's at my house."
"So you have been drinking? Remember, Daniel, cookies an alcohol don't mix. Friends don't let friends stuff their faces and drive."
"Advice straight from the mouth of one of Santa's inebriated elves," Daniel joked. " Don't worry, Teal'c's going to take Vala back to the base. He doesn't have a sleigh like Santa Claus so he's going to do it the way all good aliens do."
"What, you got a set of transporter rings installed in the house?"
"No, I've got a Volvo parked in the driveway."
Jack snorted. "Teal'c in a Volvo. There's an image. What about Mitchell and Carter?"
"I thought you were at a party? What's with the sit rep request?"
"Always looking after my team," Jack said.
"Well, right now your team are all talking about naquadria powered mouse traps, so I suspect Sam will be taking the bed in the spare room and Cam will be taking the couch."
"Take the cookies away from them, Daniel, before it's too late." There was a pause while he called "give me a minute" over his shoulder to someone. "My ride is ready to go. You still going to be able to make it out tomorrow?"
"Yep," Daniel answered. "Sam promised that even if she had a hangover, she'd get me to the airport."
"Good. I'll be there to meet you when you get in. Give me a call if your flight's delayed or anything."
"I will," Daniel said. "Do I need to bring anything from Colorado Springs—other than your present?"
"You got me a present?" Jack asked in delight.
"No, Jack," Daniel said slowly. "I'm coming to visit you for Christmas, but I'm not bringing you a gift."
"Well, you didn't have to, you know. I mean just your coming in enough." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Daniel? You still there?"
"You really have had to much to drink," Daniel answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're getting sentimental in your old age."
"I am not getting sentimental, I'm trying to be a good host," Jack huffed. "And you'd better recant the 'old age' thing or I'm taking your present back to the store."
"You got me a present?" Daniel asked, sounding surprised.
"No, Daniel," Jack answered dryly. "I'm having you come to visit for Christmas but I didn't get you a present." He paused, waiting for a response from Daniel. "This is the spot where you're supposed to say that just seeing me for the holidays is present enough."
"The hell with that," Daniel said. "I want the present."
The gang behind him called Daniel back to the party, telling him to come back to the living room and bring another plate of cookies with him when he came. "I'd better go."
"Yeah, me too."
"Keep your hands and arms in the sleigh on the way home. I don't want you to tip it over or anything, especially if General Hammond's driving."
"Yeah, and you—don't be late for the plane. Unlike the SGC where Walter will keep the gate open for you, the airline won't hold your flight if you're late—even on Christmas day."
"You know, it's been years since I was late for a mission. You could let it go now."
"What, and miss out on all the fun?" Jack said. "Well, it looks like Santa's got the runway cleared for take off."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tell everybody I said Merry Christmas."
"Will do."
"And Daniel?"
"Yeah?"
"You really don't want another cookie, trust me on this."
Daniel pulled his hand away from the plate of cookies he'd been assembling in front of him. Damn! How did the man do that? "I really don't? And how are privy to this piece of intel?"
"Because I want you to bring me a bag of them tomorrow when you come, and if you eat them all tonight, I won't get any."
"Ah, so all of that 'my coming is present enough' stuff was a sham. You just want me to be your supplier of cookies which are no longer available to you in your lofty position."
"Of course I get cookies," Jack said indignantly. "I'm a general." When there was no answer he sighed. "What can I say? It's lonely at the top. Make sure you throw in a couple of Teal'c's hermit cookies."
"Sounds good," Daniel said with a chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow at the airport."
"Two o'clock," Jack confirmed. "Make sure you wish everybody a Merry Christmas for me."
"I will."
"And you, Daniel. Merry Christmas."
"You too, Jack. Merry Christmas."
Finis