Teal'c's Special Purchase
AN: This story is an addition to my family series but you don't need to have read them before this. Thank you for all the alerts and messages over the last six months when I have been out of the writing loop, they do encourage me. The muse had left me but seems to be slowly returning so we will see what comes in the next while. Hope you enjoy this little one shot. The idea came to me last year when the event discussed occurred. As always I own none of the SG characters and just enjoy using them in my own imaginary world.
The phone beside Jack's bed rang loudly in the silent, dark room. Jack moaned. The moan of someone who really hadn't had enough sleep. He untangled himself from the sheets and his bed companion to reach for the offending object, half planning to switch it off, half expecting a message from someone saying the world was under attack. Not for the first time he decided he really was too old for all of this.
The phone didn't take pity on him and continued to ring. Jack grabbed it and growled into the receiver, "What?"
"O'Neill."
"Teal'c, is that you?" Jack awoke a little more upon hearing his friend's voice.
"Yes, O'Neill."
Jack scrubbed his hand down his face. This was one of the things he hated about Teal'c, his inability to say more than a few syllables unless absolutely necessary.
"T, it's great to hear your voice but it's really early. What's up?"
"I have a task to complete today, O'Neill."
"Huh! Teal'c, can I just check? The world isn't going to end, is it? You're not calling to get me back to work 'cause I told Hank that I was taking this vacation."
"The world is not in crisis." Teal'c's monotone voice had the combined effect of calming Jack while at the same time annoying him because it was not even 0600 yet.
Jack looked over and saw Sam now had her eyes open in the dim room, curiosity and concern showing on her face.
"Who is it, Jack?" she asked sleepily.
"Teal'c. Says he has a task!"
Just as he finished speaking the bedroom door flew open and standing in the doorway were two bleary-eyed children, his children.
"O'Neill, are you still there?" Teal'c's voice came through loud and clear.
"Yeah, buddy, but you woke Sam and the kids. You're not their favourite person at the moment!"
"Is young Jacob with you?"
Jack was confused again. "Yeah, he's here."
"Good. I must speak with him."
Jack motioned Grace and Jake over to the big bed. Grace, a sprightly 9 year old, took a run and a leap and landed in the middle of the bed, only mildly winding Jack. Jake, however, at almost 8, was far more restrained than his sister and walked to the side of the bed where Sam was then clambered over her to get to the phone.
Jack handed over the phone to his eldest son. "Apparently Uncle Teal'c needs to speak to you."
Jack lay back on the bed, pulled Grace down beside him, and listened to one side of a very secretive conversation.
"Jake here! ... Really! ... That's so awesome! ... Yup, I'll get Daddy. ... Soon, I promise. ... Okay, bye."
Jack took the phone back, none the wiser as to why his friend had phoned his son at this time of the morning.
"Time to get up, Daddy! We need to pick up Teal'c." Jake jumped off the bed and, not to be outdone, his sister followed.
"C'mon, Daddy!" Grace called as she ran from the room and down the stairs to quiz her little brother about the new plans for the day.
"You coming, Sam?" Jack asked, looking at his now almost asleep wife.
"Nah." Sam snuggled under the covers with her eyes closed. "This sounds like a father/children outing."
"Typical! Why don't you get the early morning tasks?" Jack harrumphed his way out of bed.
"Watch it, O'Neill! It wasn't that long ago that I had to do all the early feeds with Leah. And before that with Dan. And before that..."
"Alright, alright! I get the message." Jack walked around to Sam's side of the bed and leaned over her. Sam opened her eyes and looked straight into his. "Love you," he whispered.
"Me, too," Sam whispered back.
Jack leaned down and kissed his wife. He never got tired of doing that. Even after four kids she was still the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid his eyes on – on this and every other planet and moon they'd ever visited – and he couldn't be more grateful that she was his wife. Even after all these years he still couldn't believe she'd ever said 'Yes'.
Jack visited the bathroom, performed his usual morning ritual, then quickly dressed to go find his two eldest children, who were very possibly causing serious trouble somewhere in the house. He followed the noise of early-morning cartoons and plates banging together to find them in the kitchen.
Grace was very competent and was usually able to get her own breakfast, although she had her mother's talent for making the most unappetising food from fantastic ingredients. Jake was also a capable child and usually Jack would have no trouble leaving him to his cereal but today Jake was all over the place. He was practically bouncing round the room, using kitchen utensils as percussion instruments. He had also managed to get milk all over the counter and juice flowing into his bowl with his cereal.
"Jake! For cryin' out loud!" Jack spoke sternly but didn't shout in case he woke Leah and Dan, who mercifully still seemed to be sleeping, although he didn't have the nerve yet to actually check their room. "The sun isn't even up yet! No one needs to hear your attempt at drumming. And if you wake up Leah and Dan you'll have your mother to answer to."
Jake looked a tad worried about what his mother would have to say if he woke up his two youngest siblings and quickly sat down at the table before looking back at his dad and grinning, unable to curb his enthusiasm. "Sorry, Daddy, but today's a big day!"
Jack scrubbed his hand down his face and sat down opposite his eldest son. "Okay, Jake, I need you to tell me exactly why today's a big day ... and I need you to use very small words 'cause your old man isn't awake yet."
Jake sighed, then put his spoon down and laid his hands on the table, suddenly looking much older than his seven years and 157 days. "Daddy. There's a very special event happening today and it started more than an hour ago. In fact, we need to hurry 'cause we have to pick up Uncle T and then head to the mall." He paused and waited for his father to take in that information. "Daddy, do you understand?"
"Only very rarely in this house," Jack mumbled. "Sure, squirt ... big day, pick up Teal'c, mall ... what's not to understand?" Jack rubbed his hand over his face once again as Jake started shovelling cereal into his mouth as quickly as he could, totally ignoring his father. Jack realised that he wouldn't get any more information out of Jake, no matter how much he wished it, so he turned to Grace but she was already on her way out the door. He glanced at the general state of the room's occupants and stated flippantly, "I assume we all need to be dressed for this shindig, whatever it is?"
"Yup," Grace, his ever helpful, eldest daughter said as she swept from the kitchen and ran up the stairs to her room. "Mall trip. Oh, better bring your credit card, Dad, just in case."
Jack watched as Jake finished his Froot Loops – which he had decided tasted very nice with OJ, not milk – and scampered off to get ready for his Big Day. Jack then got wearily to his feet. He attempted to tidy up then went to check on the two youngest kids. He peaked into their quiet room and saw both Dan and Leah still fast asleep, something he was very grateful for.
He then moved to the master bedroom and tried to dress without switching on the light. However, it didn't take long for him to realise that his black ops training must have faded slightly when he miscalculated the distance between his dresser and the bed and fell down between the two.
"Bloody Hell!" he exclaimed, landing hard on his backside.
"OH, MOMMY! DADDY USED BAD WORDS!" Jake's voice boomed around the upper floor of the house.
"Jack," Sam mumbled from under the covers, "D'ya think you could try and make some more noise? I don't think Leah's awake yet."
"A little help wouldn't kill you, ya know," Jack barked back from his prone position on the floor.
Sam sat up and then felt quite evil. "Grace! Daddy's fallen on his backside and is stuck! Come take a picture of the great General to post on Facebook."
"Evil, Carter, really evil." Jack got up quicker than he thought possible and was sitting comfortably on the bed when Grace barrelled into the room with her camera.
"You're no fun, Daddy," Grace complained, frowning at her father, then turned and walked out to get ready.
"And your mother's positively evil!" Jack called out to her retreating back, more for Sam's benefit than Grace's. The only reply he got was an evil chuckle from under the covers and he glared at the bed, even though he knew Sam couldn't see him.
"Stop glaring, Jack, and get ready. Where're you off to, anyway?"
How does she do that? Jack wondered, sighing as he moved to his dresser for his clothes. "The mall, apparently," he huffed as he sat, trying to put on his socks without pulling a muscle in his back – something he had to think of at his age.
"Really," Sam mumbled in reply. "Well, have fun." She turned over and went back to sleep.
Jack finally finished dressing, not impressed at his wife's lack of curiosity. He went downstairs to the car, only to find Grace and Jake already buckled into the back of the SUV. He sighed; it was going to be a long day and he had yet to work out where he was going at this early hour when his rudimentary knowledge of The Mall meant he knew it didn't open until much later than this. Nevertheless, he got into the vehicle and started the engine.
"So, I don't suppose either of you wants to tell me why we're going to the mall?" Jack asked as he looked back at his two eldest children. His two little angels both looked at each other before turning to him with matching, impish grins and slowly shook their heads. Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Don't mind me. I'm obviously just the chauffeur. So, to the mountain for Teal'c, then?"
"No, Daddy, he's staying with Uncle Daniel," Jake piped up, in a voice that suggested Jack should have known that all along.
"Good job I asked, then, isn't it?" Jack huffed, fairly sure that if he hadn't said something his beloved offspring would have let him drive all the way to the first checkpoint at the mountain before telling him the different pick-up point.
Jack drove to Daniel and Vala's house where Teal'c was apparently staying the night, which was all very odd. However, he was unsurprised to find Teal'c standing on the sidewalk outside the house with no sign of either Daniel or Vala. It wasn't a secret that the pair did not do mornings!
"Good morning, O'Neills!" Teal'c boomed as he opened the door on the passenger side and got in.
"Good morning, Uncle Teal'c," both children responded as if in school, then giggled.
"T, ya gonna tell me what's goin' on?" Jack's greeting was not as sweet as his children's.
"All will be revealed at the mall, O'Neill."
Jack huffed again; he wasn't used to his questions going unanswered by those previously under his command, although he'd come to expect it from his offspring. He drove off, anyway, as the man had said he'd get his answer at the mall.
Actually, Jack got his answer a little earlier than the mall as they started passing people walking along the road dressed very oddly for an early September morning. Jack's suspicions were confirmed when he glanced in the rear-view mirror to see his son donning a similar white costume. There was nothing for it now; he was going to have to go into the lion's den and see if the force was with him or not.
He found a place to park in the surprisingly busy carpark and they all bundled out of the SUV. Jack could now see the signs all over the place and, to be honest, was a bit disappointed in his obviously lacking powers of observation as he hadn't been aware of what today was.
Jacob grabbed Teal'c's outstretched hand and practically ran to keep up with his large uncle. Jack was very happy when Grace took his hand and skipped along beside him. She was getting older now and Jack had noticed a bit of reluctance on her part when it came to showing affection for her parents in public. But she was obviously willing to do so at this time of the morning.
As they approached the entrance to the building Jack was caught a little off guard at the huge queue leading to the one shop that was open at the mall entrance. "You have got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed.
"I told you we was going to be late, Daddy," Jake scolded his father's tardiness.
"Do not worry, young Jacob. As I informed you when we spoke this morning, I have pre-booked our place."
Teal'c flashed a piece of paper to the security man at the door and, sure enough, the group was allowed through the other door, marked VIP. The entire hallway of open area inside the mall was geared up for the event. No other shops were open at this early hour so all spaces and doorways were taken up by life-size cardboard cutouts of every character possible. Jack sighed and worked out that he wasn't going to get out of this place quickly.
Teal'c grabbed Jacob, who was dressed to look the part, and took him and Grace into the store. The music was blaring, light sabres were flashing, and everything was geared for the release of the Blu-Ray version of the entire Star Wars saga.
Teal'c and Jake were in their element. They both had concealed light-sabres and began play fighting as they entered the store, which had an area that had been cleared for exactly that.
Jack trudged behind his friend and children; this was certainly not his cup of tea. Despite being the one who had stupidly introduced his friend to the saga, he'd had no idea how addicted Teal'c would become or how insanely annoying it would be to watch the episodes over and over again.
Ten minutes later and Jack was ready to leave. Grace was browsing the music section, making Jack realise, not for the first time, that she was growing up quickly, too quickly as far as he was concerned. When she then walked up to him and opened up his hand to place a pile of CDs and a new iPod Nano in his hands he decided enough was enough.
"No way, Grace." He handed the pile back.
"But Daad!" Grace pouted and flashed her well used puppy-dog eyes.
"Put them back. You can ask for them for Christmas but not before." Jack tried not to make eye contact as there was every chance he'd give in if he looked into her eyes.
Grace slowly put the box for the iPod back, realising that she might have gone just a tad too far with that one. She looked at the CDs left in her hands and looked back up at her father, this time trying to get him to make eye contact. "What about just one?" she pleaded.
Jack was weakening and couldn't have been more thankful for the return of T and Jake. However, he wasn't so thankful when Jake started pleading as well.
"Daddy! Can I get the set, Daddy, pleeeeeeeease?"
To be honest, two children pleading with him at the same time was too much but Jack held his ground by picturing Sam's face if he returned from the early morning excursion having spent hundreds of dollars on entertainment.
"No, Jake. Like I told your sister, you can put it on your Christmas list but not before." Jack's two eldest children then stood together and tried the pleading look as a combined force. Jack looked at Teal'c. "This is all your fault!" he accused.
Fortunately, Teal'c took pity on his old friend. "Grace O'Neill, I will purchase one CD for you. Jacob O'Neill, you may choose something of the same value as your sister's CD. They are presents from me and you are not to further pester your father."
"T, that's really generous, buddy, but that's not exactly the plan I had in mind."
"However, that is exactly how it will be." Teal'c turned to Grace and Jacob. "Come, young O'Neills, let us make our purchases and then we shall return you to your home. Have you yet decided which item you are going to choose?" Teal'c looked back at Jack, raised one eyebrow, then walked away, brokering no further argument.
Jack waited impatiently behind the queues for his children and their uncle to return. It seemed to take forever as many people were desperate to purchase the films in their new form. Jacob had chosen to get a new figurine for his collection instead of the films. Those he would expect under the tree from Santa, or any of his devoted aunties and uncles, when Christmas came.
Finally, Jack saw his large friend making his way through the crowd, a child holding on to each hand. All had huge smiles on their faces. Teal'c had purchased the whole series in Blu-Ray and could not wait to watch the new quality, superb films.
"All set?" Jack asked, rocking on his heels, anxious to leave.
"Indeed, O'Neill, we have been most successful." Teal'c nodded and smiled. Jack found his beaming smile very off putting and did a few double takes, unsure that his friend wasn't going completely loopy.
They all crossed the parking lot and began to get into the SUV when Teal'c pulled out his cell and began furiously texting. He was only half in the car when Jack, who already had himself and the kids buckled in, turned to speak to him. "T, you know, to drive we all have to actually be in the vehicle."
Teal'c looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Very well, O'Neill. However, I must contact our friends to plan a Star Wars day."
"Yay! A whole day watching Star Wars!" Jake practically bounced in the back seat.
"Today?" Jack questioned, his nice relaxing plans for the day dwindling before his eyes.
"Indeed, O'Neill. Was it not you who once advised me to seize the day?"
"Well, yeah, Teal'c … but not the whole damn day," Jack groused as he started the engine.
"I'm telling Mom!" Grace piped up from the back seat. "You said a bad word."
"Crap!" Jack instinctively replied.
"Oh, oh! You said another one," Grace's voice singsonged through the vehicle.
Jack sighed and prepared himself for the lecture his wife was going to give him; he really didn't need another telling off. He decided to return his attention to Teal'c and his texts. "You inviting the whole gang, Teal'c?"
"Indeed, O'Neill. Young Jacob invited us. It is good of you to offer the use of your home."
"Wait, I…"
"It's fine, Daddy. We're the only house with a big screen TV and all the latest technology," Jake said very matter of factly.
For the first time in his marriage he cursed his wife and her ability to rig up their fantastic entertainment system, which she kept improving every time a new doohickey came on the market. Sensing that he'd lose any fight he tried to win he conceded that his quiet day would now end in a Star Wars marathon. He drove to the exit of the mall parking lot and looked around.
"Well, if you guys get Star Wars, I need beer." He whipped the car to the left and headed straight to the parking area for Wal-Mart.
Jack sighed. This was their first possible family weekend in over a month. Either he'd been working, or Sam had been working, or they'd been running a taxi service for his two oldest and their busy social lives. He'd wanted to spend it quietly with just the six of them. However, he glanced to his right and saw the rare smile on his friend's face and the excitement spreading from the back of the SUV and smiled himself. Maybe he just needed to broaden his idea of a family weekend to include their whole extended family. Hey, he could drink beer and char meat happily on the deck. It didn't matter what film was showing in the house. Vala, Sam and Carolyn could relax in the backyard while Teal'c, Daniel, Cam and the kids watched the movies. He could even get the pool uncovered. Yep, the weather was supposed to be good, even for the start of September.
Jack smiled as he jumped from the car and jogged to the shop to purchase everything he'd need for a family day with all the trimmings. His plans for the weekend may be changing but it could still be really special.
AN: Thanks for reading, hoping to get a longer story to you in the next few weeks