Summary: A quick, inert story to keep the spark alive at SJFicJr. I work my second job most days, but I've been DYING to write a quickie, so stayed up till midnight doing this one –in about 20 minutes.
Time Frame: Probably Season 10. Christmastime. Off canon, most likely.
Notes: All the changes to Season Nine take place as usual. I tend to switch around the name any time I use children. Don't rely on me to use only one. Any way, I hope you enjoy the story.
Relationship: Jack and Sam
Rating: PG, at most
Archive: SJFic and SJFicJr., only, unless I put it somewhere myself.
Holiday Reflection
By: Lynda Mayfield
It was nearly eleven at night. The house was dark, quiet except for the glow of Christmas tree lights and the sounds from the television. Jack was on the couch watching a new DVD with Sam. They shared a hand-crocheted afghan that was a gift from a girlfriend of Daniel's. Their archeologist friend had been out on the dating scene quite a bit since his last "death."
Jack's memory flashed back to ten that morning. Sam had some holiday errands to run, and he was in charge of their toddler, Alexander Grant. Handing over the youngster to Jack, she was out the door. He had some gifts to wrap, for his wife.
In order to achieve both the child wrangling and the gift wrapping, there was one small complication Jack didn't need. That was the energetic yellow lab that now came bounding downstairs. Molly had been adopted shortly after Jack and Sam's wedding. They had found her in a shelter, unlikely to get a home because of her advanced age—all of six years.
"Molly! Come on, girl, out." Jack had switch Alexander to his left hip and managed the sliding glass door with the right side of his body. On hearing "out," Molly ran straight out the door. She quickly took care of business and then trotted to the heated doghouse in one corner of the fenced, one-acre yard. "Good girl."
Jack pulled a brown paper shopping bag out of the hall closet. "All right, Alexander, let's get to work."
Putting the child down to roam the main floor, Jack dumped out the gift wrap, ribbons, bows, scotch tape and scissors. Sam had thought that was the entire contents of the bag. Removing a slab of cardboard he had secreted at the bottom of the bag, Jack pulled out a rectangular velvet box and a cardboard one.
Jack's first step was to sit on the scissors to make sure Alexander wouldn't get at them. No needed to worry there, the baby was busy picking through half-unwound reams of gift wrap. Jack then peaked into the boxes to make sure that Sam really hadn't disturbed them in the last six weeks.
In no time at all, he had wrapped the triple diamond solitaire necklace and brand new palm pilot to his satisfaction. He smiled as he put the finishing touches on…the To/From gift tags, a bow for each and some ribbon.
He let the dog in, made himself a cup of coffee and fed the baby, who had been good as gold the whole time, a snack.
Jack flashed out of his remembrance when Sam snuggled deeper into his shoulder, then stretched and yawned.
"Hey, bedtime?" he asked.
"Mmmm, yeah."
Jack hit the remote, turning off the television. "Okay, mama, let's go." He kissed her forehead and helped her up the stairs to their room.
The End