Advent prompt – Decorations.

No beta'd – just borrowing)

A Sprinkle of Christmas Magic

"Right." Jack kicked the back door open. "I think this should be enough," he stated with a grin as he placed a huge pile of Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe on the kitchen table.

"Enough for what?" Sam frowned as she reached and knocked some snow off the larger branch of Holly.

Jack took his coat off and placed it on the hook on the back of the door. "Well," he turned back to the table. "It should be enough to decorate the whole cabin."

"I see," Janet grinned. "We're going for the rustic look then." She picked up a piece of Ivy and shook off the frost.

"Absolutely," Jack confirmed and then crossed the kitchen and opened the cupboard under the sink. "In here, somewhere is..." He stuck his head into the cupboard and routed around for a minute or two. "Ah," he finally stated and removed a wooden chest. "Here you go." He lifted the chest onto the table and opened the lid. "There's all sorts in here," he grinned and started to remove various items. "Silver and gold spray... card and glitter... colored paper..." He emptied half of the chest on to the table and grabbed a sprig of holly. After giving it a quick dry on his shirt, he reached for the can of Gold spray and liberally sprayed a couple of spiky leaves. "There ya go," he smiled and held it up. "Instant Christmas decorations!"

"Indeed," Teal'c bowed and Jack tossed him the can.

"Knock yourself out, big guy," he grinned and then started looking through another cupboard.

"What are you looking for now, sir?" Janet asked as she grabbed a piece of card and a Christmas tree stencil ready to decorate.

"Here we are." Jack pulled out a large bag of popping corn. "Sarah and Charlie loved doing this," he grinned and turned to light the stove. "It takes no time at all and we'll have a string of garlands to decorate the tree with." He added a small amount of oil into a pot and poured in the corn.

"We used to do that when we were kids," Janet smiled as she cut out her bell. "Mind you, we normally ate more than we threaded," she chuckled.

"Well," Jack placed the lid onto the pot. "They'll be no eating. We've only just got enough."

"Spoil sport," Janet grouched light heartedly.

"Oy, get on with your coloring," Jack teased just as lighthearted.

"Yes, sir."

Sam smiled at the banter as she passed Teal'c some glue. It was another lovely day. The sun shone brightly through the window, the room was full of Christmassy smells and sights and the team were more than happy to settle down to a morning of good old-fashioned fun.

Xxx

Daniel smiled to himself as he stepped out of the shower. He could hear the sound of Christmas carols, interspersed with giggles, coming from the kitchen. Obviously, everyone was having fun.

Jack had bought a cup of coffee into him and he'd been surprised to find out how late it was and had assumed that everyone else was sleeping too. As it was, it was obvious that he was the only one who had slept in today.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, he'd taken a quick shower and was eager to join in as it was the first day that he hadn't woken up with a headache and wanted to make the most of feeling well.

He quickly pulled on a his pants and a sweater, gave his hair a quick rub dry and, after hanging up his wet towel, made his way to the kitchen.

"Oh..." He paused in the doorway when he saw the mess. Christmas decorations covered the whole of the table and most of the floor. Sam and Janet were sitting crossed legged with their backs against the stove, threading pop corn and singing carols as they worked.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Morning guys," he smiled at the girls.

"Good morning, Daniel," Sam smiled back.

Janet looked up from her threading. "How're you feeling?" She asked.

"Better." Daniel assured and then walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. "Where are Jack and Teal'c?" He asked as he leant against the sink and took a sip of his drink.

"They're up in the attic, searching for some lights." Sam told him and then reached for another handful of popcorn, which she dropped into her lap ready for threading.

"Oh," Daniel smiled. "I'm assuming that this is decorating day."

"You assume correctly," Janet grinned. "So hurry up and get some breakfast, there's a pot of Granny's special oats on the stove and then you and come and help us. Jack is insisting that we have at least ten feet of this damn string." She shoved some of the string to one side to make room for some more.

Daniel chuckled, placed his cup down and reached for a bowl.

Today was going to be fun!

Xxx

The sun had set on what had been a very productive day in the cabin.

The whole of the living room was now decorated.

There was a garland of golden holly, interspersed with blood red berries adorning the mantelpiece. Sprigs of mistletoe hung from each corner of the room, handmade paper chains crossed the ceiling and pop corn strings hung between the pictures on the walls.

The tiny, weakling of a Christmas tree now stood tall, adorned with pop corn strings, gold and silver bells and cardboard cut out Christmas trees covered with glitter. Every inch that could have been decorated, had been.

Jack had just lit the fire and everyone had gathered round it.

"Okay, Teal'c," he nodded towards Teal'c. "Cut the light."

Teal'c bowed and then switched off the overhead light.

Jack then scampered over to the tree. "There ya go," he reached under and switched the switch.

The little Christmas tree came to life!

Jack had found the old string of lights in the attic and after fiddling with then for a while to make sure all the bulbs were working, had strung them round the tree.

The tree looked beautiful.

Colored lights darted round the room as the lights shone of the baubles found with the lights and provided a Christmassy light show.

"It looks wonderful," Janet gashed.

"Indeed it does," Teal'c agreed.

"We did a great job," Sam nodded.

"We sure did." Jack scooted back so he was leaning against the sofa. "She sure is a beauty – good choice, Daniel," he turned and smiled at his friend who was curled up in an armchair where he'd been dozing on and off for most of the afternoon after running out of steam.

"She just needed a little love and care," Daniel yawned and snuggled down again ready to sleep.

"Hey," Jack reached and prodded his leg. "No sleeping. You've got a job to do."

"Oh?" Daniel frowned.

"Yup." Jack sprang to his feet and crossed to the box of discarded decorations. "In here, somewhere..." he sorted through the box and then pulled out what he'd been looking for. "There ya go," he grinned and held up the handmade Angel that Charlie had taken such care over the first Christmas they'd spent at the cabin. He held the Angel out to Daniel. "I promised you could put the Angel on top."

Daniel smiled and slowly unravelled himself from the blanket Janet had covered him with when he'd first started to snore. "Thank you." He stood and took the Angel off Jack, blew on it to remove the dust, pulled out her wings and straightened her body. When he was satisfied that she was shinning in all her glory, he reached up and placed her on top of the tree...

"There," he stood back and admired the tree. "That's perfect."

"Yes it is," Jack agreed, coming to stand at his friend's side. "Just perfect Daniel."

Daniel turned and smiled, tears springing in his eyes. His childhood seemed an eternity away but right now, in this very second he was transported back to being the too small for his age, six year old who'd longed for his father to lift him up to put the Angel on the tree.

"Thanks Jack," he whispered, knowing Jack knew how important it had been to him.

"My pleasure, Daniel. My pleasure."

The rest of the team joined the men at the tree.

"I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful tree," Janet sighed. "The amount of money spent on decorations these days is obscene. Look at what you can achieve with some Christmas spirit and a vivid imagination."

"Too true," Sam agreed.

"Indeed."

They all stood and admired the tree for a while until Jack clapped his hands together. "Right," he stated. "That pot of stew's calling our names. Let's eat and then how about an evening of board games? I know we've got Chess and Monopoly round here somewhere."

"Good idea," Sam nodded as she and Janet gathered all the rubbish together before making their way into the kitchen.

Jack turned to follow them but stopped when he noticed that Daniel was still transfixed on the tree. "You okay?" He asked his friend softly.

"Yeah," Daniel sighed, his eyes never leaving the tree. "It's just been such a long time..."

"I know," Jack reached and placed a hand on Daniel's arm. "For me too."

Daniel nodded slowly and then turned and smiled. "New memories, hey?"

"Yup. New memories." Jack returned the smile. "Happy ones."

The two men turned back to the tree, both lost in the past until Sam called from the kitchen.

"Come and get it guys, before Teal'c scoffs the lot!"

Jack cleared his throat to disperse 'the moment.' "Come on, Daniel," he slapped his friend on the back. "Let's go."

Daniel chuckled and followed Jack, pausing at the doorway to admire the room as a whole. Janet was right; you didn't need money to make perfection.

All you needed was tender loving care and a sprinkle of Christmas magic.

xxxx