Monday came and it was back to school for the kids and back to work for Jack. The kids threw themselves into their schoolwork, their two days off having given them a fresh start, and Jack threw himself into the new training program, surprising even Hammond. Jack had been busy these last few weeks, with so many changes and things happening, that he hadn't really been paying attention to the passage of time. And so it was with a bit of a start on Tuesday afternoon he looked at the calendar and realized with a shock that it was nearly Halloween.
In the past, he hadn't really paid attention the passing of Halloween. He wasn't really into the party scene himself, and since he didn't have children, there really wasn't any need for him to celebrate. So other than the fact that there was a lot of candy on sale in the stores, and that if he was lucky, he had something other than crackers to hand out if he actually was on Earth for the festive event, he really never paid any attention to when Halloween fell. But now, as he looked at his calendar, he realized he had three very good reasons to celebrate it this year and with it being tomorrow, it didn't leave them a lot of time to prepare!
Jack's hard work the last day and a half paid off, because Hammond was quite agreeable when Jack sheepishly explained why he wanted to go home two hours early. And so he was able to scope out the local Target for a variety of decorations. Not too many, he wasn't suddenly going to become the guy with the creepy house and the spooky sound effects, the one the kids were scared of but loved to go to all the same. But he still decided some door decorations, fake gravestones, lots and lots of cobwebs with spiders and bats, and even a ghost hanging from the front tree were all essential when you had kids.
He picked up the kids and instead of taking them home drove back to Target. It was still early, and they were beating the crowd of last minute holiday shoppers thankfully. The kids had no clue. Halloween hadn't been such a big deal when Sam and Daniel were younger the first time. Jack remembered the store bought costumes that looked like they were printed on garbage bags and the masks that could make kids trip and get hit by cars because they couldn't see out of them, and he wondered how all of them, including himself, grew up the first time.
"Ok, so what do you guys want to be for Halloween?" He grinned as Sam and Daniel realized what was going on. Teal'c looked confused, but he hadn't expected anything less. What did surprise him however, was when Daniel buried his own excitement to explain the holiday to his older brother.
"Teal'c this is so cool, you get to pick out a costume, and be whatever you want, like oh, a pirate, or a cartoon character, and then you go around and knock on people's doors, and they give you candy!" Daniel was grinning from ear to ear.
"Lots of candy!" chimed in Sam, bouncing. "Can I be a trash man Colonel Jack?"
Jack was just about to say sure, when Sam's question sank in. "A what?" he asked, just to be positive he'd heard correctly.
"A trash man. It's what I want to be when I grow up." Sam was spinning in a circle in the center aisle; fortunately, no one was coming because Jack was too flabbergasted to pull her to the side at the moment.
"You want to be a what? I mean, uh, what happened to being an astronaut? In fact, I'm sure we can find you an astronaut costume here." Jack's mind was spinning with the possibilities. How the hell was he going to explain to General Hammond, the President of the United States, the Joint Chiefs, hell, her father, that Samantha Carter, astrophysicist, leading expert on the stargate, and a certified genius, wanted to collect trash when she grew up again?
"Oh," she said dismissively, "You have to know math, and I don't like math anymore. Trash is much more fun. You get to ride on the back of the truck, and hang on with one arm. And every so often, this big smoosher thing, it comes down, and it smooshes all the trash in the truck, like this," Sam waved her arms together, making appropriate sound effects. "Squish, all flat, very cool. And that's not all, Jeremy Setman, he says he and his dad go to the dump all the time, and he says you wouldn't believe all the stuff that people throw away. We should go sometime, he said I could come with them, but I said I'd have to ask you."
Jack blinked, his mind still reeling with the revelation that Sam wanted to be a trash collector, and that she apparently didn't like math, to even try and process the information that a boy in her class had invited her to go to the dump with him. And then his heart nearly stopped as Teal'c made another announcement.
"I wish to also be a sanitation worker. Samantha and I will be on the same team," Teal'c said so solemnly that Jack knew the boy was not joking and that they had been discussing this, obviously for some time. His eyes narrowed, and he suddenly became suspicious, his suspicions confirmed a moment later as Daniel spoke up.
"Me too, I'm going to be the driver. I always wanted to drive the trash truck." Daniel's voice was wistful, and Jack wished a hole would open up and swallow him right there. Daniel failed to notice his dismay and plowed right on. "Hey, I know, we can all be trash men for Halloween!"
None of them noticed his frantic motions that this wasn't a good idea, and their cheerful acceptance was the reason why an hour later they left the store with bags containing three small pairs of coveralls, three knit hats, and three small metal novelty trash cans they'd found in the stationary department that would double as their loot bags. Jack planned to carry a second bag for Sam's "loot" because he doubted the little girl would be able to carry much of a load compared to the two boys. He also bought a few glow sticks, and planned to outfit the kids with reflective web belts, he had several that the military issued as part of the PT uniform for visibility while jogging on base. Now he just had to hope he didn't run into anyone that knew him from work, and maybe he wouldn't have to explain about why the SGC's chief astrophysicist, anthropologist/linguist, and only Jaffa warrior wanted to be a team of sanitation workers when they grew up again rather than the kick butt Goa'uld fighters they were supposed to be. Maybe he could come up with something convincing, involving garbage and that trash smooshing thing Sam that been talking about.
The kids were impressed with the transformation of the front yard, and Jack was able to temporarily forget that his life would be over the moment anyone found out what they wanted to be as he watched them run around and check things out. All too soon though, they reminded him again of their chosen career change, because they would talk of nothing else. Jack sighed as he unloaded the dishwasher, wondering how he could convince the kids that math really was fun. Somehow he suspected the "new math" that Sam was being forced to conform to was the culprit of Sam's sudden disinterest in math.
He really didn't see what the big deal of it was anyway, except to confuse parents maybe. Maybe it was supposed to give the kids an ego boost when they saw they were smarter than old mom and dad or something. Jack scowled at the peas over dinner, as he doled them out on the various plates, careful not to allow the vegetables to come into contact with any other food item. He'd learned the hard way the first night, that apparently the vegetables coming into contact with anything else would ruin anything they touch, and all his arguments that it was all going to the same place simply had no effect. Unless of course the child in question mixed said food items together on his or her own. He'd noticed that Sam had a tendency to experiment, and he didn't care what she did, so long as she ate it eventually, and if that meant she ate corn and mashed potatoes mixed together, then that's what she did. Even knowing these three as adults he was still never prepared for the multitude of quirks that emerged at seven, nine, and eleven. Like wanting to become trash men. Jack's scowl deepened.
Fortunately, none of the kids seemed to notice his mood, which was good, since it continued into the next day. All day long he made airmen scatter, and no one bothered him much. He managed to avoid General Hammond, and any awkward questions about what the kids were going as for trick-or-treating tonight.
Some of his normal good cheer returned when he picked up the kids. How could it not, you'd have to be a miser not to smile when they piled in the SUV, loaded down with painted pumpkins, cupcakes and candy from classroom parties.
They put the pumpkins on the front porch when they got home, and Sam wanted to go out trick-or-treating right away, but it was a little bit early, so Jack made them come in for a snack and made them work on their homework. They understandably had trouble concentrating on the assignments but the teachers knew this would happen too, so assignments were light. Jack knew if they didn't get it done now they'd be too tired later; so he threatened and cajoled them, and then corrected the homework and made them fix it. By then, it was time for a light and early dinner, which he'd never seen them eat so fast. Laughing, he sent them upstairs to put their costumes on.
When they came down, he couldn't help but smile. While it wasn't his choice of careers for them and he sorely hoped they would change their minds, and soon, they did look cute. Late last night he'd found some stencils and a fabric pen and written "Colorado Springs Sanitation Dept." across the back of each set of coveralls. He had the kids pose with their small trashcans, then put the belts on each kid. The SGC had handed out glowing necklaces, like the glow sticks, and Jack had taken several of each as well as the pamphlet on safety, so now he was convinced his little group was as visible as possible. He wore his own set of reflective and glowing gear as well. The pamphlet hadn't told him anything he didn't know.
It was still daylight, almost an hour before sunset, and Jack knew they had plenty of time to see most of their neighbors. In fact, he could see a few adults out already, escorting their excited trick-or-treaters. He'd lived here for years, and knew most of the people on this street, though most of them didn't know he had kids living with him. He was glad in a way for the coverall costumes, since it let the kids have sweats on underneath, because despite the fact that the sun was still out, it was chilly already.
They started with elderly Mrs. Greene across the street, who crowed with delight over the sight of the children. "And just what might you dearies be?" she asked, as she dug in her bowl of candy, doling out an extra helping for her little helpers as she liked to call them.
"We're trash men!" Sam announced with pride.
"I'm the driver!" said Daniel, not to be outdone.
"Samantha and I ride on the back of the truck." Teal'c said, bowing his head in thanks as Mrs. Greene dropped candy in his trashcan.
"Where the smoosher is! We're all gonna be trash men when we grow up." said Sam cheerfully.
"Well goodness gracious!" Mrs. Greene blinked, shaking her head. Jack just grunted, as the kids waved and thanked the woman, running to the next house.
Jack followed, and the night progressed much the same. Some people guessed right away, with the trashcan props the kids carried, or caught glimpses of the backs of the coveralls. Usually though, Sam or Daniel, or occasionally Teal'c would just announce what they were. There was a lot of laughter, and the kids quickly discovered that cheerful adults gave out more candy! Jack just grunted, and scowled, and followed, making sure no one got run over in the street. Bad enough the SGC's premier team would be spending their second lives picking up garbage, but he'd really be dead if he let one of them get run over while trick-or-treating.
Eventually, Sam was dragging her feet and could barely carry her nearly empty trash bucket, which Jack had kept emptied into the backpack that now bulged satisfyingly over his shoulder. Daniel was starting to complain about his feet hurting, and even Teal'c looked tired. The temperature had dropped as soon as the sun had disappeared so Jack headed them home. They still had to sort out their candy anyway, as Jack refused to let them eat any of it until he had been able to give it a thorough look over.
When they got back, he let them each pick out several pieces, and after checking that the candy looked okay, he let them have it. After the kids went to bed, he'd check the rest. For the most part, it looked okay, but he'd spied at least one package of something that looked homemade, and since the only thing he remembered being given was in his pocket, neatly labeled and from the neighbor next door, that meant the other thing was from someone he didn't remember. But he'd wait to throw anything away until the kids were in bed, because likely they'd protest any of their "loot" getting thrown away, no matter the reason.
Later, once the kids were all tucked into bed, and the candy all sorted, back in its bins with each kids name on them, Jack peeked in on each kid. He watched them as they slept, each of them breathing softly. Again, he marveled at the gift he had been given, and he decided as he watched them, that if they wanted to be trash men, then to hell with the world, he would help them be the best damn trash men they could be. Still, though, as he watched them, he still kinda hoped they would change their minds and want to be an astrophysicist, an archeologist, and a warrior again.
A/N: So I thought I'd give ya'll a special treat for mischief day and Halloween! I never realized that the calendar would catch up to my chapter though, but it worked out so nicely I couldn't have planned it better if I tried I think. Of course the days of the week are different, but this is five years ago, and I'm not going to research it. It needs to be on Wednesday, so if it's not Wednesday five years ago, I'm taking creative liberties to make it so!
Oh, and I bought the (spoiled rotten) cats (beasts) a new cat toy, a little mousie on a string. (mousies can too fly!) I really shouldn't have since they completely trashed the butterfly thing on a string you could stick to the window. (Ungrateful creatures) There's just the edged and eyeballs left now, but I can't make myself throw the tattered bits away yet, since it's Dragon's favorite toy, and he doesn't really have favorite toys. (I mean it's like his favorite toy!) Anyway, got them the thing with the wand and string, and they love it. To the point that I have to hide it in between when we play with it, because Sammy (should have called him Samwise, little stinker) seeks it out and tries to run away with it. Only he ends up dragging the string and wand behind him, which of course gets Dragon all excited. And first day we had the thing my brother thought this was very amusing and let them do it and they ended up chewing through the string. (And given their history and tendency to eat everything I'd rather not risk them getting strangled from the inside or the outside) A few days later I actually had to start hiding the thing, and I've taken to closing the door so Sam won't see where it is, because he follows me and watches hoping to keep playing even though I know he's tired, and sure enough, several hours later he's usually found it again. (He's smart!) But its great fun, they run and leap (Dragons really do fly too!) but I really wish they'd make a wand toy that would hold together better!