The days had flown by. Jack had taken Jacob back to the SGC after dropping the kids off at school the day after the snow day. They'd decided to minimize the chance of one of the kids revealing just how Jacob had gotten back to "work." Goodbyes, while sad, had been much smoother than the first time. Sam's sunny personality and easygoing nature had shown through without the taint of alien drugs running through her system. All the same, her brothers had moved to stand shoulder to shoulder on either side of her, as if to give support. The three kids had stood on the sidewalk waving vigorously until the truck was out of sight. As for Jacob, Jack wasn't sure who had waved more fervently. The other man continued to look out the window well after the kids had disappeared from view, and respecting the man's mood, Jack had remained silent during the short trip back to the mountain.
Life went back to normal. Well, as normal as it ever got around the O'Neill house while his transformed teammates gave the place a feel of family. Jack was forever stepping on toys, both human and feline, and he frequently found objects in unusual places. The socks that migrated under furniture could have come from the cat or the kids, though the rocks that showed up inside the fridge he blamed on the human culprits. Likewise, the fuzzy mice he found in his bed were solely the cat's doing.
The holiday season was upon them as well. Seemingly overnight, decorations appeared on houses and in stores and the O'Neill home was no exception. Perhaps it had been the dispirited and preoccupied faces the kids had shown after Jacob left that drove Jack to new levels of holiday enthusiasm, or maybe it was just presence of children in the house. In any case, sad looks soon turned to ones of eager anticipation.
Jack tried to ignore the secretive glances that appeared too. Or the way they'd stop talking when he entered the room. He tried to keep his parental instincts on a lower level too, when the kids would closet themselves in one or the other's bedroom and strange industrious sounds would issue from various areas of the house. And he even managed not to peek (not even a quick one) at the suspicious bulky lump that had appeared in the garage a week or so before Christmas. After all, he had his own secrets to protect too!
By the time Christmas neared, a large tree stood at place of pride in front of the window decked with twinkling lights and a mix of store bought and hand made ornaments. Jack was quite pleased with the result despite the fact that more ornaments than he thought necessary sported varying amounts of glitter, which seemed determined to fall off and take up permanent residence in the carpet. And then there was the cat, which had a different opinion on how the tree should look, but somehow, they managed to keep Billie out of the tree.
Most of the time that is.
Jack found more than a few ornaments under furniture and other unusual places courtesy of one four footed feline. Most of the ornaments stayed where they belonged though, and the tree stayed up thanks to Jack's foresight in tying the tree to the wall with a couple screws and some fishing line. Between the cat and the kids he was amazed the tree was still standing despite the anchorage.
Garland dangled from anywhere it could be draped, and scores of handmade crafts mingled with the everyday décor. The required cookies had been baked, and all the usual holiday specials had been shown, and dutifully watched, on TV. The kids had come home the last half day of school before the holiday break properly loaded down with cards and craft projects, and stuffed with various sugary confections from the classroom party. The next few days were filled with many secretive excursions in order to make sure everything was ready. Finally, the special night arrived.
The stockings had been hung and the kids sent reluctantly to bed. Jack grinned as he walked by the boys' room and overheard Daniel trying valiantly again to reassure Teal'c that Santa Claus was not an intruder, but instead welcomed to come into people's homes in the middle of the night while the occupants slept. He was even left cookies and other things to consume. It wasn't the first time that Daniel had tried to explain Santa Claus, even going as far as to beg a ride to the library where he spent hours researching the history of Father Christmas around the world. Despite the boy's efforts, Teal'c still sounded dubious of the whole idea, particularly of the ability of this one single man to visit all the homes necessary in a single night. Daniel had been unable to uncover any satisfactory explanations for the older boy, but he had refused to give up. Jack could only shake his head and walk away from the bedroom door before his laughter gave him away.
Slipping into his room, Jack closed the door behind himself before he retrieved a few last gifts he hadn't found time to wrap. Jack frowned at the cat, which had somehow managed to sneak into his room ahead of him despite his precautions of dropping a few small tidbits from dinner's leftovers in order to distract the cat. Billie had a rather smug expression on her face, at least in Jack's opinion. Another glare was sent towards the cat when he discovered the ribbons he'd planned on using were shredded and tangled. He tossed the mangled ribbon into the trashcan, and started to pull out the gift-wrap. With several uncomplimentary oaths, Jack retrieved the cat and the unusable ribbon from the trashcan, and carried both downstairs, tossing the ribbon into the covered trashcan and ignoring the mournful looks Billie sent his way once her toy was gone.
On the way back to his bedroom, he gave a start when he realized the sofa was occupied. "Teal'c?" he asked.
Teal'c stood, and shifted slightly as if nervous about something before giving Jack a nod. Jack frowned. "Something wrong Teal'c?"
Again the boy hesitated, uncharacteristically licking his lips before speaking. "I wish to see this… Santa Claus… for myself." There was an edge of determination to the boy's voice, one that Jack recognized all too well.
All the same… "I don't suppose I can say anything to change your mind, can I?" Teal'c solemnly shook his head no. Jack forced back a sigh. "Ok, well don't mind me. I have a few things left to do before Doctor Janet and General Hammond come tomorrow." Teal'c merely nodded again and went back to his vigil, settling back onto the couch.
Jack went back into the kitchen and flipped on the radio, ignoring the slightly perplexed look he saw appear on Teal'c's face through the doorway. Acting as if he hadn't a care in the world, Jack set about bustling in the kitchen, tidying and assembling things for the meal tomorrow. Humming along to the familiar Christmas tunes playing, Jack moved out to the living room, where he dusted and straightened, and adjusted the decorations. Teal'c's eyelids had definitely grown heavier. Jack smiled to himself and returned to the kitchen, putting a pot on the stove. Still humming a few minutes later, he wandered out to the living room sipping a mug and gave Teal'c a second cup of hot chocolate made with warmed milk. Leaving Teal'c alone with his mug and the soft music still playing from the kitchen, Jack headed back upstairs.
Dallying over the gift-wrapping, Jack took his time before going back downstairs, leaving the gifts on the bed and the door closed. He grinned when he saw his plan had accomplished his goal. Teal'c asleep on the couch, the nearly empty mug on the end table beside him. Billie was curled up next to the boy, but her head popped up curiously. Jack made a silencing gesture towards the cat, his finger on his lips as if the cat would understand. At any rate, Billie remained where she was, head settling back on paws, although her ears followed his every move.
Utilizing every skill in Black Ops he possessed, Jack went about playing the part of Santa Claus. Somehow, Teal'c never woke, not even after the last gift was in place, and Jack turned out the extra lights and slipped back upstairs. Gratefully, he slid under the covers, groaning at the late hour, and hoping the kids would all sleep late. Of course, he really knew there was slim chance of that.
A/N: Apologies for the long delay. Very long delay. Reality, writer's block, and just plain finding the time. Moving soon too. Hopefully, within the next month or two, so I really have no idea when the next installment will be, but I promise you this story will be completed by me. Especially since there are some other things I've been working on that I would love to post but refuse to let myself until this one is complete. And it almost is, really. So bear with me. The next chapter is about halfway done, since I decided to post it as two parts considering I'd taken so long with the update. Oh, and as an opportunity for reader involvement (always fun!) I have some ideas for Christmas gifts, but let me know what you'd get the kids if you worked at the SGC, and I'll see what else I can work in.
On another note, thanks to whoever it was that nominated me for the Stargate fan awards. I was quite surprised (and pleased) to see that Just a Kiss and A Hairy Situation were both nominated, especially considering they by far haven't been my most popular fics, particularly Hairy Situation being a one shot. So it was rather nice to see them nominated, and I appreciate that someone (or several someones) took the time to nominate me. Thank you very much, and I hope all of you will take the time to head over there to browse the usually fine collection of works in the nominations and vote on your favorites.
As for the brats… They're fat. And they're turning two Wednesday. But its ok, they can't possibly behave any worse than they do now.