New Ideas
Hayden sat indian-style on the floor next to Daniel, sucking her thumb as she watched him busy himself with the stuff he'd pulled from the box. Her grey-blue eyes gazed on curiously as he leaned over to do something she didn't understand.
"Daddy?" She mumbled around her thumb.
Daniel looked over his shoulder at her, his hands not stopping in their task. "Yeah, pooh?"
She pointed at the thing he was working on. "Doing?"
"I'm setting up the stand to hold the Christmas tree, hunny." He answered back distractedly, trying to twist the last screw into the metal 'trunk' of the tree. As it finally slipped into place like he wanted, Daniel sat back and looked at Hayden. She was watching him, not understanding what he'd said.
"What?" She questioned, emphasizing her confusion.
Daniel smiled, and pulled her into his lap. She settled comfortably and looked up at him expectantly, still sucking her thumb. "Do you remember the Christmas tree from last year, Hayds?" When all she did was blink at him, he nodded. "That's a no - not that I'm surprised, you were only a year old."
He pointed to the stand and the branches around it. "Well, we're gonna put all this stuff together to make a tree." Hayden tilted her head at his statement. Daniel looked around to find something to help explain what he was talking about. The side of the box caught his eye and he pointed to the picture there. "Tree, Hayden. We're gonna make this tree."
Hayden looked at the box and leaned forward to trace the outline of the cliché christmas tree shape. "Tree." She finally said.
"Yes, tree." Daniel smiled, rubbing her back as she climbed out of his lap and moved to examine the branches.
Plopping down on the floor, she looked back at him curiously. "Why?"
Daniel inhaled deeply, feeling so incredibly proud of his daughter. He hadn't really had much experience with children before she'd come into his life, but he was sure she was more inquisitive than most her age. "Because it's for Christmas, babygirl. Do you know what Christmas it?"
Hayden shook her head.
"It's a holiday." He elaborated, crawling over to her and placing a kiss into her hair. "One that I'm positive you'll learn to love soon."
She considered for a moment. Her little fingers reached out to touch one of the branches. "Lolday." Hayden tested the word for herself.
Daniel nodded. "That's right, a holiday - like the Fourth of July or Halloween."
Grey-blue eyes looked up at him happily. "'ween candy." That was one she knew real well.
Laughing, Daniel picked the little girl up and walked on his knees towards the stand and bare trunk of the tree. Picking up one of the branches, he hooked it into the trunk. "You definitely remember that one." He saw her out of the corner of his eye watching him intently. "I personally prefer this one, though. Lots of lights and decorations and colors..." Daniel brought his lips close to Hayden's ear. "And presents." He whispered.
Her face lit up with excitement. "Presents?" She whispered back hopefully.
Daniel looked at her and smiled. "Yep, but that's not the most important thing." He brushed her bangs back behind her ear and sat down. "Daddy prefers the love and the joy..." Pulling her thumb from her mouth, he kissed the back of her tiny hand. "And the family."
"Mama and daddy?" Hayden asked, hearing the word family. "Nuckle Jack and Cam?"
Nodding, Daniel felt his heart soar at the fact that she'd understood. "That's it exactly, Hayden. Mommy and daddy, Uncle Jack, Cam, and Teal'c, Auntie Sam and Carolyn."
Examining her father's larger, calloused fingers, Hayden tilted her head. "Ganpa?" She asked curiously, looking into his blue eyes after a moment for approval.
"Grandpa Hank too." He agreed.
Hayden nodded, understanding. She turned his hand with both of her own and placed a kiss to the back of it like he had to hers. She smiled excitedly, looking up at Daniel again.
Daniel found all he could do was smile back and took both her hands in his and squeezed them gently. She had knocked the words out of him from the action.
"How's it going in here?" Vala said cheerily, unintentionally breaking the silent moment being had by father and daughter. She placed the boxes in her arms down by the Christmas tree box, and turned to look at them. "What are you two doing?"
Looking up at her, Daniel gave her a sweet smile. "Hayden's learning about Christmas."
Hayden grinned and bounced in her father's arms for a moment, indicating she wanted down. When he placed her down, she walked over to the box with the tree on the side and pointed at it. "Ickmas."
Vala smiled and looked over at Daniel, who shrugged.
"She's still got a little more learning to do." He stood up and walked over to the woman he'd fallen so deeply in love with. He smiled indulgently. "She pretty much understands what it's about, though."
Leaning up and kissing him gently, Vala lightly grasped Daniel's hand in hers. "You sound very proud, daddy."
Daniel nodded. "I am." He looked over at Hayden, who was trying to hook one of the branches into one of the slots on the trunk like he had. "She takes my breath away with how much she truly understands sometimes."
"Mine too." Vala murmured, then laughed only to Daniel as Hayden pouted and stamped her foot when the branch wouldn't cooperate. "I don't think she quite understands the tree just yet."
Smiling, Daniel rushed to his daughter's aid before she started crying. Wrapping his hand around hers, he guided the branch to the slot and helped Hayden slide it in. She giggled and immediately moved to get another one.
Again, Daniel helped her put it in when she couldn't get it right away and started to whine. "Don't force it, baby." He stated calmly. "Gentle."
"Nentle." Hayden repeated, letting the word sink in. She picked up another branch, brought it to a slot, and carefully slid it into place. She clapped and looked up at Daniel, who was moving to place the higher branches on the trunk.
He nodded. "Very good, pooh."
Vala watched on happily until she heard the timer she'd set in the kitchen. "Darling..."
"Hmmm?" Daniel replied distracted, working his way around the slowly forming tree while keeping an eye on Hayden and her progress.
She grinned at the way they both had gotten focused on their task. "The stuff for the tree is in these boxes."
Daniel hooked his last branch in and walked over to her and the boxes. Flipping the top open on the top box, he eyed the contents approvingly. "Thanks, babe." He smiled and leaned over to take her lips in a kiss.
Vala grinned against his mouth. "Yep..." He pulled back and she stared into his happy blue eyes. Daniel had always been cheery around this time of year, at least since she'd come to live on the planet, but this year was the first Christmas Hayden was really aware of and it was making him overjoyed.
Seeing her lost in thought, Daniel took the opportunity to kiss her again. It knocked her out of her thoughts, but he found he couldn't stop the kisses. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close, and let the flow of short kisses continue.
Finally, Vala pushed him back with a laugh. "I have to get back to the kitchen."
Daniel rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fine, go be all domestic." He gave her one final kiss before she pulled out of his embrace. His hand trailed down her arm and over her hand, where it lingered for a moment before Vala pulled away completely.
His gaze lingered on her before it turned downwards where there was a tugging at his pants.
Hayden stared up at him with expectant eyes, her thumb back in her mouth. She stopped tugging and pointed to the tree. Daniel followed the direction of her finger and smiled at the sight of the tree. It was all fine, save for the fact that near the bottom, the branches were of varying sizes. Hayden had obviously not realized he'd piled the different size branches together for a reason.
Didn't matter - to him, it was the most beautiful undecorated Christmas tree he'd ever seen. Daniel stepped over to the coffee table, and bent down to snatch up the camera he'd had the forethought to bring out into the living room.
"It's wonderful." He smiled as he switched on the camera and took the picture. Looking down at Hayden, who'd followed him over to the table, Daniel leveled the camera on her and she smiled expectantly. Snapping the picture, he reviewed it, grinned, and squatted down to show her.
Hayden touched her finger to her smiling face, thumb in her mouth and all, on the small screen. "Me-den." She grinned, referring to herself in the way she'd adopted since learning to talk.
Switching the camera off and placing it back on the table, Daniel nodded. "Yep, that's you Hayden."
"Pretty girl?" She asked curiously as her father picked her up and carried her over to the tree.
Daniel laughed as he started to fix the branches. "You are a very pretty girl." He kissed her temple as he continued to adjust branches. "Daddy's pretty little Pooh Bear."
She giggled. "Winnie."
Satisfied with the branches, Daniel carried the toddler over to the boxes Vala had brought in. He set the girl down and tossed the empty tree box across the room. A shouted 'hey' from the kitchen had him wincing playfully and Hayden giggling. Daniel then started unstacking the other boxes. When he had them all set out, he sat down on the floor in front of them.
He watched Hayden walk around them, gazing into each one curiously, before making her way to him and taking her usual spot in his lap.
"That?" The questioning had started up again.
Daniel pulled one of the items from the box closest to him and held it before her. "This is a Christmas ornament. We put these..." He shook the ornament in his hand to emphasize it. "On the tree." He pointed to it, watching as Hayden eyed the ornament with fascination.
"You wanna hold it, baby?" Like he expected, she nodded excitedly. "Okay, but you need both hands." As Hayden pulled her thumb from her mouth and held up her hands, Daniel placed the ornament in them. "Be careful with it - they break easily."
She nodded. "Careful..." She repeated, distracted by the round, reflective object in her hand.
Daniel laughed. "Don't you wanna know what to do with it?"
Hayden nodded again absently. "On tree." She said, not really realizing she'd understood the concept. She continued to stare at the ornament as Daniel picked her back up and carried her to the tree. She only broke eye contact with the shiny object when a finger poked her cheek.
"You wanna actually put it on the tree?" Her father asked with amusement as he smiled at her.
She looked to the ornament, then the tree. "What?"
Daniel took the ornament from her hand, which caused Hayden to pout, and hung it up on one of the branches by the hook. Looking at her, he watched her blink then reach out a hand to try herself. "Alright." He took the ornament off the tree and handed it to her by the hook. "Remember, careful."
"Careful." Hayden repeated once more, and she leaned over slightly to hang the ornament on the tree like her daddy had. Daniel instinctively tightened his hold on her as she did, more worried if she fell then the ornament. He watched her hold her hook to the branch and smiled.
"Let go, Hayds."
Uncertainly, Hayden let go and the ornament's hook caught on the branch as it started to fall. She looked up into her father's blue eyes to see if she'd done it right.
From the smile on his face, she knew she had. Hayden had hung up her first Christmas ornament successfully.
She clapped at the realization. "Again!"
Daniel shook his head. "No, Hayden. I'm sorry."
"Again!" Hayden glared at him, refusing to take no for an answer. Not when she had just found something new and fun to do.
He shook his head again as he carried her back to the spot by the decoration boxes. "No."
The moment Daniel had placed her back on the floor, Hayden planted her feet firmly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Again!" She huffed.
A stern finger pointed at her. "Don't start that, young lady." Daniel said firmly. "Or you won't be able to help again later."
Hayden blinked in surprise. "Layler?"
Coming to sit, Daniel gave her a smile. "Yes, later. Everyone's coming over to decorate the tree later."
"Why?" She asked, stepping up to him.
Daniel brushed a hand over her hair and kissed her forehead. "Because we're having a tree trimming party." Hayden tilted her head again. "Christmas and family." He explained and she nodded. He nodded back and she moved to climb in his lap again. Daniel shifted towards the boxes and moved to start separating the decorations for the party later.
When he realized Hayden hadn't inquired about anything in a while, he looked down and smiled softly. She was asleep, face half buried into his stomach and thumb in her mouth. Pulling her up so her head rested on his shoulder, Daniel stood and carried her over to the couch. She only stirred slightly as he gently placed her down.
He pulled the blanket from the back of the couch down and laid it over her.
"Sleep good, babygirl." Daniel whispered to her, placing a kiss on her cheek. "You're gonna need to be all awake for the excitement tonight."
A/N: Yay for Daniel/Hayden moments!! Onto the next chapter!