NORAD Tracks Santa
By Teri
Ending #8: Santa? Jack?
Haven't found the best ending yet? How about this one? Another possible ending . . .
(I am sorry this one is a little late, but I hope it will be better late than never).
Daniel still couldn't believe what he had read: Santa Tracking Team? Well, the only way to find out for sure was to speak to Jack. He stopped for a moment to figure out where he would be. There were no missions planed and nothing special going on, so he would be in one five places: 1) his office, 2) Daniel's office, 3) Sam's lab, 4) base gym with Teal'c, or 5) base mess eating pie, cake, or jell-o. Well, he looked around Jack's office, he wasn't there. Sam was over at Area 51 today and Teal'c had gone with her. So that left Daniel's office or the mess. Daniel couldn't remember any of Jack's favorites on the menu today so he returned to his own office.
Daniel opened his office door.
"Danny!"
Daniel rolled his eyes as he saw Jack juggling some "rocks" around. Of course, these were fakes that Daniel put out for Jack to play with. Of course, he had a feeling Jack knew that because he never actually fiddles with the real ones anymore.
"Jack, I was looking for you. I have something I want to talk to you about."
"Sounds ominous."
Daniel laughs slightly, "not really, but I guess it did. I, uh, well, that is . . . "
Jack just raised an eyebrow at him.
"Right, what do you know about a memo that discusses the Santa Tracking team?"
Jack stopped his juggling and looked a little annoyed for a moment. "I know that means you have been in my office, going through my stuff."
Daniel just looked at the artifacts in Jack's hands and raised his own eyebrow at him.
Jack just shrugged it off. "It is nothing Daniel. General Hammond wanted this command to participate with NORAD in their annual Christmas project."
Daniel was confused. Was Jack trying to say NORAD really tracks Santa? The Santa?
Jack must have noticed Daniel's confusion and began to explain. "NORAD's predecessor CONAD started telling kids about Santa's position on Christmas even in 1955. When NORAD replaced CONAD in 1958 they continued the mission. Now it is big thing. It is meant to be something nice for the kids. Most of us who have participated over the years get a big kick out of it."
Daniel just let his jaw drop. "So Santa is real?"
Jack looked surprised. "Daniel, have you had too much eggnog?"
"Santa isn't real?"
Jack closed his eyes and seemed to count to ten. "Daniel, I believe in the spirit of Santa, but not an actual physical person. Unless of course, Thor or Oma or somebody like that is doing something."
"Oh."
"Daniel, go on to the NORAD tracking website. You will get some more information."
Daniel did just that and found out what a wonderful service the men and women of Cheyenne Mountain did every Christmas. Still he felt he was missing something. So later in the day when Jack invited him to spend Christmas Eve and Day with him watching the Simpsons Marathon, he agreed if for no other reason that the company.
* HO HO HO Merry Christmas *
Jack and Daniel were both asleep where they sat, with the sound of the Simpsons murmuring in the background. Within seconds both were awake and alert. Both had heard a noise on the roof. After a moment they both concentrated on the sound. It sounded like someone was on Jack's rooftop observatory
Jack pulled out his weapon and handed Daniel his back-up weapon. Both men moved outside through the back door. Jack's years of experience allowed him to spot the intruder first as he gazed up on the roof.
"Freeze!"
What happened next, neither man expected. A yelp was heard, followed by a crashing sound, and then the snow on the roof started to slide. It sounded like someone or something fell off the roof and slid towards the front yard.
Jack motioned Daniel to circle to the front of the house around the right side. He would take the left. Both men met in the front yard to find a man in a Santa suit lying on Jack's lawn. Daniel moved forward and checked for a pulse. None was found. Jack reached in his pocket hoping his cell phone was still there to call the officer on duty (given their position, they always called the base not the local police). However, before he had a change, Daniel jumped up in surprise.
"What?" Jack asked surprised at the motion.
"He disappeared," Daniel told him as he pointed down to the now empty Santa suit.
"Oh, for crying out loud."
Jack leaned forward and poked at the suit. Within a moment, the suit flashed away and appeared on Jack.
"I only touched it!"
"You always tell me not to touch things Jack. I guess you should learn to take your own advice," Daniel smirked.
"This is not funny!"
"Sure it is Jack; you make a fine looking Santa."
"I don't care Daniel. It is how I got the suit on that bothers me." Both men stared at each other for a moment when they again heard movement on the roof.
"Whoever is up there come down!'
No one responded so Jack and Daniel headed for the ladder to the roof. Jack went first followed by Daniel. Jack reached the top first and told Daniel he would never believe what was up there. When Daniel finally made it to the roof, he had to agree. There was a sleigh hitched to eight tiny reindeer.
"Jack, you don't think?" Daniel let the thought trail off.
Jack had no response, because that was just what he was thinking.
"Jack, you know what we have to do."
"Yeah, call the base."
"No, you were the one telling me how important the idea of Santa was to kids when you were telling me about the tracking program. Well, this situation seems unbelievable, but that is our specialty. So no matter how unbelievable this is, I think we have presents to deliver."
"For crying out loud, you can't possibly be serious Daniel!"
"Jack."
"Daniel"
"Jack"
"No."
"Jack."
"Fine, this isn't real anyway. This is the Chinese food giving me nightmares."
Jack and Daniel got in the sleigh and Jack grabbed the reigns. "On Homer, On Bart, On Marge, Lisa, and Maggie . . ."
The reindeer all turned slightly as if to stare at Jack in question. Daniel took the reigns from Jack. Daniel called out:
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
"On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!
"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
The reindeer turned again to stare at Jack, but this time in expectation.
Jack rolled his eyes again and took the reigns from Daniel; he supposed he was the one in the suit after all. "Now Dancer and Dasher, Now Prancy and Vivian, Take off Comet and Cupie, On Dunder and Blitzer."
The reindeer didn't move and Daniel restated the reindeers' names to Jack. "Jack, it is Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen."
Jack tried again, "Now Dash, Now Period, Now Semicolon and Comma . . . . " and again, "On Comet, and Asteroid, On Moon, and Sun. . . . " and again, "On Capricorn, On Ares, On Virgo and Sagittarius" and again, "Now Daniel and Carter. Now Teal'c and the General. . . "
"Jack!"
"Fine. Okay, fellows Daniel says we have a job to do so, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen, can we please get this show on the road?"
With those "Magical words" the reindeer began to move and the sleigh pulled up into the sky.
They landed on their first roof. Daniel reached for the bag in the back, but it seemed to be empty. "I don't think we have any presents."
"You couldn't have thought of that BEFORE you made us do this?"
Daniel handed the bag to Jack who suddenly found it full. Daniel was amazed. Jack just grinned, "I guess it likes me better." Jack got out and looked at the chimney. "I wish I had my kit, so I could climb down it."
The guys were trying to figure out how to get the presents down, when the lead reindeer took matters in to his own hands (or rather hoofs) and head butted Jack pushing him head first into the chimney. As he touched the edge, he blinked out and in a moment appeared in a blink in front of the fireplace. "Sweet" Jack said as he looked around. He was careful to avoid waking the little boy asleep on the couch and put the presents carefully under the tree. When he finished he walked back to the fireplace. Well touching it seemed to work before, so he touched the edge and found himself once more on the roof.
Daniel was just staring where his friend appeared.
"That was pretty cool," Jack grinned so pick and his chest puffed out like he would burst a button. "Very cool."
"Yeah," Daniel had to agree.
The fellows continued to make stops and Jack learned that touching any part of the roof, usually a vent, if no chimney was available would work as long as he touched it with the intention of entering the dwelling.
After all of the presents were delivered, the boys found themselves landing in the middle of a Northern snow bank.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jack murmured.
"I have a really bad feeling about this, too," Daniel agreed. Both men silently acknowledging that they may have watched too much Star Wars with Teal'c.
Within moments, a very shot person walked over and grabbed the harness of the lead reindeer and led them into an ice passage, which soon turned in to a very warm and cozy area that had stalls and hay for the reindeer. More people came and unhooked the reindeer and lead each one away. Jack and Daniel could only continue to watch.
A young woman walked over to them. "I am Carol." She handed them both a candy cane. "Welcome, Dr. Jackson, Welcome, Santa, Welcome to the North Pole and Santa's workshop. . . "
* HO HO HO Merry Christmas *
Daniel sat up and found himself on Jack's couch. He looked over and saw Jack asleep in his chair. Daniel rubbed his eyes as he saw sunlight starting to peak through the window curtains. Had it all been a dream? He looked over at the TV, the Simpsons marathon long over; he saw the closing credits of a movie called "The Santa Clause". He had no idea what the movie was about, but from the name he guessed it clearly had something to do with Santa. He supposed the movie along with all of the NORAD tracking stuff must have given him the odd dream.
As Daniel stood up to stretch out, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a candy-cane. Where had that come from?
Just in case, instead of leaving Milk and Cookies, consider leaving Beer and Steak for Santa Jack
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, SAFE NEW YEAR
Teri 01/01/12