Delayed Christmas
Title: Delayed Christmas
Summary: Jack and Sam play Santa a little late this year.
Timeframe: Same ‘verse as ‘In Time: Fixing Things,’ about a month later. Just ‘cuz I wanted to use the same family dynamic. Readable without checking that out first.
Characters/Pairing: Established Sam/Jack
Genre: Fluff, family, holiday
Rating: G
Delayed Christmas
Sam woke up on the couch entangled with her husband, the both of them having fallen asleep watching sappy Christmas specials on TV. Lifting her head from Jack’s chest, she managed to squint towards the television to check the time on the cable box. Her eyes widened when she realized the hour. It was nearly midnight on Christmas Eve, and she and Jack hadn’t put the kids’ presents under the tree yet. Panic enveloped her and she patted her husband’s chest, trying to rouse him.
“Jack,” she hissed urgently, “Jack, wake up!”
“Mrrmmm…” he grumbled but didn’t open his eyes, his arms tightening around her. “Is it Christmas yet?”
“No, but it will be in about fifteen minutes!”
“Okay,” Jack mumbled sleepily, not moving.
Sam patted his chest a little harder, seconds away from pinching him to really wake him up. “Jack, we haven’t put the presents out yet!”
“Crap!” Jack blurted with a start, jerking and nearly tossing her off the couch.
Catching herself, Sam got up and pulled Jack with her, wincing when his back cracked loudly as he stood and stretched. They were both a little too old to be sleeping on the couch the whole night.
“I’ll go get the presents out of the garage,” Jack announced sleepily, yawning loudly before shuffling up the lounge steps to get his coat and boots on.
“I’ll check the kids to make sure no one’s sneaking out of bed.” Sam followed him up the steps.
Jack paused in the hallway. “Oy. Remember last year?” He winced in memory. “Luke was trying to catch Santa and nearly caught us with the presents!”
Sam laughed softly as she remembered. “Oh, yeah. He even set a trap!”
Shrugging on his coat, Jack groaned. “Yeah, and Daddy almost blew out his knee ‘cuz of that damn trap.”
She sent him a sympathetic look, remembering Jack stepping on Luke’s toy train that had been purposely left by the Christmas tree. Thankfully the kids hadn’t woken from the noise, but when Jack had been limping slightly come morning, they’d told the boys that Daddy caught Santa coming out of the chimney and slipped on Luke’s trap trying to sneak away without letting the big guy see him. Shane and Luke had been over the moon with excitement after that tale, and then Jack and Sam carefully explained that leaving a trap for Santa was not a good idea. If Santa got hurt then he wouldn’t be leaving them any more presents. The boys had both sincerely promised not to do it again, not wanting to wind up on Santa’s naughty list.
.
Sam first peered into Shane and Luke’s room, the notoriously curious ones. They were both tucked into their bunk beds, fast asleep, the nightlight by the floor giving off a warm holiday glow that gleamed off the ceramic tree on their nightstand. With a dreamy, loving smile, Sam ducked out of the boys’ room and went to check Hannah in the nursery. At seven months old, there was no chance of the infant sneaking out of her crib. She was far too young to understand about Christmas and the mysterious, magical Santa Claus, but Sam wanted to check that her baby girl was sleeping through the night okay.
As she tip-toed back to the living room, Jack was just coming back inside with the big bag full of presents. He slipped out of his boots and coat before joining her by the tree, then they both took all the gifts out, carefully placing them in piles for each child.
By the time the presents were all laid out, and the stockings stuffed, Sam was more than ready to get to bed. Jack had sunk back down on the couch and was dozing off again, so she lightly tugged on his arm, smiling when he blinked sleepily at her. “C’mon, we’re all done.”
“Oh.” He pulled himself to his feet and then pointed to something by the fireplace. “We forgot to eat some cookies and drink the milk.”
Sam grimaced. She wasn’t really in the mood for either. She just wanted to go to bed. Normally Jack was happy to eat a few cookies, but it was very late and he wasn’t looking too thrilled about it this year. “I’ll drink a little milk if you take a bite of a cookie,” she offered as a compromise.
Jack nodded and took a big bite of one of the cookies, making sure to leave enough left so there were crumbs and a visible bite mark. Sam only had a few sips of the milk, because it had sitting there since the kids had gone to bed and was unappetizingly room temperature by now. She made a disgusted face and then turned to Jack. “Good enough, let’s go to bed.”
“I’m with ya, there.” He yawned loudly and slung an arm across her shoulders, kissing her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Sam.”
Realizing it was well past midnight now, Sam smiled lovingly and leaned into her husband, putting an arm around his waist as they made their way to their bedroom. “Merry Christmas.”
.
Surprised not to be woken ridiculously early by cries of “It’s Christmas!” and “Santa was here!” Sam lifted her head from her pillow to blink at the clock on the nightstand at 07:30. Brows furrowed, she rolled over to find herself lying in an empty bed, no Jack in sight. Curious as to what was up and why it was so quiet, Sam got out of bed, pulled on her warm robe, and then made her way to the baby’s room.
Hannah was fast asleep, and Sam’s curiosity peaked when she spied the note taped to the outside of the crib.
Mornin’, Sam.
Got up with Hannah early. Changed her, fed her, burped her, and put her back to sleep.
Love, Santa
Sam found herself smiling at her husband’s quirky sense of humor and shook her head. Deciding it was time to go find him and discover why it was still so quiet in the house on Christmas morning, she wandered out to the lounge.
Sam came to a complete stop at the top of the lounge steps and smiled lovingly at the picture her boys presented. Shane and Luke’s stockings had been emptied, the contents spread across the floor, and both boys were fast asleep on the couch with her biggest boy. Jack lay on his stomach, stretched out along the couch with Luke sprawled right on top of his back, and Shane curled up by his father’s feet.
She didn’t want to wake them, but wanted to share the joy of Christmas morning with her family, and tiptoed quietly into the room. Crouching to kiss each of her boys on the head (including Jack), Sam quietly made her way to the kitchen to start on coffee and breakfast.
A little later, when everyone was awake again and gathered in the living room, the boys gleefully opened their presents on the floor while Jack and Sam smiled and watched, settled on the couch and drinking coffee with Hannah nestled in-between them.
Then, when the kids were in the kitchen having their breakfast, Sam and Jack exchanged gifts. Jack had gotten her a custom made white gold necklace with a stargate-like pendent. It was beautiful and thoughtful, and she expected nothing less from her husband who, even after over six years of marriage, still went out of his way to show her how much he loved her using small romantic gestures every once in a while.
“Thank you, Jack. It’s gorgeous.” Sam smiled brilliantly, hugging and kissing him. When they broke apart, she went to get his gift out from under the tree.
“Wow, that’s a big box!” Jack exclaimed as she tugged the big, rectangular gift out from the corner behind the Christmas tree. He scratched at the back of his head. “How’d that one get by me?”
Sam just smiled slyly and winked. “I have my ways.”
Jack chuckled and eagerly tore the wrapping off his gift after she placed the big box across his lap. When he revealed the brand new telescope, his eyes lit up. “Whoa. Sam, this…this is awesome.” He grinned, moving the box aside so he could pull her into a hug. “Thanks, I love it.”
She grinned back, gently fingering the beautiful necklace that now adorned her neck. “Me, too.” Jack’s old telescope had broken a few months earlier when the two of them had gotten a little frisky on the roof deck and accidently knocked it off. Sam had felt very badly about it even though Jack didn’t blame her, and had wanted to replace it. Sitting up there and looking at the stars late at night was one of the few times she and Jack had to be alone together these days, and they cherished those little moments.
Getting up off the couch, Sam reached for Jack’s arms and pulled him up with her. “Come on, let’s get the little rascals bathed and dressed so we can get started on Christmas dinner before everyone gets here.”
Jack nodded and pulled her against him for one more quick kiss before they joined the kids in the kitchen.
.
It truly felt like Christmas once everyone had gathered at the O’Neill household. Teal’c, Daniel and Janet all came, and Cassie was home from college during her winter break to visit. Even General Hammond had stopped by for a short while before leaving to rejoin his family at his own house. They all had a wonderful time eating, drinking and telling stories while the kids played, enjoying their new toys and dessert time most of all.
Long after the kids had been put to bed and Daniel was drunk on eggnog singing his own rendition of “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” that included the twisted lyrics, “Jack’s nuts roasting on an open fire,” Janet had pulled him to his feet and decided it was time they all head home.
Noticing that Jack had snuck out the back door with his new telescope once all of their extended family had gone home, Sam changed into some warm flannel pajamas before stuffing her feet in her boots, pulling on one of Jack’s sweatshirts, and then grabbing a fleece blanket to join him.
A fresh layer of snow blanketed the ground, and the sky above was dark and filled with the crystal speckling of stars. It was beautiful, and the cold, crisp air instantly filled Sam’s lungs. She expelled the deep breath in a puff of condensation and made her way to the ladder that would lead her to Jack and their little rooftop observatory.
When she climbed to the top of the deck, Jack had already finished clearing away the snow and setting up the telescope, and was now working on a few minor adjustments. He paused long enough to smile at her invitingly and pull out the second folding lawn chair leaning against the railing. He set it next to his own and gestured for her to have a seat.
As soon as Jack was done fiddling with the telescope and had sat down, Sam scooted her chair closer and wrapped the fleece blanket around both of them. She snuggled close, leaning her head against his shoulder and looking up at the sparkling sky as he hunched forward and peered through the telescope. Jack made a few more adjustments and leaned out of the way, gesturing for her to lean toward him to look into the eyepiece.
“It’s been a really great Christmas, hasn’t it?” Sam mused softly aloud, breaking the comfortable silence as she peered at the bright stars, seeing them twinkling up close. When she leaned back and glanced at her husband, she found Jack smiling wistfully.
“Yeah-sure-you-betcha.” He lifted his arm to wrap around her shoulders and pull her in tighter, despite the barrier of the armrests on their lawn chairs.
As Jack turned his head to kiss her, Sam brought up both hands to hold his face lovingly as she deepened the kiss. When they broke apart, she brushed her thumb over his lower lip and leaned her forehead against his. “It’s cold. Let’s go inside and warm up,” she whispered suggestively, smiling brightly at him.
Jack grinned and rose from his chair to pack up the telescope.
Once they’d navigated down the ladder and gotten into the warm house, they each paused long enough for Jack to pull Sam into a tight, comforting hug. He tucked his face into the side of her neck, his layer of stubble growth from the day scratching her cheek as she wound her arms around his waist.
“Merry Christmas, Sam,” Jack murmured into her neck.
She breathed in deeply, lost in the scent of him. “Merry Christmas, Jack.”
.End.