Tittle: Thanking the Turkey
Author: KaraMeL
Email: Kristine_sci@hotmail.com
Summary: Thanksgiving rolls around, and the team has a lot to be thankful for
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story belongs to MGM and all the other companies/cooperations that own Stargate. So, initially the characters don't belong to me. Darn.
Series: 2nd in the Holiday series
Authors note: This story was specificly redone was a little more 'care' as I would like to say. I got a few comments from the observent readers that I am 'rushing my work' (I'm not being sarcastic... I'm a "Mood swing" writer) Any ways... I really looked at this one, so originally this was three pages and I extended it with detail to eight. Thanks for all the critique... I will try and pay attention to my writing... (I keep changing my writing styles... just for you guys!)
Any Ways, here is is, late, but never the less here:
 
 

It was a clear, crisp fall day. The air shimmered through the trees and the bright blue sky reflected off the waters of the pond in the park. Sam shivered and pulled up the lapels of her leather Jacket and looked at her watch.

9:10am

Perfect. Not only was there no sight of the rest of the team, but also the air was getting even cooler. Sam clapped her glove-covered hands over her ears and turned her eyes towards the sky, It was a beautiful blue today, the November sky was streaked with the beginning of the sunset and the gray tinged clouds began to sink over the distant horizon.

A loud honking noise reached Sam’s eyes, she turned her eyes to where a score of Canadian geese - their infamous ‘V’ formation in place - fluttered by. Their haunting calls echoing through the distant mountains.

“Oh Saaammm!!!”

Sam smiled and turned.

She didn’t have to guess what bird was making that sound. The infamous Dodo… an idiot of a bird thought to be extinct… that was of course, until she had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting Jack O’Neill.

She lowered her eyes to the source of the sound, for a moment the swirling leaves distorted her view, but they soon quieted in the wind and she could still see the smiling face of Jack O’Neill on the leaf covered dirt trail. Close behind, Daniel Jackson who was twirling and spinning a shrieking Cassandra Jackson. Behind the 13 year old and her 35 year old counterpart, Teal’c walked solidly foreword, his gait interrupted as a barking dog ran around his feet, looping a bright red leash around his ankles. Soon after, Janet Fraiser followed the party, huffing as she tried to catch the wayward pet and put the leash straight.

Sam waved and smiled, she blew a breath into her thickly gloved hands, smiling as the group walked steadily up the slight incline.

Sam smiled as she saw Jack duck away as Cassandra was swung too close for comfort. Sam could see the bright circles of color on her cheeks. Inwardly Sam felt a knot grow inside her throat. Janet had been so lucky that she was able to adopt Cassandra. Sam could never imaging such a deserving child as Cassandra.

On the other hand, Daniel had a queasy expression on his face and he slowed the spinning until the two were separated and spinning in circles Cassandra giggled and fell, being caught by a grinning O’Neill. Daniel was a little more unfortunate, nobody to catch him, and landed with a thump on his behind.

Sam covered her mouth, smiling and watching like a silent observer. The dark blue streaks of the night arising off the horizon grew and the lamps on the nearby street began to flicker and appear.

The frenzied dog, still pulling Janet behind him ran over and began to lick Daniel’s face. Daniel tried pushing the dog off and seceded in collapsed backwards into the mess of leaves on the ground. Cassandra giggled and took off from the safety of Jack’s arms. She ran over, picking up her beloved dog and stood over Daniel’s still form still lying in the mess of leaves.

Sam shook her head and walked over to the group. Daniel was getting up from the leaf covered ground, unfortunately the ground did not leave him without a souvenir; a large leaf was on top of his head, he looked hilarious, his white knit sweater, brown kakis and leaf The entire combination almost made Sam laugh.

Apparently Cassandra thought so too, because she was on the forest floor, laughing. Janet finally caught the wayward dog and was watching with a bemused expression as Cassandra laughed while Daniel sat there with a confused expression on his face. Daniel gave Cassandra a strange look and Jack, still grinning, plucked the bright red leaf off of Daniel’s head.

“Oh... oops.”

Cassandra, breathing hard, lifted herself off the ground, giggled again and ran towards the pond. It was beautiful now, the streetlamps had brightened and their glow was reflected off the water. A quiet flock of resting geese was in the middle, sleeping soundly.

Janet, being again pulled over by the dog, was dragged over as well. In the light of the brightening lamps, Sam could see that the petite doctor had bright red cheeks and her breath was coming out in short huffs. Janet’s bright red sweater and dark slacks were flying behind her, and her normally neat hair was a skewed. Sam almost felt sorry for her, but the grin on Janet’s face made Sam envy her.

Sam walked towards the pond, smiling and gathering Cassandra in her arms as the excited girl threw herself into Sam’s arms. Sam could smell the orange scented shampoo Janet gave the little girl. Another pang of envy shot through Sam, but she hid it by releasing Cassandra and giving her another hug.

Janet came up behind them,  the squirming dog in her arms behind her Teal’c, Daniel and Jack were followed, half their bodies enveloped in the dark of night.

Sam could see the crisp air was also evident in their cheeks and their huffing frozen breaths By now, the night had darkened to full, only the barest hint of daylight was able to be seen over the Colorado mountains.

Cassandra grabbed Sam’s hand, an excited smile dominating her face.

“Sam! Mom made a HUGE turkey this year. You were right when you said not to let Daniel cook. I remember his Turkey from last year. That was bad.”

Daniel, who had appeared from the darkness and stood beside the streetlamp looked wounded.

“What about my cooking?”

Jack, behind him raised an eyebrow at Cassandra. She put her hand over her mitten covered hand over her mouth to cover the embarrassed look on her face. Her expression said she knew she had said too much.

“She means that a year on Abydos and also your inability to read anything non-ancient is affecting your ability to make something feasible. Or edible... I’m sorry to say, you never make... what was that?... Marshmallow stuffing? You nearly exploded the cake!”

Daniel still had the hurt expression on his face. Cassandra had removed the hand from her mouth and looked even more embarrassed. Janet was pretending to whistle as if nothing had been said and was looking anywhere BUT Daniel’s face. Teal’c just stared at them all.

“I found Daniel Jackson’s Turkey rather interesting.”

Teal’c commented when no one spoke.

Daniel cracked a smile. Janet covered her mouth, Jack grinned and Cassandra burst into another round of giggles.

Teal’c looked at them strangely, one eyebrow raised and his normal neutral expression in place. He began to walk back towards the trail leading back to Janet’s house, leaving the rest of them laughing on the middle of the path.

Sam finally wiped the tears from her eyes and started off after Teal’c’s disappearing figure. Cassandra shrieked as Daniel chased after her, yelling something about his Turkey. She hid in front of Teal’c, taking his hand and sticking her tongue out at Daniel. Daniel, acting just as childish, did the same and then waited for Janet to catch up, dog still in tow. He offered his sweater covered elbow and smiled. Janet smiled back and took it.

Sam smiled and nearly jumped when Jack nudged her in the ribs with his own elbow. He wiggled his eyebrows, making her grin widely. She rubbed her hands together and took the offered elbow.

The small group walked off towards Janet’s house, Jack’s loud voice talking about how wonderful this Thanksgiving was going to be and the Dog barking right along with him.

The six people shivered as they entered the house, compared to the crisp night air of the outdoors, Janet’s house was warm and cozy. A lit fire was roaring in the living room area, the bright red bricks gleamed with the reflected light. Across the mantle there were pictures and photos by both the Fraiser’s, and also Janet’s flair for decorating had furthered the mantle’s beauty with the fake plastic leaves and the horns filled with fruits and vegetables.

It was of course, decorated beautifully, not a single detail misplaced. Janet had made sure that Cassandra was well adept in the different holidays Americans celebrated, Canadian as well. Daniel knew that the cover up of her being from Toronto, Ontario would go only so far.

Even on the porch, where most people had had their Halloween decorations, there were baskets of fake fruits and vegetables on hay squares. A large wreath on the doorway was intertwined with fake leaves, decorative corns and what looked like Turkey feathers. Janet had again outdone herself.

Inside, the coffee tables were covered with cornets and fruit, this time very much real. Jack smiled appreciatively and grabbed an orange, tossing it up in the air and throwing a surprised look at Teal’c when he seized it.

“What the…”

“Janet Fraiser had told up to wait for dinner to be served.”

Jack looked hurt and put the orange back, his longing expression very evident on his face. Cassandra giggled and ran off towards her room, dragging the half-undressed Sam behind her.

Daniel smiled appreciatively when he set his eyes upon Janet’s large oak table that served as last year’s Christmas feast table. Last year or not, it was now laid out with pies and plates, forks, knives, spoons and cups. A pitcher with apple cider served as a drink for the Children, whereas there was wine or some other alcoholic drink for the adults.

“It looks great Janet. So, when’s the General supposed to be here with his grandkids and family?”

Daniel enquired. Janet, in the process of hanging up her guest’s jackets shrugged, finishing her task and walking to the kitchen.

“He said they’d be here at three. It’s three now...”

Daniel followed her, looking at the decorated walls on the way. She grabbed a pair oven mitts and tossed a couple to Daniel himself.

Very funny. On his mitts of course were pictures of Egyptian gods and goddesses, there was a line of hieroglyphs on each thumb and on the bottom edge there was another line of hieroglyphs. He tried to decipher them but it was total gibberish. Marketing these days.

Janet cleared her throat and when Daniel looked up, pointed the steaming trays of golden potatoes, and green vegetables. Janet grabbed the enormous Turkey from the oven, she needed to wrestle it out because of its size. Daniel had to admit… it looked a lot better than last years…

The doorbell rang with a ringing chime. In the main room Daniel could hear Sam call out that she would get it. Soon after, Daniel could hear the door opening with a creak of rusted hinges and Sam exclaiming a barely audible “hello”.

Daniel could heat the General’s voice carried into the kitchen he sounded joval, very unlike the times when great disaster had faced the SGC. Janet smiled, taking off the oven gloves and pushing her hair back in place.

“Come on Daniel. We’ll bring in the food when everyone’s seated.”

The living room was now packed with people. Cassandra was already playing with the General’s grandchildren and Sam was striking up a conversation with the General’s daughter, Marie.

Daniel smiled at the General and watched Jack and him continue on the conversation with the General, Daniel could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, something about Janet’s meal this Thanksgiving. Teal’c himself was ‘smiling’ and nodding as The General’s son-in-law, Brad, was handing a bottle of something to the other man. Daniel was surprised that the Jaffa had made no effort to cover his gold tattoo at all. Brad seemed not to worry. Daniel wondered if the General had explained the tattoo… in relative, non-military terms at all to the man.

Janet waved her hand and the assembled people quieted to listen.

“Hello! Welcome to the Fraiser household! Dinner is ready and it you will, take a place... Cassandra, my daughter, made nameplates. The meal will be out as soon as Daniel and I get it out.”

Daniel and Janet retreated back in the kitchen, listening as the conversation started up again. They began to grab the plates of food and took them into the dining room. Daniel smiled as they entered the room. This was very much like the first Thanksgiving, which they had spent at Jack’s home. No Cassandra then, but just as fun. Now, this tradition had expanded. Soon, they would have to rent out a restaurant!

In the main dining area, the adults were pouring drinks and were taking about the weather, the up and coming food and the preparations for Christmas whereas the children were talking about latest fashions and clothing. They had probably long since dropped dolls as a fashion. Daniel wasn’t surprised. Cassandra was always a step ahead for some reason.

On the other side of the table, in the soft candle light, Daniel could see Janet smiling as she saw her daughter mingling with the other children.

At work, a regular topic Janet had always talked to them about her difficulty in making friends. Her secret and also her advanced knowledge of education on her planet, usually subjected her to taunts, teases and anything but praise. Cassandra’s quiet demure had begun to deteriorate as she began to talk with other children, for instance Kayla and Tessa. The General’s grandkids were a few children that had actually had become her friends.

Daniel himself could sympathize with Cassandra. His childhood hadn’t exactly been the perfect one either. Children were also intimidated by his knowledge and the instability of his shifting homes made it difficult to make friends. Janet had asked him many times to talk to Cassandra when she was feeling lonely and friendless. On many occasions the most frequent topic of friends usually resulted in her tears and he would always remind her that she did have friends; Sam, Jack, Teal’c, and him. Almost everyone in the SGC… Daniel was happy to see that she did in fact make friends eventually, something he had very few of during his own childhood.

Finally Daniel and Janet wrestled the Turkey into place and after the ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’ died down, Janet took her place at the head of one side of the table, beside her daughter and the Marie. Daniel seated himself beside Jack and Sam. The General at the other end of the table quieted his grandchildren as Janet stood up to speak her thanksgiving speech.

“Thank you. Well, for new comers and old, this is a tradition which we hope to keep going. Throughout the year, we like to think about what we’re grateful for and what we give thanks for. Then we go around the table. This year we’ll start with the General, so you have a minute to think and then we’ll go around.”

There was complete silence as everyone thought about their piece. The aroma of the baked food was nearly overwhelming. In the silence, the candles grew progressively smaller, their wax beginning to pool in the bottom of the candelabra. The slowly General blinked and looked around the table, making eye contact with each person. Daniel smiled slightly as the General came to him. When the General had finished he smiled at all the expectant faces and took a deep breath.

“Well, it’s not too difficult to say what I’m thankful for, it’s finding the words to actually express my thankfulness.”

A ripple of laughter spread throughout the table. The three children looked slightly confused.

“Any ways, First of all, to my lovely grandchildren. Thank you for being my little joys, every time I needed a little boost of spirit you were always there. Brad… Thank you for being my son-in-law… you’ve certainly made my daughter happy.”

Another round of laughter ensued and Brad blushed slightly.

“Marie… You are the wife I don’t have, you again have put me through another year. Thank you for everything. I love you my sweet pea Marie.”

The children giggled this time at their mother’s nickname. Cassandra smiled widely.

“Dad! You said you wouldn’t tell the children.”

“Sorry Marie… Janet. Lovely meal, I don’t think the base could have done without you… I don’t think Cassandra would’ve either. Now onto you… Cassandra… you are a friend and you are just like a granddaughter to me. Thank you for all the enlightening experiences. And now my favorites… Teal’c, you’ve been a strong steady log for us. Thank you… Indispensable to us and probably most to your team. Sam, Your intelligence had paved a way for us. Thanks for being there… Jack, Your sarcasm, sorry to say has gone down hill, but never the less, a friend to the last battle. Daniel. I have to say thank you for being the civilian. You’ve taught me, probably even all of us that there’s more to life then being on the top. You are a wonderful addition to my line of work. Thank you, Thank you all.”

The surrounded people clapped and the General raised a toast to everyone at the table. The candle light  glinted off his wine glass and of those who raised theirs as well. Everyone, young or old had a big smile on their faces. A strange filling emotion expanded through Daniel and he widened his smile in order to cover it. Beside him, Sam met his eyes and smiled too.

That was what the feeling was… content… something he had little of after his parents had died. Suck a wonderful feeling. Friends that doubled as family.. a feast to please a king… him not having to cook… Beautiful. A beautiful feeling. The candles were now at the half way point, the burning wicks of the slender candles going slower and slower downwards. Beautiful.

“Daniel?”

Daniel looked up, gazing at the people before him, staring silently at him, their eyes reflecting the light so they almost glowed. Daniel shivered. They looked almost like the Goa’uld. Almost. The Candles were almost gone now and Daniel smiled as Cassandra threw a wink in his direction, her long chestnut hair shimmering.

“Well, Thank you for all being here… I can defiantly say that I’m thankful for everyone here, sitting at that table. My friends and family. I don’t think I could’ve been more happier and more challenged. One special thank you to the cook, who let us be thankful for not eating my Turkey.”

The three girls snorted in an un-ladylike manner. Daniel raised an eyebrow but continued.

“Sam, thanks for being my sister. Never had one, never will but if I ever had to choose one… that’d be you. Teal’c, Thank you for being there through the loss of my wife and above all else, you were always there to help. General, that you for being the father I lost as well, and thank you for not giving up on me when I was lost. Last but not least, Jack. MY brother… the pesky annoying one I must say, but a brother none the less. You have come up with corny jokes every day and have found more ways then one to constantly try my patience and my knowledge. This makes my job so fun. Thanks.”

Daniel smiled and looked down shyly as the assembled group clapped. Jack made a fist and rubbed his knuckles into his hair. He leaned over, and in that hair of a moment Daniel heard six words;

“You too Space-monkey. You too.”