Chapter Five
Christmas Eve

Once the Christmas shopping was done, Daniel Jackson spent several nights working very late in his office, and he did not return home until way past ten or eleven in the evening, usually to find that Calla had fallen asleep on the couch but last night she had gone to bed without him. What could he do? There were reports to prepare before the end of the year and accountings to be made. Artifacts from off world were starting to pile up and not being cataloged as quickly as they should. Usually was there a dull aching thud behind his temple. So much shit to do here and he should be at home. He had spent so many nights sitting here that he hadn’t even gotten his wife a Christmas present!

Rowan MacNeal sauntered into the lab just after lunch to find Dr. Jackson staring blankly at his computer screen. At first she thought he was deep in thought, trying to figure out some thing or another but as she got closer to him, she could see that was not the case.

"Dr. Jackson?" She asked as she neared him. "Hello, Dr. Jackson?" Rowan smiled a devastatingly stunning grin at him as she waved her hand between his eyes and the computer screen. "Earth to Daniel Jackson, come in please."

Slowly Daniel’s head turned in her direction and the light began to come on again behind his beautiful blue eyes. “Sorry,” he said lightly and then absently scratched behind his ear. “Did you say something?”

“Yeah, where were you just now?” Rowan, a tall Irish/Scottish drink of whisky, settled herself in the chair next to him. The skirt and blouse beneath the white lab coat were not what one would call ‘regulation’. The black linen skirt rose three inches above her knee and even higher when she sat. The blouse, white linen, unbuttoned just one too many buttons revealing a large mound of inviting cleavage. She crossed her long legs and stared at him through dark doe eyes.

“Ah, I dunno, doesn’t matter.”

“Did you get any lunch?”

“Lunch? What time is it?”

“A little after one.” She said glancing down at the diamond-encrusted watch on her slender wrist. “You were going to head down to the cafe the last time I saw you, didn’t get there, huh?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “You really do work too hard, Daniel.” Rowan said softly from behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders, she began to massage the knotted muscles there. The soft scent of her lightly floral perfume lingering around him. “So hard,” she cooed in his ear sending a tingle down his spine.

“Hey, what’s new?” Jack asked as he strolled into the office and stopped short as he gazed at the scene that greeted him. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No.” Daniel grumbled. “Thank you for your help, Rowan.“ He said to his head assistant in a dismissive tone and then turned his attention back to Jack. “What do you get a Goddess for Christmas?” He asked in a half-joking but half-hopeful tone. Maybe Jack would spout off something good.

“I dunno, what’d ya get her for her birthday?”

“Birthday? Birthday!?” Daniel threw his hands up in the air. “Oh fuck! It was in October, I missed it and she never said anything about it.” It was small wonder that she had not mentioned the day to him, good old Naganti Kanan probably never even knew which day his favored Cha’Dech was born on, let alone celebrate it.

“Hum, better make it a hell of a present.” Jack suggested. “You got about, oh; I’d say eight hours left.”

“I’m screwed.” Daniel complained and tossed the pen onto the desk. He told Jack about the tree and the trunk she’d kept in the attic. “What’d you get her?”

“I’m not tellin’. You’ll have to wait until Christmas.” Jack looked at his watch again. “Seven hours and fifty-two minutes...”

“I’m going.” On his way off the base, Daniel ran into Sam and he asked her the same question. Unlike Jack, Sam had a great idea for a Christmas present, in fact, it was just what Nicholas and Colleen had in mind for their mother. Best of all, Sam was very willing to help him pull it off. In less than an hour, Daniel was almost all set for the big event. He called Calla from his cell phone to tell her that he was on his way home and not to make any dinner, they were going out tonight. All four of them.

Bundling the children up in their snowsuits and getting them settled in their car seats Daniel explained to Calla that when he was a child it was a tradition in his family that on Christmas Eve they all piled in the car and drove around the streets of Chicago looking at the Christmas lights on the houses and buildings. During this ride, they would find an open pizza parlor and have a bite to eat. This was a tradition he wanted to share and pass down to his children.

For the next few hours, they drove the streets of Silver Springs and the surrounding towns gazing at the lights and listening to Christmas carols on the radio. As Daniel and Calla pointed out large light diplays to each other from the backseat could be heard' 'Ights, 'ights" from Nicholas and "Purdy" from Colleen. At her word, just for a brief moment, Daniel felt Callas hand tighten inside his and knew why; she sounded just like David in that second. "Pret-ty", Calla said quickly and quietly as she let go of his hand, she turned around in the seat to look at the two snow bunnies. "The lights are pretty." Although slow and clear her tone was not the unconscious condescending or patronizing tone one sometimes took with small children, it was patient and loving.

Soon the children were mimicking their parents more clearly. "ay schide," Colleen said when Christmas lights appeared before her, on her side of the car.

Driving across the snow covered streets, Daniel couldn't help but be reminded of he and David as they used to ride in the backseat, each one yelling out ‘my side!’ my side!’ as the lights came up into view. In their travels they came upon an open pizza parlor, the sign outside said "Chicago Style", Calla insisted they stop. Over a large pepperoni and green pepper pizza, they held hands and chatted while the twins gummed on slices of crust, each one now having three teeth with more coming in.

The hour was getting late and the night cold, he tossed the blanket over her as they left the parking lot. There was one place he wanted to take her before they went home for the evening. Last year, while she was still in the infirmary and he was alone at home, he had taken a round about way to get home after visiting with her and happened upon this Winter Wonderland. "Close your eyes," he said as they took a sharp right hand turn.

"What?" She asked looking over at him.

"Just do it." Calla sighed at his command but closed her eyes. "Don't open them until I tell you too, ok?" He reached over to her, under the blanket, and took her chilly hand. "Ok?"

"Ok." She huffed and in a playful tone. Sitting with her eyes closed the she felt the car take a left and then slow down, Daniel was pulling over and shutting off the engine. Still she sat there and waited, the passenger door opened and she felt the seat belt being released. Daniel was pulling her out and up. From behind closed lids, there was a very bright light.

"Open," Daniel stood back and watched as she gazed in utter amazement at the sight before her.

Every house on this street was lit up with displays of Santa Claus, Reindeer, Elves, Manger Scenes, angels, Winnie the Pooh and Frosty the Snowman and a thousand other characters and blinking tiny red, green, blue and white lights. Everything here glowed as the snow reflected the colored lights to the dark night. White light igloos and gazebos were done up for the occasion in lights and garland. At their feet, hundreds of candles in bags lined the street. It truly was like something straight out of a Fairy Tale. Last Christmas Eve he swore that if she made it through, he would bring her here on the next Christmas Eve. In fact, it was the very first thought that skipped through his mind when she said she wanted to celebrate the holiday.

With the wide eyes of an awe-struck child, Calla turned to him and smiled. “It’s so beautiful,“ she said quietly and wanted to take the children from the car so they could see it. Looking through the window into the backseat, she saw the children were fast asleep. Although the warmly lit houses with their bright Christmas color displays must be full of people, there was no one else around. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this.”

For a few moments, they strolled the street, arm in arm looking at the hard work the people had put into their decorations. They the most elaborately worked on displays, especially when she stopped to consider all this work was only for a few days of sheer enjoyment. It served no purpose other than to make the people who saw it happy. Walking on the silent street with her head leaning against his shoulder she was very happy. “It’s a contest,“ he told her, “in an hour or so people will start coming by the judge the displays and pick a winner.“

“Oooh, what do they get?“ She asked as she stopped walking and looked up at him.

“I dunno,“ Daniel smiled, “probably a bottle of wine or something.“

“Sounds like fun.“

Yeah, she would think it sounded like fun. Next year she would want to hang lights on their house. The snow began to fall again and the wind to pick up, Calla shivered and Daniel started walking them back to the car. Calla took one last look around her, “It’s my first Christmas too, you know.” She said absently and then slid into the car.

“How do you like it so far?” Daniel asked as they headed for home.

“Very much,” she squeezed his hand and covered with her other one. “Thank you, Daniel.”

Just as he was about to say the standard ‘you’re welcome’, the tone of her statement caught him. He looked over at her, she seemed just the slightest bit lost. “I love you, Calla.” Yeah, well, so he hadn’t acted very much like it lately. That was about to change. Tomorrow it would all be different.

It was Christmas after all.

End of Chapter Five
Daughter of the Gods: She's a Wonderful Wife (A Christmas Story)
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Chapter Six