Don't Open The Door

by Sideburns

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sideburns/dontopen.php
Summary: Daniel celebrates his first Halloween in his new home

Daniel carried the grocery bags into the kitchen. It only took him a few minutes to put everything away since his trip to the store had actually been for Halloween candy. Of course, once there, he'd picked up a few other items, mostly for tonight; his first Halloween in a neighborhood with children.

Daniel would never have admitted it to anyone, but he was excited. In fact, he'd managed not to tell anyone about his Halloween plans. He knew that Jack was going out with Sam and Pete - a situation he found odd - and Teal'c was joining Lou Ferretti for some weird-assed Halloween tradition involving green jello and women dressed like Elvira. Teal'c had been disappointed by Daniel's refusal to join them, but ultimately accepted his decision.

Now Daniel took out the big goblin bowl he'd purchased, along with several bags of candy. He'd been bitterly disappointed at the small, stingy crap that layered the large Halloween bins and he'd refused to even look at them. Instead, he'd headed for the candy aisle and the full size stuff. On his way to the check-out stand, he'd passed another aisle of Halloween items - mostly decorations - and hadn't been able to resist picking up a few. He'd chosen a witch wreath for the front door, a string of orange lights to border his door window, two rather frightening jack-o-lanterns to go in the front window. and a couple of fake gravestones to put in the planter. As he put away a few goodies for later in the evening, he toyed with the idea of dressing up. Maybe go as GI Joe. He could paint his face, use his sword. maybe a Ninja GI Joe?

He grinned as he emptied the candy bars into the bowl. He was pretty sure he'd just talked himself into dressing up.

He picked up another bag of candy - the individually wrapped bags of gummi worms - and added them to the mound already in the bowl. Picking up the decorations, he balanced the bowl in his other hand and walked through the house to the small table next to the door. He put the bowl down and set about the task of decorating his home.

***

Daniel stood back and admired his handiwork. Not bad. Not bad at all. Not quite to the level of the other homes, some of which had really gone to town, creating haunted houses and scary graveyards, but still, not bad. He looked at his watch and nodded. He figured with the time change and all, the children would start in another hour or so. Just time enough for a shower before getting into his costume.

***

The first group of children, all pre-schoolers and kindergartners, attacked his home at six. They were thoroughly impressed when the Ninja GI Joe greeted them with a boisterous "AIYEE! and a bowl of gummi bears, followed by giant candy bars.

Word quickly spread.

For two solid hours, Daniel, aka Ninja GI Joe, never stopped answering his door. He "AIYEE'D" and gave out candy until his arm was numb, his voice hoarse. The parents that often accompanied the children got almost as big a kick out of Daniel as their miniature ghosts, goblins and Harry Potters, and many stayed long enough to introduce themselves to their newest neighbor. If they harbored any lingering worries about the little incident involving a van blowing up in front of his home - well, they hid it well. Colorado Springs was used to the military and the strange things that seemed to have become a normal occurrence since the Deep Space Telemetry unit had moved into Cheyenne Mountain.

Only one odd thing happened in those busy two hours, and really, Daniel was pretty sure it was his imagination. At a quarter to eight, after a small group of older children had taken their fair share of "Oh, man, would you look at these candy bars? Full size, man, full size," Halloween trick-or-treats, Daniel could have sworn he'd seen a shadowy figure move around the back of a neighboring house. He'd immediately shaken the silly notion off and continued to give out candy.

***

Okay, the treats were gone, which even for Daniel meant lights out. It was after nine and in the last hour, he'd only had a few trick-or-treaters, so he figured he wouldn't miss that many now that he had to close up shop. He took the Ninja bandana from his face, turned off the porch light and the current to the two jack-o-lanterns, and carried the empty bowl into the kitchen. He stayed at the sink in order to remove the paint streaks that decorated his lower face and sighed in relief. The stuff really itched.

Glancing out his kitchen window, he spotted Mitzi, the Grover's new cat. She was chasing shadows on the lawn and he grinned. It was cold and windy out, but Mitzi was having too much fun scaring off the spooks created by a harvest moon. With reluctance, Daniel turned away. It was time for a warm fire and his Halloween goodies. He filled a glass with milk and picked up the box that sat enticingly on the kitchen table. He moved into the living room, started the fire, turned off the light, and sat down to enjoy his treat, namely Hostess Cupcakes.

Talk about memory lane. Tonight had been nothing more than a gentle stroll down its ghostly, tree-studded road. His fondest memories - okay, his only fond memories - of life in the foster care system included two years with an older couple, Jennifer and Ken Colby. The Colby's had loved Halloween, and sharing that love with eleven year old Daniel had been a treat for them. Daniel had enjoyed both Octobers spent with the couple and had really gotten into the whole house decorating thing, as well as decorating the garage. The Colby tradition insisted that every year, their garage was turned into a scary, delightful haunted house for every neighborhood child to enjoy.

Ken would dress up as Frankenstein while Jennifer took on the persona of Morticia Addams. In Daniel's first year with them, he'd been a junior vampire and the three of them had a blast scaring and thrilling their guests as they dared to enter the garage. The second - and last - year, Daniel dressed up as headless butler that greeted the children and took them through the "haunted house". To this day, he didn't know which Halloween had been his favorite.

His time with the Colby's came to an abrupt end the day after Christmas, when sixty two year old Ken Colby didn't wake up. He'd died in his sleep, the victim of an aneurysm. On January fifteenth, a barely cognizant Jennifer had been forced to deliver Daniel to Children's Services for placement in a new home.

Daniel watched the fire eat away at the logs and remembered how he'd managed not to cry. He'd been almost thirteen and when his hand had slipped from Jennifer's and Mrs. Winter took him away. He'd had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from running back to Jennifer and burying his face in her chest.

But hey, he'd been happy for two full years..

Daniel smiled gently at the memory of Ken and Jennifer. Jennifer had passed away while Daniel was an undergrad, but he'd flown to Albany for her funeral. He hadn't cried then either. At least not on the outside.

Daniel opened another cupcake, peeled off the frosting and set the round, chocolaty goodness aside before splitting the cupcake in half. He licked up the cream center and then ate each piece. Finally, he folded the round chocolate top and popped it into his mouth, savoring the flavor and smooth texture. Hostess cupcakes were Jennifer's legacy to him. They'd been her weakness.

He was just reaching for another one when a sound caught his attention. He cocked his head and listened.

::scratch-scratch::

Thinking it was Mitzi, Daniel rose to his feet, paused to make sure where the sound was coming from, and then headed into the kitchen and the back door. Why the cat would be scratching at his screen door, he couldn't guess, but it was enough that she was. He turned on the light and unlocked the door. Opening it, he peered out.

Nothing.

No sign of Mitzi or anything else. Only the sound of the wind through the trees, the rustling a forceful reminder of October's weather. The trees were bending and creaking under the weight of it while shadows played on the lawn thanks to a Harvest moon above. He almost wished for the silver glow of the regular moon - shadows being so much easier to identify. The strange amber cast only served to lengthen them and make them indistinguishable from each other.

He opened the screen and stepped onto the small porch. It was dry and cold and, for a moment, it was hard to believe that a short time ago his neighborhood had been crawling with children and parents.. He shivered, walked back inside and locked both the screen and the door before turning out the light and returning to the living room.

It had probably been the wind.

***

::scratch-scratch-scratch::

Daniel jerked his head up, eyes straying from the book on his lap. The scratching was closer and apparently coming from the window to his right, next to the fireplace. No way was that Mitzi. The blinds were closed but he was up instantly and peering through two slats.

Again - nothing but more shadows. He laughed at himself. This was ridiculous.

::thump-thump::

Daniel jumped.

What the hell was going on?

He moved quickly to the sliding doors where the new and strange sound had originated. He reached for the chain and pulled until the blinds receded enough so that he could look out. He scanned the entire area, decking, lawn, and planters. He wasn't surprised that there was nothing to see but dark trees waving in the wind.

He closed the blinds.

Okay, scratching on the screen of the back door, followed later by more scratching on the window in the living room and finally a strange thump.

::THUMP-THUMP::

Daniel whirled around. This thump was loud enough and hard enough to be felt as well as heard, and Daniel was positive it was coming from the back of the house. He almost ran to his bedroom, hoping to beat whoever was doing this and catch them in the act. He didn't. There was nothing to be seen.

Okay, time for the big guns.

Daniel got his keys and stuffed them into his back pocket. He grabbed his flashlight and walked out the front door, careful to lock it behind him. Holding the flashlight out in front of him, he made his way to the side of the house. Once around the corner, he aimed the bright beam at the ground.

No footprints - yet.

When he got to his bedroom window, he searched the planter and the soft ground. and found. nothing. The dirt seemed undisturbed. He continued on around to the back door, the light of his flashlight showing him a lawn as undisturbed as the dirt around his planters under the bedroom window.

The only footprints were now his.

At the screen door, he shone the light over its entire surface and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Okay, the sliders.

Again, nothing. No footprints, no evidence of anyone other than himself and he found nothing different by the living room window either. Frustrated, he walked around to the front and over to the sidewalk. He looked up and down the now eerily quiet street and found no unusual cars. In fact, only three cars were parked on the street at all, and he knew who they belonged to.

He walked back up to the porch and let himself in. Once the door was closed, he not only locked it, but put up the chain as well, something he rarely did.

Not that he was afraid . or anything. But better safe than sorry. And wasn't Jack always telling him to put on the chain?

He sat back down and, while contemplating the eating of another cupcake, allowed himself to wonder how the evening had gone for Jack, now that he'd brought the man up. He couldn't imagine spending it with Pete and Sam. It had been bad enough watching them in that empty warehouse, getting all lovey dovey when Sam said yes to Pete's marriage proposal.

Geez. He'd given up God knew what to save Teal'c and his friend, and there was Sam going all female on them. Who knew?

Decision made, Daniel reached for another cupcake. As he unwrapped it, he couldn't help but worry about Jack. It couldn't be easy watching Sam with Pete. It had to be like watching his last chance at happiness swirling down the drain. Daniel could sympathize. He knew exactly how Jack felt because he felt the same way about Jack whenever the older man made moon-eyes at Sam.

Funny, really. Jack was in love with Sam, but for some reason was doing nothing about it. Sam had once been in love with Jack, but because he'd done nothing about it, she'd moved on and had fallen for Pete, who had done something about it, and of course, Daniel was in love with Jack and for obvious reasons, was doing nothing about it.

My, what an exciting life he led.

He lifted his glass of milk and clinked it against an imaginary glass in the air.

"To you, Jack. To you."

::THUMP-THUMP-THUMP::

***

Jack grinned. This was working out pretty damn well. He'd been scratching and thumping for the better part of an hour and he had to be driving Daniel crazy by now. Although, he'd been surprised when Daniel had gone investigating. That had taken some pretty quick moves on his part to avoid being caught in the middle of his little Halloween prank. He looked at the tube of green slime in his hand and grinned again. Right about now, Daniel should be spotting a nice smear of it on his bathroom window, the last place he'd thumped.

Heh. He was so good.

He'd arrived around seven thirty and, after cleverly parking one street over, he'd walked between two houses and settled on someone's side bench to wait for his witching hour. His seat had afforded him an excellent view of Daniel's home, so for almost two hours he'd been able to watch Daniel delight the neighborhood. It had been the high point of an otherwise miserable evening.

Who would have thought watching two people in love would be so agonizing? Damn, what he wouldn't have given to have had Daniel with him. Then he could have pretended they were lovers and when the evening ended, Pete would go home to Carter-sex and Jack would have gone home to . Daniel. And that beat Sam in your bed any day of the week.

Or at least, Jack was pretty damn sure a Daniel in his bed would beat a Carter in his bed.

The sound of crunching leaves caught his attention and for a moment, thoughts of Daniel in his bed, or he in Daniel's, fell by the wayside. He turned and, thankful he'd undertaken his Halloween duties with night goggles, surveyed the area behind him. The bushes that bordered Daniel's yard moved and a moment later, a small cat bounded out. Its back arched as it spotted Jack and it hissed loudly before scuttling back into the bushes. Jack smiled and turned back toward Daniel's house.

Who was getting jumpy now?

Okay, back to business. Surely Daniel had to have found the slime so it was time to turn things up another notch. He crept closer to the house again, and once flat against the wall next to the spare bedroom window, he took out the vial of blood he'd absconded with earlier at the SGC - and no, he wasn't feeling guilty - it was his own blood. He turned and faced the window, popped the top and was about to leave a nice trail of it on the window when something cold was pressed against his neck. He could see nothing reflecting in the window but he knew the muzzle of a gun when he felt one. Suddenly two bright orbs appeared reflected in the glass and Jack's heart entered the express elevator to his feet.

A Goa'uld. At Daniel's home. Was this more of Anubis' work? Was he about to perish, leaving Daniel vulnerable?

Not in this lifetime.

A moment later, his conclusion about a Goa'uld was confirmed when the eerie sound of a Goa'uld voice said, "Do not move, Taur'i."

Okay, the thought had crossed his mind. After all, he could zip around and toss the blood into the glowing eyes, but he was at a distinct disadvantage being so close to the house. There was very little maneuverability. Which meant that he'd failed Daniel.

The gun was pressed harder into his neck and, just as a fleeting question entered his brain, namely, "What the fuck was a Goa'uld doing with a gun?" the Goa'uld said, "Trick-or-treat, Jack."

Busted.

***

Laughing, Daniel led the way into his home. "Okay, that was priceless. Absolutely priceless."

A sheepish Jack followed him inside, the night goggles dangling from one hand. "Would you please get rid of the voice?"

Chuckling, Daniel removed the device and the glowing eyes. "I really have to stop taking stuff home." He looked at both and added, "I almost used these tonight for the kids, but better sense prevailed."

"Damn good thing too," Jack groused.

"You're such a poor sport. Just because I figured it out doesn't mean you have to be a grouch."

"I'm not being a grouch. You stole property from the SGC and, in case it missed your notice, I'm in charge of the place now, you know?"

"So arrest me," Daniel said with a grin as he held out his hands, wrists together.

"Don't tempt me, Daniel. Just don't. tempt me."

Daniel laughed again and walked over to the couch. He picked up the box of cupcakes and held them up. "Want one?"

"Are those Hostess?"

"None other."

Looking all the world like a small boy, Jack bounded over and grabbed the box. "Cool. I love Hostess cupcakes."

Shaking his head, Daniel went into the kitchen, took out the container of milk, got another glass, and carried them back to the living room. "Here, can't have those without this."

Mouth full, Jack nodded and, once the milk was poured, reached greedily for his glass. "Thamks," he mumbled.

Daniel sat down at the opposite end of the couch and watched Jack stuff his face. He couldn't honestly think of anything better to watch. When Jack seemed to be slowing down in his effort to catch up to Daniel in the "how many cupcakes can you eat?" contest, he asked, "So, how was your evening with Sam and Pete?"

Jack made a face, swallowed the last of his milk, and said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "Ugh. They even shared their food. It was positively pathetic in two people that age."

Daniel smirked. "So a nice time was had by all, eh?"

"I don't think they even noticed I was at the same table. And are you ready for this? Carter -- our Carter -- let Pete order for her."

Daniel made an exaggerated sign of the cross and said, "Tell me it ain't so?"

"I'm telling you - she did. The woman has fought off Goa'uld, weird shit aliens trying to take over her body, super soldiers, replicators, and there she was, deferring to Pete." Jack batted his eyes at Daniel and, in a high-pitched voice, said, "Oh, Petey, you order for poor liddle ol' me."

Daniel burst into laughter at that, holding his sides to keep from hurting himself. "Aw, God, Jack," he managed to breathe out.

Smiling at Daniel, Jack shrugged his shoulders. He was enjoying watching Daniel laugh. It was a rare thing, this real laughter thing. Daniel smiled a lot now, but this, this was. real.

When Daniel finally calmed down, he asked, "So you're okay then? It wasn't too painful?"

"Painful? Did you miss the part where I said they shared food? Carter actually fed the guy. Right there in public. It was disgusting. Yes, it was painful." Jack shivered at the memory.

"Jack? I mean. you know." His eyebrows shot up.

Looking skeptical, Jack said, "No-o-o, I don't know. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, it's not like everyone doesn't know how you feel about her." He held up a hand. "Not that I'm prying. In fact, pretend I said nothing. Nothing at all. But if you ever want to talk about it - I'm here."

"Daniel, are you crazy? Scratch that, of course you are. You're still doing this whole 'go through the 'Gate thing.'"

"Fine, fine. Like I said, forget I said anything. In fact, let's change the subject. What made you decide to pull that Halloween stunt, anyway?"

Jack grinned, a big, wide grin. "That was good, wasn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, Jack. You really had me going - not."

"Go on with you. It was working and you know it."

"Sure it was - right up to the moment I took you down. Which doesn't answer my question. So why?"

Jack shrugged again. "I don't know. I was bored, up to here," he brought his hand to his neck, "with Carter and Pete, and I was wishing you'd been there with me, and that led to coming over here, but it's Halloween, so that led to the idea of . you know. By the way? You make a cute Ninja. I especially loved the whole 'AIYEE' thing you had going."

"Damn. Just how long were you watching?"

"I got here around seven thirty. Nice job with the house too. Who knew you had it in you."

"First time I've had a house in a neighborhood full of kids."

"Daniel, in all these years, you never gave a hint that you enjoyed Halloween."

"What's to hint? I lived in an apartment. Not a lot of trick-or-treaters, you know?"

"Daniel, you never got into it at the SGC. Never dressed up, and you showed up in a suit at Hammond's party four years ago."

"No, really? Could that be because a certain colonel told me it was a suit and tie affair?"

"I'll kill Makepeace."

"Very funny, Jack. He was already in jail."

"And you listened to him? Geez."

Daniel pulled the pillow from behind him and slammed it into Jack, who, laughing, put up his hands for protection. After what he considered to be a good pounding, Daniel sat back and said, "Take that, you jerk."

Getting his breath back, Jack said, "Oh, you got me good all right. Big, bad Daniel Jackson attacks General O'Neill with a . what is that, brocade?"

Daniel turned the pillow around in his hand and said, "Sateen. And you don't even know what brocade is."

"Something I'm very proud about, as it happens."

Daniel grinned and stuck the small pillow behind his back. "So, because you had a lousy evening with Sam and Pete, you decided to take it out on me? Why not join Teal'c and Lou and slimey, witchy Jell-o wrestlers?"

"That's no fun, not when I can be outside your home, driving you crazy."

"You jerk," Daniel said again, more fondly this time.

"Seriously, I really wished you'd gone with us. The dinner would have at least been tolerable. We could have made fun of them all night. Two against two."

"That would have been one against two." At Jack's frown, Daniel said, "My brains against Sam's and Pete's. One against two."

It was evidently Daniel's turn to get clobbered by a couch pillow.

***

The fire spit and crackled and Daniel wondered when Jack would leave. Not that he wanted him to, but the man looked downright comfortable and more relaxed than Daniel had seen him since his promotion. In fact, he looked incredibly sexy in the glow of the firelight.

This was not good.

"Daniel, do you think they'll really get married?" Jack suddenly asked.

"Sam and Pete?"

"No, idiot, Teal'c and Lou."

Daniel chuckled at that thought and said, "If anyone could turn Lou Ferretti into a stay-at-home guy, it would be Teal'c."

Jack had to laugh at that. "Can you see Lou meditating on the floor, surrounded by two dozens candles, legs crossed and eyes closed?"

"No way."

"So. do you think they'll get married?"

Hearing the seriousness in Jack's voice, Daniel said softly, "I don't know. I think . they're in love though."

"Yeah, they are. She literally shines with it. I'm just wondering about her career. It means a great deal to her, and Pete strikes me as the 'I want a family now' sort of guy."

Daniel hadn't thought ahead that far, but now that he was - he could only see major changes ahead - changes he wasn't sure he'd like. What would happen if Sam left the program? Even temporarily? What would happen to SG-1?

What would happen to Jack if Sam really married Pete?

"You know, it's not too late to tell her, Jack."

"Tell her what?" Jack asked, his eyes on the flames.

"That you love her," Daniel said softly. "Just tell her. Hell, you've already got her leaving the SGC so why not for you instead of Pete?"

Jack never moved, didn't blink an eye. "You think I'm in love with Carter?"

"Hell, yeah. Like I said, it's not a secret."

The room was quiet, other than the comforting sound of the fire and Daniel's breathing next to him. Jack could feel his own heart beating, and it seemed as though the moment was frozen, waiting.

"I'm not in love with Carter, Daniel," he said into the stillness of the frozen moment. "I'm in love with you."

He expected his words to shatter the quiet stillness. He was wrong.

A Hostess Cupcake landed in his lap and he glanced down at it. He looked sideways at Daniel and found him grinning from ear-to-ear.

"What, you think what I said is funny?" he asked, his voice betraying the sudden hope that had popped up with Daniel's grin.

"Very. Hilariously funny. In a weird kind of . 'Goddammit, look how much time we've wasted' kind of way. All this time I thought you were head over heels in love with Sam, and you weren't, which meant we could have been hosting the Bedroom Olympics for how long?"

Jack waggled three fingers at Daniel.

"Only three? I've been in love with you for," he waggled four fingers, "this long."

"So you're a year up on me. So what? Wasted time is wasted time."

"Hey, you're the one who wasted it with all your Sam-mooning."

"I wasn't Sam-mooning, I was. misdirecting. So there."

"You are so full of it, Jack."

"Not yet, I'm not, but I could be, if we get a move on."

"Now that was romantic. And there's no way we're both fitting in my bed."

"So, we make a bed out here. You have your sleeping bags, right? And we can use the cushions from the couch. so come on, let's get this show on the road."

Jack got up and held out his hand. Daniel looked at it and then looked up at Jack. Who was smiling with so much love, it took Daniel's breath away. He took Jack's hand and let the man haul him up and consequently into Jack's arms.

"Nothing says we can't rehearse a bit," Jack growled just before he kissed Daniel.

***

Jack had been right - Daniel in bed beat Carter any day of the week. Not that they were technically in bed, but hey, this was damn close and a helluva lot more comfortable than Daniel's bed. At the moment, Jack was thoroughly enjoying Daniel's neck and had already left a nice hickey that would demand a turtle neck sweater for his archaeologist tomorrow. He was so proud.

::scratch-scratch::

Lost in the moment of kissing a trail along Daniel's jaw, Jack was surprised when Daniel thumped his back. "Did you hear that?" Daniel hissed in Jack's ear.

"Hear what?" he said as he tried to get Daniel's face into focus, his eyes lost in lust.

"That scratching sound."

::scratch-scratch::

Jack frowned. "Cat," he finally said.

"No, I saw Mitzi taken indoors when I took the cupcake box and milk back into the kitchen."

"What, there aren't more cats in the neighborhood?"

"Sure, but Mitzi is the only one allowed out."

"Daniel, we're in the middle of something here and I'll be damned if I'm going to get up - and out - and go investigate the wind."

"You're right, you're right. Go back to work," Daniel said as he tightened his legs around Jack's waist and slapped his rump playfully.

"That's more like it."

A few minutes later, amongst the moans of pleasure and urging pleas..

::THUMP-THUMP::

Groaning in frustration, Jack lifted his head again. "Okay, that was not the wind."

Daniel pulled Jack's head back down. "It's just Lou and Teal'c. Although, how Lou talked Teal'c into this, I'll never know."

Jack looked down into Daniel's face, his scarred eyebrow arched. "How the hell do you know it's Lou and Teal'c?"

Daniel fondled Jack's right ass cheek and said, "Same way I knew it was you. I'm good."

Nuzzling behind Daniel's ear, Jack murmured, "Yes, you are."

***

"They are not rising to the occasion, LouFerretti," Teal'c said.

"No, damn it, they're not. What the hell could they be doing in there? We're making enough racket to wake the dead."

"Perhaps they are indulging in chess."

"Okay, now that sounds duller than dish water."

"I have not found dish water to be any more dull than regular water," Teal'c offered.

Lou shook his head and grabbed Teal'c's arm. "Come on, there's still an hour of Halloween left. Let's go scare Carter."

"I do not believe Colonel Carter can be scared. We would be wise to avoid trying. She is not without weapons in her home."

"You have a good point, Teal'cy baby. But I say . you only live once. Let's go."

"That is most true, unless you are DanielJackson."

Lou slung an arm around Teal'c's shoulders and said, "How many times has he died?"

"How many lives does a black cat on Halloween have, LouFerretti?"

The End.. or is it?