Helenka, Queen of Outer Space

Mind you, I'm sure I don't have to remind you that it was/is a Sunday. Duh. Though, TBH, how come it takes me so many minutes to get my eyeliner on first thing in the morning? It's a mystery, though fab job, blondie! My brekkie was the satisfying Steak'n'mushroom pie and veggies. And the juice du semaine, namely Blueberry/Pomegranate. Extra yum.

I had the window wide open and the blinds raised fully, because it was so warm out. 57F. Yay! As I'd already chosen my clothes last night (another yay), it was really easy to put on the red turtleneck under the black shell, slide the red satin scarf under the lapels of my black jacket, said lapels secured with my red brooch on one side and a hidden safety pin on the other. [How could I have gone so many decades in my life before figuring out how not to have loose scarves sliding off?]

( Much beauty surrounded me at church today. )My ride was set for 12:45 but I walked out at 12:35. The cab was already there and the driver very happy to see me, because the Santa Claus parade had just started. We had to get across University somehow to his next pickup (the Polish church on Queen near Bathurst). I suggested Eastern, but he chose Richmond. He shoulda listened to blondie. But we still managed to get there after a bunch of zig-zags.

When I got in, I kept the window open for a while but then it just got too cold. No wonder. The temp at 1:00 was showing 46F. Eek. And it's gone down to the 30s. I had cold food for lunch (aka open-faced cheddar and sausage on multigrain rye), so that was no help either. Finally, I had a 2.5+ hour nap in the evening. When I got up, dinner was just my hard-cooked eggs, though I'll probably have a couple of weird apples John gave me. I believe they're supposed to be Gala, but why do they taste like hybrid Granny Smith? One of life's mysteries, obviously. I'm going to stay up reading, because I still need to unwind. There's a couple of good stories on my SGA comms, so that's just perfect for my mood. And, then, tomorrow, I begin my Christmas Cleanup Campaign (CCC, for short)!

Hello, out there in the Pegasus Galaxy. I'm back and so is Santa Claus. The verdict is in from the last challenge of stargate_las and it is ... meh. Ah, well, I'm still moving on to the next round. And Santa can go have a very long rest.

Name: helenkacan
Show/Movie: Stargate Atlantis (SGA)
Story Title: Red and White
Character/Relationships: "Santa Claus", canon and original characters / Gen
Rating: G (suitable for children of all ages)
Warnings: none
Timeline: Post S5 (EatG), with Atlantis returning to Pegasus in late summer, 2009


He slumped as he shrugged off his clothing and hung it in the closet. Delivering presents stealthily over the past thirty days, in Earth time, had been the hardest job in his life but it was over, well ... everything except for the huge party tomorrow welcoming in the New Year.

With Atlantis stuck on Earth for a few short months, people were homesick for the holiday traditions they hadn't been able to observe, some for more than five years. And, then, by a sudden and weird vote of the IOA, they were expected to simply return to Pegasus, once again leaving behind most of their customs without having had a proper chance to reacquaint themselves.

He didn't think it was fair and Mr. Woolsey – bless his bureaucratic but luxury-loving heart – agreed. Between the two of them, they hatched a plan that, as far as the city's residents were concerned, was only about celebrating the return of light which, to be honest, was heavily weighted in favour of the Northern Hemisphere. Woolsey had gone on (and on and on ... and on) about the many observances that focused on light - Diwali (festival of lights), Hannukah (lighting the menorah), followed by Yule (Winter Solstice welcoming the return of the sun north of the equator), Christmas and finally Kwanzaa to finish off the month.

But he and nearly everyone else called it Christmas, its religious symbolism having been stripped away mostly and replaced by Santa Claus. Which was not a bad thing entirely, with the giving of gifts. Except that there was no way to guarantee that everybody received one ... without outside influence. Hence ... the appearance of Santa in Atlantis.

He recalled the reactions on December 1st from the first recipients who'd stumbled into the Mess, initially startled by the appearance of a lavishly decorated tree, and then surprised to see packages with their names – from "Santa" - surrounding its base. He observed flashes of hurt and envy on the faces of those around who hadn't received a gift ... until the next day when there were more boxes waiting. As the joy spread, anxiety dissipated as everyone figured out they just had to wait their turn.

Then something unusual happened. The cooks began to bake mounds of cookies, left out – presumably for Santa – and people would wander in during the night to chat, have some milk and grab a cookie or two. There were many new friendships formed as they shared the letters they'd received unexpectedly, along with their presents, written by children from around the world. If those children only knew their letters had been delivered to another Galaxy!

He made sure to stay away from any of the pools, where wagers were placed on the true identity of Santa. He didn't know if he could have maintained a poker face, but would have been curious to know what the odds were on him.

He figured one of the scientists had dragged in the whiteboard from the labs and placed it next to the tree. There were scribbled thanks to Santa from every sector.

Such as Lt. Rieger: "Thank you for the supply of wool, so that I can continue on my nefarious mission to knit everyone here a hat!" He shuddered, wondering when he would receive his.

Or Dr. Bronski: "I didn't expect to replace my broken tea service, but the new one and the splendid teas are much appreciated."

Or the bunch of Marines who thanked Santa for the hoops and basketballs. It had been high time they had something that was both entertaining and physical where many could play on teams.

Or Teyla, on behalf of her son: "Torren John is enchanted by the snow globe. I must shake it several times a day for his enjoyment." Hmmm. He wasn't sure whether Teyla was thanking him or chastising him.

Every night, someone would transcribe all of the thank-you notes onto a tablet before wiping the board clean, ready for more expressions of gratitude the next day.

Just as he was touched to see who had written their thanks, he was mystified to see who had not. There were several people, most notably someone for whom he'd gone to great lengths acquiring extremely popular souvenirs. But he knew he hadn't done it for the thanks. And he also knew that some people were private, despite their loud exteriors.

Between the random distribution of presents and the special displays of more light every day making the city glitter like a jewel, there was food. Atlantis now had fully stocked pantries and freezers with foodstuffs from all over the globe. So there were different dishes on the menu every day, ranging from latkes with real sour cream to dim sum.

Finally, he took one last look at the familiar flash of red and white in the closet before going to sleep. He had done a good job.

Epilogue:
When he was ready to leave his quarters the next day for the huge party, he didn't expect to see a familiar pair of Canadian Winter Olympic mittens outside his door, along with a note.

"Don't try to pretend you're not Santa. I can't think of anybody else who could have accomplished all that you did, without slacking off on the job. And you got me a Canadian hockey team jersey, the best present ever, that I will wear to the labs every day we face off against the Americans."

Chuck smiled to himself. It wasn't a public thank-you, but that didn't matter. As he strolled to join the Australian hosts at their throw-another-shrimp-on-the-barbie party, he wondered whether he should warn Dr. McKay that he would be needing those very mittens next month, when the hockey arena on a lower level was ready.

But then he thought he'd keep that a surprise, too. It was much more fun that way and just another privilege of being Santa.