InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "you like cake?"

John Sheppard (ltcol_flyboy) wrote in wihh_logs,
@ 2010-12-25 21:36:00

Current location:	John's Condo
Current mood:	cheerful
Current music:	Christmas Carols
Entry tags:	hattie jackson, john sheppard, ki2k, mia jesbar

Who: John, Mia, Hattie, Kitt, and others...
When: Christmas Eve
Where: John's Condo
What: Christmas Dinner with the "family" ~~so John can interrogate Kitt~~.
Warnings: Bendy-Slow Time to accommodate freaky schedules and last-minute set-ups of Christmas threads ;)

---

He's got a tree up, but it's not decorated. Him and Dave used to always trim the tree Christmas Eve with his mom, and John would always put the star on the top. Unless his dad was present for the event, as then the elder Sheppard would be the one to do the honours. Even when Christmas involved a ski chalet or a trip to some place warm, John's mom always made sure that there was a tree and decorations to be had. John saw no reason to change the tradition. Not unless he ended up creating a new one with Mia.

So there's a large tree in the corner against the picture windows, that one can see when they walk in the front door. The only thing on it is the string of LED lights. There are wrapped presents underneath, and off to the side against the window are several unmarked boxes.

There's egg nog in a bowl on the breakfast counter with plastic cups for people to drink, along with some light finger foods for folks to nibble on while they wait for the turkey to finish cooking. The dining table is set to accommodate him, Mia, Hattie, Kitt, Rodney and Raj.

The rest of the condo is sparsely decorated with other festive things, and one look at the tiny white kitten sitting ever so primly at the foot of the tree, gazing up at it longingly as the tip of her tail swishes idly in contemplation, explains the modesty of John's decorating.

The only other noteworthy decorations are the four stockings hanging on the French Doors leading out to the terrace, labeled John, Skye, Mia, and Isabel.

Christmas carols play softly in the background, a random mix of various compilation CDs that he tossed haphazardly into the CD player to complete the mood of the place.

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miaj
2010-12-26 03:15 am UTC (link)

Mia doesn't really have many Christmas traditions, as the holiday's still fairly new to her, so she's fine with whatever John wants to do. It's too bad she can't figure out how to put up a permanent Force barrier around the tree to prevent Skye from... though a forcefield generator might work to stop her from trying to pounce on, knock off, or otherwise destroy the ornaments...

The beep of the timer pulls her back into the kitchen, where John's been hovering over the turkey in the oven for quite some time. It's rather cute, and especially as seeing how Mia still brings disaster most times she attempts stuff in the kitchen, John taking over is really the best thing.

"That's probably the most pampered dead turkey around," she jokes dryly as she leans against the counter, watching him. Isabel's sniffing around the kitchen, hoping for something of the food to be dropped on the floor.

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ltcol_flyboy
2010-12-26 03:32 am UTC (link)

John has the oven open and the rack pulled out so he can tend to the bird, hands enclosed in protective mitts as he carefully works. He uses a meat thermometer to check the bird's temperature, sighs softly when he sees it's not quite done yet, does the requisite basting and then shoves it back in and closes the door.

He shucks the mitts off onto the counter and lightly baps Mia on the nose playfully with his finger. "It needs to be, if it's going to be edible."

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	miaj 2010-12-26 03:39 am UTC (link)
	"I'm not complaining about that," she laughs, "but it's cute to see you hovering." She wraps her arms around his waist, smiling happily. "Everything else is ready, I think?" Mia's still trying to keep track of all the things they usually have for Christmas on Earth. Not to mention people's slightly different traditions. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ltcol_flyboy 2010-12-28 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	"I think so," he says, hugging her close. "I mean, there's nothing left to really do outside of the tree and the turkey, so... yeah. I guess we can actually sit for a bit and wait for folks to arrive." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	miaj 2010-12-28 08:16 pm UTC (link)
	"Sounds good," she says with a small nuzzle. "We can always watch Skye watching the tree -- at least, I assume she's trying to figure out how to climb or destroy the thing." The whole thing amuses Mia. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ltcol_flyboy 2010-12-28 08:35 pm UTC (link)
	"She's plotting on how to take the thing down once it's decorated," John said, looking over at said cat. "This is recon mode, in which she's studying the structural integrity of the tree, learning its architecture and weak points." He shrugs. "No fun in demolishing a Christmas tree until it's decorated. That's when it'll be the most inconvenient for it happen." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	miaj 2010-12-28 08:41 pm UTC (link)
	Mia laughs, close to a giggle ~~Mia refuses to say she actually giggles~~. Skye makes her do that quite a bit. "Don't people usually decorate before Christmas? Or are you holding off cause of her?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ltcol_flyboy
2011-01-13 07:11 pm UTC (link)

"It depends on the family or person, really," he says with a shrug. "I used to know folks who had everything up and trimmed by December second. But me, my mom, and my brother used to always decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. Figured it would be nice to do the same thing until we figure out our own thing."

He watches Skye for a moment. "The fact that it's still undecorated just means the unholy terror over there has had extra time to plan her assault. I have a feeling that tree is going down at one point or another, between now and the next few days. I might take bets on when it'll happen."

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miaj
2011-01-13 10:23 pm UTC (link)

She nods, til she hears 'our own thing', which is when she opens her mouth and shuts it again, still looking at him. A wry smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, the rest of her face has softened. "I don't really have a 'thing' when it comes to Earth holidays. I do whatever everyone else does. So whatever you want is good with me."

Mia laughs again. "I was contemplating force fields a minute ago."

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ltcol_flyboy
2011-01-13 10:38 pm UTC (link)

"Well, we'll talk to everyone tonight and see what they think our thing should be," he says with a smile, turning once more to check on the turkey. Because by 'our thing' he meant all of them and not just him and Mia. He does consider them all family, after all.

"That might not be a bad idea. Maybe you, Rodney and Hattie can come up with something before we start decorating."

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	miaj 2011-01-13 10:45 pm UTC (link)
	She smiles and watches him fuss yet again over the turkey. "Or maybe that monster mansion can finally get finished." "Rodney's more likely to set the tree on fire with something over-the-top," Mia snorts, "but they'd be a help." (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ostraca 2010-12-28 01:45 am UTC (link)
	Hattie and Kitt had arrived together, after she had explained the purpose of the holiday and the need to be near family at that time. She'd bought a nice bottle of wine and knocked on the door before opening it. It wasn't until she saw John that she thought that maybe she should have warned Kitt that John wanted to ~~interrogate~~ talk to him. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ki2k 2010-12-28 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	Human customs were strange enough without having to deal with the idea of holidays. Still, he went along willingly, though with the understanding that he'd have questions for her. He always had questions. And it would be pleasant getting to know more people, wouldn't it? Especially as they were friends of Hattie's. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ltcol_flyboy 2010-12-28 07:26 pm UTC (link)
	John smiles as they enter, the sound of the oven closing as he checks yet again on the turkey. Once he gets rid of the oven mitts, he heads over to greet them. "Merry Christmas," he says, moving in to hug Hattie. "Glad you could make it!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ki2k 2010-12-29 01:42 am UTC (link)
	Kitt watched the greetings, making sure he held back until they were finished, as politeness dictated. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Sheppard." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ltcol_flyboy 2010-12-31 02:50 am UTC (link)
	"Hey, my pleasure," he replied, holding out a hand for a handshake. "And please, call me John. Calling me 'Mr. Sheppard' makes me feel old." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ki2k 2010-12-31 04:58 am UTC (link)
	"Very well, Mr... John." He returned the handshake, very firmly, before looking around, taking in everything. "Your home is aesthetically pleasing." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ltcol_flyboy 2011-01-13 07:05 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks. I think 'G made it the decor similar to Atlantis so I wouldn't feel homesick. The entertainment center was my idea, though. C'mon in and make yourselves at home." [ooc: apologies for not rep'ing. Retail Hell plus carpal tunnel flare-up had me curled up in a dark corner for a while.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ki2k 2011-01-16 01:30 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you. Atlantis?" Kitt never made himself 'at home', but he would attempt to appear comfortable. And has he mentioned that he is very wary around military and government types? Of course not. [No problem! I've been working a lot, and now I'm under the weather so I understand completely.]</i> (Reply to this) (Parent)