Sint Nicolaas
By BabsN
Note: Thank you Ozy, for your instant beta. You're
a sweetie. This one is for all the Dutchies. Sinterklaas is visiting the Netherlands
from Spain tonight. Bringing gifts to those that have been nice, sweet and
innocent. Therefore I thought Dutchies might want something else to fill their
shoe. *Babs ducks*
"Zo jongens en meisjes. Dit is oom Aart en we
zijn hier weer terug bij de aankomst van Sinterklaas. De Sint is vandaag
aangekomen met de stoomboot en na een feestelijke intocht, rust hij even uit in
het huis van de burgemeester."
("Well boys and girls. This is uncle Aart and
we are back here with the arrival of Sinterklaas. The Saint arrived today with
his steamer and after a festive tour through the city he is now resting in the
Mayor's home") The reporter turned away from the old city hall to the market
place packed with excited children. They were currently singing badly, under
directions of a clearly overstressed lady waving her arms high in the air
trying to reach the masses.
Jack was watching the whole TV show with
confusion. He'd been called to the debriefing room and planted in front of the
screen by the general himself. For the last ten minutes he'd been watching a
crowd of out of control six year olds, a reporter chattering away to the
camera, and the occasional shot of some acrobats in idiotic costumes climbing
the roofs of the medieval Dutch harbor town. Admittedly, he was kind of
enjoying the watching those kids taking over the city, but he had no idea why
he was watching this. SG-1 was on stand down for a few days and he had only
come in to catch up on some paperwork.
"Nou komt Sinterklaas niet alleen in
Nederland." the reporter was at it again " Hij zorgt ook voor
cadeautjes in Belgie, Duitsland en zelfs helemaal in Suriname ane de Antillen.
Maar soms komen er ook mensen speciaal naar Nederland voor Sinterklaas. Straks
krijgt Sinterklaas bezoek van wel heel ver weg en voordat de zwarte pieten hem
komen ophalen ga ik even met hem praten. "
("Sinterklaas doesn't only come to the
Netherlands. He brings gifts to Belgium, Germany and even all the way down to
Suriname and the Antilles. But sometimes people come to the Netherlands
especially for Sinterklaas. In a few minutes Sinterklaas will have a
visitor from really far away. Before the Black Petes come for him, I will talk
with him for a bit.")
The reporter grabbed an arm and pulled a deeply
blushing and obviously highly uncomfortable young man into view. He put a
friendly arm around his victim's shoulders, cutting off any route of escape. "Hallo,
hoe heet jij en waar kom je vandaan? Hello, what is your name and where do you
come from?"
Jack watched with his mouth open, glancing at the
general, checking if the man had seen it too. He had.*Holy Shit...Daniel!*
Daniel squirmed as the camera was pointing at him.
*It's only for Dutch national television. It's only for Dutch national television.*
He kept chanting the refrain to himself, but it wasn't helping. This was a major
breach of security and Jack was going to have his ass. He was dreading the call
he knew he was going to have to make to General Hammond about this. "Myn
naam is Daaniel an ick come ueit Aameerekaa." he tried to get his pronunciation
right.
Lunch had been uneventful. Luckily the Zwarte
Pieten had rescued him from the chipper reporter and led him into the reasonable
peace of the old city hall. The air was merry and all the faces he met were
laughing. Then he had been brought into a big room where the Sint was having
lunch, and Daniel had been invited him to join him. They had talked about the
children, the weather, the food, how nice the coffee was. He felt foolish,
utterly foolish! Back at the SGC, late in the evening after a lot of coffee it
all had seemed a lot more intriguing. Now he was sitting in a cozy room of a
nice old building in the homeland of his great grandparents, opposite a
friendly old man dressed up as a Saint who was loved by streets full of
children outside.
"So, dear doctor. What was this important
question you had to travel all the way up here for?" the friendly old
voice rumbled.
Daniel studied his plate, avoiding eye contact.
Blushing deeply he peeped: "Does Chapaa'ai mean anything to you?"
A long silence made him look up. The old face was
serious. "That depends, my boy. What does it mean to you?"
As the eyes flashed Daniel jumped up, kicking his
chair away. He yelped as he back into a wall of a chest as the Black Pete
that had led him into the room grasped him and a big hand closed over his
mouth.
He was squirming, but deep down he knew it was no
use. The three Black Petes where holding him down quite securely. As he lay
with his face against the floor he saw the red and white robes approach him,
and he tried to get away. "Now, now. No need for that. That will only wear
you out." The voice almost sounded sympathetic. "You just mentioned a
word I have been trying to forget for a long time. Now I would much rather
resume our conversation at the table, but that would mean having to promise me
you and I will be able to talk. Can you do that for me, Dr. Jackson?"
Daniel nodded slightly. Considering his current
position, talking sounded like a nice plan. The three big men in their colorful
suits helped him up, and within moments they were sitting back at the table
like nothing had happened at all. Still, the three Zwarte Pieten looming over
him weren't looking so jolly anymore. "I don't know how you know, Dr.
Jackson," the old man started, "but your reaction tells me you have
at least some knowledge about the Goa'uld. I am not one of them. This might be
hard to accept but there are other beings like them. These beings choose not to
blend with a host against their will. We live in true symbioses, no being
overshadowing the other."
"The Tok'ra!" Daniel blurted out before
he could think about it.
Shock and relief crossed the face in front of him.
"You know of my kind? That is good. Then you must also know we did not succeed
in overthrowing the Goa'uld. I was an agent on your world when Ra was
overthrown by the Tauri, and the gate was buried. It left me stranded with no
way to return to my people. As my chance to fight against the Goa'uld was lost
I lived for years as an alien amongst you. I lost three hosts who were beyond
my capacities to save, but offered the dying the choice of blending with
me."
Daniel sat silently, fascinated with the story of
this old refugee. "I joined with Nicolaas many centuries ago when he still
was a young boy. He was dying, and so was my host who had found a position
taking care of him. She comforted him, and explained what I could offer and
what the consequences would be. With our lives stretched before us, he
struggled to find a way to make his time meaningful. When he realized he could
help people, he made his choice."
"First we just used his wealth to lighten the
suffering of the poor, but soon a legend begin to grow around him. We allowed
his body to age according to his years and soon I too had found a new meaning
for my life." The voice softened back to a human one as Nicolaas continued
with a slight Spanish accent warming his English. "When the time came for
me to die, Kaltash offered to sustain my body the way it was. We had to break
ties with my old life, which was hard." A regretful grimace crossed
Nicolaas' face. "We took a few trusted servants and started anew in a
village far from my original home. Every 15 or 20 years we'd move, leaving
people to assume I had died. That way no one got suspicious. When the people
here started celebrating my birthday, we took a risk. I came over and we were
accepted without question."
Daniel frowned. "No-one asked?"
Nicolaas smiled "The powers of disbelief are
as strong as those of belief, Dr. Jackson. In all those years you are the first
adult who ever has considered that a centuries-old man might actually be just
that. I always rather enjoyed the poetry of the situation that only the
youngest children know the truth" Nicolaas smiled. "All right old
friend, I will leave you to it." His eyes flashed and Kaltash voice took
over. "But now I would like to know where you got all this information,
Dr. Jackson. Are my friends still fighting out there?"
Daniel squirmed. The life story of these two old
souls had deeply moved him yet he couldn't reveal the Stargate Program.
"That is classified, sir." He blushed, embarrassed to keep such
information from this man, but a slight chuckle made him look up.
"The fact that there is something to be kept
a secret makes me hopeful. If you can, inform my brethren that I am well."
Daniel nodded, feeling like an idiot for letting
the information slip, but secretly he was happy to bring some good news. As the
old man obviously didn't doubt his Tok'ra friends were still alive, he asked
the last question on his mind. "If they were would you want to rejoin
them?"
"I thought that fight was lost, young man,
and I settled into the life my host prefers a long time ago. Now in this body,
I think I wouldn't contribute much."
His head dropped as Nicolaas resurfaced, his voice
tender. "Kaltash has granted me my lifetime may times over. I am old
beyond my time. I will not stand in his way if he wishes to rejoin his friends
in your resistance against the Goa'uld."
The eyes flashed with a hint of anger. "Nico,
I will not let you die!"
At that moment there was a knock on the door and
as it opened Kaltash averted his eyes to hide the light in them from the Mayor
entering the room.
"I have made my choice many years ago, Dr.
Jackson. Do you think I should reconsider?"
Daniel looked into the young blue eyes surrounded
by wrinkles, trying to read the minds behind them, when a noise caught their
attention. Behind the legs of the Mayor a small face appeared, clinging to her
father's leg for protection, clutching a colorful drawing in one hand.
"Ik hoop dat ik niet stoor, Sinterklaas, maar
mijn jongste heeft een tekening voor u gemaakt."(I hope I'm not disturbing
you, Sinterklaas, but my youngest has made a drawing for you.)
Daniel watched the old man's eyes soften as he
gave a tiny wave to the toddler. A smile broke through the uncertainty, and she
let go of her father's leg to dash forward. She deposited the drawing on the
table, and rushed back to hide behind her father again. But this time a big
grin was on the face peeping out from behind her dad.
The old man carefully picked up the wrinkled paper
filled with red blotches and colorful paper balls stuck to it. He carefully
stroked the creases out, reminding Daniel of how he would treat a newfound
artifact.
Daniel cleared his throat. "No, sir. I don't
think you should. You are doing something wonderful right here."
Sint Nicolaas smiled at him before turning his
attention back to the artwork and its creator.
Daniel got up, leaving the old man to talk to the
child.
As he was about to exit the old voice called him
back once more. "Thank you, Doctor Jackson. You have brought an old man
some very good news."
The old man and the toddler now happily sitting on
his knee waved.
After the brief goodbye, Piet escorted him out of
the room. They made their way down the stairs. Daniel couldn't keep himself
from asking. "Are you a Jaffa?"
A huge smile broke through on the face in front of
him. "Nope. The old man told us about the likes of them but I'm not really
into carrying a worm around."
To illustrate he lifted his shirt and slapped his
intact stomach. "Nico never had any. I don't think he ever had." But
then he turned to Daniel very seriously. "He is a good man. Thank you for
recognizing that."
Daniel was dog-tired. His trip from the airport
had been a nightmare. Then he had had to deal with Hammond's lecture, and Janet
had caught him with a discussion on how time given off to relax was best not
spent flying to and from other continents. Through it all, Jack had been
yelling at him, a counterpoint to the other's concern. He figured Jack's offer
to drive him home had only been offered so he could yell some more.
Daniel tossed his keys on the table, shed his coat
and let it drop where he stood. He made a beeline for the couch, flopping
down on it, one arm over his head in a weak attempt to shut out Jack's barrage
of yashould and yashouldn'ts. Now if Lantash could just verify Sint was his old
friend, maybe, just maybe Jack would ease off.
Rrrrrrrrrrrright.
When blissful silence surrounded him for more then
a minute, he lifted his arm. "Jack?" His answer was the slamming of
the front door. Curious what had taken Jack so long he turned towards the hall.
Jack walked in with a small UPS package. "Your
neighbor accepted this for you. She's a sweet old lady." Jack babbled,
simultaneously trying to figure out what was in the parcel by shaking it next
to his ear.
Daniel sat up, interested now in the parcel Jack
tossed to him. A quick examination told him it was from the Netherlands. Curious,
he ripped the box open and was greeted by an assortment of sweets and an
envelope.
"COOKIES!!!"
Quick reflexes made him snatch the letter out just
before Jack dove into the package. Daniel noticed how Jack always looked like
he hadn't been fed for days whenever he was around sweets. He opened the letter
and unfolded the single sheet of paper.
Dear Daniel,
Our meeting was short,
I seemed a threat,
Hope the Tok'ra have checked out yet,
With you contributing to the fight,
The future of earth might yet look bright
From an old man who is thanking you,
You left him to the job he loves to do.
Sint Nicolaas
The poem was bad, as tradition dictated.
"Ehm, Daniel?" Jack was pointing into
the box. "I think this might classify as another breach of security."
Wrapped in cellophane lay a grayish circle with
red dots on the side. The middle part was flat and very blue. Daniel took it
out of the box and out of the plastic. "Well. We can't have that."
Daniel grinned as he scooped up a very big chunk of the marzipan Stargate and
popped it into his mouth.