"Have yourself a merry little . . ." "God, Carter, will you turn that off?!" Colonel Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes and sat down with a sigh. Major Sam Carter looked at her commanding officer questioningly.
"Problems, Sir?"
"Ah" Jack O'Neill waved his arms. "It's nothing, I just hate all those bells and chimes and all those silly Christmas songs. Winter Wonderland! Pah! There's nothing wonderful about winter. It's cold, it's dark and anyone with at least a little sense in their head is trying to escape it."
Jack leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I'm thinking Hawaii..."
Sam started laughing. Jack opened his eyes again and looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing, Sir, I just don't think you're a Hawaii kind of guy."
Jack raised an eyebrow and his expression turned to mocking hurt. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I know how to use a surfboard?"
Sam thought about it a few seconds, then shook her head.
"Sorry, no, Sir"
Jack shrugged and folded his arms in front of his chest.
"Well, okay, you're right. I can't surf. But there are other things to do on Hawaii."
Sam turned back to her work, still smiling, though the Colonel and his bad mood started to annoy her. The CD-player was still on and the next song turned out to be "Silent night". Jack O'Neill moaned.
"Oh, for crying out loud, that one is even worse!"
Sam didn't bother to ask why. He would explain it to her anyway in a second. She was sure about that. Jack got up and started pacing in front of the desk.
"Silent night! That's a real good one. People are killing each other to find the perfect last-minute-present, everyone is in a hurry to get home, so traffic is real nightmare and when you get home the turkey is burnt and the TV doesn't work and naturally there is no one there to fix it, so everyone is starting to sing Christmas songs, especially people who should NEVER be allowed to even whistle in the first place."
Sam sighed angrily, stepped in front of the desk, blocking his path and folded her arms.
"You got a problem with Christmas, fine, but other people happen to like this particular holiday, so please will you be so kind as to take your resentments against Santa somewhere else? Besides, if you haven't noticed, I have work to do."
Jack sighed and shook his head. "See, what I mean? It's Christmas time and everyone is getting aggressive. So much for peace on earth."
Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Jack just turned around and walked out of her office. Sam shook her head, turned back to her desk and turned up the volume, as if she wanted to cleanse the room of any anti-christmas vibes Jack might have left. She started to whistle and felt soon in a real good mood again. Daniel knocked on the door-frame and walked in without waiting for her answer.
"Hey, is that allowed?"
"What?"
He gestured towards the CD-player on her desk. Sam smiled at him.
"Well, as long as no one says it's forbidden . . ."
Daniel grinned. "Ah, I understand."
Sam turned back to her calculations and Daniel sat down on the edge of her desk.
"You noticed not everyone is in a holiday-mood", he said. Sam rolled her eyes.
"You don't say. I just practically threw him out of this room, because he wouldn't stop complaining."
Daniel shook his head. "You know Jack. This is a hard time for him. And he just doesn't want anyone to see that, so he's barking and being a pain in the ass. It's all pretence, if you ask me."
Sam looked up and flinched. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it sooner! She felt a wave of pain and guilt wash over her. Charlie. Of course Jack knew how wonderful Christmas could be. But that knowledge was a curse now, because every year the sight of laughing children unwrapping their gifts, reminded him of what he had lost. Sam thought about the first Christmas after her Mum had died and she thought she understood what Jack must be going through. Though his pain was definitely worse than hers. Sam felt guilty.
"Oh god, Daniel, and I just fell for it. I hadn't thought of it. Maybe I should go after him."
Daniel shook his head.
"Sam, just leave him alone. He won't admit it anyway. He's just gonna disappear for a few days, and be right back to the old Jack in time for New year's. He has his way of dealing with it and we should respect that."
Sam wasn't so sure about it. Christmas was a wonderful time and everyone should have the right to enjoy it. She wanted Jack O'Neill to enjoy it. He deserved it probably more than anyone she knew. Sam made a decision.
"Daniel, I need your help..."
The two of them caught up with Jack, just before the doors of the elevator were closing.
"Hey guys, going home, too?"
"Yeah, got to go Christmas-shopping." Daniel said and grinned. "Though I have no idea what to buy you yet."
Jack snorted. "Don't bother, okay?"
Daniel and Sam exchanged a glance. Daniel folded his hands in front of his chest. "What is it with you and Christmas anyway?"
"Nothing, I just like the Fourth of July better, that's all."
"Oh, come on, Jack! What's so terrible about Christmas?"
Jack shook his head. "It's just too much forced joyfulness for my taste, that's all."
Sam cut in. "Forced? I don't think so. Christmas is just a joyful holiday, that's all. People want to be happy at Christmas."
"Oh yeah? And everyone who isn't happy is being treated as the enemy, right?" Jack shot back.
They had reached the parking lot, which was covered in snow. The cars were barely visible under the white blankets heaven had dropped on them.
"Come on, Jack, you can't tell me that you always hated Christmas. I bet young Jack O'Neill loved it, snowball-fights, Santa, roasted chestnuts, unwrapping presents . . ."
"For your information, Daniel: No he didn't", Jack grumbled.
The next thing he knew was that the left side of his face felt really cold. Jack blinked. Daniel wouldn't dare that. Jack turned his head and saw the young archaeologist smiling at him innocently, his hands hidden behind his back.
"That was a mistake", Jack grumbled and reached down to grab some snow.
The ball hit Daniel in the shoulder and he stumbled back, before he started his next attack on Jack. The snowball hit Jack and the retaliation that followed left Daniel spitting snow, laughing and coughing at the same time. Jack smiled. Served Daniel right. He was still watching Daniel when another snowball hit his head. Jack stumbled and turned to face the new attacker.
"Hey, who's side are you on?" Jack shouted at his Second in Command.
Sam grinned and answered: "As I am a very big fan of Christmas, I have to say Daniel's."
And with that she threw another ball of snow at the Colonel. Jack got out of the way, and shouted: "Traitor!", before he aimed at Sam. She ducked behind one of the cars and fired back. Jack stumbled and barley managed to keep on his feet. Sam decided it was a good opportunity to search for new cover and darted out onto the parking lot. Out of the corner of his eyes Jack saw her move and ran in her direction. Sam realised to late that he was charging her. They bumped into each other and fell to the ground. Jack tried to wrestle with her, but he
was laughing so hard, it was difficult to concentrate on the task ahead of him. They rolled through the snow, laughing and shouting, each one trying to pin the other one to the ground. Jack felt light-headed and couldn't stop laughing. He felt great, almost like a child again. Sam had the upper hand now and pinned him to the ground. Jack managed to say between laughing and panting.
"Okay, okay, I yield, you win."
Sam smiled at him triumphantly, let go of his wrists and threw herself next to him in the snow. They were both breathing heavily. Sam looked at him. He still smiled and looked up at the grey sky. God, that was fun, Jack thought. He could feel Sam's shoulder touching his. Not to mention, that the two of us were really close right now, which is always good, he thought. This had probably been the best snowball-fight of his life. Just then an image popped up in his head. Christmas day. The lawn. Him and Charlie fooling around in the snow. They would never do that again. Jack felt a sharp pain in his heart. He got up, tried to get rid of the snow on his clothes and went to his car, without saying another word.
Daniel helped Sam up, as they watched Jack head to his car. Daniel sighed, but Sam shook her head. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but it's a start, don't you think?"
Daniel sighed again. "So, what do we do next?"
Sam smiled at him. "This next part requires a little bending of the truth, I am afraid."
Jack O'Neill answered the phone. Major Carter was on the other end and she sounded miserable. "Sir, you got a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well, see, it was a little slippery outside this morning. Uh, this is really embarrassing. I fell."
"You hurt?" Jack asked alarmed.
Thank god, this isn't a videophone, Sam thought smiling, looking at her right hand, which was perfectly fine. But Jack didn't know that, right?
"Yeah, right hand. I got it bandaged, but see, now I can't really do much."
"You need help?"
"Yeah, that would be great. I wanted to buy my tree today, but I am afraid I can't carry it alone."
Jack frowned and replied. "What about Daniel? Can't he help you?"
"Daniel's working on something important. I asked him already. Sir, I know you hate Christmas, but you would really do me a huge favour. Please??"
Jack sighed. He just couldn't refuse. She needed him right now. That was more important than self-pity, Jack decided and answered. "Okay, I'll be there in an hour."
The air was cold and little snowflakes were tumbling towards the ground. Sam Carter looked at the man walking next to her. The expression on his face was neutral, but Sam knew that he didn't feel at ease right now. She wasn't sure if this had been a good idea. She wanted him to be happy and instead she was confronting him with the things that made him sad. But there was just no other way to rescue him from the dark place he was in right now. Sam stopped in front of a beautifully decorated shop-window. Jack raised an eyebrow. "Now that's what I call trashy." He remarked.
"I think it's beautiful."
"Yeah, of course, you're a woman."
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Ah, you know." Jack just said and walked on. Sam caught up with him and asked.
"Seriously, I like it. Christmas, I mean. It's a time, where everyone should be happy."
"Including me?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, Carter, but no thanks."
"Come on, Sir. This is not just any holiday."
"Yeah, it's one where you are not supposed to get drunk."
"One shouldn't have any reason to get drunk on Christmas."
Jack laughed and shook his head. "Don't you think this is a little naïve? Considering the fact that more people commit suicide on Christmas than on any other day? Pretty depressing holiday, if you ask me."
"Why?" Sam asked quietly.
"What?"
"Why is it depressing?"
Jack looked away, avoiding her gaze. They turned a corner and reached their destination. Jack sounded relieved.
"There you go. Plenty of dead trees to choose from. Knock yourself out."
Sam touched his arm and dragged him towards the trees. "No way, you got to help me pick one" she said. Jack rolled his eyes, but followed her.
Half an hour later they were carrying a beautiful little Christmas tree up to the front door of Carter's house. That means, Jack was carrying the tree, Sam was just tagging along.
"Where do you want me to put it?", Jack asked.
Sam gestured towards the living room.
"Just put it over there. I already got the tree-stuff from the attic."
Jack looked around. There were little boxes filled with Christmas decoration on the table. The whole place smelled like Christmas. The sweet smell of cookies and gingerbread now mingled with the earthy smell of the evergreen tree. That smell brought back many memories. Jack closed his eyes for a second, trying to bury the images, before they could really manifest themselves in his consciousness. He didn't see Sam Carter looking at him with an expression of guilt and compassion on her face. She felt like crying. It was hard seeing him like this, harder than she had thought. Sam decided to end it right here, right now.
"Sir, I think, I can handle it from here on."
Jack blinked and looked at her. The sound of her voice had made the demons go away. It always did. Jack gestured towards her right hand and answered.
"No way, I'll help you set up the tree, that's what I am here for."
"Really, you don't have to."
Jack knew that it would be okay to walk away now. He could just go home, grab a bottle of beer, watch a horror movie and forget about all that Christmas stuff. But suddenly he realised, that he didn't want to go home. He looked at the tree. It had been kind of fun buying that thing, he had to admit as much. Jack looked at Sam. She seemed worried. He frowned.
"What?"
"Uh, nothing", Sam said, trying to smile. Jack gestured towards the tree.
"So let's start, shall we?"
After they set up the tree, Sam started opening the boxes and was sorting through the different pieces of decoration, looking for the Christmas lights. Jack stood by the tree, hands in his pockets, watching her. A smile crept over her face, every time she took a piece out of the box and placed it on the table. And there was that sparkle in her eyes that appeared every time she got really excited about something. Jack's heart started to melt.
"So you're really enjoying this, uh?
Sam nodded, still looking for the lights.
"That's my favorite part. Decorating the tree. You know, I do it every year, but still there is something magical about it. The first time you turn out the lights and the only light in the room comes from that tree? That's real magic. I know that sounds probably very silly, but that's what I think it is. Magic."
Jack was quiet and Sam looked over at him. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the tree. Sam was alarmed, but there was no anger, no sadness in his face. Just something, that Sam might have described as slight curiosity, maybe. He really seemed to think this over. Sam made the next move.
"You know, usually I listen to Christmas songs, while decorating the tree, but this time I won't, since I know how you feel about that."
Jack blinked, tilted his head and answered: "No, go ahead, never mind me. I think I can handle this." He grinned. "And I promise not to be rude to the little drummer boy or his pals."
Sam stepped over to her CD-Player and pressed play. At once the room was filled with the first sounds of "Let it snow". Jack frowned, but did as he had promised. He kept quiet.
Sam had finally found the lights and handed on end to him.
"That's the toughest part", she said.
Jack smiled. She sounded, like she thought he had never done this before. But he had to agree - this was the toughest part. He and Sara had always managed to end up in a mess of cable, encircling the tree and themselves. Like wrestling with an octopus. And they had been trying really hard not to laugh out loud, because they didn't want to wake Charlie and spill the surprise for him. There it was again. That terrible pain. That terrible feeling of loss. But just then Sam handed him the cable and their hands touched for a second. Charlie and Sara are
not here right now, Jack thought. But Sam is. And that was something he suddenly felt he should be very grateful for.
As skillfull as Carter was working with her dohickeys, this turned out a challenge she didn't quite master. Maybe it was the bandaged arm, but Jack suspected that no one was able to put these things on the tree without making a mess. He started laughing when he saw the puzzled expression on her face the moment she realised there was a knot in the cable, that hadn't been there a few seconds before. It took them almost half an hour, but finally the lights were up and they stepped back to look at their work.
"Well", Jack said. "Some things never change."
"Sir?"
"The last time I did that I had as much trouble with it as we had just now. Seems these things still have a mind of their own."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sam answered and reached for the first box of glass balls.
The silence that followed her words was cut off by the next song.
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . ."
Sam smiled. "That's one of my favourites."
"Yeah, that one's pretty nice", Jack agreed and started handing her the next ball. Sam raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You just said something nice about Christmas."
"Ah", Jack shook his head. "I think of this more as a winter song than a Christmas tune."
Sam smiled. Not only because of his words, but also, because she could see that he was really enjoying himself right now. They worked in silence for a few seconds, then Sam started humming. Suddenly she could hear Jack singing, very quietly, but definitely singing. And to her surprise he had a real good singing voice. Sam fell in alongside him and soon they were singing louder than Natalie Cole.
"Although it's been said many times many ways, merry Christmas to you..."
The music ended and Jack closed his eyes for a few seconds. He had felt so peaceful just now. Peaceful and at ease with himself and the rest of the world. Maybe this is what Christmas is about, he thought. And just then it struck him. This was the feeling that had been missing since Charlie's death. Maybe that was why Christmas was such a hard time for him. Not only that it reminded him of the loss of his family. It reminded him, that he had lost his peace as well. But maybe he could get it back. He looked over at Sam and wondered what it would be like to spend Christmas with her. But then a dark cloud crept over his face and he heard a voice in his head saying: Don't be a fool, Jack. She is going to spend Christmas with her Dad and her brother. With her family. And you are going to sit at home alone. Completely alone. Like every year. And that was exactly what you deserve, Jack, never forget that.
"Carter, I got to go now. Sorry."
"Sir, wait . . . "
But Jack had already made his way to the door and disappeared into the cold night. Sam shook her head and whispered.
"I'm not going to give up on you, Jack O'Neill, I promise you that. I'm going to bring Christmas back to you."
But that was not an easy task. Jack was even more angry and aggressive than he had been before and his mood got worse with every day. Sam tried very hard to cheer him up, but failed miserably. She thought about that afternoon in her house a lot, turned over everything they had done and said in her head, trying to find out, what it was, that had made him snap back into attack mode.
"I just don't know what to do about it anymore", she told Daniel at lunch in the commissary.
Daniel sighed and shook his head. "Sam, as much as I would like to help you, I don't think there is much we can do about this. Maybe we should really leave him alone."
"But I can't! He's suffering, Daniel. I can't watch him suffer. I have to help him."
"Sam . . "
She cut him off again, leaning forward. "I won't let this happen to him again. I won't celebrate Christmas, knowing he is sitting at home alone in the dark. Alone with his pain, without any family, without his friends."
Daniel frowned. "Whoa, okay, okay, slow down. This means a lot to you, doesn't it?"
His eyes betrayed his words. Sam could see that the question he really wanted to ask was: HE means a lot to you.
"He's our friend and he needs our help", she said, avoiding a direct answer to his indirect question. Sam got up. Daniel looked at her.
"What are you up to now?"
"Changing the strategy. Maybe we need a more direct approach.", Sam said and walked off. Daniel shook his head and mumbled. "Good luck."
She found O'Neill in the gateroom, staring at the Stargate. No one else was there, because there were no teams off-world one day before Christmas.
"Sir?"
"If you're here to wish me merry Christmas, you can leave right now."
"Sir?"
Jack turned around. "You're on leave over the holidays, right? So I figure you're here to say good-bye. So we will be seeing each other next week, I guess."
"Actually we are going to see each other tomorrow, Sir."
Jack frowned and looked at her questioningly. "Carter? Care to explain this to me?"
"Pretty simple, Sir. Christmas eve. Eight o'clock, my place. Daniel and Teal'c and Janet and Cassie will be there as well."
Jack still looked puzzled. "So you're not spending Christmas with your family?" Sam smiled at him, looked around to make sure no one was there and touched his arm.
"I was really hoping to. But this will only work, if you're there."
"I don't know, Carter. You know I hate Christmas. I will probably not be in the very best mood, so I better stay home and wait until this is all over."
"Why?", Sam asked.
"Because I don't like Christmas", Jack answered. "Didn't you know that?"
"I think that's not true."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it isn't."
"Yes it is."
Sam crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked him in the eyes. "Are you really telling me, that staying home alone, eating cold pizza and watching the home shopping network is better than spending Christmas with your friends?"
"That's not the point."
"Than what is it?"
Jack started pacing in front of her. "I do this, because you're my friends. I'm not gonna spoil this for you."
Sam snorted. "That's just an excuse,. When we decorated that tree, when we had that snowball fight I saw that you were happy. You had fun. You can't deny that."
Jack lowered his head. "Maybe I don't deserve that." The words were so faint that she could barely hear them. Sam laid a hand on his shoulder, tears in her eyes. She could feel his pain, as if it was her own, and she wanted nothing more than to take it away from him.
"Don't you ever say that: You deserve that more than anyone I know. Don't punish yourself, Sir. You have every right to be happy at Christmas."
"I lost that right, when I left that gun . . ." Jack swallowed hard and turned around sharply. "Anyway, that's none of your business. Go, be merry, Carter."
And with that he walked away.
He didn't answer his phone. Not in the evening, not on the next morning. It rang a few times, but Jack didn't care. He just sat outside on the stairs and stared into the snow until his body was so cold that it hurt. Sighing he got up and got back inside. So it was Christmas and he was alone. Like always. He could live with that. He was used to that. The light on his answering machine was flashing, but he ignored it, went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer. Pretty early for that, but what the hell, he thought. He was just about to take the first sip, when he heard a knock on the door. Jack sighed. Maybe they would go away, he thought. But whoever was out there didn't give up so easily. Finally Jack answered the door. Sam Carter was standing outside, her arms wrapped around her, her face red from the cold.
"What are you doing here? Ah, wait, I know, you tried to call me, but since I didn't answer my phone you were worried that I might have killed myself, right?"
"That's not funny." Sam shouted at him. But then she reminded herself of what Daniel had said. He's being a pain in the ass, so that people are angry with him instead of feeling sorry for him. Don't fall for it, Sam, she thought.
"Can I come in? It will only take a minute."
"If you have to."
Sam waited until he had closed the door behind them, then turned to face him. "You can stop the barking, I know you better than this."
"Excuse me, Major?"
"Just stop it, okay? And listen to me for a minute. Then I'll be on my way and you can go back to bathing in self-pity. I sure won't stop you."
"Don't you think you're a little out of line, Major?"
"Well, sometimes one has to be, Sir. What I am trying to say is this: I know you don't hate Christmas. I know that you don't want to be alone tonight. But I also know that you think you deserve to be alone. And that is just not true. Christmas is the one time of the year where family is more important than anything else. This holiday is about sharing and giving, concentrating not on work, or wealth or power, but on your family, which is the most precious
thing anyone can have. You think that you have to stay alone, because you lost your family. But what you don't see, is that you have a new family. And that family wants nothing more than to spend this very special evening with you."
Sam looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "And if it matters at all to you, I want you to be there. That's the most important wish on my list."
Sam turned around and walked away. When she opened the door she turned back to face him.
"Because Christmas is all about the people you love."
Five minutes after she had left Jack still stood there in the middle of the room, staring at the spot where she had stood. He felt like his brain was going to explode from the emotional overload his system was trying to handle. Finally he blinked and walked over to the table. He sat down, staring at the picture of Charlie. Then Jack O'Neill started crying. Outside heaven opened its gates and thick snowflakes made their journey towards earth.
Sam stared out of the window into the dark. "Still no sign of him, hm?" Daniel asked.
Sam shook her head in disappointment. "Maybe I shouldn't have confronted him with all those things. I am really worried, what if I made things worse for him?"
Daniel shrugged helplessly. "I honestly don't know, Sam."
It was almost nine o'clock and there was still no sign of Jack O'Neill. Everyone else was there: Daniel and Teal'c and Janet and Cassie. Sam was glad to spend Christmas with her friends, but still. Without Jack it wasn't just the same. Sam was worried sick. She had tried to call him several times during the last hour, but he still didn't answer his phone. Sam turned away from the window and back to her friends. They were laughing about a joke Cassie had picked up at school. The joke itself was not really that funny, but trying to explain the punchline to Teal'c was. Sam couldn't help but laughing at Daniel's attempts to explain the
whole thing to Teal'c. Sam suspected that Teal'c understood pretty well what the joke meant and just wanted to have a little fun of his own. Suddenly, amidst all the laughter, Sam heard a knock on the door. No one else noticed it.
Sam got up and went to the door. She opened it slowly and found herself looking into a pair of dark eyes. Very serious dark eyes.
"Hi."
"Hi."
Jack couldn't hold her gaze and looked down at his feet.
"I thought about what you said."
He scratched his head in order to buy time.
"You were right. About me and Christmas and everything. I really had fun the other day . . . in the snow and decorating that tree. I guess, that scared me a little."
Sam was so happy to see him, she wanted to hug him right here and now. But she knew how difficult it was for Jack O'Neill to talk about feelings, so she stood perfectly still and waited for him to put his emotions into words.
"After Charlie died, I just couldn't go through with it again. Christmas, I mean. I missed him so terribly on those days. Still do. But I also thought that I didn't have the right to be celebrating a holiday that was supposed to be a time of joy for the whole family. I tried to forget how wonderful, how magical this thing could be. And I thought I succeeded, but then you showed me and told me and I sort of remembered and . . . can I come in?"
"Of course, come on, it's freezing cold out there."
Sam let him into the house and closed the door behind him. Then they didn't really get any opportunity to resume their conversation, because Cassie had spotted Jack and threw herself into his arms. Jack started laughing. And that was the beginning of a wonderful evening full of roasted chestnuts, comfortable warmth from the fireplace, laughter, singing, joy and friendship.
When Daniel and Teal'c left it was almost two in the morning. Sam closed the door behind them and yawned. Jack got up from the couch and smiled at her.
"Tired?"
"A little."
"Well", he said and stretched his back. "I'd better head home, too. It's late."
He walked up to Sam and laid his hands on her shoulders.
"Thank you", he whispered. Sam smiled at him.
"What for?"
"For bringing Christmas back to me."
"You know that was a real challenge."
"I'm glad you accepted that challenge."
Sam smiled and softly touched his cheek "It was worth it."
Suddenly Jack looked up and smiled.
"What?" Sam asked. Jack shrugged and said with a happy grin.
"Well, what's going to happen now is your own fault. I mean, you're responsible for this, because if you hadn't interfered, I still wouldn't care about Christmas and its traditions. But now . . ."
He pulled her in his arms and kissed her softly. Sam closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. When the kiss finally ended, she looked up and saw that they were standing beneath the mistletoe. Jack smiled.
"As I said. Not my fault. Tradition dictated that."
Sam smiled, her arms still wrapped around his neck.
"Now see, that's what Christmas is all about." She said.
Jack grinned. "Why didn't you say so from the start that this was about kissing you? Would have convinced me within seconds and saved you a lot of trouble", he joked.
Sam embraced him, laughing softly. Jack looked around. The Yule log in the fireplace was still burning, filling the room with welcoming heat. The only other light in room came from the Christmas tree in the corner. The smell of roasted chestnuts hung in the air. The radio played "Have yourself a merry little Christmas". Jack closed his eyes, still holding Sam in his arms. Yeah, he knew again what Christmas was all about. It was all about love. And he promised himself never to forget that again, as he kissed the woman, that had saved him from the cold and brought him back to his family. After his lips left hers, Sam whispered into his ear.
"Merry Christmas, Jack."
And a merry Christmas it was.
The end.
Hope you liked it, again: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Story Notes: AUTHORS NOTE: I know it's probably a little early for Christmas stories, but it started snowing here in Germany last week, so I'm really in a christmasy kind of mood right now. And in case anyone reads this around the end of December: A very merry Christmas to you!!
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year"
Charles Dickens
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year"
Charles Dickens
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]