Sam took a step back to admire their handiwork. The multicolor lights were distributed evenly throughout the branches and none of them were burnt out. Perfect. Now on to the ornaments.
“What’s the deal with white Christmas?” Cassandra asked as Sam pulled the box of tinsel and ornaments closer to the tree now casting colored light in Sam’s living room.
“The movie or the song?”
“What?”
Sam paused to gaze at her incredulously. “Bing Crosby? Rosemary Clooney?”
Cass stared blankly back at her. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”
Sam grinned. “Obviously you’re not up to speed with your Christmas movie classics, young lady. I know what we’ll be watching tonight.”
“Whatever. But what’s the deal with having a white Christmas? I’ve heard so many people mention it over the last few weeks. Why is snow so important? Granted it’s fun to make snowpeople, but it seems like the rest of the time people complain about it.”
Sam smiled. Sometimes she forgot that the young woman was from another planet. “I don’t know Cass. I think it has to do with magic.”
“Magic?” she repeated incredulously.
“Not magic magic, but there’s something… magical about it. Romantic.” Her cell rang from where she’d left it on the table and Sam made her way there as she kept talking. “I don’t know how to explain it. Snow implies that it’s cold outside, so you want to go inside, have hot coco and gather near the fireplace, you know. It brings people together.”
“You don’t have a fireplace,” Cassy said sassily.
“It’s also not snowing,” Sam replied with a grin as she flipped her phone open and put it to her ear. Cass made a face that reminded Sam of Janet’s expression when she teased her. “Carter.”
“Sam,” it was Melissa, Mark’s wife. “I’m just letting you know, we’ll probably be running late, our flight’s been delayed, so we probably won’t make it for dinner as we planned. I’m hoping we’ll still make it tonight, but at this point it’s out of our control. I’m sorry!”
Sam nodded. Flights on December 24th were always a little unreliable with all the traffic and sometimes unpredictable weather in parts of the country. She tried to push aside her disappointment. “No that’s okay. Just get here safe. We’ll have plenty of food for you when you do get here.”
“That’s very nice of you Samantha. Oh Mark and the kids want to say something, hold on a sec.” There were some inaudible mumbling that Sam couldn’t make out, and then a chorus of voices shouting “Merry Christmas!” into her ear.
Sam grinned as she put some distance between her ear and the phone. “Merry Christmas to you too. I’ll see you all soon, okay?” Sam was touched - even though she didn’t see her brother and his kids very often, and had only been in their lives for a few years, they had really warmed up to her over the years. Especially her niece and nephew.
“Sam,” it was Melissa again. “We’ll keep you posted, okay?”
“Please do. Safe travels.”
Sam hung up and sighed. “Well, it looks like it’s just going to be the two of us for a little while longer.”
Cass gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, okay. Sorry though, you went to so much trouble with the food and all.”
Sam dismissed her concern with her hand. “Thanks, but it’s okay, really, they’ll just be here later. I’m glad you’re here,” Sam added as she gave the younger woman a side hug.
Cassy smiled. “Me too. What about the guys? Didn’t you invite them too?”
Sam grabbed another ornament from the box and searched for the perfect spot to place it. “I did, but Daniel’s off doing research somewhere. And Teal’c’s been real busy with the Jaffa. He couldn’t schedule in a trip to earth at the moment.”
“What about Jack?”
Sam shot her a look, but Cassandra seemed oblivious to the fact that this was a loaded question. He had never actually confirmed or refused her invitation. In fact, they hadn’t spoken since that phone call, a couple of weeks ago. Had she pushed it too far? Had she misread the intention behind his email? Apparently. And apparently he was still determined to give her the space he thought she needed (but that she really didn’t need).
“Oh, you know him, he’s not real big on Christmas. Or socializing for that matter. So when you put the two together…”
Cassy chuckled a little. There was a buzzing sound and Sam realized it came from Cassandra’s jeans pocket this time. “Oh, excuse me for a sec, it’s Brian,” the young woman said with a grin as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and walked to the next room.
Sam shook her head, but went on with the decorations after turning up the volume on the Christmas music coming from the radio. She was just about to put up one of the few remaining ornaments when she was distracted by the doorbell.
Curious, Sam put down the ornament and walked to the door. Realizing that she had glitter from the ornaments all over her hands and sweater she tried to wipe it away (but only made it worse) before she opened the door. And froze. And then grinned.
Daniel and Teal’c stood on her porch, grinning. The sound of a closing car door echoed from the driveway and Sam looked past Daniel’s shoulder. Sure enough, there he was, in a warm jacket and beanie hat, walking up the steps and looking a little sheepish when he met her gaze. But Jack O’Neill’s lazy smile and direct eye contact sent her heart racing. He had come! Flushed to find him on her doorstep so unexpectedly, she turned away to call Cassandra as a way to recover her composure.
“Cassy, come look, it’s the Three Wise Men!” She grinned, returning her gaze to her friends. “It’s so great to see you, but what - I mean I thought you all had plans!”
“Deterred,” Teal’c said as he bowed his head. “Indeed, I would not pass an occasion to visit you in your new home Colonel Carter. You have been missed.”
“Aw, thanks Teal’c!”
“We’re not gonna stay long,” Daniel added, as he dove his hands into his jacket pockets, “we just wanted to surprise you. We don’t want to impose on your time with your family.”
Sam was about to dismiss that as silly when Cassandra beat her to it. “Are you kidding? Of course you’re staying!” She all but shrieked as she breezed past Sam and threw her arms around O’Neill. Sam had to admit, she understood the impulse, especially after seeing the joyful grin it provoked as he rocked the young woman back and forth a couple of times. “Right Sam?”
Finally shaking herself out of her surprise, Sam ushered them in. “Yes, of course. You can stay for as long as you want! Mark’s family got delayed at the airport, so they’re not here yet. We have tons of food, and Cass and I have a date with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney later,” Sam explained as she took their jackets and hung them up on the hooks.
“White Christmas?” O’Neill asked with a raised eyebrow as he ruffled his hair, which left it standing in all directions. Sam had the sudden urge to pass her fingers through it.
She turned to Cassandra instead. “See? I’m not crazy.”
Cass grinned. “Whatever.”
Sam led them to the living room and grinned to herself as Cassy gave them a ‘tour’ of the small house, chatting away excitedly, Christmas music drifting from the radio. Sam looked around, wondering where she would fit all those people when they wanted to get some sleep. She had already reserved her guest room for her brother and his wife, and the kids were going to be on air mattresses on the floor, and…
Sam was distracted from her musing as she noticed that General O’Neill - Jack - lagged behind as he looked around and stopped to stand by the tree, hands in his pockets. Dressed in cargo pants and a dark sweater, he looked warm and enticing. Sam wondered what had made him change his mind to come after all. Whatever it was though, she was grateful. She had missed him.
He pointed at the box of ornaments, which still had a few left inside. “Did we interrupt your tree-trimming?”
Sam shook herself. “Oh, no, we were just about done. What do you think?” she asked eagerly as she joined him and followed his gaze to the illuminated tree.
He examined their work attentively. “Very nice,” he nodded in appreciation. “But I see there’s something missing. May I?” he gestured to the star still in the box that Sam usually put on top of the tree.
“Please!”
Smiling to herself at how strange and surprisingly intimate it was to have him help her with her tree, Sam picked the remaining ornaments and took her time placing them while he stood on the step stool. After a while he stepped down and they both looked up at his work. The star was a little crooked, and she bit back a grin. Normally, this was the type of little detail that drove her nuts, but she could fix it later (when he wasn’t in the room).
“I’m glad you came,” Sam admitted quietly as they stood side by side.
She felt his gaze on her as he turned his head in her direction. “Good. I wasn’t sure.”
“I mean I didn’t think you’d… And the guys, didn’t they have plans?”
He gave a small shrug, but Sam noticed how he shifted on his feet and looked over his shoulder to the rest of the group who were returning from their ‘tour’. “I guess. It’s a funny story, really,” he said louder as he glanced at Daniel. “See, I stopped by the SGC last week, and…ran into Daniel.”
At this point Daniel, Teal’c and Cassy joined them, and Sam noticed with no small amount of curiosity the look exchanged between Daniel and the gene- Jack.
“Right, and we started talking,” continued Daniel as he held O’Neill’s look for a second, “about our plans and stuff, and, ah…”
“And then Teal’c arrived to update Landry on the Jaffa council,” Jack chimed in again, “so we said, ‘T, we’re going to surprise Carter’.”
“Right, and then he said,” Daniel continued, turning to Teal’c expectantly.
Teal’c took a second, then gave a slow nod. “Indeed.”
“Exactly so! And so here we are,” Daniel finished.
Sam looked between the three of them, amused, and greatly suspicious that she seemed to be missing something. “Wow.”
“Crazy, I know,” Daniel replied as he exchanged another look with Jack before returning to smile at Sam.
“How about something to drink?” Sam suggested.
“Yes!” was the chorused reply.
“Nice try, Cass.”
A few hours later, after some food and friendly banter, they were all sprawled across Sam’s living room as they watched Bing Crosby and the other White Christmas characters open the doors to reveal the snowy landscape outside and performed their final dancing-singing number in front of the Christmas tree.
Sam stretched from her spot as she stopped the DVD, and noticed that Cassandra, who’d sat between her and Jack on the couch, was fast asleep against his shoulder.
“Uh-uh, we have a casualty,” Sam whispered as she shifted in her seat and met Jack’s gaze.
“More than one, actually,” he replied as he gestured toward Daniel, also fast asleep, slouched in the armchair. They both turned to look at Teal’c expectantly, but he was wide-awake.
“I greatly enjoyed this representation, Colonel Carter,” he said quietly. “The dancing was most entertaining.”
Sam bit back a grin as she exchanged a quick look with Jack. “Glad you liked it, Teal’c. It was actually one of my dad’s favorites.”
“For some reason that doesn’t surprise me,” Jack replied as he tried to move from his seat without waking Cassandra.
“I know, my dad wasn’t very subtle when it came to his love for the military. I think he related to the characters a lot. Especially when he couldn’t make it for Christmas.”
“Well, I can relate to that,” Jack replied so quietly that Sam almost didn’t hear him. Finally free from Cassandra’s weight, he got to his feet and stretched, looking at his watch as he did so.
Sam imitated him: 11:47 pm. Almost Christmas.
Mark’s family wasn’t here yet, but in one of their later updates had told her to expect them around 1am, so there wasn’t cause for worry yet. Sam rose to her feet as well, and started gathering the plates and cups scattered around the living room.
“Ah, Carter?” Jack started quietly. Sam glanced up at him, surprised to find him closer and with an uncertain expression on his face. That open, vulnerable expression, tinged with eagerness, sent the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. “I, ah… I have something for you. A present, I guess. This seems like it would be a good time for you to open it?”
Sam furrowed her brows in surprise. “What? Sir, you didn’t have to-”
He stopped her with a raised hand. “I wanted to.” He paused as he looked at her and Sam couldn’t do anything but hold his gaze. “Well, aren’t you curious?”
Sam grinned. “Very.”
He gave a small, almost relieved smile. “Well, come on, then.”
He led her to the front door and Sam looked at him quizzically. “Outside?”
“It’s in the car. Come on. Teal’c, we’ll be back in a few.”
Teal’c bowed his head as Sam followed Jack’s lead and put on her jacket and shoes.
The night air felt brisk after sitting in the warmth for a while, but it was definitely not freezing cold. Maybe watching White Christmas had been more fitting than Sam had considered. She told Jack as much as she followed him to the car.
“I’m telling you, next year: Northern Minnesota. That’ll be the answer to all of our problems. A better chance of snow, cutting your own tree… It would be fun.”
Sam smiled as she watched him open the trunk. She couldn’t quite help her mind from wandering to the possibility that they would be together by then. Their first Christmas as a real couple… “That sounds really nice, actually.”
He threw her a quick grin over his shoulder. “Good.”
Sam’s eyes widened as he pulled a huge wrapped-up box with a bow on top out of the trunk. He carried it to the porch, then took a step back, inviting her to unwrap it with a hand gesture. The Christmas lights that Sam had put around the front windows seemed to create a bubble of light and warmth around them.
Sam looked up at him. “Wow, I- I don’t know what to say.”
“Carter, you haven’t even opened it yet.”
“Right.” Sam shook herself and sat on the steps to get better access and Jack imitated her, sitting on the opposite side of the box.
She quickly tore the paper and gasped at the box.
“A telescope!”
“You told me once you wished you had your own,” Jack explained as he watched her, the uncertain expression back in his eyes, “so I thought, why not get you one. This model’s actually really nice, it’s easier to set up so it makes it easier to move and stuff. Anyway, I wanted you to have it. Especially since…”
He stopped himself and Sam looked up at him. “What?”
He shook his head. “It just… seems particularly fitting, you know. It’s because of what’s out there,” he said, as his hand gestured toward the night sky, “that we met. And I’m grateful for that.”
Sam’s breath caught in her throat and she swallowed with difficulty at his words and the emotions in his eyes. He didn’t say so out loud, but Sam had a feeling that it was also associated with the night they had spent watching the stars, when they had revealed their feelings and agreed to wait. Sam reached out a squeezed his arm, wishing that he’d let her do more. “Thank you, this is… thank you. Will you help me set it up?”
“What, right now?”
“Yeah, right now. I think it’ll go best in the back,” Sam added as she stood and picked up the box. It was lighter than she expected.
“The moon’s a little bright tonight, though,” Jack said from behind her as they made their way around the house.
“No matter, we can look at the man on the moon, then” she replied, grinning at him over her shoulder. She was delighted when he gave a smile of his own in response.
“You do realize that there isn’t an actual man on there, right?”
Sam grinned and when they reached the best spot, she put down the box.
“Flashlights?” Jack suggested and Sam nodded. Even though the gibbous moon reflected some light, it was still too dark to see smaller pieces inside the box.
“I have some in the house. I’ll be right back.”
Sam had just about turned around when he grabbed her hand gently to stop her. “Sam, hold on for a moment, will you?”
Heart suddenly racing against her chest, she gave in to the light pressure of his hand and turned back to face him. Brows furrowed together, he was looking down at her hand still cradled lightly in his.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you - discuss with you, I guess. And I figure once your brother gets here I might not have another opportunity, so…” Expression serious and pensive, he lifted his gaze and squared his shoulders, as if bracing for something.
“Okay,” Sam breathed out, not sure whether to hope or dread the next few minutes.
“Do you remember our last conversation at the cabin?”
Did she remember? Holy Hannah, it was all she could do not to replay that conversation in her head every minute of every day. “Of course I do,” she replied, a little offended that he would think she wouldn’t.
He gave an almost imperceptible nod in acknowledgment. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, right? To agree to wait, I mean. But now I realize…” He let out a slow exhale. “Sam, I’m sorry.”
Sam felt her heart hit her toes at the horrifying thought that he was changing his mind about a possible future.
“I’m sorry that I’ve been such an idiot,” he finished, and Sam gasped in relief - and surprise. He shook his head and cleared his throat. “An archaeologist friend of mine who shall remain nameless recently made me realize something.”
Sam smiled a little, but she was so intensely focused on his words and the anticipation of where he seemed to be going that she couldn’t quite muster a real smile.
“He reminded me that we’re no longer in the same chain of command.”
Sam nodded slowly. “Yes, I know.”
“You do.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, I did happen to notice that I’ve had a different CO for the last few months.”
“No- I mean…”
She grinned and touched his arm apologetically. “I know what you mean. Go on.”
“I guess the point that I’m trying to make, is… if that’s the case, then, what’s really keeping us apart now?”
Sam’s eyes widened, surprised by the blunt question. “I don’t know, I thought we’d agreed that the situation wasn’t ideal given our current assignments, where we live…”
“Isn’t that just an excuse?”
“Is it?”
He gave a small shrug but the corners of his lips quirked up. Apparently he found some amusement in her cluelessness about these kinds of things. Or - Sam chose to believe - he found it endearing.
“Daniel says it’s a misguided sense of duty. And fear.”
“Really,” she replied as she considered this. True, she couldn’t deny that fear was probably part of the reason she had suggested they wait in the first place. It had given her a safety net to get used to the idea that this could really be happening. He had been her fantasy for so long that she couldn’t deny that the real thing had scared her a little. However, she’d never been one to back down from her fears, and truth be told she had been ready for a long time now. Duty or not.
He went on, oblivious to her thoughts. “As hard as it is for me to admit it, there are certainly times when I’m scared - terrified - that I’ll screw this up, and end up losing one of the most important friendships of my life. But,” he looked up again, his eyes grave and earnest, and held her gaze, “I’m sick of it. And I am sick of putting duty before the life that I want now that my work at the SGC is done.”
She took in a deep breath and smiled as she let it out, holding his gaze and taking in the light in his deep brown eyes. She felt her heart fill with warmth. “Me too.” She exhaled. “God, me too!” She said as she grabbed hold of both of his jacket sleeves and pulled him to bridge the gap that separated them. In one move one of her hands reached for the back of his neck and before she knew it, her lips were kissing his hungrily. Finally, blissfully. His lips were soft and warm and Sam lost herself in the sensations, breathing him in, savoring the warmth of his skin and the softness of his hair under her fingers.
He responded immediately and his mouth turned more demanding as his arms circled her and he pulled her closer into his embrace, one of his hands reaching up to push her hair away from her face and caress her cheek as he did so. Time seemed to stop as they kissed again and again under the stars, so bright on this Christmas night. Yes, magical was right, even when there was no snow on the ground. For the first time in her life, she realized what that truly meant.
It might have been one minute or one hour before he pulled back to look into her eyes and Sam’s heart soared as she saw the happy glint in his and the barely-there smile that curved one corner of his mouth, as if he could only contain half of it. She leaned into him again and rested her forehead against his, smiling as their noses touched and their breaths mingled.
Sam kept expecting him to say something light or funny to deflect the emotions that seemed to be coursing within the length of their silence, but he remained quiet, apparently as profoundly happy as Sam was in this moment.
The sound of a car engine and then car doors being opened and shut burrowed its way into Sam’s conscious brain and she pulled back from his embrace as she strained her ear.
“What if she’s gone to sleep?” A male voice was asking.
Sam’s eyes widened.
“Is that…?” Jack asked quietly, as if he was still reluctant to break the spell they were under.
“Mark!” Sam smiled in response.
“Well, go on, then,” he replied, as he dropped his arms slowly.
“Aren’t you coming? You’re staying, right?”
He smiled with his eyes. “If you want me to.”
“I want you to.” She looked away briefly before returning her gaze to his face. “We still have some things to talk about. How we’re going to do this…” she trailed off.
He nodded. “Yes we do. But that can wait.”
Sam smiled her agreement as she squeezed his hand before turning away and making her way to the front of the house.
“Maggie, careful not to drop this, sweetie, it’s fragile,” Melissa’s voice was saying as they rounded the corner.
“Should we ring the bell? Maybe I’ll just knock.”
“You go ahead Jeff.”
Sam walked into the porch light just as her teenage nephew raised his hand to ring the bell, Jack on her heels. She greeted the family and wishes of merry Christmases and introductions were made boisterously. Sam introduced Jack simply as ‘Jack - we used to work together’ for now, though she did get a curious look from the adults. Sam had expected it - after all it was Mark who had introduced Sam to Pete, another lifetime ago. But with Daniel and Teal’c also present, that would probably postpone the inquiry. As happy as she was with this new development, she wanted to keep it to herself for a little bit longer before sharing it with others.
As the family went inside, Sam lingered behind just long enough to share a look with Jack, her heart full. He was looking at her, and it was all too easy to hold his eyes for a long second. He gave a lazy half-smile.
“Merry Christmas,” Sam said softly, with a small shrug.
His smile widened and he nodded. “That it is.”
They shared another smile before she preceded him inside.
One year later
The snow crunched beneath his feet as Jack made his way down the snowmobile trail that flanked part of the pond. It was a beautiful winter day - the sun shone bright and even warmed his face as its yellow light reflected on the snow amidst the trees. The cold air felt rejuvenating against his cheeks and into his lungs, and Jack took in a deep breath. It came out as little puffs of steamed air.
“How about this one?”
Jack stopped to look at the tree that Sam was pointing at. It did look nice, but it was way too big for the cabin. “You realize it’s supposed to go inside, right?” Jack teased.
“Too big?”
“Not if you want it to go in the gateroom. How about this one?” Jack suggested as he pointed to another one, this one with a more reasonable height.
“Too skinny.”
Jack threw her a look and she grinned in response. She walked closer to him and linked her arm through his before her hand lowered to grab his. Their gloves prevented direct skin contact, but Jack squeezed her hand nonetheless as they kept walking.
He still couldn’t believe that it was a year almost to this day since Jack had surprised Carter with a visit at her house in Nevada, since their first real kiss. It had been one of the most powerful moments of his life, and definitely one of his happiest Christmases. Hopefully the first of many.
Jack grinned to himself as he recalled the events that had led to the freedom he now had to hold Samantha Carter’s hand, as if it belonged there. Despite their avowed feelings for one another that night, and their decision not to wait anymore, they had made sure not to rush things. Over the days following Christmas - after Daniel left for Chicago and Teal’c returned to Dakara - Jack had stuck around with Cassy and Mark’s family. Jack had actually appreciated this time with Carter’s family - it had reminded him of earlier Christmases when Jack had had his own family to celebrate with. But instead of bringing on the usual sadness associated with such thoughts, this time Jack had felt that he was becoming part of that family too; that Carter, unknowingly, had given him that wonderful present. He had never met Mark before, so he’d made some effort to get to know him during those few days, and soon recognized the Carters’ sharp intelligence, curiosity and caring in Mark as well. Carter’s niece and nephew warmed up surprisingly quickly to him (though Carter said she wasn’t surprised that they liked him) and Jack actually looked forward to seeing them again in a few days, when the family was flying in to celebrate the New Year with them.
As for Cassy, she would always hold a special place in his heart, and Jack had enjoyed being there for her then, and over the following year. She’d been having a rough time since Doc Fraiser’s death, so Jack made sure that she knew she could talk or come to him if things got too hard. Carter, of course, was wonderful with her. Jack was looking forward to her presence at the cabin, and hear how her first year of pre-med was going. She would be here any minute now.
But as fun as it had been to feel like he was becoming part of the family, the bustle of having guests around had prevented he and Sam from further discussing some of the issues left to resolve, the most pressing of which was the problem of their respective locations and how they would balance living in different parts of the country until Jack retired. One night as they’d taken a walk around the neighborhood to take a breather from the crowd, they had agreed that they would take turns visiting each other on the weekends, and sometimes meet sort of in the middle (i.e. in Colorado Springs).
It worked remarkably well. Actually, being apart a few days a week had given them just enough room to adjust to their relationship without feeling like it had to be all or nothing. They were both deeply independent individuals, so this arrangement worked perfectly. It made the time they did spend together even more special than it already was. For Jack, it took months before he stopped feeling as if it were a dream, or wondered at his luck that someone like Samantha Carter would care enough for him to go through all the hoops that had been put in their path. It still amazed him sometimes that he was able to hold her, touch her, or even look at her without guilt; that he could wake up next to her in the morning, make her laugh with lame jokes, and miss her terribly but without that painful longing when she was away on missions; that they could kiss and make love without fear of judgment. That freedom had been almost overwhelming at first, but it had made their coming together even more intense and profound.
After a few months of each taking turn flying to D.C., Nevada or Colorado, Carter decided to return to the SGC and give a hand with the Ori situation. At that point, Jack decided to retire as planned - though he remained a civilian consultant for the Pentagon. While Jack missed the protocols of the Air Force, as a civilian he had more authority over his own affairs, and he was able to relocate to Colorado Springs again. He and Sam had been living together since then. The day they moved in into a new house (that was neither his place nor her place, but their place) had felt right, like coming full circle. While it wasn’t always easy to share his life even with the woman he loved, especially with their line of work, Jack had never thought he would be this happy again.
The feeling of her hand in his brought him back to the present.
“Oh, here’s one, I think!” Sam said as she left his side and walked further into the woods. Jack followed her, smiling at her enthusiasm. She stopped by a fir tree and Jack had to agree, it was the perfect size.
“I think we have a winner,” he said as he got the flagging tape from his pocket and tied it to a branch. He’d come back later with his chain saw.
Sam smiled brightly as she shook some of the branches to rid them of snow. At that moment her phone gave a sound and she took off her glove before pulling it out of her pocket.
They started making their way back as she kept her eyes on the screen.
“It’s Daniel,” she announced as she read her screen. “He and the rest of the SGC crowd are almost here. ETA’s about ten minutes.”
“Excellent timing. I’ll volunteer the guys to help bring this tree back to the cabin.”
“We’ll all come. I’m sure Vala will be very curious about the whole process,” she added, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Jack gave her a sidelong look. “Well, I’ll leave the pleasure of answering all of her questions to Daniel.” In truth Jack actually liked Vala, but what he liked even more was watching Daniel deal with her. She seemed to have the unique ability to get under his skin and it was thoroughly fun to watch.
“They’re bringing Cassy, right?”
“They are.”
“Good.”
They fell in step when they reached the trail again and they walked quietly for a few minutes. Jack was absorbed in his own thoughts and the small pleasures of being here, in that place he loved, with the woman he loved. While things were not going particularly well in the galaxy with the Ori threat, in this moment at least, Jack was content.
“This was a great idea,” Carter said quietly after a moment.
“What was?”
She turned her head to look at him and Jack’s heart skipped a beat at the way the lights and shadows of the sunlight illuminated her face and made the hair that escaped from her hat look like fire. God she was beautiful.
“Coming up here for the Holidays.”
“Yeah? You sure you don’t miss the balmy Nevada weather?”
“Oh no. This is perfect.”
Jack smiled as he reached around her to squeeze her shoulder.
“Yeah, in Nevada I wouldn’t be able to do this…” In one quick move she stepped out of his embrace, bent down, and before Jack knew it, she had grabbed a handful of snow, pulled the collar of his coat, and dropped it down his back. Jack yelped in surprise as he felt the cold, wet sensation of snow dripping down his back.
Giggling, Carter started running, and once Jack had recovered he lunged after her. “Carter, you’re gonna get it! This is war!”
She was a fast runner, but Jack, being even taller, was faster and by the time the cabin came into view she was only a couple of meters ahead of him. The fact that she kept giggling and looking behind her didn’t help her case.
He finally caught up with her enough to catch her arm, and he tugged until she was securely tucked into his arms. She was still laughing as she tried to wiggle out of his arms while Jack caught his breath. “Well, Colonel Carter, how shall I punish such treachery?”
She turned in his arms until she was facing him. Her cheeks were pink with the cold and her eyes bright with laughter. “I’m sure you can come up with something,” she replied flirtatiously, challengingly.
Jack looked into her eyes, drawn by the glint in them, and bent down-
“Hey you two, your guests are here, get a room!”
They both turned to face the owner of the voice. Cassandra stood just outside of the SUV, grinning, as Daniel, Teal’c, Mitchell and Vala stepped out of the car as well.
Jack didn’t let go of Sam, but instead shared a look. She nodded, her smile turning mischievous. As if they’d counted down out loud, they jumped into action together. Bending down they grabbed handfuls of snow and packed it into small balls, and tossed. Jack hit Teal’c on the side of the head while Carter hit Cassy on her jacket. With the advantage of surprise, Jack and Sam were able to toss a couple more rounds before the others reacted: Cassy shrieked and ran to take cover behind the SUV, Mitchell was the first to retaliate, then Teal’c, then Vala. Daniel stood for a moment as he analyzed the situation, before taking cover as well, and tossing snowballs intermittently.
Jack couldn’t quite remember the last time he had heard so much laughter in this place, his own included, and his heart swelled with warmth and gratitude that life had given him a second chance.
There was something to be said for the magic of Christmas after all.
The end!
I hope you enjoyed, and best wishes for the season!