The fire flickered brightly as the children ran around it in circles. Sam looked at her watch just as it clicked over to 12:01 midnight. She smiled and turned to Daniel who was sitting next to her.
"Merry Christmas," she said.
Daniel looked at her and blinked. "It's Christmas?"
"Yes Daniel, you heard the Major," Jack said in his usual sarcastic tone.
"Oh…I'm a day slow," Daniel muttered, turning back to watch the ceremony of welcoming being performed by the local people.
Sam sighed. They were supposed to be back on Earth by now. But Hammond had ordered them to make a trade deal with the people of P3X-134, the only thing he hadn't realised was that they took three days to properly welcome new comers and gain their trust before then performing the welcoming ceremony, letting them have a night and a day worth of rest and finally allowing them to start negotiations.
"Daniel…how much longer do we have to sit here and watch?" Jack asked.
"Well considering I'm the only one who's going to be able to communicate with them anyway, only I technically need to stay but…" Daniel said.
Jack stood up. "Good, then they won't mind if I go for a walk…all this smoke is getting to my head."
"I do not believe that wise O'Neill," Teal'c said, nodding towards the village elders who had suddenly glared at Jack.
"Wait a second…I'll ask them if it's…" Daniel stopped as the children halted their singing and the fire died in the same moment. "I guess that's a sign that the ceremony is over…"
"So I'm free to go?" Jack asked.
"Well yes, I guess so…" Daniel said.
Even though there was only the moonlight to light his face Sam could see he looked confused. The villages started to wander back towards their homes and Daniel stood up and followed them back to SG-1's accommodation.
"I must perform my Kel'No'Reem," Teal'c announced, standing up and following Daniel.
Sam continued staring at the dying embers of the fire, the ground now lit by moonlight.
"Wanna come for a walk Carter?" Jack asked.
"I don't see why not, sir," she said. "Anywhere particular?"
"Well I was thinking about that cliff above the canyon we visited yesterday," Jack said. "The lake beneath it would look great under this light…"
Sam nodded. The two of them walked up the hill to the cliff they had both seen previously. They reached the edge of the cliff and Sam sat down on one of the rocks.
"It's beautiful…" she whispered.
"Yeah…" Jack said. "I got you a Christmas card."
Sam looked up at him as he sat down next to her. "From where?"
"Well I made it…" he smiled, handing a white envelope to her.
She opened the envelope and found a white piece of paper with a Christmas tree drawn on it. She couldn't see the colours too well in the moonlight…but to her the tree looked blue…not green.
"Open it," he said.
She opened the card and saw that he had made it a pop up card. For a second she wondered when he'd had time to make this since their arrival. Then she noticed what he'd written.
Hey Carter,
I know it isn't much, but we're pretty isolated up here. Hope you like my pop up Christmas tree! I'm sorry you're missing dinner with your brother and his family…I should've checked exactly how long this mission would take before we came out here.
Well have a very Merry Christmas Sam
Love Jack
He'd signed it `Love Jack'. Her heart froze and seemed to leap into her throat. It was something small and insignificant…but it meant more to her than any other card she'd been given in the past month.
"Thanks…" she said, not knowing what to call him. `Sir' or `Colonel' seemed too formal at that moment, but she couldn't call him Jack… could she?
"You're welcome," he said.
They sat there for a moment, in silence. Both knowing what the other was thinking but being unable to say it out loud for fear that it couldn't be taken back.
"Look…" Jack said, pointing to a pine tree sitting further along the cliff.
Some kind of glow bugs had positioned themselves on the branches of the tree and started glowing, making it look like a kind of Christmas tree. Sam turned around to look at the forest behind them.
The entire forest of trees were glowing.
"Wow…it's so pretty," she said. "It's like a whole forest of Christmas trees…"
"Yeah…not a bad substitute huh?" Jack said.
"It's a great substitute," Sam replied.
She turned back to face him and found herself very close to his face, her eyes staring directly into his.
"There's something I'm going to say…which I shouldn't…" Jack said.
Sam couldn't figure out if her heart had stopped or it was beating so fast she couldn't distinguish one beat from the next. She nodded, unable to think of anything to say.
"It's Christmas and on Christmas you tell people the truth…tell them how you really feel…and Sam…" he paused. "You mean more to me than anything else in this universe at the moment. I love you…and I just want you to know that."
Sam's voice caught in her throat.
In fear he'd think she didn't feel the same way she reached out and took his hand in hers while she found her voice.
"I love you too…but…"
"No buts…it's Christmas, lets forget everything for now," he said, squeezing her hand.
"Yes, sir…" she said.
"Sir…" he repeated, a sad tone heavy in his voice.
Sam slipped her hand away from his and stood up.
"I'm sorry…" she said.
She disappeared into the Christmas tree forest, clutching his card in her hand, heading back towards the village.
Jack sighed and looked out across the canyon.
Sam sat alone on a log in the middle of the forest, staring at her Christmas card…especially the last part.
'Well have a very Merry Christmas Sam
Love Jack'
She read those two lines over and over again. A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away. This was stupid, she didn't have to cry. There was no reason to cry. She'd just had the best Christmas present given to her that she could ever ask for.
Yet somehow that was the problem.
She knew after they came back she'd have to forget it all.
Or at least pretend she'd forgotten.
"Carter?" came Jack's voice.
She jumped and wiped away her tears, trying to hide the fact she'd been crying.
"I thought you'd gone back to the village…" he stopped in front of her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…I'm happy," she said quietly. "Happier than any other Christmas day…"
He leant down and kissed her on the lips. "Merry Christmas Sam."
"Merry Christmas Jack…" she replied, taking his hand again.
They walked together back to the village.
And for another year they returned to being Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill.
Story Notes: Response to 2003 samandjack list Christmas Challenge!!
End Notes: A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
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 ]