Christmas with the Carters

December 23

Colonel Jack O'Neill was heading home for a long, lonely Christmas, the usual for him since Charlie died. Right when he reached the elevator, he heard the "incoming traveler" alert sounding. "So so close," Jack muttered to himself.

He wondered who it could be as he ran towards the Gate Room. When he arrived, he saw Jacob Carter stepping through the Stargate.

"Jacob, long time no see?"

"Good to see you too, Jack… where's Sam isn't she always here?"

"Yeah, although she is normally here, it is Christmas time and I think Mark was coming for a visit… hey I was just heading home early. Do you want a ride to her house, Jake?"

"Thanks Jack, let me just go get changed."

"No problem…meet you at the top in fifteen minutes."

Jack drove Jacob to Carter's house. When they walked up to the door, Jack secretly hoped he would be invited in to spend the evening with the Carters. Especially his Carter well she was exactly his. He just was completely over protective and in love with her but she probably did not feel the same.

Sam Carter was talking with her sister in law, Julie, when the door bell rang. She got up to answer it to find her Dad and her favorite Colonel. She hadn't expected her father to be able to make it for Christmas but he must have been able to take a vacation. Then there was the Colonel leaning against a pillar on her porch.

"Hey, Dad, Colonel."

"Hi Sam I thought I'd just stop in for Christmas… I here Mark and his family are here."

"Yep, their inside Dad."

As Jacob walked inside he quickly whispered to his daughter, "invite him in Sam." Then Jacob continued into the house to see his grandkids.

Jack decided he better leave. Since Jacob had clearly not invited him in. There must be that barrier. Work friends stay at work and he should know the boundaries.

"See yah soon Carter."

"Ah Sir, you want to come to dinner with us… we're going out."

"Asking me out Carter?" He asked in his sarcastic manner. Which made Carter blush and look away, well that had been unexpected he thought.

"So is that a yes or a no, sir."

"It's a yes and drop the sir for tonight don't want to freak you family out too much." Jack said as he passed her into her house giving her his cheeky grin.

They walked into the house. Jack wondered if Jacob would be against it, but that apparently didn't matter anymore.

"Mark, Julie, Eliot, and George this is Colonel Jack O'Neill. He is going to join us for dinner."

Mark silently cursed. That his boys' were already going to already get a one sided view but this would make it worse if they like this man. As he sat down in between Sam and his Father, he wondered who he was. He seemed to know the both of them pretty well. Jacob respected him. He sort of felt left out of their adult conversation because Julie was helping the boys wash up. He didn't understand the conversation. They must be referring to something classified they all know about. Then this Colonel O'Neill asked him a question.

"So Mark… What you do for a living?"

"I work at Cal Tech in mathematics department."

"Why am I not surprised?" he directed his comment towards Sam but loud enough Jacob and Mark could hear. Jacob chuckled and shook his head at Jack. Mark took silent offense and Sam just gave Jack a huge smile. Who, in return, looked very please with himself. Mark did not miss this silent banter between the two. Mark wondered if something else was going on between the two. This did not seem new to Jacob at all.

Then at the restaurant, Sam and Jack sat next to each other with Julie on Sam's other side and Mark on Jack's.

Inside, Jack was ecstatic that he was sitting next to Sam and getting her, as usual, to laugh at all his cheesy jokes to Mark's disgust. He could tell he was not hitting it of with Mark Carter, the only Carter who did not like him. George and Eliot thought he was really cool and Julie seemed to think he was nice. She trusted him because Sam and Jacob trusted him.

He tried talking to Mark he just could not get through apparently. Before they knew the night was over and they were driving home. Jack was sad it had to be over so soon.

When they were walking toward the house, Sam turned to Jack and asked him if he wanted to come in for coffee? Of course he said yes. He loved the Carters. Soon, Mark and his family headed to their hotel to get the boys' to bed. Jacob went to bed in Sam's guest room and Sam and Jack were just sitting in the den talking. For hours they talked, laughed, and flirted. Soon it was one in the morning and Jack finally had to admit to himself it was time to go home. It greatly surprised him when Sam had invited him back for Christmas Eve.

December 24

The next morning Mark and the kids came back to the house. They were all hanging out talking and playing games when Sam walks into the kitchen and Mark follows her to talk.

"Sam, have you known Colonel O'Neill a long time?" Mark asked completely unaware Jack was coming back to the house soon.

"Yeah we've worked together for six years and you know he probably wouldn't mind if you called him Jack. He doesn't like anyone referring to him by his rank outside of the base. I do it all the time."

"Really? You've called him Jack yesterday."

"Yeah he didn't want to freak you guys out too much," Sam said.

"Well, sorry Sam, but I don't trust him at all. It's like he is trying to get something from you."

"One you ought to know that Dad and I trust him with our lives and second it's unlikely he is trying 'to get something from me.' He is one of my Best Friends so Mark if you've got a problem with him take it up with him when he gets here."

"He is coming back? Today?"

"Yeah I invited him to spend Christmas with us. He said he had no plans… Mark just try to trust him he isn't that bad. Jack's a good person."

Jack had let himself in and had passed the kitchen as Sam was defending him. He felt special for she had just stood up for him. Oh Jacob looked surprised when he walked into the den. Sam must not have told anyone he was coming back.

"Hey Jack!" George and Eliot shouted. "Want to come play with us outside?"

"Sure."

Mark secretly hated that Jack had been invited to play where he was not. They after all were his children that he only saw when he wasn't working. Which he had to admit to himself was not often. Then he saw Sam put on her coat and head outside. They see each other everyday and Sam sees him only once every other year. He saw Jacob just shake his head and turn away.

Jacob watched his daughter walk outside towards her boss she had been up till one talking to (well he was hoping it was just talking). He decided it was time to call and ask an inside source.

"Hello?"

"Daniel, how is your Christmas going? It's Jacob."

"Fine, just catching up with some old friends… is everything okay? I mean there isn't some emergency that you're calling about?"

"No no everything is fine. I just had a question for you."

"Sure I'll answer it to the best of my abilities."

"You promise to give me an honest answer?"

"Yeah I'll tell you everything I know," Daniel promised and hoped he wouldn't regret his promise to Jacob.

"Is there something going on between Sam and Jack?"

During the conversation, Julie had over heard Jacob ask this person about Sam and Jack. She had assumed Jacob knew about the two officers constant flirting. Well apparently Jacob did not know.

Daniel was stunned with Jacob's blunt question. He wasn't sure how to break it to him or maybe he should just avoid the question all together. Sam and Jack had been getting closer over the past few months. Why was he asking? Jack was fishing and Jacob was probably with Sam and her family.

"Why?"

"Well first off Jack is spending Christmas with us. Sam apparently invited him in the middle of the night after they spent hours talking. There is nonstop flirting."

"Jack's spending Christmas with you? He told me he had plans of his own but apparently not."

"Daniel, are you going to answer my question?"

Julie was still snooping at the door when Mark joined her to listen in. Apparently, Jacob was just as interested as Julie and Mark had been.

"Okay Jacob, I'll tell you what I know. As far as I know and I would probably be one of the first to know if anything happened, nothing is going on between them outside of work. They do flirt a lot but they always do that. Although neither of them is involved with anyone else. Personally I think they should go out and the only thing stopping them is the Regs. They each have a 'thing' for the other but neither knows the other feels the same. They have saved the world enough that they deserve to be happy, Jacob."

"I agree they do seem happy when they are hanging out. Sam is never happier then when Jack is around. He is a good man and they save the world enough they should be allowed to have a personal relationship. Do you think I should talk to George?"

"Yeah, just make sure you say it right. Jacob, do you need anymore help?"

"No, thanks Daniel, have a Merry Christmas."

Mark and Julie were trying to process everything the person Jacob had been talking to. "…They have saved the world enough…" What did that mean? Jack did not seem like an astronomer and nor was Dad, they were black ops types. What were they doing in a base working on Deep Space Radar Telemetry? Mark was very familiar with the Regulations between officers, though. Who was Daniel? He had heard Sam mention him yesterday and had heard Jack talk about what Space Monkey. Had they been talking about the same person? And who was T?

Mean while outside,