Twelve Days Chapter 1: A Partridge in a Pear Tree, a stargate: sg-1 fanfic

Twelve Days

Author: ShaViva

Rating: T+

Season: Season 1, AU, after 'Politics' ; when I've decided Christmas would have been!

Summary: It's Christmas at the SGC. Daniel and Teal'c are away, leaving Sam and Jack to work through the holidays. What trouble will they find? Written for the Team Flyboy 12 Days Challenge.

Classifications: Drama/Romance

Pairings: Jack/Sam pre-ship

Key warnings: None really

Other warnings: Unbeta'd – errors minimized as best I can but some minor ones will probably creep in.

Spoilers for: Everything in Season 1 up to episode 120 – Politics.

Acknowledgements: I used Gateworld/Stargate Wiki transcripts to check details here and there.

Disclaimer: I am unfortunately not associated in any way with the creators, owners, or producers of Stargate or any of its media franchises, which is obvious because they'd be making movies for us right now! All publicly recognizable characters, settings, equipment, etc are the property of whoever owns them. Any original characters, plot, settings, and anything else I made up are the property of me, the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Note:

This is being written for the 12 Days of Christmas challenge over on the Flyboy Thread at Gateworld Forums. Each day has a theme, around the song, for each of the traditional 12 days (starting Dec 25th). I decided to branch out from my comfort zone and write an actual Sam and Jack story, so hopefully it will turn out okay! Today's theme is 'being alone'.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Chapter 1: A Partridge in a Pear Tree

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."

John Lennon

How had it happened? Samantha Carter looked around her lab with dismay. In a little over an hour it would be midnight and yet here she was, at the SGC, puttering around her lab.

Alone, on Christmas Eve.

Daniel has taken the opportunity to return to his roots, joining a dig in Egypt for the two weeks SG-1 was on holiday stand down. He'd been like a school boy at the start of a new year, eager to return and play with his friends, genuinely happy as Sam hadn't seen since they'd lost Sha're.

Teal'c wasn't there either. He'd volunteered to accompany a special team off world on a humanitarian mission to assist an community hit hard by a landslide. The team, designated SG-0, was composed of members from various SG teams – those without family or who were unable to return home for the holidays for whatever reason. Sam had briefly considered tagging along too but decided in the end to concentrate on a couple of research projects she hadn't had time to pursue previously. Teal'c rarely spoke of his home, rarely showed that he missed his son, but Sam knew the only thing that kept him from returning to Chulak was the continuing safety and protection of his family. It seemed fitting that he would include himself in a mission to render assistance where he could.

That only left herself and Colonel O'Neill, and since she'd found herself trapped in an icy prison with the Colonel, feeling things she had no business feeling for her commanding officer, she'd deliberately steered her thoughts clear of any reflections centred around him. She had no idea where he was, or even if he had plans for Christmas Day. She'd guess not – with what had happened to his son surely any kind of special occasion would be bittersweet.

It was a sad commentary on her life that Sam had so little to fill it, outside of work. Holidays always brought the status of her life to the forefront and had her thinking about what she didn't have. No true family connections to speak of – much as she enjoyed being an Aunt she just didn't get to see her niece and nephew enough to have real importance in their lives. No 'significant' relationships either … and no prospects anywhere on the horizon. She met lots of new people regularly and worked on a base loaded with plenty of male 'talent' – off world contacts and military men she'd sworn off of after Jonas. There was nothing there for her.

"What about Colonel O'Neill?" The thought ran through her mind and she ruthlessly squelched it. Jonathon "Jack" O'Neill was so far out of her league even the Stargate wouldn't get her there. It didn't matter how rapidly her heart beat when he got too close, or how intriguing she found him. The regulations were pretty clear and Samantha Carter was a by the book kind of girl. Besides, just because she found herself thinking about the Colonel way too much, it didn't mean he was returning the favour. Should she wish otherwise or count herself lucky to be alone in her predicament?

With a sigh Sam returned her attention to her work, forcing herself to proceed step by step through her investigation into a device SG-6 had brought back from P5E-343 a few weeks ago. About the size of a large mixing bowl it was domed and covered in symbols Daniel was still working to translate. It looked to be made of a similar material to the Stargate itself but so far nothing she'd done had enabled her to even see its internal construction, let alone work out what it did. She'd tried a few standard approaches to powering it up without success and was running out of ideas for more. Maybe it was just that her heart wasn't really in the work that night – she couldn't find the zone where scientific endeavor could absorb her attention to the exclusion of everything else.

It was silly, but her aloneness itself was distracting her, crazy as that sounded. She was used to being alone … why should the fact that it was Christmas Eve make a difference? Samantha Carter was nothing if not stubborn though, so she kept at it, despite her lack of progress.

The quiet 'beep beep' of her watch a short while later was a brief interruption, letting her know the new day had clicked over. "Merry Christmas," she whispered to herself, glancing around her lab with a sad smile. This was the life she'd chosen for herself … best to get used to it.

"Carter. You still here?"

Sam took a steadying breath before looking up to see Jack O'Neill, lounging casually in her doorway.

"Yes Sir," she said, even though his question hadn't required an answer. Obviously she was still here … and so was he. "Isn't it a little late for you too sir?"

"Nah," he thrust his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, regarding her with one of those unreadable expressions. The kind that made her both long and fear to know what he was thinking. "You don't have plans for the big day?" he glanced around her lab, before returning his attention to her.

"No Sir," Sam replied. He didn't need to know that she didn't get along with her father and as a result didn't welcome spending Christmas with her brother and his family either. General Jacob Carter turned up every year because by damn, that was his duty. Mark continued to resent the military for the impact it had had on their family and inevitably a heated discussion ensued. Sam always ended up in the middle and under attack from both sides – because she saw both points of view when Mark and her Dad wanted her to see only their one side. "My brother is taking the kids to Disneyland in a couple of days – it didn't seem worth the trip just for one day's celebration."

"Right," Jack nodded, looking around uncertainly for a moment. "So you're spending Christmas here?"

"Janet – Doctor Fraiser – invited me to lunch later today," Sam smiled. "Honestly, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet – makes for a nice change."

The Gateroom alarm was abrupt and loud, accompanied by the voice of Walter Harriman over the loudspeaker. "Unscheduled off world activation."

"You just had to say it - you had to mention the peace and quiet," Colonel O'Neill sent her a teasing, exasperated look before motioning with his head towards the door. "You coming?"

"It's probably just SG-0 needing more supplies," Sam said, remaining where she was.

"Yes, well, perhaps Jaffa Claus miscalculated the number of presents he'd need tonight," Jack's eyes twinkled. Since Teal'c arrived on Earth he'd been fascinated with television in general, and in the recent weeks in Christmas movies in particular. The idea that a jolly man in a red suit could visit every child and deliver gifts, all in one night, both puzzled and intrigued him. The Jaffa warrior had probably watched more seasonal movies than Sam had in her entire life, and had questioned his team mates extensively in an effort to understand all the nuances of the concept, much to the amusement of the rest of SG-1.

"Jaffa Claus Sir?" Sam smiled. "Does Teal'c know that's what you're calling him?"

"Of course," Jack grinned, "not."

Sam laughed. "I think you should tell him Sir. I'm sure he'd be flattered."

"Maybe," Jack allowed. He'd remained close to the door but now took a few steps into the room, eyeing the device she'd been working on. "What you got there?"

"I have no idea," Sam admitted. "SG-6 brought it back from P5E-343 but I never had a chance to look at it before now. It's actually pretty interesting Sir – I think it's composed of the same material as the Stargate and although I've been unable to detect any kind of power source it seems there's some kind of shielding stopping me from seeing the inside."

"A present Captain Carter can't unwrap?" Jack's brow rose and he moved to stand beside her to take a closer look.

Sam felt the air around her warm as his heat permeated her space; she felt jumpy inside, like something was about to happen and she didn't know whether it would be good or bad. Suddenly being alone didn't seem like such a bad idea if it would stop the confusing reactions and thoughts she had about Colonel O'Neill.

"Yet, Sir," she corrected firmly.

"Huh?"

Jack gave her a sidelong glance, their eyes meeting and holding for just a little too long. His were a deep, rich brown – inviting her, no urging her to throw caution to the wind and jump right in. Blinking, she refocused. "I haven't found a way to open it yet Sir," she restated.

"Well, I'm sure you will eventually," Jack reached out and prodded the device, just the briefest touch of his finger against the surface.

Blue light and a high pitched hum flashed out from the dome, growing in intensity and volume until the entire room was engulfed. When the device hit its peak, there was a flash and a chorus of sound, and then abruptly it stopped.

The room was silent … and empty. No trace of Sam and Colonel O'Neill and no evidence to indicate what had happened to them. It was as though they had never been there at all.

TBC