His Favorite Christmas Story
By Technician Fan
Disclaimer: I wish for it every night, but it never comes. :/
A/N: This may or may not be the best song ever. :D Just a quick Lorne/Cadman songfic to the tune His Favorite Christmas Story by Capital Lights. This story is slightly AU, as you'll notice. And just so we're clear, I'm ignoring the year in the song. Enjoy!
He met her up in Delaware in 1937
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress
December 24th at a quarter till eleven's
When he finally gained the courage to ask her to dance
Evan Lorne looked around the bustling club. Finally, after four exhausting years in Atlantis, he was back home. He spent a month with his mom, sister, and nephews in San Francisco before deciding to go and see his aunt and uncle that he hasn't seen since the day he left for Atlantis. So across the United States he went, all the way over to Delaware, must to his dismay. It wasn't that he didn't like his aunt and uncle, it was just that there wasn't much to do in their small town, and they had gone shopping for his Christmas present, refusing to let him go with them, thus the reason he was sitting in a club… if it could even be called that. It's not like many people were there.
That's when he saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He turned and his eyes widened at the sight. Sitting two stools down on the bar was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had on a fiery red dress with lipstick that matched and complimented her reddish hair perfectly. Her skin was very pale, making the color of her dress and her hair pop out even more. She looked familiar to Lorne, but he brushed it off.
She sat next to him for the next three hours, and he still did nothing. Finally, as he looked at the clock and noticed it was quarter till eleven— on Christmas Eve, no less— he worked up the courage to walk up to her.
"Hey," he said, leaning up against the bar. "Care to dance?"
She looked at him with her hazel-green eyes and smiled. "Sure."
He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor.
It was the night before Christmas, it was love at first sight
The carolers sang as they danced through the night
She was a small town girl, he was a traveling guy
He never caught her name before they said their goodbyes
Evan and the mystery woman danced on as the Christmas songs played around them. Everyone there was singing along, all in the Christmas mood. As the clock struck twelve, she looked around before stepping back from Evan.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I have to go." She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his cheek and smiled. "Bye."
Evan, stunned, didn't say anything as she walked quickly out of the club. Once she was gone, he managed to softly say, "Bye," not that anyone heard.
Tired, distraught, and confused, he grabbed his jacket and left, heading back to his aunt and uncle's house.
A couple years later he was out on the road
Having Christmas dinner in a diner alone
When he saw a young waitress with a gleam in her eye
Her favorite day of the year, she showed her spirits were high
She said, "Sir, could you shed a little holiday cheer?"
A simple Christmas story's all she wanted to hear
He looked prepared with a smile as he started to say,
"Here's my favorite Christmas story 'bout a girl with no name…"
Two years later, as he was driving along on Christmas, he noticed a diner that had lights on. Glad that he finally found somewhere to stop and eat, he pulled in and parked her car in the nearly-empty parking lot.
The door chimed as he opened it. He looked around and took a seat in one of the many empty booths.
The door leading to what Evan figured was the kitchen opened up, and a young waitress walked through, heading towards Evan. She had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiled at Evan as she arrived.
"What can I get for you?"
Evan looked around. There weren't any menus…
"Can I interest you in the Christmas dinner special?" the waitress asked.
"Sure," Evan said.
"Okie-dokie!" she said happily before disappearing back into the kitchen. She came back twenty minutes later with a steaming plate of vegetables, stuffing, and a small chicken leg. Then she brought over a cup of coffee to go with it.
"Thank you," Evan said.
"You're welcome," she replied brightly, smiling at him. She continued to stand there as Evan started to eat. After a couple bites, he looked up at her.
"Anything else?" he asked curiously.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just… Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and I'm stuck working the late shift. It's not like I have anything else to do. My boyfriend insisted on working on some big project— he's a scientist, you see— and it's supposed to solve some big thing… I'm not really sure, actually."
Evan gestured to the seat across from him. "You can sit down if you want."
The waitress smiled and took a seat. "Thanks. I'm Jennifer, by the way. Jennifer Keller."
"Evan Lorne," Evan said.
"Evan," Jennifer repeated. "Sir, could you spread a little holiday cheer? I just want to hear a Christmas story."
Evan smiled and put down the utensils in his hand. "Okay. Here's my favorite Christmas story. It's about a girl with no name…"
He said, "I met her up in Delaware in 1937
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress.
December 24th at a quarter till eleven's
When I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance"
"I met her up in Delaware a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve when I was visiting my aunt and uncle. She had on this beautiful red dress that matched her lipstick perfectly. At a quarter till eleven, I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance," Evan said. "We danced together and it felt perfect, until the clock struck twelve and she disappeared. I never caught her name before she parted."
Jennifer had a sad look on her face. "Aw, that's so sad…"
"Yeah," Evan agreed. "She was… amazing. Everything I've always dreamed about."
"I'm sure you'll find her someday," Jennifer said. "After all, love always finds a way."
Every holiday season as he traveled he'd tell
'bout his Christmas dance partner that he never knew well
He'd share his favorite story with the locals he met
He was called the Christmas story telling traveling man
Evan traveled all around the United States for work. One minute he was stationed in Nevada, the next he was in Ohio. During the holidays, however, he would always find the time to tell the story of The Girl With No Name to anyone who would listen. After a few years of doing this, he had earned the name of "The Christmas Story Telling Traveling Man" because of what he did.
By age 53 he had done settled down
All the neighborhood kids liked to gather around
Just to listen to his stories 'bout his life on the road
All he had now were these children he told
And every Christmas Eve they showed up before dark
He'd tell them all the story but they knew it by heart
They could quote it word for word, he always told it the same
It was his favorite Christmas story called The Girl With No Name
At 53 years old, Evan had requested to be stationed in one spot and that he'd stay there for the rest of his time in service. He'd been granted his request and was stationed at the SGC permanently. He was known pretty well around town as a storyteller. All the kids from around liked to listen to his many stories about serving in the Air Force and what it was like to fly.
Every Christmas Eve, however, all of the kids showed up with their parents to hear his story about The Girl With No Name, even though they knew it by heart.
"Can you tell us it again, Evan?" Teyla asked hopefully.
"Pleeeeaaaasssse?" John begged. "I wanna hear about the pretty lady again!"
Evan smiled and told the story once more…
He said, "I met her up in Delaware in 1937
She was wearing red lipstick to match her pretty dress.
December 24th at a quarter till eleven's
When I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance"
"I met her up in Delaware a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve when I was visiting my aunt and uncle. She had on this beautiful red dress that matched her lipstick perfectly. At a quarter till eleven, I finally gained the courage to ask her to dance," Evan said. "We danced together and it felt perfect, until the clock struck twelve and she disappeared. I never caught her name before she parted."
Teyla looked at him. "Will you ever find your princess, Evan? Like in Cinderella or Snow White? The prince always gets the princess!"
"I don't know, Teyla," Evan said, "but I hope I do."
Twenty years later as he took his last breaths
On a cold Christmas morning in a hospital bed
The children had grown, he had nobody left
Except the little old nurse who was holding his hand
He said, "Ma'am could you shed a little holiday cheer?"
A simple Christmas story's all he wanted to hear
But his eyes filled with tears at the words she spoke
Because his favorite Christmas story was the one that she told
At 73 years old, Evan looked around the cold white room he was in. He was dying; he knew it. He couldn't stop it, not that he was trying. There was nobody left in his life. John, Teyla, and the other kids had all grown up and moved on with their lives. Evan had never gotten married, probably due to the fact that he was so focused on finding that girl that he danced with.
A nurse came in to check on his vitals. He smiled up at her. She smiled back with a familiar smile and squeezed his hand comfortingly. Just as she was about to leave, he spoke.
"Ma'am?" he croaked.
The nurse turned around. "Yes?"
Evan cleared his throat. "Could you spread a little holiday cheer? It's Christmas, after all. I just want to hear a story."
The nurse smiled. "I have just the one."
She said, "I met him up in Delaware in 1937
Though I never caught his name, he was a traveling man,
December 24th at a quarter till eleven
I'm so glad he got the courage to ask me to dance."
The nurse pulled up a chair and sat down. "It was many years ago, back when I was still young and still serving in the Marines," she said, laughing. "It was Christmas Eve, and I was at a nice club when I saw this handsome young man. For three hours he kept looking at me, and I kept looking at him. Finally, at a quarter till eleven, he asked me to dance. I was so happy, but then midnight came, and I—"
"Left," Evan finished for her. "You said you had to go and you departed, kissing my cheek."
The nurse's eyes widened. "Wait… are you…?
"Yeah," he replied, tears in his eyes.
"I've been looking for you for over forty years," the nurse said.
"Same here," Evan said.
The nurse let out a laugh. "And to think this is how we find each other."
Evan let out a chuckle, before he started coughing. His heart monitor started racing. The nurse called in the doctors.
"Wait," Evan managed to get out as the doctors came in. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Laura," she said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "And you?"
"Evan," he breathed out, before his heart completely stopped.
Laura backed off as the doctors shut off the monitor and pronounced his death. She continued to gaze at his lifeless body. "It was nice to finally find you, Evan."
THE END
Review? Pleeeeeeaaaasssse? :D