Prompt No. 1 Flowers
A few days after they made it home from Antarctica she found that she still wore her thick, outdoor coat from the surface even in the relative warmth of her lab. She knew she was still scatter brained from the cold and pain, but there seemed to be an inordinate number of rose bouquets scattered around the base.
She went on about her day but couldn't quite place the little smiles that crowded the mouths of the women. It didn't occur to her to check the calendar until she found a perfectly pressed lavender Rocky Mountain Columbine in her pocket.
Prompt No. 2 Chocolate
They were all on shaky ground after all the body-switching. The days plowed by without her taking much notice. It wasn't until Teal'c had wished her a happy Saint-Valantinus-of-mating-birds day – and she's embarrassed by how long it took to sort that one out – that she realized another holiday had nearly gone without her notice.
A quick glance around revealed more flowers than the year before (made possible by a larger female staff, she supposed). She took an uneven breath and half a heartbeat to feel sorry for herself.
On the roof of her car she found a single Hershey's kiss.
Prompt No. 3 Poetry
She'd never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day but someone at the SGC seemed determined to make sure she marked the occasion every year. She was bummed to be away from the base on the newly special-to-her day but she'd count herself lucky since most girls didn't spend it on a tropical planet with two great guys.
After a meager dinner, Sam sat around the campfire with Teal'c and the colonel who scribbled on a scrap of paper he'd liberated from his pocket. He slipped it to her on his way to bed. On it was a very sweet haiku.
Prompt No. 4 Cuddles
He seemed to find reasons to touch her all the time after her consciousness had been returned to her body. The touches were innocent, as if he needed a way to reassure himself that she was present – a soul he recognized in a body he recognized.
Even between the new, casual if reverent way he touched her, the date on the calendar, and the previous year's realization that he was her mystery cupid, she was still slightly surprised when, in the privacy of her lab, he pulled her to him and had an entire conversation while they were pressed together.
Prompt No. 5 Surprises
Februarys had never been slow for them before so she found herself disconcerted when not only did they find themselves on downtime but that they found themselves on downtime on Valentine's Day. She woke that morning with a soft, sad feeling in her chest because she'd be missing whatever sweet, small gesture the Colonel might have made in deference to the holiday.
She puttered around her house and tried not to feel sorry for herself. It wasn't until that evening when she pulled herself together enough to take herself to the movies that she found the surprise on her doorstep.
Prompt No. 6 Hearts
She found herself equal parts amused and irritated that the day wasn't about her as it had come to be, at least a little. No, the year was largely about an insatiable alien who couldn't get enough of anything Earth – including Valentine's Day.
The colonel bought little plastic hearts – meant to be confetti on tables – and made a nuisance of himself putting them everywhere Jonas might encounter them. As the day wore on Jonas' delight turned to exasperation; Sam hid a smirk behind her hand.
The colonel gave her a clandestine wink. Okay, maybe it was about her after all.
Prompt No. 7 PDAs
It wasn't about Valentine's Day at all when he threaded his fingers through hers and tugged her out of the corridor in which she was quietly collapsing in on herself, tears rolling down her face.
Nor was it when he wrapped his arms around her and tucked her face into that hollow above his collar bone.
When he'd finally coaxed her to eat something it was one of the festive cupcakes with bright pink frosting wiped off the corner of her lip with the pad of his thumb. But none of it was about Valentine's Day. It was about Janet.
Prompt No. 8 Candles
Bad things had to stop happening at some point. She'd so come to look forward to his momentary gestures that one tragedy after another, marring the day she'd come to think of as theirs, was almost more than her battered and fragile heart could take. Anyway, she'd likely given him the idea that no overtures would be acceptable from him this year. Maybe never again.
By the time the day came she found herself single and orphaned and…lost. He found her in her living room with candles, a bottle of wine and a thick slab of dark chocolate. He sat.
Prompt No. 9 Wine
It's not the same without him. She tries not to compare Cam to someone he'll never quite measure up to, but it's hard. She reminds herself, constantly, that they're very different men. Usually she's pretty good at cutting him some slack for not being Jack.
But when Valentine's day rolls around she finds it's tough not to scowl at him every time he walks by. As she's packing her bag that evening he saunters into her lab.
"I don't know why, but General O'Neill wanted me to give you this." He thrusts a bottle of wine at her.
She laughs.
Prompt No. 10 Bowties and Heels
She doesn't make it DC often but when she does she always packs a dress. He likes her in dresses; a byproduct of seeing her in uniforms for so many years.
She's surprised when she runs into him in the hallway. She's slipping on sling-backs with one hand and threading a gold earring into her ear with the other.
"I'll never get how you girls can do that."
She smiles and shrugs, "We're good. Your tie is crooked."
"My tie is fake.
"Jack!"
"C'mon Sam, a tuxedo?"
"Hey, if I'm not getting married in my blues, neither are you, buster."