Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Stargate franchise. I'm just playing in their world and using their characters for a limited time.

Author's Note: When the original idea for this story came to mind, it was to write a Twelve Days of Christmas story using John and Teyla. Then, I decided to add a Keller/Lorne twist. Then, in chatting with DaniWilder and working on other rewrites, this story finally changed to what it is now. I've gone with a fairly unusual pairing, but I think it's worth it to explore this one. There will be daily posts for this story, along with my Christmas Carols. This story, as well as several others, will wrap up on Christmas Day, leaving my plate empty of any ideas save getting other re-writes and series finished. :) As always, hope you enjoy! ~lg

oOo

Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell walked through the gate and arrived on Atlantis twelve days before Christmas. He took a deep breath and looked around. Not exactly where he wanted to spend his holiday season. He'd had plans to go back home, to Kansas. His brother and sister-in-law, not to mention their newborn baby, were supposed to be home. He'd planned to meet his niece and spend hours letting her wrap him around her little finger. Instead, he found himself in a totally different galaxy.

Of course, he couldn't explain the reasons to his mother. Or where he was going. Just that he'd received orders to go TDY out of the country. But, last week, his life had changed. He had a feeling it had changed for the worst, but he couldn't be sure. After all, General O'Neill, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and several others survived just fine with the Ancient gene. Why should he do any differently? Besides, what was a few days on Atlantis when compared to the idea of flying the most advanced ships in two galaxies? The Puddle Jumpers might be small, but he still couldn't wait to get his hands on one.

"Cam." The call pulled him from his thoughts and brought a smile to his face. Colonel Samantha Carter rushed down the stairs to greet him. During their time serving together on SG-1, he and Sam had developed a very sibling-ish relationship.

He hugged her when she got close. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah, you, too." She smiled at him. "I heard you received the ATA gene therapy."

"Yeah, whatever it's called." He gave her a half-hearted shrug. "All I know is that Landry and O'Neill want me here, learning to fly these Jumpers."

"That's what I heard." She frowned as more stuff came through the gate behind him. "What's all this?"

Cam turned and surveyed the activity behind him. "Christmas," he said.

Sam blinked at him. "What?"

"Yeah, it's winter back home." He looked back at her. "Landry wanted to send something through the gate to help with morale here. We couldn't get ornaments, but we got a tree and lights."

"I'm sure we'll come up with something." She motioned behind her. "Let's let them work."

Cam followed her, eventually finding his way to the mess hall. Over the next hour, he chatted with Sam and organized a team of scientists and doctors to set up the Christmas tree. Sam put out an announcement over the city's PA system, calling for ornaments to be brought to the mess hall that evening. Cam thought it a great idea until he walked in to the mess hall to find Rodney McKay arguing with a cute, dark-haired woman over the box with the Christmas tree in it.

McKay snorted. "Please. I am the engineer and physicist. I know how to put a tree together."

"And how many have you actually put together?" she asked.

"That's not the point." McKay glared. "The point is, I'm in charge here."

Cam stepped forward, seeing the imminent explosion. "Whoa! I don't think either of you are in charge."

"Oh, yeah?" McKay turned on him, letting the poor woman off the hook. "And who put you in charge? You're not even from Atlantis."

"No, but General Landry sent me with orders to deliver and set up the Christmas tree." Cam nodded with his head toward the box. "That kinda puts me in charge of the tree."

"Oh." McKay didn't quite know what to think. He fumbled for a moment. "Okay. Well, I'll just. . . ."

"Hey, McKay." Cam's call stopped the dejected physicist. "Can't you rig up some sort of topper for this thing? You know, maybe make it motion activated or something?"

The wheels started turning in McKay's head. "You're kidding, right? Of course I can 'rig up' something like that. In fact, I think I could even. . .Gotta go!"

Cam watched the physicist rush from the mess hall, already pounding something out on his tablet. He shook his head. McKay might have been arrogant a year ago, but time had changed him. Now, Cam thought he might actually be able to endure a short mission without wanting to kill the guy. He turned back to the woman standing behind the Christmas tree box. "Now, where are we putting this thing?"

Another hour passed as he helped set up the twelve-foot-tall, pre-lit Christmas tree. The mess hall slowly drew a crowd, and Cam wound up being the one to roll under the tree to spread out the tree skirt. McKay returned before he finished working and set up a ladder right over Cam's legs. Cam wanted to kick it out from under him just for spite, but he knew he'd bring down the Christmas tree. When he rolled back out from under it, he felt the low branches catch on his hair. Standing up, he grinned. It definitely fit in this corner of the mess hall.

With the tree correctly situated in front of massive stained glass windows, Cam made his way to the table with coffee and snacks put out by the kitchen staff. Many of Atlantis's personnel had responded to the call for ornaments and now stood around the tree, munching on cookies, drinking coffee, and chatting. McKay wrestled with the custom tree-topper that he'd put together in the space of an hour, trying to get it to stay put. Teyla, the Athosian member of Sheppard's team, sat in the middle of the group, rubbing her unborn child and asking questions about Christmas.

Cam made his way to a chair and sat down. By putting the tree together, he'd contributed. He could now leave the decorating of it in the very capable hands of Atlantis's personnel. Major Lorne seemed to have a knack for decorating and now coordinated the efforts. Cam thought everyone had taken his arrival as an invitation to celebrate, but he caught some motion from the corner of his eye. Turning to look, he found a young woman in a back corner, separated from everyone else. Cam frowned and watched her. She seemed so isolated from the others. Several Marines tried to approach her, but she turned them away with a smile.

And what a smile it was. Cam found himself drawn from simply seeing the effect it had on her face. While it faded immediately, that smile brightened her eyes and defined her cheekbones. A man could get lost in that smile. Deciding it was time to try his luck and put her out of her misery, he pushed to his feet, grabbed one of the pots of fresh coffee floating around, and headed for her table.

"Hey, there." He offered her the coffee pot, and she held up her cup. After filling his own, he dropped into the chair next to her. Pointing at the Christmas tree, he grinned. "Quite a sight, ain't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Her voice sounded as sad as her face looked. "Look, I appreciate the effort, but I'm not really in the mood for company."

"Yeah, well, neither am I." He shook his head. "After twenty-four hours on Midway with Dr. Lee and Dr. Kavanaugh, I kinda feel the need for a little alone time. And I figured I would help you out by running off the eager Marines who seem intent on buggin' you."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Colonel Mitchell."

"You're welcome." He sat back in his chair, propped his right ankle on his knee, and studied her. "You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Jennifer." She set down her coffee and held out her hand. "Dr. Jennifer Keller."

Cam shook her hand. "Dr. Keller, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

After gracing him with another smile, she turned back to watching the Christmas tree go up. Cam kept his word and didn't try to engage her in conversation. He knew what she wanted, and he intended to play guardian until she decided to join the party. He'd already received several surprised glances from men and women alike, and he wondered if it was because he had joined the doc or because the doc let him stay at the table.

Beside him, Jennifer pointed. "So, I heard Rodney rigged up some device that's motion activated. Apparently, he's got the entire tree on a sensor that can tell when anyone is around."

"Yeah?" Cam scowled. "I barely asked him to do that this afternoon, and it's already done?"

"We work fast around here."

"I'm noticing."

"So what is the leader of SG-1 doing on Atlantis?" She seemed intent on starting a conversation, and he decided he'd let her take the lead for a few minutes.

"I'm here as a favor for a friend." Cam shrugged. "General Landry decided you folks needed a little Christmas spirit, and I got to be the lucky messenger. That, and I need to train on the Jumpers and how to use this Ancient gene. I'm here for the next eleven days. I'll gate home and barely make it to Kansas in time for Christmas dinner."

She gave him a surprised glance. "You're from Kansas?"

"Yep. You?"

"Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin."

"Another Midwesterner." He grinned. "It's a pleasure to finally find one in the Stargate Program."

This time, she gave him a small chuckle. "There are more of us, I'm sure."

"Nope. Haven't come across any of them."

"Then you haven't been meeting the right people, Colonel."

"My name is Cameron." For some reason, the formality bugged him. "Or Cam, if you prefer."

"I'm Jennifer." She continued staring at the Christmas tree. "I'm just not really in the Christmas mood this year."

"First year away?"

"From home? No." She shrugged. "During medical school, I had a year I couldn't get home because of weather and finances. From Earth? Yes."

Sensing the sadness in her voice, he leaned forward. "Hey, it's okay to admit to being lonely, especially on Christmas. I'm sure your folks feel the same thing."

"It's just my dad and me." She shrugged. "My mom passed away several years ago. I'm all he's got left."

Suddenly, she blinked and looked away. Cam stared in fascination as tears came to her eyes. She struggled bravely, but one of them escaped. "Sorry." She quickly wiped it away. "Didn't mean to fall apart on you."

"You didn't."

"I just. . . ." She looked away from him, and he realized she struggled with her emotions. Her brown eyes took on a suspiciously wet appearance. "I wasn't expecting the impact of that statement."

Cam glanced around the room and realized that some people still stared at them. He pushed his chair back and held out his hand. "Hey, let's get out of here."

Jennifer blinked at him, her face so close to crumbling that she couldn't avoid it. Instead, she let him pull her to her feet. Cam led her from the mess hall and down a corridor, not really knowing where he was going. He hated that most of Atlantis would gossip about them, but he refused to allow her to break down in such a public place. Talking about her family was clearly difficult for her, and he wanted to make her holidays easier.

Suddenly, he realized why Landry had sent him. Jennifer wasn't the only person away from home. Not on this base. Here, in Pegasus, life could go sideways at any moment, and these people needed a reason to celebrate. But, at this exact moment, only Jennifer mattered. Her quiet conversation stirred the protective instincts he normally reserved for his team. He found a quiet balcony, led Jennifer outside, and simply watched her as she walked over to the railing. If it took all night, he'd find a way to help her smile again. And, no, he didn't want to figure out why that mattered so much.

oOo

Jennifer stood next to the railing, fighting her tears and trying to forget the man behind her. Colonel Mitchell likely thought her far too weak to be on Atlantis. In truth, she thought herself too weak. But she stayed because she'd found a purpose for her life beyond healing the sick. Maybe here, on the city of the Ancients, she could find the cure to the cancer that took her mother's life.

I'm all he's got left. She'd said the same thing to Teyla several months ago. While trapped in that Bola Kai cage, she'd thought she might never see Earth again. Then, after Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and Ronon rescued them, she'd had nightmares of what those men did to them. She still woke up some nights, covered in sweat and thinking some cannibal had made it into her quarters. Last night had been her lucky night this week, and she'd worked all day with a headache brought on by exhaustion.

Still, she'd lost her calm right in front of SG-1's leader. How much worse could it get? Jennifer reigned in her emotions and turned. "I'm sorry. It's been a tough couple of months."

"I've heard." He walked to her side and leaned one elbow on the railing, watching her as he did so. At her sharp glance, he shrugged. "I read reports. A lot of reports."

"Then you read about New Athos and the missing Athosians?"

He seemed to search his memory. "I might recall a report about. . . ." He blinked. "That was you?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head. "You're not what I pictured."

"What, you picture someone taller? Prettier? Stronger?" Again, her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.

"Whoa. Hold on there." He held up a finger. "I think I let my mouth run away with me. I never said any of those things."

Jennifer nodded, seeing the concern in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Colonel."

"I told you." He lowered his voice. "My name is 'Cameron.'"

She closed her eyes. The sound of his voice, lowered and sounding very rough, sent a shiver down her spine. She wanted to curl up in his arms and cry simply for the comfort of having another person close. Instead, she drew in a deep breath. "It's been a rough few months," she said again. "First, we lost Carson. Then, Elizabeth. Then. . . ." She blinked and glanced around, hating the emotion in her voice. "I just don't know that I can do Christmas this year. I was relieved to be so far away, out of touch with Earth. I wouldn't have to deal with all the hullabaloo of the season. Then. . . ."

"Then I showed up and ruined that."

"Don't worry about me." She tried to smile now that she'd explained why she had become so emotional. "That's not why you're here. I know that. But I wanted you to know why I suddenly wanted to cry back in the mess hall."

He reached out, touching her shoulder gently as he stared at her. "But what if I want to worry about you?" He shrugged. "Maybe it's time to make some new memories."

As corny as it sounded, Jennifer gratefully acknowledged the truth in his words. "Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right." He stepped back and grinned. "Now, let's get back to the party. We don't want you to miss the best part."

"And what's that?" Jennifer still felt the press of her tears against her eyes, but she knew she'd be able to wait until she got to her quarters to fall apart.

Cam grinned at her. "The lighting of the tree." He grabbed her hand and tugged her back inside, almost childlike in his excitement. "Come on, girl! Light a fire. We don't want to miss this!"

~TBC