A/N: I wrote this story a while back but wanted to wait until it was closer to the holidays to post it, so here ya go! Also, for the purpose of this fic Sam was still working at Area 51 last year at Christmas time.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Sam Carter swirled her whine and forced a smile as she listened to Kevin Larson ramble on and on about some old lady he'd rescued from a burning building or something like that. Kevin was a firefighter and the latest of her brother's attempts to set her up. You would think Mark would know better after the Pete fiasco, but it seemed each time she went to visit there was a new friend of his waiting to meet her.

It was Christmas Eve, and the worst part was she wasn't even supposed to be here. She'd had other plans which had been canceled at the last minute due to conflicting schedules. Again. So instead she'd ended up at her brother's house. She was still amazed he'd managed to find someone to set her up with on such short notice.

She tried to focus on the story Kevin was telling, some tale of his amazing bravery, but found she just didn't have the patience. What was the deal with this one? Usually they got the clue pretty fast. She could play ice princess like no other when she wanted. Kevin wasn't reading the signs though. He'd stayed by her all through appetizers, stolen the spot next to her at dinner that she'd been hoping one of her nieces would take, and now cornered her by the fireplace for some after dinner wine.

"So then she wanted to give me her family jewelry as thanks, but I couldn't accept that!" he finally concluded. Kevin's booming laughter at his own story (she didn't seem to remember it being funny though) yanked Sam away from her own thoughts.

"Oh yeah, that would be . . . bad," she commented weakly, and she noticed his freaky Colgate smile falter just a little. Someone else had that smile but she just couldn't put her finger on it. It was seriously giving her the creeps though.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mark's wife, Cindy, trying to get the kids to bed. "I better go say goodnight to my nieces," she quickly pointed out.

"Don't wander too far," Kevin replied flashing her that creepy smile yet again. Where had the faltering gone? What was with this guy?

As she got closer to her sister-in-law she could hear her nieces protesting. "But Mooom-meeee!! Can't we stay up just a teeny, tiny, insy, weensy, little bit longer?" Hannah was begging.

"Puh-leeeaase!" her sister Beth joined in the protest. They were each hanging on one of their mother's arms and trying to prevent her from dragging them up the steps.

"Santa Clause is not going to come if all the children are not in bed!" their mother declared.

Sam came up behind them. "Hey guys. What's up?" she asked while exchanging a smile with Cindy.

"Aunt Sammie! Aunt Sammie!" they chorused. "Please tell Mommy we can stay up just a little bit later! Please, please, please!" they begged together.

Sam shook her head and sighed. "Well, I guess if you really want to, but I just talked to one of my friend in the Springs, and he said Santa had already been there so he's probably on his way here right now. And if you guys aren't in bed. . . ." Sam paused for dramatic effect as the girls jaws dropped open at the idea of the beloved gift giver being so nearby. "But if you really want to stay up, I guess . . . ."

"No! No! Don't tell him we're up!" Hannah screeched running up to her room and dragging her sister behind her.

"Tell him we're asleep, Auntie Sammie!" Beth hollered down the steps before they heard the slamming of their bedroom door. Cindy laughed and turned to Sam.

"Thanks, I should probably go make sure they actually change out of their party dresses before going to bed," Cindy commented.

"Good idea. Merry Christmas, Cindy."

"Merry Christmas, Sam." As Cindy headed up the stairs Sam darted into the study and was relieved to find that no one was in there. She plopped down on a couch and rested her head in her hand. She just needed a minute of peace before she faced Colgate Smile the Second (though she couldn't for the life of her remember who the first had been) yet again.

As she finished off her glass of wine, her thoughts wandered back to last Christmas Eve. She'd still been living in Nevada at the time . . .

Sam was finishing up on her latest project. Another late night like any other, except tonight was Christmas Eve. A knock on her door alerted her to the presence of one of the other researchers, Dr. Fitzgerald.

"Hey, Sam. Some of us are going to downtown to grab some Christmas dinner. Wanna join?" she asked casually. Sam stared at her nearly completed project and considered turning her down. At the last minute she changed her mind. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great! We're leaving in ten minutes." Sam tried not to think too much about the surprised look on Dr. Fitzgerald's face when Sam had accepted her invitation. So she hadn't exactly been a social butterfly since she'd gotten her, but she was here to work not make bestest friends! Sam sighed again as she shut down her laptop. Who was she kidding; she missed her team like hell.

They had a nice dinner at a local restraint all decked out for the holidays. It turned out that Dr. Fitzgerald and the other three researchers she'd gathered to join them had moved here recently and were away from their families for Christmas.

Later that evening Sam was settled onto her couch, drinking hot cocoa, and watching It's a Wonderful Life. Her mom had loved that movie and they'd watched every Christmas until she died. More recently she and her dad had made a point to try and watch it together close to Christmas time if he was on base. Her dad . . .

Though he hadn't really been around for Christmas the last couple years, this was her first Christmas really being without him. And she was spending it completely alone. She set her hot cocoa down and snuggled into her favorite blanket to watch the movie. Before she knew it she had faded into sleep.

Sam started awake and looked around to see what had woken her. Her TV displayed the menu screen of her DVD. Instrumental music from the movie was playing on a loop and the soft, grey glow of the screen illuminated the room.

Sam wandered groggily throughout her house looking for the source of her confusion. A digital clock displayed the time as 1:23 AM. Sam was just about ready to go back to bed, when she noticed a slight shadow on her front porch. Had someone rung the doorbell?

She walked over to the front door and cautiously opened it up. She was surprised to see none other than Jack O'Neill standing on her porch with his back to her. "Sir?" she asked, while trying to decide if she was actually awake of not. Jack spun around on his heel, looking even more surprised than her.

"Carter! Did I wake you?" he asked. She pulled her fingers through the right side of her hair, which she was sure was sticking all over the place since it had been smooshed against a pillow on the couch.

"It's almost 1:30 in the morning, Sir," she said by way of an answer.

"Well it wasn't 1:30 when I got on the plane!" he declared indignantly, as if this explained everything. He paused for a minute and seemed to realize where he was and what was going on. "Uhh . . . Merry Christmas, Carter." He started to back away down the porch.

"Sir?" She called after him, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Jack!" she yelled just a little bit louder. Jack turned around and saw her standing in the doorway, looking completely lost and confused.

"Aw, hell." Jack walked back up the steps to stand in front of her. "See the thing is," he began, "I was alone in a bar and it was Christmas Eve morning, and we always spend Christmas Eve together. Well, not us exactly but the team, but you know Danny always passes out after like two beers and Teal'c doesn't really get the whole Christmas thing, so yeah really just us. And I knew you were probably alone out here 'cause they've got you on that project and you couldn't go back to the Springs. And I'm not so sure about that whole chain of command thing cause I think you're still under mine, but I tried to ask George without really asking and I think I just confused him a lot and . . ."

"Jack," Sam cut him off hoping he would jump to the point.

"I love you, Sam." Well that was effective, she thought. Wait what? He loved her? Sam stood there paralyzed. Jack looked at her for a minute. "Alright then," he said starting to walk away from her yet again.

"Jack!" she called out. He turned around again and she grabbed his shirt and kissed him full on the mouth. "I love you, too!" she declared as she pulled him into her house.

"So I guess this means I'm not looking for a motel?" he asked. She whapped him on the head while rolling her eyes before continuing to kiss him the way she'd been dreaming of doing for more than nine years . . .

"Samantha! I've found you!" Sam was ripped from the pleasant memory by the sound of Kevin's voice. "What're you doing all alone in here?" he asked as he flashed her yet another one of those creepy – OH MY GOD MARTOUF!! – smiles. Now that Sam remembered who else had smiled like that she was more than a little creeped out. She needed to get away from this guy, NOW! "Mark tells me you are staying the night, as well."

"Actually I'm driving home tonight," she informed him while trying squeeze past him and out the door.

"Samantha, look up," Kevin said. Sam looked up feeling sick to her stomach, already knowing and dreading what would be above her. Sure enough, mistletoe hung in the doorway. Kevin leaned down to kiss her and Sam yelped and jumped back. "I'm seeing someone!" she practically shouted at him.

Sam darted down the hall to grab her coat and hug her brother and sister-in-law goodbye. "I thought you were staying?" Mark asked confusedly.

"Umm . . . gotta go! Merry Christmas!" As Sam headed for the door she heard Cindy hissing at Mark. "You set her up with creepy Kevin, didn't you?"

Sam sighed in relief when she was in her own car and on the way home. A little over an hour later she opened the door to her house and was surprised to hear Christmas music playing and see roses all around.

She smiled slightly as she walked into the kitchen and saw Jack muttering to himself and working with a flower arrangement. "Jack?" she asked quietly.

Jack jumped up and turned to face her. "You aren't supposed to be home yet!" he said accusingly, while trying to hide something behind his back.

"And you're supposed to be in meetings all week," she countered. "What's behind your back?" she asked. She'd discovered over time that to the point was really the only way to get a straight answer out of him.

"Nothing . . . well . . . now that you've already ruined your surprise." He reached out and handed her a small red velvet box. She was pleasantly surprised. She'd never labeled Jack as the jewelry giving type. She popped the box open and gasped when she saw a beautiful diamond ring with sapphire accents inside. She looked up at him speechless.

"Well I had this whole big thing," he started. "But uh . . . I think I've completely forgotten it . . . Marry me?" he asked with a small shrug. Sam let out a very un-Sam-like squeal and threw her arms around him.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she squealed while kissing him over and over again and leading him towards her bedroom.

"I guess this means I'm not looking for a motel?" he joked. Sam rolled her eyes and slammed the door to her room shut as the last few notes of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" played on the radio.

A/N: I apologize for creepy Kevin and his Colgate smile. He wasn't in the original version of this story but my friend and I were talking about how Sam always has these worshippers, and Kevin was created. Then, we were discussing Martouf the other day at Gateworld and somehow that smile got attached to Kevin. It's just so dang creepy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!