"Have
yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the
Yuletide Gay,
From now
on,
Our
troubles will be far away."
The tears were dripping off her nose as she sang to herself.
The dress was wrecked and Sam didn't know why she'd even bothered to keep it. He couldn't have known, she reasoned as she shoved the red velvet into the washer. It really needed dry cleaning, but if she didn't do something now… Wearing it had been stupid, she realised. An accident waiting to happen.
Her mother's dress.
She'd never even known that her Dad had kept so much of her Mom's stuff … Going through his personal affects had been a sobering experience. Sam had realised once again, that she had known little about his life and the things he'd cared about.
Too late. The words haunted her every day.
Sam heard a clock strike midnight.
Christmas Day.
Her house didn't even look anything like Christmas. Every other building in the street sported enough lights to rival Vegas… Sam's little house looked naked amidst all the tacky splendour.
In recent years, she had spent the holidays with her brother, but since breaking off her engagement, Sam had felt that she wasn't exactly welcome. A figment of her imagination? Mark hadn't even bothered to invite her this year.
She wondered what was happening at the party… whether Cam had managed to keep his pants on. Whether Vala had trapped Daniel under the mistletoe.
At least she wasn't alone, she thought to herself as she walked past the guest room. A sick General… couldn't get much better than that. She wondered if he'd be gone in the morning.
Having him sleep in her house seemed a little too intimate… which was crazy when you thought about it. They were no longer in the same chain of command. Technically, they wouldn't be breaking any regulations… But she'd found it difficult, especially after all those years of keeping her hands off his ass and her mind on her job.
Even thinking about him seemed wrong somehow. Sam realised there was nothing she could do but take herself to bed… alone.