"There's bound to be talk tomorrow."


"My dad's calling," Jennifer sighed, answering her phone.

"Dad, I'm fine," she immediately assured him, then listened, rolled her eyes a few times, and spoke occasionally into the phone. "No, no generator, but we have plenty of firewood."

"And whiskey," John murmured, earning a disapproving look from Jennifer. Deciding to try and get the radio working, John checked the batteries and turned on the station. A Christmas song clearly sang through the speakers as he lowered the volume.

"I'm sure the plows will be around during the night," Jennifer added for the second time. "No, do not allow Fred to attempt to come get me. We're fine. We're used to things like this happening."

John nodded in agreement.

"This is a piece of cake. There are no Wraith approaching the town," he added quietly, laughing when Jennifer's eyes widened and she threw a throw pillow at his head.

Listening to her end of the conversation, John was imagining what was going through Jennifer's father's mind with the weather. After she hung up, John glanced over at her.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much is he worried?"

"Twelve, easily," Jennifer snorted. "And it's a toss between the weather and the worry of me being here alone with you."

John winced. "Great. I thought he still thought the rest of the group was here."

"Did I mention Lino is a poker buddy? He just arrived. It took him an extra hour to get there. It's a 15 minute drive."

John looked at her, frowning after hearing about Lino arriving.

"Small town drawback," he half-muttered to himself. "I knew there had to be a downside. Hopefully he didn't hear the alcohol comment. It did come in handy to warm us up."

"He just doesn't know you very well. Another small town drawback. Mistrust of all outsiders."

Jennifer paused to listen to the song on the radio.

"I've missed all of this," she said thoughtfully. "Christmas music. Minor inconveniences that are non-life threatening. My dad's voice on the phone, even though he's worried about me unnecessarily."

Turning to John, she waited until he sat down. Noticing he sat closer than before, she wondered what she would see if she could read his mind.

"What do you miss? About Earth?"

Silent for a few moments, John finally looked back at her.

"Allowing myself the luxury of thinking about what I want," he answered. "Sounds selfish, right? I mean, it feels good to own my own home again. I was able to kick back a few weeks with friends."

"It's not selfish. It's comforting and therapeutic in a way. You're constantly putting your life on the line or preparing for the worst for everyone back home," Jennifer immediately countered. "Home as in Atlantis, I mean. It's funny how I think of it that way now."

John smiled.

"I say the same thing," he admitted. "It irritates the heck out of Dave."

He hadn't spoken much of the visit he had in his brother. John had visited Dave the first week back.

"When is he flying in?"

He paused.

"Two more days," he replied. "He's a little confused why I bought this place. But I have a feeling he'll enjoy the peace and solitude. He admitted of being burned out by the business."

"And that also makes you feel guilty," Jennifer guessed.

"Dave always knew the business was not my pathway. He'd probably prefer it otherwise, but he respects my choices now. We've come a long way."

Jennifer watched his expression carefully, pleasantly surprised how content he looked. Catching her, she looked away.

"What's the smile for?" he asked, looking at her amused.

Taking a deep breath, she shrugged.

"You look happy, all right? And at peace. It's a new look for you. And as your physician- and friend- it makes me smile."

Opening his mouth to say more, they both looked up in surprise when the dimmed kitchen light turned on. Even better, Jennifer cheered when the heat could be heard turning back on.

"Wow," she breathed out. "Now that's luck we're both not used to having, right?"

"You said it," he smirked. "Not me. Why don't you call your dad. It'll be one less thing he needs to worry about."

Agreeing, Jennifer dialed his number and relayed the information to her father while John stood up and took their mugs to the kitchen. She watched as he pulled down two fresh ones, reached for a few items in the pantry, and began heating water again.

After hanging up, she made her way him and sat on a bar stool.

"Hot cocoa?" she asked hopefully.

Grinning, he stirred both beverages and then held up a bottle of peppermint schnapps.

"I added some to mine," he warned her, "but thought I should give you a choice for yours so avoid the creepy song man comparison again."

Barely feeling the effects of the last beverage, she nodded and watched him lightly pour some into her mug.

"You're nothing like the creepy song man," she sighed. "But you did ruin one of my favorite Christmas songs."

He scoffed at her.

"There are hundreds of better songs out there."

"Like what?" she countered, leaning forward with a grin.

John thought for a moment, taking a long sip of his drink.

"Definitely not 'Sleigh Ride.' It gets into my head. And 'All I Want for Christmas is You' is just about the most annoying song ever to come out of Mariah."

Agreeing, Jen nodded.

"Little Drummer Boy," he finally announced.

Lifting her eyebrows, she covered her laugh by taking another drink.

"Do not diss my song," he warned her. "It's a classic. You can't get much better than a fictional story of a little boy rocking out on his drum for baby Jesus."

Almost spraying her drink everywhere, Jennifer grabbed a napkin and laughed.

"And as a bonus, there's no eluding to spiked or slipped drugs into an innocent woman's drink," he raised up his glass. "Not to mention a worried father or gossiping neighbors."

"I will never," Jennifer set her mug carefully down, "ever think of either of those two songs the same again."

Noticing neither of them had turned on the lights, she took in the dimly lit room courtesy of the fire and one set of low-turned lights in the kitchen. Jennifer turned back and caught John looking at her from across the table.

Her heart quickened a bit from the adrenaline.

For three weeks, and maybe a few more before they left Atlantis, Jennifer picked up on something brewing whenever John was around her. But because she enjoyed his friendship, along with her doubting it was just her imagination, she never allowed herself to dwell on the thought of thinking of John as more as a friend.

Today, however, the thoughts and feelings kept coming at her in waves.

Standing, she reached over, poured twice the amount of Schnapps he had into her drink, and took several slow sips.

It was time, she thought, to see if the feeling was mutual.