4 – Christmas Cookies

Jennifer awoke in the morning and smiled as soon as she remembered why she was in the middle the bed fully clothed. She quickly got up and showered so she could go eat in the mess hall. And if she took a little extra time getting ready and picking out her clothes for the day… there was no one else there to notice.

Upon entering the mess hall she smiled at the site that greeted her. There was indeed a very large Christmas tree in the middle of the mess hall. It was adorned with homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn. It was a sweet sight that had her longing for her childhood home.

She quickly gathered a tray of food and caught sight of Vala sitting at a table not far away. The raven haired woman was engrossed in some paperwork in front of her and didn't hear Jennifer's approach.

"Mind if I sit?" Jennifer asked.

Vala's head whipped up and she squealed at the sight of the Atlantis doctor. "Jennifer," she exclaimed as she left her chair and tried to hug Jenn while she still held her tray.

Laughing, Jennifer set her tray down and then offered a proper hug. "Vala," Jenn returned the greeting. The young doctor had quickly learned after meeting Vala in Atlantis, that the woman befriended easily and enthusiastically, at least in her case.

"Sit, girl, sit," Vala said happily as she motioned to the table and sat herself down. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Well, that's probably because I'm not supposed to be here. I was late coming through the gate because of an emergency and then found myself stuck here due to the blizzard raging outside," Jenn explained as she began to eat her breakfast.

Vala's eyes lit up, "Goody, that means you can celebrate Christmas with us until the blizzard lets up."

Jenn found the woman's enthusiasm contagious, "I'd be honored," she laughed.

"My team mates don't feel the same way," Vala said with a bit of scorn in her voice. She couldn't help it. She knew they were all party poopers, but this was Christmas. From what she'd read on the holiday through her extensive searches on the internet, this was a very big and highly celebrated holiday with a lot of odd little traditions and things. There was even special music for this holiday, how could they not want to celebrate it with her?

"Don't worry," Jennifer consoled with a smirk, "they can't stay away from the mess hall forever. Eventually they'll need to eat."

Vala grinned at Jennifer, already feeling better, "Well, until that happens, do you want to decorate cookies for the party tonight?"

"You're having a party tonight?"

"Oh, yes. From what I've researched and watched in Earth movies, we simply must have a Christmas office party," Vala explained emphatically.

Jennifer grinned, thinking about how much trouble Vala could get into at a real office party when a thought struck her. "Are you putting up mistletoe too?"

"Definitely," Vala said with a wink.

Jennifer laughed out loud at that - this woman was really a hoot. "When can we start?" the doctor asked as she pushed her finished tray away.

"Well the kitchen staff won't let me cook in the kitchen due to a few minor past disasters," she explained grinning at Jenn. "So as soon as breakfast is finished they've agreed to cook all of the cookies and things for me. In fact I was just going over my list of things to do before the party tonight. So… how about an hour?"

Jennifer stood, "I'll just go check on the weather and be back in about an hour then." At least she wouldn't be bored while she waited for the storm to blow over.

Jenn slowly made her way from the mess hall toward the lounge where the computers were located. It wasn't so bad being stranded on the base for a few days. It gave her a chance to catch up with Sam. She really missed seeing her around Atlantis and visiting with her during poker night.

It was nice to see Daniel and Vala again too. The pair had been on Atlantis a few years back when SG1 had a mission that brought them to the Pegasus Galaxy. Jenn had been disappointed when she'd heard the Odyssey was coming to Atlantis instead of the Daedalus because it meant not seeing Laura for another six weeks, but having Vala in the City was similar to having Laura in the City. When Daniel wasn't around to reel her in she was constantly up to mischief.

Jennifer rounded the corner into the lounge and slowed when she saw that someone was already at one of the computers. Although he was dressed in t-shirt and jeans, she could tell he was military by the chain of the dog tags visible along the back of his neck. And although his back was to her, Jenn knew it was Colonel Mitchell. She didn't allow her mind to dwell to heavily on how she could tell when she'd only known the man a few hours.

She quietly wandered further into the room, not quite ready to have him know she was there. He'd been really sweet when he left last night, trying to slip out without disturbing her. She woke up as he was making his way to the door, but she noticed he'd turn lights down and placed a blanket over her. She was too tired to do more than tell him goodnight before snuggling into the blanket with a smile on her face.

"Well, good morning sleeping beauty," Cameron called, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I know that is a teasing taunt, but if you think about it… she was beautiful, hence the word beauty in the title. She also gets kissed by a handsome prince, so I'll take it as a compliment and possibly an omen," Jennifer teased back as she made her way closer to Cameron and the computer. "You checking the weather?" she asked as she nodded at the computer, hoping to distract him from his intense gaze.

Cam caught himself looking at the doctor's lips after her comment about being kissed by a prince. He quickly turned back to the computer screen and nodded. "Yep," he replied, clearing his throat when his voice sounded funny to his ears, "looking at some footage of the storm as well as the forecast."

Jennifer stopped behind Cameron and looked at the screen over his shoulder. "So, how are we doing?"

"Still in a blizzard," Cam managed, wishing she wasn't right over his shoulder. She had an affect on him that left him intrigued, yet a little confused. He usually didn't feel such a strong pull from any women this quickly, especially when she didn't seem to be trying and might not even be aware of her affect on him.

Jennifer leaned a little closer, trying to make out what she was seeing with the radar on the screen. "Can you tell for how much longer?"

Cameron swallowed hard, "They're reporting two more days." Her voice was right next to his ear and he was surprised he could speak with the affect her nearness was having on him. He was relieved and maybe a little disappointed when a moment later she moved away.

Jennifer pulled up a chair to the computer next to the Colonel's and typed in an address. "Wonder how Wisconsin is doing? Do you think it's headed there next?" She'd needed to put some distance between herself and Cameron before he thought her a fool. She found it hard to stay out of his personal space when she was around him.

Cameron turned back to his own computer, "It looks like it is moving toward the Dakota's actually, then maybe on to Canada. What part of Wisconsin are you from?" Cameron asked, curious where she would be spending her time on Earth.

Jennifer pulled up a map of Wisconsin on the computer, "I'm from a little town right there called Chippewa Falls," she said pointing at the map. She knew this was just idol chit chat, but she found herself a little happy that he was acting interested in where she was from and he hadn't found an excuse to be somewhere else yet.

"So, a Midwest girl. That would explain the way you pronounce certain words," Cameron said with a teasing grin.

"What about you, Colonel, what part of the country influenced that slight drawl in you voice?" She loved the way his drawl made it sound like he was caressing his words as they were said.

"That would be Kansas," Cameron announced as he pulled up a map of Kansas and pointed out his hometown.

"You'd think being from the heartland, you wouldn't be such a bah-humbug," she teased as she checked the weather for Wisconsin for the next couple of days.

"Well, you probably got the wrong impression. It's not that I dislike Christmas…" Cameron started only to get interrupted by Jennifer.

"Do I have to remind you that you and most of your team hid out in my room last night?" she said with a laugh, enjoying hearing him falter with his words.

"That wasn't so much Christmas, as…, well, Vala can be a bit…" he trailed off not knowing how to finish the sentence without it sounding negative, which wasn't exactly what he was trying to convey.

"Exuberant?" Jennifer offered.

Cameron latched onto the word, "Yes, exuberant would be fitting? She can be a bit over the top when she is trying to ward off boredom."

"Don't worry, I understand completely. My best friend is similar. I'd say mischief follows Laura around, but I actually think that she drags it around… maybe on a leash."

"That would be Vala," Cameron agreed with a laugh. "Throw in the fact she was formally a space thief and you can see the antics have interesting results at times."

"So decorating cookies with her in a few minutes could be a momentous experience?" Jenn asked as she stood getting ready to make her way back to the mess hall and Vala.

"Definitely," Cam laughed, trying to picture Vala decorating cookies. "I'd say you're best bet would be to bring backup," he grinned as he stood to follow the doctor from the room.

"That would be a great idea," Jennifer agreed. "Do you think you could help me find Sam?" she asked in mock seriousness.

The twinkle in her eye gave her away and Cameron laughed as he caught up to her, slipping his arm across her shoulders before pulling her head down slightly and giving her a "nuggy", running his knuckles across her scalp playfully.

"Alright, alright," came her muffled surrender, her head coming up and the laughter unstoppable as he released his hold on her, "all you had to say is that you wanted to decorate cookies."

Cameron shook his head as he followed the laughing doctor down the hall. He hadn't had this much fun just talking with a woman in a long time and if it meant decorating a few cookies to spend more time in her presence then he would do so and endure any ribbing he got from the Marines the best he could.