DECEMBER 4

"Snow Angels"

Jack was late coming over on Tuesday night. The further away the clock hands moved from five o'clock, the more Cassandra started to worry. Daylight had already started to recede as the sun sank behind the western mountains, and Janet turned on the living room lights to better read her book. Cassandra sat at the kitchen table half-heartedly doing pre-algebra equations and worrying that Jack would miss their Christmas tradition completely.

Every few minutes Janet glanced up from Martin Dressler to check the time and how Cassandra was doing. Having worked in the SGC for a year, she understood that a team's arrival from off world could be delayed by any number of unexpected circumstances, some dangerous and others benign. If the return trip through the Stargate had gone as planned, then the medical screening or debriefing with General Hammond could take extra long.

She had debated even agreeing to let Jack do this tradition so close to returning from a mission. Partly that was because SG-1 ran into so much trouble off world, and partly because she didn't want Cassandra to be disappointed if he couldn't make it. Missing events for duty's sake was part of serving in the Air Force, but Cassandra didn't understand that concept yet.

At seven o'clock, Janet decided they could wait no longer for Jack. Something had clearly gone wrong on their mission, and she could only hope it was nothing life-threatening. She would find out for sure at 0430 when she reported for duty. The sun had fully gone down leaving the backyard clouded in dim blue light, but the front yard burst with color from a dozen flashing lawn ornaments.

"All right," Janet said suddenly. "Time for another holiday tradition. Let's get on your winter gear, Cassie."

The girl dropped her pencil onto her homework. "But Jack isn't here. He said he's the best at making snowmen, and then he ordered everyone not to even try and teach me without him."

"I know, and he'll still be able to teach you, but another time. Tonight, we're going to do my favorite holiday tradition, just you and me."

Cassandra looked morose and disappointed. Janet took a seat next to her foster daughter and placed a comforting hand on the girl's head. In time, probably every adult in her life would fail to show up at least once. They all worked for the Air Force, and their lives were not entirely their own because of it.

"I know you were looking forward to spending time with Colonel O'Neill, and I know he wanted to build snowmen with you too. Sometimes, though, the Air Force needs us to stay in Cheyenne Mountain or stay off world. We signed up to serve and defend, and that means we have to go wherever and whenever we're needed."

The girl nodded and put on a brave face. "I know. You probably had to stay at work to take care of me when I was sick. I'm just worried. What if they're hurt or … or …"

Janet was glad Cassandra stared resolutely down at the hands in her lap or the flash of alarm over her face would have only confirmed the girl's suspicions that everyone she cared about put themselves in harm's way every day. But as for how to explain the situation to a child who had just lost her parents and everyone she had ever known to a bacterial plague, Janet felt at a total loss.

"Colonels and Captains are very good at what they do, and Teal'c was a First Prime. Even though he's a civilian, Daniel is very good too. They're careful off world, and they look out for each other. If they do encounter the Goa'uld, they're all very good fighters. They are the best Earth has, after all."

If Cassandra was not convinced, she betrayed nothing. Janet had a sinking feeling in her gut that she had horribly mishandled the question. It had snuck up on her, and she hadn't been able to think well enough on her feet. But what could she have said better when she had the same fears as Cassandra?

"So, winter clothes. We're going outside to play in the snow again?"

"That's right," Janet said. "We'll leave snowmen up to Colonel O'Neill. Tonight, we're making snow angels."

Cassandra pulled on her coat, gloves, and hat like Janet always made her do when she went outside to play in the snow. Since the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped even lower, she also insisted the girl wear a sweater, scarf, and two pairs of socks with her boots. Homer ambled around the door, eager to bound outside and play with Jack's decorations.

"I feel like that marshmallow guy on the commercials, for crying out loud," the girl complained.

"The Michelin man?" Janet guessed. "You'll thank me for the extra layers once you see how snow angels are made."

The extra layers of clothes kept the freezing temperature outside at bay for awhile. With their breaths turning to thick mist, Janet and Cassandra hunted in the yard for a wide enough space to make their snow angels. Jack had crammed the decorations so closely together, they had to go almost around the side of the house.

"So what now?" the girl wondered.

Janet demonstrated to peals of laughter from Cassandra at seeing her foster mother lying on the ground swishing her arms and legs through the powdery snow. Giggling still, she lay down herself and worked her arms and legs through the snow. Homer flung himself into a drift and rolled back and forth in canine imitation of his owners.

"See? It is fun!" Cassandra agreed with the woman by laughing happily. "I used to do this with my mom when I was your age. We were never very good at snowmen or snowball fights, but we made snow angels all over the yard."

With the snow around her arms and legs pushed as far away as she could manage, Cassandra paused and stared up at the black sky dotted with stars. The faint orange glow of city lights cast a kind of filter over the night sky that comforted her; it meant people were all around.

"Janet? Do you know which one of those stars is Hanka?"

"I'm sorry, Cassie, but I don't know. Colonel O'Neill or Sam might be able to tell you, but I'm afraid I'm no good at astronomy."

Lying beside Janet, Cassandra nodded her head against the snowy ground. "I wish they taught us astronomy in school, but my teacher said we don't talk about the stars until ninth grade, and then it's only a few lessons in physics classes."

"Well, now we know what to get you for Christmas."

"What do you mean?" the girl inquired innocently.

Janet marveled that a holiday meaning so much to millions of people on Earth held no significance whatsoever for the billions of humans and aliens on other worlds in the galaxy. If they celebrated a winter holiday at all, it was some vestige of their earlier culture on Earth or as foreign a concept to her as Christmas to Cassandra.

"Christmas is a holiday where friends and family exchange presents. We make lists of what we want, and then on Christmas morning families open their presents together. Sam has already decided this Saturday is when she's going to teach you all about Christmas shopping."

"Jack told me about Santa Claus. I thought only the kids got presents. Can I buy presents for all of my friends, even the adults?"

The colonel had mentioned to Janet the conversation about Santa Claus being a Goa'uld. Her reaction had been something akin to a stifled scream, and he had reminded her that he was a colonel and she was a captain. She decided not to broach the Santa Claus subject for now since Cassandra wasn't likely to see it any other way until she learned more about Earth customs.

"Yes, you can get presents for everyone. Not everyone buys presents from a store, though. Some people make gifts for their loved ones if they're good at something like art."

The girl smiled up at the twinkling stars. "Like me."

A few moments of silence lapsed in the conversation, and Janet wondered if Cassandra was cold enough to want to go inside. Her own nose and cheeks felt red with cold, and she wouldn't mind curling up under a warm blanket with a mug of coffee.

"Janet? What's an angel?"

The doctor cringed at her own assumption again. Of course, Cassandra had been raised to believe Nirrti, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction, was the supreme deity. They had no concept of angels, and Janet could hardly explain about angels from Earth without the girl leaping to the wrong conclusion, like she had done about Santa Claus.

"Angels are messengers and guardians," she said simply. "They wear all white robes, and if you stand up very carefully now, you'll see their shapes in the snow."

Cassandra climbed out of her snow angel without stepping on the outline and peered down at the packed snow. Janet joined her a moment later and wrapped an arm around Cassandra's shoulder to pull her close. In the snow, two angels with nearly touching hands peered heavenward.