9 – Christmas Movies
Cameron was sure they were in for a grilling when they finally reached the mess hall table Sam and Daniel occupied. He glanced over at Jennifer who was getting a drink, her tray loaded up. Things had gotten quieter and more awkward the closer they'd gotten to the mess hall or maybe more accurately the further away they'd gotten from the snow and their respite from reality.
Cam joined her and retrieved his own drink before following Jenn to the table. He watched Jennifer blush slightly as she sat down. It was a little uncomfortable looking around the table at his team grinning back at them. "Hi guys," he greeted them as he sat himself down.
"So where have you two been hiding?" Dr. Jackson asked after greetings had been made all around.
Cameron recognized the challenge in Jackson's voice and knew he and Sam must have not escaped Vala's games the entire time.
Cameron caught Jennifer's eye and smirked before answering, "We played outside in the snow for a bit. What've you all been up to?" he asked turning back to Jackson.
"Don't play dumb," Daniel chided, narrowing his eyes at Mitchell. "You didn't see fit to give us a heads up even."
Cameron grinned back at Sam and Daniel before winking at Jenn, "You all seemed busy in your labs. Figured it'd be better not to disturb you."
"It wasn't so bad," Carter interjected. "As the ranking officer, I just ordered the Marines to stand down and not tell anyone else where they'd seen us. Then we made our way back to crew quarters to wait out the rest of the game."
"Doesn't sound so bad." Jennifer said with a laugh.
"Yeah, being Colonels in a base full of Marines works out good for you two," Daniel said with exasperation.
Cameron looked at Carter for clarification.
"I heard a commotion down the hall and went to investigate," Sam explained, trying to keep the smile from her face, but failing miserably. "When I got to Daniel's lab there were a couple of Marines trying to convince Daniel to accompany them to the mess hall."
"You call that trying to convince?" Daniel said with a snort. "If you hadn't come in and ordered them to stand down I would've found myself hog tied to a chair in the mess hall."
At this point no one was even trying to contain their laughter. After the laughter began to subside, the group looked up to see Vala approaching their table with her tray of food.
"You are all a bunch of spoil sports," Vala declared as she sat down and began eating.
"Well, next time you need to give us a warning if you're going to make us the bonus points of a game," Daniel complained.
"Why? You'd just have said no or hid the whole time," she complained. "Oh, look… you did that anyway."
"Didn't mean to upset you," Jennifer began, trying to bring a little peace, "I'm just not much of a game person and I really wanted to see the snow."
"Oh, was that fun?" Vala asked, her eyes immediately lighting up.
"Yes, it's really beautiful out there and Cameron helped me build a snowman," Jenn related with enthusiasm.
"Who helped who build a snowman?" Cam asked with a laugh.
"Hey," Jennifer protested.
"So if you two were outside you probably haven't heard the awful news," Vala began, her sadness almost tangible. "The Apollo will be arriving late tonight. Everyone who has plans for Christmas off-base will be beamed to the base nearest their destination shortly after."
Cameron looked at the faces of Daniel and Carter and saw nothing but happiness in their eyes, although he could tell they were trying to keep it from their faces. When Cameron swung his gaze over to Jennifer he saw a flash of sadness, quickly covered by a smile.
"I'm sorry, Vala," Jenn started, hoping to soothe the woman, "I did have a really good time here though. That party last night was really great and decorating cookies with you was such fun. I haven't had a chance to do those things in ages."
Jenn looked around the table suddenly feeling a little awkward. The thought of finally going home reminded her of what a temporary situation this was. She'd had such a good time here it'd been easy to forget she was actually stranded here. She peeked a look at Cameron, but couldn't make out his thoughts.
"Well, I should probably get to packing," Jennifer said as she gathered her tray and stood.
"Wait, wait, wait," Vala interrupted, "when you're done packing you have to come watch Christmas movies with us." Vala looked at Carter for confirmation.
"They're having a Christmas movie marathon all night in the lounge," Sam clarified, "but we raided the movie box and thought we'd have our own in my room until the Apollo arrives."
Jennifer brightened at the offer, "Sounds like fun, I'll pack quickly." Jenn nodded to those at the table, giving a final look at Cameron before leaving.
"You're kind of quiet," Carter observed aloud looking at Cameron after Jennifer had departed.
Mitchell fidgeted in his seat, "Just a reality check is all. So," Cam said taking a deep breath and steering the conversation, "packing, then movies, sounds like a plan."
The team gathered their trays and headed out of the mess hall.
Jennifer finished packing her bags. It was a strange spot to be in emotionally… happy and excited about being able to finally go see her dad and celebrate Christmas with him. Yet a part of her was disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to spend much more time with Cameron and see what else might happen between them… if anything.
She couldn't deny the attraction she felt toward the mischievous Colonel. The military man was such a charmer, yet from the stories Sam had told he was also a man of integrity, a fighter and a protector.
Jennifer held her breath thinking back over her day with Cam. The man was a lot of fun, he could build a great snowman, and the man could kiss, boy could he kiss. That was one experience she hoped to repeat.
Jennifer moved her bags to the door and walked through the room one more time, looking to see if she was missing anything as her thoughts strayed to Cameron again. It seemed daunting to be kissing and hoping to kiss a man she typically lived an entire galaxy away from. The hopeful side of her though reminded her she'd be back at the SGC in just a couple of weeks. They were really only a few seconds away from each other via the stargate and there'd be other opportunities to see each other, if they were interested in seeing where this could go. Of course, that was a bit presumptuous, she reminded herself.
Keller looked at herself in the mirror one last time before heading out of her room. As she opened her door her eyes instantly came in contact with the man on her mind. Slouching against the wall directly across from her room was Cam.
He was glad to see her smile upon seeing him. Dinner had been a little awkward and try as he might to not worry while he re-packed, it'd been difficult to not wonder if the moment in the blizzard had more to do with the circumstances and less to do with the two of them. He'd felt her slowly withdraw on the trek from outside to the mess hall. By the end of dinner he was no longer confident in what they'd shared out in the blizzard.
On his walk to her room he'd reminded himself that Jennifer might be feeling the same things he was. Cameron decided they needed to clear a few things up. If their circumstances weren't so extreme they could afford the time to allow things to clear themselves up, but what they didn't have was time. He doubted they'd have the luxury of time beyond tonight for quite a while.
Cameron shoved his hands into his pockets, "Thought I'd walk with you to Sam's room," he said, a sheepish smile upon his face.
"Your room is practically across the hall from hers," Jenn reminded him with a smirk.
"Kind of hoping my chivalrous actions will earn me a kiss," he said with an answering smirk, but hope in his eyes.
"If I remember correctly, Colonel Mitchell doesn't need any excuses, if he wants to kiss a woman he just does it," she reminded him, her breathing becoming shallow as she watched him push off the wall and move toward her.
Cameron stepped up until he was mere inches from Jennifer, "Well then," he breathed out as he lowered his lips to hers. He felt Jennifer move closer snaking her arms around his neck. As their lips touched he slipped his arms around her waist pulling her closer, tipping his head slightly to the side allowing the kiss to deepen.
Jenn sighed when Cameron ended the kiss, but didn't pull back. When she finally opened her eyes she was immediately greeted with bright blue ones full of humor. She blushed slightly and found his happiness echoed her own emotions of the moment.
"How do you feel about PDAs?" Cameron asked Jennifer.
"You ask after kissing me senseless in a public hallway?" she challenged with a grin.
Looking a little sheepish Cam took a step back and clarified, "I was wondering because we're about to go watch movies with my team and I'd like to be able to hold you close while we watch."
"Does that include hand-holding and the like?" Jenn questioned, thrilled with the notion that Cameron craved the closeness as much as she was finding she did.
Cam nodded his head in affirmation, "It'll probably also include meaningful looks and stares from my team as well as possible words and moments of discomfort."
"You're not worried about getting the third degree?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Well, I figure if I keep you at my side at all times until we're ready to beam to the Apollo, I won't have to deal with their good natured ribbing until after my Christmas vacation is over," he revealed, grinning at her.
"I'm game," she responded holding out her hand in anticipation of walking to Sam's quarters.
Cameron ignored her hand and instead slipped his arm around her shoulders, raising his eyebrows in silent question.
Jennifer answered by sliding her arm around his waist and while on tip toes, placing a kiss upon his cheek. "Do you know what movie we're watching first?"
"Nope, don't actually care," he said giving her shoulders a squeeze.
She knew how he felt, as long as she was sitting snuggled up to him, she didn't really care either.
