"Report," she requested the moment she stepped into the Control Room. Sheppard was there ahead of her, standing over the shoulder of Amelia Banks and obviously already in contact with The Apollo.

"She's right here, Colonel," he spoke into the headset just before he peeled it off and handed it to her. "They came into orbit about fifteen minutes ago," he explained before dead-panning: "Surprise."

So maybe she hadn't missed a memo. Still, it was not like Ellis to show up unannounced. Surprises were rarely a good thing in the Pegasus Galaxy where Murphy's Law tended to be SOP. Although it was probably too much to ask, considering what she'd just experienced, that Colonel Ellis not be here to drop some pending crisis in her lap. She wasn't complaining, however. She had seen the other path and, headaches and all, this one was still the best and only choice.

Putting on her most hospitable smile she slipped on the headset.

"Colonel Ellis…this is a surprise. To what do we owe this unexpected visit?"

There was a slight crackle in the earpiece before his voice came through clearly.

"…fraid that's classified, at the moment, Colonel. However, I do have cargo and personnel that are awaiting clearance to transport down."

Cargo was a given. Supplies were always on-board any ship from Milky Way. But personnel? She wasn't aware of any transfers to the base or any staff who were due back this soon. Probably the IOA had sent another inspector to further probe the Midway fiasco. Merry Christmas to her.

"I wasn't aware we were expecting guests," she quipped. "If I'd known I'd have had the carpets cleaned."

She thought she heard a low chuckle on the other end of the conversation.

"I don't know about the carpets, Colonel. But you might want to prepare a fruit basket. He keeps asking for one. Permission to transport?"

"Permission granted. Feel free to deliver him right to the gate room. And Colonel…if you'll still be here tomorrow, you and your crew are welcome to join us for Christmas dinner. It's my understanding that we'll have plenty of mashed potatoes in the commissary."

"I might take you up on that, Colonel. We'll talk later. And we're ready to transfer in five."

She finished the countdown in her head and saw the streaks of light pass through the ceiling of the gate room and take the form of several large crates, all stenciled with "ATLANTIS" in red lettering. Seconds later there was another matter stream and when it vanished a man stood there, his back to her.

She knew the stance instantly. Before he could even turn around to look up toward the Control Room she was half-way down the stairs, reminding herself that she had an audience and that throwing herself into his arms wasn't quite the proper greeting for a visiting general. It didn't stop her, however, from savoring the very sight of him, from his gray, tousled head to his oh-so-smug, gotcha! smile, to the three stars that now adorned his shoulders. But best of all were his eyes, alive with light and life and joy, meeting hers as she hurried down the steps to stand as close to him as she dared. Neither of them spoke for a moment. She wasn't sure she entirely trusted her voice anyway. And in Jack's eyes, in addition to everything else, she thought she detected just a trace of added moisture. It was probably better that neither of them were speaking just yet.

There was a burst of static again in her ear. Colonel Ellis.

"I trust my surprise visitor has arrived with all his molecules intact?" he asked with what sounded amazingly like amusement.

She grinned herself. Definitely something she planned to verify later. In private. She saw Jack arch an eyebrow as if reading her thoughts and it was all she could do to answer Ellis coherently.

"That would seem to be the case, Colonel. And what, may I ask, are in the crates?"

"You'll have to ask Santa yourself, Colonel," Ellis replied. "He's the one who brought them on-board. But if I had to guess, I'd say your people are going to have a whole lot merrier Christmas tomorrow than they might have thought possible a few days ago. We've got six more pallets of those things to send down. Plus a storage locker full of food. There's stuff in there I've never even heard of, let alone eaten. But I guess that's the beauty of an international expedition."

Only about half of what Ellis was telling her registered. She couldn't stop looking at Jack, hardly daring to believe he was, indeed, standing there in front of her. She thanked Ellis distractedly and it was only when his transmission closed off did she realize she hadn't actually said anything to Jack.

"Welcome to Atlantis, General," she said, in her best Colonel voice. "It's good to see you…Sir." She added the honorific as an afterthought. There were plenty of people, civilian and military alike, within earshot. Some protocol had to be maintained.

"Likewise, Carter," he boomed. Lowering his voice he winked at her. "Miss me?"

Her thoughts flashed momentarily to the man she'd seen broken and empty in the rubble of her life.

"You have no idea," she replied with quiet earnestness. Jack's face flashed concern at her unexpected tone and he studied her for a moment, as if trying to grasp the meaning behind her words. She shook her head. "Never mind. I'll explain later."

Satisfied, he offered her a piece of paper he'd been holding in his hand.

"By the way. Ellis has drafted me as delivery boy. Here's the manifest for what's in those crates and all the other ones he intends to beam down. Merry Christmas, courtesy of the Pentagon and the IOA."

She reached for the document and their hands touched. She expected him to let go immediately, but he seemed reluctant to surrender the paper and she felt the brush of his thumb surreptitiously across the top of her fingers. It sent an unexpected shiver up her spine.

"My people will be most appreciative…thank you," she managed to say, finally taking the paper from him. She wondered if anyone was the least bit curious as to why the passing of a sheet of paper had lasted an eternity. Or at least that was what it had seemed like to her.

She saw the Stargate light up before she heard it activate. The lights on the great circle began to race around, locking into each chevron quickly in sequence. Looking up at the Control Room, Sam tapped her com.

"This is Colonel Carter…I didn't think we had any teams out now," she said, sharing a concerned look with Jack.

"We don't Colonel," Amelia's voice came back. "And I don't understand it…but it's an out-going wormhole. It's being dialed from here. But I have no idea how."

The enormous kawoosh erupted into the room before settling back into a serene-looking puddle of blue. This shouldn't be happening…although that wasn't the first time she'd thought that today. Regardless, she needed to see for herself what was exactly was going on, but as she turned to take the stairs to the Control Room, McKay was suddenly blocking her way, working with great concentration on his tablet. Good. At least someone was on top of the problem.

"Rodney…what's going on? How did we get an out-going wormhole?"

McKay looked up distractedly. "Huh?" He glanced at the wormhole. "Oh…that. Nothing to worry about." He focused his attention suddenly on Jack. "General…nice to finally meet you. You are indeed a lucky, lucky man." He offered his hand, which Jack shook…hesitantly. McKay beamed beatifically at both of them as he tucked his tablet under his arm and rubbed his hands together. "Yes. Well. I guess that about wraps everything up. My work here is done. No need to thank me. Really. They figured they owed you one, Sam. Both of you, actually. Have a wonderful life."

She shook her head in exasperation. "McKay…what are you…." But she never got to finish. The figure in front of them grew brighter and brighter until it became nothing but wisps of smoky light. The luminous cloud hovered above them for a few before streaking off through the Stargate where it vanished from sight. Seconds later the wormhole disengaged and the room suddenly seemed much dimmer with the loss of the brilliant blue light.

She looked at Jack. Jack looked at her. He gestured with his thumb at the Stargate over his shoulder. "Carter…was that…?"

"Yeah," she replied, still slightly stunned. Jack nodded his head matter-of-factly.

"Ahhh." He considered this a moment. "I assume I'll hear the whole story later, then?"

It was her turn to nod, because to even begin to try to explain it here would be impossible. But at least now she understood. All of it, finally, made sense.