One month later. . . .

Jennifer stood in the infirmary, once again arguing with Rodney that he could not leave without incurring her wrath. The physicist had fallen down a set of stairs while exploring the city and cracked his head on the bottom step. Jennifer wanted to observe him for the night. While he argued that he only had a minor concussion, she worried that he'd not get the needed rest. The argument went back and forth until the infirmary doors opened.

Jennifer stopped speaking in mid-sentence. She stared as the man she'd missed for four long weeks walked into the infirmary. "Cam?"

Cameron Mitchell stood in front of her, grinning at her shock. "Hey, Jennifer."

She launched herself at him, and he caught her, laughing as she buried her face in his neck. She'd missed this man! More than she'd thought possible. All at once, she wanted to absorb every impression of him so that she'd be able to hold on to it when he left again. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, did you get my recent email?"

Jennifer pulled back, frowning. "Yeah. It said you were being reassigned."

"That's right." He studied her face as he said, "I've been reassigned to the Pegasus galaxy."

"What?" Her squeal brought Amanda running from the other room. "Really?"

"Yep."

All at once, tears came to her eyes. She wouldn't be saying goodbye! Not this time!

Amanda walked over and quietly suggested that Jennifer take the rest of the day. This time, she didn't need much persuading. Cam merely grinned and suggested she show him to his new home. Once out of the infirmary and away from prying eyes, he pulled her into his arms for a thorough kiss. When he finally eased back, he smiled at her. "Now, I've missed that!"

"Just that?"

"No." He kissed her again. "But we have plenty of time to explore what else I missed."

For the first few days, Jennifer wore a perpetual smile. Cam was back, and he was staying. That made everything okay in her book. Several hours later, she had to patch up Teal'c and Ronon after their hour-long sparring match. It amused her to see Ronon so irritated, and she knew that he saw Teal'c as encroaching on his territory. For a moment, she shuddered to think of the damage those two could cause if they stayed on the same base for much longer.

Then, shortly after they left, Cam appeared at her quarters, early for the date they'd planned. "I'm headed out on my first mission. I wanted you to know."

Jennifer stared at him. Letting him go this time meant he went into danger. It meant she had to put her desires for a reunion dinner from her mind for the foreseeable future. It means she might lose him just when she got him back. She tried to smile "What's the mission?"

"Gate bridge is down." He shrugged. "I'm going with Shep and McKay to make sure everything's okay on Midway. And that Teal'c and Ronon made it through."

Instantly, she began to worry. Resolved to handle his frequent off-world missions as gracefully as possible, she nodded once. "Stay safe."

After a quick kiss, he was gone. Jennifer returned to the infirmary for the remainder of the day, not really surprised when Cam didn't return that evening. She needed to learn to handle this stress. A relationship with Cam meant she'd have to allow him to go through the gate on a daily basis. Day Two stretched on, and her worry rose. By the end of Day Three, she made her way to Carter's office. "What's happening on Midway?"

"I don't know," Carter said. "We can't connect to Midway. The Bridge is still down. We only know that Colonel Sheppard and his team managed to make it through from another planet."

"Well, couldn't we try to dial in from there?"

"I've already sent Zelenka and Lorne to that other planet with the macro." Carter shrugged. "They can't connect, either. I'm sorry."

Jennifer tried to accept that news gracefully, but she couldn't relax. She'd only just reunited with Cam. He couldn't be gone. Not this quickly. For the moments, she forgot about Sheppard, McKay, and the other men stuck on Midway.

Days stretched into a week without word. By now, she'd resorted to hiding in her office while Amanda dealt with the patients. Jennifer had become too snappy with them to exhibit much in the way of compassion. She hated how she'd become, but not knowing drove her to the brink of a breakdown.

Finally, word came from the Daedalus. The Puddle Jumper attached to the Midway Space Station had been discovered, along with Drs. Lee, Kavanagh, and McKay. Colonels Sheppard and Mitchell had barricaded themselves inside the cockpit and spent the days stuck either playing cards, ignoring each other, or sleeping. Even knowing that he'd survived, Jennifer couldn't relax until he arrived back on Atlantis.

On that day, as the trapped men plus Ronon beamed down, Jennifer was on hand to greet them. Amanda, whose relationship with Lorne had deepened into something pretty permanent over the last month, waited to treat the refugees for minor malnutrition. Carter greeted Sheppard while Jennifer launched herself at Cam.

After a long hug, she stared into his eyes. "Don't ever do that again."

"I'll try not to." He kissed her in front of everyone gathered.

Late that night as they sat on her couch and ignored the movie playing, Cam began to talk. He told her of the hours on that Jumper when he thought he'd never see her again. Hours when he'd regretted not making a final step toward a permanent relationship when he first saw her. Then, in the middle of the night, he shoved her coffee table out of the way and got down on one knee. "Jennifer, marry me. I can't imagine knowing that you're not here, waiting for me."

She smiled. All those days not knowing if he'd survived had solidified her feelings for him. She hadn't known what she would do if she was left alone before she fully discovered what this relationship with Cam could hold. She put her hands on either side of his face. "Yes!"

Cam laughed and kissed her, the hours falling away as they planned their lives together. They discussed a long engagement, knowing they needed to spend much more time together before the actual wedding. But a wedding was in the future. As they talked, Jennifer realized how grateful she was that she'd given in to his urging to find the spirit of Christmas in spite of all the bad. Now, when she looked at him, she'd have a reminder of Christmas every day for the rest of her life.

~The End~