"Sam, the last one, here, is yours." Jack said, retrieving the lone package from under the tree.
Sam blushed. "They've all been for me, Jack. Which is kind of embarrassing."
"We'll have Christmas again when you come back, and you can surprise us with it." Jack said, handing her a small box.
"And what a surprise it will be," she promised as she accepted the gift from him.
"I'm counting on it," he laughed. "Now, open your present."
She shook her head with a chuckle as she did what he asked. She looked at the box with an amused smile. "Jack..."
"What?" He asked with a grin. "You're gonna get bored!"
She laughed as shook her head again. She showed the box to her friends. "He got me a Sony PSP."
They all laughed, recognizing the humor in the gift.
She leaned over and kissed him gently. "You're something else, Jack," she said with a small smile.
"Yes, well...." He said with a proud shrug.
"So, how long are you able to stay?" Sam asked, looking over at her oldest and dearest friends.
"I may stay until you leave," Teal'c said, looking over at Sam.
"We'd love to have you." She said with a grin before turning to Daniel.
He shrugged. "I've got the weekend. Then I'm back to packing myself."
"Careful not to spend too much time on the base or Mitchell might come looking for you." Jack said, walking into the living room with two cups of homemade egg nog.
"Mitchell?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow as she accepted one of the cups from him..
"The new commander of SG-1. Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell."
"The guy who crash-landed in Antarctica," Daniel said in understanding.
"Yeah."
"He wanted command of SG-1?" Sam asked, confused.
"Nah. He got it by default." Jack chuckled. "He just wanted to join SG-1."
"You haven't told him that we're all going our separate ways, have you?" Sam asked, looking at Jack with a knowing smile.
"Maybe," he admitted with a smile. "Maybe not. I can't remember."
She shook her head with a laugh. "You're terrible, sir."
"You still call him 'sir'?" Daniel asked, skeptically. "After the kind of "thank you" you gave him when you saw the Christmas decorations, I would think you were on a first-name basis."
"Yeah, Sam..." Jack agreed, looking over at his girlfriend as he emphasized his use of her first name.
Sam blushed. "I...plead the fifth." She murmured as she took a sip of the egg nog.
"Eight years of working in the same place, and you have to ask her why she still calls Jack "sir"?" Cassie asked, defending Sam. "It's the same reason he still calls her 'Carter'."
"Indeed," Teal'c said, raising an eyebrow as he reiterated Cassie's defense.
"Yeah, it's habit." Sam defended. "And I'm not the only one who does it."
"Yes, but "Carter" is a term of endearment."
Sam threw him a look. "If you want to play that game, then calling you "sir", is just a teasing flirty game I play with you."
He laughed as he leaned into kiss her nose, and they shared the laugh that only two lovers can do justice.
"So, when did...this...happen?" Daniel asked, motioning between the two Air Force officers.
Sam looked at Jack as she blushed lightly. "Well...um..."
"It pretty much started when she became the director of Research and Development and I went to the Pentagon," Jack finished.
Sam nodded. "That's a good approximation."
"Well, good for you two." Daniel said with a grin.
"Thanks, Daniel." Sam said with a smile of her own.
"It's about time!" Cassie said, shaking her head.
"Indeed." Teal'c said with his iconic raised eyebrow.
-
They'd spent a wonderful day with the friends who had become their family, and Sam sighed contentedly as she finally retired to her bedroom late that night.
"It was a good day," Jack said, proudly as he followed her.
"Yes, Jack, it was." She said with a grateful smile. "And this unexpected Christmas surprise was the best present you could ever have given me."
"What?" Jack asked, retrieving a small package from his back pocket. "I thought this would be the best."
"You're spoiling me, Jack O'Neill." She said, blushing as she realized he had another present for her.
"Just grateful I can spoil you now." He said with a small smile.
She bit her lip as he handed her the slim, rectangular velvet box. "Jack," she whispered.
"You haven't even seen it yet."
She tensed as she finally opened the small box to find a small solitaire diamond pendant on a thin gold chain. "It's beautiful," she said, looking up at him.
"You don't have to wear it on the ship," he explained as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "But I wanted you to have a tangible reminder of how beautiful you are, and how much I love wrapping my arms around you."
"I'd rather have your arms around me than any number of diamonds," she whispered as she looked into his eyes.
"I know."
She inhaled as she felt tears well up in her eyes. "I'm really going to miss you, Jack."
"You'll be back."
She nodded quickly as she blinked away tears. "Of course."
"And we'll pick up where we left off then." He said with a supportive smile. "Wait here. I have one more surprise."
"Jack, please..."
He touched a finger to her lips. "I promise you'll like this one."
"I've loved them all, Jack." She said, softly. "But this is too much..."
He retrieved a small box, and offered it to her. "It's from Mark."
She tensed. "You called Mark?"
He nodded. "I told him you were deploying on a three-month tour."
"They're going to think I'm going to Iraq..."
He nodded. "Which at this point, is probably one of the best covers for what you're doing."
She nodded slowly.
"They wanted to be sure you got this before you left."
"How can you be so perfectly attuned to my every thought and my every need?" She whispered, softly.
"I've spent eight years studying you, hoping for this opportunity to show you how much I love and care for you." He said with a small smile before he broke his romantic character and laughed. "I'm sorry. That sounded like I was stalking you."
She chuckled softly. "No. It was beautiful."
"I love you, Samantha Carter."
"I love you too, Jack O'Neill," she whispered.
He retrieved something else out of his pockets.
"Do you have the North Pole in your back pocket?" She teased as he held some fake mistletoe over their heads.
"Maybe," he chuckled. "Now, we're under the mistletoe. That means you and I have to kiss."
"Well...if we have to," she teased as he leaned in to kiss her.
