A/N: Once again, thanks for all your support. This is a shorter one. I hope you enjoy it.
Winter had been so cold. The trip to Vegas was only 3 weeks behind them, but to Sam, it felt like a lifetime ago. Sam closed her eyes, trying to forget the morning they left LAs Vegas, but she couldn't and wouldn't unless she was mind-stamped again, or maybe if dementia set in when she reached that age. Early that morning, she had a nightmare and ended up waking Jack in the process. He had held her tight, and they fell asleep. It was the most comfortable sleep she ever had, and just like all the other conversations, all the situations before, they didn't discuss it, hadn't said a word, and Sam was growing weary. They had every weekend off since that trip, a miracle really, and although they did do a team night, it was beer pizza and a Star Trek movie that she couldn't find a way to engage in. Once again, they would bury their thoughts of that night, hoping one day they could rehash it.
Sam wasn't sure she wanted to plan anything, but she had seen the advertisement and smiled, laughing to herself about the group going to the park. She had suddenly decided that the next thing to do was go ice skating. She wasn't sure if Teal'c would be able to master it, but then again, he was a warrior, and although not graceful, he was very balanced, and she wondered how difficult it would be for Teal'c to glide on the ice in a pair of hockey skates.
She knew the ice rink had rentals. She assumed Jack had a pair of his own, but then again, when would he have time to skate? Just because he liked Hockey on TV doesn't mean he could actually skate.
So she ran the idea over with Daniel, who wasn't exactly opposed but wasn't sure how good he or Teal'c would be.
"Well, if all else fails, they have a tubing place too," Sam mentioned.
Daniel smiled and agreed it would be a good idea. Christmas was fast approaching, and they always clung together during those times. Occasionally Sam would make it out to see Mark and the kids, but most of the time, it wasn't possible, and with their schedule this year the goal was to have the 23-26 off but they never really knew.
When Sam asked Jack and Teal'c if they were free, both agreed quickly that they were ready for yet another adventure. Jack seemed relieved that they didn't need to pack any bags.
"If you have ice skates bring them," Sam stated.
Saturday's Ice rink was in the Springs. So Sam had told them to meet for morning coffee at Lula's Cafe, and she would lead them from there.
The group of four sat at the Cafe warming their bodies for the weather that was sitting at 25 degrees. Sam had told them to layer up as they would be outside all day.
The guys had seemed to come well-prepared wearing thick sweaters, and all having layers in their vehicles.
When Sam had pulled out of the parking lot and turned left, Jack had instantly known what she had been thinking and thought about passing her just so she knew how in tune she was with her. Jack closed his eyes, thinking about her hand touching his chest as they fell asleep, and swore he could still feel the heat from it.
When they pulled into the area, there were not a lot of people, still early in the day.
Jack explained Ice skating to Teal'c and grabbing a pair of hockey skates he hadn't used in years. Daniel and Teal'c both rented theirs, and Sam laced up her old Hockey skates as well.
"I wasn't expecting those, Carter," Jack claimed.
Sam smiled as she laced them up the hockey skates.
"Found them easier," Sam said simply.
Jack nodded. Teal'c and Daniel had rented their skates, and the four of them hesitantly set out to the rink. Sam was the most graceful of the group, and though she wobbled around at first, she easily picked up the practice. Jack had fallen once almost as soon as he got on the ice. He was a bit too cocky and tried to catch Sam. Teal'c and Daniel were hugging the walls walking as Sam and Jack did a lap around the rink. Sam grabbed Daniels's hands, and told him just to balance, and pulled him a long. Jack wasn't the best Ice skating teacher. Teal'c had only moved a few feet.
Sam smiled and took Teal'c's hands this time, his weight had tripped her up, and she wasn't as stable as she was with Daniel, but they made it around the rink and tried to show both Daniel and Teal'c how to gain momentum on their own.
After about an hour and several falls later, Teal'c and Daniel had enough and walked out, allowing Jack and Sam to skate around the rink while they got hot chocolate and watched. Daniel and Teal'c smiled at each other, waiting for them to finish their fun.
Sam finished first, and Jack went around one more lap before setting with the other three. Sam had stolen a sip of Daniel's hot chocolate before getting a cup of her own, and Jack followed her over.
"I figure we can go tubing," Sam claimed.
Jack nodded
"No skill needed there," Jack claimed.
They drank their warm drinks and headed up to the ticket booth to get 4 tubing tickets.
Jack pointed out the huge inter-tubes and explained that they were similar to a sled going down the hillside as Teal'c eye-balled them and watched many people slide down the hill.
The group was having fun racing each other occasionally hitting one another in their tubes but overall having a good time.
Teal'c was trying to find ways to go faster, and Sam was giving him tips. It wasn't until Teal'c had hit the bumper wall and flipped over it that they decided that it was time to go, which was several hours later.
By the time they were done, they had skipped lunch, and everyone was rather hungry. There weren't any meals at the park, so they all decided to back to Jack's for late lunch.
When Sam arrived back at his home with the guys, she realized how much like home it felt. The first time she had been there, it was comfortable and made her a little suspect because she hadn't ever felt that way in a new place before that.
When she had got into her heated car, she noticed how wet her socks had become despite the boots. When she got to his house, the group of four realized their outfits had all been soaked through with the hours out in the snow.
Sam had felt the chill set in despite Jack's house being perfectly warmed.
"Carter, you have some clothes in the spare room. You can go first." Jack claimed and touched her cooled arm.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Just a little chill. I'll be fine, sir." Sam claimed.
He nodded and let her go to the spare room. She pulled open the bottom drawer a mix of her clothing, Daniel's and Teal'c's. After a few times staying over after team night, they all left a few outfits at Jack's house.
Sam dug her way through, realizing there was no extra bra, and there was no way she was going to wear hers, the shirts she had clung to her chest, and she bit her lip and pulled the next drawer up, assuming it was clothing Jack's no longer worn clothes or was seasonal. She went through to the top drawer before finding a sweater and pulling it over herself, feeling adequately covered, and she stepped back out.
"Hope you don't mind. I'm borrowing this." Sam stated as she walked in a plain navy-colored sweat shirt.
"not at all." Jack smiled.
Jack went to his room to change, and Daniel was next in the spare room.
By the time they were all dry and warming up, Jack already had a pot of coffee going and the gas fireplace burning so they could warm up quicker.
Everyone realized how tired they were. Even though they were used to high action and close combat, there was something about the cold temperature that made them all want to lounge around.
Jack ordered a pizza and flipped the TV on to a college football game. Daniel was already nestled on the love seat, and Sam was leaning into the arm of the couch. Jack took the other side while Teal'c sat in the oversized recliner.
The group had been talking about their times as a child playing out in the snow. The cold weather, the refusal to come inside. Teal'c explained that although ice skating wasn't a thing on Chulack, there were kids who would find old pieces of fabric and slide around on them in the rare times it snowed.
They all laughed when Daniel explained while in foster care. "There were four of us boys, a good home actually, and they had this really steep hill in the back yard perfect for sledding. We were told we needed to sled on the far right side as it was furthest from the house. I guess we went down so many times the snow-packed and turned to ice. Me and Markus were taking our turn when about ½ way down the sled veered to the left, there was a raised deck and we went right through the lattice underpinning. We were so afraid of getting in trouble we came out from under it muddy. We fixed it the best we could and rolled in the snow to get all the mud off; no one ever said a word." Daniel claimed.
Sam told her story next. "I was little dad in DC at the time, and we were living about 30 minutes outside of DC. Mark and I had wandered the neighborhood to find a hill. We found a few other kids who warned us to stop in the flat area. The hill was pretty steep, flattened out, and then went down a steeper hill with some brush and tree, flattening again to the road below. I kept looking at the second hill each time and finally thought I figured out a route to go and would be fine. So without telling anyone, I decided not to stop in the flat and kept ongoing. Needless to say, about ½ way down the 2nd hill, I hit a small tree launching me out of the sled and rolling to the edge of the road." Sam explained.
Jack laughed at the image.
"Okay, Jack, you have to have a good sled riding story," Daniel claims.
"I don't, actually. I really never found the time." Jack says.
Sam and Daniel look at each other but drop the conversation. Jack was private about his childhood, so they didn't push changing the topic to Christmas.
There was something about this time of year when everything seemed simpler. Jack had his house decorated more so than Daniel or Sam had. He had a tree up with lights and bulbs. He had a wreath at the door. He had a few holiday items throughout the home. Sam looked at his home remembering her mother's decorations. She had tried but with dad away a lot and Mark not really caring she never had any house as festive as her mother had.
When the pizza came, they all ate like they hadn't days in and laughed at how quickly they ate. Out of 4 large pizzas, they only had a single piece left, after a few minutes Teal'c claimed as his own.
As the sun set and the fire had just seemed to warm Sam up, she knew it was time to go home. Things were good, too good, and she knew that if she stayed any longer, she would end up in his spare room hurting more than she already had, longing more to have been able to cuddle him on the couch. She sighed, knowing that once again this year, her Christmas wish would go unanswered, but that was ultimately her fault, she thought to herself, as she hugged the guy's goodbye and headed home to be alone before going back to work Monday morning.