"Are you sure we're in the right spot?"
Sam looked around uncertainly, even as the Stargate disengaged behind them. The sky was dark, and they all found themselves reaching for their flashlights.
"It must be, sir. The observatory is supposed to be just over a hill to the left of the gate."
"It's awfully dark, Sam," Daniel complained.
"It's easier to see an eclipse in the dark, Daniel," Carter said, reasonably.
Truth be told, they'd sent the MALP through only a half hour before SG-1 themselves had gone through the gate, and when they'd looked at the data coming back, the sun had been up. None of the members of the team had been there before, but they'd all seen the videos SG-7 had taken of the place, and had read every report from every probe. Already there was a sense of unease among them, because none of them recognized the area – even in the dark.
"Where is the MALP?" Teal'c asked, looking around.
Jack frowned, looking around as well.
"Why do I get the feeling we're not in Kansas anymore…?"
"We were never in Kansas," Teal'c said.
"This has to be P-203," Daniel said. "That's the address that was dialed. Stargates don't go off course."
"It wouldn't be the first time," Jack reminded him, grimly. He looked up at the sky. "I don't see two moons, does anyone else?"
They all looked up. The fact that there weren't any moons in the night sky – when there should have plainly been two – was just the final kicker that something had, indeed, gone wrong, and they weren't where they were supposed to be.
"Well?" Jack asked, looking at Sam.
She shrugged.
"All I can think of is that we miscalculated the time of the dual eclipses, and somehow the gravitational flux that we were going to study threw our wormhole off course…"
"And sent us out a different Stargate…" Daniel finished.
"Yes."
"Well, this is a nice place and all," Jack said, "but I'm all for going home." He flashed his light around the area. "Anyone see a DHD?"
It was to the left of the Stargate, slightly hidden by the gentle slope of a small hill.
"Dial it up, Daniel," Jack said, shining his flashlight on the symbols.
"I would – if I knew the point of origin."
Oh, yeah.
"There's usually information like that around the DHD," Daniel continued before Jack could say anything. "Let's spread out and see if there is any writing, or carvings or anything…"
They separated into teams of two for safety – they were in an unknown place with a lot of other unknowns, and Jack wasn't taking any chances – but after almost half an hour there was no sign of anything that even looked like it might be what they needed.
"Well… this is lovely," Jack muttered as they regrouped. "I'm open to some suggestions."
While they'd been searching, the sky had grown even darker, with that quality in the air that plainly said it was the middle of the night.
"The SGC has to know by now that something's gone wrong," Carter said. "They might be able to figure it out and send some backup."
"Who will, of course, be stuck here in the dark – figuratively and literally – with us," Jack said.
She nodded.
"There has to be something around here, Jack," Daniel said reasonably. "We should wait for daylight, and see what happens."
"We don't know how long nights last here…" Jack said. "We could be in the beginning of a six month night…"
"That is unlikely, O'Neill," Teal'c said, reasonably.
"He's right," Sam said. "And really, we don't have a lot of choice. We can't see anything in the dark…"
Jack scowled, even as he saw the truth in what they were saying.
"This isn't how I want to spend Christmas Eve, you guys…"
"They might be short nights," Daniel said, without much hope.
"At least it isn't raining," Sam told them.
"Don't say that."
He looked up as if expecting it to start pouring – and really, he did.
Sam smiled.
"Let's find a place to settle in," she suggested. "Standing around the DHD isn't going to do us any good."
"Better to be near the gate," Daniel agreed. "In case they do send someone after us."
OOOOOOOOOO
"Do you remember where we were this time last year…?" Sam asked Jack softly an hour later.
The two of them were seated on the ground (which was soft grass) side by side in front of and just off to the left of the Stargate. A little off to their right Daniel and Teal'c were taking the first watch of the night, but since it had been fairly early when they'd left earth, none of them were at all sleepy. It just didn't make sense to have all four of them on watch, so they'd divided up.
He smiled, taking advantage of the darkness to lean against her, his arm going around her waist in a familiar fashion.
"I do." He leaned over and nuzzled his lips gently against her neck for the briefest moments, unwilling to actually start something there was no way he would finish here on a strange world, but enjoying the closeness. "Do you remember what we were doing?"
She shifted, and he saw her watch light up briefly as she checked the time.
"We were trying to convince Teal'c to be Mrs. Clause, as I recall…"
"That isn't what I meant," he told her, realizing only at the last moment that she was teasing him.
She grinned, and he felt her lean slightly against him as well.
"I know. Too bad we're stuck here… I had an interesting idea for later on this evening…"
"Yeah? What?"
"It's a surprise."
"What? You can't do surprises with me, you know that."
"Says who?"
"It's not fair."
"You do them with me."
"That's different."
"I don't see-"
"O'Neill…" Teal'c's large form came out of the blackness of the night and he stood over the two of them. "I believe someone is coming…"