"What if there was something between us, and we just didn't know it?"

"What?" Sam asked in confusion, her hands dropping away from his face.

"Think about it, Sam. We've been friends for a long time, haven't we?"

Slowly she nodded her head, unsure of where this conversation was going. "Seven years," she answered.

"In that time has it never occurred to you, that maybe, just maybe, we could be something more?" He studied her face intently, looking for a sign that his words were making some sense to her. A bashful smile played about his lips betraying the fact that he felt he was on uncertain ground. Sam smiled despite herself as she looked up at him.

Had she ever thought that there could be something between them? Consciously, no. When they had first met he had been a married man. In her book that made someone strictly hands off. Looking back had there been an initial spark between them? Yes. There had. After hearing of him from Katherine and then reading about him in the reports she was half-way to being in love with him. Of course there was the fact that he was presumed dead. But then she always did go in for the unattainable. On Earth he didn't display any of the signs that you'd normally associate with a married man. There were no phone calls reminding him to bring home milk and bread. No Mrs. Jackson joining them at the General's house for dinner. There was no physical evidence on earth that Daniel was married beyond the piece of paper that had legalized his marriage and his wedding cup. Daniel didn't wear a wedding ring as that wasn't an Abydonian custom. It didn't change the fact that she -knew- he was married and therefore firmly ensconced in the friend category. When Share died, nothing tangible changed in their daily routine. Yes, she had attended Share's funeral, and Daniel had proved more withdrawn for a while. Yet, there was no presence to miss, no closet to clean out, no constant reminders of a missing presence. It had never occurred to her to pursue something more. Daniel hadn't demonstrated an interest in dating, politely turning down those female members of the SGC that had been bold enough to approach him as opposed to theorizing about what it would be like to date him. Sam had been privy to the 'So you're close, is he seeing anybody?' conversation far too many times. Had there been anything between them. No, no there hadn't. Could there be something between them? Sam sat down heavily on the staircase as her thoughts continued to wander.

She would have been blind if she hadn't noticed that he was an attractive example of the male species. After all in the close quarters that they worked in both on base and off world, they'd all gotten a free show of the others at some point or another. So if she looked a little harder and longer at Daniel than she did at the Colonel or Teal'c it didn't mean anything. It was really no different than enjoying looking at a Monet more than a Van Gogh or Renoir. Simply a matter of taste. Did taste indicate a preference?

Sam chewed on her lip a bit as she pondered that thought. Her eyes met Daniel's who were still studying her closely, as if she were his latest discovery. There was a warmth to his gaze that she hadn't noticed before. Had it always been there, or was it entirely new? Something in her expression must have struck Daniel as encouragement because he knelt down in front of her so they could see eye to eye. Slowly he took her hand, giving her the opportunity to pull away if that was what she wanted. She curled her fingers around his holding his hand tight.

"I'm not asking for a trip down the aisle, just the chance to explore the possibility of what could be."

"Why now?"

"I figured you didn't slap me when I kissed you, so I might be on to something." He winked at her roguishly. She laughed despite herself. He looked nothing like the distinguished intellectual, or formidable warrior she knew him to be. With his rumpled hair and bright dinosaur pajamas he looked more like a little boy trying to wheedle one last treat. She had never been able to say no to him when he was at his most persuasive.

"Why did you kiss me?"

He shrugged, "It seemed like the right thing to do. It felt right." He didn't tell her that he had been fighting the urge to kiss her from the moment her met her back at Vis Uban.

"It did, didn't it." She remembered his arms around her, the feel of his hair in her hands, the taste of his lips. Truth be told a kiss had never felt more right. "Yes."

"Yes?" Daniel smiled at her hopefully.

"We're here for the next few days together, why not see what happens." His smile widened until it lit his whole face. Sam was blown away by the intensity of it.

"Come on, its late," he said helping her to her feet. "The kids will have us up in a few hours." Daniel started to lead her up the stairs. Sam followed slowly behind his words echoing in her head. He meant her niece and nephew, of course, but the words conjured up a different domestic scene. One where a blonde haired girl in pigtails played with a shaggy haired little boy. 'Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you Sam,' she admonished herself.

Barely four hours later Daniel's words proved to be prophetic. Excited shouts of "Santa came! Santa came!" woke the adults in the household before the sun had even managed to creep fully over the horizon. Little footsteps pounded up and down the stairs as the kids ran between eying their presents under the tree and cajoling their parents to come downstairs. Once Mark and Allison arrived downstairs, Emily immediately emptied all the cabinets of her play kitchen onto the floor so that small boxes of pretend food and dishes lay scattered everywhere. She had Jacob sit on the floor beside her and set about serving him imaginary tea and biscuits. Austin was already riding his bicycle through the foyer with some unsteady skill by the time Sam and Daniel wandered down. It was only Sam's quick reflexes that saved the three of them from a trip to the ER as she grabbed Austin's handle bars to keep him from plowing them over. The children's excitement was truly contagious and despite the sleep deprivation the grown ups found themselves laughing right along with the kids. Once all the adults were assembled, and the coffee passed out to all interested parties, the wrapped gifts were allowed to be opened. In short order the carnage was complete and the living room was covered in a sea of shredded paper and discarded bows.

"I'm sure there is a carpet somewhere under all of that," Allison sighed shaking her head. There was no doubt that she was enjoying every minute of the kids' excitement, even if it meant they'd be excavating several bags of trash out of the living room later.

"I'm sure you were no better at this age," Jacob commented from the middle of the debris field. "Mark and Sam sure weren't." He was sitting on the floor trying to get Emily's dolls out of the packaging. "However, their toys were far easier to remove from the packaging. Why do they need to stitch their hair to the cardboard, anyway? Sam's were never like this" Mark tossed Jacob the pocket knife he had been using to put together the latest Hot Wheels play set. Finally extracting the dolls from their boxes he handed them to Emily.

Daniel leaned over and whispered in Sam's ear, "I thought you only played with Matt Mason, Major?"

"I played with a variety of doll," she said defensively.

"You didn't think she only played with Matt Mason, now did you?" Jacob asked incredulously. Sam glared at her father. "Yeah, I heard that story. George thought it was funny."

"Dad!"

"She took ballet lessons, too, did she tell you that?" Jacob grinned, "I have the most adorable picture of her around Emily's age in her pink tutu. Remind me to show you when we get back to Colorado." Sam turned bright red. She spent most of her time being 'one of the guys', and didn't care to have reminders of her more girlish pursuits bandied about.

"Aunt Sam, Dr. Daniel," Emily took both of their hands and tugged them off the couch, "come here." She dragged them over to where Jacob was sitting and made them sit as well. Thoughtfully she contemplated her new stack of dolls before picking up one in a blue dress and handing it to Sam. "Here, you get to be Cinderella," she instructed her Aunt, "and Grandpa, you get to be Belle."

"Hello, Cinderella, can I do your hair for the ball?" Jacob/Belle asked in a high falsetto as he shook his doll in the direction of Sam..

"I'm not sure I can make it. My pumpkin is in the shop." Sam/Cinderella sighed.

Daniel tried very hard to keep from laughing as he imagined how many people on base would pay to see the retired general turned Tok'ra operative playing dolls with Major Carter. Then he was handed a raven haired doll in a harem outfit and told, "You can be Jasmine." When in Rome. . .

"We could take my magic carpet, but then we'd all have bad hair."

"I'll get my fairy godmother on stand by, just let me get my cell phone." The dolls' conversation got more and more outrageous from there, especially when Sleeping Beauty joined the fray, voiced by Emily of course. Some how the impromptu doll party led to the opening of the dress up trunk that Santa had brought as well. Too soon, or not soon enough depending on your perspective, Mark called everyone to the breakfast table. Of course when he saw the four princesses that trooped into the dinning room he nearly keeled over in laughter before he reached for the camera.

"Well, I'm going to need a copy of that one for my desk," Daniel observed dryly as he seated himself at the table..

"I'm going to need one for blackmail," Sam countered slipping into the chair next to him. Her silver princess crown was perched precariously on her head, and two over sized 'diamond' tear drop earrings hung from her ears.

Daniel flipped the end of his pink feather boa over his shoulder so it wouldn't get in his plate, "I've worn stranger things to fit in with the natives, Sam."

"I can't say that I have," Jacob said pouring himself a cup of coffee. The pink conical hat trailing pink and silver tulle from its top bobbed uncertainly on his head. He sat at the table in the ridiculous headgear as if there was nothing at all unusual about it. Emily giggled wildly from her chair. She had donned two of the three tutu's in the box, and had at least three necklaces and several bracelets on.

Calmly Jacob turned to his left and asked Allison, "So what time are your guests arriving, I still need to get my manicure."

As it turned out there was quite an impressive list of guests that were coming, totaling somewhere around thirty people. The festivities were set to begin around noon, and of course there were always those that showed up a little early 'just to help'. The ladies scooted upstairs first to get in the shower, and the men stayed behind to clean up the kitchen. They quickly fell into a divide and conquer strategy each taking a task. The kids were given trash bags and dire instructions to clean up the trash in the living room before they opened any more toys. Jacob and Daniel gave back their princess accouterments to be stored back in the dress up trunk.

Upstairs Sam was wrapped in her robe drying her hair when a knock sounded at the door. The door opened to reveal Allison, her hair twisted up in a towel, also in her bathrobe.

"I just put the kids in the tub, so I thought we could talk for a few." Allison settled herself on the edge of Sam's bed, positioned so she could see Sam's face in the mirror.

"About what?" Sam asked innocently busying herself with her hair.

"About your friend. What was that?"

"What was what?"

Allison was silent for a moment or two, and then stood up to go. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I thought you might want someone to talk to."

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about," Sam sighed and put her brush down on the dresser. She turned around and leaned against the furniture so she could see her sister in law clearly. "But we're going to see if there is something to talk about." Allison simply smiled a knowing smile and hugged Sam before walking back out into the hallway.

"Keep me posted."

Sam shook her head and picked up her brush again running it thoughtfully through her hair. Allison meant well, she knew, but how could she explain half of the complexities of their relationship without betraying something classified. It would be nice to talk to someone however. She could talk to her father, but that would just be, well, odd. "Hey, Dad. I've just shared some Earth shattering kisses with Daniel. Do you think that I should pursue a relationship with him or, is it just a new facet of friendship?" Her relationship with her father was a lot closer these days, but she still didn't count him as a 'girlfriend'. Even if he did look good in a pink princess hat. Her eyes rested on her cell phone. After a moment's hesitation, she picked it up and began to dial.

"Cassie, can you grab that for me, please," Janet asked as she checked the turkey in the oven. "It's probably one of her girlfriends anyway," she grumbled affectionately as she stuck the turkey with the meat thermometer. She heard Cassie's voice in the other room animatedly discussing all the things she had gotten for Christmas. Systematically she checked the various pots on the stove to ensure that everything was cooking just the way she wanted.

"Mom. Here. It's Aunt Sam." Janet wiped her hands on a dish towel before taking the phone. Cassie tripped up the stairs with several of her new CD's in hand.

"Hey, Sam, Merry Christmas."

"Same to you. Cassie filled me in on all of her gifts. I don't think she stopped to catch her breath."

"You never really outgrow Christmas, I guess." Sam smiled as she remembered Cassie's first Christmas on Earth. SG-1 had spent the holidays with them. It had been Teal'c's first Christmas as well and it had been fun to teach them both all the traditions. Cassie had been completely overwhelmed by the gifts, and Teal'c had been intrigued by the Christmas Tree.

"No, you don't," Sam laughed remembering the four of them playing dolls earlier.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Emily got several new dolls from Santa and she had us playing with her. You should have seen my father and Daniel, it was priceless." Janet paused as she stirred the applesauce. Had she heard Sam correctly.

"Daniel, as in Dr. Jackson Daniel?"

Sam frowned, "What other Daniel would I mean?"

"Your family came to Colorado this year?" Janet felt she missed something somewhere.

"No," Sam said slowly, "We're in San Diego." 'She took him with her to her brothers?' Janet thought. 'Interesting.'

"I see," Janet said cryptically. "How's it going."

"Great actually. Turns out Mark and Daniel have a lot in common, and the kids love him."

"Sounds wonderful. So why are you calling me?"

Sam decided to take the direct approach. "How do you know if you've fallen for your best friend?"