"Girls, before we get there, there's something I want to talk about," Sam began, looking in her rearview mirror. Aisha and Robin obediently turned their attention to her. They even, she noted with pride, pulled the headphones from their ears instead of just turning the volume down. Score one for Sam.
It was Thanksgiving Day, and they were driving towards Jack's house, in time and maybe a little early, Sam judged, for their one o'clock dinner.
Before they arrived, however, she wanted to brief the girls for her own peace of mind.
"The colonel is being very gracious to invite us for Thanksgiving," Sam began, bolstered somewhat by the agreeable nods she received from the girls. "He's been very busy lately, well, he's always busy," she amended. "And I know he wants everything to be perfect for today. You know Fraiser and Hammond will also be joining us?" she asked suddenly.
The girls nodded. They were still trying to figure out where this was going.
Sam took a deep breath and decided to be frank. "I do not know if Colonel O'Neill has ever cooked Thanksgiving dinner before. Heck, I do not even know if he's ever cooked a turkey. My point is, if this meal doesn't measure up to Thanksgiving dinners you've had in the past, be kind. And do not say a word," she added on second thought.
The girls' worried looks evaporated and they nodded in unison. Sam breathed a sigh of relief at being understood.
"Here we are," she announced, pulling into Jack's driveway. Daniel's car, she noted, was already there.
They piled out and walked up the sidewalk, and Aisha rang the bell. Sam heard laughter from beyond the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
So far, so good, she figured.
Jack answered the doorbell, clad in an apron and holding a wooden spoon in one hand.
"Happy Thanksgiving, ladies. Come on in," he invited grandly, gesturing towards the hall and, Sam noticed wincing, slinging small bits of food onto the carpet.
"Sodas are in the rec room, along with everyone else," he told them over his shoulder. "Dinner is going to be a little late, but General Hammond called and he's stuck in traffic, so we'll just say we waited on him and it'll be fine."
Late is okay, Sam figured. The best of cooks are late sometimes.
They hung up their sweaters and coats and filed into the rec room, where Fraiser, Teal'c, and Daniel lounged.
"Happy Thanksgiving," the girls chorused, moving into the room and throwing themselves down on the floor.
"Happy Thanksgiving," Teal'c replied solemnly. "The story of the tradition of giving thanks on the third Thursday of november, while consuming turkey and other requisite dishes, is being retold for my benefit by Daniel Jackson and Dr. Fraiser."
"The Thanksgiving story?" Robin perked up. "Hey, this one I know!"
"Yeah, no fair telling him the one part of our traditions that we understand," Aisha chimed in.
Daniel took a sip of his diet coke. "Alright. Go for it."
"In sixteen hundred and thirty two, the pilgrims sailed the ocean blue," Robin began.
Sam and Daniel began laughing.
"What?" Robin asked, puzzled.
"That was Columbus," Daniel put in, laughing. "In sixteen hundred and thirty two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The Pilgrims sailed in 1620"
Robin rolled her eyes. "So shoot me. Did you know that?" she demanded of Fraiser. Janet laughed. "No, I did not."
"See?" Robin appealed. Chuckling, Daniel nodded. "Carry on," he encouraged.
"Well, the pilgrims were being persecuted in England, and they wanted to live in freedom, so they decided to come across the ocean and start a colony in the New World."
"New World?" Teal'c looked puzzled. "I do not believe your race had the technology to travel to new worlds in 1620."
Robin chewed her lip. "Um, actually, the 'New World' is what everybody called North America for a really long time."
"Oh." Teal'c's confusion cleared, and Robin plunged on. "Anyway, our race was even more primitive back then, and we did not have electricity or speedboats or planes – or spaceships," she added thoughtfully. "So the Pilgrims came across the Pacific ocean in a little wooden boat called the Mayflower.
"They sailed for almost six months, and finally they saw land in the distance! So they got off and began to build a settlement."
"They actually survived the crossing in a small wooden vessel?" Teal'c wondered. "Your race is most resilient."
"Thanks. Anyway, during the first winter they had so little food, they sometimes had only five kernels of corn to eat day! And by the time the first spring came, over half of the pilgrims had died."
"My turn," Aisha interjected. "Then they met an Indian named Squanto."
"Indian?" Teal'c brow furrowed. "How did a man from Asia come to be in North America."
Both girls looked at Daniel.
"Actually, that's another history lesson in itself," he began. Aisha looked at him. "Short answer," she prompted. "Today is Thanksgiving, not Columbus Day."
"Right." Daniel adjusted his glasses. "When Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered North America, landed here, he thought he had landed in India and he named the natives Indians. So today we have Indians from India and Native Americans we also call Indians."
Teal'c looked a little overwhelmed. "That is a very large mistake to make," he pointed out gravely.
"Yes," Daniel agreed, at a loss for any other response.
"Anyway," Aisha jumped in. "They met an Indian names Squanto. Squanto had lived with the English a long time ago, so he knew their language. Squanto taught them how to plant corn, and how to grow crops. And so when the summer ended, the Pilgrims knew they would have enough food to make it through the winter. Then they decided, to show their thankfulness to God, they would have a great feast and invite the Indians. And that's how we got Thanksgiving," Aisha ended.
Daniel nodded approvingly. "Well done."
"Hey, I helped," Robin put in.
"Both of you," Sam appeased.
"Where's Cassandra?" Robin asked, realizing for the first time that Cassy was not with them.
"She's outside with the dog," Janet told her. "It is nice out in the sun."
"Oh." Robin coughed, and Sam realized that the room had grown quiet.
"What is it?" she asked, worried. Daniel chewed his lip.
"Do you smell something… uh… smoky?" he asked as tactfully as possible. Sam sniffed the air. Sure enough, there was a definitely charred odor wafting from the kitchen.
"Uh, oh," she muttered.
"I guess somebody ought to go see if he needs help," Janet reasoned. Nobody volunteered.
"I'll go," Sam sighed. "I want ice for my coke, anyhow."
Conversation resumed as she left and headed for the kitchen.
"Sir?" she called out as she approached. There was no answer. "Colonel? Jack!" Sam was beginning to get worried. She walked into the kitchen and immediately ran over to the stove, where a pot was boiling over. Sam couldn't figure out which knob controlled which burner, so she finally switched them all off and breathed a sigh of relief as the white foam retreated.
"Sir?" she called again, uncertain of what to do. Lifting the lid from the pot, she peered inside.
Potatoes? No telling, she decided, poking at them with a fork. Whatever they were, they were done. Overdone, probably. She grabbed a hot mitt and moved the pot from the stove.
They probably need to be drained, she reasoned, and moved over to the sink. As she did, she glanced out the window and saw Jack outside, tossing a ball for Cassandra's terrier while Cassandra squealed in delight.
"So that's where he went," she sighed, half relieved, half angry. She set the put down and moved to the sliding glass doors.
"Colonel O'Neill!" she called out, opening the doors. Jack looked up. "Sam! What are you doing in the kitchen?" he demanded, jogging over.
"Saving your house from burning down," she joked, handing him the oven mitt. "Your potatoes boiled over."
"Potatoes?" Jack was puzzled. "I am not cooking potatoes."
"Oh." Sam had a funny feeling. "Well, whatever was in that pot, it is done. I drained it."
"Oh, the turnips. Thanks!" Jack reached for his apron and headed for the stove. "Thanks, but I've got it now. Go relax! Enjoy yourself!"
Enjoy myself, maybe. Relax, definitely not, Sam thought grimly.
"What was it?" Daniel asked as she came into the room. Sans coke glass, she realized, but did not dare go back to retrieve it.
"Turnips boiled over," she shrugged. "He went outside to play with Cassandra."
"And left things on the stove?" Janet raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he needs a hand in the kitchen."
"He kicked me out," Sam warned, and Janet set her glass back down and sighed. "Men in the kitchen. Give them a spatula and they think they own the world."
"Send the girls," Daniel suggested leisurely. They scowled at him. "You might be able to get him to let you help him," he pointed out.
"Alright, alright. We'll go," Robin consented. "How did we get mixed up in this," Aisha wondered out loud.
"It might just work," Sam decided.