A/N: A short treat before I'm off to bed.

At the end of her first week back at school, Sam was walking on air. Jack had been able to fully remove the sling two days before, and the pain in her chest was finally starting to ease up a bit.

Christmas was in three days, and the O'Neill's had invited the Carter family over to celebrate together. It was apparently William's idea, and no one had any objections to the proposed arrangement. In fact, after purchasing a book on astrophysics as a fake Christmas gift for Sam, Jack thought the celebrations would be the prefect opportunity to ask her what he'd been dying to ask her ever since Helen had given him the ring.

Dee and Mark had both quit their jobs when Mark impulsively decided that he wanted to be where ever his daughter was, and Belle decided that she wanted to stay with her grandpa "to take care of him".

It was the day before Christmas and Dee looked at her watch; the malls would be opening in a few minutes. She was going shopping with Sam to find suitable gifts for Belle and Jacob. What Dee didn't know was that Sam was also looking for a gift for Jack. He had been the hardest person to shop for in the whole world – or so she thought.

Finally, after dragging Dee around to twenty different stores, Sam spotted something in the window of the very last store Dee consented to going into that was perfect for Jack. With a grin she went in, asked how much it was, yelled at the sales rep for the outrageous price, purchased the item and went home to wrap it.

Dee rolled her eyes when Sam showed her what the present was: only Samantha Carter could choose something so perfect and silly for a guy like Jack O'Neill.

When the Carter's arrived at the O'Neill's house on the 24th of December for dinner and a 'small' round of present opening, they were only a little shocked to see the house decked out in enough lights and decorations to cause their electricity bill to double that month. It was quite spectacular.

Sam handed the last gift she carried to Helen, telling her it was for Jack. Sam had brought her gifts for the rest of the O'Neill family over the previous day so that Helen could arrange them all under the tree.

Jack practically ran down the stairs when he heard the car pull up the driveway. He ran right to Sam and gave her a very passionate … hug. Under the strict eyes of both his father and hers Jack could not in good conscious give her the kiss that he wanted to greet her with.

"Hey," he said, happily as he held her in his arms.

"Hi," she replied, smiling up at him contentedly.

Luke, Andrew and Adam walked into the entry way from the living room and groaned in unison when they saw Sam and Jack in their embrace.

"Get a room," Andrew muttered loud enough for his older brother to hear.

Jack grinned down at Sam, silently asking her if she would mind his answer. She just smiled right back, letting him know it was okay. "I have a room, Andrew."

"Jonathan Alexander O'Neill!" Helen said in a voice that sounded rather similar to Jacob's first CO.

"Sorry, Mom."

"You should be. Now, come on into the dining room. Dinner's ready."

Micah came out from behind his mother and eyed Belle with suspicion. The two young children had never met before, but because Belle was tall for her five and a half years, Micah thought she was a few years older. The young boy pulled on Sam's dress, gaining her attention. She knelt down to hear his request of sitting by Belle at dinner.

Sam grinned at Micah's request and told him that she'd see what she could do. Belle wasn't exactly a shy child and had learned to accept others with very little fuss, so her aunt was rather sure that she wouldn't complain about sitting next to the young boy.

Mark and Dee remained quiet throughout the meal, sitting beside each other with Helen on one side and Jacob on the other. Belle and Micah sat next to Jacob, the teens filling in around the rest of the table with, of course, Sam and Jack seated beside each other.

The conversation was light throughout the meal, focusing on goals, ambitions and happy memories of Christmases past. Jacob found it somehow easier to talk about his dead wife, Samantha, among this friendly group than he had in five years.

William looked at Sam and said in a voice that was neither sorrowful nor pitying, "So that's why you go by Sam."

Sam's smile was slightly impish, "That's part of it."

"What's the other part?" Adam asked curiously.

Sam's smile just grew. Much to her embarrassment it was Mark who answered the question, "She was a terrible speller when she was little and didn't want to have to spell a name as long as 'Samantha' so she came home after her first day of kindergarten and told our parents that she wanted to be called Sam."

"That's not all of it either," Jacob said, noticing his daughter's deep blush at the stares from the O'Neill brothers.

Sam glared at him, having a very good idea what he was about to say, "Enlighten us then, Dad."

Jacob smiled, "Now, now, Sammie I wasn't the one who told them you hated spelling until you were ten."

"You just did," Sam said through clenched teeth.

Her father feigned a look of apology, "Sorry. Anyway, when she was little she was a tomboy. She hated anything that was pink, frilly, or in any other way girlly – including her name. Thus, Sam was born."

Sam was convinced the laughter that followed her father's words could be heard from a mile away.

A/N: Just like any other family, right? No? Too toned down and calm for a family get together? Just remember: they're not in-laws yet.