So this is for shipmass 2021. I have a chapter for each of the twelve prompts and I'll be posting them throughout today and tomorrow. Hope you like them.

This chapter is set season 6 ish.

Prompt 1 - Lost

Jack had just finished getting everything set up when there was a knock at the door. He glanced at the room and was glad to see that everything looked as it should.

Jack straightened his shirt as he headed for the door. He opened it and smiled at Janet and Daniel even as he gathered a slightly reluctant Cassie into a bear hug. "Merry Christmas everyone," Jack said.

"Merry Christmas Jack," Daniel said, walking in past him, carrying two large bags. "I've got mine and Janet's food contributions here," he then said, hefting the bags, "Where do you want them?"

Jack let go of Cassie and took the bags from Daniel. "Go in and make yourselves comfortable," he then said.

"Will do," Daniel said and then headed into the sitting room with Cassie on his heels.

"Merry Christmas sir," Janet said as she walked past.

"Is that food as well Doc?" Jack asked her, gesturing to the bag she was carrying.

"Presents," Janet explained.

"Excellent," Jack said with a smile, "Go and stick them under the tree."

Janet nodded and followed after her daughter.

Jack checked up and down the road, to make sure that neither Sam nor Teal'c were nearby, before he kicked his front door shut and headed into the kitchen to deposit the bags.

"Some of it needs to go in the fridge," Daniel said from the doorway.

"Sure," Jack said, "You after a drink?"

Daniel nodded and made his way to the fridge and helped himself to a couple of cans of soda. "I thought Sam would have been here already," he said conversationally as he placed the soda on the side and started to help Jack go through the bags and stack the fridge, "And Teal'c for that matter."

"In all honesty," Jack said to him, "I am surprised that you got here before either of them, although turning up with the Doc was unexpected." He wiggled his eyebrows for effect.

Daniel shook his head. "Oh get your mind out of the gutter," he said, "Her car broke down and since it's the holidays she can't get it fixed. I picked up her and Cassie on my way this morning."

"Sure," Jack said with a smirk, but he did drop the subject.

Just as they finished emptying the bags, stacking things both in the fridge and on the kitchen sides, there was another knock at the door. "Take those through," Jack instructed, nodding towards the drinks that Daniel had pulled out earlier, "I'll go get the door."

Daniel nodded and Jack headed back to the door. He opened it and smiled as he saw Teal'c standing there. "Merry Christmas T," he said, "Come on in."

"I wish you many felicitations on this day O'Neill," Teal'c responded with an incline of his head. "I have brought both presents and food." He came through the door and Jack shut it behind him.

"I'll take the food," Jack said, "If you want to go and stick the presents under the tree. Daniel, Cassie, and the Doc are all here already."

Teal'c inclined his head and handed Jack one of the bags while keeping the other for himself. He headed into the sitting room while Jack headed back into the kitchen. He put the bag on the side, he knew that Teal'c hadn't brought anything that needed to go in the fridge, then grabbed a soda for himself and the Jaffa and then went and joined the group in the sitting room.

They all sat and chatted away, not wanting to start opening presents until Sam arrived, but once a half-hour had passed Jack was beginning to get antsy.

"Has anyone heard from Carter today?" he asked the group.

They all shook their heads. "I spoke to her yesterday and she said she was planning on being here on time," Janet said.

Jack nodded. "I'm starting to get a little worried," he admitted, "She's usually the most punctual person I know." He moved to look out of the window, to see if he could see her car coming down the street, but when he couldn't he headed out into the hall. "I'm just going to give her a call," he told the room, "Make sure that everything is ok."

They all nodded and Jack grabbed the phone and pressed speed dial three. The call connected but the phone just kept ringing and ringing until the answering machine picked it up.

"Hey Carter," Jack said to the machine, "Just wondering where you are, everyone else is here already. I'm guessing that since I've got your machine you're not at home so hopefully, you're on the way here." He glanced into the sitting room. "See you when you get here." He hung up and put the phone back in its cradle. He stared at it for a moment before he headed back in to join the others. "I got her machine," Jack told them, "So she's probably on the way."

They all nodded and went back to their conversation, although all of them were now looking periodically towards the window, keeping an eye out to see if they could see Sam's car arriving. Another hour passed and Sam still hadn't arrived.

Jack looked at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to go and see if she's broken down or something en route," he stated as he got to his feet, "She knows what time we're eating and she hasn't tried to call any of us to let us know that she's going to be late so I think something is wrong."

"We can all go," Janet said, getting to her feet.

Jack shook his head. "You should all stay here," he said, "That way we won't end up with all of us scattered across the city. I'll drive from here to Carter's and then back, shouldn't take more than forty minutes. We'll have to delay dinner a bit but hopefully, I'll find her and we can get back in time to eat before it gets too late."

The rest of the group all nodded and Jack went and grabbed his jacket and slipped on his boots. He was just grabbing his keys when Cassie came out. "What's up munchkin?" Jack asked her.

"You'll find her won't you?" Cassie asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course," Jack said, "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it and I'll have Carter with me and then we can all eat far too much and open all those lovely presents that are waiting for us under the tree."

Cassie nodded and then stood in the doorway and watched Jack as he got into his truck and pulled off the drive. She shut the door as Jack drove down the road.

He kept to the main route between his house and Carter's, driving slower than the speed limit as he kept his eyes peeled on the roadside, on the lookout for Sam's car in case somehow she'd gone off. There was no sign though and when he reached Sam's house he saw that her car was still on her drive. He parked up behind it and jumped out of his truck and headed for the front door. He tried knocking but when there was no answer he pulled out his keys and used his spare key to let himself in.

"Carter?" he called, "You in here?"

There was no answer and the house was dark and quiet. Glancing towards the sideboard he saw that her answering machine was flashing to say that there was a new message, and he suspected that it was his from earlier. Jack debated turning around and leaving and heading back to his on a different route but decided he'd be better off searching the house first. Sam's car was still here so in theory, she should still be here.

Jack searched each room one at a time, but all the lights were off and there was no sign of Sam at all. He came back to the front door and frowned. Looking around he took in his surroundings and realised that her coat and winter boots were missing. It wasn't that he kept track of what she wore, but he knew that at this time of year she tended to wear a pair of fur-lined walking boots because they were warm and comfy, and were very grippy which helped with any slippery patches that were caused by rain or ice.

"Where are you Carter?" he muttered to himself. He raked his brains to try and think where she might be, especially since she was meant to be at his with the team. He frowned and then had an idea. She had to be within walking distance, or she would have taken her car with her, and that narrowed down his list of possible locations substantially.

He headed back out of Sam's house, locking the door behind him and got back into his truck. Quickly he headed to where he thought Sam might be. He parked up and then stood on the door sill and searched the area, using the increased height that his truck provided to his advantage.

The park he had come to was empty, which wasn't surprising as he knew everyone else would be at home eating their Christmas lunch about now, but off in one corner, sitting with her back to the car park on the swings he could see Sam.

Sighing with relief, glad that he had found her, he got down from the truck and headed over to her. She was oblivious as he got closer, slowly swinging back and forth, her back straight and her gaze straight ahead. But Jack knew Sam well enough to know that if he could see her face right now her eyes would be shut and she would be deep in thought.

"Carter," he called softly once he was close enough for his quiet voice to reach her. He didn't want to scare her by suddenly appearing at her side. Sam didn't respond in any way so Jack tried again, this time his voice slightly louder. "Carter."

This time Sam jumped and span round to face him, twisting the chain. "Sir," she said in surprise.

"Hey Carter," Jack said, "You had us worried there."

"Sir?" Sam asked, clearly not sure what Jack was talking about.

"You were meant to be at my house hours ago Carter," Jack said in a gentle voice, "When you didn't show up we all got worried. I left you a message but when you still didn't turn up I figured I'd drive over to your house and make sure you hadn't crashed or something on your way over."

"Hours ago?" Sam asked.

"You ok Carter?" Jack asked. She didn't seem like herself and that was worrying Jack. He took a seat on the swing beside her and watched as Sam untwisted the chain and faced back the way she had been before Jack had arrived.

"Sorry for worrying you all," she said in a quiet voice, "I just completely lost track of time I guess."

"How long have you been out here Carter?" Jack asked. He reached out and gently placed one of his hands over hers where it was wrapped around the chain of the swing. It wasn't as cold as he'd been expecting it to be, but it was still colder than he would have liked. Now he was sitting he realised that there was a definite chill in the air that made him glad that he'd grabbed his warm jacket when he'd left the house.

"A few hours," Sam said with a shrug as she glanced at her watch.

"Ok," Jack said, "And why are you sitting in a play park on your own, on Christmas day, when you're supposed to be at mine with Janet, Cassie, Daniel, Teal'c, and me?"

Sam shrugged again and stayed quiet. Jack stared at her and reached out to grab the other chain and twisted Sam until she was facing him. "Carter," he said, his voice still quiet but now with a slightly more firm tone, "What's going on?"

"Doesn't matter sir," Sam said. She looked back towards Jack's truck. "We should probably get going if we want to get back to yours for food," she said, "Would you mind stopping at mine on the way past so I can grab the food and presents?"

She got to her feet but Jack's hands on the chains prevented her from moving away. "Carter," he said, "Sam. Something's up."

Sam chewed on her lip, looking anywhere but at Jack. Jack kept his eyes on her and his hands where they were, waiting for her to give in and talk.

Sam sighed and lifted her gaze so she was looking straight at Jack. "This morning when I woke up I fully intended to come to yours, and I probably would have gotten there early in all honesty so I could help you get set up," she started to explain, "But then I saw some of the families on my road getting together with their extended families, and there were so many parents with children who were just running around, living life, and it all just hit me."

"What hit you?" Jack asked, not really following Sam.

"That I'm never going to have that," Sam said, her voice dropping to barely more than a whisper, "My dad doesn't even live on Earth anymore, I'm still barely speaking to my brother and his family, although that is getting better." She shook her head. "Don't get me wrong," she said quickly, "You and the guys, Janet, and Cassie you're like family to me but…" She trailed off, not sure how to finish.

"But it's not quite the same as having your dad around, or having your own kids," Jack said, "The more traditional family."

Sam nodded. "And that's when I realised that chances are I'll never have that," she said, "How can I put a husband through our disappearing acts? How can I even consider having kids when there's a chance I just won't come home one day? When my mom had her accident it was just that, an accident, but how can I knowingly go off-world knowing there's a chance that I won't come home."

Jack removed his hands from the swing chains and pulled her into a hug as he said, "C'mere."

Sam sank easily into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest. "The easy way round it would be for me to leave the SGC, or at least SG1 and just become a full-time scientist," Sam said, her voice muffled but still audible. That made Jack's heart skip a beat, he didn't know how he'd cope if he didn't work with Sam every day, but he stayed quiet, Sam didn't need to know that right now. "But I don't want to leave," she continued, "I love my job, going through the gate with you and the guys, helping people, seeing things that people could only dream of, but I can't have both of those things so I need to give up on one."

"No you don't," Jack said. He gently pushed her away but kept hold of her shoulders and held her gaze. "There's still time Sam," he said gently, "You've still got time to do both of those things. You don't have to make any drastic life choices today, you still have time."

They stared at each other for a long time then Jack felt as Sam shivered. "Time to go," he told her gently, "If we don't get back to the house soon I think the others will eat all the food."

Sam laughed and wiped the few tears that she'd shed off her face. Jack gently wiped away the one she missed with the pad of his thumb.

"Thanks for coming to find me," Sam said as Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to warm her up as they headed back towards the truck.

"Always," Jack said. He opened the passenger door for her and helped her into the truck then shut the door behind her before walking round the front of the truck and getting into the driver's seat.

They drove to Sam's house in silence and Jack waited in the truck as she ran in and grabbed some bags. Once she was back in the truck they headed to Jack's house, still in silence. As Jack pulled up on the drive and turned off the engine he turned to Sam.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention and stopping her from opening the truck door and leaving. "If you want," he said, his voice slow and hesitant, "One day we'll take it out of the room. I still feel the same way I did back then. If you want a family then maybe that's what we could be."

Sam stared at him in silent shock as she digested what he had said. Jack shifted awkwardly in his seat, worried that he had completely overstepped. With what he had just said Sam would be well within her rights to bring him up on charges.

He realised his fear was unfounded though when Sam beamed at him. "I'd like that," she said in a quiet voice. She reached out and placed her hand over his where it was still resting on the steering wheel. "I still feel the same way too," she admitted, "And one day I would really like to be able to call you family properly."

Jack smiled at her. He glanced towards the house, to make sure that no one was watching them through the window, before he turned back to Sam and gently kissed her cheek. "One day," he promised.

"One day," Sam echoed, "But for now it still needs to stay in the room." Jack nodded in agreement. Sam was right, for now, they needed to make sure that the Earth would be safe, then they could work on being a family.

They both got out and headed into the house. "Found her," Jack called as they walked through the front door, "Let's eat."

Sam wished everyone a Merry Christmas as she and the others all trekked into the dining room, where Janet had taken the initiative and had laid out most of the food. She gave a vague excuse for her tardiness and shared a secret smile with Jack before they all dug into the mountain of food that they'd all brought.