A/N: Here it is, the third and final installment. Some time has passed and this chapter is set after the end of season 8. Enjoy and happy holidays, everyone!

"Yes, Daniel, I'll be fine" Sam emphasized. "Go. Do your thing. Have fun!" She hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh. One more set of plans gone up in smoke. Yesterday, Mark called to cancel their Christmas plans because of some last minute emergency in his wife's family. She didn't know what; Mark had spared her the details. So she and Daniel had scheduled a Christmas Eve dinner for tonight, and she'd been really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, he'd just remembered he had a booked a flight for this afternoon three months ago to visit some old archaeology friends. How he could have forgotten something like that, Sam wasn't sure. She sighed. Teal'c was off world, so it looked like she would be spending the first Christmas after her father died alone.

Sam looked around her lab, taking in the piles of files to deal with, research papers to read and half-finished projects sitting on her work bench. At least there was plenty here to keep her busy. After surveying the piles, she grabbed a file folder off the nearest stack. She might as well dig in.

Several hours later, her chosen pile was incrementally smaller and her eyes were exponentially blearier. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Maybe it was time to take a break. She put her head in her hands and wearily contemplated a trip to the mess hall for lunch.

"Sleeping on the job, Carter?" Sam bolted upright in surprise, then looked over to the doorway to see Jack standing there, hands in his pockets, eyes twinkling as he teased her.

"No, Sir! I mean…" Sam shook her head to clear it. "What are you doing here, Sir?"

Jack leaned against the door frame. "What, can't a guy drop in to check on his old teammates?"

Sam smiled. "It's a long way from DC, Sir, just to check on us."

"Oh I don't know, Carter. It seems worth it." Jack held her gaze, and they both stayed there, taking in the sight of the other for a few moments.

Sam turned slightly pink under his scrutiny and turned away, changing the subject. "So, uh, do you have work to do here?"

"Not so much. I was thinking of a little vacation, actually." Jack rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Oh?" Sam asked.

"Yep! 'Sides, I got tired of the DC slush. Figured I'd go for a more of a white Christmas this year."

Sam smiled. "Well, Colorado does have that in spades, Sir."

Jack looked at her, his steady gaze growing slightly more intense. "Among other things."

Sam stared at him for a moment, and then blushed again. It almost sounded like he was flirting with her. "So, do you have any plans, Sir?"

Jack stuffed his hands back in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Well, actually, I was curious what you might be up to for Christmas, Colonel." He looked around the room as he asked, feigning casualness.

"Have you talked to Daniel and Teal'c?"

"Oh yes," Jack said with light sarcasm, "wouldn't want to forget them."

Sam continued, oblivious. "Unfortunately they're both going to be out of town." Sam gestured to the phone. "Daniel just called to cancel our plans, and Teal'c's off world visiting R'yac." Sam looked down at her desk, disappointed. Clearly this was the end of their dinner plans.

"Well, I guess you and I might just have to make the best of it, then. I'm sure we can cope, somehow." Jack teased. "Whaddaya say, Carter?"

Sam widened her eyes in surprise, then studied his face to see if he was serious. "Um, yeah. Sure. That sounds great, actually."

Jack clapped his hands loudly. "Well, it's all settled. See you at eight? I need a little time to get the food started."

"Okay." Sam smiled. "And thanks, Sir. It'll be nice not to have to spend Christmas alone."

"Yeah, sure." Jack's gaze lingered on hers. "You betchya." Then he turned away, leaving Sam feeling slightly confused as to what exactly had just happened.

"Ow." Jack dropped the roasting pan with a clatter onto the stovetop. He hadn't had time for the whole turkey thing, but he'd managed to find a decent looking chicken at one of the last places still open on Christmas Eve. That, and a few potatoes, plus a salad, and he figured they were good to go. Oh, and the wine of course. Carter had always been more of a red wine drinker, so he'd picked out a few nice options, thinking she could choose one she liked when she arrived.

He glanced at the clock. Just past eight. She should be here any time now. He looked back out the window, anxiously eyeing the snow. It had started just after he'd left the mountain around lunchtime. The forecast hadn't called for any snow at all, so he'd thought they couldn't possibly get too much. But hours later, the snow was still falling, and showed no signs of easing up. Crap. Why hadn't he invited her for earlier in the afternoon? He had finally worked up the courage to ask her somewhere alone and she'd actually accepted (although, to be fair, he wasn't sure she realized what she was agreeing to). After almost 9 years of waiting for this, to have dinner cancelled by a snow emergency would just be cruel. Not that the Universe had shown much inclination to spare him cruel in the past. He sighed and put the chicken back in the oven, setting it to warm. Nothing he could do now but wait.

Sam was having trouble focusing on the road despite the inclement weather demanding her attention. Could what she think happened today have actually happened? She kept wavering back and forth, the truth of the matter completely evading her attempts to reason it out. She could swear he'd been sarcastic about Daniel and Teal'c. That he didn't want them there, and hadn't been planning to invite them. But that would mean he only ever intended to invite just her. And that was, well, that was just confusing.

She shook her head and tried to pay attention to the road. Her rear wheel drive Volvo was not the most useful car in the snow. She could compensate a lot by applying her driving skills honed by her knowledge of physics and her taste for racing, but at some point, either the tires could grip the ice or they couldn't. Besides, there was no use thinking about it. She was probably reading way too much into their earlier conversation. Probably he had already known about Teal'c and Daniel, and maybe he even had other people coming over for dinner. It probably wasn't a personal invitation for her. Could it have been?

The snow had reached almost white-out conditions, drastically slowing her travel time; unfortunately, she had plenty of time to think. By the time she was within a few miles of Jack's, she'd worked herself back into believing he had actually asked her out. Suddenly, she felt sure of it. In her eagerness to arrive, she accelerated ever so slightly too quickly through a turn. Her wheels started spinning futilely on ice and she lost control of the Volvo. Her car spun out of the turn and swung around, sliding sideways into a ditch, and coming to rest only as it crunched loudly into a tree.

For a moment, Sam sat there, stunned from the crash. She then recovered herself enough to look back and assess the damage. Luckily, her car had hit the tree on her rear passenger side. And also luckily, the fuel tank was on the other side, although the passenger side door had fared less well; it was completely smashed in. Broken glass filled the back seat, and the door bent awkwardly into the car. Sam reached into her pocket for her cell phone, only to discover that in her distraction about dinner, she must have left it at work. Sam dropped her head to the steering wheel in dismay. Her car was probably totaled. And worse, her plans for the evening were probably canceled. What she really should do now is find some help, call the police, file a report, wait for the car to be towed and somehow find a ride home. Disappointment flooded through her in waves. She was just starting to feel so sure about what was waiting for her at Jack's; it felt like cruel punishment to have her hopes snatched away at the last moment. She stayed there for several minutes, taking deep, panicky breaths, trying not to cry.

After a few moments, she calmed herself and looked around again. Outside, the street lamps were blinking yellow and there was not a soul in sight. Sam pushed open her door and climbed out into the snow, surveying her car. It was in pretty bad shape; she wouldn't be driving it out of this ditch. As she stood there, contemplating her choices, she realized that she was actually closest to Jack's. She felt a small bit of hope prick at the back of her consciousness. Maybe she could make this work after all. With a renewed sense of determination, Sam worked her way over to the trunk and managed to force it open, despite it being a bit bent on one side. She leaned down and pulled out the backpack she always kept in the car for emergencies. It had flares, a swiss army knife, a first aid kit, a change of clothes, a small thermal blanket and a few other useful odds and ends.

She pulled out a flashlight and compass, swung the backpack over her shoulders, and set off down the road. Come hell or high water, she was going to make that dinner.

Jack looked at the clock for the hundredth time that evening. It was almost ten at this point; she wasn't coming. He got up off the couch, and headed into the kitchen. He turned the oven off, pulled the now-dry chicken out of the oven and began to wrap up the food. He tried not to worry; after all, Carter could handle herself in the snow. A quick call to her cell had only gotten him voicemail, but that didn't necessarily mean anything; she was notorious for forgetting to bring it with her. Most likely she'd made it part way and turned back when the roads proved treacherous. If she even left at all. Maybe she'd misunderstood his invitation and thought he was having some kind of neighborhood Christmas party or something. If so, and if she decided not to show, she wouldn't necessarily think to call him and tell him of her change in plans.

As he was tearing off a strip of aluminum foil to wrap up the chicken with, he heard the doorbell ring. He froze where he was was, his heart in his throat, his hands and foil poised over the poultry. It couldn't be, could it? His heart began racing. He set the foil down and hurried over to the front door, pulling it open eagerly and letting in a blast of cold air. There, wrapped in a layer of ice, eyebrows literally frosted over, stood one Samantha Carter. As the door opened, a full blown smile lit her face. "I made it! I hope I'm not too late."

Jack stood there a moment, staring at her in amazement, before he came to his senses and quickly pulled her inside. "Carter! Thank God you're okay!" He pulled her into a hug, getting himself covered in snow in the process.

"Did your other guests go home already?" Sam's question was muffled by Jack's shoulder.

Jack pulled back enough to meet her eyes, his hands grasping her upper arms. "What other guests?" He looked at her, confused.

Sam's full-beam smile returned and then faded into something softer, shyer. "Oh. I wasn't sure."

Jack brought his hand up to Sam's face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Sam, there never was anyone else."

Sam ducked her head as her shy smile widened. She brought her arms up around Jack, and leaned her head against his chest. Jack folded her into his arms and just stood there, holding her.

After a few moments, he became aware that she had started both dripping melted ice and shivering. He rubbed her arms. "How about we get you warmed up?" Jack began working Sam's wet coat off her shoulders.

Sam's face lifted in a slow, seductive smile. "Sounds good to me." She leaned up and kissed Jack gently on the lips.

Jack wrapped his right arm around Sam's waist, and reached his left arm up, threaded his fingers through the the still icy hair at the nape of her neck. He pulled her in tightly, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments, Jack pulled back and rested his forehead on Sam's. "I'd been thinking we'd start with hot chocolate, Sam, but your way's better." Jack smiled at her fondly and tugged her hand, pulling her further into the house. "You always were the one with the brilliant ideas."

Sam grinned and followed him inside.

.fin.