The 12 Days of Christmas: SGC Style

Sam awoke to something she'd never take for granted again. She had one arm slung over Jack's chest, the other had was intertwined with one of Jack's. She smiled serenely at the man lying next to her. He was beautiful, not that he'd think so, but hey, she was entitled to her own opinion.

"Staring at me for a reason?" Oh, he was awake.

"No." Sam replied. "Just 'cause."

Jack cracked an eye open to look at Sam. He leant over, giving her a gentle kiss. "Merry Christmas, Sam."

"Merry Christmas, Jack." She replied, kissing him back.

"What's the time?" Jack murmured in between their kisses.

"0800 hours." Sam replied. "I slept in."

"So did I." Jack gave a small grin. "We've got three hours before we need to be at Daniel's. I can think of something we can do between now and then." He pressed his hips into Sam's, and she chuckled.

"Yes, I can think of something as well."

At 0930 hours, Sam crawled out of bed and hopped under the shower. She washed her hair and enjoyed the feel of the hot water on her skin. When she got out of the shower, she slipped into a bathrobe and wandered out into the living room to find Jack. He was in the kitchen.

"What are you up to?" Sam asked.

Jack didn't answer immediately, instead, he turned around and told Sam to close her eyes.

She did.

Jack lead her to the dining room, and sat her down on a chair. "Open your eyes." He said quietly in her ear.

Sam opened her eyes, and was greeted by the table fully set, and breakfast piled on two plates.

"Oh, Jack." Was all Sam could say.

"Merry Christmas. Enjoy. I have a surprise for you afterwards."

"This isn't surprise enough?" Sam asked. "I can't believe you made breakfast. Wow."

Jack sat down beside Sam, and began eating. So did Sam.

Once they'd finished breakfast, Jack pulled a wrapped gift from his pocket and handed it to Sam.

She unwrapped it and found a box. She opened the box and gasped. "Jack, it's beautiful!" She looked up smiling. "Thank you."

"I saw it, and I immediately thought of you." He replied. He pulled out the necklace from the box, and gently fastened it around Sam's neck. It was a tiny silver heart, and Sam smiled at Jack again. She pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you." She whispered against his lips.

"You're welcome." Jack replied.

Sam pulled away from Jack and said, "Wait here." She got up and went to her room. She rummaged around in her wardrobe and pulled out Jack's gift. She returned to the dining room and handed the package to Jack. He opened it and laughed.

"This is great, Sam!"

"That's what I thought when I saw it."

Sam had bought the complete series DVD of Wormhole X-treme. Too bad the complete series only fit on one disc. It came with as extra disc of special features.

"Who knows, I might be on this!" Jack said. "God, Marty was a laugh, wasn't he?"

Sam grinned. "Yeah. We should probably get ready to go to Daniel's."

Jack nodded. "Mind if I grab a shower?"

"Go ahead. There's towels in the cupboard under the sink." Sam replied.

Jack stood to leave, then stooped down to give Sam another kiss. "Thanks."

She smiled as he left.

—

Excerpt from the diary of Colonel Samantha Carter

25th December. Christmas Day

Jack's in the shower, giving me a little time to actually write in here. The last twelve days have been amazing. A journey, and I've emerged from it better than I was before. My life has taken a turn for the better, things can only go up. I have the love of my life with me, and I'm the love of his life too. I have a family, SG1, and we will be spending time together later. It's going to be great. We're all going to move forwards, and things are going to be good. Jack's given me the most beautiful necklace, and it's a shame I can't wear it all the time, but there's no way I'd risk wearing it off world. Anyway, life is great.

—

Later that day, SG1 were milling about in Daniel's apartment, enjoying the company. Vala was perched on Daniel's lap, talking animatedly to Teal'c, who wasn't saying much. Daniel occasionally added something to the conversation, but he seemed content to let Vala keep talking. Jack was talking to Cam about the ups and downs of being in charge of SG1. And Sam was watching her family with a smile on her face. This is what Christmas should be like. Sam didn't realise that she'd become lost in her thoughts until a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. Sam leant back into Jack and smiled happily.

"Having a good day?" Jack whispered.

"Definitely." Sam replied, turning her head to kiss him. "This is the best Christmas ever."

"I agree." Jack answered, kissing her back.

Suddenly, Sam felt more arms encircling her, and found Daniel wrapping himself around her and Jack.

"You know, I love you guys!" Daniel slurred.

"Ah." Sam said.

"Space monkey's been drinking, huh?" Jack asked as Vala walked over.

"Just a little." Vala replied. She laid a hand on Daniel's arm. "Daniel. Do you want to let go of Samantha and Jack?"

Daniel did, and instead threw his arms around Vala. He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Jack watched, bemused. "He never has been able to hold his alcohol, has he?"

"No." Sam replied.

Vala smiled, and lead Daniel out of the room. She came back a little while later. "Uh, Daniel passed out."

Jack chuckled. "I guess that's our cue to leave, then." He slung an arm over Sam's shoulders, and smiled broadly at the rest of SG1.

"It was nice getting to catch up with you, sir." Cam said.

"You too, Mitchell." Jack replied, shaking the younger man's hand.

"T." Jack said, turning to Teal'c. "Always good talking... not talking... with you."

"Indeed, O'Neill." Teal'c said, clasping Jack's forearm.

Jack turned to Vala. "Vala. It's been a pleasure."

Vala grinned, and gave Jack a brief hug. "Thank you for coming, Jack."

"Hey, I'm always up for surprising Carter." Jack replied. He turned to Sam. "Shall we depart?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah." She turned to her friends. "Thanks for a great Christmas." She said.

Cam pulled her into a hug. "And thank you." He said. "For everything."

Teal'c was next. He embraced Sam tightly, not saying anything.

Sam then turned to Vala, who threw her arms around her. "Thank you for all your help, Sam." She said.

"No worries." Sam replied. "Although, I expect my lab to be back to normal when I arrive next."

Vala chuckled.

Sam turned back to Jack, and smiled. He held out a hand, which she took, and they left Daniel's apartment.

Jack held Sam's hand tightly as they made their way back to his truck. He opened the door for her, and helped her in. Before shutting the door, he pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you." Sam whispered back.

"Merry Christmas, Carter."

"Merry Christmas, sir."

And then they went home.

The End

A/N: Okay, so I may have meant to finish this some 6 months ago, but hey, I got distracted. :\ Sorry. Anyway, hopefully this was worth the wait. And just think, Christmas in July :D

Thanks for reading.

-Briony.