It was just before midday when Jamale's youngest son came running into the shop. His cheeks were red and he was bouncing on his toes.
"Did you get your hay in Sam?"
"Yes, why?"
"Come and look!" He was waving her to the front of the shop. Sam got up and went to the door. She smiled when she saw the large snowflakes falling.
"It's the first snow of the year!" The boy took off down the street intent on telling everyone about the snow.
Jamale had heard his son's shouts and came out to see what was happening. "The first snow is early this season. I hope everyone has their third harvest in by now."
"Most people who have come to town this week have said they were either done or close."
"I hope so." Jamale leaned against the door frame. "Early winters are usually bad news but we've had a good growing season and I have high hopes that we will all be fine this winter."
"I think we'll all be fine." Sam smiled as children raced outside to try and catch snowflakes.
"You can go ahead and head home. Nobody will be coming to the shop now that there's snow."
"It's not snowing that much. I can get a little more done."
Jamale's eyes narrowed. "I thought you had a few errands you needed to complete before going home."
Sam nodded. "I do."
"Shops will begin to close soon. Go ahead and finish what you are working on and then get out of here. Have a lovely first snow. I think it is always the best of the season." Jamale went into his house and left Sam watching the kids playing. She tore herself away after a couple minutes and went back to her workbench. She finished the motor and collected her project and bike. She had three stops to make on her way home.
She went to see widow Isles first. The good widow quickly opened the door when Sam knocked.
"Hello, Samantha. I'm glad the weather didn't stop you from coming by."
"As am I. It is beautiful though."
"It is but I'm afraid this is the first of many snows this season. It may be a long cold season."
"It might but the town should be well prepared."
"I hope so. I have your packages right here dear." The widow walked over to her table and picked up four packages wrapped in paper.
"Thank you so much." Sam reached into her bag pack and pulled out several jars of vegetables and a package of preserved meat. "These are for you."
The widow smiled. "You didn't need to bring these. Fixing my wagon was more than enough payment"
"This isn't much really. I appreciate you making these for us. We've needed them for quite a while."
"I expect to see you in them when you're around town."
"Yes, ma'am. Let me know if your wagon needs any more repairs. I am always happy to help."
"I will dear. Now get out of here before this weather gets really nasty."
Sam smiled and waved good-bye. Her next stop was at Marl's. She paid off a bit more of their bill and bought some fishing line. Her last stop was at the bakery where she bought some cinnamon rolls, fruit pies, and fresh bread. She put the food in her backpack and tied the packages she picked up from the widow into her basket. Her surprise for Jack was too long to fit in the basket so she secured one end to the basket and the other end to her seat, leaving enough space for her leg to still peddle.
The snow was really coming down by the time she left town. There were already a couple inches on the ground and it was accumulating quickly. The snow combined with the recent rains made the road very muddy. Her bike got stuck a couple times, throwing her off balance in the process. The second time her bike slipped she ended up in a shallow gulley. She cursed the bike and the weather as she picked up the bike. She made sure her packages were secure and Jack's surprise hadn't been damaged before she set off again.
The usual half hour bike ride had already taken an hour and she still wasn't home. She was having trouble seeing because the snow was coming down so hard. Her lack of vision combined with getting stuck in the mud and slipping on the snow was making the trip home very difficult. She was also very cold. She was wearing several layers but she hadn't counted on getting wet. She pulled her sleeves down over her hands, since she wasn't wearing gloves, and used her scarf to cover her head and ears. She hated it when her ears got cold.
When Jack saw the snow he decided it was best to go out and get the animals secured for the evening even though it was still early. The barn would keep the animals comfortable all night thanks to the geothermal heating system. Once the animals were inside he loaded his project onto a cart and wheeled it to the house. He had a hard time getting into the house by himself but he kept at it until he had it moved into the far corner of the kitchen. He collected eggs from the chicken-ettes when he returned the cart to the barn.
He was decorating in the house when he heard the door shake. He assumed it was the wind and kept on hanging garland around the hearth. The geothermal heating meant fires weren't necessary but most houses still had a fire place for decorative purposes. Jack was just thinking that a snowy day might be the perfect time for a fire when he heard the door rattle again. This time he decided to investigate. He was shocked to find Sam standing on the porch trying to open the door. Her hands were full and the bike was lying on its side in front of the porch. Jack pulled her inside and brought the bike up onto the porch.
Sam dropped her packages beside the door. Jack took the backpack off her shoulders.
"Why in the world did you come home in this?"
"Cccccause." Sam was shaking all over. Jack helped her strip off her wet coat and the two shirts she was wearing under it. He brought a chair over and sat her down. He lifted her right leg and removed her boot. He lifted her left leg and untied her other boot.
"You are nuts. You should have stayed in town."
"Ddddidn't sssseem so bbbad at fffirst." Jack helped her stand up and pull off her soaking wet pants. He helped her over to the sofa. He put two blankets over her and went to the bedroom to get a third blanket. Her shaking convinced him it was the right time to start a fire. He grabbed some kindling and a couple logs from the corner and bent down in front of the fireplace. He had a fire going within minutes.
"There's ffffood in my pack."
Jack looked over at the backpack he had taken off Sam's shoulders. "Ok." He retrieved the bag and emptied the contents onto the kitchen table. His mouth watered at the sight of the cinnamon rolls. After Jack unpacked the food he stoked the fire and sat on the sofa beside Sam. She was still shivering so he pulled her close to him. She fell asleep as her shivering stopped. Her head was resting on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. He held her for about thirty minutes before he had to get up to start dinner. She slept through the initial preparation but woke as he was adding more wood to the fire.
"Mmmmmm. It smells wonderful in here."
"Well thank you. We still have a bit longer until dinner will be ready, despite how good it smells. Feel free to go get a hot shower and shake off the last of the snow."
"That's probably a good idea." Sam stood and wrapped one of the blankets around her. She glanced over at the door and saw the packages but not the special surprise. She hiked the blanket up high, walked over to the window, and looked outside. The bike with her surprise still tied to it was on the porch. She opened the door and tiptoed out into the cold. She tried to quickly untie the package but she had tied it too well. Jack came over to the door to see what she was doing. When he saw her predicament he went and got her a knife. She cut the ties and brought the long package inside.
Jack looked at her soaking wet bare feet. "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes." Sam leaned the package against the wall. "Now I can go take a shower." She smiled at him as she headed towards the bedrooms. She grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.
Sam took a luxuriously long hot shower. She actually lathered, rinsed and repeated for once. The water stung her fingers and toes at first but after a minute the water felt marvelous. The bathroom was filled with steam when she finished. She cracked the door open to let out some of the steam. She put on her pajamas and towel dried her hair before emerging into the cool bedroom. She put her dirty clothes in her hamper and walked out into the living room.
All the lights in the room were off and there were lit candles on the hearth, the table beside the sofa, the dining room table, and the kitchen counter. She looked back over her shoulder to confirm in her own mind that she had just turned off the lights in the bathroom and bedrooms.
"Is there something wrong with the generator? Did we lose our electricity?"
Jack turned around and smiled. "No, I was going for ambiance."
Sam's eyes widened. "Oh, I like ambiance."
"I hoped so." Jack turned back around towards the stove. "Dinner's almost ready. Could you get out some glasses? I'd like some of the wine the Chalt's gave us."
"You know its Christmas, don't you?"
"Christmas Eve to be exact."
Sam looked down at her watch. "It's been Christmas for about ten minutes."
"Really? Wait a minute. Are you one of those people always trying to find a way to open gifts on Christmas Eve? That's it isn't?"
Sam laughed out loud. "No. We only opened one gift on Christmas Eve and it was always a game that was supposed to keep my brother and I quiet until we were sent to bed."
"Are you sure? You were always encouraging Cassie to bug Janet to death to open her gifts early."
"The privilege of being the aunt instead of the mother."
Sam poured the wine while Jack sat the food out on the kitchen counter. He had baked a bird he had killed while hunting the day before. There were a variety of baked and sautéed vegetables, as well as mashed potatoes and stuffing, and the rolls Sam had brought home on the table also. Jack turned on his ipod to a selection of Christmas tunes. They both filled a plate and sat down at the small table.
"The candles are a nice touch."
"Did you see the garland? I collected it while I was hunting yesterday."
Sam looked around the room. She had missed the pine-like strands laid around the room. "That explains the nice earthy smell."
Sam took a couple bites as her eyes kept roaming the room. She saw the large rectangular shape covered with a blanket in the corner of the kitchen.
"What's that?" Sam tilted her head towards the blanket covered rectangle.
"That's for later." Jack kept eating as a smile spread across Sam's face. They shared stories of past Christmases as they ate, reveling in the antics of Cassie over the years. The concept that there was a day for giving gifts surprised the child her first year on Earth. They both agreed that was the best Christmas they had spent with her.
After dinner Jack washed dishes and Sam dried. Once they finished Sam was nearly bouncing on her toes as she collected her packages and moved them to the sofa. Jack added wood to the fire and joined her on the sofa. Sam separated the packages into two piles.
"Did you get gifts for yourself?"
Sam grinned guiltily. "Yes."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Why?"
"People do that?"
"I've been doing it since I was a teenager. I love opening gifts and I know what I want. You open one first." Sam nudged Jack's pile towards him.
Jack took the first package off the top and opened it. It was a blue plaid shirt.
"Try it on. I want to see if I got your size right."
Jack sat forward and pulled the shirt on. It was a perfect fit. "Did you make this?"
Sam giggled. "Not a chance. I did a little bargaining with widow Isles. She's an excellent seamstress and I figured it was about time you had a shirt made to fit you instead of hand me downs."
"Nice color. Thank you."
"I always liked you in blue." Sam picked up one of her packages. It was a light yellow shirt. Jack went on to open two pairs of pants, one brown and one blue, and another shirt, a red one. Sam also got two pairs of pants and another shirt. Sam bounced up and got the long package from beside the door. She stood beside the sofa and held it out towards Jack.
"Here's the good one." Jack stood up and took the long package from her. He turned it around a couple times as she swayed back and forth. He knew he was driving her nuts so he rotated the package one more time.
"Just open it up for goodness sake."
Jack grinned and started tearing the paper. He stopped as the top of the fishing pole was exposed. He ripped the rest of the paper off. The look on his face made Sam downright giddy.
"There's a large lake about an hour from here and two streams that feed it. You can also use it closer to home. Oh, I almost forgot." Sam spun around looking for her backpack. She saw it in the kitchen. She went over and opened the small front flap. She pulled out the fishing line and gave it to Jack.
"Works better with some of this."
"Thank you Sam. I've really missed fishing."
"I thought it might be a good way to help you relax and add some more diversity to our table."
"Did you make it?"
Sam bit her lower lip. "Yeah, that's been my evening project while I was in town lately."
"I'm impressed. It feels well balanced." Jack was swishing it around.
"I look forward to hearing all about how it works."
Sam started to sit down but Jack stopped her. "You still have one gift left too." Jack looked over at the corner.
Sam slid over towards the surprise. She lifted the cloth. It was a beautiful wooden dresser. She pulled the cloth off and stood in front of the dresser in awe. It had three small drawers on the top row and two drawers on the middle and bottom rows. The top middle drawer had a decorative design on it. She bent down to get a closer look at it. The Tauri symbol was carved between the handle. To the left of the handle was an S and to the right was a C.
"Of course your initials involve curved letters. They're harder than straight lines."
"It's so beautiful. Thank you so much."
"I promised you a dresser. Sorry it took me so long."
"This is so amazing." Sam opened the top left drawer. She knew this had taken him a long time. The sanding alone must have been daunting. As she was admiring the dresser the music changed from Christmas tunes to jazz.
"Is that Perdido?"
"I'm impressed. You know Duke Ellington." His voice was coming from just over her shoulder. She hadn't heard him walk up behind her. She slowly turned. Jack had his hand out.
"May I have this dance?"
She was too surprised to utter an answer but she put her hand in his. He put his other hand on her waist and spun her to the center of the room. Jack led her though two more spins and a dip before the song ended.
"Your ribs really are fine, aren't they?"
"Yes, ma'am." The next song started. "Do you know this one?"
"It sounds familiar."
"I heard it a couple years ago at a military ball and tracked it down. It's Come on Back by Benny Carter arranged by SFC Jeff Lopez. He did a nice job with it."
"Yes, he did." At the end of the song Jack pulled Sam tight against him. Again and Again, also by Jack Benny, began to play. The tempo was much slower. Sam relaxed into Jack's arms and continued to follow his lead.
They were basically swaying in place when Jack whispered in Sam's ear. "Merry Christmas, Sam."
Her heart clenched and her feet stopped moving. She moved her head back so she could look Jack in the eyes. "Jack?"
"Sam."
She bit her lower lip. "What changed?"
"As you lifted that beam off me I realized you were always the one who saved my sorry butt. Since you're here with me you won't be coming through that gate to rescue us. I'm finally ready to make a life together. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."
She kept her eyes open until the moment before his lips touched hers because she didn't believe this was really happening. His kiss was soft and long. Her hands moved from his shoulders to the base of his hair. As the kiss deepened one of Jack's hands slid down to her buttocks and the other moved up between her shoulder blades. He pulled her even closer. His lips left hers and began kissing along her jaw, concentrating just below her ear. A tingle spread from her belly button to her toes and fingers but her brain was slowly catching up.