Home For The Holidays
by John O'Connor
Disclaimer:  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the
property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom,
 MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko 
Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes
only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright
 infringement is intended. The original characters,
situations, and story are the property of the author.
Rating: PG-13.
Janet Fraiser closed the front door of her house. It
had been an incredibly slow day at work, something of
an oddity for her. At least, barring any emergencies,
she had the rest of the night and the next day to
herself.
Being the CMO of a top secret military exploration
facility was usually a very stressful, demanding job.
Today was one of the rare times she was left playing
computer solitaire.
As she hung her Air Force overcoat on the tree inside
the door, she started to call out, "Cass... Damn,
forgot."
Stepping into the living room, she confirmed what she
saw as she pulled into the driveway, the lights on the
Christmas tree were on. Muttering aloud, the small
brunette went into the kitchen, "I told her to turn
those lights off when Sam picked her up. Must've been
too excited... Why can't kids understand fire
hazards?"
Janet pulled open the refrigerator door and saw the
pair Cornish game hens she had purchased at the
grocery store for her Christmas dinner. She never
could pass up a two-for-the-price-of-one deal. And she
could always have the other on New Year's; another
night alone since Cassie wouldn't be home until the
third of January. Grabbing a recorked bottle of
zinfandel, she poured herself a glass and carried it
back into the living room.
Looking at both the TV and the stereo, she decided on
neither. It would all be Christmas junk anyway and she
wasn't in a very festive mood.
General Hammond, the commanding officer of the SGC,
decided to grant most of his people time off for the
holidays. There were no units offworld currently and
things looked pretty quiet overall. He had obviously
been planning this for several weeks as he had let the
handful of personnel who were Muslim off for part of
Ramadan and, later, some of the Jewish personnel off
for Hanukhah. With these people back, and those few
who volunteered, the base had sufficient coverage for
a skeleton crew on all three shifts.
Doctor McKenzie had been one of the volunteers to stay
over Christmas. Janet had then made arrangements for
she and Cassandra to spend Christmas and New Year's
with her parents, Cass' adopted grandparents.
Unfortunately, McKenzie requested emergency medical
leave when his aged mother went into the hospital.
Janet, of course, agreed and took his place.
'At least,' she reflected, 'his mother is okay now.'
He had called and offered to return so Janet could
enjoy Christmas. She declined his offer, in part
because she wasn't sure either of them could get a
flight at the last minute on Christmas Eve.
Thinking of her family, she looked at a picture of her
parents with her daughter taken when they had visited
Colorado Springs the previous summer. She smiled and
was glad that she insisted Cass go there for the
holidays. Even though it left her all alone.
Looking at another picture, taken at a surprise
birthday party Sam Carter and her teammates had put
together, Janet silently wished them all a Merry
Christmas.
Jack O'Neill had taken Daniel Jackson and Teal'c to
Minnesota for football, brats, and ice fishing.
Shivering in the warm room, Janet thought that, while
"Grumpy Old Men" was a wonderful movie, she couldn't
imagine anyone enjoying sitting in a cold shack on a
frozen lake when they could be in a nice, warm living
room. Or bar, in O'Neill's case.
General George, as Janet affectionately called Hammond
in private, was with his granddaughters in Texas.
Weird place for Christmas, Janet had joked with him
before he left. "Barbecue for Christmas dinner?" she
had asked in mock horror. "Best damned barbecue in
Texas," General George had laughed.
Sam was probably somewhere over Utah by now, on her
way to her brother's home in San Diego. 'Another weird
place for Christmas,' Janet thought. She had spent
Christmas in warm areas before, including Saudi Arabia
during Desert Shield, and it just never seemed right
to her.
"Merry Christmas, Sam," she said aloud to another
picture of just the two of them that Cass had taken
and later enlarged in her high school dark room. Janet
was sure that her daughter had a talent for
photography, but she was realistic enough to know that
could simply be a mother's pride.
The girl adored both women. They had been the main
reason she had survived the horrible events in her
past. When Janet told her to go on the trip by
herself, Cassie had been pretty upset. The prospect of
at least riding to Denver's airport with Sam mollified
her somewhat. And all the presents waiting for her
with her grandparents.
As Janet sat on the couch and let her head fall back,
she thought, 'Everyone has somewhere to be and someone
to be with...'
Deciding not to be maudlin, Janet set her glass down
and went to the stereo. Had to be something she could
listen to that wasn't holiday-oriented. Something...
Looking through the assorted cds in the shelf rack,
Janet realized she hadn't spent a lot on music in the
last few years. Almost every cd was one of Cassie's
Spice Boys band, as Jack O'Neill called any
N'Sync-type group. There was some classical but that
would sound too much like Christmas music to the
lonely doctor.
Finally, she chose some old country rock cassette that
she used to listen to in junior high school. As
Marshall Tucker started to play, she went back and
stared in amazement at her empty glass. Not a good
sign, finishing it that quickly and not even being
aware of it.
"Watch it, Fraiser. You'll turn into Jack O'Neill,"
she chided herself aloud.
Returning to the living room, she looked at the tree
she, Cass, and Sam had decorated the weekend before.
It was a beautiful tree. She was glad that Cass
insisted on it, even with their plans for Christmas.
But it also made her feelings of loneliness even more
acute. The young doctor considered turning off the
lights but changed her mind. The tree, with her
unopened gifts beneath, would still be there. And
would probably look more pathetic dark.
She regarded the gifts. She seemed to have something
from each SG unit, as well several other people at the
SGC. Cassie had two good-sized boxes for her. She
hoped one was the new bathrobe she asked for. She was
very intrigued by several small gifts from Sam.
She hoped she hadn't gone too far with her gift for
Sam. It was a gold necklace with matching earrings
made of Black Hills gold. She remembered Sam admiring
the color play on the gold on one of their rare
shopping excursions and decided to pick it up for her
for Christmas.
Sam. Her best friend. A lovely, lonely woman who had
recently rediscovered her family. Janet smiled
whenever she thought about the tall, blond officer.
She brightened up any room she entered and Janet
always felt glad when they were together. She felt an
unexpected ache thinking of Sam's absence. If there
was anyone she missed right at that moment it was Sam
Carter.
'What's with me? It's like a high school crush or...'
Janet's train of thought derailed as she suddenly
realized what she was feeling. "Oh God! Sam...?" She
didn't realize it but there was a big grin plastered
on her face at the realization. "Sam."
Now that the lovely young woman looked back, she
realized that she had fallen for Sam some time ago but
had refused to admit it to herself. That's why she
hadn't thought twice about the cost of Sam's gift. It
was far more than she spent on anyone except Cassie.
Her heart fell when she realized that this whole thing
was undoubtedly one-sided.
There was a loud knocking on her door, jerking her off
the couch, her heart hammering in her chest. "Who
the...?" she asked the empty room.
As she opened the door and stared in surprise, Janet
could only ask, "What are you doing here? I thought
you were..."
"Can I come in? It's kinda cold out here," Sam Carter
said as she brushed some snow off her shoulders.
"Sam? Oh. Of course, come in."
"Merry Christmas, Janet. I...I couldn't let you spend
it alone. You are alone?" Sam made a pretense of
looking around the front entry hall.
"No, no one here. Just me, some wine, and the Marshall
Tucker Band," Janet said as she took Sam's down-filled
coat.
"I thought I recognized that! 'Can't You See.' Right?
God, back in grade school, this was pretty popular..."
Janet threw her younger friend a scowl and repeated
her question, "What are you doing here? I figured
you'd be on your way to Dago..."
"Cassie and I were talking on the way up. We both felt
bad that you were alone. She wanted to go back but she
wanted to see your parents. She loves your family, you
know. Anyway, I got to thinking, my brother will have
so many people, with his in-laws, that I don't know...
Well, I'd much rather be here with you than in San
Diego for Christmas. So I dropped off Cass, found a
poor college student who was on standby for San Diego
and gave him my ticket," Sam said.
"Just gave him... Sam, that couldn't have been cheap,"
Janet replied.
"Bought it during the airfare wars last October. Round
trip for under one hundred dollars. And it was worth
it to see that kid's face. He was ready to spend
Christmas Eve in the main terminal. Hey, you gonna
offer me some of that?"
"Sam, you know you can help yourself. There's beer in
there too," Janet said to the woman's back. Sam here
with her for Christmas. It felt so wonderfully...
"Hey, why're you crying? Janet?" Sam asked in concern.
Janet was standing in the living room entry, smiling
with tears rolling down her face. Sam set her wine
glass down on the hall table and placed her hands on
Janet's shoulders.
Wiping her eyes, Janet sniffed and smiled up at Sam,
"I don't know. I guess I was ready to be alone and now
you're here...I'm happy, I guess. Kinda stupid, huh?"
"Not at all. Makes me pretty damned happy too. You
know, Christmas should be spent with the people you
really care about. You're the one I care about the
most, Janet."
"Oh, Sam..." Janet hugged her friend.
Sam glanced up and chuckled, "Uh-oh! Cassie told me
she had hung that...."
Janet looked up and her eyes widened at the sprig of
mistletoe. "Why would she...? I told her not to..."
Sam shut up her friend with a quick kiss.
Janet stared at her friend. "Wha...what was that for?"
"You're my friend. It's Christmas. That's all..."
Janet looked down at the floor, "All? Oh... I... Never
mind." She pulled free from the comfort of Sam's arms
and went into the living room.
"Jan...? What is it? You can tell me," Sam said,
following her friend.
"I...I just..." Janet's voice trailed off as she
stared at the tree.
Sam placed her hands on Janet's shoulders again, "Just
what? Please, Janet, tell me."
"I just realized...that I've fallen for... I'm sorry.
You don't need this. Or want it."
"Are you saying you love me?" Sam asked, turning Janet
around. "Is that what you're saying?"
Janet started to deny it but nodded instead. She
wished at that moment that Sam was on the westbound
flight. Wished it more than anything in her life.
"Me too," Sam whispered.
Janet looked up into Sam's loving blue eyes in
amazement. She did too? Sam loved her?
"Why do you think I came back here?" Sam said,
gratified to see the fear she saw in Janet's eyes
changing to happiness and love. "Why do you think I
made a point of standing under Cass' mistletoe?"
"I never dared... I..." Janet stroked Sam's soft cheek
with the backs of her fingers. Those fingers
lengthened to comb through short blond hair and pull
that lovely face to her.
Soft, moist lips met and melded together. Both mouths
opened as one and two tongues slid gently together,
caressing each other. The two women, with the growing
warmth of love and passion, stood bathed in the warm
light of a Christmas tree and learned the most
important gift wasn't in a brightly wrapped box. It
was a discovery both magical and simple.
They were both finally home.
 (c) John O'Conner
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