Christmas Miracles

Title: Christmas Miracles
Author: Arcana
Email: pfalcon41@yahoo.com
Category: Challenge, Holiday, Romance
Episode related: 521 Meridian, 606 Abyss
Holiday: Christmas
Season: future Season
Pairing: Daniel/Janet, Sam/Jack
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: An SG1 Christmas story
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

Title: Christmas Miracles
Author: Arcana
Rating: PG
Summary: An SG1 Christmas Story
Spoilers: Meridian, Abyss, general knowledge of season six Category: Humor, Challenge response
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but if TPTB were to give 'em to me as a Christmas gift, I wouldn't object. Content Warnings: This has not been beta read, cuz putting off finishing it till Christmas day doesn't leave much time! Author's notes: Ok, this fic is a response to both the Sam/ Jack Christmas Challenge and the Dan/ Jan Christmas Challenge. The requirements were:

Sam/ Jack:

~ It must begin with the phrase "What do you mean that's not allowed?" ~ Must contain lots and lots of tinsel. ~ Must have Jonas in it, although Daniel can visit ~ Must contain no mention of regulations ~ A Sam/ Jack kiss (duh) Dan/ Jan: ~ It must contain the phrase "It seemed she had been a very good girl this year" ~ Must be set after Meridian ~ Must contain at least two symbols of Christmas (i.e., mistletoe, tree, etc) ~ Dan/ Jan kiss (of course!)

I'd also like to say that, at 8 1/2 pages in MS Word, this is definitely the longest story I've ever written (see, Suzie, my attention span is increasing), so tell me what you think!

"What do you mean that's not allowed?" Samantha Carter asked her commanding officer.

Colonel Jack O'Neill stared at her. In his 40's, he was starting to show his age, and flecks of silver were becoming visible in his hair. However, his age was not the main cause of the silver in his hair today. Instead, a large quantity of tinsel was to blame.

"Carter, tinsel is for decorating Christmas trees, not your superior officer."

"Well, you practically dared me to!"

"What?!?"

"You said, 'Tinsel is boring. And it always gets stuck to you, you wind up getting covered in it.'"

The O'Neill sarcasm came into play. "Oh yeah, Carter, I can so see how you interpreted that as a dare to cover me in tinsel."

"You were asking for it."

"Oh really? Well, I think you're asking for... this!" And with that, he threw the clump of tinsel back at her.

Carter stared at him, speechless. Then a grin grew on her face, a grin that almost had Jack worried about what she was going to do next. Almost.

Before he could realize what she was doing, Carter reached behind her, into the open box of tinsel. She grabbed an even larger clump of the silvery strands, and threw it in his face.

"Oh, this means war!"

And before long, tinsel was flying everywhere.

Coming out to investigate the noise, Janet grinned when she saw both of her friends engaged in a full-scale tinsel war. Both were covered from head to toe in the glittering strands, and more was floating through the air.

"You know, I might be wrong, but I could have sworn you guys were supposed to be helping me decorate my house for the party tonight. Instead, you're only decorating yourselves."

The two warring officers froze at the sound of her voice. They glanced at each other, suddenly realizing how they must look.

"This isn't what it seems-."

"We can explain-."

They both paused to let the other continue. Jack reached over and pulled a strand of tinsel out of Sam's hair. Slowly, they both started to grin, and before long they were both laughing.

Janet stared at them, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"How about you guys finish up in here, then when you're done, you can come into the kitchen and sample some of the fudge Cassie and I made."

"Ooh, you're making fudge?" Sam asked excitedly. "What kind?"

Janet grinned. "Super-duper-ultra-chocolatey-tastes-like-heaven fudge. It's a secret family recipe."

And with that, she left to finish the fudge. The last thing she heard as she was leaving was Sam saying:

"Well, sir, you have to admit, tinsel isn't boring anymore, is it?"

Several hours later, the party was in full swing. Teal'c was teaching Jonas a Christmas song, while Sam and Jack were pointedly avoiding the mistletoe Janet had hung over the entrance into the kitchen. Just as Teal'c and Jonas were about to start the second verse of "Silent Night," there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Sam said, wondering who it could be. Everyone else was already there.

She walked to the door, humming a Christmas carol to herself. She opened the front door, and froze when she saw the tall, thin figure standing there.

"Merry Christmas, Sam." Daniel said.

Sam stared at him, shocked. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. After several attempts at speaking, she came to the conclusion that her vocal cords were not functioning properly. Wordlessly, she stood aside, allowing Daniel to enter the house. Once he was inside, she led him to the kitchen, where Janet was working on the dinner. Sam wanted to talk to her before the others saw Daniel.

When they entered the kitchen, Janet glanced over and saw Daniel. She froze in shock, and the huge platter of fudge in her hands dropped on the floor.

After pausing a moment to mourn the loss of good chocolate, both women turned their gaze back to their surprise guest.

"D-Daniel!" Janet stuttered, completely stunned. "What are you doing here? I mean, shouldn't you be on a different plane of existence? You're completely energy here, aren't you?" She went to swing her arm through his head to demonstrate his non-corporeality.

"Ouch!" Daniel yelped, rubbing his ear where she had hit him.

Obviously, Daniel had something important to tell them.

After Sam and Janet had gotten over their latest surprise, they both turned to stare at Daniel again. Only, this time, their looks were more determined.

"Explain," Janet demanded in her best 'I'm a Doctor, and since you're apparently solid again I know how to hurt you' voice.

Daniel took one look at her, and decided not to hold anything back. Maybe showing up without any warning on Christmas had been a mistake, but he had wanted to surprise them, and this had seemed like the perfect day.

"Well, I was hanging around in that other, umm, plane of existence, when Oma Desala came to speak to me. She said something like, 'The River of life must carve its own course, and the wise must follow, though its path may sometimes lead away from wisdom itself.'"

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Janet.

"I didn't have the slightest clue. But the next thing I knew I was on Earth, and solid again, so I'm assuming the politically correct translation is that whatever I'm supposed to do here on Earth isn't finished yet, and that I can't go back to being ascended until I finish whatever it is."

"So what's the non-politically correct translation?" Sam asked.

"Probably that I was being a pain in the necks of the ascended ones, and that I should go away until I could learn not to be as annoying."

"What, were they not happy that you kept me sane during Ba'al's torture?" asked Jack. He, Jonas, and Teal'c were standing in the entranceway to the kitchen, having showed up during Daniel's explanation.

"Among other things."

"Why doesn't that surprise me, Daniel?" Jack laughed. "You couldn't even keep out of trouble when you were human, and they expected you would be good after they gave you powers?"

"Yeah, right," Daniel said, sounding slightly vague. "Listen, guys, could you excuse me for a second? I have something I want to talk to Janet about."

"Yeah, sure."

"We'll be right out in the living room."

Once they had left, Janet turned back to Daniel.

"So... you're completely descended now?"

Daniel frowned slightly, considering her question. "I'm not exactly sure. I mean, I've tried to do things I used to be able to do with my powers, and nothing's happened. But... I don't know, I just have this feeling that, if I really needed them, I would be able to do something. The power's there, I just don't seem to be able to access it."

"Maybe it has something to do with what you told us earlier? That you still had something to do here on Earth?"

"Oh, that." Daniel replied. He cleared his throat nervously. "That was just my interpretation of Oma's words. And I'm pretty sure I know exactly what I have to do."

"Really? And what's that?"

Daniel glanced up, looking at something. Janet followed his gaze, and found it rested on mistletoe. The mistletoe that happened to be right over their heads.

Slowly, he leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips. She looked into his eyes, and knew the truth about why he had come back. He had been honest about Oma's words, true, but the real reason he had returned was because of her.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "This is some gift, you know Daniel."

He grinned. "Well, I had hoped you would like it."

And Janet's last coherent thought before he leaned forward to kiss her again was that it seemed she had been a very good girl this year.

In the living room, things were in a state of chaos. The realization had finally dawned that Daniel was home, quite possibly for good. And then Cassie had come downstairs, demanding to know what all the commotion was about, and they had told her. It took all four of them to keep her out of the kitchen.

"But I want to see Daniel!" she shouted.

"You will!" Sam said. "But he's talking to your mom right now, you need to let them have some privacy."

"Oh," the teenager responded. Then she grinned conspiratorially. "I wouldn't want to... interrupt anything, now would I?"

"Oh, shush!" Sam replied, although she had been wondering the same thing.

A few minutes later, Daniel and Janet emerged from the kitchen. Everyone laughed as Cassie launched herself at Daniel, wrapping her arms around him in an enormous bear hug.

After everyone had welcomed Daniel home, and Janet had pried her daughter off of Daniel so he could sit next to her on the couch, Jack proposed that they all open their gifts.

"Umm, guys," Daniel said, looking embarrassed, "I'm afraid I don't have any Christmas gifts for you all."

They all stared at him, shocked.

"Daniel, having you home is all the gift we need from you." Janet said, as if it were obvious.

But he was no longer paying them any attention. Instead, he was staring at the Christmas tree.

"Why don't you have a star on the top of the tree?" he asked, sounding puzzled.

Now it was the other's turn to look embarrassed. "It was always your job to put the star on the tree. It just didn't seem right for one of us to do it."

Daniel's face lit up. "Well, then I might just have a Christmas gift for you after all." He cupped his hands out in front of him, and concentrated very hard. After a few moments, something appeared in his hands. Muttering "Well, it seems I still have it after all" to himself, he showed them what he had.

"This is a Cirrillean star crystal," he explained. "It can only be formed on an uninhabited volcanic planet in the Andromeda galaxy. Something about the unnaturally low gravity making it possible to form. What?" he asked, looking at their stunned faces, "The first thing I did after learning to use my powers was sightsee."

"No, Daniel." Janet said in a strangled voice. "That is the, the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen." And it was. It had a seemingly infinite number of points, and reflected light in a way no Earthly crystal could. It almost seemed as if there was a real star in her living room.

Daniel walked towards the tree, and solemnly placed the star upon the highest branch. After making sure it wouldn't fall, he turned back to the others, seemingly oblivious to the looks on everyone else's face as they finally realized how much Daniel must have seen as an ascended being.

"So, he asked, "Who wants to open presents first?"

An hour later, everyone had opened their presents. Janet and Daniel were cuddled together on the love seat, and Cassie was sprawled, fast asleep, in front of the fireplace. Jack shifted slightly, waking Sam, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"Jack?" she murmured sleepily. "You didn't get me a Christmas present."

"Yes I did, I just wanted to wait until everyone was asleep to give it to you."

She sat up, slightly more alert. "Well, than what is it?"

Jack grinned, slightly nervous. Now was his last chance to back out, to give her the generic, ordinary gift he had gotten as a backup, in case he chickened out. But he couldn't do that- not to her.

"Well, actually, Sam, I got you two presents this year."

She looked at him, puzzled both by his use of her first name and by his statement. But soon, her puzzlement gave way to pure curiosity, and she gave him a look demanding to be given her presents.

He pulled out her first gift, a plain, ordinary looking white envelope, and handed it to her. She opened it, expecting it to be a gift card, and was surprised by the single sheet of white paper she pulled out. When she read what it said, she froze, then turned to stare at Jack, shocked.

This is to inform any concerned parties that as of this day, December 25, 2002, Colonel Jonathan O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter are free to persue any type of relationship they deem fitting. I, the President of the United States of America, have reviewed their situation and determined, with the advice of the above mentioned parties' superior officer, that such a relationship would not be detrimental to their command structure. Provided they continue to provide the exemplary service I have come to expect of them, no judicial actions shall be taken to prevent them from being romantically involved.

Signed and witnessed this 25 of December, 2002, George W. Bush

President of the United States of America

Looking up at Jack, Sam asked him, "How-? What-? When did you get this?" "Yesterday, before we left the base for downtime." Jack responded. "The General called me into his office, and gave me that letter. Said he'd gotten tired of waiting for us to see what was right in front of our faces, so he felt he had to take certain steps to help his 'children' out."

He stared into her eyes, seeking for some sign of how she felt. When he saw emotion that he felt sure must completely mirror his own, he leaned in, slowly, to kiss her. When she didn't back away, his lips descended on hers, and they stayed like that, lost in the moment, for what seemed like hours.

Eventually, they broke apart. So many thoughts were running through Sam's mind, but for once she couldn't sort them into anything that made sense, nor did she really want to. After a while, she simply asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"But I thought you said there were two presents?"

Grinning, Jack went to the tree and brought out a small gift bag. He handed it to her, with an expectant, but slightly nervous look. After they last gift, Sam was sure she was prepared for anything, but even she was surprised when she saw what was in it.

"A polar bear?"

And, indeed, it was a small stuffed animal. But Jack leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Look closer."

She did, and gasped when she saw the small diamond ring placed around the bear's paw. She looked at him, and managed to stutter out "Does this mean what I think-."

"Yes." He paused, and shifted so he could get down on one knee. "Samantha Carter, I have been falling for you since the day we met. That time I said 'Oh, I adore you already' was no joke. Up until now, I haven't been able to do anything about my feelings, I could only wait, hoping you felt the same way. But we don't have to wait anymore, this letter changes things. So, Sam, I would be honored if you would be my wife. Will you marry me?"

Sam looked at him, and then practically leaped into his arms. "Of course I will," she said into his shoulder. "Of course I'll marry you, Jack. I love you."

"Well it's about time!" Daniel exclaimed.

They looked up to see everyone staring at them, grinning. Even Cassie, who had been sprawled in front of the fire, was awake.

"I thought you guys were asleep." Jack said reproachfully. "This was supposed to be private, you know."

"You didn't honestly think we'd fall asleep before we figured out why you didn't give Sam her Christmas gift, did you?" Janet asked.

"Well, I guess I should have known..."

"Yep." Said Cassie, grinning smugly. "I told you he'd propose, didn't I?" she said to her mother.

"How did you know?" Janet asked.

"Well, it helps when I took her along to ask which ring she thought Sam would like." Jacked added in.

"Jack! You're ruining all my fun!"

"Tough." He responded, cuddling up on the couch with Sam.

And as everyone curled up on the couch or the floor to go to sleep, they each thought to themselves that Christmas couldn't get much better than this, and each was silently thankful for the miracles this Christmas had brought.

And far away, yet right next store, a powerful presence looked down upon them and murmured to herself, "The wise must follow, indeed."

Merry Christmas everybody!!! May each of you have your own personal miracles this holiday season!

Oh, and speaking of miracles, feedback would be very greatly appreciated!

(c) Arcana 2002