| Dept. for Good Reading |
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| CHRISTMAS FAR FROM HOME by Meriamon |
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| The snow fell in thick flakes, settling down everywhere and covering trees and houses in white. The Stargate seemed out of place in the dreamy landscape as if it belonged to another world. Sam swept the snow away from the DHD, just like she had done some minutes ago. "How ya doing?" She heard Jack's voice from behind. "It's still not working," she said. "I don't know what caused this. There's nothing wrong with the Gate or the DHD." "Come on, I know you'll figure it out." "I can't!" Sam couldn't stand to hear his optimism anymore. "If there were anything broken I could probably fix it, but everything is perfectly okay. The only problem is that every time the wormhole opens, it shuts down immediately. There must be a problem with the Stargate on Earth. All we can do is wait for the technicians there to fix it." "We waited for almost two days now! Is it really asking too much if I want to spend one day in the year quietly at home and not somewhere at the other end of the galaxy?" "Jack, I know how you feel." Daniel tried to put a hand on his arm, but Jack stepped away and stared at the Stargate. "We all feel the same," Daniel continued. "But it doesn't make anything better if we get angry. All we can do is have patience and make the best out of our situation." "The best? What good can there be about Christmas when we are stuck on an alien planet and have lost the connection to home?" Jack turned around and looked at Daniel. "And you, you don't even mind, do you? You're happy to just stay here and study the Christmas customs of these stupid aliens." "I'm not, and you know that," Daniel snapped, walking away towards the village. Sam sighed. What a wonderful Christmas - light-years away from home and stuck together with a bitchy Jack and a sulky Daniel. *** The worst thing about this planet was that it looked so much like Christmas on Earth. The snow everywhere, the fires that were lit at night, the people who were nice and peaceful and hospitable. There were even fir trees! But all Sam wanted now was home. Earth, America, Colorado Springs, and all the cars and blinking lights. Sam watched the people in the village running around busily, decorating their houses with green twigs. Arlana, the woman who had accommodated Sam in her house, stopped next to her. "Are you comfortable? Is there anything you need?" "No, thank you. Everything's fine." Sam smiled. It was hard to be angry when everyone was so friendly. The villagers were preparing for a celebration and wanted SG-1 to take part in it. Maybe that was really the best thing they could do, try to forget that they were stuck here and pretend that it was just a Christmas holiday. It would be the perfect place. Sam hoped that the people of the SGC could repair whatever was causing the problem and get them out soon. It wasn't the first time that they had been stuck on a planet, and they had always been able to get back. "It's not that bad," she said to Teal'c who was leaning stoically on a house wall. "What do you mean, Major Carter?" "We could have stranded on a planet with aggressive natives, or on a Goa'uld base." "Indeed. We have great luck to be here. And I have the impression that the customs of the people here do not differ greatly from those of the Tau'ri. I remember seeing a winter celebration on Earth as well." "It's not really the same," Sam said. "I don't think that it's Christmas they celebrate." Daniel joined the conversation. "It's called Yule, it's a celebration of the winter solstice. The traditions are based on Norse culture." "So their gods are the Asgard?" Sam asked. "Yep, exactly. Thor and his fellows. The people seem to worship mainly an Asgard goddess called Freya." "Freya as in Anise?" Sam tried, not very successfully, to keep her voice calm. Was there a hint of amusement in Daniel's eyes? "The host of Anise is probably named after the goddess," he said. "She ..." He stopped suddenly. Sam followed his gaze and saw Jack wandering around not far from them. "I'd better go before he comes and complains about me being interested in the people's customs." Sam rolled her eyes. Why did the two of them have to behave like children? "I suppose this is not going down on the list of the most beautiful Christmas Days in my life," she said to Teal'c. He raised an eyebrow. "The celebration you call Christmas is of great importance to you?" "Yes, it is. It's meant to be a day you spend at home with your family, a day of peace. People being nice to each other." "Perhaps you must perform the appropriate rites before the peace will come." Sam smiled. "That's not exactly how it's supposed to be, but maybe you're right. It doesn't help anyone if we're sitting here brooding about our bad luck. It's Christmas and I am going to celebrate it. Who cares if we are on an alien planet?" Okay, she did care, but she was not going to admit it now. She was determined to make the best out of it and show the others that it took more to discourage Sam Carter than a Stargate refusing to bring them home on Christmas Day. "If there is anything I can do, I am willing to help you," Teal'c said. Ha! If she could get an alien to decorate Christmas trees, it couldn't be difficult to make Jack and Daniel stop arguing and maybe even enjoy this Christmas a little bit. *** "Why is there the necessity to cut this tree down?" Teal'c was looking at the fir that Sam had chosen. "It is beautiful where it is, and you can put decorations on it here, if you wish." "Teal'c, we don't decorate trees standing in the forest. The point is to bring them into the house." "I understand," he said, though his look said that he didn't. Sam noted that Teal'c wasn't really the right person to help with Christmas celebrations. "Just cut it down, okay?" She put her hand on the trunk of the tree. "It's just a custom, there doesn't have to be a reason for everything." Teal'c inclined his head slowly, then raised the axe and brought it down on the tree. Some minutes later they were carrying it towards the village. In Arlana's house they put it in a pot she had given them. She had looked a bit strangely when Sam had asked her for permission to put a tree into her house, but she had agreed. So now Sam was looking proudly at her first alien Christmas tree. She was glad the plants here weren't much different from those on Earth (a phenomenon she had encountered on many planets and for which she was still trying to find an explanation). "Now the decorations," she said. "No glass balls here, so I suppose we'll have to improvise." They spend the next two hours gathering apples, binding straw together to form crude stars and searching for Arlana to ask her for candles. After they had arranged all the stuff on the tree, it looked quite passable. Sam was not really happy with Teal'c's cap, which he had placed on top of the tree, but she decided not to remove it. She was still looking for the best method to fix the candles when Jack came through the door. "What the hell is that?" "This is a Christmas tree," Teal'c said helpfully, and Sam saw that he moved his mouth into something quite close to a smile. "I see that! But what's it doing here?" He waved his arm around exaggeratedly. "We thought that maybe it would bring some of the old Christmas spirit," Sam said. "My Christmas spirit lives on a planet called Earth, and it won't be persuaded to come here by a stupid tree." "Why do you have to make it so hard for yourself? Does it really matter where we are when we celebrate Christmas? Go and look outside, and don't tell me you don't think this world is beautiful, all covered in snow." "I don't care! I just want to go home." "Now you sound like a kid who didn't get the Christmas present he wanted. You can't leave this planet, and neither can I - we all can't. But even if we have to spend our Christmas here, we don't have to spend it yelling at each other. If you want to go on feeling miserable, fine. I don't care. But leave us alone and complain to someone else." Jack stared at her for a short while, then turned around and disappeared. Now Sam felt sorry about her words. She knew this had not been the best way to deal with him, but despite all efforts she was frustrated and didn't have the energy to be diplomatic. *** Finally Sam had success in binding the candles to the tree, but she didn't really trust them not to fall down and was sure the tree would burst into flames as soon as they were lit. Teal'c had gone to look for Jack, and now only the really hard part of the preparations was left undone. The presents. Sam had always spent ages during December looking for the right presents, but then she had been in a civilized world with lots of shops to choose from. Here she had only the few things she had brought in her backpack. Where could she get any presents? Maybe she shouldn't worry about that at all, the guys surely wouldn't think of getting presents for her. But it was Christmas, and she would do what she always did on this day, even if no one else would. She turned around when she heard a sound at the door. It was Daniel. "Oh, the tree is beautiful," he said. Sam noticed that he was holding a green plant in his hands. "What's that?" "Mistletoe." He grinned. Sam blinked. Now there were possibilities ... no, she would think about that later. Not now. Too dangerous to get lost in dreams. "Fine. Hang it up somewhere," she said. "Okay." He grinned even more, and suddenly Sam got the feeling that he knew more than she wanted him to know. "I'll be back soon," he said and went outside again. "Bring Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill with you," Sam shouted after him. *** Sam stepped through the door into the cold evening. The sun was setting and painted the sky bright orange. The villagers were carrying wood to the great fireplaces. When her feet sank deep into the soft snow and the wind felt cold on her face, she was suddenly reminded of another time and another place. A place that had seemed to be a faraway planet, an ice desert. Jack, who had nearly died there. The closeness they had shared. She shook off the memories and concentrated on the path in front of her. From time to time she knelt down and dug her fingers into the snow. Finally she found what she had looked for - three small stones, round and smooth. If she couldn't buy presents, she had to think of something else. She pulled out her knife and carved eyes and a big smiling mouth into each of the stones. When she came back to Arlana's house, Teal'c and Daniel were already there. "Why did you allow him to hang this plant up there?" Teal'c asked and pointed to the mistletoe above the door. "What? What do you mean, Teal'c?" Sam was completely baffled. "It's the mistletoe," Daniel said, sounding a little bit annoyed. "He told me it's an evil sign." "This is the sign of the Goa'uld. For the Jaffa this plant is holy, because it is a plant that takes another plant as a host. Just like the Goa'uld do." "It's just a plant," Sam said. "Even if it were important to the Goa'uld, that doesn't mean it is evil. You used your staff weapon to fight for Apophis, and you still keep using it because it's just a weapon, not something evil." "That is different. A weapon can be used for evil things and for good things. I use it to fight against the Goa'uld now. When you decorate this room with that plant, you are saying that the plant is good, but it cannot be good when it takes others for hosts." In this moment Arlana came into the house. "You are celebrating Yule according to your traditions?" Then she looked up and saw the mistletoe. "Oh, Freya's plant. The blessing of the goddess will fall upon everyone who steps through the doorway." "This is the plant of the false gods," Teal'c said, sounding almost angry. "You should not allow them to put it in your house." "No, no, you are wrong. It's the symbol of Freya's love. Once, the mistletoe did an evil thing - Balder, the great god of wisdom and beauty, was killed by it. His mother Freya had asked all plants in the world not to harm Balder, but she had not asked the mistletoe because this plant is not able to survive on its own and needs another plant to grow on. So the evil Loki was able to kill Balder with the mistletoe." "Loki must have been a Goa'uld," Daniel whispered. "But luckily the gods were able to bring Balder back to life. Then Freya was so glad that she turned the mistletoe from a plant of death into one that brings love." Teal'c looked at her for a while. Then he gave his silent nod. "Thank you for explaining me this story. I understand now." "Arlana," Daniel said, "we want to thank you and your people for being so kind to us. Please, take this as a sign of our gratitude. This will always show you where you can find North, so you will never lose the right path." He gave her his little compass. Sam was glad that Daniel had thought of that. "I thank you in the name of my people. We would be honored if you would come to celebrate with us." They followed her outside and sat down at one of the fires. "Where is the Colonel?" Sam asked. "I will go and find O'Neill," Teal'c said and disappeared so quickly that Daniel and Sam could only stare after him. "I don't know where he is," Daniel said. "I wonder if Teal'c will get him here." "He's so stubborn that I guess he'll spend the whole night alone somewhere, probably fishing, and trying to avoid us." "It's Christmas, think positive." Daniel smiled. It was almost dark, and all the people of the village were gathered around the fires, some dancing, some sitting and relaxing. Arlana came to offer them a big mug of hot mead. Two shapes emerged from the forest and got larger. Sam felt her heart make a jump - Teal'c must have found Jack. But what was that? "Holy Hannah!" she said quietly and heard Daniel chuckle. This seemed to be some kind of a madman's version of Santa. He was wrapped in a dark red cloak with a hood, and the long white thing dangling from his chin looked like it was made of ... feathers. "Ho ho ho," he said. "Jack!" was all that Daniel managed to get out between his giggles. Then the second man stepped out of the shadows so that they could see him clearly. It was Teal'c, but why was he wearing on his head a huge root with ends sticking into all directions? And there was a bright red point on his nose. "Good evening, campers!" Jack said happily and raised his arm towards Teal'c. "May I introduce you to my friend Rudolph?" It was too much for Sam, she burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. Jack grinned wickedly, and a broad smile appeared on Teal'c's face. Soon the smile turned into deep laughter, and now they were all laughing and shouting "Merry Christmas!" at each other. *** Jack threw the sack he had carried on his shoulder on the ground as if it were very heavy. "Oh, I have something for you," Sam said quickly and gave everybody one of her smiley-faced stones. "Ancient talismans that will bring you good luck and make all your wishes come true." There was that look again in Jack's eyes when he thanked her for the stone. "Now it's Santa's turn," he said and pulled three stockings out of the sack. Sam eyed them curiously and tried to find out what was in hers by pressing it. "Just go ahead and open your presents," Jack said, and something in his grin made Sam a little suspicious. She put her hand inside the stocking and pulled out something long and slippery. "It's a ...," Daniel stuttered. "It's a fish!" Sam started laughing again. "I thought we'd want to have a Christmas meal," Jack said innocently. Daniel shook his head, and even Teal'c looked a bit bewildered. Then the distribution of the presents continued. From Teal'c everyone got a little wood figure which he had carved himself. Sam was surprised, she had never known that he could turn pieces of wood into such beautiful things. Daniel passed around the chocolate bars that he'd brought in his backpack. "Now I want to show you a little surprise," he said and led them to Arlana's house. "Go in and look." Sam made a step through the door, and Jack followed her. "Where's the surprise?" he said. "I've already seen the Christmas tree." "Look up." Sam raised her head. The mistletoe! She had completely forgotten about it. Her eyes met Jack's. Then there was the deep embrace, his arms around her waist, her body pressed against his, the sparks that seemed to fly between their lips, and the long fall into heaven that others called a kiss. *** "Okay, seems like we fixed it," was the next thing they heard. Hammond's voice on the radio. "We're glad we'll be able to get you back now. Merry Christmas, SG-1!" |
| AUTHOR: Meriamon EMAIL: [email protected] RATING: PG CATEGORY: Drama, Humor, Romance (Sam/Jack) SPOILERS: A reference to Solitudes FEEDBACK: Yes, please! SUMMARY: How are you supposed to celebrate Christmas when you are stuck at the other end of the galaxy? 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. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author. |
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