Carron's Christmas Fic - 2006 Merry Christmas!  'Tis the season to be jolly and there's no better way to do that than with our boyz.  So put on that Christmas spirit and settle back for a few stories from Carron Claus.  I hope your holiday season is very shiny and bright!

Lust under the Mistletoe Mistletoe. On gloves, hats, scarves. Damned plant was everywhere. As were the last-minute Christmas shoppers. Daniel stood in the aisle of the women's outer-wear section and shook his head. He and his recent 'lady friend' had only been seeing each other for a few weeks, yet she'd managed to make him feel obligated to buy her a gift. Putting his hands on his hips, he cast around, looking for something that caught his eye. Anything without .... mistletoe. That's when he saw it. A small scrap of blue in a sea of red, green and black. He walked toward it quickly, smiling as he got closer. Perfect. A nice, non-committal fuzzy sweater in pale blue with a faux lace collar. Yep, this would score him some good snuggle points. He reached for the small garment, hoping it was the right size. "Back off," came a growl from Daniel's left. "I saw it first." Daniel turned to see brown eyes, cold and sharp, glaring at him from the other side of the 'mark down' bin. "I seem to have arrived first," Daniel said crisply, reaching out to snatch the sweater. The other man's hand shot out, lightning fast. Each man had grasped an arm of the sweater and it hung suspended in the air between them. "I already told ya, buddy, back off. I've been looking around this store for an hour and I finally found what I need. Now if you'd be so kind as to get your mitts off?" Daniel flattened his stare. "Don't make me have to call security." "I've killed men for less than this," muttered the tall, silver haired man. "Look, I've got this woman I'm trying to hook up with . . ." "Well I've already *got* mine," Daniel smiled, humorlessly. "So why don't you do us both a favor and go shop over in the senior women's section, hm?" "What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel yanked on the sweater, jerking it away. "It means, I'm way smarter than you." He shot the man a quick salute. "You have a good Christmas." "You rat bastard," stuttered the man. He flinched away from the angry looks of the women around him. "Give me that back." "Get your own," Daniel shot over his shoulder as he made his way to the check-out counter. The line was incredibly long and soon, Daniel found himself drifting off in a haze of Christmas Muzak and the overwhelming mist of sample perfumes. Finally, as he neared the counter, he lifted his eyes to see a familiar shock of gray hair on the opposite side of the check-out kiosk. He moved his hand to pull the sweater from beneath his arm. Eyes snapping wide open, he turned and looked behind himself on the floor, double checked on the inside of his jacket, then scanned the aisle from where he'd first acquired the item. It was nowhere to be found. Finally, he saw a small puff of powder blue as the sweater was put into the other man's bag and wrapped snuggly with tissue paper. The older man looked up as he finished his purchase, smiled a jaunty, lopsided smile and gave his own salute as he walked away, bag in hand. "Sir, may I help you?" asked the clerk. "Do you sell guns?" Daniel snarled before walking away. **** "Grande double cinnamon mocha latte," called the barista. Jack turned and reached for his coffee, but his hand smacked another. He looked to his right and his eyes squinted. "Well well well." "Oh don't even tell me," came Daniel's disgusted grunt. "This is my coffee," Jack stated firmly. "I ordered the same thing," Daniel returned, his cheeks coloring slightly with agitation. "Who's name is on this order?" Jack demanded of the young woman behind the counter. "I don't know," she said, the height of teenage disinterest. "Sara went on break. She took your order." "If Sara is the girl with the wavy red hair, that's the one that took *my* order," Daniel sneered. "Mine too," Jack countered. "Jesus dude, there'll be another one coming up. Can one of you just take the damned coffee and move out of the way?" The young man with the three lip rings, four brow piercings and the tattoo halfway up his face and around his ear was looking mightily inconvenienced. Daniel snatched the cup. "Get the next one," he told Jack, shoving him out of the way. "Grande double cinnamon mocha latte," called the barista again. Jack stepped up and took the cup, tossing a five dollar bill onto the counter. "Do me a favor. Stay the hell outta my way for the rest of the night, huh?" "Believe me, nothing would make me happier," Daniel said as he put away the change from his own purchase. **** "Tell me you still have a spiral-cut ham left," Jack begged the butcher. "There's only one left and it's ... " "Miiiine," Daniel said, drawing the word out slowly. "Are you stalking me fer Christ's sake?" "Jesus love a duck," Jack swore as he slapped the glass case. "Doctor Jackson, I have your ham back here. If you'll just come on down to the register." "Pays to pre-plan," Daniel said with a smirk. "You're an ass," Jack returned. "Sir, could I get you something else? We've only got ten minutes to closing," asked the second man behind the counter. Jack looked at him angrily then surveyed the items in the case. "Give me that six bone standing rib roast. Oh, unless *Doctor Jackson* wants that, too." "No no," Daniel said with dripping kindness in his voice. "You go ahead. I have an eight bone roast curing at home." "Arrogant bastard," Jack hissed under his breath. **** Jack threw his coat into the booth and sat down tiredly. It was no wonder he usually went away for the holidays. He shook his head in disgust. Trying to win the affections of a woman more than twenty years his junior was . . . ridiculous. He didn't know who he was kidding - certainly not himself. All the years of denial had lead him to this very sad, very pathetic state of affairs. "Mind if I sit down?" Jack swore he heard one of those cartoon sounds ... like a boing ... or a zwip .... or a koyoyoyoying. He looked up into the calm blue eyes of the one and only Doctor Daniel Jackson. "At this point, would I actually be able to stop you?" "Sure," Daniel said with a nod. "I completely understand you're not wanting to have anything to do with me after this ... farce ... of an evening." Jack motioned for the man to sit. "I hardly have the strength left to fight." Daniel motioned to the cocktail waitress and then sat down slowly, showing a few signs of fatigue himself. "I'm sorry about everything. I behaved - exceptionally badly tonight and I was hoping I could buy you a beer." "Trying to liquor me up so you can steal that sweater from me?" Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "That really was a cheap ass shot," he chuckled. "Desperation makes a man do strange things," Jack said, sipping at his whiskey. "Yes, don't I know it. I haven't even been seeing her that long and she has me ..." "Hunting and fetching," Jack finished for him. Daniel's eyebrows bobbed in mute agreement. "It's not like the woman needs another sweater. I've seen her closet - I don't think this one will fit." Jack smiled in understanding. "I know what you mean." "Yours too?" "Not mine," Jack corrected. "And probably not going to be. I have no idea why I'm trying to hard." "She must be quite the woman." "Oh yeah," Jack nodded. "She is that. But sitting here, I was just thinking ... what the hell's a pretty young scientist see in me?" Something dark and foreboding began to travel up Daniel's spine at Jack's words. "Scientist, you say?" "Yeah, works up at the mountain." "Cheyenne?" "We're in Colorado Springs, buddy. There ain't no other mountain." "Ya know, it's funny, really," Daniel began with an uneasy laugh, "because for a second there, I had this - thought - that maybe this whole, awful night was about to be capped off by you saying - well, I'm sure you'll see how completely hilarious this is when I say - I thought for a second you were talking about the lady I'm currently seeing." Jack's eyes narrowed to slits. "You better not be talking about Sam..." "Carter," Daniel finished. "Aw for fuck's sake!" Jack yelled and stood up, grabbing his jacket and storming toward the door. "Wait!" called Daniel. "Wait! We couldn't have known." He reached Jack at the door. "Come on - there's no way we could have known that. Don't leave," he said, more calmly. "Please. You're upset, you've had something to drink and nothing to eat. Sit down. I'll buy." Jack gave him an icy stare and headed toward the men's room. Daniel waved to the bartender that everything was okay and quickly hurried after the man. He saw him just as he disappeared around the wall of one of the stalls. "I'm not having this discussion in here with you." "I need to - let off a little steam, too," Daniel said. He looked at the bank of urinals and stepped up to one. After each man had done what needed to be done, Jack found Daniel standing at the sink, slowly washing his hands. "I over-reacted," he said. "Sorry." "Understandable." Daniel's eyes continued to flick up to survey the face of the man beside him and he felt the heat of attraction begin low in his belly. This was so very . . . *very* . . . bad. "Name's Jack. O'Neill. Two L's." "Daniel, obviously." Jack gave a small snort and his cheek creased a bit with a partial smile. "Some night, huh?" "Yeah, you could say that." Daniel threw away the paper towel he'd been drying his hands with and turned to face Jack. He leaned his hip on the counter and casually crossed his arms in front of him. "I didn't know she was seeing anyone." "She's not," Jack said tiredly. "And I didn't know about you, either." "She's not?" "We've been doing this odd dance around each other for a couple years now. I figured I'd go ahead and take a shot, see if I still had it in me." "Sam and I have only been seeing each other a couple weeks . . . we're not serious or anything." "You sure fought for that sweater like you are." "Yeah, about that," Daniel said, "I'm sorry. I just should have found something else." "Nah," Jack said. "I'll get it from my truck. You can pay me for it. Great price. Got it on sale." Daniel shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think this whole night was a giant . . . waste. Just proves that my heart really isn't in the thing." "Yeah well - I personally never should have canceled my flight to Hawaii. This was a stupendously bad idea." The two men stood looking at each other for a minute, before Daniel went to take a step away. "You know," Jack said, "this night doesn't have to be a *complete* waste." He glanced briefly back toward the stalls, then looked down and away rather shyly. "You mean . . . you . . .?" Daniel wiggled a finger back and forth between them. "Been known to. You?" Daniel couldn't stop the smile. "Been known to." The next moment, Jack was moving quickly to the door. He threw the lock then turned and slapped Daniel on the shoulder on the way to the far stall at the end of the row. "Gonna have to be quick," Daniel muttered as he took off his coat and let it fall to the floor in the corner of the stall. "After tonight, I don't have time for a marathon," Jack muttered. He promptly unfastened his pants, shoved them down then sat on the toilet before reaching for Daniel's pants. "What are you doing?" Daniel hissed. "My knees are shot and I like to jerk off when I blow somebody. Now will you shut up and get your dick out here?" Daniel quickly complied and soon he felt himself surrounded by the warm suction of Jack's mouth. He hardened quickly, his shoulders leaning back against the door as his hands found their way to Jack's hair. "This is not going to take very long," he warned, then moaned as he felt Jack chuckle. "Not long at all." "She's obviously not taking very good care of you," Jack muttered as he sucked both balls into his mouth and gave them a thorough cleaning. "Not like this she doesn't," Daniel said, thumping his head against the door. "I'm right there." Jack redoubled his efforts, tasting the bitter tang of pre-come, feeling the head swell in his mouth. The sudden slash of warm liquid against his tongue and throat made him moan as he worked to pull every last drop from Daniel's body. Daniel pushed him back gently after a minute or two of tender licking and lapping, then dropped to his knees and dove on Jack's cock like he was a starving man. Jack held him in place with one large, warm hand on the back of his head as he shoved his dick in and out of the accommodating mouth. "That's nice, yeah. Just the head - suck it hard." Daniel did as instructed, rubbing the rigid shaft with his fingers, massaging the muscles, making Jack buck and pant. "Oh Christ, that's good," Jack hissed before going completely rigid and sending a thick stream of come deep into Daniel's throat. He waited until the tremors had stopped coursing through the lean, tall body before him. He stood up, looked down at Jack's sweaty but happy face, and began to get dressed again. He heard someone knocking at the door. "You stay in here. I'll let them in. And I still want to buy you that beer." Daniel zipped his pants, grabbed his coat and left the stall. Jack closed and latched the door and smiled as he heard Daniel making apologies about the lock falling closed and how he couldn't quite get to the door as fast as he'd wanted. Standing to his feet, he straightened his clothes, slipped his coat back on and flushed the toilet for good measure. When he stepped outside, he saw Daniel discretely rinsing out his mouth and splashing his face. "I'll see ya back at the table," Daniel said with a wink as he finished up. Jack smiled to himself. Maybe this holiday wasn't going to be a complete wash-out after all.

Do You See What I See? "You have plans, right?" Daniel smiled. "Yes, Sam, I have plans." "With people?" Daniel turned slowly toward his friend and teammate and gave a little scowl. "As opposed to?" Sam smiled widely. "I don't know, Daniel. This is the third Christmas since you've been on SG-1 and you never tell us what you're doing." "I'm doing what I always do," Daniel answered softly. "Enjoying the holiday." "Now bording rows fifteen through twenty," came the tinny voice over the speakers. "That's me. Look, if you get lonely, or want to go somewhere..." "Don't worry," Daniel said, handing the small carry-on to his friend, "I'll call you if I have this overwhelming urge to see San Diego." "You better," she said and gave him a hug. "Have a good Christmas, Daniel." "I always do," he said with a smile. "Tell Teal'c and the Colonel I said goodbye." "I will." Daniel watched Sam walk down the ramp then turned and hurried back to base. He had a few things to take care of before he was free for his own Christmas vacation. ++++ The event horizon shimmered brightly as Daniel trotted into the embarkation room. "Teal'c, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so late getting back." "You are, in fact, just in time," Teal'c intoned. "Sam forgot to give these to you before she left. She was in a pretty big hurry what with changing her flight and all." Daniel held out a large duffel bag stuffed with gifts. Teal'c smile gently. "It was unnecessary for CaptainCarter to go to such extravagant measures, but her gifts will surely be appreciated." "That will make her happy, then." Daniel gave his friend a hug and a bright smile. "Do you celebrate anything like this on Chulak?" "Indeed we do," Teal'c said as he readjusted the items he was carrying to accommodate the additional weight. "We have a summer festival which celebrates birth and bounty." "You don't need to wait that long to open the gifts," Daniel teased lightly. "I believe it would be impossible to restrain my son from doing so. I wish you a MerryChristmas, DanielJackson." "Merry Christmas, Teal'c." Daniel made sure that Teal'c was safely through the gate and to the Land of Light before he returned to his office. All he needed to do was put the finishing touches on one last report and he was done. Gone. Ready for his favorite time of year. ++++ Jack dropped by Daniel's office on his way out of the mountain and noticed that the place was dark and quiet. Daniel had obviously left some time ago. Frowning a bit, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled back toward the locker room. ++++ Daniel walked up to his door and tried to suppress the excited butterflies in his stomach. Clicking was heard as he unlocked his door, pushed it open and stepped slowly inside. The soft glow from the corner had him grinning from ear to ear, and the flood of presents sent a charge through him just like when he was a boy. "Mom?" he called softly. "Dad?" "Well it's about time you got home!" exclaimed a happy voice from the kitchen. "We've been waiting!" "I know, I'm sorry," Daniel said as he folded the woman in his arms. A tall, sturdy man stepped up and put his arms around both of them. "Hey, Dad," Daniel greeted happily. "It so, so good to see you both." "We wait all year for this one night, Daniel. All year." "Me too, Mom," Daniel nodded before lifting his mother up and giving her a small twirl around. Her squeal of delight brought laughter from both men. Daniel set his mother down and turned toward the tree. "Went a little overboard this year, didn't you?" "You say that every year, Danny," his father said. Placing an arm around his son's shoulders he gave him a hug. "Open the big one first," his mother urged. "Mom." "Go ahead," she said, pointing. "The one wrapped in gold." "You know I open presents on Christmas morning," Daniel laughed and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "There's something different about you this year," Claire said, her eyes assessing her son. Daniel could feel himself blush slightly as he began to make room on the coffee table for the old chess set. "There's uh," he began shyly, "there's something I should probably tell you." "Oh, Daniel," his mother said knowingly, "do you mean you've *finally* met someone?" "Claire, give the boy a chance to sit down," said Melborne as he began moving the furniture around. "Well..." Daniel began as he pulled the set, wrapped carefully in cloths, from the top of the closet, "I don't think this is exactly the *someone* you think." Claire smiled impishly. "Is it that nice man you work with at the Mountain?" Daniel nearly dropped the chess set on the ground. "You know?" Claire laughed. "Oh Daniel, you do know that we keep an eye on you as much as we can, don't you? We've seen how you look at him." "Claire," warned Melborne. "Mel, stop it. You know how Danny is - he'll stammer and stutter around all night before he finally gets to telling us anything about his Jack." "My . . . my what?" "Your Jack," Claire repeated. "Now come and sit down and tell us all about him and what on earth made a girl-crazy young man decide to bat for the other team." "Has she always been like this?" Daniel asked his father pointedly. "It's why I married her," Melborne answered with a wink in his wife's direction. Daniel settled himself on the couch, his father sitting across the table in a comfortable, high-backed chair. Claire settled in next to Daniel and put her arm around him, rubbing his back as he set up the chess pieces. "To answer your question," he said to his mother, "I don't know what happened. I guess when you work so closely with someone, when you live and die with them, it's easy for your emotions to go in directions you never thought they would." "Why him, son? Why Jack O'Neill." "You know, it's a little creepy that you know about him," Daniel said. Melborne simply gazed at his son. Daniel tried to talk, shrugged and coughed self-consciously. "He's just a big damned hero." Claire and Melborne laughed merrily. "You certainly can pick them," said his mother, her hand moving in slow circles over her son's back. "He's a good man, Daniel. Even we know this." "Handsome cuss," Melborne said approvingly. "Oh indeed he is," Claire said. Daniel gave both his parents an odd look. "That is just not right," he muttered. "Tell us what else," Claire urged. Daniel made the final adjustments to the board before him then with a nod from his father, made the first move. "He's brave. Selfless. Intelligent. Child-like. Childish, too, more often than I'd like, but he has such a spirit of playfulness. He's kind. And intelligent. Drives me crazy when he acts like some ignorant military grunt." "His son was killed, wasn't he?" asked his father. "Yeah," Daniel said, a bit surprised. "You guys know all this stuff?" Claire patted Daniel on the knee as she got up to get some hot chocolate cooking. "In a few years, Daniel, you'll understand all this much better. But for now, let your father and I just be happy with you because you've found someone who truly deserves your affections." "She's dramatic, too," Melborne said as he moved one of his knights. "She is, isn't she?" Daniel turned to smile at his mother. "Are you ever going to tell me how you do . . . that?" Daniel motioned with his finger to the presents stacked beneath the Christmas tree. "Like your mom said, in the not-too-distant future, you'll understand for yourself." "I hate it when you do that," Daniel groused. "I know," Melborne answered. "You've left your rook unguarded." "That's what I want you to think," Daniel said deliberately. He took the cup of hot chocolate his mother handed him and sipped it slowly. "Can't it be more than just one night a year?" "Daniel, you ask the same question every Christmas Eve, and every year, we have to tell you the same thing," his mother said, smoothing her hand down the back of his hair. "But it's such a short time, it goes by so fast." "We know, son. We feel exactly the same way." Daniel's father sat forward on the chair. "And sometimes even that little time is cut short." "What?" Daniel's face grew worried. A sharp knock sounded at the door. "Daniel! Open up - got my hands full here!" "Noooo," Daniel groaned. "Not tonight. He's supposed to be going up to Minnesota. Damn it." He looked at his parents imploringly. "I'll get rid of him. Please, don't go." "You know the rules, Daniel," his mother said. "We can't be seen by others." "I'll make him leave," Daniel vowed. "Just go on into the bedroom and I'll...." "Dammit, Daniel! Come on!" "Remember how much we love you son, and how happy we are." His mother kissed him quickly on the cheek and his father hugged him hard. "And all those presents aren't for you," his father said, his eyes twinkling dangerously. Daniel watched as his parents turned and walked through the outside wall of his apartment. "Daniel!" Daniel stalked down the hall. Throwing back the dead bolt, he grabbed the doorknob and yanked open the door. "What?!" "Well Merry freakin' Christmas to you, too, Daniel. Jesus, who pissed in your egg nog? Here, take some of this, will ya?" Jack shoved bags full of hot, steaming food into Daniel's hands before reaching down to grab another very full bag full of boxes and presents. Daniel sighed and turned to walk into his kitchen. "Catch you at a bad time?" Jack asked, his eyes growing a little large when he saw the bedecked tree. The interrupted chess game and cup of hot cocoa let him know that Daniel had had visitors. "As a matter of fact, yes." Daniel took the boxes of Italian food and set them on the counter. "You could have called first." "I never call." "I know." "Hey, come on, it's Christmas Eve. I didn't like the thoughts of you being here all by yourself." "Who says I was?" Daniel snapped. Jack stopped in mid-stride into the kitchen and shot a glance toward the bedroom. "Oh, shit, Daniel. Is she . . . did I . . .? Crap, I'll leave. I'm sorry, I just assumed..." "No, no," Daniel said, sighing in resignation. His parents wouldn't be coming back tonight anyway, even if Jack left now. "They've gone already. It's fine. I'm sorry. I was just expecting to spend my holiday...in my own fashion." "Oh, yeah, hey. That's fine," Jack said easily. "I didn't mean to just, you know, barge...well, yeah, I did, but I didn't think I'd, you know, mess up some plans you had. Look, I'm sorry. I'll go." "Jack." "No, it's fine. I'll go. Listen, give me a call in a couple days if you want to go do something..." "Jack." "We could hit a movie..." "Jack, it's fine. Really." Daniel looked at the man standing in his kitchen trying to make a graceful exit and failing miserably. "Get the plates. I'm starving." "You sure?" Jack asked tentatively. "Sure I'm hungry? Yes, Jack, I'm sure." "No, that . . . oh, ha." Jack shifted back and forth on his feet. "I'm sorry, Jack, I didn't mean to act like that. I am glad you're here. After all, it's Christmas Eve." "We can open presents tonight, if you want. You probably have people coming over tomorrow." Daniel smiled. "No. Why do you say that?" "Those presents...can't all be for you." "No," Daniel said, "they aren't. I think you've got a few under there, too." "I do?" Jack turned and surveyed the gifts. "Is that big gold one mine?" "No, I think that would be mine." "Who gave you all that stuff?" "People I know, family, friends." Daniel smiled and motioned to the cupboard behind Jack. "Get the plates." "Oh right, right." Jack began pulling down plates, grabbing silverware and napkins. In minutes they had their feast set out and were dishing up. Daniel looked around and remembered the bottle of white wine he had in the refrigerator. "You want a beer or a glass of wine?" "Beer doesn't really go with Italian food, ya know," Jack observed around a mouthful of food. "Right," Daniel chuckled and opened his refrigerator. He gaped at the large turkey that greeted him. "So you're coming over for dinner tomorrow, right?" "Yeah, sure," Jack said. "You cooking?" "Apparently," Daniel smiled, trying to find the bottle of wine behind the copious amounts of food. "Tell you what, why don't you just stay here tonight? You have anything going on where you need to leave? And before you say anything, it's not an imposition or inconvenience. I'd like you to stay." Jack took a moment then nodded, a little smile settling just at the corner of his lips. "Good." Jack had two large helpings of everything, drank a full glass of wine and settled back happily to allow it to all settle. "My family always ate Italian food on Christmas Eve. Mom would lay on this big spread, we'd decorate the tree then go off and wrap presents in our rooms." "My dad would tell me stories while we'd play chess - or rather, while we'd play at playing chess. My mom would kibitz and rub my back." "Sounds nice." "Yeah," Daniel said. "This will be nice, too, having you here." "Hey, we're family." Jack stretched and stood up. "You have any more of that hot chocolate around?" Daniel turned to see the large canister on the kitchen counter, a grand bow tied around the middle. He pointed. Jack walked into the kitchen and looked inside. "Mmmmmmmm...marshmallows." "Of course," Daniel said. "No hot chocolate is worth a damn without mini-marshmallows." "Precisely," Jack said as he took out a sauce pan and then opened the fridge. "Holy shit, Daniel. You get a big enough turkey?" "Excess tends to happen at Christmas." "Gonna take all day to cook that thing." Jack grabbed one of several cartons of half and half and poured a liberal amount in the pan, setting it to warm slowly on the stove. "I don't suppose you brought any booze with you?" Jack smiled. "Look in the bag." Daniel got up and went in the living room and found the large parcel filled with presents. He carefully set the wrapped packages under the tree before pulling a bottle of whiskey and a bottle Bailey's into view. "Ah, yes," he smiled. Daniel took his previous mug of cocoa into the kitchen and put it in the sink, then took down two large ceramic mugs from a shelf in his pantry. They were large and heavy and quite obviously hand made. "Where'd you get these?" Jack asked, admiring the workmanship. "These were my mom's," Daniel said. "I only use them for very special occasions." "This warrants your mom's special mugs?" "Yeah, you do," Daniel said, watching as Jack mixed the cocoa mix into the steaming pan. Jack paused momentarily in his stirring before finishing up. "You want to hand me a ladle?" Daniel dug through a drawer and found a ladle just the right size for dipping up the thick beverages. Both men settled themselves on the couch and watched the lights on the tree twinkle silently. "Nice tree," Jack observed. "You always have the perfect Christmas tree." "Seems to get prettier every year," Daniel noted before blowing over the surface of his drink. Long minutes passed in companionable silence until Jack shifted around to face Daniel more directly. "Listen, Daniel, I wanted to ... there's something I need to say." In his turn, Daniel also turned to face Jack. "I'm listening." "When you and I first got to know each other, I was a pretty miserable bastard." "Jack," Daniel admonished softly. "No, hear me out," Jack said. "I didn't care about anyone, didn't want to live. Then suddenly there you were, with your star charts and asking the Joint Chiefs to share, swearing you could get us home from a place that all reason said we shouldn't even be able to go to. You saved my life in more way then one back there and you - you changed me. In a lot of ways. I just...I wanted you to know...I wanted to tell you..." Years later, looking back on it, Daniel would't be able to say what it was - maybe the light from the tree, or the way Jack's voice had dropped down to almost a soft whisper, or the misty sparkle he could see in the other man's eyes - but whatever the impetus, it was that moment when Daniel grabbed hold of the magic of Christmas, leaned forward, and kissed Jack. Jack looked at Daniel in surprise. "Ummm, wow?" he asked fuzzily. Just then, Daniel saw something from the corner of his eye and turned his head to look at the tree. "Jack, look." Jack turned his head and saw the shimmering outline of a man and woman, each looking remarkably like Daniel. "What the...do you see what I see?" "It's my parents, Jack," Daniel said. "Are you serious?" Daniel nodded. "I'll tell you all about it, I promise." Jack watched as the woman put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion before she turned her gaze to Daniel and blew him a kiss. The two figures faded from view. "I don't think they were supposed to do that," Daniel said, his voice full of love. "Why not?" "Wherever they are, they have rules. One of them is that no one but me is supposed to be able to see them." Jack turned to look at Daniel. "They just tell us they're okay with this?" Daniel nodded. "Are you?" Jack broke out in a wide smile. "Best present ever." "Merry Christmas, Jack." "You too, Daniel. Merry Christmas."

Over the River and Through the Woods "Jack?" "Daniel?" "Will you quit?" "What?" "Whistling. That song is going to be stuck in my head for the next week." "Would you rather I sing?" "Could you not?" Jack laughed as Daniel threw him a look. "You have to admit it fits the situation." "Yes, the song 'Over the River and Through the Woods' does aptly describe us at this point, but we don't need the soundtrack." "Scrooge." "Bah. Humbug." "You gonna sit on Santa's lap once we get to the cabin?" "I can't tell you the levels of wrongness associated with that," Daniel said but couldn't help laughing. He turned and looked back out the window of the rented SUV. "Does it always snow like this up here?" "It's pretty common. This is a bad storm, though. Even by Minnesota standards." "I'm betting that every kid within a couple hundred miles is going crazy right now." "I know I used to," Jack said with fond remembrance. "I grew up in upstate New York, I know what winter weather's like, but this is crazy," Daniel said, looking into the driving snow passing through the beams from the headlights. "We're gonna have a few feet of fresh powder by morning," Jack said knowingly. "That storm coming down out of Canada is really gonna kick our ass." "I believe we may be stranded up here for days," Daniel said. He leered at Jack. "Whatever shall we do?" "I've got a few ideas," Jack said, reaching his hand over and laying it on Daniel's thigh. "Wanna hear?" "In exquisite, 3-D detail." Daniel grabbed Jack's hand and moved it up to rest over the bulge of his crotch. "Don't leave out the naughty bits." Jack turned his head briefly to look at Daniel, then gave the firm package under his hand a squeeze. "LOOK OUT!" Jack whipped his head forward, but only in time to see a large deer try to bound away before being flung up, onto the hood and into the windshield. Trying to correct the car, Jack felt the tires lose traction and begin to slide. They were over the side of the road, down a small incline and against a tree in seconds. The absolute silence around them startled Jack to action. "Daniel? You okay?" Jack turned in his seat, shoving the airbag out of his way, and lay a hand along Daniel's face. "Daniel?" "Oooohhhh fuuuuuuck," Daniel groaned. "What the hell just happened?" Daniel pushed weakly at the airbag in front of him. "We hit a damned deer.  And a tree," Jack said, wrestling with his seat belt. "You hurt?" "Yeah," Daniel admitted, "a little." "Mr. O'Neill, this is Janine Masters with OnStar. We've detected deployment of your airbags. Are you alright? Are you injured?" "We're okay. A little banged up. We're gonna need a wrecker," Jack answered. "Can you tell me what happened?" "Deer jumped out in front of us. Roads are bad, there's a blizzard going on." Jack surveyed the damage to the front of the vehicle. "Windshield's shattered and about ready to fall in. Hood's mangled. We're down off the side of the road." "We've got a GPS lock on you, Mr. O'Neill. Do you require medical assistance?" Daniel turned toward Jack, wiped the blood from his brow and showed Jack the smudge on his fingers. "We could use a medic to look us over. My buddy took a pretty good whack to the head." Jack tried to push himself up with his legs to get a better view. The gasp told the tale. "And I got a screwed up knee. Look, if you can get someone out here to give us a ride, my cabin's not five miles away." "I'm sending assistance to your location now. Please stay with the vehicle. Don't try to walk out." "Believe me, we're not going anywhere." "I'll be in periodic contact with you, Mr. O'Neill. Please stand by and if you need anything, just let us know." "Alright," Jack grunted as he sat back in the seat. "Dammit." Both men sat quietly for several minutes before Daniel's breathing began to become ragged. "Daniel?" "Crap," he said and pushed hard enough so the door finally popped open. Staggering out into the storm, he sank to his knees and wretched miserably. Jack gave up trying to get out of his own door, crawled haltingly over the back seat and got out through the passenger side rear door. "Daniel!" "Concussion," Daniel spat. "I'm gonna be throwing up all damned night." "And you're gonna get hypothermia if you stay out in this storm without a coat. Come on, get back in the car." Daniel nodded agreement but put a restraining hand on Jack's chest as another round of nausea hit him and he fell to his knees once again. Jack hobbled back to the car, reached into the back seat and grabbed Daniel's coat which was laying on the floorboard. He wrapped the man up, helping him slide arms into sleeves before getting everything zipped up. "Crawl into the back seat," Jack instructed. "There's a survival kit in the back. I'll get it and we'll hunker down for the wait." "Ungkay," Daniel coughed. "Christ, I hate concussions." Jack couldn't help but smile. If anyone knew the procedure for handling a head injury, it was Daniel Jackson. The keys were still in the ignition. Jack removed them and eased himself to the back of the vehicle, opening the trunk and pulling out blankets and a first-aid kit. He climbed carefully inside with Daniel, pulling the doors closed so as not to disturb the precariously balanced windshield. "Let me look at that cut," he said and Daniel turned toward him, laying his head wearily on the back of the seat. "Don't you dare." "Dare what?" "Get in a position to go to sleep. You know the rules." A sign of resignation sounded and Daniel sat back up as Jack cleaned and bandaged his wound. "What about your knee?" "There's a cold pack in here. We can wrap it with that, keep the swelling down." "How'd you twist your knee in a front ender like that?" "No idea," Jack muttered. "Mr. O'Neill?" "Yeah, we're here." "Help is on the way but it may take a bit. Are you two doing alright?" "Good as we can. Getting a little cold in here." "Is it safe for you to turn on the engine?" "Won't start. We hit the deer and a tree head on. This thing's not gonna turn over." "Just hold tight, I'm right here on the line with you." "Thank you ma'am, I appreciate that. About how long before we can be looking for the medics to show up?" "I'm checking on that now. Please stand by." "How's the deer?" asked Daniel thickly. "Dead I hope," Jack growled. "Stupid damned animal." "Jack, it wasn't his fault. He was disoriented by the storm and then - there we were." "I'm not going out there to look for it," Jack said. He pulled the thermal blanket up close around Daniel's chin. "Neither are you." "Wasn't planning on it." Daniel flung open the door and threw up again into the snow. ++++ "Mr. O'Neill?" "We're here, Janine," Jack said as he tried to find a better, more comfortable position. "The paramedics have just made the turn onto Birch Road. There's a tow truck with a plow with them." "That's less than a mile away," Jack said, smiling at Daniel. "There'll be here in about ten minutes. Look, in this storm, they'll miss us because we're down off the side of the road. I'm gonna go flag them down with a flash light. And tell them, watch for stupid deer." The young woman's smile was obvious in her voice. "I'll advise them of that right away, Mr. O'Neill. What's the condition of your friend?" "Oh, he's hanging in there. Wants nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep." "But he knows he can't," Daniel piped up groggily. "Sleeping is *bad*." "That's right, Doctor Jackson, sleeping right now would be very bad." "Janine, I'm gonna make my way up to the road. Tell your guys to look to their right." "Be extremely careful, Mr. O'Neill." "I'm coming with you," Daniel said. "You are not." "Yes, I am. If I stay here alone, I'll go right to sleep. The cold will wake me up." "That's bullshit." "Too bad. I'm coming with you anyway. You can barely walk." "You can barely stay upright." "Will you just go?" Daniel groused as he slid out of the vehicle. "And grab your bag." Jack shook his head, grabbed their travel bags and began the slow trek up the steep shoulder of the road. "How's the knee?" Daniel asked, coming up underneath Jack's arm to help steady him. "Hurts like shit. How's your head." "Hurts like shit. Come on, let's get up there." By the time they'd struggled to the edge of the road, they could see the lights from the ambulance and the plow in the distance. Jack waved the flashlight he'd brought with him toward the rescue party and got a blink of the lights in return. "They can see us," he said with relief. "Jack, look." Daniel pointed off toward where the tracks of the sliding SUV first began. "What the hell?" Jack took a step forward then stopped. "Daniel?" "So you see it too?" Daniel and Jack looked as a man dressed in heavy fur clothes knelt over the injured animal in the middle of the road. As the man moved his hands back and forth over the creature, a glow emanated from his palms. Jack took a few steps forward. "Who are you?" The man looked up. "No one of any importance. I'm just taking care of my friend here. Another few minutes and we'll be on our way." He went back to his work. It was the thick white beard and mustache that drew Jack's curiosity. "I've never seen you around these parts before." "I would hope not," chuckled the man. "Wouldn't be doing my job properly if you had." Jack had moved closer while these few words were exchanged until he could at last see the creature and his tender clearly. "That's no deer." "No," said the stranger. "It's not." "You belong to that wildlife sanctuary up the freeway?" "Nope," came the simple answer. "Jack, that's a reindeer," Daniel said flatly. The man stood up and Jack was surprised to see that this wide, pot-bellied fellow was actually several inches taller than he was. "We'll be on our way now. Sorry to have troubled you." He reached out and stroked the antler of the animal. It bounded up and looked around in confusion. "Go on back home now. I'll be along in a minute." "So you do live out here," Jack said. "Listen, buddy, I'm not putting this accident on my record because you can't keep your cows in the fence, and I'm sure not paying the deductible." "Reindeer," said Daniel. "Whatever," Jack barked over his shoulder. When he turned back around, the man was gone. "Jack?" "Where'd he go?" "Jack O'Neill?" called a voice from the medic unit. "Doc? Doc Reilly?" "What in the sam-hell are you doing out here in weather like this? You been out of Minnesota so long you forgot what one of these white outs is like?" Jack helped Daniel to the awaiting aid unit and lifted him inside. He pulled himself in and then sat down gratefully as the warmth of the vehicle surrounded him. "Don't often have deer . . . or cows . . . or reindeer . . . or whatever the hell that was - jumping out in front of me, either." Doctor Reilly nodded toward Daniel. "Would have thought by the looks of things that your friend here was the one with the head injury." "He is." "You sure? Because I'm pretty sure we don't have reindeer out here, Jack." ++++ "You boys take care now," Reilly said as he helped Jack from the back of the medic unit and up to the front door of Jack's cabin. "You know the drill. Wake him every two hours for the next twenty-four. Then the both of you can sleep as long as you want." "Yes, sir," Jack smirked. "And you, Jack, try and stay off that leg. It's not twisted, but it got quite an impact against the steering column." Jack watched as the tow truck driver carefully set the rest of their packages and bags on the front porch. "Wanna thank you boys for giving us a hand," he said, shaking the man's hand. "Well, you thank Marie Lancaster." "Little Marie? Lives up on Shoshone Pass Drive?" asked Jack. "Little Marie, as you call her, is about to have her fifth child and we were on our way up to their ranch when we saw you flag us down with your flash light," Doc Reilly explained. "What? No, no," Jack laughed. "The lady from OnStar told us you were on the way; Daniel and I climbed up to the side of the road . . ." "We don't get OnStar out here," said the tow truck driver as he handed Jack a bill. "And that rig ain't got any of that equipment in it." "Bullshit," Jack said. "We were talking to Janine Masters . . ." "I don't know who you was talkin' to, mister, but I'm telling ya, those vehicles don't come with OnStar. Now we got to get up to the Lancasters' place. You can argue with me about this later. I'll drop your rig off at the rental place for ya." "Thanks," Jack said numbly. "You need any help, you call 911 and request a medivac. That's the only way you're gonna get out of here tonight, boys," said the doc as he waved and climbed back into the unit. The two men watched the tow truck and aid until roll slowly away. "Reindeer," Daniel said as he followed Jack into the cabin. ++++ Three days later, late Christmas Eve night, Jack awoke slowly. Daniel's warm body was pressed tight against him, his breaths deep and even, an arm and leg holding Jack possessively close. Jack had his left arm around Daniel's shoulders and the right was holding Daniel's leg in place, a hand slipped gently along the back of Daniel's knee. A slow flow of warmth began to trickle into Jack's groin as he admired the way their two bodies fit so perfectly together. With all that had surprised him about beginning this new type of relationship with Daniel, the one thing that had truly taken him unawares was just how deeply sexual his friend could be. He'd known Daniel was a man of deep passion when it came to the things he cared about, but he'd had no idea that Daniel would be such a deeply passionate man when it came to sex. Jack wasn't sure what he'd been expecting exactly, but it wasn't 'porno-Daniel' as he'd come to call it. He smiled at the memory of first telling Daniel about that. Daniel had shown him just how well he could live up to that name. For hours he'd shown him. Hours and hours. Jack sighed happily, looked down at the face so close to his . . . and began a slow roll to his left. Daniel snuffled and shifted slightly, his eyes barely fluttering. "Hmmph?" Jack continued turning Daniel onto his back. He felt Daniel relax completed. "Ohgodyes," came the muttered agreement as Daniel shifted his hips and spread his legs to welcome Jack against him. Jack quickly undid the lid to the jar of lube, scooped out a dollop and reached down to press it against Daniel's warm body, slipping the thick cream just inside the still-relaxed ring of muscle. It had only been a few hours since their last go and Daniel was still comfortably open. Jack smoothed the rest onto his cock. "Mmmmm...fuck me, Jack," Daniel breathed, the heaviness of sleep still in his voice. Jack lined up the head of his dick, gave a small push, waited for any resistance to fade, and then slid slowly home. Once buried deep and tight inside his lover, he settled his full weight on Daniel and began licking his neck, just below the ear. Daniel gave a long, low purr of approval and wrapped his legs around Jack's hips. "Just wanna stay in there all night long," Jack whispered, nipping lightly at the soft skin. "'uhkay," Daniel sighed. "Like it when," Daniel began before yawning, "you don't move much." "Just so you can feel me?" "Yeah," Daniel breathed. "You get me so hot, Daniel, so hard," Jack whispered as he kissed down along Daniel's neck to his shoulder. "I could come just like this, just being inside you. It's all it takes." Daniel gave a small squeeze with his ass muscles and made that low, growling sound in his throat that Jack loved so much. Daniel reached between them and moved his cock to a more comfortable position along his abdomen before wrapping both arms securely around Jack's back. "One night, after you've ridden me hard from behind, I want you to fall asleep with your cock still in me." Jack's hips rolled forward slightly. "I'd love that." "That felt nice," Daniel whispered. "Do it again." Jack pressed forward then relaxed, pressed again, relaxed. "God, Daniel." "Easy, just like that," Daniel murmured. He rolled his own hips up a little every time Jack pressed forward and soon they were in perfect synch; gentle, easy movements, nothing hard, no thrusting. When Jack's mouth found his, Daniel welcomed in the questing tongue, letting Jack's kisses lull him into a place where even the slightest move of his lover's body sent rivers of pleasure flowing through him. It took a long while, each man gradually climbing toward completion. There was no frantic slamming of hips, no bruises left behind from grasping fingers. Just a slow, continual ascension to the place where neither man could wait anymore. "Jack, please," Daniel begged, his voice barely a whisper. Jack worked his hand between their bodies and clamped strong fingers around the head of Daniel's cock, gave a few squeezes, then pushed inside as far as he could as Daniel's body pulsed and throbbed through a tender, deep orgasm. "Oh...my.....god," Daniel gasped as wave after wave of pleasure rippled through him. He slid shaking hands down, grasping Jack by the back of the thighs, encouraging him to push deeper still. "Jack...Jack, please.....please." It tipped Jack over the edge every time to hear Daniel asking for him to come that way - his voice so needy and desperate. Daniel had said before that he could actually feel the stream of semen shoot out of Jack's cock, that he hungered for that feeling, wanted it as badly as he wanted his own release. Jack slid his arms up Daniel's back, his fingers curling over to grip into the strong muscles of the man's shoulders. Using this as an anchor, Jack shoved his hips against Daniel as far as he could and hung on while his climax tore through his body so hard he felt himself greying out, practically sobbing, murmuring nonsensical, loving words against Daniel's skin. They held together, neither wanting to let go, to stop. Daniel managed to drag a pillow over and position it so that Jack could comfortably rest his head so he didn't have to move. He fell back into blissful sleep with his lover still buried deeply inside. Jack knew he should move; but Daniel was still so warm and pliant around him he just couldn't bring himself to pull out roll to the side. His last thought was that it sounded as though a family of raccoons was having a party on the roof - but he was too tired and too satiated to do anything about it. As long as they stayed out of the chimney, he didn't care what they did. Before drifting off, Jack opened his eyes to look out the window. The sound of the stream that ran behind the cabin was muted by the heavy layer of snow, but still audible, and as his eyes traveled up to see the sky, he noticed that the clouds had broken just enough so that one star, the North Star, shone brightly through. "This is all I'll ever need, Daniel. All I'll ever need." With a smile still on his face, Jack allowed himself to drift off to sleep. ++++ Daniel's eyes flitted open in the first weak rays of dawn. Jack had, regrettably, disengaged himself at some point during the night and now lay face down in the bed, breathing softly and was, apparently, dreaming about chasing squirrels and rabbits; his feet and hands twitching and jerking like a puppy's in sleep. Daniel stifled a laugh and eased out of bed, making a quick stop in the bathroom to relieve himself and clean up. He grabbed his sweats pant bottoms which were hanging on a hook behind the door, pulled them on, then walked quietly out into the living room. He stopped when he saw all the packages carefully placed around the tree. "Jack must have done that already," he muttered to himself. He turned and went immediately back to the bedroom, sliding his sweats back off before rolling under the covers to curl up against Jack. ++++ Jack eased slowly from bed, checking to make sure Daniel wasn't disturbed before tip-toeing out of the door, jeans in hand, and moving quietly to the living room. He puzzled at the tree as he pulled on his pants, wondering when Daniel had gotten up during the night to set out the presents. He shrugged and went to make coffee. Checking outside he saw that the storm was still raging, the brief respite last night merely that - just a break between squalls. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed out the tubes of cinnamon rolls. Just the thing to go with Christmas morning. ++++ "Oh I do not believe this," Jack laughed as he pulled aside the glittering gold paper from a large box to reveal the latest, newest home telescope on the market. "You've got to be kidding," muttered Daniel as he opened the box to a set of very expensive bound books. *How did you know?* asked both men at once. Daniel looked confused. "I didn't get that for you." "What?" Jack looked at the telescope and then at Daniel's books. "And I didn't get you that, either." Daniel saw a card in the box and took it out. "Merry Christmas, Danny. Sorry this is a little late. It's signed, "S"." He pulled out one of the volumes of books. "This is a cross referenced index of all the great myths and legends of the Minoan, Greek and Romans cultures. I've wanted this since I was a kid in high school."  Daniel looked at Jack. "What's the deal with that?" "I just saw this in the store the day before we came up here and I thought 'too bad I didn't tell Daniel about this sooner'. Wait a sec." Jack pulled a small card out of his box as well. "Says, 'Johnny, I hope this makes up for the one I missed.' Signed "S"." "The one I missed?" Daniel asked. "And....Johnny?" "When I was sixteen there was this Celestron telescope I'd been bugging my parents for. I wanted it so bad, I could taste it. I ended up in the hospital that Christmas, sledding accident, so we didn't really get to have a Christmas that year. I never did get that telescope. And for your information, my father was the only one allowed to call me 'Johnny.'" "You don't suppose . . ." "Oh come *on*," Jack barked with laughter. "You still thinking about that whole reindeer thing?" "Jack, after what we've seen? With what we do for a living? You mean to tell me you couldn't actually believe that there's some . . . being . . . who may really function as Santa Claus here on this earth?" Daniel looked at him earnestly. "We didn't bring these gifts up here. I mean, look at the wrapping paper - it's not from either one of us." "Maybe that tow truck guy put them in with our stuff by mistake," Jack said. Daniel looked at him blandly.  "And these cards?" "I'm nearly fifty years old, Daniel. I do not believe in Santa Claus." Daniel blinked. "Ya think?" Jack finally said after a moment. "Then explain to me what we saw out on the road that night. Or that whole...OnStar thing." Jack's face pinched up in the way it did when he was left with no choice but to admit to the truth of something completely outlandish. "Really? You think so?" "Yeah, maybe. A little." "Maybe I should have left out some carrots and stuff, a few cookies." Daniel coughed. "What?" "I sorta....did." "You what?" Jack was on the verge of a laugh that would shake the snow from the eaves. "I just kept thinking . . . you know . . . if it was really true that this person was somehow the origin for the stories about Santa Claus, that maybe he and his reindeer would like a snack." "And?" Jack asked, the chuckles beginning. "There are only a few carrot greens left out on the front porch." "We do have deer up here, you know." Jack howled with laughter. "Yes, but I threw them up on the *roof* before I went to bed last night." "Is that what you were doing out there?" Daniel shrugged and snickered. "That way you wouldn't see them and ask me about it." Jack shook his head and looked down at the box in front of him. "If it's really him, I wonder what his story is." "Maybe one day we'll find out," Daniel said, opening the book he'd removed from the box. "Oh my god, this is a first edition." "Leave it to you to make friends with Santa Claus," Jack chuckled before handing Daniel another gift. "At least I didn't run over his reindeer." "Hey, that's not fair. I was being seduced at the time!" Both men broke into hearty laughter as they continued their Christmas morning. ++++ From the tree line, a tall man leaned casually against a tree, the thick furs of his coat and pants whipping in the snow and wind. "Looks like we managed to turn another catastrophe aside, my friend. If you hadn't jumped out to save those two, they would have been crushed by that falling tree a few hundred feet up the road. That was a very brave thing you did." The large reindeer snorted easily into the bitter cold air. "Yes, you are a very smart one at that. Come on. It's been a long night. I'm sure the missuz will be wondering where we've gotten off to. Let's go home." The two turned and walked into the forest, nothing but a small shower of glitter that mixed instantly with the snow to show that they had ever been there at all.