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.

"So I told Mariam if it's going to be that difficult, just have the darn thing catered."

Sam looked up from her paperwork as the two women walked by, embroiled in their holiday plans. Shaking her head slightly, she looked back down, concentrating on not getting food stains on her reports. Two more people she wouldn't see tomorrow.

She knew from past experience the exodus would start soon, people leaving early to make those last few holiday arrangements and the first of several 'one last thing' trips to the grocery store.

It was also the same on every base she'd ever been on, officer or enlisted, the holidays didn't discriminate. Dividing people by rank gave way to 'family' or 'loner'.

The family folks would usually do their best to get off duty, going home to family and friends while the loners would either group together and leave, or stay on the base and work, finding solidarity in their solitude. She usually fit in with the latter, using the near empty state of the base to help her concentration and get some work done.

Finishing with her lunch, she got up, shoving the file under her arm as she disposed of her tray. "Captain Carter?"

She turned to see Janet hurrying towards her. "Doctor?"

"I was wondering if you could give this to Colonel O'Neill for me." She held out a folded piece of paper. "It's the recipe for green bean casserole. I tried to tell him that it was on the back of the can of fried onions but…well you know the colonel."

Sam shrugged. "Sure. If you don't think he's left already."

"If you miss him today, you can always give it to him tomorrow."

"I doubt it. As far as I know, he, Daniel and Teal'c are off tomorrow."

"Right. Thanksgiving dinner. I already told him what ingredients to buy, he just needs to know how to mix them up."

"If I've missed him, I'll give it to Teal'c. He can pass it onto the colonel when he sees him in the morning," Sam suggested.

Janet frowned a bit. "Yeah, sure. That'll work."

Sam nodded and continued down the hall, looking at her watch. Thinking that she might catch the colonel, she swung by his office. Finding the door locked, she went on, making her way to Teal'c's quarters.
Entering the room, she blinked against the now common dimness of his quarters.

"Captain Carter." He looked up from his meditation position on the floor.

"Teal'c, hi." Sam held out the piece of paper. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"Of course." He took the paper.

"Could you give this to Colonel O'Neill tomorrow?"

"Do you not wish to give it to him yourself?"

"Well, I would. But I'm not going to see him tomorrow, you will," she explained.

"You are not coming to the feast?" he asked, clearly struggling for the proper name.

Sam smiled. "Thanksgiving dinner. And no, I'm not."

"I was told that this was a national holiday and that everyone did not work," he said.

"It is a national holiday, but…some places never totally close down, military bases among them. Someone has to be here just in case something happens," she explained.

"And you have that duty?"

"Yeah, I do. Just make sure to give that recipe to the colonel. And enjoy the football," she said, turning and leaving the room.

<><><><><>

The next morning, Sam walked into the control room, almost laughing out loud at the sight of Sargent Siler helping Sargent Davis try and rig up a television antenna to a small thirteen-inch set.

"Captain," Davis said, moving to block her view.

"At ease," she said, walking past them. "Any luck?"

"Ma'am?"

"Getting the game?" She asked, sitting down at one of the computers.

"Oh. Maybe."

"You know, there's a cable box in the briefing room. If you ran a jumper cable through the ceiling you should be able to get at least some of the games," she advised, sending herself a few files she'd planned to work on.

"That's right," Siler said. "All it would take is a thirty foot cable. Thanks."

She smiled. "Any time. I'll be down in my lab if anything happens," she said, signing off the computer.
She made her way to her lab, occasionally catching a whiff of the turkey loaf being prepared in the commissary. That was another reason she didn't mind working the holidays. The cooks usually put on a better spread than she'd ever be able to manage at home.

Arriving at her lab, she turned the radio on, cranking the volume up a little louder than usual and started to work. About three hours later, she looked up from her computer screen, raising her arms over her head and stretching her back. Definitely lunchtime, she thought, gauging by the rumbling of her stomach.

Figuring she'd eat, work for a few more hours, then go home, she locked her computer and stood up.

"See. Told ya she'd be here," Daniel said, leading Jack and Teal'c into the room, the latter two burdened with a large cooler.

She stared as they moved her paperwork aside and literally took over her lab. "Colonel? What's going on?" she asked, watching the trio open up the cooler, setting out wrapped plates.

"It's dinner. You haven't eaten, have you?" he asked, directing Teal'c to raid the next door lab to get enough chairs to go around.

"No. I was just about to go down."

"See, Teal'c. Told ya we shouldn't wait. He was really getting into the game," Jack explained.

"Really? What I mean was umm…" she waved her hand at the table. "Where'd this come from?"

"Since you have to work and couldn't come to dinner, we thought we'd bring it to you," Daniel explained, handing her a fork and gently pushing her towards the table.

Giving in with a bemused shrug, she sat down, studying the plate. "What's this?" she asked, pointing at an odd orange substance.

"Something Teal'c and Daniel cooked up," Jack explained. "I'm actually afraid to ask what's in it."

"We decided to have a truly intergalactic Thanksgiving," Daniel said.

"It is the Tau'ri equivalent of T'Klara, a ceremonial dish," Teal'c explained.

Sam gingerly took a bit, pleased to discover that it had a pleasant nutty taste. "It's good," she complimented. Teal'c nodded and they continued eating, the conversation casually moving from subject to subject.

Once they were done, Jack suggested a walk outside to make room for some pie. Easily making their way to the surface, Sam watched Teal'c retrieve a football from the back of Jack's truck and press the other two men into a game of catch.

Enjoying the crisp fresh air, she leaned against the back of Jack's truck, enjoying the view. After a few minutes, Jack excused himself, walking over to join her. "I am definitely getting too old for this," he joked.

"Or too full." She patted her stomach. "Dinner was good, thanks."

"No problem." They fell silent for a few minutes. "Hammond told me that everyone volunteered to work today," he said.

"Yes, sir."

"Even people that had other plans?" He looked at her pointedly.

"Colonel?"

"You'd rather work than come eat dinner with us?"

"I wasn't invited to dinner."

He shook his head. "About two weeks ago. P3X something. We were all hanging around the fire when we started to make plans. Any of this ringing a bell?"

"No, sir. Daniel brought up the subject. He and Teal'c started talking, then you offered to host it."

"Right."

"And you said, 'This is gonna be great. No fancy dinner…just us guys," she said softly, reminded again of the sudden pang of loneliness she'd first felt at his words. It hadn't been unexpected, she'd told herself. The three men of the team tended to hang around together a lot, both on and off world.

He frowned. "So?"

She raised her eyebrows. "So."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You thought I mean guys not GUYS." He made a circular all encompassing gesture.

"That's usually what people mean," she replied. "Colonel, it's no big deal. I'm used to it."

"You are?"

"It's sometimes….awkward." He didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows. "When we came back from the Gulf, we had a get together. The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees when the wives and girlfriends realized exactly who Sam was," she said with a small shrug. Jack made a knowing grimace. "It's just easier not to go."

Jack nodded. "Your family?"

She shook her head. "We're aah, we're not close," she said simply.

"So, you normally work?"

"I figure if I work, someone else can go home and spend time with their family."

The football came sailing out of the sky and Jack woofed as he instinctively caught it. "Come on, you two. A little help here," Daniel requested. "Do you have any idea how hard he throws," he complained, rubbing his arm.

Jack shrugged off his jacket, clearly getting down to business. "You ever get tired of working, I got a family right here you can hang with," he invited. He ran into the clearing, lobbing the ball at Teal'c as he ran.

She watched them play for a minute, the football sailing from Teal'c's hands with deadly accuracy. She should go back downstairs and finish her work. Should, but she didn't want to.

Pushing all thoughts of work and experiments out of her mind, she jogged into the clearing, neatly intercepting the football. The work would be there tomorrow, her family was here today, and wasn't family what holidays were all about?

~Fin~

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