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It's been a long time since Jack had any kids underfoot to plan Christmas for. While he always got Cassie a present, it had been up to Janet to actually play Santa. He'd barely been home for Charlie's Christmases but the few times he had been, it'd been wonderful.

And now he gets to play Santa for his own kids, though he doesn't know them that well yet. He and Carter had decided to give them things that were mostly edible and homemade since she'd told him everything store-bought would disappear after the New Year. It would be hard on a kid to lose their toys and Jack agreed.

Still, there's plenty to set up and lay beneath the tree and he's still stuck under there when he hears footsteps behind him. Uh oh. He hopes it isn't William and he tries to carefully back out, hitting his head on a lower branch in the attempt.

"Uh, buddy? Are you out of bed?"

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"Yeah, the Ori didn't really want to give us a break for the holidays," Sam says, laughing. She can't remember exactly what they were doing that year but they were probably either offworld or going to or from. She thinks in the last decade-and-some she's probably spent more holidays and birthdays away from Earth instead of on it.

"Damn Ori. Always raining on everyone's parade. I was glad when we got rid of the Goa'uld and then those suckers had to show up."

What made it worse, he thinks, is the fact that he wasn't on the front lines anymore. He'd fought the Goa'uld head on but the Ori, he'd been stuck in Washington.

"Yeah." She sits up a little, but though she's not resting her head on his shoulder anymore, she's still close to him. "I'm glad we don't have those specific problems to deal with here, but I miss having a job to do. Feeling like I was making a difference."

"Teaching doesn't cut it, huh?"

Jack wonders what it will be like once he's settled in and everything doesn't seem so new and stressful. He wonders if he'll feel bored and useless or if he'll honestly enjoy retirement for once. He thinks he could go either way with it.

"I like teaching, but it's not enough." And while she loves being a mother, that, too, is not enough, but she won't say it because she feels guilty enough about even thinking it. "I mean... we could go basically anywhere in the galaxy we wanted--or another galaxy--and now it's just... plop." She gestures a small space in front of her. "Just this one place, and that's it."

"There's the kids, though. Not that this is any replacement for what we had back home, because it's so not and you don't have to chop my head off for being uh, anti-feminist or anything but...I like that we have them. We in the best friends sense and not the husband and wife sense."

This is awkward and Jack trails off, not wanting to put Carter on the spot.

"No, it's not the same, but I'm glad we have them," Sam says. She's not chopping his head off; there's no way he could know about her conflicting feelings, or how she still feels guilty about not wanting their first baby as much as he did until it was too late.

There's a little ornament on the tree with Janet's name on it, and Sam reaches over to move it to a new spot. Not that there's anything wrong with where it is, but she feels like she needs to be doing something to cover up the awkward silence.

"So, how do we feel about beer? I think I need some beer," Jack says, shifting to stand up. He groans a little; going from sitting to standing makes his knees crack and pop in a way that isn't healthy and he knows that he's probably just a few years out from a replacement. Sucks to be him on a deserted island, huh?

"I'll go get it. Be back soon?"

"Beer? Yeah, a beer would be great." Sam's been avoiding alcohol and caffeine while nursing Janet, but it'll be several hours before Janet's hungry again and it will be fine, from everything she's read. She tries not to wince at Jack's creaky knees as he gets up. She has a few creaks of her own these days.

Jack ends up dawdling a little when he gets the beer and ducks into a shop when he catches a glimpse of some nice, sparkly jewelry. The beautiful thing about New York is that things are open around the clock and this store has extra, extended hours for the holidays. With it being Christmas Eve, he guesses there's a lot of last-minute gift buying going on.

He buys a little pendant with options for birthstones and they have a couple on display (most are custom made). One of the display ones has a sapphire and an emerald on it, perfect for his two kids, and he gets it in a little flat gift box with a deep blue bow. Not exactly Christmas, but he likes it all the same.

He's quiet when he comes back in, not wanting to wake the kids, and waves a little at Carter.

"I come bearing festive beverages and presents. And uh, myself. Which is also festive."

While Jack's out, Sam rattles around the apartment for a bit, straightening things that are already straightened, checking on children that are still asleep, rearranging ornaments on the tree. By the time he comes back, she's sitting on the couch with a book she isn't actually reading. "Presents? I thought we had everything for the kids already." She can't imagine what they could get for either of them that they didn't already have.

"Not for the kids," Jack says, drawing the little box out and placing it in her lap. He pulls out two of the beers and goes to put the rest in the fridge before coming back to sit next to her. Not too close...that'd be awkward, but close enough to be friendly.

"You can open it if you want."

"For me?" Sam is excited enough at the idea of a present, she forgets to be awkward for a minute. "You didn't have to go and do that." She doesn't immediately open the present, but runs her fingers along the blue ribbon bow.

"Carter. The point is that I wanted to, not that I had to. If it's...too much, I understand. But I thought you might like it."

Jack is suddenly kind of nervous about this whole thing and wonders if he should have gotten the necklace for her after all.

"I'm sure I will." It's the sort of flat box that jewelry comes in, but not the cube-shaped sort of box that would hold a ring; that's the only thing she can immediately think of that would fall under the heading of 'too much'. But she doesn't expect what she finds when she opens it: a simple silver pendant with two small gemstones, an emerald and a sapphire. Janet and William's birthstones, she thinks, as she looks at it. It's a plain setting, nothing fussy, something she probably would have picked out for herself if she'd thought about it. Jack obviously put some thought into it.

"It's beautiful."

Jack sighs a little in relief. "Got a little worried there," he admits, "Because you know. Jewelry, pressure, all that. But I thought you might like something pretty."

He's rambling and he needs to stop so he covers it by drinking from his beer.

"No, it's not--I mean, it's really thoughtful, with the kids' birthstones." It doesn't feel like pressure; it just feels sentimental. She touches the little sapphire and emerald and thinks about the other baby they should have had, and how if he had been born she might not have Janet, and it's a thought she doesn't like. Maybe she'll tell Jack about that one day, but not tonight, because Christmas Eve doesn't seem like the time for that conversation.

Instead, she lifts the necklace from the box and opens the clasp to put it on. It's been a while since she's worn jewelry other than her wedding ring, and she has a little trouble getting the clasp to fasten.

"Want me to put it on you?"

Normally, he would have, but Jack isn't sure if that's crossing a line. Everything is strange between them now, knowing he used to be married to her and disappeared on her and now he's back. He doesn't want to do anything that could be construed as pressure.

A few more seconds of fiddling with it and she would probably get it on her own, but he's offered and it feels rude to tell him she'll do it herself. So she nods, shifting on the couch so that her back is to him, and holds the ends of the necklace so he can take them.

Jack fastens the clasp easily but he lingers for a few seconds, drawing his fingers down the back of her neck. Her skin is creamy and soft and he has to tamp down the overwhelming desire to kissher.

"There. Good to go."

When Jack's fingers brush the back of her neck, a little shiver skitters down Sam's spine. It is just a little touch, but it seems more intimate than the way they bump elbows or sit beside each other or any of the other kinds of accidental contact that come from sharing a living space. She shifts to face him again and touches the pendant, feeling the small birthstones beneath her fingertips. "Thank you."

"It looks good on you," Jack says, pleased with the choice and her reaction to it. He grins a little at her and cocks his head.

"So. You gonna outdo me in the presents department?"

"Well," she says, and laughs a little. "Your present isn't actually here yet because I couldn't figure out how to wrap it and it wouldn't fit in the apartment anyway." She'd put the envelope on a high shelf on the bookshelf so it wouldn't get accidentally drawn on or chewed on, and she gets it now and gives it to him. It's a silly Christmas card with a cartoon penguin playing hockey, and inside the card there's a glossy little brochure with pictures of his actual present. She thinks it will probably disappear when the island changes back, but on the off chance it doesn't, she wanted him to have something he could have a little fun with.

Jack opens the card, appreciating the little hockey-playing penguin and whistles lowly when he sees the boat. It's just a little rowboat, barely past dinghy status, but he appreciates the sentiment all the same.

"You got me a boat? And here I was thinking the jewelry was too much. Thanks, Carter. Really."

"I thought you might like it for fishing," Sam says. That is, if it sticks around after New York is gone. And if not, maybe they can work on building one.