Lost in Translation
Author’s Note: For the Ancient Obsessions Advent Challenge – December 21 (Mincemeat Pie, Whiskey, and A Carrot)
Sarah Gardner had had a hell of a year.
At first, she’d been nothing but overjoyed at the fact that she’d finally been freed from the internal prison that had held her captive for the last three years while she played host, literally, to the Goa’uld Osiris, but things had gotten very difficult for her almost immediately afterwards.
She’d tried her best to reintegrate into Earth’s culture and her previous work as an archeologist, but it was hard. She found herself having flashbacks to things she’d done while under Osiris’ control when she least expected it. She constantly marveled at the fact that her fellow Tau’ri were so completely clueless about the grand scheme of things. She couldn’t free herself from nightmares that the Goa’uld, or beings much worse, were mere moments away from destroying everything she held dear. The pursuit of knowledge about ancient societies seemed somehow supremely unimportant in light of what she now knew.
The only person she could talk to about any of this was Daniel, but he was often unavailable to her. His teammates, especially Samantha Carter, helped when they could, too, but Sarah was mostly on her own in her battle. SG-1 had the SGC to help them when they struggled and to keep them busy. Sarah had decided to try to function out in the ‘real world’, and she often felt that was a mistake. It was just too hard to be the only person she knew ‘in the know’. When others talked about movies or books, Sarah found herself distracted by thoughts of aliens, wormholes, and interstellar battles.
It was a lonely place to be.
But Christmas might be different. Sarah didn’t have much family, and that she did have had thought her dead for the last three years, so things were more than a bit strained for any family gatherings.
So, in lieu of family, SG-1 was coming for dinner.
Sarah was living in Washington, DC now, and the team was in town for some sort of summit that apparently couldn’t wait until the holidays were over. They were all pretty bummed about spending Christmas in DC, so Sarah had invited them over to celebrate the holidays. Carter, especially, was a little depressed about not seeing her brother and his family this year, so Sarah went out of her way to cheer the team up for the night she had with them, as much for herself as for them. The distraction really helped elevate her mood.
They showed up at six o’clock.
Sarah’s carefully prepared dinner went swimmingly and led to drinks and conversation that seemed so natural that Sarah managed to forget her recent troubles for a while. It was so refreshing to not have to be careful of every word she said and to relax that Sarah was swept up in the spirit of the night. For these people, Sarah wasn’t a freak or abnormal at all, but merely a victim of circumstance. They didn’t find it at all odd to talk about symbiotes and plans for world domination. When Sarah had a memory of Osiris flash across her mind, Carter laid a hand on her arm and squeezed in support, knowing without words what had occurred from experience. For the first time in a long time, Sarah felt like she wasn’t alone.
Sam and Sarah laughed several times at the juvenile antics of Jack and Daniel as more and more liquor was consumed by everyone present. Teal’c, as per usual, abstained from the alcohol, but even he loosened up as the evening wore on, and everyone seemed to have a great time.
The team stayed the night at Sarah’s, out of convenience and necessity. Teal’c could’ve easily driven everyone home, but it was simpler to just sleep their liquor off where they were.
When all of her guests were asleep, Sarah crept into the living room as quietly as a mouse. She stepped over the sleeping form of Daniel Jackson on the floor and smiled at Jack O’Neill on the couch. Sam had taken the guest room, and Teal’c was sleeping on the floor there.
Sarah nearly giggled as she did something she hadn’t done since she was a small girl.
She placed her offerings for Santa Claus on the small table by her hearth and crept back to bed, still smiling to herself.
Sarah woke the next morning to the soft sounds of conversation in the next room.
She heard Sam first. “Sir, don’t you think it’s a bit early for that?”
Jack answered groggily. “Shush, Carter. We’re off today. And I don’t remember you having any objection last night.”
A loud guffaw, quickly stifled by Daniel, came next. When he spoke a moment later, Daniel’s voice was muffled strangely. “He’s got a point, Sam.”
Teal’c’s booming bass followed, and Sarah had to laugh as his usual response brought a course of giggles from SG-1.
“Indeed.”
Sarah extricated herself from her blankets and went to see what her guests were up to.
When she entered the living room, she gaped at SG-1 for a moment then burst out laughing.
The sight that greeted her was too bizarre for any other response.
Jack O’Neill waved one hand in greeting while sipping on a small tumbler of whiskey.
Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson mumbled ‘good morning’ as they packed away mincemeat pie with gusto.
And Teal’c nodded serenely to Sarah as he took a large bite of a carrot.
All four people were lazily laying on the floor in front of the hearth, where Jack had lit a small fire. They looked about twelve years old.
When Sarah recovered her ability to speak, she looked at each of them in turn and shook her head, then threw her hands up in the air and sighed to herself.
“Bloody Americans!” Her voice couldn’t decide whether it was amused or irritated.
Sam, Jack, and Teal’c looked at each other in confusion, and Jack spoke for the group. No one noticed that Daniel’s eyes had focused keenly on the floor in front of him.
“What? What’d we do?” Jack was the picture of innocence.
Sarah’s eyes suddenly narrowed, but not at Jack. Her gaze focused on Daniel sharply.
“Oh, nothing of importance, Colonel. You only ate Santa’s gifts, is all. But one of you already knew that, didn’t you, Daniel?”
Daniel’s eyes didn’t leave the floor, but his hands began to play with the edge of his blanket, still spread on the floor in front of him. He was grinning from ear to ear, but he tried to hide it. Finally, after a long moment, he looked bashfully up at Sarah and shrugged.
“Well, to be fair, you know how I feel about mince pie, Sarah.”
Daniel’s eyes held Sarah’s for a few heartbeats, and she was reminded of how things used to be between them. So much had changed, but so much had stayed the same for them. She wondered for a second if a relationship with Daniel was still possible after all they’d been through.
But she only wondered for a second. Any further thoughts were interrupted by Jack O’Neill.
A pillow smacked Daniel in the back of the head. Daniel’s focus shifted to Jack, who was holding said pillow tightly, ready to strike again.
“You knew this was Santa stuff?”
Daniel shrugged again. “Well, yeah…”
Jack stared at him incredulously. Sam joined in the attack. “And you let us eat it?”
Daniel rounded on his friends. “Well, yeah… what difference does it make? There’s no kids here. And even if there were, Santa is supposed to eat the food, right?”
Jack raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Fine. You have a point. Still, you’re not supposed to eat all of Santa’s food. We annihilated this stuff. Speaking of which, what is this stuff, anyway? Not anything I’ve ever seen put out for Santa.”
Sarah giggled under her breath. “It’s what kids put out for Santa Claus in England, Colonel. You know, Britain. Where I’m from.”
A light of understanding came on over Jack’s head. “Oh, right. Got it.”
Teal’c, who had been as silent as usual through this interaction, finally spoke. “What is the significance of the carrots?”
Carter, ever the brilliant scientist, answered before Sarah had a chance. “For the reindeer, right, Sarah?”
Sarah nodded and joined SG-1 on the floor. There wasn’t much pie left, and she figured that if she wanted any, it was definitely a case of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ here.
The team made room for her on the floor. Teal’c nodded in understanding of the carrot’s intended use, and silence fell for a moment as everyone snacked.
After a moment, Jack spoke thoughtfully. All heads turned toward him.
“You know, Sarah, I’ve got to hand it to you Brits.”
Sarah’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
Jack pursed his lips and took a small sip of his dwindling whiskey, then responded simply.
“Cuz this certainly beats the hell out of milk.”
Jack downed the remainder of his whiskey as the group broke out in raucous laughter.
It was a great start to a day, and one Sarah Gardner would remember for a long time to come.
With these fine people to help her along the way, maybe she’d make it in this world after all.
The End
