On Christmas Eve morning Annika woke early to start preparations for the next forty-eight hours. As she mixed up the ingredients for a batch of cookies, she mentally ticked off the items on her list stuck to the fridge door. Tonight’s dinner would be an eclectic mix, based on the favorite foods of the people they were remembering; hotdogs (Charlie), Indian butter chicken (her dad), caramel swirl ice cream (Daniel’s mom), Asabi’ gullash bi-l-lahma (an Egyptian dish for Daniel’s dad), shrimp cocktail (Sam’s mom) and something called Qat’ray’r (for Drey’auc, Teal’c’s wife). That dish had caused a slight hiccup. It was a kind of creamed rice with a mix of berries folded through. Berries that were native only to Chulak. But as luck would have it, Bra’tac was having a meeting with the rebel Jaffa on Teal’c’s home world and had been convinced to send some through the Stargate.

Christmas breakfast would be waffles and lunch/dinner a feast of turkey… She eyed the bird defrosting on the sink. Check. The ingredients for the potatoes au gratin were in the pantry and the fridge. Check. Ham… Jack was bringing that and she’d already made up the glaze for baking. Check. Sam had been given the task of supplying the cranberry sauce and Waldorf salad. Everyone, knowing Sam’s ‘expertise’ in the kitchen, had begged her to only buy the ingredients and let Annika prepare it. Sam had protested that there wasn’t actually any ‘cooking’ involved in the salad but the others were not willing to take the risk. Check. Teal’c had offered to make something called Wassail. Apparently it was a traditional drink dating back to the Saxons, (Daniel confirmed this,) and he’d found the recipe on the internet. A bit dubious they had agreed to let him experiment. Dessert would be fruit mince pies, (made from scratch by Annika the day before,) and whipped cream. Check and check.

Daniel made his appearance as she was removing the last batch of cookies from the oven.

"Morning." His warm arms embraced her from behind, being careful to keep clear of the hot tray in her hands. "Mmmm, smells good."

"Good morning." She tipped the tray slightly and gave it a sharp practiced tap so the cookies slid onto the cooling rack. "They’ll taste good too once they’re dusted with vanilla sugar."

"Wasn’t talking about the cookies," he murmured, nuzzling her neck.

She grinned and twisted around to give him a lingering kiss.

Eventually when they broke apart, Daniel poured himself a coffee while Annika finished tidying up the mess from the baking.

Taking a sip, he plucked the ‘menu’ from the fridge. "So where’s Uncle Jed’s contribution?"

"Oh, he didn’t have a favorite food. His diet leant more to the liquid variety. I’ve got a bottle of Remy Martin cognac for him."

"You might have to give Jack a swig before we start the Howdy-do."

"One does not swig Remy Martin cognac. It is gently warmed with the heat of your hands and sipped," she said in mock indignation. "But never fear, I have some beer for Jack." Annika wiped the last dish dry and made herself comfortable on Daniel’s lap. "Do you think he’ll participate? He seemed a bit wary."

"I think he’ll try." Daniel looped one arm around her waist, keeping the other free for his caffeine fix. "He admitted to me that he really wants to enjoy this Christmas. So how does this Howdy-do work?"

"Well, usually I do it wherever I happen to be, but this year I’d thought we could go to the national park to that little picnic area we found the other week. I’ve got a few things to set up, so I was planning on leaving after lunch and then you can drive the others up when they get here."

"Sounds like a plan."

They sat in companionable silence, enjoying the few minutes of relaxation before the tasks of the busy day ahead needed to be attended to.

"Are you going to talk to Sha’re at the Howdy-do?"

He couldn’t read anything from her tone or their bond about how she felt about the subject. "Would it upset you if I did?"

Annika gave an emphatic shake of her head. "No. She was your wife. I know you loved her, that you still have a place in your heart for her."

After a moment’s thought he shook his head. "I made my peace with Sha’re when she died."

They spent the rest of the morning finishing the final preparations and just after two in the afternoon Annika left for the picnic grounds. When the others arrived an hour later they climbed into Daniel’s jeep and headed off. As they were entering the main gates, he had to pull over to the side of the dirt road to allow a delivery truck to pass coming from within the park. The van panels were advertising ‘Party For Hire’.

"Someone else must be having a get together too," Sam commented, giving Jack a sideways glance. He’d been a little tense since she picked him up and she didn’t think the colonel would appreciate an audience for this gathering.

However when they arrived there was no sign of anyone except Annika. She’d set up one of the tables with a bright red tablecloth and decorations. A portable stereo was already playing Christmas songs and Annika was opening a round of beers. The tire tracks clearly showed that the truck had indeed been in the area and yet there was no indication of why.

"Did you have something delivered?" Daniel asked giving her a kiss.

"Yep. He dropped off some balloons." She waved a hand at a small bunch of helium balloons weighted down to the table in assorted shapes.

"He drove all this way for a half a dozen balloons?" Jack sounded skeptical.

"Not quite," Annika was deliberately vague. "Here," She passed around the bottles. "It’ll take the edge off the nip in the air."

She saw Jack take a large gulp of the drink and exchanged a quick look with Daniel. They both knew it would also take the edge off Jack. Annika handed out the balloons. "I figured that seeing as you’re all Howdy-do virgins, these would give you something to focus on, rather than talking to thin air."

Daniel got two, one was the shape of a book, the other was the mask of King Tutankhamen to represent the jobs his parents loved.

Sam had a white rose. Annika saw the major’s look of surprise. "Lucky guess that it was your mom’s favorite flower."

Jack gripped the string of the floating baseball mitt like a vice but a small smile touched his lips.

When she handed Teal’c a balloon in the shape of a tree she had an apologetic frown on her face. "It was the closest thing I could find to the plants on Chulak. I know Drey’auc wasn’t a flower person but she enjoyed gardening."

Teal’c gave a slight bow. "It is a suitable representation of Drey’auc’s love of nature."

For herself she had a cigar for Uncle Jed and a Christmas bauble for her dad. "Okay, well since this is my little tradition, why don’t I tee off?"

The others nodded and Annika took a deep breath focusing her words to the cigar shaped balloon. "Howdy, Uncle Jed, a lot’s happened this year but you’ll be particularly tickled pink that I have learnt the best party trick you’ve ever seen. No wires, no mirrors, I can make things float around and disappear. I know, I hear you saying I could make a fortune as a magician, the next David Copperfield, but my new job is more rewarding than money. You’ll be pleased to note that this year I’ve outdone myself with regards to your cigar. It’s from another planet. Nope, not kidding. It’s flavored chocolate and the locals say it’s smooth as silk going down," Annika paused, switching her attention to the other balloon. "Hi ya’, Dad. Stop frowning, I only smoke one cigar a year, it’s not gonna kill me. Don’t know if you’ve been watching from up there, but it’s been a total blast of a year. Met this amazing guy, who makes my knees go weak with just a look." Annika reached for Daniel’s hand. "And guess what? He wasn’t freaked out by my gift…well, not too much anyway. He’s the one, Dad. I feel it with every breath I take and miracle upon miracle he feels the same way. Through him I’ve met a fantastic set of friends. They’re quickly becoming like family," she glanced at the others. "Wait up, back track… considering how our family is at the moment that’s not really a compliment. They’re my new family. They accept my eccentricities without question. Speaking of eccentricities, my gift has been growing by leaps and bounds. It’s caused a few hiccups, but besides being able to do some really cool stuff, I’ll give you a demonstration later, I don’t feel the need to hide my visions anymore. I finally got your letter, better late than never, huh? It helped. Thanks. I’m following your advice and embracing everything life has to offer. I couldn’t be happier if I tried. Well, that’s about it, Merry Christmas, Dad, Uncle Jed." Annika released the balloons.

They watched the balloons float away to the heavens. When they were little more than specks in the clear sky, Daniel hesitantly spoke.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Jack interrupted, the bewilderment clear in his tone. "Sam, what’s going on? You’ve done this before?"

"Er…yes. I kinda chat with my mom on a regular basis."

"But you’re a scientist," he spluttered. "Scientists don’t do this sort of thing!"

"I wasn’t always a scientist, Jack," Sam seemed embarrassed. "After Mom died I was too angry at Dad to talk to him whenever he was home and Mark became even more withdrawn than I did. Talking to Mom’s spirit has helped me with perspective when I needed guidance."

"You might have mentioned it," he grumbled.

"It’s not the kind of thing you just throw into a conversation." Sam raised an eyebrow, "Can I continue now?"

"Be my guest…" Jack waved his hand holding the beer, though he was studying Sam like he’d never seen her before.

"Now where was I? Like I was saying, it’s great to have another woman on the team to counteract all the male testosterone…" Sam ignored the glares from the men but shared a grin with Annika. "But besides that, Annika’s a wonderful friend. You know that moral dilemma I was having regarding a certain CO? Well, we’ve both decided that enough is enough and finally admitted how we feel about each other. We have to sneak around, but it’s worth it. Dad’s doing okay. He’d be here but he’s on some undercover mission for the Tok’ra. Mark and the kids are spending Christmas in Hawaii. Doesn’t seem right to me, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without snow. Well, I think that’s all the important bits, I’ll talk to you in the new year. Merry Christmas, Mom." Sam let her balloon go.

Jack shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I don’t know what to say."

"Just talk to him, Jack," Annika said softly. "Treat it like a long distance phone call."

"I don’t do emotions very well."

"So talk about other things," Sam urged gently.

He hesitated. "Uh…Hi, Charlie. Your mom and grandpa are doing okay…um…I am too…" Jack looked helplessly at the balloon in his hand.

Annika jumped in, "Hey, Charlie, you’re dad’s an honest to God hero! He’s saved the world so many times we’re beginning to lose count."

"He’s been piloting the F-302," Daniel butted in. "It’s this really neat space glider like something out of the movies."

"Charlie, he’s even met the President a few times," Sam added.

"Your father has yet to catch a fish in his lake," Teal’c informed the child’s spirit. "He refuses to concede there are no aquatic life forms in the water."

"Now, Charlie, you know that’s not true," Jack objected, his instinct to defend his favorite hobby overriding his trepidation over talking to his son’s soul. "Remember that bass we almost caught? I swear it was this big!" The colonel spread his arms wide. "I’ll catch him one of these days and prove these doubters wrong." He was beginning to relax. "Oh yeah, your old man has this whopping big ship named after him. How cool is that? Well, I had a ship…Carter here, went and blew it up. Charlie, never let Carter near a ship, she has the nasty compulsion to destroy it," he playfully dropped his voice into a whisper. "Between you and me, I think she’s jealous…"

"Hey, you’ve blown up a few yourself," Sam remarked with a grin.

With a chuckle Jack embraced the spirit of the Howdy-do and recounted some of the funnier exploits of their adventures. He finished with, "I still miss you, Charlie. Wish with all my heart that you were here…ah…we’ll… er…chat again later. Merry Christmas, son." He opened his hand and the balloon floated away.

They waited for Teal’c to begin.

"Tek ma’te, Drey’auc. Rya’c is in good health, as am I. He is in training with Master Bra’tac and has the makings of a fine warrior. He will do us both proud. Tretonin has removed our dependence on the prim’ta. The battle against the Goa’uld progresses well, though relations between the Tok’ra and the free Jaffa can be a pain in the mik’ta. Your death will not be in vain."

The Jaffa was about to release his balloon, indicating that he had finished.

"That’s it?" Jack demanded.

"What else is there to say? She knew of our friendship and familial bond before her death. It need not be repeated."

Jack was about to protest then thought better of it. "How about Merry Christmas?"

"We did not celebrate Christmas."

"How about Season’s Greetings?" Daniel interceded.

Teal’c nodded. "Season’s Greetings, Drey’auc, may your soul experience only joy."

"Poetic."

"Thank you, O’Neill." The balloon floated away to join the others.

Annika waited a few moments then spoke. "And as the grand finale, Dad, I promised to show you a trick or two of my gift." With a flick of her wrist she gestured to beside the picnic table. The snow shimmered for a second and then the cold whiteness was replaced by a riot of colors. What must have been at least two hundred balloons hovered, their strings holding them down under a large rock.

"I knew that guy wouldn’t just deliver a few balloons out of the goodness of his heart." Jack sounded smug.

Annika grinned. She gave a waggle of her finger and the rock shifted releasing its hold on the balloons. As the colorful orbs began floating away, Annika focused her mind on controlling their ascent. She began making patterns, forming a number of Christmas themed shapes. A Christmas tree, a bell then a star. When she maneuvered the balloons into a reindeer, Jack eyed the animal critically.

"Your Prancer is looking a bit drunk."

Annika gave a snort of laughter. "I dare you to do better." She started air writing with her finger and the balloons began lining up like a rope, spelling out the words Merry Christmas.

As if on cue the stereo started a new song. Surprisingly it was Teal’c’s deep baritone voice that began to sing the lyrics.

"Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad prospero ao y felicidad."

By the next verse all of them had joined in.

"I wanna to wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart."

As the song repeated the simple yet heart felt lyrics the five friends almost naturally formed a loose huddle, wrapping arms around shoulders and waists, with wide smiles on their faces as they belted out the song. Not caring how loud or off key they sounded, they wished their loved ones both past and present all the warm wishes they had to offer.

"We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of our hearts!"

When the song ended their group hug tightened for a long moment and then they drew apart.

"I would just like to say, that if word gets out that I was actually singing I will deny it to my dying breath," Jack declared flopping down at the table.

"Your ability to carry a harmonic tune is not something I would boast about, O’Neill."

"T, that sense of humor of yours really needs some work," Jack grinned. "So what’s next Group Activity Leader?" He looked expectantly at Annika. The last half hour had been sentimental and emotional, two things the normally flippant colonel steered away from. But at the same time, he could feel that hole in his heart shrink a little. Acknowledging Charlie’s soul, speaking to his son, let him remember the goods times he’d had as a dad, rather than the guilt over his son’s death. The guilt would never go away, however if there was anything else that could be done to keep those happy memories on the frontline, then Jack was more than willing to participate.

"Well, a little birdie told me that baseball and football were favorite sports of two of our Howdy-do members. I figured we could play a couple of games."

The men exchanged questioning looks.

"Charlie loved baseball," Jack confirmed. "But who liked football?"

Daniel shrugged. "Not from my side. Was it your dad or Uncle Jed?" He asked Annika.

"Nope."

They turned surprised to Sam, who nodded.

"Mom loved the game."

Because of their limited number of bodies the baseball turned into a hodge podge of batting practice and catch, with them taking turns to bat and the remaining four to field. Ground rules had to be established when Annika ‘accidentally on purpose’ went astral catching Daniel out when he slogged a high ball over their heads. A good-natured debate started up with the end result being, "No Casper-ing allowed". When they moved onto football, they split up into two teams, Ladies vs. Men. Because of Teal’c’s size, not to mention superior athletic ability, he played both sides depending on which team controlled the play.

"Do you think we should spot points?" Jack suggested, as they made up goal posts of piles of snow.

For a fraction of a second the women paused.

"Sure," Annika shrugged. "How many points would you guys like?"

"I didn’t mean for us," Jack harrumphed.

"Think we can’t win on our own, Flyboy?" Sam indignantly placed her hands on her hips.

"Come on, Sam, we’re bigger and stronger. We clearly have the advantage." The comment came from Daniel.

"Them’s fightin’ words, Jackson," Annika warned.

"Just being gentlemanly," Jack was all innocence.

"Is this bickering part of the game of football?" Teal’c enquired.

"Absolutely," Sam grinned. "We’re gonna whip your asses."

"Promises, promises," Jack smirked. "Let’s play ball."

They flipped a coin, which the men won and the battle of the sexes began. Halfway through the game they had to strip off their jackets from the physical exertion and the unusually warm winter sun.

It was down to the tiebreaker and the ladies had the final play. Annika and Sam formed a quick huddle with Teal’c.

"I have a plan." Annika’s smile was sly. She outlined her strategy and her teammates agreed it had great merit.

Annika took front position with Sam behind and to the left, and Teal’c to the right. She placed the ball down then paused. "Oh, just a sec, fellas, forgot something."

Jack and Daniel exchanged eye rolls. Women!

Annika, still bent over, spun around and reversed her position resting her hands on her knees, giving Daniel a rather splendid view of her tail end. She lowered her voice so only Sam could hear and almost absently started wiggling her butt as she spoke. Sam also kept her starting position fully bent forward and due to preparation from their earlier huddle, the top two buttons of her shirt were undone. The colonel was subjected to the beautiful sight of lacy bra and breasts. She too began to rock from side to side.

Jack and Daniel being the patient, polite souls everyone knew them to be, let the women continue their whispered strategy meeting, while enjoying the wonderful hypnotizing sight of their women ‘unintentionally’ jiggling their wares.

After a few minutes of indulgence, Jack cleared his throat. "Are we going to play or what?"

The two women gave them wide-eyed looks.

"Oh, we’ve finished." Sam let a small smile play on her lips.

"You’re calling a draw?" Daniel was suspicious. He knew how competitive those two were.

"Nope. We made our play about…" Annika glanced at her watch, "…two minutes ago. Now we’re chatting about tomorrow."

The men blinked and then looked down, only now noticing that the ball had disappeared.

"Hey, no cheating!" Jack accused. "You used the Nox hidey trick."

"We didn’t need the Nox trick," Annika smirked, sounding smug. "The ball is over there." She pointed behind them.

The men wrenched their heads around to see Teal’c standing between the goal posts with the ball in his hand.

The Jaffa dropped it into the snow. "Goal. The ladies win."

The men had been so distracted by Annika and Sam’s display, that they hadn’t noticed Annika simply pass the ball to Sam, who handed it over to Teal’c. The Jaffa had then strolled over to the posts to score the winning goal.

"Of all the low down, dirty, sneaky…"

"Ingenious," Daniel added.

"Well…yeah…tricks!" Jack grumbled.

"Not a trick," Annika gave Sam a high five. "A well thought out play."

The women continued their self-congratulations as the ‘losers’ fired up the barbeque to cook the sausages for the hot dogs and to reheat the butter chicken. Annika pulled out the shrimp cocktails from the cooler, which they ate while the meat was cooking. Another round of beers was produced and the friends gathered around the table, more than ready to satisfy the hunger the afternoon activities had caused.

Jack eyed the Egyptian part of the meal warily. "What precisely is it?"

Daniel plucked one of the pastry parcels from the dish and dipped it in the sauce of the Indian dish. "Don’t worry, Jack. It tastes like chicken."

Sam gave a snort of laughter. "You say that about everything."

"Can I help it if most off-world dishes taste of poultry?" the anthropologist chuckled.

Jack hesitantly tried a bit. "You’re right, does taste like chicken."

"Okay, now I’m offended," Annika pretended to be annoyed.

"Why?" Teal’c quirked an eyebrow, tasting one of the pastry strips. "It does indeed taste of chicken."

"Because there is only one type of meat in that recipe and it is not of the feathered variety. It’s pure beef."

"Hey, that’s quite a feat, making beef into chicken," Jack quipped. "Is this a new side effect of your abilities?"

"Don’t know how useful this Philosopher’s Stone will be…" Daniel playfully mulled over the concept.

"One more word from either of you and I’ll let Sam do all the cooking tomorrow," Annika threatened.

"Oh, crap!" Jack gave a panicked gulp, while dodging an elbow jab from the major. "Changed my mind, definitely tastes like beef. I can still hear it mooing."

Considering the reason for the Christmas Eve gathering, the conversation turned reminiscent, with each of them sharing stories of their dearly departed loved ones. There was no grief in their tales, just a happy remembrance. As the sun began to set they packed up their gear and headed back to Daniel and Annika’s. Before anyone could object, Jack jumped into the passenger seat of Annika’s car.

"I’ll ride with Annika. Keep her company."

The others waved them away, knowing that the older man wanted a private word with the psychic.

For a few minutes nothing was said. Annika waited patiently for Jack to find the words he needed to say.

"Uh…I…um," he floundered. "This afternoon…it was…"

"Needed?" Annika supplied.

"Uh…yeah. I didn’t know it was, but it was. You knew that, didn’t you?"

Annika nodded.

"Psychic thing?"

"No. I recognized the…er…symptoms in varying degrees in all of you from personal experience. That little ritual helps me, I could only hope that it would help you." She reached over and gave his hand a tight squeeze.

Jack returned the gesture. "It did. Thank you."

The two friends finished the ride in comfortable silence.

Back at the house Daniel set about lighting the fire and within a few minutes the crackling warmth from the fireplace had taken the chill out of the room. Teal’c helped Sam serve up the final two dishes of the Howdy-do for dessert. After the sweet confections had been eaten, Annika handed out snifters, and produced a boxed bottle of cognac and the cigar she’d brought back from off-world.

Sam’s eyes widened when she saw the elaborate decanter. "Wow…is that what I think it is?"

Annika smiled, pouring a generous amount of the golden liquid into the ballooned glass. "That depends. What do you think it is?"

"Well, I’ve only seen pictures, but that’s Louis XIII cognac, right?" Her voice was slightly awed.

"That’s what it says on the label."

"As in Remy Martin, Louis XIII?" Jack was almost reverently holding his glass.

Teal’c tilted his head. "From the expression on O’Neill and Major Carter’s faces I assume this beverage is a rarity."

Daniel shrugged. "I suppose so. I’m not really a cognac drinker, so I wouldn’t know."

"Uncle Jed had expensive taste," Annika informed them. "I had to keep up tradition." When she saw the Jaffa about to down the cognac in one swallow she stopped him. "Teal’c, there’s an art form to drinking this. First you need to warm the liquid, the heat of your hands around the glass should be enough." Jack and Sam had already cupped their palms around their glasses and were gently swirling the drink. Teal’c copied the movement. "It’s supposed to enhance the flavor. Then you sip it."

Annika poured for Daniel and then one for herself. She lifted the glass in salute. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Jed."

The others repeated the gesture and then they all took a sip.

Jack closed his eyes in bliss as he swallowed the amber warmth. "Damn, that’s good. Never thought I’d ever get to have any."

Annika lit up the cigar and took a deep puff. "I’m not a smoker, but there’s something about cigars and cognac that just works."

Daniel let the delicate flavors swim around his mouth. "Hmmm, maybe we should get a case or two. They’d make good presents."

The comment nearly made Sam and Jack choke on their next sip.

"Make sure I’m on the recipient list," the colonel gasped.

"What?" His blue eyes were confused as he plucked the cigar from Annika’s fingers and drew in deeply. When he released the smoke he mused, "The locals were right, it does taste of chocolate."

Annika settled herself next to her lover’s side, snuggling up to him. "Ah, Daniel, I got that particular bottle for the bargain price of fifteen hundred."

"What? Dollars?" He almost dropped the glass.

"Hey, don’t spill it!" Jack’s arm shot out to stop the wavering snifter. "It’s precious stuff." Once he was sure the liquid gold was safe, he accepted the cigar, taking a satisfying drag.

Daniel was looking at Annika incredulously. "Just how much did you earn as a cake decorator?"

She shrugged. "A bit more than the SGC pays plus Dad had quite a large life insurance policy, part of which he bequeathed to me. I made a few investments that paid off."

"You mean you took a pay cut to work with us?" Even Jack was stunned.

Annika shrugged again, slightly embarrassed. "I didn’t get the hefty bonuses you guys seem to get on a regular basis. Money isn’t that important to me." She held up the decanter. "Who’s for a second round?"

Clearly Annika wanted to change the subject and the others acquiesced, though they shot her the occasional bewildered glance.

As they relaxed around the fire, mellowed by the cognac, simply chatting and playfully teasing each other, Daniel let his gaze travel over his friends, his family. He felt a contented tingle through their bond. He caught Annika’s eye and they shared a smile, both thinking the same thought. Another perfect memory.