Merry Birthday by holdouttrout (PG)

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Jack O'Neill & Samantha Carter Friendship
Pairing: none
Category: Family/Friendship
Warning: none
Author on LJ: holdouttrout
Author's Website: Linguistic Prostitution
Link: Merry Birthday

Why This Must Be Read:
This is the nearly opposite birthday fic from "Cure from the Common Birthday" and yet it is as telling of Jack and Sam's friendship. Here we get a quick look at Sam having to face not only Christmas but her birthday post "Threads" and the first without her dad. Jack comes in perfect form as a true friend, even if he is living in DC most of the time.

Excerpt:
None of them had been any good at holidays. Sam had, through sheer luck and the determination of her father, managed to get away for Christmas every year, disappearing from the mountain for almost a week, leaving behind confused assistants and co-workers who weren't used to not being able to find her at any time of day or night.

This year was different. Subdued. Cam had taken off for home and his mama's good cookin'. He tried valiantly to whisk Sam away from the SGC for a few days, thinking it would do her some good, but she'd resisted with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and a mention of waiting for word from Teal'c, currently off-world.

Daniel had left without a word, sensing, perhaps, that both he and Sam had in common issues with the holidays this year--people missing who should be there--and that neither one of them wanted to talk about it.