December 25th 2004

It’s Christmas Day on Atlantis…there are a few words I never thought I’d write.  Carson was kind enough to discharge me from the infirmary now that my chest has begun to heal quickly and the bruises have subsided.  I gave Carson his card early this morning.  He loved it, but to tell you the truth I think he was just humouring me.
    I went straight back to my quarters for a proper shower and a change of clothes.  I feel so much better in my regular clothes.  I thought, you know what, sod it…it’s Christmas day, I’m going to be goddamn comfy!  Oh and the shower, I can’t tell you how much that felt like heaven.  I must have stood under the hot water for at least an hour, working out all the tension in my shoulders.  The Wraith mark on my chest was a little off putting at first, but I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it.
    I’ve wrapped a few gifts for the guys, nothing to fancy.  We had a ration of alcohol when we first arrived.  I still had my last two beers that we were allowed as a parting treat from the SGC and I knew that Sheppard had consumed his a few months back so I hid my last one and wrapped one for him.  I decided to give Radek this sweet little carved wooden necklace a child had given me in exchange for a bar of chocolate on Timitus.  Quite frankly I don’t want to keep hold of it, it’s too…
    Anyway, I had no idea what to give Rodney, until my eyes fell on Wilczek’s book.  I had read it twice since I had been here and now it was little more than a keep sake.  I wrote a little something inside under what my mum had put for my birthday.  I know Rodney will appreciate it.
    There is going to be a big dinner tonight.  All the staff have been sent a memo, casual dress, meet in the gate room.  I think I’ll just throw my uniform jacket over what I’m wearing now.  I can’t be bothered digging for anything classier now.  I’ve only got half an hour before it starts and I need to go and find Rodney.

                                                                                                       -oOo-

Rodney peers at his notes and tuts as he notices a glaring mistake in his calculations.  He scribbles it out and taps his pen on the pad of paper.  He glances at his watch.  He’d head up there in a bit.  He didn’t want to miss out on the food, but he knew there would be mingling in the gate room first, and he wasn’t really the crowd kind of guy.
    He glares down at his equations and makes a quick amendment.  The lab door opens quietly and Rachel limps in.  Rodney looks up at her, surprised by her presence.  She‘s wearing a large Santa hat, a Green Lantern t-shirt and a pair of black three quarter length pants with her uniform jacket over the top.  Ah yes tonight was supposed to be casual wasn‘t it?  He‘d forgotten.  “Hullo.” he mutters, looking back down at his notes.
“Come on, everyone is already up there.” Rachel says cheerfully.
“I’m not going.”
“What?  Oh come on, even the Grinch gave Christmas a try!”
“I’m not a Grinch…I just have an issue with crowds.  Especially on those death sticks back there.” he waves his hand in the direction of his crutches.  Rachel walks forward and leans on his desk.  It’s now that he notices the small bag in her hand.  No doubt Christmas cards for the others.  “You don’t have to be in the crowd.  You can stand in the Control Room, that was what I was going to do.” she presses. Rodney just shakes his head.  “Fine…” she mutters, “I was going to give you this when we got up there but still.”      She moves around the side of the desk and pulls a badly wrapped parcel out of the bag.  It’s wrapped in a thick piece of industrial paper and kept together with red and green elastic bands.  There’s a card with it too, which she places on top of the present.  “Merry Christmas, Rodney.” she says.  She leans forward and plants a timid kiss on his cheek.  Rodney feels himself blush as she pulls away and heads for the door.  “When you’re ready I’ll see you up there.” she says a little breathlessly.
    Once the door has closed and he’s gotten over the shock of having the youngest and by far one of the prettiest members of the expedition planting a kiss on him, he looks down at the present.  He opens the card first, it’s hand made and painted beautifully with a scene of two Ancients standing side by side, each with a glowing ZedPM in their hands.  She’s given them wings and halos to make them more Christmassy.  He smiles and props it up on the clearest part of his desk he can find.
    He then turns his attention to the present.  He carelessly pulls the rubber bands away and out falls a book.  The book she was reading.  At first he’s a little disappointed, until he opens it up and reads the first page.  ‘Rachel, on your 21st Birthday, may you find all the happiness in you’re new job, mum, dad and Dylan XxX’ his eyes slide down the page and rest on what Rachel has written underneath the author of the books untidy autograph.  ‘My dearest Rodney, may this book while away the hours as it did for me, Dr Rachel Miller, Atlantis ‘04’.
    Rodney sighs and snaps the book shut.  He tucks it into his inside pocket and grabs his crutches.  If he was going to gatecrash the party, he was going to get changed first.

Rachel mooched about the Control Room.  There weren’t many people up here, just people who were too depressed at being away from home and the grumpy bastards who felt it necessary to be there, but were adamant they were not going to have any fun.  At last Major Sheppard and Teyla break away from the crowd and walk up the stairs.  Rachel makes her way over to them and they both greet her with a smile.  Teyla walks straight up to her and presses her forehead against Rachel’s gently.  “It is good to see you well.” Teyla says, smiling widely.
“I was just explaining to Teyla about Christmas.”
“Wait the good Christmas or the boring angels and kings one?”
“Well actually I was explaining both, how children from our world re-enact the Nativity play and then gorge themselves on chocolate, forget their one line and…throw up in the manger…” Sheppard grimaces.
“Wait…John you didn’t…did you throw up on our lord and saviour?” Rachel asks mock serious.  He pulls an awkward face.  “It was in first grade,” he replies, “I made a very queasy looking Joseph.” Teyla and Rachel break into peels of laughter and Sheppard winces at the memory.  “Am I missing some funny anecdote?” asks an accusing voice from behind Rachel’s back.
    She turns at grins at the sight of Rodney.  He’s wearing a blue t-shirt with an old gray lumberjack shirt over the top.  With one hand he’s leaning on a crutch and with the other he is holding a stainless steel mug, no doubt with some sort of liquor in it.  “Oh that reminds me!” Rachel says snapping her fingers.  She digs in her bag and pulls out cards for Sheppard and Teyla.
    Teylas eyes light up as she takes the envelope off her.  “I figured that you’d never had a Christmas Card, so I took the liberty.” Rachel says with a shrug.  Teyla removes the card from the envelope and smiles.  “You painted this yourself?” she asks. Rachel nods, “So do you like it?”
“It is perfect, thank you.” Teyla replies.  The card depicts Teyla herself standing beside a large decorated Christmas Tree placing a piece of candy cane on an outstretched bough.
    John opens his and smiles.  “Why am I shooting the head off a pissed off looking snowman?” he asks laughing.
“Why not?  And this is a little something.” Rachel hands him his present.  In seconds he’s into it.  He just makes a small sighing noise and smiles warmly at Rachel.  The music cuts off and Dr Weir informs them that their Christmas Dinner was ready.  Rodney grabs Rachel’s arm and makes for the door at quite a pace.  “Excuse us, invalids coming through.” he yells.  The first sign of food and this man could move like lightning!

The cafeteria is buzzing.  Everyone is talking loudly and there are spontaneous bursts of song every now and then.  Rachel, Radek, Rodney, Carson, Teyla and Sheppard are sat together with the rest of the Science Team, feeling that they were on safe land here rather than with the Command Staff or the Military.  Radek is wearing the necklace that Rachel had given him and keep thanking her at every opportunity.  Sheppard offers Teyla the end of a cracker and she looks at him like he’s gone mad.  “You take the end and pull.” Rodney explains.  To demonstrate he holds one out to Rachel, who takes it and gives it a yank.  There’s a bang and the contents spill out onto the table top.  “I won!” Rachel yells.  She picks up the bottle opener shaped like a crocodile and pockets it.  She switches her Santa hat for the flimsy green paper crown and  forces the Santa hat onto the head of a reluctant looking Rodney.
    Teyla is now looking at Rachel like she’s just dropped out of a tree.  Sheppard waves the cracker at her.  “I do not understand the appeal of these crackers.” she says frowning slightly.  Sheppard just waves the cracker again.  “What are you betting that if he does that again, Teyla is gonna floor him?” Carson whispers into Rachel’s ear.  Rachel laughs and begins to choke on her roast potato.  Carson thumps her on the back and she stops coughing.  “Thanks.” she mutters weakly.
    Teyla finally takes the end of the cracker and pulls.  Sheppard grins as he looks down at his larger half of the cracker.  “I won, lets see, what did I get?” he says pulling the contents of the cracker out.  It’s a small compact mirror.  He frowns and hands it to Teyla.  “Why are you giving this to me?  You won.” she replies.
“I don’t have any use for it.”
“Thank you then, Major Sheppard.”
“The hat however, that’s mine.” Sheppard replies sticking the yellow crown on his head.
    Once everyone has finished their meal there’s call for a toast.  With a loud “Cheers!” everyone downs their drinks.  The night is over and many people are retiring to bed.  Carson, who had drunk rather a large amount is helped back to his quarters by Nurse Cindy who he had been talking to about Trout all night.  Sheppard and Teyla had disappeared to talk to Weir and Radek was deep in conversation with another Czech Doctor in Medical.
    Rodney gets up from his place and knocks his crutches over clumsily.  “Whoops!” he mutters and giggles to himself.  Rachel picks them up and hands them to him.  “Maybe it’s not such a good thing for you to head out on you own on those things.” Rachel says, her voice a little slurred.  Rodney nods and allows Rachel to link his arm.  He walks along for a few feet then stops and hands one of the crutches to Rachel.  “I’ll on’y trip over the confounded thing.” he says frowning.
    They make their way down the corridor past the infirmary.  Along the way they hear a very loud and out of tune rendition of ‘I’m a Little Teapot’.  There’s a screaming laugh as they round the corner but both Rodney and Rachel are ignoring it.  They’re trying very hard to stay on the right track, but they’re both all over the place.  Finally they come to a halt outside Rodney’s quarters and he flails his hand at the door control.  He manages to open the door and he leans on the door frame and looks back at Rachel.  “Thanks.” he says in a low voice.
“S’no, problem any time.” Rachel replies.  They looked at each other, eyes slipping out of focus.  Rodney moves forward and kisses Rachel on the lips.  She staggers back, wide eyed.  “Uh, Merry Christmas.” Rodney replies.  His face turns a deep red as he smiles at Rachel.  “Merry Christmas.” she breaths back, her pale cheeks flushing a little also.  She turns and walks unsteadily up the hall.  Rodney grins and retreats into his room the doors sliding shut.
    Atlantis is silent now as Rachel makes her way back to her own room.  She pauses and frowns.  There was a niggling pain in her temple.  “It’s the alcohol.” she mutters.  She stumbles and throws her hands out to steady herself.  Okay a little breather.  That’s what she needed.  She leans on her knees and closes her eyes.  Okay don’t do that, it makes the room spin and that make you want to throw up, she thinks.  She straightens up and…

The Diary of Dr Rachel Miller P.h.D. (From The Waters of Atlantis) by Sarahannah Lydia Eve Hopwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
Based on a work at stargate.mgm.com.