Official 'From The Waters of Atlantis' Blog
SG Christmas
A Very Stargate Christmas:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you want to kick back and enjoy your evening, but I just want to quickly say a few words."
Dr. Elizabeth Weir stood up on the steps and raised her glass of champagne to the room. The somewhat festively dressed members of the Atlantis expedition looked up from the light refreshments that had been provided on the long tables of the mess hall. Someone had strung up some tinsel. A few people had party hats.
It was Christmas.
"I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for all their hard work this year. I know we've had a few tense moments…"
Her audience chuckled quietly.
"…but everyone's done a brilliant job and helped make this year a huge success for the program. Now, I know now of all times you'd all like to be home with your families, so thanks again for your commitment. You all have my permission to have a bit of fun tonight!"
"Three cheers for Dr. Weir!" someone shouted.
Dr. Weir stepped down from the stairs, smiling as a blush touched her cheeks, and the crowd gave a tipsy cheer.
In the corner, Dr. Rodney McKay sat on his own drinking what appeared to be an entire mug of champagne, while working on some notes on the table in front of him.
"Rodney!" called a heavily accented Scottish voice. "Why don't you come over and join everyone in the festivities?" asked Carson Beckett as he extracted himself from a group of chattering scientists.
"No, thank you, Doctor, I am very close to what could be a very important discovery for the entirety of mankind and am having enough trouble concentrating with all this-" he waved his hand at the party, "-disruption."
"But Rodney, it's Christmas!"
"Well, I don't like Christmas. It's just so…unnecessary."
" Oh, Bah Humbug then Rodney?"
"You know what? Every year when I was a kid my dad gave me sports gear. Hockey sticks, baseball bats, even a football! And family reunions, god my family, always asking if I've made something of myself! Does 'classified' not mean anything to them? My genius just goes unappreciated in my household…"
"Ok, ok Rodney, I understand!" Carson said, rolling his eyes. "You just don't have too much champagne there ok?" -he eyed the mug- "I don't want to have to worry about alcohol poisoning tonight… any more than I already am anyway."
"I can do what I want! It's not like anyone cares about anything I do, and there's nothing important to do anyway …" Rodney sulked miserably.
"Except that 'important discovery' you're working on?" asked Carson sarcastically.
"Oh right, that…"
"Merry Christmas Dr. Beckett!" hailed Sheppard as he joined the pair with Teyla.
"Thank you John, and to you." replied Carson happily, "Cheering up this one is I think beyond my skills, but good luck to you if you want to try!" He laughed, before returning to the group of scientists, where Dr. Zelenka was now singing loudly and drunkenly in Czech.
"Well, I don't know if I can cheer you up, but I do have a present for you McKay." said Sheppard as pulled out a package from behind his back.
"What, really? Oh, um, thanks," said McKay awkwardly, unwrapping his present.
Teyla looked at John and gently raised an eyebrow, amused. Rodney cleared away the wrapping to find a perfectly packaged Cat Woman figurine from one of the earlier Batman series.
"Wow, this must have been hard to get, they stopped making these after the series finished in…" Rodney looked up at the other two. "Oh, I mean, thank you for the thought John but this really isn't a present that…you know…begets my incredible intellect. Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I…er...well..." He cast about for some way of arguing that he wasn't a geek-"Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas Rodney."
"Ok, well, er…you too John." replied Rodney as Sheppard walked away with Teyla He then turned his attention back to the action figure.
"I do not quite understand this celebration," Teyla asked Sheppard as they walked around the tables of nibbles and drinks "It has religious significance?"
"Well, yeah," said Sheppard, "but hey, most of us just use it as an excuse to celebrate and spend time with the people we care about."
Teyla smiled.
"Well, I like the sound of that."
***
Meanwhile…
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jack O'Neill growled as he poked his head out of the branches of an alien forest (that to the untrained eye could of course be mistaken for Northern America…) to survey the scene below.
"They're still there, sir?"
"Yeah, and it looks like they're camped in to be there till well after dawn."
Jack sighed and turned away from the moonlit field a couple of hundred meters below them that held both the Stargate and at least a dozen Jaffa.
Jack and Sam stole away from the Stargate, back to where Daniel and Teal'c were waiting on the edge of a cliff top that looked out over a sprawling forest bathed in moonlight.
"So we're stuck here for Christmas?" Daniel asked despondently.
"'fraid so" replied Jack. The group followed Jack's lead and sank to the ground, attempting to get comfortable for the night.
They sighed, collectively.
"My family's going to kill me," Sam put in with a half smile after a moment, "I'm not around for much but they let me live if I'm home for Christmas. Having a mission on Christmas Eve was bad enough..."
"Unfortunately, the fate of the universe doesn't wait, does it Carter?" Jack replied sarcastically.
"No, sir" she said with a smile.
"What is the importance of this holiday?" asked Teal'c, "From what I have seen of your Television it is a time in which seeing one's family results in conflict. And it is also a time in which to wear strange hats and buy many products."
"Well yes Teal'c," Sam began "But-"
"But we'd still all like to be at home with our families" Daniel finished.
They all paused.
"You are the people I would most like to spend my festival time with" said Teal'c.
"You're right Teal'c. You guys are family to me." said Daniel earnestly.
Sam smiled. "Me too."
They all looked at Jack.
"What? No offence guys, but I'd much rather be sitting on a comfy couch with a beer and a hundred cable stations of Christmas specials. And not have anyone shooting at me."
"Ah, sir…"
"And presents!"
They lapsed into silence again.
After a few minutes of staring at the stars, Daniel wrinkled his eyebrows in thought, then sat up and began searching his jacket pockets.
"You know what Jack? I think I can help you all with that, with a little improvisation." He found what he was looking for in a back pocket, and pulled out a small gold pendant on a chain in the shape of an eagle.
"Here you go Sam. We found this on the last dig on PX3-642, it was an amulet given to the queen of the planet in honour of Nut the Goddess of the night, by Ptah God of Craftsmen. It wasn't of particular archeologically importance, so I must have forgotten to take it out of pocket."
"So this belonged to a Goa'uld? Thanks Daniel." Sam said sarcastically, taking the pendant.
"Well, maybe, I mean the queen of the planet probably wasn't, she wa-"
"Don't worry, it's lovely. Thank you Daniel."
"And for you Teal'c…"
"I do not need anything made by the Goa'uld to know your friendship Daniel Jackson."
"Don't worry, I haven't got anything else from the digs anyway. I do have this though."
He pulled out a book from his backpack.
"It's a book on the history of entertainment on Earth. I know how interested you are in getting to know our planet better. I..er…brought it because I kind of wrote my notes on the runes of this planet at the back. But since we got them destroyed, well, I don't really need the notes anymore." Daniel sighed.
Teal'c accepted the gift with a graceful nod.
"And surely you can't have something for me in that there bag Daniel, though it would certainly explain why you always run so slowly." Jack said jovially.
"No, I don't Jack. But I can give you this…"
Daniel again dug through his backpack until he found a notebook and a pen. He tore out a page and scrawled a message on it before handing it to Jack.
Good for 24 hours of keeping my mouth shut. To be used at any time. Signed, Dr. Daniel Jackson, it read.
"Oh I'm going to like this," Jack smirked.
"I think I'm going to regret this…" added Daniel.
"Well, I only have one present to give. But, ah, Teal'c, Daniel, buddies, could you just survey that beautiful view over there for a sec?" said Jack, motioning to the starlit forest and the two moons hanging above it.
Daniel and Teal'c smiled and exchanged glances before turning away briefly.
They heard Jack moving behind them to where Carter was sitting, and then back to his seat again. When they turned back, Sam was blushing and hiding a smile, and Jack coughed gruffly and looked embarrassed.
"Not a word." he said.
"Of course not"
They looked up at the sky, watching the moons, waiting for dawn.
"Merry Christmas guys."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you want to kick back and enjoy your evening, but I just want to quickly say a few words."
Dr. Elizabeth Weir stood up on the steps and raised her glass of champagne to the room. The somewhat festively dressed members of the Atlantis expedition looked up from the light refreshments that had been provided on the long tables of the mess hall. Someone had strung up some tinsel. A few people had party hats.
It was Christmas.
"I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for all their hard work this year. I know we've had a few tense moments…"
Her audience chuckled quietly.
"…but everyone's done a brilliant job and helped make this year a huge success for the program. Now, I know now of all times you'd all like to be home with your families, so thanks again for your commitment. You all have my permission to have a bit of fun tonight!"
"Three cheers for Dr. Weir!" someone shouted.
Dr. Weir stepped down from the stairs, smiling as a blush touched her cheeks, and the crowd gave a tipsy cheer.
In the corner, Dr. Rodney McKay sat on his own drinking what appeared to be an entire mug of champagne, while working on some notes on the table in front of him.
"Rodney!" called a heavily accented Scottish voice. "Why don't you come over and join everyone in the festivities?" asked Carson Beckett as he extracted himself from a group of chattering scientists.
"No, thank you, Doctor, I am very close to what could be a very important discovery for the entirety of mankind and am having enough trouble concentrating with all this-" he waved his hand at the party, "-disruption."
"But Rodney, it's Christmas!"
"Well, I don't like Christmas. It's just so…unnecessary."
" Oh, Bah Humbug then Rodney?"
"You know what? Every year when I was a kid my dad gave me sports gear. Hockey sticks, baseball bats, even a football! And family reunions, god my family, always asking if I've made something of myself! Does 'classified' not mean anything to them? My genius just goes unappreciated in my household…"
"Ok, ok Rodney, I understand!" Carson said, rolling his eyes. "You just don't have too much champagne there ok?" -he eyed the mug- "I don't want to have to worry about alcohol poisoning tonight… any more than I already am anyway."
"I can do what I want! It's not like anyone cares about anything I do, and there's nothing important to do anyway …" Rodney sulked miserably.
"Except that 'important discovery' you're working on?" asked Carson sarcastically.
"Oh right, that…"
"Merry Christmas Dr. Beckett!" hailed Sheppard as he joined the pair with Teyla.
"Thank you John, and to you." replied Carson happily, "Cheering up this one is I think beyond my skills, but good luck to you if you want to try!" He laughed, before returning to the group of scientists, where Dr. Zelenka was now singing loudly and drunkenly in Czech.
"Well, I don't know if I can cheer you up, but I do have a present for you McKay." said Sheppard as pulled out a package from behind his back.
"What, really? Oh, um, thanks," said McKay awkwardly, unwrapping his present.
Teyla looked at John and gently raised an eyebrow, amused. Rodney cleared away the wrapping to find a perfectly packaged Cat Woman figurine from one of the earlier Batman series.
"Wow, this must have been hard to get, they stopped making these after the series finished in…" Rodney looked up at the other two. "Oh, I mean, thank you for the thought John but this really isn't a present that…you know…begets my incredible intellect. Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I…er...well..." He cast about for some way of arguing that he wasn't a geek-"Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas Rodney."
"Ok, well, er…you too John." replied Rodney as Sheppard walked away with Teyla He then turned his attention back to the action figure.
"I do not quite understand this celebration," Teyla asked Sheppard as they walked around the tables of nibbles and drinks "It has religious significance?"
"Well, yeah," said Sheppard, "but hey, most of us just use it as an excuse to celebrate and spend time with the people we care about."
Teyla smiled.
"Well, I like the sound of that."
***
Meanwhile…
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jack O'Neill growled as he poked his head out of the branches of an alien forest (that to the untrained eye could of course be mistaken for Northern America…) to survey the scene below.
"They're still there, sir?"
"Yeah, and it looks like they're camped in to be there till well after dawn."
Jack sighed and turned away from the moonlit field a couple of hundred meters below them that held both the Stargate and at least a dozen Jaffa.
Jack and Sam stole away from the Stargate, back to where Daniel and Teal'c were waiting on the edge of a cliff top that looked out over a sprawling forest bathed in moonlight.
"So we're stuck here for Christmas?" Daniel asked despondently.
"'fraid so" replied Jack. The group followed Jack's lead and sank to the ground, attempting to get comfortable for the night.
They sighed, collectively.
"My family's going to kill me," Sam put in with a half smile after a moment, "I'm not around for much but they let me live if I'm home for Christmas. Having a mission on Christmas Eve was bad enough..."
"Unfortunately, the fate of the universe doesn't wait, does it Carter?" Jack replied sarcastically.
"No, sir" she said with a smile.
"What is the importance of this holiday?" asked Teal'c, "From what I have seen of your Television it is a time in which seeing one's family results in conflict. And it is also a time in which to wear strange hats and buy many products."
"Well yes Teal'c," Sam began "But-"
"But we'd still all like to be at home with our families" Daniel finished.
They all paused.
"You are the people I would most like to spend my festival time with" said Teal'c.
"You're right Teal'c. You guys are family to me." said Daniel earnestly.
Sam smiled. "Me too."
They all looked at Jack.
"What? No offence guys, but I'd much rather be sitting on a comfy couch with a beer and a hundred cable stations of Christmas specials. And not have anyone shooting at me."
"Ah, sir…"
"And presents!"
They lapsed into silence again.
After a few minutes of staring at the stars, Daniel wrinkled his eyebrows in thought, then sat up and began searching his jacket pockets.
"You know what Jack? I think I can help you all with that, with a little improvisation." He found what he was looking for in a back pocket, and pulled out a small gold pendant on a chain in the shape of an eagle.
"Here you go Sam. We found this on the last dig on PX3-642, it was an amulet given to the queen of the planet in honour of Nut the Goddess of the night, by Ptah God of Craftsmen. It wasn't of particular archeologically importance, so I must have forgotten to take it out of pocket."
"So this belonged to a Goa'uld? Thanks Daniel." Sam said sarcastically, taking the pendant.
"Well, maybe, I mean the queen of the planet probably wasn't, she wa-"
"Don't worry, it's lovely. Thank you Daniel."
"And for you Teal'c…"
"I do not need anything made by the Goa'uld to know your friendship Daniel Jackson."
"Don't worry, I haven't got anything else from the digs anyway. I do have this though."
He pulled out a book from his backpack.
"It's a book on the history of entertainment on Earth. I know how interested you are in getting to know our planet better. I..er…brought it because I kind of wrote my notes on the runes of this planet at the back. But since we got them destroyed, well, I don't really need the notes anymore." Daniel sighed.
Teal'c accepted the gift with a graceful nod.
"And surely you can't have something for me in that there bag Daniel, though it would certainly explain why you always run so slowly." Jack said jovially.
"No, I don't Jack. But I can give you this…"
Daniel again dug through his backpack until he found a notebook and a pen. He tore out a page and scrawled a message on it before handing it to Jack.
Good for 24 hours of keeping my mouth shut. To be used at any time. Signed, Dr. Daniel Jackson, it read.
"Oh I'm going to like this," Jack smirked.
"I think I'm going to regret this…" added Daniel.
"Well, I only have one present to give. But, ah, Teal'c, Daniel, buddies, could you just survey that beautiful view over there for a sec?" said Jack, motioning to the starlit forest and the two moons hanging above it.
Daniel and Teal'c smiled and exchanged glances before turning away briefly.
They heard Jack moving behind them to where Carter was sitting, and then back to his seat again. When they turned back, Sam was blushing and hiding a smile, and Jack coughed gruffly and looked embarrassed.
"Not a word." he said.
"Of course not"
They looked up at the sky, watching the moons, waiting for dawn.
"Merry Christmas guys."
