In the Bleak Midwinter by Kaz

In the Bleak Midwinter
By Kaz

General Hammond felt strangely drawn to sub level seven as he patrolled his domain. The aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee hit him as soon as he exited the elevator. Although this was something he quite often sought out during his wanderings through the halls of the SGC, it was what he hoped he wouldn't encounter this particular night. It meant the occupant of the office where the inviting smell emanated from was not planning on leaving any time soon, and that just wasn't right… not *this* evening, anyway.

He watched briefly from the doorway as the young man seated within stopped writing, took a mouthful of coffee and then lowered his gaze to whatever was clutched tightly in his left hand.

"Doctor Jackson ?" Hammond called as softly as his normally authoritative voice would allow, not wanting to startle the archaeologist unduly.

Daniel's head jerked up almost guiltily. "General ?" He blinked, long lashes fluttering rapidly behind the reflections of the desk light in his glasses.

"Do you know what time it is, son ?"

"Uh, a little after eight thirty, sir," Daniel replied after a quick glance at his watch.

"Aren't you going home tonight ?"

"There are some things I wanted to finish." Emphasizing his words, Daniel waved his free hand over the papers on his desk. "We've been off-world quite a bit lately and…"

"It's Christmas Eve. I, for one, won't be expecting any reports on your work until after the holidays. Surely you have other plans…"

"Um, actually, sir, I don't. Sam has gone to her brother's, Teal'c is visiting Ry'ac, Jack's gone over to Janet's."

"I thought she invited you too."

"She did, but I…" He looked back down at the something he was holding. "I didn't think I'd be very good company just now."

Hammond came closer, concerned. He noticed the small box in Daniel's grasp.

Daniel brought his face back up and saw where the general was looking. He opened the box to reveal a delicate gold wedding ring. "The first thing I bought when Jack brought me back from Abydos," he explained. "It's a bit hard to calculate exactly, what with the difference in the length of days between there and here, but I think I'm about right… our wedding anniversary would have been around now." He picked the bright band from its velvet cushion. "I couldn't bring myself to part with it… even though Sha'uri never wore it… she never even saw it."

"You didn't tell them, did you ?"

"No." Daniel replaced the ring carefully in its box and closed the lid. His thumb gently stroked the blue sateen cover. "It's Christmas, General, they've got other things to think about."

"They would have wanted to know." Hammond was certain. He would have liked to have said more, but at that moment the klaxons sounded and whirls of red light shone through the doorway from the corridor. "That should be SG-12 coming back," he announced. "I'd better see that all's well."

The general made to leave, but paused by the door. "It isn't too late for you to go over to Doctor Fraiser's, you know."

"I know, General…"

"Then you should. I'd be going myself, but someone has to hold the fort." He tapped the doorframe as if checking it was solid. "I shall be checking later, Doctor Jackson, and I don't expect to find you still here."

Daniel smiled. "Alright, I'll go." He got up and pulled his anorak from the back of the door.

Hammond nodded with a smile of his own twisting his lips.

They walked together to the elevators. As the old soldier began to step into one of the cars Daniel called to him before getting into the other one alongside.

"Goodnight, General, and thank you. Oh, and, ah, have a merry Christmas."

"You too, son."

Hammond's grin broadened to a satisfied beam as he rode back down to the lowest levels of the SGC. His Christmas would indeed be happier knowing he'd done at least one good deed for the season.

Daniel turned the windshield wipers up from intermittent to continuous as the snow started falling faster. The fluffy white pieces were dazzling as they reflected the glare of his headlights back at him.

He glanced at the gas gauge and silently cursed himself for not having filled the tank on the way to work. Though he was sure there would be enough to get him to Janet's place, he would likely have to get someone to take him to a gas station from there and get a can. That someone would probably be Jack and he'd probably grouse… a lot… damn.

Turning his gaze back to try and stare at the road ahead through the flurrying snowflakes. "Shit !" he swore loudly as a dark figure stepped out in front of him, arms waving wildly.

Daniel wrenched the wheel hard to avoid hitting the man and the Explorer came to a side-sliding halt in a wash of slush. He jumped out of the car and was almost bowled over by the other man.

"Help… you've got to help me… please…" tumbled from the young man trembling before him.

"Whoa," Daniel caught hold of him before he slipped over in his haste. "What's wrong ?"

"It's my wife… she's over here… come on !" the young man beckoned Daniel over to another car almost hidden by a covering of snow.

Daniel ducked down to look inside. "Oh," he said and wondered when his world had become so peculiar that he was not at all phased by the sight that greeted him.

A young woman sprawled awkwardly across the back seat of the small car, knees up and legs apart, stroking her fabulously swollen belly. "Are you a doctor ?" she asked and then went back into a steady rhythm of harsh panting.

"Er, well, yes," Daniel muttered.

"Great, how lucky could we get ?" the kid behind him enthused.

"Ah, but not the medical kind, I'm afraid," he explained apologetically.

"Bummer," the young man said.

"Joe !" the girl screamed and dug her fingers hard into the upholstery.

"It's okay, Maria, I'm here. Just relax, babe." Joe leaned across and kissed her flushed face.

Daniel knew he couldn't leave them like this and it was obvious they weren't going to make it much further before the baby was ready to come. "Look," he said, "I may not be the right sort of doctor, but I have done this before… a few times, actually."

"Really ?" Joe and Maria asked together.

"Yeah, my wife…"

"Oh good," Maria appeared to calm considerably at the news that he'd been married. "Please help me."

"Okay. I'm going to need some more light. Hang on." Daniel went back to his car and drove it up behind the other one so that the headlights could shine through its back window, while Joe cleared the snow off the smaller car.

Daniel squeezed himself into the rear of the car and began to examine Maria's progress. She reached out to Joe who now knelt in the front seat leaning over the backrest to watch. He took her hand and held on tight.

Trying to divert attention from his actions, Daniel began to talk. "So, how long have you been married ?" It hadn't gone unnoticed to his observant eyes that the girl had no wedding ring on, although there could be any number of reasons why she hadn't, especially as she was pregnant.

"Uh, just a few hours." Joe answered, the couple exchanged nervous glances, but he continued, seeming to need the idle conversation to quell his anxiousness at the situation. "We were trying to find a motel, but we got a little lost in the snow. Then junior started to play Maria up."

"You shouldn't really have been on the road in this condition." Daniel looked up from his ministrations to give Maria a concerned look.

"We didn't have much of a choice," she scowled back at him. "Our parents don't approve of us being together. We had to leave," she added sadly. Suddenly she gritted her teeth and breathed in sharply.

"Relax," Daniel told her. "It's nearly time. Do you have any towels or anything we can use down here ? It's going to get a little messy."

"Joe, the case," Maria urged to the apparently dazed young man as the contraction eased.

"Oh, yeah," he got out and started rummaging in the trunk.

"He's really worried," Maria explained to Daniel. "We're on our way to Denver. Joe's starts a new job next week and we've managed to get a little place."

Joe returned and handed Daniel a plastic bag he'd filled with things. "Will this do ?" he asked but didn't wait for a reply. He had overheard the conversation and as he retook up his station in the front seat, grabbing Maria's outstretched hand, he added, "New job, new home, new wife, new baby…"

"Sounds like a full set," Daniel commented.

"Yeah, I'm real lucky…" Joe said contentedly.

"Yes, you are," Daniel agreed quietly and between bouts of soothing words upon Maria's contractions went about arranging the things Joe had given him. He was surprised that the kid had thought about the tiny nappies and baby clothes as well as towels. There was a pair of nail scissors and some hair clips, which momentarily confused him, but then realized the practicalities of the strange items. Joe had even thought about Maria with some clean underwear and a maternity pad.

"I'm impressed," Daniel told him.

"We've done all the classes… I'm just not very good at the… blood… and stuff…" Joe confessed, looking rather green even thinking about it.

"So, what kind of doctor are you ?" Joe asked after a while, changing the subject.

"An archaeologist," Daniel replied as he checked Maria's dilation again.

"Oh." Joe was silent for a moment. "Hey, if it gets stuck you can always excavate it, right ?"

Daniel chuckled. "You're not related to Jack O'Neill are you ?" he asked.

"Jack who ?"

"Never mind." Daniel focused on the young woman's face and smiled reassuringly. "Maria ?"

"Yeah ?"

"The baby's here."

"Joe, I'm scared," she cried and her grip on the young man's hand intensified.

"Me too, sweetheart, but you're doing fine. Ain't that right, doc ?"

Daniel silently added his own fear to that of the expectant couple's. "Yep, just fine…" he said. "Now, when the next contraction comes, I want you to push, but stop as soon as the contraction passes, okay ? There's no rush."

"'Kay," Maria breathed heavily awaiting the onset of the next inevitable wave of pain.

Joe started to babble again. "So, you did this for your wife ?"

"Yeah," Daniel whooshed out a breath of his own in preparation for the upcoming activity.

"That's awesome… bringing your own baby into the world… I mean, when Maria's waters broke I just freaked… still am. If you hadn't come along, she'd be doing this by herself, I swear."

Hoping he was hiding his own pain at Joe's words, Daniel concentrated on the tiny head beginning to crown. There was no reason to tell them it wasn't how Joe thought. The miracle of life he had delivered from Sha'uri hadn't been any part of him, and it had hurt… more than he could ever have thought possible. But when the boy had been in his hands, as small helpless, wrinkled and blue eyed as all newborns were, with no sign that he was a receptacle for all the knowledge of the Goa'uld, Daniel knew he had to protect the child. And found, quite to his amazement, how willing he was to accept responsibility for the boy… he loved him. Even if he was not truly his son, he was Sha'uri's, and for that link alone, he could forget what unhappy circumstances had created him. Daniel couldn't let another innocent be defiled by Apophis.

As his attention slowly returned to the present, he realized Joe was still talking, "Bet this is the most unusual place you've ever done this though, huh ?"

"Um, no." He didn't elaborate, but he wondered how you could determine whether the back of a car in the middle of a blizzard was any more or less weird a place to deliver a child than in a dingy tent in the Yucatan, or a Mycenaean temple on a planet millions of miles away, or a cave on Abydos, also on the other side of the galaxy while hiding from evil aliens.

Daniel heard the sudden change in Maria's breathing pattern. "Okay, now push…"

"Come on, babe," Joe encouraged. "You can do this…"

A wriggling blood covered mass slipped into Daniel's ready hands. "That's it, now rest and push again with the next contraction. You're doing fine. The baby's fine."

"Oh man." Joe was almost bouncing with excitement. "This has got to be the best Christmas ever." He looked guiltily over at Daniel. "Sorry for spoiling yours, guess you should be at home with your wife and kid…"

Daniel didn't respond to that, there were more important things going on. "Well, your baby's here *now*," he said.

And then it was. Quickly, Daniel wiped the blood from the baby's face and wrapped the towel around it while he dealt with the cord.

The baby filled its tiny lungs and wailed loudly.

"It's a girl and she's beautiful, just like her mom," Daniel told them as he quickly dressed the baby up against the cold. As soon as he could, he lifted the little girl up to its mother, shrugged out of his coat and laid it over both of them. "Congratulations." He turned to shake Joe's hand.

"Oh, man, thanks." Joe's face was alight with joy.

"My pleasure."

Daniel smiled at the sight of the bundled mother and baby.

While the novice parents rightly cooed over their offspring, Daniel attended to the aftermath of the birth. He gathered up the mess in another towel and placed it in the plastic bag. "They'll probably want this at the hospital," he told Marie as he tucked the bag down in the foot well.

"Now get them to the hospital."

"Right," Joe breathed deeply composing himself. "Right… hospital." He turned round in the driver's seat and after a few stuttering attempts the car roared into life.

Daniel reached into his shirt pocket and brought out the box. He handed it to Joe. "Here, think of it as a wedding present and a christening present in one."

Joe opened the box. "No, we couldn't… this is too much…" he held it back out to Daniel.

"Take it, please."

"But what about your wife ? Isn't it… ?"

"She died."

"Oh man, oh Jesus, I'm sorry… no, we can't…"

"Take it. Even if you don't… use it, it should get you a room for a few nights, until you get settled in Denver." Daniel paused, his eyes narrowed as he looked earnestly at the younger man. "Just promise me one thing…"

"Sure man, anything…"

"Don't… don't ever let them out of your sight." He nodded toward the back seat where the proud new mother cuddled her child. "Don't lose them." Daniel's mind finished plea for him with admonishment, 'Like I did.'

"Hey, Doc, you can be sure of that."

"Good. Now, hospital…"

"Thanks… for everything." Joe tucked the box away in his jacket and started to close the door.

"Wait." Maria's rosy face peeped out from under Daniel's coat. "What was your wife's name ?"

"Sha'uri."

"Sharrie…"

Daniel managed to stop himself wincing at the slight mispronunciation.

"I like that," Maria announced. "What do you think, Joe ?"

"Fine by me, babe. Doc ?"

"Excuse me ?"

"Would you mind if we called her Sharrie ?"

"Uh, no. I don't mind at all."

Daniel gave the car a small wave as it drove off. He shivered, suddenly aware that he out in the snow in just his shirt.

As he made his way back to his Explorer, the hum of the other car's engine became lost in the distance and left him in the soft, fuzzy silence that accompanies heavy snowfall. A frown of puzzlement crossed his features. Didn't he leave the engine running to keep the lights going ?

He knew as soon as he climbed into the car that it would be useless, but he tried to start it nonetheless. Nothing. Great. To make matters worse, it seemed as if the gas had run out a while ago and now the battery was getting low too. The lights were growing dimmer and there was little warmth from the heater.

There was no way he could walk anywhere in this weather, especially now he had given his anorak away. Wait… the phone… He rummaged in his pants pockets, until he realized he'd put the cell phone in his coat. Damn. In exasperation, he banged his head against the steering wheel.

He'd just have to sit it out and hope that someone came by.

"Hammond." The general answered his phone curtly. "Jack, yes," he looked at his watch, "and a merry Christmas to you to." He waited while the colonel asked a question. "Yes, SG-12 made it back okay… A little ruffled but nothing a few stitches and a couple of aspirin won't cure… and of course a good dose of festive spirit. Speaking of which, how's Doctor Jackson ?"

Hammond twitched at the reply. "What do you mean you've not seen him ? He left here hours ago and assured me he was going to Doctor Fraiser's." His face pulled into a tight scowl. "Yes, perhaps he went home first and got delayed… No, I didn't know it was snowing… well that probably explains it, unless…" The general's heart lurched, what was he thinking ? With that boy's luck anything could have happened to him between the base and Fraiser's. "You make some calls and get back to me. I'll have a search mobilized if you don't have any luck."

"Jack, what it is it ?" Janet came in from the kitchen with two glasses of egg nog and a beer.

"Daniel." Jack said distractedly as he replaced the handset on the receiver.

"Has he changed his mind ? When will he be here ?" Cassandra asked, taking one of the yellow drinks from her adoptive mother.

"Seems he should have been here by now…"

"What ?"

"I phoned Hammond to make sure SG-12 checked in okay. He says Daniel left to come here hours ago."

Janet looked at the snow still falling heavily outside the window. "Damn. You don't suppose…"

"Let's not jump the gun yet. I'm gonna make a few calls." He looked at the beer Janet placed in front of him. "Uh, better make that a coffee… just in case…"

Making her way back into the kitchen, Janet nodded, worry etched deeply on her face.

Jack picked the phone back up and dialed Daniel's apartment. When there was no reply he tried the concierge, in case Daniel was home and was simply ignoring the phone… but there was no record of him being in the building since he left for work that morning.

Then he tried Daniel's cell phone, but was more than alarmed when all he heard down the line was a baby crying and a voice that definitely wasn't Daniel's yelled, "Later !" at him. He checked to make sure he'd rung the right number and tried again. The phone had been switched off.

"Damn it !" he tossed the handset back down and grabbed his jacket from the hall stand.

"You'd better drink this first." Janet stopped him in the hall with a mug of coffee. "And weren't you going to get back to the general ?"

"You can do that while I make a start on looking." Jack headed for the door, banging the half-finished drink down onto the phone table.

"Wait, I'm coming too." Janet popped into the lounge and told Cassandra to call the base and speak to Hammond. She quickly donned her coat, gloves and hat, and as an afterthought ran back to the cupboard under the stairs to retrieve her medical bag. She only just made it into Jack's truck before he sped off. The tight curve he made as he reversed out onto the road slammed the door shut for her.

Being Christmas, there was only a skeleton staff on base, General Hammond could only afford to send out one patrol, so he had determined to join the search as well. He'd sent the other team down the only alternative route off the mountain. It was rarely used by anyone, but he thought it better to cover all bases. That meant he would follow the road Doctor Jackson had most likely taken.

He approached the snowy mound with trepidation. He was well aware of how long it had taken him to come this far down the mountain. What with the treacherous driving conditions and peering closely at every drift bank for any signs of a car, the best part of an hour had passed for a journey that would normally take just a few minutes.

Using a gloved hand, he swiped the snow from the side window and tried to see inside but the condensation had frosted the other side of the glass, completely obscuring his view.

He lifted the door handle, the catch crunching loudly as the ice around it shattered. Pulling with all his strength, the frozen shut door eventually flew open. He gasped at the sight that met his eyes.

What had happened to the man ? Where was his coat ? What injuries had caused the blood on his shirt and his hands ? Was he even still alive ?

Gingerly, Hammond removed one of his gloves and reached out to the archaeologist's neck. Cold. Too cold, surely for any life to remain… and yet beneath the warmth of his fingers there rippled a faint, but steady rhythm.

He dashed back to his own car and grabbed the blanket from the rear seat. Wrapping the heavy woolen cloth around the icy body, he vigorously rubbed his hands up and down Daniel's near frozen arms and legs. The young man didn't stir. He was too cold. It wasn't going to work.

Then Hammond had an idea. He went back to his car and maneuvered it carefully alongside the Explorer until he was sure he would be able to transfer Daniel from one to the other.

Once he had the archaeologist in his car, the general cranked the heater all the way up. He swept his bare hand through the Daniel's hair, loosening many of the tiny icicles that clung to the short strands, melting the rest.

Eyelids fluttered and gave way to a crystalline gaze that locked with Hammond's.

"You should have seen her, General. She was so beautiful… perfect… Sharrie…"

Daniel's head lolled to the side as he lost consciousness again but Hammond could feel the young man was warmer and his pulse was stronger. He breathed a sigh of relief and phoned Jack.

"You know, I did invite you to my house, Daniel. You didn't have to land yourself in the infirmary to enjoy my company over the holidays."

"Sorry, Janet."

A whistled rendition of 'Frosty the Snowman' was growing ever closer but stopped abruptly as the infirmary doors swung open and Jack waltzed in. "Good morning, Doctor, and how's our favorite popsicle doing today ?"

"Good morning, Colonel. Thawing nicely, I'm glad to say."

"Got something for you," Jack said, holding Daniel's cell phone out to him. "Some kid brought it to my house. He said the coat was pretty much ruined, but he figured you'd want this back. Oh, and this…" Jack pulled a small photo-booth print from his pocket. "He said Maria and Sharrie are doing well. Sounds like you did a good job there. He told me all about it."

Daniel smiled at the picture and settled back on the pillows.

"So, what happened after they left you ?" Jack drew up a chair.

"The car ran out of gas," Daniel explained. "There was no way I was going to walk anywhere without a coat, so I just decided to wait it out. Guess I fell asleep…" he said sheepishly.

"Yeah, almost permanently…" Jack chastised, causing Daniel to wince. "He seemed like a nice kid."

"They both were. I hope they do okay," Daniel said wistfully, taking another long look at the happy scene in the picture - two blissful faces gazing down at one very asleep baby.

"So, how many does that make now ?" Jack asked.

"Mmm ?" Daniel blinked; his thoughts still miles away. "Oh, ah, four," he said when he caught on to the colonel's question.

"That's four more than me," Janet chirped as she joined them. "Drink this," she ordered Daniel, handing him a large mug.

"You sure ?" Daniel gave her a puzzled frown.

"Yep, you need plenty of warm drinks."

"But you NEVER give me coffee in the infirmary."

"It's Christmas, I'm feeling lenient today." Janet told him. She picked up his chart and began writing. "Make the most of it, it's not gonna happen all that often."

Daniel sipped enthusiastically from the mug, hardly able to believe his luck.

"You can get dressed after you've finished that." Janet replaced with the clipboard.

Daniel almost choked on his coffee. "I don't even have to beg for you to let me out ?"

"Well, you're not exactly free. Discharge is conditional on you coming back home with me. We've still got a few hours of Christmas left. Hopefully, Cassandra will have the dinner cooked by the time we get there."

Jack rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Great. I'm starving AND I haven't had a beer all day AND we haven't opened any presents yet."

"Thank you, Janet." Daniel downed the last of his coffee and set about putting the clothes on that she had placed at the end of the bed. "I think I'm going to enjoy this Christmas after all."