On the twelfth day of Christmas…

Sam kept perfectly still in her command chair. It didn't look good for her to fidget and be visibly nervous in front of her crew.

Despite the fact that she wanted to fidget and was nervous, very nervous.

She was always nervous before a battle.

Always had doubts about her ability to lead and command.

It had always been a struggle balancing the military side of her work with the scientist; deciding that she wanted command and leadership in addition to her research and field work. She'd joined up in a haze of ambition to simply pilot a shuttle into space; she'd fought for her wings just like any other female officer – with difficulty and fighting against ingrained prejudices about women in a military environment.

And then the Stargate programme had happened, taking her away from the skies but offering something more in recompense: space in all of its wonderful glory.

Not immediately.

Not right away.

Not until Jack and Daniel had gone through the wormhole without her that first time and discovered Abydos and the Goa'uld.

Not until Apophis had forced Earth into recognising the threat hadn't blown up with Ra and Stargate Command had been built by George Hammond on the foundation of the team he'd put together based on his own first meeting with them back in 1969; SG1.

And Sam had slowly and steadily learned leadership under Jack's example and wanted to be the kind of leader that inspired others the way Jack inspired her. She had carefully taken in all the lessons on strategy and tactics she could glean from him and Teal'c; had with their encouragement taken command more and more, wanted to take command more and more until she was suddenly there – SG1 leader, R&D leader, Atlantis leader, the CO of the Hammond…

She would never be the natural Jack was at strategy.

She would never be as commanding as Teal'c.

She would never be the silent steady presence of George Hammond but they had all taught her well and she would use every lesson to protect her family from the hatred of the Jakrians. SG1 and SG20 weren't with her; they were on the planet ensuring the planetary defences were working in case plan A didn't work.

"Jakrian ships coming into communications range, Colonel." Phelps informed her briskly.

The bridge was unnaturally silent; tense, anticipating the battle to come.

Sam pressed the buttons to send the communication and nodded at M'Rau.

"Jakrian armada, this is M'Rau of the Eghktian Alliance aboard the Earth vessel, the USS Hammond. You are approaching the planet Egh. If your intention is not hostile, cease your approach and talk with us."

"Incoming communication, audio and visual." Phelps confirmed. "But they haven't stopped."

"Main screen." Sam ordered. She got up and followed M'Rau but stayed back allowing the Coscoroban leader to take point. It was their planet.

The screen flared to life revealing a dark bridge. The Jakrian commander glared out at them. His head was covered with brown feathers and there was a sharper angle to his face where a beak resided instead of a nose and mouth. His eyes widened at the sight of M'Rau but they settled back into their glare rapidly.

"You are not Jakrian." The commander declared.

"We are not." M'Rau's head cocked to the side. "And you are so angry, hatchling. So much hate for something that it isn't your norm and that you believe inferior." She gave a soft coo. "No love at all just duty and obligation and rules to follow to maintain order in the Jakrian world of warriors. How sad."

The Jakrian commander gave a sharp echoing cry and lurched out of his seat. "Get out of my head!"

M'Rau fixed him with a sharp stare. "Get out of my solar system."

"You are not Jakrian and will be destroyed!" The commander snarled.

"We are not Jakrian and you may attempt to destroy us but you will fail, hatchling." M'Rau said derisively. "Fly away while you still have wings to do so."

"You do not order me to do anything." He snapped back.

"Colonel Carter," M'Rau said indicating for Sam to step forward, "I am formally asking for Earth's assistance in stopping the Jakrian armada."

"You have it." Sam confirmed, staring down the monitor at the Jakrian.

He made a dismissive grunt. "You have but one pitiful Earth ship." He said. "It will not last long."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "The last time my ship met one of yours in battle, the Jakrian was the one that did not last long." She smirked. "But if you think you can do better then take your best shot."

The signal was cut.

"I fear that the hatchling has much to learn." M'Rau said as she made her way back across the bridge and Sam resumed her seat.

"Much." Sam agreed with amusement despite the circumstances. "Weapons range?"

"Five minutes." Phelps said tersely.

"Hold steady." Sam said firmly. "Shields up. Arm weapons." She hit the comms button. "All crew to battle stations! This is not a drill!"

"Jakrian warbirds coming into range now."

"Apollo, now!" Sam ordered. "All Egh vessels decloak now!"

In space, the Apollo left the nebula where it had been hiding to take position behind the Jakrian warbirds; the ten Egh vessels – stored safe and secure in the Eghkts during the long stasis of the Coscorobans – decloaked; white gleaming arcs forming a circle that linked the Apollo and the Hammond and locked the Jakrians into the centre.

Twelve allied vessels to the eleven Jakrian warbirds.

"Target the nearest ship! Fire at will!" Sam ordered briskly, adrenaline rushing through her so much she could feel the buzz of it on her skin.

"Direct hit!" Phelps said. "Three Jakrian warbirds are down!"

The Hammond rocked under enemy fire and Sam held onto her seat.

"Hold position! Pick a target! Continue firing!" Sam ordered.

"Shields down to sixty percent!" Lindsay shouted over the alarms.

"Rotate frequencies." Sam ordered.

M'Rau coughed. "My sister ship has failing shields to our left due to a direct hit."

"Extend shield bubble around the Egh!" Sam instructed Lindsay who gave a nod and made it happen.

"Two more warbirds are down." Phelps said grimly. "Incoming communication from the Apollo!"

"Colonel," Ellis' frantic voice came across the radio, "Apollo's life support has been hit. We're losing stability."

Sam swallowed hard as across the battle before her through the forward screens she could see the Apollo drifting from its position. "Get your people out of there, Abe!"

"Beam to the nearest Egh, Colonel!" M'Rau said swiftly. "We will provide safe landing place."

"Understood! Ellis, out."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have a couple of runners, heading for the gap." Phelps noted.

"Close them down." Sam ordered.

"Three more Jakrian warbirds are down." Marks informed her.

M'Rau cleared her throat. "Sister ship is confirming that they took out one runner."

"One is entering hyperspace." Marks noted. "Permission to pursue?"

"Let it go." Sam said briskly. "Status of the Apollo crew?"

M'Rau gave a chirrup. "Sister ship confirms they have all the crew safe."

"Last Jakrian warbir…Colonel, I'm reading an energy build-up in the Jakrian's engine system!" Phelps snapped out hurriedly.

"All vessels move to a safe distance!"

Marks' hands were already moving over his console, the Hammond already shifting away taking with it the Egh caught in its shield.

A moment later, the space in front of them erupted in a flash of white as the Jakrian warbird exploded and took out everything around it.

The Hammond rocked under the ripple through subspace.

And then it was silent except for the eerie blare of the alarm.

Sam breathed out and adjusted her position in her chair. "Have all vessels report. I want damage reports from all departments." She slipped out of her chair. "And turn that alarm off!"

She made her way to the windows and looked out at the devastation; chunks of Jakrian warbirds drifting across her vision. How many had been killed?

There was a lump in her throat as she considered the question.

M'Rau drew up beside her. "That you regret the loss, Samantha, is to your credit."

Sam breathed out, a rush of gratitude for the understanding. "We should clean-up." The Apollo spun in space; charred and damaged but they could fix it – the crew was safe. But they also needed to contact the planet, and Homeworld, and check the debris for booby traps and…and a whole lot more.

Sam repressed the urge to sigh, straightened her shoulders and went to work.

It was late evening by the time Sam found herself alone in her office. They were parked on the planet for the night; the Apollo beside the Hammond on the stretch of land beside the reservoir and in front of the newly moved Stargate.

Sam frowned at her laptop when she realised that there was no message from Jack. It wasn't too surprising. He was busy and it wasn't that unusual for them to miss a night exchanging emails because they'd gotten caught up doing something else but…

Sam bit her lip and opened her email to send a message herself.

A cough at the doorway had her raising her head and smiling. "M'Rau."

"Are you not joining the festivities in your eating place, Samantha?" M'Rau asked, her feathered head cocked to the side inquisitively.

There was a party in the mess. Sam knew her crew needed to unwind and they'd been joined by the Apollo personnel for the night.

"Later, perhaps," Sam waved a hand at her laptop, "I'm just going to send Jack a message."

"Ah, your mate." M'Rau murmured. Her eyes shone suddenly with understanding. "You are sending him something with the number twelve?"

"Pictures of twelve fish." Sam said with a blush. "He loves fishing so…"

"May I speak with you a moment?" M'Rau asked almost hesitantly.

"Of course." Sam ignored her tiredness and waved the Coscoroban inside.

M'Rau entered the office and closed the door. "You are aware that the satellites were set up to initiate a telepathic scan to determine whether to reveal the reality of them to you."

"Yes. Daniel discovered the information in one of the databases." Sam said softly.

"The minds of the leadership were woken when a ship would come into orbit. We once felt the touch of those you call Ancients and once the touch of the Goa'uld. The latter were evil and self-absorbed; the former far too clinical and detached in their bonds. And then we felt you, Samantha," M'Rau said, "and it was your bonds with all around you that swayed us. Your love for Jack; your maternal caring for Cassandra; the duty to your people; your sisterly affection for those you call your family, the team you name SG1. Each day you have spent beside us, Samantha, these bonds have defined you. You are a worthy ally and I am proud to be your friend and to have stood beside you in battle today."

Sam blinked back her shock and felt truly touched by M'Rau's words; she knew the truth of them.

It had started with SG1, with the four of them, long before she and Jack had slipped from attraction into love. She, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c had become family and made others family like Cassie, Jonas, Cameron and Vala along the way; they'd gathered up others like Teal'c's son and Bra'tac along the way; mourned Sam's father, Janet and George Hammond as the years had gone by.

But the web went beyond them to the men and women of the programme who served with them – command personnel like Walter and Siler, or SG team leaders like Dixon and Reynolds, pilots like Peartree and Partridge, even Generals like Landry and Vidrine, medical professionals like Carolyn Lam and Anna Brightman, and the civilian scientists…Bill Lee, Jay Felger, Simon Coombs and so many others…

And the Atlantis team – a family of its own out in Pegasus with Rodney, John, Teyla and Ronon at the heart of it, gathering in Carson Beckett, Jennifer Keller, Evan Lorne and Radek Zelenka – even Richard Woolsey while they mourned their own losses like Elizabeth Weir and Aiden Ford.

Sam thought of all their allies – the Nox and the much missed Asgard, the Tok'ra and the fallen Tollan, the people of Cimmeria and the Land of the Light, Camelot and the Sodan…Abydos where it had all started. The Coscorobans would be a welcome addition to the ranks of those Earth called friend.

"I'm proud that you call me friend." Sam replied to M'Rau.

M'Rau chirruped in delight.

A few minutes later, Sam found herself alone again and focused on her email. She wanted to put the pictures in a slideshow to send to Jack with some drums in the background. It was eclectic but Jack would get it. She bit her lip as she attached the file to the email.

"Jack,

Seems I couldn't let it go.

Happy Twelfth Day!

Can't wait for the fishing.

Love, Sam x"

She pressed send.

"So, I heard there was going to be cake."

Her head snapped up in shock and her eyes landed on Jack O'Neill, leaning in her doorway, decked out in a black BDU pants and a black t-shirt. His grey hair was cut short, his brown eyes were twinkling, and he had his trademark smirk aimed in her direction.

"Jack?!" Sam was out of her chair before she could register she'd moved.

Jack closed the door behind him as he crossed over to her, sweeping her up and kissing her and holding her…

And Sam's whole world was at peace for the first time that day.

"I missed you." Sam said as she eased back to look at him.

"I missed you too." Jack smiled softly. "The President gave me permission to join the celebrations. I have to go back tomorrow morning though."

Sam hugged him. "Have the guys seen you?"

"Who d'ya think escorted me? I had Daniel yammering at me the whole way about the importance of pronouncing Eghkt correctly."

"Nobody but Daniel pronounces it correctly." Sam laughed, rubbing her hands over his shoulders.

"That's what I said." Jack kissed her lightly. "Come on, let's go get some cake."

Sam nodded. She kissed him again before shutting down the laptop and shooing him out of her office. They fell into step beside each other as they walked to the mess; close but not too close since they maintained a professional distance on bases and ships as required by the regulations.

Sam frowned as they neared the doors; there was music, live music. She pushed the doors open and stared.

A twelve-piece band was set-up at the far end of the mess and was playing what appeared to be a lively Sixties number that had a lot of the Hammond and Apollo crew up dancing on the make-shift dance floor where the tables had been cleared away and pushed back to make room. The Coscorobans were watching in curious amusement, smiles on their faces. Sam spotted Peartree being twirled by Partridge; Grogan and Hailey dancing together; Vala dragging Daniel onto the floor…

The music changed to something softer and Jack cleared his throat noisily beside her.

"Dance, Carter?"

"Thank you, sir." Sam accepted his hand and laughed as he tugged her into the centre of the dance floor and a traditional hold; her hand in his; his other arm around her waist, her other hand on his shoulder.

Sam looked around as they swayed and smiled at the happy faces; the relief of a battle won; the happiness of a new friendship and alliance.

Her gaze drifted to the band. "Twelve musicians?" She murmured in Jack's ear.

"All from the programme." Jack said. "Walter might have helped organise it."

"You tried to find twelve drummers and had to ask for help, didn't you?" Sam said amused.

"I admit nothing." Jack said dryly. His hand tightened on hers. "It's been fun though, right? This whole twelve days thing?"

Sam met his eyes and drank in the love and affection that his gaze brimmed over with. "Fun." She agreed.

"O'Neill, Colonel Carter." Teal'c's soft low voice interrupted them and they belatedly realised the Jaffa had sneaked up to stand beside them, his hands clasped as always behind him. The rest of SG1, Cassie with an arm slung around a grinning Vala, looked on from the side of the dance floor. "I believe you are standing under mistletoe."

Sam ducked her head to hide her smile. It was such a set-up but as her laughing eyes met Jack's again, she knew neither of them really minded. One kiss wasn't going to interfere with discipline, regulations or no regulations.

"Well," Jack declared with a smirk, "never let it be said that I don't hold with tradition."

And as he framed her face and kissed her, Sam ignored her cheering crew, the whistles and clapping, and enjoyed the moment and Jack…because his being there to kiss her and dance with her surrounded by the people they loved was the best gift of all.

The End.

A/N: So I just sneaked in only a day behind. As a writing exercise of trying to write and post each day in a WIP for the first time, I think this has been a success - I've enjoyed it. It's a little rough around the edges and needs tweaked and polished but I'm fairly pleased that it's not a bad effort considering I haven't written a great deal of Stargate recently. I hope you've enjoyed it! It's very late here so no review replies tonight but hopefully tomorrow; in the meantime, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed - it's very appreciated. :)