It was early. It had to be. Sam had been trying to ignore the never-ending ringing of her alarm for at least a minute now but it was no good. She was officially awake. Turning off her alarm, she rolled onto her back and contemplated her life. She was officially another year older. It was amazing to think about how much she used to look forward to this day. Now, she never knew how to feel but it certainly wasn't joy. Yes, certain parts of her life were better than she ever could have imagined. But others were just so-so. Even parts she really should have been excited about, like Pete, didn't fill her with an overwhelming sense of delight, if she was honest. Not like her job did anyway. Surely it should though, the thought of moving down that road with him, towards a family and a more normal life. 'Isn't that what every woman wants to some degree?' she thought wistfully.

She lay there for a few more minutes, unconsciously day dreaming about what and who she really wanted and how it would feel if that life was hers. Just when she had decided that she really should be getting up and ready for work, her doorbell rang. 'Who could that be, it's only just gone 7am,' she pondered as she hurriedly threw on a sweater as she made her way to the door. Opening it, she immediately came face to face with a massive bear. A teddy bear that is. 'What the…' she thought to herself as a face appeared from behind the bear. "Samantha Carter?" asked a young woman, early twenties at the latest. "Yes," said Sam, now understanding why this girl was at her door at this hour and more importantly who had sent her.

"Delivery for you ma'am," said the girl as she handed Sam the enormous bear and went to go pick something else off the ground. "Oh, thanks," said Sam, as she made her way into the living room with the girl following behind. Placing the bear on the sofa, she stood back and the first thing she noticed was that he took up half the couch. 'Why on earth would he think I'd want…' Sam thought as the girl cleared her throat behind her. "Oh, sorry," Sam said with a small smile, "caught in my own world there. Thank you very much." "Can you sign this?" the girl asked, holding out a docket while looking around the living room. Sam signed it and noticed there were balloons on the table behind the girl as she gave it back to her. Making to leave, she turned back to Sam and gestured towards the gifts "I'd love if someone did this for me." 'That's because you're twenty' thought Sam ruefully, giving her a small, unsure smile before shutting the door once she had left.

Walking back into the living room, she surveyed the presents. A massive teddy bear, which while very soft, was one of the most impractical presents she had ever received. Didn't she tell Pete she had never been a teddy bear fan, even when she was younger? 'I was sure I did,' she thought as she turned back to the table. On top of it was a bunch of balloons with various messages, Happy Birthday, I Love You, It's Your Birthday etc. 'Cute, although they'll be going in the trash in a few days.' Turning now to the final gift, it was a massive bouquet of pink and white roses. A note in the flowers read; 'Happy Birthday Babe, so sorry I couldn't be there but hopefully the teddy will keep you company until next time. Hope the roses are the right colour! Love, Pete xx P.S. Don't worry, you're not that old! ;)' "Oh for crying out loud, not smooth!" Sam muttered as she rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at a joke.

Standing back and looking at the table before her, she found herself getting more irritated 'I hate roses, she mused, 'and I know for a fact that I've told him that many times before.' In fact she didn't really like any flowers because she had such trouble keeping them alive. Even her 'don't require much water' houseplants struggled most of the time, hence trying to coax the will-to-live into them by talking to them. Her neighbours must think she's insane. Botany and flowers in general just wasn't her thing. The only exception for reasons she had never understood were red tulips. For whatever reason she was drawn to that flower and always had been. Her Mom used to give her one tulip every year on her birthday. Only one as it was late in the season and as such, they were hard to find. But she could always find one, even if, as she found out years later, she had to go searching to neighbouring towns. Her Dad told her recently that her mom always made that extra effort because she knew how much Sam loved them.

Determined not to allow herself go down that route so early in the morning, Sam made her way down the hallway to get ready for work. She felt bad for not particularly liking Pete's gift especially as it probably cost a good bit of money but the truth is, it was so not her. In any way. And that annoyed her, he should know her better by now. It was run-of-the-mill, I-didn't-know-what-to-get-you-so-I-got-you-this. She didn't like big ostentatious gifts and never had. I mean where was she going to put that massive bear?! She continued this train of thought as she got dressed, the whole way into the mountain and down the elevators until she opened the door of her lab. As she turned on the lights, her eyes were immediately drawn to a small pile on her desk that wasn't there when she left yesterday. Walking over to it she was shocked at what she saw.

Sitting there was the latest edition of the astrophysical journal, the particular size spanner she had been meaning to buy to fix that rattle on her bike, a miniature version of her favourite candle, a bowl of blue jello from the commissary and a single red tulip. An envelope sat in front of it. Knowing who all of this was from before she had even read it, she opened it with a massive smile on her face. The front of the card had a happy looking older dog with a hat on and a cane, sitting with a thought bubble, 'It's your birthday…here's some advice from me.' Opening the card, it continued, 'Take it from me, as you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes and I can't remember the other two.' Sam laughed out loud at that part, he was always able to make her laugh, even if it was generally in unorthodox ways. She continued to read the message written below it. 'Sam, don't work too hard today! I knew even if I made it an order you wouldn't take the day off so at least some of these might help you take a longer lunch…maybe! Yours always, J'

Sam sat down and stared at the gift in front of her not sure whether to laugh or cry. She hadn't realised how well he knew her. Or maybe she had and that's why she was simultaneously so heartened and saddened by this display. Life was so unfair sometimes.

It took her a long time to stop staring at the desk and even then, it was only because Daniel and Teal'c came into her lab pestering her about getting some breakfast. After agreeing to join, if only to stop the whining from Daniel, she got up to follow them. As she was leaving the room, she took a quick look back and sighed.

Not all men can truly know you.