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John swung his legs back and forth, sitting on his favorite hospital bed (and wasn't that just sad that he HAD one) waiting for Carson to come back and clear him from his follow up consultation after his ribs had a run in with a tree branch on PSX-234, or as McKay called it, the Lilliputian Planet with all the tiny, tiny flora and fauna.
Their version of a Redwood was about five feet tall and John hadn't been looking where he was going, arguing with Rodney over his shoulder, and as a result had collided with a very sturdy specimen. Nothing cracked or broken but he was definitely sporting a rather large and colorful bruise.
McKay had joked that they didn't even need a Christmas tree in the mess hall this year, they could just wrap garland around Sheppard's bare torso since it was already brightly decorated and shiny. Teyla had to step in and gently quell Rodney before John turned him into Rudolph the Red Nosed Astrophysicist. As it was McKay was already bucking for coal in his coffeemaker.
While John mused how hard it would be to tamper with Rodney's RC racecar Beckett came bustilng back from consulting the scans he'd just taken.
"Well, you're fine, Colonel. Still just bruising and no complications. I'd advise keeping it taped another day or so to minimise the discomfort but you're cleared for missions again although I wouldn't advise going into any known combat situations if you can help it."
"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition, Doc," Sheppard joked.
Carson laughed. "Just take it easy. No roughhousing with Ronon and no letting Teyla beat on you with her pain sticks for a few days."
Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"
"Not really. Although I might prescribe plenty of eggnog and a good dose of Christmas cake at the holiday party, which I assume from the rapid leave taking of my staff in the last hour is currently under way." Beckett flipped his chart over and tucked it under his arm.
"Yeah, I believe I caught the melodic seasonal strains of Bob and Doug McKenzie's Twelve Days of Christmas floating through the air on my way down here."
Beckett laughed loudly. "Rodney?" he asked.
John grinned ruefully, "Originally, yes, but Ronon has taken quite a shine to it and randomly shouts out 'Beer!' ever since Rodney introduced him to the song. Drives McKay crazy."
"Yes, well," said Beckett,"if you will introduce silly repetitive songs to aliens who don't quite grasp the concept of parody you must be prepared to pay the price."
"I prefer Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer."
"Ah, a classic."
"Yeah. Teyla was not amused though. She got bent out of shape over the whole 'respecting your elders' concept and sorta banned that one."
Carson shook his head in amusement.
Sheppard looked down and wiggled his booted feet in the air. "Luckily Elizabeth's favorites are still on the playlist."
"Which ones are those?"
"Frosty the Snowman, Suzy Snowflake, and Winter Wonderland."
Smiling, Carson went and laid John's chart on a lab table. "I'm sensing a theme there."
It was a fact, thought John. Elizabeth missed snow. It never snowed on Lantea. Sure there were other planets where it did that they visited but how often was Elizabeth available to get away and experience it? Something was always going on in Atlantis that needed her time and attention.
Occasionally it crossed John's mind that Rodney probably got more sleep than Elizabeth did. Not that he kept a close eye on her or anything. At least not more than a concerned military commander for his base leader. That was the story he kept telling himself and he was sticking to it. So what if his base leader was beautiful, civilian, totally available, and had pretty curly chestnut colored hair that he wanted to feel running through his fingers.
He looked up to catch Carson watching him with a knowing look in his twinkling blue eyes. He tried not to blush. Beckett was way too observant for John's comfort. Which didn't really help what he had to say next.
"So," said John,"speaking of snow..." He cleared his throat. "That thing I asked you to do for me..you, ah, put it in a safe place?" He'd gone to Carson because he could keep a secret, he had the facilities, and he trusted the doctor not to tease the living stuffing out of him, unlike, say McKay or Cadman. Boy, he really hoped Beckett hadn't told Cadman. She could keep a secret but she'd be simpering at him for who knows how long, thinking it was "cute".
Some of the base personnel had signed up for Secret Santas. John was going to skip it but when he saw Elizabeth's flushed face as she put her name in the hat he'd quickly changed his mind. He'd done some fast dealing and owed several favors but he'd finally managed to trade for her name. A bit after that, when some of the senior staff from Earth had sat around reminiscing of holidays past, John had been inspired and known what he wanted to get for her.
He'd had to get (bribe) Lorne to do some of the dirty work at first, gathering his supplies, but when his XO realized what John wanted done he'd eagerly offered his creative input and expertise as well. Rodney had called Lorne a kiss-up but that was just because John wouldn't tell him what he was doing or for whom and Lorne had caught him snooping outside the seldom used lab where they had been working.
The finishing touches had been administered on the project a few days ago and Sheppard had asked Carson to keep it all safe in his personal lab until the party.
"Aye, Colonel," answered Beckett. "Safe as houses and ready for transport."
Gingerly, John lowered himself off the hospital bed to the floor. "Thanks alot, Doc, I appreciate it."
"No trouble at all. I'll bring it with me when I head to the party in a bit. I'd rather you didn't carry anything heavy and strain yourself."
"Good thinking, and thanks again."
Carson just smiled again and waved him off as he walked back to his office.
Later at the party, John caught sight of the jovial Doctor giving a hearty laugh as he hauled the medical cooler decorated in several brightly colored bows and a large tag marked with Elizabeth's name up onto the Secret Santa table in the back of the room. Teyla ticked off her list as each present was delivered.
He turned back around and focused on Elizabeth as her tinkling laughter rang out across the room at some joke or other that one of the gate techs was telling her.
She'd gotten a long red drapey-type dress from somewhere, Teyla or one of the other Athosian ladies probably, and she while she still looked very regal in it there was also a soft quality that made John's chest tighten a little looking at her. He wasn't a dancer by any stretch of the imagination but he caught himself wondering how she would look on his arm, her dress swirling and flowing about her slim form as he led her around the floor.
He lost himself in fantasy for a few moments until he realized people were gathering around the Secret Santa table as Teyla began to call out names and gifts were happily retrieved.
Several minutes passed and then John tensed as Elizabeth's name was called and she stepped forward, looking delightedly, if a little quizically, at the large foam container on the table. People stopped their own unwrapping and chattering as the leader of their expedition gasped, hesitated, and then gently reached inside to pull out not one but two petite snow people, crafted from real snow and dressed with food coloring and a little help from Lorne's artistic eye.
They stood roughly a foot high and were made from the crate of snow John had gotten Lorne to smuggle in from an otherwise boring trade mission.
The first was a standard snowman, made in Frosty the Snowman's image, complete with miniature top hat John had scavenged from one of the decorations designated for the mess hall. He'd gotten the coal for the eyes from the geologists, a corncob like vegetable from the kitchen staff, and the buttons were purloined from one of his own shirts that had seen better days.
The second, and the one that really made Elizabeth's eyes shine as she held it aloft before placing it next to it's mate, was a snow angel. Complete with wings which John'd had immense fun crafting and beautifully spray painted with food coloring by Lorne to have the appearance of a beautiful green dress trimmed in red.
"They're so lovely," breathed Elizabeth. She touched them gently, not wishing to mar them in any way but looking like she had to in order to reassure herself they were real.
John felt bursting with pride, seeing how much she liked them. He had to school his face quickly, however, when he caught Rodney looking at him suspiciously.
Elizabeth, smiling happily and looking all the younger and sweeter for it, touched the angel's wings again and said, "Thank you. Whoever my Secret Santa is, thank you so much. They're just beautiful. I love them."
John was so busy watching Elizabeth he'd neglected his own gift, thrust into his hands by Ronon after his name had been called twice.
Unwrapping it now, he found a souped up battery pack for his RC car. Awesome. He was pretty sure McKay wouldn't want to actually help him have an advantage over his own car so John was betting it was probably from Zelenka or one of the other scientists that would love to see Rodney eat dust.
He took himself and his present over to a table where Ronon had retired to apparently eat his own weight in cookies.
He sat and helped himself to a few and lost himself in thought again while he watched Elizabeth carefully place her snow people back into the cooler for safekeeping and hand it to one of the kitchen staff to place in the freezer.
Sadly, she wouldn't be able to keep them forever. But, John figured, he might one day get time to take her off planet and build her life size versions of her gifts. They could even take a walk through a winter wonderland. And if he were really lucky he might even get the courage up to steal a kiss from her by the fire.
And maybe, finally, that gift wouldn't have to be a secret any more.