You guys have made my day with the reviews! Thank you! Here's the last of it. I hope you enjoy. Rae and I were actually making cookies when we came up with this and I personally had a blast writing it. Thanks!

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PART FIVE

Jack flushed the toilet again, torn between being utterly disgusted and completely impressed. “I knew you ate a lot today, Daniel…but damn!”

Moaning, Daniel slid unceremoniously from his perched position on the toilet to the floor. Still panting, he trembled all over and was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Jack knelt down beside the younger man, furrowing his brow in concern. “You alright?"

Shaking his head minutely, Daniel regretted it immediately and groaned.

Leaning in closer, Jack gently pressed the back of his hand against his friend's temple. Frowning, he asked with a bit of hesitancy, "Does anything hurt…other than your stomach?”

Groan.

Damnit. Jack knew what that meant.

“Are you sure?” he clung uselessly to hope, as the miserable mass on the floor clung uselessly to the contents of his stomach.

Though weak, Daniel managed to pry an eye open and glared.

Jack winced. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’” Then sighing, he ran a weary hand down his face. The flu. Jack knew something had been wrong. He knew something had been off with his friend...other than his appetite, but did he do anything? No. They made cookies...and now Daniel was 'tossing' them. Just peachy. ...and it didn't help any that the archaeologist had been feeding what looked like some serious pseudo hunger pains all day either.

Nice.

Biting his lip, Jack took in the huddled and shivering form of his friend and decided that he should probably try and get the poor guy off the cold floor...but then something else suddenly occurred to him. Carefully taking Daniel's injured arm in his hand, his heart sped up painfully. Damnit, what if it wasn't the flu after all? Relieved to find no red streaks shooting out from underneath the bandage, the colonel still wasn't ready to breathe.

"O'Neill?" Teal'c stood over them in the doorway, concern evident in his voice.

"Just gotta check something" Jack replied, gently unwrapping the limb, eliciting a hiss from Daniel.

Jack grimaced. "Sorry buddy. Almost done."

Still panting, Daniel didn't even bother to open his eyes...which only served to fuel Jack's need to find out what was under the gauze more. "Daniel? Daniel, does your arm hurt worse?"

The archaeologist actually managed to shake his head this time, lines of pain etching his face.

"Daniel. This is serious. Does your arm..."

"No, Jack" he wheezed, trying to curl further into himself, but Jack held him firmly in place, finally unwrapping the last of it. It would just be like the younger man to get blood poisoning while doing something as inane as baking cookies.

"Jaaaack" Daniel whined, as the colonel breathed a sigh of relief. "What's a burn on my arm, got to do with a pain in my stomach?"

Shaking his head at familiarity of the remark, Jack smiled and patted him on the back. "Nothing, Daniel." Thank God. But Jack sure as hell was going to make sure Janet looked at the burn tonight like she had originally promised. Jack would go and pick her up himself if he had to, since it didn’t look like Daniel would be making it to the party now. The last thing his friend needed was to get an infection on top of the flu.

"Will DanielJackson be alright, O'Neill?"

Jack had forgotten about his shadow. "Yeah, Teal'c" he whispered, running a damp cloth down their archaeologist’s face. Sighing, Daniel leaned into it. "He’ll be just fine.”

Can’t say the same about our cookies though.

---

It had been a long day and she could not wait to get an even longer bath and veg out until the party started. Sam had finished the simulations she had been working on sooner than she had feared, but not as early as she would have liked. Thankfully though, she still had hours to rest since the boys had taken care of the cookies for her. She was so gonna owe them big.

Walking up to her porch, something tiny and unexpected niggled its way into her spine. It was called fear. She had been so busy all day, she hadn't thought once of the guys or what they would actually be doing in her kitchen. Slowing her steps, Sam tried to quell the rising anxiety that was now building in her chest.

All they had to do was make some cookies, right? She reminded herself. For crying out loud, they saved the world for a living. ...how hard could this really have been for them?

Worrying her lips, for the first time Sam really thought about it. "Oh, god" she sighed, running a nervous hand through her hair. "What have I done?"

Well, the house is still standing. That's something...isn't it? She quickly tried to placate herself as she stood just outside of it, seemingly afraid to go into her own home.

Ooor, did she really come home to a pile of rubble and what she was looking at now was, in fact, just a shock-induced hallucination? Playing with her keys in her hands, Carter was tempted to throw them on the porch to see if they would just fall through it. But instead, she swallowed hard, squared her shoulders and bravely…tentatively walked up the steps.

Please let me have a kitchen left. She begged whatever powers that be. Please!

Stepping through the door, she tried not to show her apprehension. “Guys?” she called, ignoring the squeak in her voice.

Nothing. No response.

Walking slowly towards the kitchen, inadvertently letting her tension build, she called again before stopping dead in her tracks, jaw dropping. “Oh my god.”

At that moment Teal'c entered the room from the other side. "Please keep your voice down, MajorCarter. They are finally asleep."

Momentarily crinkling her brow at his words, Sam then turned her attention back to the scene before her. "Teal'c...they're...it's...they're...beautiful." Her gaze roamed over the dozens of cookies laid out all over the kitchen counters and table. They looked professionally decorated and some even had unique symbols on them that she could no doubt credit Daniel for. And not only were the cookies beautiful, the kitchen was spotless and free of any evidence of recent fires. Yes!

Teal'c looked pleased, standing with his hands behind his back.

"They're...they're..." Carter sat her purse on the floor to go in for a closer look. She was completely taken aback. "They're amazing. You guys did this?" she asked, not being able to hide her shock as she turned to look at him.

"Indeed we did." Teal'c’s smiled faded. "However, we must now discard them."

Carter's eyes nearly bulged right out of her head. "What! Are you insane?" she cried. "We could sell these babies!" She went to pick one up, but was deftly stopped by the larger man.

"You must not eat those."

Sam whined. "Aw, come on, Teal’c. Just let me have one."

"You must not!" he restated firmly. "Follow me." Taking her hand, Teal'c then guided the reluctant major out of the kitchen. And even as she was being pulled into the other room, she twisted backwards to sneak another look. "Wow!" she mouthed, still amazed.

---

Sam had been dragged into her living room to find two of her favorite men bundled up and asleep on the couch. One sitting and sweating. The other laying in his lap, completely oblivious. Sitting on the coffee table, Carter reached out and lightly caressed Daniel's bandaged hand, which caused him to stir, which caused Jack to instinctively tighten his hold around him, calming him instantly.

Despite her concern, she couldn't help but smile. The colonel had always been so protective over the younger man…even in sleep. And as heartbreaking as the scene was, it was adorable as well. …and worth tons if she could get her hands on a camera.

"DanielJackson has what O'Neill refers to as 'The Flu'." The Jaffa informed softly, kneeling beside her.

"How bad?" Carter asked, her smile fading into a concerned gaze. That would explain the subtle smell of vomit trying to break through the cookie euphoria.

"He was physically ill for many hours before O'Neill was able to get him to sleep. He followed soon after."

Sam frowned. "His hand?"

Teal'c stiffened and stood, placing his arms defensively behind his back. "An alarming percentage of all household accidents happen in the kitchen, MajorCarter." he stated matter-of-factly.

Carter raised her eyebrows and looked up at him puzzled. "Oookay"

Just then Daniel made the most indiscernible noise, but Jack was instantly awake, soothing him back into sleep. Watching them, Sam’s eyes softened. She wondered briefly if the two before her really knew how much they truly needed and depended on each other.

Probably not. At least they would never admit it.

“Sir?” she called softly, gaining his attention once their youngest teammate was back to sleep.

Jack looked up from his charge, speaking softly. “Sorry you’ll have to go empty handed, Carter. Can’t exactly serve ‘Cookies a la the Flu’ can we? …well, at least not with a clear conscience.” he grinned crookedly, tiredly.

Sam smiled back reassuringly, realizing now why Teal’c refused her even the slightest morsel. “Not a problem, sir. I’m sure Cassie will understand. Though I must say, you guys did one incredible job of it.”

Jack nodded. “That we did, Major. That we did.” Then laying his head back against the couch again, he closed his eyes. He really was upset that all their hard work was for not, but at least Carter got to see what they were capable of, thank you very much. It had actually been Teal’c’s idea to leave the cookies for Carter to see and Jack couldn’t find a reason not to. After all, they did work really hard on them. And what’s wrong with two old warriors being proud of their culinary skills?

That’s what Jack thought.

…of course guilt didn’t hurt any in making his decision either. Once the two had finally gotten Daniel to his feet they started making their way back to the living room…only to panic when their ailing friend all of a sudden turned a drastic shade of green. Teal’c reached to lift the man up and quickly carry him back to the bathroom. Jack reached for Teal’c’s chef’s hat.

Its' sacrifice will never been forgotten.

Especially by one disgruntled former First Prime.

---

Standing up, Carter turned to get another blanket, only to find Teal’c with one already in hand, extending it towards her. She winked, “Thanks” and gently laid it over Daniel. Though the colonel was already sweating buckets, she had a feeling he wouldn’t mind.

Running a cool hand along her surrogate brother’s fevered cheek, Sam realized how truly lucky she was. She really had the best family anyone could ask for.

“I do not believe the three of us will be attending CassieFrasier’s Christmas party tonight, MajorCarter. Please give our regards.”

“I will, Teal’c” Sam replied, straightening up as Daniel curled into the colonel's chest, instantly falling into a restful sleep. “I’ll call.”

Turning to the Jaffa, she answered the question she saw in his eyes with a smile. “I think I’d rather stay home with my boys tonight.” Besides, she would still get to spend time with Cassie all day tomorrow.

Teal’c bowed his head in both understanding and appreciation. “Shall I put in a movie then?”

Sam's smile widened. "Indeed"

---

Walking back into the kitchen, her heart swelled as she took in the sight of all the cookies again. Each one was unique and different than the one before, and together they created something truly magnificent…and beautiful.

Sam’s thoughts wandered to the three men in the other room. She never imagined something so…extraordinary coming from hastily thrown in ingredients. Probably everyone would agree.

Sure, sometimes they didn’t get it all right. Sometimes adding too little of something when there wasn’t enough of it in the first place. Sometimes adding too much. And sometimes things were read completely wrong and everything got screwed up.

But regardless of the occasional mistakes and mishaps, no matter what, in the end the four of them would always turn out the way they were destine to. Together.

“MajorCarter,” Teal’c peeked his head in the kitchen. “The movie is starting.”

Turning around, Sam gently smiled. “Be right there” she called quietly.

She didn’t care that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the Christmas cookies. It wasn’t her favorite recipe anyway…

“Just gotta get some coffee first.”

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The end!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I know! Cheesy! …but it’s Christmas…I’m allowed. Lol I actually took a little survey. ‘Would you feel comfortable and guilt free serving cookies when someone that had the flu had his fingers through them all day?’ Pesky conscience got them every time. lol

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