Hey guys! Thank you so much for your sweet reviews! I get all excited anytime my phone dings with an email. I hope you like this chapter. I wanted to write something fluffy...before things get interesting. :D

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Two days passed, and Sam saw no more black Suburbans or mysterious men watching from street corners. She still felt nervous coming home in the evenings, but when Agent Barrett was adamant with Daniel that the NID had no agents looking into Sam's whereabouts, she decided not to mention anything to Jack. Daniel was less than thrilled, but she convinced him to keep quiet, since Jack would only worry, and they had no proof of anything.

Sam got up early Thursday morning and packed up her clothes for the weekend, stuffing her new wedding dress into a heavy garment bag. She'd been relieved that the bridal shop had been willing to exchange the dress she had bought for the wedding with Pete. She would have rather worn torn jeans and a sweatshirt than the gown that he had helped her pick out, but thankfully they allowed her to trade it in for another one, something simpler and more to Jack's taste.

As soon as she slid into the driver's seat of her car, Sam pulled Jack's ring out of her bag and slipped it onto her finger. For the next week and a half, she was determined to forget about aliens, rank, and the SGC, content to be just another woman leaving for her honeymoon.

Just Sam…

She made it to the airport with only a few minutes to spare, checking in her bags and wandering around to look for Cassie. She spotted the girl standing in front of one of the terminal's large windows, watching the planes take off. Sam stood back and smiled, pleased at how well Cassie had turned out.

She was just 18, and she had grown tall and slim, letting her hair grow long and starting to dress more stylish. Sam had helped her get an apartment of her own in Colorado Springs, and Cassie would be starting college in the fall. Sam tried to spend time with her as often as she could, though it was difficult to work around both their schedules. Cassie was growing out of her melancholy teen years, and she had a tight circle of friends that she spent most of her time with. Sam worried less than she used to.

"Hey, Cassie," she called out, draping her carry-on bag over her shoulder so she could give the girl a proper hug.

"Sam!" Cassie wrapped her arms around her, squeezing tightly. "I've missed you so much! I can't believe I'm actually going to get on one of those! I'm so excited!"

She pointed to the planes outside of the window, practically bouncing on her heels. Sam grinned and looked around for a place to sit. She leaned on the edge of the windowsill, watching her young friend's eager expressions.

"I can't wait to get there. I bought the prettiest dress to wear…my friend Megan helped me pick it out. It's blue with this pretty little frilly stuff at the bottom. Will Jack be up there already? I haven't seen him in forever. You are going to be the happiest woman alive, Sam…"

Cassie continued to ramble on, but Sam didn't bother to stop her. After spending so much time with all of the male company she so often found herself around, it was a relief to hear the pleasant sound of such a cheerful feminine voice.

"…and Jack will wear a tux-"

"Jack's not wearing a tux, Cassie," Sam said with a laugh. "You're going to have to give it up."

She pouted a little and crossed her arms.

"You are wearing a dress, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm wearing a dress." She held up one finger to silence Cassie as she listened to the voice over the loudspeaker, then grabbed her friends' wrist and headed toward their gate.

"What about Daniel and Teal'c? Because if I'm wearing blue, they should wear something to match…"

Cassie continued for most of the flight, and Sam found it almost soothing. By the time the plane landed at the airport in Duluth, she knew more than she ever thought possible about weddings, everything from the proper way to walk down the aisle to how to choose place settings at the reception. Sam didn't bother to remind her friend that most of the things she had learned would have no bearing on the simple wedding she'd planned for the weekend.

They made it out of the airport with their luggage accounted for and wandered into the parking lot. Sam was dreading the task of lugging her dress all the way to the car rental shop.

"Oh, that's another thing. My friend Julie said when her cousin got married, this fight broke out with her bridesmaids because…Hey! There's Jack!"

Sam's heart leaped at the words, and Cassie dropped her suitcase to run and wrap her arms around the General, where he'd been waiting just outside. He chuckled and put an arm around her, dragging her with him as he made his way over to Sam.

All she could think to say was "Hi." She hadn't been expecting him to meet her, and she actually felt nervous. It had been almost two weeks since she'd seen him last.

Once Jack had officially accepted the job in D.C., everything had happened so fast. The one brief, but blissful night he had spent with Sam after they got back to Earth turned out to be their last chance to be alone together before he left town. They had planned to have his final weekend for themselves, but there was a diplomatic emergency involving two Russian scientists and an unsanctioned experiment, and Jack was called up to Washington early. Despite the fact that she had since spent most of her spare time on the phone with him, Sam wasn't quite prepared for the reminder of how intense her feelings were.

Jack was dressed casually in jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt, his sunglasses hanging off the collar. Sam could see the mark on his upper arm where the skin was mostly healed from the recent staff-blast wound, but the rest of the cuts and bruises from their last mission seemed to have disappeared. His t-shirt whipped around in the breeze, and his eyes sparkled a bit brighter than usual. He didn't move from where he stood grinning down at her, one arm around Cassie and the other in his pocket.

"Hi," he said back to her.

Sam stood holding her bags awkwardly, trying her best to smile. Cassie let go of Jack and picked up her suitcase, waving her hand around in irritation.

"Jeez, guys. You're getting married. You could at least hug."

Jack ruffled Cassie's hair and took the garment bag out of Sam's arms. "All in good time, kiddo. You guys want a ride?"

Sam didn't try to hide her disappointment, but as Cassie turned and began walking in front of them, Jack leaned down and slipped his free hand behind her neck, pressing his lips to hers. Making the most of the brief few seconds before he pulled away, she tugged at his collar and tried to slide her tongue between his lips. Jack pulled back and shook his head.

"Don't do that to me, Carter," he scolded playfully. "You get me too far gone, and I'm liable to do something that could scar Cassie for life."

"What?" Cassie spun around when she heard her name. Sam tugged at her suitcase and laughed.

The drive to Jack's cabin flew by, and before she knew it, Sam was surprised to see that they were pulling into the driveway. Cassie chatted away most of the time from the backseat, and Sam was content to sit quietly, her head leaned back sideways on the headrest, watching Jack as he drove with one hand on the steering wheel, looking into his rear-view mirror every so often to say something to the girl behind him. He occasionally turned to glance over at Sam, and when she pulled her feet up into the seat, he reached over to rest one hand on her knee. She almost laughed at herself with the way her heart melted when his eyes met hers, but she was happier than she could remember being in years.

When Jack shut off the truck, Cassie bounded out the door and ran around the cabin, eagerly exploring. Jack leaned down and pulled the lever to scoot his seat back, reaching behind him to lift up Cassie's suitcase. Sam grinned and unbuckled her seat belt, climbing across the console and into his lap. Raising his eyebrows, Jack dropped the bag in his hand and turned to face her, shifting Sam's weight and fitting her comfortably around him.

"Hey there," he said casually, sliding his hands underneath her thighs. Sam leaned up and pressed her lips to his neck, nibbling gently on the skin just below his ear. Jack groaned and ran his hands up a little higher, tugging her toward him.

"I really missed you," she said softly in his ear.

Before he could reply, the door behind them popped open and Cassie leaned her head in.

"Whoa. Hi," she said uncomfortably. "Sorry, just getting my stuff. Not looking…"

Sam blushed and pulled the door handle next to her, sliding off Jack's lap to the ground. He gave her a stern look of protest that made Cassie giggle.

"Hey Jack," she said eagerly. "If you want me out of the way, I can take the truck into town. I wouldn't mind. I could go shopping!"

"I don't think so," Jack replied with a wink in Cassie's direction. "I'll just sneak her off in the woods somewhere later."

Sam ignored Cassie's snickering, straightening her t-shirt and trying to look dignified as she reached in the back of the truck for her bags.

This is certainly going to be an interesting weekend.