A/N: Firstly, you may note that George's list is not present in this chapter. Never fear, I have every intention of posting it! It will become the first chapter of "Top 10: Unleashed", the pseudo-sequel to "Top 10" which will fill in the gaps between Chapters 9 and 10, and will also introduce some other characters' takes on Top 10 Lists, including "Jack's Top 10 Ways of Getting Out of a Briefing" and "Daniel's Top 10 Methods of Dying". Look out for "Top 10: Unleashed", coming to a computer near you!

Finally, we reach the end of Top 10. A special thanks to everyone who has faithfully reviewed each chapter from the beginning, to those who have 'favourited' Top 10 and to all who have taken the time to read any and/or all of this story. This chapter is dedicated to SammieAtHome, Janissima, Mara-anni and Scarlet Twitch0. Without you, this story would have remained a storyless romp in random humour. Thank you.

Six months later…

Jack stood nervously in front of the crowd, fidgeting with the cuffs of his dress uniform. He squinted as he looked into the sky. Thank goodness it wasn't raining. He had immediately said no when Sam had suggested starting it in the park next to the military chapel. His last experience had told him that the weather was never kind, especially when you wanted it to be. He had hoped they could use the gate room, but Sam had wanted her family there, so the idea was quickly vetoed.

With another squint to the sky, Jack had to agree with Sam. It was a lot nicer out in the open air, rather than 28 levels below the ground. Where was she? It wasn't like his second-in-command to keep him waiting. Daniel gave him a fierce look to make him stop fidgeting, and being strangely reminded of his mother, Jack stopped and looked at his feet.

He couldn't believe Daniel was here. He had never thought he'd see him again properly, let alone have him here today. He had spent over a month procrastinating over his best man. Teal'c was the obvious choice but Jack had delayed, hoping beyond reason that Daniel would be here. He knew that Teal'c understood. Jack had after all, been somewhat of a best man at Daniel's own wedding.

When he had descended, Daniel had been overwhelmed at the news that Sam and Jack were getting married. Jack was sure the ascended version had known; he had felt his presence more than once, but with his memories of his time in the cosmos gone, Daniel hadn't remembered. Regardless, the younger man was ecstatic to say the least, and seemed so excited about the wedding that Jack had begun referring to him as a chipmunk.

The pastor ushered the guests into the chapel, ready to begin the bridal procession. The guests seated themselves and Jack and his groomsmen positioned themselves at the altar. Jack looked down the line of men at his right, receiving an encouraging nod from Teal'c and a grin from Jonas. Teal'c was wearing a fedora hat, whose ribbon matched Jack's tie. Jonas looked even more excited than Daniel, but Jack supposed that it was because he was witnessing his first traditional Earth wedding. Apparently the experience was very exciting for the Kelownan. In any other case, Jack wouldn't have been the least bit interested. Wedding ceremonies were ranked quite highly in his 'Top 10 Places I Don't Want to Be' list, under Netu, of course. This wedding, on the other hand, was far from dull. Firstly, almost half the special party were aliens, with Teal'c, Jonas, Selmak and Cassie in attendance. The assembly of guests was littered with aliens; delegates from the Land of Light and Orban, as well as Togar and presumably Urgo from P4X-884. Carefully concealed in the crowd were Lya of the Nox and Thor of the Asgard. Though reluctant to extend an invitation to their political allies at first, Jack had welcomed them to the ceremony, particularly pleased that Thor had made the journey. The Asgard was carefully concealed between George Hammond and Togar, and was dressed in a small black suit. He, like Teal'c, wore a hat on his head, though his was wider and did more to conceal his features.

However, this paled in comparison with Jack's other reason for excitement. Six months ago he would have thought seeing all these aliens on Earth would be far more likely than the ceremony they were here to witness. He couldn't believe it when General Hammond had called him and Sam into his office to tell them that his secret proposal to the White House had been accepted. At first, Jack had wondered whether George was playing a sick joke on him. It took a long time for him to grasp the fact that he and Sam were off the hook. The fact that George had managed to convince the President that the regs should be dropped was nothing short of a miracle, not to mention the thought that George had wanted to do so in the first place. It had been bewildering, not to mention overwhelming when Hammond had given them the news.

It hadn't been the easiest thing in the world, however. Letting each other go, as they had after the 'Top 10' incident had been very difficult, and though they had tried to prevent it, their relationship had suffered. Being together was not as simple as pushing the rewind button and forgetting that they had ever said goodbye. Sam had been seeing someone and had found it hard and unfair to ditch him for a better offer. Even after they were both single, it took a great deal of effort to take the first step. Eventually, after a call from Daniel; Version 2.0, Jack had found himself at her house with a ring and a pizza. The rest was history.

It was possibly one of the shortest courtships in existence. Jack and Sam had no doubts about where they wanted their relationship to go, and both felt that a drawn out affair was not in SG-1's best interests. Jack had gone to her that first night with a ring in his hand, and though she hadn't worn it for close on a month, it was clear that she did and always had intended on marrying him.

Which, of course, would be fine if she were actually here, Jack thought with a silent grumble. He looked worriedly at Daniel again, who opened his mouth to berate his friend. He stopped mid-breath and smiled, looking over Jack's turned shoulder. Hearing the excited twittering of women in the assembly, he turned and was graced with the iridescent smile of his bride; his Sam.

She walked down the aisle in front of Cassie and Janet, a small bouquet in her hands. Her dress was pale blue, in honour of Jack's disdain for clichés, although Jacob had been disappointed that his little girl was not to be married in white. Jacob stood and took his daughter's hand. He could feel her fingers shaking in his palm and squeezed her hand as he walked her towards her husband-to-be.

She looks beautiful, Selmak crooned in his head and Jacob had to smile in agreement. He let go of her hand, which was quickly covered by Jack's and Jacob felt both a sense of happiness and loss at the gesture.

She will be happy, Selmak reminded him. O'Neill is a good man.

I know, Jacob answered his companion. Selmak briefly showed Jacob their memory of Jack's visit to the Tok'ra, during which he had asked Jacob for his daughter's hand. Selmak liked to tease him with this memory. Jacob had been haughty and reluctant, but had eventually given Jack his blessing.

Do you still believe O'Neill to be unworthy of her? Selmak asked, playfully, but also quite seriously.

Look at them, Jacob answered, looking at the absolute joy in his daughter's eyes. I couldn't hope for better.

Sam smiled and nodded to her dad, who took a seat next to Mark in the front row. She swept her eyes back up to Jack and grinned sheepishly as his eyes wandered freely over her face and her dress. A light blush wove its way through her cheeks and Jack smiled. Together they turned to the pastor to be wed.

The pastor spoke of God and of love, but Jack could not force his attention away from his bride to listen. He had to admit to himself that although she looked radiant with beauty, he had seen her look just as beautiful many times before. He had always thought she as most stunning in the heat of battle, with sweat at her brow and fierce passion in her eyes, but he rarely saw this different sort of passion in her bright blues. This was a happy passion, clearly and unashamedly directed at him and he was only just becoming familiar with it. The last time he had seen her look like this was at his cabin in Minnesota the weekend before. She had been beautiful then and was radiating that same joyful beauty today.

"I now invite Daniel Jackson to speak for his friends," the pastor said, bringing Jack out of his reverie. He felt Sam squeeze his hands, and with a lopsided smile he listened as Daniel recited a poem he had heard of before. He had long since decided not to write his own vows for this wedding, but to use the traditional Western Tau'ri vows, in honour of their interplanetary guests. In the early days of his and Sam's engagement, he had spent days trying to find the right words. Somehow, this poem had flittered its way into his office, something he was sure could be blamed on Daniel; Version 2.0. Now that he heard his friend reciting it, he knew that it was he who had sent it in the first place.

"Let us melt, and make no noise,
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears ;
Men reckon what it did, and meant ;
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers' love
—Whose soul is sense—cannot admit
Of absence, 'cause it doth remove
The thing which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.

Our two souls therefore, which are one,
If we must part, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th' other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun."

Jack didn't really understand it, but he knew the general gist of the poem. It was a poem about death, though with the slight changes Daniel had made to it, it was a poem about the promises Jack and Sam were making. Promises that, even though they could die any day, be ordered to leave each other behind, or heaven forbid, to kill each other, would bind them to one another, soul to soul.

Daniel finished and took a step back. Jack gave him a thankful look which Daniel heartily returned. Jack could see that Teal'c's head was bowed in reverence, though Jack thought it was because the Jaffa was still trying to make sense of Daniel's gibberish poem. Jonas, ever the linguist, was almost crying into his sleeve. He of course, like Daniel, understood every metaphor in the poem and thought it was equally as beautiful.

It was then Sam and Jack's turn to recite their vows. They did so quickly and succinctly, and from his piu, George Hammond cocked an eyebrow in concern. The pair looked as though they were going through the motions. He had been overwhelmingly surprised when Jack had agreed to George's suggestion of holding a traditional wedding. The suggestion had come from the President, and was a means of the political advancement of Earth. The President had 'asked' that Earth's political allies be invited to the wedding and George thought it little more than a political stunt. However, as the President had overlooked the regulations banning such a wedding in the first place, George thought he should at least pass the suggestion on to Sam and Jack, though he was sure they would want no part in it. He was very surprised then, to hear that Sam and Jack found the idea to be fitting and had co-ordinated the ceremony accordingly. He sighed as he listened to them recite their vows and hoped sincerely that he hadn't ruined their special day.

Finally, Sam and Jack signed their marriage licences and stood together as man and wife.

"You may now kiss he bride," the pastor said and Sam grinned at Jack as he slid his hand around the small of her back.

"I guess not all clichés are bad," he whispered to her, and dipped her as he kissed her. They could hear the wolf-whistling of SG-3 and the excited applause of their guests. Sam broke contact with Jack's lips for a second to giggle at the look on her father's face and returned Jack's kiss with eagerness and fervour, running her hand through his hair.

"Jack," George called through the crowded reception room. "Sam," he greeted as the newly married couple turned to him. "It was a lovely ceremony. Thank you for all you've done to adhere to the President's wishes. You're country appreciates the effort you've made. I know you don't have a great love of politics, but this ceremony was important to our relationship with our allies, so thank you. I'm sorry if you're wedding wasn't what you had planned."Sam caught Jack's eye and grinned sheepishly. "About that, sir," Sam started warily. You know how SG-1 has been on down time to prepare for the ceremony," she asked. George nodded. "Well, we…that is, SG-1 decided to have one last team night, sir."

"A nice idea," George answered uncertainly. Where was this going?

"Yes sir. Well, we drove to Minnesota for the weekend, sir…and…"

Sam looked to Jack for help. He rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at his C.O

"We got married three days ago, sir," he said.

George could only laugh.

fin