PART 11

This was quite possibly the biggest weirdest wedding he'd ever attended, Doctor Daniel Jackson decided. And his bride had been a gift. He smiled sadly as he thought of the beautiful woman who'd been his bride for such a short, but sweet, time, then shook off the melancholy.

Aside from the usual Air Force personnel, General Jumper and his retinue were in attendance. And a bunch of Marines, Naval and Army personnel. Scientists, children, rebel Jaffa, Tok'ra.

Things had been … interesting between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa for a while. But Bra'tac and Jacob Carter seemed to have bonded over their mutual hatred of the Goa'uld – 'two old warriors' as Bra'tac had put it. And now some of the younger Jaffa and Tok'ra were beginning to talk.

Daniel knew it would take a long time for the two factions to have a true alliance, but it was a good beginning. He took a cautious sip of his champagne – he knew how much of a lightweight he was, and didn't want to get drunk – and looked around the other guests.

Lya and Anteaus of the Nox.

Thor and Freyr of the Asgard.

And the man and woman of the hour.

Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill.

Good grief.

Yet Daniel couldn't say he was all that surprised. He hadn't been there for their first meeting, although Major Kawalsky had been more than happy to fill him in on the details. But he'd had the privilege of working closely with them for three years before Jack's promotion and subsequent relocation. The chemistry between them had burned for a long time – sometimes Daniel had thought they were merely inches from jumping each other; sometimes it was more like a gentle warmth, love rather than lust.

And now they were married.

"They look good together."

Daniel smiled at Janet Fraiser as the petite doctor wandered over to join him. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Some people are saying the same about us," she offered, sitting down.

Daniel choked on his champagne. "Pardon?" He looked at the glass. Maybe he'd drunk more than he thought. He put the glass on the table, resolving to switch to soda. "Did you just …?"

"We've become pretty good friends, Daniel," Janet continued. "We laugh, we joke, we flirt. I've been wondering for a while … is it just that, or is there more?"

Daniel stared at her, his lips pulling up into a half-smile. "Don't beat around the bush there, Janet – just say it like it is, why don't you?" He really had known one Jack O'Neill way too long.

Janet smiled. "I thought about saying yes the next time you asked me out, then you stopped asking," she said.

"Well, how many rejections can one man take?" Daniel asked her.

Janet laughed. "Well, I'm not rejecting you now," she said, then slid her hand round to the back of Daniel's neck, pulling his face toward hers.

Their lips met.

It was nice, but …

The petite Doctor sat back. "Nothing, huh?"

Daniel coughed. "Uh … no," he replied.

"Ah, well!" Janet took his glass from him and finished its contents. "At least we know now." She put her free hand out to his and gripped it. "Friends?" she asked.

"Always," he replied.

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"Lya!" Jack said enthusiastically, as the tiny little Nox female came over to him. He just knew he had a goofy grin a mile wide on his face, but he didn't give a damn. They'd done it! He and Sam were now General and Doctor O'Neill.

"It is good to see you again, my friend," Lya said in her soft voice. "I am pleased you and Samantha have joined your souls together."

"Agreed," Anteaus said. "We were surprised that it did not happen sooner, but your Jaffa friend explained your people's rules to us." He frowned. "It seems heartless – does your … government have the right to regulate your heart?"

"Anteaus" – Lya put her hand on his – "we know little of Jack's people. We should not presume to judge them."

Jack smiled at that. He'd always had a soft spot for the little Nox woman. She kinda reminded him of the fairy folk in the stories he'd had read to him in school. "Thanks, Lya," he said. "It's good to see you both again," he added. "How's Nefreyu?" He looked around, but couldn't see the young lad. "I kinda thought he'd be here today."

"He is well, thank you, O'Neill," Anteaus told him. "We did not leave him behind." He scribed his arm in a large ring and there stood the young Nox boy. "We needed to determine whether or not he would be safe. With so many unknowns, it was best to be certain first."

Jack nodded his head. The Nox liked everyone – were pacifist to a degree he would never understand – but they sure knew how to protect themselves. "Hey, kid!" he said.

"Hello, Jack," the boy replied. He came over and hugged Jack. "It's good to see you again," he said. He looked over to where some of the kids were playing a noisy game of baseball. "What are they doing?"

"Ah … it's a game," Jack said. "See that kid in the middle? He pitches that ball to the other kid. That other kid attempts to hit the ball as far as he can, then he'll run around all those white markers … we call them bases."

"Base … ball," Nefreyu said. He gave a mischievous grin. "It looks … fun," he offered.

"You wish to join in?" Lya asked. The little lad nodded his head. "Then you should," she said. As the boy darted off, she smiled up at Jack. "You look well – strong and happy," she offered.

"I am happy," Jack said. "What about you? How's … uh … Opher?"

A shadow fell over the Nox woman's face. "Opher passed on several of your months ago," she said.

"Ah, damn," Jack muttered. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

"Yes," Lya agreed, her big eyes flickering over his face. "But Opher lived a long, happy, fulfilled life. Your Charlie did not have that chance."

"No," Jack agreed, his throat constricting. He cleared it quickly, knowing his kid wouldn't have wanted him to be sad today. Charlie had always wanted everyone to be happy. "Hey; would you like to meet my buddy, Thor?" he offered quickly.

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"Congratulations, Sam!" Marla Richards said, drawing Sam into a hug.

"Thanks, Marla," Sam replied, returning the hug. She dropped a kiss onto young Laura's cheek. "And thank you, Laura; you were a beautiful little ring-bearer."

The little girl nodded importantly. "Was a ring bear," she said sleepily. "Unca Jack smiley."

Sam looked over at Jack and snickered at the goofy grin on his face. 'Smiley' was one word for it. "Well, he's happy," she said. "And so am I."

"That's good," Marla said. "He's a good, caring man – he needs to love and to be loved. I'm glad for him."

Sam looked at the younger woman. "Oh … my … God – you love him," she said. She'd noticed the signs before, but now … now she was sure of it.

Marla went bright pink. "No!" she said. "No, I don't." Then she heaved a sigh. "I did have a bit of a crush on him for a while, but I knew nothing would ever happen. You're perfect for each other."

Sam could accept that. Jack was a handsome, sexy, occasionally charming man – she could understand why women liked him. She was secure enough in Jack's love for her that she didn't even entertain the idea of snatching Marla bald. "Okay," she said.

"Okay?" Marla peered at her.

"Yeah," Sam said. "I just … it must have hurt a little all those girl talks we had."

"Not really," Marla said. "Like I said, it wasn't like I ever had a chance – or even wanted one. And it's been fun having a girl friend. Someone to dish with."

"Yeah," Sam said. She'd never really had girl friends growing up – being an Air Force brat had meant she switched schools a lot, and the fact that she was two years younger than her class mates had meant she also found it difficult to make friends. She looked around. "There are a lot of nice guys here today; I could introduce you."

"Ah … no, thanks," Marla said hastily. "I'll admit I'm lonely – but I haven't gotten to the set-up stage yet." She settled Laura more comfortably in her arms as the little girl started rubbing her eyes. "Besides, I have my best girl to think about." She gave Sam a wicked grin. "I'll just live vicariously through you and Jack – I haven't needed a Harlequin novel since you and he got together."

Sam blushed. "Are we that obvious?" Are we that loud?

Marla laughed lightly, then squeezed Sam's shoulder. "Don't be embarrassed," she said. "Jack's a fit sexy man and being older … he's probably got great technique as well. Why shouldn't you enjoy him?"

Technique … mmmmmmm. Yes; the man was damn good. Sam closed her eyes and shivered as she recalled that wild passionate night after he'd come back from his Pentagon briefing. Even with her limited experience, she knew that had been one spectacular session … five spectacular sessions. She hadn't known it was possible to climax so much in less than twenty four hours. She and Jack had both ached for several days afterward, but God, had it been worth it!

"Hey! Earth to Sam; come in, Sam!"

Sam blinked back out of her erotic memories and squeezed her thighs together to ease the throbbing that had begun. God; she couldn't seem to get enough of that man! "Hi," she said sheepishly. "Just … ah … thinking."

"Yeah; and one'll get you ten it was about Jack," Marla teased.

"Yeah." Sam laughed, then saw the object of her thoughts looking over at her. She'd never really got the expression 'bedroom eyes' before she met that man – had just thought it was a hackneyed phrase. But Jack O'Neill's soft brown eyes that went nearly black with passion … Bedroom eyes, bathroom eyes, up-against-a-wall eyes. Mmmmmm.

"Wow." Marla flapped a hand over her face. "I think half the colony needs to lie back and have a cigarette!" she teased.

Sam could feel her skin heat up again. It was a nuisance being so fair. Then she giggled. Why did she care what people thought? She was the one who got to have wild passionate sex with a handsome General on a regular basis, not them – the hell with what they thought!

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Jack looked over to where his wife – Sam was his wife – chatted with Marla Richards. God; she was so beautiful in that dress! But she would be even more beautiful out of it. They'd not shared a bed last night – both of them wanting to observe at least one tradition for this very untraditional wedding – and he'd missed her.

He wasn't an Alpha male who had to have 'his woman' every night, but he'd missed her. He'd missed the way she cuddled into him, missed the way she rubbed her permanently cold feet along his shins to warm up, missed the way her hair tickled his nose. Yeah; it was official – he was the galaxy's biggest sap.

"Jack."

"Hey, Jacob," Jack said. "How's the head?"

"Shut up," the older man groused. "Bad enough I've got Selmak nagging in here without you starting as well."

"Ah." Jack tried his best not to snicker at the idea of a snake nagging away inside Jacob's head. He didn't succeed. "Sorry," he added, "weird image." He looked at the older man. "God, Jacob; you look like crap," he said affectionately. "I thought symbiotes negated the effects of alcohol?" He was very proud of himself for not using the word 'snake' out loud.

"Yeah, usually," Jacob said. His eyes glazed over; evidently he was communicating with Selmak. "Seems she thought it'd be funny to see what I was like drunk. She hadn't counted on being a passenger for the hangover from hell."

"Ah. Serves her right, then," Jack offered. He'd gotten to know Selmak a little better over the last couple of weeks and had grown … quite fond of her.

Now Jacob snickered. "Yeah," he agreed. He looked at Jack then, pulling his shoulders square and straight. "Sam's a grown woman, and anyone with half a brain can see how good you two are together. But … I have to warn you. You hurt her, and there won't be anywhere in the galaxy you can hide."

"Jacob. You know I can't promise I'll never hurt her," Jack said. "I have a big mouth, I hold grudges, and I do stupid things. I'm bound to hurt her – I have hurt her, and I'm not proud of it." He looked steadily at his father in law. "All I can do is say I'll never deliberately hurt her."

Jacob grimaced. "Yeah," he said. He gripped Jack's hand. "That's good enough for me. So … all that remains for me to say is welcome to the family." He sighed. "I'm just sorry we couldn't have done this on Earth – I think Mark would've liked to have been here."

Now Jack sighed. "I know," he said. "But we couldn't have got anywhere booked before you had to go back to Vorash. Maybe we can renew our vows next time you're in the neighborhood and Mark can come to that."

"Yeah," Jacob said. He looked around, his gaze alighting on the odd mix of Tauri, Jaffa, Tok'ra and other aliens. "Most of these guys wouldn't fit in too well on Earth, anyway," he said. He snickered. "Imagine trying to disguise Thor."

Jack had to smile at that image, then he sobered. "Seriously, though, Jacob. I love your daughter, and I'll do my best to make her happy. How could I not?"

"You're a good man, Jack." Jacob pulled the taller man into a brief manly hug, then let go of him. "Now, shove off and go get my daughter. Daniel's starting to get antsy for his speech."

Jack looked over at the linguist, who gave him a peculiar grin – along with a waggle of the eyebrows. He groaned. "Oh, God; I'm screwed, aren't I?" he mourned.

"Yeah," Jacob said. "And … he might just have had some help too."

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a sigh. "I knew we should've eloped," he muttered. Then he softened as Sam came over to him, slipping her bare arm around his waist. He was a tough SOB – he could get through a best man speech.

"Hey," she said, squeezing his waist. "Perhaps we should sit down. Daniel's practically climbing the walls."

"There are no walls," Jack pointed out oh so helpfully, but allowed his wife – quite possibly the best word in the English language – to steer him over to one of the tables.

Sam snickered. "Smart ass," she said, sliding her hand quickly inside his shirt to stroke his abdomen. It tensed at her touch and she snickered again, her blue eyes darkening with desire.

"Oh, God," Jacob groaned, "I didn't need to see that, Sam!"

Sam blushed and pulled her hand out of Jack's shirt, the friction igniting a new wave of desire. "Sorry, Dad," she said, "but he's really hot."

"Ah! Too much information!" Jacob squawked.

"Hey, I called you that in front of him and I got a punch in the arm!" Jack complained into Sam's ear.

She shivered and leaned into him. "I'm a Daddy's girl – what can I say?" Jacob groaned and walked away – she took advantage of the Tok'ra's departure to cup Jack's crotch, stroking the flesh firmly.

"You witch," Jack breathed, his flesh now throbbing.

"Well, they don't call me Samantha for nothing," Sam breathed, nuzzling into his neck then nipping at his earlobe.

God … the woman was a torturer! "You think they'd be offended if we went for our honeymoon now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sam said, releasing his earlobe. "You can wait a few more hours, can't you?" she added. "After all, we've got the rest of our lives together."

The rest of our lives – he liked that. "I can do that," Jack agreed, willing his erection down to less painful proportions. "But … just remember, Samantha O'Neill; I hold grudges." He leered comically at her. "I will get you back for this."

Sam giggled and picked up her glass of champagne. "Promises, promises," she teased.