Nes pulled into the driveway of her house in Coeur d'Alene and Kevin let out a low whistle.

"Why am I even surprised at the size of this place?"

"I have no idea," Nes laughed. "You should start getting used to it."

"I don't think that's possible."

"You'd be surprised," she said dryly.

He followed her into the house and she showed him the living room with its wall of windows and two story stone fireplace.

"It'll be perfect, don't you think?"

Kevin nodded as he looked around, taking in the large wooden beams and rustic chandelier. "It'll be great. My family's not going to believe this place, though."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it was mine."

"Nah, don't be sorry. They're going to have to get used to it, too, I suppose." He gave her a concerned look. "Ready to go?"

Nes nodded and handed him a locator beacon before beaming herself up to her al'kesh and then bringing him along. They'd arranged with Nathan to beam directly into her parents' garage, avoiding any prying eyes that would see her come to the house. It would just be added to the long list of things they couldn't quite explain.

She was grateful her parents had moved and she wouldn't be forced to walk through her childhood home, feeling the loss of everything all over again, but it was still odd to come down the hall and see all the family pictures that had hung in the old house. She'd forgotten about most of them.

Nathan nearly fell over as he hugged her, his excitement and relief making him forget his balance, but she caught him and they laughed together, her parents rushing toward her and pulling her into their arms.

"Tessa, when Kevin told us who Emyr was, we were so scared," her mother said with fear in her voice. "Did he hurt you, honey?"

"No, Mom. I'm okay."

With Nes exhausted just from these simple interactions, Kevin informed them that they were getting married that weekend and would love to have them come. They left the logistics all very vague, explaining that they would take care of it and they only needed to be here to be picked up. Nes also asked that they make a bit of effort to not look quite like themselves. Nes by herself was already suspicious, but if her family looked just like Tessa's family, there was no way they were going to buy her just being a lookalike.

Her mom, of course, wondered if they could finally tell Nes's sisters and invite them to the wedding as well, but Kevin and Nathan both agreed with Nes that that wasn't a good idea. As much as she missed her sisters, Nes just didn't have the same confidence in them as she had in Nathan. They'd never keep her a secret.

Nes and Kevin arrived back at her house on the lake, both worn out from the talking and explaining and avoiding and lying, and flopped onto the the couch in front of the fireplace, the house being mostly set up by now.

"I'm already exhausted with this wedding, Kevin. We should have just run off."

"I'm not going to disagree, but I think you'll be glad we included everyone once it's over and done with."

"You make it sound like a root canal."

He just closed his eyes and smiled. "It'll be fine. I just want to be married. I don't care about the wedding."

"And what makes you want to be married so much?" she said a bit too suggestively.

He reached an arm behind her and pulled her close. "I told you at Yu's palace that I like waking up next to you."

"Ah, is that all?"

"No. I fully plan on enjoying going to bed with you every night, too." He tried to keep his face straight, but a smile escaped and Nes smacked his chest lightly. He leaned over and gave her what he likely meant to be a quick kiss, but it escalated until he finally pulled away with a groan. "We should go."

Nes wasn't sure she wanted to stop, but Kevin was trying so hard to do the right thing with her and it would be cruel of her not to support him in that. She didn't want to give him any reason to question whether or not he was the good guy or the villain, whether Ba'al had treated her better in any way, no matter how foolish the comparison seemed in her mind. And she wanted him to be fully convinced that she was in control, that he wouldn't be going to bed with Sekhmet instead. Besides, now that it was only a few more days, it didn't feel as desperate as in the past when they never knew what would be coming next.

Nes wanted to call Sam before they took off, so Kevin grabbed himself a drink and explored the house while she made sure their friends were available. Sam was, of course, thrilled to hear the news and was fairly sure everyone should be able to make it, though she'd need to contact Hailey at Area 51 and Lantash on the new Tok'ra homeworld. She also thought that she and Vala could help out with retrieving various things using Nes' al'kesh, making the planning even easier.

"Grab what you need to stay at the house," Kevin said as she came out of the office.

Nes shook her head. "I'll just drive back here."

"You're not driving back alone to stay here alone."

"What the hell? I'll be fine."

"No."

"Kevin, I think I've proven that I can take care of myself just fine."

He brought a hand up to his face in frustration. "Nes, I watched Ba'al kill you. I watched you die right in front of me and there was nothing I could do except let that bastard take you. Every time I close my eyes, that's what I see. Every time, Nes. It killed me to leave you on the al'kesh. I just...I need you close by, okay? I'm not going to put you on a leash or whatever it is that you're going to say to object." He put his hands on her arms. "I just need you under the same roof as me for now. I won't sleep at all if I'm worrying about you alone in this house anyway."

Nes nodded and went to throw a few things in a bag. She could understand. She'd had to watch him die, too.

Kevin drove them back, needing the distraction, while Nes began making phone calls to her management company to make arrangements. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time they'd organized a wedding in a short period of time. It wasn't that Sekhmet was spontaneous, but when she'd trapped the man she sought for his money or power, she'd never allowed any time for him to change his mind.

By the time they pulled into Kevin's parents' driveway, the wedding planning was fully underway and Nes was grateful for Sekhmet's money and organization making everything so much easier than it otherwise would have been.

Kevin turned off the car, but leaned back instead of getting out.

"Regretting proposing?" She said it jokingly, but the moment the words were out of her mouth, she felt fear that it was the truth.

He reached across and took her hand. "Not in the least. Just tired from the day. Lots of lying."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not sure why you think you should apologize. I lie all the time with the Stargate Program and such. My family's mostly given up on trying to get more out of me and it's been easier as of late." He smiled. "Or it could be that I was just away so much, I thought it was easier."

"I'm sorry that I'm one more thing you have to lie about."

He squeezed her hand. "You know what I love, though? I love that I won't ever have to lie to you."

"That is certainly nice."

"When I was first told about the Stargate and all that goes with it...there was part of me that worried about what would happen if I met someone and I couldn't tell her about what I was doing, where I was going, how different the world really was. I'd seen enough military marriages end because of the secrecy."

"And my whole life is basically one giant lie...except with you."

"I'm glad to hear it...and you've really been honest with me, Nes?"

"More than with anyone else."

"That's not saying much, though, is it?" He smiled, but she could see the concern in his eyes.

"It's not, unfortunately, but I've always tried to be truthful with you."

"Except when you're deliberately lying to me to supposedly protect me in some way."

"That doesn't count, though, does it?"

"Depends if you keep doing it or not." He leaned his face close to hers.

"Well, I think you've stopped falling for it anyway."

"I have." He kissed her gently. "So no more of that."

"It should be obvious at this point that I've accepted defeat and just admitted my own selfishness. You'd probably be better off without me, but I wouldn't be better without you."

"I'm not better off without you, Nes. That should also be obvious at this point."

Nes pulled him into a deeper kiss with that. "We should have stayed at my house."

"Just two more days. We've waited this long." He leaned away from her. "Come on, we'd better go inside."

"Yep, I just have to make one more phone call. I'll be right in."

He gave her a concerned look. "You're not going to just drive off, are you?"

Nes gave him a reassuring smile. "It'll only take two minutes. You can wait right on the front porch and take the keys with you."

Kevin got out and left her in the car and she made another call to her management company to have them work on one other item. It took very little time and soon she was walking up to the house to a worried captain.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing nefarious, I promise, but I can't have you knowing every secret always. At least not at first."

The rest of the evening was spent chatting with his family, which exhausted Kevin even further with how little they could be truthful about.

"Tomorrow will be total chaos," Kevin mumbled as he set her up in his old bedroom and grabbed his things to bunk with one of his brothers.

"I think you'll be surprised at how smoothly things can go when one has the necessary money to inspire the proper motivation." Nes smiled. "But for the record...I am never marrying you again after tomorrow."

Kevin laughed before kissing her goodnight. "Deal."

The wedding itself was tasteful and simple - the fireplace and view out the windows being the main decorations. Nes was surprised by how much she enjoyed having everyone there when she had originally wanted to run off and have it just be herself and Kevin. This was right, though. Vows like these were meant to be said in front of those closest to you, not hidden away.

And she and Kevin had been through more than most people, both separately and together. It felt good to celebrate with the people who had supported her over the years, watching her grow and change, trying to find herself and her humanity again. This wasn't the pinnacle of her life, but it was a milestone, a conscious decision to share her life with someone fully, to commit to making each other a priority no matter what else life threw at them.

Everyone enjoyed the meal afterwards, laughing and talking and trying to keep state secrets as secret as possible with the company involved. Sam, Vala, and Teal'c made their way over to Nes to congratulate her.

"Teal'c, what's with the hair?" Nes pointed to a white patch in his hair that hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him.

"We were trapped in a time dilation field for fifty years and I had to stay this age in order to save the others."

Nes' jaw dropped. "Fifty years?!"

"Indeed."

"When was this? Sam, you never said anything about that!"

"Didn't I? It must have slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind?"

Sam tilted her head to the side in thought. "Well...I told you about going to the Asgard homeworld and them giving us all their knowledge."

"Yes, you briefly mentioned that, but not a word about this time dilation field."

"None of the others have any memory of the time spent aboard the Odyssey," Teal'c said.

"And he won't even tell me who I hooked up with," Vala said in annoyance. "Because obviously, I did."

"Obviously," Nes agreed. "But fifty years? Teal'c! That's awful."

"It was a rather long period aboard the ship."

Nes struggled to take in the horror of that, not doing well with being trapped even on a single planet. Fifty years on a ship would be unbearable.

Teal'c smiled before excusing himself and leaving the group of three women.

"But seriously, how can Muscles not tell me who I hooked up with?"

"Isn't it obvious, Vala?" Nes smiled and looked to Sam who shrugged.

"No," Vala looked at the ceiling in thought. "Mitchell? Teal'c? You don't think it was General Landry, do you?"

Nes laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Who would you have been bothering nonstop to amuse you?"

"Well, Daniel, of course, but...you don't think he'd...no...really?"

"I think you'd eventually wear him down."

"Maybe I should try wearing him down now," Vala said with a wink, flipping her hair back and strutting across the room to where Daniel was chatting with Nes' parents.

Sam gave Nes a concerned look. "I better go make sure Vala doesn't share too much with your parents."

Nes shrugged. "I doubt she'll say anything she shouldn't."

"It's Vala."

"Good point," Nes said with a laugh as she shooed Sam away.

"You look stunning," said Lantash as he and Thiras came over with a kiss on the cheek for Nes, though he maintained a normal human voice.

Nes gave him a quick wink. "I know."

She gave him a hug and he was serious when he looked at her next. "I'm very pleased to see you back to yourself, Nes."

"I'm sorry for how I behaved before."

Lantash shook his head. "Think nothing of it." He then turned to Kevin, who had come over to stand by Nes, and gave him a brotherly hug. "Very happy for you both."

"Come on," Kevin said to the Tok'ra. "It's been a while since you've seen my family."

Nes looked at him with a twinkle in her eye. "And it's been never since they've seen him."

They both chuckled. "Good point," said Kevin who gave her a quick kiss and went to introduce Lantash to his parents and siblings. They had no idea that the man they spoke to knew them just as well Kevin did.

Nes grabbed another glass of wine and snuck a few looks over towards the fireplace where her brother and Hailey stood talking, both smiling, Hailey blushing slightly. She caught Kevin's gaze and threw a quick glance over at the flirting pair. He smiled, but his face also held a gentle reprimand. He didn't need to say it. She could hear him in her head.

Don't meddle.

"Well, Nes, it looks like that ridiculously impractical dress during Elliot's training served its purpose," Jack said as Nes made her way over to him and several of the other SGC personnel.

Kevin heard the general's comment and came to join them, putting his arm around his new wife with a laugh. "That was quite a dress, Nes, though I certainly prefer this one."

Hailey gave the group a smile. "You should have seen the two of them when we went out to celebrate that night. Couldn't keep their eyes off one another."

"That is not true!" Nes objected.

"It is true, though I will admit that Elliot was clearly the guiltier party."

Nes turned toward Kevin who gave her an innocent shrug. "I like looking at you."

Everyone chuckled and Nes gave him a smile and kiss.

The evening wore on and slowly everyone began to disperse, Sam volunteering to beam the guests back to their respective homes as Kevin and Nes thanked them all for coming. In some ways, she wished they could spend more time with all of them in such a relaxed setting, but Daniel let her know that they were headed to Dakara in a few days to start hunting for a possible weapon to use against the Ori. He believed this Ark of Truth could be used to reveal the Ori as the false gods they were.

So they were busy...plus there was a honeymoon to get to.

Finally, it was just Nes and Kevin left aboard the al'kesh after sending Sam home as well. Nes directed the ship over their destination and Kevin looked out the window with curiosity.

"Where are we?" he asked once they'd beamed down into a house featuring wood and stone and glass and light.

"California. Carmel."

Kevin walked to the windows to see the ocean waves hitting the rocks below them. "So I believe my one request was a bed."

"I think there are several, actually."

"Oh?" He came toward her with a mischievous look. "And where would the master bedroom be?"

Nes shrugged. "No idea. I've never been here."

"What do you mean you've never been here? Isn't this your house?"

"I just bought it yesterday."

"You just bought this house yesterday?"

Nes put her arms around his neck. "I wanted somewhere that was just ours. No Sekhmet. No other memories. Just us."

Kevin kissed her hard and didn't hold back as he usually did. "So again I ask...where is the master bedroom?"

"And again I say...I don't know." Nes pulled back with a smile. "But I bet I can find it first."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Winner gets to spend the night with the loser."

"You're on."

They both took off at a sprint in opposite directions, yelling through the house as they searched behind each door. The house was big, but not extravagantly so, and Nes found a large bedroom with a private balcony that she was confident was the master. She flopped herself onto the bed to wait for Kevin to arrive.

He appeared in the doorway, breathing hard, but a smile on his face.

"You lose," she said triumphantly.

"Pretty sure I'm about to win," he said as he loosened his tie and took off his jacket.

"Oh, you think so?" she asked, mocking his tone from earlier.

"I know so."

He dove toward her on the bed, trapping her under him while she laughed and made a pathetic attempt to escape. She quickly admitted defeat, though, letting him kiss her.

"I'm going to get very carried away now, Nes."

"Good. Any chance you'll be able to help me out of this dress first?"

"It's not still too soon?"

"Definitely not." She grabbed his tie and pulled him down into another kiss.

In the morning, Nes was more than willing to admit that she would have killed significantly fewer people had she had Kevin with her every night.

"Ya know," she teased as she looked up at him, her head on his chest, "if I had a time machine, I'd just use it to send a note to myself right after I became a She'ket."

"Yeah? What would it say?"

"Dear Tessa, go find Cadet Kevin Elliot at the Air Force Academy and seduce him so you don't kill anyone."

He laughed and flicked her ear gently. "That would have certainly been interesting."

"Yeah, having The Butcher show up at your dorm. 'Hi Kevin, my future self told me to have sex with you. How 'bout it?'"

"That's a pretty good pickup line. I guess I probably would have fallen for it."

"You would not have."

"Okay, no, but then I'd just have to send a note back to myself, too. Dear Kevin, when Tessa James shows up at your door, kiss her and marry her and then keep her in bed all day and night."

"Mmm, that would have won me over rather quickly. So what pickup line will work on you now?"

"Any of them. All of them," he said as he leaned down to kiss her. "Though I don't think you need pickup lines right now."

Nes was so blissfully happy, it was easy to forget all the horrors and traumas that they'd both endured to get to this point. One morning, while she watched Kevin getting dressed, she thought of how amazing it was to feel so entirely safe and comfortable with someone after everything she'd been through. She knew life wouldn't always be like this, easy and carefree, but she could at least savor it while it lasted.

"Enjoying the view, Nes?" Kevin gave her a stern look with a glint in his eye, pulling her out of her own head.

"Quite a bit."

"And were you planning on getting out of bed so we can go eat? I don't think you'll meet the dress code with what you're wearing right now."

"You don't think so?" she asked as she threw off the covers.

Kevin quietly laughed and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before looking back at her with an exasperated look. "Damnit, Nes. I'm hungry!"

He jumped back into bed and breakfast was delayed until closer to lunch.

With the chaos of their usual lives, they both enjoyed the slower pace of their time together, seeing one another every day and night without needing to spend their time and energy on goodbyes.

Kevin pulled her close and kissed her forehead, prompting a deep sigh from Nes.

"You sure we have to go back tomorrow?" she mumbled.

"Mmhmm."

"Ya know...you could leave the Air Force…" She knew he'd never agree to anything of the sort, but she still needed to voice it.

"Nes…"

"We don't need the money and it's not like you'd be stuck on Earth."

He brought a hand to her face. "Nes…"

"I know. I had to ask."

"Would you really want me to abandon the Stargate Program?"

"No." She gave him a wink. "I need an inside man."

"Like hell you do."

She gave him a haughty look. "You're right. I've never had any trouble before."

"Just so long as you remember that you're not flying solo now, Nes. Not saying you can never do anything, but no disappearing. No running off into ridiculously dangerous situations without even telling anyone where you're off to."

"And when you're going on missions?"

"You know I won't always be able to give you all the details, Nes."

"That's fine. I'll just hack the computers."

"Of course you will."

"That reminds me. You've distracted me so much I nearly forgot to give you your present."

"What present?"

Nes got up and grabbed a small box out of her bag and handed it to him. "Open it."

Kevin opened the box, revealing a simple metal bracelet with a dark gem. "Is this…?"

"Now you can beam up to the al'kesh when you need to."

"Well, that'll cut down my commute."

Nes chuckled at him. "I doubt General Landry will let you just beam into work."

"Good point."

"But if you're ever in danger…"

"Thank you, Nes." He kissed her firmly. "I hope I never need to use it in that kind of situation, but it will certainly make me feel better."

"Me, too."

"Have you thought about what you're going to do now?"

"Oh, I just figured I'd be a trophy wife. You know, going to the spa, decorating the house, throwing parties, that sort of thing."

"Don't forget lounging by the pool and buying a yappy little dog."

"Yes! The kind that can fit in my purse."

"Absolutely. That'll definitely suit you."

"But really, I thought I'd talk to General Landry. See if he'll let me hunt down the clones."

Kevin gave her a hard look.

"With a team, of course. If I wanted to do it alone, I wouldn't need to talk to the general."

"Okay. Just don't let revenge get in the way of the mission."

"As in, don't take the time to torture them."

"As in, don't let Sekhmet take over again."

"Well, for the record, torturing the clones wasn't nearly the same as torturing Ba'al himself. It was always the same pleas and bargaining and begging and screams. It got old fast."

He gave her a concerned look and then leaned his head back on the pillow. "I have no idea how to respond when you talk like that."

"Just smile and nod, smile and nod."