To Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter had never looked more beautiful. With tears slowly falling, and a gentle smile on her lips, she said, "It's an engagement ring. It's yours if you'll have it … and me."

YES, YES AND YES

Looking into Sam's eyes, Jack swore he could see her soul. The vulnerability staring back at him was humbling. It called forth a fierce protectiveness he hadn't experienced in years. He'd do anything to assure her happiness.

She was asking him to marry her. It was astounding. She wanted him, as husband, lover and companion. She was asking. The idea was spot on, actually it was his, but she'd beat him to it. Sam was asking him and the effect on his psyche was powerful.

Jack held her eyes, reaching to wipe away her tears with his free hand. He could feel moisture pooling in his own eyes; it threatened to fall as his hand slid down to cup her cheek. While Sam leaned into his touch, a peaceful smile on her lips, her eyes remained locked with his. Silently, their hearts spoke volumes.

Jack feared he'd break the spell if he uttered a word. Surely they could communicate all that was needed with their eyes. To that end, he willed Sam to hear his thoughts, his commitment. But finally, he needed to hear his own words.

"I want to wear your ring," he said, his voice husky with barely contained emotion, "and I want you with all my heart." His declaration was rewarded with a glorious smile on the face of the woman he loved. "Will you put it on for me?"

Wordlessly, her eyes glanced down momentarily. Sam slipped the carefully created band on her chosen mate's ring finger and looked up to meet his eyes once more.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you," he replied, taking her face between his hands and gently drawing her towards him for a kiss.

When their kiss ended, recovering from the wonder of the moment, Jack looked down at his ring.

"This is incredible workmanship. How did you …?" he asked.

"I have my ways," Sam said teasingly. "If you must know, I had some help from Teyla."

"Teyla? The alien woman on Atlantis? Do tell," he said.

"Well it seems Teyla is very intuitive. Remember right after your accident?"

"Yeah, mighty hard to forget that," he replied.

"She knew how disturbed I was," Sam explained. "Didn't say much about it right then, especially after I shut her down. But she came to certain conclusions based on my actions and a certain picture I keep in my office."

"So you talked with her about us?" Jack asked.

"Not exactly. You know me, like you, I keep things pretty close," Sam said. "Teyla put two and two together. We talked a little and after you and I had our first video chat from Atlantis, I asked her to help me."

"Buy a ring?"

That comment earned Jack a less than approving Carter look, the kind he always got when he tried to play dumb.

"No," she said impatiently. "I've yet to see a jewelry store on Teyla's home planet. However, the Athosians are skilled craftsmen, and some are talented metal workers. The rest as they say is history."

"That explains it," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"The reason I didn't recognize the box," he said. "I am a connoisseur of fine jewelry after all." With this quip, he did his best to keep a straight face.

"You!" Sam exclaimed, getting ready to playfully sock him in the arm.

"Hey, before you do any damage to the new fiancé, I have something for you, too," Jack announced, glad that the mood was lightening a bit.

"Yeah?"

"Be right back," he said, dashing into the adjoining bedroom, whistling all the way.

Before she knew it, Sam was faced with a gingerly kneeling Jack O'Neill, ring box in hand.

"The first part of this proposal was great, but not what I'd call traditional," Jack said. "All the more reason for the incredibly painful, self sacrificing kneeling you see going on here," he said, his lips curling in a quirky, self satisfied smile.

Genius that she was, Samantha Carter didn't need a lightening bolt to realize what was about to happen. Without thinking, she sank down to her knees and threw her arms around Jack's neck, holding him against her.

"Hey, just because you got to go first, don't you think a guy gets to have his say too?" Jack asked indignantly. This resulted in a barely controlled fit of giggles from Sam, even as she covered his face in feather soft kisses.

"Okay, I'm sorry," she said. "I promise to listen. After all, I've been waiting a long time for this. By the way, you can get up. I want you in one piece, you know."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jack said gratefully, realizing this position could leave him in pain for a long time. With Sam's help he pulled himself up to the chair and returned to his original plan.

"Sam, first of all thank you," Jack said. "Let's face it when it comes to this sort of thing, I'm a coward, pure and simple. I've had this little box and the gem inside for two years. If you'd left it up to me, no telling how long it would have taken.

"I love you, Sam. I have for a very long time," Jack admitted. "Until today, I wasn't sure exactly how you felt about me. What you just did, well, now I know. And that frees me to do this.

"Samantha Carter," he said, taking her hand in his, "I will wear your ring proudly on one condition: that you wear mine as well," he said. "And agree to be my wife."

"Yes, of course," Sam whispered, holding back the tears that threatened yet again. She held out her hand and Jack slipped on the delicate band he'd had engraved with their names and the simple word "Always".

OoOoOo

Two hours later, Jack and Sam managed to pull themselves together enough to start an evening meal. "Stars in their eyes" would have been an appropriate description of the newly engaged couple.

"Do you want a long engagement? Sam asked out of nowhere, while Jack sliced tomatoes.

"Do I want a long engagement?" He parroted back. "Hey, give me a minute here; a lot's happened in the past two hours. What are you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, Jack," she said, coming to stand next to him. "It's just … well … I'm going back to Atlantis in three weeks. That's another six months in a galaxy far, far away. I don't know that I want to wait that long."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"I was wondering how long it takes to get a marriage license in Minnesota."

TBC

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and reviewing. It is always so encouraging to hear from you.

At this point, I'm sad to think about this story ending. I have a few ideas, plot bunnies that have been planted earlier on and will continue for a bit until the well runs dry or until readers seem to be bored, whichever comes first.