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

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

CHAPTER 37: WIND BENEATH MY WINGS

Seems General Jack O'Neill knew exactly how many days it took to get a marriage license in Minnesota, as well as the District of Columbia and the state of Colorado.

"Five days," he said aloud. Yeah, just happened to know, he thought.

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"About the five day waiting period?"

"Jack… you know what I mean."

"You want to get married, here, now, in Minnesota?" Jack asked.

"You wanna wait?" Sam countered

"No, but I thought you'd want … well, you know, a real wedding … a dress and everything," he said.

"All that stuff is overrated, if you ask me," Sam replied without skipping a beat. "All that matters is us."

"That's been a long time coming, hasn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yep," Sam said, "but now it's our time, if we choose it."

"Hey, fine with me, more than fine in fact," Jack said. "You know how much I love to dress up in monkey suits. All I really want is to marry you."

"See, that's exactly how I feel," Sam agreed. "If we wait till we return to Washington, the whole thing will get bigger and bigger; we don't have time to plan a big wedding. And I don't want to wait till I return from Atlantis."

"I can second that," Jack said. "But you know, I'm not gonna change my mind, no matter how long we wait."

"I know," she said. "Wild horses and all that, right?"

"Something like that, besides Teal'c and Daniel ..."

"They'll forgive us," she said confidently, knowing they'd make it up to their friends. "So do you know someone who would marry us here on short notice?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Jack said with a very self satisfied smile.

OoOoOo

Mike McShea was eighty years old. Confined to a wheelchair for the past two years with intractable arthritis, he'd retired to the wooded area of northern Minnesota nearly five years ago.

As luck would have it, Mike's small cottage sat no more than a mile from Jack O'Neill's more spacious cabin. Though Jack had little thought of socializing with neighbors when he started to spend time at the cabin, he soon made an exception for Mike. The man's irrepressible humor and the fact that he liked both hockey and Guinness likely had something to do with their fast friendship.

For the past few years, at least one night of each trip to the cabin included some time with Mike and his family. Playing poker, watching hockey or the Simpsons, and drinking Guinness passed the time most nights. Some others, the conversation turned to more serious matters. More than once the conversation included Jack's feelings for a certain blond astrophysicist with whom he worked.

During one of those conversations, shortly after Jacob's death, Jack had come clean with Mike about his feelings for Sam. Only a month after Sam had come to the cabin for the first time, Jack had bemoaned the fact he'd failed to make his move that week. It was then Mike McShea offered to marry them should Jack ever get his act together. As a man intimately acquainted with special coincidences in this world, Mike was sure it would happen, when the time was right. And as a retired Roman Catholic priest, Father Mike McShea would be there when his friend needed him.

OoOoOo

"Mike, are you home?" the stern female voice bellowed from the doorway. "Come on, let me in, I've got to talk with you about that e-mail you sent."

"Hey, hold your horses, Lizzie, I'm coming," he said. "Where's the fire?"

"Don't you 'where's the fire me'", Mike's sister, Lizzie Gallagher said, daring her older brother to contradict her. "What do you mean you need me and Matthew 'to witness a marriage'? You're retired, Michael McShea!"

"Now don't get your panties in a knot, Lizzie," he said, very accustomed to bickering good naturedly with his sister. "I'll always be a priest as long as I'm alive. I'm still allowed to celebrate the sacraments and I'm still recognized by the state of Minnesota as able to marry consenting adults. What's the problem?"

"Fine, when's the last time you performed a wedding ceremony?" Lizzie asked. She lived two miles down the road from her brother and worried about his health all the time.

"Why Lizzie?" Mike asked defiantly. "What exactly are you worried about?"

"Well ,what do these people expect? You're sick, you can't be stressing for them."

"It's Jack O'Neill, Liz," Mike explained, certain this would relieve his sister's mind. "He's a simple man. You know him. You like him, for cryin' out loud!"

The mention of Jack's name gave Lizzie pause. "Yes I suppose I do," Lizzie admitted, "but…but he's teaching you bad habits. Besides …you haven't even seen these two for premarital counseling, Mike. That's always been against your principles, marrying couples you haven't counseled."

"These two are a safe bet," Father McShea said, his brogue picking up as he warmed to the discussion. "Jack says Sam's 'the wind beneath his wings'; Sam tells me he's her hero, and she means it. They love each other and they're old enough to know better. Believe me, I've married all kinds in my life. These two are lifers. They've been waiting for each other a long time."

"Fine, do you have the vow formulas, Mike? Do they have the license?" Lizzie asked, always the stickler for details.

"Don't worry, they've written their own vows and they have the license," Mike replied. "We just need you and Matthew as witnesses. And for God's sake, be nice."

OoOoOo

Lizzie and Matthew made their way to the McShea cottage on Saturday morning, just five minutes before the betrothed couple arrived. Her attitude much improved, Lizzie had come round to her brother's way of thinking and Matthew, well, Lizzie's twenty year old grandson thought General O'Neill was 'way cool', so he was delighted to be included.

Jack and Sam were casually dressed in ski sweaters and warm trousers as if on holiday. Clutching the license and wedding bands, they skied to Father's McShea's. While this was unlike any wedding either of them could recall, this was their wedding. The day had finally come and they were thrilled. Like two kids in a candy shop, the middle aged officers who'd saved Earth on more than one occasion, had finally taken time for themselves. Even more surprisingly, they'd planned a wedding with "no pressure", no appearances to worry about, just the sincerity of the promises they were making.

Today would be the quiet, unassuming beginning of their married life together. Here away from the lights of the city, the attention of the powers that be and even the well wishes of their friends, they'd make their vows. There would be time for everything else later.

Now was their time.

In the cozy front sitting room of Father's McShea's cottage, Jack and Sam stood with their witnesses and the retired man of God. And with the sincerity and trust born of true love, they spoke their promises to each other.

TBC