Sam, amidst a mass of white lace in the back of a black Daimler, looked up from her seat, out at the looming church, the Colonel looking very nervous as the car slowed to a stop. On feeling someone squeeze her hand, she turned it over to hold Cam's, turning to look at him seated next to her in full dress uniform. He asked, looking concerned at the fragile state of her composure,
"How are you holding up?"
She sighed, saying quietly as an equally if not more concerned Mark turned in the front passenger seat to look at her, "Just cold feet."
Cam patted her hand. "You'll be fine." he smirked. "Try not to puke."
She chuckled softly as Mark got out of the car. "Thanks." As her brother got waylaid by some very friendly Airmen, Sam said, glancing at Cam hesitantly, "If... you know..."
"Hey, if he doesn't turn up, I'll marry you and break his legs."
She blinked in surprise and asked, bemused. "What about Vala?"
He grimaced. "Uh..." he then looked embarrassed. "... actually I get the feeling that she would enjoy it."
Sam reddened as she looked down at her bouquet, and then laughed, Cam joining in after a moment. Mark then opened Sam's door, the Astrophysicist remarking with a smile as she gave him her hand,
"Nice... thought I was going to be staying the night."
Mark smirked as he helped her out of the car as Cam got out of the other door. "I can always close the door again."
As Sam stood on the pavement outside of the church, Mark closing the door behind her as he made sure that her dress wasn't going to be caught in it, Cam stooped to kiss Sam on the cheek, saying, his cap under his arm, "See you inside, Carter."
She snorted derisively at the use of her surname. "We're not on a mission."
"Hey... don't tempt fate."
She smiled as he disappeared into the church with a group of Airmen who had been keeping lookout for the bridal car, and Mark asked, looking sceptical, "You'll get called on a mission in the middle of your wedding? All your superior officers are here."
She shrugged, sighing silently as she considered that she never would be able to tell her own brother about what she really did for a living. "Uh... long story."
"Right... classified." he paused, now looking concerned. "How are you doing?"
She shook her head and said quietly as she glanced at him, "Not good... I wish Dad was here."
He grimaced. "Me too... it makes me look old doing this... it's going to be some years yet before I have to do this for my girls."
She kissed him on the cheek. "You're doing a great job, Mark. Thanks."
"Hey, I'm just honoured that you want me to do this... so, thanks." he touched her cheek gently. "You ready?"
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and said, glancing at the huge doorway in front of them before looking back at him, "Oh... as I'll ever be." she smiled shakily. "Let's get this show on the road."
"Now that's good... because I'd rather not leave my wife and kids to take care of you while you bawl your eyes out because your feet are cold..." he winced when she punched him in the arm, and they laughed before she linked arms with him. "Right Colonel, let's roll."
They entered the church and the Bridal March began, played by the church organist as all of the guests from the SGC, Washington, and the Carter family got to their feet and turned to look at the bride as Sam and Mark slowly made their way down the aisle, Sam noticing Daniel's shoulders relax and then tense again as Jack, his best man, patted him on the back as the two men stood at the front.
Sam smiled, feeling much better about what they were about to do as she reached the front, seeing Teal'c in the front pew as he held Jake, the Jaffa seated with Vala, Cam, Carolyn, Landry, Hammond, and Jonas Quinn. At last, she had reached Daniel and as he gazed at her in amazement despite his nervousness, Mark cleared his throat and whispered,
"Break her heart and I'll finish the job when she beats the living crap out of you."
Jack stage-whispered back, "Would that be before or after the shiner? Let's ask Mitchell afterwards... seeing as he seems to be the authority on them."
Daniel turned back to the pew behind him briefly, seeing Cam glaring at Jack's back, the Colonel having been made the butt of the General's jokes about black eyes since he had been informed by Daniel that Cam had cited Jack as an authority on the injuries due to his Irish heritage. Daniel then smirked in amusement for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement at Mark's threat, and Mark kissed his sister on the cheek, whispering,
"Love you."
Sam replied fondly as she returned his kiss, "Love you too, smelly."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Following the exchange of vows, and after Jack had executed an elaborate yarn about supposedly losing the rings before miraculously finding them in his shirt cuffs, much to everyone's amusement, and the bridal couple's further nervousness, the Priest pronounced them husband and wife, permitting Daniel to kiss Sam to seal the union. Jack remarked,
"No tongues... Carter's nieces are present... not forgetting that little baby of yours."
Some Airmen whooped as Daniel kissed Sam gently, and he whispered, touching her cheek as he gazed at her lovingly, "We're married, Colonel Carter-Jackson... and no Ori situations springing up suddenly like they did during about three of those damn rehearsals."
She smiled back at him. "Well, they can do what they like now, Doctor Jackson." She turned towards Teal'c and picked Jake up, kissing him gently on the forehead as he squirmed. After a moment, she passed their son to Daniel as their friends hugged her, and the Archaeologist kissed his son's cheek, whispering,
"Thank you, Jake."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Later, after the reception, and after Jake had been settled down for the night, Sam and Daniel sat on the end of their bed in their respective nightwear as they held hands. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, amused, "No more living in sin, eh?"
He snorted mockingly. "Come on... we're not in the Dark Ages, Sam... you're not a commodity."
She kissed him again, looking impressed at his attitude. "Which makes being married to you all the more refreshing and interesting."
They gazed at each other in amazement for a moment, contemplating the huge step that they had just taken in their relationship, when Sam suddenly laughed. Daniel, bemused, asked,
"What?"
She shook her head, still laughing. "No... it's just Vala catching my bouquet... she managed to give Captain Hailey a black eye when she elbowed her in the face so she could be the one to catch it."
Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the almost violent jostling earlier that day. "And then the four foot nine fighting machine tripped her... but she still managed to catch it." he sighed. "She must really like Mitchell."
"Or like embarrassing him."
He groaned. "She like embarrassing people, period. It's her way of knocking people down to size because of her own insecurities and fear of appearing vulnerable."
She nodded and smiled again. "They're great together though."
He smiled too. "Yeah. It's nice." He kissed her and then smirked. "So... where were we?"
She began pulled his t-shirt off, remarking in amusement, "Stop me when you remember."
His t-shirt off, he held her wrists, stopping her from going any further. When she looked confused, he said, gently kissing her cheek, "Let's go see Jake first."
0o0o0o0o0o0
The Jacksons leaned over their son's crib, watching him sleep as they contemplated their current situation. Sam whispered, glancing at Daniel next to her before looking down at Jake once more, reaching down to smooth the baby's cheek,
"It was nice of Cam to offer to take care of him for the night... but we've never been apart from him for any great length of time outside of missions since he came into our lives... and after what today symbolises for us, it's only right that he stays with us."
He nodded, slipping an arm around her shoulders, a hand rubbing the area between her shoulder blades. "Exactly." he kissed her temple, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "And we don't know how long we'll have in his life. His own parents didn't have long."
Sam pressed her lips together to stop herself from crying as she whispered despite not wanting to shatter her own illusions about what kind of a life they could have with their son, "We've got someone to live for now." she looked at him again. "What if that jeopardises our objectivity in missions, stopping us from taking the risks that we need to take because we're thinking of him?"
"Oh. It will Sam, it always will, but we just have to carry on. We have to keep fighting and defending Earth and so many other people and places. It's in our job description. It's going to be harder and harder each time we go through the 'gate, but we'll manage it... we always seem to." he groaned softly as he held her in his arms, standing behind her as he rested his cheek against her hair. "And... it's someone else to fight for. We're doing all this now so he can continue to live in freedom, and his children and grandchildren and so on will be safe and free too. Teal'c is right... he is a light in amidst the darkness we've experienced." he kissed her hair. "A very welcome light."
0o0o0o0o0o0
When they had returned to their bedroom, now a lot more philosophical about their situation and their lives than when they had left, Sam asked as she watched Daniel close the door and sit down next to her on the bed, "How about we give Jake a brother or a sister? He's six months old now... if I'd given birth to him, I'd be ready, although not exactly willing, to conceive again when he was four months." she swallowed past a lump in his throat. "At least he won't be alone if we do leave him one day."
She sniffed and he wrapped his arms around her as she began to look tearful as she considered the possibility of either of them dying. Tears springing in his own eyes, he whispered, kissing her hair, "Ssshh, Sam. Not tonight. Don't talk about it tonight. We're supposed to be happy."
Her voice wobbled. "I am happy... I am... it's just that..." she trailed off as he gently rubbed her shoulder.
"I know, Sam... I've been painfully aware of it when we bonded with him." he whispered with a tiny smile as he tightened his hold on her as she held onto him, "I wouldn't mind starting to try though."
She laughed softly against his shoulder, remarking as she fondly teased him, "I thought you wouldn't."
She sat up and he touched her jaw, now smiling a little more, and she smiled too, cocking her head as she watched him, remembering something he had told her before their wedding. "You're right... it's going to be fun."
He retorted, raising his eyebrows teasingly, "Yeah. As if you doubted that."
Smiling as they put to one side for the night their worries, she promptly straddled his lap and kissed him, running her fingertips up and down his back. He squirmed during the clinch, saying breathlessly as she looked down at him,
"Ah, that tickles."
"That's what you get for being snippy with me."
He rolled his eyes and proceeded to divest her of her pyjamas before she kissed him again, pushing him back onto the bed as he groaned. He sighed softly as he returned her kisses when he felt the cool surface of the quilt beneath his back, and his hands began explorations of their own. He smiled, amused when she shrieked as he tickled her in revenge for her earlier tickling.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Meanwhile, Vala sat in the middle of her bed alone back at the SGC, her knees to her chest as she thought back to earlier in the day. She smirked in triumph as she looked at Sam's bridal bouquet on her night stand, and she hoped at least that she would be invited to another wedding on Earth, having enjoyed the one that she had experienced earlier much more than the ones that she had seen on television.
She looked up on hearing a knock at her door, and she called, "Cameron, it's open."
A surprised looking Cam peeked into the room before entering, closing the door behind him. He asked, his back resting against the door, looking perplexed, "How did you know it was me?"
She shrugged, still seated on her bed. "Intuition." she paused and smiled. "Well... no... I just figured that Muscles must be sulking in his quarters now that you're the one booty-calling me."
She got up, stretching a little as she asked brightly, "So... what brings you here on this no doubt nice night, my dear Colonel?"
He pushed his back off of the door as he slowly approached her. "I was thinking..." he smirked self-deprecatingly. "... again, I know... but... I want you to move in with me."
She bobbed her head sceptically as she slipped her arms around his waist when he had come close enough. "Oh, Cameron... we've been through this already. The IOA won't let me live elsewhere on this densely populated planet." she rested her head against his shoulder. "I just have to settle for day trips."
He wrapped his arms around her. "What if I told you that there's another way?"
She looked up at him curiously. "There is? Or is this just more futile speculation on your part?"
He hesitated before letting her go. She stared at him as her arms dropped to her sides, and he got down on one knee. "Vala." he attempted to swallow past his nervousness as he looked up at her. "Will you marry me?"
Surprised, she asked sceptically, "That's your other way?"
He frowned in confusion at her reaction and then said with a shrug, still on his knee as she walked away from him, "Uh... yeah. What's up?"
She threw her hands down, frustrated, her shoulders tense as turned away from him. "What's up? What's up?!" she turned back to him, speaking fast. "What's up, Cameron, is that this is all just..." she waved her hands as she sighed, frustrated as she tried to find the words. "... just too sudden... and like you're waving this... magical wand over everything and it's all going to be violet-y..."
"Rosy."
"What?" she smiled briefly as she realised her linguistic mistake. "Right." she sighed. "So... as I was saying... you haven't given this enough thought. I don't even know why proposing to me is going to solve our little issue." she looked away from him, appearing glum. "I mean... I'm certainly not worth all that trouble."
Dismayed, he got to his feet and held her hands. "C'mon... don't say that." he reached up to touch her cheek, bringing her gaze to meet his once more. "You're worth it... God, you are more than worth it." she rested her head against his chest as he played with her hair, holding her close as he rested his chin on her head. "I know it's early but, hey, it could work. And it would solve our little problem too you know, because the IOA have to let you live off-base if we're married."
She looked up at him, stunned. "Really? I mean... just like that?"
He rolled his eyes. "Just like that? C'mon... marriage is a big step to take. I don't want this to be a marriage of convenience. I'm asking because..." he sighed, realising that there was one thing that he had never said to her. "... I love you." he kissed her hair, smiling as he felt her arms around him. She looked up at him as he kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, kissing him far deeper, and she whispered as she rested her head against his shoulder, gazing at his chest,
"I love you too, Cameron." she smiled as she uttered the words that she too hadn't said to him before, now feeling much lighter now that they had been said.
"Marry me, Vala. We can go to Vegas. I know it's not ideal, but we can plan for a huge ceremony later, if you want."
She smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek. "I'd like that very much, Cameron." her smile widened. "I've heard nothing but good things about Las Vegas."
He chuckled, amused and suddenly realising what he may have started and imagining Daniel's soaring stress levels if he heard Vala's name anywhere near Las Vegas. "We're not on leave so we can't stay there... which means you won't be able to try your hand at anything."
They kissed again, and she remarked coyly as she swiftly unbuttoned his shirt, "Well, my impressive Colonel, there is one thing that I can try my hand at..."