Ok, this is the last chapter and so I'd like to thank my friend Steven for checking this and my other stories and telling me to make it longer! And thanx to everybody who's been reviewing it's much appreciated so please keep doing it. More stories will be up soon but for now enjoy!
Epilogue.
The small church was filled with all their closest family and friends and stood at the foot of the alter Jack and Sam turned to acknowledge all of them before they told each other their wedding vows, Daniel was the best man and Janet was chief bridesmaid. Everyone else that they knew sat in the pews behind them including General Hammond who'd accepted their invitation even if he had been a little funny about the fact that two officers who used to be under his command were infact getting married. (Neither Jack or Sam had the nerve to tell him that they'd been together for 2 years before they left).
Jack was dressed in a black suit and white shirt, his hair was the neatest it had ever been and showed that he'd clearly made an effort. Sam stood at his side in a beautiful but simple white dress with thin embroidered straps on her shoulders, her veil was held in place by a tiara decorated with a few small diamonds that caught the light streaming through the windows of the church. Her blonde hair flicked out around her face and Jack who was looking at her could hardly believe how absolutely beautiful she was or that she had actually agreed to marry him.
Sam looked at Jack with a smile in her eyes that spoke right to his heart, he watched her in the same way and the irony of the situation hit Sam as she realised they were stood there on their wedding day, showing the world how much they meant to each other in front of a few people (her dad included) who only a few years before would have condemned them for it.
She watched as Jack took a deep breath and gave her a half smile before taking her hands in his own, "Samantha Carter, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure that this is really happening and that someone as amazing as you could ever love a guy like me. Others I need to pinch myself so that I remember I'm allowed to feel this way and no ones going to court marshal me for loving you." He paused and she laughed quietly, doing her best to blink away the tears that were building in her eyes."I want to thank you for being there for me whenever I need it and for saving my ass more times that I care to remember. But most of all I want to let you know just how much you mean to me, how much I love and respect you, how much I care about you and how much I'm looking forward to spending every morning waking up with you and every night going to sleep by your side. Sam I intend to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much I love you and although I can't promise that we won't argue I can offer you a friend and love that I promise you will last a life time." He squeezed her hands affectionately and Sam almost cried, but by some miracle managed to keep her tears at bay and even found her voice.
All the time her eyes never wandered from his and all the time she knew she was making the best decision of her life.
"Jack O'Neill, you're the most sarcastic, witty and probably the most annoying person I have ever come across in my life. Having said that you're also the most caring, affectionate, loyal and loving man I've ever known and I love you. Infact I've been in love with you for longer that I can actually remember or given present company would like to admit." This caused a slight mutter in the congregation and Sam didn't have to turn a round to know where it came from. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you – I can't imagine being with anyone else, even if you did used to have a problem with scientists. You have this way of cheering me up just by smiling at me and you might not always know the right thing to say but you have always been there as my friend and as my one constant, you put the safety of others above the safety of yourself and you never leave anyone behind regardless of the danger that you put yourself in to do so. I have and always will respect, admire and love you for it. And no matter what happens I promise to be here for you and to love you Jack for the rest of my life." A tear rolled down her face and Jack let go of her hand long enough to wipe it away.
"And now may I have the rings?" the priest asked and Daniel at Jack's side walked forward and placed them on the bible, he nodded to Jack and Sam before stepping back again. He was smiling at them both just happy that two of his closest friends were agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together and having watched them for seven years of hiding their feelings he couldn't help but thank god that it was finally happening.
"Jack if you could take the ring and place it on Samantha's ring finger." The priest instructed and Jack took the smallest of the gold bands.
"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you and of our marriage." He said as he slipped the band onto her finger. He was completely overwhelmed with emotion and knew in his heart that he'd never been happier. Memories flew to the surface of their first meeting and their first real kiss, of the time they spent together on P3R118, when he proposed to her at his cabin and a thousand different moments with her. His mind also filled with the possibilities of their future together and of all the adventures that lay ahead.
"Now Samantha if you could take the other ring." Came the priests voice again, Sam reached over and took the ring; her hand was shaking as she did and she knew that more tears were forming in her eyes.
"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you and of our marriage." Her voice was shaking slightly and as she placed the ring on his finger he held her hand tight in his, this made her smile and almost brought her tears of indescribable happiness to the surface.
"Jack and Samantha have made their promises to each other and may those who god had joined together no one can split asunder. I now pronounce you man and wife." He paused and smiled before saying "you may now kiss the bride."
Jack didn't wait to be told a second time and leaned in and kissed her, it was sweet and loving and spoke of their future together as man and wife. Sam put her arms around him and held him close to her safe in the knowledge that nothing was ever going to come between them. She was finally married to the man that she loved and would have children with and surrounded by friends and family they both knew that life didn't get any better than this.
18 years later.
"Jake, will you move your skate board!" Sam called after her youngest as she headed towards the kitchen with the last of the shopping. She hadn't stopped all day, from sorting out the packing to getting the last of the food they would need for the trip there hadn't been a moment when she'd stopped and relaxed. Jack had tried to help her but he wasn't the most organised of packers or shoppers – even given his time in the military and in the end he'd decided the best thing to do would be to stay at home and look after Jake and Alison.
"Sorry mom!" Jake told her picking up the skate board and following her into the kitchen. "Oh and dad said he found whatever it was you were looking for this morning and he's on the phone to uncle Daniel about keeping an eye on the house." Sam smiled at him, marvelling at just how much he looked like his father. Same dark eyes and the same hair, although Jakes was a lot scruffier and looked as though it hadn't really seen a comb in days. He also had the same stubborn streak although that might have had a little to do with both her and Jack.
"Where's Alison?" she asked opening the cupboard to find a clean cup for a well-deserved coffee.
"She's in her room packing." He answered starting to root through the shopping bag as his mother turned her attention to the kettle. "She's been quiet all day actually." Jake continued as he found the pack of snickers.
"I'll go check on her. And give me one of those!" she said in her authority voice as she glared at him.
"Yes ma'm" Jake responded handing the packet over, Sam just shook her head as she headed up the stairs to her daughters room.
Jack met her on the way up; he had the cordless phone in his hand and looked a little flustered. He greeted her with a kiss and looked hopefully at the chocolate bar she was carrying. "Daniel said that him and Janet will keep an eye on the house." He told her tapping the phone on his hand.
"Great, well all the shopping's done and there's a full tank of gas in the truck." Then seeing the way he was eyeing the snickers she added, "And Jake's got the rest of the chocolate in the kitchen. Try not to eat it all Jack." She advised, knowing that it was hopeless – and that she'd stashed some secret supplies in the truck for herself and Alison.
"I love you." Jack told her kissing her again before turning to head down the stairs, "Sam? How's Alison – I haven't heard her all day." He asked.
"I've just got in Jack." Sam told him smiling at his utter unawareness to what was going on. "And I'm going to check on her now – go eat the chocolate." She told him playfully and he flashed her one of those smiles that set her heart alight before he headed down to the kitchen. He still had it and she was still in love with him, even after all this time.
"Hey Alison are you in there?" she asked as she knocked gently on the door, no one answered and she couldn't hear any movement in the room so she opened the door.
The room was a little chilly but that was because the window was open, it was decorated with pale lilac walls and a few shelves on the furthest wall. Alison's desk was to the side of these shelves and in the corner of the room, her laptop, printer and books as well as a couple of family pictures and her favourite bear sat on it. Alison's small travel bag was on her bed and appeared packed although Alison herself was nowhere to be seen.
Sam headed for the window as it lead out onto a balcony and eventually out onto the roof, she figured that Alison could be out there – it had been one of the main reasons they'd bought this house in the first place, the roof was somewhere they all seemed to end up at one point or another and the view was amazing. And it had been a good place to set up the telescope.
Popping her head out Sam saw Alison sat there with her arms wrapped around her legs and pulled close to her chest. She was gazing out onto the view before her and seemed lost to the world, her hair similar to Sam's was blowing about untamed in the wind. "You want some company?" Sam asked and her daughter turned to face her. "Yeah." She replied smiling as if it was the first time she'd seen her mother in days.
She couldn't help it – she was back with her family and everything was ok again and as her mother climbed up onto the roof to sit at her side Alison turned to watch her. The ancient (or ascended one) had only just returned her and if her mother hadn't come out to see her she'd have headed back inside and hugged all of her family and told them just how much she loved them, granted it probably would have freaked them out a bit but she had just saved all of their lives and they should be grateful – even if they didn't know what had happened.
"Jake said that you haven't been out of your room all day so I figured that you might be hungry." Her mother told her handing her the snicker bar . "Thanks mom." Alison replied taking it and opening it. "I take it that you've done everything you have to do cause dad's been driving me mad – I can hear him cursing though the window."
"Yeah, we're all set for tomorrow, that it unless your brother and father don't eat all the food before we even set off – or the SGC decides they need us because of some emergency." She added knowing that they wouldn't be safe from that until they reached the cabin.
"I don't think they will – they're still trying to prove that they can do without you and dad for a couple of days. It'll be practice for when you actually get round to retiring." Alison told her mother before stuffing the rest of her chocolate into her mouth.
"I guess, are you ok? Is there anything that you want to talk about?" her mom asked her, knowing that she had a tendency to keep certain things to herself.
Alison shrugged and moved closer to her as she swallowed the last of her food. "Did General Hammond ever find out about you and dad before you left – the first time I mean?" she asked and her mother looked at her strangely.
"What makes you ask that?"
"I was just wondering." She told her and although it was the truth Alison didn't want to explain why she wanted to know – no one had told her that she couldn't tell her parents but she'd decided that it was something best kept to herself.
"Not while we were working there no. You see for all the General's a good man he'd probably of had us reassigned or court marshalled. Thankfully we were lucky, very lucky." Alison smiled and hugged her tightly. "Anything else?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, what's it like to save the world and have to keep it a secret?"
"Why, are you thinking of making a carer out of it?" Sam asked eyeing her daughter suspiciously.
"Well it kind of runs in the family, even Granddad's in on it and seeing as I'm off to college soon if figured I should at least have a carer plan. Besides it sounds like fun, hard work but fun."
Sam considered her answer for a minute before saying "It's weird and to be honest it wasn't half as hard as keeping mine and your dad's relationship a secret. You see all of our friends worked at the SGC and as you've said your Granddad even helped out a bit so I wasn't really keeping a secret from them."
"Apart from uncle mark." Alison reminded her mother, who just gave her a strange look.
"Well given what your uncle Mark thinks of what we got up to in the mountain I don't think he deserves to know and I'm glad that it's just our little secret." The look on her mothers face said it all and Alison remembered what had happened when her uncle was told, her mother was right it was probably best to keep it a secret, at least until the SGC became public knowledge.
"I love you mom." She said holding onto her mother more grateful than she could express that she was alive.
"I love you to honey, you wanna come back inside cause it's getting kinda cold and the wormhole X-treme reruns are about to start."
Alison laughed as they stood up, it was probably the worst show on television but seeing as it was based on her parents and their friends adventures it was always funny to watch.
"Yeah ok." She told her before they climbed back through the window and into the house.
It was in the early hours of the morning when Sam awoke to find Jack at the bedroom window of the cabin; they'd been there for a couple of days and had settled into the relaxing atmosphere of the place. "Hey." She called quietly rolling over in the bed to face him.
"Hey." He replied before turning back around and gazing out of the window once more. Sam pulled on her bathrobe and joined him at the window, as soon as she was close enough to him Jack put his arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"What are you looking at?" Sam asked sleepily.
"Our daughter, I heard her get up about half an hour ago, she's been sat on that deck in the cold ever since." Jack told her quietly.
"Maybe she couldn't sleep." Sam suggested, although she knew that it was unlikely – the O'Neill's seemed to posses the ability to sleep anywhere, probably due to the military background that her and Jack had passed on to the children.
Jack gave her a look that said exactly what she'd been thinking. "Yeah I know." She told him snuggling a little closer.
"I mean she could have gone out for a spot of night fishing." Jack suggested
"There's no fish in the lake Jack." Sam reminded him, fully aware of the humorous tone of their conversation
"I didn't mention anything about catching fish." Came his sarcastic reply and Sam chuckled.
"She doesn't have a rod either." She added.
"Alright, thank you –"
"No ranks remember, we're on holiday sir." She retorted before he could finish his sentence.
"Sorry." He said and Sam glared, Jack decided it would be safer to change the subject. "Is she ok?" he asked and Sam shrugged.
"I don't know, she seems happy enough and she's certainly been a lot happier to spend time with us than she normally is but it's almost as if she's..." but Sam didn't know how to say it – she wasn't even sure that she understood it.
"Trying her best not to take anything for granted?" Jack said trying to say what Sam couldn't.
"Yeah. I used to do it when we got back from suicide mission after suicide mission - that we somehow survived, I'd just walk around every where – my house, the base, your house – everywhere."
"But why would she be doing that?" Jack asked her putting his other arm around her and pulling her into his arms.
"I don't know but she's been asking a lot of funny questions about what is was like for us at the SGC before we left - for the first time." She explained slowly feeling herself drift off in his arms.
He started to move backwards towards the bed as Sam's eyes closed. "Hey, you still a wake?" he asked and she didn't answer so he bent down and kissed her, she kissed him back, answering his question.
After a few moments she moved away slightly. "Close the curtains and come back to bed." She whispered and he did as she asked, they crawled into bed together and Sam wrapped her arms around Jack who pulled the covers around them both before pulling her close to him.
"Do you think she'll be ok?" he asked her as she nuzzled her head against his neck, trying to get warm because for all the cabin was cosy it got a little cold at night.
"She'll be fine Jack, I'll talk to her in the morning." She replied drowsily. "You sure?"
"Yes!" she told him a little more awake than she had been before. "Now shut up and kiss me." She whispered and Jack smiled, taking his chance before one or both of them drifted off.
Alison sat on the deck in her pyjamas and towelling robe, her legs were swinging gently off the side just missing the cool water of the lake below her. She didn't know what had caused her to wake up or even wander out here but she somehow felt completely at peace, the sort of peace that pushed out the memories of her parents dead bodies lying in a make shift morgue in the SGC. Having her life back and her family didn't quite seem to be enough to stop the images surfacing in her mind – it wasn't that she wanted to forget everything that had happened – it was just that she was now scared that it would happen again.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the breeze that came across the lake or the figure that seemed to form out of a white mist and sit at her side.
"Alison." He said and she almost jumped into the lake. "I'm not here to hurt you – just to check on you, it's not the practice of my people to do so but I felt it was the right thing to do after what you have accomplished and experienced along the way."
It took a few moments for her to realise that he had been the being that had helped her through all of this, the one that had given her the powers and removed them again – it would have been nice to keep them but she couldn't complain – not now that her family were back, he had mid brown hair that nearly went over his eyes at the front, although it wasn't particularly floppy he was also roughly shaven and the most amazing eyes she had ever seen, she hadn't even really been noticing but they looked as though they had seen centuries and experienced things she couldn't imagine.
"I recognise you from somewhere." Alison said taking a closer look at him, he was dressed in ordinary jeans and a T-shirt and could pass for human, which given what her parents had told her about the ancients (who were the ascended before they ascended) probably wasn't too far from the truth.
"Your mother would know who I Am." He told her simply and something in her mind clicked, she'd read it in a mission report of her mothers when she was in her lab a few months ago.
"Orlin." She said smiling slightly nervously at him. "She mentioned you in her report – you flew off into space with a naquada reactor that was about to explode on Velona, after re-ascending of course."
"Yes that was me."
"What happened to you after that?" Alison asked, bringing her knees up to her chest.
"I regained my position with my people. It took time but nothing compared to my centuries of solitude of Velona." Orlin explained and Alison nodded before pushing the loose strands of her hair out of her face.
"Why did you help me?" she asked him quietly so as not to wake anyone in the cabin. "Because if I hadn't then your planet and the lives of everyone on it would have been destroyed." He answered looking directly at her.
"By why you?" Alison asked again, knowing that there was more to it that just his regained position amongst the ascended ones.
"Because of who you are and because you have the same strength and determination as your mother. And I also needed to be a part of bringing you all back." He dropped her gaze and Alison understood why, she knew from what she'd managed to get out of her parents, Teal'c and Uncle Daniel that Orlin had spent some time with her mom and although nothing happened between them (mainly because although Alisons mom liked Orlin she'd been in love with Alisons father even back then so he never really had a chance) Orlin had given up his chance to 'live' again in order to save her – she'd been on Velona at the time the reactor had started to overload.
"Thank you." She said moving closer to him, knowing that if he did still have feelings for her mother then he'd be feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that her mom and dad were sleeping in the bedroom closest to the dock.
"I think that I should be the one to thank you. In helping you I have realised that everything here is the way it should be and I no longer hold the feelings for your mother that I once did."
Not quite sure what she was supposed to say to that Alison hugged him. It was a gesture of thanks because she was sure that without his help she probably wouldn't exist and a gesture of compassion. But it was also a gesture of comfort. Having been given an insight into what it must have been like for the Ascended ones – they were so closed off from the rest of the universe, there to only help when they were told to and lived in a world (or temporal plane of some sort) where many of the people they once knew no longer existed. Alison couldn't imagine what it would have been like day after day, not to mention century after century.
"I have to go now." Orlin whispered and released Alison, who for a reason she couldn't quite explain didn't want this to be the last she ever saw of him – she was suddenly afraid of being alone with the memories that she carried.
"But what if I need to talk about what happened? Will I ever be able to see you again?" she asked. "I'll come and check on you from time to time."
"Properly? Like this? I don't just want to have conversations with a passing breeze." Alison pressed as she silently pleaded with him as she looked into his eyes.
"Alright but you must continue to live your life, the memories will fade in intensity but you will always remember." He didn't sound upset with the prospect and it almost seemed to Alison that he was giving the advice to himself as well as her.
"Don't worry I intend to, I mean especially now I know just how much I have to live for, I'm not likely to take anything for granted." she told him honestly and he gave her a strangely caring smile before turning back into his ascended form and melting into a gentle breeze that danced across the lake before disappearing into the night.
Alison sat on the deck for a little while longer taking in the way the starlight danced on the ripples Orlin had left on the water and the scent of the trees on the breeze. This place was perfect and she loved it, she also loved her family - even her brother who could sometimes be the most annoying human alive. Eventually she became so tired that she knew she'd fall asleep if she didn't go inside so she made her way quietly to her bedroom and went back to bed knowing that her brother and parents would still be there in the morning and that she could get on with her life now with a renewed sense of happiness and appreciation for everything that she had.
In the past few days she'd learned just who her parents were and what a risk they had taken just to be together, she'd learned that people that she cared about sacrificed a lot to do what they did and that sometimes even people she respected made mistakes. Alison had also become aware of the dangers in the universe – even if the war was over.
As she fell into sleep she decided what she wanted to do with her life because although she knew she couldn't handle the military laws or discipline she knew she could handle life at the SGC in a civilian capacity. And as long as her father had managed to retire by the time she finished college and hopefully got a chance to work there she knew she'd have the time of her life.
"You sure you've got everything?" Jack asked his daughter over the intercom from the control room over looking the gate. Although he had finally retired form the SGC he'd returned along with Sam and many of the original staff in the build up to this particular mission.
Alison nodded at her father and looked to her mother in the hope that she would tell him to stop worrying so much. She was getting ready for a peace celebration with their allies and was about to set off through the Stargate with the rest of her team. Her father, mother, brother and the rest of the original SG-1 would be joining the celebrations in a couple of days when all the major diplomacy was over but for now it was up to her.
"Jack, leave her alone, she's got to go. Have fun guys." Her mother said knowing that it had all carried over the intercom.
The leader of her team, Colonel Alex moss shot Alison a look and she shrugged before walking up the ramp towards the stargate. Its shimmering blue circle glistened in the light of the gate room and invited her to a journey into untold galaxies.
Dr Alison ONeill knew just what lay through the gate and the universe of adventures they had only just started to explore, she loved her job and the people that shared her experiences with her and never forgot just how lucky she was to have it all and the people that had helped her along the way – even if they couldn't remember. So as she stepped through the gate and into the cold swirl of stars on her journey to another world she silently thanked everyone she'd ever known and ever would know for the chance to explore a universe full of endless adventures and possibilities.
COMPLETE! I said it would be a happy ending! Hope u all enjoyed it! feedback and reviews are welcome. re edit is now complete as well! yay!