Chapter 12: Dinnertime Surprises
When Jack and Sam arrived at O'Malley's, they were shown to a table and found Hammond already there waiting for them to get there. He stood from the table as the two approached.
"General." Jack smiled, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"Jack, Sam, glad you could make it. So are you dealing well with being back home?"
"Feels great to be home where I can sleep in my own bed. The only thing I want to do now is get back to work so things can get completely back to normal. So, sir, what did you invite us out to talk about?"
"Always a man to get right down to business, aren't you, Jack. You'd think I'd be used to that by now. Well, what I wanted to talk to you about were some of the regulations. One set of regulations in particular that I know have been a problem for you for some time." Hammond explained as Sam flashed him a knowing grin.
"Okay. I'm a little, no a lot, confused here. General, will you please let me in on whatever it is that you and Carter obviously know. I really hate being on the outside looking in."
Jack grumbled in exasperation.
"All right, Jack. Take it easy. I'll explain. I've suspected for quite a while that there was a bond between you and Sam that stretched far beyond friendship and camaraderie." Hammond began as Jack looked at Sam nervously, relaxing when she gave him a reassuring smile and a slight nod of her head. "When you came to me and told me that you were going to have the transplant operation, it occurred to me that you had suffered enough. So after you left my office that day I got on the phone to the President and explained the situation to him. I offered the recommendation that we make an exception to the military regulation against fraternization within ranks for this one particular case and the President agreed with me. Therefore from this point forward, you and Sam are free to start a relationship openly without fear of repercussions from such an action."
"Sweet!" Jack exclaimed, pulling Sam into a bear hug and kissing her passionately as Hammond chuckled. "Wait a minute, Sam. You knew about this already? How long have you known?"
"Well, Jack, I've known for a few weeks. General Hammond told me about this the night that you and Daniel came out of surgery. That's why I've been a little more flirty on base lately. The only thing was that the General made me promise that I wouldn't tell you. He wanted to surprise you by informing you himself." Sam explained, smiling sweetly at Jack.
"I can live with that. Actually this is better than sweet. This is fantastic. This means that now I don't have to retire from the Air Force or the SGC in order to do something that I have been dying to do for about seven years now."
"And what would that be exactly?"
"This." Jack stated simply, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small black jewelry box. Sam let out a loud gasp and Hammond looked on in surprise when Jack opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring and got on one knee before the woman he'd been in love with on the sidelines for seven years. "Sam, you know I love you more than life itself and would take a bullet or staff blast for you any day of the week. There was only one thing that's been missing for all this time and now with this regulation I can finally have that one thing if you'll let me. So I need to ask you this one important question. Samantha Carter, will you marry me?"
"Oh my God. I never thought that this day could actually happen. I've dreamed of it for so long and now it's a reality. Yes, I will marry you, Jack. Nothing in the world would make me happier. Or any other world for that matter." Sam said with tears in her eyes as she threw herself into Jack's arms, pulling back just long enough for him to slip the ring onto her finger.
"Congratulations, Jack. Though I will admit that this is the last thing that I expected would happen this evening, I couldn't be more pleased for you. This couldn't have happened to two better people. I wish you both all the happiness in the world. I also want to tell you that you don't have to keep this a secret back at the mountain. Feel free to tell the good news to anyone you'd like." Hammond smiled, clapping Jack on the shoulder earnestly.
Just then the waiter came over to take their dinner orders. As the three ate a large dinner, Sam couldn't take her eyes off of her engagement ring for more than a few seconds. She was the happiest that she'd ever been in the knowledge that after she had been in danger of losing the man that she loved, he was now her fiancé and every dream she'd ever had was now reality.
After they had finished eating and were ready to leave, it occurred to Sam what Hammond had said earlier about not having to keep their engagement a secret. She thought immediately of someone that they needed to tell.
"Jack, I think we need to tell Daniel and Sarah about our engagement. Since Teal'c's on Chulak for a few days we'll have to wait to let him know until he gets back but at least we can let them in on this."
"That's a great idea, Sam. I'll just give them a call and let Daniel know that we're going to drop by with a surprise." Jack agreed as he reached into his coat pocket for his cell phone.
"No. Let's just go over there and really surprise them. Given the nature of the news that we have to deliver, I get the feeling that they won't mind if we drop in unannounced." Sam said, grabbing Jack's hand.
"Well, it seems like you two have a lot to do this evening so I'll say goodnight here. Enjoy the rest of the week off and SG-1 will report to base at 0700 Monday morning for a standard recon mission."
"Sounds good to me. Thanks so much, General. I don't know how we can ever repay you for what you've done for us." Jack said happily, shaking his friend's hand with a huge smile.
"No need to. Just seeing how happy you two are is plenty thanks enough for me. Now go on and spread your good news. I'll see you Monday people."
"Yes, sir. Well, Sam, what do you say we go and drop in on our friends and give them the surprise of their lives."
"I think I can live with that idea." Sam laughed as she took Jack's hand and allowed her to lead her out to his truck.
Thirty minutes later, Daniel and Sarah were sitting at the table still working on the puzzle that they had started when they heard the doorbell ringing. Seeing that they weren't expecting anyone, the couple looked at each other in confusion.
"Now I wonder who in the world that could be at 9:30 at night." Daniel thought absently as he went to open the front door.
"Hey there, Daniel. How's it going?" Jack asked casually as Daniel opened the door for them and stood there looking more than a little confused.
"Um, good I guess. Just one thing. What are you and Sam doing here at this time of night?"
"We'll explain it to you, Daniel. Is Sarah around?" Sam laughed, stepping closer to Jack.
"Yeah. She's in the dining room. We were working on a puzzle in there when you guys rang the bell." Daniel said, turning into the house. "Sarah! Jack and Sam are here! We'll finish that later."
"Okay. Hi, Jack. Hi, Sam. How are you?" Sarah asked, hugging Jack and taking Sam's hand in her own. It was at this point that Sarah gasped as she noticed the diamond on Sam's finger. "Oh my gosh! Is this what I think?"
"Wait a minute. Do you guys have something that you'd like to share?" Daniel asked as he came closer and noticed what Sarah was staring at.
"Very astute there, Danny. Actually, Sam and I do have some fantastic news. We're engaged. We're going to be married as soon as we can figure out dates and all those other details." Jack grinned, trying not to laugh at the shell shocked look on Daniel's face as Sarah gave Sam a big hug.
"Hold on. How are you going to keep this a secret? If General Hammond finds out then you two could get in big trouble."
"No need to keep anything a secret. Hammond already knows seeing that he was there when this all went down. He talked to the President when the situation unfolded and they agreed to make an exception in this one case. We're free and clear to tell anyone we want. That's why we're here. We couldn't wait to tell you guys."
"Wow. I don't know what to say except congratulations guys. I know you've been waiting for this opportunity for years. I don't understand something, though. Why tell us first? I mean other than General Hammond, that is."
"Daniel, you were the one who made all of this possible. So it makes perfect sense that we would want to tell you first." Sam said.
"I just came up with the solution, a lot of other people made it work." Daniel protested, suddenly embarrassed and uncomfortable by the praise he received.
"That's just it, Daniel. You were the one who came up with the solution that saved Jack's life. If it hadn't been for you then Jack might not have survived for us to have the chance that we have now. That's why we wanted you and Sarah to be the first ones to know."
"I just can't believe that we get to be engaged at the same time!" Sarah squealed excitedly.
"Yeah, I know. I never thought that this would even happen. It didn't seem possible before and in one evening, all of these impossibilities have become realities." Sam grinned, leaning into Jack's arms.
"This really is amazing. I mean, I can't believe that you guys can actually start a relationship now. After all these years of keeping it a secret the way you felt about each other."
"Yeah, you're telling me. I got the ring Sam's wearing a long time ago and I was saving it until the day that I finally retired. But tonight when Hammond told me that the President was willing to change the regulations for the SGC, I couldn't wait to put that ring on Sam's finger."
"Wait a minute, Jack. Why did you even think to take the ring with you to the restaurant tonight?" Daniel asked, puzzled.
"You know, Daniel, I'm not really sure. I hadn't really thought about that before you brought it up. I guess it was a gut instinct or something. Sam did tell me though that Hammond told her about it while she was sitting with me and told her to keep a lid on it so maybe some part of me heard the conversation and cued me in." Jack mused.
"Jack, that doesn't matter now. What's important is that it happened and now we're free to be together and neither of us have to forfeit our careers that we love so much. I can't wait to tell my dad. He's going to freak. He'll be so excited for us. He totally loves you and he's known how we feel about each other for a while. I don't know how, I guess it's one of those things that a dad just knows." Sam pointed out, a huge grin on her face.
"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you guys come help us work on the puzzle we're doing. It might be a little easier with double the people." Sarah suggested.
"Sounds like a plan. What do you think?"
"That's fine with us. I think it would be fun. I used to be really good at jigsaw puzzles when I was a kid." Jack teased as the four went into the dining room where the puzzle was set up.
As Jack sat working on a jigsaw puzzle with his fiancé and friends, he couldn't help but think that the ordeal that he went through was some sort of blessing in disguise. If it hadn't been for what he'd been through, the regulations would never have been changed and he would have had to wait even longer to land the woman of his dreams. It was then that it occurred to him that a higher power than he had ever known had taken a hand in his future and he realized that he couldn't have been happier about it.
