Author's Note: Just want to say thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate it! And I also wanted to issue a warning. From hereon out, the story contains a large amount of fluff. The beginning of the fic is angsty, so I had to get the romance in somewhere! ; )
Chapter 7: Zat-Gun Wedding
The Following Afternoon, Petersen Air Force Base Brig
Sam watched with growing trepidation as the group of men entered the visitation room. The first one in the room was a nervous-looking Daniel, which announced to Sam that something was definitely going on.
He was followed by Jack and Teal'c, whose faces revealed absolutely nothing. The surprise came when a fourth man, a man she had never seen before, entered the room behind them. He was a slightly balding older man, dressed in an Air Force officer's uniform.
Daniel smiled at her in greeting, picked up the phone near the desk, and introduced the stranger. "Hey Sam. This is Colonel Brad Roemer."
Daniel then passed the phone to Roemer. "Nice to finally meet you Colonel Carter," he began. Sam eyed the man suspiciously. She finally understood why he was there when she noticed the badge on his uniform.
"You're a chaplain?" Her voice was accusatory.
"Yes. I've heard so much about you from General O'Neill."
Her posture remained tense and guarded. "Why are you here?" she asked warily.
Daniel took the phone from Colonel Roemer's hand to intervene. "Sam, we have all agreed that our plan is for the best. Colonel Roemer is here to marry you and Jack."
She didn't even flinch at the announcement, but instead glared first at Daniel and then pointedly at General O'Neill. "Over my dead body."
Jack stepped forward and forcefully grabbed the phone from Daniel. Donning his most General-like attitude and voice, he demanded, "Listen up Colonel. You will go through with this. That is an order. I have given Teal'c permission to zat you if you do not comply."
She glared at Jack defiantly. "You are not my C.O. anymore, sir. I do not have to follow your orders. Besides, there is no way that they allowed Teal'c to bring a zat in here. I'm not even sure it would work through this glass."
Jack had, of course, been bluffing about the zat. His expression melted in disappointment at her continued defiance. He decided to use a different tactic. He would plead with her. "What can I do to get you to agree to this?"
Sam remained completely composed and noticeably distant. "Absolutely nothing. There is no way on this planet or any other that I will go through with this outrageous plan. People don't get married like this."
Jack's eyebrows shot up in curiosity and answered simply, "Why not?"
Her unceasing composure was finally shaken by this simple question. She wasn't sure exactly how to answer it. She began mumbling excuses. "Because...My being accused of high treason does not constitute a good enough reason to get married. Again, I repeat, people don't get married like this."
"What would be a good enough reason?" Jack inquired. Sam shrugged noncommittally.
The General's eyes suddenly conveyed a furious intensity and his voice became markedly serious.
"How about I give you some valid reasons, Colonel? I want to marry you. Not because I want to save your life, although that is certainly part of it. I want to marry you because I love that you drink diet soda because you like the taste, I love the way you smile when I tell a crappy joke, I love the way your eyes sparkle when you're trying to confuse the hell out of me with your techno-babble, I love the tiny crinkle you get in your forehead when you are thinking too hard, I love the way you never give up even when the situation seems hopeless, and I love the way I feel at the end of a day spent in your company. In short, although I have not always shown it, I love you and I have for a very, very long time. And now that I have made a complete ass of myself in front of these fine people, were those good enough reasons?"
"What do you want from me?" Sam was clearly flustered, but not embarrassed by his outburst. In fact, it appeared that her worry and agitation had only intensified.
Jack responded with his trademark grin. "Perhaps you could start by telling me that you love me too and that you'll marry me. Please, Carter. Even though I would do anything to save you, you have to understand that by doing this you are not making me sacrifice anything. Quite the opposite actually. You would be helping me realize something that I never even dared to hope for."
Sam was finding it difficult to respond to him. Her emotions had run the gamut in a period of just a few minutes – starting with irritation at the guys for insisting that their plan was the only way, fury at Jack when he ordered her to marry him, sadness that he was so determined to sacrifice his life for hers, confusion that he might actually really love her, and finally the utter happiness that just a couple of weeks ago she had concluded she would never feel again.
She did not answer him with words. Instead, she gazed at him through the glass separating them. The expressions they wore were eerily familiar to both. Her despair-filled eyes were telling him to go – to not sacrifice himself. His, in contrast, were filled with a combination of near panic and defiance, conveying to her that he would not leave her behind no matter what the costs. In an instant they were transported back in time, remembering another barrier that had separated them from each other.
I didn't leave because...I would have rather died myself than lose Carter.
The thought still held true. Jack shook off the memories of force shields and Goa'uld ships just in time to see a smile dawn on Sam's face and her gentle nod of affirmation.
He turned to Daniel, "I need to get on the other side of this room. I need to be next to her when we do this."
Daniel tried to dissuade him. "Jack... we can conduct the ceremony through the glass. They won't let you on the other side. It was difficult enough to get Colonel Roemer in here. Let's not push our luck."
Jack shot Daniel a mischievous smirk, "Why not? It's what we do. After all, what good is it being a General if you can't do whatever you want? Right?"
Jack quickly exited the room in search of the guards. About fifteen minutes later, the door on Sam's side of the room opened and in rushed Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. He moved quickly to Sam's side and pulled her into an enveloping embrace, burying his head in the curve of her neck, as if he was afraid she just might disappear into thin air. His hand went to cup the back of her head and as he pulled back to look at her face, he pointedly gazed into her eyes.
He tenderly cupped her face between his hands and reassured her, "Everything is going to be okay. You're not alone anymore, Sam. Whatever happens from now on, we are in it together. Just the way it was meant to be."
Sam, still in shock from the events of the last hour, was rendered speechless by his words and actions. Instead of answering him, she compliantly nodded with tear-filled eyes and moved to clasp his left hand between her two cuffed ones. With a gentle squeeze, she assured him that she was now ready to go forth with the plan placed before her.
Not taking his eyes off of his beautiful bride all dressed in prison gray, Jack gently picked up the phone on Sam's side of the room and stated, "Alright, Colonel Roemer. Let's get this show on the road."
Sam softly leaned her head on Jack's shoulder as she listened intently to Colonel Roemer as he began the ceremony with the words, "Dearly beloved..."
TBC
