Road to Nowhere

Part 10

Sam and Jack made their way to the lobby and found Rueben had a car waiting to take them to their 'appointment'. They rode in rather uncomfortable silence the short distance. When they arrived Sam couldn't stop herself from laughing out right.

"What?" Jack asked perplexed.

Sam pointed out the window to the chapel in the form of a miniaturized Graceland and the Animated neon sign featuring a gyrating Elvis and emblazoned with the words 'EP's House O' Love'. "I feel so stupid. I didn't get it until now."

"Yes, well, Elvis was the King of Rock 'n' Roll, not astrophysics," Jack replied, amusement twisting at his lips.

"Hey!" she protested. "What's that's supposed to mean?"

"That there are some categories of Trivial Pursuit you could stand to study up on."

She glared at him, but couldn't quite keep her smile hidden, "I know stuff other than science."

"What? Is this our first domestic squabble?" Jack broke out into a full grin. "How exciting. Not even married yet and at it like cats and dogs."

She playfully punched him in the arm, "Don't mock me."

"Daniel's not here. I have to mock someone."

"Somebody's sleeping on the couch tonight," she said trying to look like an irate spouse, but not really succeeding.

"Somebody always sleeps on the couch. Somebody's used to it."

Sam was about to retort when the driver opened the door and helped her out.

Sam had known EP's House O' Love would be tacky, but it seemed the sheer tackiness knew no bounds. She was sitting on a couch upholstered in mangy fake zebra fur. EP had explained it was an exact replica of one in the infamous Jungle Room at Graceland. The entire chapel was done in gilt, mirrors, and shag carpeting. She began to wonder if Elvis may have been a Goa'uld.

Sam tried to pay attention to what Jack was discussing with the young man in the gold lamee suite. He was EP2. EP had greeted them at the door. He was fat Elvis complete with white jumpsuit and cape. It seemed that EP only did the weddings these days while his son did the 'side jobs'.

Apparently they were to get two sets of IDs. One temporary set to get them to where ever they were going. Another that would be their new life when they got there. EP2 was going to give them an entire new life, complete with divers licenses, credit histories, college transcripts, and even pilots licenses, basically a whole new life.

Jack was standing behind EP2's massive desk, which also looked like something from the Jungle Room. This was a side of Jack she'd never really seen before. There was something dark, hard, intense, and alert about him. It had been hanging around him like a cloak since he appeared in her bedroom a couple of nights ago. This was black ops Jack. He knew what had to be done, how to do it, and was willing to do whatever necessary to get it done. 'It' being to protect Sam and keep her out of NID hands. She knew she would probably be already dead or worse if not for Jack. She also knew he would stop at nothing to keep that from happening. She knew Jack wasn't afraid to get his hands bloody. While Sam had been a soldier her entire adult life, killed more than she had liked, she had spent her time on the light side. She had never been asked to do the things that Jack had. She could imagine some of things he had done in Black Ops, others she didn't want to imagine that the man she knew was capable of such things. She knew that should probably frighten her. She had always sensed the darkness in Jack lurking beneath the goofy humor and feigned denseness, but it had never scared her, not the way it had in Jonas Hanson. Jack had always made her feel safe.

Jack felt her eyes on him an looked up from the computer screen. She smiled at him and he turned his attention back EP2 and the screen. He certainly didn't look like the Jack O'Neill she was used to. He looked dangerous. Not that the Jack she was used to wasn't dangerous, he usually didn't look it. He always wore his clothes baggy and slightly oversized, hiding the strong battle hardened body. She knew one of Jack's greatest assets was the way people underestimated him whether it was physically or mentally. She knew he wasn't stupid or dense. No matter how hard he pretended other wise, he didn't fool her. He looked very slick. He looked like he had serious money, which made sense because they were staying in the high roller suite of the Xanadu. He wore the outfit he'd bought on their shopping trip that afternoon, an expensive and finely tailored black suit with a French blue shirt and tie patterned in silver, blue, and black. She had always liked Jack in his dress blues because he couldn't hide his lean powerful frame in those and this suit fit him just as well. His black dyed hair was combed back, not a hair out of place. It didn't suit him and he longed to reach her hand out to ruffle it. She had always liked Jack's more than slightly disheveled hair. It softened some of his harder edges.

"Carter!"

"What?" Sam realized she'd been staring at him and that he'd been trying to get her attention for a little while. He and EP2 were looking expectantly at her.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, sorry spaced out for a minute." Sam couldn't hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. "What was the question?"

"Any last name preference?"

"No, not really," she shrugged. "It's not like I got to pick 'Carter'."

Jack turned back to EP2, "Samantha Gale Tesla."

"Tesla?" Sam questioned, slightly shocked that Jack might know who Nikola Tesla was.

Jack shrugged. "He made a death ray. Seemed appropriate."

Sam laughed. Only Jack O'Neill could come up with something like that. "A scientist, Jack? You're admitting to knowing about a scientist?"

"He made a death ray," Jack repeated.

"Which was never actually proven to work, but he did develop the AC electric motor and-"

"Ah!" he interrupted before she could degenerate into techno babble. "Time for Mike and Lucy to get hitched."

Jack and Sam were 'married' by EP under their temporary identities of Michael Truex and Lucy Simpson. Sam hadn't really understood why the farcical ceremony was necessary, but EP2 explained that his father really just enjoyed marrying people, even if they really didn't want to get married and it really wasn't binding. So they went ahead with the ceremony to make EP happy.

When EP announced that he could kiss the bride, Jack had only intended to give her a quick chaste kiss, but it hadn't worked out quite that way. Her lips parted invitingly under his own and Jack couldn't help but deepening it. He felt slightly guilty even though she responded pretty enthusiastically. "Sorry," he murmured after they pulled apart.

"Don't be," she replied rather breathlessly.

He looked surprised, "So does that mean I can do it again?"

"I'm not sure that would be wise."

"No," he sighed. "Probably not." In fact he knew it wouldn't be wise. If he kissed her a gain and she responded like she did the first time, they would most definitely not be having dinner with Rubin.

Sam stared down at their fake marriage license as the drove back to the Xanadu, "Dad is never going to believe I got married in Vegas by Elvis."

"Oh, yeah," Jack leaned his head back and closed his eyes, imagining all the painful ways he could die. "Dad's gonna kill me when he hears about this."

"No, he won't."

"Ya wanna bet?" he opened his eyes and turned his head so he could see her.

"He likes you," she told him.

"Not in the capacity of son-in-law. I'm dead."

"No, I don't think Selmak wouldn't let him kill you. You might be missing a few important pieces though," she smiled sweetly at him.

"Great," he snorted. "I can't tell you how much better that makes me feel."

TBC