Daniel looked at Jack and coolly said "your shirts on inside out and backwards."

"Oh, shit," said Jack as he took it off to turn it right side out and the correct way.

This unfortunately revealed an array of smeared lipstick. Daniel just smiled and sort of pointed to it. Jack looked down and saw what he was referring to.

He gave a huge grin and said "Hey, like I told you a few weeks ago, all Bets are off."

Daniel just smiled at his best friend, patted him on the back and said "I wonder who won the pool?" as they headed out back.

When they reached the patio doors, they heard Cassie screech with delight "Let me see! Let me see!"

Daniel and Jack watched Cassie jumping up and down hugging Sam with all her might. They just looked at each other. Jack then said flatly "it must be a girl thing," neither one of them understanding the women's reaction.

Cassie would not let Sam go unless she promised to go out dress shopping with her the following day. It seemed as if she already had Jack and Sam's wedding planned down to the minute detail.

Sam's head was spinning as she thought about everything Cassie was saying. Why hadn't she thought about all these details with her "almost" wedding to Pete? She guessed that she just hadn't cared as much about it.

Sam felt as if every woman at the party had come over to inspect her ring and wish her well. Her hand was actually beginning to get sore and her mouth hurt from smiling so much.

The big question of the night seemed to be "Are you now going to be Colonel O'Neill?"

Sam's automatic answer was "Yes, I am marrying all of Jack, even his last name. I might hyphenate it for clarification of paperwork on the base, but I want everyone to refer to me personally as O'Neill, not Carter-O'Neill. Off base I will simply be known as Sam O'Neill," she said with a big grin.

When Jack overheard this he was very proud. He had actually thought that she would keep Carter. He had been told that had been her decision before, she had not intended on taking Shanahan's last name.

Sweet, he thought to himself.

At one point, Sam ducked back into the house to get a breather from the excited crowd. Jack was in the den doing the same. When he saw her he said, "Hello Mrs. O'Neill."

"So you heard" she said as she went over and curled up on his lap.

"It's cool, though you don't think it will be a bit confusing?" he said sarcastically.

"You're a General now smartass, it's not like we would both be Colonel O'Neill" said Sam as she gave him a gentle squeeze. "Besides, you'll be headed for the Pentagon soon."

"I've got some old name badges you can put on your BDU's," he said tracing the spot where the name badge would be. "They all say Colonel O'Neill, how convenient is that?"

By the end of the night they were both exhausted. When they had thanked the last guest for coming they flopped down onto the deck swing.

Jack was almost asleep when Sam suddenly got up and went into the house. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked startled.

"I think I just got my second wind" she said with a smile and ran toward the bedroom.

Jack followed her in but she was nowhere to be found. "Hey, wait up" he said as he went back toward the bedroom.

He heard Sam in the bathroom. It sounded like she was opening a box and taking something out of tissue paper.

"Yippee" he thought to himself as he hopped onto the bed.

He lost count of how many times he had fantasized about this moment. Between the last 8 years of frustration and the past few weeks of incredibly hot fooling around he was ready to explode. Sometimes a persons' conscience can be their downfall. The little devil on his shoulder was about to mutiny.

It was worth it though, they both knew it. They respected each other too much not to wait for "it" to be "legal" before taking the plunge.

Sam had summed it up for the both of them one night. She said, "Bending the rules is easy, it's not completely shattering them that is the hard part."

To be honest, he was a bit nervous about the entire thing.

What if he couldn't keep up with her?

She was several years younger and in incredible shape. She went running on a regular basis! Not being in the field has definitely had its affect on his condition. He was definitely going to start working out again.

A million questions rattled through his brain. Then he heard the door.

As she stepped out he was speechless for the second time that evening.

She was the picture of beauty. The negligee was a pale pink, elegant and quite sheer.

"You ready to put those new Asgard upgrades to the test?" she asked as she seductively leaned against the door.

Sam could feel her heart racing. Jack was already sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her to come out. Talk about performance anxiety.

What if he didn't like the negligee? She had debated over it for a half an hour in the store.

Did he want the whole Fredericks of Hollywood look or would he be happy with her choice of Victoria's Secret?

She wasn't averse to shopping at Freddie's but not for their first time. She thought simplicity was the way to go. She didn't want him to get the wrong opinion of her. At least she didn't want to frighten the daylights out of him right off.

She had to admit, she had a bit of a wild side. She just wanted to save that surprise for later.

As she approached the bed, she could see the smile on his face widen. She began to relax a little as he stood up and took her into his arms.

He had been debating on what to say when she came out of the bathroom. He didn't want to disappoint her. He knew though, that if he tried to speak, that's exactly what he would do. He decided that for the moment silence would be golden.

As he looked down at her he continued to smile. He kissed her on the nose then moved to her lips, kissing her softly at first trying not to rush the evening.

He wanted it to be special. He wanted to be everything she had ever wanted.

His tender kiss was perfect as she let herself melt in his embrace. Then, her desire got the best of her. She pulled him down onto the bed and helped him strip his clothing. It took everything she had to remain somewhat subdued. Just to relax and follow his lead. She found it to be a loosing battle.

They had the same ultra-competitive, alpha personality, which seemed to be heightened in the bedroom. Not that this translated into a negative, on the contrary, it just made it more exciting. It seemed they each enjoyed edging the other on to the next extreme level of passion. It was a healthy competition of mutual exploitation.

Jack lost himself a few times and sort of "got a bit loud," he even shocked himself. Though he was pretty sure she had him beat in that department.

They had to admit, the first time was really just good old fashioned sex. No if and or buts about it. It was a loud, messy, passion filled, release of energy and anticipation. A pure naqueda bomb had nothing on that melt down.

At first they just lay there, sweaty, panting, dizzy – the typical post orgasmic glow (POG – to those in the know). Not wanting to move for fear of spontaneous combustion.

A little while later Jack gave a quick laugh. "Thank God for the upgrades. You could kill a weaker man," he said still in amazement at the aerobic workout he had just completed and a little proud of the pink flush in Sam's cheeks.

"Though I still think I am going to ache a little tomorrow."

"Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away" giggled Sam, "Would now be a bad time to tell you about my wild side? Don't think those upgrades were just Thor's idea." she said in jest.
"I encouraged him to give them to you for strictly selfish reasons."

"Don't apologize it was well worth it" said Jack.

The second time was much different. Slow, almost leisurely, each wanting to completely explore the other.

Jack wanted to know every single inch of her and was having the time of his life doing it.

Life couldn't get much better than this, he thought to himself.

Suddenly he stopped. "Is this a tattoo?" he asked in delighted amazement.

He had been giving her a backrub, well, sort of. He had been kissing her down her back enjoying her wiggle and giggle from his touch. When he had reached the very bottom of her spine he discovered a small tattoo of the Earth gate symbol colored in a red, white and blue flag pattern.

"Oh, that," she said almost shyly. "It was a gift to myself, after my first off world mission.

"Do you like it?" she asked afraid of what his answer might be.

"It is now my most favorite spot in the universe" he said with a big grin tracing the outline with his finger.

"I am surprised I didn't notice it that night at the pool. Did you notice mine?" he asked.

"No," she said in surprise.

Without notice she flipped him over, straddled him and was now busily searching for his hidden tattoo.

Even though he didn't have one he wasn't going to confess right away. This was way too much fun. Unfortunately, she was now starting to tickle.

"Ok, I give," he laughed. "I was just kidding, I don't have one. Boy, remind me not to get on your bad side." He said as he was trying to regain his composure. "You know how much I hate needles. Could you imagine me doing it voluntarily?"

Afterwards, while they lay in the moonlight Jack watched Sam as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Suddenly he couldn't imagine what life would be like without this beautiful woman by his side. Knowing for certain that life was finally where it should be.

O O O O

The next morning Sam awoke to the smell of coffee and Jack's singing. She grabbed his bathrobe and headed into the kitchen.

"Good morning gorgeous" he said as he handed her a cup of coffee and gave her a quick kiss.

"Morning." she replied as she tucked her legs up under her. "What's for breakfast?" she asked.

"My world famous omelet," he said as he handed her a plate.

"I thought we drank all the beer last night?" she asked, kidding him about is favorite culinary ingredient.

"Ha ha, very funny" said Jack as he acted hurt, "I was a bit more creative and added mushrooms and bacon this time."

"Sweet!" said Sam as she dove into the omelet.

"You are definitely hanging around me too much" he laughed. "Hey, I was thinking of taking a little celebration trip," continued Jack. "Are you up for a trip to Minnesota?"

"As long as I am not forced to clean any fish," she said. "When do you want to leave?"

"A few days" he replied, "I just have to get the new guy situated and we will be in the clear. I figured he should have a few days by himself to get used to the shock and sort of establish himself. People will still want to come to me if I am there. I want to give this guy somewhat of a fighting chance."

"It is going to be strange not seeing you there everyday" said Sam with a frown.

"Yes but just think, now you will see my smiling face everyday when you get home. Would you like to be greeted at the door with a martini or a beer?" he teased.

"Funny smartass, you know what I mean. It just won't be the same not working with you everyday on base. Who's going to come and break all the little gadgets in my lab?"

"I'll get Walter to do it. He needs some distraction in his life."

Sam looked at her watch. "Is it really 1100? Holy Hannah, I have to go and get ready, I promised Cassie I would dress shop with her this afternoon" she said with a look of excitement. She had to admit it. She was excited to go.

Plus she was in the mood to do some celebratory shopping. Maybe she would wait a bit to tell Jack that she was a complete clothes horse. He'll find out when they move anyway. He'll wonder why they needed the extra truck for her three closets of clothes and accessories.

Hey, if you spend your life wearing BDU's there is nothing wrong with having a great wardrobe on the side! And if you have a great wardrobe, you need to purse and shoes to go with it!

She had been dying to find an excuse to buy another Brighton handbag. They just came out with their new summer colors. Syke!

Everything about her new life was now something she was looking forward to. She knew the details of where they going to live and other things would be settled later. Together.

No surprises, no one taking control and doing everything because they got sick of waiting on the other. They understood each others schedule and it was fine with both of them.

Besides, they would probably be living between two houses, well three including Minnesota. Jack was going to be working out of Washington D.C. soon. She figured they would commute back and forth for a while.

Sam had an idea in her head about how their future would pan out, but she didn't want to voice it just yet. She still had some figuring to do. The whole "kids" issue had yet to be discussed. Though she knew what she wanted and had a pretty good idea of his thoughts on the matter.