Well, we're getting there. Here's another chapter. A little bit of humour and fluffy stuff to lighten the mood after all that angst in the past. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for all those reviews. Keep 'em coming and I'll keep writin'.

NOTHING IS EVER THAT SIMPLE

By LetitiaRichards

Previously:-

Jack shook his head but disappeared out of the door quickly. He had things to do before that very special day arrived.

Chapter 29 – The Aliens Are Coming!

General Hammond chuckled as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. He just couldn't help it. The news was just so damn wonderful. He listened a little more before answering.

"Yes sir, Mr. President. I'll be sure to do that. Thank you sir. I will."

Hammond was still smiling when he replaced the hand set of the red phone and sat leaning back in his leather chair savouring the conversation he'd just had with his Commander-in-Chief.

He picked up the newspaper lying on his desk and re-read the headlines again just to make sure it was a dream come true.

He wasn't the only person under Cheyenne Mountain wearing a huge grin this morning.

Walter had been sporting a wide smile ever since he'd brought the paper in to show the General.

"Senator Kinsey Committed!" the headline was screaming.

Hammond read it again with another deep chuckle.

The mystery surrounding Senator Robert Kinsey's disappearance, deepened last night with his sudden reappearance.

Senator Kinsey had gone missing a week ago with no clue as to his whereabouts. Police were reluctant to admit to the Senator's supposed kidnapping when no ransom note was forthcoming.

However, the Senator was wanted by the FBI in connection with embezzlement of funds from the Appropriations Committee of which he was chairman. A warrant for his arrest was issued when his wife exposed his less than honest dealings to the President.

No trace of the Senator had been found up until last night when he suddenly appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere.

A downtown Washington Police Precinct was in a furore when Police officer Patrick McCafferty heard a commotion in one of the station's cells which should have been empty. On investigating the mysterious yelling, he found the Senator locked behind the bars with an even stranger explanation of how he came to be there.

Under interrogation Kinsey stated that he had been abducted from a top secret base in Colorado by a naked little grey alien called Thor during a conversation he was having in a morgue between himself and a dead USAF officer which he insisted that he himself had ordered killed. The man in question, a Colonel serving with the USAF, stated that he was very much alive and has denied the rumour that he had died at the Senator's explicit command.

Kinsey then insisted that he had spent the last week kidnapped and abandoned by this little grey alien on a deserted planet somewhere in a Galaxy far, far away, leaving him god-awful horrible little multicoloured squares of food on which to survive. The Senator, looking extremely scruffy and in desperate need of a shower and a shave, then insisted that the Alien had 'beamed' him directly into the prison cell and had left him there in order to confess his past crimes.

He readily admitted that he had starved a secret government organisation called the Stargate Programme of its necessary funding simply because they wouldn't make nice with the aliens that they encountered on a daily basis. Citing that, this particular Colonel, wouldn't steal alien technology in order to save this planet from the greatest enemy a human has ever known. A White House spokesman has issued a statement explaining that the base beneath NORAD inside Cheyenne mountain, whilst important in it's own way, was merely a research station investigating Deep Space Telemetry.

The President has also issued a statement, explaining that the Senator had been under a lot of stress recently and that it had obviously unhinged his old friend's mind. Mrs. Kinsey has also admitted that her husband had been utterly obsessed with this Colonel Starsky, who seemed such a nice man, and that the Senator was allowing his insane jealousy of the Colonel, to override all his thoughts and cited it as just one of the reasons behind her filing for divorce. Another, being that he was just a mean bully and completely off his rocker.

A special medical team was hastily convened to assess the Senator's mental condition and all were in agreement that the Senator should be interned in a secure hospital for the foreseeable future. On hearing this, Kinsey went berserk and attacked the staff, yelling up at the ceiling as he was carried away, that the little grey alien should get his naked 'ass' down here and start explaining things.

Rumour has it that he is now confined to a padded cell and deemed a threat to society. It will doubtless be a long time before the Ex-Senator will see the light of day unless his condition improves drastically.

Ed Simpkins, Washington Daily.

Hammond couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy, but then he'd brought it on himself, and deserved everything he received as a reward for what he'd done in the past, especially to Jack. Jack certainly didn't deserve to be taken out just because he had stood up to Kinsey's bullying tactics.

General Hammond twisted his wrist and glanced at his watch. Another twenty-four hours and Jack would receive his just rewards for being a damn fine officer and an assiduous hero.

OoOoOoOoO

Sam studied her reflection in the long mirror critically, chewing her lip in uncertainty and nervousness. The butterflies flitting around inside her felt like a herd of elephants on the rampage.

She glanced up to catch the reflection of her greatest ally behind her, whose smile was one of reassurance.

Janet Fraiser placed her hands on Sam's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze. She sniffed back the threatening tears and gave a wobbly smile. Sam looked absolutely stunning in the ivory taffeta dress.

They hadn't had much time to put this wedding together and Sam was worried that it was too soon for everything to run so smoothly. It wasn't the dress she would have chosen, but as far as wedding dresses went, it was okay, and didn't need much alteration for it to fit her tall slender but shapely figure. She wanted to look her best for Jack on their big day, and the store had gone all out to get things ready for her.

"Sam. You look stunning. So beautiful," Janet said, her wide beam lighting up her face. "Everything will be fine." The petite medic wiped away a stray tear and turned away to hide the fact that weddings always made her cry. The fact that they hadn't even started the ceremony yet was immaterial.

"Janet. I..."

"Don't say it Sam. You love Jack. He loves you...a lot I might add. So what's the problem?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Sam said, gulping down the nausea rising in her throat.

"No you're not. It's just nerves. You'll be fine once we get going. Here; take a drink of this. It'll help."

Sam looked doubtfully at the amber liquid her friend poured into the glass and shook her head.

"No Janet. I can't. If I can't do this without taking a good stiff drink then I shouldn't be going through with it. The last thing I need out there is to end up tipsy or with hiccoughs. Jack would be upset and probably kill me afterwards!"

"If I know anything about men, he's already had more than his fair share of alcohol to steady his nerves," Janet replied wryly.

"No he wouldn't Jan. I know he's not like that!"

Cassie burst into the room just then, putting an end to the conversation. Her eyes were as big and round as dishes when she caught sight of her favourite 'Aunty'.

Janet took the opportunity afforded by the distraction and downed the liquid in one gulp, giving Sam a helpless look and a shrug. Sam frowned but kept her tongue.

"Oooh Sam! You look sooo beautiful," Cassie gushed. "Jack won't be able to take his eyes off you," she sniggered. She had been over the moon when Jack and Sam had broken the news to her that they were going to get married. She'd hugged both of them so tightly that they had complained they couldn't breathe.

Sam glanced in the mirror again, trying to find a flaw in her appearance.

Cassie giggled.

"Silly Sam, there's nothing wrong with your dress. It's perfect. Jack will love it, besides, he's marrying you, not the dress." Sam finally had to agree that she was right. The dress didn't matter, the ceremony did.

Cassie came to stand in front of the mirror too, studying herself. She didn't get to dress up very often, preferring to wear jeans and T-shirts.

"You look great Cassie. That colour really suits you."

Cassandra Fraiser glanced down at the pale yellow dress and smiled.

"Really? I wasn't sure but Mom said the same, so I guess it's okay."

Janet as matron of honour had managed to find herself a pale blue dress that showed off her trim figure too, hoping to impress a certain archaeologist not a million miles away and totally clueless. At least, if it caused him to arrest she could give him mouth to mouth.

There was a knock on the door, and Sam's stomach hit the floor. Janet opened it cautiously and peered out through the slight crack. It had better not be Jack!

General Hammond stood there. Looking smart in his dress blues. Janet opened the door wider and he stepped into the room; his eyes widening with surprise before softening into affection. He walked towards Sam and took her hands in his, holding her fingers firmly.

"You look wonderful Sam. God, Jack's a lucky man. You're as beautiful as your mother had been on her wedding day. I was envious of Jacob that day, just as I feel jealous of Jack now. Hell, I wish I was a lot younger today. You sure you won't change your mind?"

Sam giggled and leaned forward to brush a sweet kiss over the General's cheek.

"Thank you Uncle George," she sighed, feeling tearful.

Hammond sighed too. It had been many years since she'd used that name for him. Being an officer in the USAF too, it hadn't seemed appropriate, but here today, it was okay. More than okay, and he was so proud of her.

"Are you ready?" he asked, pulling himself together. He picked up his cap and tucked it under his left arm, offering her his right.

Sam nodded and laid her hand over his forearm and received the bouquet of yellow and red roses from Janet in the other. Cassie led the way out into the vestibule and waited. She grinned up at the General waiting there for the bride, but he pressed his finger to his lips and Cassie nodded.

Sam and General Hammond stepped from the room and Sam's startled but welcome gasp of surprise was all that was all the reward the General needed to make her day extra special for her.

"Hey. Can I but in here Sam? I think this is my role George."

"Dad!"

TBC