Hey guys, I just realized it's been over a month since I last posted here. So, let me warn you that this is back to not-beta-ed. My guess is since you have gotten to here and you've been here when it started, you won't mind that much all my mistakes.

So... If you won't... I'll try to post another not-beta-ed chapter soon, and I'll try not to leave you hanging for so long anymore. We are really close to the end now.

Enjoy!

M.

Chapter LIX

July 25th, 2005

SGC

The guards at the entrance point weren't surprised to see the Colonel and the General arrive almost at the same time. It happened often enough that they didn't dwell on it. Usually, if Doctor Jackson were out of the base, he too would be signing in around the same time. The perks of working together for so long, the guards had decided, since the shared timing happened to most teams, even if they had no clue as to what happened down there.

There was something odd that morning, though. When they passed the Colonel's id, her post said Area 51. They frowned at it, hoping it was a mistake. They liked the Colonel. She was always so nice to everyone. The General and Colonel entered the elevators, pressing the button for the eleventh floor, unaware of the havoc created by her ID.

Sam and Jack made their way down to the actual SGC entrance in silence. Both feared if they started talking, something about what had transpired during the weekend would blurt out without a chance to stop it. Even then, they were fighting with themselves not to link their hands as they stood close enough to do it.

At the secondary checkpoint, the guards also noticed the change in Sam's post.

"Ma'am?" One asked after sharing a confused frown with the airman beside him.

"Don't worry about it, airman. I'll take responsibility for her presence here if that's necessary," Jack said.

"You are the base commander, General. It is your call," Sam reminded him.

"The Colonel is here to fetch some stuff before her leave starts. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this change to anyone," Jack said, and the guards nodded. "Good. Lead the way, Colonel."

They walked to the second elevator. Once in Sam pressed the level nineteen and Jack the twenty-seven. A Captain joined them two levels down, halting all chances of having a conversation before they separated for the day, and making them even more conscious of being so close together. When the doors opened at level nineteen, Sam took a step forward, and Jack rushed to press the button that kept the doors open.

"Carter. We'll do that meeting thing around noon. So, you can go home and start that vacation of yours."

"Yes, sir." She answered. The Captain beside Jack shuffled uncomfortably as the doors closed, leaving him and the General in the small enclosed space.

"Any issues, Captain?"

"No, sir."

Half an hour before noon, the PA system called all SGC members to the embarkation room. In her lab, Sam gulped. She knew the moment she entered the embarkation room things would be definitive.

"You can't get new things if you aren't willing to let go of old things," her Carter mom told her once. Sam thought she was talking about this moment. She looked around her lab, a bittersweet feeling taking over her. Then, deciding she had picked all her belongings, she closed the lid of the box she was packing.

She walked out of her former lab, giving it one last longing look, and her eyes fell on her box. Sam wondered if it was odd that after eight years of working there, her life could fit in a single box. She shook her head. She turned the lights off and walked to the embarkation room.

When she arrived, leaving the whiplash zone free, there was barely enough room to move. She greeted all the people she had been working with for different lengths of time and waited for Jack to join them as she mingled with the crew.

"Hey, people," Jack's voice boomed through the embarkation room speakers. "I thought it would be easier if I talked using this than trying to strain my voice, so you'll hear me. There are two reasons I asked you all here. First, on Friday afternoon, Colonel Carter has received new orders. As of Friday afternoon, she's now part of the R&D team at Area 51. The Colonel has joined us today to pick up her stuff. So hopefully, you'll get a chance to say your goodbyes. Carter, I'm not sure what the SGC will do without you to solve its issues. I hope your new path brings the best for you."

There was a stunning collective silence as the crew turned around to watch her. She saw teary eyes and a mix of surprised and shocked expressions. There were some panicked ones among the scientists, too.

"Also, starting tomorrow General Hank Landry will be your base CO, while I take some personal days off. At the end of those days, I won't be returning to the SGC unless it is an emergency. I will move to DC to replace General Hammond, who is retiring. So, if you want to get some 'happy retirement' messages out to him, bring them by my office before 1900. That's all."

The stunned silence became loud as people moved to say goodbye to Carter. Jack walked to the embarkation room and was also engulfed in the 'goodbyes' and 'we'll miss you's' that was going around.

After a while, the noise dwindled. People left for the commissary, and only Jack and Sam remained standing close by, looking at the empty room.

"Ready to leave this behind?" He asked. She smiled sadly.

"I'm not sure if I am," she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "But I'm sure as hell I am ready for what this change brought during the weekend. It was long overdue."

"That it was," he smiled. "So, cake? I heard they made the chocolate one."

July 25th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

"Do you need help with anything at this point?" Will asked, entering Helen's office. Stopping dead in his tracks as she beamed at him.

"No, everything is ready for Wednesday. Well, except for Samantha's dress fitting, that is."

"And the guests?"

"Ashley will deliver the invitations to the SGC. Once Doctor Fraiser calls to let me know Samantha and the General have left the building."

"Doctor Fraiser?"

"Indeed. The Doctor was glad I approached her on the matter. Ashley will leave the box with the invitations to her. Doctor Frasier was also the one who provided me with a list of personnel."

"Are you sure the big party isn't taking it a bit too far?" Will asked, squinting at her.

"No. You'll see, Samantha was conflicted when I talked to her about it. She wants a small wedding, and she also wants to have all the SGC personnel, especially those she knows from the start of the program. The General was struggling with the same inner conflict."

"So, you'll give them both." Will smiled.

"Precisely. We'll get them a small wedding where Samantha can call me mom. All her closest friends know about us. Which will allow us to move around using the sphere's system, and a fleet of vehicles. It will free Ashley from being the one rushing in and out of Minnesota."

"What about her brother?"

"That's all planned. Don't worry about it."

July 26th, 2005

Samantha Carter's home

If packing her lab felt final, packing her house felt even more so. She stopped, looking at her half-boxed place, and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Daniel's voice brought her from her more depressing thoughts.

"Yeah, thanks for the help," she beamed at him.

She knew she wouldn't be so packed already if her friends hadn't taken the day off to help her. Daniel noticed the bittersweet expression that took over the smile she just gave him, but Jack entered the house shouting: "Here's Jhonny!" with the same creepy tone used in The Shining, along with several empty boxes that he was asked to fetch for them. Sam chuckled, and Daniel shook his head.

"Only you can think of that as funny," Daniel shook his head. "T, what do you say if we go pack the kitchen?" he added. Not before he gave Jack a meaningful glance. Teal'c raised an eyebrow and was about to point out they had already packed everything there. Daniel tilted his head towards Sam's suddenly saddened figure, and the Jaffa understood right away what Daniel wasn't saying.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked once it was only them in the room. He found one of her hands and gave it a light squeeze as he noticed the conflicting feelings in her eyes. "Sam, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"It's silly!" Sam huffed. "I feel like it's the end of the road or something. Seeing this, I wonder if all my life is only worth of a half-filled storage room."

"Your life is way more valuable than the few material things you own, Sam. There are entire civilizations that would agree with me." She hummed at this.

"It's kinda sad..." She mumbled. "Once these are all gone, my home will be nothing but an empty house."

"It's not silly. You've lived here for a long time. You've made memories here, you had Schrodinger, and alien visitors here... Let's not forget your plants…" he added with a smile.

"Doesn't bother you? That I'm this attached to this house?"

"Not at all, why would I? I mean, it was bound to happen. It's weird for military people to be assigned to the same place for as long as we have. I'm sure if they'd reassigned you a year or two after the first mission, as it usually happens, then you wouldn't have so many issues with leaving this place."

"I can't help but feel stupid because I know it also comes with a brighter future," she smiled.

"That it does. I can hardly wait to see how your things fit in with mine," he whispered. "Hey! have you considered what you are taking to Vegas with you?" He added loudly, taking a step away from her. Remembering Daniel and Teal'c were still somewhere in the background.

"Only clothes. I'm taking my books to my mom's library. I'm sure someone will read them there. I can buy whatever else I need."

"So, are you going to a hotel?" Daniel asked from behind them. Bringing along two mugs of what smelled like coffee. While Teal'c held another two. Sam snorted before she took the one Daniel passed to her.

"I'm glad we were smart enough to pack the coffee machine last!"

"Well, I'm sure we all have caffeine-free packing experiences." Daniel pointed out. "So, a hotel?"

"No! Can you believe my mom already set me up with a condo she 'happens to own' in Vegas."

"God, is there a place she doesn't have something going on?" Jack asked.

"It seems not," Sam grins. "The only thing that bothers me is how far apart we'll be starting next week," she grimaced.

"We've been further apart," Daniel pointed out. Years of memories flooded them all.

"Indeed."

"Hey, if someone can keep a friendship while apart, it will be us," Jack grinned. Daniel glared at him, and Jack frowned. 'A friendship, really?' Daniel mouthed to him, still unaware of the change in their relationship. Jack just shrugged at him.

"I know," Sam sighed, unaware of the exchange that had just happened. "Still, this is so …"

"Final?" Daniel provided.

"Yeah…"

Her cellphone rang then, and she frowned. "Carter?" She answered it without checking the ID. Sam knew it wouldn't be the base this time, mostly because she wasn't assigned there anymore. She gulped, trying to get rid of the knot that took over her throat.

"Samantha."

"Mom?" She asked, walking away from the guys.

"Yes. It's only to let you know we will need you here around 8 am tomorrow. Ashley will pick you up from the General's home. Then we can arrange the last details. When you see General O'Neill, tell him Will will call him with more information about his times for tomorrow."

"Mom, I…"

"Samantha, you are getting married tomorrow. Please enjoy tonight. There won't be many days between you sharing your time together and next Monday when you get to work."

"I feel I should be down there helping you with it. I mean, it's my wedding," Sam whispered.

"Nonsense! Don't worry about a thing. I only hope that it will be all you ever dreamt of. Good night, Samantha."

"Good night, mom."

"Everything all right there, Carter?" Jack asked as she entered the room again.

"Yup. Just mom wondering when I would be around," she grinned.

"Cool. The guys and I ordered some pizza while you were away."

Half an hour later, the boxes of pizza were scattered over her kitchen counter. Jack and Daniel sat on the island counter while Sam was sitting on the countertop in front of them. Teal'c remained standing but leaning against the wall.

"I can't believe this is it," Daniel sighed. "You are both getting transferred for good."

"It was always in the plans, Danny-boy. They can't keep us in there forever, you know?"

"I understand they can't keep you there forever, but I hoped for another two, or ten years?" Daniel shrugged. "Or you know until we couldn't keep up with Teal'c anymore." He grinned, making all of them laugh.

"We should toast," Jack said out of the blue, jumping down to the floor.

"Toast? Jack, we don't even have glasses," Daniel chuckled.

"We all have our bottles. It won't be the strangest thing we used to toast, Daniel." Jack pointed out.

"True," Sam grinned, jumping down and getting closer to Jack.

"To new beginnings," Jack said, and Sam followed. They didn't notice the slight happy glance shared between the archeologist and the Jaffa before they too clinked their bottles.

"To new beginnings!"

"So, Jack. We have all of Sam's stuff packed. You are moving too. Should we ask for another day of leave to help you pack?"

"Nah," Jack grinned mysteriously. "I will keep that house for a while. You know, I must do some traveling back and forth, so you aren't free of me yet."

It was almost an hour later when there wasn't any food left that they helped clean the place before Daniel drove Teal'c back to the base. Jack embraced Sam tightly when they were finally alone.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, take me home." She grinned. "We need to sleep, Ashley will pop up there early in the morning."

July 27th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

Sam yawned for the umpteenth time, bringing a knowing smile out of her mother. It wasn't early by Sam's standards, nor for Helen's, but at 8:10 in the morning when she had had little of proper sleep since Friday, Sam was feeling tired.

"You should take a power nap before the ceremony," Ashley said. As she placed another mug of coffee close enough to Sam.

The doors of Helen's office opened then, and a tall, skinny man entered.

"Iov, are you ready?" Helen said, and the man smiled. The format of his teeth, and the thin forked tongue that came out every once in a while, pointed out that this Iov character was yet another abnormal.

"Yes. Helen, you look lovely as usual," Iov said, his thick Russian accent sounding eerie with the sizzling sounds of his tongue. "Ashley. Oh! This must be Samantha! Come, it's ready."

Iov took the lead to a room Sam had never been into before. It was near her mothers' bedroom. It was as big as her own, but without the bed taking space, the whole place looked gigantic. Scattered around, there were several clothes racks filled with an assortment of wedding dresses. In the middle of the room, they had placed several mirrors around a small stage.

"Iov is a fashion designer, Samantha. These are wedding dresses from his collection. I have my favorites, but I thought you would want to choose this one yourself."

"Really, I can choose one?" Sam turned around and looked at her mother.

"It's your wedding day. Once you find the one you like, Iov will see that it gets fixed in time for the ceremony."

Sam tried several dresses during the next hour, pointing out things she liked and things she didn't. Fifteen dresses later, she huffed as she wasn't getting any closer in finding the one. Helen looked a bit amused and had an expression that told Sam there was something she wasn't saying. Ashley had the same half-smug smile on her face.

"What?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing," Ashley said, raising her hands in surrender.

"Mom?" Sam asked, embracing herself. "Is there something I need to know?"

"Not yet. Try some more."

"Aren't we running out of time while we are at this? Aren't you going to get something for you? Or, I don't know, get your hair and make-up done?" Sam asked. Ashley laughed, and Helen shook her head, amused.

"Samantha, I have so much experience getting myself dressed that I don't need two hours to make myself presentable." Helen pointed out.

"Okay, I'll give you that. What about you, Ash?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Dude, relax! There's like an army of people coming to help with getting ready. Just chill and pick a dress for crying out loud."

"Ashley," Helen scolded playfully.

"I didn't think she would try them all, mom."

There was a knock on the door half an hour later, and Iov entered the room with a single bagged dress in his hands. "It's done, Helen."

"Thank you, Iov. Now let's see how it fits." Helen grinned, helping Iov to get the dress out of the bag and onto one rack.

"I'll wait outside," Iov bowed and walked out.

Sam couldn't help but gravitate towards the dress, a surprised expression on her face. She touched the fabric with the tips of her fingers, mesmerized by it.

"It was this, wasn't it?" Sam whispered. Helen nodded.

"I don't have a wedding dress for you to wear, Samantha. Your mother had. Jacob said you always said you wanted to wear it. That way you'd know you married the one with her approval. Iov made some slight adjustments, considering what you mentioned liking or disliking of the dresses you tried on."

"Oh, mom!" Sam said, tears filling her eyes. "It looks so beautiful…" she whispered.

"Come on, sis. Try it on!"

Sam nodded. Helen helped her out of the one she was wearing before she helped her try on the one they got for her. Sam gasped as the zipper went up, and she found it was a perfect fit.

"This is so beautiful," Sam left out a teary chuckle. "I look so .."

"Gorgeous, Samantha. You look perfect in it."

"It's perfect, mom. Thank you so much," Sam said, looking at Helen through the reflection in the mirror. Helen smiled softly.

"I'm glad you like it, Samantha. We need to let Iov in, so he can make any adjustments we don't see."

By the time Sam was back in her own clothes, the army Ashley had mentioned took over the room, setting up mirrors, lights, benches, and a lot of things, Sam didn't know what they were called. She was pointed to the bathroom and given a robe. Helen chuckled at the alarmed expression that covered Sam's face during the process.

"Don't worry, Samantha. They are here to help." Helen said, leaving the room.

"Mom! Wait! Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"I've told you, Samantha. I don't need two hours to get ready. However, I do need to finish a lot of things before we finally leave." She said, waving to the pad that had found a way back to her hands.

"What about you, Ash? Are you staying?" Sam asked. Ashley chuckled at the panicked expression on Sam's face.

"Gee, anyone would think you are facing a drilling squad, not a horde of make-up artists and hairstylists. I need to leave you for a while. I too need to get some things moved before I can join you here."

July 27th, 2005

Colorado Entrance.

Helen grinned as she spotted the group and walked to them. "General Hammond, Doctor Fraiser, Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, Cassandra. I'm so glad you could all make it." Helen smiled.

"Why are we here so early? I thought the invites we got last night said 1900." Daniel frowned. Helen started walking towards the elevator they knew reasonably well.

"The invite for the party is for 1900, Doctor Jackson. However, you are their closest friends, family even, it's only fair you are there for the ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Cassie beamed.

"Yes. Ashley is busy. We will have to drive back to the Sanctuary. Samantha doesn't know she's waiting for you two, ladies."

"What about us?"

"Well, William is waiting for you to take you to the spheres. Cars are waiting for you to take you where we need you." Helen smiled. "Everything you might need will be available there, including your clothes."

"What's wrong with ours?" Daniel asked. Helen just smiled at him as an answer. The door opened then.

"Hey, nice to see you all," Will grinned as the guests got out of the elevator. "Helen, can I talk to you for a sec? Before you came, Ashley said they were getting ready to transport." Will said once they were away enough from prying ears.

"Jacob?" Helen asked.

"Yes, he called her before they left the house. They are all in stand by until Ashley and the guys reach them."

"Great!" She gave him a quick kiss before they turned around to their guests. "Well, ladies, if you follow me."

"General, Doctor, Teal'c… this way, please," Will said with a smile.

"Ah, there's a request I ought to make before you meet Samantha," Helen said, looking at the Fraiser women. "Mention nothing about the party or invites until after the ceremony. If you can avoid mentioning it at all, that would be great."

"Sure," Janet nodded, and so did Cass.

July 27th, 2005

San Diego.

"So, where are we going again?" Mark asked as they drove away from the city. Their clothes for the wedding were hanging around the car. Jacob hoped they wouldn't need ironing by the time they arrived. The kids were impatient, and Mark's wife didn't look happy either.

"Ah, to a hangar outside San Diego."

"A hangar?"

"You know, one of those places where people park planes." Jacob joked, hoping at least a snort from his grandkids.

"Really, dad?" Mark deadpanned beside him.

"Sam's birth family owns some planes. They are waiting for us in a hangar so they can fly us to where we need to be," Jacob shrugged. Helen had explained to him that moving the family the way they planned was faster than flying.

"Are you okay with it?" Mark asked. "I know you've met them, but it has to be weird knowing Sam's other family." Jacob smiled.

"Sam is happy, Mark. Happier than I've ever seen her. I already took her in without concern for the biological family. The least I can do is get along with them as much as I can. Trust me. They are easy to like too." Jacob grinned. He considered for a bit that he might have liked them too easily and that it might have been related to Selmak knowing Helen from before. He couldn't exactly tell Mark that Helen had saved his symbiote host before they even knew what a symbiote was.

"So, they like Pete? The woman who talked to us about Sam's wedding didn't seem to like him that much."

"Pete?" Jacob frowned.

"Yeah, Sam's fiancé, right?"

"Oh, boy. I guess you missed her call."

"I called her back, but she wasn't available," Mark shrugged. "It's still early for this month's call."

"She isn't marrying Pete, and you better not bring that name up when we get there."

"Huh? Why not? Who is she marrying then?"

"She's marrying the man she loves, that's all that matters. Now, as for Pete, no one knows where he is. He disappeared from Colorado Springs. He didn't even appear for the internal affairs hearing. All we know is he is serving a long sentence," Jacob whispered. He saw they were finally at the hangar and hoped to finish this conversation.

"Internal affairs? Long sentence? Did he do something wrong?" Mark asked. Jacob sighed. Parked the car and turned back.

"Beth, can you take the kids out to the plane, please?"

"Sure." She nodded in understanding. "Come on, kids, let's get ourselves inside."

"So?" Mark asked as the doors closed. They watched Mark's family rush to the interior of the hangar, and Jacob turned to face his son.

"More than something wrong, Mark… The son of a bitch attempted to rape your sister."

"What?!"

"Well, Sam's family said we shouldn't worry about him anymore. Trust me. If they say we shouldn't, we shouldn't. Now, let's go. There's still a long way ahead of us before we get there."

Inside the airplane, Ashley greeted the family of four as they got themselves comfortable. Henry was sitting beside Nikola, who was the 'pilot' for the day.

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?" Henry muttered.

"You sure you know how to apply that thing?" Nikola answered back. Both got slaps on the back of their heads from Ashley. Jacob walked inside the plane then.

"Hello, all. Please take a seat and buckle up. We'll take off shortly." Ashley announced. She then turned to Jacob. "You have all the things you need?"

"Yup, we can go now, Ash."

"Sweet!" Ashley grinned and walked to the front of the cabin.

"You know her?" Mark asked. Jacob shrugged.

"That's your sister's half-sister, Ashley," Jacob said.

As Ashley had said, the plane started moving out of the hangar and onto the runway. Henry talked to them, telling them they would pressurize the cabin. What he doesn't mention is that he's freeing a gas that has the family knocked out faster than they thought possible.

"Thank you for flying with us. I hope y'all enjoyed the trip." Ashley grinned.

"For a second there, I thought it wouldn't work," Jacob confessed. "I guess the antidote for the gas works too."

"It always does," Ashley grinned. "I'll move the kids first. We don't know for sure how long they will be out." She said, walking to the kids and touching their shoulders. Seconds later, she appeared next to Mark's and Beth's seats and teleported them out.

When she appeared the next time, Jacob was already gathering the scattered things.

"That's the last one," Jacob said.

"Alright, then it's you and I," Ash grinned. "I'll see you two later on," she shouted to Henry and Nikola as she grabbed Jacob and Mark's stuff.

July 27th, 2005

Underground sanctuary

"So," Daniel said as they followed Will to an SUV parked near the elevator at the entrance. "What are the spheres?"

"It's a transport," Will said. "You'll see it, when we get there."

He drove down to the exit door, and they all got the same expression that everyone who had ever faced the gate got

"Why do you have a gate if there's nothing around it?" Daniel asked, sharing a confused smile with General Hammond.

"There's a barrier. You can throw a rock towards it to see it while I open the gate." Daniel did what Will had told him, and Teal'c had to push the younger man out of the way, once the rock bounced off the barrier and it seemed to head straight for Daniel.

"Oh, so that's a barrier," Daniel said, standing up and patting his clothes. The gates opened then, and for their sakes, Will uncloaked the sphere they were about to enter. "Whoa! I bet Sam will freak out and go full nerd on this!"

"She already did." Will laughed.

"Oh," Daniel said.

The crew made themselves comfortable inside the small cabin, and soon they were on their way. Daniel looked mesmerized by the quick succession of browns, greens, and other colors that appeared as they moved up, down, and sideways through what looked like underground tunnels. "This is so cool!"

"I know," Will grinned. "Any question you might have about how it works, you need to ask Helen, Nikola, or Sam... It goes way above my knowledge. And yes, that would include how you are not feeling sick at all with all the movement."

The sphere stopped then and opened in front of another gate. Several black SUVs were parked there, waiting for them on the other side. Will sat behind the wheel and turned the engine on. "Please, hop on." He said as, in the middle of the dashboard, a map appeared, and Will drove away.

The car surfaced later, in what looked like a well-kept farm. From the rearview mirror, Will could see as recognition flashed through Daniel's eyes.

"I know this area…" He said.

"Indeed," Teal'c added as he too noticed the not quite familiar scenery. Will gave them a knowing smile and a dismissive shrug, while he kept following the route on his map.

July 27th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

After a long while of waiting for them to finish whatever they were doing to her skin. Sam was asked to get a shower to get rid of the muddy-looking thing they had placed all over her body. After a quick shower, a hot bath was waiting for her inside the bathroom. Sam couldn't help but smile, wondering what other things her mother had in storage for her day.

Sam got out of the water when it cooled off. She found that while she relaxed, undergarments and a robe had appeared in the bathroom. She found a pair of slippers, and she used them. Walking out of the bathroom, toweling her hair dry.

She noticed that the army of people was working busily around two chairs, and she raised her eyes to find Cassie and Janet looking back at her from their reflections in their mirrors.

"What are you two doing here?" Sam asked in awe. As she walked towards her friends, she didn't notice Helen standing close by, waiting to check if what they had arranged was indeed right.

"Well, you couldn't have a wedding without a maid of honor." Helen pointed out. Sam turned around with a conflicted frown on her face.

"But Ashley…" She whispered. Helen walked over to her and caressed the worry lines that had appeared on Sam's face.

"This one was her doing, Samantha. Ashley likes to call herself the sister of honor, and she had given Cassandra the title of the niece of honor." Helen grinned. Sam's eyes filled with tears. "She knows Janet is important to you. There's no way she would've stepped into those shoes without having her here first."

"I don't know what to say…" Sam grinned, teary-eyed. Janet, too, was feeling overwhelmed, knowing that Ashley had taken a step to the side to avoid Sam having to choose between her sister and her best friend.

"Say nothing then, Ashley loves you, and you know that."

"Where is she, anyway?"

"She should be here soon. Now, you better hurry or you will be late." Helen pointed out.

"What about you?" Sam asked, noticing her mother was still in her usual attire.

"Haven't I said you shouldn't worry about me?" Helen grinned. "Have fun, girls," she waved as she walked out of the room again.

July 27th, 2005

Jack O'Neill's house

Ashley teleported in with her eyes covered. She showed up in his living room, but she knew some people liked to hang around naked when at home. For sure, she didn't want to know him that much.

"Jack? Are you ready?" Jack chuckled at seeing her standing in his living room with both hands covering her eyes as if she was a kid playing hide and seek.

"I'm dressed if that's what you mean." Ashley uncovered her eyes and grinned.

"Thank God! I don't think there's enough bleach in the world for me to cleanse my eyes if I ever see you naked. God knows it took me a while to look at Will in the eye after the first time I popped inside mom's room without knocking first," she shuddered.

"That's a lot of information I didn't need," Jack said with horrified eyes. Ashley frowned.

"You aren't dressed."

"Your mom said I should dress there. She said she has my suit ready there."

"Suit? I thought you would use your military blue thingy," Ashley crooked her head.

"I have no idea what's waiting for me there, Ash."

"Do you have your blues around?"

"Yup."

"So why don't you take them? You know, just in case."

"You sure?" Jack frowned. Ashley chuckled.

"Hey, my mom can be a control freak, but it's your wedding. If you feel like using your blues over the suit, she will understand. Now hurry up and grab it. Then let's take you there. It's late for me too, and I've jumped a lot today." She grinned. Jack disappeared for a second into his room, bringing his dress blues with him dangling from his fingers of his right hand, and a pair of shoes in the other one.

Ashley grinned, grabbed him, and next thing Jack knew was they somewhere else, and it looked amazing. Straight out of the movies.

"Whoa, this is …"

"Amazing, right?"

"It's so… Whoa. Ashley, I have no idea how you guys managed, but it looks even better than the thing you did when I proposed."

"Magic effects," Ashley winked. "Jacob and his family should arrive soon. We've set some tents outside so they can get ready in there. Someone is already waiting for them to point them where they can get changed. When Will arrives, he'll be asking you to move to the guest room. We'll need more space for Sam's entourage."

"Entourage?"

"You have no idea how many people are involved in getting this ready," Ashley huffed. "I gotta go, need to get myself all pampered too."

July 27th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

Ashley teleported inside Helen's office and plopped herself on the couch. Hearing the huff that came with it, Helen looked up and smiled.

"All set, I take it."

"Yeah, on my side at least. The family guests were still sleeping when I left. Jack's already there with the instructions you gave me. I also took a chance to check up on the setup you planned. I know you already went through it yesterday, but I had to check. So, you didn't end up asking me to take you there only for that. Everything is under control. Kate's doing excellent work on keeping everything as we want it. She's only waiting for the Carters' to show up to get ready herself." Ashley let out all at once. Helen smiled as her daughter grimaced. "Oh, Bloody Hell, I'm becoming you!"

"You say it like it's an unpleasant thing, dear." Helen grinned.

"Please tell me I won't turn out to be another workaholic control freak! We kinda have two Magnus too many like that already…" Ashley huffed.

"Oh, honey," Helen smiled. "You don't stand a chance against it. So suck it up! Besides, who doesn't like to be busy all day doing all sorts of fun things."

"Yup, you do super fun work, mom." Ashley deadpanned. "Sometimes, I wonder if you even know what fun is…"

"Hey! Of course, I do! Come on. You've been doing an amazing job helping me organize your sisters' wedding. Thank you."

"Truly? It was my pleasure, mom."

"Now, before you start to show some more complex Magnus traits," Helen joked, "let's get you some good old-fashioned pampering."

"Please tell me that by pampering, you only mean hair and make-up…" Ashley added in dismay.

"There might be some facials in preparation and maybe some massage to relax you up a bit," Helen said as they strolled around the house.

"Massages… I can take one now… Tell me it's from that hottie Lukas, and I'll stay there until the wedding is over." Ashley sighed dreamily.

"It is Lukas," Helen grinned. "Sadly, I will come to fetch you within an hour. Your sister should be ready by then, and we'll need you there too."

July 27th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

After leaving Ashley in the capable hands of Lukas, Helen stopped by to check on Samantha's progress, and to check out how the schedule was coming together. She found the trio having a small lunch. There wasn't much they could do with Sam's or Janet's hair, but Cassie was sitting there with some curlers on.

"I hope you are enjoying yourselves," Helen said as she entered the room.

"Yes, mom. Thanks."

"This is amazing, Helen." Cassie beamed.

"Mom, I know I've asked this several times already, but where's Ashley?" Sam asked again, and Helen read the worry in her eyes.

"Ah, don't worry. Ashley is with Lukas," Helen smiled. "I'll make sure she doesn't overstay there. I need to have a word with Anja about timing."

Helen walked outside and spoke with the head of the crew before she returned to the trio.

"Doctor, Cassandra. After lunch, Anja will concentrate on getting you two ready. Your gowns are at the venue. I will drive you there, so Ashley has time to get ready herself."

July 27th, 2005

Somewhere topside

Ashley left the Carter family inside another plane in a hangar close to their destination. Once the effects of the gas were fading, Jacob ushered them to the truck that was waiting for them.

Jacob smiled. His family was still so groggy that they never noticed the scenery change or the fact that Ashley had left them after dropping them on the second plane. Or that they hadn't taken off at any point.

He followed the route, taking in the scenery. It looked like many planets he had wondered around during his Tok'ra days, and not at all like them at the same time. His map told him he was one left away from the destination, so when Jacob spotted it, he smiled brightly.

Jack's cabin looked perfect.

Kate reached the car and welcomed Jacob. She rolled her eyes when she figured out she needed Nikola's help to move the kids. Thankfully Henry was also already there, so they quickly took the family and their belongings to the spaces that were designed for them.

"Wow, when Helen said a tent, this wasn't what I imagined." Jacob shook his head. Kate laughed at him.

"When Ashley said the same to me, I had to check," Jack said behind him. "Really, my version of a tent and this one have nothing to do with each other."

"Jack, you made it!" Jacob said, greeting his soon to be son-in-law.

"He better or I would've gone to pick him up myself and brought him here by the ear if I needed to," Nikola huffed behind them. Nikola took a whiff and grimaced. "My baby…" he shook his head dramatically before disappearing somewhere.

"Should I even ask?" Jacob wondered.

"No, better that you don't," Jack said with widened eyes. "So, whatcha think of the place?"

"Looks lovely."

"We are waiting for the guys. They should be here soon. Kate said lunch should be ready by then," Jack grinned.

As if he had summoned them with his words, they watched as an SUV approached. They parked beside the other ones that were already there. Jack grinned, thanking his grandpa had the vision to leave a lot of space between the road and the cabin.

"Huh, good timing. I'm positively starving," Jack grinned.

"There are things that never change," Jacob shook his head as they headed out to greet the guys.

A/N: Holy Hannah! Even writing a wedding day is stressful! A lot of hard work too!