Sorry for the rather long break, I've had exams over the past few weeks but they'll be over by next week.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Las Vegas McCarran International airport. The local time is 4.15 pm and the current temperature is a balmy 27oC. Please wait until the Captain has switched off the seatbelt signs and the aircraft has come to a complete standstill before exiting your seats. Once again we would like to thank you for flying with American Airlines and we hope you have a safe onward journey."
Jack unclipped his seatbelt and began rummaging in the pocket of the seat in front of him. Carter gave him a sideways glance.
"Jack, the seatbelt signs are still on."
Jack gave her a baleful stare.
"Oh yeah? Well, in case you hadn't noticed I outrank the guy in charge of the plane, Carter! What's he gonna do, have me arrested?"
Ouch! Maybe it was the three hour delay at St Paul's or it could've been the 2 hour transfer delay at Forth Worth that had made him cranky. Even so, Sam placed a firm hand on his lap to keep him seated.
"That may be so, General, but it might save us a lot of time in the short term. You being arrested by airport security and us having to wait in an airport for hours is not my idea of the perfect honeymoon!" she hissed loudly. Jack thought about arguing for a second but then remembered that it really wasn't worth arguing with Carter; he rarely won when he couldn't pull rank, so he stayed put and began mumbling something about damn civilian airlines.
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Once they were out of the airport, Jack commandeered a taxi for the four of them and their luggage and they headed off towards the Strip.
"So, guys, anywhere in particular you'd like to stay?" asked the taxi driver.
"I must say, O'Neill, I am rather intrigued by this 'Mirage'. How could one possibly seek accommodation in something that does not exist?" Teal'c boomed after flicking through a travel guide he had acquired earlier that day. The taxi driver gave him an amused glance.
"Your friend has quite a sense of humour. He from out of town?"
Jack placed a firm hand on Teal'c's shoulder.
"Yeah, something like that. Urm, could you take us to the Regional Justice Centre?"
"Jack, don't you think we should stay at Luxor?" piped up Daniel in an amused tone.
"Daniel, after spending most of our time in… places decorated in gaudy, cheap fake gold panels, I think it's safe to say that a hotel that looks like Apophis was its interior designer is NOT a place I want to be spending my downtime, much less my honeymoon, ok?"
The taxi driver grinned.
"So you guys are getting married, huh?" he said, looking at Sam and Jack through the rear-view mirror.
"No, actually, It's T and Daniel. They make a rather cute if… unconventional couple!" Jack said, gesturing with his hands. Daniel scowled and Teal'c, well, didn't seem to quite get the reference.
"Funny!" exclaimed the taxi driver, his tone dripping with a level of sarcasm that would not have been unknown to leave Jack O'Neill's mouth. He glanced at Sam through the rear-view mirror. "He always this much of a wise-ass?"
"Actually, this is quite polite!" Sam replied with a cheeky grin, earning her a nudge in the ribs from Jack.
"Looks like someone's going to be sleeping on the sofa tonight!" Jack exclaimed whilst taking on a mock-offended tone.
"Oh you wouldn't dare!"
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"OK, Sam, how do you want to do this? Military ID or drivers licences?"
Sam stared at the counter in front of her for a few seconds before answering.
"Military ID, Jack. There's no reason why not." Sam smiled, "Ya know, I'll never get tired of hearing that!"
Jack placed his arm around Sam's shoulders and squeezed her gently.
"And I'll never get tired of hearing you say it!" Jack whispered in her ear as they stepped towards the counter.
"Please state your names and dates of birth for the record." said the clerk as if she'd repeated the same phrase over and over for the last half century. Judging by her blue rinse and frumpy attire, Jack surmised that she probably had.
"Brigadier General Jonathan O'Neill, United States Air Force. 20/01/1957"
"Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, United States Air Force.19/05/1965"
"OK, I need some form of identification. Drivers licences, military identification papers and birth certificates are acceptable. Credit cards, utility bills and Blockbuster membership cards are not acceptable."
Sam and Jack exchanged a worried glance before handing over their military ID.
"Uh, excuse me, but do people actually try to use Blockbuster cards?"
The lady glanced at Jack over the top of her spectacles and rolled her eyes.
"Sir, you would be amazed at what I have been offered as identification over the years!" She stamped several pieces of paper. "Now, if you could please sign here and here that will be $55, cash only, please." They both signed, dated and handed over the cash. "May I be the first to congratulate you, Mr & Mrs O'Neill, may you have a long and happy marriage." For all of the sincerity she enthused into that sentence the clerk might as well have told them that they were doomed to marry whilst inebriated and file for an annulment in less than 24 hours. Behind them, Daniel smirked. If only she knew the lengths it had taken to get these two to this point! With a hasty goodbye on Jack's part, he ushered the rest of SG-1 out of the door as fast as possible and down the front steps of the building.
"Will we be requiring a cab. O'Neill?" Teal'c asked before stepping into the road and causing an unoccupied taxi to stop in front of him. The driver stuck his head out of the window.
"Hey, watch out, buddy! You only needed to stick out your arm!"
Teal'c glanced at the cabbie.
"Previous experience has taught me that such an action is unsuccessful in procuring a means of transportation."
At that point Jack stepped in.
"Ah, T-man, I think what he means is this isn't 1969 anymore and Carter's not trying to flag down a 'Vette!" He turned to the driver, "Can you take us to the Hudson Ranch?"
"No problem, buddy, hop in!"
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Once they'd checked in, they headed to their rooms. Teal'c and Daniel each had their own rooms on the top floor and, of course, Jack had asked for the Honeymoon suite for himself and Sam.
"Hey, Jack, have you seen the remote control?" she shouted through the bathroom door, "Nevermind, I think I've found it!"
A few moments later the bathroom door opened and out came Jack O'Neill wearing nothing but a towel.
"Found what?" He asked, genuinely, and began to smirk when she didn't respond. "Is there a problem, Carter?"
"Ah, no, …Sir." She said distractedly. Then: "Sorry, honey. What was it you wanted?"
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and then began to chuckle.
"Well, I never thought I'd see the day when Sam Carter was rendered speechless!"
Carter recovered quickly after that.
"Well I never thought I'd see the day when Jack O'Neill was standing in front of me wearing only what is, if I may say so, a rather small towel and myself being allowed to … appreciate it. Yet here we both are!" She said cheerily. "As I was about to say" before I was so rudely interrupted by you and your… attire, or lack thereof, she mused, "I've already sorted the dress. I phoned Mark yesterday afternoon and asked him to courier my mom's wedding dress to the Ranch. It should arrive tomorrow morning."
Jack looked confused.
"Sam, this may be a ridiculous question, but why does your brother, who lives in San Diego, have your wedding dress? I mean, I thought that… you told Daniel that it was at the shop being altered."
"Yes. That was my new dress." Sam stared at the floor for a moment. "I, um, it didn't feel appropriate to wear my mom's dress before." Oh, he sooooooo wasn't going anywhere near that one! That was one can of worms that he definitely didn't feel like opening! But he had to make sure.
"Sam? Are you sure? I mean, we could go and buy you a new dress. After all, this is Vegas. Everything's open 24/7!"
Sam took his hand in hers.
"Jack, believe me when I tell you, both my mom and dad would've wanted me to wear her dress this time, I'm sure of it." Sam turned to reach for her suitcase and mumbled something that was barely coherent. "It's the only dress I ever imagined myself wearing to our wedding anyway!"
"Excuse me?" This time it was Jack's turn to be stunned into silence.
Sam winced, closed her eyes and turned around to face him.
"Out loud?" She asked, inwardly cursing his excellent hearing.
"Hell yeah!" he replied, with a smirk even wider than the one he'd had before. "So, by that, am I to assume that you've thought about this before?"
"Remember when the … other me appeared with Kawalsky?" Sam made an 'And…' gesture. It took a moment for Jack to process the rest of that thought.
"Oh! Right! The, urm, photo?" Jack nodded as he began scrabbling through his wallet until he found what he was looking for. He held it out to her. "I always thought the dress looked a little vintage!"
Sam didn't quite know what to say. She umm..ed and ahhh..ed for a few moments before-
"Jack, have you been carrying round a photo of … their… wedding day for the past five years?"
"No. Four and a bit actually." Sam's brow creased. "Ever since the Xerox thingy." He explained.
Sam was floored. Samantha Carter was by no means an idiot but if she'd ever thought for one second that she meant this much to him…
"Oh, God, Jack…" she turned away from him as tears began to well up in her eyes. She stared up at the ceiling trying to stem their flow. "I'm so sorry."
Ok, now Jack was officially a dumbass! Apparently he'd just made one of the people he loved most cry and he didn't have a clue what he'd done!
"Sam? What's…"
"How could I have been so stupid!" Sam said through the tears. "If I'd known a few months ago how you felt I would never have… I didn't mean to hurt you. That day when I saw you with Agent Johnson, I felt like … It never even occurred to me that you…I'm such an idiot! " She screamed, venting her frustration on the corner of the sofa and sinking to the floor. By now, Jack was finally getting the picture and it wasn't a good one.
"Hey! Hey!" He said, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her into a fierce hug, "None of that matters now, ok? Yeah, these past few months haven't been particularly …peachy but that's down to me, remember? You asked me how I felt and I shot you down! If anyone's to blame, it's me. I'm so sorry, Sam!" He hugged her even tighter. After seemingly forever, Jack slowly released her and she smiled slightly.
"Look at us! If only Dad could see us now!"
"Yeah, he'd kick my ass all the way to Reno!" Jack said dryly. Standing on his feet, Jack held out a hand which Sam gratefully took. "So? How 'bout we go find the guys for dinner? I'm famished!"
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