"So" she raised her head to him and hugged him tighter around the waist.
It was really nice to snuggle up with him in the coupled sleeping bags in their tent, on a quiet and friendly planet, and after the delicious food they had at the party. Even more so when she had no idea he was coming, he would go with them, and it would be possible to have him all to herself. She rested her head more comfortably against his chest and listened to his regular heartbeat. "What were you doing in Malibu?"
"I admired this year's bikini collection on the beach."
With all her strength, she poked him hard in the ribs and pulled away from him.
"Ouch
"Sorry," he whispered, he began to stroke her arm with his fingertips "long story short, I was meeting a suit guy there."
"You are the suit guy as well now. Most of the time in your dress blue."
"Oh, don't remind me that" he moaned in disgust.
She laughed and snuggled up to him again, her fingers caressing the spot where she had prodded him.

"What are you thinking about?"She broke the short, pleasant silence.
"The thing Vala mentioned."
She stopped her hand "What exactly."
"Wedding."
She blinked in surprise, feeling her pulse quicken "Wedding?" She repeated, not very successful to hide her trembling voice.
"Sam, come on. We all know what everyone in the conference room imagined when she said that sentence. The two of us. Our wedding."

She pulled away again, leaning on her elbow and raising her head to meet his eyes "Jack, is that a proposal?"
"No. I mean, not now, trust me, I can do better. Just... how do you feel about the wedding? Is that what you and I are getting at? In the future?"
She sat up and ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know Jack" she sighed.
He rose on his elbows "You don't know? As far as I know, you've been engaged twice, so I suppose getting married is something you want in life."
"Yes, just . . ." She turned her head at him "I didn't suppose I was heading for this with you."
The moment she spoke the words, she saw a frightening shadow of pain in his eyes that she had never seen before.
"Oh," he nodded, the pain clearly audible in his voice "well, then maybe I should go."
The tone of his voice was cold.
"No" she grabbed his hand and stopped him from leaving their tent "Jack, that's not what I meant. It sounded so stupid. I'm sorry. Let me explain, okay?"
He sat back on his sleeping bag, but pulled out his hand with her grip "Good. I'm listening."
She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I want nothing more than to spend the rest of our lives with you. I'm happy with you and I know I can only feel this way with you, I never want to lose you. When I said I didn't expect to be heading to the wedding with you, I meant you. I thought you didn't want a second wedding. Not after what you've been through in the past. I certainly didn't mean it the way it sounded. I don't think of you as some kind of fun and I want to build a future together with you. I want it. I want our future. Okay?" She reached out and stroked his cheek "I love you, Jack."
He didn't answer, he just looked into her eyes, and she looked back. He could see the held tears in her eyes. He raised his hands and took her face in his hands "I see" he whispered "sorry, Sam."
"You have nothing to apologize for" she leaned over and kissed him lightly "are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah sure I'm, now. Knowing what you meant."
"With or without wedding, I'm more than happy with the way things are between us."

She kissed him again, and Jack immediately began to kiss her back.
"But let's say hypothetically. If I asked, would you say yes?" he whispered as they pulled away and he rested his forehead on hers.
She smiled "To find out the answer to that question, you're going to have to ask first. "
He laughed "Sounds like a fair deal" and laid back, taking Sam with him "I love you."
She clung to him "Always."