Chapter 39. The Wedding Episode

"I don't know why, but I'm about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full o' rockin' chairs. And it's not even my wedding!" Cam chuckled, clapping Daniel on the back. "How you feelin', Jackson?"

Daniel fiddled with his bow tie, tying and retying the silk material. Finally, Cam clamped a hand down on his shoulder, slapping his fingers away so the Colonel could straighten it himself. Daniel, now unsure what to do with his hands, shoved them into his pockets.

"Fine, I'm fine." His voice was much too high and he tried to swallow the dryness in his throat. Cam only blinked dubiously and, over his shoulder, Daniel saw Teal'c raise an eyebrow. "Okay, yeah. I'm nervous." Daniel admitted, his faltering grin appearing more of a grimace. "But as long as we don't have to cancel it again just to save the world, I think I'll be alright."

"Hey," Cam waved a finger at him, "not cancelled, just postponed. But at least you don't have to worry about the Ori ruining your big day anymore, right?" Daniel wobbled his head in acquiescence.

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed from where he was standing by the door, looking uncomfortably stiff in his black suit.

The door creaked open suddenly and a blur of violet taffeta burst into the room. "She's readyyyyyy!" Vala screeched, twirling in a purple swirl of excitement, her grin so wide it looked in danger of splitting her face in two.

Daniel's heart was suddenly in his throat, thudding loudly in his ears as he discreetly rubbed his sweaty palms on the inside of his pockets. Frowning, he looked towards Teal'c. "Where the hell is Jack?"

As if summoned, the aging General trotted through the open door, holding up a small, velvet box triumphantly. "I got it!" Jack grinned, pleased with himself, but Daniel only narrowed his eyes at his Best Man.

"I can't believe you forgot th-"

"Ah!" Jack interrupted, raising one finger in Daniel's face. "Don't say it."

Daniel only rolled his eyes, fiddling with his cufflinks.

"Alright, c'mon then." Cam shooed the three other men out the door, ushering them down the hall as Vala split to go back to the bride's room.

They stepped out into the meticulously-manicured gardens of the old, Colonial-style hotel, the spring sun warming the air. Daniel took his place under the archway made of rough-hewn wood, twisting vines and bright flowers; Jack, Cam and Teal'c falling into line on his left. He tried not to look too hard at the crowd seated in front of him, but he still caught sight of a few familiar faces. General Hammond and his wife sat a few rows back, an unshakable grin on his face. Walter sat with a box of tissues in his lap, ready to go. Sam's brother, Mark, and his family waved at him from the front row – his soon-to-be in-laws.

Daniel tried to force his breathing to slow, to calm his racing heart. Jack, clearly noticing his distress, placed a reassuring hand on his old friend's shoulder. "Relax, Daniel. She's coming."

"No, I-I know." Daniel stuttered, trying to sound nonchalant, but the tapping of his fingers against the back of his hand as he clasped them together in front of him gave him away. Jack grinned to himself, shaking his head. "This will be one of the most memorable days of your life, Danny-boy, try to enjoy it a little, hmm?"
Despite his nerves, Jack's familiar sarcasm made the corners of his lips twist into a smirk. He eyed the retired General; his colleague, his mentor, his best friend. "Thanks, Jack." Daniel said, and meant it.

The old General gave a nod, his mouth opening, then closing again, and Daniel waited patiently for him to put words to the thoughts he could see dashing through the old man's eyes. "I'm, uh, proud of you kids. You know, both of you." Jack looked away quickly, giving him two hard slaps on the shoulder. "You did good, Danny-boy. You did good."

Daniel grinned, a teasing comment on the tip of his tongue, when the music started up, and his mouth suddenly became drier than the Atacama Desert.
Vala and Cassie proceeded down the aisle in slow, measured steps, their lavender dresses swishing and their grins blinding. Daniel trembled, his heart threatening to leap out of his throat. Then, he laid eyes on her, and Daniel stopped breathing altogether.

She entered from the enormous French doors in a cloud of elegant white, and if Daniel could feel his face, he would have noticed the huge grin that split across it. She seemed to float down the aisle, smiling brightly, her now-long golden hair curling over her bare shoulders beneath a wispy veil. Her pale pink boquet matched the flower tucked into his lapel, and her strapless silk dress whispered over the petals strewn across the ground, but Daniel hardly noticed any of that. His heart had stopped beating the moment she had walked through those doors, and it was only her beautiful, angelic face that kept him tethered to this world.
Sam stepped up onto the platform beside him, her grin softening slightly when she noticed his pale hue. She leaned in surreptitiously in order to whisper. "Daniel? Are you okay?"

She looked up at him with concern in those big, beautiful, sapphire eyes, and Daniel suddenly felt his heart start up again, pumping so hard he worried it might burst out of his chest. Daniel licked his lips, trying to swallow down the baseball-sized lump in his throat. "I'm... perfect." He managed to choke out, his eyes already prickling uncomfortably. "You're perfect."

Her answering grin lit up her whole face, and Daniel was hit with the sudden urge to pinch himself, not quite able to believe he was about to marry someone so incredibly beautiful. If someone had told him a year ago that he would be here, today, marrying the woman of his dreams, he would have thought them crazy – or possessed by an alien influence. And yet, here he was. Maybe the universe didn't have it out for him after all. Maybe everything had been leading him here, to this, to her. Daniel liked to think so.

Sam took each of his hands in hers, rooting him back to the here and now. Her lips moved, forming silent words meant only for him. 'I love you.'
His grin widened even further, his cheeks aching from the strain, and her face became blurry as unshed tears swam across his vision. 'I love you, too.' He mouthed in return, his hands tightening around hers.

Her bright eyes glistening, she slipped her fingers into the spaces between his, fitting together like puzzle pieces, and together they turned to face the waiting celebrant to, finally, join their lives, hearts, and last names.