The weekend flew, and Sam was pulling the flat iron through the last of the sections of her hair. She and Vala had taken Cass to a salon, getting their hair highlighted or colored professionally.
She had opted to go darker with her hair, knowing that Jack would be in for quite a shock when he saw her.
She had decided to go brunette knowing that he wouldn't care if it was as black as Vala's, he'd still love her. She combed through it, going into their bedroom and grabbing her clothes. She grabbed her flip flops, heading out into the living room.
"Mom, dad's gonna die! He'll love it." Cassie said.
Sam smiled. "You think so?" She asked.
"Andrea called while you were in the shower, everything is ready. She has to get the boys fitted for their tuxedos next Monday, Tuesday they'll go to the tailor, Wednesday the boys will try them on, Thursday they'll go for readjustments, Friday they'll be dry cleaned so we can use them Saturday."
Vala said, feeling proud that she remembered all that Andrea had told her. Sam nodded, thanking her.
"Wow, this is getting really close." Sam said, leaning back into the couch.
Vala smiled as she heard the diesel pull up out front. "The boys are back." She said.
Sam smiled, pulling her hair in a ponytail. She stood up, walking to the front door with Vala, Cassie on their heels.
They filed outside, waiting for the men to get out of the car.
Jack was the first one out, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
He walked up to Sam. "Too much testosterone, it's great to be home." He said, kissing her.
Cassie smiled. Sam broke the kiss.
"Eww, scratchy beard, you should shave." She said with a giggle.
He frowned mockingly, pulling her into a hug. He liked it when he didn't have to shave, it was one of those things he rarely got to do, but when he got a month off, he'd grow some stubble, and when duty called again, he'd shave it.
"I love your hair." He said, grinning and tucking her bangs behind her ear.
"I told you." Cassie said.
Sam stretched languidly, rolling to face her fiancé. She smiled.
"I love you." She said, scooting closer to him.
"I love you too. How's the baby?" He asked. "Asleep." She said.
Not that they could tell, but it was fun to talk about it.
"Good, he's learnin fast." Jack replied, rolling her under him and kissing her hungrily.
She kissed back, one arm around his neck, the other rubbing his back. She smiled, breaking the kiss and hugging him tightly.
"I really do love you." She said, closing her eyes as he dipped his face in her neck and placed a tender kiss there.
"Good, because you've had my heart from the day we met, I just took way too long to figure it out." He said, framing her face with his hands.
He kissed her slowly this time, drawing out the passion to the breaking point.
It was times like this that his heart melted, when he knew that no matter what happened, they would work through it together.
Jack awoke, disoriented by the dark hair in his face, luckily it smelled like Sam's shampoo, so that snapped him back to reality.
He lay quietly, listening to the rain fall on the roof and tried to stay awake.
He shifted on his back, smiling when Sam rolled over to lie on his chest. He stayed quiet, relaxing with each breath.
"I love that sound." Sam said. "The rain, it's relaxing." She finished. He nodded.
The phone rang, startling them both for a moment. Jack grabbed it.
"O'Neill…yes Mr. President. When do you need me? Yes, of course. Thank you, sir." He said, hanging up the phone.
"The president called you at home?" She asked. "He wants to make an appearance at our wedding." He said.
Sam raised her eyebrows, leaning up on her elbow. "Really?" She asked.
"That's what he said." Jack said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Wow." Sam said.
"Guess we'll have to be on our best behavior." Jack said.
"Yeah, but we've still got a week…before we have to be on our best behavior." She said with a grin. He raised his eyebrows, nodding. "There's that." He said, kissing her.
"By the way," She said, breaking the kiss, "you're not obvious at all." She said. He looked at her, confused.
"Jack, honey, looking at you right now, I can tell exactly what you're thinking. Your eyes used to get really dark, now they're bright yellow." She said with a small grin. He narrowed his eyes.
"I hate that. I scared Daniel too. Came outta the woods after a moose tried to kill him, jumped in the pond and he yelled at me, I looked up an he bout jumped outta his skin. It's not what ya think. It's the adrenaline." He said.
Daniel stood, looking at his tux in the mirror.
"Mr. Jackson, you were made to wear these." Andrea said, smiling as she chalked the bottom of his pants for hemming.
"Now, I realize you'll probably only wear this once, but at least you'll have a tux." She stated.
"I think I'll ask for a job with the CIA after this." Daniel said with a smile.
Jack came in, buttoning his cuffs. "Mr. O'Neill, you look fantastic." She said.
"Thanks." He said.
"I'm sure you look very good in your uniform, but I'm glad you decided on a tuxedo, it works very well." She said.
Jack stood in front of the floor length mirror, adjusting his collar. He hated this shirt. His uniform shirt was tailored to fit his body, this was tailored to fit his ribcage and arms, clearly a man with a toothpick for a neck had made this, thinking that all American men had the same one.
He stretched, getting a little more comfortable in the shirt, except that collar.
"Uh, is there anything we can do 'bout the collar on this shirt?" He asked.
Andrea smiled, nodding. "The tailor can take a little out, is that what it needs?"
"Yeah, apparently the guy that made this didn't need to breathe." He said. Andrea looked him over, checking sleeve length, pant leg length, waist line.
"Everything else looks great. You have very broad shoulders." She said, brushing the shoulders of the shirt down.
He nodded, turning his back to the mirror.
"Where's the martini, Bond?" He asked Daniel, smiling and heading to the dressing room.
Teal'c came out, clearly enjoying his tuxedo.
"I do not understand why O'Neill dislikes these suits so. They are quite comfortable."
Teal'c said, putting the vest on over his shirt. "You were made for these as well. Are you two partners in crime?" She asked.
"We're partners in getting those two together, if you consider it a crime." Daniel said, putting on the vest and jacket.
He buttoned the vest, the jacket following.
"Daniel Jackson, I believe you would make a very convincing James Bond. However, Daniel Craig was most qualified." Teal'c said.
Sam stood in front of the mirror in her dress, standing still for the seamstress.
"Okay, well, of all the dresses I tried on, I like this one the best." Vala said. Sam turned.
Vala's dress was beautiful, the dark burgundy working with her jet black hair to bring out her eyes.
"Wow, nice dress." She said.
"Oh, Sam, you look gorgeous." She said.
Sam smiled. "Thank you." She said, her stomach fluttering. Her nerves were getting the best of her.
"Why am I so nervous?" She asked Vala.
"Sam, this is a big deal. You're going to spend the rest of your life with him. Of course you're going to be nervous. I was terrified when I married Daniel, although I can't for the life of me remember why. It's scary, but when you look back on it, you will be so happy that you can't express the emotion." She said.
Sam nodded, turning as the seamstress told her to.
The door chimed as Andrea came through, looking at Vala. "This color works wonders. Now, the guys have been fitted for their tuxes. They're changing now." She said.
Sam nodded, turning to face the seamstress.
"Okay, that is pretty much all I can do at the moment. Everything else looks perfect. We'll put your train on and get the veil attached to the tiara. By the way, I love your hair." She said.
Sam smiled. "Thank you." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Jack sat his keys down on the counter, going through the cupboards.
Sam had done some grocery shopping, so he figured it was his turn to cook dinner. She was on the phone with the caterer, talking about the spread of food they were going to have.
He grabbed a pan out of the cupboard, setting it on the stove and pulled out some chicken, marinating it in beer. The good thing about cooking with beer was that it cooked all the alcohol out, which meant that there was no reason to worry about hurting the baby.
He pulled out some vegetables, sitting them in a pan filled with water. He let the vegetables steam in the pot, taking the chicken and placing it in the pan, pouring the marinade in the pan with it.
Sam could smell something good as she put her book down on the coffee table.
Jack stood in the kitchen, a towel over his shoulder, shaking a pan.
"Jack?" She asked, heading up the stairs into the kitchen. "Mmm, something smells good." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
He smiled, resting a hand on hers where it lay on his toned abs. "Ooh, you're lean." She said.
He laughed and looked at the ceiling. "Thank you, Adria." He said, letting the chicken simmer.
He turned, placing a kiss on her forehead.
He could swear he felt her stomach starting to round out, a sure sign that their lives were going to be easier…and more complicated at the same time.
"Hungry?" He asked. She nodded, unwrapping her arms from around his waist, and went to the cabinet to get some plates.
"Did we have a sudden change in appetite?" She asked, putting the plates on the table and turning to the drawer for silverware.
He grinned, shaking his head. "Change in metabolism. I eat too much." He said.
She raised her eyebrows. "Eating one big meal every three days? That's too much?" She asked.
He shrugged, turning off the burners on the stove. He took the vegetables, placing them on a hot pad in the middle of the table. He took the pan, putting some chicken on both plates.
"I'm going to boil and refrigerate all the beer." Sam said. Jack frowned, sitting down after he seated her.
"Why would ya do somethin like that?" He asked, picking up his fork.
"Well, there's alcohol in it, and we can boil that out, that way I can still have it." She said.
"Well, how 'bout we buy root beer, an then you can drink that?" He asked.
She smiled, shaking her head. He was willing to negotiate for the beer, which was just like him to do so.
"So, what 'bout SG1, what're ya gonna do now?" He asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I'll retire, be a stay-at–home mom. Boy or girl, I'll definitely be a hockey mom." She said, to which Jack raised his eyebrows, smirking.
"Really, why not become a soccer mom?" He asked rhetorically. She glanced up, disbelief written all over her beautiful face.
He grinned. "Oh come on honey, no minivan?" He asked. "I'd rather ride a Ducati with training wheels." She said.
He chuckled at the visual. Her on the bike, decked out in leather…with a set of training wheels under the exhaust pipe. They ate in silence for a moment.
"I've been thinking about names. Assuming it's a boy, I like your name." She said. He grimaced.
"He's gonna hate us." He replied. "Besides, I've been thinkin 'bout Blake." He said.
She smiled, nodding. "Okay, if it's a boy, Blake…but we use Jonathan as a middle name." She said. He grimaced again, 'no way outta that'.
"Okay. What about a girl?" He asked. "Um… I don't know, what about Rebekkah?" She asked. He nodded, weighing names.
"What about Brooklynn? That could be a middle name, sorta your middle and your mom's first name." He said. S
he smiled. "I like it." She said, dishing herself some more vegetables. "I still think it's a boy." She said. He grinned. "I know… me too." He said.
Jack was restless that night, nightmares haunted him whenever he fell asleep.
A little boy with brown hair and blue eyes ran out of the clubhouse. "Daddy! Come get me!" He screamed, giggling. "Hey, how's my boy?" He replied, picking him up. "C'mere ya little monster, let's go inside." He said, hauling him over his shoulder. He packed him in the house, and dropped him on the couch. "Do it again." The boy replied. Jack shook his head, sitting down on the couch. The boy was gone. "Where'd ya go?" He asked. He heard something drop, and he looked down on the table to see a silver tube. It was a bullet casing! "Blake! No!" He yelled, running up the stairs. The gun went off, and he choked back a sob…it happened again.
"NO!" He screamed.
Sam jumped, startled out of a peaceful sleep.
"Jack?" She asked, sitting up.
He had bolted up in bed, breathing heavily. It took him a minute, and he got out of bed, going to the bathroom and washing his face with cold water.
He looked at himself in the mirror…his usually brown eyes were an angry yellow, and he looked much older than his fifty years.
He heard Sam get up and pad across the hallway to the bathroom.
"Jack?" She asked. He breathed slower, criticizing himself in the mirror.
"I'm fine, just a nightmare." He said, pushing it out of his mind.
"It's been a while." She said, rubbing his back. He nodded, shaking the images from his mind.
His nightmares had stopped when he and Sam decided to move in together, his mind finding solace in the fact that there was no reason to be afraid of the future…now his mind was turning on him again, showing him what could happen because of his decision.
He swallowed dryly, turning and leading Sam back to bed.