"Dear friends," the Justice of the Peace began, "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of…" he paused to consult his notes; he was a somewhat elderly, bespectacled man prone to bouts of absentmindedness, but he had been the first man available to perform the civil ceremony. "Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter." They stood outside at the dock of Jack's private little lake.
"It is my understanding that these two souls have waited a long time for this moment and could bear the wait no further. Hence my coming here on such short notice today," he said with a pointed look towards Jack. "Marriage is a wonderful, blessed union of two people, binding them together for the remainder of their natural lives. You are certain that you are ready to undertake such a union?" He looked to each of them and waited for their nods of assent. "Very well."
They had agreed to utilize the traditional vows in this ceremony; there would be time for more personalized vows in their second ceremony at an undetermined later date. "Do you, Jack O'Neill, take Samantha to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"
Jack held Sam's gaze with his own. "I do."
"And do you, Samantha Carter, take Jack to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"
Sam smiled that brilliant million-megawatt beam she saved for Jack. "I do."
"And do you have the rings?"
Daniel provided the rings that the Justice had been kind enough to bring along for them; they were simple gold bands that would be properly sized later, as well.
"Please place the ring on her hand, saying, 'With this ring, I thee wed.'"
Jack did as he was instructed, his voice growing soft and husky, barely audible even to Sam's close ears.
"Samantha, please place the ring on Jack's hand, saying, 'With this ring, I thee wed.'"
Sam placed the ring on Jack's hand with slightly trembling fingers, her voice equally soft as she repeated the words.
"May you always remember and honor the vows made here today before me and these two witnesses. By the power vested in me, I do now pronounce you husband and wife. You may, of course, kiss your bride."
Jack was only too happy to do so, pulling Sam into his arms and kissing her deeply and thoroughly. Daniel began to clap, and Teal'c followed his lead. The Justice simply nodded his head at the couple.
"Congratulations," Daniel said as they finally came up for air. "I'm very happy for you both," he added.
"As am I," chimed in Teal'c.
"Thanks, guys," Sam said. Jack offered her his arm and led her away from the dock.
"Perhaps a celebratory… beer?" Jack offered.
The Justice shook his head in decline. The business end of the transaction had been taken care of before the ceremony, so he said his farewells and departed.
Daniel and Teal'c, though, accepted Jack's offer, in spite of the relatively early hour of the day. Jack disappeared inside the cabin with Sam, leaving Daniel and Teal'c to wonder how long they'd be indisposed. Much to their surprise, the newlyweds returned almost immediately, the proffered beer in hand.
Daniel opened his and held it out toward the group. "A toast," he said. "To Sam and Jack. May you find all the happiness together you so richly deserve." They all drank in companionable silence for a moment.
"So… shall we do what we came here for?" Jack asked. At the inclined eyebrows of both Daniel and Teal'c, Jack added, "Fishing!"
Sam laughed. "I should go change before I tackle that particular activity."
"Need any help?" Jack offered with a suggestive waggle of his brows.
Daniel had to good grace to blush as he looked away. "Why don't Teal'c and I get some… supplies together... from the kitchen?"
"Sure, you'll find chairs and an ice chest in the closet, plenty of beer and ice in the fridge, and the poles and tackle are in the shed around back." With that, Jack took Sam's hand and led her inside.
"Don't think we'll be seeing much of them for a while," Daniel mused.
Daniel was right, of course.
Jack took great delight in helping Sam out of her dress, and then proceeded to again explore every inch of his new bride. Jack took Sam's hands in his as he laid her back on the bed. He caressed her bare skin with warm, sure hands, his mouth dreamily teasing her, bringing her to the brink of climax before pulling back again. Sam endured the journey to the edge a couple of times before deciding to take matters into her own hands, literally.
She sat up abruptly and grabbed Jack's face, kissing him soundly as she let her hands trail due south. She clasped him firmly, squeezing and stroking the length of him as she worked magic on his mouth. She began trailing kisses down his body until she found his most sensitive places, and then lingered there for a good long while, lavishing him with her loving attention.
Jack thought he was going to come out of his skin; she was driving him round the bend with desire. He finally dug his hands into her hair and pulled her head free of him, dragging her up his body so that he could kiss that delectable mouth once more. He wasted no more time, finally joining her, burying himself to the hilt deep within her womb. As she shifted and adjusted to his presence, she moaned in satisfaction.
"I love you, husband," Sam said on a sigh.
"Love you, wife," he returned, out of breath as he plunged slowly but deeply into her.
They soon established an easy, even leisurely rhythm, unhurried and savoring every moment. They knew this time together wouldn't last nearly long enough and they were determined to make the very most of it. Jack used his hands and mouth to make love to her, too, and Sam matched him touch for touch, stroke for loving stroke.
Considering their considerable activity over the past few days, it was nothing short of a miracle that either one had a climax left in them; and yet, sure enough, after a while orgasmic ecstasy overcame them. They collapsed together in satiated harmony.
Some time later, they emerged from the cabin. Sam was clad in much more fishing-appropriate attire of jeans and a dark blue sweater that nicely complemented her light blue eyes.
They discovered that Daniel and Teal'c hadn't gotten much set up outside, but the ice chest was ready to go, and there were a couple of chairs waiting on the dock. The two men were no where to be found; instead, they had left a note which read: "Gone exploring, back in a bit."
Jack grabbed a pair of fishing poles and led Sam out to the dock. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're not lost," Jack said as they sat down.
Jack proceeded to instruct Sam in the art of fishing, and in no time, she was casting and reeling like a pro.
"This is great," Sam said after a while.
"Told ya!"
"I can't believe we didn't do it years ago," she added.
"Yes, well… let's not dwell," Jack said with a smile. Sam giggled. Behind them, Daniel and Teal'c arrived, carrying the cooler between them.
Just then, a fish jumped out of the water a few yards ahead of them.
"Didn't that tape say there were no fish in your pond?"
Jack looked at her for a moment. "Close enough." Sam narrowed her eyes at him briefly before nodding.
Daniel and Teal'c set up the chairs on the grass near the dock, and Teal'c sat down as Daniel extracted beers from the cooler for Sam and Jack.
"So…" Daniel began, "…You two are actually married."
"We're actually married," Jack acknowledged.
"That's pretty… amazing, all things considered."
"I was beginning to wonder if the two of you would ever come to your senses." That comment came from the normally quiet Jaffa.
"You saw this coming for a while, didn't you Teal'c?" Daniel asked.
"Indeed. It was, as you say, as plain as the proboscis on your face."
" 'Nose', Teal'c," Jack corrected. "As plain as the nose on your face."
"Indeed."
Sam muffled a giggle, and Jack simply chuckled.
"Well, it tends to be a little less obvious when you're in the thick of it, I guess," Daniel said.
"Denial is a powerful tool in self-deceit," Sam said. "I'm just sorry it took me so long and so much heart-ache to see past it."
"Hey, we're not dwellin', we're celebratin', remember?" Jack clinked his bottle against Sam's. "Here's to us. May we live happily ever after, and all those other lovely cliché's you know I love."
"To us," Sam echoed before taking a sip.
"So… How long do you think you'll continue to be on SG:1, Sam?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know. Transfers can take a while to go through."
"I'll do what I can to expedite the process," Jack commented. "We should be able to have you running the place in no time."
"Running it?" Sam asked, incredulous.
"Well, I hear that the guy in charge there now wants something different himself, and I can think of no one more qualified to take over."
"Really? There's got to be someone more qualified than me," Sam mused. "I mean, I've only led command of a three-person team. That's quite a bit different from commanding an entire facility."
"True, but… No one has had their hands on more of the technology out there than you. You may not have gotten to study each individual piece for long, but there's hardly anything out there that didn't first pass through your hot little hands. From where I'm sitting, that makes you the ideal candidate for the job, and when I'm done talking with the President on the matter, I'm sure he'll agree."
"I don't know… considering… recent events," Sam said, indicating their matching wedding bands, "Don't you think that it might look a little, I don't know…"
"Like Jack's playing favorites?" Daniel chimed in.
"What the rest of the world doesn't know won't hurt," Jack answered. "We don't exactly need to broadcast our 'recent events', now do we?"
"Are you suggesting we keep our marriage a secret?"
"How about keeping it a 'need-to-know basis'. And really the only ones who need to know are us."
"And Cassie." Sam added.
"Yes, we can certainly tell Cassie." Jack agreed.
"So we are talking about keeping this a secret."
Jack frowned. "As much as I'd love to shout it from the rooftops, I think that's the more prudent course of action, don't you?"
Sam mulled it over for long minutes before nodding. "I suppose you're right. And it's really no different than me keeping my father's identity a 'need-to-know' secret."
"Exactly."
Sam sighed. "You'd love to shout it from the rooftops?"
"The highest ones in the galaxy, Sam. You're my wife, and I'm damn proud of it." Jack reached across and pulled Sam in to kiss her soundly. "I love you, Sam. Don't ever doubt that."
"I won't. And know that I love you, too."
"I know." Jack smiled as he pulled her to him for one more soul-searing kiss, while their friends looked on in unabashed approval.