When the room cleared, Jennifer tried to block out the voices of the angry guards. Turning to Cameron, she looked at him.

"Thanks," she said, "for staying. You didn't have to."

He reached over and took her hand. "Yes, I did." He held her hand until the priest came back in. Standing up almost instinctively to defend her, the priest noticed how he held on to her. And that he could have escaped with the others and didn't.

He looked at them, shaking his head. "I guess your... friends... were pretty eager to leave our village, I take it?"

Cameron nodded. "The woman is a handful, as Evan said earlier. She had it rigged before we got here." He looked around. "Sorry about the damage."

The priest looked back at them. "I've changed my mind. The others do not believe your stories. But after seeing this present situation, I do not believe anyone would stay if they could have escaped unless they truly loved the person," he turned. "I will make you a deal. They will not let her leave today until she is bound in marriage. They instructed me to have you disposed of. So instead of killing you," he said. "You will marry her. In about two hours. You will stay here the night. And then, you may leave. You see, once she's married, those in charge in the village will want to have nothing to do with her."

He motioned for a guard to come in and unlock Jennifer's foot. Grateful for the ability to regain some movement in her legs, she held on to Cameron as he helped her up.

"A girl will be in shortly to prepare your woman," the priest said. "You will come with me."

Jennifer clung to Cameron's hand, not wanting to be separated. "Hey," he said. "We don't have a choice. And I think this guy is telling the truth. We're going to have to trust them. Just keep an ear out, remember." He pointedly nodded to her ear piece, which was covered by her hair.

A young girl shortly afterward came and collected Jennifer from the guards. She allowed herself to be taken to a room full of young girls, specifically trained to prepare a bride on her wedding day.

Despite being taken hostage, stunned, and now forced to marry, she couldn't help but enjoy the luxurious bath she was currently enjoying. A girl washed her hair and wrapped it in a cloth.

"Your hair is shorter than most, madam," the girl said softly. "You are not from around here."

Jennifer shook her head. "No, I'm not." She was curious about the girls. "Is this where you live?"

They all shook their heads. "We are maidens, kept separate from the men here in the village and any married woman. It's to preserve us until we are betrothed and married. We're brought here at age 12 and educated here in the Priest's chapel."

Trying not to react, she allowed them to dry her hair and use instruments from the fire to roll the strands into soft wavy curls.

"I think this dress will do," one girl approached her. "This will please your betrothed very much."

Wondering how Cameron would react to seeing her in a dress, she laughed. "Yes. He's not used to seeing me in much other than this uniform."

The girls were puzzled. "Uniform?"

Jennifer stopped, wondering if she said something wrong. "Uniform. I'm a doctor. A healer to my people."

The girls began exchanging glances. "In our village, only men are healers. And they are to remain unmarried. As a priest is. Because of the nature of the job."

"Well, my people believe differently," she said, firmly. "Now, where's this dress I've been hearing about?"

The girls were more quiet as they prepared Jennifer for the ceremony. They dressed her hair and pulled the long, formal gown over her head. It was made of white lace.

"Did one of you make this?" she asked.

"Yes," a smaller girl said. "It took an entire year. I'm happy that I'm able to see you wear it."

Standing in front of the mirror, Jennifer couldn't imagine a more beautiful gown and told the girl so. Pleased, the girl stayed by her side loyally as the rest of the girls quietly finished their work.

The priest knocked on the door. "Is the woman ready?"

The girls bowed, nodding their heads. Jennifer was led out of the room and down the stairs, where she met a very stunned Cameron Mitchell.

The priest began the ceremony. It was similar to a wedding ceremony on Earth, except there was no interaction between the priest and the couple in front of him. After a ring was provided by the priest, he instructed Cameron to place it on Jennifer's hand. It completed the ceremony, leaving Cameron a little disappointed. Ending it with a kiss would have been much better.

They were separated again afterward. The young girl who had loyally stood by Jennifer's side during the preparations brought her to a bridal room. It was beautiful. A fireplace blazed in the corner of the room. A large bed was in the middle, complete with soft, luxurious fabric layered on top. There was a chair next to it, upholstered beautifully with a golden material. It was like no room Jennifer had every seen.

The young girl helping her giggled. She helped Jennifer remove the gown and carefully wrapped it up while Jennifer replaced the gown with a long, silk nightgown complete with a matching long-sleeve floor length robe.

"You must take the dress with you tomorrow," the girl said, helping her with the robe. "To remember me."

They both turned as the door opened. Cameron, looking unsure of himself, entered the doorway as the girl gathered the dress and placed it onto a table next to the door. The girl giggled again and ran passed Cameron, closing the door behind her.

He couldn't stop starring at her. Jennifer looked incredible, sending shock waved to his system. He couldn't breath, couldn't think. Walking towards her, he reached out to her but then dropped his hands. This isn't real, he thought. Hold it together, Mitchell, and find a way out of here.

Jennifer began twisting her hands, looking nervous. "So," she said softly. "What's the plan?" She desperately tried to avoid thinking about what she was wearing, what this room was intended for, and who was in it. She sat down into the chair next to the fire. Her feet were bare, curled underneath her.

He walked into the room, looking for an exit. There were no windows, no adjoining rooms or door. He turned on his communicator. "This is Mitchell. Can anyone hear me?"

All he heard was silence. He repeated the message, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Cameron finally gave up. "Well," he started. "When I was brought up here, there were guards on each side of the hallway on this floor. We have no weapons. So that leaves us two choices... wait it out, since they said they would release us in the morning. Or, wait and see if the cavalry shows up."

He looked at her bare feet. "Did they leave your clothes in here?"

She shook her head. "It's back down in the first room I was in."

Cameron began pacing the room. "I don't think we're in any danger if we stay. Added to the fact that you have no shoes, will freeze in the cold, and we don't have any weapons. But if we try to leave... that could bring down a lot of possible bad situations."

"Colonel," he heard from his communicator. Motioning to Jennifer, he looked relieved.

"Glad to hear you, Lorne," he said. "We're up on the second floor, middle room. Guards on each floor, including weapons."

There was silence, then Cameron heard Lorne speak to someone. "Cadman there?"

"Affirmative. Trying to talk her out of blowing up more of this place. She's a little destructive today. Colonel... hold on. Cadman just ran into a girl in the hallway. We're just below you guys."

He heard faint voices, then Cadman's voice urging Evan to warn them.

"What's happening?" Mitchell asked.

"Sir, do you have any weapons?" Evan asked.

"No. And Jen's not dressed warm if we have to make a quick break," he said, half expecting Laura to jump on that comment. He began to get nervous. "Why?"

Lorne spoke quickly. "This girl said she overheard a few men talking, questioning the priest if you both were lying to him. They wanted to come in and question you, but he denied them. Instead, he's sending an older girl to your room right now with wood. I guess she's checking to see... ummm... yea. I guess she'll be checking to see if the marriage is real. Sir, when did you get married?"

Cameron cursed. "How long until she gets here?" He heard them questioning the girl.

"Any second," Lorne said. "She tried to warn you both but the guards wouldn't let her back onto the floor."

"Radio silence, then. I'll contact you once we're clear," he swiftly said as he yanked the buttons off the shirt the priest had provided, pulling it off. "Jennifer, I hope you're a good actress, because we're in big trouble if you're not."

Trying to figure out what was going on, she stood.

"Robe, off," he said, yanking it off her body. Gathering her into his arms, he threw her high onto the bed near the pillows. Yanking off his shoes, he leaped onto the bed, looking at her. Despite the circumstances, he had never seen anything more tempting in his life. He quickly dipped the strap of her gown off so that it was running down her shoulder, leaving it bare but not revealing anything. "Someone's coming, checking to make sure we're really.... celebrating. Let's just leave it at that."

Her eyes widened. "What?" Panicked, she gripped his shoulders. "Can't we fight them?"

"No," he said. "It's one of the older girls. And then there's the guards and no weapons. Cadman and Lorne are coming, but won't get here in time." He heard voices in the hallway. "Look, I wouldn't order you to do this but we don't have a choice. I need you to completely trust me here."

He was surprised when she breathed deep once and then nodded. She sat up for a second, hiking the gown halfway up her thigh, and then propped herself up on the pillows. Grabbing his head, she tugged him close.

"Uh, Jen?" He said, surprised. "Why does it seem like you've done this before?" He lowered himself half on top of her, a smile on his lips. This was crazy. As much trouble as they were about to be in if this didn't work, he still couldn't help finding himself grinning.

She smiled herself. "Yeah, no, even for me and my luck, this is a first. But, I'm really into the whole survival mode right now..." She stopped talking as his lips met hers. Releasing the breath she had been holding, she melted. He slowly drew out the kiss, cupping her face into his hand and running his hand down her bare shoulder. She brought her hand behind his head and began tugging him tighter against her mouth, matching each kiss eagerly. He groaned, shifting more on top of her, not even remembering or caring that someone could be coming through the doorway any second.

He rained kisses across her jaw, smiling when he heard her sigh. Giving the same attention to her jawline, her neck, he heard her intake of breath when he got to her neck. Cameron was lost, not able to think or feel anything except for the moment.

"Cam," she said, cupping his head and arching her back. In the distance, he faintly heard a knock. Thinking it was the blood pounding in his heart, he ignored it and brought his lips back to her mouth. Nibbling on her lips, he heard her mutter his name again against his lips. "Cam, the door."

He stopped, turning his head. Almost angry at the interruption, he called out impatiently. The door opened, and he made no movement to roll off of her. Noticing a girl carrying wood, he couldn't help glaring at her.

The girl looked terrified, but he saw that she pulled it together to do her job. Cam saw her rake her eyes over Jennifer, noting the hiked up gown and swollen lips from Cameron's lack of shaving. She met his gaze, curtsying. "Sorry, but I brought wood for your fire."

He chuckled, making her relax. "Sweetheart, I highly doubt we'll be needing that, but just set it down next to the door."

The girl obeyed, averting her eyes and then closed the door behind her. Cameron still didn't move off of Jennifer. Not being able to resist himself, he captured her mouth again. "She may come back," he muttered, knowing full well that the girl had been satisfied. He couldn't get enough of her, deepening the kiss. Her hands raked over his chest, his sides, and then clung to his back. He finally came to his senses after a few minutes and pulled back before he couldn't stop anymore.

Her lips were in a pout and looked tender. She was slightly red from where he had been rubbing his face across her own.

"Sorry," he said softly, rubbing her tender skin. "If I would have known..." He stopped, not knowing how to exactly to finish the thought.

Not realizing she her hands were still on his bare back, Jennifer blushed. His heart about melted. "What? You would have shaved if you would have known we had to pretend to be consummating the wedding?"

He grinned. "Yeah, something like that."

"Mitchell," Lorne's voice came through the communicator. "Mitchell. What's gong on in there?"

"Everything's fine," he said, not caring for the interruption. "The girl left." Reluctantly, he gazed one last time into her eyes, hoping for any indication she felt the same as he did about her. If she was really acting her way through that, he would be crushed. Cameron sat up, swung his legs over the bed, and then helped her up.

Lorne came through the speaker again just as Jennifer put hers back on. "Did she seem convinced?"

The both looked at each other, standing a short distance away from one another. His eyes didn't leave hers. "A definite yes on that one, major."

"OK," Cadman called over the radio. "We're going to create a distraction. A loud one. It should bring the guards down and give you guys a chance to get out of there. Hang tight for a few minutes and we'll come up to you. And colonel... you're going to have to elaborate on that last comment when we get to you. I want details. Lots and lots of details."

The radio clicked off.

The silence was deafening.

Finally, Jennifer was the one to speak first. "Cam. What's going on with us? Please say that wasn't all acting for you."

His heart jumped. "If you're asking," he said, walking towards her, "if that was real or not, I think you know the answer to that."

Walking up to her and tugging her waist back against his body, her ran his hands up her arms, cupping her face, and kissing her sweetly on the lips.

"Furthermore, Dr. Jennifer Keller, I think we're going to have a long chat when we get back to Atlantis. And maybe some more of this," he said, kissing her cheek and trailing down to her neck.

The door flew open and Cameron instinctively pushed her behind him, shielding her. Laura and Evan ran through the door, with a girl in tow. Jennifer peeked around him, recognizing the young girl who had stood by her side earlier today.

"Whoa," Laura said. "Looking hot, Jen. Hmmm... hope we didn't interrupt anything. She showed us where to get your clothes." She walked over and set them on the bed. Noticing that Mitchell hadn't taken his arms off of her friend, she sent him a look. "You going to just stand there or can I help her get out of that get-up. Unless you want to-"

"Cadman," Lorne warned, listening at the door. "This is not the time."

Smirking, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, like they were taking any of this seriously anyways. They were making out when we came in." Gesturing for the guys to turn, she helped Jennifer out of the nightgown and into her clothes. "Someone needs a shave, colonel," she said, eying the red marks over her friend's face and neck. She laughed when Jennifer began to blush.

Evan looked at Cameron, shaking his head. "She is a handful. What am I getting myself in to? I don't know what's worse? Her need to blow things up or the need to give me a heart attack."

"You mean," Mitchell said, "You and Cadman are finally... uh... together?"

Evan glanced back at her and his face softened. "Yeah, it was too hard not being together than it is to be together. If that makes sense. Actually, nothing does. We blew out of that jail cell, run for our lives, we finally escape the guards... and then as we're hiding in the forest until nightfall, she breaks down and cries, saying that she wants to be transferred back to Earth so she doesn't have to see me anymore. I refused, saying I would never let Sheppard sign it, she demands why, and then... I kissed her. On a mission, with a ranking officer and the CMO locked up... every brain cell in my body just died in that moment. Nothing makes sense anymore."

"Makes perfect sense to me, major. But our current problem is getting out of here."

The girl, watching this interaction with interest, nodded towards the bed. "There's a secret passageway behind the bed. If you can pull it back, I can get the panel to move away."

Both men walked over and moved the bed away from the wall. Sure enough, the girl was able to find the hidden switch, and the wall began to move. "I can't go with you. But I'd like to give the doctor a gift," the girl moved back towards the door, picking up a package. She quickly unwrapped it, neatly folded the nightgown inside it, and rebound it. "I want you to have this... to remember today and to remember me. I hope that one day, my people will accept female doctors the way your world does. You have inspired me, doctor Jennifer."

Jennifer accepted the gift, and softly kissed the girl on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything. I won't forget you."

"You'll need to take the passageway all the way down. It will take you almost to the ring where you came from," the girl said.

They thanked her and then quickly set out to their escape. Halfway there, a surprised looking Ronon and Daniel, along with two teams, met them.

"How did you-" both groups ask. Ronon, just glad they were all OK, turned and lead the way out. He called out over his shoulder. "A man from the village told us about the passageway. We expected a full out battle to get you back. How did you guys get away?"

Cadman, grinning at her friend, was about to say something only to have Lorne cover her mouth. "Behave, young lady."

The back up teams, shocked to see Lorne teasing the lieutenant, couldn't keep up. Eying his arm that went around Laura, tugging her close to him as they walked, they also were shocked to find Colonel Mitchell holding hands with Atlantis' CMO.

A few minutes before they got to the gate, Jennifer's brain was swirling. "Cameron, who are we kidding?" They were a ways a part from the nearest person. "How are we going to make this work. We live in two different galaxies."

"Not if I transfer to yours." He said, planting a kiss on her lips. Shocked that he would suggest it, she looked up.

"You would do that for me?"

He picked her up just as Ronon opened the gate. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she laughed.

"No, I wouldn't. But I would do it for us," he said. When they were completely through, he couldn't resist kissing her again. She blushed when she heard yells and whistles from the teams who came through with them, not to mention those watching through the control room.

Sheppard bounded down the stairs, obviously almost healed completely. "What is going on, Mitchell? Lorne?" He asked, eying the majors hand tightly gripping Laura's. "Here I am, thinking that the four of you are dead, and you come back like you're prancing off the Love Boat."

Cameron set Jennifer down. "It's like this, Sheppard. Jen and I got married. Lorne and Cadman lied, saying they were married, blew up a jail before anyone could find out they lied. Then they saved us." He laughed at John's expression. "This really shouldn't shock you at all, given who was on the mission with us." He eyed Jennifer. "Oh, and I would like to request transfer papers to leave the SGC. As soon as possible. Sir." Knowing he was pressing his luck, he studied Sheppard's face.

Surprising them all, Sheppard turned his back and walked up the stairs. "Already done, Cameron. They're waiting on my desk. Took you long enough. Cadman," he called out to her. "Same papers on my desk. Swing by after the debriefing."

Both Cameron and Evan just looked at each other. "Well," Cam said. "That was certainly easy."

Lorne snorted with laughter. "Better be. I have a feeling the real hard part is ahead of us. At least for me. Leave it to me to fall in love with a Marine who loves her dynamite."

Jennifer laughed, jumping on Cameron and kissing him hard. "Life just got a little better on our floating city."