Chapter nine
Pete was waiting for the bridal party to show up, only to find out that there was a delay because the limo got a flat tire. So he waited patiently. Then fifteen minutes later, the music started and everyone stood up as the bridesmaid started walking down the aisle. Pete couldn't see the bridesmaids. After the music ended, they all sat down and the wedding service began.
A half an hour later, Sam was standing next to Jack and they had said their wedding vows and exchanged wedding rings, the minister pronounced them husband and wife and told Jack he could kiss the bride.
So, he carefully lifted the veil over her head, then he cupped her face with his hands, they stepped together and kissed. Then they wrapped their arms around each other and he dipped her in front of everyone while still kissing her. Then they straightened up and broke for air. Then they held onto each other's hands while still looking at each other.
"Jack and Sam will now sign their marriage licence."
They walked over to where their marriage licence was and signed it while the hire photographer took pictures. When done, the minister looked at Henry and gave him the nod. He stood up and walked up the steps and over to them.
"Jack and Sam chose the President to sign as a witness."
After the President signed the papers, he gave them both a smile and he returned back to his seat. Then Jack and Sam returned back to their spot, holding hands.
"I'm pleased to introduce you to Jonathan and Samantha O'Neill!" Everyone clapped and smiled at the couple.
Then Janet passed Sam her bouquet and the music started, just as they walked down the aisle smiling till they reached outside. Janet and Andy were behind them with Cassie and Daniel.
Then Jacob and Alex followed, then Mark and his family, then the President and his wife, and then General Ryan and his wife. Everyone else slowly made their way outside.
When Sam was on the steps, Janet quickly picked up Sam's train and they walked over to a spot. Then everyone else walked out and congratulated them both before moving on. Jack and Sam spoke to a number of personnel.
They talked for twenty minutes before leaving to have their wedding photos taken. The guests walked over to the large gazebo that was set up. There was a bar set up for the ones who wanted a drink and the kitchen staff walked out with trays of finger food for all the guests.
While Sam was having her photo taken with Janet and Cassie, Daniel and Andy spoke to Jack.
"Jack, why didn't you tell me you and Sam were getting married?"
"What? And miss the shocked look on both of your faces and everyone there?"
"Yeah, but still!"
"Daniel!"
"Jack!"
"We will talk later, ok?"
"Ok!" Then Jack walked over to where Mark and his family were.
"Mark, a word please?"
"Sure!" They walked over to a spot where they could talk in private.
"Mark, how well do you know Pete Shanahan?"
"I've known him for twenty years why? What's going on?"
"He's tied up with a group who would do anything, and I mean anything, to destroy Sam's work and career, including black mail!"
"What does this have to do with Pete?"
"Mark, your Sam's brother and a friend of Pete Shanahan, This group found a weak spot in your friend and used that against him."
"No way, Pete loves Sam!"
"Mark, when you wanted to get them together, was he ever interested in Sam before?" Mark thought about what Jack had said.
"You know, what you said is interesting cause Pete started asking questions about Sam, personal questions, wondering if she was married or seeing anyone. He never has taken an interest before. Why now?"
"I think the group is black mailing him, like he's in debt or something had happened in the past that no one else knows but they found out about."
"Are you saying that this group is using Pete to get to Sam through me?"
"Yep, and I got the impression that nothing is going stop this group till they reach their goal."
"Have they tried in the past?"
"Yep, but I knocked them back, and now they're going to use friends and family to get what they want."
"So what was their plan, any ideas?"
"Yeah, they wanted Pete to Marry Sam and after that I don't know."
"Ok, so is that why you married her, to stuff up their plans?"
"No… I love Sam and I'm going to do anything I can to protect her. She knows what's going on and our bosses wanted her to play along, and hopefully she can find out what their plans are."
"Ok, I hope she knows what she's getting herself into?"
"She knows!" They looked over to see Jacob standing next to Sam as the photos were being taken.
"Sam sure looks beautiful today," Jack said.
"Yeah, she does alright."
They walked over to where the rest of their family and friends were. All the photos took over half an hour to do. When they were all done, they walked back to where their guests were. Janet and Cassie removed the train and the train veil. They took them into the reception area since the bags were there.
Once they were put away, they returned to their friends. Everyone talked and laughed having a wonderful time. Jack and Sam talked to some of the guests. They were outside till just before six when they started to head in for their evening dinner.
Pete was listening to the service and wondering who the bride and groom were. When it was over and the newlyweds walked back down the aisle, all he could do was wait till he got outside to look for Sam.
When he got a chance, he was able to walk outside and look around; when he saw the bridesmaids, he was shocked and wondering if the girl had given him the right church since there was a lot of Methodist churches in Colorado Springs.
So he walked back to his truck and got in. Then he got his cell phone out and called directories for all of the addresses of the Methodist churches in the Springs. He wrote them down and decided to see if he could find the right one. Then he started up his truck and drove away and started looking.
When everyone was seated, George went over to where the microphone was and said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, please stand to give a warm welcome to the new Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill."
Everyone stood up and clapped when Jack and Sam walked into the room holding hands. They watched them walk up onto the platform. Jack pulled a chair out for Sam. Once seated, he sat down then everyone else did.
"Jack has informed me that there is a six course meal and he also says, enjoy. Plus, there are disposable cameras on all the tables, so you can take photos this evening and if you want copies of the photos, let Daniel Jackson know the number that is on the camera and your name."
Then he walked over and sat down with the other guests just as the first course showed up. They all enjoyed the meals that Jack and Sam had chosen. In between each course there was number of speeches from different people, which made everyone laugh.
After they all had their fifth course, they got up and mingled for a while. Jack was over at the bar having a glass of beer when Jacob walked over to him
"Enjoying yourself, dad?" Jacob smiled.
"Yes, how many guests are here?"
"Two hundred and forty eight!"
"Wow, George said that there is a six course dinner"
"Yes and you want to know what the sixth one is?"
"Yes!" Jack smiled then took a sip of his beer before answering.
"Cake and late night supper!" Jacob shook his head.
"I should have known cake had something to do with it."
"Well, there you go."
"Who chose the meals?"
"We both did, we did everything together."
"That's good. So, where are you staying for your wedding night?"
"We are staying at the Broadmoor Hotel for the night."
"Wow, what about Sunday?"
"Don't know. We haven't talk about that yet."
"If you two want privacy, Sam could stay with you Sunday night."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I don't mind. I most probably am going to be on base doing more translations."
Jack nodded then turned to look around to see everyone laughing and talking.
"I'm glad that Sam and I decided to tape our wedding, just in case."
"Sam told me the same thing."
Jack saw Sam and smiled. When she saw him looking at her, she smiled back and then walked over to him. Jacob watched them two. The way they smiled at each other, everything. When Sam got closer to them, they wrapped their arms around each other.
"Enjoying yourself dad?"
"Yes I am, thanks!"
"That's good. I just spent the last half hour talking to Alex." Jack looked at her.
"What did she say?" Sam smiled.
"A lot. She told me some funny stories about you when you two were younger."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, now I know why you don't like needles and where you get your humour from, the family."
"Care to share Sam?" Jacob asked.
"Bad experiences, dad, and for his humour, he gets it from his grandparents."
"Really?"
"Yep, and Jack is third generation American Irish."
"Ok, anything else?"
"You meet her, go over and ask!"
"I think I will." Then he patted Jack on the shoulder as he passed them.
"Sam, did you have to say that?"
"Don't worry, Alex told me about what happened to you when you were younger and what happened to your parents and your step father."
"Yeah, it's like my family is cursed."
"That's what Alex said."
Jack's father died a few days before the end of the Korean war when he was seven months old. His mother remarried fourteen years later and had Alex.
Alex was eight months old when her father was killed during the Vietnam War. Their mother never remarried after that. She died when Jack was eighteen years old and he had just joined the Air Force. His grandparents raised Alex since she was three years old.
Jack sent money to them to help with Alex's education. When Jack was twenty-one, he got his inheritance. He left it in the bank and when Alex went to university, he paid for it. When she found out that he was the one paying for it, she paid him back when she got her inheritance.
By that time he was married to Sara. There was one secret that Sam and the others didn't know about, yet.
"So when would you like to get out of here, Sam?"
"What about the cake?"
"Mmm, cake," he said in Homer's voice. That made her giggle and then they both kissed.
Jacob walked over to where Alex, who was talking to Lou Ferretti, was.
"Colonel, Alex."
"Sir." Lou went to stand.
"Stay seated." Then he sat down and smiled.
"So Alex, got any good stories you would like to share?"
She smiled and looked over to see Jack and Sam in one another's arms then turned back to Jacob.
"Oh yeah, I got heaps of stories."
"Stories about whom?" Lou asked.
"Jack," Jacob said, waiting.
"You know Jack?" He looked at Alex.
"Yep, and I know a lot about you Lou. You're a ladies' man." His eyes widened and Jacob laughed.
"Who told you that?" His face fell.
"Charlie did!"
"What's wrong?" Jacob asked. She looked at them both then back to Lou.
"Charlie Kowalski."
"You know him?" She nodded.
"He… he was my husband." They were both shocked.
"Sorry Alex, I didn't know."
"It's ok. Do you remember when you showed up to work on Monday morning and Charlie had a black eye and swollen cut lip among other bruises?"
"Yeah, he said it was his brother-in-law's handy work… who is your brother?"
"Jack!"
"You're Alexandra O'Neill, Jack's little sister?"
"The one and only."
"I've seen photos of you when you were a teenager, wow."
"So why did Jack beat up Charlie Kowalski?"
"We went to Las Vegas and eloped. He wasn't happy when he found out."
"How long where you married for before…"
"Two and a half years. When Jack found out, we had been married for eight months and I was six months pregnant. I walked into the living room and saw Jack beating Charlie up till I yelled at him. When he saw me and saw my expanding stomach, I told him if you kill my husband, you would never see my baby and me again. He stopped and stood up and asked me why. What about my career? I told him that I still had it. Then I told him what the plans were. He didn't like it at first, but he had no choice. He was there when our son was born. Charlie and I named him Hamish Alex O'Neill Jordan Kowalski."
"Nice name," Jacob said.
"Thanks. Hamish was my grandfather's name and my father's middle name."
"And O'Neill?"
"When I was born, I was named Alexandra Doreen O'Neill Jordan."
"Ah, did you have any more children or was it just Hamish?"
"We had a daughter… he didn't know." She looked down at her hands.
"Sorry for bring it up," Lou said. She looked up at him.
"It's ok. The day Jack came and told me, I had only found out that morning that I was seven weeks pregnant. Jack was with me when I gave birth to my daughter."
"What is your daughter's name?" Jacob asked.
"Doreen Charleen O'Neill Jordan Kawalski."
"Have you got any photos of them?" Jacob asked.
"Sure!" She opened her purse and pulled out the photos and passed them to Jacob.
"Did you re-marry?" When he saw photos of four boys and a girl
"No, and as for the other three, yes they are Charlie's. Before the second mission to you know where, he had his semen frozen just in case. We were planning on having four kids, but as you can see I had set of twins boys." Jacob passed them to Lou.
"Hamish sure looks like Charlie."
"His does and the twins look like Jack's son, Charlie."
"Has Jack seen these?"
"I've sent him a family portrait every year since he has little time off and has been unable to come to Washington except for when I gave birth."
"Ok."
"I've been offered reassignment here in the Springs."
"Where?" Lou asked.
"SGC!"
"Does Jack know?"
"Nope, and tomorrow I'm going house hunting."
"Need any help?" Jacob asked.
"Yes thanks. Even though my plane doesn't leave till nine tomorrow night, that would be great."
"Ok, so you're staying at Jack's place?"
"Yes!"
"Well, how about I drop around in the morning and pick you up for breakfast, then we can work it from there."
"Sounds good to me, I've seen Jack's fridge and well…" Jacob chuckled.
"I know, Sam told me."
"Well, things sure are going to change for them both."
"True."