One Month Later
Sam moves ever so slightly in her sleep, closer to him. She is such a snuggler, and even more so when she is asleep. The fact that she has spent almost every night on her own is amazing to him, the way that she seems to need physical contact. Of course the fact that she has been alone for so long might explain why she needs so much touch; she's behind.
He wipes the hair away from her forehead, and she lets out a slight moan. "Mrs. O'Neill, you'd better get up, it's our wedding day."
"Wedding reception, and the name is still Carter," she says, pulling the blankets over her head.
He giggles, "You know, for all the times that I had to drag you out of the SGC and force you to sleep, I never would have figured that you were so hard to wake up in the morning."
"I don't like to go to bed, because when I do I have to wake up," Sam explains from underneath the covers.
Jack nuzzles his way underneath the blanket, and kisses her neck in a way he's figured out tickles her. She jumps out of bed in order to flee him.
"You are evil," she mumbles.
"Whatever, Carter, you'd be furious if I let you be late for your own wedding," he says.
"It's a reception," she reminds him.
"Potato, patahto," he retorts.
"Nope, it's a big difference. If it was a wedding, I would be all nervous, and required to do some sort of public speaking. Since it is a reception, it's just a party with our friends, and I have nothing to be nervous about," she says, even though her hand shakes a little.
He shakes his head, "I'm still amazing at how someone as amazing as you has a fear of public speaking. You're fine at briefings."
"Right, briefings, where I am talking about science to a few of my closest friends. That is a little bit different than talking about feelings to a room full of family and friends, most of whom I only see a few times a year. Now I am going to go take a shower," she says.
"I could join you," he offers cheerfully.
"Don't you even think about it! There is no way that we are going to be late for our own wedding reception," she retorts as she heads into the bathroom.
"Women," he mutters, making sure that it is quiet enough that his wife is not going to overhear him.
-0-
"Now, my daughter said that no-one is allowed to make any speeches," Jacob's voice rises above the noise of the outdoor barbeque, and silences all the guests, "But I'm hoping that she was just trying to avoid saying something herself." Those who know Sam well enough to know about her phobia of public speaking giggle. "I couldn't let her wedding go by without saying something. So here it goes. Sammy is a truly amazing human being. She is good at pretty much everything she ever attempts. She is an amazing scientist, soldier, daughter, friend, and sister. I know that she is going to be just as amazing as a wife, and if she chooses, a mother. I am so proud of you, baby girl."
A "hear, hear" starts with Daniel and moves around the room like wildfire.
"I would also like to say something," Cassie says, standing up on a chair. She may not be as short as her mother, but she acts like she is. "I am so glad that Sam and Jack have gotten together. I am so lucky that when I moved to Colorado I didn't just get a mother," she says smiling at her mom, "But an aunt and three uncles. SG-1 has always been my family, and I am so excited that two of them have gotten married."
General Hammond clears his throat, and although no-one quite stands at attention there is a feeling of that in the room. "Rarely have I had the good fortune to work with officers of the quality of these two. I am sure it is no surprise to anyone in this room that I have taken no small amount of crap from those above me for allowing, and even condoning, them to begin a relationship. Let me assure you that it is worth it. People who do what you do, people who protect our nation, they deserve whatever happiness they can get out of life. I think you've found it, so enjoy it, kids."
Next, Jack's mother stands up. She looks almost as nervous before the crowd which is to her almost all strangers as Sam does when she is in front of a camera. "From my perspective, this all happened pretty fast. It was about a month ago that Jack first mentioned Samantha during a phone call. My son isn't particularly chatty," the room laughs at that understatement, "And I didn't actually have the pleasure of meeting my daughter-in-law until the day before yesterday. So, I don't exactly have a lot of nice things to say about her. I'm sure I will as time goes on," she says flashing a smile at the younger woman, "My son, though. I could talk about the wonderful things about him all day long. Unfortunately he informed me that he has classified his childhood," she says, earning another laugh from the crowd, "While I didn't exactly believe that he had the authority to do that, he did yield some pretty realistic threats of all the things he would do if I let slip any stories about him. Namely, he threatened to have dogs instead of children. I will just say that he's one of the good ones. He deserves another chance, and I am so grateful to you, Samantha, for giving it to him."
Jack's father nods his head in a way that lets everyone know he is claiming his wife's speech as his own. Daniel stands up next and says, "I have watched the two of you work together for years. You were always professional, even though I know the feelings that the two of you have are not exactly new. I am so glad that you guys don't have to pretend not to feel what you feel anymore. I am so glad that you guys get to be as happy in your homes as you are on the job. I would probably tell you more about the two of them, unfortunately, most of what I know about these two is actually classified," he says earning a laugh as he gives a nod to let everyone know that he is done.
Mark stands next and says simply, "Congratulations, sis."
The eyes fall to Teal'c, who seems to be the only other person with a level of importance that makes it critical for him to say something. He looks around the room and says, "Samantha Carter and O'Neill are both warriors of great renown. It was my pleasure to be the one responsible for uniting them in marriage. If they are still seeking permission to display their affection for each other they have it," the slight smirk on the side of his mouth clearly shows that someone, probably Daniel, has explained the tradition of 'you may now kiss the bride' to him since the wedding.
Everyone clinks their silverware against the glasses, and Sam and Jack stand up to kiss. He dips her, and she's kissed him enough now not to be surprised by it.
"Now, for the cake!" Jack exclaims, as soon as his lips have been separated from his new wife's.
-0-
"Mrs. O'Neill, it is completely safe to tell me stories about Jack's childhood. I'm the hold out on the kid issue," Sam says, sitting next to her new mother-in-law.
"Honey, you can either call me Mom or Laura, and I don't really have that many interesting stories from when Jack was young. He was just a good well behaved kid. When he got into trouble, it was never his own idea."
"You're kidding, right?" she asks laughing.
"No, he really was a rather boring child," Laura replies.
"Apparently he saved up all of his tricks for adulthood," Sam says with a grin.
"Are you two talking about me?" Jack says suspiciously, sitting down next to his wife.
"Could be," she says with a grin.
"Don't believe anything she says, Mom," Jack demands.
"But I'm allowed to believe what she says? I do have all the really good stories," Sam says with a giggle. "Our friend Murray likes to meditate, with all kinds of candles. One time Jack snuck into his room, and replaced all of his candles with that trick kind that won't blow out. Murray thought he had contracted some sort of illness and become all weak. He pouted for days," Sam says with laughter.
"Sam, would you like to dance with me?" Jack asks.
"In a minute," she says, waving her new husband away with her hand, "Another time when Cassie was out with her friends he glued her desk and everything on it to the ceiling. When she came back home she thought gravity had stopped working."
"Samantha," Jack says, standing up and tugging at her arm a bit more deliberately.
"Then there was the time that he unscrewed every light bulb in my house, and I thought the electricity went out. Only, that didn't make any sense, because everything else in the house was still working."
"Mom, would you like to dance?" Jack asks, extending his hand to her.
"I would," she says standing. She pats Samantha on the shoulder and says, "Don't worry. You'll have plenty more time to tell me about all the naughty things that my son did. We're also going to have a chat about why you don't want to give me grandbabies."
Sam smiles as her mother-in-law is whisked away. She decides that she is going to slip a 'mom' into the conversation as soon as she can. It's been a long time since she had a mother. She actually can't believe that Jack had family that she didn't know about until after they were engaged. He is such a private man.
She hopes that his desire to keep his family life and his life with her apart is only a jest. Sometimes it's hard to tell what things he is serious about what he isn't.
"May I have this dance?" Jacob asks, tapping her gently on the shoulder.
"Of course, daddy," she agrees, standing up.
"'Daddy', it's been a while since I heard that one," he says. He remembers the last time that passed her lips. She was four years old, and had a knee full of blood. The whole sentence had been, "Why did you let go of the bike, Daddy?"
He knows that he shouldn't have been teaching a four-year-old to ride bike, but she was a speed demon on that trike, and fearless. Fearless at least until she hit the concrete. In those first seconds when he held the shaking toddler he'd worried that he'd broken her, taken away her spunk forever. Then she'd gotten back on the bike and said, "Just hold on until my feet start to move, the problem was last time I stopped pedaling. You have to keep moving."
"I'm so happy for you, baby girl," he says as he spins her on the dance floor.
She smiles, a peaceful smile. Peaceful, wasn't that a funny word to use for a warrior? But not really, he mused, because you can't really understand peace until you have seen war.
"I'm really happy," she says.
Jack taps Jacob on the shoulder, "Now will you dance with me?" he asks.
"You refused to dance with him already?" Jacob asks in mock shock, "Oh, Jack, have you got your work cut out for you with this one!"
"I think if I let her lead, I'll be all right," he says with a smirk.
"Are you talking about on the dance floor or in life?" Jacob asks.
"Both," Jack responds.
"You'll do just fine," Jacob says, patting the man on the back.