Author Notes: Very Mild Sexual Content and/or References.But I married them off first!

The Ship Sets Sail

By Bren Ren
Part 5/5
Rating: Teens
See Part 1 for Summary.
Disclaimer: Not mine. MGM and Co. own them. I'm just addicted.

Author's Notes: Love is in the air! We've reached the bedroom scene at long last. Well, almost. I'm taking creative license though, and stretching the Chimera-timeline by a day or so. Other than that, following canon for all non-S&J scenes. ~~~~

"But it's still against the regs, Sir. No matter how much we might want it," Sam announced. Not two seconds ago, she'd said she would love nothing more than to marry him, and that was still sinking into Jack's brain. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Sir?"

"Yeah. I'm here."

"I don't mean to rain on the parade here, but... there's still the whole regs-issue. Not to mention what sort of effect this will have on the team as a whole. We can't just ignore that."

"As far as the team goes, I think we'll be fine. We've made it through seven years of repressed feelings and denial. This can't be too much harder."

"And the regs. Got a magic wand to wave those away?"

"No, but between the two of us, I'd say the President owes us enough favors we could combine into one big one."

"You want to ask the President to wave the regs for us?"

"Something like that."

"You really think he'll go for it?"

"Ah, come on, Carter, the guy's a virtual lame duck. I think we've got a pretty good shot. Other wise I would never have suggested it."

Sam looked at him in wonder. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

Jack glanced down at his watch. "Oh, about two years, four months, one week, three days and-" he was interrupted by Sam's burst of laughter.

"Really?"

"You remember when that alien-entity thing took over your body?"

"Do you think I'll ever forget?"

"Yeah. Well, that's about the time I began seriously contemplating... life without Carter. It wasn't a pretty picture."

"That was a hell of a year, wasn't it." They stood quiet for a moment, lost in the memories.

"So, Sir, when did you want to go have that talk with the president?"

"You free for the next... twelve to fifteen hours or so?"

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"You really have been planning this for a while, haven't you?"

~~

Not only did the President agree that they should be married, he insisted on conducting the ceremony right then and there. They left the White House Mr and Mrs Colonel Jack O'Neill. And if anyone else ever again addressed her by that title, she'd shoot them.

Thirteen hours after they left, they were back in Colorado. Talk about a whirlwind romance. Of course, the wedding night was going to have to wait. They were late enough reporting back to the base. Hammond was probably ready to kill them.

Surprisingly, Hammond didn't even notice their absence. Seemed to be under the impression that they were actually early in arriving for the day. Jack made a mental note to remember to thank Teal'c for taking care of that little detail.

Teal'c was the first to comment on the incredibly good mood of his teammates.

"Major Carter. You look very happy today," he greeted her in the commissary. Sam blushed and glanced down at her tray.

"Just having a good day, I suppose." She had no idea how they were going to tell everyone about there sudden nuptials. "So how's Daniel doing today?"

"I have not seen Dr Jackson since he left last night."

"Maybe he's finally getting some decent sleep."

"Maybe he's not," the subject of their conversation interjected.

"Daniel! You look terrible."

"Yeah. Thanks. I feel like death warmed over in a microwave. Twice."

"Ouch. Not getting any better, huh?"

"Just stranger. The Sarah I'm dreaming about is just soo..."

"So.. what?" Jack popped in. He flashed a smile at Sam before turning back to Daniel. Sam's eyes again dropped to her hands.

"Jack. Hi. I don't know. All I can see when I close my eyes are those symbols and they may as well be the scribblings of a three year old for all I can decipher."

"Perhaps they do not actually have any meaning," said Teal'c.

"And I thought I was missing something interesting," Jack replied.

"Uuuggh! Enough! I'm ready to go beg Janet for some sleep-aids. I can hardly even see straight." Daniel dropped his head onto his folded arms.

"That's actually not a bad idea, Daniel," Sam responded. "She could even monitor your sleep, make sure there's nothing wrong, physiologically speaking, anyway."

Daniel yawned loudly. "Yup. A nice little nap in the infirmary. Just what the doctor ordered... or will order." He rose from the table, a tad unsteady. Teal'c stood up and stabilized him.

"G'night Daniel," Jack told him. Teal'c assisted the younger man out to the infirmary, leaving Carter and O'Neill momentarily alone in the commissary.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"Hello, Sir," she returned. For a moment they just stared, goofy little smiles on each of their faces. Sam was the first to break contact with a shake of her head.

"I've got a lot of work to do, Sir," Sam said as she began to rise.

"Think we should tell them?" Jack's question stopped her dead in her tracks. She sat back down abruptly.

"Can we talk about it later?" She glanced around for a moment before continuing, "Somewhere a little more private?"

"We don't have to hide, you know. We got permission," he said with a wiggle of the eyebrows.

"It's just... it happened pretty fast. Let's just take a little time to... to get used to it."

"Sure. Fine. No problem." Jack stood up to leave. Sam reached up and touched his arm. When he looked back at her, she was blew him away with a million-watt-smile. "I'll see you tonight, Major. Have fun with your doohickies."

"Meanwhile, Sir, might I suggest you get that mountain of paperwork you're avoiding done so we can take some leave time and have a proper honeymoon," she told him as she stood up. She turned and left the room long before he could drag his mind away from the mental images she had just conjured.

~~~~

They had been sitting in his truck, in front of her house, for almost five minutes without a word. Neither attempted eye contact, either. They both stared straight ahead, their thoughts consumed by what they each knew was about to happen. Finally, Sam broke the silence.

"So... you wanna come in?"

Jack spared her a sidelong glance. "I don't know, the inside of your house, that's a pretty big deal."

Sam cocked her head to one side. "You have been inside my house before."

"Yeah. But not like this."

"No. Not like this."

"This is different."

"Very different."

"So are you coming or staying?" Sam climbed out of the cab and walked to her door. Jack waited about half a second before following. They made is as far as getting the front door shut before they were all over each other.

Jack pinned Sam against the wall as his mouth devoured hers. As their tongues clashed, she could think of nothing but him. All she could see, hear, taste, feel, smell, was Jack. Her husband.

Whoa.

As if the realization had hit them simultaneously, they pulled apart.

"Wow." They spoke in unison, then laughed together. Jack managed to speak first. "That was so worth the wait!"

"Seven years." Her hands were tangled in his hair, but she brought one down to cup his face. "How did this happen?"

"Well, we got on a plane to Washington-" he stopped when Sam nipped at his lip.

"I love you, Jack O'Neill." Sam felt him go completely still in her arms. With eyes dark and intense, he lowered his mouth to hers once more. Against her lips, she felt as much as heard the words. "I love you Samantha Carter O'Neill. Always have."

~~~~

Carter leaped out of the surveillance van moments before Osiris came out of the front of Daniel's house. She immediately opened fire. The Goa'uld shot back, wiping out the van.

Jack ran out of the house just in time to see her blown twenty feet off the ground from the van's explosion. Jack screamed for Sam as he fired the dart gun. Osiris spun around to fire at him just before collapsing. He never even felt the blast ripping through his shoulder. He ran to Sam, still collapsed in a heap. He checked for a pulse, praying... Please, God, No! Not Yet! I Just Got Her!!... finding her heart is still beating strong... Thank You God!! I Owe You One...

Sam rolled into Jack a bit as her eyes slowly opened.

"Sir?"

"Right here. You okay?"

She thought it over a moment, mentally reviewing body parts. "I think so. Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"You're bleeding." Jack looked down to see a large red stain growing across his left shoulder.

"Oh. Crap." That would be the last thing he remembered of the stake-out, as he promptly lost consciousness.

~~~~

Inside the infirmary, Jack was stationed just a couple of beds down from Sarah. Another thing to thank God for. The Tok'ra had managed to extract the snakehead and save Daniel's friend.

Jack tried to sit up so he could reach a glass of water on the tray, but flopped back down when a wave of dizziness swamped him almost immediately.

"You're not supposed to do anything but lay there for the next 24 hours, Sir."

Too beat to argue, Jack just nodded.

"Everything okay, Sir?" She reached for his hand, but he moved it away. "Jack?" she whispered.

He finally met her eyes. The pain she saw in them tore at her heart.

"That was too damn close. Too damn soon to be that close." He closed his eyes again, trying to block out the pain he saw mirrored in her eyes.

"But we made it through. You're going to be fine."

"Yeah." He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see her as he spoke his next words. "Don't know if I can keep doing this... now."

Sam felt tears welling up. She swallowed them back and spoke softly, praying her voice wouldn't crack. "It's too late for second thoughts, you know."

Jack's eyes flew open and pinned hers. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I'm just... thinkin' that retirement is sounding really good right now."

"Oh." Sam wasn't sure what to say to that. "Please, don't jump to any decisions right now. We've been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours. We just need to let things... settle."

Jack sighed. "It's going to be a very long night."

"Very," she agreed. "I think I may just spend the night on base. I don't think I feel like driving home." She paused and glanced around. "You know, if we... if we told Janet.. she might be willing to let me crash out in here... if you wanted-"

"Hell ya! You're the one who wanted to wait to tell everyone, remember?"

"Well, like you said, it's not as if we have to hide anything now, right?"

"I love the way you think, Carter."

"Funny, you always said I think too much."

"You do. You gonna go get the doc, or should I start pounding the panic button?"

"We're about to ask her for a favor. The last thing we want to do is scare her half to death first." As she rose, Sam leaned in close to Jack's face. "Don't you dare fall asleep before I get back." She planted a feathery kiss on his forehead before she walked away. Might not be such a bad night after all, Jack thought as he drifted to sleep.

~~~~

Fini

Like it? Love it? Let me know! Feedback is inspiring! And I could even be talked into continuing the series on into Death Knell, and who knows, maybe even the rest of the series...

Love and hot fudge,
Bren Ren
Bren_ren@yahoo.com

<< BACK