Title: Proving One's Self

Author: Katmellie

Email: _Katmellie@AOL.com_

Category: Um... you decide.

Season: Season Eight.

Spoilers: Big Sacrifice Spoilers.

Summary: Two weddings at once.

Sequel to: Walking Away

Rating: PG

Warning: None, (I dont think)

Archive: Yes, SJD

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. The song 'Build Me Up Buttercup, Baby' doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the Temptations and anyone else who has copyrights to it.

Website: _www.sjforever.com_

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With things how they were now, I felt as though the world was passing me by and leaving me behind to catch up with all the action and fun everyone else was having. The main teaser for this was 'Mission: Debriefings' making me listening to every aspect of everyone's fun and incredible experiences. And right then, I was listening to SG-5's account of another mission that could have been a failure but had turned out for the best at the end of it all. Propping my head up with my left hand, I pretended to be making notes in the briefing document in front of me, as Major Thompkins explained how Lieutenant Barley quick talked them out of being burned at the stake. 'Fun' I thought, 'I thought this job was supposed to be fun with all this power at my fingertips'. I rubbed a weary hand over my face and scratched at the three day old stubble I'd yet to shave off. I didnt see any point in shaving it off, as madam wasn't there to complain about it. She was off with Teal'c and Danile exploring the universe while I stayed at home in my nice comfy chair and watched from the sidelines. It felt just as it did when I played peewee hockey and I had gotten benched for an injury. Everyone else had been on the ice having all the fun and getting all the glory while I was left to go, 'Yay, I'm so happy for you'. But I wasn't complaining, honest. Combing my fingers through my hair I turned my head to look at Thompkins, nodding my head as he recalled the sprint back to the gate and the tremedous roll through the gate he'd performed. I had been stood in the control room thinking 'What an idiot?'. I knew from first hand experience how much it hurt to roll or even land on that grated walkway. It wasn't pleasant. But he seemed really pleased with himself. What did he want, a ten out ten score from all the judges in the control room? 'Oh, that swn dive was fantastic!'. A nod of my head brought the debriefing, and my torture, to an end and SG-5 filed out while I headed into my office, slapping the briefing document onto my desk. It should have been time for cake or even red jello, but with the paperwork from this morning still waiting to be done I sat down behind my desk and made a start on it. There was so much paper left over from the whole Colson incident, the paper shredder hidden under my desk was starting to look like a good idea. And when I was done with that, I had to go through SG-1's last mission report before I got the report for their mission they were due back from. Now that was a smack in the teeth, having to read their mission reports. Checking my watch I decided that 'cake time' was going to be then, the paperwork could wait till I had something in my stomach that would keep me going till the end of the day. I pushed my chair back and slid on my hands into my pockets, and began on the way to the elevator, waving to Spears as I passed his office. I made it all the way up to the commissary doors till somebody finally confronted me with some file, wanting me to read it over. Snatching it from them I carried into the commissary and picked a cake out from the serving counter, and then sat down at a vacant table. I opened the file out onto the table and began to read it, when the klaxon sounded for an incoming wormhole. Pulling my shirtsleeve up I checked my watch, 'On time as always', and carried on reading the file. It wouldn't be long before one of them found me, that sixth sense that had us all homing in one another. Hopefully, they wouldn't find me till I was done with my cake. As I turned the page in the file I scratched the back of my head, seeing only gobbledegook in front of me. I'd have to get Spears to read through it for me. Spears were a surprise. He'd turned up one morning, standing to attention in my office, as I'd arrived back from a weekend away with Sam. Looking at him, he was very much a pencil pusher but that was until one day when he'd joined me on the firing range. He handled a P90 better than Daniel did. It hadn't taken long for him to gain my trust and soon I found I had new friend, who shared a lot of my own interests. Guess George had some say in whom I got, making sure it was someone I would get along with. Eating the last remaining piece of my cake, I left the commissary and headed down to my office stopping to give Spears the file I'd been given. I sat at my desk typing a reply to General Hammond's email, when a sharp knock came at my door. Slowly I looked away from the screen of my laptop to see Daniel enter my office, a piece of paper in his hand before he put it down in front of me. "Look at this scripture I found P9F374, its similar to the Ancients except its... I think it's Greek... might be Arabic, I'd have to check in my books." Daniel stood posed with his hands on his hips. I glanced at the piece paper and then sat back into my chair, folding my arms over my chest. "Hey Daniel. Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. You? Oh, good good. How was the mission? Oh, no. Well at least you came out in one piece." "God." Daniel groaned sitting down into a chair behind him. "Hey Jack, how're things?" "Oh good, 'cept had some trouble sleeping lately but nothing really important." I answered rubbing the back of my neck. "Have you grown a beard?" He curiously looked at me, finally noticing. "A little. What you think?" I asked wanting his honest opinion. He looked at it from every angle and then said. "It looks good, you going to keep it at that sort of length?" "Depends." I mumbled stroking a hand over my beard. "It's gotta go through the Sam test yet." Just then, as if called upon, Sam wandered into my office running her fingers through her still damp hair. She stopped behind Daniel and frowned at me. "Daniel... you didn't touch any mirrors back on the planet, did you?" She questioned. "Why?" He retorted looking at her over his shoulder. Her frown deepened, as she edged her way round Daniel to the seat beside him. "My Jack doesn't have a beard." "Oh, very funny, Sam." I shook my head at her, leaning forward onto my desk while she smiled. "When did Spears book you guys in for?" "Ten hundred hours tomorrow morning." She said studying my face. "'Kay. Teal'c's leaving in an hour isn't he, to visit Bra'tac and Rya'c?" I started to type some of my reply, glancing at them from time to time. "Yep." Daniel nodded his head at me. "He'll be back tomorrow won't he?" Sam agreed with him. "Yeah. He's supposed be helping me test some new weaponry with Siler." "Rather him than me, I remember what happen to Siler last time." I mumbled more to myself. "Well, I better get everything done before I leave tonight. Sarah wants to go and try this new Italian place." Daniel sighed getting out of his chair. "If that's the place we went to the other night, then it's good." Sam said, promoting the place further. "Yeah, if he wants to close his bank account. Place is expensive!" I grumbled pressing the 'send' icon and began to work through the memo's sat in my In-tray. Sam glared at me. "Shut up. You enjoyed it, we had a good time, so shut up." Pulling a face at her, Daniel chuckled and moseyed on out of my office, heading back up to his lab on level 18. I screwed up one of the memos and tossed it into the trashcan, and started to read the other one when her hand touched my cheek. Chasing her arm up to her face with my eyes, I smiled softly at her and sat back in my chair, as she sat on the edge of my desk. "Feels strange." She commented, cupping my face to feel my face. "Used to you having it clean-shaved." "Well, I just couldn't be bothered while you were away and I didn't really have much time. Just a quick shower, dress and to base I went." I smiled broadly at her. "Hhmm... Now, this is only for scientific experiment." Sam instructed leaning towards me. "When did I become your guinea pig?" I chuckled at her, gently guiding from sitting on the edge of my desk to sit in my lap. She looked off in thought and then smiled at me. "I've never had a guinea pig before... had a hamster." Hesitantly our lips touched, I could feel her smile against my lips before she held my head still and kissed me. Her lips were tender, softly clamping down onto mine as her fingers worked their way into my hair, ruffling it all up at the back. I caressed her back and groped the back of her leg, when I heard a cough come from the doorway. Breaking our kiss I looked over her shoulder to see Spears in the doorway, he held a file up to me with a smile and came in to put it on my desk before leaving again. A subtle reminder I had work to do and so did she. I licked at my lips, stroking a piece of her hair out of her face. "What time you gonna finish tonight?" "Don't know." She said with her arms around my neck. "About six?" "Meet you up top then?" I asked looking at her with so much hope: I didn't want to go home alone again. "'Kay." Sam smiled and kissed me again. She was making her way round my desk towards the door, as I pulled myself back under my desk, and stopped between the two chairs in front of me. She turned as if she was going to say something but then carried on. Watching her with a confused look, I carried on with the paperwork on my desk when she'd turned into the corridor and was off back to her lab. I flicked through a file when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed my face and kissed me really hard. "Love you." And she was off again in a hurry. Bewildered I stared at the doorway, trying to figure out what that was all about.

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Rubbing a hand over my face I turned into my driveway, listening to Sam babble on about what she was going to cook tonight, when I noticed Cassie sitting on my front porch. I scowled at her small frame sitting on the top step of my porch, her arms crossed onto her knees, watching my green truck pull to a stop. Sam was out of my truck and over to Cassie in a flash while I turned off the engine and got out, joining them as Sam unlocked the front door and quickly punched in the security pin. I took off my hat watching Sam hauled Cassie into the house and down into the living room, leaving me to close the door behind them. There was hushed whispering going on, so I took it to be a 'girly chat' and went into the kitchen to get a beer. I stood in front of one of the counters reading the morning paper I'd brought in that morning before I'd left for the base. Just the local rag going on about nothing more important than the local youth centre needing donations and the 7/11 being robbed again. Swigging some of my beer, Sam traipsed into the kitchen and got herself a beer from the fridge. I looked at her waiting for an explanation, as she sat down onto one of the breakfast stools with a heavy sigh. She looked up at me, meeting my eyes. "What?" "What up?" I said, gesturing towards the living room with my head. "Well, for starters, she's not that a way." She nodded towards the living room and then towards the bathroom. "She's that a way. And Tom broke up with her today." "Oh... What for?" I asked gulping down some of my beer. "I don't know." She said tiredly, screwing the palm of her hand into her eye. I scratched the top of my head. "Stupid idiot! Don't know what he's lost!" "We know that, it's his problem for not knowing that." Sam gestured between us. "We need to cheer her up though." "Okay, got just the thing!" I said putting my beer down. "No Mr Quackers! She's too old for that duck puppet!" She sternly said. "Ah! But you're not too old for Mr Quackers, are you Miss Carter?" I came up behind her, sliding my arms around her and rested my chin onto her left shoulder. "You liked Mr Quackers biology lesson the other night, didn't you?" She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "Would have been better if it'd been just me and Mr Quackers. He at least knows his way around." I pinched her sides making her squirm on her seat. "Cheeky!" "Please, none of that stuff! Makes me sick and its all a load of crap really!" Cassie muttered heaving herself up and onto a stool. We both observed her as she snatched up my beer and began to nurse it, treating it like a baby's bottle. I patted Sam on her shoulder and disappeared off to the living room, searching through the CD rack for a certain CD with a certain song on it. I knew I had it somewhere. Finally finding the CD at the bottom of the rack, I put the CD in and pressed play, selecting the track I wanted. Smiling evilly to myself, I hopped up the steps of the living room and appeared around the corner of the archway into the kitchen, just as the singer began to sing. "Why do you build me up," I sang along, making them both stare at me in shock and amusement. "Buttercup, baby just to let me down and mess me around. And then worst of all you never call, baby when you say you will." I slid across the floor to Cassie, putting my arm around her shoulders. "But I love you still. I need you more than anyone, darlin'. You know that I have from the start, so build me up buttercup, don't break my heart." "Please, no more!" Cassie laughed in hysterics, collapsing forward onto the tabletop. I leant forward, grinning at her hiding her face in her arms. "'I'll be over at ten', you told me time and again. But you're late, I wait around and then I run to the door. I can't take any more. It's not you, you let me down again." "Where's a camera when you need one!" Sam laughed, shaking visibly with laughter. "What? This isn't funny! This is a very serious matter!" I told her pulling Cassie up, taking her arms away from her face. "I'm cheering my... pain in the ass up." "Hey! I'm no pain in the ass!" She argued elbowing me in the ribs. "Right, girls." I said rubbing my side. "How does really unhealthy food and a load of blood gory films sound?" Sam scooted off her stool and headed for the dining room. "Sounds like your ideal date." I rolled my eyes at her back, as Cassie said. "Do the ex-boyfriends die in them?" "They can do." I put on a thoughtful face and then noticed the glum look in her eyes, and then pulled her into a hug. "Cass, I'm telling ya. If he doesn't realise what such an amazing thing he's lost, then he's dumber than me. He's not worth the moping over." "How would you know?" She asked wiping a tear away. "Cause all men are the same, honey. They only want one thing and they only realise till it's gone, what they actually wanted." I told her, realising how gay I sounded. "Jack," She mumbled looking up at me with teary eyes. "You've really got to get out more." "I would but it's just so hard to find a real man to take me out." I sighed dramatically, causing her to fall into a fit of giggles as she held me tightly round my waist. "Jack, don't you ever change. You always cheer me up." She confessed into my sweater. Sam came around the corner on the phone, biting at her thumbnail. I leant my head down onto Cassie's, watching Sam as she ordered some pizzas. She smiled at me causing that warm fussy feeling to stir in my stomach. I'd known I'd done well then. It didn't matter what Cassie thought, or anyone else for that matter, as long as Sam got to see it and smiled that smile at me telling me I had done some good.

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I began to make my way through the busy streets to the freeway that would take me to the mountain, after dropping Cassie off at school, promising she could stay with me for awhile. They'd cornered me after watching Shallow Hal, it seemed it was all my fault that men fancy the super model lookers. How they came to that conclusion I would never know. I wasn't even the one who'd picked the film. It was Cassie. I wanted the blood and guts one... but no, they wanted to watch their girly flicks. I'd even be made to watch Titanic again. Anymore jokes about me drowning and I was going to drown someone. I'd left them to it at one point in the night and gotten started on my emails and made some calls I should have done that morning. Driving through the gates I waved to the two SF's on duty and drove down the tunnel to the underground car park. I parked in my marked spot and got out bringing Sam's bag of tricks with me. She'd not been a happy camper when she'd spoken to me on the phone. It sounded like it was my fault she'd gotten up late, that she'd rushed about like a headless chicken and then had raced off to the base in her car that she'd left parked outside the front of my house. It was all her fault: she was the one who started touching me in places. I chuckled to myself sliding my card through the reader and entered the elevator to take it down to the change over point. Quickly getting through the checkpoints, I got changed into my uniform in the locker room and was walking down the corridor to Sam's lab with her laptop. I could already hear things crashing about and raised voices from the elevator. Scratching the back of my head I turned into her lab, finding bits of equipment all over the floor and two green forms cowering in the corner of the room. "What's going on?" I asked stepping into the room. "Jack! No! Watch out for th...!" Sam shouted when a white orb object came flying towards me from the shadows. I swatted it with Sam's laptop sending it spiralling towards the wall to explode. Smiling in victory to myself, I slid the black felt case onto the table and put my hands into my pockets rocking forward and backwards on my heels. Sam and Daniel cautiously stood up from where they'd been cowering and came over to investigate the mangle piece of technology I'd destroyed, looking at it over the desk. "What up?" I asked as though nothing was a miss. "Jack, we wanted to study that." Daniel said, pointing at the mass of wires and metal casing on the floor. I looked down at it. "Really?" "Yeah." Sam mumbled. "Ah, well." I said happily, shrugging my shoulders. "I'll get the teams to find you another one." Letting out a tired sigh, Sam unzipped her laptop's case and took it out. "Thanks for bringing this in, Jack." "No problem." I said stepping into her to kiss her on the cheek and checked my watch. "Gonna go meet T now. I'll see you all later." "Hang on, Jack. I'm coming." Daniel said quickly, doing a hop, skip and jump to get around Sam and joined me as I walked out of her lab. I gave him a sceptical look strolling back down the corridor towards the elevator. Daniel swiped the back of his hand under his nose, his other hand dug deep into his pocket, as he babbled on about something. I wasn't listening, but when did I? Squinting at Daniel I ran my card through the reader and waited for the elevator, nodding my head as if I was listening to Daniel. We entered the elevator together and I selected the gate room as he touched my shoulder. "Jack, you listening?" He asked looking at me concernedly. "Yep! You were... talking about... that restaurant?" I said vaguely, trying to guess what he was talking about. "Yeah." He groaned. "The food was great! I mean it was like it melted in your mouth." I nodded my head, jumping out of the elevator when it pinged and the doors opened. "So, how're things anyway?" "Oh, things are good. Though," Daniel mumbled, adjusting his glasses. "I am troubled by the whole Jaffa front. Bra'tac believes that the only way to eliminate all the System Lords is to recruit as many Jaffa in the fifth column as possible. Now, only when their numbers are sufficient would it be possible to rise up and unilaterally destroy all the Goa'uld at once." I glanced at him, wondering what the hell he was going on about, but he didn't notice just kept babbling. "Even then, Ba'al controls the super soldier army which can't be turned. The sirens sounded for an incoming wormhole, I hoped it was Teal'c so he could shut Daniel up for me. I had no idea what he was prattling on about. I knew it had something to do with the Goa'uld, maybe even the Jaffa and those pesky tall things that walk round like robots. Daniel gestured with his hand. "So, even if the Jaffa can some day take out the majority of the System Lords, there'd still be a massive war to fight. The problem is, though, Ishta doesn't want to wait. Moloc is continuing to order the deaths of all female Jaffa born in his domain and their underground railroad to Hak'tyl can't save them all." What the hell was he going on about now? I swear I was going to have to buy myself a dictaphone and record all our conversations, so I could sit down and go over them again. I asked him how he was, not how the whole galaxy was doing. I'd have to have words with Sam, tell her to suggest to Daniel to leave the universe problems at the gate or just not talk to me about them. I had enough to deal with, with the problems I had from Washington. I carried on walking down the corridor deep in thought, when Daniel turned. Skidding to a stop I chased after him, catching up with him before he glanced over his shoulder to check I was still there, I smiled hesitantly at him letting him babble on. "Even now, she's organising a rebellion to overthrow Moloc." He said shaking his head. "Now, Teal'c and Bra'tac are trying to convince her to see... the bigger picture." Feeling very dumb, I rubbed a hand over my face and around to the back of my head. "What was my question again?" "Erm...'how's it going?'" He said thinking about it. "Remind me never to ask you that again." I ordered, as we came to a stop at the base of the ramp with Teal'c and Bra'tac coming through the gate and said. "How was the trip?" "I have been betrayed by those I trusted most." Teal'c boomed barging passed Daniel and me, we followed him with our eyes till he turned the corner in the corridor. "That good, huh?" I called after him before turning to face Bra'tac. Bra'tac's head shook at Daniel and I. I was amazed by the fact that he didn't have that... thing... on his head. There was actually a head under that... thing! "His mood is foul indeed." Bra'tac said, looking off in thought for a moment and then looked back at Daniel and me. "Greetings. It is good to see you both well. I hear you, O'Neill, and Colonel Carter have begun relations. I wish you both well." "Thanks!" I said with a shit-eating grin. Daniel shifted his feet, poking his glasses up his nose, and stooped forward. "Bra'tac, what's wrong?" "There..." Bra'tac thought his words over. "is a complication." "Warrior Barbie?" I asked, receiving some very confused looks. "Ishta, I meant, Ishta." "Ishta is well and as lovely as ever." Bra'tac answered. "The problem, I fear, lies with Rya'c." "Is he okay?" Daniel asked full of concern, taking a step forward towards the wise warrior. "He is in love, and plans to be married." Bra'tac said making it sound like the end of the world. I looked between the two of them, my hands planted into my pockets. "So...?" "He did not ask Teal'c's permission or even consulted his father on this matter." Bra'tac said, stepping down off the ramp and waltzed on out of the gate room, leaving Daniel and me to stand there. Daniel glanced at me, scratching the back of his head, and then indicated over his shoulder with his hand. "Work." "Hell." I pointed upstairs to the briefing room and we went out separate ways. I didn't see what the problem was. Okay, so I didn't know much about the Jaffa ways and wanted to know if Rya'c's got his head on straight. Marriage? Been there and done that: pain in the ass. Though, I had to admit, it was nice knowing that when I came home at night or after a mission, that Sara would be there. My little safety net making sure I had someone loving me back home. But I'd had all that for the past eight years, the love and security of having someone there who loves me for me. I'd had it all from Sam, Daniel and Teal'c. Now though, I had it even more from Sam, now we were able to show that love out loud. Even shouting it from the rooftops if we wanted. I chuckled to myself as I entered my office and sat down behind my desk when the phone rang. Picking up the phone the love of my life asked if I wanted to join her for coffee in the commissary... how could I say no?

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Entering the commissary with the smuggest grin on my face, I spotted her near the back of the commissary with her back to me reading a file with two coffees on the table in front of her. I made my way over to her and fleetingly stroked my fingers over her neck making her jump in her seat. Sitting down beside her, she swatted me with the file and then leant over to kiss me. "Don't do that to me!" She exclaimed smiling, closing the file to lie on the table. "Just so tempting though." I smiled and then reached out for the mug nearest me. "This one mine?" "If it has two sugars in, then yeah." She said distracted by something by my ear. I took a hesitant sip from the mug and pulled a face. Quickly I exchanged it for mine to wash away the horrible taste in my mouth while she wiped and rubbed at something by my ear. Reaching up to wipe at it myself, I looked at her confused when she shook her head at me. "You've got to stop rubbing your ear when you've got a pen in your hand." She ordered, picking up her mug. "What? Did I have ink on my face again?" I asked watching Teal'c marched into the commissary, the look on his face even made me quiver in my boots as a couple of airman jumped out of his way. "Uh oh." I whispered to Sam as Teal'c spotted us. "Don't mention Rya'c or weddings!" "Why?" She asked with a frown. "O'Neill." Teal'c's voice boomed, his shoulders set back and his stance rigid. "Are you busy?" "Erm... Not right now, no." I told him unsurely. Sam looked up at Teal'c with a smile. "Hey Teal'c. How're things? Rya'c and Ishta?" My eyes bulged out wanting to hit her round the back of the head, as Teal'c said. "I have been betrayed!" "O...kay..." Sam said turning back to the table and opened up the file she was reading when I'd come in. "O'Neill," Teal'c said in a quieter voice. "Would you like to join me for a game of table tennis?" "Err...Sure, just... I'll be there in ten, okay?" I hoped he wouldn't use that voice I hated, which he didn't. Instead he nodded his head and left the commissary throwing airman out of his way and kicking up a storm... Okay, so maybe he didn't throw airman around the commissary but they surely dove out of his way, not wanting to be ran over by the two hundred ninety pounds that made Teal'c. I sighed heavily rubbing at my forehead, the agony I was going to go through. I knew exactly what would happen once I stepped into the room where the table tennis table was set up. I'd go in without a scratch and come out black and blue. I knew it. Sam glanced at me, my hand still rubbing my forehead. "What's wrong?" "When I come home tonight," I began dropping my hand down from in front of my face, so I could see her. "don't be surprise if it looks like I've been hit by a bus." "Why?" She questioned after sipping her coffee. "Teal'c's pissed." I said. "Oh... ice packs at the ready then?" She gave me a sympathetic look, hidden in there though was a trace of amusement. Scrunching down my eyebrows I pushed myself out of my chair, picked up my mug of coffee and went to leave, pausing to say into her ear. "Watch it Colonel, or I'll suggest to T that you'd make a better opponent than me." She whipped round in mock horror making me chuckled as I left the commissary, sipping my lukewarm coffee on my way to the elevator. I thought about stopping and getting some padding from somewhere, a bulletproof vest, but thought better of it. It would still hurt no matter how thick the padding was. I winced thinking of the damage Teal'c was going to inflict upon me... why the hell did Rya'c want to get marry anyway?

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Shifting through the paperwork for our lovely guests to stay with us, I rubbed aimlessly at the bruises on my leg and arm as I read through the black text in front of me. It must have been about nine o'clock at night and I was still there making sure everything was exact to the T. In another words, I didn't want some paper pusher at the Pentagon to notice something I'd done wrong and get some big brass person to give me a telling off for it. I ruffled up my greying hair gazing over to another piece of paper when the light in my office was switched off and the door to the corridor was shut and locked by the satisfying click of the lock. Dropping the papers in my hand onto my desk, I looked up with the glow of my desk lamp lightening the area around me as I stared at the now closed door and wondered who was there in the darkest in front of me. I sat back into my chair, the chair creaked but slowly lowered me back, and laced my fingers together to clasp behind my head. The eerie silence apart from the quiet whirring of my laptop filled my office... along with the smell of the horses. I didn't feel threatened by whoever was in the room with me. I could feel their presence still emanating around the doorway, unsure what to do now. Curiously I raised my eyebrow, daring whomever it was to come out of the darkness and into the light emitted by my desk lamp. As I began to sit forward, my desk lamp fluttered before turning off, dropping the room into total darkness with a small amount of light coming in from the briefing room. Squinting my eyes in suspicion I carefully pushed myself out of my chair and tiptoed my way around my desk, heading towards the doorway to the corridor. Just as I was passing one of the chairs in front of my desk, I heard a giggle behind me and my desk lamp came back on to illuminate a small child sitting in my chair, belonging to the female Jaffa who'd already come through the gate while the rest came through in the morning. I cocked an eyebrow up at her, turning round to face them with my hands on my hips. "When did you become a General?" I asked the little girl, listening to her giggle into the back of her hand. "I am a Jaffa warrior. I'm not a General." She said whilst giggling. "Well, Miss Jaffa Warrior, was there something you wanted?" I questioned sitting down into a chair in front of my desk and perched my feet up onto my desk. She scrutinised the soles of my boots and then mimicked me by putting her feet up on my desk as well. "No." "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping with the other kids on level 19?" I perched my head up with my arm resting on the arm of the chair. "Should be in the land of nod by now at your age." "I don't need to rest like the other children. I am strong." She said pointing at herself. "I am a Jaffa Warrior." "Yes and I'm General O'Neill." I told her rubbing my face. The door behind me opened. "Tayla!" I turned enough in my seat to see one of Ishta's women in the doorway and then turned back round to see the shocked expression on Tayla's face. The woman from the doorway stormed into my office and picked Tayla out of my seat, slinging the young girl over her shoulder. I stood out of my seat pulling down my shirt, as the woman approached me shyly with Tayla's butt sticking up into the air over her shoulder. "My apologies General O'Neill. Tayla is prone to wander. I am sorry if she has annoyed or dishonoured you in anyway." The young woman apologised, bowing her head down to look at the floor. "Oh..." I grumbled pulling up my pants. "No need to apologise. Time I went home anyway. Kids are trouble. I know that. Just... try tying her to the bed or something." The young woman smiled looking up at me. "I will do as you have suggested. I wish you goodnight, General O'Neill. So does Tayla, don't you?" "I want to stay! I don't want to go to sleep yet!" Tayla argued, trying to wriggle out of the young woman's hold. "Gag her as well." I said with a slight nod of my head, touching the young woman on the other shoulder. The woman nodded her head and left my office with Tayla screaming all the way down the corridor. Shaking my head I reached over the top of my desk lamp to pick up the papers I'd been reading when another interruption came into my office and slid their arms around my waist, pressing herself up against my back. "You ready to go home yet, I've just finished up in my lab?" Sam asked with her chin resting on my shoulder, tiptoeing up to see over my shoulder. "Just got two more pages and I'm done." I told her waving the papers in my hand at her. "I must be popular tonight, you're my second interruption." "Oh, I'm taking it you're talking about that Jaffa woman I saw carrying a little girl over her shoulder, who's screaming her head off about something, that I passed in the corridor." She guessed sitting down into one of the chairs in front of my desk. I nodded my head dropping into my chair behind my desk. "Yep. That would be it." "I had one of their girls sneak into my lab earlier on today. Scared me half to death when she popped out from underneath my desk." Sam said, smiling about it now. "Nice change having kids in the corridors and hearing their laughter." "Give it two more days and you'll be wishing you could lock them up somewhere." I said distantly, concentrating on the piece of paper in my hand. "You act like a kid but I don't want to lock you up somewhere... Oh, maybe the second I met you, but that's a whole other reason." Sam tried to cover herself but she'd already gained my whole attention. The paperwork was completely forgotten about. My eyebrows climbed to new heights as I leant forward onto my desk, my eyes urged her to carry on with her explanation. "Don't." She commanded. "Don't give me that look." "What look?" I asked getting out of my chair. "Don't, whatever you're going to do. Don't." Her voice sounded as if she was panicked while she grinned cheekily at me, getting out of her chair to back away to the door from me. "Come on." I urged. "Tell me about you wanting to lock me away somewhere." She went to quickly run for the door but I swiftly put a stop to that by wrapping my arms around her waist, holding her steady as she struggled against me. Kissing the nape of her neck, her movements stilled and her body relaxed against me. I reached up to caress her breast through her t-shirt whilst her fingers delved into my hair, her other hand clasped around the wrist of my arm still around her waist. Trailing kisses up to her ear, I hungrily whispered. "Tell me." "Jack!" She hissed, as my hand pulled her t-shirt from her pants. "I'll tell you, if you tell me." I bargained with her, stroking my fingers over her bare stomach. "What?" She asked confused, turning her head to see my face as much as she could. "You've thought about locking me away somewhere?" "I'll tell you, if you tell me." I repeated sliding my other hand under her top to carry on my caress on her breast. "Okay... well, when I walked through the door for that first mission briefing, I... I... I thought you needed to be locked away in my closet, chained to the bed even, so no one else could have you... Just you, standing there, in your uniform, looking so handsome." She confessed racking her fingers through my hair. "This could be arranged." I whispered into her ear. "Tell me yours now." She said breathlessly, as my hand slid down into her pants. "You don't want to hear it." I told her, hoping she wouldn't ask again. I removed my hand from her pants, when she turned to face me with flushed cheeks. "Tell me, Jack." Holding back my grin and trying to remain straight face, I took a wise step back from her. "You know when you're babbling about all that science stuff?" "Yeah, why, does it turn you on, sir?" She asked seductively, drawing out the 'sir' part as she stepped towards me sliding her hands over my chest. "Erm... no, not exactly." I stepped another step back, my hand finding the doorknob. "Just... when you're babbling I just want to shut you up in a room by yourself, so I don't have to hear it anymore." I said in one big rush before yanking open my office door to the briefing room and took off down the stairs to the control room, running for my life to the elevator. Stampeding passed several confused and startled airmen I fished my security card out of my breast pocket and slid it through the reader for the elevator, keeping an eye on my six. The elevator arrived and the feeling of safe dawned over me while the doors were opening. I went in and selected the level for the locker room, very pleased with my escape from Sam's clutches. God knew that woman would have had my hide for what I said to her. Everyone knew how much she enjoyed those... confusing and complicated babble sessions... yes, babble sessions. The doors closed and the elevator began on its way up, and... stopped again. My eyes burgled as I watched the doors open again, revealing Sam on the other side tapping her security pass against her chin with her arms crossed. "Amazing things these elevators." She said strolling into the elevator to join me. "They go up. So when someone runs away and goes down a staircase, the logical assumption would be they'd have to go up as there's no where else for them to go. And," She looked at me. "There's the problem of your knees and stairs. I couldn't quite imagine you climbing those stairs about fifteen levels, could you?" "No, no, I couldn't." I mumbled rubbing my ear, stabbing the button for the locker room again. "And, another thing, next time you feel the need to lock me up somewhere for babbling, remember this." She said raising her voice slightly at me. "You're not invited to join me." "'Kay." I said sorrowfully, sulking like a schoolboy. "Aw... How could I stay mad at you when you look like that?" Sam asked sweetly lifting my chin up so she could look me in the eye. "Easily!" "Evil woman!" I shot back at her, pulling her into a hug as I kissed her.

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I was sat at my desk listening to one of the scientists complaining about Felger... again after he'd blown up another lab with one of his crazy inventions. Nodding my head at him sympathetically I caught sight of Sam out in the briefing talking to Siler, as she pointed something out to him. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably thinking about the torture she'd putted me through last night, I was just glad Cassie hadn't heard me cry out in pain as the Colonel had her way with me. I promised whichever scientist it was that I'd have words with Felger, wasn't like I had anything better to do with my time... Though, I really didn't want to go up there and have words with him, he had a tendency to hug me when he saw me or acted like a complete idiot around me, sucking up to me like I was his heroic older brother who everyone looked up to. Sighing I watched the scientist leave and then collapsed forward onto my desk, wishing the whole day could be over and done with now that the last of Ishta's people were here. I sat up rubbing at my forehead and picked up my pen to begin writing when someone tapped on my door. Pouting my lips I thought about stabbing whoever it was with my pen as I finished the sentence I was writing, that I'd been trying to write for a good hour with people interrupting me every ten minutes. I looked up to see Bra'tac hovering near the open doorway, the fact he wasn't wearing... that thing still amazed me. "Bra'tac." I said resting my arms down onto my desk, taking a deep breath to regret it. "What's that smell?" Bra'tac looked behind him at the SF standing outside my door and then back at me. "I believe it is the horses." "I knew that." I said pointing my pen at him and dropped it onto my desk. "The warriors of Hak'tyl are grateful for your generosity." Bra'tac said humbly, taking a few more steps into my office. I gave him a look as I sat back into my chair. "Well, you know what they say. Always help those in need... which seems to be everyone." "You are indeed a wise and gracious leader, O'Neill of Minnesota." Bra'tac slapped on the charm. "Bra'tac, y'old coot." I said nodding towards one of the chairs in front of me. "Sit down and what can I do for you on this lovely day? Nicks tickets? Holiday in Florida? A woman who babbles ten to the dozen with techno babble? Anything, you want, you can have. Take the techno babbling blonde, please!" "I do not think Colonel Carter would appreciate you giving her to me." Bra'tac smirked at me, glancing through the window into the briefing room where Sam was. "I am to officiate at the rite of everlasting union between Rya'c and Kar'yn. I have consulted with Ishta on the matter and despite the evacuation of Hak'tyl, she wishes the wedding to proceed as planned... and as scheduled." I was staring off into space when I realised Bra'tac had stopped talking and what he'd said made sense to me. "They want to do it here? As in here at the SGC?" "A more suitable world is not likely to be found in time. Delaying the ceremony would only grant another victory to Moloc's tyranny." Bra'tac said. "Do you know what Teal'c will do to me, if I grant this? He's already well against it and if I was say yes I fear the bruises." I told him rubbing at my arm and then my leg where that innocent little table tennis ball had hit me. "As long as there's cake and plenty of it, I'm game." Bra'tac nodded his head with a smile, as Sam knocked on my door. I looked up at her as she and Siler came into my office. I nodded my head at Bra'tac and he got up out of his chair, patted Sam on the shoulder, and then left leaving me to deal with whatever problem it was that she and Siler were bringing to my attention. "Sir," Siler began, as he placed some printed out text onto my desk. "The computer has already selected a few planets that match the condition that Ishta asked for." "Oh, goody goody." I said picking up the pieces of paper to read. "We just need you to assign a team or two to go scout them out, sir." Sam said making herself at home by sitting down into a chair. I thought about it before looking up at Siler. "Go ask Spears which teams are on downtown and whichever two have had a weeks downtown already, call 'em in. They can be our scouting teams." "Yes, sir." Siler said and left my office heading to Spears office. I glanced up at Sam as I put the pieces of paper with the planets on to one side. "Something I can do for you?" "Have you heard yet, where Rya'c and Kar'yn want their wedding?" She asked sitting forward, leaning onto the arms of the chair. "Yep." I muttered. "Bra'tac was just telling me before you came in." "You're going to let them do it here?" Sam waved a hand in direction of the briefing room, her eyebrows scrunched down over her eyes. "In the briefing room?" I questioned looking through the open doorway into the briefing room. "No, I meant the SGC." She shook her head in amusement at me. "Well, sure. There's going to be cake, you know." I smiled at her, waggling my eyebrows, and picked up my pen for the seventh time that hour. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, Colonel, get your lovely butt out of my office. I have paperwork to do." She snorted getting out of her chair and leant across my desk to kiss me. "Don't work... that brain too hard. You know it's not used to being use this much." "These jokes are getting old, you know!" I called after her, watching her quickly dash out of my office.

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Groaning into the back of my hand I made my way down the corridor from the commissary, moving my hand up from in front of my mouth to scrub through my hair. I swore I didn't remember being a guidance counsellor was part of my job. I had just spent a good half an hour listening to Ishta tell me about a little squabble she and Teal'c had had in her quarters. She'd slapped on the charm when she'd approached me as I ate my cake: 'General O'Neill, you are one of Teal'c's closest friends, are you not?' 'Why yes I am, Ishta.' 'May I talk to you about him.' The way she had spoken to me was like she expected me to go talk to him. What was I suppose to do? Slap him on the wrists and make him say ten 'Hail Mary's'? And then I had to endure Bra'tac explaining the things we'd need to acquire for the ceremony. There was something involving a goat but I weren't quite sure what that was on about. Just... a goat? I wiped some bits from my lips, spitting whatever the bits were out of my mouth when I was dragged into someone's lab wanting me to have a look at something. Yeah, great, another doohickey. I widened my eyes as I studied whatever it was, listening to the explanation go in one ear and out the other. Rubbing at my chin, making out I was deep in thought over whatever he'd just said, I then told him to put it into a report and give it to Sam to look over, who'd then bring it to my attention if it was even worth my time. I smiled at him encouragingly and left his lab to bump into Sam. Grabbing her by both her arms, I pulled her to a stop, startling her. "They want a goat, Sam!" "Yes, I know." She said grimacing. "Well," I said turning in the direction she'd been walking and walked with her. "I think I'll have to talk to Bra'tac about menu and tell him lamb's much better." "Erm... It's not for eating. They want it for." She paused stepping in behind me when a little girl ran passed us. "They want it for a ritual sacrifice." "Err... No. They're not getting blood all over my gate room's floor. Tell 'em they can't have it." I shook my head pulling a face at the thought of it. "I was hoping you'd say that." She said trailing off as we passed some children playing a game on the floor and then she tapped me on the arm. "Ain't it nice?" "Blood over the gate room's floor? I don't think so!" I exclaimed frowning at her. "No! I meant the kids playing in the hallways." Sam pointed towards the children we'd just pass. I glanced back over my shoulder. "Sure." I said looking at her and then I stopped in the corridor. "Sam, do you want kids?" "Yeah in the future." She smiled touching my shoulder, coaxing me into walking again. "Liked to get married too." "Oh..." I mumbled, scratching at my beard, and received a very pointed look from Sam as we walked down the corridor. "Oh as in, oh that's nice to know for future reference." "Anyway," She sent one last glare my way and then turned to face forward. "What we doing tonight?" "I don't know. Cassie wants to watch that film, The Day After Tomorrow or something. You know, that one when the ocean floods everywhere and people freeze to death." I babbled not quite sure what I was talking about. "I've got some things I got to do at my place but I'll pop over about eight." She told me, combing her hair back with her fingers. "Yeah, well I know now what they can have instead of that goat." I announced boldly, grinning at her. Hesitantly she looked at me. "What?" "A piņata! That's always fun!" I rubbed my hands together, thinking about smacking that poor defenceless thing to bits to get the sweets out. "I'll suggest it." She said rolling her eyes at me. As we approach the corner into the corridor, a horse was lead around it by one of the Jaffa women forcing Sam and me to pin ourselves against the wall to get out of its way. I watched it trot off down the corridor, reminded of day when Sam and me were racing across a field and I'd smacked my head off a branch. Rubbing unconsciously at where the bump had been, I turned to Sam to see her smiling at me. Slowly a smile of my own tugged at the corner of my lips whilst I stepped forward towards Sam, sliding my arms around her waist. "Have I told you I love you today?" I asked rubbing my hand over her back. "This morning when I woke up and you were staring at me again." She chuckled wrapping her arms around my neck. "Oh, good." I smiled at her and kissed her. Taking hold of my hand we walked around the corner as she said. "Doesn't it feel weird around here?" "Is this more you sensing those Jaffa women who haven't had their snakes out yet?" I asked to receive a playful punch to my shoulder. "No, I meant with a wedding happening here. Makes you think." She explained squeezing my fingers. "Hhmm... Close to finding a planet yet, for these lovely people?" I changed to subject, not liking the feeling I was getting when she brought it up. She nodded her head. "We scouted one yesterday that Ishta seems comfortable with. It's got fresh water supply, stable climate and lots of trees!" "God, trees!" I groaned. "When's moving day then?" "Uh, Ishta thinks it'll take about a week to get a liveable camp going." She said shying away from me when I looked at her. "A WEEK!" I raised my voice at her. "Yeah." She muttered while I caught site of some of the Hak'tyl women walking towards us and followed them with my eyes as they passed behind us. Sam grabbed me forcefully by the arm and turned me round. "The wedding though, will still be happening here." "Wedding smedding." I grumbled. "What is it with this wedding? I mean nearly everything you've said, you've managed to bring it up again." She looked confusedly at me, stopping in the corridor. "I have not. I'm just talking to you about it. Can I help it if it's like a major event that's going to be happening in a couple of days?" "Sounds like you're hinting at something, that's all. Just wish if people have something to say they would just say it. I hate people hinting at something or trying to get me to guess what they want." I ranted slightly before taking a deep breath and started us back to walking down the corridor. "Seen Teal'c?" "I think he's locked himself away in his room." She suggested taking her hand out of mine to put into her pocket. "That chicken! I'll send Spears up there with some fruit to tempt him out." I said trying to get Sam to giggle or smile, but instead she gave me that put on smile and waltzed off leaving me to walk by myself. I got the feeling I'd done or said something wrong. Rolling my eyes and sighing tiredly at myself, I made my way to the elevator and went back to my cell to finish some more paperwork off.

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As Cassie watched the film and ate her pizza, I was watching the clock and counting the seconds that Sam was late. She said she was going to be over at eight but now it was coming up for half eight and she hadn't called to say she was going to be late. Checking the clock on the wall to with my watch I saw there was only a few seconds between them. I groaned inwardly to myself and took a bite out of my pizza listening to Cassie squeal as a wolf chased some guy in the film. I didn't know what I'd done but for the rest of day since Sam and I had talked in the corridor, she'd avoided me completely. I'd managed to catch her in the control room when she'd been called down for something and had had a one sided conversation with her. She totally blanked me as she typed away at the computer and then marched off back to her lab.

Scratching at my beard I got up off the couch with a groan and collected Cassie's plate to take into the kitchen. I trudged my way up the steps to the hallway when I saw Sam through the window by the door and watched her come in, stuffing her keys into her pocket as she slammed the door behind her.

"Hey!" I said happily, glad to see her, and leaned in to kiss her only for her to turn her head away. "Okay... Saved you some pizza, it's in the kitchen."

"Great." She mumbled shrugging off her jacket, squeezing passed me to go down into the living room. I turned following her down into the living room with my eyes, confused about what exactly I had done. Taking a frustrated breath I carried on to the kitchen and left the plates on the side and put some slices on a plate for Sam to take with a couple of beers back to the living room where I found the two of them had taken over the couch.

I put her plate down on the coffee table with a beer and sat in the armchair by the fireplace, propping my feet up onto the edge of the coffee table. With a satisfied hiss of my beer I twisted the lid off and tossed it onto the table, taking a greedy gulp from the bottle. Sam smiled at whatever Cassie was telling her, pausing for certain moments of the film when it got interesting. I shook my head drinking my beer when someone knocked at my front door.

"You expecting anyone?" Sam asked me, looking at me with that pissed off look.

"No." I told her, noting her annoyed tone. Another knock came as I climbed the steps to the hallway and cursed whoever it was for knocking on my door again. Yanking open the door, I flicked on the porch light and came face to face with some young man, scared out of his wits when I gave him a glare.

"Err... Hello." The young man greeted. "Is Cassie here?"

"Who wants to know?" I asked taking a step forward.

"Erm... Tom, Tom Lowery." The boy stuttered.

"What do you want?" I put my hands onto my hips, taking another step towards him and out onto the porch.

"I need to talk to her." He said looking down at the floor.

I eyed him for a moment and then stepped aside, letting him into the hallway to close the door behind him after I followed him inside and ordered him to "Wait here." He nodded his head graciously while I looked around the corner down into the living room.

"Cass, Tom Lowery to see you. He wants to talk to you."

"Oh." She uttered in amazement and then jumped up off the couch. "Coming."

With one last look back at Tom, I went down into the living room passing Cassie and dropped onto the couch beside Sam. She gave me a look putting the film on pause with the remote and placed it down onto the coffee table where her empty plate was. I crossed my arms over my chest and crossed my feet over one another, staring down at the carpeted floor. The couch shifted with Sam moving nearer to me, resting her head against my shoulder. Sceptically I looked at her blonde hair and wondered what the hell was going on. One minute she was all pissy with me and the next she was snuggling up to me.

"Jack, in the future, do you see us getting married?" She asked playing with one of the buttons on my shirt.

I thought about her question for a while, hearing Cassie and Tom talking in the hallway. "Maybe. I don't know, Sam. Look, if that's what you want then someday, sure."

"So is that a yeah or a no?" She questioned sitting up away from me.

"I don't know what the future holds for us." I told her shrugging my shoulders at her.

"So that's a no then." Sam spat at me in an icy tone and then shot up from the couch. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

I opened my mouth to tell her to sit back down but she was already out of the room and out of the door, slamming it behind her as she went. I sat there staring down at my hands, confused about what just happen. Did I miss something? I couldn't see what she was getting all moody about. We'd only been in a relationship for good seven or eight months and just because Rya'c and Kar'yn were getting married didn't mean a hell of a lot to me. But it seemed to mean a lot to Sam.

Roughly rubbing at my face with my hands, I sat forward leaning down onto my knees and thought about how I could make it up to her. To prove to her that even though I wasn't thinking about a future that included marriage, I was serious about 'us'. And that was when it hit me. I was going to give her what she wanted... kind of.

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I stood off to one side in the gate room watching the run through for the wedding ceremony between Rya'c and Kar'yn, they both were all smiles reminding me sickly of my wedding day. The young were so naīve. It was running as smoothly as I could from what I could tell as Bra'tac lit the brazier in front of him with Rya'c and Kar'yn stood either side of it. I crossed my arms over watching Bra'tac blow out the firelighter in his hand. Glancing round at the other Hak'tyl Jaffa that were watching the mock proceedings, were surprisingly smiling too. I didn't know whether to be worried or cautious... maybe a little of both perhaps.

The woman stood beside me with the horn I scrutinised with a look, as Bra'tac said holding his hands out towards the flame burning in the brazier. "Let this fire bear witness to this ceremony. May its flames keep warm the souls of those who came before us. We ask those spirits now to bless this union and to protect it through each day of its existence. And then the horn will sound.

He looked over in the direction where horn girl and I were stood and waved a hand at us, at first I thought he was signalling to me but then horn girl had to blow her trumpet thing. "Good. Now..." Bra'tac turned to Rya'c while I smiled at horn girl, who was smiling at me in a very suggestive manner, as she looked me up and down. "You will place the circle of fidelity upon Kar'yn's head."

Everyone looked expectantly at the woman stood behind Rya'c, who was holding some twigs woven into... a doughnut. I grinned to myself at the thought of a doughnut and leant back against the wall behind me, as the woman handed the doughnut thing to Rya'c. Turning to face Kar'yn, Rya'c grinned at her stretching over the brazier to place it on top of her head.

"And you, the totem of bravery." Bra'tac said to Kar'yn and then lifted up some necklace to kiss the medallion, and held it out towards her. " Place around Rya'c's neck."

She put the medallion around Rya'c's neck, as Bra'tac said. "The bride will then kneel before her husband in respect."

Kar'yn glanced back at Ishta, who was standing a few feet behind her, and then shook her head towards Bra'tac and Rya'c. The smile that had been present on most of the faces, including Rya'c's, dissipated to nothing with each shake of Kar'yn's head.

"I will do no such thing." She proclaimed. I sensed that things were about to go downhill fast.

"Kar'yn." Rya'c said, his eyes staring directly at the young woman in front of her.

"I kneel before no man." She announced to the occupants of the gate room. "Not even my husband."

"This action has been part of the ritual ceremony for thousands..." Bra'tac tried to explain, but was cut short by Kar'yn. "Then he should kneel before me as well. Or am I too weak to have such respect given to me in return?"

Rya'c eyes drifted around the room. "You disgrace my name."

Bra'tac trying to negotiate said. "Perhaps if we took a short recess."

"And if you insist on treating me like a fragile handmaiden, then I have chosen poorly for a husband." Kar'yn spat at Rya'c, her arms crossing defensively in front of her.

"Well..." Rya'c mumbled trying to find his words. "Perhaps I have chosen poorly as well."

In one quick movement, Kar'yn took off the twig ring from her head and threw it down onto the floor before storming out of the gate room, taking most of the Hak'tyl Jaffa with her. Ishta smiled at me as she quickly followed Kar'yn out of the room. I observed them all leave, marching down the corridor and around the corner in two's.

I turned back to the rest of the room when I heard the other door open and clunked back into the wall, opening the way for Rya'c and his followers, leaving Bra'tac to stand alone on the ramp. Moseying on over to the older man, I shoved my hands into my pockets glancing up to the control room to see Teal'c stood in the shadows. My eyebrow hitched up at him and his back at me, having the shortest conversation with looks: 'So you are interested in Rya'c's wedding' 'Maybe'.

Bra'tac picked up a goblet from the table and raised it towards me saying. "I can see why one must rehearse these events."

"Should have seen the rehearsal for my wedding." I commented rolling my eyes while Bra'tac downed whatever was in the goblet.

"I did not know you were once married." He said placing the goblet down beside the brazier.

"Oh... many years ago." I said wafting my hand through the flame that was still burning. "We got a divorce some years ago."

"Hhmm... If things carry on the way they are between Rya'c and Kar'yn, I fear this joining will be over before it has begun." Bra'tac put out the flame, leaving me nothing to play with.

"Yes, well, I was hoping I could ask you something." I slowly said, unsure whether this would be the right thing to do.

His head cocked to one side as he stepped down off the ramp. "If there is something I can do to help you, O'Neill, please ask."

"I was wondering if perhaps..." I trailed off hearing footsteps come into the gate room and turned my head to see it was only Ishta.

"Kar'yn has locked herself in her quarters." Ishta told us coming to stand beside Bra'tac and myself.

"I'll have an airman go up there and unlock it for you." I said to her, rocking back on my heels.

She bowed her head to me, as Bra'tac said. "You were saying, O'Neill."

"Oh... erm..." I hesitated glancing at Ishta and then Bra'tac. "I was wondering if you could marry me and Sam while you were doing Rya'c and Kar'yn."

"That is splendid!" Bra'tac smiled and engulfed me into a hug patting me solidly on the back before drawing away, leaving me breathless. "I did not know that you and Colonel Carter were betrothed.

"We're not." I said with a gasp for air.

Ishta squinted her eyes at me. "If you are not betrothed, why would you want to be joined in marriage?"

I gave her one of my lopsided smiles. "You see, Sam hasn't really stopped going on about marriage since she heard Rya'c and Kar'yn were getting married. And, I think, we had an argument about it yesterday and she's now really moody with me about it."

"Your feelings for Colonel Carter aren't as strong as hers?" Bra'tac questioned, giving me that 'stupid child' look.

"No! I love her to death. That isn't what the problem is." I shook my head at him. "I just... I don't want to rush into things with her like I did with my first wife. We'd only known each other a few months and we were married. I don't want to ruin things like I did before."

"He is wise." Ishta said touching my shoulder.

I smiled at her, taking what she said as something good. "I know here on Earth they wouldn't recognise our marriage if you did it. But I just want to show like I'm committed to us even though I'm not thinking of marriage... I mean like having an Earth wedding with a church and stuff."

"I understand. I would be honoured to do this for you both." Bra'tac said squeezing my right shoulder with his right hand just as the gate began to spin behind them. We all looked up at the gate, as Harriman's voice blared out it was an unscheduled off world activation, and then made our way to the control room while the gate opened behind iris. Bra'tac and Ishta climbed the stairs before me, joining Teal'c at the console where he was reading whatever was on the screen.

Teal'c looked over his shoulder at Ishta. "Ishta, this concerns you."

The look that they shared as Ishta leant over to read the screen, made a shiver run up my spine. "Our forces that are hiding among the Jaffa of Moloc have become large, but there are still many who are loyal to him. We risk being exposed. We must send the co-ordinates of the new home world to those who will attend."

"Very well. I will accompany you to this summit." Teal'c said as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"You have no say in our matters." Ishta stood proud in front of him, not scared to stand up to Teal'c like I was.

"Perhaps there is counsel I can provide." Teal'c suggested, as Bra'tac and I shared a look.

Ishta walked forward a few steps towards Teal'c and gave his a stern look. "You will abide by my ruling."

Teal'c stared at Ishta for a moment before looking to Bra'tac and then myself. I raised my eyebrows at him and shrugged my shoulders, not seeing any harm with following Ishta's lead. I knew she could kick my butt just as hard as Teal'c could, so I weren't going to argue with her. Teal'c looked at Ishta again and then bowed his head forward. He was so putty in her hand, it was becoming sad... but not quite yet, there was still time for some teasing. I chuckled to myself thinking up some teasing lines to say to Teal'c later and excused myself to go up to my office.

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With my head held in my hand I scribbled down my assessment for SG-7, listening to a compilation disk of Blues songs Cassie had done for me once on my MP3 player, which she had dubbed 'Old Fart songs'. Humming along with the tune, I signed and closed the file that held the assessment in and placed it in my out tray, as I sat back with a content sigh. I was done. Done for the day. As I pushed myself up from my chair, someone's knuckles rapped on my door, I quickly looked up halfway out of my seat to see it was Sam. She put on a smile and edged her way into my office, her hands hidden behind her back. I hadn't seen her all day. I felt something in my chest warm at the sight of her and my lips drew themselves into a smile.

"Hey." I saw her mouth say.

I took one of the earphones out of my ear. "Hey, how's your day been?"

"Oh, you know, fulfilling as ever..." She shook her head at herself. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Forget it, I have. " I told her picking up my shirt from the back of my chair and put it on.

I reached down to open my desk draw and took out my keys and wallet, putting them into separate pockets of my pants, as her arms surrounded me, drawing her against me from behind. Turning within her arms I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her, still listening to the next song that started. It was an old song that I remembered from my childhood and at the time, was a song my mother would sing when she was washing up the dishes.

Beginning to rock us side to side, I sang along with the song. "Heavenly shades of night are falling, it's twilight time. Out of the mist, your voice is calling, tis twilight time. When purple coloured curtains, mark the end of day, I'll hear you my dear at twilight time."

"Jack, please." She giggled, burrowing her head into my shoulder.

"Deepening shadows gather splendour as day is done." I sang rocking us round to do a circle on the spot. "Fingers of night will soon surrender the setting sun. I count the moments, darling, till you're here with me, together at last at twilight time.

Her head rested against my chest as her arms came up to wrap around my neck. "Here in the after glow of day, we keep our rendezvous beneath the blue, and in the sweet same old way I fall in love again as I did then. Deep in the dark your kiss will thrill me." I said running my fingers up her spine. "Like days of old. Lighting the spark of love that fills me with dream untold. Each day I pray for evening to spend with you, together at last at twilight..."

"O'Neill, your words are touching." A voice came from the doorway of the corridor, startling Sam and I apart to find Bra'tac. "Please, do not let me stop you."

"Nah, you're alright Bra'tac. Come on in." I motioned with my hand for him to come in, as I took the other earphone out of my ear and stopped my MP3 player.

"I was hoping to speak to you, O'Neill, about our conversation in the gate room." Bra'tac said, his eyes purposely remaining on me.

"Oh... Okay." I mumbled putting my MP3 player into my desk draw and then turned to Sam. "Meet you at yours in half an hour?"

"Sure." She unsurely said. She stepped towards me and kissed me, quickly leaving while giving Bra'tac and I a curious look. When she was some way down the corridor, Bra'tac closed my office door as I retook my seat behind my desk.

As Bra'tac sat down into one of the chairs in front of me, he said. "I was wondering what exactly you wanted for your ceremony, as your customs are different to ours."

"Yeah, definitely different." I understated, shifting in my chair as I thought about it. "Well, we normally give each other rings when we get married, so I guess we could do that. You know, instead of the twig doughnut and the medallion."

"As you wish. You will have to procure these rings, O'Neill." He told me, threading his fingers together to lie into his lap. "Have you told Colonel Carter what you have ask of me yet?"

"Erm... not yet... I was thinking it could be a surprise. Like you call us up, saying will Colonel Carter and General O'Neill please stand beside Kar'yn and Rya'c, as if it was part of the ceremony." I suggested fiddling with my beard.

"I will talk to Rya'c and Kar'yn about this, I may have an idea, similar to your own." Bra'tac said thoughtfully.

I smiled getting out of my chair. "Okay, well I'm going to go and have dinner with the love of my life, and I'll see you tomorrow, y'old coot."

"O'Neill." Bra'tac stood up out of his chair preceding me out of my office while I turned the lights off.

"Yes, Bra'tac." I said closing my office door, joining him in the corridor.

"Do not call me... y'old coot. Or I will begin calling you hassock again." He said in that matter of fact tone of his before strolling off down the corridor.

"Yes, Master Bra'tac, sir." I mocked saluted him and smiled sauntering down the corridor behind him on my way to the elevator.

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Today could have been noted as the most boring and uneventful day in the history of the SGC, as the most dramatic thing to happen that day was Siler found his lost wrench under the briefing table (I didn't put it there, I swear), the commissary's delivery of starch and flour had somehow been mixed together and from rain seeping in through the canvas roof of the military delivery truck made a real big mess. But the most exciting thing about today was Rya'c and Kar'yn had... sort of made up their differences. Oh yes, I kid you not. I saw them myself having lunch in the commissary. I could say that when I popped off base to the jewellers in town to get the rings, could be class as an eventful, but trying to take one of Sam's rings from her jewellery box, when I was at her house the night before, had been nearly an impossible task.

When I had made a beeline for the bathroom, I had thought I could just slip into her room and get one then. Oh no. As soon as she heard her bedroom door creak open, she was there behind me being very suggestive in what she wanted. After making love and waiting ten minutes for her to fall asleep, I had tried to slip out of bed and get one but that had stirred her and her hold on me had tightened so I couldn't go anywhere. Getting up to go the bathroom desperately, I'd come back to find her watching television. My moment for taking a ring came in the morning while she was in the shower, with perfect timing I had taken a ring and shouted I would see her at the base leaving without her suspecting a thing. Now all I had to do was get the ring back into her jewellery box without her knowing.

Twirling the ring around on my pen, I pondered it as someone knocked on my door. "General O'Neill."

I looked up from my pen to Spears standing in my doorway. "What up?"

"Teal'c's overdue." Was all he said and I was out of my seat, pocketing the ring, and on my way down to the control room without a word said. Coming up behind Davis, I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Davis, dial up the planet Teal'c's on." I ordered, waving towards the Stargate.

"Yes, sir." He responded, typing in the address.

The gate dialled and opened, I leant down onto the console in front of me, towering over the mic. "Teal'c? You there?"

"Proceed, O'Neill." His voice said out of the speakers.

"You know how I get when you don't call." I pointed my finger as though he was stood in front of me.

The radio crackled before Teal'c said. "Moloc's Jaffa ambushed the summit. The address of the planet must have fallen into the wrong hands. I am with Ishta and another rebel Jaffa named Aron. At present we are cut off from the Gate."

I pulled a face, dropping my head down, before saying. "How bad?"

"Very." Teal'c summed up.

"Back-up?" I asked hoping we could help from our end.

"It would be unwise at the moment. I am uncertain as to the extent of forces or if there are ships in orbit. I will need time to gather intel before deciding on a course of action." Teal'c told me, knowing my gun-ho ways of doing things.

I sighed unhappily as I checked my watch, saying. "Alright. We'll check-in in about an hour. And T?"

"My head is down, O'Neill." He said making me smile slightly.

"Over." I said giving Davis the cut off sign and turned to Spears, who'd followed me down the stairs. "Get Bra'tac."

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"And that's the situation as it stands at the moment." I finished telling Bra'tac what Teal'c had said to me and what I had supposed. He shook his head at the news sighing heavily down at the floor. I touched him on the shoulder, glancing through the window into the briefing room to see most of Ishta's Jaffa standing around and shouting at one another. Frowning I turned to face the window and leant down onto the sideboard, shaking my head at the sight of them.

"What the hell are they shouting at each other for?" I asked Bra'tac, gazing at him over my shoulder.

"They are young, they have no patience." Bra'tac said opening my office door. I followed him out into the Briefing room, passing him when he stopped to survey the carnage. Pushing through the women to get to the centre of the shouting and screaming, I found Bra'tac beside me as people moved to give us some space.

I tried to quieten everybody but it seemed the many out weighed the... one. I glanced round at everyone, franticly trying to gain someone's attention but no one seemed to see me. The day had come when I was now one of the crowd. Wiping the imagery tear from my cheek, Bra'tac stepped in front of me.

"SILENCE!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. Amazingly everyone was silenced, even the lights above us stopped their humming. I thanked Bra'tac with a nod of my head as he motioned for me to take the floor.

"Thank you." I pulled at my shirt. "Now, Daniel, what's going on here?" As Daniel opened his mouth to speak, everyone erupted talking all at once at me. I looked over my shoulder to Bra'tac and pointed at him.

"Silence!" He shouted.

When I was sure everyone was silent, I said. "I said, Daniel."

"Well, as you can see." Daniel motioned round to everyone with his eyes, his hands in his pockets. "Everyone's a little upset."

"We will not abandon Ishta. We insist a rescue mission be devised immediately." One of Ishta's Jaffa said, I think she was Ishta's second.

"We're devising." I muttered, trying to think what she thought we were doing, twiddling our thumbs?

Bra'tac took a step forward, addressing all of them. "Teal'c has said the Gate is well guarded."

"Can we not acquire a ship and journey to this planet?" Rya'c asked, his voice dripping with hidden angst.

"Even if we could," Daniel said drawing everyone to look at him. "It would take at least a week to get there."

"Please, return to your quarters." Bra'tac asked, looking round at all of the Jaffa women and Rya'c.

"I cannot go until..." Kar'yn tried to say something but was interrupted by Bra'tac raising his voice. "PLEASE! In time, your skills may be required, and you must be ready. Go!"

For a moment or two everyone seemed to just stand where they were gawping at Bra'tac before they all filed out of the briefing room, returning back to their quarters hopefully. I turned to Bra'tac as Daniel took a couple of steps to join us, his arms now crossed over his chest.

"You gotta teach me how you do that." I said to Bra'tac. "The whole 'Silence' thing."

"In time, O'Neill, when you reach my age, you will learn." He said mocking me.

"Err... maybe not then." I shifted putting my hands into my pockets.

"What're we going to do?" Daniel asked.

Bra'tac raised his head. "I will go speak to the rest of the Jaffa, loyal to our cause, and ask them for assistance."

"Okay... we'll have a powwow on what we can do." I smiled at Bra'tac as he bowed his head in respect and left down the steps to the control room.

I opened my mouth to say something to Daniel when I heard a familiar giggle come from underneath the table of the briefing room. Daniel and I shared a questioning look before turning to look at the briefing table. Raising my eyebrows I bent over to look under the table but I couldn't see anything, more of that Jaffa kunfu stuff. I stood up straight and rolled my eyes at Daniel.

"Think the table's come to life." I told him motioning to the table with my head as I held my hand at the average height of a child.

"What?" He asked confused, shrugging his shoulders at me.

"The. Table. Has come to life." I said sternly, trying to get him to understand there was a kid under the table with hand gestures.

"Jack," He said. "I know you've been through a lot this year. Having that Ancient knowledge downloaded into your head an all, but I think you've completely lost it now."

"Oh for crying out loud!" I swore launching myself towards the table to pull a chair out and ducked under the table, coming face to face with Tayla. "You!"

She giggled. "Hello General O'Neill!"

I frowned at her whilst I pulled her out from underneath the table to show Daniel. "See! Get what I meant now!"

"Erm... no, but look. You found a little girl." Daniel smiled that annoying smile of his, when he knew he'd succeeded in winding me up.

"God! I got work to do." I growled at him and then marched off to my office. Dropping into my chair, I rubbed at my face tiredly leaning forward onto my desk. What a day? I folded my arms onto my desk and noticed Tayla sitting in one of the chairs in front of me. The little troublemaker was following me, I swore. Giving her a look I picked up the papers sitting in my in-tray and began to read through them whilst she watched me.

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Quickly walking down the corridor I was trying to lose Tayla in the maze of corridors, but nothing I did would lose the little terror. She'd followed me into the men's at one point only to be kicked out, literally, to land on her backside. Since then, she has remained in the corridor outside of every room I went into but catching on when I would duck into a lab to come out the other door. I'd reached my last resort. I was taking her to Sam so she could... nicely tell Tayla to leave me alone. But no matter how fast I walked or jogged, her little legs kept up with me. I, now, officially had a stalker.

Ducking into Sam's lab to find her leaning over a UAV, I moved round her desk and came up on the other side of the UAV. She swore at something as she played with its wiring.

"Sam." I said to gain her attention. "You gotta help me."

"Why? What you broken?" She asked without looking at me.

"I got one of them Jaffa kids following me." I told her, checking that Tayla was outside in the corridor. "She won't leave me alone."

"So...?" She said standing up, placing the pliers in her hand to one side. "What am I suppose to do?"

I waved around pulling a face at her. "I don't know. Offer to show her something, confuse her with techno babble. Anything, please, I'm begging you!"

Rolling her eyes she turned to see Tayla leaning up the wall on the other side of the doorway. "Hey, come in here."

Tayla smiled and skipped into the room, coming to stand beside Sam. "Hello Colonel Carter."

"What's your name?" Sam asked putting her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Tayla." She said, looking up at Sam.

"Well, Tayla, want to help me?" She inquired looking at me with a cheeky smile.

"What do you want me to help you with?" Tayla asked peeping over the edge of the UAV to see wires sticking out.

"I want you to go hide somewhere, anywhere you can think of, and then General O'Neill will come find you. All right?" Sam said leaning forward to see the girl's face.

I scrunched up my eyebrows as Tayla replied excitedly. "I will! I will find a hiding place that no one has ever hidden in!"

Tayla ran out of the room and down the corridor, leaving us to stand either side of the UAV. I looked from the doorway round to Sam whilst she picked up her pliers again, beginning to rip the inners out of the UAV.

"You do know she's expecting me to go find her now?" I asked hooking my thumb in the direction that Tayla had ran off in.

"You wanted her out of your hair." She responded, sliding her arm into the UAV to reach some more wires inside.

"True." I pouted my lips and then put my hands into my pockets. "See you later." I said leaning over the UAV to kiss her on the cheek and left her to it, keeping an eye out for Tayla as I made my way back down to the control room hearing the alarm for an off world activation.

*************************************************************************************************

Tossing another file into my out-tray, I stood up out of my seat stretching my back, when Sam, Daniel and Bra'tac descended upon my office. I raised an expectant eyebrow waiting for someone to tell me why they'd suddenly decided to crash my half an hour of stretching. Sam sat down into one of the chairs in front of me, smiling at me that way she does when she's being sympathetic, and Daniel sat down beside her as Bra'tac came to stand beside me behind my desk. Frowning at them I sat down onto the edge of my desk, yawning into the back of my hand.

"Go on, hit me with it?" I said laying my arms to rest on my knee.

"Teal'c's tretonin is going to start to wear off soon." Sam said leaning onto the arms of her chair. "We're preparing a UAV to drop tretonin for Teal'c."

Bra'tac's face was the picture of dismay. "He will need all his strength if he is to rescue Ishta from the clutches of Moloc."

Confusedly I looked at him wondering when Mooc had gotten Ishta and then looked at Daniel. He glanced to Sam out of the corner of his eye and then leant forward towards me.

"Jack, I told you Moloc had arrived on the planet and had captured Ishta about an hour ago." He whispered.

"Was I doing paperwork?" I asked scratching at my beard.

"Erm... yeah." Daniel's eyebrows scrunched down on top of his glasses.

"Well then," I said pointing to my ears. "I weren't listening then."

Giving me a sceptical look Daniel sat back into his chair, as Sam shook her head and said. "The UAV will then circle back and paint the targets on the Gate."

"What colour?" I asked trying to add some humour into things. Wish I hadn't when she gave me a very stern look.

"Ishta did not exaggerate... The rebel Jaffa on Moloc's worlds are indeed a mighty force. As we speak, they prepare for war against those still loyal to Moloc." Bra'tac inputted crossing his arms across his chest.

"You think they can win?" I inquired, reminded there was a hockey match on tonight.

He looked at me with a thoughtful look. "I do not know."

"Even if they do," Sam said. "It's possible another Goa'uld could simply take his place... or, worse, come in and wipe them all out to prove this whole rebellion is a bad idea."

"Full of the negatives today, aren't we, Sam?" I said crossing my arms in front of me.

But she just ignored me, as Bra'tac said. "Indeed. That is something we asked them to consider, and yet, such reason is beyond them now."

*************************************************************************************************

For most of the action that went on down in the control room to help Teal'c and Ishta, I had missed. I'd been drawn away to deal with other matters, such as the commissary getting the wrong sort of the potatoes again and Felger destroying another lab. I swore one of these days I was going to shoot Felger and get it over and done with. I thought about sending him to some Goa'uld; he could be the thorn in their sides instead of mine. But I had to admit, it had taken a lot of willpower to force myself to deal with the other problems going on around the base, when really I wanted to grab a P90 and go running through the gate to join my buddy.

Picking up my dress jacket from where I'd left it, draped over the back of one of the chairs, I put it on as someone knocked on my door and opened it to pop their head around the corner. Bra'tac smiled at me and slipped inside closing the door behind him. I straightened my tie and made sure my collar was folded down as I turned to face Bra'tac, who was stood with his hands clasped in front him watching me.

"Hey Bra'tac." I greeted buttoning up my dress jacket. "How's the couple to be?"

"They are pensive." He said reaching out to pick a lose thread off my jacket.

Wiping at my shoulders and then down the front of my uniform, I nodded towards my desk. "The rings are in the bottom draw on the left side."

He made an O shape with his mouth before moving over to my desk, pulling out the bottom draw to take the ring box out that held both the rings, engraved with: I love you for always. Bra'tac cradled the velvet box in his hands making his way from the other side of my desk to where I stood. I combed my hair with the pocket comb I kept in the inside pocket of my jacket when I caught sight of the look Bra'tac was giving me and was reminded of how my dad looked the day he'd watched me get ready for my wedding with Sara.

Opening my mouth to say something, my office door opened again and Sam popped her head around the door. "Hey you two, bride and groom ready down in the gate room."

"Okay dokay, we'll be right there." I told her nodding my head to her, sliding the comb back into my inside pocket.

"Come," Bra'tac said touching me lightly on my shoulder. "Let us go and witness the birth of many years of happiness for Rya'c and Kar'yn and yourself and Colonel Carter."

I was frowning as I held the door open for Bra'tac, letting him leave before me. "You know, you should try getting into the business of writing those messages in cards."

*************************************************************************************************

Entering the gate room behind Bra'tac I straightened my tie to reassure myself it was straight, finding most of the SGC's personnel lined up underneath the control room's window, all dressed smartly in their blues with Daniel in his suit, and all the Jaffa women standing either side of the ramp leading up to the gate and anywhere else they could stand, so they could see the ceremony. I wiped the front of my jacket down and flattened my tie against my chest, squeezing passed people to get to where Sam and Daniel were standing. Bra'tac bowed his head to Teal'c, Ishta, Rya'c and Kar'yn and then began the ceremony as I nudged Sam in the side with my elbow, smiling at her when she looked at me.

Bra'tac picked up a firelighter and lit it, and then lit the brazier saying. "Let this fire bear witness to this ceremony. May its flames keep warm the souls of those who came before us. We ask those spirits now to bless this union and to protect it through each day of its existence."

Horn girl standing near the doorway blew the horn, Sam and Daniel both looked in the direction of horn girl, startled by the horn sounding. Keeping my hands itching to play with something and down at my sides and not in my pockets, I noticed Bra'tac looked and winked at me.

"An old tradition, that has not been done for many years, is for the bride and husband to choose two people they have admired and learnt what the spell of true love is like, and how it can be a hard and long road." Bra'tac told everyone, raising his hands up to motioned to Rya'c and Kar'yn. "The husband shall now choose his."

Rya'c's eyes combed over all the faces, sweeping from left to right and back again until they came to stop on me. "I choose O'Neill."

I raised my eyebrows at Sam when she looked at me, her eyes wide, as I stepped passed the row of people in front of us, sharing a look with Teal'c who was definitely confused while I moved to stand beside Rya'c. I shared a gentle smile with him and then Kar'yn, feeling everyone's eyes in the room on me.

"Kar'yn." Bra'tac said, waving his hand towards the occupants of the gate room.

Looking round, pretending I didn't know who Kar'yn would choose, I caught Sam's questioning eyes and couldn't help but smile cheekily at her. I saw her lips move, saying 'he up to something' to Daniel as Kar'yn called out her name. Everyone looked round to Sam, some evil glares were sent from some of the female Jaffa, while Sam looked around bewildered waiting for the other Colonel Carter to pop up. Cocking up an eyebrow I unbuttoned my jacket and placed my hands on my hips, still waiting for Sam to move.

"Sam, she called your name, not Daniel's." I said causing her to jump and quickly pushed her way through everyone to stand beside Kar'yn.

"Sorry." She said quietly, sending me a look.

Bra'tac smiled at her, as he said. "Rya'c will place the circle of fidelity on Kar'yn head, as O'Neill puts this ring on Colonel Carter's finger."

Rya'c handed me the ring Bra'tac had given to him and then took the ring of twigs from the person behind him. I smiled cheekily at Sam crossing over to her ignoring the questioning look she was giving me. Taking hold of her left hand, I cradled it in my bigger hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger, as Rya'c placed the twig ring on Kar'yn's head. I smiled at her looking up to her face as I stepped back to stand beside Rya'c again, noting how beautiful Sam looked even though she was looking confusedly at the ring on her finger.

"Now Kar'yn will place the totem of bravery around Rya'c's neck, as Colonel Cater places this ring," Bra'tac said taking out the other ring from the box to show to everyone. "On O'Neill's finger."

Sam stared at Bra'tac while he passed Kar'yn the smaller ring out of the box. Kar'yn took Sam's hand and placed the gold band in her hand, smiling at Sam before she turned to take the medallion from whoever it was behind her. As Kar'yn placed the medallion around Rya'c's neck, Sam was still stood about five feet away from me, studying the gold band in the palm of her hand.

"Sam." I whispered, trying to gain her attention, she carried on looking at the ring.

"Sam" I said louder but still nothing.

"Carter!" I spat out in my commander's tone. Instantly her back straightened and her head snapped up to lock eyes with me. "You're suppose to be putting that on this finger, not staring at it. It's not some gizmo you can play with."

"Oh... sorry." She apologised stepping over to me to slide the cool band onto my wedding finger.

As she stepped back to stand beside Kar'yn, Bra'tac instructed. "Kar'yn will now speak of her love and devotion to Rya'c."

Kar'yn smiled and then looked across at Rya'c. "Rya'c, your heart is pure and your spirit strong. You give me strength, and joy, and I will stand by your side always."

"Rya'c." Bra'tac clasped his hands in front of him.

"Kar'yn," Rya'c said stepping forward to take Kar'yn's hands into his. "You are as beautiful as the sun. My love for you is like the morning rays at dawn of an endless day."

"The rite is complete." Bra'tac said holding his hands out to everyone. "May you love and fight like warriors ... just not with each other." Everyone laughed and applauded both Rya'c and Kar'yn as they both moved around the brazier to kiss each other. I couldn't help the grin on my face, catching a glimpse of the gold band on my left hand every time I clapped my hands together.

While everyone began to leave the gate room to head to the party, I was cornered by Spears and asked about some problems that had occurred while the ceremony was going on. I noticed Daniel and Sam talking to Ishta and Teal'c, who were both staring at each other. Nodding my head at Spears I told him to take a break and go get some punch down him and then made my way over to the others. Daniel watched me come over with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels with a grin plastered on his face.

"So campers, party time!" I said rubbing my hands together, squeezing between them to head for the door till Teal'c's strong hand touched my arm.

"O'Neill," His deep voice called. "I do not remember that being part of the ritual."

"What that?" I asked turning my head to look at him.

"The bride and husband choosing two people they admire." He said giving me that knowing eyebrow raise.

I looked round to Sam and then to Daniel and Ishta. "Really?"

Ishta bowed her head. "Teal'c, Doctor Jackson, would you like to accompany me to the celebrations?"

"Sure." Daniel mumbled, scooting off behind Teal'c and Ishta as they left the gate room. I smiled at Sam noticing she was still looking at the ring in curiosity. Rubbing some bits off her uniform, I took a step towards her and then took her hands and put them around me before I wrapped mine around her waist. She finally looked up at me and smiled.

"That was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?" She asked, edging forward to press herself more against me.

"Yep... You look beautiful." I told her watching her blush.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself." She said pulling me into a hug.

I kissed her on the neck and then whispered. "You can't get rid of me now."

"What you mean?" She asked pulling away from me.

"Well, normally, when a man gives a woman a ring and a woman gives a man a ring, and they take part in a wedding ceremony, they're married." I held my smile, loving the way her eyes widen.

"But..." She stuttered, unable to find her words.

"Look," I muttered stroking a piece of her hair out of her face. "I know its not like an Earth kind of wedding or anything that you had in mind, and that this wouldn't be acknowledge as a wedding here... but that can wait. I mean, I just wanted to prove to you that even though I'm not thinking of marriage in the sense of married married, that I still want this. I'm committed to you and only you."

She caressed her hand over my cheek. "So... I'm Mrs O'Neill then... in a way?"

"Yep!" I said with my shit-eating grin.

"I like the sound of that." She said tiptoeing up to kiss me, her fingers sliding into my hair. All I could think about, as we stood there kissing in the gate room, was how lucky I was to have her in my life. And I was also thinking how long it was till the end of the shift, when I could race her home and have my wicked way with her.

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I stood in the control room watching Teal'c saying goodbye to Ishta, after they'd given me that look saying to 'go away', and listened to Spears telling me about my appointments later on that day. Just as Ishta was climbing the ramp towards the open gate, a pair of feet ran down the steps from the briefing room. I looked round to see...TAYLA! ARGH! SHE'D BEEN HIDING ALL THIS TIME!

Quickly I turned and slammed my hand down onto the mic's button. "ISHTA! YOU'VE MISSED ONE!"

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The End (Feedback Welcome)