"Anyone else want another drink?" Cassie asked as she stood up to go inside and refresh her own drink.
"Do you have to say that so nonchalantly?"
"Why Jack? Does it make you feel old knowing that I am now of drinking age?" Cassie teased him.
Jack didn't bother dignifying that with a response and instead put in his order for another beer.
"I'll have a whiskey neat," Jacob called out.
Everyone stared at him.
"What?" he asked defensively.
Sam looked at the others and then back at her father, "I thought you didn't drink anymore because of Selmak."
Jacob shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah normally I don't… She kills the buzz, but I haven't had a drink in a long time and I miss the taste of a smooth whiskey."
Jack stood up, "Then I have just the thing for you if you're looking for taste." Jack followed Cassie into his house. He returned five minutes later with a bottle and two glasses.
"Ireland's finest – Jameson. This is the good stuff, they don't export this, you can only get it there," he explained as he poured two fingers for each in the low-ball glasses. He held up his own glass, "Cheers!"
Jacob gladly returned the salute as he sipped the fine aged whiskey. "Ah… That's it!"
Jack happily sauntered back to Sam's side. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Trying to get on his good side?"
"Remember he will someday be my father-in-law," he told her reminding her of what they'd told each other in the Oval Office.
"Yes I know," she told him as she gave him a short kiss on the cheek. "And I'm looking forward to it!"
"Me too," he told her as he took hold of her hands and played with them.
As the conversation continued on among this tight family Jack's hands continued to play with Sam's. As his hands kept roaming over her hands he kept feeling the ring she wore on her right hand – the one her father had given her on her eighteenth birthday. It was a simple ring with an oval emerald, her birthstone, in a gold setting flanked by two small circular diamonds.
Sam was sitting in his lap laughing at a comment made by Teal'c.
Jack just watched her laugh and enjoyed the sight. A few weeks ago he had been terrified that he would never see that look on her face again. And now here she was, wrapped in his arms enjoying life and everything it had to offer them.
After an hour Sam and Jack found themselves alone outside. Sam was leaned up against Jack looking at the night sky. Jack just stared at her beauty, enraptured by the way she looked under the full moon.
"I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful in my life," he told her quietly.
Sam tore her gaze from the stars to the man she loved. She smiled at him tenderly as she brought her right hand up to his face and traced the lines of his chin as she brought it in for a kiss.
She really did love this man, she couldn't imagine herself with anyone else. "I love you."
Jack smiled, "I love you too." Now that they had declared their true feelings for one another, he couldn't get enough of saying it or hearing her say it.
She leaned back against him as Jack wrapped his arms around her and held her hands. They sat there silently enjoying the moment as they forgot about everything else in the galaxy. They left the troubles of the SGC behind, the Goa'uld, their allies, their duties; they left it all behind and just lived in that moment.
And Jack seized that moment.
"Sam…"
"Yes," she replied as she continued to stare up at the stars.
"You know I want to marry you, right?"
She smiled, "Yeah."
"Well I was wondering," he began as he slid the ring off her right hand. "Your dad gave you this ring, right?"
"Yeah," she was slightly confused as to what he was doing.
"I was talking with your dad earlier, he told me that it was originally your mom's. He said it had brought them good times. He gave it to you when you started on your own path. I doubt he thought it would take you to different planets," he added lightly. "I don't want you to forget who you are, because that's the person I fell in love with… But I was wondering if you would move it to your other hand to signify the start of a new path, as my wife?"
Jack held his breath as he held the ring at the edge of her left ring finger.
Sam looked down at their hands and closed her eyes. When she opened them a tear of joy raced down her cheek. She placed her right hand over his and slid the ring onto her finger. She turned to face Jack.
"Yes!" she whispered to him before pressing her lips to his.
Their passion for one another reached new heights in that kiss, the knowledge that they were now promising the rest of their lives to one another released all inhibitions and insecurities they had for their blossoming relationship.
When they stopped they leaned their foreheads against one another, "Thank you so much!"
"Are you kidding? Thank you! You just made me the happiest man on the planet!"
"Just the planet?" she teased.
"Well okay… maybe this side of the galaxy!" he teased her back.
"I don't know, there are going to be a lot of broken hearts out there now that I'm off the market! You might be the happiest in the galaxy," she told him seriously.
Jack nodded his head, "That may be true… Of course none of those others guys had a chance… I mean seriously, how could you resist my good looks and charm."
Sam nodded her head and smiled, "Yes, how could I?"
Jack began to rise, "Come on, let's go tell the family."
She walked next to him and stopped just before they re-entered the house, "Jack, did you know you were going to propose to me tonight?"
He shook his head, "Nope… The moment just seemed right."
"And the ring?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "I improvised, but I meant what I said."
She smiled warmly at him, "I know."
"Oh, by the way. When do you want to get married? Because I promised your father that we would make sure he would be there."
"You asked my father?"
"I'm kind of old fashioned like that," he told her.
"That's so sweet!"
He quickly brought his finger up to her mouth to silence it. "Shhhh! Don't let anyone know… I'm a General!" he told her as if it was a classified secret. "So how about in a couple of months?"
"Sure," she told him happily as she led him to the calendar in the kitchen. She flipped ahead to October. She smiled when she saw which days fell on a weekend, "How about the 18th?"
Jack looked at the calendar and smiled as well. "Perfect!"
Both of them couldn't help smiling widely knowing that each of them knew the significance of the date as they entered the living room.
"So Jacob, you going to be in town on October 18th?" Jack called out happily.
Jacob stared at him confused. He then looked at his daughter and saw their hopeful faces. He tilted his head as he looked down at her hands. He smiled when he saw the ring on her left hand. "I think I can arrange that," he told them as he got up and went to hug the happy couple.
Daniel, Teal'c and Cassie all looked at one another unsure what they were talking about. "Uh guys?" Daniel called out as the designated spokesman.
Jack looked at Daniel and then at Sam in a contemplative manner, "Should we invite them?"
Sam played along, "I don't know. It might be rude considering we work with them and Cassie stays with me when she's on break..."
Jack's face lit up, "Can we invite Jack and Cathy?"
Sam chuckled, "Sure, don't hold your breath for a yes… He is running for the Presidency," she pointed out.
"We can still invite him to the wedding, you know, kind of like a thank you because-"
They both had the wind knocked out of them as Cassie nearly tackled them to the ground in excitement! "Oh my God! This is so great! I'm so happy for you both! Lemme' see the ring!" she demanded as she lifted Sam's casted arm.
"Wait, this is the ring you've always had," Cassie noted in confusion as she looked up at Sam and Jack.
Sam looked at Jack's face as she explained, "Different hand, different path."
Once the congratulations were dispensed with and everyone had calmed down they sat down in the living room.
"So why so soon?" Jacob asked.
"It's our anniversary of sorts," Jack began.
And Sam finished for him, "We first met eleven years ago on the 18th in the SGC conference room."
Jacob was relieved, for a second there he thought that perhaps they had been carrying on a relationship against the regulations.
Daniel spoke up, "You remembered the date Jack?"
Jack scoffed at the idea of not remembering, "Of course, it's not every day a Captain challenges you to arm wrestle!"
The End
... I think! I've been trying to come up with a few more chapters to this story and bringing Jack and Cathy back into it, but nothing seems to be working. That and I don't think I write ship all that well...
So I hope that was enough ship for all you fans. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing this. And thank you to everyone who took the time to let me know what they thought of this story and helped me out by pointing out inconsistencies or errors. I appreciate it all!
I promise you that if I find the right scene I will write it out for you all, but don't hold your breath! (I don't want to be sued by anyone suffering from a lack of oxygen!)