A/N: Mascara/Tissue alert…

The Principle of Existence

Chapter 21

Eight Months Later

Sam's Office

Three Days Before the Big Day

After reading the last page of the report in front of her a fourth time without comprehending it, Sam set it aside, leaned back in her chair and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. The wedding was three days away and she'd hardly slept the last few nights. Most of her time awake was spent thinking about her father who'd passed away just before her engagement to Pete had ended. Pete was a good guy but she hadn't really loved him the way he deserved. She'd pushed him away all because of a fantasy she'd harbored about someone else.

She and that someone else had finally talked about their feelings for each other, began a relationship, and even talked about marriage. Eventually, though, they'd come to realize that, while they cared for each other as more than friends, both of their destinies lay elsewhere and their lives with others.

With a groan she stood and went to the observation window. Siler had a maintenance crew in the Gate Room swarming over the 'gate, ramp and other equipment. All were engaged in tasks that she'd performed herself for one reason or another during her life in this underground facility. Her office door opened, closed and familiar footsteps sounded on the utilitarian carpet just before a pair of strong arms slipped around her waist and pulled her against him.

Cam kissed her on the neck and she relaxed into his comforting embrace. He released her, turning to lean on the ledge next to her so he could see her face. "Talk to me, Sam. What's got your boxers in a bunch?"

Sam's head turned toward him sharply. He knew her so well. "I've been thinking."

With a rueful grin, he reached over and moved a lock of hair that had fallen across her cheek, tucking it behind her ear where it belonged, or rather where she tried to keep it. She usually kept her hair short, just to the nape of her neck, but now it was down below her shoulders because she hadn't bothered to have it cut the last few months. "You're always thinking. It's about the wedding again, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

He took her by the hand and led her to the small sofa near the door. "What is it this time?"

She chewed her lower lip nervously. "What would you think if we…didn't get married?"

"In three days or ever?"

"Ever."

Cam took a deep breath. He knew she loved him though she'd only said it a few times and only after he'd said it first. Watching her face, he had an appalling thought. "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

"No! No. I-I'm just not sure I'm ready to do the whole white gown, fancy cake, open bar bit. Why are you shaking your head?"

"You're not getting out of it that easily. We have to get married. Dad's been practicing walking you down the aisle for weeks." His arm went around her shoulders. "And he's bragging to anyone who will sit still long enough about 'his daughter, the General'."

She looked at him incredulously. "So we have to get married because your dad's tired?"

"No-o. We have to get married because…" he ticked each item off with his fingers "…we have the license, the invitations have gone out and the RSVPs received, your brother's in Scotland makin' sure everything's just right, and you already have the dress and the shoes."

"Are those the only reasons?" Her tone told him she didn't think it was good enough. "Out with it, Mitchell."

"That's it exactly."

"What is?"

Cam scooted around so he could get at his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I've already filled out the paperwork." He tossed the page in her lap and watched while she read it. "Remember when we argued over whether you should keep your name or take mine? Well, your adoring fiancé has found the perfect solution."

"Cameron Mitchell, what did you do?"

"When our I-do's are said and done, you and I will be known as General Samantha Rene and Colonel Cameron James Carter-Mitchell." She didn't say anything, just kept looking at the paper but he had the idea that she wasn't really seeing at it anymore. "Sam?"

Without answering, she got up, locked the door, closed the blinds then went to the big observation window and did the same. When she returned to him he'd moved from the sofa. Taking off her jacket and tossing it away, she framed his face with her hands and kissed him.

His hands skimmed up her back then down to pull her tight against his chest. Before his hands could decided what to do next, she pulled away from him, whispered "I love you" and captured his mouth again as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders to the floor.

Spinning her around, he maneuvered them both to the desk, pulled away long enough to move the phone, laptop, etc. out of the way and lowered her onto her back. Her hands yanked his shirt from the waistband of his pants while his were occupied unbuttoning hers.

Walter knocked on Sam's office door, thought he heard her say "come in" but the knob wouldn't turn. "General?" He knocked again and this time heard someone say "oh, crap." As he started to turn away the door opened and Cam walked out running his hand through his hair.

"Thank you for your assistance, Colonel. Our meeting was very informative." Sam pushed stray hairs stuck in a light sheen of perspiration off her forehead.

"Any time, General." Cam turned to go but noticed that Walter was looking at them both with mild amusement that he tried to cover.

"What?" Sam and Cam said together.

The Sergeant cleared his throat and looked down in embarrassment. "You're, uh…"

"Walter!" Sam was standing with one hand on the door, the other on her hip and slight annoyance on her face.

"Um, you're…wearing each other's…shirts."

Cam looked at himself then at Sam while she did the same. A button from the front of the shirt Cam was wearing popped off and fell to the floor. "Hmm. Thought it was a bit small."

"Holy Hannah." With a heavy sigh Sam took Cam by the hand, they went back into the office and closed the door. Three seconds later the lock clicked.

By this time Walter had forgotten why he'd come up here in the first place so he went back to his desk and cleared Sam's calendar for the rest of the afternoon. He also sent a message to the Hammond informing them of the same for Cam. The only explanation he would give was, "He's in a meeting."

Three Days Later

Dalhousie Castle

Edinburgh, Scotland

The combined weddings of Daniel Jackson and Laura Cadman, Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell, Nicholas Ballard and Carolyn Lam went off without a hitch, or rather only one. During the reception, Sergeant Siler knocked over a champagne fountain. No one was surprised it happened but he somehow managed to drench Gunnery Sergeant Brackman as well. Thankfully it happened after the wedding photos had been taken while both were still in their dress uniforms.

Vala was Sam's maid of honor. Laura's maid of honor was Sylvia Crandall with whom she'd been friends since the age of six. For Carolyn, it was her mother, Kim. All three women looked stunning in burgundy off-the-shoulder, floor-length, sleeveless chiffon.

Walter, in his dress uniform, was best man to all three men.

The surprise attendees were Jack O'Neill, accompanied by Nancy Sheppard to whom he'd recently become engaged, and Pete Shanahan and his new girlfriend, a fellow cop. Rodney and Jennifer had been invited but she was about to give birth. Travel through the wormhole was contraindicated so they sent their regrets.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da

Life Goes On…

Three years and four months later, Laura, Carolyn and Sam gave birth within days of each other. Not that it had been planned that way. Far from it but somehow, that's just how it all worked out. Fate sometimes had a twisted sense of humor.

Laura and Daniel had a set of twin girls they named Athena and Thalassa.

Carolyn and Nick had a set of triplet girls aptly named Faith, Hope and Charity.

Sam and Cam were blessed with twin boys. Their parents named them Jacob and Walter.

As happy as this time was for the families, it was also tinged with sadness at the loss of their good friend, Master Sergeant Sylvester Siler. He died saving the life of his commanding officer when an energy entity invaded the SGC. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Security protocols had been put in place to prevent it but the creature had hidden in an unused file in the tablet PC Doctor Jones carried with him on missions with SG-7.

They eventually figured out it was trying to escape from a predator on the planet they'd been exploring but not before it had tried to kill Sam who was five months pregnant at the time. It hadn't meant to but it was frightened and lashed out at the first person who came within range. Siler pushed Sam out of the way and the bolt of electricity hit him between the eyes flash-frying his brain, killing him instantly.

A few days later, his funeral played to a packed house on Earth and was transmitted to Atlantis via the next databurst. Many people got up to talk about the Sergeant and there were more than a few tears. Per his request, his ashes were scattered in space by the one person he respected above all others, Major General Samantha Carter-Mitchell.

Three Years Later

OAB Video Conference

Every Ending is a New Beginning

"Thank you for coming to the final gathering of the OAB." Shadows said from behind his disguise. "We've done many great things over the years, not the least of which was giving the city of Atlantis its autonomy."

Woolsey couldn't keep a small smile from turning up the corners of his mouth. He knew what was coming, his eyes flicking from face to face waiting for their reactions.

"Now that we've made the decision to disband this committee, I believe it's time you knew my true identity."

Watching over Woolsey's shoulder, Chuck saw his cousin remove his scarf and hat. He did it slowly and dramatically, reminding the Atlantean of the scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Khan removed his protective clothing to reveal himself to Chekov and Terrell.

The physical disguise gone, Shadows flicked off the electronic voice altering device then moved out of camera range to turn on the light. He slipped into the uniform jacket that showed his rank to be General (newly promoted and set to replace the retiring Jack O'Neill), slicked a hand over his military short hair that had touches of gray at the temples and resumed his seat.

Aside from Woolsey, the only other member who didn't look at him with expressions of consternation, puzzlement and dismay was former president Henry Hayes who had replaced James Marrick when the American businessman had been felled by a massive stroke two years before.

Henry sat back in his chair and laughed. Not just a snicker, snort or chuckle. It was a loud, full-bodied, straight from the diaphragm expression of hilarity and mirth, almost a guffaw. Eventually he wound down, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his eyes and face. "Thanks, General. I haven't had a good laugh in years. Not since the look on Kinsey's face when I fired him as Vice President."

"You're welcome, Mr. President." Paul addressed the others. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Brigadier General Paul Davis. My current position within the United States Air Force is second in command of Homeworld Security under General Jack O'Neill. Are there any questions?" The group erupted in a babble of angry voices. He waved a hand for silence. "One at a time, please. Shen, would you like to start?"

Her attractive features had stiffened into a blank expression but she couldn't hide the rage that smoldered in the depths of her brown eyes. "I would indeed." Her voice was tight as she conveyed her opinion for the next twenty minutes, occasionally devolving into her native language of Chinese in her haste to express her emotions.

Davis bore her invective with poise and patience as if he found it all incredibly amusing, which he did. With a flick of his eyes, he could see the same on the faces of Henry Hayes, Richard Woolsey and his cousin Chuck who had likewise stopped hiding in the…shadows.

The Principle of Existence

Epilogue

2055 - Summer

Colorado Springs

The SGC Reunion

The SGC alumni who attended the reunion brought their spouses, children, in-laws and grandchildren to this once-every-five-years event.

Daniel and Laura had a total of seven daughters, two sets of twins with a set of triplets in the middle: Athena and Thalassa, Abbeygail, Cadence and Tatiana, and Venus and Calliope.

Not to be outdone, Nick and Carolyn did the same with triplets first then two sets of twins: Faith, Hope and Charity, Grace and Patience, and Serenity and Temperance.

At last count, they had nearly fifty grandchildren between them. In alphabetical order: Anaya, Anthony, Aurora, Brenna, Bronwyn, Callista, Casper, Cyrus, Dante, Daphne, Declan, Desiree, Dinah, Felix, Galatea, Griffin, Grainger, Harper, Harry, Isis, Kaden, Kingsley, Kehinde, Lorelei, Mackenzie, Marcus, Maxwell, Nicodemus, Noah, Pandora, Panya, Paris, Percival, Phoebe, Royce, Sawyer, Tandori, Tate, Taylor, Thaddeus, Toi, Tristan, Tucker, Virgil, Waverly and Zackary. To make matters even more complicated, there were another five on the way, possibly more.

Sam and Cam were not nearly as prolific. They had one set of twin boys with the rest coming one at a time: Jacob and Walter, Janet, Malcolm (at Cam's insistence), and Wendy.

By the time of the reunion, they had the following grandchildren: Amanda, Camryn, Francesca, Fox, Harper, Jericho, Kade, Lily, Quinn, Penny, Perpugilliam, Peter and Phineas, also with more on the way.

Eight months and three weeks to the day after Siler died, Vala and Walter became the proud parents of a son they named after his father's best friend, Sylvester Siler Mal Doran-Harriman, Sly to his family and friends. And he had lots of friends as well as the entire SGC family to watch over him and tell him stories about his loyal, dedicated, courageous, kind, gentle, loving and accident-prone uncle who was missed every day by everyone who knew him. They eventually gave young Sly siblings: Bella, Davis, Egon and Lucy.

Their grandchildren were named: Abigail, Cassidy, David, Henry, John, Lysandra and Walter.

Many more SGC personnel were in attendance with their families. All together, there were enough to completely fill the Cheyenne Mountain Inn with more that lived and worked locally.

Family and Friends

A Haven in a Heartless World

The room was huge, able to hold 400+ people as well as tables, chairs, food and whatever else went with it. The sofas looked soft and comfortable as did the armchairs. Though they were made of state of the art materials, they looked like something out of a vid about the early 21st century. The electronic equipment was better than the best that could be purchased by the general public because, well, they had connections that went back to the previous century.

Walter's wheelchair was a perfect example. Actually, wheelchair was a misnomer. It was more accurate to say that it was a chair-sized antigravity device with a seat. The retired SGC member had fallen while playing with his grandchildren a few days ago. Oddly enough, he'd tripped over the child of his oldest son, Sly. He wouldn't have to use the chair much longer though, maybe another six days or so, but the teasing would go on for months.

Daniel, Nick and Cam, holding court on one of the comfy sofas, watched the sea of young faces around them. They were surprised at how many had stayed to hear stories of the early days of the Stargate program before it was declassified instead of going outside to play games, visit the Cheyenne Mountain complex, swim or any of a dozen other events.

The oldest of the kids was in her teens with the youngest being the toddlers and crawlers that played within the force field at the other end of the room watched over by the CCSS, the Carter Child Safety System and at least three human caretakers, mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers that took turns. Most of them were the offspring of the three men who'd just finished telling the story of how they met and married their wives.

When they were done, they waited for a reaction from the assembled group but the kids all stared back in disbelief. "Well…" Daniel said, "…say something."

Amanda, Nick's oldest grandchild, crossed her arms. "Do you expect us to believe that Grandpa Nick is really 135 years old? We're not stupid, you know. We learned in history class that way back in the 20th century most people seldom lived past 78 years old."

Daniel huffed. "We explained that, Mandy."

"Yeah, yeah." Sarcasm dripped off the voice of a boy barely thirteen with blonde hair and blue eyes that would no doubt grow up to look just like his grandfather, Cam. "We know. You went to the planet of the Zapruders and they rejuvenated him then he came back to Earth and married Aunt Carolyn." He scoffed.

"Harper! Watch how you talk to your Uncle Danny or you'll be hand pickin' zucchini at the co-op hydroponic farm until you're an old man. Now apologize." Cam ordered.

The boy looked stubborn for a moment, his chin coming up defiantly but he eventually backed down. "O-kay. Sor-ry."

Nick brushed his white hair off his forehead. "And it was Zapotecs, my boy. Zapruder was the fellow who took the famous movie of President Kennedy being shot."

Daniel took a drink from the cup at his right hand. "So what's next, kids? Any requests?"

A girl of nine with red hair and green eyes, Pandora, Pandy to her friends and family, stood up waving her hands excitedly. "Grandpa Danny, tell us the one about how Aunt Sam blew up the sun."

"Is that what you wanna hear?" The others chorused enthusiastic agreement as Daniel cleared his throat. "Let's see. Jack, Sam, Teal'c and I were on the planet Vorash, a Tok'ra base, when a Goa'uld Ha'Tak came into orbit…"

A boy aged seven waved his hand. Daniel peered at him a few seconds finally coming up with his name. "What is it, Peter?"

"Where were Uncle Nick and Grampa Cam?" They asked this every time. Probably just to annoy.

"Weren't there yet. Uh, where was I? Oh, yeah. Jack and Teal'c were on the planet to meet with the Tok'ra council and confront Tanith about being a traitor." A little girl with very curly white-blonde hair and bright green eyes raised her hand shyly. "Yes, Toi?"

She got to her feet and stood in front of Daniel. "Grampa Jacob was there, too, right?"

The elderly archaeologist pulled Toi onto his lap and tickled her. "Who's telling this story, pipsqueak? Me or you?"

She giggled and hugged his neck. "You are, Grampa Danny."

"Then hush while I tell it." He urged her to take her place on the floor. "The Tok'ra were preparing to evacuate when Apophis arrived with his fleet and Sam came up with the idea to..." Daniel cupped his hand around one ear and gestured.

"Blow up the sun!" The kids obediently shouted.

"Right!" Daniel's voice lowered dramatically. "So they waited until just the right moment and Sam dialed P3W-451, the planet with the…"

"Black hole!"

"…then she and Jacob launched the active Stargate into the sun and…"

"Blew it up!" The younger children jumped up and made the sounds of a mighty explosion while spinning in place just as Sam, Carolyn and Laura walked in.

"He's telling the blowing up the sun story again." Sam complained while Carolyn snickered and went to take her shift watching the younger ones leaving Laura and Sam alone.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Sam. Maybe it's time to take him upstairs and put him to bed."

With a sigh and a smile, Sam waved to her husband. "No, its fine. At least he isn't telling the one about P3X-595."

This caught the former explosives expert's attention, her eyes widening in anticipation of fresh gossip. "What happened?" Sam hesitated and Laura pounced. "It was something embarrassing, wasn't it? What was it?"

"Uh…"

"Come on. Pleeeese?" Laura's friend of nearly fifty years opened and closed her mouth as if she were undecided whether or not to tell the tale. "I will take it to the grave. Pinky swear!" She stuck out her right hand, finger extended.

After a few heartbeats of deliberation, Sam hooked her pinky around Laura's. "I've never even told Cam about it." Her voice barely above a whisper, she began, "SG-1 was on a mission to P3X-595. Within minutes of our arrival, we came upon an ambush. A group of thieves were attempting to kidnap the daughter of the village ruler. We rescued her and the Sovereign threw this huge party in our honor. They served this celebratory drink that tasted like grape juice but had a kick like Everclear. Before I knew it, I'd taken off my…"

The End

A/N: Thank you for sticking with this story to its conclusion. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Next up is a sequel to Chuck's Canadian Crime Connection, C4 - The Cee-quel, and a new story with Sam as the central character set after Trio but before The Last Man.

Also, kudos to my brainstorming buddies: Shadows-of-Realm, LoneRanger1 and DaniWilder to name a few.

Gracias, Namaste, Merci,

Sandy