for Sam [timed to March 11]

[has_2ls]

With one newly-bandaged thumb and a stern warning from Sam-clone the doctor, Jack heads back home. Except, since he's so close to Sam's place anyway having been at the Compound, Jack decides to swing by and see about her and the kids before he goes home for the night. Maybe he can keep from spilling the beans about the house he's building until there's, you know, an actual house to show off. He doesn't suspect he can keep it secret for long but he wants to try.

He's feeling a lot better since he got the good drugs at the clinic (for a given amount of good - it's still really just aspirin, isn't it?) and he's in good spirits when he knocks lightly on Carter's door.

"Carter? You home?"

Comments

[has_2ls]

"I didn't...I didn't want to pressure you," Jack says softly. "Since we're not uh, you know, I didn't want you to think I expected you to share with me. It's a very intimate thing."

Jack feels like maybe he made the wrong decision by drawing it out this way but there's nothing to do but go with it now.

[gate_expert]

Sam touches his arm, brushing her fingers against his sleeve. It probably won't be an issue by the time the house is actually ready, but she appreciates the thoughtfulness all the same. "It looks great," she says softly. "Really, Jack. This is amazing. I just have one request."

[has_2ls]

"Need a bigger room for more science?" he asks, grinning a little. He wanted to be sure she had a place for her work even if there's not much of it to do on the island. Carter's going to know better than him how she wants it.

"I can do that for you."

[gate_expert]

"I'll never say no to more office space," Sam says, and his grin is contagious. "But no, that wasn't what I was thinking. I want to work with you to finish this," she tells him. "So it can be ours. It's a fresh start, for both of us."

[has_2ls]

"Oh, well, it was supposed to be a gift but, yeah. I'm all for having the help. It could be fun," Jack says, holding up his injured hand.

"Besides, now I don't have to take time off to heal, right?"

[gate_expert]

"I just want this to be something we do together." The more she thinks about it, the more important this is to her. She has a lot of memories in her hut in New Atlantis--some really good ones, and less pleasant ones, too, and being in a new house, one they've built together, could help her feel more like starting over. The whole 'blank slate' thing is horribly cheesy, but it's true. "This means a lot to me, Jack. That you thought about it and started it, that we can work on it together... it means a lot."

[has_2ls]

"Well, that's what I'm here for," Jack says, laughing nervously. He feels like they've taken a big step today for their relationship, even if it's not so much physical as mental.

"I just want to show you that we can do this, you know? That we can be a good family."

[gate_expert]

"I know we can," she says. And they are already, in a lot of ways, but this could be the thing that helps her move forward. "Did I mention how much this means to me? Because it does. So much." She steps close, sliding her arms around his neck, and kisses him softly.

[has_2ls]

Jack is glad that she doesn't see it as weird or too much for right now and is just plain relieved that she doesn't seem to be on the outs with him like she had been last night. He kisses her back, keeping it light, and when it breaks he brushes a hand back against her cheek.

"Well, I could stand to have a little more of that."