has_2ls | house building (for Sam)

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sam,
tabula rasa

house building (for Sam)

Jack's glad the kids are up at the Children's Office today because while he loves them, he doesn't want them getting hurt while he's building and he thinks Carter's probably got the same idea. Considering he recently broke his thumb right by himself, there's no way he wants to risk hurting one of the kids on sheer accident.

The frame is up and has been for a while but today they're working on walls and Carter's along to figure out how she wants to run power and plumbing (and, let's face it, to also help with walls because she can hold her own and then some.) While Jack thinks he knows a little something about that, he's no engineer, and it's best to just leave it to her and make sure it's Done Right.

They have a pitcher of water they've been sharing, since it's just plain hot out on the island and Jack pauses for a minute to get something to drink, glancing over at Carter once he's slaked his thirst.

"How's it coming so far?"

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"Well, I always want to. Just trying to be appropriate," Jack says, shrugging a little. "No pressure, no expectations. All that."

He guesses that someday he might feel comfortable with just sharing all his feelings with Carter but today's not really that day. "I love you. I don't want to screw that up."

"You're not," she assures him. "It's good. Really good." So good, she thinks, that something's probably going to go wrong, because nothing can be this good for this long.

When they get to the compound and the Children's Office, Sam goes to collect the kids' things and lets Jack divert them from whatever they are playing with. William comes over to her, because he likes 'helping' get his stuff together, but Janet is on the other side of the room laughing and cruising around holding on to furniture, so Sam lets Jack go get her. "Did you have fun today, kiddo?" she asks William, and he nods as he puts on his backpack.

"Yes," he says. "I'm hungry."

"I know," she says. "Me too. We were working on the house. We'll take you to see it after dinner, if you want."

"Who's Daddy's pumpkin? Is it Janet? It's Janet," Jack babytalks, kneeling down and spreading his arms wide for her. She's comfortable enough with holding onto furniture and walking but there's a good little stretch of floor between the furniture and Jack and he doesn't know if she'll risk that.

The first few steps are shaky and Jack thinks she might just sit down but Janet manages to cross over to him. He thinks his heart's gonna give out on him and while he's not the kind of man to cry, his cheeks might be a little damp.

"C'mere, you," he says, scooping her up and kissing her all over. He's never been more proud.

Sam's knelt down to tie William's shoes and when she stands up again, she sees Jack with Janet, grinning like a lunatic. "What's up?" she asks. William raises his arms, his way of asking to be picked up, and she scoops him up and balances him on her hip. "You're such a big boy," she says. "Getting heavy!"

"Janet walked," Jack says, unable to keep the grin off his face. He feels ridiculous but he doesn't really care.

"She walked right to me without holding on to anything."

"What a big girl!" Sam says, and she's disappointed she missed it, but she's glad Jack saw those first steps. "I thought it might be soon. I've never seen her do it without holding on to anything. Can you show Mommy?" She slides William off her hip and kneels down beside him, waiting to see if Janet will walk to them.

Janet takes a few wobbly steps toward Sam before she gets more confident about it. Jack is so proud he could just burst and even a second time is just as exciting as the first was.

"Look at our big girl, walking all by herself."

Sam kisses Janet's little face and William hugs her and claps, then Sam turns her around to see if she'll walk back to Jack. She does, holding her arms out in front of her for balance in a way that makes her look a little like a zombie. On the last step she trips, toppling into Jack's arms with a laugh.

"We're never gonna get to sleep again with this one walking around the house," Jack says, scooping Janet up and holding her close. He's never been so happy as he is right now - spending the day with the woman he loves and now he's getting to spend the night with his whole family. Family's always been important to him and the island gives him a chance to have one and treasure it.

"Let's get these guys home."

Getting home is a long process. First is dinner in the compound, which takes longer than usual because Janet keeps trying to escape from her high chair so she can run around. Then is actually getting the kids home; William can't decide whether he wants to walk or be carried, which means a lot of stopping to pick him up and put him down. Once home, there are baths and stories and although Janet is mostly eating solid food now, she still wants to nurse first thing in the morning and last thing at night, so she demands that before going to sleep.

Finally both kids are fed, bathed, in bed, and asleep, and Sam flops on the couch with a sigh. It's been a long day.

"I could sleep for a year," Jack says, stopping by the couch and kneeling down to brush a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "You ready to go get horizontal?"

Jack realizes afterward that it's a poor word choice and he clears his throat a bit. "You know, for sleep?"

There are some things about Jack that will never change, no matter how long she knows him. Saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times is one of them. "Sleep sounds like a great idea right now," she says, and takes his hand to pull herself up off the couch.

"Today was fantastic," Jack says, pulling her up and holding her close for a moment. It is hard to describe how much these family moments mean to him and he hopes she understands.

"One of the best days I've had in a long time."

"It was a great day," Sam agrees. It's a day when everything's felt right--working on the house together, just talking, getting to share that big moment of Janet's first independent steps--and she feels comfortable, which is maybe a strange thing to feel about her relationship with Jack after all this time, but it's how she feels. Comfortable.

"Hopefully we can keep having days like this once we move into the house," Jack says casually. He wants, more than anything, to have their little family start all over again once they move into their new home. He wants them to be one cohesive unit, a team, and he thinks that's more than possible.

"Mmhmm." She tightens her arms around him and sighs, content. "I'm really looking forward to it. We're making good progress." She's talking about the house, yes, but she's also talking about them.

"Today was great but I think I can do without the heavy lifting for a few days. I am not the young, strapping Special Forces officer that I used to be," Jack says, grinning at Carter. He's angling, he knows, but he thinks she might give in. She seems like she's in a good mood.

"Maybe just a little twinge in the back right now."

Sam rubs her hands up along his back, just a comforting touch, but she can feel the tension in his muscles even through his t-shirt. "Come in the bedroom and lie down," she says. "I'll see what I can do."

"That's the best thing I've heard uh, probably all month," Jack says. He doesn't want to look too eager but he's very much ready to be in bed and have all his sore places worked out. Besides, he likes getting the attention from Carter.

As hot as it is on the island, he tries to always wear at least boxers and a t-shirt to bed with her if not actual pajamas. It's partly for the kids since William could walk in at any time but it's also partly for Carter, too, so there's no pressure.

Today, he goes ahead and whips off the shirt since there's no point in having it in the way and it makes him feel weirdly self-conscious. Oh well.

Maybe he's not Mr. Special Forces anymore, but Sam certainly doesn't have any complaints. "Lie down," she says, giving him a little nudge, and peels off her jeans so she'll be more comfortable. Once he's settled she sits on the bed beside him, folding her legs under her. He does have a very nice back, she decides, smoothing her palms over his back. It's a light touch, at first, just to warm her hands and his skin.

It's a command he doesn't mind taking and once Carter touches him, he relaxes into the bed and lets out a little sigh.

"I could get used to this, you know."

"Mmmhmm." She slides her hands up to the base of his neck and shoulders and uses a firmer touch, pressing the heels of her hands into the muscle there. There's some tension there, so she lingers for a little while, spreading very gradually outward as she works.

"Goddess among women," Jack praises, relaxing even more. As much as it's for his backache it's also so that he can just be touched because he hates asking for it even if it's what he wants and he's reasonably sure that Carter doesn't mind it.

"Ha," Sam says. She's a scientist, not a goddess. (They've seen too many fake deities in their line of work.) She could probably be quick and efficient about this and it would be just as effective, but she's taking her time, because she likes just being able to touch him. It's relaxing. She presses her thumbs on either side of his spine and works her way down a bit at a time until she gets to a spot with significantly more tension, and she leans a little of her weight into her arms to apply more pressure.

Jack lets out a low groan. It hurts, yes, but more than that it feels good just to have Carter touch him and take her sweet time about it. He hopes that eventually they'll get to a point where he's more comfortable with this and them and they can...let things just take the natural course.

"God, that's good. Been a long time since anyone worked this thing out."

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