Change Of Routine

Summary: Surprisingly, change in his life isn't always bad.

A/N: Happy fluff. Not part of the "Girl That Wasn't" series, but I'm planning a Jacob & Mark perspective soon, so watch your computer screens. Feedback always welcome.

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Before his house was invaded by a myraid of hair products, science journals and motorcycle parts, he spent your Saturdays either drowning in paperwork before giving up on ever denting a hole in it, or travelling up to Minnesota for a few days fishing before being hounded by General Hammond to get back to base and work on his inbox, filling with more mission reports by the hour.

Now, he doesn't have that. Now his weekends are filled with trips to the grocery store to replenish the less than nutritious food that she has deemed either rotten, or rapidly heading that way. His weekends consist of following her around the department store as she asks him to judge which of the jeans she has selected look better. His reply is diplomatic, and seems to satisfy her as she nods defiantly before heading back to the fitting room. In reality he has merely guessed which she prefers from the look on her face; he'd learnt that the first time when she'd glared at him for choosing a dress that was in her opinion far too revealing and her expression bore marks of If you don't change your mind within the next ten seconds, you're sleeping on the couch so he'd stuttered a reply and sunk into the chair in embarrassment, several other men waiting for their respective partners gave him a look of sympathy as though it was typical.

And it wasn't just his weekends that had changed either; Mondays were no longer "take-out night" unless she'd been so tired at work that she could neither be bothered to heat a frozen meal or tell him with her surprisingly commanding voice that if she caught him telephoning the Chinese take away, who knew you by name, "you'll be sleeping on the couch". It seemed many punishments involved either sleeping on the couch, or witholding sex. They worked well, and it was then he realised he was too predictable.

Fridays had become "laundry day" because she came back early on Friday nights, regularly being ordered out of the base by Hammond and told to get some sleep over the weekend, so she scurried around the house, collecting all their dirty washing and shoving it into the machine and read the newspaper whilst she waited. Normally he'd perk up as he saw her riflfing through the wardrobes to fish out shirts that he'd forgotten about, mainly because he knew that if he waited until the peak moment (just as she'd drunk her straight black coffee from a mug entitled Best Girlfriend that he'd bought as a gag gift which she'd then, surprisingly, treasured like the Holy Grail) he would trail kisses down her neck, and carefully lift her onto the sideboard, and stand between her legs as she wreaked havoc on his body. It was of no shock then, that Jack had decided that Friday was his favourite.

On Sunday mornings, between shopping trips and frenzied attempts to finish paperwork, they would walk the dog that they had bought last year through the park, arm in arm and watched as teenage boys played various versions of baseball together and parents accompanied children riding their bicycles, sometimes unsuccessfully, down the windy paths.

This Sunday, however was different as they sat down on "their bench" as she'd nicknamed it, the place he'd asked her to move in with him, and where he'd pestered her relentlessly for a dog, before revealing he had, in fact, bought one already. So she guessed it was the perfect place to break another big piece of news.

His reaction though, had been priceless. He'd almost fell off the bench, "You mean...?"

She nodded, a smile spreading across her face as she watched him grapple with the news and soon enough, they were both wearing matching grins, "We're having a baby," She said, loving the sound of the words as they left her mouth, touching her heart as she finally had achieved everything she wanted with the man that she wanted.

He hugged her warmly, pulling their bodies close together and whispered in her ear, "I love you." She smiled even though he couldn't see her face, her stomach tying up in knots despite the fact he told her so nearly every day.

"Good," She pressed her cheek more tightly against his, winding their hands together, "Because I love you too."

There was a moment of silence as Sam wondered if she could hear Jack take deep breaths, but she refrained from asking him anything in case he was thinking about Charlie. She knew that it would bring back memories of a time when he felt as if the world had ended, and she had no right to disturb his reminscing, "Sam?"

"Mmm?"

"Will you marry me?"

All eyes in the park were on the couple as the "crazy woman" squealed her reply, wrapping her arms around the man as he kissed her soundly. After a few seconds, attention was taken elsewhere and the pair slid back onto the bench, Jack's arm lingering on Sam's shoulder as she leant her head on his chest, watching the world go by and "Thor" jumped onto the bench next to them, resting his muzzle on Sam's thigh.

He knew he liked change.

The End