"Honey, I'm home!" Jack called as he opened the door. It'd been a long day full of meetings with the joint chiefs. Yup it was good to be home.
"Daddy!" Gracie called as she streaked toward him. He bent down to pick up his little girl and planted a big kiss on her cheek. Standing up and looking down the hallway, he smiled when he saw his wife standing there.
"Do anything fun today?" he asked, looking at his daughter's brown eyes. He couldn't help but smile as they lit up with excitement.
"Mommy helped me make a volcano today!" she smiled, turning back to look at her.
Sam leaned around her to kiss Jack quickly. "And you should see what happened to the kitchen. Someone wanted to add more baking soda," she teased, tickling Grace's tummy.
Grace squirmed to get down, clearly wanting to show her dad her most recent adventure. Jack let her down and smiled as she ran off to the kitchen.
"How's my favorite girl doing?" he asked, pulling Sam into a hug.
She leaned into his solid chest, closing her eyes and relaxing for a moment. "Who knew a 5 year old could have so much energy. And none of it is ever used to clean up," she sighed. "I think someone takes after her father a bit too much."
"She's got your brains, Carter. That has to have something to do with it."
"Fine, but why don't you go change out of your blues. Gracie doesn't have the control to keep her hands clean and off them yet. Taking them to the cleaners for the fourth time this month does not sound like my idea of fun."
"That'll make two girls that can't keep their hands off me when they see me in my blues," Jack winked. He couldn't help but smile when he got a well deserved smack upside the head.
"You'll pay for that later," Sam winked back, leaning in for a kiss. "Now go get changed."
Blatantly ogling his six while he retreated to their bedroom, she was slightly shocked when she felt a small tug on her hand. "Mommy is daddy going to see our experiment?"
Sam picked up her daughter, "He just wanted to go change so he wouldn't get dirty. He'll be down soon. I bet he's going to love what you made."
Grace giggled and hugged her mom. Sam wrapped her arms tighter around her little daughter. To wake up to both Jack and their daughter every day was a miracle. It'd taken them so many years to finally get their heads on straight and do something about it. They lived in DC now, him working as Head of Homeworld Security, and her lending advice to the Pentagon occasionally. Grace was in preschool but definitely had her mother's brain. She loved doing experiments and learning by exploring.
They walked into the kitchen, and Sam had to suppress a sigh. Sadly Grace also had her father's knack for making messes. There was red goop covering the counters, cabinets, and even bits of the ceiling. Not to mention that it was also drying in both girls' hair. Bath time would be fun later. Sam plopped Grace down on her stool and turned on the radio. Grace loved kids' music, and Sam had discovered how much she loved dancing with her daughter.
Grace started wiggling around and moving her arms to the music. Sam joined in with a twirl around the kitchen. Both girls were singing along to the lyrics. Jack finished pulling on his t-shirt as he stood in the entryway to the kitchen, taking in the sight of his girls just being girls. Coming up behind Grace, he picked her up and spun her around before hoisting her up onto his shoulders. He started singing along too, making Sam grin. Six years ago he wouldn't have been caught dead singing and dancing. Now it was something they did nearly every day when they were all home as a family.
Grace held onto Jack's hands as he danced with Sam, moving back and forth with her to the beat. Disentangling one of his hands from Grace's, he took one of Sam's in it instead and spun her around. The resulting squeal from both girls was well worth it. As the song ended, Sam pulled Gracie over his shoulders and slung her onto her hip. Jack leaned in to kiss them each on the forehead.
"Now where's this experiment you wanted to show me?" Jack grinned.
Grace pointed to the counter, "It went boom."
Sam pointed to the ceiling, "All the way up there even."
Jack faked a gasp, "All the way up there? That's so high!"
Grace giggled more, and Sam had to hide her smile in the little girl's hair as Jack comically tried to stretch and touch the ceiling. "Gracie I think I'm going to need a plane to reach all the way up there!"
Jack looked around the kitchen. They really had made quite the mess. Sam hadn't even gotten the chance to wash the red goo out of her own hair yet, he noticed. Yup it was pretty adorable. He would be so dead if he mentioned it though. Turning to rummage through a cupboard, he grabbed a bag of chocolate chips. Taking the clip off them, he dumped some into his hand before extending it towards the girls, "Chocolate anyone?" Grace grabbed as many as she could with her chubby little hand. Sam took a few that were left over. Jack dumped the remaining morsels into his mouth. Smiling as he watched his girls enjoy their chocolate, he turned to replace the chocolate to its rightful space. Hearing a yawn behind him, he turned just in time to see Grace rub her eye with the back of her hand. "My little girl tired already?" he teased.
"I not tired daddy. I can stay awake."
"Says the girl who just rubbed her eyes. Here pumpkin, let's get a bath going for you." He extended his arms towards he, and she reached out for him. Holding her close, Jack kissed Sam's forehead. "You too honey, go get ready. I'll put this one to bed tonight."
Sam smiled contentedly as she turned to go up to their room, taking out her ponytail to run her fingers through her now longer than shoulder length blonde hair. She let out a groan of frustration as she realized it was clumped and tangled thanks to the red explosion. Maybe a bath wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Jack smiled at Sam's retreating form. Turning to look at his little daughter, he kissed her on the nose. "Bath time with bubbles tonight?" Grace clapped her hands in delight. She never could turn down bubbles. Jack bounced her on his back as they made their way up the stairs, making horse sounds the whole time. Entering her bedroom, he plopped her down on the bed, making her shriek once again. "Which pj's do you want to wear tonight?" he asked, going to her drawers.
"Space monkey ones!" Grace giggled, pointing to the pair Jack had just pulled from the drawer.
"Good choice," Jack grinned back. Someday she might understand why he loved those so much. Picking her up again and taking both her and the clothes into the bathroom, Jack kissed the top of her little blonde head. This little girl was his world.
He turned on the water and poured in some of her favorite pink bubblegum bubble bath. Not to be confused with Sam's favorite, he thought smugly, looking at the yellow bottle in the cupboard. That one smells all Carter. Turning back to Grace, he set to work trying to run a brush through her hair. She was sat on the counter with a few action figures in front of her that she were making talk to one another. Only when Jack reached a particularly tough spot was there a reaction from her.
Soon the bath was full and he helped her take off the ruined clothing and get into the tub. "You know mommy isn't going to like fixing this right?" Jack scolded his daughter.
"But can't mommy fix anything?" Grace asked eyes big.
Jack chuckled. "Of course sweetie. I'm sure she'll figure out a way."
Grace managed to scrub off most of the red goo on her own, and Jack figured whatever she hadn't gotten would come off soon anyway. While trying to clear her hair of the offending red mess, he worked up enough lather to make a mohawk with her hair. Grace giggled as she tried to shake it out, "I'm not a boy daddy! That's a boy hair!"
Jack held up his hands to stop the suds from flying at his face. "Ok princess I think that's enough bath time for you. Why don't we get our pj's on now," he laughed.
Grace let him rinse the suds out of her hair and quickly dried off and put on her pj's. She yawned as he picked her up to carry her to bed, resting her head on his shoulder. They stopped by Sam and Jack's room to say a quick goodnight to mommy before he carried her down the hall to her own room. By the time he had tucked her into bed she was already well on her way to sleep. Jack smoothed back her hair and kissed her head before turning off the light and closing the door.
Stretching his back he quietly padded down the hall back to his own room to find Sam in a robe and lying back on the bed reading a magazine. Leaning down and planting a kiss on her lips, he spoke softly, "The little princess is fast asleep. Now I have time to take care of my queen." The quiet giggle and soft hand that came up to rub along his stubble was all he needed to know that his words had their desired effect.
"Did someone remember today's Valentine's day after all?" she asked, holding up a box of chocolates with a note saying "Carter" written on top.
Jack ducked his head sheepishly, "Maybe. I had to surprise you somehow didn't I?"
"I have something for you too," Sam said slyly, sliding her hand around the back of neck to pull him close again, tumbling them both closer to the middle of the bed.