A/N: For Ship Day 2011. This was inspired by some totally random moment (no, probably not what you're thinking) and really, shouldn't be taken all that seriously ;)
As with most things, they started talking about it by accident.
And by accident, it really was. It certainly wasn't intentional.
They'd established some ground rules early on.
("There's one thing I need you to know about me... I don't do talking... very much."
"I know."
"And though I may notice if you're annoyed with me, and possibly have a rough indication as to why, I may not want to bring it up..."
"I know."
"So, if you do... get mad at me, that is, you need to just come right out with it and tell me, so we can deal with it."
"Okay..."
"And that includes other stuff..."
"Like?"
"If you're upset or something happens that I should know about... Cos I don't want to spend the whole time that I'm out visiting you, with us both mad or tiptoeing around each other."
"You're planning on visiting me?"
"I was thinking about it...")
So when they were getting ready for bed one night and Sam accidently tipped a box of tampons all over the bathroom floor, suddenly surprised at the large number she was picking up and why she hadn't used any in a while, she knew Jack would confront her after hearing the loud expletive leave her mouth.
"Sam?" He called from the bedroom.
She ran out feeling a little panicked. "Have you seen my diary?" She asked, brushing past him as he shed his pants.
"Which one?" He asked, glancing up and frowning at her.
"The slim one I use for non-work... things!"
Jack watched as she rummaged through her bedside table. Sam rarely used the word 'things'.
Deciding that 'things' certainly weren't looking good until they found it, he headed downstairs clad in just his boxers and t-shirt, and hunted through the dresser by the front door. "Found it!" He called up, hearing her feet hit the stairs just moments later. She appeared next to him within seconds and grabbed it out of his hands before he could even so much as blink. "What are you looking for anyway?" He asked, watching as she flicked through the pages from last month.
Sam didn't answer, merely glanced at some empty pages before flicking back a few more. "Crap, crap, crap..." She uttered, before going back another month.
"Sam?" Jack asked, getting a little impatient. Again she silently rifled through the diary. "Sam?"
"I'm trying to see when I had my last period!" She cried back through gritted teeth.
"Wh-" The last syllable died on his tongue. Instead the frown on his face morphed into shock and, after having enough of watching her nearly rip several pages of paper, he tore the book from her hand and began rifling through it himself.
"I can't remember," Sam claimed loudly, more to herself than to him. "Either I didn't write it down or... or..."
"Or?" Jack probed, though he already knew the alternative. He gripped the book in his hand a little too tight, not noticing as his knuckles turned white – too intent on Sam's face as she bit her lip in frustration.
"We need to take a test..."
"Okay..." He nodded. "Okay..." He repeated again, his brain suddenly switching into fight mode. He dropped the diary onto the dresser and poked his head into the hallway closet. "We can try Lloyd's down on fifth..." He added, pulling out a pair of shoes and a jacket.
"That will be shut at this hour."
Jack glanced at his watch, eyes going wide in panic until he suddenly held up a finger. "There's a 24 hour place over on the east side!"
Sam nodded. "Pants," She said.
"What?"
"You'll need pants," She reiterated, motioning to his bare legs with a nod of her head.
"Right!"
-0-
They clambered into the car, semi dressed with shoes and jackets covering their nightwear, Jack driving, Sam gripping the arm rest within the door. The drive-through store was manned by a young male who looked like a student and Jack practically cringed as he rolled down the window to speak to the guy. "We... er... need a... er... pregnancy test..."
He didn't even flinch. "Which type?" The kid asked.
"What do you mean what type?" Jack cried, "The type that detects pregnancy!"
Sam leaned over him to peer up at the man. "Whatever you've got... And can we get some ice cream, uh, chocolate ice cream? Please?"
The man disappeared and Jack turned back to the woman beside him with a strange look on his face. Sam just shrugged. "In case it's bad news..."
Jack opened his mouth to question the definition, but was promptly interrupted by the clerk coming back and shoving a bag at him through the open window. Jack just chucked some bills at him in response and they sped back home without a word.
-0-
"Okay!" Jack clapped his hands together. "You pee on the stick and then we know, right?"
Sam glared at him as she opened the box and lifted up the toilet seat.
"What?"
"I can't do it while you're staring at me!"
"Why not? You watch me pee all the time!"
"Only because you barge in when I'm having a shower!"
They glared at each other for a moment, before her face softened slightly, and she tilted her head. She didn't have to utter the word 'please' in order for him to acquiesce. He waved an apology at her and spun on his heels, closing the door most of the way only to leave it ajar by a few inches. He paced outside until she called him back in.
"How long do we wait?" Jack asked.
"Two minutes."
Jack silently set his watch.
They both stood staring at the stick where it rested on the counter, Jack twitching and Sam silently holding her breath. He risked a few glances at her, his hand seeking out to grab hers when he saw her ferociously chewing at her lip.
Sam seemed to deflate, throwing him a worried smile before turning round and sinking to the floor. Jack followed her and for almost two whole minutes they sat there, hand in hand, their backs to the sink unit, breathing heavily with their knees drawn up.
Jack's watch beeped and they stared at each other before slowly rising to their knees and peering over the edge of the counter.
"Is that negative?" Jack asked.
"That's negative." Sam confirmed.
"Are you sure?" Jack asked again, getting up to his feet and studying the package to check.
Sam sank back to the floor and Jack threw the package into the bin before sinking back down next to her. He pulled her hand back into his and they shared a sad smile. "Want to share some chocolate ice cream?" He asked.
-0-
The ice cream tub sat between them on the sofa, both of them holding a spoon as they took it in turns to dip theirs in and take a mouthful. The house was silent, the TV off and it was too warm to create a fire. A single lamp was glowing in the corner of the room.
"So... was this...?" Jack gestured at the tub, at her, at himself.
Sam paused, her eyes slowly reaching his. "I don't know..." she said softly, knowing what he was getting at. "I mean, I hadn't really thought of the situation as either good or bad, before..."
"But now...?"
She smiled sadly. "I guess I wasn't prepared to deal with it either way - whatever the results were going to be..."
Jack nodded to himself, carefully avoiding her eyes.
"What about you?" She asked softly.
Jack licked some remnants off of his spoon and sighed. "I kept telling myself that we'd both have to think about it at some point, but when things are going really good..." He shrugged. "Who wants to tip over the apple cart?"
Sam pursed her lips, not liking where this was going. "Because you thought we would hit a stone?" She asked cautiously.
Jack frowned as he tried to follow her logic. "No, because I thought we weren't strong enough to pick them all back up again," He uttered instead.
Sam frowned. "And now?"
Jack shrugged. "We're both here, together... We can...combine forces..."
"And now that one or two have fallen out anyway...?"
Jack couldn't help but smile at her. He loved it when she looked confused. "We could... always grow some more apples..." He paused a moment, trying to appear serious. "I could... plant some more seeds..."
She laughed. A full throaty laugh causing her to tilt her head back slightly before shaking it in amusement.
"What?" Jack cried in mock outrage. His grin further belied it. "I thought that was pretty good!"
"Jack, that was terrible!"
"I was trying to be seductive!"
"By telling me that you want to sow your seed?"
Sam merely laughed again when he couldn't come up with a response and all Jack could do was smile and shrug apologetically and continue to stare at the expanse of bare skin that her pyjama top kept threatening to expose.
Once their laughter had died down she reached over to take his hand. "Seriously... you want to do this?" She swallowed. "You want to have a child with me?"
Jack cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah..." His thumb traced circles on the back on her hand. "I do..."
They shared a smile.
Jack's fingers found themselves tracing her exposed shoulder. He leaned in to kiss her softly.
She tasted of chocolate.
"You know we might have our work cut out..." Jack told her, as his lips dipped down to her collarbone. "You want to get some practise in?"
Sam didn't reply, instead slowly sitting up and grabbing the tub of ice cream. She heaped on a spoonful before placing it into her mouth and licking it off slowly. From the corner of her eye, she watched Jack take a gulp and elicited a moan.
"Stop that!" He cried after a moment, bumping her shoulder with his.
"What? Like you're the only one who can use bad seduction techniques?" She threw him a sly grin.
Jack held his hands up. "Okay, so they might need some work..."
"Some?"
They grinned at each other.
"We make a good team, you and me..." Jack added, his tone turning serious again. He bumped her shoulder for a second time, his hand lacing with hers.
"We do..." She agreed, her voice equally as soft.
She yawned then, and he squeezed her hand before standing to his feet and pulling her up with him. "C'mon," He said, "We should grab some sleep..."
Sam paused, glancing down at the tub of ice cream. "Mind if we take this?" She asked, picking it up.
Jack simply grinned in response, before pulling her off towards the bedroom. "Ooh I love it when you have a brilliant idea..."