AN: Hi, edited just a little at this stage. Any errors spotted let me know ;) This is just another minor piece of fluff for the archives... oh and don't jump on the technicalities of clip-ons versus real ties, the story just wouldn't work without it, thank you :)

Summary: J/S ship-fic. Another anecdotal look into pre-family life for Jack and Sam. He comes home from a hard day at work and Sam lets him vent a little and cheers him up. Rated K so no funny business. Enjoy the one-shot.

ALL TIED UP

It took a lot to pull Sam Carter completely away from her work mid-equation but the way in which the door had slammed did just that and the ensuing moment of silence before he called her name caused her to shut the lid of her laptop without even saving her work.

"Sam?" his voice enquired from the hall. "You home?"

"In here Jack." she called, rising from her seat to go meet her husband at her study door. "He-ey." she said and smiled at him.

"Hey." he said back, automatic and distracted. Then noticing how radiant she looked he made his way over and soundly kissed her. Once again he became distracted by the thing that had been annoying him all day and started to wrestle with the material around his neck opening his top shirt button and tugging at the restriction of his tie. "Damn this thing." he muttered.

Sam ducked her head to hide her small smile. "Here let me help you." she offered, twisting her body so her hip bumped his. She moved his hands out of the way.

"You'd better help me." he warned softly "It was you that put this thing on me this morning." He raised his chin to give her better access.

The knot was balled up so mucht that Sam had to use her fingernails to free it up but she was used to him tugging on it till it was too tight and deftly she undid the knot that held the navy uniform tie in place.

"I don't see why I can't just wear my old clip-on?" he grumbled.

"Because you are a two-star general now. The least you can do is wear a proper tie."

Jack huffed out a breath as he yanked open two more of the buttons of his stuffy shirt. "No-one minded when I was a one-star general." he stated.

"That's because you weren't married then." Sam teased. "What would people think if I sent you off to work each morning without being properly attired?"

Jack leaned in and once again pecked his wife whom he loved so much. "So this is more about you than it is me." he told her as he stepped past her and into the kitchen.

Sam paused, watching him walk away and then bent down before she answered. "No-o." Getting down that far had been a strain, getting up just as hard. "Oof. It's about you making a good first impression with the new Diplomats." She waggled the errant shoes he had just stepped out of in his general direction.

"Diplomat, shliplomat." Jack sang, his back turned. Smiling cheekily he looked over his shoulder at her then scowled. "Hey, what have I told you about picking up after me? You gotta stop that."

"Well stop leaving your shoes lying all over the house. What if I trip on one of these, what then?"

Jack was back over and slowly slipping his hands in under her arms and around her ribcage. "Then I would be here to catch you."

Sam rolled her eyes at her husband's cheesy line. "Yeah right, then we'd both be in a heap on the floor."

"Nonsense." Jack said. "You're beautiful, just like you've always been. More so than ever in fact." Jack let his hands creep back round the front of Sam's somehow still expanding figure. He knew she would get big but this was amazing. "Isn't that right little guys?" he asked, speaking directly to her womb.

"Or girls." Sam reminded him.

"Or one of each." Jack joked, happy in the confines of their familiar, more than daily conversation. "My twins are going to be the best looking babies in all the known universe."

"Our twins!" Sam warned him possessively.

"Naturally." Jack sought out and kissed the warm taught skin of his wife's stomach. "Hungry?" he asked as he heard the burbling sound.

"No, it's just these guys doing their thing. They seem to think it's funny to kick my intestines and bladder to bits... So?" she asked, determined not to think about needing to pee again. "Tell me about your day." She knew by how firmly he had slammed the door it had been a hard one.

"Aaww, work sucks Sam." He flopped down onto the sofa his tie frittering after him.

"Well I know that. Tell me more." She gave his thigh an encouraging squeeze as she joined him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Jack sighed and re-opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling where he had his head tipped back. "Well...You know the way the IOA were planning on..."

Sam let him ramble for a while. None of what he was saying was overly important and she knew the whole story already but it helped him relax if he got it off his chest.

"...and so finally I just said 'no' and walked away."

Sam had been listening close enough to know this was her turn to speak. "You just said 'no'. Just like that. No explanation, no reasoning, nothing?"

"Well what's the point Sam, they've heard all the arguments before and all I wanted to do was get home to you. They can do whatever they want after next week I really don't care." He grinned at her, excitement playing across his features.

Sam cocked her head at him and tugged at the lapels of his well worn uniform, taking the time to run her fingers over the varying array of colours that adorned him. "Jack O'Neill...if you didn't care...you wouldn't put up with all that crap."

Jack snorted at his 'way smarter than he was' wife. "Yeah well, I'm retiring to become a father and a stay at home husband. And once I do that they can call the moon-base and any other base after any Greek tragedy they want."

"Selenous is not named after a Greek tragedy, it's after-"

"Selene, the Titan Goddess of the moon, yes I know that. I don't mind that but 'The Arke Project'? Come on who do they think they are, Noah?"

"The Arke Project?" Sam frowned, this was news to her.

"Yeah, the project to set up on Mars is finally ready to be revealed...I didn't just tell you that by the way. And they want to call it 'Arke', as in messenger of the Titans, sister of Iris the goddess of the rainbow... Twin sister in fact." Once again he ran a hand carefully across her swollen, rounded stomach.

Instinctively Sam placed her hand on his. "That's just stupid, no-one is going to get that one."

"I know! And I spent all day trying to tell them that...amongst other things...but ultimately..." he grinned widely. "It's my decision." Jack felt entirely smug. It was his last official duty to reveal the finally formalised plans to the heads of the world, tell them what it was called and officially hand over all of his responsibilities to his replacement. He couldn't wait. "And then...this." he leaned forward tugged off his jacket and unceremoniously dropped it on the floor. "And this..." he held up his tie. "Can all go to hell."

"Oh I don't know about that." Sam grinned seductively at him and snaked a hand across his half bare chest. "I might like you in your tie...with nothing else of course, will give me something to hold onto." She pulled him down by the collar to kiss her.

"Oh well in that case...you can keep me tied up just as long as you like!" and he fell onto her lips with vigour, distractedly letting his tie join his jacket on the wooden hardwood floor.

END

AN: Another one-shot down, I am working on something with more substance but it will take a while yet, sigh... Anyway, tell me what ya think :)