"Well, you can tell him to ask Dr. Bailey because I am out of here," Jack replied, heading for the doctor's lounge.
Maria followed him. "You're leaving?" she asked.
"I finish at six, it is now," he looked at his watch, "six oh seven, I'm going home. I signed my patients out to Dr. Bailey, he's up on everything, go talk to him."
Maria looked at him as he opened his locker and took out his stuff. He turned to face her. "What?"
She shook her head a little. "Nothing," she said. "It's just you're usually kind of thorough."
"Yeah, and I thoroughly explained to Dr. Bailey the condition of each of my parents," Jack replied. "I have better things to do than stay here all night."
Maria smiled a little. "Well, glad to hear to it."
Jack put on his coat and closed his locker. "I'll catch you tomorrow," he said, heading out of the room.
Maria once again walked with him. "I'm day off tomorrow."
"Right, Thursday then," he said, heading to the elevator.
"Have fun," she smiled, going in search of Dr. Bailey.
When Jack got home he found Boone in the living room, feeding Noah. He could smell something delectable coming from the kitchen. "Hey," he said, leaning down to give Boone a kiss.
"Hey," Boone smiled back at him.
"Dinner smells good," Jack commented, taking a seat. Boone just sent a little shrug and smile his way. Jack was officially the luckiest guy in the world. He got to go out to a job that he loved, knowing that his baby was in the most capable hands ever, and then go home to said baby and aforementioned hands, belonging to the best boyfriend anyone could ever wish for. This was all so much better than Jack could ever have dreamed of.
When he and Sarah got married, she had made it very clear that she wasn't going to be a housewife and she had no intention of cooking for him and cleaning up his mess. And when she got pregnant she stated that there was no way she was going to be one of those stay at home mothers who forewent their own lives. She spent too long not being able to do anything during the physiotherapy and now she planned on taking full advantage of the use of her legs.
Boone, admittedly, made the same claim about being a housewife. But to him it wasn't about actually doing the things that a housewife did so much as having the label 'housewife' hanging around his neck. But whatever it was that Boone wanted to be called, he fit into the role perfectly and he'd never looked happier. And Boone wanted to stay at home with Noah, he really did, and Jack couldn't imagine anything that would give him better peace of mind while he was at work.
And Boone couldn't half run a household. And he may think he needs someone to take care of him and keep him on the right track but Jack knew that when it came down to it, Boone was a protective guy and he was always looking out for the interests of others. And Jack was beginning to realise that when he stopped doing everything for Boone, Boone was more than capable of picking up the slack. In fact Boone seemed to quite like picking up the slack. As much as he exuded a feeling of someone that wanted to be wrapped up in cotton wool, Jack could tell that this new equal opportunities relationship they were finally embarking on was really working out for both of them. They both naturally tried to help people and look after them and so now they could look after each other but also fell safe in the knowledge it was two-way. No dependency or possession. Equals.
After dinner, Jack put Noah down to sleep and went to find Boone in the living room. He was sat on the sofa, looking at the digital planner. Jack went to sit beside him, close enough to make their thighs touched.
"There's a documentary about the rain forest on," Boone said. "You wanna watch it?"
"I was kind of hoping you might want an early night, actually," Jack said, leaning in closer to him.
But Boone being Boone, hints just weren't going to do it. "You tired?" he asked, turning to face Jack.
Jack gave him an amused look. "No." He placed a hand on Boone's thigh and slowly slid it upwards. When he reached the crotch, Boone bit his lip a little.
"Okay," he said. "I don't care about the rain forest anyway."
Jack leaned in and kissed him long and deep, moving his hand a little to cause some friction but really just teasing. Boone fidgeted a little and grabbed the side of his face, pulling him in closer. After about a minute of this Jack pulled away.
"Bedroom?" he suggested.
"Uh-huh," Boone mumbled as they both climbed to their feet.
Jack took his time undressing Boone, kissing and touching and teasing any bit of skin he could get to. He was just getting to the good bit when Noah started to cry. Jack closed his eyes, admittedly a little frustrated, and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes again and looked down at Boone.
"Do you think he really wants anything or can we just leave him to it?" he asked.
Boone looked amused. "Jack..."
"Hang on a sec," he said, listening to the tone of Noah's cry for a beat. "I'd say that's dirty diaper." Boone nodded, trying to hide a smile. "You already knew that, didn't you?" Boone nodded again, not bothering to mask the smile this time. "Of course you did, you're superdad."
"Just get off me so I can go change him," Boone instructed, trying to give Jack a push but he wasn't moving.
"Uh-uh," Jack said shaking his head. "You stay here, I'll be right back." He climbed out of bed and grabbed his robe. "Hold that thought, though, okay? Cos when I get back we're picking up right where we left off," he told him.
Boone smiled at him. "I hope so."
Jack gave him a smile in return and headed into the nursery. He could so handle fatherhood and still be a good boyfriend. Kids might not like to think of their parents having sex but Jack knew that they did and why should he be the exception to the rule. Maybe it wasn't going to be as easy for them as it was before, as evidenced by this slight detour in the evenings plans, but Jack and Boone were both used to adapting. Two and a half years on an island teaches you about adjustment if nothing else. So Jack had a few more things in his life right now. That was okay. He could learn to juggle.
So he changed Noah's diaper, settled him back down, and then finished what he'd started with Boone.