"Hey, Sammy, your dad just waved us in." Jack glanced back to his fiancée, hopefully showing her the love and support he knew she deserved. Reaching for the door handle, he winked at her and stepped out.

He moved around to her side of the car and opening the door for her, he held out his arm for her to take. He didn't want her slipping on the icy walkway.

"Jack, I'm only six months pregnant," Sam laughed as she took his arm.

"Do you know how wonderful it is to see you smiling again?" Jack was smiling at the lovely woman waddling on his arm. "And you're just as big as if you were almost ready to pop. Remember there's two little guys in there."

Sam turned the knob of the front door, suddenly unsure of the decision to face her brother. She'd never been more unsure of anything in her life. She cowered back into Jack's chest, feeling his strong muscles flex against her back. Knowing he was there behind her, and beside her gave her the courage she needed.

She gently pushed the door open and stepped into the walkway, Jack right beside her the entire time.

The couple stepped into the living room to greet Mark as he stood to them. The smiles across Jack and Sam's faces could not be beaten off by Mark's visible grimace.

"Sam, you're pregnant?" His distaste for the situation was quickly obvious to Jack as he was shot the first glare of the night. All Jack could do was smile in return. He wasn't going to let this overprotective brother ruin the mood they had so carefully set up in the car.

Jack helped Sam to the couch, sitting her down gently, helping her get as comfortable as possible. "Mark, could I talk to you in private for a moment?" Jack suggested in his best Colonel voice. He stared Mark straight in the eyes, proving to him that he was serious.

Mark grudgingly motioned for Jack to follow him into the kitchen where it would be hard for Jacob and Sam to hear any of the conversation.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sam asked her father. She gave a half smile with the question, hoping to hide her nervousness.

"Jack's probably giving him the same speech he gave me, about how he's loved you for years and all that. I wouldn't worry about it." Jacob patted her shoulder before moving on. "It's getting late, and Selmac wants to chat in private so I should probably get going to bed. We'll see you in the morning. I'll make sure the munchkins let you sleep in tomorrow." He softly kissed his daughter on the forehead and went to one of the spare bedrooms in his son's large house. For once he was thankful Mark had the good sense to find a decent job. The house was big enough to fit his family plus 3 guest bedrooms.

In the kitchen, Jack had promptly shoved the receipt for the ring into Mark's hands.

"What's this?" the younger man asked, looking into Jack's eyes, searching for the answer.

"I bought that ring that's on your sister's finger over a year ago. I've adored her from the moment she challenged me to arm wrestle her at our first briefing, and I've loved her for as soon after that as I can remember. I don't care if you don't like me, but I do care if you make Sam's life miserable. I would move heaven and earth for that woman, anything to make her happy. But I also know how much you mean to her, and I'm willing to give you every chance in the book, even if you're not willing to do that for me, if it makes her happy." Jack huffed and leaned against the counter, having said his piece. "I'm not marrying her because she's pregnant, Mark. I'm marrying her because I love her. Those boys are just the jump start to the family we both want. I'd been planning on proposing to her the second I retired, but she beat me to it, when she took off the way she did," he quickly added before Mark could reply.

"You're right, I don't like you, at all. I can see the look in Sam's eyes. She's scared to death, and I don't like it one bit. But I also agree that her happiness is all that matters. If us getting along achieves that, then

I'm willing to play happy family." Mark shoved the receipt back into Jack's hands and turned to stomp out of the room before Jack could stop him, but he didn't get very far.

"Do you want to know why your sister is so scared?" Jack asked, his voice dropping sadly. His eyes pleaded with Mark to hear him out, to listen to what he had to say. Mark's eyebrow hitched and he turned back to face Jack, not sure how to take the sudden change in the older man standing in front of him. There was more to the story than what was going to be said, he could tell, but any information he could get he would settle with.

"We're going to have twins." A small smile broke out across Jack's sad face. "But we found out that one of them is having heart problems, and nothing can be done about it until they're born." He sighed heavily, his voice wavering. "She's only got three months left, and honestly, I'm scared of something happening to the three of them. If she senses something's wrong, it could send them all into distress, and I don't think I have to tell you what that could mean."

Mark's respect for the man standing in front of him was growing by the second. He was right, he knew what it could mean. He'd watched his wife go through two pregnancies, and remembered what it was like worrying about her and their children. He still didn't like the man much, but he could tolerate him a little more now. There was a sadness behind Jack's eyes that he sensed didn't have much to do with the situation at hand.

"This is my second chance at something I thought I'd never have again. I don't want her to ever have to experience that. We only let her come because she wanted to see you so bad, otherwise we believed the stress would be too much."

Mark nodded his thanks at the understanding Jack showed. He'd been worried about Sam when she disappeared. It'd only been a few years since they'd gotten back to being civil to each other, and her distrust hit him hard. Knowing their father was looking for her helped his fear a little, but it was still hard.

As much as he had hated Jack at the time, it was comforting to know that the man never stopped looking for her. Of course, now that he knew why Jack had never stopped was disturbing.

A small grin broke out across Mark's face as he took in everything Jack had told him. "Twins?"

"Yeah, it uh, runs in the family." Jack smiled back.

"So, they told you?"

"Told me what?"

"That it runs in the family."

"We haven't discussed it yet. I think maybe I should go talk to Sam." Jack was becoming increasingly uncomfortable in the small kitchen. Mark wasn't making much sense to him and the conversation was beginning to get a little on the odd side. In fact, all the Carter's had been acting strange around him that day.

Mark started walking out of the kitchen. "I'm gonna hit the hay. Sam knows where the guest room is." He stopped in the doorway and turned back to Jack. "I mean it. I don't like you, but I'll give you a chance. Dad likes you, that's saying a lot. I remember what that ass Jonas did to her and I won't put up with it again." He left Jack standing stunned in the middle of the kitchen, mouth agape.

Jack shook his head and headed to the living room. He walked in just as Mark was saying goodnight to Sam. He couldn't help but watch the brother and sister hug each other, noticing the huge smile on Sam's lips. He had meant what he said to Mark, he'd do anything to make her happy. Suddenly, the expression on Sam's face changed as she nodded to something her brother had whispered in her ear. She seemed sad as she sat back on the couch. Mark patted her shoulder and left down the hall.

"Hey," Jack said, sitting himself on the couch next to her. He leaned himself into the back of the couch and gathered her into his arms, resting his hands on her stomach. "Listen, there's some things I think we need to talk about." He felt her swallow hard and nod her head silently. He didn't know how to tell her any of what needed to be said. He felt like he had betrayed her somehow by keeping his secret from her. It was marked in his chart if they really needed, he hadn't really tried to keep her from knowing it had just never come up. He didn't talk about his family much anyway.

Sam surprised him by speaking up first. "Can I tell you something first?" She didn't wait for him to answer before continuing. "Mark told me to tell you everything. My uncle in Northern California is my mom's twin brother. He doesn't talk to us anymore." Sam's eyes dropped to Jack's hands as he rubbed the tight skin covering their babies. The circular motions were comforting, encouraging her to continue. "My brother was also a twin."

Jack held her tightly to him, knowing whatever else she was going to say was hard. This new information hit him hard. He wanted to let her get it out before he told her anything that could hurt her anymore. He was going to be there for her, and then he was going to let her beat him up if she felt it.

"What happened?" Jack whispered gently. He wasn't prying, he just knew she had to tell him. It had to do with their children.

"Died at birth. Both cords wrapped around his neck." She tried to hold in the tears but knew it would be useless. It was too scary, thinking about the brother she never got to meet.

"No wonder we ended up with twins," Jack breathed just barely above a whisper. He kissed the tip of her ear and rested his head on her shoulder. Sam could feel the slight smile breaking out over his lips as he nuzzled her neck.

"Do you not get it?" She turned around facing him, a pained look on her face. "My mom died, my brother died, and now..." she trailed off letting her choking sobs rack her body.

"Shh, don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay." Jack held her close, trying to gain the courage to tell her what she needed to know. He'd never been big on talking, especially about his family. Sara didn't even know the particulars until she had been expecting Charlie.

"Sam, I had decided I would tell you after we got together, and then we could make the decision about having kids," he started. "I guess we kinda did that bass ackwards, eh?" He smiled at her as he felt their sons kick against his hand. "This whole thing is my fault. Janet knows, it's marked in my chart, but because I've never had any problems, we've never thought anything of it. My brother has a congenital heart defect. It's something that runs in our family. I don't have it, or any other heart problems, but Charlie did. He had a heart murmur."

Sam pulled his arms to her body, trying to give him comfort. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly. It hurt, knowing he hadn't trusted her with such important information.

"This is the first chance I've gotten to sit down with you since yesterday. It has been somewhat hectic. Believe me it was the first thing on my mind when I saw that you're pregnant, and why my question came out the way it did. I wanted you to have all the information before we leapt into parenthood." Jack's tone was sad and reserved, unsure of what to expect from his fiancée.

"We'll just have to keep you well rested and stress free, and everything should be fine," he reassured her in his strongest voice. "Let's go to bed."

A/N: Okay, i decided to give you a few chapters today cuz i got bored, and i like finding out what you guys think! Thanks!