A/N: Okay, sorry it took so long.

Jack awoke before Sam, as was usual. The medications they were using to help fight off infections made her tired, and she usually slept in later than he'd ever known her to. He lay next to her, admiring her beauty. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve her, but he was sure he wasn't going to mess it up this time. As he stared at her, he realized he didn't just care about her, he was falling in love with her, and falling hard. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman, children or not.

He crept out of bed, and silently made his way over to the closet. He knew where the object he was in search of was hidden, but he didn't think he could get it out without waking up Sam. It was in the bottom of his box only because he'd never thought he'd use it.

Amazingly he was able to remove almost everything out of the box without making a sound, when he found what he was looking for. He tucked the object into the bottom of his green duffle bag, so Sam wouldn't see it before he meant for her to.

This was a big step for them, but he knew he was at least ready. He would talk to her while they were at the cabin, figure out where she stood and act accordingly. His decision made, he put everything back where it'd been and was just crawling back into bed, when he heard the front door shut.

He pulled his pistol out of the nightstand and cautiously headed towards the front of the house, checking each room as he went. When he got to the kitchen, he let his hands drop, tucking the pistol into the back of his pajama bottoms and smiled, shaking his head. Every dish that had been in the sink was washed, including a few extra he knew he hadn't used the night before.

He headed back to lock up his gun and check if Sam was awake yet.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

She rolled over and smiled up at him. "Did you figure out who that was?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, it was Greg leaving." He stood and walked over to the closet, retrieving the lock box from the top shelf. He put the trigger lock back on the gun and tucked it safely away in the lock box, putting it back where he kept it during the day. "I should have known it wasn't anything serious. The big Galute never made a sound." Rico barely lifted his head and banged his tail against the bed.

"C'mon, Pup, outside," Jack said leaving the room to let Rico out for his morning business. When he returned Sam was sitting up in the bed.

"Do you want a shower first, or eat first?" he asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Mmmm, eat." She leaned over the side of the bed, looking for her knee brace. Jack grabbed it from where it had slid under the bed and helped her put it on. The two made their way to the kitchen where he sat her down at the table and retrieved two plates from the cabinet.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked leaning back in her chair.

Jack smiled and handed her the note Greg had left the two of them that morning before he left.

'Jack and Sam-

Thanks for everything, and letting me crash last night. Jack, tell your boy he's too wise for his age. I figured I'd clean up for you, and I made pancakes, they're in the oven keeping warm. Thanks again, I'll keep in touch.

Greg.'

Jack leaned over and pulled the pancakes out of the oven. A side of sausage sat warming beside them. He set the platter on the table and sat down next to Sam.

"So," he said dishing out their breakfast. "I was thinking about heading up to the cabins early, to make sure they're both aired out and livable."

"Sounds good, when do you want to leave?"

"Well, you're appointment's for 1000 hours, so I was thinking right after that. We can get everything packed before we have to head out." He took a bite of pancake and smiled.

"Sure, you want to call Sean after breakfast and let him know?" Sam was busy polishing off her own pancakes, much to Jack's amusement.

"Yeah, that'd be great." The two finished eating in silence, the decision made to leave later that day.

A/N: A'ight, so i just realized after someone read this that not everybody understands the pancake in the oven thing. It's to keep them warm, my dad used to do it for our fam. if not everyone was up, stick the cooked one's in the oven til everyone's ready to eat and they stay hot. my friend asked me if they had cooked the pancakes in the oven. well there ya go, thanks y'all.