Gina's bump was visible by the time they started work on the nursery. Jack had managed to get a week clear of work from the garage and he and Gina made the most of it. Gina pulled Jack to the shops where they spent the money saved on tiny garments for the child, along with other essentials they would need when the baby would arrive. Still months away they didn't care, wanting to stock up on as many things as possible in case there money somehow froze up. Gina admitted her desire to spoil the baby rotten and Jack had smiled at the love she held for the baby inside of her, not disagreeing with her plans in the slightest.
Jack enjoyed the shopping trips more than he liked to admit. During Terri's pregnancy they hadn't had the time to do anything like this, and with her parents influence over them Jack didn't spend as much time with his fiancée as he had wanted to. He sometimes felt that she'd had to do all of this alone, but deep down he knew that he wasn't being fair on himself thinking that as it wasn't entirely his fault. Something deep down told him that Terri would agree if she were still here. Rather than wallow in the guilt of how she was no longer here, because of him, he allowed himself to enjoy this new aspect of life and bask in the joy of the life he and Gina had, together, had created.
They had painted the room together, playfully breaking off to attack each other with their paintbrushes. Jack couldn't remember ever feeling so free of himself, that he was able to joke around playfully with anybody was almost foreign to him. Yet it felt so right, he had realised, appreciative of another thing the new life had given him, the ability to relax and enjoy himself without having to worry of the consequences.
Working at CTU, he couldn't remember ever fooling around. He'd always been so serious and tense, something he did not miss, CTU had made a mess of him. At least he was making things right this time, and doing right by himself in the process. Reflecting on the old and new Jack could make him feel good, but then the deceit to his loved ones - both Kim and Gina, made him feel ill, and he would question himself once more.
Did he deserve to be fooling around with his partner, the mother of his growing child? He couldn't help but feel this was much, much more than he ever deserved, perhaps a life somebody else had earned, certainly not himself. Despite this he ignored the feeling of unworthiness he sometimes felt when Gina smiled at him, this was his life now and he would make the best of it, for himself and his family.
After another exhausting day they had completed the nursery, Gina had tears in her eyes as the surveyed the final product, the cot and the little pieces of furniture they had assembled, teddy bears scattered around the room, the wardrobe already filled with clothing of every size and colour.
"Its perfect," she whispered, choking up. Jack almost chocked up himself as he pulled his arm around her.
"Yeah," he whispered, his voice soft as he thought about her words, "its really is," he added, pulling her even closer to him as closed his eyes in thanks and acceptance, praying nothing would snatch this life away from him, like it had the life of Bauer.