A/N: Uh, yeah, I knew I said I was taking a break on my profile...but then I got this idea and had to write it down. This is about two months after Chapter Four.

Carly was beginning to become concerned about Jack's spending habits. He'd come home for the off-season bearing several suitcases' worth of presents for her and Erika. He was likely to go even more overboard for Christmas in a few weeks. And, of course, there was the stuff he bought for himself. It seemed like every other day, there was a new car in the parking garage, or a whole set of clothing in Jack's closet that Carly had never seen before.

Finally, she decided to bring up the subject early one morning when they were at the table with their coffee (well, orange juice for Carly, since caffeine was a no-no in her current condition). As she suspected, he tried to brush her worries away.

In his best attempt at a reassuring tone, he said, "Carly, we're always going to have plenty of money. Hey, just last year I signed that endorsement deal with Pepsi...you know that! And you know what it's worth, too."

"250 million dollars over eight years," Carly intoned obediently, "Of course I know. But I keep reading about all sorts of celebrities who go into debt even with that kind of money! And we have the new baby coming in a few months, plus we're planning to move back to Japan some time next year...I'd feel better we put ourselves on a budget this Christmas."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Jack muttered.

Later, Carly would realize that it probably would have been better if she'd stopped here, but she felt the need to press on.

"Jack, we'll still love you even if you can't buy us any presents at all. You do realize that, right?"

Jack looked offended.

"What the hell, Carly, you think I'm trying to bribe you or something? I happen to like shopping. It makes me feel happy."

Uh-oh. Carly had been afraid of that.

"You should see someone about this," she urged.

"Like who?"

"Like...a doctor, maybe. Someone who can help you sort it all out."

"You mean a shrink? Nonsense! Jack Atlas does not need a shrink. I can take care of things perfectly fine by myself!"

"But..."

"Discussion closed."

Jack buried his face in the newspaper and turned his chair away to emphasize this.

Carly stopped for now, but she'd never been one to give up on a project. Obviously, she'd have to try this again later. Probably more than once. How many tries would it take before Jack realized he couldn't keep ignoring this?