A/N- I didn't know my roommate wrote fanfic. I don't think she knows I write it. (We aren't in the same fandoms.) She told me she's been writing one the past three weeks in chem class and it's almost 17,000 words. My goal is to stay ahead of her. That way I might not drop off the face of the earth again for six months haha. Also- to the people who mentioned that Sharon hadn't told Jack about the job offer, I haven't forgotten about that. It will come up again and be made clear. (Update: There were some grammatical issues. I fixed them.)

"I don't know where this is going/

I don't know how this all came about."

-AJ Rafael, Beautiful Escape

Sharon flipped through the mail as she walked back up the sidewalk to the front door. It was only five-thirty, and she was already home. She had been saddled with a desk job at the end of August, which meant her hours were more regular and she could be home a little after five every day. It also bored her out of her mind. She'd only been on the desk one week, and she wanted to beg Meri to take her out on patrol. She knew he would refuse, using his "That would be breaking a bunch your rules, Rulebook" excuse. Then he'd laugh as she sulked about it.

She paused, one hand on the doorknob. Among the spam and catalogues was the electrical bill. The one that Jack had already paid. He had been busy, maybe paid it near the deadline, so maybe the city just sent out another notice. She set it on the table near the front door. She turned into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Jack was picking up Ricky today, so she had agreed to make dinner. She had started over her lunch break so there wouldn't be much to do in the evening. There were pork chops, fruit salsa, and a loaf of crusty bread. She turned the dial on the oven to preheat it.

There was a loud shriek outside and the front door crashed open.

"Mama!"

"In here, baby," she called.

Ricky came barreling in like a towheaded tornado, a piece of paper clutched in one hand. "Look at what we did!"

"What?"

He shoved the paper into her hand. It was a simple spelling test, with pencil graphite smeared across it. There was a small gold star sticker at it, next to a red 5/5 mark.

"Wow," she said, grinning.

Jack walked into the kitchen as well, Ricky's backpack on one arm. "Hey, bud, can you put this away? It's so heavy it's going to break my arm off." He looked to Sharon. "He must have packed it with bricks."

"It's one book! We're reading a book!" He ran to Jack and ripped the backpack open before triumphantly pulling out a copy of Mr. Putter and Tabby. "See?" He dropped it on the counter and took the backpack before racing away to his room.

"How was your day, Shar?" Jack took the test from her and looked at it for a moment. "He's a smart kid. Must have got it from his mom."

Sharon laughed and Jack pulled her close. She didn't fit well against him anymore, but he didn't seem to mind. He kissed her. "I made a lot of progress in my case papers today, so, with any luck, I'll be home early again tomorrow. But what were you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing," she moaned into his shoulder. "All that came across that desk were stupid, little papers that needed to be finished. I want to do something."

"I don't want you to do anything except stay exactly how you are."

She giggled again and pushed him away. "I've got to get dinner in the oven if you want it at any time soon."

He reached past her and swept the pan into the oven himself. "I can do that."

"Ja-ack."

He grinned as Ricky came back in.

"Can we make krispies?" Ricky asked brightly, climbing up onto one of the tall chairs.

"Rice krispies bars?" Sharon replied.

"Yeah."

She leaned against the counter and looked at Jack. "I suppose so. Do we have everything we need?" He ducked into the pantry and she could hear him rustling around.

"There aren't any marshmallows."

Ricky's face fell and Sharon had to fight a smile.

"I guess we'll just have to go and buy some, hmm, Daddy?" Sharon turned to face Jack, keeping her expression serious.

"Sounds like a plan, boss."

Ricky giggled. "Plan, boss."

Sharon snorted. "Go on, get out of here. Both of you. Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

Ricky shrieked in excitement and bolted for the door where his shoes were. Jack and Sharon followed slowly and watched as their boy threw the door open and ran for the car.

Sharon paused near the doorway. "Oh, Jack. I got another copy of the electric bill today, but you already paid it, so should I just throw it-?"

"Nah," he replied quickly. "I'll take it and just call them to make sure the check didn't get lost in the mail or something." He held out his hand.

"Alright." She pulled it out of the pile of mail and handed it to him. He turned to put it in his briefcase before following Ricky out the door.

Sharon finished washing the baking pan from dinner. She washed the dishes quickly and set them in the dishrack to dry. She dried her hands on the dishtowel hanging from the oven handle.

She made her way to the living room doorway and leaned against it. Ricky was sitting on the sofa, his legs sticking straight out over the edge, reading his book. The house was quiet. Jack had gotten a call shortly after they finished dinner, and told her he needed to go back to the office for a short while. Something about an assistant not finding the right case files.

She shook her head and walked over to Ricky, before lowering herself onto the sofa next to him. "Are you almost done with your chapter?"

"Mmhmm." His finger ran along under the words, and after a moment, he closed the book and set it on the coffee table. "Can we make krispies now?"

"Yes, baby. Can I give you a hug first? I haven't seen you all day."

He squirmed up next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Okay."

She set a hand on his back and rubbed his shoulders gently, laughing as his toes curled.

"Do you like your teacher? What's her name?"

"Miss Emily."

"Does she teach you a lot?"

"Yeah. She's nice. She gives us gummy bears if we're good."

"That's nice of her."

"Where's Daddy?"

She paused at the sudden change of subject. "He had to run back to work for a little bit."

"Okay. Can we make krispies now?"

"Sure."

Ricky bounced up and ran for the kitchen. Sharon took a moment to get up, then followed at a more sedate pace. When she got there, he had the box of rice cereal, butter, and the bag of marshmallows out.

"Is this everything?"

Sharon smiled. "Can you get that little brown bottle out of the spice cabinet? The one with the red cap?"

Ricky reached for it, fumbling for the slim neck of the bottle. "Van-il-la. What's that?"

"Smell it."

He opened the lid and took a deep whiff. "Mommy, it's nasty!"

She smiled and took it from him before it could spill. "It tastes good, like vanilla ice-cream."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. Come on. Let's get these done before Daddy gets home."

They worked together, melting the marshmallows, butter, and vanilla together. Ricky poured the cereal jerkily over the double boiler, spilling bits across the counter. Sharon helped him spoon the mixture into a pan and smooth it down.

"Can I have one now?"

"They have to cool first, and you need to go to bed."

"But-"

"No 'buts.' It's time for bed. You can have one for lunch tomorrow."

Ricky stuck his lip out petulantly. "Mommy."

"Richard Raydor."

He rolled his eyes and flounced off towards his room.

"Scrub your teeth!" She set the boiler bowl to soak in the sink and began getting supplies for Ricky's lunch out. She listened to him getting ready for bed as she made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and put it in his lunchbox with applesauce, carrots, and a quarter for a milk, before setting it in the fridge and joining him in his room. He was climbing into bed, so she waited until he was settled before drawing the blankets up and sitting next to him. She leaned against his headboard and rested one hand on her stomach. She had to admit, she'd be glad when she got off work for maternity leave. Her uniform was increasingly uncomfortable, and she didn't like wearing it if she was only going to be sitting behind a desk.

"Mama?"

"Yes, baby?"

"When is my sister going to get here?"

"Sometime in October, remember?"

"What's her name?"

Sharon shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"Why?"

"Your dad and I haven't picked a name."

"Can I help pick?"

"Maybe," Sharon said cautiously. "Did you have something in mind?"

"No. I just want to help."

She smiled. It was one of the many ways her son differed from his father. I just want to help. "I know, honey. I'll let you know, how about that?"

"Okay." He wiggled down in the blankets. "Night-night."

"Good night, Ricky."

She had just closed his bedroom door when the phone started ringing. She hurried over and caught it before it woke her son.

"Hello?"

"Sharon!" Her mother's warm tones came through the phone.

"Hi, Mother." Sharon smiled to herself and took the phone to one of the kitchen chairs. Phone calls with Lily Davis usually took a while. "How is everything?"

"I should be asking you that! It's fine here. Typical Wyoming weather, though. It's barely mid-way through September and everything is turning cold and windy. Your dad's enjoying it, though. He's been out on his bike every day this week. I don't understand the man, sometimes. I've been getting carrots in from the garden. Maybe I'll mail you some? They're wonderful, very sweet. How is the big city, though?"

"Oh, it's the same as always."

"Warm and sunny?" Lily sighed. "Maybe I'll just come move in with you."

Sharon laughed. "Then you'd have to deal with all the traffic and people."

"Mmm." Sharon could picture Lily wrinkling her nose up in distaste. "You'll just have to come up here, then."

Sharon looked around the darkening house. It seemed like more and more evenings were like this, just her and Ricky, while Jack was out. He said he was working, but Sharon had some doubts. She knew he drank too much when he went out with his friends, but she suspected he was up to something else as well. Nothing bad, she didn't think. Not drugs or other women. Jack wouldn't do that to her. He was probably just with his other lawyer friends; there were so many of them. "Maybe I could come up while I'm on leave."

"Really?" Lily sounded excited. "When would that be, exactly?"

"It starts at the beginning of October-"

"Not until after the baby is born, darling. I don't want my second grandchild being born on an airplane."

Sharon laughed. "Alright. I get leave until the end of December. I'll go back a couple days after Christmas, I think."

"Then why don't you come up here then? For Christmas? Bring Ricky and Jack. We haven't seen them in ages."

"You were here in April. That's not that long."

"It's long enough. You'll understand when Ricky and that baby grow up and move halfway across the country."

"I'll see what Jack is up to then, and let you know. I'd come up for sure, though."

They kept talking for a while, filling each other in on all the happenings in their respective homes. It was close to an hour later when Lily finally ended the call, saying she didn't want to keep Sharon up too late, to give Ricky her love, and to say hello to Jack as well.

Sharon hung the phone up and looked out the window. It was dark now, the road illuminated only the the streetlights. She leaned close to the glass, checking to see if Jack's car was coming home. There was no one.

It was late, or early, depending on how she wanted to look at it, when Jack finally got back. She had waited up for him for a few hours after Ricky went to bed, reading a book, drinking tea, taking a long shower. After that, she had gone to bed by herself.

She heard the bedroom door open when he came in, heard his quiet footsteps. After a few minutes of quiet fumbling around, her pulled back the covers on his side of the bed. She shifted and pulled them back around herself, still three-quarters asleep. He slowly edged his way under the blankets, trying not to disturb her. She woke slightly when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Jack," she moaned.

"What?" he said softly.

She gave a disgruntled noise and ducked her head further under the blankets. She had made a nice, warm spot and Jack and his cold hands had pulled her out of it. She felt irrationally annoyed, and didn't bother hiding it; she was tired.

"I'm sorry. That took longer than I thought."

She turned to face him, her baby bump creating a different kind of space between them. "Go to bed, Jackson." She pulled the covers up over her face and closed her eyes. She could hear him sigh, but ignored him. Her alarm would go off in a few hours, and she wanted every second of sleep between now and then.

Quick question- do you think Sharon's an only child? I'm kinda thinking so, but tell me what you think, please.