"To us," Jack says lifting up a glass in cheers.
Sam lifts her champagne glass filled with juice, and taps it against his. She is drinking the real stuff, partly out of solidarity for her pregnant husband, and partly, because she's pretending to be pregnant herself. But she looks distracted.
"What's wrong?" Jack asks with a knot of worry coiling in his stomach. Did he do something wrong already?
"Why are you so against getting Ty a ring?" she asks, looking at him.
"Because he's three, and I'm not marrying my son," Jack says with a laugh in his voice.
"Jack, he's insecure. He not used to having a father. He probably isn't that confident you are going to stick around."
"He's a kid, Sam. I'll find another way to convince him that I am going to stick around."
"Are you saying no because he's a kid, or because he's a boy?" Sam asks.
"I don't know, a little of both, I suppose. Boys don't wear engagement rings," he says with raised eyebrows.
She leans back in her chair, "Jack, I grew up being told that girls didn't play with astronaut dolls, or make guns out of sticks, or join the air force."
"It's different for boys," Jack says.
"Different, yeah, but not worse. I mean, boys might get teased a little more for playing with dolls or liking jewelry or whatever. But there are fewer jobs their actually scorned for taking. I mean, sure, male nurses and ballerinas get a lot of crap. But a lot of the professional world is closed off to women. There are so many jobs that we're not even supposed to want to have."
"Sam, you don't understand. A boy does a girly thing and he's just not going to be made fun off, he's going to be beat up," Jack protests.
"I know," Sam says, pulling up her t-shirt sleeve up to reveal a scar, "And that is something that I got for being better than the boys at sling shot when I was twelve. That doesn't change the fact that I want my son to grow up in a world where he's allowed to do anything he wants. And he really better be able to grow up in a family where he's able to do anything that he wants."
"Sam, I hear you, but I'm trying to prevent our son from getting hurt here," Jack says quietly.
She stares at him for a few seconds trying to figure out if this is true. But she still sees some fear in his eyes that indicates it's at least partly a lie. "Jack, are you afraid he's gay?"
"Has he said something to you?" Jack asks with concern.
"No, and I don't think he is. But he could be, Jack. Anyone could be. Would you love him any less?"
"No, of course not," Jack says. His voice rings true and easy.
"Ok, then, what can be wrong with him doing something girly?"
He smiles, "Ok, I'll buy my son an engagement ring."
"Thank you," Sam says with a grin as the waitress sets down the food before them.
A Week Later
Jack has rarely in his life felt as awkward as he does walking into the jewelry store.
"Can I help you sir?" the women behind the counter asks.
"Yes, what rings do you have that would fit a three year old?" he asks.
She smiles leading him over to a display case, "You're daughter's a lucky girl. Any particular color?"
Jack debates lying to the lady. I mean, what would it matter in the big scheme of things? But that goes against his whole discussion he had with Sam. "Actually, it's for my son. And I don't know, he just requested 'sparkly'."
"Your son?" she says, surprised.
"I just asked his mother to marry me. He felt a little left out," Jack says.
"We have some nice jewelry meant for boys-watches and things. Nothing in his size, but we could order something in if you found something you like."
"It needs to be a ring, a sparkly ring," Jack says.
"Ah… yes, sir, do you have a color in mind?" the woman says, stammering, bringing a tray out of the container.
"This one is nice," he says, pointing to a green ring. He and his son shared a favorite color.
The woman hands it to him, and he puts it on his the first segment of his pinky finger to examine the effects the light had on it.
"This will do," he says smiling at the women. "Can you engrave 'always' on that?"
-0-0-0-
"Mommy what are you getting Daddy for his 'gagement present?" Ty asks.
"Sweetie, it doesn't work that way," Sam says with a smile.
"It sucks to be a boy," he pouts, "You get a ring, and Daddy and I get 'nuffin."
"You're right, Ty, we should get your Daddy a present. And I know the perfect thing."
"Can I help?" Ty asks bouncing.
"Yes, you can. Remember when you asked for a dog last Christmas?"
"You said no," Ty reminds her.
"Well, I'm saying yes now. The only catch is, it has to be the same color as Schrodinger."
-0-0-0-
"Hey, Jacob, where is the little man?" Jack asks.
"They're in the backyard," Jacob says, gesturing Jack inside.
Jack's heart just about leaps out of his chest when he sees his son with a dog sitting on his chest licking his face.
"Surprise," Sam says when he walks through the door.
"What is this?" Jack says, slapping his thighs to call a puppy over.
"This is your puppy, but he likes me, too. Puppies say they like you by licking your face," Tyler informs his father gravely.
"Right now I'm kind of hoping that you weren't kidding about wanting a dog," Sam says bashfully.
"I definitely was not," Jack says with a smile as the puppy squirms in his arms.
"We got you this 'cause it's not fair that girls get nice things for 'gagement, and boys don't," Tyler declares.
"You know what, it isn't. Which is why I got you this," Jack says, handing his son a velvet box.
Tyler opens it up, and his eyes light up, "It's sparkly, Daddy. Thank you!"
"Woah, Jack, I thought you were going to get him a toy. This is too nice for a kid!" Sam protests.
"Tyler is going to take really good care of it, aren't you, son?" Jack asks. Tyler nods gravely, slipping it onto his finger.
"Honestly, Sam, it wasn't that expensive," Jack defends.
The puppy licks Jack's face.
"Daddy?" Tyler says suddenly worried, "Isn't the puppy going to get lonely?"
"No, he's got three adults, a little boy, and a cat to play with," Jack says.
"But he's your dog, I thought he would live at your house," Tyler says, confused.
"Tyler, the puppy is going to stay at your house whenever I do," Jack says.
"Daddy, why do you have two houses?" Tyler asks.
"That, son, is a really good question," Sam says. "One that Daddy and I will talk about later."
Tyler leans forward and whispers in his father's ear, "Pick this house, Daddy. I don't want you to live alone."
"Don't worry about that, son," Jack says, laughing.
-0-0-0-
Later that night, Sam and Jack lay next to each in bed. They have just finished a rather amazing round of lovemaking, and are still tangled together. "So where are we going to live after we get married?"
"I was thinking… together," Jack suggests with a smirk.
She playfully elbows his ribs, careful to avoid the portion of him which contains a baby.
"I practically live here already, Sam. I figured I'd just move my stuff in. Then we can bicker about what furniture we're going to keep," Jack says with a smile.
"This house is pretty small," Sam says.
"And soon there are going to be five of us. Maybe one day there will be even more, eh?"
Sam nods. "Yeah, maybe one more in a couple of years, especially if you're willing to carry it."
"Sorry, love, you're going to be bearing any future children," he says.
"So, new house shopping?" Sam asks.
"Yes."
Three Days Later
Jack's eyes are wide open, even though it is the middle of the night. He's been very hungry for the last couple of days. Even though the pills the off-world doctor gave him got rid of the nausea, it still left him feeling kind of odd. Now, he really wants to eat. If only he could figure out exactly what he wants to eat.
Ah, orange juice and ice cream, of course, it's the perfect snack, really. And maybe after that, he'll have eggs. Yeah, eggs covered in ketchup... no, salsa, spicy salsa. He heads into the kitchen to fulfill his cravings. As soon as the eggs are on the stove, he mixes up the orange juice and ice cream.
Just then Jacob walks into the room. He looks at the glass in Jack's hand, and blinks his eyes. "Is that for Sam?" he asks, looking excited.
"No, I was just having a snack. Can I make you something?" Jack asks knowing, that he wasn't the only one who was too sick to eat for the last couple of days.
"Jack, you're trying to tell me you've been sick for days, and then you're drinking that?"
"Yeah, well, believe what you want," Jack says, taking another sip while pouring the salsa on the almost-finished eggs.
"For a second I thought I'd get to see a second grandchild," Jacob says with longing in his voice.
"You will. You'll get to see several grandchildren, and you'll get to see them all grown-up too," Jack says, turning to look at the man.
"That's kind Jack, but…" Jacob begins.
"You're beating this cancer," Jack says firmly.
"You and Sam are planning on having more kids?" Jacob asks as he pulls the milk out of the fridge to pour a glass.
"Yeah, sooner rather than later," Jack says. He doesn't want to tell Jacob anything tonight, Sam needs to be here for the discussion.
"After the wedding, though?" Jacob asks.
Jack takes another sip of his mixture, and then feels the nausea returning. Jacob stares after Jack as he rushes out of the room. Apparently the medicine doesn't always work.
"What the hell is going on?" Jacob mutters to himself.
Authors Note: I know the science is funky. Just suspend your disbelief.