Jack strolls along the baking aisle of the local grocery store, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, eyes roaming over the brightly packaged boxes of cake mixes and frostings and rows of sprinkles. He glances at his shopping companion, whose blue eyes are perusing a selection of birthday candles. He takes a single step to stand at her side and bumps his arm against her shoulder. "Whatcha lookin' at, Carter?"

"A birthday cake needs candles, doesn't it, Sir?"

He shrugs. "Sure."

"Aren't you the expert on cake?" She smiles up at him and his heart does that flippy floppy thing it does when her overwhelming prettiness catches him off guard.

"Yes, cake expert," he says. "Don't we need a cake first?"

"I still don't know what flavor to get. Any ideas?"

"Wasn't Cassie supposed to tell you?"

Sam sighs, shoulders dropping and an expression of irritation crossing her fair features.

"Right, Cassie's being kind of a dick lately," he says.

She looks like she wants to argue with his language at first, but only smiles and nods. "She really is."

"Teenagers." Jack laughs and pats Sam's back. "They're dicks."

"Were you a dick, Sir?"

He gasps and raises a hand to his chest. "Carter! How could you even imagine such a possibility. I was a perfect angel, a sweet and gentle cherub, a-"

"I think I get it, Sir," she says, laughing freely and leaning against the shopping cart.

Jack grins at her. "What about you, Carter?"

"Oof, Sir," she laughs again. "I was a nightmare. It's one of the reasons I'm trying not to take Cassie's attitude too personally; I remember what I was like."

"Carter," he says, his face softening into a smile that is less silly and more sweet. "She'll move out of this phase. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, of course, Sir. I just feel badly for Janet." She shrugs and smiles sadly. "Getting Cassie to agree to even attend Janet's birthday party was a pain in the ass, and I know Janet's been struggling with the attitude about homework and boys and whether or not she can have a car. It's a lot. I called to ask Cass what flavor cake and she actually pretended the cordless phone was dying to avoid me."

"That's cold."

"Right? Like you said, Sir," Sam shrugs and grins up at him again. "She's being a dick."

Jack laughs and claps her on the back. He leans over her and plucks a box of funfetti off the shelf then throws it into their cart. "Can't go wrong with funfetti."

"What kind of frosting?"

"Can't go wrong with chocolate, either."

Sam pulls a set of rainbow candles off the display and adds them to their cake and frosting bounty, looking up at Jack and smiling. "What else for our birthday girl and her dick of a daughter?"

"Ice cream, Carter. Ice cream. And maybe wine."