"Jack, I don't know about this." Sam remarked dubiously as she curled up to him on the couch in his still altogether new townhouse. "It's a big commitment."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is it really, Sam?" he queried, hitting the pause button on the DVD player remote and giving her his full attention.
"It really is," she responded definitively. "I mean, think about it. The expenses, the responsibility."
"Sure, there's some expense," he admitted. "But it's not like either one of us have been big spenders over the years - we've got the money to do this. And we can easily rework the budget to cover future expenses."
Sam looked both surprised and pleased at his forethought. "That's true," she agreed. "But this will also take a lot of time and effort. I'll put in what I can, of course, but I'm going to need you to pitch in here. If we expand our family like this, at least one of us needs to be here at all times. That means attending doctor appointments, getting sitters if both of us have work -"
"I can handle that," he declared.
"And then there's the day-to-day maintenance here," she continued, on a roll now. "Food. Baths. Making sure there's enough engagement for -"
"Sam," Jack cut in with clear amusement. "I'll help with all of that."
She looked at him closely. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really."
She still looked a bit worried about the whole thing.
"You know, Carter, you're focusing an awful lot on the negatives here," Jack pointed out. "Just think about how good this could be."
Sam tilted her head in thought for a moment. Then, she smiled. "It would be nice to have a little one to cuddle up with and play with," she admitted.
"Right?!" he enthused, grinning at her. "Sure, there's some work involved, but the good times make it all worth it." He ran his fingers through her hair, but he looked a bit distant now, clearly getting wrapped up in his own train of thought. "I've done this before, Sam, and I'd do it all again - especially with you."
Sam's smile grew brighter than ever. "You're right," she agreed, finally appearing to let go of the cost-benefit analysis that had colored their previous conversations on the subject. She nodded. "Let's do this!"
"Alright!" Jack cheered, pulling her even more closely into a hug.
Before they returned their attention to the movie that had sparked the whole conversation, he made one last comment.
"You ended a sentence with a preposition, you know."
Sam rolled her eyes, stifling the giggle she felt bubbling up inside. "Never change, Jack," she whispered affectionately.
And sure enough, two weeks later... they brought home their new dog.