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Jack’s eyes snapped open and his gaze darted briefly around the darkened room as he tried to figure out what had woken him. Moments later, he heard a soft thud followed by a muffled curse. He rolled onto his back and when he looked to his right, he saw the other side of the bed was empty and sighed. He lifted his head from the pillow and winced as the bright red LED numbers shone at him, cruelly reading 02:35, from the bedside unit. He growled in frustration and let his head fall back to the pillow.
It took a few minutes before he decided he wasn’t going to sleep again any time soon, so he leaned down to grab his t-shirt and sweats from their crumpled state on the floor and slowly made his way out of the bedroom. He’d only taken one step into the hall when he heard another thud. He cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips before he made his way closer and stopped just outside the room. Slowly, he placed his hand on the handle and when he pushed open the door he froze at the sight that greeted him. He glanced around his office and frowned before he ran a hand across his face.
“Carter! What the hell?”
He winced as soon as the words left his mouth. They were harsher than he intended and he felt a pang of guilt as Sam straightened and swung around to face him in surprise – before she swayed dangerously on her feet. He jumped forward, his hands landing firmly on her hips, while Sam’s instinctively rested on his upper arms. He watched her closely as she kept her eyes closed.
“You OK?” he asked softly.
Sam nodded. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her, a brow raised in disbelief. She offered him a small smile.
“I’m fine, really.”
His gaze drifted over Carter’s shoulder for a few seconds and when he caught her with an embarrassed look on her face, he resisted the urge to grin.
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Nothing.”
Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Nothing,” he repeated slowly. "Then why, pray tell, am I awake at 0240 on a Saturday morning? People are usually sleeping at this time, Sam.”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”
His gaze travelled around the room again. “So, you decided to rearrange the house?”
He let his hands fall from Sam’s hips as she turned away from him and over to the office chair.
“Not the entire house,” she said defensively. “Just –” She shrugged as she gestured vaguely to the room before sitting in Jack’s leather chair, idly picked up a cloth and started to dust the surface of the desk.
“Sam –”
Jack sighed as he studied his office again. His desk, which had been against the wall on the left-hand side was now located on the far corner at the other side of the room. The bookshelf, which had been in the far corner, was now against the wall on the right as you entered the office, and a small wooden storage unit was now plonked unceremoniously in the center of the space, along with a few other items and a boxful of his paperwork. There was also a bucket of soapy water, a mop and various cleaning materials on any available surface.
“Is that wise?” he asked gently as he stepped over the bucket.
“What?”
“This,” he waved, gesturing to his heavily pregnant wife and then the mess of his office.
Sam stared at him. “Well, when was the last time you tidied in here?”
She stood, then crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Jack, daring him to answer. He, in turn, scratched his temple as he tried to contain his amusement at Sam’s sudden defensive stance.
“Last week,” he finally answered, mirroring her position.
She rolled her eyes and went back to the task at hand. “It needed cleaned.”
“At 0240. On a Saturday.”
“Yes.”
Jack nodded, and then stopped in his tracks as he studied the woman in front of him. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Samantha, are you nesting?”
Her head snapped up. “No! No. I mean...” She set down the cloth and looked around. “Oh, my god.”
Before she could say anything more, she winced and rested a hand on her hip, before placing the other on the small of her back. Jack’s amusement faded and he was by her side in an instant, his right hand rubbing soft, slow circles on her back.
“You want to sit down?”
She nodded and Jack guided her to the chair. “You know, you really shouldn’t be doing this,” he said quietly.
“I know,” she sighed. It’s just – I needed to do it.”
“Sara was the same. I mean, with the nesting thing,” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “She – ah – I came home from a mission to find our couch in the back yard. She had repainted the entire house and cleaned everything while I was away... Charlie was born shortly afterwards,” he finished with a soft smile.
Sam squeezed his hand affectionately. “Does that mean we should be prepared?”
“You’re always prepared, Sam,” he said, dropping a kiss to her lips. “Besides, you’ve still got a few weeks to go. It’s not as if the baby is going to arrive right now.”
“I know. I guess I’m just nervous,” she admitted as her gaze fell to her hands.
“Me too,” Jack whispered. He placed another kiss to the top of her head. “C’mon, back to bed.”
He helped Sam to her feet, his hand never leaving her back. She was just about to make a move towards the door when she grimaced and one of her hands flew to her stomach. Jack, meanwhile, had to bite back a curse as Sam’s other hand grabbed onto his arm, her fingers digging in hard.
“Ow! Oh. Uh, Jack?”
A look of panic flashed in his eyes and he pulled a face. “Was that a –”
She nodded abruptly. “Yes, I think so.”
This time it was Jack’s grip that tightened. “Crap.”