Dogs are my favorite people, ya know.

“Jack… are you sure?” she asks, her hand moving to cup his cheek. Her thumb caresses his cheek as she watches him, wondering how on earth she had gotten so lucky to have him in her life. 

“You don’t have to say anything right now,” he says, unsure of her reaction. “I get it if you need time to think but I wanted you to know that the offer’s there.” He smiles at her and leans in for another kiss, finding it impossible to keep himself from kissing her as much as he can now that he knows she returns his feelings. “I love you.”

“It would be very hard for a gal like me not to love a guy like you,” she replies, smiling before tilting her head to kiss him again, chuckling as they both feel her daughter kick. “She’s always approved of you. She moves a lot when she hears your voice,” 

“Good to know I have the Little Miss seal of approval,” he teases, letting his fingers trail over the swell of her belly to greet the child within. When he looks back up at her, though, his face is serious. “I want her to be mine, Janet. If that’s something you’d be okay with, I want to have Little Miss know me as Daddy.”

After a moment she pulls back, only enough to lean her forehead against his. They’re silent for a moment before she speaks again. “I’m not exactly sure when it happened,” she starts, her fingers playing with the short hairs at the base of his neck, “But somewhere along the way I fell in love with you.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” he muses, his thumb still moving as he closes his eyes and savors the feeling of their closeness. “I was standing there in the doorway and realized that I’ve fallen in love with my best friend and it never crossed my mind that a gal like you could ever love a guy like me.” He feels a nudge against the hand he has on her belly and the feeling makes him laugh. “Little Miss seems to approve.”

“Jack,” she says softly to get his attention. When he looks up, she gently hooks her finger under his chin and lifts his face up as she leans down slightly to press her lips to his. It’s a soft, lingering kiss, and part of her wants to deepen it, but instead she pulls back with a soft nervous huff. “I, um… sorry.”

“Are you really sorry?” he asks, keeping one hand on her belly as he lifts the other to touch her face lightly. Pushing up so he’s kneeling level with her, Jack lets his thumb stroke her cheek and his eyes search hers before he leans in and kisses Janet.

“Wait for it…” she whispers, her hands giving his fingers a little squeeze, giggling softly when she feels the baby kick right where she had placed his hands. 

“She’s strong,” he says as he starts to laugh. “Just like her mother, yeah?” He takes a moment to stare up at her face for a long moment and then he focuses on her belly again, trying to track the baby’s position by the location of each kick against his hands.

“I’m not entirely sure – but once I find out how to cull the truly pervasive boredom… you’ll be my first call,” she said, offering him a sly smile.

“Or how ‘bout you entertain me now?” Jack doesn’t want to beg but he’s been bored for hours and Carter is busy with some crazy new doodad from PX-whatever and Vala’s fun as hell. “C’mon Vala, have mercy on an old man and help me out here, yeah?”

“I feel like there’s something here I’m missing,” she grumps while obediently following the petite woman into her office. When she steps into the small room, however, Jack can’t help but frown and cross her arms; it’s been a very stressful day and she’s more than a little on edge. “So what exactly is this special cure you have for my problem, Doc?”

“Uh, yes! What does it entail? Is there a needle involved because I don’t think I can handle getting a shot in my six when I’ve been through so much already today.”

“What, you have another magic tablet that’ll oh-so-helpfully reverse this tucked away in your office?”

“Carter was too busy laughing at me to be bothered to tell me how to fix this.”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun with my misfortune. I see how it is, no sympathy for me when something bad happens, right? What the hell am I supposed to do with myself?!”

“For what it’s worth, you’re a very sexy woman.”

“I feel like you’re enjoying this too much, Doc. Just tell me how to fix this so I can go back to being good ol’ me.”

“Well, it appears that you might have brought this on yourself, Colonel.”

“You know better than to leave a doohickey where I can touch it! Look at me - I’m a woman!”