Jack chuckled as Mark and Thomas finished the gingerbread house. All over the lawn were zombie painted Gingerbread men and the roof of the house had an icing 'S.O.S.' painted on it. With all the candy Christmas decorations on the house it had a weird charm to the otherwise morbid theme. Mark crossed his arms proudly over his chest, telling them all excitedly. "See? Now you won't feel bad when we have to eat it." Thomas leaned on his hand, looking over the details as he admitted. "That is true... but still." Mark's mom quickly rushed over to take some pictures, then snapped a zombie in half to dunk into her coffee. Mark's jaw dropped watching her walk back off to finish dinner, prompting Mark to tell her. "Mom! You just killed the last human! He was in zombie disguise and heading home for Christmas!" His mom dunked the gingerbread man in her coffee more, then took a big bite out of him upon replying. "Well... Now he'll be in heaven for Christmas. He tastes good. Good job with the frosting." Mark shook his head, while Thomas chuckled out. "Mom, you can't call that a mercy killing... When his legs are still here!"

Jack picked up the red frosting and drizzled it over the standing legs. Both Thomas and Mark laughed, before removing the legs completely to share between them. Jack put the nozzle to his mouth to eat what was left of the red frosting. He tried to be discreet about it, but everyone except Mark's mom noticed. Thomas then went to make a fire in the fireplace and Mark put on a Christmas movie. The babies sat in the playpen, playing and watching everyone. Letting Jack sit on the couch and enjoy a cup of coffee in the dim cozy lighting of the fireplace and Christmas tree. Mark and Thomas talked about playing games on Christmas, while Jack stared at the ornaments on the tree. Seeing the ultrasound pictures of Sam and Barry, Jack swallowed to himself. He needed to figure out a time to tell Mark. Glancing at Mark, he saw him digging through a trunk with Thomas to pull out board games for the coffee table. They joked and laughed about the rules that they didn't play by or how the other cheated. It made him smirk.

Licking his lips, he slipped out to them curiously. "You know... my family used to do these... Treasure hunts. We could put something like that together?" Thomas shrugged, excitedly saying. "Sure. We could make it a secret Santa thing." Mark rolled his eyes, grumbling out. "I don't know. I'm not a fan of riddles..." Climbing to his feet, Thomas retorted. "We'll too bad. I think it would be fun." Jack sipped his coffee, nearly jumping out of his skin when Mark's mom leaned over the couch. Slipping a piece of paper to him, she told her boys coolly. "Dinner will be ready in a minute. Finish up what you are doing and set the table." Jack waited for both Thomas and Mark to move toward the table, before unfolding the paper. On it was the time and date for his appointment with the doctor. It was much sooner than he thought it would be. Worse still. It was early morning tomorrow. The idea of sneaking out of the hotel to see the doctor without Mark noticing was... impossible in his mind.

Rolling up to his feet, Jack slipped into the kitchen to whisper to her. "So soon? How?" She checked the oven, then told him in a sweet whisper. "He's only a few hours away. He's going to drive through the night to get here." Jack shrugged, mumbling out. "What's the rush? Couldn't he-" She turned down the stove, leaning in closer to answer discreetly. "He's probably just worried that your condition will... speed up. Like it did before." Jack leaned back against the counter, grumbling out to himself. "Great. How am I going to make it?" She opened her mouth to answer, until Mark asked as he picked up dishes. "Make what? Are you planning to cook something with mom?" His mother whirled around, saying lightly. "No! I wouldn't dream of it." Her expression suddenly changed to one of worry and she gently pushed Jack farther away from the oven as she cooed out. "Don't stand so close to the oven, honey. The fumes are bad for... for your asthma." Jack scooted away from the oven, then pushed off the counter to head out of the kitchen with a smirk.

He didn't get too far, when she jogged up to take Jack's half drunk coffee, telling him with a gentle smile. "Oh... and you should avoid this too. You drink a lot of coffee and... you should cut back. One cup a day at most." Jack's jaw dropped in horror as he stammered out. "What?! NO! I didn't... I- NO!" She shook her head, holding the cup away from him. Mark passed the plates to Thomas, stepping in to ask with worry. "Why? What's going on? Mom?" Jack wanted to snap out that he'd done it with his other kids, and they had turned out fine... but he could bring himself to with Mark nearby. She gave the cup to Mark, informing him nicely. "He had an asthma attack while shopping. So, I want him to take it easy for a bit." Jack gritted his teeth, giving her a light glare until Mark turned to face him with wide eyes. Touching his face, Mark asked him firmly. "Jack, is that true? Why didn't you tell me?!" Jack tried to think of something to say but could only shrug. Allowing Mark's mom to cut in. "It's fine. I was there and helped him get through it. It was nothing life threatening."

Mark barely acknowledged his mother's words. Stepping closer to Jack, he asked him a little hurt. "What happened...?" Jack shrugged again with an exhale this time, answering as honestly as he could. "I... I just got a little overwhelmed. All the excitement and this being our first family Christmas... I wanted it to be... perfect." Mark downed the rest of Jack's coffee, handing it back to his mother. Then taking Jack's arm, he walked him from the kitchen and out into the hallway. Pushing Jack gently against the wall, Mark whispered to him a little heartbroken. "Jack, you should have told me. I wouldn't have... I would have been..." Jack tilted his head back against the wall, whispering to him sweetly. "It's over with. But Mark... I need to tell you something..." Mark cupped his face, bringing his lips to his as he whispered lovingly over them. "I never should have left you alone... I'm so sorry. Forgive me?" Jack pulled Mark's wrists away from his face, honestly saying. "I'm fine. Your mother was a nurse. I couldn't have been in better hands. But about what really happened..."

Mark silenced him with a loving kiss, then asked him in a sweet voice. "Was it because of the pressure that I've been putting on you?" Jack put his hands on Mark's shoulders, trying to stop him long enough to tell him nervously. "No... Mark, I want that too. But that's another matter. The reason I had an asthma attack was because... Mark... I'm..." Jack struggled to say the words. They were as heavy as lead on his tongue. He was starting to shake but grabbed Mark's shirt to steady himself. Just as he took a breath to spit it all out. Thomas peeked into the hallway and announced bluntly. "Dinner is on the table, guys." Mark nodded, waving Thomas away. Once Thomas was gone, Mark asked Jack in a tender tone. "Yes...?" Bowing his head and sliding his hands down Mark's chest weakly, Jack mumbled out. "It's nothing. Let's eat." Jack started to move away. Only to have Mark stop him. Pulling him back against his chest, Mark asked over his shoulder hopefully. "Jack. Talk to me." Jack raised a hand to stroke Mark's arm across his chest. Taking a deep breath, Jack told him seriously. "It can wait. I'll tell you in the hotel..."

Mark kissed his cheek, releasing him with some reluctance. Taking his hand, Jack led him back toward the dining table. After eating dinner and enjoying themselves with conversations of family stuff, Mark began dropping hints that he wanted to leave. Jack tried to ignore the hints because he didn't want to be rude. However, Mark's mom eventually started talking about putting the babies to bed. So, Jack helped her lay them down. Giving them kisses and then finally taking his leave with Mark. The whole trip back to the hotel, Jack felt nervous. He kept looking over at Mark to check his mood. He'd been trying to ignore this for many reasons. Getting out of the car, Jack tried to figure out if he wanted to avoid telling Mark that he was pregnant by using sex to distract him. Or if he wanted to tell him the news and try to weasel his way out of sexual activities. Mark walked around the car, asking him curiously. "You ok? You haven't said anything..." Jack jerked from his thoughts, replying softly. "I... I just got a lot on my mind. Sorry." Jack started to trudge through the snow toward the hotel, when Mark asked from behind him. "Where are you going?"

Jack pointed to the hotel, telling him perplexed. "The hotel? Isn't that what you've been hinting at for the last hour?" Mark leaned forward a bit with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, smirking out teasingly. "Have I?" Mark stepped away from the car, starting to walk in a completely different direction. Raising an eyebrow, Jack cautiously jogged after him, commenting in a guarded voice. "You're fucking with me, aren't you? Mark?" Mark kept walking, chuckling out to himself. "Would I do that to you?" Jack scoffed loudly, retorting honestly. "YES! Back at Pax, you used to- Mark?!" Mark continued to walk across the dark empty street. Glancing over his shoulder, Mark playfully encouraged. "Well? Come on. Aren't you a little curious?" Jack licked his lips, feeling conflicted about this but followed him. Catching up to Mark, he asked him suspiciously. "What are you doing? Please. It's cold out and it's late..." Mark nodded, telling him playfully. "And the forecast says it's going to snow again tonight." Grabbing Mark's arm, Jack stopped him to ask uneasily. "Mark, please. This isn't like you..."

Mark's expression turned to a pained one as he said very softly. "I'm sorry to hear that." He didn't understand why Mark was so upset by that, until Mark pointed to something behind him. Turning around, Jack's jaw dropped. In the center of town was a little winter fair with Santa themed carnival rides and standing in front of the gate on the road was a horse drawn sleigh. The twinkling lights of the carnival were gorgeous and the laughter of the families there were heartwarming. Walking up to the horse drawn sleigh, Mark pulled out his phone to show the driver something. The driver scanned it, then beckoned them on. Jack inched toward it, asking a little floored. "Mark...? How? When?" Mark blushed a little, answering sweetly. "I reserved it on my phone. I did it at the mall while Thomas was shopping... I saw the flyer and thought... Maybe we could... take things slow. Like you wanted. I know you're not feeling well. But I just wanted to try doing something with just us." Jack walked up to Mark, giving him a brief heartfelt kiss. Mark smirked, whispering to him tenderly. "I know I'm not very romantic... but you deserve it. Especially, since you've put up with me for so long..."

Jack bit his lip, putting a hand to Mark's cheek. Blushing, Jack leaned in to tell him lovingly. "You have your moments." Mark helped him climb into the sleigh, taking a seat on the plush black seats of the red sleigh. Mark climbed in, picking up the fluffy white blanket to drape over their laps, but lingered long enough to reveal the picnic basket. Jack's eyes rose to meet Mark's, prompting him to tell him sweetly. "I bought the picnic package. The thermoses have hot coco and hot chicken soup. There are cookies, popcorn, brownies. Even this." Mark removed a small bottle of red wine and Jack chuckled. The female driver made sure they were ready, then flicked the reins to get the two horses to start walking. The bells on the horses harnesses jingled as they walked and LED lights illuminated them and the sleigh. Jack refused the wine, despite really wanting to try it. So, Mark poured them hot coco instead. Relaxing, Jack happily told Mark. "What shall we talk about?" Mark sprinkled small marshmallows into their mugs, asking curiously. "You wanna tell me what you were trying to before dinner?"

Jack held his mug closer to his chest, mumbling out. "Ah... That." Mark shifted a little to look at him, asking gently. "Is it that bad?" Sighing, Jack danced around the subject a bit by asking curiously. "I want you to answer something first." Mark sipped his drink, shrugging out lightly. "Alright. Shoot." Biting his tongue a bit, he forced out as calmly as he could. "Be honest. Do you... regret having our children?" Mark licked his lips, then answered casually. "No. It was a surprise. I never thought I'd have any... for obvious reasons." Mark flashed Jack a devilish grin that made Jack giggle. Mark took a sip of his drink, then asked him sweetly. "Why?" Jack avoided the question again to asked curtly. "Would you want more?" Mark huffed, stating out flatly. "No. We'll have our hands full with the two we have already. Why punish ourselves by having any more?" Jack sipped his drink to calm the building tension. Mark eyed him for a minute, then asked gently. "Did you want more?" Jack lowered his mug, honestly answering. "I didn't plan on it..." Mark blinked, shrugging out. "Jack... Why are you bringing this up?"

Jack turned a little to face Mark better. Staring into his mug though, Jack swallowed and forced himself to answer. "Because... I'm pregnant." Mark spewed his drink out the back of the sleigh, before locking wide eyes on him like Jack has struck him with something horrifyingly foul. To Be Continued...