AN: Warning: what lies ahead may cause tooth decay.

At a little past eleven on a muggy, warm night in Kenya, Victoria Station was still and silent.

Two men were discussing their plans for the next day in hushed whispers as they walked down a corridor leading to arguably the most important room in the house.

"Doris is arriving tomorrow. She's really looking forward to seeing Lily. "

"Great. But we're going to need some painkillers soon, the jet lag's killing me and everyone else—"

Their low voices were suddenly overwhelmed by a loud wail from the room they were heading to. Quickening their pace, they rushed toward it, only to find—

A woman in it, cradling a squalling baby in her arms.

"Shh, shh, it's allrigh', it's allrigh'," she hastily whispered to the infant, who was certainly not troubling to keep her voice down.

She was holding the baby the way one would hold a ticking bomb and the expression on her face could only be described as abject terror.

Neither man could suppress his laughter.

"You know, Zoe," Max said, with a broad grin on his face, "she's not going to bite you—"

"I don't know, Max! I was just checking on her and she looked so sweet and I just accidentally nudged her or something, she won't stop crying, Max—"

Max, still grinning, said, "Calm down. Make a cradle with your arms, support her neck, and swing her gently from side to side."

Zoe did so. Sure enough, after a few minutes of the swaying motion, the baby calmed down and stared at her quizzically, and seized a lump of blonde hair to stuff in her mouth.

She turned to thank Max, only to see that his smile had frozen on his face.

"Max. Is everything okay? Am I doing something wrong?"

He didn't answer her, and instead turned to Jack, who had remained a silent and smirking observer to the whole fuss that had just occurred.

"Why Lily, Jack?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"It just occurred to me. Her name. Lily. Why did you choose it?"

At this seemingly innocent question, both Jack and Zoe stiffened. He struggled to keep his face smoothly inscrutable and she suddenly seemed very interested in inspecting Lily's tiny fingernails.

Neither offered an answer.

"Fine. But you know what I find interesting?"

Silence.

"It's Zoe's full name. Zoe Sosanna Kissane. Do you know what Sosanna means, Jack?" he asked slowly.

Still no reply.

"Say what you will. But I know there's something you kids aren't telling me."

With that, Max strode out of the room, barely hiding his huge smirk.

At his departure, Zoe and Jack visibly relaxed.

She continued rocking the baby back and forth and he continued watching. Several minutes later, Lily fell asleep, unaware of the pseudo-interrogation her name had caused.

Zoe gently set her in her crib and tiptoed to the door, where she paused next to Jack.

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll only say this once: you are the loveliest, sweetest man I've ever met."

"I don't know what you're both going on about."

"Of course you don't."

She smiled at him, making his stomach lurch just a little, and walked off to her bedroom. He hoped to hell he didn't look as pink as he felt.

He lightly touched the spot where her lips had touched his cheek, and smiled.

AN: Umm yeah. Sosanna means Lily. *ducks flying agricultural produce*

Overlong author's note ahoy!

Given what Zoe says when Lily asks Zoe about her feelings for Jack in 6SS, and the fact that Jack wanted to propose immediately after the Capstone mission, I just got the impression that maybe, those two had been hung up on each other ever since they met. My shipper brain also loves thinking that maybe they were in a relationship when they were both studying in Dublin,even before the whole Capstone mess started.

And also, I love thinking that Jack (and Scarecrow) for all his badassery is just a fuzzy cutie when it comes to people he loves.