It was Friday and Elizabeth was a little perplexed. Tomorrow was their anniversary and Jack hadn't said a word. There were times she thought he might, but, nothing. He had been busy with work, staying in town late every night and coming home exhausted. He would get up early every morning and spend his time with Maddie. Elizabeth, however, didn't see him much and missed him terribly. This morning was the same, but she wanted to get his attention, tonight.

"Elizabeth?"

"Jack? How was work?" she asked from the couch. She was feeding Maddie.

He sat down next to her and sighed. "Fine I guess." He leaned over and kissed Elizabeth's cheek and then Maddie's head. "How was your day?"

"Fine. I missed you today, Constable." She looked at him in that way that signaled she wanted something more than a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too." He searched her eyes, stared at her lips for a second, and then kissed her. She kissed him back, running her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, enjoying the moment.

They heard a knock on the door and reluctantly pulled apart. Elizabeth quickly covered herself because Maddie was still eating. Jack got up and opened it.

"Abigail? What are you doing here tonight?" He winked at her.

"Ned had this telegram for you and came looking for you at the café, but I told him you had gone home and I would bring it to you. It's marked URGENT. This way I can come see Maddie too."

"Ok, thank you." Jack walked over to the kitchen and read the "telegram."

JACK- ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS? I THINK THIS MIGHT CAUSE ELIZABETH TO GET UPSET.

IF YOU'RE SURE, CLEAR YOUR THROAT.

Jack cleared his throat. "Sweetheart, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure. Can you hold Maddie, Abigail?"

"Of course." She reached for the baby as Jack waited for Elizabeth in the kitchen. She inwardly cringed at what was about to happen. "I hope you know what you're doing, Jack," she thought to herself.

"Jack, what is it? You seem nervous."

"I got a telegram from Headquarters. They need me to go to Buxton tomorrow to meet with the other Constable about some trouble they are having. I need to leave first thing to make it there in time."

Elizabeth stood there, staring at her husband, stunned that he was leaving and wouldn't be home on their anniversary. She could not believe he was doing this. She didn't say a word. She just walked off to their room and slammed the door. Abigail jumped at the noise of the door slamming, startling Maddie.

She stood up and looked at Jack. "I don't know, Jack. Maybe you should just tell her." The baby was whimpering, but Abigail started bouncing her and she quieted down.

"No, I think we should go ahead. I'll be back." Jack went to their room and walked in. Elizabeth was sitting in the rocking chair staring at the empty fireplace. He could tell she was angry, but this was part of the plan. "Elizabeth?"

"Jack, not now. Please leave me alone." He could hear her voice shaking. She was more than angry, she was hurt. He didn't want that. He had to figure out a way to turn this around without ruining his plans.

"I'm not going to leave you alone. We need to talk."

"Jack. Please."

"I'll talk. I'm only going to be gone for one day and one night. You probably will be so busy with Maddie that you won't even miss me."

"Seriously? I miss you now, and you haven't even left yet."

"I don't think this is a dangerous trip, so you don't have to worry."

"That's not it Jack."

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I mean if you don't know, it doesn't matter." She wiped a tear from her cheek and went to go get Maddie. Jack changed and got into bed, his mind working overtime trying to figure out a way to fix this.

"Abigail, thank you for coming over. It's good to see you."

"Elizabeth. Are you ok?"

"Sure. I'll be fine."

"Good. Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night."

"I don't know. Jack will be out of town, maybe I'll just stay home."

"No, I think you should come over. Frank is out of town too and I really would love the company."

"I'll let you know in the morning. For now, I'm getting tired, so I think I have to say goodnight."

"Of course. Everything will work out, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth decided to feed Maddie, one last time, on the couch. She didn't feel like talking to Jack now and he would want to if she went in there now. She wanted to put it off as long as she could.

After she was done, Elizabeth went into the bedroom and put Maddie in her cradle. Jack had built a fire so it was nice and warm in the room but she took her nightgown into the washroom to change. When she came back, she got into bed and rolled away from Jack. She was mad, but she hoped he would hold her like he did every night. "Elizabeth?"

"Goodnight Jack."

"Please listen. We need to talk."

She rolled over and looked at him. She loved him so much. She missed him. She didn't think she could stay mad much longer. They hadn't been together in a long time and she was hoping that on their anniversary they would, but now that he wasn't going to be there, it wasn't possible. She put her hand on his face and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you more, Sweetheart."

She rolled over and he put his arms around her, as he always did. He didn't sleep. When she got up to feed Maddie a few hours later, he was still awake. He watched his lovely wife feeding their beautiful daughter. He could feel the love that she had for Maddie, just by watching. The way she played with her feet while she ate. The way she looked down at her and smiled. It killed him that he may have hurt her. He had to tell her what he was doing. He didn't want to ruin their anniversary. When she came back to bed, Jack spoke up.

"Elizabeth. I'm not going to Buxton."

"You're not?"

"I never was."

"But the telegram said…"

"There was no telegram." She looked confused. "Let me start at the beginning. Last week I was sitting in my office and I realized our anniversary was this week. I wanted to surprise you, so I asked Abigail to help me. The plan I came up with, I knew could go wrong, but it could work too. Obviously it went wrong because I hurt you. I am so sorry that I even thought about doing things this way. I just wanted to make it memorable."

"You didn't forget? I thought you forgot."

"Listen to me, Honey. There is no way I could ever forget when I married you. That day was the most amazing day of my life. Followed closely by the day Maddie was born."

"I'm so glad. I wanted us to be together on our anniversary, not apart. When you told me you were leaving and you never said anything about our anniversary all week…well, I just thought you had other things on your mind and forgot."

"You and Maddie are constantly on my mind. I hope you always remember that."

Elizabeth reached out and pulled herself closer to Jack, laying her head on his chest, draping her arm over his stomach. She giggled.

"What's so funny, Elizabeth?"

"Do you remember when I came to see you in the jail, the morning of our wedding?"

"Of course I do. I was sleeping and when I woke up, you were watching me."

"I missed you. I knew if I didn't come see you then, I wouldn't see you at all until we got married, so I came over."

"I was really surprised you were there."

"I wasn't sure it was appropriate, and I knew my parents would kill me if they knew, but I didn't care. All I could think about was seeing you. Then when I walked in and you were sleeping, I couldn't stop myself. You were so incredibly handsome, your eyelashes and your lips and your strong arms. Oh my goodness."

"What about my eyelashes and lips and arms?" He was flirting with her. She would play along.

"You have beautiful eyes and long eyelashes. When you sleep, they touch your cheeks. Your lips, Jack. Let's just say, I can't help but stare at them, when you stand close to me. Oh, the butterflies."

"Hmmm…Maybe I should put these lips to work…" He started kissing her neck, starting just below her ear, giving her goosebumps.

"Your arms…when I saw you lying there asleep, I wanted to be in those arms so badly. I knew I would be soon, but I didn't want to wait."

"You belong in my arms, Elizabeth. You fit perfectly, right here." He pulled her closer, her head under his chin, her arms around him.

"So, tomorrow. What plans do you have for me?"

"Oh, that's a surprise. However, I can tell you, you will need to go to Abigail's in the afternoon. She will tell you when to come home. I have a few surprises waiting for you in your old room, too."

"Can I convince you to tell me more?" She leaned back and started kissing his neck, up to his jawline, to his chin and then tickling his lips with hers. She knew it drove him nuts when she did that.

"Nope. No hints. But that was a nice preview of what else I had planned for you tomorrow night."

"Its been a long time, Jack."

"Believe me, I know. It's been torture." Maddie started whimpering. "But well worth the wait to have a healthy, beautiful daughter and wife." He unwrapped himself from Elizabeth and got up to get Maddie, who had started crying. "Hey pretty girl. What's the problem?" He felt her diaper and it was dry. Elizabeth had just fed her, so she wasn't hungry. "Are you lonely?" He sat down in the rocking chair, holding her on his chest, her head close to his neck, his hand gently rubbing her back. "You smell so good, Maddie. Like Mama." He looked over at Elizabeth and winked at her, giving her a smile. She smiled back. "Let's go to bed, sweetie." He got up from the chair and walked with Maddie over to the bed. He climbed under the covers and settled in to sleep.

"Jack, it's not that I mind having her here with us, but I just don't want her to get used to sleeping here. It might make things a bit awkward sometimes."

"Don't worry, Honey. I'll just hold her until she goes to sleep, then I will put her in her cradle." That was his intention, but when she woke up to eat a few hours later, she was still on Jack's chest in their bed.

"Come here, baby girl. Time to eat."

In the morning, Jack woke up first, as usual. He went to get Maddie to rock her as he did every morning. This time, he took her outside to the porch swing. It was warm out and the sun was just coming up. "I love this time of day, Honey Bug. It's so quiet and peaceful, and I get to enjoy it with you." He kissed her head and took in her sweet baby smell, mixed with Elizabeth's vanilla bubble bath.

"Hi. I don't want to intrude on your time together, but I was wondering if you would like some more company?"

"You aren't intruding. Come here."

Elizabeth sat down and grabbed Jack's hand, intertwining their fingers. "Happy Anniversary, Jack."

"Happy anniversary, Elizabeth."

"Thank you, Love."

"For what?"

"Everything you give me and do for me. For beautiful Maddie. For the last year."

"I definitely should thank you then. You make my life so exciting and full of love. When I met you, I had no idea what I was in for or that I could possibly love someone as much as I love you. I am so incredibly grateful for our life together."

She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "I can't wait for tonight, Jack."

"I hope I don't disappoint you. I am not that good at romantic stuff."

"You could never disappoint me, Jack, and you are very romantic. I don't care if you had help, our first date was so romantic. I didn't want it to end. Since then, you have outdone yourself many times. Think about our wedding night. That was incredibly romantic."

"It was, I have to admit. Kinda scary too."

"True, but it quickly went from kinda scary to amazing."

"Yes it did." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, so much." Maddie started making noises like she was hungry. Jack handed her to Elizabeth, kissing them both goodbye to do his rounds.

"Hi, sweetie…are you hungry?" As she fed Maddie on the porch swing, Jack left, promising to be back soon. Elizabeth enjoyed the time, just her and her daughter, swinging in the beautiful summer weather.

After lunch, Jack walked Elizabeth and Maddie to town to stay with Abigail so he could get ready for their evening. He was excited. Hopefully everything would go perfectly. "See you later, Honey," he said with a kiss goodbye.

"I'll be there." She walked in the side door to Abigail's. "Hi, Abigail."

"Hi there. How's Maddie and Elizabeth this afternoon?"

"We're great. Apparently Jack has something planned for our anniversary."

"Oh?" she asked innocently.

"I know you know and helped. He told me."

"I wanted to help, but I had second thoughts about it. I'm glad it worked out."

"Me too. I thought he forgot our anniversary."

"Elizabeth, that man could never forget something like that. He's not like most men."

"Very true. That's one reason I love him so much."

"Do you want some tea?"

"Sure. I'll get it. You can hold Maddie." Abigail reached out and took her just as Charlotte walked in the door.

"Hi Charlotte! How are you?"

"Just fine, dear. How's my lovely daughter and granddaughter?"

"Perfect. Do you want to join us for some tea?"

"I do. I'm kind of on my own today. Bill is out of town." Elizabeth looked down and something shiny caught her eye. Charlotte had a beautiful emerald ring on her right ring finger. She had never noticed that before. She would ask her about it later.

"So how are things going with you and Bill, Charlotte?" Abigail asked.

"Great," she said with a big smile.

"Charlotte, I'm so happy for you," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you, dear. So am I."

"Would you like to hold Maddie?" Abigail asked. "I'm going to go help Clara out front."

"Yes, I would." She took her from Abigail. "Wow, Sweetheart. You are growing so fast."

"She is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night, which is great for me and Jack. He wakes up every time she cries so he's not getting enough sleep. He doesn't complain though."

"He loves you both so much. He told me about getting up with her in the morning so you could sleep longer."

"I have to agree. He rocks her and talks to her every morning. She is so content and happy. Doesn't make a sound. I don't sleep though. I listen to him tell her stories and tell her how beautiful she is. He's so in love with his daughter. He enjoys their time as much as she seems to. I'm almost jealous."

"Well today's your anniversary, right? I'm sure you'll get some time with him, right?"

"That's the plan. He's got something up his sleeve."

"There's something upstairs for you from Jack, Elizabeth. It's about time for you to go see what it is," Abigail said as she walked back in the room.

"Oh, I forgot about that. I guess I will go see." Elizabeth walked up the stairs to her old room. On the bed was a beautiful dark blue dress with gold colored overlay. It was amazing, but Elizabeth doubted it would fit. "Don't quite have my body back yet." There was also a pair of new shoes sitting next to the dress and an envelope from Jack. She opened the envelope and started reading.

"Dear Elizabeth.

Happy Anniversary, my beautiful wife. I look back at the past four years of knowing you and I'm so grateful that you chose me and married me. Every morning I hold our incredible daughter and she reminds me of how much I love you and need you in my life. I would be truly lost without you.

Thank you for being my best friend and the person I love more than anyone else. Thank you for believing in me and supporting me when times have been hard. Most of all, thank you for bringing our amazing Madilyn Elizabeth safely into our lives. She represents the best parts of us and our love for each other.

I love you both with all of my heart and nothing will ever change that.

Yours forever,

Jack

Elizabeth dried the tears from her eyes and tried the dress on. It fit perfectly. "Oh my. How did this fit?" She grabbed the note from Jack and her shoes and went downstairs.

"Oh Elizabeth, you look wonderful. Jack will be speechless."

"Thank you. I still don't understand how it fits me but, it is a lovely dress."

"Clara made it. Jack talked to her last week about it and she finished last night."

"Well, Mrs. Thornton, it is about time for you and Maddie to leave for home."

"Ok, thank you Abigail. It was good to see you Charlotte."

"You too, dear. Enjoy your evening."

"We will." She took Maddie from Charlotte and grabbed her things and walked out the door. She gasped. Standing out front was a carriage. It was actually Lee and Rosemary's sleigh, but on wheels, pulled by two beautiful horses. Inside was her very handsome husband in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. When he saw her walk out, he jumped down to greet her.

"Good evening, Sweetheart."

"Jack. You look very nice."

"You look absolutely gorgeous." He kissed her hand and held it as he helped her into the carriage.

As they traveled home, Elizabeth said, "Thank you for the dress, Love and the note. How did you know what size to tell Clara? I'm definitely not the same size as I used to be."

"I guessed. Plus I spend enough time with my arms wrapped around you, I could come pretty close."

"Very funny."

When they arrived home, Jack helped Elizabeth and Maddie out of the carriage. Lee showed up from around the corner of the house to drive his carriage home. "Thanks Lee."

"You're welcome, have a great night."

Jack took Elizabeth's hand and led her up the steps to the front door. "Welcome home, Honey." He opened the door and Elizabeth couldn't believe it.

"Jack, this is so beautiful. You say you aren't romantic, but…wow."

He had set up candles everywhere, casting a hazy glow on everything. There were roses on the table and music playing. The table was set beautifully with crystal wine glasses and china, she was sure he borrowed from Abigail. He built a fire in the fireplace and cooked dinner, which was ready on the table. He also had moved Maddie's cradle by the fireplace so she could be close while they ate.

"You outdid yourself, Constable."

"The night's not over yet."

"Well, hold that thought because I need to change Maddie and feed her. Then maybe we can have some time alone." When she came back, she put Maddie in the cradle and walked over to Jack. "Hi."

"Hey. Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?"

"I think your word was gorgeous, but thank you."

"Will you dance with me?" He held out his arms and she walked right into them, holding him close, enjoying his aftershave.

"You smell so good." She recognized the song as the song playing from their first date.

When they sat down to dinner, she realized that it was the exact meal they had on their first date. Hmmm. There was a theme going on here.

"Sweetie. Are you recreating our first date?"

"Trying to, although, I'm hoping for a bit more than a kiss on the cheek at the end of our date."

She smiled at him. "Oh, don't worry."

After dinner, Jack left her on the couch for a moment while he went to get her gift. He came back with a small package. She opened it and looked up at Jack. "I loved this." She was speechless after that for a moment. It was a silver ring with a heart shaped sapphire and a tiny diamond on either side. "You didn't have to do this Jack. When I saw it at the shop in San Francisco, I didn't expect you to buy it."

"I know you didn't expect it. That's why it's called a surprise. I could see how much you loved it, so when you were sleeping one morning, I slipped out and bought it for you." He pulled it out of the box and placed it on her right ring finger.

"Its beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it. To me it fits our lives right now. The three of us, together, a family."

"Yes, it does. Stronger together."

"I'm going to do the dishes, why don't you just sit here and relax."

"Actually I'm going to go change. I'll be right back." She went to their room and in the dresser under some other items, she found her new nightgown. She also had Clara make this. It was a knee length, white nightgown, silk with lace around the bodice and hem and thin straps over the shoulders. Then she had a lace robe to wear over it. She liked the way it looked on her, accentuating her new curves, thanks to Maddie. She was positive Jack would love it.

She walked back into the kitchen and Jack had his back turned, washing the dishes. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "Hi, almost done?"

"Almost." He grabbed a towel and dried his hands and turned around. "This is new. It's very nice," he said referring to her robe.

"I had Clara make it. I think she did a good job."

"Remind me to thank her." He winked at her, as he moved the robe slowly off her shoulders and down her arms, placing it on the back of the chair. Then he grabbed her hands and pulled her over to the couch. "I'll do the dishes later." He inched closer to her, playing with her hair, staring at her. He gave her goosebumps and butterflies all at the same time. He leaned forward and kissed her, lingering. She put her hand on his neck, pulling him closer. Then Maddie let out a whimper, begging to have some attention. They reluctantly broke apart, hoping she would quiet herself, but then she started crying.

"I'll get her," Jack offered. "I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"She just needs a diaper change," he said as he walked in the room, put the cradle back in its spot and picked her up to change her.

"Ok." Elizabeth waited patiently as Jack changed her and put her back in her bed.

"We should be good for awhile." He changed out of his dress clothes and slipped into bed next to Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Love. For everything tonight. You did a wonderful job with dinner and the gifts." She scooted closer to him and kissed him.

"Thank you for marrying me, Elizabeth."