For anyone who was devastated, hurt, angered, or saddened by the season 5 finale, this unusual and fun story is for you. There's no reason that Jack's TV "death" has to be the end of Jack. This humorous story takes up where the TV finale left off, but it takes it in a way Hallmark wouldn't dare.

JACK'S NOT LEAVING

Chapter 1 – THE ENCOUNTER

Elizabeth had been back in town a week and was still finding it hard to go more than an hour without crying. Everything reminded her of Jack. She couldn't look at anything which was the color red without remembering his woolen Mountie jacket. Horses reminded her of Jack riding. Bacon and eggs reminded her of the first breakfast he had cooked for her as a married couple. Even pencils brought her to tears as they reminded her of his talent for drawing

She absent-mindedly swung the basket in her arms as she made her way back from the Colton farm where she had purchased two small bottles of milk. Now that she was pregnant, she intended to drink plenty of the nutritious white liquid. She couldn't bring Jack back but she was determined to make sure that he had a strong healthy son or daughter.

Mr. Yost from the mercantile had told her that he'd be happy to drop off the glass milk bottles at her home every day or set aside some for her to pick up after her school days, but Elizabeth wanted to walk. She needed to walk.

The two-mile distance to the Colton's place allowed her to be alone. Alone with her feelings.

Today, Abigail had offered to join her, but Elizabeth had politely declined. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts of Jack.

Since Jack's death, the only time Elizabeth was not feeling pain was when she was asleep. And even then the horror of Jack's death sometimes invaded her. But not this morning. Despair hadn't descended on her this morning. Something else did. Bafflement.

It was so strange. This morning.

She had been in that place – somewhere between sleep and consciousness – when she heard it. A sigh.

That's all it was. A simple sigh.

Except there it seemed to be coming from the pillow next to where her head was lying.

Elizabeth had opened her eyes in a start and turned her head, but no one was there.

Jack's pillow was empty.

She would have started crying if she hadn't been so perplexed.

She stared at the pillow in puzzlement.

It had seen so real. Jack's sigh. If she had to describe it, she would say it was a sigh of temporary resignation. Not a sigh by someone who was totally giving up on something. Just a sigh of someone who knew that they would try again later. And keep trying and trying until they got whatever they were trying to do right.

The bark of a dog caused Elizabeth to stopping thinking of this morning and look to her right.

Oh, not Mrs. Clancy. I really don't feel like talking to anyone. She's just going to pity me, Elizabeth thought with a frown when she saw the middle-aged woman sitting atop a horse riding her in direction. The dog that had caught Elizabeth's attention was padding next to the larger animal.

Suddenly the horse jerked its head and took off at a trot, surprising Mrs. Clancy who held tight to the reins as her horse refused to listen to her commands.

Elizabeth had no idea what had caused the horse to suddenly change directions and ride away from her, but she smiled slightly as the woman disappeared from her view. Good riddance.

Elizabeth was still a mile from home when she slowed her walk. She didn't want to go home to her empty house. Even though Jack and she had lived together in the home for less than a week, it had been their home.

"Watch it. Step to the right!" the man's voice warned her.

Elizabeth quickly did as she had been ordered, and almost immediately saw a large brown snake slithering where her foot would have next stepped if she hadn't heeded the warning.

"That was close. Thanks," she replied in relief at avoiding the dangerous reptile. "That could have been disastrous."

Suddenly she stopped and swirled around. Her eyes grew wide in shock. She saw the tall grass. The trees at the edge of the woods. The town's buildings in the distance.

But there was no one around her.

She was alone in a field.

But she had distinctly heard the voice.

The voice which had warned her of danger.

Jack's voice.

She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from gasping.

I'm going crazy.

Am I?

That was Jack's voice.

She turned around again. Looking at nothing but nature.

I know I heard him! Just like I heard his sigh this morning!

"Jack?" she whispered hesitantly.

"Did you hear me?" came a surprised response. The voice sounded even more in disbelief than she had been at hearing it.

Elizabeth dropped her basket in shock and stood frozen in place.

"Hey, you dropped your basket. I think you may have cracked a bottle," Jack's voice moved through the air.

"You're here!" she gasped.

"You can hear me!" the voice said in astonishment. "I've been trying for ages. It took me a while to figure out what was going on."

"Where are you?" Elizabeth exhaled as she stood with her feet seemingly frozen in place.

"Two feet away from you. I guess you can't see me. I'll work on that."

"You're here?"

"In front of you. You look tired, by the way. Not that I'm criticizing but you haven't been sleeping well."

"Am I going crazy?" Elizabeth's knees felt weak and she lowered herself to the ground. Not caring that she might get dirt or grass stains on her skirt. "You're dead and I'm going crazy."

"No, you're not going crazy," Jack answered dismissively. "Yeah, apparently I'm dead. Man, didn't see that one coming. But you're not crazy. I'm here. I think I'm a ghost."

"I think I'm going crazy", Elizabeth mumbled again. I've been thinking of Jack so much that I've started to imagine him.

Maybe it's heat stroke.

Elizabeth put her palm to her forehead and felt her skin. Not too hot.

Maybe I'm dreaming. I fell asleep and I'm dreaming. That's it.

She quickly pinched her skin and felt the pain. Don't be stupid. Why would I fall asleep while I'm walking?!

Maybe I'm dehydrated, she thought quickly. Yes, that must be it. I'm hallucinating because I'm dehydrated.

Elizabeth picked up the unbroken glass bottle and quickly removed the top. Chugging the milk as quickly as she could, she didn't care that she was acting terribly unladylike.

She decided she would sit for another minute to rest after finishing the bottle. Then she'd go home and straight to bed. Bed. That's what I need. A good sleep. I should have had Mrs. Clancy give me a ride. I just need to re-hydrate and get a good night's sleep.

She took a final swig from the bottle.

"You got some milk on your chin," Jack noted helpfully.

The bottle fell from Elizabeth's hand when she heard his voice. Milk splattered across her skirt.

"Are you real?" she whispered loudly.

"Yep."

"But you can't be."

"Why not?"

"Because –"

She faltered. Why not? It was a good question. She never thought that he would die so soon after their marriage and yet he had. So why couldn't he be a ghost? At this point, nothing should surprise her.

"Because I can't see you. And ghosts aren't real", she attempted to explain weakly.

"Our love was real. We couldn't see it. We couldn't hold it in our hands. But it was real. It was there. You can't see me -not yet. And you can't hold me. But I'm real. . . . At first, I thought that maybe I was an angel, but nah, don't think so," Jack continued pensively. "No wings."

"I can hear you just like you're really here," she said in wonder.

"Finally!" he said with satisfaction. "I thought I'd never get through to you. It was easy to get that horse to do what I wanted, but I guess humans are harder to get through to. I told myself this morning that I wasn't going to give up no matter how long it took."

"Were you in bed with me this morning?" a still shocked Elizabeth asked as she thought back to the sigh to which she had awoken.

"I was. I've been keeping an eye on you. Since I figured out how to move from place to place. And I wanted to be with you. I missed you. By the way, the nightgown you wore last night – kind of boring."

"I'm a widow! I'm in mourning! There's no one for me to be sexy for!" an insulted Elizabeth protested.

Jack shrugged but Elizabeth couldn't see him. She did, however, hear the pleasure in his voice when he spoke again. "I like the white one you wore on our honeymoon. And the silky blue one."

Elizabeth smiled and for a moment she forgot that she was talking to a ghost. "I'll wear it tonight."

"When you wore it on the second night of our honeymoon trip, I thought I had won the lottery. Man, that was a great night."

Elizabeth giggled. "You were quite impressive, and I seem to remember that I wasn't wearing it for very long. Somehow you managed to slip it off me quite easily."

"That's why I like it so much," Jack answered with an unseen grin. He looked at his wife and was happy to see her smile. A real smile that came from her whole body. The first in weeks.

"We should get you home. It's going to get dark soon."

Elizabeth didn't stand up as she suddenly grew worried.

"Jack, why are you here? If you're really here and I'm not just imagining this."

"I'm here because I love you. And you love me. And death can't part us," he said seriously.

"At least I think that's it," he added with a shrug.

"How long are you going to stay with me? Can you stay forever? Please?" she pleaded in the direction of his voice. "I have missed you so much."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere. This is where I belong. With you. Besides, we're having a baby."

"You know about the baby?! How?!"

Jack smiled broadly. "I've been following you around. And yeah, I know about the baby," he said proudly. "Pretty good, huh? We're going to have a baby. That was some honeymoon."

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

"I'm a ghost, not a fortune teller," Jack said with a laugh.

The couple sat in the grass for close to an hour as the sun set. Each one telling the other about what they had been through. How much they loved each other.

Jack's memory of the first days after his demise were somewhat muddled. As far as he could tell, the longer he was determined to stay with Elizbeth and find a way to communicate with her, the stronger he became.

"Was it bad?" she asked meekly. "The landslide?"

"Not really. It all happened really quickly. The last thing I remember is seeing some ugly bird fly by me. Nasty screeching thing. I'm sorry you had to go through everything."

"You're here now. That's what counts. And you'll be here for the baby?" she asked anxiously. "Please please be here for the baby."

"I'll be here for baby. I promise. But, it's dark. Someone's bound to notice you're missing and come looking for you. It's time to get home."

"I don't have a lantern," Elizabeth lamented with a frown.

"Not needed. The good thing about being a ghost is apparently we have great eyesight. I'll make sure you're okay."

Elizabeth shook her head in mild amusement. "You're really taking to this whole ghost thing. I, on the other hand, still think I've gone off the deep end."

Jack chuckled. "You haven't gone off the deep end. But you're the only person that's been able to hear me. We should probably not have too many conversations in public or people will think that your mourning has turned into some kind of serious mental illness."

"I wish I could see you," Elizabeth told him as they continued walking.

"I'm working on that."

Up next: Chapter 2.