Rosemary lowered Lorelei into her seat at the table. "Jack, when do you leave?"

"Friday morning, but I won't actually get to Oxford until about mid-morning Saturday."

"I keep telling Rosie I'll take her there someday, show her our old haunts."

Jack laughed and pulled out a chair for Elizabeth. "Old haunts? We were only there for a month, and we spent most of our time in class or in museums."

"What, you didn't go to any parties?" Rosie eyed them both.

"There was that trivia night in the pub. That was fun." Jack took a seat beside Elizabeth.

"Only because you won."

Jack smirked. "I did. Didn't I?"

"Oh, don't forget karaoke night."

Rosemary set a platter of food in the center of the table. "Leland Coulter! We've been together for almost seven years, and I'm just now learning you've done karaoke before?"

Elizabeth took a sip of water, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Correction: I failed at karaoke."

"What kar-ee-o?" Lorelei looked up at her parents curiously.

"What's karaoke? It's singing."

"Daddy sing!"

Lee laughed. "Not now, baby. Maybe before bed time, when everyone else is gone." He winked at Elizabeth and Jack. "Now, let's eat."

...

"So, you did karaoke before? Did you sing any Taylor Swift?"

He rolled his eyes playfully. "No, and I know what your next question is and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sing."

"Oh, come on. Please? Not even for your pregnant best friend?" She rested her hands on her stomach and tried to muster her best pleading look.

"Nope. Not even for you."

"If not for me, then do it for Micah."

"How about this? I will sing for Micah after he's born."

She grinned. "I'm going to hold you to that."

He glanced over at her. "Pat sang karaoke while we were there, too."

"And you lived to tell the tale?" She chuckled. "He was a horrible singer."

"That he was," Jack laughed. "I might have a video saved on my computer. I'll have to see if I can find it."

"He would be so mad if he knew you filmed that."

"Yeah." He sighed. "Now, I'm glad I did, though."

"I know exactly what you mean. I'm glad I have pictures and videos to show to Micah." She looked down at her stomach as the baby rolled, a bulge moving across her stomach where his foot was pressing. "I can't believe it'll only be a couple more months before he's here."

"How much longer?"

"Eleven weeks, give or take a few."

He parked the car in her driveway and turned toward her. "Wow, by the time I get back, it'll be less than two months."

She laughed softly. "You might not recognize me when you get back. He's supposed to start growing like crazy from now until I deliver. I'll probably be huge."

"I can't imagine you'll get that big in just three weeks."

She shrugged. "You never know."

"I'll walk you to your door."

"You don't have to do that." She reached over to open the car door.

"I won't see you for three weeks. Indulge me, please." He gave her a crooked smile.

"Alright."

He walked around to her side of the car and offered his hand to help her out. When they reached the porch, he pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks for the ride tonight."

"You're welcome." He pressed his lips to her forehead, just lightly, before pulling away. "I'll see you when I get back."

"Have fun. Let me know when you arrive, so I know you got there safely."

"Okay, mom," he replied sarcastically. "I'll text you when I can."

She lowered her voice. "I'll miss you, Jack."

"I'll miss you, too." He kissed her forehead once more. "See you soon."

She shut the door softly then watched through the window as he walked to his car, wondering why it felt like he wanted to say more than just 'I miss you.' For a moment, it almost felt like he was about to say, 'I love you.'

She sighed and dropped a hand to her stomach. "Well Micah, how about we take a nice bath and go to bed early?"

...

Elizabeth woke up early Saturday morning, missing Patrick more than she had in a while. She sighed and slid out of bed, quickly changing out of her pajamas.

Half an hour later, she found herself sitting in the grass beside Patrick's grave.

"Hi, Pat. I miss you so much today. I miss you so much it hurts, even after six months. Goodness, how has it been six months? And it's been a month since I last came here. I don't know how that happened." She set the bouquet of flowers in front of the stone bearing his name. "Maybe I'm moving on. I don't know. Part of me doesn't ever want to move on. I loved you, Pat. I'll always love you."

She heaved a sigh.

"I just hate that you aren't here with me, that you don't get to see me carrying our son." She drew her hand across her stomach. "He's getting so big. I can't believe we're only two months away from meeting him. I'll bring him here to visit, I promise."

She sat in silence for a few moments, watching the sun creep higher in the sky.

"It's July 4th. Tonight won't be the same without you. Jack won't be there, either. He's teaching a class in Oxford. I'm sure it's bringing back a lot of memories for him of when he went there with you and Lee. I know he comes here and talks to you, too. Does he ever talk about me? I still don't know what to do about his having feelings for me. Everything's just so confusing. I don't know if my feelings for him have changed. I enjoy spending time with him, but that's always been true. And I'm so glad that Micah will have him in his life. If he can't have you, Jack is the next best thing, right?" She groaned. "I wish you could tell me what to do. And I know that's a silly thing to wish, because if you could, there would be nothing to do."

She threaded her fingers through the grass.

"I just miss you, Pat. Life isn't the same without you."

...

When Elizabeth returned home, she unlocked her phone and found multiple texts from Jack.

J: "Just landed at Heathrow. About to spend forever in line to go through customs."

J: "Just realized I'll miss the big Coulter 4th of July celebration. Now I'm bummed."

J: "Waiting for the bus to Oxford. Have I mentioned how glad I am that I don't have to use public transportation in Norman?"

J: "Made it to Oxford. This city hasn't changed at all. You need to visit sometime."

J: "Still no deer in the deer park. What a rip off."

J: "About to go walk around for a while. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures."

Elizabeth chuckled and sent a quick text back, letting him know that she was glad he made it safely.

...

Jack walked down High Street, relishing the feel of the sun on his face. He stopped on Magdalen Bridge, watching the punts move lazily down the river. He smiled, thinking back to the time he had gone punting with Lee and Patrick.

A few of the students at Brasenose had urged them to go punting before they went back home. So, their last weekend there, the three of them headed down to the river beside Magdalen College.

They stood beside the small boat, debating who would be in charge of the pole, until Patrick just hopped into the boat and took a seat

"Now it's between two. We can flip a coin or something." He fished around in his pocket for a coin, finding a 2p coin. "Loser has to steer. Someone call it."

"Heads," Lee called when the coin was in the air.

Patrick moved his hand away. "It's heads. Sorry, Jack."

"Ha." Lee took a seat on the other side of the boat.

Jack grabbed the pole and took his spot at the end of the boat. It took him a while to get the hang of steering, but soon, they were moving further away from the boathouse.

They lucked out, and there weren't many others on the river.

Jack felt at peace as he propelled them down the river and through the trees. The water lapped quietly at the sides of the punt.

"You know, if we had girls here, this could be pretty romantic."

Jack laughed. "How do you think Rosie would react if you said, 'hey honey, let's go punting'?"

"Well, there's no way I'd word it like that," Lee replied. "I'd probably call it a 'quiet boat ride' or something."

Patrick shook his head and laughed. "You are a patient man, brother."

"Hey, someday you'll find someone, and you'll put up with an awful lot because you love her so much that not being with her would be a million times worse than any of her quirks."

Little did Patrick know, he would meet Elizabeth just a few years later and fall head-over-heels in love with her.

...

Jack called Elizabeth the following evening just to talk.

She told him about the 4th of July celebration and how Lorelei decided she no longer liked fireworks.

He told her about Oxford and some of the memories he had of when he was there with Patrick and Lee.

Over the next couple of weeks, they continued to text each other nearly every day, and Jack called her a second time during his final weekend away, telling her about the day trip he had taken his class on to London.

"So, your class was about Jack the Ripper, but you took them to the British Museum?"

He chuckled. "I know it's a stretch, but Jack the Ripper is part of British history. Really, it's just a cool museum, and I wanted my students to go there."

Elizabeth started laughing. "I just realized: Jack the Professor taught a class about Jack the Ripper."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised none of my students came up with that."

"They'd never call you anything but Dr. Thornton. They're all scared of you."

"Good," he laughed.

"You'll be back next Saturday, right?"

"Yes. Hopefully in the afternoon if neither of my flights gets delayed."

"Good. It's been weird without you here. Lorelei asked about you a few times at church."

"I miss all of you guys." Mostly you, he wanted to add. "It's been a fun trip, but I'm definitely ready to be back."

...

Elizabeth stepped into the room and took in all the balloons and decorations and snacks. "Wow, Rosie, you really went all out."

She waved her hands as if it was nothing. "It's your first baby. That's a good reason for celebration."

Shortly after Elizabeth arrived, guests started streaming in: some of their friends from church, some of her coworkers, Charlotte Thornton, and Patrick's mother, Marie. Elizabeth's mom and sisters had been unable to make the trip, but they had sent many gifts for baby Micah a few weeks before.

Elizabeth broke down when Marie arrived and pulled her into a hug. Though they spoke every couple of weeks, they hadn't seen each other since the funeral. They stood off to the side and took a moment to catch up, with Elizabeth updating her on everything to do with the baby.

At Elizabeth's insistence, they didn't play any baby shower games. They just chatted, ate snacks, and watched Elizabeth open gifts. She received more clothes than Micah could ever need, lots of toys and blankets, pacifiers, bottles, and books. Aside from furniture, a stroller, and a car seat, there was very little that Elizabeth would have to buy for her son.

Once all the guests left, Elizabeth and Rosemary moved to the kitchen and sat at the table.

"Rosie, I know it's still a couple of months away, but would you be there with me when Micah is born? In the room, I mean. My mom will be in there, but I'd like you to be in there, too."

"Of course." She squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "I would love to be there. Oh! I almost forgot."

Rosemary jumped up from the table and left the room. Elizabeth sat there, confused, wondering if she should follow.

"There's one more gift." She set a small package on the table in front of Elizabeth. "It doesn't have a card with it, but it's from Lee and Jack. They asked me to give it to you after everyone else was gone."

"Why make me wait?"

"Just open it." She nudged the gift toward her.

Elizabeth looked at her curiously before peeling away the paper to reveal a book. Other friends had brought different children's books as gifts, but this one was different. As she flipped through it, she was confronted by pictures of Patrick throughout his life, each with a short caption or story describing it.

Rosemary gently pushed a box of Kleenex toward her, and she took one to wipe her eyes.

"I haven't seen some of these." She sniffled.

"Lee asked his parents to send pictures, and Jack got some from Charlotte. This was all their idea. They wanted to give Micah something so he would know Pat."

"It's perfect."

...

Jack wove past a tourist group looking up at the Radcliffe Camera and headed toward Broad Street. He had less than twenty-four hours left in Oxford, and he finally decided what to get for Elizabeth.

He had been struggling to find something for her that was meaningful but not romantic. After all, he was still adamant that she would dictate the progress of their relationship—if she even wanted their relationship to progress past friendship.

He walked into the shop and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He double-checked his phone to make sure he remembered the correct titles before he started perusing the shelves.

He picked up two books for Elizabeth, one for Opal, and one for himself.

When he returned to his room, he packed them in his carry-on, just in case they lost his luggage. He wasn't going to lose her gift.

...

The first thing Jack did when he arrived back at his house was call Elizabeth.

"Well, if it isn't the world traveler. Are you back on American soil?"

"Yes, I am." He opened the back door and followed the puppy out. "I actually just got home."

"Are you exhausted?"

"Very. My connecting flight was delayed, so I didn't get in until two hours after I was supposed to. And then Tom brought Opal to the airport with him, and she talked nonstop on the ride home." He let out a breathy laugh. "She had to tell me every little thing that Luna did while I was gone."

"I bet she's gotten big since you left. Puppies grow so fast."

"She's about double the size she was three weeks ago. What about Micah? You said he'd probably grow a lot, too."

"I can't really tell. It's been so gradual, I haven't really noticed. I feel pretty big, though."

"Well, when I see you tomorrow, I can tell you if you've changed drastically." He chuckled.

"Oh, um," she paused, "I don't think I'll be at church. I haven't been feeling well."

Jack took a seat on the back stoop. "Is everything okay? Is Micah okay?" His voice was full of concern.

"Micah's fine. I just have a cold, but it's making me kind of miserable."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Summer colds are no fun." He absentmindedly scratched the puppy's head when she sat in front of him.

"It could be worse." He heard her sigh. "Well, I should probably let you go so you can unpack or rest or whatever. Thanks for letting me know you got back safely."

"I guess I'll see you Wednesday?"

"Yeah."

"Bye, Beth."

...

Twenty minutes after her phone call with Jack ended, Elizabeth heard a knock at her door. She wrapped herself in her blanket and made her way downstairs.

"Jack?"

"Hi. I brought you some soup."

"You really didn't have to do that, Jack." She opened the door wider to let him in. "You should be relaxing at home."

"Well, I felt bad when you said you were sick. Besides, if I relax, I'll just crash, and then I'll be up at two a.m. It's better that I have something to do to keep me awake." He pulled a small container of soup from the bag he was carrying. "Are you hungry now, or would you like me to put it away for later?"

"I actually haven't eaten dinner yet, so now is good."

"Go lay down on the couch. I've got this." He smiled and motioned for her to stay in the living room.

She did as he said, curling up on the sofa and covering herself with the blanket, trying to convince herself that his coming over had nothing to do with his feelings for her and that he would do this for any of his friends if they were sick.

A few minutes later, he returned, carrying a small bowl, a spoon, and a napkin. "It's chicken and rice. I didn't know if your stomach was upset, so I decided not to risk anything else."

"My stomach's fine, but this is good. Thank you." She sat up slowly and took the soup from him. "I appreciate this, Jack. I really do. But you really didn't have to come all the way over here."

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to."

If she wasn't convinced before that he had feelings for her, she was now.

"Is that…" He reached toward the book on the coffee table. It was the book that he and Lee had made for the baby. "Do you mind? I didn't actually get to see the finished product."

"Go ahead."

She watched him as he flipped through the book, a smile playing on his lips. Suddenly, she found herself thinking about his lips, how they would feel on her own. She silently scolded herself. It's too soon. But maybe after Micah is born… Elizabeth! Stop!

She cleared her throat. "Thank you for that, by the way. I think it's my favorite gift I've gotten for Micah."

He looked up at her, their eyes locking on each other. "I'm glad you like it. I know we can tell him stories about Pat, but Lee and I thought it might be nice to have something to show him, too, and all in one place."

"It really is a good idea. I'll show it to him every day."

They fell silent as he continued thumbing through the pages of the book and she continued eating. It was a pleasant silence. Neither felt compelled to speak; they were simply content to be with each other.

Elizabeth realized that she hadn't felt that way with anybody except Patrick.

"Oh, I got you something from Oxford."

"Jack…"

"It's nothing big, don't worry." He handed her a small paper bag. "I was already there to get something for Opal."

She pulled two books from the bag: Vilette and Sense and Sensibility. A smile played on her lips. "These are two of my favorites. How did you know?"

He shrugged, not wanting to admit that he had asked Rosemary for some recommendations.

"Well, thank you."

"I also brought you a cookie from Ben's. It's in a Ziploc in your kitchen."

"Are those the ones with the huge chunks of chocolate?"

He nodded. "Mhmm."

"You should've told me about that before you gave me the soup."

He chuckled. "Sorry."

An hour later, Jack had fallen asleep on the couch. Elizabeth carefully slipped off his shoes and covered him with a blanket, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs.

...

A/N Almost all of Jack's experiences in Oxford are based on my own experience studying abroad there (aside from the class he taught-I made that up). Go there if you ever have the chance. It's one of my favorite cities in the world!