(Thank you for all your reviews so far. they help me to carry on although daily life is really busy.
In one or the other chapter I will start to use a few known Jisa-HL scenes. So: I don't own anything that was shown or spoken in any of those episodes. It just helps me to put this story together.)

Chapter 10

The landscaped looked the same.
Well, everything was covered in white fluffy snow but basically everything was just the same.
That was good.
Jack liked that at least something hasn't changed, although it felt like his whole life had turned upside down since the heart attack. He didn't feel the same anymore. He felt older and fragile.
His body felt unfamiliar to him. Looking down at those pale and hospital-clean hands was like looking at the hands of a dead body. The first thing he needed to do when coming back home was to get at least some dirt on his hands. He wanted to feel the earth, the dust, the straw and hay, the hair of the horses and the wet noses of his cows beneath his fingers. He needed to feel his muscles working when lifting a saddle or the pitchfork. He wanted to feel the cold fresh air blowing in his face while riding across his property and filling his lungs with new life. He was longing to feel more like Jack Bartlett again. The hospital stay had changed him in a way he didn't like at all and it was time to turn back into the person he used to be.
Lou's car turned on the next intersection. They hadn't talked a lot during the drive. The atmosphere was awkward and Jack sensed that the heart attack hadn't only changed him but also the family. They weren't home yet, but he knew it. He knew what to expect and he couldn't blame them. He blamed himself. He hated himself for what happened and what it did to them. To his family. Maybe it was the wrong time to return home.
Jack kept his eyes on the street, unable to look at Lou who seemed very tired and exhausted herself. She talked with Peter on the phone once, checking if Katie was napping alright and if Georgie had finished her homework before taking Phoenix out for a ride with Amy. During one of their visits they had told him that Georgie's brother agreed that it was not such a good idea to take Georgie with him. The little girl was staying at Heartland and that was something that caused a great relief in Jack. He liked that girl. She was more to him. Like someone who belonged to the family and he knew that Georgie felt the same. After going back and forth and from family to family she wanted to finally come home to a place where she could settle down. Georgie chose Heartland and Heartland chose her. Jack knew that from the beginning which was the reason why he stood up for that young stranger girl. Luckily Lou seemed to feel the same way about her and supported her grandfather in his plans to keep the girl at Heartland.
He was grateful to own a place that felt like home to so many people. That people liked to come there. It wasn't just Lou who returned from New York after her mother's death, even for Ty and Mallory Heartland was home. For Lisa, too. To some extent. She had always been the one who was up and about and traveling over the whole planet, her feet never standing still. Yet, she loved to spend her time at his place. Maybe she wouldn't call it home just yet but it had given her a feeling of what a home felt like. A home and a family. Jack knew that she was a family person behind her mask of a committed business woman and he wanted her to become part of his family. But somehow everything went down a completely different road than he had planed. He never wanted her to leave. He never wanted them breaking up. He still loved her when she sat at his kitchen table telling him that they should take a break and he still loved her when she left after helping out when Lou and Peter's place burnt down. And he still loved her now. After a few months of separation. He wasn't completely sure but something told him that she as well never stopped loving him. Yet, they were apart. Jack didn't know what exactly had moved between them which made him uncertain about how to fix it. If she wants to come back to close the gap between them then he should be more prepared, shouldn't he? For that he needed to understand what drove them apart in the first place.
Jack's thoughts moved back to the conversation they had after their argument up at the field when something in the distance caught his eye. No, it wasn't as if it was very conspicuous but his eyes automatically landed on the object that came closer with every meter the car drove down the road. Jack knew this corner as well as he knew all the way from the hospital to Heartland. It was the corner where several mailboxes stood that belonged to the the many ranchers around here. Next to the them parked an all too familiar Porsche of an anthracite color. Its owner stood by the mailboxes looking through the letters she held in her hand.
Lisa.
Although he couldn't see her face, he knew that it was her.
It was her.
She was here.
Back from France and right there. On his way back home. This couldn't be coincidence. This was destiny itself. He needed to grab the chance. Maybe it was his last one.
"Lou. Stop the car.", he demanded and watched as they approached what he was aiming at. Lou hadn't noticed yet.
"What? Why?" She followed his glance and saw the reason for his sudden excitement. Lou didn't like what she saw. It was the last thing she could use right now. Her grandfather and Lisa meeting right here. In the middle of like nowhere. And all of this after she tried so hard to keep her grandfather safe.
"Er, no lets just go home. Katie is goi-"
"STOP THE CAR. NOW!", he bellowed at her angrily, his eyes never leaving the woman that still hadn't noticed them yet.
With a convulsed face Lou slowed down and came to a halt behind the Porsche. This caught Lisa's attention and she finally looked up. Her face slowly changing into a staggered expression as she started to recognize them.
Jack reached for the handle of the car, pushing the door open, when Lou's hand landed on his arm, trying to hold him back.
"Grandpa, it's too cold. Let's go ho-", but he didn't listen to her, freed himself from her viselike grip and got out of the car. His eyes interlocked immediately with Lisa's. The ice-blue sparkle send a shiver down his spine and forgotten was all the pain and all the worries of the last few days. His heart lit up and lightness spread through his body making him feel complete again. All of this happened so suddenly that it left him nearly speechless.
"Hi Lisa.", was the only thing he could say. Her sudden appearance and well-known beauty took his breath away. Her hair was dyed in a dark brown color now which suited her well but let her appear a bit less lively. In fact she seemed somewhat crestfallen and it made him wonder what caused it. She used to be the spark in the darkness but now it was like darkness had taken her all in. Nevertheless, her lovely features were still remarkable and reminded him of what he had lost. Her. His sparkle in the darkness.
"Hi.", was her only response, her voice sweet as honey yet quiet and cautious. Lisa managed a smile, enchained by his stare.
Her breathing faltered.
He noticed.
She did that. She did that whenever she was unconfident and uncertain about something. Or when she couldn't handle all the emotions that were rumbling through her body. He used to help her in such moments, trying to bring her back on safe ground.
"I thought you were in France." Jack tried to relax the thickening atmosphere between them but bringing up France was probably not such a good idea.
The opening of the car door behind him as Lou got out as well didn't distract him. Yet Lisa cringed a bit and her eyes switched between him and the young woman that walked up to them with a determined expression.
"I was, I was. Well, I am here now.". A nervous laugh escaped her mouth.
"I see that." His hands wandered into the pockets of his jeans. "How long have you been here?"
"Ehh, a few days. A week I guess? A bit more than a week.", she shrugged and looked at Lou again who had been standing behind her grandfather but stepped up next to him now.
"Grandpa. It's too cold for you out here. C'mon." His coat hung above her arm as she pulled gently on his shoulder towards the car.
Lisa could tell that it wasn't just an uncomfortable situation for Jack and her but Lou as well. She had a hard time dealing with the fact that they unexpectedly bumped into each other, after she had managed to keep Lisa away for the entire time. It made Lisa angry again. Angry that not even now Lou was giving them some time and space but still tried to end the encounter. They needed the talk but how was this going to happen when there was no chance for it? Lisa knew that this wasn't the right time nor the right place to start fighting. Jack didn't look too well. He needed rest instead of two women arguing. So she chose to back out. It was better this way.
"Don't worry Lou. I was already on my way." Her voice suddenly so cold and distant, her eyes sending out the same.
Before heading back to her car, she turned to Jack one more time, for a brief moment hesitating as their eyes melted together for yet another time.
"It was very nice seeing you again, Jack."
Despite the timid smile, he noticed the crack in her voice and believed to see tears glimmering in her eyes. Then she turned on her heels and walked off.
"Lis-"
But it was too late. She was already in her car, starting the engine and driving off, down the road. The Porsche vanishing behind the next corner.
What was that?
What did just happen?
Why did she leave like this?
What had he done wrong?
"Grandpa, let's go now.", Lou interrupted his thoughts and this time guided him back to the car. As she pulled at his arm and his hand slipped out his pocket, the folded sheet of paper that had been hiding there fell to the ground.
Jack noticed from the corner of his eye and stopped to bend down and pick it up.
Of course. The unfinished letter he started at the hospital.
It was a sign.
A sign that this chance wasn't over yet. They just needed to give it another try. Jack wanted to and he hoped that Lisa did, too.
"Do you have a pen?", he asked his granddaughter who already sat in her car again, ready to go home.
"What? Er, yeah.", she rummaged through her purse and gave him one.
Quickly he wrote a note on the paper, before Lou could ask any more questions.

Sunday, 4 pm?
-Jack

Without another thought, he walked back and put it into Lisa's mailbox.
He could've called her when they arrived home, but after that encounter, Jack wasn't quite sure how she felt about him. He didn't want to push her but give her enough time to think about meeting him once more.
While still standing by the mailboxes, Jack suddenly felt the nausea rising in his stomach. All of this just had been too much for him. With shaky legs he made his way back to the car where he eased himself heavily onto the seat, leaning his head against the headrest and closing his eyes.
Lou looked at him with a worried expression.
"Grandpa-"
"Let's just go home", he returned, not open for any more discussions.