Chapter 1 of 2 today …

(27/9/2018)

Chapter 14

Jack was lounging on the couch after finishing his dinner, with a beer in his hand. The tv was on but he was channel surfing trying to find something that could hold his attention for more than a minute. As he sat there he heard a rattle at his door and as he glanced over toward it, Elizabeth appeared.

Jack sat up straighter, watching her. She shut the door, dropping all of her things and as she pushed her hair back out of her face he saw her tear stained cheeks.

"Beth? What's wrong?" he said standing up.

She walked straight into his arms which wrapped around her, encapsulating her. He rubbed his hands across her back as her head pressed against his chest.

Elizabeth didn't speak so Jack pulled her down to the couch and she curled up against his chest. Jack didn't push her. He knew it wasn't good and since she was here so early, he assumed it had something to do with her father. He stroked her hair slowly, running it through his fingers. She stayed there, not saying anything.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow? The flights?" she eventually asked.

"Yes. Can't you come anymore?"

"I will be there."

"Do you want to meet me at the hospital? We can grab a cab straight from there after my shift ends at 6 pm."

"Perfect. I'm looking forward to it, Jack."

"I'm looking forward to spending a whole weekend with you too."

Jack was quiet not knowing whether to ask about her dinner plans or not. He decided not to, certain she would share things when she was ready.

"Do you have someone to look after Bell?"

"Yes, Cindi is going to take her for me."

"That's great."

"I know. She is such a lovely girl. I'm lucky I found her" Elizabeth said, her hand ran down his arm slowly. "Did you tell your foster parents that we were coming?"

"Kind of."

Elizabeth pulled back looking down at him. "What does 'kind of' mean?"

"I started to tell them that we were coming, but Frank had to hang up because she was dropping Cody off at a birthday party and I didn't finish my sentence before she hung up."

"You mean they don't know about me?"

"No" Jack spoke quietly.

"Jack!"

"I know, I know. I will text Frank tomorrow and tell him but there is no problem. They will both love you."

Elizabeth looked at him uncertainly to which he just grinned before he kissed her.

Jack didn't mention that this would be the first time he would have brought a woman home with him. He was okay with it. He loved Elizabeth and he knew that part was fine. He just wasn't sure how Frank and Abigail were going to feel about it.

The next day, Elizabeth avoided all phone calls from her family. She had several from her father, two from her mother and even one from Viola. Instead she slept in late, went to the gym, dropped Bell off at Cindi's, packed her overnight bag and then went for a long shower, washing her hair and blow-drying it into loose curls. She took her time doing her makeup and then seeing as she still had over an hour before she had to leave, she sat down and painted her nails.

Not wanting to wait any longer, as soon as her nails were dry, Elizabeth got dressed in dark jeans and a light sweater and once she was happy with how she looked, she called a cab and went downstairs with her small suitcase.

"Are you going away Miss Elizabeth?" Wilson, the doorman, asked.

"Just overnight."

"Where are you off to?"

"I just needed a break for a few days. Have a nice weekend, Wilson" she sung out as she made her way to the cab waiting for her at the curb.

Only moments after Elizabeth's cab pulled away, a black private car with tinted windows stopped outside the apartment complex. William stepped out and headed for the front doors.

"Mr Thatcher, sir. Are you here to see Miss Elizabeth?"

"Of course" William said annoyed.

"Sorry, sir. She just left."

"Did she say where she was going?"

"Just that she was going away for a few days."

"What did she leave in?"

"A cab, sir."

"On her own?"

"Yes, sir."

William huffed and went back to his car. He got in and dialled her number but she let it go to voicemail again.

"Beth. I need to talk to you. Please call me immediately."

William sighed. Elizabeth had always been the most easy going of all of his daughters. Viola was high strung and Julie was a free spirit but always ended up in trouble. Elizabeth was the one he could always count on to be level headed and act rationally.

Now she was acting like a teenager trying to test her boundaries. William didn't quite know what to do about her but he had a feeling that Elizabeth was going to throw everything away … everything he had worked so hard for.

Elizabeth had the cab drop her off at the hospital and she grabbed her bag and found a bench out the front away from the main doors.

She pulled out her phone and texted Jack where she was before she looked through her missed calls. She listened to the voicemail from her father and reluctantly dialled his number.

"Beth! Where are you?"

"I'm going away this weekend."

"Where? Who with?"

"Away with a friend."

A group of men walked passed her at that moment and one of the men yelled out to his friend just as another replied, laughing.

"Who is that?" William asked.

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me, Beth. Are you going away for the weekend with a man?"

Elizabeth liked listening to her father squirm. "Maybe."

"There was more than one voice, Beth."

"Maybe there's more than one guy, Dad."

"Beth, what is going on with you?" he said angrily.

"You can't control my life. I told you that last night. I'm acting like the grown woman that I am. I can use my own judgment when a man takes an interest in me. If he asks me to go away for the weekend with him, why would I say no?"

"Because he could take advantage of you! Men are after two things: money and … you know."

"Sorry, what was the other thing? I didn't quite hear you" she said, with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Money and company."

"Company? Oh well that's good. I can provide company."

"Not that type of company!" he said abruptly.

"Well, what type?"

"Sex! That's what type!"

"Oh …" Elizabeth paused for a moment before replying. "Luckily I can provide that too."

"Elizabeth! Don't even think about that!"

"Think about what, Dad? Sex? It's too late for that. I'm 27 years old. Look, thanks for your concern, but it is not necessary. Have a nice weekend" she said as cheerfully as she could muster before hanging up.

Elizabeth felt bad for a second regarding her father's reaction on the end of the phone but then thinking back to how he had threatened Jack to break up with her, she didn't feel bad anymore.

William sat in his car, exasperated. That phone call really had not gone to plan. He knew she wouldn't answer if she called him back.

Instead he called his wife. Grace picked up immediately.

"Hello, dear. Are you on your way home?"

"I just spoke to Beth. She's going away for the weekend with a man."

"That's nice. Is this a new boyfriend?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me his name."

"Maybe you will like this one."

"I don't think so. She basically said that she's sleeping with him."

"Well, that's her business, dear. I warned you that you were too controlling. She was bound to snap at some point."

"Would you just talk to her?"

"I can try but she's not answering my calls either. If she disappears from our lives, William, you will have no one but yourself to blame. Are you willing to see that happen?"

William was quiet. "She's my baby girl. I just want to make sure she's okay."

"She's not your baby girl. That's Julie. Why Elizabeth? Why are you so obsessed about protecting her more than Viola or Julie?"

"I've told you before. Viola has Lionel now and Julie is essentially a lost cause. Beth has always had the most potential."

"Well, start treating her like that. You're just lucky she didn't find out what you said to Jack. Then she would have really gone crazy."

William hung up the phone and thought about it. Jack. No … he had run like a scared rabbit out of Elizabeth's life. He definitely couldn't be the one that Elizabeth was going away with. William pushed that thought out of his mind.

Jack rushed out of work to find Elizabeth waiting for him.

"Hi baby" he said as he enveloped her in a hug, kissing her lips as he pulled back. "Let's get going so we're not late."

They hailed a cab and spent the 20 minute ride, as close together as possible. Jack grabbed their bags and went straight to the security gate having already checked them in. They boarded quickly and Elizabeth finally relaxed once she was seated on the plane with Jack by her side, his hand in hers.

"Are you excited to go home again?"

"Yes. I went back about two months ago but it will be good to see them again. I'm hoping to spend some time at Christmas here but who knows. If this job works out I might be able to see my family a lot more often."

Elizabeth leaned in, putting her head on Jack's shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay about all this?" he asked.

"Yes. Never better." She gave him a small smile, before moving her hands around his arm, holding him tight.

After the plane took off, Jack noticed she was asleep within minutes against his arm. He couldn't help but smile. This was the first time he had ever taken a girlfriend home to meet his foster parents, but he felt like Elizabeth would be the only one he would ever take home now.

He had texted Frank that day and told him that he and Elizabeth were back together and she was coming with him. It was brief but he would have to explain everything when they got there. It was hard to know Frank's real reaction because all he texted back was 'OK'.

Elizabeth woke up as the announcements came over the PA that they were getting ready to land.

"Oh my goodness, did I sleep the whole flight?"

Jack laughed. "Yeah. You a bit tired?"

Elizabeth smiled back at him. "Someone has been keeping me up the last few nights."

"Well it wasn't me. Someone keeps letting themselves into my house at night. There's not much a guy can do about that" he smirked.

When they disembarked the plane, Jack carried their bags out of the terminal to the carpark to find Frank's truck waiting for them. He climbed out as he saw Jack and Elizabeth approaching.

"Hi Jack! Good to see you again."

"Hi" he said before Frank gave him a quick hug. "Frank, this is Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you, Elizabeth."

"You too" she said shyly. Jack had never seen her shy, not even on the day they met.

Jack put their bags in the back of the truck before holding the front passenger door open for her.

"Jack, you sit up front. I'll jump in the back."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, you two have a lot to catch up on" Elizabeth said as she moved past him to the back door, giving him a wink on the way.

Jack smiled as he climbed into the front.

"So Jack, what are you doing back here?"

"I have a job interview at the Buxton University Hospital on Monday."

"Really? Abigail will be ecstatic when she hears that. Well that and the fact that you brought Elizabeth with you."

"You haven't told her yet?"

"No. I kept your arrival a surprise."

Jack groaned. "Frank! She's going to flip. She didn't even know Elizabeth and I were back together."

"Oh I told her that bit, but that was all" he said with a smile.

Elizabeth listened to the conversation from the back seat. She had heard a lot about Abigail and Frank. Both of them seemed to be a nice, friendly couple who went above and beyond to help people out. They had three foster children, so she was hoping they would be welcoming. Especially when she heard that Abigail didn't even know they were expected.

Frank pulled the truck into the drive of a modest single level home in the middle of a suburban street. The porch light was on and there was already an old red hatchback sitting in the drive. Frank cut the engine and Jack was already beside her, opening her door. As she got out, Jack gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Elizabeth smiled back at him.

Jack grabbed his bag and Frank grabbed the other and as they made their way to the front door, Jack took Elizabeth's hand in his.

Frank opened the door. "Honey, I'm home" he called out, turning back to grin at Jack. They stepped into the foyer and Frank closed the door behind them.

"Oh Frank, it's about time. Your dinner will be ruined by now" a female voice called back and its owner appeared in front of them.

The woman shrieked in surprise.

"Jack!" she eagerly moved forward. Jack dropped Elizabeth's hand as Abigail wrapped Jack in a hug. "What are you doing here?!"

"Abigail, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Elizabeth" Jack said as his hand came around Elizabeth's lower back.

Before Elizabeth could react, Abigail stepped forward and put her arms around her. Elizabeth hugged her back.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Elizabeth. Jack has told us so much about you."

Elizabeth smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Come on. Are you all hungry? I will whip something up for you" she said, pulling Elizabeth by the hand into the kitchen.

"Oh, don't got to too much trouble" Elizabeth said. Honestly, she was starving and would eat absolutely anything at that moment.

"Nonsense. Nothing is too much trouble."

Abigail led her to the kitchen, sitting her down at the kitchen bench. She put the kettle on before setting to work to make them some dinner.

Jack and Frank remained behind for a moment.

"She's really beautiful, Jack."

"Yes, she is."

"Seems nice too."

"Yes."

"What about all the stuff with her father?"

"Well that hasn't gone away, hence the job interview."

"What's your plan?"

"If I can get a job at Buxton, then I will move back here. It's not linked to WT Healthcare so he has no influence there."

"Her father doesn't know about you two yet?"

"No."

"And if you're working here, you will what? See her every other weekend?"

"Elizabeth has said that she will follow me wherever I go" Jack said slowly.

Frank was watching him carefully. "That sounds serious."

"I think so."

"So you've thought about getting married?"

"We talked about it before everything happened."

"You're not engaged yet, are you?"

"No, not yet."

"Something tells me that its not far off though" he said as he watched Jack carefully.

"If Elizabeth is willing to move anywhere with me, I don't want us living separately. I want to be there with her. I'm not making the same mistake as I did last time. I'm not moving in with any woman unless I know she's the one and we are committed to one another. I'm certain that Elizabeth is that woman."