Early the next morning, with the power still out, Jack and Elizabeth ate cold Pop Tarts for breakfast. Then they sank back down in bed and snuggled some more. When they had gone to bed the night before, they spent several hours just talking and holding each other. They learned so many new things about each other.

"Jack," Elizabeth sat up slightly in bed. "Want to talk about what we would like for our wedding? Get our ideas out in the open?"

Jack smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "That sounds like a great idea. I will go brave the cold and get a notepad." A quick minute later, he was back and under the covers once again. "Where should we start?"

"We have the first step down by picking our wedding day. We also have our reception site picked so that's out of the way. Abigail is asking Frank about doing our ceremony and if he says yes, we can have it at his church. If not, we will still need a place but I don't see that as a problem. I know a doctor and nurse who got married in the hospital chapel and it was a beautiful ceremony, so if we had to we could have it there. Not that it's my second choice or anything; it's just an option."

"Got it." Jack nodded. "Should we talk about what kind of ceremony we want or should we wait until we hear from Abigail?"

"We should wait. We can talk about clothes and colors for the wedding party. Also what we may want to talk about what food we may want for the reception. Put some ideas down on paper and then discuss it with Abigail."

"OK, that sounds like a plan."

"First though, I am going to call my mother and Julie. I want to tell them together. Maybe meet them for coffee or lunch early next week."

"That sounds like a good idea. Do you want me to come with you?"

"If you can, that would be great. I will suggest coffee on Monday morning, since we both aren't going into work until ten." Jack nodded in agreement then waited while Elizabeth made her calls. Once she was done, she turned her attention back to her handsome fiancée. "All set. Eight am Monday morning at the Back Bay hotel where Mom is staying."

"I can't believe she is still staying there. She must have been really angry."

"Mom has tried to talk to Daddy but he refuses to see reason. She keeps getting more and more frustrated. Until he is willing to sit down and talk civilly, she is not going to return home. She has plenty of work to keep her busy at the hotel and once we tell her about the wedding, she will want to help us plan."

"Elizabeth, Sweetheart, I never asked you this but what happens if your father refuses to understand that you need to live your own life? Is it going to bother you if he can't walk you down the aisle?"

Elizabeth pondered her answer for a few minutes before answering. "Every little girl wants their daddy to walk them down the aisle when they get married. I was no different. I will be sad if he doesn't see reason, but I won't let it bother me. I will ask my mother to give me away. Mothers do that now and I know she would be very happy to do it. It's his loss if he doesn't want to listen to reason and let me have my own life."

"That's right, it is his loss. I would never do anything like that to you or any daughter's, scratch that, any children we might have. Part of life is learning from one's mistakes. He is not letting you or Julie do that by demanding that you stop being nurses. If it's a mistake, which for you I know isn't then you need to find out for yourself."

Elizabeth put her hands on his face and leaned in to kiss him. "That is one of the reasons I love you so much, Jack. You see reason."

"I love you, too."

"Let's go back to our wedding plans. I was thinking the men should just wear suits, no tuxes or anything too fancy."

"No tux works great for me." Jack grinned. "Should I get a new suit or is that something we can rent from a tux shop?"

"I think you can rent one. It might be easier that way the men in your party match. We can look into that when the wedding is closer."

"That works." Jack reached over to caress her face.

"I was thinking about lavender as my color. Lavender roses are my favorite flower and I am hoping I can have them in my bouquet. Plus it's a good spring color."

"I didn't know you love lavender roses. I don't think I have ever seen one." Jack mentioned, while he made a mental note in his mind to remember her favorite flower.

"Yes, they are different. When most people think of roses, they think red, pink or yellow. I like being a little different." She grinned.

"It's not that it makes you different, it makes you special." Jack gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. "I don't mind lavender for the color theme for the wedding." He added that to his list.

"Great." Elizabeth said, feeling giddy inside. "What kind of cake would you like? My favorite flavor is marble."

"That's when the cake is vanilla and the chocolate cake is mixed in?"

"Yes."

"I like that idea. I can never decide between vanilla and chocolate cake. This way I get them both."

"Perfect. This is so much easier than I thought. I am going to enjoy this while I can. I am sure the closer we get to the wedding, I am going to want to pull my hair out."

"Let's hope not. I will help you with whatever I can just so you won't get too stressed out."

Elizabeth was about to reply when her phone rang. "It's my mother." She told Jack as she answered it. "Mom? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all, Beth. Julie just came by the hotel because she lost power at her place too. I wanted to see if you and Jack wanted to come over, maybe spend the night here and then we can have our talk. Before you say anything, I don't have a problem with you and Jack sleeping in the same bed."

Elizabeth's cheeks burned and she was sure she turned red. She had a talk with her mother about asking Jack to move is with her and she had said that while she wanted to share a bed with him, she wasn't ready for anything more. Grace had understood, much to Elizabeth's relief. It still didn't stop her from feeling embarrassed. "Let me ask him." She put the phone down. "Mom invited us to come over to the hotel and stay the night. Julie lost power too and is already there. Mom figured we could have our talk with them today. Oh, and she told me she doesn't mind us sleeping in the same bed."

Jack chuckled. "No wonder you turned red. In answer to her question, if you are fine with staying there tonight, then so am I."

"Mom? We will be over in a little while. Thank you."

"See you soon, Beth."

Jack and Elizabeth quickly got some cloths together and made their way over to the hotel. The snow had stopped and the slow plows were out in full force trying to clear the city roads. The T was running slow too, so it took them longer to get to their destination. When they arrived, several of the hotel employees waived at Elizabeth as they walked through the lobby to the elevators. Elizabeth pressed the penthouse button and soon they were walking down the hall to her mother's room. Elizabeth knocked on the door.

Julie ran to the door and opened it in excitement. "Sister! You made it! What is it that you want to talk to us about?" Julie barely let them in the room before she was asking all sorts of questions. She hovered over the couple while they took off their coats and gloves. Elizabeth was flustered with Julie's questions and excitement that she didn't pay attention that she had taken off her left glove until Julie screamed. "I knew it! I knew it! You're engaged!" She grabbed Elizabeth's hand to look at the rin

Elizabeth turned to Jack and shrugged her shoulders. She then turned to her surprised mother. "I'm sorry it came out this way. I had hoped to sit down with you and announce it."

Grace walked over to her middle daughter and gave her a hug. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She pulled back to look into Elizabeth's eyes, which were also tear filled. "Oh, Beth! I am so happy for you, for both of you." She turned towards Jack and nodded. "I admit I would rather have been sitting when I heard the news but we all know Julie. Somehow her noticing your ring right away and screaming makes this moment perfect." She kissed her daughter again then turned to Jack. "I know you will make a great husband. I saw just how loving and caring you are the day I met you, when you were taking care of our Beth after the attack. All I ask is you continue to take care of her the rest of your lives." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

Jack returned the squeeze. "You have my word. Elizabeth is my life. I will always keep her safe and loved." Jack felt himself get a little emotional too.

"Sister, my future brother, let's go sit down and talk about the wedding. Have you started making plans?" Julie couldn't contain herself.

They all sat down at a table which had tea and a plate of goodies on it. Jack had brought his notebook. He opened it up to the pages they had written down their notes, then took a cupcake to eat while they talked.

"We were actually discussing the wedding when you called." Elizabeth told her mother. "Mom, the first thing I want to discuss is with you personally. If Daddy doesn't come to his senses by the wedding, would you give me away?" A tear slid down her cheek. Jack noticed and reached over to wipe it away before taking her hand. She smiled at him, letting him know without words that she was glad he was here with her.

Grace looked sad for a moment. So did Julie. Grace, who was sitting on the other side of Elizabeth, grabbed her other hand and squeezed. "If he doesn't see reason, then yes I would be honored to give you away, Beth." Mother and daughter then hugged.

Elizabeth got up and walked over to where Julie was sitting. Julie watched her, getting even more excited. She just knew Elizabeth was going to ask her to be a bridesmaid. "Julie, would you be my maid of honor?"

"I would love to be a brides…." Julie trailed off as she realized what Elizabeth asked. "Did you say you want me to be your maid of honor?" She whispered, something that was very un-Julie like.

Elizabeth tried not to laugh. It wasn't often that Julie was rendered silent. "Yes I did, Sister." Elizabeth then braced herself for Julie's reaction.

"Oh, Beth! I would love, love, love to be your maid of honor. Thank you for asking me!" She through her arms around her big sister and gave her a huge hug.

Elizabeth untangled herself from Julie's embrace and sat back down. "We decided to get married on April 8th. I know that's only a short time from now but Jack and I want a small wedding. It won't take much to plan."

Grace thought it over for a moment before realizing that Elizabeth was right. "Beth, I had always thought I would plan big affairs for my daughters' weddings but of the three, you are the one who would most want a small, simple wedding. That is fine by me."

"Thank you, Mom." Elizabeth hugged her again. "We talked to Abigail and she is going to let us have the reception there. She does at great job catering for small functions in the café. It will be perfect for us."

"I know. I went to a private function there once. The food was fabulous. Abigail made a prime rib that was out of this world. Even better than our chefs in the hotels make. Have you decided on where you want to have the ceremony?"

"Abigail's husband is a pastor and she is asking him if we can have our ceremony there. We may start attending his church. If he won't marry us we will have to look somewhere else."

"Let me know. I have some ideas of places for your ceremony." Elizabeth looked at Jack and they both nodded in acceptance."

"Sister, are you having any other attendants?"

"Yes, I asked Rosie and Abigail. She said she is great at multi-tasking and can make the food for our reception and be a bridesmaid."

"So, Jack." Julie turned to her future brother-in-law. "Who is your best man going to be? Is he handsome, too?"

Jack looked uncomfortable while Elizabeth and Grace gasped out Julie's name. They turned to her and glared. "Julie Marie Thatcher! That will be enough!" Grace shook her head at her youngest daughter.

"Sorry, Jack". Julie said but it didn't look like she meant it.

"I decided I want my color to be lavender." Elizabeth quickly moved on to something else. "We also decided on a marble cake."

Grace smiled. "I knew you those would be your choices. It will make planning easier since I have a good idea of what you want."

"I want the men to wear suits, not tuxes. We are going to look into renting the suits."

"Good. How about food? Have you had a chance to talk about your menu yet?"

"No we haven't. We were going to discuss that today and then check with Abigail. You mentioning the rib roast got me thinking about having that. We could have it at a carving station. Are you ok with that, Honey?" Elizabeth turned to Jack, but she already knew his answer. He was a carnivore at heart.

"Sounds good to me." He winked at her.

"I think we should also have a chicken dish."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Grace agreed. "Then choose some sides to go with the main course. Abigail will help you with all of that. Now, do you want her to also make your cake or would you like one of the pastry chefs from the hotels make it for you?"

Elizabeth looked at Jack. "What do you think? I love the cakes and other desserts the chefs from the hotels make. It might be better for Abigail not to have to worry about making a cake too."

"Was the cupcake I ate made by one of those chefs?" Grace nodded. "Then I say yes. It was the best cupcake I ever tasted."

"Splendid." Grace grabbed a notebook of her own and wrote it down. "Do you want just the cake for dessert or do you want some other sweets too?"

"Mom, I want to think about that for a while. It will all depend on how many people we invite."

"All right. That makes sense." Grace smiled. "I am so excited for you both. Jack, you did a great job picking out the ring. It's exquisite."

"Thank you, Grace."

"We are going to celebrate tonight. Order whatever you want from the room service menu. I recommend getting the prime rib, Jack. You will love it."

"Thank you. I think I will.

The rest of the day was spent discussing wedding details. Both Grace and Jack were busy taking notes. Julie, who should have been studying for finals, decided instead to look at dresses on line. She begged Elizabeth to go shopping after she was finished with finals. Elizabeth got her to agree to wait until after the New Year, so she could check with her bridesmaids about when they could go too. She would start making calls to bridal shops to set up appointments. Elizabeth was so happy, happier than she had ever been in her life. She couldn't wait to become Elizabeth Thornton.