Jack awoke first the next morning with the warm Florida sun hitting his shoulder. He stretched and looked over at Elizabeth, still asleep in his arms.

"This is the best way to wake up," he grinned.

"Mhmm…" Elizabeth muttered in her sleep, making Jack laugh.

He took a look at his watch. It was still early. Jack thought about just staying where they were, but figured Elizabeth would be mortified if someone happened to wander onto their part of the beach and spot them so exposed.

"Beautiful, you awake?" he whispered as he put on his shorts. She nodded, but he knew she wasn't really awake. "I'm gonna carry you back inside okay? You can keep resting." He kissed her cheek and carried her back into the house still wrapped snug in the blanket.

Elizabeth didn't wake up, even after Jack tucked her into bed. He laid next to her and soon fell back asleep himself.

Two hours later, Jack awoke again. This time to the amazing feel of his wife's lips on his neck.

"Hmm never mind. This is the best way to wake up," he laughed. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning," she grinned from her perch over him. "When did we end up inside?"

"When I carried you up here. You don't remember?"

"I guess not," they both laughed. "Well now that we're both awake, should we go grab some breakfast?"

They got dressed and Jack looked for his phone to find a place to eat. He shook his head when he realized his phone was in his pants pocket outside and excused himself to get it.

Elizabeth met him outside a minute later.

"Our phones still there?" she teased.

"Yup. Looks like we missed something too."

"What do you mean?"

He held up his phone. "I've got 4 missed calls from Lee and a text."

Elizabeth pulled her phone from the pile on the beach chair. "I've got 7 missed calls and 3 texts."

"Guess we should call them back."

"Do you think this means…."

"A baby? Maybe. Let's call them now and see."

Elizabeth pushed send and sat while the phone rang. She didn't have to wait long before Rosie answered.

"Thank goodness you're alive!"

"Rosie?"

"Yes! I've been calling since last night, little miss call me right away!" There was so much amusement in her voice.

"I'm sorry we were… out last night."

"Like all night?"

"Something like that, yes," Elizabeth blushed, thinking about what her and Jack had shared the night before.

"Okay, Lee's here so I'm putting you guys on speaker."

"Okay, I'll do that too." She waved Jack over.

"Hey guys!" Lee spoke into the phone. "Having fun in the sun down there?"

"Very much," Jack said kissing Elizabeth cheek. "So what's up? Everything okay back home?"

"Everything's great. In fact, we have some news…"

"Tell us!" Elizabeth was bouncing with excitement.

"We're pregnant!" they shouted together before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Jack and Elizabeth cheered and congratulated their friends, matching their excitement. The women immediately making plans, talking about nursery colors, mommy and me classes and birthing plans.

"I hope you are able to get some of your money back on the dog, Lee," Jack teased when he was able to get a word in.

"Actually we've decided to keep the dog," Rosie said, still a little unsure.

"Really? Man, Lee you're a better negotiator than I thought."

"Not really, I think she's just emotional right now," Lee laughed. "But who am I to argue?"

Once they finished their conversation, they gathered the rest of their things and headed back inside.

"So, my dear, breakfast time?"

Elizabeth looked at the time on her phone. "Try lunch…"

"Seriously?"

"Yup. We've slept through the breakfast hour. Guess we tired each other out last night."

Jack wrapped his arms around her, "Wishing we hadn't?"

"Never! Though, maybe we should stop at the grocery store or that bakery on the plaza and buy something for breakfast in the future in case this pattern continues."

"Good plan. Cause let's face it, we'll never make it out of this house in time when there's something better to do." He leaned down and kissed her lips, teasing her with his tongue before pulling back.

"Mmm," she groaned. "Yup, this is so much better than breakfast."

….

An hour away, Tom sat in an uncomfortable chair outside one of the universities conference rooms. He was dressed in his nicest dress pants, shirt and tie, which he hated.

Behind those doors was sitting a group of people from a prestigious architect and design firm in NYC. He never dreamed of working for a place like that but his professors had encouraged him to apply, as well as Julie.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, giving him a momentary distraction from the circus of nervousness in his stomach.

Julie: Hey babe, thinking of you!

Julie: You're going to do great today, I know it!

He smiled. Julie seemed to believe he could do anything. He wasn't so sure it was true, but he hoped in this case it would be.

He was planning on proposing after graduation, but he wanted to have a job first. He told William as much, and even though William was not so concerned about that, Tom was. Jack had left a high example to follow in his opinion.

The doors opened and one of his fellow classmates walked out.

"Sam! How was it?"

Sam looked back briefly before whispering, "Brutal man. Look at me! I'm sweating like a pig."

Tom sighed, that was not what he wanted to hear. A minute later the doors opened again and a tall man with salt and peppered hair stepped out.

"Thomas Thornton?"

Tom stood tall and tried to act sure of himself. "You got this, Tom, stand tall and act like Mr. Thatcher would. You know, all businessy…" he thought to himself.

"It's Tom actually." He extended his hand and give the older man a firm handshake.

"Good to met you Tom, we've heard a lot about you. Grab your portfolio and we'll get this started."

Twenty minutes later Tom emerged from the conference room, feeling confident he gave it all he had.

He pulled out his phone to call Julie.

"How'd it go!?" she said excitedly, skipping a formal greeting.

"I don't want to jinx it but, I think I nailed it…"

"That's my man!" she cheered. "So, dinner to celebrate?"

"Don't you have a final to take?"

"In the morning and I'm more than ready. Come on!"

"I'd love to go out, but no celebrating."

"Are you serious?"

"Jules, I don't have the job yet."

"Okay fine. Party pooper."

Tom laughed, he knew the pouting face she was giving him from the other end of the phone. "I'll pick you up around 6. I love you Julie."

"I love you! See you soon!"

….

Jack and Elizabeth spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun. After discovering some ocean kayaks stored under the deck, they decided to give it go and spent most of the afternoon paddling about. It turned out to be as tiring as it was fun.

Elizabeth walked up the beach to their place at the end of the day while Jack dragged the two boats out of the water and back toward the house.

"I think every inch of me is covered in salt water," she laughed.

"Me too. Maybe we should shower before dinner," Jack suggested innocently.

"Hmm, not a bad idea. Or you know, there's that nice… big… tub in the there, too" Elizabeth giggled.

Jack caught her not so subtle tone and laughed hard. "You, my dear wife, have been something else this trip."

"Disappointed?"

"Heck no! Why don't you head inside and I'll join you as soon as I get these boats put away."

"See you soon." She blew him a kiss and ran inside.

When Jack joined her a little later, she was already relaxing in a warm soapy bubble bath.

"May I join you?"

"Of course, Captain."

He climbed in carefully behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His lips quickly met with the soft skin on her neck and shoulder, causing her to rest her head back and moan.

"Huh," Jack said taking in a whiff of the scents around him.

"What is it, babe?"

"I'm going to smell like a girl all night…" he winced.

"But not just any girl. You'll smell like me." She tilted her head to kiss his cheek.

"When you put it that way, I guess it's not so bad."

They sat in silence as she ran her hands up and down his legs which were resting next to hers.

"Are you happy Jack?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I guess because it can be hard to come back to the real world after all you've endured. I know you haven't been ready to talk about it yet, which is fine."

He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm happy. I'm home, that's all I ever wanted. This vacation with you has been amazing so far, and when we get home we've got this little one to plan for." He rubbed both his hands over her belly, smiling when he noticed her small baby bump. "Life is good."

"Good." She took his hands and wrapped them tightly around her body.

By dinner time, Jack sat on their bed dressed in dark cargo shorts and a light blue button down with the sleeves rolled up . His attention going back and forth from his phone to his beautiful wife as she tried to get ready. He tried to pry his eyes back to the task she had assigned him, finding a restaurant for dinner. It was hard, she captivated him standing there in her shorts and lace bra, trying to decided what top to wear.

"Anything look good?" she asked without looking back. She held up one shirt in front of her and then another, trying to decide.

"You always look good."

"I meant to eat, silly."

"Oh right," he laughed. "Well, there's a place called Oceanside Bar and Grill not too far from here. Looks like they have good food, music and pool tables."

Elizabeth spun around. "It's been forever since we've played a good game of pool!"

"That's what I was thinking. Wanna try it tonight?"

"Yes! I'll even wear this." She held up a flowing navy blue top with a scoop neck, one of Jack's favorites.

"I love you in that." His eyes full of love as he looked at her.

"I know you do, that's why I packed it," she grinned.

They took their time, enjoying the 20 minute walk through the vacation homes and beach towards the shopping plaza near the restaurant, both fully content just being in the others company.

Once in the plaza they followed the sound of live music to the restaurant. Being that it was late spring, the place had its window wide open, allowing for the cool soft ocean breeze to waft in.

They took their seats at a high top table for two and began sipping their water while looking through the menu.

"So many options…" Jack groaned, causing Elizabeth to laugh.

"I thought you'd like that after having so few while you were away."

"I know, I did too. Problem is now I just want to eat everything I see!" Jack said licking his lips.

"I'll admit everything looks really good right now. I'm so glad my appetite is back."

"Yeah, that couldn't have been fun. All that morning sickness."

"No. I actually lost weight if you can believe it! I don't know though, maybe that will help make it easier for me to not pack on too much," she laughed.

"Don't worry about that. However you look when this is over, I guarantee I'll still think you're the most beautiful woman in the world."

"That's sweet," she took his hand and brought it to her lips.

"It's also the truth, don't forget that."

Just then, Jack's phone went off in his back pocket.

"Who is it?" she asked noticing a concerned look on his face.

"One of my guys, Weaver. Hello?" he answered quickly.

"Hey Captain, do you have a minute?"

"Yes, give me a second." He covered the phone with his hand. "I'll be right back, beautiful. I just wanna make sure he's ok."

"Yes of course. I'll be fine."

"Love you."

"Love you too." They kissed briefly before he disappeared out the side door that lead to the beach.

"Weaver, man, what's up?" The line was quiet on the other end. "Wyatt?"

"Shoot. You know, you're on vacation. I shouldn't have called…"

"Wyatt, talk. Don't make me come home early because you've freaked me out here. Cause I'm telling you, my wife will be scarier than whatever you've got if I have to leave." Jack laughed trying to lighten the mood. He knew something was up.

"Did you hear a group of soldiers were ambushed outside Kandahar recently?"

Jack sighed. "I did. I saw it on one of the TVs in the airport the other day."

"Yeah. I saw it here. It was like… well it reminded me of that night. You know our last mission? Burke too."

"So what happened?"

"We were watching TV and the news was reporting about it again. Gem asked if that's what it was like over there. I couldn't say anything, it was too much and I… well I yelled and walked out."

"Out of…"

"Her place. I was stupid, sir. I didn't even say a word after yelling, I just left."

Jack sighed. "Okay. When was that?"

"3 hours ago. She keeps texting and calling. I don't know what to say. I just can't shake the feeling I had from that night."

"Wyatt, do you have FaceTime on your phone?"

"Yeah."

Jack video called Wyatt, wanting him to see a friendly face. Needing to see his face as well.

"Okay, look at me. Remember that exercise we learned in group?"

"Not really."

"Well here it goes, so pay attention. Focus on me. Breath in… breath out. Now do it again. Breath in… breath out."

Wyatt focused on his breathing, keeping his eyes on Jack.

"Place your hand on your throat or over your heart, you feel your pulse?"

"Okay. Yeah, I feel it."

"Now tell yourself, "I am alive. I am safe." You got that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, say it with me now…"

Elizabeth walked out onto the deck of the restaurant looking for Jack. She found him standing on the sandy path talking calmly and compassionately. The sight filled her with contentment and she placed her hand on her stomach. "You've got a great daddy, little one. He's so good at taking care of others."

He saw her, looking beautiful in the moonlight and waved.

"Hold on one moment, Wyatt." He muted FaceTime and ran over to her, kissing her from the other side of the restaurant deck railing.

"Everything okay?" she asked, rubbing his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Yeah. I've got a soldier having some trouble acclimating. Sounds like he and his girlfriend are having a moment like we did the other day before we left."

"Oh, dear."

"Yeah, I just wanna help him get on track, then I'll be right in."

"I understand," she smiled. "I'm glad he has you, babe."

"Thank you, beautiful." He kissed her again and turned his focus back to Wyatt. "Okay, how are you feeling? Let's do the breathing again."

Jack said the words with Wyatt several times until he could see him relax on the screen. He instructed Wyatt to go back and explain as much as he could to Gem and teach her this exercise. That way if he had an episode again, she could support him. Something he realized he should do with Elizabeth as well.

He turned off video and stayed on the phone with Wyatt for another minute until he was back at Gem's door.

"Hey Wyatt, hand the phone to Gem when you get in okay?"

"Why?"

"Trust me."

"Okay." Wyatt knocked on the door. A moment later Gem answered, red faced and puffy eyed. "I… I'm sorry," he whispered, broken hearted seeing the emotions he'd caused.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I'll do my best to explain but here. It's Captain Jack Thornton."

"What?"

"Please?"

She took the phone from Wyatt. Looking into his eyes she saw the boy she loved. "Hello, Captain Thornton."

"Hi, Gem." Jack's voice was soft and full of compassion. "I understand you guys are having a rough evening?"

"Yes sir, I don't know what happened." Jack could hear her raw emotions in her voice.

"I'm going to leave that for him to explain. Just… be patient. He may not be able to communicate it best right now. It's all pretty fresh."

"What should I do?"

"Love him for one. Encourage him to go to group support on post. There's a exercise we learned over in Afghanistan too, I told him to teach it to you. You can help him through it if things get too real for him again."

"I will, yes of course!" Her voice perked up a bit. She had a job now, she didn't feel powerless anymore.

"Now I told him to give you my number just in case. Look, he's a good one. We just… we went through a lot, but I have confidence that he'll be okay."

"Ok. Thank you sir." She handed the phone back to Wyatt, kissing his cheek. "I'll be waiting in the living room."

He nodded, "Thank you, sir, for whatever you said."

"Mostly what we talked about. You've got this man."

"Thanks. I think I'm ready to handle this. You should go back to your wife."

"Won't argue there," Jack chuckled. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Jack hung up and rushed back inside.

Back inside, Elizabeth sat at the high top table waiting for Jack to return. She sipped her water and watched the TV screen near the table. It was playing that evening's baseball game of the Red Sox vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. The room cheered as the Red Sox got another out, the batter missing what should have been an easy hit.

"Oh now, come on boys," she muttered to the screen. "Jack's not going to be very happy with you if you lose this one!"

As she sat mesmerized by the game, someone else stood mesmerized by her.

"Seriously? Come on! He was totally safe!" she said a little louder than intended, gaining the attention of some of the men in the room. One more than the others.

"Well aren't you a pretty sight?"

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth asked, turning to face the voice behind her.

"A woman who can talk a good game. Impressive." The man stood there by the table with a smirk that made Elizabeth uneasy.

Her first thought was just to ignore him, but then he came and took a seat at her table. He seemed not to notice the second glass of water and menu in front of him, indicating she wasn't there alone.

"My name's Nick. Figured I'd come introduce myself to the hottest girl in the room."

"Oh, well thanks I think… but look I'm actually..."

"You from around here or just visiting?"

"I'm visiting with my…"

"Nice, I live here. It's a nice little beach town. Lots of fun things for a couple of fun loving people to get into," he said with a grin as he took another sip of his drink. "So, can I buy you a drink and you can tell me about yourself?"

"No thanks, I'm actually here with someone."

"Oh yeah? Which one?" Nick asked pointing towards the bar. "Can't be anyone up there. No one there looks right for someone like you."

"Try looking behind you."

"What?"

Elizabeth smiled as Jack appeared behind Nick.

"Hi there. Enjoying talking to my wife?" Jack stood with his muscular arms folded in front of him, standing in a soldier's stance.

"Your... wife... um yeah well, you shouldn't leave someone as pretty as her alone so long." Nick stated more embarrassed than annoyed.

"I do my best not to, believe me. Have a nice night."

Nick slid away back to his buddies, all of which were laughing and teasing him at his failure to pick up a woman.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Elizabeth laughed quietly.

"He looked scared out of his mind!" Jack laughed. "Am I really that scary?"

"Let's see," she said pulling him close. "When you're protecting me, yes."

"I will always protect you. Whatever it takes."

"And I love you for that." She grab his collar pulling his face towards hers. Kissing him so deep he thought he'd burst into flames right then and there.

"Well…" he said stepping back and catching his breath. "If there's any confusion left as to who you're here with, I think it's gone now." They both broke into a fit of giggles as Jack took his seat without letting go of her hand.

They ate their meal and played 3 rounds of pool, feeling like they were back in college again. Neither could have asked for a better night.

When it was time to call it a night, they decided to call a cab instead of walking back. As they made their way into the quiet house, Jack gently pushed her against the closed front door. He kissed her slowly as he intentionally found the spots in her mouth that drove her crazy, both sighing deeply as he pulled away.

"Thank you for tonight Jack. It was a wonderful night."

"My pleasure," he smiled at her. "What would you like to do now? Watch tv?"

"We could do that. Or… we could do something else?"

"Something we've done a lot since I got home or something different?"

"Something different."

Jack smiled. "I've definitely missed that, if it's what I'm thinking." She whispered the answer in his ear. "That was exactly what I was thinking of." He smiled brightly at her.

"I'll even wear that new piece from last night."

Jack groaned, really liking where this was going.

She stood up on her tiptoes teasing his neck with soft, short kisses. "Meet me upstairs in a couple minutes?" she spoke against his neck.

"Gladly."

Once she was up the stairs and out of sight, Jack went into the kitchen, grabbing what was left of the bottle of sparkling apple cider and pouring it into two glasses.

He look at his watch. "It's been a couple minutes right?" he said with a mischievous grin.

He climbed the large staircase up to their room, pushing the door open with his foot.

"Elizabeth?"

"I'll be right out," she called from the bathroom.

He sat the glasses on the bedside table and took off his shirt. After propping up a couple pillows, he sat down, making himself comfortable on the bed.

"What do you think of it in the light?" Elizabeth asked from the bathroom doorway as she gestured to the nighty she had worn for him, however briefly the night before.

"You looked amazing last night, and now… I can honestly say my eyes weren't deceiving me one bit."

"Good," she whispered. She walked over to the bed and climbed in, curling up next to Jack. "So, what will it be tonight?"

Jack picked up the two books she had left on the bed. "Well, I like this one, but you've said it's scary." She nodded in agreement as he held up the collection of Neil Gaiman short stories. "And this one is interesting and I don't think we've done it before."

"You're right," she answered as he put that book down too.

"However…." he leaned over the edge of the bed picked up a third option. "I brought this one from home just in case we decided to do this and I do believe it's a favorite of yours."

Elizabeth gasped. "Anne's House of Dreams!"

"Did I get it right?"

"Yes you did you amazing, man! How'd you know?"

"You've read through the whole Anne of Green Gables series like 4 times since we've met but out of all the books this is the most worn, plus I think you've mentioned it a time or two," he grinned. "So shall I start?"

"Yes, please!"

They curled up under the covers of their bed as Jack began to read aloud.

"Chapter 1, In the Garret of Green Gables." Jack read. "Thanks be, I'm done with geometry, learning or teaching it," said Anne Shirley, a trifle vindictively, as she thumped a somewhat battered volume of Euclid into a big chest of books, banged the lid in triumph, and sat down upon it, looking at Diana Wright across the Green Gables garret, with gray eyes that were like a morning sky."

Elizabeth let out a sigh of love and contentment as she listened to the love of her life willingly read her favorite book to her. The tradition of reading to one another at night was something she had truly missed.