Family

The rest of their week went as good as the start. Their days were filled with kayaking, swimming, and countless walks on the beach. Evenings they enjoyed time by the fire, dinner, dancing, and times curled up on the couch or bed reading or watching a movie. The whole week was spent simply enjoying being with one another.

Their time just the two of them was quickly coming to an end however. They had just a few more hours till the rest of the Thornton/Thatcher clan arrived. They decided to spend their last afternoon taking a couple of the bikes from the garage out for a spin.

Jack packed a picnic lunch in his backpack and they were off. They biked for a while, across a gigantic white bridge to another beach they had read about. One that was soft white sand and crystal clear waters.

Elizabeth laid out a blanket on the sand and placed the food in front of them.

"To our last day just us," she said lifting her water bottle in the air.

"Yup, to us!"

They ate the tuna fish sandwiches and cucumber sticks while coming up with idea for things to recommend to their families. Talking about the upcoming graduation made Elizabeth think again about Julie and Tom.

"About our siblings… are you really not going to tell me what you know?"

"Beautiful, all I can say is I think they are doing well. I do know that Tom has no plans of changing anything in their relationship until they've graduated."

"So he IS proposing! Just not until after graduation."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to, I think I got it now," she grinned as she laid back on the blanket. She closed her eyes and rested her hand behind her head with a grin that showed she was pretty proud of herself.

"You're adorable you know that?" Jack beamed.

Elizabeth giggled.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a sketchbook. It was the one Elizabeth had gotten for him recently. He flipped to the first open page and began drawing his wife. The light was perfect.

When she shifted slightly, Jack asked her to hold still for just another moment. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Are you sketching me?"

"Yup."

"That's not allowed!"

"It isn't?" he laughed. "It's my sketchbook, I can draw what I want," he continued to tease.

"Okay fine, but not too much of me okay?"

"Um, sure. Just do me a favor? Don't look through this much."

"What? Why? Give me that!" She stood up and he handed her the sketchbook. She flipped through the pages eyes wide. "It's almost all me…"

"I was inspired," he shrugged.

"When did you have time to do all this?"

Jack scratched his head. "I haven't been sleeping super well every night."

"No?" Elizabeth was surprised, she had slept like a log almost every night.

"It's not a big deal. Just sometimes it's hard to shut my mind off. So instead I've grabbed the sketchbook and found my happy place."

"I'm your happy place?"

"Mhmm."

"I wish you told me you weren't sleeping well. I could have done something." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to her.

"You need your sleep with this little one growing inside of you. Beside, its no big deal."

"Is it… stuff from deployment keeping you awake?"

"Sometimes. I'm working through it."

"Okay, but if you need me…"

"I'll ask. I promise."

"Good!"

As they laid there, Jack remembered his conversation with Wyatt Weaver. How he had instructed him to tell Gem the calming exercise. He looked over at Elizabeth and the last thing he wanted to do was put anything on her. He decided he'd talk to her about it another time. For now, it was just them, time to put all their stresses behind them. There'd be plenty of time to discuss that when they got back.

Elizabeth looked at her watch, noticing the time. "We should head back. Give ourselves a few hours before the family gets in."

"Good idea."

"Race you back?" Jack gave her a deep, dimpled grin.

"Oh you're on, Thornton!"

They made it back to the house, tired, happy and completely sweaty. Jack hung the bikes back up in the garage while Elizabeth went in to get them some water.

Jack took the bottle from Elizabeth, downing it in one shot. He placed the bottle down and wrapped his arms around her.

"So, what shall we do now?" He whispered as his lips made their way down from her temple to her neck.

"Hmmm, well I'm thinking of something we could do together…. then maybe take a shower. If you're good, maybe I'll let you join me."

"I think I can be good. For awhile anyway."

"Well alright then." Elizabeth took his hand and pulled him up the stairs towards their room.

45 MINUTES LATER:

"Knock Knock!" William Thatcher called out into the seemingly empty house as he and Grace entered.

"I don't see them. William, didn't you message her and let her know we were arriving early?"

"No, I thought you did?"

Grace rolled her eyes at her husband and laughed. "How is it you can run your own firm across two continents, but can't remember to send a text?"

"I have a secretary," he shrugged.

Charlotte came in followed by Viola and Lionel carrying their son. "Just got a text from Julie. She and Tom will be here in an hour. Where's Lizzie and Jack?"

"I'll check upstairs." William climbed to the top of the stairs. "Beth? Jack? We're here!" He heard the water running and went back down the stairs trying to stifle his laugh. "Jack will be down soon," he said to the rest of the family.

IN THE MASTER BATH

"Did you hear that?"

Elizabeth stuck her head out of the shower. "Oh no! It's my dad!"

"What time were they supposed to get in?" Jack asked confused.

"Later today, but that doesn't change the fact that they're here now!"

"Okay," Jack shrugged and wrapped his arms back around Elizabeth.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a shower with my wife… if you can't tell, pregnancy must really be messing with your mind."

"Not funny, Jack. You have to get out."

"Excuse me?"

"He can't know we're in here together!"

"Honey, it's fine." Jack laughed at her silliness.

"No! Out!" She opened the slider door and nudged him out. Jack shook his head as he dried off. "You know, he's an adult, with three grown daughters. I bet he knows what we've been up to this week."

"Not another word, Thornton!" Elizabeth was laughing too now. Ridiculous or not she couldn't help it. Sometimes around her parents she still felt like a little girl.

Jack dressed and hurried down the stairs, finding the whole family, sans Tom and Julie standing in the entryway.

Lionel walked up to Jack, laughing at his brother-in-law.

"Good to see you brother," Lionel said hugging Jack.

"You too. Good trip?"

"Very nice, yes." He looked around noticing everyone focus somewhere else. "So, Elizabeth in the shower?" Jack looked shocked but nodded. "And by the look of you I'd imagine you were um, in with her a minute ago?" He laughed watching Jack turn bright red. "I'm also betting she heard her father bellow up the stairs and kicked you out."

"How'd you know that?" Jack laughed.

"Been there. Twice in fact. I swear William does that on purpose."

Jack made a mental note to warn Tom of this and went over to greet the rest of the family.

The women of the family were in the kitchen when Elizabeth walked on. She said hi, giving everyone hugs and kisses, before jumping in to help put away groceries.

"Sorry we interrupted the fun," Viola teased, running her fingers over her sister's damp hair.

"You didn't interrupt anything." Elizabeth turned to put the cereal in the pantry, trying to avoid her sisters grin.

"Really, Beth?" she whispered. "Do you expect me to believe you and Jack were showering in two separate rooms?"

"You know you could have sent a text."

"Dad said he was going to," Viola shrugged. "Wait! Come here, I want to see the bump."

Elizabeth laughed as her sister placed her hands on her small baby bump.

"Aw, look at you! You're glowing!"

"And hungry!" They laughed.

A few hours later Tom and Julie arrived at the house. Tom had spent most of the drive over silent, much to Julie's dislike. Something seemed to be bothering him but he wouldn't open up. She pushed for the first 20 minutes but then decided if there was any hope of them having a good weekend, she needed to let him talk in his own time. This was not easy for her.

"We're here!" Julie sang into the house.

Jack leaped off the couch to go see them. As excited as everyone else was, they gave Jack his space with his brother, knowing they hadn't seen each other since his return.

"Jack! You're really here!" Tom exclaimed giving his brother the biggest bear hug.

"So good to see you, Tom."

"You alright? Have all your limbs and wits about ya?" Tom teased, using the same words their mom would use with their dad.

"Limbs yes, wits, I'll have to get back to you on." They laughed as Jack gave the same response his dad would give.

Jack turned to Julie. She was standing there with tears in her eyes as he hugged her tight.

"So happy you're home, Jack!"

Elizabeth watched the reunion from the hall. Everyone was together again.

"Elizabeth, hey! Come here." Tom called to her. He walked over giving her a big hug as well. "Congratulations on giving me a niece or nephew."

"Ha, thanks Tom. We're really happy."

"So are we! Another little one in the family? Doesn't get much better than that!" Julie exclaimed. "In fact, I brought some clothes for the baby!"

"Julie, we don't even know if its a boy or girl yet." Elizabeth laughed.

"I know! It's all gender neutral, I assure you. Come on, you didn't expect me to hear that I had a new niece or nephew and NOT go shopping!"

"No, I suppose not. Come on in, Mom and Dad can't wait to see you guys."

The family spent the rest of the afternoon in the living room catching up. Jack sat in the big arm chair with Elizabeth on his lap. Absentmindedly resting his hand on her bump. He was happy. He was back with his family.

Jack looked over at Tom, and noticed a faint look of annoyance and anxiety on his face as he sat on the couch. Whatever he was feeling, he was doing his best to hide it.

Julie held his hand tightly in hers. By the way she kept looking at him, it was clear to Jack she didn't know what was bothering him either.

"What's for dinner Mama?" Wes asked, looking up from his legos on the floor.

"Lots of things!" she smiled. "We bought way too much food. There's steaks and corn and potatoes and salad greens. Plus ice cream!"

"There's a charcoal grill out back," Jack added. "What do you say Tom? Up for doing a little grilling with me?"

"Definitely. I'll even teach you a few things."

"You teach me? Please!"

"Boys…" Charlotte teased.

"Don't worry Mom, we got this. Come on Tom." Jack kissed Elizabeth before dragging his brother to the kitchen to start on dinner.

….

Outside, Jack raised his glass. "To your graduation, bro."

"To your return and growing fam." Tom raised his glass back, clinking with Jack's.

They manned the grill using many of the grilling techniques from their dad as teens.

Jack watched his brother as they cooked out on the deck, his concern growing. Whatever was going on seemed to weighing heavily on him. It surprised him. Tom had worked hard to finish strong, he assumed he'd be relieved at this point. Maybe Tom was just missing their dad. Jack understood. He had a hard time around milestones and holidays still. Instead of guessing though, he decided to ask.

"So, all set for graduation?"

"More or less. I got tickets for almost everyone. Which worked out great, Lionel and Viola said they'd probably head back here with Wes so he can rest. It'll be a crazy day for all us but especially the little guy."

"Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be hard for a kid to sit still for that long."

"I know, I'm wondering how I'll even manage," Tom teased.

Jack laughed. "Okay, so if it's not graduation that's got you so tense, what is it? Things between you and Julie okay?"

"For now…"

"Tom… what does that mean?"

Tom ran both his hands through his hair and let out a deep breath. "I got a job offer today."

"Really? Congratulations, man!"

"Thanks…"

"Seriously, I'm confused. Why aren't you happier? This is great news."

"Okay, yeah but here's the thing, I interviewed with a firm from NYC. They're a very prestigious one too."

"And that's not where the job offer came from?"

"Nope. Apparently they have a big brother company. Higher pay, ritzier clients and all that. That's where they want me."

"No way! Wait, still confused. What's the problem?"

"Jack it's me. Captain Screw Up here. There's no way I got that on my own!"

"Well then how do you think… wait, William?"

"Must have been. This isn't okay! I don't want his help, Jack! I mean, I appreciate that he likes me enough I guess, or maybe even he knows I can't do it on my own. Either way, now I'm in a bad spot. If I turn this job down, one I don't think I'm actually good enough for, I may never work in this industry!"

"Wow, okay let's step back for a second. Do you know for sure that William pulled strings to get you this job?"

"No, but he must have Jack. Who else would do this?"

"I don't know. You've worked your butt off though, are you sure you didn't just get the job on your own merit?"

William walked out just at that moment. "How's it going out here, men?"

"Okay. Food should be ready soon," Jack responded as Tom stared off in the distance.

"Tom, you alright?" William asked, closing the door to the deck.

Jack excused himself to allow them some privacy. He gave Tom a nod as he handed the grilling tongs over, letting Tom know he could do this.

Once Jack was back inside Tom sighed and addressed his girlfriend's father.

"Sir, I got a job offer today from Stein and Lewis."

"That's wonderful! I didn't even know you'd applied there."

"I know but here's the thing…. wait, you didn't?"

"No. But I will say I'm very proud of you."

"So… you aren't the reason I was offered the job?"

William laughed. "That does sound like something I would do I suppose, but no. Who did you interview with?"

"That's just it, I interviewed with a team from Kinetic Designs, not Stein and Lewis."

"Ah I see. Well, Mark sometimes leads the hiring teams from Kinetic I believe, being as that's his baby company. He must have really liked what he saw and decided to pull you up."

Tom stood frozen in his spot. The older gentleman he interviewed with did introduce himself as Mark, he just never put it together. "And you've never spoken to him about me?"

"No. Mark's a great guy but we're just business associates and I haven't spoken with him in a long time. When we have it's never about personal stuff." Tom nodded. "Look Tom, I would have had no problem giving you a shining recommendation but I learned a long time ago with matters like this to ask first. Having a good relationship with my kids is more important."

Tom blinked rapidly. "I did it... I was good enough."

"Don't look so surprised, Tom." William laughed, smacking Tom's back. "You've been working really hard in school. I'm proud of you! Now as things get closer for you and Julie we'll talk about housing in the city, if you're okay with me helping of course. We have a few property holdings in that part of town that could make for an easy commute."

Tom could only nod, he was still in shock. William laughed again. "Alright son, let's get this food off the grill before it burns."

Once inside, Tom handed the plate to Jack and pulled Julie aside. He was now ready to share his news with her.

Julies loud squeal could be heard throughout the whole house.

"Listen up everyone! Tom got a fantastic job in NYC!" she cried out, dragging Tom back into the main room.

Everyone clapped and cheered for him. Charlotte rushed to him giving him a great big hug. She looked him in the eyes and let him know how proud his father would have been, causing a small tear to form in Tom's eyes.

Julie looked at Tom and kissed his cheek. "This makes my news even better. Everyone, I've also been offered a job in NYC. As a trauma nurse for NYC Presbyterian!"

"Oh Julie, that's wonderful! You should stay with us! Right, Lionel?" Viola squealed.

"Of course. Congratulations, both of you."

"Thank you!" Julie squealed hugging her sister and brother-in-law.

They soon sat down for dinner, all excited for what the future held. As they ate, the family came up with a plan to be there for both graduates as much as possible. Thankfully the ceremonies were at different times. They'd go to Julie's first and then thanks to the extra tickets Tom was able to acquire, all but Viola and her family would hit Tom's.

The night ended with them all sitting in the living room sharing childhood stories.

"Both Jack and Tom would climb out of their cribs and wake us up by jumping on the bed. It was an interesting way to wake up," Charlotte laughed.

"Our girls loved their cribs, except Elizabeth. She would climb out and just sit and play in her room. I even have a picture of her "teaching" her stuffed animals one morning." They laughed as Grace shared her memory. "I'd try to get her to come down for breakfast and she'd say. "Not tell my lesson is finished!"

"Really? You were a teacher that early?" Tom asked with a grin.

"I guess, though I don't remember this at all!" Elizabeth faked offense as she sat curled up next to Jack on one of the couches.

"I can picture it perfectly," Jack grinned, kissing her shoulder.

"So if you both were climbers, that means you're in for it with that little one," Viola pointed out.

"Oh gosh, I didn't think about that…."

"That's ok. That's what duct tape is for," Jack teased, ducking Elizabeth's friendly slap.

"No more of that, Thornton!" she said shaking her head.

Julie noticed the time and jumped up from her spot on Tom's lap. "It's nearly 11! We have to get heading back!"

"Julie's right. Sorry to cut the evening short. Goodnight everyone!"

"Goodnight!" they all called back.

It took another hour before Jack and Elizabeth made their way up their room. Elizabeth could barely keep her eyes open as they climbed up the big staircase towards their room.

"That was fun. Kind of like that night I was home on leave," Jack smiled remembering what a blessing that was, even though he was very much grieving then.

"It was, except this time, you aren't about to leave me again." She hugged his arm as they reached the top.

"You're right. This time was much better." He kissed her gently on the lips before picking her up in his arms. "Bedtime, sleepy head!"

Elizabeth giggled at her loving husband's silliness.

Once ready for bed, Elizabeth curled in her favorite position, in Jack's arms. Both fell right asleep until…

"Jack…. Jack…. You awake?"

"Mmmm," Jack muttered.

"You are awake?"

"Unfortunately… yes. Why are you, hon? You okay?"

"I can't sleep."

"Okay."

"And I'm hungry."

Jack rolled out of bed. "What would you like?"

"Potato chips. Regular, no ripples."

"Really?"

"Yes. And french onion dip. I think I saw some in the kitchen."

"As you wish." He rubbed his eyes and made his way down stairs.

"Jack?"

"Yup?"

"I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled.