A/N Sorry for leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger on that last chapter! I hope this chapter makes up for it!

...

"Hello, Jack. Are you here to pick up Micah?"

"Yes." He nodded, reaching for the pen to sign him out. "Elizabeth had something come up."

She went over to the cabinets and grabbed the diaper bag and car seat, bringing them over to Jack. "I never realized how unpredictable a therapist's schedule can be."

"Me neither. Luckily my schedule isn't so unpredictable."

"I'll just get him for you, then."

"Thank you."

She returned a few moments later with the baby. "He was really good today."

"Good." He took Micah from her. "I'll see you later, then."

"Have a good evening."

"You, too." He buckled Micah into his car seat and carried him outside. "Well, little man, I guess you and I get to have some bonding time while we wait for your mama to get home."

He made a stop at his house to let the dog out before heading to Elizabeth's house.

"Well, Micah," he carried the baby inside and lifted him from the car seat, "what should we do? I don't know what happened to your mama, so I don't know how long it'll be before she gets home. To tell you the truth, I'm a little worried about her. Your Aunt Rosie said she's fine, so hopefully nothing too bad happened."

Micah just looked up at him, wide-eyed, as he spoke.

"Are you hungry? I can make you a bottle. Or we can see what's on TV, or maybe we could read a book. What do you think, little man?"

...

Jack scrambled off the couch when his phone rang across the room.

"Hey, Rosie? What's up? How's Elizabeth?"

She let out a breathy laugh. "She's fine, Jack. She's signing the discharge paperwork right now, and then I'll bring her home."

"But what exactly happened to her?"

"She can explain everything, but the short story is that her shoulder was dislocated, so she'll be in a sling for a little while."

"How on earth did that happen at work?! She's a therapist, not an athlete."

"Again, Jack, just wait for her to explain everything."

"Who's that?" Elizabeth's voice was slightly muffled.

"Was that Elizabeth? Can I talk to her?"

There was a shuffling and then Elizabeth's voice was clear over the line. "Jack."

"Hi, Beth. Are you okay? Rosie said you dislocated your shoulder."

"I'm fine, Jack. It's nothing serious. We're heading home now, and then I'll tell you everything that happened. How's Micah?"

"He's great. I gave him a bottle and he's taking a little nap right now."

"Good."

He sighed. "Elizabeth."

"Hm?"

"It's good to hear your voice. I was worried."

"I'm really okay, Jack. You didn't need to worry."

"I can't help it. I love you, Beth."

"I love you, too. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"See you soon."

...

Jack paced the living room as he waited for Elizabeth to get home.

The moment the door opened, he hurried to the entryway and put his arm around her. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. A little sore. Where's Micah?"

"He's hanging out in his swing. He's been fine."

"Oh, good." She turned toward Rosemary. "Thank you for driving me, Rosie."

"Of course. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. I'll see you later." Once Rosemary left, she returned her attention to Jack. "Okay, I'm hungry, and I want to see my baby."

"I'll get you something. What sounds good?" He led her into the living room and to the sofa.

"I think I have some leftover chili in the fridge, but I can get it, Jack."

"You need to rest. Just sit here with the little man." He lifted Micah from his swing and laid him beside Elizabeth, arranging the pillows so he wouldn't roll off.

She grinned, brushing her finger across his cheek. "Hi, little bug. I missed you. Were you good for Uncle Jack?"

"He's been good, but I think he missed you. They said he was good at daycare today, too."

"You're such a good boy, Micah Patrick." The little baby smiled back up at her.

"I'll go get you your food now."

"Hey, can you get me an ice pack while you're in there?"

"Sure."

...

Jack held Micah while Elizabeth ate her dinner. He wanted so badly to know what had happened, but he didn't want to press her if she didn't want to talk about it.

She met his eyes. "Did I thank you for picking up Micah and watching him for me? If I haven't, thank you."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't a big deal."

"Yes, it was. It made me feel so much better knowing he was with you." She took another bite of food. "I know it's driving you crazy not knowing what happened."

"You don't have to tell me."

"No, I'll tell you." She set aside her empty bowl and tray, settling back against the arm of the sofa. "So, I have this client I've been seeing for a while. He's gotten aggressive before, but never with me. It's usually just throwing toys or kicking chairs, things like that. I don't know what exactly provoked him today, but he pushed me hard enough into the wall to dislocate my shoulder."

"That's awful."

"It's just frustrating because he had made so much progress. Now, we had to put him inpatient, which means we'll probably be starting from square one when he's back with us."

"But what does this mean for you? Will you still be his therapist?"

"I'm not sure. That's up to my supervisor, I guess."

"And what about your shoulder? How long will you be in the sling?"

"It depends on how quickly it starts to heal. Hopefully I won't have to wear it too long. They did an x-ray and nothing was torn or broken, so they were able to get it back in place pretty easily. I'll go see my doctor in a week, and she should have a better idea of a timeline and everything then. Until I see her, I'm supposed to wear the sling all the time, except when I shower or feed Micah."

"So, will you have to take off work until the sling is off?"

"No. Rosie already offered to drive me when she can, and I'm sure some of my coworkers would be willing to give me a ride."

"I can drive you sometimes, too. Or I can help you get Micah to and from daycare. Whatever you need."

"Oh, it would be great if you could help with Micah."

"And I can stay here until you get cleared."

"Jack, I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"I know you are, but I want to help." He leaned across the sofa and kissed her forehead. "I promise I won't try to sneak in your bed in the middle of the night."

"Jack, I don't—"

He pressed his lips to hers, cutting her off. "Please. I know we have our no sleepovers rule, but I can help you with Micah so you don't have to worry about picking him up one-handed, and I can help you cook and clean and stuff."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

She sighed, resigning herself to that fact that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Fine. But you're staying in the guest room no matter how much we may want to share a bed."

"Got it." He chuckled. "I'll just need to run home and get my things and grab Luna, and then I'll be back. Do you need anything before I go?"

"Just Micah." She reached toward him with her good arm. "I haven't held him all day."

Once Jack was satisfied that the baby was comfortably nestled in Elizabeth's lap, he kissed them both and headed out the door to pick up his things from his house.

...

Luna bounced through the door ahead of him. "I'm back."

"I figured." Elizabeth laughed as Luna licked her face.

Jack gently pulled the dog away from Elizabeth. "Where's Micah?"

"Up in my room. He fell asleep, and it was close enough to when I usually put him down that I went ahead and put him to bed."

"I could've helped you put him down." He sank down on the sofa beside her.

"Well, you can help me change his diaper and put him in actual pajamas when he wakes up in half an hour to eat." She yawned and leaned back against Jack's chest. "I'm really glad Micah and I have you."

He kissed the top of her head. "Well, I'm glad I have you and Micah." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "I was really worried about you today. When Rosie called me today and said you were in the hospital, it just brought me back to the day she called and told me about Pat."

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to worry you like that. But I'm fine now. I'm here."

"I know. I just…" he paused, feeling tears form in his eyes. "I love you so much."

...

"Uh, Jack? Can you come here?"

He lowered Micah into the bassinet and stood outside the bathroom door. "What do you need?"

"I need you to come in here."

"Are you decent?"

"Mostly. Just come in here, please."

"Mostly decent? What does that mean?" He pushed the door open with one hand, covering his eyes with the other.

She laughed. "Get in here, Jack. And I need both of your hands for this."

He peeked through his fingers. She had her sling off and one arm partly out of her sleeve.

"This might be a little awkward, but I need help changing my shirt."

"You, uh, need me to, uh…" he trailed off, feeling flustered.

"I know this is weird, but I can't lift my arm over my head, which is making this difficult to do by myself. I think if you can just help me get this off, I should be fine from there."

"Okay. You'll have to talk me through it." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I just figured that, since we have a rule not to share a bed, we should probably make it a rule not to see each other undressed."

Her cheeks reddened at the thought. "Good point."

With a bit of fumbling, he was able to help her out of her shirt and into her pajama top.

She touched his cheek. "You can open your eyes now." Her face was still flushed a light pink, and her hair was slightly tousled. "Thank you for helping me."

He leaned down and kissed her nose. "Anytime."

"I should probably feed Micah now."

"Probably."

She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his, quickly, sweetly. "I love you, Jack."

...

Over the next couple of weeks, Elizabeth's shoulder began healing, she returned to work, and she started going to physical therapy. Jack stayed at her house for the first week—in the guest room, of course—to help her with anything she needed, to take her to work, to get Micah to and from daycare. He would have stayed with her longer, but she insisted she could handle things on her own. He finally relented, with the promise that she would call him if she needed anything, day or night.

Two days before Christmas, they sat in the airport, waiting for their flight to board. Jack gently bounced Micah on his knee while Elizabeth dug through the diaper bag.

"What are you looking for?"

"His pacifier. I want to make sure we can get to it for take-off and landing."

"Oh, for his ears with the pressure change, right?"

She nodded. "I don't want him to be fussing and bothering everyone on the plane."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Won't you, little man?" Jack tickled his belly, eliciting a little laugh.

"Found it!" She held up the pacifier, then moved it to an exterior pocket of the bag. "Okay, now we're ready."

An hour later, they were seated in the plane, soaring thousands of feet above the ground. Jack reached over and took Elizabeth's hand.

"Are you excited to see your parents?"

She nodded. "I know I just saw them a few months ago when Micah was born, but it feels like it's been a long time. And I haven't seen my sisters since the funeral. They haven't even met Micah, yet."

"Are their husbands coming, too?"

"I think so. My mom didn't say anything otherwise."

"And what are their names again? Andrew and…?"

"Sterling."

Jack let go of her hand and shifted Micah to his shoulder, rubbing his back when he started to whine. "Tell me about them. I don't want to be clueless going into this."

"Andrew and Julie met in college. He's an architect. They've been married for about a year and a half now, and they live in St. Louis. Sterling works for my dad's company; he's the boss at the Indianapolis branch. He and Viola have been married five years."

"And none of them have kids?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Micah's the only Thatcher grandbaby right now." She smiled and brushed her fingers across Micah's cheek.

"Okay, should be easy enough to remember."

Their flight wasn't long, but by the time the plane began its descent in Chicago, Elizabeth and Micah were both asleep, Elizabeth leaning on Jack's shoulder and Micah resting against his chest.

Jack smiled, reveling in the moment before the plane would land and disturb their peace.

Elizabeth startled awake when the plane touched down, looking confused for a few seconds before she remembered where she was.

"Oh, Jack. I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"Don't apologize. Micah and I were fine. You needed the rest. Although I could've done without your drooling."

She wiped her mouth, looking mortified when she saw the wet spot on Jack's shirt.

He chuckled, leaning over to kiss her. "I'm kidding. That was all Micah. You're very prim and proper in your sleep. No drooling, no snoring."

She rolled her eyes. "So mean, Jack Thornton. I might just have to uninvite you from the Christmas festivities."

He gasped, feigning shock. "You wouldn't dare."

She shrugged, looking smug. "I might."

"Come on." He took her hand. "Let's go get our bags and find your parents."

...

Jack sat in the living room with Andrew and Sterling. Elizabeth had been corralled into the den by her sisters the moment they had arrived, and she was busy introducing them to Micah.

"So, you're the Jack we've been hearing about? You're dating Elizabeth?"

Jack nodded, wringing his hands nervously in his lap. He didn't know Elizabeth's brothers-in-law well, and he had no idea what sort of questions they would ask.

"Well, she seems really happy with you. I wasn't sure how things would be this year, since Patrick's gone."

"I can't even imagine what it was like for her. And then with the baby, too. Just the thought of losing Julie…" Andrew shook his head. "I don't know how Elizabeth's gotten through it."

"We're all glad she's had you to lean on this past year."

Jack let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "I'm glad I've been able to be there for her. She's one of my best friends. I love her a lot. Micah, too."

"That's good to hear." William entered the room. He put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I know she loves you a lot, as well."

"I'm really blessed to have her and Micah in my life."

William walked around the sofa, taking a seat beside Jack. "Are you thinking about making it official?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I've been thinking a lot about that." He glanced at the door, making sure Elizabeth wouldn't overhear. "I've actually been looking at rings recently, although I'm not planning to ask her anytime soon. We've talked about it, and she doesn't feel ready to be married again just yet."

"But you'll ask her eventually?"

Jack nodded. "As soon as she's ready. She and Micah are my family, and I want nothing more than to marry her and make him my son."

"Well, when you do ask her, tell her Julie will be more than happy to help with the wedding planning," Andrew chuckled.

"Vi, too," Sterling added.

Jack inhaled deeply, beginning to feel overwhelmed with emotion. "You have no idea how wonderful it is for us to have all this love and support from you guys. Not everyone has seen our relationship so positively, and it's been tough on Elizabeth."

"We're just happy to see her happy."

...

"Hey, guys." Elizabeth poked her head into the living room. "Jack, would you mind helping me take my bags upstairs?"

"Sure." He hopped up from the sofa and retrieved her and Micah's bags from the entryway.

She led him up the stairs and down the hall to her childhood bedroom. He deposited her bags just inside the door as she settled onto the bed to feed Micah.

"I'll leave you to it. Can you point me to my room, Beth?"

"Uh, you're actually staying in here with me and Micah. I guess I wasn't thinking when I invited you that there wouldn't be a spare room for you. I hope that's okay." She pulled a blanket up to cover herself and the baby.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Your parents are encouraging us to share a room?"

"Apparently."

"Well, I can sleep on the floor. Don't worry about having to share the bed. We're already breaking the no sleepover rule—again—so we don't need to break another one."

"I invited you here, Jack. I'm not letting you sleep on the floor. You can sleep in the bed, too. I don't mind. But no funny business. Just because we're throwing out some rules during this trip doesn't mean we're throwing out all of them."

"Even if we were throwing out our rules, I'm not about to try anything in your parents' house with your whole family here," he chuckled, "so don't worry."

"Good."

"Well, I guess I'll go get my bags and bring them in here, then."

"We'll be right here."

...

"Your tie is crooked." Elizabeth reached up to straighten it.

"And you shouldn't be reaching up like that. You're going to hurt your shoulder again."

"It's fine. I'm supposed to be exercising it, anyway." She brushed his hand away and finished tightening the knot. "There. You look very handsome, Jack Thornton."

"Thank you." He kissed her nose. "And you look very beautiful, Elizabeth Coulter."

"Thank you." She took his hands. "Let's get going."

At the church, Elizabeth sat in the pew between her parents and Jack, with Micah sitting in her lap. Jack kept his arm on the pew behind her, just lightly brushing his fingers against her shoulder.

Jack loved hearing her voice as she sang along with the familiar Christmas carols. Even Micah was mesmerized, staring up at his mother every time the music started, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

She seemed completely at peace, and for that, Jack was thankful.

After the service, Grace insisted that they take some family pictures in front of the Christmas tree in the church. Jack sneaked a few candid photos of Elizabeth and Micah before she urged him to join her for a couple of pictures.

His heart was full as he stood beside them, the two people who were his entire world.

...

Christmas day was a blur.

Everyone woke early for a big breakfast before opening presents. Although Elizabeth was happy to be with her family, Patrick's absence was almost palpable to her.

She hated that he wasn't there to watch their son smile and let out his first laughs as toys were held up in front of his face and he was hugged and cuddled by his aunts and uncles.

She hated that he wouldn't meet their new nephews—Julie had announced that she and Andrew were expecting a little boy in the spring, and Viola and Sterling announced they were in the process of adopting a young boy.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that her sisters had their husbands with them on their journey to parenthood. As much as she loved Jack and as grateful as she was for his presence in both her and Micah's lives, she had to admit that it wasn't quite the same.

By the end of the day, she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

Jack fell asleep almost immediately. She sat up beside him, Micah laying across her lap.

"Well, you made it through your first Christmas, little bug. What did you think of it?" Elizabeth touched his cheek. "I wish your daddy could have been here for it. You know, he loved Christmas."

She looked over at the window, watching the snow fall as she reminisced about the last Christmas she spent with her husband.

Elizabeth woke to the smell of peppermint and pancakes—the Coulter family had a tradition of eating pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning, and Patrick insisted on continuing that tradition after he and Elizabeth were married.

She pulled on her robe and traipsed down the stairs, finding her husband at the stove, flipping pancakes.

"Good morning, Santa." She stepped up behind him and tugged on the red and white hat perched on his head.

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "Morning, Lizzy. Coffee?"

"Mm, yes please."

He poured her a cup, placing a candy cane in it. "Peppermint coffee to go with our chocolate chip pancakes."

She took the mug from him. "Thank you."

Later that day, they sat on the sofa in his parents' house. Elizabeth was snuggled up to him, as close as possible, while a Christmas movie played on the television. Rosie and Lee sat on the opposite side of the sofa, watching Lorelei play with her new toys.

Patrick moved one hand to Elizabeth's stomach. "You know, Lizzy, we could have one on the way next Christmas."

A flush rose in her cheeks and she put her hand on his. "I can't wait. You're going to be a wonderful father, Patrick Coulter."

"And you'll be a wonderful mother." He kissed the top of her head. "Hey, Liz, if you change your mind, we could actually have one with us next Christmas. In our arms, not in your belly."

"I was so adamant that I wanted to wait." She looked down at Micah, who was still staring up at her, just as he had been the whole time she recounted her memories with Patrick. "Little did I know that you were about to come into existence, Micah Patrick. And now here you are, in my arms this Christmas, just like your daddy said."

Micah yawned, blinking his eyes sleepily.

"Oh, Micah, I love you so much more than you'll ever know. You are the greatest gift I've ever received."

"He is pretty perfect."

"Jack." Elizabeth startled, wiping her eyes. "I thought you were asleep."

"Nope. Just resting my eyes. That was a good story you told him about Pat. May I?" He motioned toward Micah.

She nodded. He reached over and took the now-sleeping baby from her, carrying him around the bed and to his crib.

"I wish Pat was here."

Jack returned to his side of the bed and pulled Elizabeth against him. "So do I. I miss him a lot."

"I'm really glad you're here." She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Elizabeth."

"Merry Christmas, Jack."