Abigail watched Elizabeth as she rolled and cut out cookie dough tirelessly and with such focus that one would think she was conducting open heart surgery. Whilst she was conversational Abigail could sense there was something weighing on her mind and most definitely her heart.

"Abigail did we need one more batch of cookie dough?" Elizabeth asked contemplatively not confident that there was enough.

"I think you may be right. Let's do one more to be safe. Worst case scenario we have a bunch of spares and it's not like our kids would protest to eating the extras." Elizabeth laughed,

"That's for sure. Oh Jack is going to pick up the boys from Basketball practice," she added absently as she measured out the next batch of dough.

"Great, otherwise I would have just sent Peter out."

"Elizabeth, is everything alright?" Abigail asked gently. Elizabeth looked up,

"They will be," she answered trying to sound as confident as she wanted to be.

"Because it's not just you. Jack's been off for days. Is he okay?" Elizabeth sighed inwardly,

"He's not sick if that's what you're asking."

"That's good. You know I'm here if you want to bounce off."

"I do Abigail and I appreciate that more than you know. Jack and I are just working out a few things and that's not always comfortable, for either one of us. I love him, he loves me. We're committed to this thing. Sometimes though working through that is harder than other times." She admitted.

"That's natural and we all go through that." Abigail assured her. Elizabeth wanted to point out most people's marital speed bumps weren't the ghosts of their husbands former wife but she bit her tongue.

"I know, we're working through it the best way we know how." Abigail felt for Elizabeth, all the changes in her life came suddenly and it continued to steam roll ahead. Whilst Elizabeth took it all in and with grace, the toll was threatening her shake her.

By the time Jack arrived with the younger boys the ladies were elbow deep in decorating. Elizabeth outlined, Abigail flooded, when Rosie arrived, she did the intricate decorations while Faith was in charge of the babies, which she declared where her gifts lay. The four of them were like a well oiled machine, they worked instinctively of each other, when Rosie or Elizabeth had to attend to the needs of their own baby Faith stepped in from where they left off as if to not stop their productivity. It was telling of their friendship and their history.

Jack watched his wife completely in the zone, unaware of her surroundings in concentration at the task on hand. All the while he knew that whilst she was in said zone, she was well aware of her children therefore he wasn't surprised when she looked up just as Logan entered the diner doors shortly after he did. She gave him a small smile as she braced herself for the impact of one Logan Thornton who ran past him to greet his mother with a hug and non stop chatter of the day he had. Elizabeth listened with genuine interest and enthusiasm as Jack approached to give her a hug. Her heart ached for him seeing the pain and uncertainty in his eyes knowing that he felt the wall between them, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't undo the feelings that were unearthed that night, and whilst it wasn't necessarily anyone's fault. It unrooted wounds that hadn't completely healed. She placed a hand on his cheek and met his gaze with a nod. Jack placed his hand over hers and held it there closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again. She saw that unshed tears behind them as he kissed the palm he held in his. In that moment, it was as though no one else was in the room.

"Mom, can we go to Papa's this weekend?" Logan asked.

"Your Dad and I have a date on Friday, but we can probably go on Saturday. Jack?"

"Why don't you guys head off Friday morning, Logan has Friday off, we can go on a date there. It'll give you some time with your Dad sweetheart. I'm sure Mrs Hahn is dying to shower Belle with all of her love and attention."

"Is she ever? I am pretty sure she hasn't quite forgiven Dad for not taking her the day the little bug was born. I'll give Dad a call and make sure we're not interrupting anything."

Elizabeth excused herself to make the call after finishing the outline of the last cookie. Jack was holding Belle in his arms whilst Lee held Will in his carrying out a conversation about business related things that was boring to everyone else. Lee was picking Jack's brain about software and what not.

"Everything okay with you man?" Lee asked sensing the distress in Jack's demeanour as he watched Elizabeth from where they were.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because you're staring at your wife like you're afraid to let her out of your sight in case she disappears." Jack chuckled,

"I'm okay. We're just working a couple of things out. We're talking. She's not bolting. So,"

"Jack, contrary to her knee jerk reaction she would never bolt and leave you. I think she's well proven that by now."

"I know, but I am scared that one day she will count the cost and realise the price she paid was higher than the return."

"She doesn't think that way."

"I know and I am grateful but I keep screwing up Lee. Whether I mean to or not, I keep giving her reasons to question that resolve."

"You're being much too hard on yourself man."

"Am I though?"

"Hey Dad, Logan would like to know if we can come home for the weekend?"

"You know you never need to ask Lady Bug. This will always be your home and you can come and go as you please no matter what I'm doing."

"I know, but I didn't want to just descend upon you with our family of four unannounced."

"I appreciate that, but you and I both know your family of four is a welcomed distraction for this particular household." Elizabeth laughed knowing he meant the Hahn's.

"Great, can you please let Mrs Hahn know we're coming. I don't want to get in trouble for not giving her time to prepare."

"We only learn that lesson once my lady bug."

"That we do Dad."

Truth was Elizabeth was glad to be going home and spending time with her Dad. Whilst he came down often, there was something different about being at home in the home she spent most of her summers and weekends at growing up well into adulthood. There was a longing inside her that needed to ride a horse, and not even her own horse, but her mothers which technically was now hers.

When Jack arrived at the Thatcher Manor, he was greeted by Mrs Hahn who was holding his baby girl in her arms. Her love for Elizabeth transcended to their children and him too. Mrs Hahn doted and spoiled them all. Elizabeth most of all. They were all aware she treated Elizabeth as the daughter they were never able to have and the Thatcher's were more than generous to share.

"Mr William and Logan are in the barn grooming Thunder, they've just come back from checking the fences in the far south end of the property. They're about to come in come in for lunch so you're just in time."

"And my wife," he asked though he had already guessed,

"She's just fed the little one. I suspect she'll be gone awhile because she allowed me to force feed her before she left."

"Thank you, I'm glad you did."

"Some things never change. That one and horses for as long she's been alive. You'd think she was born on one." Jack smiled. He loved hearing stories about Elizabeth when she was little and Mrs Hahn was full of them. As was William, Mr Hahn and Lee.

Elizabeth enjoyed her ride, and if she were honest she knew she wasn't riding as safely or as sensibly as she should have been but she just needed to ride hard and fast to clear her head. Blaze knew exactly what she needed and ran as hard and as fast as she needed. Elizabeth found herself at her favourite tree. She and Lee had spent most of their childhood climbing said tree and swinging off the branches like a couple of monkeys. She couldn't wait to share it with Logan and Annabel when they were old enough to climb trees and swing off branches. Though she knew that Logan was, she wanted to show them together. She also wanted to keep it hers and Lee's for a little while longer. It was the hiding place her mother always found her at when she went missing. As she sat there she knew she was trying to conjure up her mother, and it was one of the places she felt her presence the strongest. Whilst praying had certainly helped, she just needed the comfort of her mother. Elizabeth lay on the grass by the roots of the tree and closed her eyes.

"The road to true love is seldom easy but always worth it…" her mother's words echoed in her ears.

"Surely it wasn't meant to be this hard? How do I know that I made the right decision? How do I know I didn't force this?" she asked.

"Because he loves you just as much as you love him."

"Does he though?" she argued stubbornly. In that moment all of these memories came flooding in. The look on his face, the smile that appeared when she walked into a room. Moments she took for granted confirming the very thing she was questioning. Yeah he loved her and yeah she knew that, but she was also sick of playing second fiddle to the ghost of his wife. That's what it came to if she were honest with herself. She felt like she was in competition with someone who was flawless, essentially she felt like she was competing with the love of his life.

After a little while, she headed back to the homestead taking it slow not in any rush. She found her Dad leaning against the barn door as though he was anticipating her return. It was a very familiar scene between them.

"Hey Daddy, where's your shadow?" she asked as he helped her off the Blaze.

"Currently in the kitchen with Mrs Hahn baking your favourite scones."

"Naw, he's the best." She answered leading Blaze into her stall to brush her down.

"Everything okay Lady bug?" he asked.

"Yeah Daddy. I miss Mom. I just needed to feel her presence, and here, with you is always the strongest I feel her."

"Did it help?"

"It always does."

"Your Husband keeps looking out the window for you as though he's wiling you to appear, is he okay?"

"Why are you asking me and not him?" she asked knowing he would have already asked Jack.

"Because I'm still your father and no matter how good of an actress you are when you want to be and how protective you are of your marriage, your husband's poker face when it comes to you is non existent so I know whatever it is, it's shaken you."

"We're just working through a couple of things, he's just worried like he always is. We'll get there he just needs to let time do it's thing you know?"