Jack stood up, stretching his legs. "I'm going to try to find a snack. Do you want anything?"
"Maybe some fruit if you can find it, and some cheese crackers for Micah."
"Fruit, cheese crackers. Got it." He put his phone in his pocket. "Send me a text if you think of anything else."
"Daddy." Micah reached for him.
"Do you want to come with me, little man?" He lifted him from the chair. "Let's go see what kind of trouble we can get into."
Elizabeth held up a backpack. "Can you change his diaper while you're at it?"
"Sure." He slung the bag over his shoulder. "Say 'see you in a bit, mama.'"
"See bit mama," Micah repeated.
She chuckled. "Have fun with daddy."
She settled back into her seat as they walked away from the gate. It had been a long day already, and they still had their longest flight ahead of them. Micah had—thankfully—been well-behaved for the first leg of their journey, but she wondered how he would fare being cooped up for almost seven more hours.
She dug around in her bag until she found her book. Ever since Jack had brought her a couple of books from Oxford, he had made it a habit to randomly gift her with books. For their trip, she had packed the copies of Wuthering Heights and Brave New World that he had given her a couple of weeks before.
She flipped open Brave New World, getting so lost in the pages that she didn't hear Jack come back with Micah.
"Mama." Micah climbed onto her lap, startling her for a moment.
"That's a good book, huh?" Jack chuckled, taking a seat beside her. "I called your name a couple times."
"Sorry." She closed the book and set it aside, reaching for the cup of fruit he held out for her.
"Don't apologize." He smiled, draping his arm around her shoulders. "I've known you long enough to know you're in your own little world when you have a book in your hands. And speaking of books…" He handed her a small bag.
She peered inside; it held a copy of Northanger Abbey.
"Jack Thornton. At the rate you keep giving me books, we're going to run out of room in our house, and we won't have any space for new babies."
He shrugged. "Then we'll just have to add another room to the house."
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Incorrigible."
...
After a relatively uneventful flight—Micah didn't sleep as much as they had hoped, but he had stayed quiet as they distracted him with various movies on the screen in front of his seat—their plane landed in Dublin. They went through customs and retrieved their luggage before piling into a rental car.
Elizabeth stared out the window, eyes wide, as they left the city behind and found themselves surrounded by lush, green countryside.
"It's so beautiful. I can see why you love it over here."
He reached across the center console and squeezed her hand. "I'm so happy I get to share it with you." He glanced at the car seat in the rearview mirror. "And little man, of course."
Elizabeth turned around to check on Micah. "He's out. I hope you're ready for cranky jet-lagged Micah."
"Is he better or worse than cranky jet-lagged Elizabeth?"
"Ha ha." She rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty good at combatting jet lag. Now, when we get back home, it'll be a different story."
"It is always worse going home. All the adrenaline is gone."
"I really do wonder how Micah is going to handle the time difference."
He glanced in the rearview mirror again. "If we can get him to sleep well tonight, he should be fine for the rest of the trip."
"We'll see if that happens." She looked out the window. "What's the plan for the rest of the day once we get to the house?"
"Walk around town, find somewhere to have dinner, relax. I really don't have too many concrete plans for this trip. There are places I want to take you, but nothing is set in stone."
"What kind of places?"
He turned down a narrow road and slowed the car. "The Cliffs of Moher is the main place I want to go while we're here. There are a few places on the far north coast I'd like to visit when we're staying in Coleraine, mainly Giant's Causeway and Carrickarede Island."
"And in Scotland?"
"Lots of castles, a cool bridge and steam train up in the Highlands. And let me know if there are any specific places you want to see."
She smiled. "I think there's a castle where they filmed a few episodes of Downton Abbey up in northern England. I'll look up how far it is from Stirling."
"Is it Alnwick? They filmed some Harry Potter there, too, so I was already looking at maybe visiting there. Opal would love to see some pictures."
"Perfect."
...
Elizabeth nervously looked on as Jack helped Micah walk closer to the edge of the cliff. "Jack, whatever you do, don't let go of him."
"I won't." He picked up the little boy and set him on his shoulders. "What do you think, little man? This is your first time really seeing the ocean. And you know what? Our house is way on the other side of this ocean."
Micah stared out at the water crashing against the cliffs, his nose and cheeks turning pink from the wind. Jack pointed out various caves and rock formations emerging from the water and a stone tower looking out over the cliffs.
Despite her anxiety about them being so close to the edge, Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the sight of her two favorite guys. She snapped a photo of them, capturing the moment forever.
"What are you smiling about over there?" Jack had turned to look at her.
"Just how cute you two are. I know I've said it before, but we're lucky to have you."
He walked over and kissed her softly, sending Micah into a fit of giggles. "Oh, you think that's funny, little man?" He lifted him off his shoulders and smothered him in kisses.
"Daddy!" He laughed even harder.
Elizabeth chuckled. "I love you both so much."
...
Elizabeth followed Jack down the path. "Jack, how high up is this rope bridge?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Jack, please tell me."
He paused and turned to face her. "It's about a hundred feet up."
"What?! A hundred feet?!"
"It's fine, Elizabeth, I promise. Thousands of people cross it every year."
"I don't know about this."
"Here, how about we walk out there, and then if you don't want to cross, you don't have to? I'm sure you wouldn't be the only one not crossing."
She took a deep breath. "Okay."
Micah babbled quietly as they continued down the path. Jack spoke to him about the blue water and the birds flying around them. Before long, they approached the bridge.
Elizabeth's steps faltered.
Jack looked at her expectantly. "Yes or no?"
"As terrified as I am, we came all this way. I might as well do it."
"Okay. Do you want go in front of me or behind me?"
Elizabeth looked out at the bridge and wavered a bit. "Behind, I think."
"Hey, this is perfectly safe. Look at all those people who have gone across just fine." He pointed across the way, where a group of people was waiting to return.
"I know. It's just…really high up."
"Don't look down. Just hold on tight and keep your eyes on me."
She nodded and took a deep breath as they descended the steps to the bridge. It swayed a bit as they crossed, but it was sturdier than she expected.
Micah was in a carrier on Jack's back; he leaned his head against Jack's shoulder. Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief when her feet were on solid ground again.
Jack kissed her cheek. "You did it."
"I did it. Now I'm just ignoring the fact that we have to cross it again to get back."
He chuckled. "Come on, let's go explore."
They meandered around the tiny island, taking photos of the scenery and each other.
"Okay, this was worth it. It's gorgeous out here." Elizabeth glanced out over the water at the white cliffs, watching the birds swooping through the air below them. "What do you think, Micah?"
"Bird!" He pointed at one that flew near them.
"That's right, little man. I think that was a puffin. Can you say puffin?"
"Pup-in!"
Jack laughed. "Good job, bud."
"Pup-in pup-in pup-in."
"You like those puffins, huh?"
"I wonder what he'll think when we go to Giant's Causeway later. Do you want to see some cool rocks, little man?"
"Wock?"
"Yeah, rocks."
Later that afternoon, they learned that Micah loved the 'wocks.' He wasn't content to be kept in the carrier, and he insisted on climbing the rock formations on his own.
Once again, Elizabeth looked on nervously, though Jack assured her he was right there to catch Micah if he started to fall.
Micah was giggling as he crawled up the clusters of rock columns.
"So what exactly is it that makes the rocks shaped like that again?"
"They're made of hardened lava, and something about the way the lava originally cooled made it crack into hexagons."
"Nature is just so amazing." She stared down at the rocks beneath her feet. "Thank you for bringing us here."
"Why don't we go climb that bit over there?" He pointed at some rock columns that stood taller than those surrounding them.
"Okay, but Micah has to hold one of our hands for that one."
He scooped Micah up, and he promptly started whining.
"No, daddy."
"We aren't leaving yet, bud. We're just going over to some other rocks."
"Oh, little bug, you're a mess." Elizabeth chuckled when she noticed the dirt and water all over his clothes. "You're going to need a bath when we get back."
...
Elizabeth reclined on the bed, running her fingers through Micah's damp hair as he dozed on her chest.
"Have you packed yet?" Jack came in the room, carrying a glass of water.
"No. I've been busy." She nodded toward Micah. "Don't we have time to pack in the morning? Our flight isn't that early."
"We'll have some time, but don't forget it's about an hour back to the airport." He settled on the bed beside her. "Are you excited to see Scotland?"
She smiled and nodded. "So excited. This trip has been wonderful so far, Jack. I'm really glad you suggested it."
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I figured it'd be nice to have some time away from home, just the three of us, and who knows when we'll be able to make a trip like this again?"
"What do you mean?" She got up and laid Micah in the portable crib.
"Just logistically, it's tough enough traveling with a toddler, so can you imagine how much more difficult it will be for us to travel when we have another baby?"
"I guess that's a good point." She sighed. "Are you sure you're ready for us to start trying in a month? We can wait longer."
"Elizabeth." He took her hand and pulled her back down on the bed. "I want a baby whenever you're ready. I realize there are some things we might have to give up for a while—like big trips like this—but a baby? One that's a little bit of both of us? That's better than all the trips we could ever take."
"Jack…" She rolled onto her side and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He kissed her again. "I think I'm going to take a shower now. Care to join me?"
She smiled. "I'd love to."
...
They spent the next day traveling to their final vacation home in Stirling. After an afternoon of relaxing and a delicious dinner at a local pub, they were ready to start exploring again in earnest the following day.
"I hope you're ready to get your fill of castles today." Jack pulled out of the driveway of the little house.
"How many are we visiting?"
"Three, if we have time. Stirling, Doune, and Edinburgh."
"Three in one day?"
"Stirling is just right up there," he pointed toward a castle standing in the distance, "and Doune is just about fifteen minutes away. Edinburgh is about an hour from here. We should have plenty of time."
As they approached the castle, they noticed a few signs up stating that it was closed to tours due to a private event.
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Jack shrugged. "More time to spend at the other castles, I guess. Off to Doune we go."
They spent the morning exploring the fourteenth century castle, wandering through the courtyard and the dark, stone rooms, and listening to descriptions of each room through the headphones they were given at the castle entrance.
Micah especially loved peering through the narrow windows facing the surrounding countryside and wooded areas. When he started to get a little fussy, they returned to the courtyard, letting him have a snack and walk around for a while.
"So, Edinburgh next?"
"Mhmm." Jack handed Micah another cracker. "I figured we can either stop for lunch somewhere on our way there, or we can wait until we actually get to the city."
"Maybe on the way there. I'm getting hungry."
"Okay."
A few hours later, they found themselves in another castle, this time in Edinburgh. The fortress sat on a hill, looking out at the city.
They had wandered through the various rooms in the castle, getting a chance to see war artifacts, the Scottish Crown Jewels, and the Stone of Scone, among other things.
"You can see so much from up here." Elizabeth stood next to a half wall, staring out at Edinburgh. It seemed like she could see the entire city from the castle.
"It really is something, huh?" He slipped an arm around her waist. "You know, I've been here before, but it's so much better being here with you and Micah." He kissed her temple.
She nudged him playfully. "You're such a sweet talker, Jack Thornton."
He gave her a crooked grin. "That's why you married me."
...
Elizabeth scrolled through her phone while she waited for Jack to get out of the shower. He emerged after a few minutes, his hair dripping and his face flushed from the heat.
"Hon, you'll never guess why Stirling Castle was closed today."
"Why?" He ran a towel over his hair.
"The Queen was there."
"The Queen? Of England?"
She nodded. "Apparently this is the time of year she comes up to Scotland. And you know when we walked by Holyrood Palace? That's where she stays while she's here."
"That's crazy."
"It'll be a fun story to tell people. 'Yeah, we were going to visit Stirling Castle, but the Queen was there.'"
He chuckled and took a seat on the bed beside her. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"
She set her phone on the nightstand. "What are the options again?"
"Well, we can just hang out around here, or if you and Micah are willing to be in a car for a little while, or there's the bridge up in the Highlands I had mentioned, or Alnwick Castle."
"We have two more full days. Can we do the bridge and that castle?"
"If you're up for it, yeah. If we want to see the steam train, we have to be there at a particular time, so we need to stick to a schedule for that."
"Okay. Let me know what time, and I'll make sure to have everything ready."
The next day, they stood on a little overlook nestled among some trees, glancing out at the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
"Keep watching, Micah. There'll be a train go across that bridge any minute." Jack pointed. "Can you say train?"
"Twain!"
He squealed with delight when the black and red train came into view, blowing steam into the air as it chugged along the viaduct.
"That's a special train, Micah. See it's blowing steam out of the engine? The steam is what helps it move."
"He's going to be the smartest kid in daycare when we get back." Elizabeth chuckled. "He's learned about birds and geology and castles and trains."
"I'm pretty sure he was already the smartest kid in daycare."
"You're just biased."
He grinned. "Maybe a little."
"Daddy!" Micah pointed at the train as it rounded the curve.
"Yeah, bud. It's still chugging along."
...
Elizabeth shifted Micah in her arms. "Are you ready to go back home tomorrow, little bug?"
"Home?"
"Yeah, home. With Opal and Lorelei and Leo."
"Don't forget Luna."
"Dog! Woof!"
Jack chuckled. "I think he likes Luna more than he likes us."
"I have to agree with you there."
"Mama!" Micah pointed as the castle came into view. "Cattle."
She laughed at his sweet little mispronunciation. "Another castle, yeah. You've seen lots of castles now, Micah."
"This one is called Alnwick."
"It looks just like it did in Downton Abbey. Sometime, we'll have to come back to England and visit the place where most of the show was filmed. I think it's down south, though."
"Maybe for an anniversary trip?" Jack put his arm around her as they approached the castle entrance. "We could visit London and Oxford, too."
"It's a plan." She grinned.
As they had many times over the previous days, they spent a few hours wandering the castle grounds. Jack pointed out spots that were familiar to him from the Harry Potter movies that he had watched with Opal, and Elizabeth pointed out the rooms she recognized from Downton Abbey.
Micah had a blast traipsing through the green grass of the courtyard and watching children play with broomsticks.
At the end of the day, they took their time getting back to the car. Micah was fast asleep in Jack's arms, worn out by the day's events.
Jack sighed. "I miss home, and I know I'll be happy to be back, but part of me doesn't want to leave tomorrow."
"I know exactly what you mean." She put a hand on his back, rubbing gently. "But it'll be good to get back in our routine. Plus," she lowered her voice, "getting home brings us one step closer to trying for another baby."
He smiled. "I can't wait. I love you, Beth."
"I love you, too, professor."