Chapter 34

Elizabeth decided to take a cup of coffee up to Nathan and pick up the clothes they had worn the previous night. They had been impatient and left everything where it fell. She didn't want Allie to see the mess. Nathan opened his eyes as the smell of coffee filled the air. He had been tired if Elizabeth had been able to get dressed and make coffee without him waking up. He got up and started to get dressed as Elizabeth walked in handing him the cup. He thanked her before taking a swallow. While he drank his coffee, Elizabeth picked up the clothing strewn around the room and laid them over the back of the chair.

Nathan smiled thinking of the night before and all those buttons. He gave Elizabeth a kiss and reminded her that he was meeting Bill and Lee at the build site to try and get more of the framing done. They wanted to start the second floor soon. He thought Elizabeth looked a little flustered because her blouse wasn't buttoned up all the way and she had left her hair loose. She told him that Rosemary had brought the children home while they were in bed so she had to rush getting dressed. She gave him a quick kiss and said breakfast is ready when you are.

Elizabeth was standing close to the top of the stairs when she heard a knock on the door. Elizabeth started to do up the top buttons of her blouse not knowing who was there, she knew it wouldn't be Rosemary. Allie swung the door opened and was surprised by who was standing there. Mr. Bouchard had left town right after the prisoner transfer and hadn't been seen since. Now he was standing at their door.

Lucas was surprised to see Allie and not Elizabeth at the door. He wondered why Allie was there. Was Nathan out of town and Elizabeth was watching her? Was Allie babysitting little Jack? Allie didn't look too happy to see him. Allie turned her head and yelled, "Mom, Dad we have a guest". Elizabeth finished the last button of her blouse as she stepped off the last stair. She turned towards the door and froze. Nathan had heard Allie and started down the stairs with half the buttons on his shirt still unbuttoned. He nearly walked into Elizabeth and said, "Elizabeth is everything all right"? He looked at the open door and saw their guest. Lucas was the last person he had expected to see that morning.

Lucas didn't know who looked more surprised. Both Elizabeth and Nathan looked just as stunned as he felt. Obviously, a lot had changed while he was away. Lucas had always believed that absence makes the heart grow fonder and was hoping that Elizabeth would be waiting for him when he came back. He hoped that Elizabeth would have seen that being with Nathan was too risky but that backfired on him.

Elizabeth was the first to recover and said, "Welcome back, Lucas. I hope you enjoyed your visit with your parents. The town was wondering when you would return. Hickam and Gustav must be happy to have you back. Would you care for a cup of coffee"? Elizabeth was trying to be polite because she was going to have to tell him that her and Nathan were happily married.

Lucas sat down at the table and Nathan sat across from him. Elizabeth poured Nathan another cup of coffee before pouring one for Lucas and herself. She sat down beside Nathan and asked Lucas about his trip. She took a sip of her coffee and thought it tasted different almost bitter. Lucas looked around and saw photographs placed throughout the room. Some were family pictures, some of Elizabeth and Jack, and some looked like wedding pictures, Nathan and Elizabeth's wedding pictures. Lucas looked at Elizabeth's hands and saw wedding rings on her hand but they looked different from the ones she wore before. He looked at Nathan's hands and saw a gold band. He then knew without a doubt that Elizabeth was Nathan's wife.

Lucas sipped his coffee and said, "I see congratulations are in order. How long have you been married? I truly am happy for you. I brought a gift, some European delicacies. The chocolates are divine". Nathan and Elizabeth were shocked that Lucas was taking the news so well. They hadn't known how he would react. Nathan had seen Lucas in the street after the prisoner transfer and suspected that was why he had left but he wasn't sure. Lucas maybe had just missed his family. Nathan answered, "we've been married for more than two months. We just finalized Allie's adoption as well."

Lucas thanked them for the coffee and left. Elizabeth then grabbed their breakfast plates that were still warm and set them at the table. Nathan finished his plate while Elizabeth picked at hers. Her stomach didn't feel right that morning. She wasn't sure if it was something she ate, the coffee, or if she was just overtired. Nathan told her to try and get some rest before grabbing his tool belt and work gloves and heading out the door. Before he left, he did ask Allie to keep an eye on little Jack because Elizabeth wasn't feeling great. Allie hoped that her new mom wasn't getting sick.