Hi All!

It's been...*checks notes*...approximately five years since I've really written any fanfiction. I literally couldn't even remember which email I used for the old account I used to have, but I've been encouraging myself to write on a daily basis, and over the past few weeks have built up a decent collection of shorts based on my personal favorite When Calls couple - Lucas & Elizabeth!

I know that things are tense right now in the When Calls world, and I know that there aren't a lot of us Team Lucas fans out there, but I hope these bring a smile to someone's face because they sure have been fun to write. I'll post one every few days, or as soon as I feel they're written and edited and ready to go! But here's a little one to start you all off.

Enjoy! =)

Lucas Bouchard still couldn't believe it.

He'd heard the story of his father courting his mother what felt like a million times, so it had felt almost like second nature when he'd told it to Elizabeth. What he didn't expect was how terribly long it would feel to go through the process himself, much to her amusement. Granted, he was a patient man, and he would've waited a lifetime for the woman now laying next to him, but sometimes it still felt surreal.

There were times, many times, over the past four and a half years where he'd been so certain that he'd never get the moments with her that he so eagerly hoped for. Like quiet evenings in the library with her and Little Jack, reading whatever series he was currently invested in, or morning strolls from their home to the schoolhouse. He'd imagined time and time again what it would feel like to not have to leave her each evening, but nothing could have prepared him for the joy he felt waking next to her each morning.

Lucas had always expected Elizabeth to be an early riser. She just seemed like the kind of person who would want to get a head start on the day, and with classes always starting early and a son to take care of, he'd just assumed that she would be out of bed before the sun was up. But as it turned out, she did some of her best thinking and writing late at night, and he'd often find her still typing away when he returned from a late night at the saloon. She would frequently resist his pleas to follow him to bed, but in the end it never took too much convincing, and she'd let him pull her up the stairs to their room.

This meant that, in the mornings, he was usually fortunate enough to wake before her, affording him time to watch her sleep peacefully. She was nothing short of stunning at all times, but in her slumber, with the soft morning light beginning to peek its way through the curtains on the window, he was certain he'd never seen anything more beautiful. With her hair splayed out across the pillow, dark against its soft fabric, she was frequently turned toward him, allowing him the perfect view of her face so peaceful in rest. But it was the way she slept with her hands tucked up against her chest, resting just under her chin, that always made him smile because, if he was being honest, he'd never seen someone do anything quite as cute as that.

But as the warmth of a new day continued to make its way into their bedroom, he always knew that he'd have to wake her. It pained him to do it, well aware that this woman beside him did just as much for the town as a whole as she did for their little family and that it frequently left her exhausted. Still, the world was waiting for them, and they, unfortunately, couldn't spend every day in bed.

Although he'd thought about it once or twice.

Just as he did every morning, Lucas shifted so he was once again laying with his head resting against the pillow instead of propped up on one arm. He reached out to slowly unravel one of her hands to take in his, bringing it to his lips to leave the lightest of kisses there. When she still didn't stir, and she usually didn't, he moved to kiss her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and eventually, traced his way down to her lips.

Finally, Elizabeth began to move, smiling into his kiss and returning it in kind, but her eyes remained closed. "I don't want to get up yet" she said as he pulled back, her voice still rough from sleep.

Lucas chuckled, pulling her into his arms so her head was resting in the crook of his neck. "It's a good thing then, my love, that we still have time."

She hummed softly, "how much time?"

He held her a little tighter and responded without skipping a beat, "all the time in the world, Sweetheart. We have all the time in the world."