THE BED AND BREAKFAST

Elizabeth waited all morning and most of the afternoon for Jack to return.

Finally the door opened and she looked up. "Hey," she said, greeting him at the door.

"Hey," he whispered, grabbing her, holding her tight, as if afraid she would disappear.

"What happened?"

"You didn't see it on the news?"

"No." She walked over and pushed the power button and then found the local news station.

The line at the bottom of the screen made her gasp. "Two local firefighters killed in a morning blaze. Three others were seriously injured."

"Jack, it wasn't Lee, right?" She didn't want to lose him, after being friends for over twenty years. She couldn't imagine how Rosie would handle it.

"No, he's ok."

"Who was it?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him down on the edge of the bed.

"Sam Waters and Ryan Peterson."

Sam had a wife and a daughter about Syd's age. Ryan was young and engaged to Haley French, the woman who owns the flower shop, Frenchie's Flowers.

Elizabeth looked back to the television. "Do you want me to turn this off?"

"I don't care. I'm going to go take a shower."

Elizabeth watched him leave the room and continued to watch the latest.

"Earlier, Captain Thornton addressed the crowd."

"Afternoon everyone. The fire that broke out this morning north of town on Palmer Road, has been contained. The abandoned home and barns on the property are a total loss, unfortunately. As you are aware, Firefighters Samuel Waters and Ryan Peterson were killed in the line of duty and three others are seriously injured and currently in St. Joseph hospital. The families of those fallen have been notified. Funeral arrangements will be made as soon as possible. Thank you."

Elizabeth's phone rang and she saw it was Syd. "Syd? Honey? Are you ok?"

"It's not Daddy is it? I heard a firefighter died."

"No, sweetie, he's ok. Two died. Sam Waters and Ryan Peterson."

"Mr. Waters? Oh no! That's Katie's dad."

"Oh no. I'm so sorry sweetie." The name hadn't registered in Elizabeth's mind. Of course she knew Sam and Hanna Waters.

Elizabeth's heart broke as she listened to Syd cry over the phone. "Mom. Please come home."

"Ok, Syd. We'll be home soon."

"Promise?"

"Yes, of course. Your dad's in the shower. We'll come home when he gets out."

"Ok. Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I love you and Daddy so much."

"We love you too, baby. See you soon."

AT THE THORNTONS

Elizabeth and Jack walked in the house about thirty minutes later. Syd showed up in the doorway, her face wet with tears. "Daddy?" Jack held out his arms and she ran to him. "Daddy, I'm so sorry."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too." He held her tight against his chest until they both finished crying.

Syd loved the feel of his strong arms. Ever since she was really young, she felt safe there. As if nothing bad could ever happen. Now, she was old enough to realize that bad things happened, but he would always be there to comfort her when they did. "I love you," she whispered as she stood on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"I love you back." He kissed the top of her head and looked at Elizabeth who was crying by the sink. He held his arm out to her, wanting her to join their hug. She didn't hesitate.

"Syd? I want you to know I'm proud of you," Elizabeth began as they stepped back to wipe their eyes.

"But I let you down. I let myself down."

"Honey, that's part of life. I'm proud of you for growing up these last few months. You've been working really hard."

"I wanted to show you and Dad that you can trust me."

"You're getting there."

"I've saved almost eight hundred dollars. I know it's not enough but it's more than I've ever had."

"That's good, sweetie."

"I heard from Gavin." Jack sat down and stared at his daughter, determined to keep himself calm.

"Did you?" Elizabeth acknowledged.

"Yeah. He wants me to have an abortion."

Jack clenched his fists and started to count to one hundred.

"I told him that he lost the right to make any type of decision the moment he left. I told him that I was keeping the baby."

Elizabeth sat down and sighed, her heart swelling with love and pride for her daughter. "You're keeping it?"

"Yes. Is that ok with you?"

"It's your decision, baby. I can't make it for you."

"I just meant, I know babies take up a lot of space and if it's too much, maybe I can move to Florida with Grams."

"Not a chance," Jack said, jumping in. "You can't take my grandchild to Florida. I need you both here."

"I don't want to leave, but what if you and Mom have a baby? We only have one extra room."

"The babies can share, or we can move, but I need my family. You never know when we might lose each other."

A tear fell down his cheek as he thought about the families of Sam and Ryan.

"Ok, I'll stay, Dad."

A WEEK LATER

Elizabeth was standing next to Jack as he gave his condolences to Sam's and Ryan's families after the funeral. It was obviously very difficult for him to do, but he was strong and she let him know she supported him by her gentle hand on his arm.

She had never been to a firefighter funeral before. The sight of over a hundred men in uniform, from Dillon, Chelsea, Ann Arbor, and Jackson Fire Departments lined up on the street, saluting as the fire engine carrying two caskets drove slowly past, was overwhelming, to say the least.

The men standing there considered themselves brothers and to lose two of their own was devastating.

Syd stood next to Katie, holding her hand in support. The girls had known each other since kindergarten and became fast friends and stayed that way. Watching her friend lose her father had affected Syd deeply, causing her to draw closer to her own.

"Elizabeth?" Rosie walked up to her, drawing her close in a hug. "How are you?"

"Hi, Rosie. I'm doing ok. How are you?"

"Sad, but grateful."

"I know what you mean."

"Lee and I want to invite you and Jack to dinner at Collin's tonight. We haven't been out in awhile."

"You're right. I'll talk to Jack and let you know. Syd is with us too."

"Did you need me, Mom? I heard my name." Syd walked up, her hand subconsciously resting on her slight tummy.

"Lee and Rosie want your father and I to go out to dinner. I just mentioned you were with us too."

"Well, Katie wants me to spend the night tonight. Is that ok?"

"Sure, Sweetie. She needs you right now."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you." She kissed her cheek and then walked over to Katie again.

COLLINS RESTAURANT

Elizabeth took Jack's hand as they walked in the door of the restaurant. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress. "Don't worry. You look perfect," he said, squeezing her hand.

"I've been in this dress all day. I'm sure I don't look perfect. You, however…" Jack in his navy dress uniform was enough to give her heart palpitations.

When they stepped into the waiting area of the restaurant, they noticed that the tables were filled with firefighters and their wives.

A young firefighter walked up to them first. "Captain, I just want to say that I respect you and everything you tried to do for Waters and Peterson. I consider myself lucky to have you as my superior."

"Thank you, Davis. I appreciate that. I'm the lucky one, I assure you."

"Ma'am, I'm Steve Davis. You must be Elizabeth."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you Steve."

"You too, Ma'am." He nodded at both of them and rejoined his table.

Throughout the night, various other young men approached Jack and thanked him for doing a good job and assured him they didn't blame him for the deaths of their brothers.

Elizabeth slipped her hand inside Jack's and weaved their fingers together. She wouldn't ask him now, but apparently something occurred during the fire that he hadn't told her about.

LATER AT THE THORNTONS

Liam was in the living room watching TV when they got home. "Liam, bedtime."

"Aw, Mom. It's only ten o'clock."

"Yes, but that's your bedtime."

"None of my friends have bedtimes anymore."

"That's fine. We're not your friends' parents. Time for bed."

He shut the TV off, grumbling something under his breath, and went to his room.

Even as a baby, the boy never wanted to sleep when he should. He was a night owl and would probably stay up all night if she let him.

Elizabeth walked in the kitchen and found Jack at the table, his head in his hands. "Honey? Tell me what happened that day."

He looked up and watched her approach. "It doesn't matter."

"Everything that matters to you matters to me. Sound familiar?"

"Somewhat," he said, a tiny smile on his lips.

"This unbelievably handsome man, claiming to be my husband said that to me." She sat down gently in his lap.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, and it showed me how much he really cared about my feelings." She kissed him softly and ran her fingers through his hair. "I am here to listen, sweetie. I care about what's bothering you." He sighed, bringing his lips to hers for a moment and then he started.

"When we got to the property, the structure of the house was already compromised. I had to send two in to clear the house. We needed to make sure no one was in there."

"You didn't know it was abandoned?"

"Yes, but sometimes abandoned houses have occupants and we need to be sure. So I sent Waters and Peterson in to clear it. I told the men at the truck to ease on the water pressure a bit because I was afraid the roof and walls would collapse on them."

"Is that what happened?"

"Yes, the roof and walls were too far gone already so almost as soon as they got in there, it came down. I sent three men in to try to get them out. They did, but they ended up hurt too."

"Why did the men think you blame yourself for what happened?"

"I was the Captain of the squad. It happened on my watch."

"Yes, but you didn't cause it."

"They were my responsibility. I shouldn't have sent them in there, Elizabeth. They died because I sent them into an unstable building."

"No one thinks that."

"I think that." He stood up and walked into their bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

THE NEXT MORNING

Elizabeth sat up, stretched her back because she slept in the recliner all night, and yawned.

She walked into her and Jack's room and he was still asleep. She sat down on the edge of the bed and watched him, forcing herself not to run her fingers over his muscled arms and chest. He must have sensed her watching because his eyes opened.

"Morning," she whispered, kissing him.

"You didn't come to bed last night," he mentioned.

"You shut the door. I figured you wanted time to yourself."

"Will you come to bed now?"

"I could." He sat up and smiled at her. "What are you smiling at?"

"My beautiful wife. You still look perfect in that dress."

"Mmhmm." She stood up and removed her dress, grabbed a robe and slipped into the bathroom.

"Hey I thought you were coming to bed," he called.

He heard nothing but the shower water and then his wife singing their song. He laid down and waited for her to come back out…for about a minute. Then he jumped out of bed and joined her instead.

IN THE KITCHEN

About an hour later, Liam walked into the kitchen, searching for something to eat for breakfast. Since it didn't seem like his parents were up, he decided to cook. He could make a mean omelet.

He went to the refrigerator and took out butter, onion, green pepper, chicken from the day before, milk, eggs, and cheese. He sautéed the onion, green pepper and chicken, and then added the eggs he had scrambled with the milk. The next thing he knew, he had a good breakfast.

He sat down to eat and realized it wasn't enough. He was going to have to make a second one and toast…and maybe some fruit.

"What smells so good?" Jack asked as he followed Elizabeth into the kitchen.

They looked down at the table and then over at the counter and the stove, finding chaos. "Apparently your son made himself breakfast," she said to Jack.

"Yes, apparently. And apparently your son forgot to clean up after himself."

"At least he left a note. He went to Ty's house." She set the note down on the counter and smiled.

"What?"

"Liam and Syd are both gone."

"Yes, true."

"We have the house to ourselves, my dear." She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Wow, that never happens." He untied her robe and slipped his hands around her waist. "You smell good," he whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Good morning you two!" Charlotte said loudly as she walked in the door. She didn't seem the least bit sorry she had interrupted them.

Elizabeth quickly tied her robe and sighed, looking at Jack, imploring him to ask her to go.

"Mom, I don't remember a message saying you were coming by this morning."

"I need to make an appointment to see my own family? That's ridiculous."

"No appointment. Just a bit of warning would be nice."

"Don't sass. Where are the kids?"

"At their friends houses."

"Oh, well that's nice for you to have some time alone."

"Yes, except, as you can see, we aren't alone, are we?" He gestured to her.

"I suppose not. I stand corrected. Now, Elizabeth. I have some ideas about Syd."

Jack stared at his mother and then left the room, annoyed.

Elizabeth tightened the tie on her robe even more and started the coffee. She had a feeling she would need it.

KATIE'S HOUSE

Katie hadn't slept more than an hour all night. Syd, being pregnant, was exhausted, so she had slept fine. Katie was grateful Syd had stayed the night. Losing her father had brought on a huge amount of guilt and she needed her best friend to help her work through it.

The last conversation they had, hadn't been a conversation at all. They had fought. That was all they ever seemed to do. This time, it was about Syd, actually. He had heard at the station that Syd was pregnant and apparently that made him oppose their friendship. Katie had defended her. Then, he left, and never came home.

The tears had been present for the last week and they showed no sign of leaving. All she could think about was how she had yelled at her dad that she wasn't going to stop being friends with Syd, no matter what he said. He told her she would end up just like her if she wasn't careful.

The resentment boiled up in Katie's heart. Her father had never trusted her and Tyler Brand together. They had been dating for a year and they had never slept together. Katie refused to allow herself to get that carried away. She knew her limitations and Tyler respected those boundaries. Why couldn't her own father trust her?

Katie got out of bed carefully, so she wouldn't wake up Syd. She went into the kitchen to make some coffee but found her mother crying at the table. "Mom?"

She wiped her eyes and put on a brave smile. "Hi, Katie. I made coffee if you and Syd want some."

"Syd is still sleeping. Do we have decaf? She doesn't want to drink caffeine."

"Yeah, there's some instant in the cupboard."

"Mom, are you ok?"

"No. Maybe I will be some day." She held her tissue up to her eyes to catch the tears that threatened to fall.

Hanna Waters was miserable. Her husband of eighteen years was gone and she'd never see him again. She'd never feel him or hear him next to her in bed. She'd never hear him say "I love you, my Hanna."

The life they had built together was a good one, but it would never be the same. His extra uniform hung in the closet next to the dress she wore to his funeral. She guessed it would be there for years to come because she didn't have the strength to move it.

The diamond engagement ring he gave her so many years ago, would remain on her finger and his love would remain in her heart for as long as she drew breath.

TOM AND JULIE'S HOUSE

"Mom!" Quinn yelled through the house as he tried to find her.

"Quinn! Shhh. Daddy is asleep. What do you need?"

"I'm hungry."

"Ok, let's go find something." She picked him up and set him in his chair.

"Mama, I want to go see Aunt Libby. I miss her."

"I do too. Maybe we can call her later."

Truthfully, Julie needed to chat with Elizabeth. She needed her daycare services again because she finally found another job. She was going to work for Abigail at her bakery.

Julie knew it annoyed her sister that she couldn't hold down a job but she just hadn't found anything that held her interest for very long.

"Quinnie? Do you want cereal?"

"Yeah! Captain Crunch like Uncle Jack!"

Julie chuckled and poured his cereal. The boy certainly loved his uncle and aunt. Instead of calling, they would just stop by.

BACK AT THE THORNTONS

Elizabeth was exhausted listening to Charlotte. The woman had been talking non-stop for an hour. Elizabeth was still in her robe and she had consumed two cups of coffee and counting.

"Charlotte. Can you give me a few moments?" Elizabeth stood, adjusted her robe and started to walk away.

"Yes, of course."

Elizabeth closed her bedroom door and walked over to Jack who was sleeping on the bed. "Jack? You're sleeping?"

"Huh?" he mumbled.

"I'm out there for an hour listening to your mother go on and on about Syd and you are in here, sleeping?"

"Sweetie, you wear me out. This baby making stuff is for the birds."

She poked his ribs. "Very funny. You don't complain much." She poked him again. "Your turn to deal with Charlotte. I need to get dressed."

Jack groaned and sat up. "Fine. I'll talk to her and hopefully get her to leave. Then we can resume what we started earlier."

"I thought you were worn out?" She smirked.

"Maybe, maybe not." He kissed her and left the room. She immediately locked the door behind him to hopefully avoid any more invasions by Hurricane Charlotte.

Elizabeth dressed and tied her hair back out of her face. She looked down and the pregnancy test box caught her eye. Hopefully she would need that soon. In another week, she would know if she missed her period or not. If so, she would take the test. She knew that chances were, she wouldn't be pregnant for a while. At her age, it sometimes took longer. She could hope, though.

She sighed and then walked out of the room. It was going to be lunchtime soon and she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

"Elizabeth, good to see you decided to get dressed," Charlotte mentioned.

"Yes." She couldn't think of any other response. What reaction was she hoping for?

The door flew open and in walked Quinn and Julie. "Grams! Hi!"

"Hi, Quinn."

"Aunt Libby! I missed you."

Elizabeth smiled down at him, kissing his hair. "Missed you too, Quinn. What are you doing here?"

"I need to enlist your daycare services again, sister," Julie said quietly.

"Starting when?"

"Tomorrow. I got a job."

"Oh yeah? Where at this time?" Elizabeth tried to keep a sarcastic tone out of her voice but honestly, she didn't see the point.

"Abigail's bakery."

"You can't cook," Elizabeth reminded her.

"I'll learn."

"Does Abigail know you can't cook?"

"She said anyone can learn anything."

Jack watched the sisters interact and could feel the storm brewing. His mom being there wasn't helping either.

"Elizabeth, have some faith in Julie. Maybe this will be just the thing she needs."

Elizabeth stared at Charlotte, physically biting her tongue to refrain from telling her to butt out.

"Well, Quinn. Looks like you will get to be with me tomorrow." Elizabeth tousled his blond hair and kissed him again.

The door opened again and Liam walked in. "I'm home."

"Good, because you need to clean the kitchen."

"I can't. Ty invited me to play basketball at the school."

"Ty can wait. You made the mess, you clean it up."

"Mom," he started.

"Clean. You are fourteen years old. You can cook so you clean up. Very simple."

The door opened again and Syd walked in. "Hi, everyone."

"Hey, Syd," Elizabeth said, kissing her cheek. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. I made some decisions."