As they bathed Lincoln that night, Beth thought hard about how this was going to change their lives. They were supposed to be married in less than two weeks. A honeymoon was out because she didn't think leaving Lincoln for a week was a good idea.
"I think we need to postpone the wedding," Jack said as he gently massaged baby shampoo into Lincoln's hair.
"Postpone?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"This is big, Beth. I now have a son and he's only two. How can I take care of him, work, and give you the attention I want to give you and that you deserve?"
"So you're just going to stop paying attention to me now that you have Lincoln? How fair is that?" she stood and walked out of the room.
Jack sighed. That wasn't what he meant. It just came out wrong. He finished bathing Lincoln, put a diaper and clothes on him, and headed downstairs to find Beth.
"Beth, that's not what I meant," he told her, finding her in the kitchen. "You know that as newlyweds, we are going to need time together. A lot of it. How can we find that time and take care of Lincoln and both of our jobs?"
She poured herself a glass of wine and sipped it. "I don't know."
"Your business is just starting."
"I know that but we were going to be married even though that was the case. So we have a child too? How much more of a challenge will it be?"
"Huge! I don't get why you don't see it."
Beth filled a sippy with milk and handed it to Jack. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She kissed Lincoln's cheek but not Jack.
"You're leaving me alone with Lincoln?"
She started up the stairs. "You're his father now. You'll figure it out."
Beth sat on the bed in the guest room closest to the nursery. She could hear Jack talking to Lincoln and then singing but the boy wanted his Mama. His tears and cries were back and it hurt Beth's heart.
She let it continue for awhile and then she decided to go help. "Jack?"
Lincoln heard her and raised his arms. She walked over and picked him up. "I wonder if Payton still nursed him at night or something."
"How do you plan on fixing that?"
"I don't. I was saying maybe that's why he is doing this." Jack got up and stood by the door, watching. Beth sat in the rocker. "Can you turn the lights down, please?"
He did as she asked. She started humming and rocking, using her fingertips to gently massage his forehead and temples and then cheeks. Then as he relaxed and drank his milk, she moved to his shoulders and arms and hands. He was struggling to keep his eyes open as she moved to his legs and feet.
Jack walked out of the room and down the hall to the master.
A bit later, he heard a knock. "Come in."
"Hey."
"Hey."
"So we need to talk."
"Yeah."
"I feel like you don't see this as something we are doing together."
"Well, I can't even get him to stop crying. You should be his guardian, not me."
"Jack, he is struggling right now. He misses his Mama."
"Yeah. Maybe this is a mistake? Maybe I'm not a good choice for a guardian."
"This is what I meant. You are his guardian but you aren't doing it alone. I'm with you. We are a team now. We don't magically become a team when we say "I do", we say "I do" because we are already a team."
"So you're saying I can do this?"
"I'm saying you can absolutely do this, without a doubt, but I'm going to support you no matter what."
He nodded. "Ok."
"And I'm thinking maybe we should just elope."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Here in Philly."
"There's a three day waiting period for a license," Jack told her.
"Oh yeah? You just happen to know that?"
"No. I googled it. But my point is, if we are going to get married this week, we might as well do it in two weeks where all our family is."
"So you don't really want to postpone?"
"No. I want to be your husband more than anything, Beth. And maybe we are doing things a bit different but I'm happy we are going to do it together."
The next morning
Jack called Gabe and Payton's lawyer to speak with him about signing guardianship paperwork. He made an appointment that afternoon to go into his office and take care of it.
Beth called the local charity and made arrangements for them to come over and get what things were being donated later in the week. In the meantime, she went from room to room, packing things that she thought might be meaningful for Lincoln one day.
As he napped, she tackled the master bedroom and she found a journal that Payton was keeping. She didn't feel right reading it but she would keep it for later, in case it had things about Lincoln in there.
Next she found a box of items in a shoebox. It had a tiny pair of socks, a newborn size sleeper and a lock of hair. The interesting thing was the socks and sleeper were pink and the hair was brown, not blonde. Under everything else, she found a picture of a newborn and on the back it said "Our precious Catherine."
"Oh wow," she whispered.
Jack walked in and found her on the floor in the closet. "Hey."
"Hey. Did they ever tell you about their baby girl?"
"No. What do you mean?"
She showed him the items. "I think she must have died or something. The Montgomery's went through a lot as a young couple."
"Even before they knew each other. Payton never knew her parents. She was in foster homes her whole life and aged out of the system. Gabe's Mom died about the time my Dad did and his father died when he was like five."
"I don't know what to do with this. There isn't anyone to give it to."
"We can't take everything. Why don't we keep the picture and throw out the rest."
"Yeah."
Lincoln made noise over the baby monitor so Jack went to get him. He brought him in to the master and sat on the floor again with Beth.
"Hi, Linc. Did you sleep good?" Beth asked him.
"No," he said shaking his head.
"No? I think you did. I could hear you snoring."
"No." Lincoln got up and went over to the bottom drawer of the small dresser. He opened it and started pulling things out. Then he found a pacifier and stuck it in his mouth and grinned.
"Its good to see him smile," Beth told Jack.
"Yeah it is."
Lincoln toddled back over and sat down on Jack's knee and bounced. Jack smiled and moved his knee up and down, making him giggle. Yeah, a smile was good but a giggle was even better.
Jack kissed his hair and cheek. Linc looked up at him for a moment and grinned again. "Hi, bud."
He got up and wrapped his arms around Jack's neck, laying his head on his shoulder.
"Awww," Beth whispered. "He's a good little hugger."
"He is," Jack agreed, holding the tot lovingly in his strong arms. "Hon, did you want to go with me to the lawyer?"
"I have a lot of work to do here, but yeah, I do."
"Should we take Linc or have Doris watch him?"
"I think he should go too. He needs to get used to going everywhere with us."
"Okay. I'm going to see if there is an extra car seat in the garage. If not, we will need to buy one."
That outing was the first of many they would be having that week. There was a car seat in the vehicle in the garage along with some toys and children's DVD's so Jack moved them to the rental car while Elizabeth packed a diaper bag and some snacks for Linc and got ready to go herself.
As they drove, Lincoln stared out the window as if his little mind was thinking about everything. "I wonder what he is thinking about," Beth wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe just wondering where we are going."
"Maybe." She thought maybe he was a bit confused about where his parents were. She had a feeling it would be a long road with him but she was up for it.
A half hour later, they were sitting in the lawyer's office waiting for him to walk in. She had cheerios and gold fish crackers in addition to a sippy cup of juice.
"More," he said, even though it sounded more like Ma.
"You want more?" He nodded and pointed at the little container. "Can you say please?"
"Pease," he whispered.
"Good job," she told him, opening the lid and letting him grab a few pieces.
"Morning, folks. I'm Dan Heydlauff," an older gentleman dressed in an expensive suit said, walking in.
"Morning."
He shook their hands and sat down, opening a folder and taking out a large manila envelope. He handed it to Jack.
"Inside is a letter from Gabe and Payton. There are also instructions on accessing the trust for Lincoln and the combination for the safe where their important papers are located."
"Trust?"
"Yes. Gabe and Payton set up a trust for Lincoln. There is about $30,000.00 in there now. It's in a high interest account. You can sign forms to have the social security that he will receive as a result of their deaths put in there as well."
Jack looked at Beth. "What do you think?"
"I think that will be a great college fund for him. When does he get access to the Trust?"
"Twenty five."
"Beth, what if we use the social security money for a college fund? Keep it separate from the trust."
"Yeah. That is a good idea."
"Okay, so we want to keep it separate," Jack told the lawyer.
"Very well. There is a form for that as well. You can get the first checks in the mail and then let them know you want it direct deposited into an account for him."
Lincoln looked at Jack and smiled and then raised his arms to him. Jack smiled back and put him on his lap. "He seems to like you both. How have things been?"
"It started a little rough and I'm sure there will be some more rough days ahead but everything is pretty good. Do you have any suggestions as far as selling the house and the remaining car that Gabe and Payton owned?"
"Yes. They have a realtor that they want me to use. The money from the sales will pay them off and then anything extra is to go to you, Mr. Thornton."
"We can put that in his college account too," he told Beth.
They talked about the other details of closing out the estate and then they headed back to the house.
Jack pulled out the letter and read it to Beth.
"Dear Jack,
If you are reading this, that means that our little Lincoln now needs someone to care for him. Of course, this is never something that parents wish for their child, but that is why we chose you. You are like a brother and a wonderful, caring man who we know will be an excellent role model for our son.
Please let him know that we loved him more than anything else. Show him our pictures and tell him about us whenever you can. That being said, please raise him as your own. He will need to know that he has a father that loves him as he grows and needs guidance.
Thank you, Jack, for being willing to take on this immense responsibility.
In addition, there is something else you should know. Lincoln is not our only child.
When we were young, just after high school, we found out we were expecting a baby. At the time, we had no plans or jobs and we were too young to know what it meant to be parents. So we gave her up for adoption. Her name was Catherine Rose Montgomery. There is a shoebox in our closet with a few things, including a picture.
We tell you this in case she ever comes searching. If she does, please let her know that we thought about her daily and always wondered how she was. We never stopped loving her, we just couldn't take care of her properly when she needed us to.
Thank you again, Jack, and we hope you have a happy life and that you share that love and happiness with our Lincoln.
Sincerely,
Gabe and Payton"
"Wow."
"Yeah."
Jack knew now, more than before, that this job of guardian for Lincoln was the most important job he could be given right now. Lincoln needed him and Beth and they were going to be there for him no matter what.