Author's Note: I had so much fun writing this one! It is pure family fluff, so I hope you like it :)

"You know, standing there with your face against the glass won't make him get here any earlier."

"But he promised to come today, Mummy, he said on the telephone."

"And he will, sweetheart, but he said they would be here at around ten o'clock, remember?" Jean wandered into the living room and made her way over to where her daughter was standing near the window, smoothing her curls down tenderly when she reached her. "It's only just gone nine."

Lynette sighed. "Waiting is no fun. If I was in charge, nobody would ever wait for anything."

"Would that be your primary goal as queen?" Jean laughed.

"Yeah," Lynette nodded. "I would be the greatest queen in all the world, Mummy, wouldn't I?"

"You could certainly give Her Majesty a run for her money, my love," Jean winked, crouching so she was more level with her. "Since she still has yet to pass that law though, how about you and I do something fun together to make the time go a little faster? Go to the park, maybe, or bake."

An idea popped into Lynette's head and she gasped. "Winnie likes cherry cake! Can we do that?"

"I forgot about that! Of course, we can do that. It would be a nice surprise for her." Jean smiled.

"Daddy too! He can have some cake when he comes home from work." Lynette pointed out.

"I think he'll love that. Now, what do you say we get started so we can be ready in time, hmm?"

"Okay!"

Jean took her little girl by the hand once she'd stood up again and gave it a warm squeeze before leading her to the kitchen, the two of them sharing a smile when they entered before they started looking around for the things they were going to need. It was always Lynette's job to grab all the utensils they were going to need, things such as whisks, bowls and measuring cups, while she got out all the ingredients and laid them out on the kitchen table so she could get to them with ease.

Baking was something she'd always loved to do with her.

It was a lovely way to pass the time and they had so much fun together.

"I think we have everything we need," She said, turning to her daughter and watching her place the last bowl down on the table. "Can you remember what we need to do before we get started?"

"Um…" Lynette thought for a minute before showing her mother her hands. "Wash our hands?"

"Right! Why don't we go and do that? We can put our aprons on then." Jean told her.

Climbing down from the chair she was kneeling on, Lynette raced over to the sink and stepped up onto her stool so she could reach it. "Mummy, do you think the baby inside Winnie's tummy will like the cake too?" She asked, beginning to wash her hands when her mother turned on the tap for her. "She said she knows when the baby likes things because it jumps and kicks her lots!"

"I think it will," Jean laid a hand on her back. "When you were in my belly, you loved anything that was sweet. If I ate cookies or cake or chocolate, you would kick so much and it took me so long to settle you again. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about being pregnant with you."

"Did it make you and Daddy happy? Me being in your belly?" Lynette asked, drying her hands.

"Oh, yes," Jean nodded, smiling at the memory of how elated she was to learn she was pregnant. "Honestly, you were a complete surprise for us both. You were hiding away in there for just shy of two months before we found out about you, so I was already pregnant when Daddy and I got home from our honeymoon. I found out a little while later and it was like a late wedding present for us. Your daddy thought I was kidding when I told him about you, but when I told him I was serious he was so excited. We have adored you from the very beginning, sweet girl, I mean that."

Lynette turned to face her mother and wrapped her arms around her, tucking her head beneath her chin. "Thank you for being my mummy, Mummy," She said. "You're the best mummy ever."

Jean smiled into her curls, kissing her head. "And you are the best little girl. The absolute best."

Before she even had the chance to place the cake on the cooling rack after pulling it from the oven, the sound of a car horn around the front of the house caught Jean's attention and a single glance at her little girl told her she'd heard it as well. "Oh, I wonder who that might be." She chuckled.

"He's here! He's here! He's here!" Lynette squealed, jumping up and down.

"We can go out to greet them in a minute, but you need to give me your apron." Jean told her.

Lynette turned in place so that her mother could untie her apron at the back and before she had chance to remove it fully, she raced out of the kitchen and into the hall so she could run outside. She all but threw the door open and went out onto the little porch to wait for a second, knowing she was never allowed to go onto the drive until the car stopped, but as soon as the door opened and her brother got out of the car she ran across the drive toward him with her arms open wide.

"G'day, little one!" Jack laughed, catching her when she reached him and picking her up.

"You're here! Mummy and I have been waiting for you to get here all morning!" She said.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before looking at her again. "Really? All that time? Gosh."

"Are you and Winnie staying for dinner?" She asked.

"Well, we could," Jack nodded. "Or we could stay all weekend. Which would you prefer?"

Her eyes lit up. "All weekend!"

"Well, it's a good job that Mum made up the back room for us then, isn't it?" He reached up to tickle her ribs, gesturing with his head toward their mother who was now standing on the porch.

"Mummy, you never told me!" Lynette looked over her shoulder at her.

Jean gave her a shrug, walking across the drive to them. "Jack wanted it to be a surprise."

"Hi, Mum." Jack leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, darling," She smiled. "Lynnie, why don't you come here and let Jack help Winnie out?"

Lynette did as she said, reaching for her, and allowed her to take her from her brother so that he could walk around to the other side of the motorcar and open the door to help Winifred get out. She loved her even though she hadn't really known her long. She used to be Jack's girlfriend, but then she found out she was having a baby and so they got married a couple of months ago. She allowed her to be in the ceremony as one of her special flower girls and she had such a fun time.

"Jean! Lynnie! Lovely to see you both." Winifred smiled as she walked around to them both, one hand drawing circles onto her bump through her dress when she came to stand in front of them.

"Hello, Winnie, love," Jean reached out to stroke her arm. "How have you been doing lately?"

"Better, thank you," Winifred assured her. "I spoke to the doctor like you said and he prescribed me some medication to help with the nausea that has really been doing the trick. He told me my blood pressure is still a bit worrying, but I'm not that concerned. Someone, on the other hand…"

Jean laughed when the girl glanced over her shoulder at Jack.

"Let me guess, he's constantly fussing?" She raised an eyebrow at her.

"Constantly!" Winifred nodded. "I tried to put a bag in the car this morning and he just lost it."

"You may not be too pleased, but I'm glad to see he's taking care of you." Jean admitted.

"Oh, he is. I couldn't ask for anything more, honestly, he's been wonderful." Winifred told her.

Reaching out, Lynette took hold of her sleeve. "Mummy and I made a cake for you."

"You did?" Winifred gasped. "I don't suppose you happened to make my favourite, did you?"

"We did! We did! We made a cherry one!" Lynette beamed. "Do you want to see?"

"Oh, I would love to!"

"I can show her where it is, Mummy."

Jean set her daughter down on the ground then and watched her take Winifred by the hand and all but drag her towards the house. She shook her head, chuckling at the sight, before glancing at her son who was still getting the bags from the car. Honestly, if someone told her back when he returned to Ballarat all those years ago that this was how he would turn out, she would have had a hard time believing it. He was so full of rage back then, had so much hatred for both the town and those in it that failed him as a kid, and she didn't blame him for that when she looked back.

Standing before her now though was a changed man.

He was so much happier now, so much more relaxed, and she knew it was all down to Winifred. She was the calming influence he needed and she had such a brilliant way of getting through to him when nobody else could. She could still remember him bringing her to meet her and Lucien, honestly, not long after they returned from their honeymoon. He wrote a letter to her, truly one of the longest letters she had ever received, sending his apologies for the way he treated her and the way he left things all those years ago and also letting her know that he came to the wedding.

He thanked her for being so patient with him and for loving him despite it probably being hard.

When he mentioned that he was courting someone, a friend of a friend, she was a bit concerned since she was aware of the direction in which past relationships of his had gone. It was a feeling she failed to shake until she actually met Winifred, but the second she set eyes on her she simply fell in love. She was such a sweetheart, a little shy and quiet but just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside, and the two of them quickly bonded while working on dinner together. Lynette and Lucien took to her with as much ease as she had too, so that was really a great sign.

It pleased her to no end to know that both her sons were now content in their lives.

She no longer had to worry about either of them half as much as she had done in the past.

"Would you like some help?" She asked him when she saw he was struggling a bit with the bags.

"Uh, you could grab that one there for me if you wouldn't mind," He chuckled, using his foot to gesture to a small case. "I tell her we're going away for the weekend and she packs for a month."

She laughed at that, picking up the case. "How much longer does she have to go?"

"Six weeks tomorrow," He replied as they carried the bags inside the house and down the hall to the guest bedroom. "I still can't believe how fast the time has gone, but I suppose putting things in place for the wedding is responsible for some of that. I feel nervous whenever I think about it, knowing everything is going to change, but I can't wait at the same time and it's an odd feeling."

"I remember it well," She told him, setting the case down at the foot of the bed while he set the other bags down. "Your father and I, we weren't exactly planning for a baby when I fell pregnant with your brother. I mean, we talked about it and we knew we wanted children, but our previous experience made us wary and the farm required so much seeing to that we thought we'd wait. Of course, I had no idea I was already pregnant with Christopher when he and I had that little chat. I worried the whole nine months, from beginning to end, but then I had him and I truly forgot."

He frowned. "You forgot?"

"All the things I was worried about when I was pregnant with him were purely because I had no experience," She explained. "When he was born, I just had to get on with things and they were ten times easier than I anticipated. He was barely six weeks old when I went back to working on the farm and I would have him with me the whole time, it was only a matter of learning how to multitask. Of course, I'm not saying that you and Winnie are going to have the same experience as your father and I because no two babies are completely alike, but I swear you'll both be okay."

"We might need some help," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Winnie has no family, so…"

She shook her head. "Yes, she does, she has us. Lucien has already said you're welcome here."

"I know," He nodded. "Where is the doc?"

"Probably out winding people up as usual," She rolled her eyes. "He should be home soon."

"And is he…"

"Yes, he's still taking exemplary care of me."

"I have to make sure," He pulled her into a hug. "What sort of son would I be otherwise?"

"You are a brilliant son," She assured him. "And you are going to be just as brilliant a parent."

"Well, I had quite a good role model."

"Is that right?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"Get him, Lynnie!"

"You're my wife, you're meant to be on my side here."

"Winnie loves me more."

"You know, I would argue, but that's more than likely true."

From where she was standing at the back door, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the doorframe, it was impossible for Jean to keep from laughing as she watched Lynette jump on Jack and push him back onto the grass. It would still be a little while until dinner was ready and her little girl had started getting a tad antsy, much like she usually did when she was hungry, so Jack and Winnie decided to take her out into the garden and keep her occupied for a little while.

It brought her so much happiness to hear her laughing and squealing and having fun, especially since it was rare she got to play with anyone aside from her and her father. She loved them, she never doubted that for a moment, but not long ago she started asking them for a little sibling to play with and they had to break it to her that it probably wouldn't happen. By some miracle, the two of them were given her to love on. Neither of them thought it would be possible for them to have a child together given their ages, especially hers, but it happened and they were so thankful.

She was four now though and it would be foolish on their part to expect another miracle now.

Of course, it was hard to deny her what she wanted, but it was out of their hands and she got it.

It was the feeling of a pair of arms encircling her from behind that pulled her from her thoughts and she smiled, leaning back against her husband's solid frame when he kissed her neck tenderly. "Care to explain to me why our girl is whacking her brother?" He mumbled before pulling away.

"Oh, he cheated in a game of tag." She replied.

"Ah, I suppose that explains that then." He smirked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Lucien? Do…do you think she gets lonely sometimes? Being here on her own?" She asked him.

"On her own?"

"You know, without a sibling. Someone around her own age for her to play with."

"Oh," He said. "Well, I would imagine she must do sometimes."

She hummed. "I don't suppose you would perhaps consider getting her a pet or something? Not a big one, by any means, because we need to be able to care for it and I would be the one with most of the responsibility, but it would be nice for her. I, uh, I happen to know that Zac Colling has a farm cat that had kittens not too long ago. She's always asked for a kitten, you know that."

He was quiet for a second as he thought. "Jeannie, you have enough on your plate as it is."

"I know, I thought about that, but a cat is going to be much less of a responsibility than a dog," She pointed out. "I'm not going to have to walk it every day, it won't need constant attention, it is nowhere near as loud and Lynnie adores them. She needs a companion, Lucien, she just does."

"You're right," He told her. "I'm not saying no, but can you let me think it over for a few days?"

Glancing over her shoulder at him, she looked him in the eye and smiled. "I guess so."

"I love you, Mrs. Blake." He nudged his nose lightly against her own.

"And I love you, Doctor," She grinned, stretching to brush a kiss against his lips. "So much…"

Author's Note: I know this one was long, but I really hope you liked it! I loved writing about Jack like this and I loved writing all the fluff. Please review to let me know what you thought of it and I will see you in the next one :)