Hi! :-) Thanks again for the kind reviews!! Here's another chapter. :-)

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Chapter 20

While Janet and Taylor waited for Jack to drive them to the airport, Taylor told Janet that she knew her mother liked Jack.

"How do you know that?" Janet asked, surprised by Taylor's announcement.

She didn't, however, bother to deny that it was true.

"I heard you talking in here," Taylor said.

"Oh," Janet said, hoping Taylor had only heard them talking and had not seen or heard anything else they had been doing. "How do you feel about it?"

Taylor tiredly shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I guess. Is Uncle Nick really happy for you? You said he would be."

"He is very happy for all of us," Janet assured her frowning daughter. "He likes Jack a lot."

"I do, too," Taylor admitted. "He's nice and he's funny."

Janet drew her daughter close to her and gave her a big hug.

"I'm glad you're okay with this. We were going to tell you, but you beat us to it."

"Is he gonna be my daddy?"

"Well, honey," Janet said, pulling her daughter away so she could look at her. "I don't know. That's a very big step, and Jack and I haven't talked about it."

"Oh."

"But if we do ever talk about it, we will definitely include you. Okay?"

"Okay."

She knew she could trust her mother.

"One thing you might see," Janet wanted to explain, "is Jack and I being affectionate with each other. Will you be okay with that?"

"Like hugging and kissing and stuff?"

"Yeah," Janet said and smiled. "Stuff like that."

"Yuck to the kissing," Taylor said. "But I guess it's okay."

Janet held her daughter close.

"I love you, Taylor Nicole. You will always be my first priority."

"I love you, too, Mommy."

By the time Jack arrived, Janet thought Taylor would be too excited to sit still, but she surprised her mother by being very subdued, almost to the point of lethargy. Since Monday night, Janet had observed Taylor very carefully. Her appetite seemed a little better, and she went to school with no problem. She didn't have a fever, but she didn't have her usual energy either. When Janet mentioned to Taylor that maybe they should cancel their trip, she had protested and told her mother she felt all right. Taylor didn't seem to be any worse, and after talking with Terri, who assured Janet that she would take excellent care of Taylor if she did become sick, Janet decided to go ahead with their plans.

Janet, Jack and Taylor had a nice visit at Sea-Tac Airport while waiting for their plane to board. When the clerk announced early boarding for parents with small children, Janet knew she should take advantage of it.

"This is it," she said to Jack, who stood when Janet did. "We need to get on the plane."

"I know. I hope you two have a safe flight and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm going to miss you sooo much."

"We'll miss you, too," Janet said. "Happy Thanksgiving, Jack."

"Happy Thanksgiving, sweetheart," Jack said, using the endearment that could melt Janet's heart.

Knowing that Taylor was okay with them being together, Janet initiated their good-bye kiss, which surprised, but pleased, Jack. She circled her arms around his neck and made sure he knew just how much she was going to miss him.

"I miss you already," Jack said, calling on every ounce of self-discipline he had so he wouldn't run to the counter and buy a ticket to L.A.

"I miss you, too," Janet said. "I'll call you as soon as we get to Terri's."

"You'd better," Jack said, needing to feel her soft lips on his one more time before she boarded the plane.

They finally separated and said heartfelt good-byes as Janet and Taylor headed for the gate. Jack waved each time they turned to look at him. He told them he wasn't going to leave until the plane was no longer in his view. When Janet reached the entrance to the jet way, she turned, and after giving him a beautiful smile, she waved one last time before she and Taylor disappeared out of Jack's sight.

True to his word, Jack stayed until he could no longer see the plane after it had ascended into the air. As he shuffled slowly towards the escalator that would take him to the parking garage, he knew this was going to be a very long and very lonely Thanksgiving weekend.

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Halfway through the flight, after the snack and beverage had been served, Taylor squirmed in her seat, unable to get comfortable. Janet, who had been reading a mystery novel just to occupy her mind so her thoughts wouldn't constantly be on Jack, asked her daughter what was wrong.

"I dunno, Mommy," she said, suddenly feeling scared. "My head kinda hurts."

Janet checked her forehead and her cheeks. They were warmer than they had been before the flight had started. After tossing the paperback into her carry-on bag, Janet rang for the flight attendant and explained the situation to her.

"We have children's aspirin," the flight attendant offered.

"I'd like to give her two," Janet said. "With 7-up, please."

The stewardess nodded and quickly returned with two children's aspirin and a plastic cup filled with the beverage.

"Here, sweetie," Janet said, coaxing her daughter who was now looking droopy-eyed. "Take these. They'll help you feel better."

Taylor could barely swallow the aspirin and the soda. She complained of being cold, so the flight attendant gave Janet a blanket and a pillow. She wrapped the blanket around Taylor and tried to get her to lay her head back against the pillow, but she said it hurt too much.

"Your head?" Janet asked, growing more concerned by the minute but not wanting to let her child see her panic.

"My head and my neck and my tummy. I don't feel good, Mommy."

With the stewardess' assistance, Janet was able to place Taylor across the seats so that she could cradle her daughter's head in her lap and the rest of her would be covered with the blanket.

"Is that better?" Janet asked.

"Yeah," Taylor said and soon closed her eyes.

In a matter of minutes, she was asleep, but it was not a restful one. Twice, it seemed to Janet, Taylor's body almost convulsed. With her heart pounding in her chest, Janet kept checking her watch, wanting the plane to land already. As she felt Taylor's cheeks growing hotter and saw the distress on her young daughter's face, she held her close and prayed that nothing was seriously wrong with her child.

You have to be all right, she kept saying to herself as she tenderly smoothed her daughter's dark hair. You just have to be.