This short was written he night of the proposal episode and imagines what Lucas did to prepare Jack for his role in the proposal to his forever love.
Lucas and Jack Plan a Surprise
Elizabeth looks up at the clock and realizes that it is past time for Jack to be waking up from his nap. She finishes writing just one more sentence and is about to set her pen down and head upstairs when she hears a car on the gravel outside. Her heart instantly flutters as she thinks "Lucas". She makes her way to the door; just as he knocks, she opens it slowly and peaks out, and then throws it wide open when she sees his smiling face.
"Lucas, I didn't expect you until dinner." She beams at him clearly letting him know how happy she is to see him.
"I missed you too much and just wanted to see your smile. Well…. and this." He steps over the threshold and puts his hands gently on either side of her face and leans in gently stroking the side of her nose with his. This seemingly small gesture never fails to send shivers up her arms. And then his lips meet hers in a gentle kiss. She grabs his lapels and pulls him in closer, deepening the kiss for a few moments and then steps back to look up at him.
"I missed you too." She takes his hand in hers and pulls him into the room while shutting the door.
"Where is my buddy? Shouldn't he be up from his nap by now? I thought I would come and take him out for a while. Will that be, okay?"
"Actually, that will be perfect. I was just about to go up to check on him and wake him up if he is still napping. I was so engrossed in my chapter that I quite forgot the time. I just need another hour to complete it; so, if you are willing to take him on some adventure or another that would be perfect. My writing is going so well right now, I want to take advantage. I will start dinner after I have finished."
"No need for that. Jack and I will head to the saloon before coming back here. Gustave is putting together a picnic for us. It is too chilly to sit outside but we can make believe right here in the living room."
"Lucas, that is very thoughtful of you. I did invite you to join us for dinner, but this will give me extra time to work on my writing while the going is good."
"Precisely. I will head up to check on Jack and we will be down soon. I will feed him a snack before we head out. I have plans for us…. buddy time you know?"
"I am sure that the two of you will have a grand time. Make sure to take a scarf and hat for him and an extra sweater in case it gets colder later on."
"I will also take his rubber boots; I have a pair for me in the car. One of our stops may involve a bit of mud and some puddles. Every little boy's dream."
"Are you talking about Jack or yourself?"
"Well, both I suppose. He makes me feel like puddle-stomping at times. I just want to assure you that while we do play and have fun, I am always aware of my responsibility for his safety. I will always protect him."
"I know that I can always count on you to keep him safe and make him feel loved. It is part of why I love you so. I loved you as a man before, but now you have another special place in my heart, filled to bursting, that is reserved for the man that loves my son."
With that he kisses her forehead and turns her in the direction of her writing table. "Off with you my sweet." And he proceeds up the stairs.
As Lucas nears the top of the stairs, he hears a little voice singing. It is a nursery rhyme that he had taught him.
"Frère Jacques Frère Jacques Dormez vous?...
He waits and then enters the room singing in his deep voice "Ding ding dong Ding ding dong" joining in just at the right moment. Jack beams up at him happy to see him and Lucas reaches down and scoops him up in his arms as the little boy giggles. They start on the tune again as Lucas sits down in the rocker and starts to rock in time with their song.
"How would you like to go on an adventure with me? Your mama is busy with her writing, and I think we can go have fun outside so we don't disturb her."
"What kind of adventure?", asks the little boy. "Will we find dragons?"
"I think the dragons are far away on a trip right now, but there will be giant pumpkins. So, let's hurry and get you ready."
Jack had napped in his pants and shirt, so Lucas just had to find him a pullover sweater and put on warm socks. He took an extra sweater, pants and socks just in case. His jacket, scarf and hat were all downstairs.
They head down and Lucas finds an apple to cut up and some almond butter that Gustave had made to spread on it. He fills a glass with juice and then they sit and chat while Jack finishes his snack. "Ready to go?" Lucas asks the little boy. His question is received with an enthusiastic nod.
"Why don't we go say goodbye to your mama before we go. She will miss us if we don't." And with that, they each kiss Elizabeth on the cheek. Lucas turns back to wink at her as they leave. She beams up at him and then her boys head out into the chilly afternoon all bundled up.
Lucas hoists Jack into the car and puts his extra clothes in the back along with his boots. He rounds to his side and starts the car while Jack is already bouncing a bit in his seat very excited to be on a Buddy Adventure. Lucas heads out of town towards a farm owned by Bob Henderson who supplies Gustave with various produce throughout the year. Bob has a field of pumpkins growing for pie and Jack-o-lanterns. But he also grows competition pumpkins of enormous size. Lucas knows that Jack will love the pumpkins and Bob's dogs which are excellent guard dogs but know Lucas and will be gentle with Jack.
They arrive at the farm just as Jack is about to start asking about when they will get there. Lucas puts on his own rubber boots and then helps Jack with his. They march out toward the fields and are greeted by Bob and the dogs who quickly take to Jack and give him an enthusiastic kiss/lick on the face. He is soon giggling and pretending to get away, but Lucas knows he is in seventh heaven. Bob escorts them around the pumpkin fields. Of course, Jack has to look at each one along the way and not a single puddle is left un-stomped. They then arrive to the area with the competition pumpkins. Jack's eyes widen as he pronounces "Soooo big". The men laugh and Bob tells Jack that he will be entering them in a contest to try to win First Place in the Giant Pumpkin Competition. Bob then invites them for warm refreshments on his front porch; Jack is pleased that the dogs have come to sit right next to him.
When they have finished their drinks and cookies, Lucas announces that it is time for them to head back and let Bob go back to his work. He sees Jack's smile fade a little, but he promptly takes the little boy and lifts him on his shoulders for a ride back to the car. They wave goodbye to Bob and then the horsey-back ride soon has the boy giggling again. Jack is quite chatty all the way back to town talking about the giant pumpkins and the dogs. Lucas drives to the edge of town and pulls over. He had removed the boy's boots when they had gotten in the car so he slides the car seat back and lifts the boy to sit on his lap.
"Jack, how would you like to help me with a surprise for your mama?"
"Are we going to give her a cupcake again?"
Lucas chuckled at the little boy's question and then pulled a small box out of his pocket. He removed the contents and showed it to the boy. "Do you know what this is?"
"It is a sparkly ring!" He chimes in enthusiastically.
"Yes, Jack, it is a special ring called an engagement ring. A man gives it to a lady when he wants to marry her. Do you know what that means, Jack?"
"Does it mean that you will come to live with us and take care of Mama and me?"
"Yes, it means that I love you and your mama very much and I want us to be a family. Tomorrow I would like to ask your mama to marry me and to wear this ring as a promise that we will be a family very soon. How does that sound?"
"Sooo good!" He squeals and hugs Lucas around the neck."
"OK, would you help me to surprise your mama tomorrow? I will explain to you the plan and then we can practice before we go pick up our dinner at the Queen."
Jack nods his head up and down and Lucas launches into his plan. They will go on a stroll down the lane and Jack will collect little rocks to give to them. When Lucas stops Elizabeth next to a specific tree and faces her, Jack is to retrieve the ring from his pocket and hand it to Elizabeth like it were a rock. He explains to the little boy that the sparkle on the ring is a special kind of rock called a diamond. They leave the car and Lucas take them along the path that he plans to stroll with Elizabeth. Jack demonstrates his rock collecting and gifting skills and shows Lucas how he will take the ring out of his pocket when Lucas and Elizabeth stand by the tree facing one another. Lucas isn't sure if all this will come off exactly per plan, but it wouldn't fail from lack of trying. And in any case, he knew that Elizabeth would love the proposal no matter what.
They head to the Queen and are met by Gustave who starts filling the picnic basket with goodies explaining all of them to Jack as Lucas goes to his office to return the ring to the safe. As Lucas returns, he hears Gustave telling the little boy, "and these are your favorite cookies that I have put in this tin so they will not get crushed. Make sure you share with your mama."
Jack nods and smiles up at Lucas. "Gustave made my favorite cookies, Buddy. I will share them with Mama and you."
"Sounds great. Thank you, Gustave. We will be heading off now as we have had a big day and I for one am getting very hungry."
They grab the picnic basket and head back to the row house. Elizabeth meets them at the door. "So how are my guys? Did you have a fun adventure?"
"We saw giant pumpkins and dogs and there was a lot of mud and puddles, but Lucas made me wear my boots."
Lucas smiles at her letting the little boy do the talking hoping he will leave out the part about the rocks. He had explained that it was to be a secret surprise, but he wasn't certain that the boy was old enough to really understand.
"Then we went to see Gustave and get our picnic. He made me my favorite cookies, but he said I need to share them with you. I am soooo hungry. Let's eat!", he exclaimed.
So, they spread their food out on the blanket that Elizabeth had prepared for them. While they are eating Jack announces, "tomorrow Lucas is taking me on another adventure, but he says you can come too."
"Oh, he does, does he? He is going to bring your mama on a Buddy Adventure?"
Lucas says a small prayer that Jack will not give up the secret. "No silly, it is going to be a Family Adventure, right Buddy?"
"Yes, we will take your mama with us on our adventure tomorrow." And with that, he gives Jack a little wink letting him know that he had done a good job to keep "the secret."
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