(No One's POV)

The next few days went by fast. Beth got adjusted to school fairly quickly, and Grace got to spend some time with her granddaughter, but soon it was time for Grace to say goodbye and head back to Hamilton.

"Will you tell my grandfather and Aunt Viola and Aunt Julie that I say hello?"

"Of course I will sweetheart. I love you very much, don't forget that."

"I know. I love you too." It warmed Jack's heart to see bits and pieces of Elizabeth living on through her family, as the two Thatcher girls hugged. Soon enough though, the coach arrived to bring Grace back to her family, awaiting her return in Hamilton.

"Thank you for this Jack. I think I still need time, but now I have a much clearer head on my shoulders."

"Anytime Grace, you're always welcome here. We're family."

She smiled at her son-in-law. "Yes, that we are indeed." They hugged briefly, then Grace stepped into the carriage. "I love you both."

"We love you too," Jack and Beth replied in unison. They waved and blew kisses to Grace, who did them right back, as the coach got smaller and smaller in the distance.

Beth turned towards jack and looked up at him, her blue eyes gleaming, "What are we going to do now, Daddy?"

"We are going to go home and get the house ready for Abba to stay with you and have a great night together, just the two of us."

"Three, you forgot Wheatley!" Beth had a loose tooth, and it wiggled in the front when she spoke.

Jack rolled his eyes dramatically and smiled at his little girl. "How could I forget Wheatley?"


(Jack's POV)

After Beth & I got the house in tip-top shape, I made her favorite dinner as a send-off.

"Chicken pot pie! My favorite!"

"I know, that's why I made it, sweetheart."

We ate in silence, because when Beth was hungry, all she did was eat. And I wasn't going to object; talking with your mouth full wasn't polite, and it was also a choking hazard."

"Daddy, when you go away, you're going to come back, right? Some of the kids at school are worried and I don't know if I should be too."

I set my fork down and studied Beth for a moment. Though biologically, she wasn't mine, nor Elizabeth's, she was every part ours. Her blue eyes shone with hope and her mind was filled with so much knowledge, kindness, curiosity, and love. I didn't want her to ever let any of that go, I wanted her to stay this little and innocent forever.

"Beth, I'm going to be gone and I will be far away, that's why Abba is coming to stay with you. While I might be meeting some bad guys, I'm not 100% certain that will happen. I don't know exactly what the kids at school are saying, but I don't want you to worry about me, okay? I'm always going to look after you."

"Is my mommy going to make sure you stay safe?"

"She sure is Beth, and Wheatley is going to make sure you stay safe at home." I looked over at the tired dog, asleep on the floor next to us. "I love you very much, Beth."

"I love you too, Daddy." Beth took the last bite of her food and exclaimed, "My tooth!"

In a way, I was grateful to have not missed this opportunity, seeing my daughter lose her first tooth, but it also reminded me of all that I would miss while I was away.

But just like Elizabeth once said, "Everything'll turn out how it's planned to."


When it was time for me to go, the whole town seemed to meet up at the coach stop to say goodbye.

"Cody!" Beth ran over to Abigail's son and gave him a hug.

"Hi, Beth. How are you doing?"

"I'm good, I just don't want my daddy to leave."

"That's why my mom is going to stay with you. You two will have lots of fun together. Frank is going to stay with me."

"It'll be like having mini sleepovers!"

"Exactly," Abigail chimed in. I was so thankful that Abigail would be looking after Beth while I was gone. I think she needed this time with Beth more than she realized, and I knew that if anything ever happened to me, Abigail would have my family's back.

The coach pulled up to the stop, and the driver loaded my bags into the back.

"Take care of yourself, Jack," Rosemary hugged me tightly, before returning to Lee, who put his arm around her waist. I couldn't think about all of the people I was leaving, because I didn't even know if I was going into an unsafe place or not.

Bill and I nodded to each other, then I gave Abigail a hug.

"Take care of my girl, and take care of yourself."

"We'll be okay, Jack, don't you worry."

We pulled away and she was teary eyed, which then made me teary eyed. "Thank you, for everything."

"You don't have to thank me. She'd just be glad you're happy now." The sheer thought of Elizabeth was interrupted by Beth running back over to me.

"Daddy, I don't want you to go!" She jumped into my arms and I held her as she cried.

"I know sweetheart, I know. It's gonna be okay. You're alright, I'm here now." I put Beth down, as she still sniffled a bit. "While I'm gone, I need to promise me something, okay?"

Beth muttered "Okay," between her calming down.

"I need you to remember everything that you do with Abba and at school, because when I come back, I want to hear all about it. Can you do that for me?"

"I think so."

"Okay good. You be good for Abba and give Wheatley extra hugs for me, okay?" I gave her one last hug. "I love you, Beth."

"I love you too."

I kissed Beth on the cheek and then got into the coach as Beth stood with Abigail and Cody. Cody held her hand, and I was so grateful that he was good to her. He was the cousin she never had.

As Coal Valley got smaller in view, I nodded to everyone and then sat back in the car, wondering what the Western territories had in store for me.


Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm trying to come up with a different name for this story. It's less about an alternate ending now and more about Beth & Jack, and I want to reflect that. I also started writing the sequel to my original story, When Calls Goodbye, so let me know what you think of that!