The village was quiet after the service as most of the villagers returned home, their bellies and hearts full. Faith, needing some space and time to clear her head, had taken a walk. Despite her frustration over whatever was between her and Carson, she took the quiet time of her walk to think of all the things she was thankful for. Her family, her wonderful friendship with Elizabeth, and now Jack. Even Carson. The opportunity she had to be here in this wonderful place was enough to give thanks for.

The other thing that became abundantly clear to her was that she needed answers. Whatever they were, she couldn't return home not knowing. She prayed God would give her an opportunity and the right words to get Carson to be honest with her.

Faith didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon, however. As she was returning towards the dorms, she noticed Carson leaning against a pillar under the pavilion wearing an old navy hoodie with his guitar in hand. He seemed to be absentmindedly strumming away as he stared into the darkness behind the village.

"Hey." She walked up to him. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just thinking. How was your walk?"

"Good. I like walking at night. It's cooler and there are fewer snakes."

Carson let out a chuckle. "That is true. Just be careful out there, okay? I don't want anything happening to you."

"K." Why did he say things like that? All the sweet sentiments like that did was confuse her. She opened her mouth to get her answers right then and there, but nothing came out. He didn't notice. He just played softly on his guitar some more. Defeated she added, "Well, I'm going to hit the sack. See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." He smiled. "Sweet dreams, Faith."

"You too." She turned and walked toward the dorms, kicking herself inside the whole way.

"Now's your chance, Faith. She said to herself. You want answers, go get them."

"Carson?" she yelled back.

"Yeah?" He put down the guitar and jogged towards her. "Everything okay?"

"I… I need you to know that I'm thankful for you. Even though you are a giant, confusing, pain in the rear… I'm thankful for you."

"Oh. I'm thankful for you too." With his hands now shoved in his pockets he walked close to her. "So I'm being a pain?" He couldn't make eye contact with her. This was the start of the conversation he'd been avoiding for over a month and he knew it.

"Yeah. To be honest, sometimes it's literally painful to be around you."

"Faith," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you."

"I know. Truth is, maybe I'm the one hurting myself here."

"How?" He now stood directly in front of her, so close he could just take her in his arms if he dared.

"I care about you, Carson. You're my friend, yes, but it's more than that to me. I just need to know, how do you feel about me?"

It was as if his heart had stopped in his chest. "Faith, it's not that simple."

"Why? You either like me or you don't. I'm a big girl I can take the truth, you know."

"I know you can. There's just things you don't know about me."

"Like what?" she huffed. "Oh, let me guess, you're not actually a doctor, but an escaped convict hiding out in Haiti till the statute of limitations is up on your case?"

"No. I was engaged before." His confession caused Faith to take a step back.

"Okay, you're right, I didn't know that." She ran her fingers through her crazy mop of curls as the confession sunk in. "What happened that you're not engaged now?"

"She um, called it off." Carson turned away to continue. "Everything was set for us to get married. She called me the afternoon before. Just a couple hours before the rehearsal dinner. She asked me to meet her at this park we'd gone to a lot. It's where I proposed."

"Oh no…" Faith gasped, putting the pieces together.

"She told me she'd done some thinking and I wasn't what she wanted and gave me back my ring."

"Carson, I'm so sorry."

He snorted, "Funny thing was, I heard she was with someone new not even a month later."

"That's horrible. How could she not see how lucky she was to have you in her life?"

Carson looked up at her again. Her beautiful face and slinky curls shining in the moonlight.

"I'm damaged goods, Faith."

"Do you still love her?"

"No," he said with conviction. "What's done is done."

"Okay. Now that I know how you feel about her, how do you feel about me?"

"Faith…"

"I mean it, Carson. What am I to you?"

"You're my friend."

"Okay." Faith tried to hide her disappointment at the word 'friend' but it cut like a knife to her heart. "Glad to know that." She turned to walk away before her tears spilled all over the place.

"No, wait! Faith, please."

"Please what?" she spun around. "Carson, I'm sorry you were hurt. You didn't deserve that. But I don't deserve to be lead on like you've done me lately. We spend all this time together. We've gone for walks, you even switched your schedule at the clinic to work with me. Now you're telling me you did all that just because we're friends?"

"Faith, you are my friend. But... "

"But what?!" Faith threw her hands up in the air, clearly losing patience.

"I want more. I'm just damaged. I don't want to get hurt, and I certainly don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't hurt me." She stepped closer. "Give me a chance. We've worked side by side since I got here. You know the kind of woman I am. Would I ever hurt you like that?"

"You wouldn't hurt a fly." He smiled. "You're amazing."

Now was their moment. He could take the next step, and gain everything. Or play it safe, and lose it all. Suddenly all his resistance seemed idiotic and pointless. Who was he kidding? He'd never find another woman like Faith. Smart, sweet, funny; and clearly willing to call him out on his BS. This was what he needed, this was all he'd ever wanted.

"Faith Carter, I was an idiot. Will you forgive me? Maybe even give us a chance?"

Suddenly Faith began to laugh and her head fell against his chest. "Carson Shepard, I thought you'd never ask!"

….

Hours later, the sun was rising over the ocean, casting a warm light over the beach and the sleeping couple who were oblivious to the time.

Jack, keeping his eyes closed, stretched his legs under the blanket. Feeling the warmth of his beautiful love in his arms, he held on tight. "Good morning, angel," he whispered. Then it hit him. Morning. It was morning. "Elizabeth? Sweetie? Wake up."

She groaned in his arms. "What time is it?"

"5:10 in the morning."

"Okay, give me 10 more…. Wait, what! Morning..."

"Yup." Jack stood up, laughing. "Come on. Maybe we can sneak back into the village without anyone noticing."

She took the hand he offered and helped fold the blankets. As they walked back up the hill, she shivered.

"Here." Jack took one of the blankets and wrapped it around her shoulders. "That ought to keep you warm."

"Thank you. Though not as warm as I was in your arms this morning."

"That was nice, wasn't it?"

"Very. I could get use to it."

Jack laughed. "I think I already am." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

They walked into the center of the village without passing a single person. "I think we made it," Jack whispered as they passed by the pavilion.

"Well, well, well," Caron teased. "What have we here?"

Jack and Elizabeth stopped dead in their tracks before slowly turning to face the pavilion. There, sitting along the edge, was Carson and Faith.

"Have a nice walk, you two?" he continued.

"We did," Jack replied, still holding Elizabeth's hand as they walked toward their friends. As they got closer, he noticed something. Faith's hand in Carson's. "Do you two have something you'd like to share?"

They smirked at each other and then Carson cleared his throat. "We had a talk. You were right. I was running away when I should have been running toward this woman right here."

"Faith!" Elizabeth gasped, the biggest smile on her face.

"We're talking our time, but we're together now."

Elizabeth rushed forward, hugging Faith and Carson. Jack came up and slapped his old friend on the back.

"So," he said. "What got you to finally open up? Was it my rousing pep talk?"

"Actually, it was Faith and her forcefully enlightening pep talk." Faith giggled. Carson took her hand he was holding and brought it to his lips.

"That's my girl," Elizabeth teased. "I hate to break all this up but in case no one noticed, the sun is up and we are all in the same clothes we were yesterday."

"Oh gosh, she has a point." Faith jumped up. "What if we all meet for breakfast? I know this great dining hall." They all laughed.

"It's a date." Carson squeezed her hand. "See you soon."

Back at the dorms, the girls quickly changed before sitting on Elizabeth's bed, swapping their stories of what transpired the night before.

"Did he kiss you yet?"

"No!" Faith laughed. "We spent the whole night talking and holding hands. The most he did was kiss my hand, and you know what? I'm okay with that. He's gone through a lot. If we're going to work, we need to take our time. I just couldn't leave Sunday and not know where we stood."

"I'm so happy for you, Faith!"

"I'm pretty happy for me too!" She laughed. "It totally could have backfired when I basically yelled at him for being him."

"Nah, he's been crazy for you all long. Just needed a little push."

"Little push? You weren't there," she cringed. "I practically tackled him off a cliff." They laughed. "What about you? Out all night at some undisclosed location with the love of your life? What happened?"

With a content sigh, Elizabeth fell back on her bed. "It was magical really."

"Magical, huh?" Faith examined her friend. "I feel like I should ask… did you… you know?"

Elizabeth gasped and sat up. "Gosh no! We just slept together. Literally. All sleep, nothing else."

"Okay, sorry I asked. You guys are just so close right now and with us all leaving soon…"

"It's okay. I get it, but no. I promised myself years ago I would wait and I meant it." Elizabeth then blushed, "Though I'm starting to think it won't be as easy as I thought."

"Oh really?" Faith laughed.

Elizabeth bit her lip. "There was just something so right about being in his arms like that. When he kisses me… I could lose my mind." She giggled. "Thank goodness he's so respectful. I trust him completely."

….

Now changed, Jack and Carson waited just outside the dorms for the women.

"So, how are you feeling now?" Jack asked, smirking at his friend.

"Better than I have in a long time. It was scary for a moment, though. I knew if I didn't go for it, I could lose her forever. That scared me more than anything, Jack."

"I get that. I know Elizabeth's only been in my life a short while, but I don't even want to imagine my future without her."

"Does that mean someone will be doing some ring shopping when he gets home?" Carson teased.

Turning bright red, Jack nodded. "I sent a drawing home to my sister. Asked her to take it to a jeweler I know in the city."

"No way! When are you going to ask?"

"That's the thing," Jack expelled a harsh breath. "I kinda want to have her father's blessing. Right now I'm not sure I'll get it."

"Just let him meet you, man. Once he sees how you treat Elizabeth, he'll be grateful she's found a guy like you."

"I hope so. We need to figure that all out. I already know I can't go a whole month without seeing her."

"Month and a half."

"What?"

"Technically by the time we get back it will be a month and a half."

Jack groaned. "I can't do that."

"Can't do what?" Elizabeth asked as she and Faith walked up. Jack quickly put his arm around her, pulling her close.

With a kiss on the top of her head he answered, "We've been talking about being apart for a month, but Carson's right. It's actually a month and a half."

Elizabeth did the math and then buried her head in Jack's chest. She couldn't believe how attached she was to this man. With their separation swiftly becoming a reality, she could hardly bear it.

"We'll meet you guys in the dining hall, okay?" Jack said to Carson and Faith. They nodded and gave Jack and Elizabeth some space. "Angel, it's going to be okay."

"How are you so okay with this?"

"Elizabeth, trust me. I'm not okay with this. What I do know is I won't be spending a whole month and a half away from the woman I love."

"Promise."

"Yes. I know I'm scheduled to work at the fire station during the first two weeks I'm home. After that I'll see about getting some time off to come to you."

She hugged him tight. "That will give me two weeks to get my father to warm up to the idea of us."

"We can do this. It's just temporary."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we won't always be apart. Right now our lives are like two single threads, but one day those threads will be woven together and nothing will tear them apart. Ever."

"Wow," she whispered. "I love the thought of that."

"So do I." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Come on, let's go eat."

….

Later that morning, a new team of people arrived in Hopes Landing. They were a short time group, only there for a couple weeks. There would be a few groups coming and going while Jack, Elizabeth and the others were away.

Jack and Leo met to discuss what was left to be done on the orphanage and the repairs to the other buildings within the village. The school house, which had remained untouched since the fire of the orphanage, would wait until Jack returned. Jack was confident that with Leo in charge, the building projects would be in good hands.

After their meeting, Jack gathered his things and went to meet Jonas. Jack had asked the older man to meet him at the small shack that Jonas worked at. He was a welder. A very good one according to Frank.

"What can I do for you today?"

Jack pulled a drawing out of his back pocket. "I want to make this." He handed the paper to Jonas.

"It's beautiful. This for your love?"

"It is. I want to do this for her as a Christmas gift. Can you teach me?"

Jonas grinned. "We can do this."

…..

Early Saturday morning, they were all packed and ready to go. The plan was to meet Pastor Frank outside the main missions building in Hopes Landing. He'd drive them all back to the city in the old white passenger vans that brought them to the village months before. They were flying out that day to Miami, where most of the mission workers would be spending the night before flying out the next day for their home states.

Elizabeth took one last look around her room. She knew she would be back before long, but it was still hard to leave. This place felt like home now.

"You ready?" Faith asked with a weak smile. Now that she and Carson were moving forward, she didn't want to leave either.

"I think so. Feels so strange to be leaving here. I feel like we should be here for the holidays, not leaving."

"I know the feeling. The people here are apart of us now. Our families miss us though. It will be a nice break. Minus the fact that Carson and Jack will be thousands of miles away."

"Yeah, there's that."

There was a knock on the door. Lynn, the older nurse and Coral, a women who'd come to help at the orphanage a couple months before walked in. She and Lynn attended the same church back home. After hearing all the wonderful stories in Lynn's letters, she decided to come and see it for herself. Now she was just as in love with the little island village as the rest of them and even planning on returning after the break.

"Good morning, girls!"

"Morning!" they both replied.

"Frank said he's just about ready. How are you girls doing in here?"

"Ready." Elizabeth flung her duffle over her shoulder, almost falling backwards in the process.

Faith began to laugh uncontrollably. "What did you pack in there? Jack himself?"

"No, but that's not a bad idea!"

Outside by the vans, Jack and Carson helped Frank load up.

Jack jumped down from the top of the van after securing the last piece of luggage. Taking Elizabeth's hand, he pulled her aside for a moment.

"You doing okay, angel?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Trying to be. We've got a little more than 24 hours, I plan on making it count."

Jack squeezed her hand. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Due to a traffic jam involving cows loose on a narrow dirt road, the team was running late by the time they arrived at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port Au Prince.

Lynn led the way through the overcrowded airport toward check in like a boss. "Stay together everyone. We're all getting on this plane together!"

Faith held tightly to Carson's hand, Elizabeth to Jack's as they all followed.

Faith was overwhelmed. The airport seemed to at capacity. People were bumping into them left and right. "This is insane."

"Just hang on." Carson said pulling her close.

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile as Faith blushed madly at Carson's gentle, yet protective, affection. It was about time.

Within the hour, they were sitting in an small rickety plane on the runway, gaining speed rapidly. Jack and Faith switched places for the two hour flight so they could sit next to their significant others. It was a bumpy start as the plane tried to reach altitude. The water directly below haunted Elizabeth.

"Who's idea was this?" she groaned as she peered out the window.

"Not a fan of flying?"

"Not when we bounce in the air this much and there's a deadly ocean below."

Jack moved the armrest up between them and Elizabeth instantly slid closer. "Then let me distract you."

"Babe, we're on a plane…"

"I know. I bet I can distract you with something other than kissing."

"Such as?"

With their heads now resting against the other's, Jack whispered, "Tell me something."

"Like what?" she whispered back.

"Anything. Something I don't already know about you."

"You already know a lot," she giggled.

"True, but there's always more to learn, I'm sure."

She squeezed his hand as she thought. "When I was little I broke this arm."

"This one?" He ran his fingers over the arm next to him. She nodded "How'd that happen?"

"We were playing hide and seek in the yard. Viola always won, so I thought I'd climb high up in a tree, something she never did, and then I'd finally win."

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh is right," she giggled softly. "It worked wonderfully till I tried to climb down. Instead, I fell. Hard."

"My poor little angel." He kissed her forehead. They sat there in silence for a bit, just taking in the others presence.

"There's something else you don't know about me yet."

"What's that?"

"I think I fell for you almost right after we met." She ran her finger along his jawline. "I tried to fight it but I couldn't."

"I know the feeling."

"Your turn. Tell me something I may not know about you."

He leaned back just a little. She could see he was in deep thought. "When I came here, I felt like God had a purpose for my life here. I didn't know what it was but I just had this feeling it had to do with the school house. So I made up my mind to rebuild it for the village. Now I feel like God didn't just bring me here to rebuild a school. He brought me here to answer a prayer."

"And what prayer is that?"

He smiled bashfully. "I was never a guy that dated around. I saw how my parents had this once in a lifetime, out of this world romance, and life together. I wanted that. So then I made a deal with God."

"You what?" She laughed.

"Yeah. I told him, "I'll wait for her. The one you have for me. Just make sure I know who she is when she comes so I don't miss her!" Elizabeth laughed some more. "Then you came along, and I knew."

"Our once in a lifetime, out of this world romance."

"Mhmm."

"You are such a romantic, Thornton."

"Well, I try." He puffed out his chest proudly. A few minutes later, Elizabeth was asleep on his shoulder. He looked back in the seat behind him to Carson and Faith. Faith was fast asleep as well. "Hey, Carson," Jack whispered. "I have an idea for tonight. Something for the girls. You in?"

Carson smiled down at Faith. "I have months to make up for with this beauty. I'm all in."