The plane landed in Miami just before 1 in the afternoon. Elizabeth let out a loud sigh of relief as the plane's landing gear hit the ground.

"You alright?" Jack asked with amusement.

"We're on the ground, I'm more than alright."

"You know we have to do this again before we get home, right?" Faith laughed.

"Yes, but not till tomorrow and at least then it will be a grown up plane, not this baby thing."

"A grown up plane?" Jack laughed. "Man, I love you."

They all exited the plane together and onto the tarmac, using the tall metal staircase.

"Well," Lynn smiled. "We're flying out again in an hour. Enjoy your break."

"I'll miss you, Lynn! You've been a tremendous blessing." Faith hugged her tight. She'd learned so much about nursing and life since meeting Lynn.

"Don't worry honey, I'll be back after New Year's. Carson," she gave him a great big hug. "Good job getting the girl."

"I can't take any credit. She was the brave one."

Lynn and Coral finished saying goodbye and hurried off to their gate.

"And then there were four." Faith sighed. "Let's grab our bags and get checked into the hotel."

After gathering their bags, Jack called for the hotel shuttle to come pick them up, and scheduled a ride for the following morning.

Elizabeth clung to Jack as they waited on the curb, not wanting to waste a moment feeling close to him. As they stood there, she heard Jack's phone go off in his back pocket. He seemed utterly oblivious to it.

"Babe, your phone."

"Huh?"

She boldly reached back and grabbed his phone. "This, knucklehead."

"Oh wow." He quickly answered. "Hey, Ma! Sorry about that. Guess I forgot what this thing sounds like. How are you?"

"I'm great, son. It's so good to hear your voice. Are you in Miami yet?"

"Yup, we just landed a bit ago and are heading to the hotel as soon as the shuttle gets here."

"That's a relief. To have you back in the country and coming home for the holidays, I mean."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you too, Mom. How are you holding up? Was Thanksgiving good?"

"Oh, I had the best time. Your sister didn't let me cook a thing. I did buy rolls though."

Jack laughed. "I'm glad to hear it. Tom call at all?"

Charlotte sighed. "Yes, for a bit. I think he's okay. It's so hard to tell."

"I'll try to reach out to him more while I'm home."

"You can try. Rosie tries all the time but he's so busy and there's no real communication on those fish boats he practically lives on."

The shuttle for the hotel pulled up just then. "Hey Mom, I'm getting on the shuttle. I love you, I'll be home tomorrow."

"Love you too, son. See you soon."

Jack sighed as he sunk into the seat next to Elizabeth.

"Is your mom alright?"

"I think so. Holidays are hard without my father around. Tom's away too still."

"At least you're coming home. She needs you. Your sister too."

"Nah, Rosie's got Lee."

"Jack, I don't have a brother, but I know no one is a replacement for my sisters. Trust me, Rosie needs you too."

He leaned over kissing her head. "I wish you were coming with me."

"Me too." She stared down at her hand in Jack's. Their fingers intertwined perfectly. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

It was a short two mile drive from the airport to the Marriott Hotel where they'd be staying the night. They checked in at the front desk and received their room keycards.

As they headed to the elevators, Faith turned around to face the guys. "What's the plan for dinner tonight?" Carson and Jack exchanged knowing looks. "What?"

"We have a plan," Jack grinned.

"You guys aren't ditching us are you?" Faith asked sternly.

Carson shook his head. "Are you kidding? Not a chance. We have less than 24 hours together."

"Good." Her expression softened. "So what's the plan?"

"If it's alright with you," Carson began, "I'd like you take you out on a date tonight."

"And I would like to do the same, Elizabeth," Jack added. "I've yet to take you out for a proper date. I was thinking tonight might be perfect."

"You've taken me on plenty of dates, Jack Thornton." Elizabeth was referring to all of their beach nights and late night serenades. "And every single one of them have been special to me."

"That's good to know. Can I take you out tonight anyway?"

"Of course."

"Good."

"So are you two good spending the evening apart?" Carson asked the girls.

"We have all day traveling tomorrow. Enjoy yourself." Elizabeth winked at Faith.

"Same to you. Just don't enjoy yourself too much."

Jack laughed at how deeply Elizabeth blushed at Faith's words. "We'll be on our best behavior," he added.

As the women exited the elevator onto their floor, Elizabeth turned back around stopping the door. "Nowhere too nice tonight, guys. You've pretty much seen our entire wardrobe in Haiti. There's nothing fancy in these bags."

"And you've seen ours," Carson laughed. "Cargo shorts is about as good as it gets for us right now."

"Meet us downstairs in thirty?" Jack asked.

"We'll be there."

In their room, Elizabeth and Faith took turns taking quick showers and doing their hair for the evening. While Faith was in the shower, Elizabeth sat on the edge of her bed with her phone. She knew she should call home and let her parents know she was back in the states, but she was nervous. She hadn't spoken to them since the stressful conversation with her dad. She wasn't really in the mood to go another round with him right then.

She checked the time, her father would probably still be at the office. At least she hoped. She pressed send to call the house phone.

"Thatcher residence, Grace speaking."

"Hi, Mom!"

"Beth? Oh, it's so good to hear your voice! How are you?"

"Has dad warmed up to the idea of my being with Jack?" The line went silent. "Mom?"

"I'm here, dear. The answer is no, he has not. In fact he may be more determined than before."

"Great."

"Try not to fret about it, dear. Let's talk about something more positive. Do you and Faith have anything fun planned tonight?"

"We do… but we're not doing it together. Jack and I are going out tonight to spend what time we have together. She and Carson, that's Jack's friend, are doing their own thing. They're together now."

"It's going to be hard for you being away from him isn't it?"

"I believe so, yes. He means a lot to me, Mom. I meant what I said to you and Dad."

"I know. You don't jump into things without thinking them through. I tried reminding him of that."

"And what did he say?"

Grace sighed. "Be patient with him. He loves you."

"I know he does, but I won't let him control my future. Not anymore."

"Nor should you. I want you to be happy in life. Not to settle." Grace cleared her throat. "Well, I should let you get on with your evening. We'll see you tomorrow. I love you!"

"I love you too, Mom. See you soon."

See you soon, love."

Faith stepped out of the shower trying to tame the curly blonde mop on her head. "Was that your parents?."

"Just my mom."

"How'd it go?"

Elizabeth flopped back on the bed. "No improvement with Dad. Mom seems okay though."

"One ally is better than none."

"I know."

"Hey." Faith walked over and sat next to Elizabeth. "Put all that drama away for now, okay? Let's go out and enjoy the night with our guys. Tomorrow we can stress."

"Deal."

Downstairs in the lobby, the men waited semi-patiently for the ladies. Both dressed in their khaki shorts and button down shirts, trying to look their best.

"Jack…" Carson groaned. "If you mess with your hair one more time, I will smack you."

"Is my cowlick behaving?"

"I don't even know what that means. You know the woman you're waiting for is Elizabeth right? The woman you've been seeing for months. Why are acting like this is your first date?"

He leaned his head back against the seat. "I want tonight to be perfect. We only have tonight and then who knows what."

"What do you mean? You think she'll go home and forget all about you?"

"No. Not really. Her dad's just got me all twisted up inside. I love her, Carson. She is it for me."

"Hold on to that. Don't like some old, fat, bald man getting in your way?"

"Is that an accurate description for Mr. Thatcher?"

"How would I know? All I'm saying is relax. She loves you. It's clear as day." Both men looked up as the elevator doors opened. Faith and Elizabeth walked out smiling and laughing over something. As soon as Elizabeth caught Jack's gaze, her eyes softened. "See? Love. All over."

"Thanks for the pep talk." Jack slapped Carson on the back and hurried over to Elizabeth wrapping her in his arms. "Hi, angel."

"Hey, handsome. Don't you clean up good?"

"Thank you. You ready to go?"

"Anxious to spend time with me?"

"Do you even have to ask?" They turned to walk towards Faith and Carson, already cuddling on the couch. "Okay, love birds. We're off. Have fun tonight."

"You too," Faith smiled.

Jack and Elizabeth hurried to the hotel's main lobby, hand in hand.

"They're goners," Carson teased. "Both of them."

"How long till you think we're at their wedding?"

"I give it six more months." Carson gazed over at the beautiful woman next to him. "One more thought about them and then the rest of the evening's all about us."

"Alright. What is it?"

"You'll look out for her, right? Not let her dad get into her head back home? I don't want Jack being hurt, and if something happens to pull them apart, it will destroy him."

"You have my word. I've never seen her this happy. Ever."

"Good. Now that that's settled." Carson held Faith's hand. "Shall we?"

"Yes!" She took his hand and let herself be lead out the doors and down the busy Miami streets on their way to dinner.

"Oh! Carson!" She tugged on his arm. "I know you said you had plans for tonight but I'm starved and I see a food truck over there that I really would love to try."

He looked to where she was pointing. There were three food trucks lining the street. One Mexican food, one hot dogs, and one Thai. It wasn't the romantic dinner he wanted but it was totally worth the compromise if she was happy.

"I'm flexible. Which would you like?"

"Really? No making fun of me ,but I want the Mac Dog."

"Mac and cheese on a hot dog?"

"Absolutely. It's so good. Reminds me of home. I may even let you try it." She was flirting, or trying to and he thought it was adorable. He saw her eyes sparkle with a bit of teasing, a bit of admiration. It only made him like her even more.

"Deal." They joined the line, his arm now wrapped around her slim waist, keeping her close.

"So what else are we doing tonight?" she wondered.

"A little putt putt."

"I love putt putt! This is going to be great."

He smiled and they walked forward a few steps.

After about ten minutes, they had their food. Her's, the Mac Dog, his, a more normal turkey dog with chili and mustard.

They found a bench to sit on and dug in. "Oh, my goodness," Faith moaned as she took a bite.

"Good?"

She nodded as she closed her eyes and savored it. "Yeah." She held it up to his mouth. "Want a bite?"

He opened and took a modest bite. He chewed and then smiled. "Yeah, that's really good."

"So where is this putt putt course we are going to?"

"We will need to catch a cab, but it's not too far."

They finished their meal and headed to find a cab for the next stage of their adventure.

….

With a take out food bag in one had and the love of his life's hand in the other, Jack strode down the boardwalk, looking for a place for them to sit and enjoy their meal. Given there casual attire, Jack ordered take out from a fancy Italian restaurant instead of going in to sit down.

"What about here?" Elizabeth asked, pointing to an empty stretch of grass right before the concrete sea wall.

"Perfect." Jack took a beautiful handmade blanket from his backpack and laid it out in front of them.

"Where did you get this beautiful blanket?" she asked as he helped her sit.

"In one of the Haitian marketplaces. Don't tell Rosie but this is actually supposed to be her Christmas present." Elizabeth laughed. "It's okay. I'll just get her something when I get back to Seattle."

"What about the blanket? "

He shrugged. "I'll get her a new one in the village market as part of her wedding present. Win, win."

They sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the colorful handmade blanket watching as the warm sun began to set.

Elizabeth looked at all the boats docked nearby that had something special about them. "This is so cool. Hey babe, look at these."

She was right. All the boats in the harbor were decorated with Christmas lights and other decorations. Some even had Christmas trees on them. Jack noticed something else. Most of the decorated boats seemed to have people on them already. It was a busy place. He rose from the blanket and walked closer to the water.

"Sir?" he called out to one of the men on a small sailing vessel. "Why is everything so busy tonight?"

"The annual light parade."

"The what?" Elizabeth jumped up all excited.

"Every year this harbor hosts a water parade. We all dress up our boats for Christmas and then sail as close as we can to the main part of the beach."

Jack looked around trying to figure out where that part of the beach might be. Noticing, the man on the ship gave him directions to where he and Elizabeth could go to get the best view. With a 'thank you' and a 'goodbye' the two picked up their picnic and decided to move on to the different location.

….

Carson went to the counter and paid for one round of putt putt golf. They each took a club and a colored ball before headed to the first hole.

"Just so you know, Faith, I'm pretty good at this game."

"And humble too," she said with a laugh. "But I'm up for a bit of friendly competition."

"Great!" They each took a ball and a putter and headed to the first green.

By the time they were halfway through, they were bored. They were both so surprisingly good that there seemed to be no challenge and hard to even trash talk playfully. Frankly, Carson wanted to go somewhere more romantic. A putt putt course was not that.

"Why don't we go get some coffee?" Carson suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that."

Thirty minutes later, they were sitting on the outdoor patio of a coffee shop at a table for two.

"Sorry about the putt putt idea. I guess I didn't think it through very well," Carson told her.

"It was fun." He raised his eyebrows. "Ok, not that fun. But this is nice." They looked around at the tiki torches that circled the patio, casting just enough light to be romantic.

Carson reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Tell me about your family, Faith."

"Well, you know I have two brothers. Jason is a police officer and Andrew is an architect."

"Older or younger than you?"

"Both older and pretty protective of me. Let's say I haven't had a lot of guys come around so when one does, it's interesting."

"What do you mean, interesting?"

"Well, my high school boyfriend, Liam, came over one time after school to study. We went to my room, and we left the door open, as was the rule. However, literally every five minutes either Andy or Jay would pop their head in or walk past the door making a ton of noise or just make up one excuse after another to interrupt us."

"Oh boy. That must have been a fun conversation later," Carson said, laughing.

"My dad didn't say much and to this day I'm pretty sure he asked them to do it. My mom stuck up for me and told them to steer clear when Liam came over."

"But, you know they did it because they loved you."

"Yeah. I know." She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "I miss them. I'm so happy to be going home even though I'm going to miss you very much."

He scooted his chair next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'll miss you too, Faith. It won't be for too long and we will be back together."

"Yeah." She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "It's weird. We spend every day, all day together and now that we are finally together as a couple, we won't be. We will be across the country from each other." Carson was absolutely one of her best friends and it seemed impossible not to be beside him, working, helping people.

Carson held her close as the reality set in again. Could he really go that long without seeing her? He would miss seeing her walk in the door of their clinic, a bright, beautiful smile on her soft, gorgeous face. A light in his life that helped him feel love again. And to think he was almost going to let her slip away because of fear. "Crazy," he muttered.

"What's that?"

"I was just thinking how crazy I was to almost let you get away." He pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger for a moment.

"Yes, that was crazy," she said with a laugh. "I'm just glad you listened to Jack." She kissed his cheek and sipped her coffee, happy to be with him in that moment.

…..

On the beach, Elizabeth reclined back against Jack's chest. The water in front of them was filled with a line of boats, each more decorated than the last, taking their time as they glided past. Their now empty to-go containers of delicious Italian food lay to the side as they focused on dessert.

Elizabeth lifted the cream filled cannoli up to Jack's lips for him to have his bite. He groaned. "Good, huh?" she asked with a grin.

"It is. But not as good as the company."

"Well, shucks, Thornton. You'll make me blush."

"Good. I like having that affect on you. You having a good date night?"

"The best."

"Good. I was initially thinking we should do something different that sitting on beach." They laughed.

"I don't mind. It's kind of our thing."

"True. And we've never eaten Italian food together. Let alone with a water parade of boats in front of us."

"See, this is new and different, yet, familiar." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Dinner was amazing. Not that I don't like Gloria and her cooking, but this is just like coming home. It's comfort food."

"You know, if you like Italian, I make a mean chicken parmesan. The guys at the firehouse love it."

"Will you make it for me sometime?"

"Count on it. What about you? What's your specialty?"

"Specialty?"

"Yeah, what is it that you love to make? Lasagna, chicken, maybe desserts?"

"Oh no…" She sat up as if she'd been hit by lightning and turned to face Jack.

Equally startled Jack asked, "Oh no, what?"

"You think I can cook!"

Jack blinked at her repeatedly. "Yeah… Of course I do." He laughed. "I mean didn't you just help orchestrate an entire Thanksgiving meal for the entire Hopes Landing village?"

"Well, yes. I planned… and I made some pies with Faith's supervision."

"You needed supervision?" he chuckled.

"Yes. Ever since the great brownie fire of 2004, yes. It was bad."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "How bad?"

"Ever see 13 glass baking dish explode? I have. Mom and Dad had to replace the countertops and we were finding chunks of glass for months."

Jack fell back on the blanket with a laugh.

"It's not funny! It was rather traumatic!"

"I'm sure! Okay, so you don't bake."

"Or cook. Is that a deal breaker?"

"Well…."

"Seriously?" She swatted his arm. "Come on, Jack!"

"Kidding, only kidding." He wrapped his arms back around her and pulled her as close as he could. "I love you, Elizabeth Thatcher. Even if we get married one day and I have to eat burned dinners most of my life."

"Or you could cook."

"Or I could cook," he laughed. "No matter what, angel, we're going to be okay."

…...

About an hour later, Carson walked Faith back to the hotel from the coffee shop. They stopped outside her and Elizabeth's hotel room to say goodnight.

They didn't say much though. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on as he hugged her back. Their flight was early which meant saying goodbye was coming very soon.

"Faith," he whispered into her hair.

She gazed up at him, tears in her eyes. "I can't say goodbye to you."

"This isn't goodbye." He leaned his head down and slowly, gently moved his mouth over hers, pulling her closer still into his arms.

He hadn't envisioned their first kiss being in a hotel hallway. He had thought it would be someplace romantic, maybe in the moonlight, under the stars. But he couldn't think of anything else but finally feeling her soft, perfect lips against his.

After a brief, blissful moment, he pulled back and hugged her once more.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Carson."

…..

Faith was already asleep when Jack dropped Elizabeth back off at the room. As Elizabeth undressed for bed she saw a note resting on her pillow.

"CARSON KISSED ME! LIKE, REALLY KISSED ME! SET THE ALARM FOR EARLY SO WE COULD CHAT. HOPE YOU HAD A FANTASTIC TIME!"

With a giggle, she placed the cute little note, smiley faces and all into her book inside her bag.

This night had been magical. Filled with many loving affectionate touches, tender kisses and promises. Now it was time for bed. She set out her clothes for the next day then decided to take a quick shower. Twenty minutes later when she finally laid down to sleep, all she could think about was boarding a plane and flying in the opposite direction of the man she loved. She wasn't ready. She'd never be ready.

Feeling the overwhelming need to speak to Jack, she rolled out of bed and grabbed her phone. His phone rang and rang but no answer, it just went to the voice message.

With a huff she climbed out of bed and got dressed in an old pair of jeans and a knit v-neck shirt. She left a note for Faith in case she wasn't back when Faith woke up and headed out the door.

"This is crazy," she thought just outside Jack's room on the next floor. "It's the middle of the night, he's probably asleep." Then she heard the sound of the TV from the other side of the door so she knocked.

The door quickly opened.

"Elizabeth, hey," a sleepy-eyed Carson answered. "You all right?"

"Oh no, did I wake you?"

"Nah. I've got months of sports to catch up on here."

"Great. You're gonna think I'm crazy but I just needed to talk to Jack."

Carson smiled. "You're not crazy. I get it. Come on in, he's just in the shower."

Elizabeth walked in and sat on the bed that appeared to be Jack's. Carson muted the TV and turned his attention to Elizabeth.

"I feel like I should ask. You're okay with Faith and I being together now, right?"

"More than okay!" Elizabeth smiled. "She's my best friend and all I want is for her to be happy. I know that's something that you can do for her."

"I will," he said with confidence. "You can trust me."

"I have no doubts."

They talked for a little bit longer until they heard the shower head turn off. A moment later, the door opened and Jack walked out with nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist.

"Whoa, boy!" Carson quickly snatched up a pillow from the bed and flung it at Elizabeth face, trying to block her from the sight before her. "Dude, we have company!"

Jack dodged back into the bathroom. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry I didn't know you…" he was stuttering. "A little heads-up would have been helpful, Carson."

"My bad." He was laughing uncontrollably and so was Elizabeth. Her face as red as the sun.

"It's okay, Jack. I didn't see, well, it's okay."

Carson got up off the bed to hand Jack the pile of clothes he left sitting on the dresser. A minute later with his hair wet and sticking in every direction, Jack walked back out into the room giving Elizabeth a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Everything all right? I didn't expect to see you again until the morning, not that I'm complaining."

"I was trying to sleep but I wanted to see you again. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. You want to go for a walk?"

She nodded. Jack grabbed his hoodie and the hotel key, giving Carson a nod as they left.

"Where should we go?" Elizabeth asked.

"We could go down and sit by the pool." Jack suggested. "It's no beach but at least we have water."

Elizabeth smiled at his boyish grin and let herself be led down to the pool deck.

It was beautiful out there. The glowing twinkling Christmas lights that were wrapped around the pool sparkled in the water's reflection.

Elizabeth begin to shiver in the surprisingly cold early winter air of southern Florida. Jack handed her his navy blue Seattle fire department hoodie for her to wear. Quickly she pulled it up over her head then leaned back against Jack in the poolside lounge chair.

"I think you should keep this." Jack said with a grin. "It looks better on you than it does on me."

"Don't tease or I might just do it. It's soft and it smells just like you."

"Than it's yours." He held her close, feeling her heartbeat slow down and relax. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"Whatever it is that got you so spooked? I know you Elizabeth, you look worried again."

"I know." She sighed. "It's… us."

"Us? You're worried about us?"

"Yes. No. I don't know how to explain it."

"I'm a good listener." He gave a sympathetic smile.

Elizabeth stared out over the rippling pool of water collecting her thoughts. "You know I wasn't looking for this. To fall in love. To have my mind so taken over with thoughts of another human being to the point where I can't imagine my life without them anymore."

"Regrets?"

"Never! I just don't know how to navigate this next part."

"We'll do it together."

"How can we do this together when we're a thousand miles apart?"

Jack sighed against her neck, pulling her closer. "What if I change my ticket? I can come with you tomorrow. You're nervous about facing your father, I can tell."

"He's not a bad man. He just has his own ideas for us. It just so happened that Viola's heart and dreams aligned with his. Mine, not so much."

"I mean it angel. I'll come stand by your side. You don't have to do it alone."

"I know you will, but your mom, she hasn't seen you in so long. I can't have you disappoint her for me. Especially this time of year." She sighed again. "I can do this."

"You sure?" She nodded. "Alright. Maybe I can give you something that will help."

"Like what?"

"Your Christmas present."

"You got me a Christmas present?"

"Well, "made" is a better word for it, but yeah. I was going to wait and give it to you when I came out to see you, but I think you should have it now."

He pulled out a tiny canvas drawstring bag from his pocket and handed it to her.

Carefully, she opened it. "Jack, it's beautiful." Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a figure eight charm, the infinity symbol, made up of two thin pieces of metal that had been woven together.

"You made this?"

"The chain I asked Rosie to send me. As for the charm, that I made with some help."

"You're kidding."

He shook his head. "That right there, that's how I see our love. It's never ending, infinite, forever."

"I love it, Jack." She wiped a tear from her eyes. "I love you."

He smiled, relieved the gift turned out so well.

Elizabeth reached up to take off the necklace she had been wearing. "Would you help me put it on?" She placed it into the canvas bag while Jack fastened the gift around her neck.

"There," he said. "Now a part of me will be with you."

"Perfect." She grinned. "So let me get this straight. You're a fireman, carpenter, guitar player, artist and now jewelry maker. Are there any talents you don't have?"

"Well I'm not perfect. If you remember, my pie making skills could use some work."

"True. Anything else?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Juggling. I'm down right terrible at that."

"Oh well, this will never work then."

"You need a juggler?"

"Yes, I do. I have a thing for circus acts. Sorry, babe, but this is a deal breaker."

"I see. Do tickling clowns count? Because I can do that."

"Wait, what… no, Jack. Jack!" He began tickling her sides cause her infectious laughter to take over the quiet night air. "Ok, stop! Stop!"

He stopped, and wrapped his arms around her holding her tight. Tucking his head next to hers, he moved a few loose curls back behind her ear, making it easier to see her beautiful face as they leaned back on the lounge chair. "I've never met anyone like you Elizabeth. I can't believe how much I love you."

"I know the feeling, Jack." She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"You still nervous?"

"About us, no. Just seeing everyone."

"What can I do?"

"Just...hold me."

"Forever."

*** Special thanks to my editing and writing bud Kksaunt1 for writing Carson and Faiths date and helping me with a case of writer's block. You're wonderful! ***