Elizabeth landed at O'Hare airport just 20 minutes later than expected. Leaving her plenty of time to grab a bite to eat before her next flight. After double checking the departure board, she saw that her connecting flight to Seattle was now delayed. All she wanted was to get to Jack and feel his strong body around her. The sooner the better as far as she was concerned. But what could she do? She checked the airline app on her phone. Apparently it was weather that was holding up flights today. Figures. It was winter after all.

Accepting that there was nothing else she could do but wait, she headed over to the nearest Starbucks. The way this day was going, coffee would be a must.

After ordering her usual as well as a pastry, Elizabeth found a seat by a window and sat down. It was then that she noticed the little voice mail icon up in the top left corner of her phone screen. She left out a sigh of relief when she saw it was from Jack.

"Angel, it's me. I love you. Remember that, ok? We'll get through this. Don't give up on us."

"Don't give up? Why would he think to say that?" she thought.

Immediately she called Jack. Something wasn't right. Unfortunately the call went directly to voicemail. She left a quick voicemail and hung up.

Feeling anxious, she tried calling Viola. After two rings she remembered her sister had mentioned she had 2 C-sections scheduled for today. She'd be busy for a while. So she called the next best thing. Julie.

"What?" Her groggy voiced younger sister answered.

"Hello to you too," she laughed. "I take it I woke you?"

"Yes but its okay. I need to get up anyway. What's up?"

"Dad and I got in a fight over Jack."

"Big surprise. The big oaf."

"It was horrible. Anyway, I left."

"Left? As in…"

"I'm on my way to Seattle to see Jack."

"O.M.G! Are you two going to elope?"

"What? No! Where did that come from?"

"Oh, you totally should. That would sure teach Dad a lesson."

"Though you might be right, I'm not going to marry Jack just to spite Dad. When we do get married, it will be because we are ready and love each other. I won't rule out the possibility of an elopement at some point. Lord knows Dad may never accept us. But no, not now."

"Fair enough. You always were the wise one," she teased.

When she'd hung up with her sister some 20 minutes later, Elizabeth pulled out a book to read. The first page took her much longer then it should. She was so distracted. The terminal she was sitting in was getting busier and louder by the minute. Desperate for a reprieve, Elizabeth went to one of the terminal's newsstands and bought a package of ear plugs.

Returning to her gate, she cozied up next to a large window again. With the earplugs in her ears, coffee and a book in her hands, she waited.

….

By some miracle, Jack managed to just barely catch the 6:35 flight out of Seattle with one connection to make before heading to Connecticut.

The whole first flight he went over speech after speech in his head. Trying to decide exactly what he'd say to Elizabeth's father when he met him. He was also trying to decide what say to Elizabeth. That is, if she truly was trying to end things. If that was the case, Jack wasn't giving up without a fight. He would give their relationship all he had, and then some, before he walked away.

All things considered, he was hopeful the conversations would go in his favor. So far the details of his impromptu adventure were going his way. First there was catching Carson awake and him being able to drive him to the airport. Next was how apparently his flight was one of the last to make it out of Seattle before another nasty batch of snow and ice settled, grounding all flights.

There was a bit of guilt taking up residence in his gut for his leaving though. He had today off from work, but Jack knew he would need to call Chief Avery when he landed in Connecticut and let him know he would be gone for an unknown amount of time. He didn't like it, but Elizabeth needed to come first right now. That was something he would not apologize for.

When the plane finally began its descent into Chicago, it was just before 12:30. Jack was beyond exhausted and hungry. Clearly last night was not the night to take a night shift where he managed to get almost no sleep.

As soon as the plane docked at the gate, Jack grabbed his phone from his bag. Seeing a message from Elizabeth gave him a small feeling of relief. At least there was communication between them. Even if it felt like a big game of telephone.

"Jack, I love you too. I'm so confused. Why are you asking me not to give up? Call me okay? There's something I need to tell you."

At a steady pace, the passengers began to file out of the plane. Jack slung his bag over his shoulder and started heading down the narrow aisle.

…..

Elizabeth was still at her wit's end as she sat at her gate drinking her second cup of coffee. In the last 3 hours she had been sitting there, there was no word from Jack and her plane to Seattle seemed to have a never ending delay.

All she could do was hope and pray the weather would clear soon and she would be with him again.

The earplugs did the trick though. They drowned out the overwhelming roar of the crowds of people surrounding her; all waiting for their own flights. She was half way through her book now and contemplating what she'd do next. The book was a hard read, however. The lead character was quickly falling in love with a tall handsome Mountie. Everything about him reminded her of Jack, making her miss him all the more. Maybe she should have brought one of her many non-fiction, history books for this leg of the trip.

….

The terminal Jack moved through seemed to have a very hectic energy about it. As Jack passed by the arrival and departure boards, it seemed like most of the flights had that same pesky word next to it, "delayed."

He checked. His flight was still set to leave in an hour and a half. The gate was close by. Even in the same terminal. That was a relief. He knew he needed to get some sustenance in him before handling another couple of hours sitting in a giant tin can.

Glancing up and down the terminal, he spotted a coffee shop near the southern end and hurried towards it.

Thankfully the line wasn't terribly long. Jack made it to the counter and ordered a large coffee with an extra shot of espresso and a sandwich and apple.

While he waited, Jack walked to the end of the counter. To his left, the coffee shop opened up towards the next gate. He noticed an older couple sitting side by side. Hands together, her head resting on his shoulder, all smiles as they chatted away. Maybe they were off on a little vacation. Or perhaps they were off to visit their grandkids. As he watched, Jack hoped that would be him and Elizabeth one day. In love and growing old together.

That kind of thinking made him miss her even more if that was possible. Taking out his phone again, he clicked on her number. He just needed to hear her voice.

"Please pick up, angel. Please…"

"Don't you know you stop the room?

That all I can see is you."

"Our song…" Jack looked around the overcrowded gate near him, trying to find the source of the music.

"You must be my once in a lifetime, in a lifetime."

"Is she here?" he whispered to himself. "She can't be."

When there was no answer Jack hopped over the metal divider between the coffee shop and the gate and began searching for some sign of her. He knew he was being crazy but he couldn't help himself.

"Elizabeth?" He called out in the middle of the gate. "Elizabeth?"

Taking out his phone, he called her again. Again he heard the faint sound of a ringtone that was their song.

He walked down the row of seats all they way to the end. That's when he saw it. A smartphone plugged into the wall behind one of the chairs. He reached for it.

"Uh sir, that's not yours," A woman with a small child spoke to him.

"Do you know whose it is?"

"I don't know her name. I offered to watch her stuff a moment ago so she could run over to the newsstand over there. She wanted another book."

That made Jack grin. "Another book huh? Thank you."

…..

Elizabeth stood in front of a shelf of the current New York Times best sellers. She had two books in her hand, one was a biography of the first lady, the other a book a POW in the Second World War. Both sounded fascinating to her by the description on the back covers. She could get both, but then she'd have to carry that weight with her on the plane. Decisions, decisions.

"You know, admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting help," a male voice spoke from behind. A very familiar male voice.

"Jack?" Elizabeth turned and gasped. "Jack!" She dropped both books and rushed into his arms. "You're here! What are you doing here?"

"I got your message after my shift and I just had to see you."

She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply right there in the store. Elizabeth was surprised when after a moment he pulled back from her.

"Wait a second here, were you trying to break up with me earlier? In your message, I mean."

"What?" Now she pushed back from him. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"In your message you said you got in a fight with your dad and you couldn't do this anymore. You said it was over. I couldn't hear the end of the message, it was all static."

Her eyes shut tight as she shook her head. "No no! Oh Jack, no! I'd never do that to you. To us." She kissed him again. "I love you. I called you to say I couldn't do us being apart anymore. I need to be with you, Jack. I'm over dealing with my dad and his games. What I said at the end was that I was coming to you."

"Oh thank you, God." He kissed her lips hard before pulling her back into his arms. "I thought the worst. I'm sorry. I can't believe you were coming to Seattle. I was coming for you."

"You're heading to Hartford?"

"Yes," he ran the fingers of his right hand through her silky soft hair. "I was going to show you that we would make this work. Convince your father that I'm good enough. That we're meant to be together."

"And here we are," she laughed. "In Chicago of all places. My connecting flight to Seattle keeps getting delayed. Thank goodness for that! What if I had missed you?"

"That would have been interesting." They laughed together. Elizabeth bought her books and then walked back to her gate. They sat there, holding hands, just smiling at one another.

"Coffee for Jack?" one of the baristas from the coffee shop called loudly from the counter.

Jack didn't hear his name being called. He was too busy staring into the eyes of the woman he knew he'd love for the rest of his life.

"Coffee for Jack?" she called again, louder this time.

"Jack, is that yours?" Elizabeth pointed.

"Oh, yeah." It took all he had in him to pull away. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I won't," she grinned.

Jack returned to the gate, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "You hungry? I'll spilt my sandwich with you."

"Sure."

He handed her half of the yummy smelling tuna melt on an everything bagel and they began to eat.

"So," she asked between bites. "What do we do now?"

"What do you want to do? I could go back to Hartford with you. Try to work things out with your dad."

"Or I could go home with you. To Seattle."

"Are you sure? I'd hate for this to be hanging over you for long."

"I'm sure. My father isn't going to accept this unless he doesn't have a choice or sees that I mean to stand up for myself. I've already talked it over with my mom, she gets it. I just need some space from him right now."

"Okay." He brought her hand to his lips. "Then that's what we'll do. Once we finish eating, let's find a gate agent and see about changing my ticket. Maybe there's a seat on this flight that you're waiting for."

"I'm sorry, Jack."

He shot her a confused look. "For what, babe?"

"My father. All this chaos. You leaving at a moment's notice to take care of me."

"Elizabeth, its fine. It's not your fault there was a bad connection on the call and I only heard the scary part of your message." She giggled softly as he rolled his eyes. "It's all going to be okay. We're together now."

"I want us to stay this way."

"So do I." He shoved the last bite in his mouth. "Come on. Let's see about getting us home."

"Us home," she liked the sound of that.

….

After paying a not so small fee, Jack got a seat on Elizabeth's flight. Finally that afternoon, the weather finally cleared in Seattle and they were on their way.

The two books Elizabeth had just bought sat unopened in her bag. She had something much better to focus on now. She was with him, in the flesh. The armrest between them was lifted, allowed for them to lean into each other.

They didn't speak for a bit, just relaxed together. Every few minutes Jack would turn his head to kiss Elizabeth's temple and squeeze her hand. It was as if he wanted to make sure this was really happening.

"I can't believe I'm holding your hand," he spoke. "I really let myself think you might have wanted to end this."

"Why do you think that is? You've always seemed so confident about us."

"I don't know honestly. Maybe all that talk we did about your dad and his expectations got the best of my imagination."

"How do you feel now?"

"Honestly?" She nodded. "Like I have the world at my fingertips with you here with me."

"Good." She snuggled closer. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone in the third seat of their row. It at least gave the illusion of privacy.

"Want me to take off work some while you're here?"

"As long as we see each other some, I'll be alright. I know you have responsibilities and I won't take you away from those. You're work is important to you."

"You're important to me."

"I know," she smiled.

"I think based on my current schedule we will be ok. I work a few more nights and some days. If it turns out to be too much, you let me know, okay? We can adjust."

"Jack, I don't want to disrupt your life."

He leaned over, kissing her cheek. "You are a priority, angel. Just promise me if it gets to you you'll talk to me?"

She bit her bottom lip. This man was amazing. "I promise."

"Thank you."

…..

Carson made his way towards the baggage claim area at the Seattle airport, keeping an eye out for his friends. He couldn't help but be amused by the whole ordeal. As he got closer, he caught Elizabeth's eye and waved. Jack was pulling off the last of their luggage off the conveyor belt.

"You know, you two," Carson teased. "There are easier ways to get together to see each other."

"Shut up, man." Jack playfully punch Carson in the arm. "It's been a long day. Can you just take us home?"

"Can do." He took some of the luggage after giving Elizabeth a friendly hug. "I'm parked on the third level."

…..

Carson dropped them off outside Jack's building with a promise that they'd all get together for dinner or something soon.

Using his key fob, Jack opened the door to his building.

"See that restaurant over there?" she nodded. "That's my aunt's place."

"Is she there tonight?"

Jack peered in through the doorway trying to see. "She might be. Looks busy tonight. You'll meet her later. Why don't we go up and settled. Then I'll take you out to eat. It's just past dinner time. I bet you're hungry."

"I am actually."

They took the elevator up to the top floor where Jack's apartment was. After unlocking the door, Jack carried his and Elizabeth's suitcases into his bedroom while Elizabeth stood in the small entryway, taking off her black pea coat jacket.

When he came back, he hung up his own jacket and then smiled lovingly at his beautiful girlfriend.

"Before we do anything else, there's something I've wanted to do since I saw you, but we haven't truly been alone all day."

"Oh, really? What might that be?"

"This." With one swift move, Jack lifted Elizabeth up in his arms, holding her tight against his strong body. Her legs immediately wrapped around his waist with her arms around his neck. Jack touched his lips to hers, kissing her as if there was no tomorrow.

Feeling the effects of her love as she kissed him back, Jack stumbled back a step. He adjusted his stance without breaking their connection. He had one thing on his mind, expressions of love to this woman. And boy, did he!

Elizabeth felt herself melting into him. They'd never kissed quite like this. Sure they'd had plenty of deep, meaningful kisses in their relationship, but this was different. This was pure passion. The kind one could lose themselves in.

Soon Jack carefully lowered her feet back to the floor as they each struggled to catch their breath. He didn't let go of her though. Instead, with his arms around her waist he rested his forehead against hers gently.

"I have missed you," he whispered, sucking in all the air he could.

"I missed you too. So much."

He gave her a quick peck on the tip of her nose, which caused the cutest little laugh.

"So, would you like the grand tour?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." He took her hand as he led her around the apartment. The apartment was immaculate and much larger than she expected. He pointed to the right over the breakfast bar, "Here's the kitchen. It's decently stocked up right now. If you make a list we can go to the store tomorrow and get anything you'd like."

"I don't need anything."

"Think about it, okay? I want you to feel comfortable and at home here." He pointed to the wall to the left which had three doors. Two normal sized and one set of double doors set at an angle. "The first door is my office. There's a computer, my photo stuff and a ton of books. Also I happen to have the best reading recliner chair in the world in there."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. It's perfect. So feel free to use it or the computer anytime. The second door is the bathroom. It's got one of those Jacuzzi tubs in it."

"Fancy."

"I know. Rosie is so jealous." They stood next to a square table with had a small house plant in the center and a stack of mail to the side. "Over here is the living room. The couch is pretty comfy and the TV has cable. More channels than I'll ever need. But there's Hallmark. You can watch all those girly Christmas movies you love so much."

"I know you're teasing me, but I just might do that." They laughed. "Oh wow, Jack. That view!" Elizabeth pointed at the wall of windows and the balcony.

"I know, it's great isn't it? You can see so much of the city from here." He let go of her hand and went to turn on the Christmas lights he had wrapped around the balcony railing. "The balcony's nice. Even in the winter if you have a blanket."

"Or someone to keep you warm?" she asked wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"You know, I've never had the opportunity to try that. Maybe now that you're here with me that's something we could do. Maybe even have some hot chocolate or warm cider."

"Sounds like a great night."

"Yeah. It's a date." He turned in her grasp to face her, kissing her long and slow. "It feels so right having you here with me."

"I agree. I should have run away sooner," she teased.

"At least we're together now." He kissed her temple. "Then through the double doors is my room. Come on." He led her into the room.

Like the rest of the place, it was spotless. Everything looked like it had been placed there intentionally. The bedroom consisted of a king sized bed with a navy down comforter. There were matching lamps and end tables on either side. In front of the bed was a long dresser that came up to Elizabeth's waist with a large TV mounted above it. To the right was another large window overlooking the city.

"Jack, this apartment is amazing."

"Yeah, I like it. It's a bit fancier than I need but it's nice to come home from a shift and just relax. I don't splurge on much. Basically this and camera gear." She laughed, knowing it was true. "I'll take the couch and let you sleep in here. That door there is a second entrance to the bathroom."

"I can sleep on the couch, Jack. I don't want to kick you out of your space."

"No, I want you to have the bed. I won't sleep if I'm in there and you're stuck on the couch. Besides, after some of my shifts lately, I've just passed out there anyway. No big deal."

"I don't like it, but I have a feeling I won't win this one, huh?"

"No, you won't," He grinned. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"Alright, why don't we…" He paused to yawn. "Get ready and we can…" he yawned again. "Go out."

"Jack, are you sure? You look exhausted."

"I am kind of actually. My last shift was insane at best. Plus I had already worked on the previous shift. As soon as I got home I heard your message and booked a flight. Didn't even try to sleep first."

"Oh boy… Jack, I'm sorry."

"Honey, it's okay. Getting to you was my top priority. I don't regret it."

"Couldn't you have slept on the flight?"

"Nah. I was too hyped up to sleep on my first flight, and too excited to have you with me after that."

"Well I'm here now, and we're back in Seattle. How about you rest?"

"What about dinner? I was going to take you out."

"We can do that another night. Do you have anything in the fridge we could eat?"

"Yeah, there's some leftovers. Chinese and pizza, I think."

"What about tea?"

"In the cupboard above the stove there's a bunch."

"Well, then I'll be just fine. Let's just stay in."

He watched her. She was serious. "Okay. But soon, I'm taking my girl out for a real Seattle dinner."

"I look forward to it. Now go, I'll take care of you for a change."

He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a warm loving gaze. "How about we take care of each other?"

"Alright," she blushed.

Jack filled the tea kettle with water while Elizabeth pulled out the various take-out boxes from the fridge. The first one she opened made her crinkle her nose.

"Has this gone bad?"

Jack took a look. "Oh hey, I almost forgot about that. No, it's still good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's from this neat Indian restaurant down on 2nd and Main." He grinned, her cute button nose was still scrunched up. "Not a fan?"

"Of this particular dish or Indian food in general?"

"Either."

"Indian, yes. Whatever this is, I don't think so."

Jack laughed as she placed it back on the counter like it was going to jump out at her.

"Why don't you put that in the fridge? I'll take to work with me."

"Good idea. So, pizza or Chinese?"

"Chinese is older. I'll take that. If you're alright with Greek pizza."

"Sounds good to me."

They decided to eat in the living room and watch some TV. Jack turned it on, but paid little attention at first to the screen as he dug into his food. It was the nightly news. They were recapping about a 15 car pileup that had occurred the night before due to black ice covering the roads.

Without looking at the screen, Jack changed the channel and sighed.

"Were you called to that emergency last night?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. It was a real mess."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really. It was hard. Never easy when we can't save everyone." She nodded, and said no more. "Up for a movie? I've got Netflix too."

"Sure."

After they ate, Jack took their dishes back into the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher. Elizabeth smiled at him from the couch. As she looked around the apartment again, she noticed a large scale photo on the dining area wall. She turned on the couch to get a better look.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah, angel?" he said coming back to the living room.

"What's this photo there?"

"Oh, that?" Jack laughed nervously. "That, my dear, is the picture I took the night we met."

Getting up and taking a closer look, Elizabeth noticed that the photograph was entitled "My Angel."

"I see," she blushed.

Jack stepped up behind her and wrapped her up in his arms. "Want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

He kissed her cheek. "Out of all the pictures I've taken over the years…" He moved to kiss her other cheek. "This one is my favorite."

"Oh, really?" she spoke softly. "Why is that?"

"See how the light of the setting sun you? Some rays are even shining through your hair?"

"Mhmm..." She bit her lip in anticipation for what he'd say next.

"That night, I was trying to find my purpose. Not just in Haiti, but in this life. I feel like God shined down on you in this moment. Highlighting all your beauty, inside and out."

"Oh, Jack…"

"I'm not trying to say you are my purpose, per say, but I feel like whatever my purpose is, it's connected to you. Like God was letting me know that I wasn't going to be alone."

"That's beautiful, Jack." She turned in his embrace, sharing a heart melting kiss.

"It's true. I love you, I know we're meant to be together."

"I know that too. I'm so grateful to have found you."

….

They managed to sit through a little less than half of the new Ghostbusters movie before both of them were nearly asleep.

"You should get some sleep," Elizabeth suggested as she watched Jack fight to keep his eyes open.

"You might be right." Jack went into his room and grabbed some clothes from his dresser and then went into the bathroom to change. When he came out, Elizabeth was already dressed in a flowing tank top and shorts. Jack walked over and pulled the covers back for her to slide in. Once she did, he tucked her in with a tender kiss.

"Goodnight, angel. Sleep well."

"You too, love. See you in the morning."

"You can count on it."

….

The minutes ticked away on the clock by Elizabeth's head as she tried to sleep. Even though Jack's large plush bed was the most comfortable Elizabeth had even laid on, sleep evaded her. The knowledge that Jack was in the next room was making her heart jittery.

After tossing and turning for almost an hour, she climbed out and softly padded out to the living room where Jack was.

The cityscape outside cast a soft light throughout the room. Elizabeth knelt down beside the couch where Jack slept away.

"Jack?" she whispered. When he didn't stir, she tried again louder. "Jack?"

His eyes opened, squinting at first as they adjusted.

"Elizabeth?" He reached out to her as he sat up. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I… well. Nevermind. It seems silly now."

"That's okay. Talk to me."

"I can't sleep. I was thinking maybe you could… come lay next to me?" He tilted his head at her as if trying to understand. "I'll be good, I swear. I'm not trying to tempt you or anything. I just…."

He gently cupped her cheek and smiled. "Sure."

She laid back down in the big bed and felt her body relax as soon as Jack slid in behind her. His warm muscular arm wrapped around her, pulled her back against his chest.

"How's this?" he whispered.

"Good." She felt his lips on her shoulder. Soon, they were both asleep.