It had been almost a week since their very successful dinner at Jack's childhood home. Charlotte was thrilled to pieces with Elizabeth and couldn't have imagined a better woman for him. Rosie, who Jack thought might be a harder one to convince given her protective nature, had become fast friends with Elizabeth. The two had even had dinner together a couple of the nights Jack was gone working the night shift.

While Jack slept off his night shift exhaustion or was working during the daytime, Elizabeth spent her time reading, working on lesson plans for when back in Haiti, or working alongside Abigail and Clara at the cafe.

This morning she was in the cafe kitchen working on a batch of pies.

Abigail walked in, setting a stack of dishes in the sink. "What a morning. I can't believe how busy we were!"

"I heard a couple people talking about how they took the morning off to finish their Christmas shopping. Seems like it was a popular decision."

"Must have been!" Abigail laughed. "How was Jack when he got home this morning?"

"Exhausted. I know his work was hard, but goodness. Seeing him come home and barely make it into bed before he passes out is eye opening."

"I remember when Noah and I first married, it was a tough adjustment. I would be so excited to see him come home, I would talk his ear off," She laughed. "That didn't work for him. Noah needed time to decompress and sleep."

"So what did you do?"

"I did my best to make our home a sanctuary for him. A soft place to land on after a rough shift. Clean home, warm food, lots of hugs and kisses."

"I can do that."

"I'm sure you can," Abigail knowingly grinned, causing Elizabeth to blush. "How are those pies?"

"So far so good. These four are about to go in the oven. I think I'm getting the hang of rolling out the crust dough."

"These certainly look better than the first few!" she teased.

"You mean the one that exploded or the one that caught on fire?"

"Either," she laughed. "I still can't figure out how you did either of those things."

"It's a talent."

"Good thing you're in love with a fireman!"

"Exactly!"

Just before the lunch rush began, a yellow taxi drove down the soggy, wet, snow-covered street outside the cafe. After paying the driver, a tall young man in nice pants and a black men's pea coat, stepped out with a small suitcase. Standing on the brick sidewalk, he looked up and down the street, double checking an address on his phone before walking into Abigail's.

The small bell rang above the door as he stepped in the establishment. Only four other patrons were there and all looked to have already been helped.

"Hello!" Abigail said as she entered the dining area. "Sit anywhere you'd like."

"Thank you." He placed his suitcase at a small table off to the side and began removing his jacket while Abigail came over with a mug and a pot of coffee.

"Here's the menu. Our specials today are beef stew and French onion soup. I'll give you a moment."

"Thank you, but actually maybe you can help me with something?"

"I can try. Are you new to Seattle?"

"Yeah, just visiting for a couple days or so. My name's Trent Maxwell. I'm looking for someone named, Elizabeth Thatcher. I was told she worked here?"

"Oh, I'll have to take a look. Would you excuse me?"

"Of course, thank you." Trent picked up his phone and sent a few text messages out before turning his attention to the menu Abigail had left.

Abigail hurried back to the kitchen after checking in on her other patrons. Elizabeth was peering into the oven she'd just opened a crack, checking on her latest batch of rolls that went alongside the stew. Like her pies, they had improved a great deal in just under a week. Her very first batch could have chipped a tooth, but her last batch were soft and buttery on the inside, crispy on the outside.

"Elizabeth, sweetie?"

"Abigail! Come look at these! I think I'm really getting the hang of this!"

"I'm so proud of you! I'll have you cooking 5 course meals in no time."

"Not sure I'd go that far!" she laughed.

"Elizabeth is right," Clara added. She'd shown up for her shift a couple minutes before. "We haven't had to call the guys at the fire department in a few days, that doesn't mean she's ready for top chef."

Abigail smiled softly at the two young women joking around as if they'd known each other for years. Elizabeth noticed a slight nervousness to Jack's Aunt's demeanor and asked, "Everything alright?"

"I hope so, Clara, would you give us a moment?"

"Sure thing, I'll go check on the coffee pots out front." Thinking nothing of it, Clara stepped out.

When she was gone, Abigail stepped closer and in a hush tone she said to Elizabeth, "There's someone here asking for you. A well dressed young man, goes by the name Trent?"

Elizabeth gasped and quietly sneaked up to the doorway to see for herself, trying not to be seen. Seeing that the man in the dining room was in fact her college beau, she walked back deeper into the kitchen.

"He's here? Why?" she fretted.

"I didn't ask, but I also didn't say you were here. You want me to send him away? I will!"

Wiping her flour covered hands on her apron she turned to face her friend. "No, its fine."

"Who is he? If I may ask."

"You may." Elizabeth leaned back against the counter she'd been working on. "He's an old family friend. Well, that's not all of it I guess. We dated a while back as well."

"Oh… I see" Abigail nervously ran her hand over her hair which sat in a messy loose bun on the back of her head. "How long ago is "a while back" exactly?"

"Oh, no Abigail! It's nothing like that. Trent and I broke up in college. Jack is the one I love, without question. He has my whole heart. Trust me."

Abigail smiled. "I do, dear. Anyone who's seen you and Jack together can see that you two are meant to be. I just want to make sure you're safe talking to this Trent character."

"I am. He's harmless. Though I have no earthly idea why he's here." She knew though that his sudden arrival must have had something to do with her father, she just wasn't ready to divulge all that to Abigail here in the kitchen. "I guess I should go see what he wants."

"I'll watch the rolls. Take your time."

Elizabeth untied her apron and hung it on the hook on the wall. She took one quick look at herself in the reflection of a window and walked out.

As she entered, Trent put down his phone and rose to greet her with a hug. "Hey, Liz."

"Trent, what a surprise."

"Good surprise, I hope?" He shot her an innocent but flirty smile. "You have a moment to sit?"

"Sure."

He pulled out her chair for her. Ever the gentleman he was raised to be. That was the thing with Trent, he was a good man. He'd never treated Elizabeth with anything but love and respect. The problem had always been that her feelings never matched the level of his. They were friends, end of story.

"I stopped by the house when I got into town on break. When Julie said you were here working in a diner I didn't believe her," Trent teased. "Didn't you use to say you were a danger in the kitchen?"

"I'll have you know I've gotten much better," there was a hint of playfulness in her tone. Not flirty, it was like talking with an old friend.

Trent nodded, then his tone became more serious and sincere as he said, "What was even harder to believe was that you'd give up the chance to spend time with your family over some misunderstanding with your father. You and William never fight."

Staring at the coffee mug in front of Trent she replied, "We hadn't really before, no. Maybe it was time."

"Liz, that doesn't sound like you." He took her hand that rested on the table. "What happened? Maybe I can help."

Giving his hand a friendly squeeze, she let go and placed her hands in her lap. Not wanting a repeat of the gesture.

"I'm fine, Trent. Really, I am. In some ways I'm better than ever."

"I'm still confused, but I'll take your word on that. Though I must say you do look beautiful."

Elizabeth ignored his last comment. "What are you doing here?"

"Your father's worried about you. He asked me to come out here and try to bring you home. It wasn't a hard sell. I wanted to see you and was already thinking about it before he even said anything."

"You didn't need to do that. In fact, you really shouldn't have."

"It's okay, really."

The reminder alarm Elizabeth had set on her phone that morning began to go off. She silenced it and rose from her seat. "Excuse me a minute, I need to take care of something."

"Of course. I'll just look over this menu a little more. Anything you recommend?"

"Everything's good, and anything I do Abigail checks so you have nothing to worry about."

"Noted!" He laughed.

She turned around and walked up to Clara who was standing at the counter.

"Everything alright?" Clara asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah," she assured. "I need to place a lunch order for Jack. He said he'd come down when he woke up, which should be somewhere in the next twenty minutes or so."

"I heard from Pete that their shift last night was brutal! Two home fires and a bunch of other emergencies?"

"It was chaos from what Jack said. Something about the temperature making it so there was black ice all over the road. Lots of MVC's. Anyway, he'd like a BBQ cheeseburger with Swiss and onions and a side of half fries, half onion rings. Oh, and I bet he'd like some of that French onion soup we made."

"Got it!" I'll have it ready for him when he gets here. Anything for you? You taking your lunch with him like usual?"

"I'll have to check with Abigail."

"It's good by me!" she called from the kitchen, making the two young women laugh.

"Alright then! I'll have that ham, cheddar and apple Panini."

"Fries?"

Elizabeth thought about it and patted her belly, making a bloated face by puffing out her cheeks.

"Oh, come on girl, live a little," Clara teased.

"Alright. Fries it is. The sweet potato kind."

"Coming up!"

Elizabeth made her way back to the table where Trent sat waiting. Having not heard any of her conversation with Clara, he sat there looking hopefully. It caused Elizabeth's stomach to do a little flip flop, and not in a good way.

As she sat down, Trent placed in menu to the side. "I have an idea. Can we go somewhere and talk? It feels strange to have such personal conversations in a public place like this. Julie said something about you living with a friend above where you worked. Her apartment is one of the ones upstairs?"

"I am staying upstairs but we shouldn't go there."

"Ah good point. She probably wouldn't like the idea of a man she didn't know in her place. We could go for a walk but the weather is awful. All wet and freezing. I guess here will work okay."

"It will be fine, but Trent I need to tell you something. You shouldn't have come. I'm not going back just yet."

"What did he do?"

"Who?"

"Your dad."

"We just don't see eye to eye on much these days. Not with what I do or who I'm with…"

"With?"

She nodded slowly. "Trent, I met someone in Haiti."

He leaned back in his seat, scratching the slight 5 o'clock shadow on his chin. "Is it serious?"

"Yes."

With a wince he asked, "How serious?"

"I know I'm meant to be his wife someday."

There was a loud sigh, then Trent shook his head. "Your dad, he kept encouraging me to pursue this, to pursue us. He assured me this was what you wanted."

"That wasn't his assurance to give."

"I know. So that's why you're here? You're with him?"

She nodded.

"Is it his apartment that's upstairs?"

"Yes, but before you freak out and go off on a lecture, nothing has happened. I'm still the same girl I always have been. I'm being smart. He works crazy hours and with me working here, we'd hardly see each other if I was somewhere else. Besides it's not like I have a car here."

"I trust you. It's not like it's really any of my business anyway."

"Thank you."

"So what does he do that has him working such odd hours?"

"He's a fireman."

"You love him?"

"I do."

He nodded. "Is he good to you?"

"Very."

Trent rubbed his hands over his face and laughed softly. The whole thing confused Elizabeth.

"What's so funny?"

"It's not something. It's someone."

"Come again?"

"I kind of met someone. Her name's Katie Hubbard. She's studying to be a pediatric surgeon. We met early this year in the library studying for our respective majors."

"And you like her?" Elizabeth smiled. She'd known this man long enough to read his facial expressions.

"I thought I could, but…"

"But what?"

"Your father. My parents. To them you and I are still committed. I think they saw this time since we broke up as just a temporary separation before marriage. You know, something to clear our heads."

"I can't speak for your family, but for my father, yes. That is exactly what he was thinking. It's not about them though. We need to live for ourselves."

"You're right. I do care about you, Liz. A lot."

"But maybe you could care deeper about Katie?"

"Possibly." He smirked. "Yeah, I know I could."

"Well then," she smiled. "I hereby release you from whatever our families are trying to do to us."

Trent laughed, "You're a brave woman, Liz."

"Why on earth do you say that?"

"You're you. Unleashed from the shackles the world our parents thrive in that they use to control us. You left, you're making a life for yourself. Look at me, I'm in school to become a lawyer. A corporate lawyer at that."

"True. You hate corporate law."

"But you know why I've done it? It's what's expected of me. That's what I do, that's what I've always done."

"It's not over yet, Trent. You can still make your own way. If you're lucky, your family won't go as insane as my father."

"Not likely," he laughed. "Your father and mine are two peas in a pod."

"That is true."

As the two chuckled about their upbringing and family expectations, Jack walked in the cafe from the lobby entrance. He took one look at the well-dressed man sitting with Elizabeth and his chest tightened.

"Hey, Jack," Clara said from the counter. "Your meal will be right out."

"Thanks." He kept his eyes on Elizabeth and the other man.

"It's okay, Jack. You can trust her."

"You're right." He smiled at Clara and headed over to Elizabeth, trying to shove the jealousy out of his mind.

"Jack!" Elizabeth rose from her seat and kissed Jack lovingly on the lips. "I had a surprise visitor while you slept."

"I can see that."

Trent stood, "I'm Trent Maxwell, an old friend of Liz's."

"I'm Jack."

"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you in the past little bit here."

"You came from Hartford?"

"I did yes. I'll be leaving later today though."

"Will you head home?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, I think I'll head to Boston, to see Katie. It's time."

"Katie?" Jack asked.

"The woman he could have a real future with."

Trent smiled. "Liz sort of opened up a can of worms on my life this afternoon. It's a good thing though."

"Well that's good I guess." Feeling completely at ease, Jack invited Trent to have lunch with them. He graciously accepted.

As they ate, Trent asked them lots of questions about Haiti and Jack's work as a fireman. When Jack asked Trent about law school, Trent smiled at Beth.

"Well, I've been studying corporate law. For now though, let's just say I'm weighing my options. Trying to decide what it is I really want."

"Good for you," Jack smiled. He knew enough from Beth what kind of world she and Trent came from. He wished this man all the best.

After lunch, they said goodbye to Trent and Jack headed back upstairs till Elizabeth's shift had ended. When she entered the apartment a little later, Jack was sitting at his desk editing photos from Haiti.

"Nice shots, babe." Elizabeth had sneaked in unnoticed and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Thanks." He spun around in his chair and pulled her down onto his lap. "Man, you're beautiful," he whispered.

"I smell like coffee and pie."

"Two of my favorite things." They laughed together, then rested their foreheads against one another.

"You were very gracious today," Elizabeth said kissing Jack's lips sweetly.

"What? You mean with Trent?"

"Mhmm. You didn't show even a hint of jealousy or anger towards him."

"I'll admit, when I first saw you two sitting there I felt it a bit. But then I realized something very important."

"What was that?"

"I have no reason to be jealous or angry with him. Or anyone for that matter. It's you and me, angel."

"Always, babe. Always."

….

A few days later, just three days before Christmas, Faith stood in front of the arrivals board at the airport in Connecticut. It was nearly 8 in the evening and she had been tasked with picking up her grandparents from the airport. Her brothers were all flying in the next day. It would be the first time in a couple years they'd all be together for a holiday.

She looked down at her phone to the picture of her and Carson from their last day together. She missed him. More than she ever thought possible. Usually they'd texted throughout the day and talked at least once, if not FaceTime. Today however, she'd hardly heard from him and her heart ached.

"Are you sure their flight came in today?" Faith spoke into her cell to her mom after seeing no sign of her grandparent's flight.

"Yes. Their flight was suppose to get in at 8 PM this evening."

"I'm looking at the boards and it says a flight landed from Charlotte an hour ago and the next isn't till 9."

"Oh, well that's the problem," her mother chuckled. "The flight's coming from Chicago."

"What? Since when do Nana and Pop fly through Chicago? It's always been American Air, Phoenix to Charlotte, and Charlotte to here."

"I don't know what to tell you, sweetie. The flight is coming in from Chicago at 8."

"Alright." Faith sighed as she looked over the board again. "Okay, that flight just landed a bit ago. I'll go look for them."

"Thanks, sweetie."

Faith hung up and hurried to baggage claim. She scanned the crowd of people waiting by the conveyor belt for their bags. No sign of her grandparents.

"Excuse me, Miss? Do you know where I could grab a cab?" a male voice asked from behind.

"Oh, you just want to…" Faith turned around and gasped, "Carson!"

"Hey, hon."

Faith squealed and jumped into his arms. Her feet left the ground as Carson spun her around.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I missed you so much. I should have come sooner, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, you're here now!" Standing on her tiptoes she kissed him. Soft and sweet, yet lingering. "I'm glad you're here, really. But I need to find my grandparents. They were flying in today from Phoenix."

Carson gave a sheepish grin. "That was just the story we used to get you here."

"You're kidding me? My grandparents aren't coming?"

"Tomorrow."

"Ok… wait," she stepped back. "You coming here is a surprise. Do my parents already know?" He nodded. "Sneaky Shepard!"

He shrugged. "I called your dad and asked if I could come spend Christmas with you and he agreed. We thought it would be a fun surprise. You mad?"

"Nope." She stepped back into his embrace. "You're here, how could I be mad?"

"Good to hear." Carson kissed her, much deeper than the first. Both seemed unconcerned with the hoards of holiday travelers around there. "Merry Christmas, Faith."

"Very Merry Christmas!"

…..

Back on the west coast, Jack had an evening off finally. He and Elizabeth decided to make the most of it and have a romantic night in. Elizabeth wanted to cook dinner for Jack but agreed to let him make a dessert. So as soon has his shift ended, he hurried back to the apartment to make lava cakes, her favorite.

They worked alongside each other in the small kitchen, stealing tender touches and kisses every chance they got.

For Elizabeth, this drove deep the desire already in her heart for them to be one, married and happy. She respected Jack's desire to wait until things were more settled with her father, but for how long?

"You alright?" Jack asked when he noticed her staring off into space by the stove.

"Yup, I'm fine." She shook herself out of her daze and moved over to the sink and began cleaning the dishes.

Jack moved to stand beside her. "You sure?"

Leaning over, she kissed him deeply. "I love you Jack Thornton."

"I love you too." He kissed her again. "And I know you. Something's on your mind."

Elizabeth stared into Jack's handsome eyes. "I love you."

"Yeah," he grinned. "You mentioned that already."

"I want to be your wife."

"I want that too."

"But?"

"No but's."

"Okay, but I know how much you want to wait for my father to come around."

"That is true." Taking hold of her arm he pulled her against in chest, wrapping her in a warm embrace. "I want to give him a chance here with us, but at the end of it all, it's about us. I won't make you wait forever."

"Promise?"

"I promise."