That night, all the kids were missing Elizabeth so Jack FaceTimed with her.

They all sat on the bed as he started the app. Well, Autumn did. The twins were jumping.

"Guys, please sit. Mommy is going to be on the phone to talk to you."

They plopped down on their knees and giggled.

"Hey, baby," Jack said with a smile. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too."

"Hi, Mommy!" Autumn said with a smile.

"Hi, sweetie! I heard you were sick."

"Yeah. Autumn….throwed up."

"I heard. Are you feeling better?"

The twins squeezed onto Jack's lap to see the phone. "Mama! See Mama!"

"Patience guys. Mama isn't going anywhere."

Autumn's patience had returned so she let the babies talk to Elizabeth without complaint.

"Did you monkeys give Daddy a run for his money today?" she asked the twins.

They giggled. "Climb, Mama!"

"Yeah, out of your crib, right?"

Aiden nodded. "Climb!"

"You know what, though? I need you to be good for Daddy. No more climbing out of your crib. Got it?"

They nodded and went back to jumping on the bed.

Jack handed the phone to Autumn and corralled the babies so he could put them in their pajamas and get them milk.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Miss Mommy."

"I miss you too. But you know what? I'm going to come home tomorrow night and then Nana Grace will be living very close. You will be able to see her all the time. Won't that be fun?"

"Yeah. Miss Nana."

"She misses you too."

"Mommy? Sing?"

"What do you want me to sing?"

"In…my heart."

"You'll be in my heart? Okay."

"Come stop your crying

It will be alright

Just take my hand

And hold it tight

I will protect you

From all around you

I will be here

Don't you cry

For one so small,

You seem so strong

My arms will hold you,

Keep you safe and warm

This bond between us

Can't be broken

I will be here

Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on

Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart

Always"

Jack rocked the twins as Elizabeth sang the song a few times. By the time she was finished, all three were sleeping.

He put them in the crib and headed over to pick up the phone. "Hey." He walked out of the room and downstairs so that they could chat.

"Hi."

"I miss you so much, Elizabeth."

"You said that already," she told him with a laugh.

"Well, I meant it."

"I will be home tomorrow night."

"What am I supposed to do tonight?"

"Do? Um, how about sleep?"

"That's no fun."

"No, but you had a long day."

"I took a nap." He stared at the phone for a moment. She was so gorgeous, even over the phone. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you more, honey."

"I think we should get your mom approved by DCF so we can go out on a date again."

"Is this a "date" or an actual date?"

"Honestly, I don't care. I just want to be with you."

…..

The next day started out much better than the previous one for everyone. Autumn felt a lot better. Her fever was way down and she had her appetite back. Jack made everyone pancakes with chocolate chip smiley faces and whipped cream ears and noses which made everyone giggle.

Then because it was so cold outside, they stayed inside and played games and read books and watched movies. Everyone stayed in their pajamas and they just lounged all day. Jack knew that since he was starting a new reno job in North Portland in the next couple days, he wasn't going to have a lot of time to spend with the kids.

"Daddy! Can Autumn have….snack?"

"Sure, what would you like?"

"Um….Ice cream."

"Well, maybe we should have something more nutritious. How about cheese and crackers? Or fruit?"

"Apple?"

"Yes and I will cut up bananas too for the babies."

As they ate their bananas and apples, they watched Bug's Life and then they all fell asleep.

Around dinner time, Jack put together a tater tot casserole and put it in the oven.

He had received a text from Elizabeth that she would be home by six so he made sure dinner would be done by then.

He set the table, taking extra care with making it look nice. He lit a candle and put it nearest him and Elizabeth and folded cloth napkins and placed them on their plates.

Then he checked on the kids. They were playing in the living room, building things out of blocks.

Addy saw him and brought him one. "Dada. Bock."

"Thank you, sweet pea."

"Anyone home?" Elizabeth called from the door.

"Mama!" Aiden said, running over to her with his little legs.

"Hi, buddy!" She sat down on the floor and let the kids crawl all over her. She missed everything about them. Their chubby cheeks. Their big eyes. The way they called her Mama. And then there was Autumn.

"Autumn, baby, come here." Autumn smiled her grin that Elizabeth fell in love with seven months before and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Mommy."

"Hi. Oh, I love you," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"Love, Mommy."

Elizabeth was in reach but Jack wasn't going to interrupt the beautiful scene before him. Seeing her loving on the children made his heart full. He would happily wait his turn to greet her.

She looked up and winked. "Autumn. I'm gonna go say hi to Daddy."

Autumn nodded and got off her lap so Elizabeth could stand up.

He looked so handsome in his jeans and button down, a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, honey."

"Hey, baby."

She walked up close, putting both hands on his cheeks. "You look good."

"Thanks. I'm celebrating."

"Celebrating what?"

"You being home. Being able to see you, talk to you…" She stopped his list with her kiss, her soft lips insistent, her hands keeping his head and lips in the perfect spot. "Kiss you," he mumbled when they pulled back to breathe. "I missed that."

"I missed you," she told him.

They held each other for another moment until the Autumn interrupted.

"Eat, Daddy?"

"Sure, pumpkin. We can eat. Are you hungry, Elizabeth?"

"Starved."

….

The next day, Autumn felt better enough to go to school so Elizabeth took her, leaving the twins with Jack.

"Hey, sweetie? Why don't I give Sierra's Mommy a call and we can see if she can stay the night on Friday?"

"Yay!"

"I think that will be fun. We can watch a movie and eat popcorn and sleep in sleeping bags on the floor. Maybe Daddy can set up a tent in your room."

"Pink?"

"Maybe, but it will be fun no matter what color it is."

Elizabeth planned on going to get two pink sleeping bags and a tent after dropping her off. She had already run it by Jack and he thought it was a good idea. Then she was going to go help her mom unpack a bit.

Jack didn't start work at his new reno until Thursday so he was more than happy to watch them.

As she was walking around the store, her phone rang. It was Julie.

"Hey, Julie. How's Arizona?" Julie sniffled on the other end of the phone. "Julie? What's wrong?"

"Everything. I don't know why I thought this was a good idea. I don't know anyone here. And now, my purse was stolen. I don't have any money now."

"Julie, did you go to the police?"

"No, it's pointless."

"No it isn't. The police need to know or they won't be able to get your purse back."

"I was drunk, Elizabeth. I was at a bar with a girl from the dorm and I was drunk. I'm underage. They aren't going to help me."

"Yes they will. Regardless of how old you are, they will help you because a crime was committed. The bar might also get in trouble because they served you."

"Beth, I want to come home. I don't want to be here anymore."

"Julie, listen to me. You can't give up. You are an adult. You are just homesick. All you need to do is go to the police and report it and then start over."

"I don't have any money!"

"I will send you some. Did you open a bank account?"

"No."

"So all of your money was in the purse? Didn't you have a bank account here?"

"I closed it. Beth, I don't know what to do. I can't open a bank account without money."

"Ask your friend to loan you money to get a new ID and to borrow five dollars. Then open a bank account at a credit union. That's all it takes. Then get the routing number and account number and I will send you some money."

"Thank you, Beth."

"Of course. I love you, Julie."

"But?"

"But you need to make better choices. Now that you are on your own and so far away, it isn't as easy to fix things."

"I promise I will and I'm going to get a job and pay you back."

"Not until you are on your feet."

"Beth…"

"It's fine, Julie."

"Thank you again."

"You're welcome."

Elizabeth hung up with her and called Jack, explaining the situation. "Jack, I want to help her."

"If you think that's what's best, then I support you."

"I don't know. I think about what I would do if our daughter had that happen to her and there is no way I would let her be so far away without money."

"Me either. Why do you think she didn't call your mom?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe she is embarrassed because she did something stupid and it caused bad things to happen."

"Do you think she has learned her lesson?"

"She says she has. I don't know. I guess we will find out."

….

It took a lot for Elizabeth not to talk to Grace about Julie's situation. She didn't want to worry her but also, it was Julie's story to tell and up to her to choose who to tell.

In this case, Elizabeth was the one she called, not Grace so she dealt with it.

When she left Grace's house, it was time to pick up Autumn from school and then they headed home.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Keep….babies?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Their mommy is getting help right now. When she gets better, she might be able to take them back."

"But…Autumn love…babies."

"I know, honey. I love them too. But remember when Daddy said that we are just going to love the kids that live with us and if they leave, then we need to be happy for them?"

"But…babies are…happy with us, Mommy."

"I know. That is because we are giving them love. And you are such a great big sister to them. I'm so proud of you."

"Autumn sad."

"Sweetie, right now, let's just remember that they need us to love them. Do you understand?"

"No," she said with a sniffle.

"Honey bun, it is going to be okay."

"Love babies, Mommy. Autumn….need babies."

When she pulled into the driveway, she got out of it and then opened Autumn's door and unbuckled her. "Are you okay now?"

"No, Mommy."

She pulled her into her arms. "I need you to be brave. You don't need to worry about what might happen because we don't know it will. They might be with us forever or not. We just need to be happy they are with us now."

"Autumn pray."

"Okay. Let's pray."

"Dear God. Please help…Autumn love babies. Autumn wants babies…forever. Sad now. Help Autumn….be happy. Jesus name, Amen."

"Good job. I'm so proud of you. Let's go in and give the babies hugs."

"Yeah. Hug babies."