Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights go to the actors, writers and creators of the show "When Calls The Heart".

CHAPTER 3

Elizabeth had been warned that Jack had lost his memory but she couldn't believe that he would have forgotten her. Sitting in his room when he woke up, his blank eyes looking at her, was haunting. Jack had promised that he would come back to her and their girls, but now it seemed an empty shell was all that remained. Their life together had been wiped away in an instant.

As she sat there, showing her husband photos of their daughters the reality of the situation was beginning to overwhelm her. His initial surprise at finding out he had a daughter, and each subsequent look of surprise as she showed him the other photos was hurting her more than he realised. He was their hero in so many ways. Jack was a wonderful, devoted father and the girls had really struggled with his absence these last six months.

When Elizabeth had heard about Jack's accident she had kept it to herself, not feeling the need to worry them. Even this morning when she had dropped them off at her sisters house, she hadn't mentioned who she was going to visit. Now as she thought about seeing them later, how could she ever explain this situation to them. Sorry girls, Daddy has forgotten us. How was he ever going to come home to them if he didn't even know who they were?

As Elizabeth showed Jack the final picture of them as a family, she saw him staring at himself. That was one of the last photos they had together, taken prior to his deployment.

Jack looked up at her.

"We look really happy" he said.

Elizabeth nodded. "We were. That was just before you left."

She found herself looking down at her hands. She couldn't look at him. Normally this would have been when he reached for her, tipping her chin to make her look at him. This time he didn't touch her. They were like two strangers again. Elizabeth felt so lonely.

She stood up suddenly.

"I have to go" she announced before moving quickly to the door.

Charlotte stood. "Lizzy wait."

Elizabeth couldn't turn around. She couldn't look at Jack and she knew she would if she turned around.

Charlotte came up behind her. "He just needs time" she whispered. "He will come back to us."

"I'm not so sure" she whispered back and left the room.

Rosie, Lee and Tom were still outside waiting. Lee immediately came toward her wrapping her in a big hug. Elizabeth broke down in his arms. They didn't say anything, they all knew. Jack had forgotten the four most important people in his life.

Jack watched from his bed as Elizabeth walked out the door and was hugged by an unfamiliar man. After seeing that photo of himself minutes ago with his arms wrapped protectively around her, it was as if the protective instinct had been reignited inside him.

"Who is that man?" Jack nodded toward the door.

"Who?" Charlotte asked following his gaze.

"Hugging my wife."

"That's Lee. Rosie's husband."

"They seem too close."

"Jack! They are cousins! That's how you all met."

"Oh. That's okay I suppose."

"Jack, you can't comfort her about this. She's going to need to find comfort elsewhere. You do understand that don't you?"

"No, what does that mean?"

"I know this is really foreign to you but just pretend Elizabeth is your girlfriend right now. Just try and hold her hand for starters when she comes to visit you. Things like that will help her to not feel so alone and it might help your memories come back to you."

"Ma, are we good together, Elizabeth and I?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"You know what I mean. We've been married for nine years, you said. That photo looked like we were all very happy."

"You have been head over heels in love with that woman since the day you met her. You still were on the day you hit your head. She is the best thing that ever happened to you. You just need to find your way back to her. I'm certain that the more you get to know her, those feelings you had will come straight back."

Jack nodded at her, his head resting back on the pillow. He closed his eyes and the picture of his family filled his mind. He drifted back to sleep.

The next day, Rosemary sat with Jack while the family met with his doctor. She had walked into the room and immediately thought it might have been a bad idea.

"Hi Jack. How are you feeling today?"

"Fine." He sounded like he was being a little short with her.

"Ok, Jack. Spill. What's the problem?"

"Nothing."

"Sure its nothing. Are you wondering how we broke up maybe?"

Jack's eyes widened at her but he nodded slowly.

"Jack, we wanted different things and we realised that we loved each other but were not in love with each other. The fact that it was mutual allowed us to remain good friends."

"And that all happened ten years ago?"

"Yes. About June 2008. I met Lee about two months later and you met Elizabeth a month after that."

"How did we all meet?"

"Well that is a long story but looks like we have some time, so …" Rosie began.

Ten years before …

Rosemary had finally finished her arts degree majoring in drama when she was approached to audition for a theatre production in the city. Rosie had always dreamed of reaching Broadway so this would be a good stepping stone for her. She waited patiently for her audition and when her time came, she waltzed out onto the stage and putting everything she had into it, she nailed it. They offered her the job on the spot. She would begin rehearsals the following day.

After her first day on the job, a few other performers all went to a club down the street and, wanting to make as many connections as possible, Rosie went along. She found herself alone at the bar beside a very handsome young man in a suit and tie. They got talking and as soon as Rosie said that she was an actress performing in a stage production, the young man was even more interested in her and pursued her.

"Hang on a minute. Although this story sounds fascinating, you are already exaggerating. Did this man really like you? If anything I would have thought you would have pursued him. If you set your sights on it, you normally get it. At least that was the experience I had."

"Ssssh, stop interrupting. He pursued her."

"Whatever." Jack laughed.

Rosie continued.

The young man had pursued her and before long they had gone out for dinner several times. There was a spark between them and they both felt it. As the opening night of the show came around, Rosie was given four tickets to give to whoever she wanted. Not really sure who to give them to, she asked Jack if he wanted to come. After all, Jack had been there for a long time, supporting her in her degree and her goals. He was more than happy to come just as friends. Rosie said to bring a data but Jack hadn't dated much since breaking up with Rosie as his military training had stepped up a notch. Rosie had told him her boyfriend, Lee, would be coming and would be bringing a friend too.

On opening night, Jack took his assigned seat but found he was sitting separately from Rosie's boyfriend. As he sat there, a couple came in and sat two rows ahead of him. The woman was beautiful. She wore a black coat but as she stood in front of her seat and slid it off her shoulders, Jack saw that she was wearing a fitted red dress which made him catch his breath. Jack couldn't help feeling drawn to her.

"Oh Rosie. How do you know this dress caught my breath?"

"Because you told me later."

"And I was drawn to her? Really?"

"You should have seen you, Jack. I've never seen you so captivated with anyone, me included."

"Rosie, stop carrying on, just cut to the chase."

As the show started, he found his eyes constantly drifting to the woman in red. Even as Rosie appeared on stage, he tried his hardest to concentrate on her acting but it was difficult even though she was an amazing performer. At the intermission, the woman in red stood and as she walked past Jack, her eyes met his and she smiled. Jack smiled back and before he knew what he was doing he had walked out to the foyer. He stood just outside the doors, pretending to stretch his legs. Then he saw her, walking back towards him. Normally he would have never approached a woman in this instance but something was telling him otherwise.

"Hi" Jack said to her.

"Hi" she replied shyly.

"Are you enjoying the show?" he asked desperate to get her talking but not knowing what to say.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Yes, thank you." He paused before holding out his hand to her. "I'm Jack."

"Elizabeth" she replied, shaking his hand.

"Are you here with a friend?"

"No, my cousin. He's dating one of the actresses."

"Really? My friend is one of the actresses too. Perhaps they know one another."

The bell began ringing for the end of intermission. Jack began to walk back in, Elizabeth by his side.

"It was nice to meet you, Elizabeth."

"Likewise. See you later, Jack."

Jack took his seat and saw Elizabeth sit back in her seat in front of him. She turned around and grinned at him before the show started. Jack grinned back.

"When you said this was a long story, I thought you were kidding. I forgot about your passion for theatrics!"

"Oh Jack. It was so romantic. I had to give it justice. You needed to know just how crazy you were for Elizabeth literally from the moment you first saw her. I'm sure you fell in love at first sight. At least Elizabeth did."

"Seriously?"

"Oh yes. She won't deny it."

"Fine … what happened next?"

As the show came to a close, Jack was hanging around to catch up with Rosie afterwards. It turned out Elizabeth and her cousin were doing the same thing. As most of the crowd had filled out, Elizabeth turned around to see Jack still waiting.

"Jack. What is your friends name? Was it listed in the program?"

"Yes. Rosie, she played the …"

"Crazy fiancé? Isn't that a coincidence Lee?" Elizabeth said to the man next to her.

"Wait, you're Lee? Rosie's new boyfriend?" Jack stood up, approaching them.

"Yes, I'm Lee Coulter" Lee extended his hand.

"Jack Thornton." The two men shook hands.

"Oh. You're Jack. Rosie's talked about you."

"Yes, we grew up together."

"And you know my cousin, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, we met outside just before."

"Yoohoo! Lee!" Rosie's loud voice yelled across the room.

"There she is! Congratulations Rosie!" Rosie jumped into Lee's arms.

"You did amazing, Rosie! Well done!" Jack added.

"Oh thank you, Jack!" Rosie gave him a big hug too.

"Rosie, this is Elizabeth. She was very impressed too" Lee introduced them.

"Yes, you did a brilliant job, Rosie" Elizabeth praised her.

"Thank you, Elizabeth. That means a lot."

"How about we all go get some celebratory drinks?"

Jack waited until Elizabeth said yes before he agreed. The rest was history.

"So Elizabeth and I started dating from that night?"

"You two were inseparable from then. You were so cute together. You put Lee and I to shame."

"She is a beautiful woman."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, after all she is your wife" Rosie said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean." He paused thinking of the right words. "How could I have forgotten her and those girls?"

"I've been thinking about that and it seems as though you have blocked out the most important people to you Jack. Whatever happened overseas, maybe they were the last people you thought of" Rosie said sincerely.

Jack nodded, lost in thought.

"Are we okay, now?" Rosie asked him.

"Yes, I think so. Thanks Rosie."

"Any time."

The neurologist, Dr Maxwell, was sitting in a consultation room with Charlotte, Tom and Elizabeth.

"So is this kind of memory loss permanent?" Charlotte asked, her hand on Elizabeth. Tom was on her other side, arm wrapped around Elizabeth's shoulders.

"It can be in rare cases. Most of the time the memories do come back but it can take time."

"How much time?" Charlotte prompted.

"Weeks, months, years …"

"Years?" Elizabeth asked. "We don't have years to wait. His daughters need him now." I need him. I don't want to wait for years for my husband to return to me.

"I'm not saying you wait for his memories to return, but perhaps make new memories."

Elizabeth sat there stunned. I don't want new memories. I want my husband to remember me, when we dated, when we fell in love, when we married, when our children were born.

"I can't reproduce those memories" Elizabeth said shaking her head.

"I'm not saying that. Just perhaps take things slowly and reintroduce Jack to his old life. It could be the smallest thing that might prompt a memory" Dr Maxwell said. "I am discharging him tomorrow. After that he will still need to see the psychologist at the military base. I will forward all of his paperwork. There is a chance that your husband is shielding himself from some trauma when he was hurt. The psychologist might help pull back the layers, so to speak."

"If he's allowed to go home, where should we take him?" Charlotte asked.

"Where does he normally live? With you?" Dr Maxwell turned to Elizabeth.

"Yes, but my girls are no where near prepared for this" Elizabeth said.

"I know your daughters are young, but they might surprise you. Children often cope with these issues better than adults. They are very accepting of the truth."

Elizabeth knew she was the one not prepared for this, but how could anyone be prepared for such a situation. She had gone home yesterday and picked up her girls from her sister, Viola's place. She had cooked dinner, bathed them and read them a bedtime story. As all four of them lay on the bed together, Elizabeth had sat there watching them sleep, crying until she had no tears left. She woke up feeling drained but at least she wasn't going to cry at the drop of a hat.

"Are there any other questions?" Dr Maxwell asked. As soon as she saw the three of them shake their heads, she stood and left the room.

Elizabeth didn't want to say so, but she felt strange bringing Jack home with her.

"Lizzy, I think we should ask Jack what he wants to do but maybe Jack should come home with me for a few days first."

"That sounds good. Thank you, Charlotte."

Jack sat with Charlotte in his room. He had seen Elizabeth briefly in the morning. She had appeared at the door to his room, not wanting to come in any further. She was pale and her eyes were bloodshot and he could see she was upset. Compared to when he first saw her yesterday, he could tell that his lack of memory had caused her to look that way.

Charlotte had told him about what the doctor said, that he could go home tomorrow. He wasn't sure what that meant and was a bit nervous until his mother said that he would be going home with her.

"Is Elizabeth okay with that?"

"She thought it would be best, until you get back on your feet. I'm in the same place so it should be familiar to you. We will just continue to make a few small changes at a time so you don't get overwhelmed."

"She doesn't want to see me?"

"Jack, she is really struggling right now. This isn't exactly the reunion that she had been hoping for."

"I want to see her though."

"She will be here soon."

Jack had been sitting up and was able to walk short distances now. He stood in his room pacing backward and forward as he anxiously awaited his wife's arrival.

His mother knew him well, because immediately she pulled out her own phone and handed it to him. Straight away he stopped pacing and sat down, staring at the photos in front of him. His mother showed him how to flick through them. Every photo was one of his daughters. As he flicked through, he found another photo of them all together with Jack in his uniform.

"That was your deployment day."

In the photo, Jack was kneeling down and all three of his daughters were clinging to him, while Elizabeth stood behind them, one hand on his shoulder. There were tears everywhere. Jack could see the look in his own eyes, he was struggling to hold it together. Elizabeth was upset in the photo, just as she had been yesterday, but there was one big difference. Yesterday she had been devastated.

Charlotte stepped out of the room. Elizabeth was sitting talking to Rosie.

"Lizzy, Jack wants to see you."

"He doesn't even remember me."

"Lizzy, it's not his fault. You have to start somewhere. He wants to remember. Please just talk to him."

Elizabeth stood up and Rosie gave her hand a squeeze before she walked into the room. Jack was sitting on the side of the bed. He looked up from something in his hand and quickly placed it on the side table.

"Hi Elizabeth."

"Hi Jack. How's the arm?"

"Fine." He patted the bed next to him, motioning for her to join him.

She walked over and sat down next to him. He took her closest hand in his. It was warm and firm, encapsulating her own.

"I've been thinking about those photos all night. The girls are so beautiful, just like their mother."

Elizabeth laughed. "No need to flirt with me, Jack. I'm already your wife."

Jack smiled back. "Tell me about them."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

Jack and Elizabeth talked for a long time. Jack had moved back onto his bed, to get a bit more comfortable while Elizabeth had taken a seat behind him. Even after moving positions, he had taken her hand again feeling comfort in their contact.

"Jack, you're exhausted. You need to rest."

"I get to leave tomorrow. I can go home." Jack smiled at her, his thumb was stroking the top of her hand.

"That will be nice won't it?" Elizabeth avoided eye contact, instead she appeared to be watching their hands.

"But Ma said I'm going home with her" Jack said, watching Elizabeth's expression.

Elizabeth glanced up at him quickly. Jack realised she was trying to avoid him.

"You don't want me to come home with you?"

"Its not that Jack. You don't remember us. I'm a bit nervous how the girls are going to take everything."

"Right …" he said uncertainly.

"Jack, its just for a few days. Once you feel comfortable, just let your mother know and she will bring you over. I still have a few more days left of work this week and then it's the school break. I will be home from Saturday and Halley and Grace will be off school too, then we can spend as much time together as you want."

"And I can move back in with you?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"So I can see the girls on Saturday?"

"Yes, of course."

"I really want to meet them … again" Jack grinned, squeezing Elizabeth's hand.

"You will" Elizabeth squeezed back.